Chapter 1559: Liangshan Split
Beihai County
"Reporting to the prefect, the spies lurking in Liangshan risked their lives to summon him. Song Jiang was persuaded by Wang Mang to defect to the princes of Hebei."
The big spy said this, and Li Jing couldn't help but frown.
Before Wang Mang arrived at Liangshan, Li Jing had a bad premonition, so he quickly sent a written message to Song Jiang, asking him not to listen to Wang Mang's temptation and to directly send Wang Mang's head to him.
At that time, Song Jiang was still firmly on the side of Qin because of the alliance, so he vowed to Li Jing that as long as Wang Mang came to Liangshan, he would cut off his head and send it to Li Jing.
But after Wang Mangzhen passed away, Song Jiang changed his tone and said that the two countries would not fight without fighting, so as to prevaricate Li Jing.
At that time, Li Jing felt that Song Jiang's position must be shaken, but as expected, it didn't take long for Song Jiang to be persuaded by Wang Mang, tore up the alliance with Qin, and decisively defected to the arms of the princes of Hebei.
"Song Jiang, a wallflower, is indeed unreliable."
Li Jing said in a deep voice, anger flashed in his eyes, and he had already sentenced Song Jiang to death in his heart.
The Qin-Liang alliance has lasted for more than 20 years, and even Li Jing began to regard Song Jiang as one of his own. However, Song Jiang just wrote a bad check for some Wang Mang, and resolutely betrayed the alliance that was finally maintained. This made Li Jing How can I not be angry.
"Your Excellency, there is no need to get angry over this. Liangshan is a bunch of villains who are ungrateful and ungrateful. Song Jiang is even more ungrateful."
Ran Min had always looked down on the Liangshan army who had a background of bandits. When he heard that Liangshan rebelled against the alliance, he was not only not angry but overjoyed. He stood up and clasped his fists and asked for orders: "General, please lead the army to conquer Liangshan. We only need 20,000 troops. I will cut off Song Jiang's head and sacrifice it to him." Under the prefect's account, let the Liangshan bandits know the price of betraying our army."
"Now is not the time for temporary anger."
Li Jing didn't even think about it, so he shook his head and refused: "The war in Hebei affects the whole body. Song Jiang's 40,000 Liangshan bandit army, and even our Northern Navy, are not worth mentioning to the overall situation of Hebei.
If we send troops rashly at this time, it is likely to trigger a chain reaction, which will be beyond our control. "
"Then Song Jiang's betrayal of the covenant, can't we just let it go?" Ran Min retorted unwillingly.
"Of course we can't just let it go. If Song Jiang is not taught a painful lesson, I will not be able to swallow this breath."
A cold light flashed in Li Jing's eyes, and he said calmly: "Liangshan is not the Liangshan of Song Jiang alone. There are many leaders in the Liangshan army who are interested in our army. Just because Song Jiang is leading this rebellion does not mean that they can accept it."
As he said that, Li Jing raised the corners of his mouth slightly and sneered: "Whoever comes, please contact Chao Gai, Shi Jin, and Yan Qing immediately. Whoever can kill Song Jiang will be the new Marquis of Liang."
"promise."
After the secret agent left, Tai Shici stood up and said in a deep voice: "Prefect, Song Jiang is the strongest in his hands, and he is assisted by Wu Yong, a wise man. Even if these people join forces, they probably can't shake Song Jiang's position."
"It will be great if it succeeds, but if it fails, it will definitely lead to internal strife in Liangshan, which will severely damage the vitality. This will be used to retaliate against Song Jiang's betrayal of the alliance."
Hearing what Li Jing said, Taishi Ci rolled his eyes and said, "Prefect, since civil strife is imminent in Liangshan, we can send a force of troops and take advantage of this opportunity to capture Liangshan in one fell swoop."
"no."
Li Jing shook his head. Seeing that all the generals looked puzzled, he immediately explained: "Zhu Tianpeng will not sit back and watch our army take Liangshan. Once our army wants to take action, it will definitely attract the Qi army to invade. Once the Qingzhou War starts, we will not have the final say on when it will end."
"Then don't end it. Our army might as well kill Liangshan first, then destroy Qi, and directly unify Qingzhou. Wouldn't it be better to attack Jizhou from both sides with the governor?" Ran Min asked in confusion.
"If only it were that simple."
Li Jing shook his head again and said: "With the power of our Northern Navy alone, we are simply unable to unify Qingzhou. Once the unification war begins, it will be great if it goes well, but if it does not go well, all these years of arrangements will be in vain.
Don’t forget, our mission is to start the war in Hebei and secure the North Sea to block Qi’s way north. As long as Qi is not allowed to intervene in the battle of Hebei, even if the princes of Hebei join forces, they will be annihilated by our army sooner or later. "
Li Jing's choice was the safest method. After all, there was a safe method, so why should he take the risk?
Ran Min obviously didn't want to seek stability. After all, in such a large formation with millions of troops, if they only wanted stability, he would definitely not be able to gain great success.
Ran Min wanted to take the risk, but Li Jing, the commander-in-chief, refused to agree. Naturally, he, the deputy-general, had no other options and could only sigh helplessly.
On the other side, Song Jiang never expected that the Qin army's revenge would come so quickly after he betrayed the alliance, and it was not the Qin army who took action, but his own people who betrayed him.
Song Jiang announced the end of the alliance with the Qin army and instead joined the anti-Qin alliance, which immediately caused an uproar among the Liangshan army.
The Liangshan Army and the Qin Army have been in alliance for more than two years and have conducted many joint operations together. They have fought against Yuan Shao and Zhu Tianpeng, and the generals have also formed a friendship in private.
To be honest, Qin Hao promised a lot of benefits in order to win over Liangshan. Most people in Liangshan thought that they were already members of the Luoyang court. However, Song Jiang unilaterally announced that he was tearing up the alliance, and the former comrades suddenly became enemies. This Naturally, it was difficult for everyone in Liangshan Army to accept this.
Regarding the reason why he tore up the alliance, Song Jiang certainly couldn't say that it was because of the throne. As a result, the entire Liangshan was in a whirlpool. If this was the case, how would his subordinates view him?
Therefore, Song Jiang can only explain that no party can be allowed to grow bigger, and whoever is in a weak position can be helped. Only when Qingzhou is in a balance can Liangshan continue to benefit.
Although Song Jiang's explanation deceived the lower-level soldiers, it could not deceive the high-level generals because it was not what Song Jiang should say at all.
Didn't Song Jiang once cry and beg, wanting the court to recruit him? Now that we have finally established trust with the orthodox court, why do we want to separate the kingdom now?
Chao Gai and other generals who wanted to be recruited tried to persuade Song Jiang not to betray the alliance. The two sides had a big argument, but they still failed to persuade Song Jiang, who had lost his mind.
Chao Gai saw that Song Jiang was determined to go his own way, and Li Jing sent another message, so Chao Gai resolutely decided to launch a coup to overthrow Song Jiang and let Liangshan continue to tighten the footsteps of the Qin army.
Song Jiang knew that many people in the army were loyal to the Qin army, but he did not expect that these people would waste their years of brotherhood and launch a rebellion so decisively.
After Wu Yong's reminder, Song Jiang did not go to the Hongmen Banquet set by Chao Gai, so Chao Gai had to unite with other generals to forcefully launch a coup, but Song Jiang had more supporters.
The Liangshan split began.
