Faced with such a critical situation, Wanyan Benjian, despite all his reluctance, found that he had no way out.
If he didn't take the blame, his life would probably be over.
He was filled with grief and anger, but he could not show any emotion on his face, because Wan Yanliang's eyes were staring at him, observing him.
After a moment of silence, Wanyan Benjian saluted expressionlessly.
"It is my duty, my duty, and my honor to be able to share your Majesty's worries!"
He admitted it.
Responsibilities.
Duty.
pleasure.
These are three words condensed from all the life wisdom accumulated by Wanyan Benjian for decades.
Sure enough, Wanyan Liang was happy in her heart and beaming with joy. She stepped forward and held Wanyan Benjian's hand with both hands.
"The old general is loyal and loyal, I remember that."
Wanyan Benjian showed a smile, but the slight twitching of the corners of his eyes was enough to show his inner unrest.
But Xu Lin, who harmed others without benefiting himself, hadn't finished speaking yet.
"With the people driven out in front, will the bandits in Hejian City attack or not attack? If they don't attack, they will just watch the Hejian City being captured. Attacking will greatly hurt the people's hearts. Even if they can resist for a while, they will inevitably end up with them. The people of Hebei are disloyal.
The bandits took the name of the Liberation Army and claimed to expel the Huru and regain China. They treated the Jurchens as enemies everywhere and treated the Han people well. Now, they want to kill the Han people to defend the city. How should they deal with it? Will anyone follow them in rebellion in the future? "
Xu Lin said with a wise expression on his face: "Therefore, I conclude that the rebel army will inevitably advance and retreat and lose ground, and I don't know how to deal with it. Our army can take this opportunity to press forward with a large army, and the Hejian City will definitely fall in one blow!
If this move is successful, it can be used repeatedly to drive the Han people forward to clear the way for the army. If the bandit army is overwhelmed and unable to fight, it is only a matter of time to recover Hebei and Shandong. Your Majesty's reorganization of the mountains and rivers will be just around the corner. "
"good!"
Wan Yanliang was very satisfied with this and repeatedly praised Xu Lin as an important minister of the country and praised Xu Lin lavishly.
Then, he immediately ordered to go down.
First, he claimed to be ill and said that he occasionally caught wind and cold and needed to rest and could not handle military affairs. Wanyan Benjian and Xu Lin were asked to take charge of military affairs together. All military affairs could be effective as long as they signed jointly.
Immediately afterwards, the two of them jointly signed an order, ordering the army to act according to Xu Lin's plan, and to attack the rural fortresses in an effort to capture more people.
Then Wan Yanliang happily entertained Xu Lin and the generals for dinner until midnight.
On the way back, Xu Lin and Wanyan Ben met at a fork.
"Director Xu, you are so resourceful. You put me in a dilemma and I have to work with you to handle this matter."
Seeing that Wanyan Ben couldn't hold back his anger, he took the initiative to talk to him and scold him.
Xu Lin didn't take it seriously at all, with a smile on his face.
"Why did the Grand Governor say this? What is a good means? I'm just sharing your worries for you. Why does the Grand Governor look so angry?"
"To share your worries for you? You don't even have to bear the infamy to involve me. What are your thoughts? Are you really sharing your worries for me? Isn't it?"
Wanyan Ben saw Xu Lin gnashing his teeth and hating Xu Lin.
Xu Lin didn't care about Wanyan Benjian's hatred.
"Share the worries for you. Why don't the governors believe it? The governors and generals were unable to conquer Hejian City. Instead, they lost their troops and generals, making your majesty worried and troubled. As your majesty's minister, am I wrong to make suggestions for your majesty? Your majesty is in such a difficult situation. As your Majesty's minister, I help your Majesty solve your problems. Isn't this the duty of a minister?"
Xu Lin's great truth made Wanyan Ben speechless for a moment.
"The Governor hates me, and there's nothing I can do about it."
Xu Lin sighed and said with a look of helplessness: "But you really can't blame me for this kind of thing. If the Grand Governor used his troops like a god and easily captured Hejian City, why would I make such a move? Grand Governor, what do you think?"
Regarding Xu Lin's naked ridicule, Wanyan Benjian felt both hatred and helplessness. After thinking about it, he could only sigh.
"Xu Lin, you won. There is nothing I can do about it, but you have to remember that God is watching what people do. According to you Han people, your actions harm the heaven and earth. Aren't you afraid of retribution?"
"retribution?"
Xu Lin laughed for a while as if he had heard some very funny joke, and his smile was so full that it was baffling.
"Why are you laughing? Is what I said funny?"
Xu Lin stopped laughing and looked at Wanyan Benjian.
"Grand Governor, retribution is the so-called suffering, family destruction and death, right? Suffering and suffering, I suffered a lot before I became an official, and I also suffered a lot when I was in a low official position. I have not never encountered the danger of family destruction and death.
Those high-ranking officials and dignitaries want and want from low-level officials like me. They don't care about us at all. They treat us as pawns and play with them at will, just to gain power for themselves.
At that time, I had never done anything harmful to the world, so why did I have to suffer and have my family destroyed? Why should we suffer retribution? What did i do wrong? Whose retribution will befall me? I can't figure it out! Can the Grand Governor clarify my doubts? "
Seeing Xu Lin's sarcastic face, Wanyan Benjian was once again speechless.
He couldn't understand the stubborn ills of the Jin Kingdom's officialdom, and he definitely couldn't understand what Xu Lin was going through.
"this……"
"I don't believe in harm, nor do I believe in retribution. I only believe in power. Power can make me enjoy glory and wealth, and make me laugh! So whoever can give me power, I will share their worries. , no matter what method you use!"
Xu Lin stared at Wanyan Benjian and suddenly said angrily: "Grand Governor, my surname is not Wanyan, and I am not a Jurchen. It was very difficult for me to climb to this position. Do you know how difficult it is?!"
Wanyan Ben saw the corners of his eyes twitching and was speechless.
After a while, Xu Lin sneered and walked straight past Wanyan towards his military tent.
Wanyan Benjian turned around and looked at Xu Lin's leaving figure. The anger in his heart fell instead of rising. After a while, he felt weak all over. He sighed and felt withdrawn in his heart.
He is getting old and doesn't want to continue fighting, and he can't fight anymore.
After this battle, it was almost time for me to let go of everything and return to my true nature...well, if this battle could be won.
In the next few days, the Jin army acted in accordance with the orders jointly issued by Wanyan Benjian and Xu Lin. Apart from surrounding Hejian City and standing ready, they did not launch another attack.
The generals led their armies to attack the many rural docks discovered by the rangers.
Rural forts, large and small, were swiftly and violently attacked by the Jin army. Faced with the attacks of a large number of crossbows and trebuchets, the guards in the forts lacked relevant countermeasures.
Su Yonglin allocated a lot of personal equipment to them, but military equipment and the like are mainly used by major cities, leaving very little for each fort, and each fort also has its own weapons reserve, so for this He didn't take it seriously either.
Until this time, they did not know what the gap between the regular army and amateur armed groups was.
It couldn't be easier to understand.
Huge flying rocks are constantly destroying the defense facilities of Wubao. Once the supporting defense facilities are defeated, all that is left is the defense line piled up with human lives.
However, at this time, once Wubao is breached, there will be no suspense in the subsequent battle.
Some responsible and courageous powerful people will choose to lead the strong men at the front line to buy time for the old, weak, women and children to retreat.
And some powerful men who have no sense of responsibility and a strong desire to survive will choose to run away with their cronies and leave everything left to the Jin Army.
But whether it was the powerful squire who decided to attack on his own or the powerful squire who decided to escape on his own, they were quite powerless against the superior cavalry of the Jin Army.
Once the fort is lost and the formation is lost, the infantry will be a lamb to the slaughter when facing the cavalry, unable to compete with it.
Therefore, the guarding troops of the powerful gentry were constantly defeated and killed under the attacks of the Jin soldiers, resulting in heavy losses.
But this is also their choice.
Su Yonglin asked them if they wanted to enter the city, or simply go south to Shandong to escape together. Some local forces accepted Su Yonglin's suggestion, or enter the city together, or simply go south.
Others said no, they wanted to stick to their own land and believed they could weather the storm.
However, things in the world will never be so in line with people's wishes.
As a result, they, along with their families and farmers, suffered a devastating disaster.
