Chapter 65: The Younger Generation Is Fearsome

  He Taowei saw that he was a young man of humble appearance, yet his words were extraordinary. He didn't blame him for being presumptuous and asked: "Why did the Jurchen people laugh?"

  Xu Wei sighed, if the Jurchen people knew the situation within the Song Dynasty, they would probably laugh out loud even in their sleep. They were sharpening their swords and preparing to head south, while this side was still storing away their knives and guns, letting their horses graze on Mount Nan. The entire nation was drunk with joy over recovering the old territories of Yan and Yun, with hardly anyone thinking about potential dangers. Moreover, beneath the surface calmness, undercurrents were surging, and it would not be an exaggeration to describe the Song Dynasty as being in a state of turmoil.

  Seeing the other party's silence, He Taigong thought he had something to worry about, so he smiled and said: "Just say it without worrying, even if you say it wrong, this is neither a court nor a government office, there's no need to have any concerns."

  The officials who were about to leave at the gate also stopped, especially the second person who had been staring at Xu Wei. Zhang Shuye thought to himself that Xu Jiu was brave and resourceful, and must be a remarkable talent. He had originally intended to recommend him, and now that all the high-ranking officials in the court were present, he might as well take this opportunity to push him to the forefront, after all, it was He Taigong who mentioned it first.

  He then turned to Xu Wei and said, "Since the Commander-in-Chief has asked, what ideas do you have? Speak your mind."

  Xu Wei knew that the other party was one of the three officials, and must be familiar with military affairs. The fact that he had come here showed that he also had his guard up against the Jurchen people. He decided to take a gamble. With a determined mind, he stepped forward, made a bow, picked up three tea cups, and arranged them in an inverted triangle. He said to General He: "I'll just pretend to be a master of the subject. If I say something wrong, please correct me, General."

  He Taiwei nodded, indicating that he should continue. Xu Wei faced a group of high-ranking officials in the imperial court, calm and composed, pointing to two tea cups not far apart on the table: "The overall situation of Song and Jin has been made clear by the governor, so I won't say more. I just want to express some superficial views from the perspective of military deployment. These two places are our key military locations. One is Taiyuan and the other is Yanyun. From ancient times to the present, if the northern army wants to move south to plot against the Central Plains, they must pass through these two places."

  He Taiwei nodded frequently, yes, both Taiyuan and Yanyun are currently the main forces of the Song army, especially around Taiyuan, where tens of thousands of elite Song troops are gathered, this is a well-known fact.

  Xu Wei, seeing no one raised any objection, continued: "Once the Jin army launches its attack, it will definitely split into two routes. One route will depart from the Western Capital of the former Liao State (Datong, Shanxi) and attack Taiyuan; the other route will depart from the Southern Capital of the former Liao State (Hebei, Longyu) and attack Yanyun."

  Those ministers initially listened attentively, but couldn't help but secretly laugh at this point. After all, he was just a small figure, a frog in the well. The court had been operating in Taiyuan for many years, and now there was also the Prince of Guangyang, Tong Guan, stationed there. The Jurchen people wanted to swallow up Taiyuan? They probably lacked a good set of teeth. As for the land of Yan and Yun, although it had recently been returned, the court still had a large garrison stationed there, and moreover, there was the fierce general, Guo Jing, guarding it. Would the Jurchen people dare to make a move lightly?

  At this point, an official stepped forward and said to He Taizhen: "As the commander of the infantry, why do you have to listen to him..."

  At this time, a strange thing happened. He T'ai and the second person to arrive spoke in unison: "Let him continue speaking." This made the person who was interrogating him bewildered and perplexed. What's going on? Who is this young man?

  "You said that Jin Jun will attack Taiyuan, but this place is heavily garrisoned by the imperial court. The prestige of the Western Army must be known to you. I dare not say that we can defeat the Jurchen people, but it's possible to hold our own against them. Will they really engage in a fierce battle?" asked He Taizai.

  Xu Wei looked at the commander with admiring eyes, not for anything else, but because as one of the three officials in charge, he did not flatter himself, boasting that the Song army was good at fighting, but had a clear understanding of the Song army's combat effectiveness.

  "The Jurchen army is trying to pin us down and tie up our main force. Another route attacks the Yan Shan Fu, once Yan Shan falls...” Xu Wei slammed his hand on the table, his right hand quickly pointing to the top of the inverted triangle, “The Golden Army will rush straight here.”

  He Taiwei's eyelid twitched, and the corner of his mouth involuntarily twitched. Although this young man didn't say it explicitly, the third teacup undoubtedly referred to the heart of Da Song! Tokyo!

  It wasn't just him who saw it, other officials also understood what Xu Wei was getting at. They wanted to question him, but thinking twice, if the Yan Mountain Prefecture really fell, then behind it would be a flat plain, and they could directly attack the north bank of the Yellow River. After crossing the Yellow River, it would be the Eastern Capital! And at this time, Taiyuan was also besieged, who would come to the Eastern Capital to rescue the emperor? Even if someone came, could distant water quench present thirst? But that Yan Mountain Prefecture, originally occupied by the Liao State, after the fall of the Liao, Guo Wei returned the two states of Yi and Zhou to the Song, the court changed its name to Yan Mountain Prefecture, and ordered Wang Anzhong and Guo Wei to guard it. Stationed in Yan Mountain Prefecture were Guo Wei's always victorious army, as well as several tens of thousands of Song troops, it wouldn't be so easy for it to fall, would it?

  "I'm asking you, without mentioning that all these are your guesses, and without saying whether the Jurchen people will really march south. Even if they do come, the area north of the Yellow River has always been the most important for the imperial court, and our main forces are stationed in this region. The Jurchens may have a big appetite, but I'm afraid it's not possible for them to directly attack the Eastern Capital?" The second official who arrived looked at Xu Wei and asked. He had been shouting that he wanted to leave earlier, but now he retreated back to the table and sat down. The other officials followed suit. Zhang Shuye smiled, knowing this would happen all along. Why pretend to be a follower? Just say it's my nephew!

  Xu Wei did not continue, and could not directly point out that after hundreds of years of war, the Song army had become accustomed to defending cities and had no concept of field battles. When the Jin army attacked, the Song army retreated into the city for passive defense, who would stop the sharp blade thrusting towards the heart of the Great Song?

  He didn't finish what he was going to say, but He Taowei finished it for him: "Given the current situation, if the Jurchen suddenly rise up and we are unprepared, we will be caught off guard. What he said is not impossible."

  The scene was silent, and since He Taigong, who was familiar with military affairs, had been saying this for many years, the problem was indeed serious. But now, the officials were thinking of making peace with Song Jintong, and they didn't have that string in their minds, what's good about this?

  Zhang Shuye cast a look of approval at Xu Wei, cleared his throat and said with great enthusiasm: "Everyone, the crisis is lurking everywhere! Even if all this is just speculation, being prepared for any situation can't be wrong. Therefore, I propose that we jointly petition the imperial court to take early precautions against unexpected events!"

  Isn't it already too late? It's now September, and the Jin army will launch its attack next month. By the time you submit your memorial and wait a few days for the Emperor to read it and think about it, he may be in meditation and delay for several more days. Then summoning you for consultation will take up even more days. Not to mention whether the Emperor can listen or not, even if he does, preparing and deploying troops is no easy matter. By the time everything is ready, the Jin army will have already crossed the Yellow River.

  Zhang Shuye finished speaking, and several officials did not respond. He Taigong fell into thought for a moment, then opened his mouth to say: "Ji Zhong brother, this matter cannot be rushed, it still needs to be carefully considered."

  "It's indeed extreme, what Taishi said makes sense, we should consider the long-term plan." The others immediately echoed in agreement.

  Zhang Shuye, how can he not be anxious? Since the first time he met Xu Wei, he has been unable to eat or sleep. Every time he thinks of the Jin army marching south and the Central Plains being filled with smoke and fire, his heart is like a knife cutting him. At that time, everything was just Xu Wei's speculation, but now, from all sides, the news shows that the Jurchen people are coming soon!

  "Are you planning for the long term? You...” Zhang Shuye was about to erupt, but suddenly caught Xu Wei signaling him with his eyes. He forcibly suppressed the rest of his words and sat there with a gloomy expression. The atmosphere became somewhat awkward, and several officials stood up, one of whom let out a heavy sigh and said to Zhang Shuye: "Brother Ji Zhong, it's not that we don't have the heart to be loyal to the king and love our country, but this matter is too big, and it's not something we can control. If we jointly submit a memorial and the imperial court agrees, then that's fine. But if we provoke the emperor's great anger, not only will we fail to save the country, but we'll also put ourselves in danger. I hope you understand the situation."

  Can't help but admit, what he said is indeed sincere words, and it's also the voice of the officials present. We're not unwilling to share your worries, nor do we lack patriotism, it's just that we have to take care of ourselves first? Even if we don't take care of ourselves, we must sacrifice with value, otherwise, we'll be dismissed from office, demoted to Lingnan to eat lychees, who can reason with?

  Although Zhang Shuye was angry, he also knew that the other party had come to give him face. Being able to say this before leaving was already a rare occurrence. He stood up and smiled weakly, saying: "Zhang is just an impatient person, if there's anything wrong, please forgive me."

  "Nowhere, brother Ji Zhong worries about national affairs, we understand each other's hearts and minds, absolutely no blame. So, let's just leave it at that for today, farewell."

  Zhang Shuye saw him off, with a disappointed and despondent expression on his face. Xu Wei also felt sorry for him upon seeing this. Is this the legendary loyal minister who worries about the country and its people? It seems that being a treacherous official is more comfortable than this. Living in the high halls of power, one has to worry about their lord; living far away from the imperial court, one still has to worry about the people. A lifetime of worries like this - how can it compare to the carefree lives of treacherous officials, with their lavish dogs and horses, and their singing and dancing?

  After sending off several old friends, Zhang Uncle Ye secretly rejoiced to see that there were still two officials sitting motionless. Could it be these two... Hmm, why was that one staring at Xu Wei all the time?

  "Magistrate Zhang, your subordinates are indeed hiding dragons and sleeping tigers. A small school like this has such insight." The second official who came stared at Xu Wei with an unreadable expression, saying with a hint of a smile.

  Zhang Shuye could only smile wryly: "He's just talking nonsense, it's an insult to your ears, please..."

  "Ah, he's not talking nonsense. The younger generation is indeed formidable, indeed formidable!" He Taoyi also laughed and said.

  Xu Wei smiled but didn't speak, in fact his heart had already been made somewhat hairy by that person's stare. Why did he keep staring at me? Had he already seen through the fact that I wasn't Zhang Shuye's subordinate?

  "Magistrate Zhang, where is your ancestral home?" The official asked again with the same question.

  Zhang Shu sat down at night, hesitated for a moment, and said: "Since it's under my jurisdiction, it's naturally within the borders of Shandong Province, with ancestral roots in Qizhou."

  "Isn't it Lord Xia Zhen?" The official smiled and said.

  Zhang Shuye and Xu Wei exchanged a glance, both feeling unexpected. How did he know? Especially Zhang Shuye, who looked at Xu Wei with inquiring eyes, is this your acquaintance? When He Taigong heard the four words "Daming Xiajin", he also cast his gaze on Xu Wei, scanning him up and down repeatedly.

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  The Fighting King