Eastern Jin Dynasty: My powerful father

Chapter 419: Battle in Hedong (Part )

Under normal circumstances, strategies are unlikely to play a decisive role.

As the saying goes, while chatting and laughing, the masts, oars, and sails can be reduced to ashes. The key does not lie in oneself, but in the opponent's stupidity.

For example, Cao Cao in the Battle of Chibi, Fu Jian in the Battle of Feishui, and Gao Huan in the Battle of Shayuan, these people all thought they had a sure victory and lost the most basic judgment, thus giving Zhou Yu, Xie Xuan, Yuwen Tai and others opportunities.

At this time, the State of Yu was in trouble, and Fu Jian was not the emperor of the Former Qin Dynasty in the original time and space who was so arrogant that he thought he could stop the flow of the river with a single whip when he led a million troops to the south to attack the Eastern Jin Dynasty.

Fu Jian still had a smart mind and was willing to listen to the advice of his generals. Even if he did not discover Huan Xi's scheme, there would be people who would find out the loopholes for him.

Therefore, when Huan Xi went north this time, he did not think of taking shortcuts, but instead wanted to fight Fu Jian with a grand battle.

Knowing that the Liang army was marching towards Wenxi County, not only Fu Jian was worried, but even the soldiers of the Yu army under his command were all worried.

The truth is that over the years, the State of Yu has never gained any advantage in the battles with the State of Liang.

Fu Xiong, Fu Jian, Fu Jian, and Li Wei all suffered defeats in battles with the Liang army. Repeated defeats almost left a psychological mark on them.

As for the allies, the Yan army had just experienced a change of generals and its situation was not much better, which undoubtedly aggravated the pessimism of the Yu army.

Especially when they knew that the commander of the Liang army in this battle was Huan Xi, and Xie Ai was also among the generals who followed the expedition, the soldiers under Fu Jian became even more frustrated.

In comparison, the Liang army was in high spirits, and the mental outlook of the two sides was simply not on the same level.

When Huan Xi arrived in Wenxi County and the war was about to break out, Lu Polou found Fu Jian again.

"Your Majesty, the morale of the army is low right now. If we leave it alone, we may suffer a disadvantage in the battle!"

Lu Polou reminded.

Fu Jian knew the reason clearly, but boosting morale was easier said than done.

"Guangping (Lü Polou's name) has any solution?"

Fu Jian was not ashamed to ask questions from his inferiors.

Of course, Lu Polou came to see Fu Jian with some ideas.

"I have something to say, and I dare to present it to you, Your Majesty."

Fu Jian was overjoyed when he heard this and hurriedly urged:

"I love you, but it doesn't matter."

Lu Polou took a deep breath and said:
"I beg your Majesty to make a promise in public that after defeating the enemy, the soldiers will be allowed to plunder privately, and once a city is captured, they will not have to put down their swords for three days!"

If you can't achieve a small victory, there are not many ways to boost morale. Either you give out real money before the battle to encourage the soldiers to fight to the death, or you indulge the soldiers and allow them to burn, kill and loot.

Fu Jian could not come up with real money, and the financial situation of the Yu State was very bad. Even this battle was barely supported.

Therefore, Lu Polou hoped that Fu Jian could make a promise to his soldiers that they must win the battle first no matter what.

However, if it were another monarch, at the critical moment of life and death, he might have agreed reluctantly.

But he was Fu Jian. Although he was born into the Di tribe, he was more like a Han Chinese than the Han people. He was a benevolent and righteous monarch who had been brainwashed by Confucian classics.

It is wishful thinking to ask him to come forward and make promises while allowing the soldiers to plunder and massacre the city.

Fu Jian said sternly:
"Shut up! This is inhumane and unjust! I would rather die than do it!"

After that, he drove Lü Polou out of the imperial tent and refused to listen to him any more because Fu Jian himself was afraid that he would be persuaded by Lü Polou and go against the principles he had always believed in.

He sat back and watched Empress Dowager Gou and Li Wei force Fu Fa to death because Fu Fa did threaten his position. With Empress Dowager Gou stepping in, Fu Jian did not have to bear the bad reputation.

But now Fu Jian was leading the army in person, and no one could bypass him and make promises to the soldiers of the three armies. It had to be Fu Jian himself who came forward.

However, Fu Jian was determined to be a wise and holy ruler as defined by Confucianism, so how could he agree to Lu Polou's request?

Lu Polou was driven out of the imperial tent and could not help but sigh to the sky.

If the country is strong and has a principled monarch like Fu Jian, it would naturally be a good thing. But now it is a situation where the weak is fighting against the strong, so we should use all means possible. How can we stick to benevolence and righteousness? Isn't this tying our own hands?

Of course, Lu Polou also knew that it was precisely because Fu Sheng was too unruly and often killed entire families that caused psychological trauma to both civil and military officials, so they unanimously supported Fu Jian.

Lu Guang was waiting for news in the tent. When Lu Polou came in and saw his father's depressed look, Lu Guang already knew the answer.

There was no outsider in the tent, Lu Guang said dejectedly:

"How can the King of Heaven achieve great things with his womanly kindness?"

Seeing this, Lü Polou quickly reached out to cover Lü Guang's mouth and scolded in a low voice:

"Stop talking nonsense and bringing disaster to our family!"

Lu Guang nodded, and Lu Polou let go and went out of the tent to check. He was relieved to make sure that those guarding outside the tent were all his trusted men.

When Lü Polou returned to the tent, Lü Guang stepped forward and lowered his voice and said:
"Father, I think we should make plans early, otherwise it will really bring disaster to our Lu family."

The ship of the Fu family has not yet sunk, but anyone with a discerning eye knows that the State of Yu will not be able to hold out for much longer. Otherwise, Wang Yuan would not have willingly served as a spy for Huan Xi in Jinyang.

The villain seeks his own safety, the gentleman seeks the country, and the real man seeks the world.

Lu Guang believed that since the monarch did not accept Lu Polou's loyal advice for the country, they, father and son, should plan for themselves, or even become villains who scheme for their own benefit.

Lu Polou pondered in silence. He had followed the Fu family for three generations. Even though he saw that the empire was about to collapse, it was not an easy thing for him to make up his mind to abandon the Fu family.

Lu Guang knew that his father was hesitating, so he asked:

"Father! Do you really think you are a Di person?"

Lü Polou was stunned. Since the early Western Han Dynasty, when their ancestors moved from Pei County to Longyou to avoid disaster, they have lived with the Di people for generations. Lü Polou has followed the Fu family for so many years and has always regarded herself as a Di person.

Even subconsciously, they have forgotten the Han Chinese identity of their ancestors.

Lü Guang's question was like a blow to the head, waking Lü Polou up and giving him an excuse:

Even if he defected to Huan Xi, it was out of national justice.

However, Lü Polou did not contact Huan Xi immediately. He said to Lü Guang:
"Fu has done us a favor. We should not betray him easily. Let's see how the battle turns out. If the king is really powerless to save the situation, it won't be too late for you and me to make a decision later."

Lu Guang nodded heavily. He certainly didn't want his father to make a decision now, but he was worried that Lu Polou would insist on having her own way and be buried alive with Fu.

When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter. Now, the tree hasn't fallen yet, but people's hearts have already scattered.

Fu Jian was not aware that the father and son of the Lu family had already begun to consider a retreat, and Huan Xi was similarly unaware. However, he understood that as long as he could gain the upper hand in the battle with Fu Jian, there would always be someone who would recognize the situation and contact him proactively.

(End of this chapter)