Chapter 9 Collective Visits to Higher Authorities

  (Thanks for Meng Xiaochu's vote)

  "What? The imperial court wants us to postpone our withdrawal voluntarily?" All the generals were stunned upon hearing this.

  They all looked incredulous, thinking that even Li Ruoxu couldn't come up with a plan, how could Yue Yun, who was only 22 years old, think of a clever strategy?

  It seems that previously, Yue Xiao Ge was only good at charging forward on the battlefield, a brave but brainless general. Even if he showed some eloquence in the past few days, it's not like he would also have the talent of a military strategist.

  "Yun'er, what plan do you have for the imperial court to issue an order to delay the withdrawal of troops?" Yue Fei asked calmly.

  "General Father, what do you plan to report to the imperial court for the resettlement of these hundreds of thousands of people after they are withdrawn?" Yue Yun asked Yue Fei instead of revealing his own strategy.

  "This... " Yue Fei's eyebrows furrowed at once, and this question really put him in a difficult position.

  He had also discussed this issue with Li Ruoxu before. Li Ruoxu had suggested that the people could be temporarily dispersed and settled in the Jingchu area. However, the cost of resettlement and food had not yet been finalized, so a specific resettlement plan had not been formally determined.

  Yue Yun said at this time: "The father-in-law is in charge of the Hubei and Jingxi Road Xuanfu Envoy, and our Yuejiajun's garrison is also in Ezhou. However, the land of Jingchu has not been affected by the war fire, the population is dense, and all the fields have owners, unlike the Central Plains and Jianghuai areas, where the original residents have fled due to years of war, and the fields are deserted. As long as we build simple sheds for the people and let them settle down, they can be settled. If we withdraw the people back to the Jingchu area, even if we disperse and settle them, we will not be able to take out many ownerless fields for the people to cultivate. Moreover, after these hundreds of thousands of people flooded into our military camp, their food, clothing, housing, and transportation costs are unknown, I'm afraid it's impossible for us to solve this problem alone."

  Yue Fei nodded slightly after hearing this. The main reason why his previous northern expeditions had failed was that the army lacked food, making it impossible to advance further. In recent years, he had strengthened the tuntian system in the Jingchu region, which had alleviated the tense food situation and allowed him to support his troops as far as Zhuxiantown. If tens of thousands of civilians were to flood in, they would inevitably drag down the Yue family army's stored grain, making it a problem for the troops to even get enough to eat, let alone continue the northern expedition.

  Although Yue Yun mentioned earlier, the Jianghuai area was devastated by continuous wars and had a large amount of unowned land to resettle the southern refugees, but that was Zhang Jun's defense zone. His relationship with Zhang Jun was extremely poor, and it was almost impossible to persuade him. Moreover, according to Zhang Jun's personality, he would absolutely not agree to take on this burden without any benefits.

  Yue Fei couldn't help but ponder for a moment, then exchanged a glance with Li Ruoxu, and smiled slightly, asking: "Yun'er, what do you think we should do now?"

  He actually had a plan in mind, he was just surprised that his eldest son, who only knew how to charge forward, could suddenly strategize.

  Yue Yun smiled slyly and said, "General Father, in my opinion, after the one-month deadline, we must start withdrawing our troops no matter what. This way, we can show the imperial court that the rear guard of the expedition is obedient to the orders of the officials and the Imperial Secretariat, and will not disobey military orders! We can avoid some treacherous people using this as an excuse to maliciously slander our army for not listening to orders and taking unauthorized actions..."

  Then he continued, "However, although our army follows military orders and withdraws from the Central Plains to the Jingzhou area. But withdrawing troops still needs time, it's not possible to withdraw today and have hundreds of thousands of troops withdrawn to Ezhou tomorrow! Moreover, at present, Song and Jin are still in a state of war. Under the tiger-like gaze of the Jin army, even if our army withdraws, we can only retreat in batches and leave behind a rear guard... Hehe, the first batch of troops we arrange to withdraw are naturally those who are sick, injured, and some older and weaker soldiers..."

  "Moreover, the matter of relocating the civilians must ultimately be reported to the imperial court for resolution! However, if we report it ourselves, the officials and high-ranking ministers in the capital might think that we are exaggerating and trying to defy military orders, using the civilians as leverage to coerce the imperial court and gain power. Therefore, my intention is to let the civilians themselves go to Lin'an to petition, which would be better!" Yue Yun explained.

  "Petitioning?" Upon hearing this word, not only did Yue Fei pause, but also Li Ruoxu was taken aback.

  "Uh-huh!" Yue Yun then explained to them in a way they could understand what "petitioning higher authorities" was all about. He knew very well that the leaders of his previous life were most afraid of the common people petitioning, and the larger the scale of the petition, the more headache it would cause.

  "Yingxiang, your approach is indeed much better than our own petition, and it also allows the officials to understand the suffering of the people and comprehend our difficulties. It's a strategy that kills two birds with one stone. The only question is, who would be the most suitable person to go on this visit? I think it's unlikely that we can let all these commoners go."

  Li Ruoxu was a consultant of the Yue Family Army and also a scholar, with the fastest reaction. He naturally saw at once that the "petition" proposed by Yue Yun would make it difficult for the court to handle.

  Yue Yun smiled slightly and said, "The number of people visiting the capital, in my opinion, should be around 200-300. If there are too few people, it will have little impact and not enough momentum to create a sensation; if there are too many people, it will be a big problem for accommodation and food along the way, and it will also be inconvenient to take action. Of course, these 200-300 people must be carefully selected, it's impossible to just find some illiterate peasants! I suggest finding more influential scholars and merchants, so that when they meet with officials and high-ranking ministers, they can speak eloquently and clearly explain the current situation here."

  Yue Fei and Zhang Xian nodded in agreement. They also knew it was impossible to call on farmers who only knew how to farm or artisans to negotiate with the imperial court. The Song Dynasty valued literature over martial arts, so having scholars represent them at court was most appropriate.

  However, Li Ruoxu was somewhat puzzled in his heart and asked: "Young Master, it's naturally feasible to let Wenren go to Lin'an first, but why do you still want to find some merchants to follow him?"

  Yue Yun was taken aback at first, but soon understood. In ancient times, the status of merchants was the lowest, among the four major industries of scholars, farmers, workers and merchants, merchants were ranked last, even in the Song Dynasty, which attached great importance to business trade. That's why Li Ruoxu asked this question.

  However, as a traverser, Yue Yun was well aware of the importance of commerce and understood the value of merchants. The reason he wanted to let the merchants go together to pay homage was due to a very realistic factor.

  At this time, Yue Yunfang smiled and said: "Li Junshi, there are hundreds of representatives who come to visit. The fastest way for them to arrive in Lin'an is to head south, arrive at Ezhou, then take a boat along the Yangtze River to reach Jiankang, passing through Changzhou and Suzhou before arriving in Lin'an. I also know that scholars generally view money as dirt and are unwilling to interact with merchants too much, but on the road, everyone still needs to spend money on boats, food, and lodging. This money should naturally be paid by those merchants."

  "Oh, that's right! Merchants have always been profit-driven, this time they want to delay the withdrawal of troops, they should also pay more money!" Li Ruoxu nodded in agreement.

  Yue Yun smiled and remained silent, but in fact he had another reason that he didn't mention, which was: how could the imperial court issue an order to withdraw without first greasing the palms of the high-ranking officials in the imperial court, not to mention the eunuchs and palace ladies? It's just that this reason wasn't convenient to bring up at this meeting.

  Yue Fei asked again: "Yun'er, this plan of yours is indeed feasible, but among the hundreds of people who will be visiting the capital, there must be a leader. Do you have someone in mind?"

  Yue Yun had been waiting for Yue Fei to ask this question. After hearing it, he immediately paid his respects and said: "General Father, I have already thought of a suitable candidate in my heart. He is Wang Tong, the private school teacher from Zhu Xian Town. This person is a famous scholar, although young in age, but with a lively mind, quick reaction, familiar with local conditions, and decent in speech and behavior, fully capable of taking on the important task of organizing the petition team!"

  "Oh? Wang Tong? This person's name is unknown, can he really take on such a heavy responsibility?" Yue Fei asked with some doubt.

  He originally thought that sending an older, steady and reputable scholar with a good reputation would be best. Unexpectedly, Yue Yun recommended a young private school teacher who was unknown to the world, and only had the title of "Xiucai". He was somewhat uneasy in his heart.

  "Yes!" Yue Yun smiled slightly and said, "To be honest with you, General, it was a few days ago that I persuaded Cao Gong to agree to our army's delayed withdrawal for a month. It was Wang Tong and the child who went together to persuade him. Although this person is young, his eloquence and adaptability are quite formidable. He is more suitable than those older and more famous people who follow established rules!"

  Actually, it was basically Yuen Wan who convinced Cao Gonggong, but he had to put the credit on Wong To's head at this time to show off his ability.

  Yue Yun had thought of letting other scholars go, but he couldn't be sure if others would follow his plan to visit. After all, some of his plans were not suitable for public discussion, and certain actions might make those conservative scholars think they were absurd or unconventional. Wang Tong was a young man, and young people are more open to new things than middle-aged and older people. Moreover, Wang Tong was grateful to him and had agreed to be his advisor. Yue Yun had much more confidence in Wang Tong's ability to carry out his plans.

  Yue Fei glanced at Li Ruoxu and saw that he also nodded slightly, then smiled and said: "Yun'er, I originally intended to ask the local scholar Zhang Zeduan, as he is a literary man and was a Hanlin scholar during the Xuanhe period. However, he excels in painting but not in speaking. Since you have a better candidate, let's leave the matter of visiting the emperor to Wang Tong instead! But before they set off, do you think it's necessary to ask Lord Cao to make another plea for the people?"

  "It's unnecessary!" Yu Yun's eyes widened slightly as she directly refused.

  "Oh? Why is that?" Yue Fei asked in surprise.

  Yue Yun sighed and thought to himself: It seems that this old father is still too lacking in political experience.

  He patiently explained at this time: "After we explain this matter to Duke Cao, whether Duke Cao is willing to report it for us or not is still unknown. Moreover, even if Duke Cao agrees to report it, the officials will think that the people's visit is our idea, and the effect of their visit will be greatly discounted. But if the people go on their own initiative, the court's view will be very different. And if our army stays out of this matter, whether it succeeds or fails, the court will not blame us for it. Therefore, I still ask my father and all the generals to keep this matter confidential and not reveal it to the outside world."

  Having said that, Yue Yun bowed his head and saluted all the military leaders of the Yue family present.

  Yue Fei sank into thought for a moment, then nodded slowly and said: "Alright! Then let's follow your words! Yun'er, this matter is now fully entrusted to Wang Tong. I hope he can really do as you say and bring good fortune to the hundreds of thousands of people who are about to retreat south!"