Chapter 215: Liangshan Great Division (6k)

The years pass by and time rushes us by.

It had only been a year since they last met in Jiangnan, but Su Yuanjing looked much older.

Imperial power changes, and court officials rise and fall.

Although Su Yuanjing was not labeled a traitor, as one of Huizong's favorite ministers, although he did not follow Huizong when he fled to Bianliang, he did not gain the trust of the new emperor Qinzong and was soon squeezed out of the center of power.

Seeing his former colleagues being purged in large numbers, he had no choice but to retire to protect himself.

This time he was able to be reinstated thanks to the recommendation of his old friend Wen Huanzhang.

When Song Jiang saw Su Yuanjing again, he found that his benefactor's hair and beard were graying, and his face looked ten years older than a year or two ago. He felt indescribable feelings in his heart.

After receiving the order, Song Jiang immediately dismissed everyone in the tent, prostrated himself on the ground and bowed.

"The Jin army invaded Tokyo. If it weren't for the intervention of Ma Jiedu, I would have led the army to defend the king. This frightened Prime Minister En, and you look much more haggard than before."

"Haha, Song Chengxuan, please stand up."

Su Yuanjing helped Song Jiang up with both hands and responded with a kind face: "Birth, aging, illness and death are the natural laws. I am nearly sixty years old and it is time for me to grow old. There are many troops around Tokyo to support the king. Your return may not be effective. Ma Kuo left you in Zhending to contain you for strategic reasons. Your Majesty arranged this for you. Do you understand the deep meaning behind it?"

"Ah."

Song Jiang stood up and sat aside, holding Su Yuanjing's hand and explaining, "The Guangxin (now Suicheng, Baoding) and Ansu (now Xushui, Baoding) armies are at the border with Yi County, and the Shunan (now Gaoyang, Baoding) and Yongning (now Lixian, Baoding) armies are behind them. Your Majesty has Ma Jiedu take charge of the front line, and Lu Junyi and I will guard the rear?"

"insightful."

Su Yuanjing nodded and added, "Zhan Du has been promoted to the governor of Hedong. He is deeply trusted by your majesty. You and Ma Kuo must obey his orders. However, he is mainly responsible for internal affairs such as money and grain. You have autonomy in military affairs. Ma Kuo previously served as an inspector in Guangxin and Ansu armies, and did not have his own direct army. Therefore, I think more of you and Lu Junyi. You must continue to work hard. The governor is by no means the end."

"Yes!"

Song Jiang quickly stood up from his chair, standing straight and respectful like a primary school student.

Seeing this, Su Yuanjing pulled him to sit down and said meaningfully: "I am already on the decline, but Song Chengxuan has a bright future. You don't have to be so polite."

"What are you talking about, En Xiang? If it weren't for En Xiang's offer to Liangshan, how could Song Jiang be where he is today? I worship En Xiang as if I were my father."

"Song Chengxuan, please get up quickly. I may need to rely on you in the future."

Seeing Song Jiang sticking his butt out again, Su Yuanjing no longer had the arrogant attitude he had before.

Su Yuanjing hurriedly helped him sit down beside him and said in a deep voice: "The Jin people are cunning and greedy, and there is a high possibility that they will go south again. When you go to a new place in the future, you must be kind to the local people and ask Zhan Du for advice when you are undecided. Don't be so casual like Jiangnan."

"At that time, the imperial court was short of money and grain, so I had no choice but to borrow grain from the people and recruit soldiers. Prime Minister En should know this, and Your Majesty should also know this."

"Your Majesty at that time has become the Emperor Emeritus. After all, the new emperor has only been on the throne for a short time, and most of his knowledge of local affairs comes from memorials. Otherwise, you might not be limited to the fourth rank in this merit-based reward."

"Ah? It's okay. It's okay."

Song Jiang had not yet changed into his official uniform, and he suddenly felt a sense of loss in his heart, but he quickly comforted himself: "I am already very satisfied as the Commissioner of the Imperial Court. At least I have been recognized by His Majesty, and our efforts have not been in vain."

"If you think so, that's the best."

Su Yuanjing twirled his beard and nodded, affirming: "The more tense the external situation is, the more opportunities there are for military officers to be promoted. If you can defeat Han Libu and help His Majesty recapture Yanyun, you may even be crowned a king. Didn't Tong Guan do it? But he didn't rely on his real strength, so he didn't keep the title of king in the end."

"Becoming a king? No, no, no. I don't dare to hope for that."

Song Jiang waved his hands and changed the subject, asking, "Zhending Prefecture is a strategic location. If we all withdraw from here, the defense here will be in jeopardy."

"You don't have to worry about that. Zhong Shizhong is stationed in Daming Prefecture at the moment. He will come to take over the defense of Zhending."

"Oh, I'm relieved then."

When Song Jiang heard the name Zhong Shizhong, he immediately stopped questioning.

He stretched his neck forward and asked in a low voice: "By the way, Prime Minister, my brothers have not yet been officially appointed. I wonder if someone will come to announce the decree? Their previous meritorious service memorials were reported to the Privy Council for verification a long time ago. Why hasn't it been finalized yet?"

"The Jin army besieged the city, the new emperor ascended the throne, the Privy Council and the three provinces officials have been replaced several times, and many documents recording merits have been lost. Who is there to handle this matter? I can only make meritorious deeds in the future."

"what?"

Song Jiang swallowed his saliva when he heard this. He thought, "Only Lu Junyi and I are given official positions. What will our brothers think? Maybe another group of people will leave."

Just as he was frowning and thinking of a solution, he heard Su Yuanjing using his own experience to enlighten him in the form of self-deprecation.

"As the saying goes, time, fate, and luck are all important to success. I have studied hard for twenty years and worked diligently as an official in the court for twenty years, but in the end I have become a useless person. If I had not had some connection with you, I am afraid that this mission of announcing the imperial edict would not have been my turn."

"En Xiang, if you are not used to living in the capital, why not ask the court for permission to come to the front line? If I win military merits in the future, you will also have a share of them. His Majesty will definitely use En Xiang again."

"Forget it, just do your best. Can you appease the generals?"

Su Yuanjing shook his head with a bitter face, thinking that the new emperor treated him as the emperor emeritus, and he was lucky not to be demoted or exiled. How could he dare to get involved in military power?
Song Jiang saw Su Yuanjing's gloomy expression, and then he knelt in front of him and said, "I need your help in this matter. I have arranged a welcoming banquet. Please give a good speech at that time. Talk more about the national justice of the country and the emperor. Talk about how the emperor values ​​us, but he has just ascended the throne and cannot take care of us. Brothers need to hear hope."

"You want me to help you make a statement."

"Please."

"Ok."

Su Yuanjing had no right to nourish himself, and his spirit became decadent.

Although he didn't want to lie in public, the situation was different now and only people in Liangshan took him seriously.

If I can savor the admiration of everyone, it will be some consolation and the trip will be worthwhile.

"Eun-sang."

"Anything else?"

"The Jin army retreated, and Your Majesty gave out rewards according to merit, but I don't know if Yang Changhe is here."

"Ok?"

Su Yuanjing groaned softly, frowned, stood up and looked up, then looked at Song Jiang and asked, "Gongming, jump up and see if you can touch the top beam of this big tent?"

"Ah? Eun-sang is teasing Xiao Ke?"

Song Jiang looked down at his short stature, and said to Su Yuanjing with a bitter face, "Not to mention Xiao Ke, even Yu Baosi can't do it."

"Does this sound like a joke? You are different from Yang Changben, why do you insist on comparing yourself with him? People cannot be compared with each other."

"Oh"

Su Yuanjing was unwilling to explain clearly, so Song Jiang knew better and did not dare to ask any more questions. He thought that he was a fourth-rank Chengxuanshi, and Yang Changan's promotion from an observation envoy would at most put him on the same level as himself.

Song Jiang was in Hebei to contain the Jin army and had no idea how fierce the fighting in Shanxi was. He thought that Yang Chang was promoted by luck, but he didn't know that he was promoted to Jiedushi based on his own strength.

At noon, Song Jiang ordered Wu Yong to gather dozens of his brothers and hold a banquet in the central army tent to welcome Su Yuanjing.

Song and Lu changed into new official uniforms, surrounded Su Yuanjing in purple robes and sat in the main seat. They then delivered passionate speeches before the banquet began.

A large number of confidants in the front row, such as Hua Rong and Qin Ming, raised their fists and cheered loudly, while the non-direct personnel in the middle and back rows just watched indifferently.

They have become numb to these words.

After working hard for several years and the deaths of so many brothers, in the end only two people were successful, and the rest of the brothers became just supporting roles?

The imperial court just said to replace people and they don't care? Then what are the sacrifices made in the past?
When Song Jiang was giving his speech, he silently watched the expressions of the people in the tent. He could feel the complaints of his brothers, so he asked Su Yuanjing to join in at the end of his speech.

Su Yuanjing glanced at the former heroes, many of whom had lost the heroic spirit they had in Liangshan. He then encouraged them, "I am an old acquaintance of all these heroes. You followed Song Gongming to kill the enemy and make important contributions to the country. The people will not forget you, the court will not forget you, and His Majesty will not forget you. When the nation is in danger and the country is in ruins, a good man should make great achievements."

"well said!"

Ma Kuo came uninvited today and arrived outside the Liangshan army tent. He waited until Su Yuanjing finished his passionate speech before he clapped his hands and walked into the tent to cheer.

"Ma Jiedu?"

"What's wrong with him?"

"Please come in, I thought you were busy with the handover."

Song Jiang hurriedly went out to greet him, and Lu Junyi, Wu Yong and Su Yuanjing, who were sitting at the main seat, also stood up in response.

Ma Kuo smiled and stepped forward, bowed and said, "I originally planned to hold a welcoming banquet in the city, but I didn't expect that General Su would stay in the camp as a guest. So I had no choice but to come here uninvited. I hope Song Chengxuan won't blame me."

"What are you talking about, Ma Jiedu? Please take a seat in the main seat in front."

As soon as Song Jiang finished speaking, Wu Yong tactfully left the main seat and squeezed to the table next to Hua Rong.

Ma Kuo was familiar with everyone in Liangshan. He did not feel restrained after sitting down. Instead, he chatted enthusiastically with Su Yuanjing and asked many questions about the court.

After this little episode, the welcoming banquet returned to normal.

It was rare to have a good meal during wartime, and drinking was strictly prohibited in the army. Today, everyone was finally able to drink to their heart's content. They soon changed from "fighting" against each other at the same table to going around the tables to toast.

During the banquet, Wu Yong, together with Hua Rong, Qin Ming, Dai Zong and others, took the initiative to express their gratitude and welcome to Su Yuanjing, and congratulated Ma Kuo on his promotion to Jiedushi. The rest of Song Jiang's confidants followed suit and lined up to toast at the main table.

After three rounds of drinking, Ma Kuo and Su Yuanjing were both a little tipsy.

The topics at the main table at this time focused on preventing the Jin army from moving south and how the various armies could cooperate in defense.

The four armies (military states) of Guangxin, Ansu, Shun'an and Yongning had no geographical advantage when the Jin army marched south last time, and were either defeated by Olib's army or directly became the guides and surrendered.

After Ma Kuo, Song Jiang and Lu Junyi took office, they needed to rebuild the four armies from scratch. However, Ma Kuo currently had fewer soldiers and generals than Song and Lu, so he expressed his envy after drinking.

"The two of you have many soldiers and generals. When you arrive in Shun'an and Yongning, you must quickly complete the preparations. My Guangxin and Ansu armies still need your help."

"En Xiang has just given instructions. Lu Chengxuan and I will fully cooperate with you and consult Zhan Zhizhi frequently."

"Oh?" Ma Kuo burped, covered his mouth and looked at Su Yuanjing and praised him, "After all, they are Su Taiwei's disciples. If I hadn't gotten their help, I wouldn't have been able to achieve merit and get promoted. They are really a group of loyal ministers and righteous men!"

"Ma Jiedu, you are too kind. This is all their own merit. It has nothing to do with me."

“I can’t do without the teachings of my Lord.”

"correct."

When Song Jiang stood up to salute, Ma glanced at everyone in the tent, and finally his eyes fell on Lu Junyi, and asked: "The Liangshan army used to be a whole, and it will be changed into Shun'an and Yongning armies in the future. Will the soldiers under your command be evenly distributed?"

"Uh"

Although Lu Junyi was nominally a deputy, he still could not be the head of Liangshan. How could he dare to expect to take away half of the troops? So he had no way to answer Ma Kuo.

Seeing this, Song Jiang clasped his fists and explained: "Reporting to Ma Jiedu, the Liangshan army is only effective as a whole. If it is divided, it will be easy to be defeated individually. I have made a preliminary discussion with Lu Chengxuan. The more than 30,000 soldiers and horses under his command can be divided equally, but the generals and officers will mainly stay in Shun'an and be assigned to lead troops as needed during the battle."

"At this time, why are we still using the method of separating the troops? Isn't this move by Song Chengxuan troublesome? Moreover, the Liangshan army is also very strong when separated. Yang Jiedu performed well in Shanxi and successfully blocked the southward advance of Nianhan's army."

"Wait a minute, Yang Jiedu? Hasn't he already..."

Ma Kuo was stunned when he heard this, then he smiled and explained: "The Yang Jiedu I'm talking about is not the deceased Yang Jian, but Yang Chang from your Liangshan. He is now the Jiedushi of Weisheng and Pingbei. Don't you know?"

"Chief Yang?"

Hu Yanzhuo, who was preparing to toast, was even more excited than Song Jiang at the table: "How could he be so worthy of being the military governor of two armies like you? Your two brothers are only the fourth-rank imperial envoys."

"hehe."

Ma Kuo waved his hand and said with a smile: "General Huyan, please stop joking. How can I compare with Yang Jiedu? If we only talk about the merits to the court, Yang Jiedu can be the first in the battle against Jin!"

"how is this possible?"

Hu Yanzhuo's excited speech attracted the attention of the brothers who were drinking in the back to the main table.

"The military capabilities of the Western Marshals, Nianhan, were far superior to those of Wuli. Yang Jiedu stopped him in Shanxi, so that the two armies of Jin could not form a joint force. Otherwise, the war would not have ended so quickly."

Yang Chang's rapid promotion not only made Song Jiang, Wu Yong and others uncomfortable, but also made brothers like Hu Yanzhuo, who had a grudge against him, feel dissatisfied.

Hu Yanzhuo listened to Ma Kuo's words, thinking of the mountain passes in Shanxi, and gently bowed his hands in response: "Qinzhou is surrounded by mountains on three sides. If we can carefully build defenses, it will be no problem to stop the Jin cavalry. Yang Chang should have taken advantage of the terrain. By the way, Qinzhou was formerly known as the Weisheng Army. I wonder where the Pingbei Army is?"

"Pingbei Army is Pingyang Prefecture, alas"

Ma Kuo shook his head and sighed, thinking how could Hu Yanzhuo, a descendant of a general, be so narrow-minded? He didn't know that the two of them didn't get along.

"Pingyang Prefecture? That's a big province."

"Yang Chang was previously in charge of Pingyang. Could it be that the court deliberately let him take charge of this state because of a shortage of personnel?"

"If he holds the position concurrently, how can he be called Jiedushi?"

Song Jiang stood up to stop the discussion, and bowed to Su Yuanjing with a smile, asking: "En Xiang, do you know the details?"

"I don't know. Let's go back to Hebei."

Su Yuanjing was familiar with Wen Huanzhang, so how could he not know that Pingyang Prefecture was renamed Pingbei Army? He was just cooperating with Song Jiang to break the siege.

But Ma Kuo was drunk at the time and did not notice that Su Yuanjing intended to change the subject, so he interrupted and explained.

"Yang Chang defended Qinzhou by relying on the geographical advantage, but he sent more than 10,000 soldiers to rescue Pingyang and wiped out Yin Shuke's 30,000 Jin soldiers. That was a real tough battle. Who among you can do it? Didn't our troops in Hebei win by relying on numbers? The biggest victory was only beheading 2,000 to 3,000 people. How can we compare our achievements with his?"

"hiss"

"That is to say."

There was whispering again in the tent, and Song Jiang had to stand up and look.

He seriously suspected that Ma Kuo came uninvited, perhaps Lu Junyi did it on purpose.

The puppet I trained also wants to take my brother away?
I thought Ma Kuo would stop talking after he finished praising, but I didn't expect him to keep talking when he mentioned Yang Chang.

"I remember that Yang Chang, he is only 26 or 27 years old this year, but he has already been appointed as the governor of two towns, which is rare since the founding of the Song Dynasty."

"Ma Jiedu is in his prime, and he is actually the Jiedushi of two towns. Why do you belittle yourself?"

Song Jiang was afraid that if Ma Kuo continued talking, his position as the Minister of Public Security would seem insignificant, so he offered Ma Kuo the cup and urged him to drink, attempting to change the subject and get him drunk.

However, Ma Kuo did not take it seriously and immediately waved his hand in response, saying, "Guangxin and Ansu combined are not as big as Qinzhou, not to mention the big state of Pingyang. How can the governors of these two towns be compared with Yang Chang? Moreover, he has been awarded the title of Junior Guardian and his promotion to Grand Commandant is just around the corner."

"hehe."

"So, it's not that Ma is belittling himself, it's that you guys shouldn't belittle yourselves. It's OK for the Liangshan Army to separate."

"Yes, yes, I will follow Ma Jiedu's instructions."

While Song Jiang agreed with Ma Kuo, he glanced at Lu Junyi on his left with the corner of his eye, thinking that you kid usually pretends to be very convincing, but now you finally show your fangs.

Don't you just want to split up the family? I'll help you if you come down.

Because Ma Kuo spoke without restraint after drinking, Song Jiang's "heart-recovering banquet" turned into a "heart-breaking banquet".

After the show, Su Yuanjing was invited by Ma Kuo to enter the city.

Song Jiang called Wu Yong to his bedroom, but he just frowned and tapped the table without saying a word.

Wu Yong leaned forward to comfort him, saying, "Brother, don't worry. I once said that a sharp sword is easy to break. Yang Chang is 27 years old and wears a purple robe. With his self-willed personality, I have just determined that he will offend the nobles and his future fate may not be good. Brother, you have become the Chengxuanshi by taking one step at a time."

"Military advisor, there is no need to persuade me. Prime Minister En has already explained it to me. I no longer want to compete with Yang Chang, but don't you think it's a little strange that Ma Kuo came here today?"

"Strange? Why?"

"Military Advisor, didn't you hear the hidden meaning?"

Song Jiang looked up at Wu Yong and thought, where are all the clever tricks you had when you were in Liangshan? You didn't perform well against Fang La and the Jin people, and now you don't even understand what I say?
Wu Yong was frightened by Song Jiang's stare. He thought carefully about what Ma Kuo said today and suddenly realized what Song Jiang was thinking. He murmured, "Brother, do you think Ma Kuo was invited here on purpose?"

"Hehe, during our time in Zhending, Mr. Lu had a lot of contact with him, and it seems that this guy has finally come to his senses."

"Then my brother is ready"

"Doesn't he want to split up the family? I will take advantage of the fact that Prime Minister En is in Zhending and generously give him all the people. I asked you to come here to discuss the list of names."

As soon as Song Jiang finished speaking, a fierce look flashed in his eyes.

It was clearly the end of spring and the beginning of summer, but Wu Yong suddenly shuddered and asked, "Brother, how are you going to divide it?"

"Deuce!"

"Ah, that's not necessary."

"I have made up my mind. Many people are not interested in this. It is better to separate them. If Lu Junyi cannot stay, it will not be my fault. I will let him feel the taste of betrayal."

Seeing that Song Jiang had made up his mind, Wu Yong took out a pen and paper to write down the names of the leaders, and then discussed and assigned them one by one, and then copied them into a formal list.

At this time, only 108 of the 62 leaders of the Liangshan army were left. Song Jiang and Lu Junyi divided them equally, with each taking 30 leaders.

(死亡6人：李逵、张青、孙二娘、周通、鲍旭、李立；征田虎留沁州7人：杨长、林冲、朱仝、鲁智深、武松、扈三娘、曹正；征方腊前离队11人：公孙胜、阮氏三雄、刘唐、萧让、安道全、皇甫端、金大坚、乐和、时迁；征方腊后离队5人：韩滔、宣赞、李俊、童威、童猛；征方腊阵亡16人：穆弘、雷横、张横、彭玘、郝思文、郑天寿、邓飞、施恩、孔亮、丁得孙、邹渊、薛永、石勇、宋万、焦挺、王定六；驻守真定时离队1人：史进)
After the two of them discussed it overnight, they initially decided on a list of people to split up.

Wu Yong, Guan Sheng, Qin Ming, Hu Yanzhuo, Hua Rong, Dong Ping, Zhang Qing, Yang Zhi, Xu Ning, Suo Chao, Dai Zong, Zhang Shun, Jie Zhen, Jie Bao, Yang Xiong, Shi Xiu, Huang Xin, Pei Xuan, Yan Shun, Fan Rui, Xiang Chong, Li Gun, Kong Ming, Lü Fang, Guo Sheng, Song Qing, Tang Long, Gong Wang, Shan Tinggui, and Wei Dingguo, a total of 30 leaders, were assigned to Song Jiang's Shun'an Army.

Chai Jin, Li Ying, Yan Qing, Zhu Wu, Sun Li, Yang Chun, Chen Da, Yang Lin, Ling Zhen, Ou Peng, Jiang Jing, Ma Lin, Tao Zongwang, Mu Chun, Hou Jian, Meng Kang, Li Zhong, Zou Run, Du Xing, Zhu Gui, Zhu Fu, Cai Fu, Cai Qing, Li Yun, Du Qian, Sun Xin, Gu Dasao, Yu Baosi, Bai Sheng, Duan Jingzhu, a total of 30 leaders, were assigned to Lu Junyi's Yongning Army.

Song Jiang's true intentions were revealed at this time. He left behind all his trusted aides and brave generals, and only kept three people for Lu Junyi. However, he said in front of Su Yuanjing that they would be distributed equally.

Su Yuanjing stayed in Zhending for two days and then set off back to Tokyo to report.

Song Jiang waited until Ma Kuo led his troops to leave before handing the list to Lu Junyi, and said solemnly: "Song never breaks his word. Lu Chengxuan can select the names on the list and bring them to Yongning Army for service. Don't let down the efforts of Prime Minister En and Ma Jiedu."

"so many people?"

Lu Junyi was shocked when he saw the list.

Although most of them were Disha members, the number was far beyond his expectations. He originally thought that he could take away about ten people, but he didn't expect Song Jiang to generously give him thirty people.

"Excluding you and me, there are only sixty people left in the army. Since we agreed to distribute them equally, each person will naturally get thirty. Does Lu Chengxuan have any objection?"

"what?"

Seeing Song Jiang frowning and looking cold, the allocation was far beyond Lu Junyi's expectations. How could he have any objections at this time? He hurriedly waved his hands and said, "No, no."

In this way, after Liangshan accepted the amnesty, the court appointed three vanguards, the chief and the deputy, and the leader was finally divided into three.

After receiving the imperial edict, Zhong Shizhong sent people to Zhending in advance to take over the defense. Song and Lu quickly completed the handover and took their divided teams to their respective new garrisons.

Song Jiang was certain that Lu Junyi could not hold on to the thirty men because some of them from Shaohua Mountain and Dengzhou had already intended to leave.

He sent Dai Zong to Yongning Army from time to time, ostensibly for communication between brothers, but actually to inquire about the situation of the leaders who had been assigned to him.

In mid-April, on the third day after Lu Junyi arrived in Yongning, the first person under his command to leave the team appeared.

When Song Jiang heard the news, he was even more excited than on his wedding night.

He pulled Dai Zong and said cheerfully, "Let me guess first, is it Zhu Wu, Chen Da, Yang Chun? Or is it Sun Li, Sun Xin, Gu Dasao, Zou Run?"

"neither."

"Neither? Then who could it be?"

"The Prodigal Yanqing!"

(End of this chapter)