You have truly caused me great suffering!

Chapter 10: Lying in Waiting for the Right Opportunity

Chen Shao made up lies in the Jietang Hall.

The Western Army generals outside were all waiting anxiously.

No one knew what this young man with no beard was saying to Xuan Shuai Tong Guan.

We are all seasoned veterans, and we have a clear understanding of the situation. The current situation is very favorable.

They were terrified that Tong Guan and this young man would ruin such a promising situation.

Because he was familiar with Chen Shao, Li Yan was surrounded by a crowd who bombarded him with questions.

Li Yan himself was also in a real bind. He was only helping Chen Shao out of respect for Liu Guanglie.

He seemed reliable most of the time, but I didn't expect him to be so bold.
He couldn't say anything now, so he could only wait for Chen Shao to come out and ask him himself.

Inside the hall, the atmosphere was even more suffocating.

Tong Guan didn't say a word, or even look at Chen Shao, but just lowered his head and pondered.

Several trusted confidants took turns asking Chen Shao questions, seemingly trying to confirm the truth of his words.

Chen Shao forced himself to stay alert and began to speak, using his memories from the future to tell stories about the Jurchens, half-truthfully and half-falsely.

As he spoke, Chen Shao got into the flow and gradually relaxed.

Just like bragging and chatting with friends in a past life, they often talked about these things when the lights were off in their male dormitory during college.

They all talked at length, spouting both unofficial and true historical accounts, and pointing fingers at the state of the nation.

Chen Shao has now entered that state, speaking eloquently:

The Jurchens' worship of wild boars and fondness for gyrfalcons, and the hardships they endured while capturing eagles for the Liao people.
How the Liao people persecuted them: Liao envoys insulted the wives and daughters of the Jurchen chieftain in front of everyone in the Jurchen tribe.

As he listened, Tong Guan finally became certain in his heart that Chen Shao was not lying.

First of all, Chen Shao's background is clearly verifiable; he is a native of Northwest China.

Secondly, many of the things he mentioned and his insights were extremely detailed, things that would be impossible to say without having lived among the Jurchen tribes of Liaodong.

From Tong Guan's perspective, his judgment was correct.

After all, no one would have imagined that this young man's soul came from a thousand years in the future.

Tong Guan raised his hand and waved it gently, immediately silencing the several trusted confidants who were interrogating him.

He flicked his sleeve and chuckled, "Chen Shao, is that right?"

"Exactly!"

Chen Shao quickly straightened up and said.

He knew he had passed the test.

You must seize this opportunity, because you don't know if it might be the only chance you have after you've traveled through time.

At this time, heroes from all over the world are as numerous as carp crossing a river, and countless others live in solitude in the mountains and forests.

I've simply traveled from the future and have some common sense from modern times, which isn't much of an advantage.

"You're from Fuzhou, and you're related to Liu Yanqing?"

"Reporting to Your Excellency, the aunt mentioned below is a concubine of Minister Liu."

His answer was straightforward, without any pretense, and completely truthful.

This pleased Tong Guan greatly.

Would you be willing to join the Victorious Army?

"If I could serve under Commander En, I would give my life for him, even unto death!"

Chen Shao lowered his head, feeling somewhat uneasy. He was a little afraid that Tong Guan would take him as his godson.

Tong Guan was a eunuch, and although he was very unconventional, he perfectly fit the strange pattern of "eunuchs have always loved fame".

However, he also had a common problem with other eunuchs: he liked to adopt sons.

Within the victorious army, there was a group of Tong Guan's absolute confidants, who were a group of orphaned teenagers he had taken in from the Northwest, forming his personal guard.

These people were extremely loyal to Tong Guan, and they were all Tong Guan's adopted sons.

Once Tong Guan brings up the matter of taking in an adopted son, one cannot refuse, otherwise the old man will definitely harbor resentment.

However, Tong Guan was destined to fall from power. In the later wars against the Liao and Jin dynasties, he made a disgraceful spectacle and brought disaster to the country and its people.

That would be a stain on Tong Guan's identity as his adopted son.

Fortunately, Tong Guan didn't mean it that way. He said a few high-sounding words and then left it at that.

In fact, Chen Shao was overthinking things; he did not meet Tong Guan's requirements for adopting a son.

Although Chen Shao was also an orphan.

However, Tong Guan's adopted son had to be a completely helpless teenager, someone that no powerful force could win over.

This is the only way to guarantee absolute loyalty.

Chen Shao clearly did not fit the bill; his relationship with Liu Yanqing, the supervisor of Fuyan Road, had already disqualified him from becoming Tong Guan's adopted son.

Finally, after an anxious hour of waiting.

Chen Shao came out of the Jietang Hall.

He smiled and nodded to Li Yan, then was led away from Dingxingyuan Fortress by Tong Guan's personal guards on horseback.

Tong Guan and the others did not leave; he still had things to do.
-
Qingyuan Military City.

As dawn broke, the city gradually came alive. The sounds of waterwheels rolling through the streets, vendors hawking their wares, and the early begging cries of refugees mingled together, drifting faintly into a house.

Chen Shao practiced martial arts in the courtyard. He had been practicing for a while and was covered in sweat. The cold wind blew past and invigorated him.

He was surrounded by his four personal guards.

After he became a disciple of Tong Guan in Dingxingyuan and joined the Shengjie Army, he was brought here.

Then Tong Guan left him hanging.

In fact, Tong Guan and the others were all in the large tent outside the city, and Chen Shao had not seen him since he arrived.

He had never met any of Tong Guan's confidants, only a few soldiers from the Victory Army who brought him food every day.

Let alone promoting him. Tong Guan was qualified to promote Chen Shao; Zhao Ji had given him ample power for the purpose of destroying Xia.

If Tong Guan wished, he could promote himself five ranks without reporting to the imperial court.

Throughout the Song Dynasty, the power of a general commanding troops had never been so great.

Chen Shao wasn't in a hurry; he just focused on physical training every day and waited patiently.

Tong Guan will definitely contact the Jurchens; he'll need me sooner or later. Besides, Tong Guan is very good at winning people's hearts, so he'll definitely satisfy me in the end.

There's no need for me to appear too eager.

Perhaps he was waiting to defeat the Western Xia before launching an attack on the Liao Dynasty; otherwise, the Western Xia would inevitably tie down the main force of the Western Army.

Moreover, the Western Xia and the Liao Dynasty had an alliance, and the empress of the Western Xia was even a member of the Liao royal family.

If we attack the Liao Dynasty without first destroying the Western Xia, we risk being attacked from both sides.

If I remember correctly, Tong Guan later became impatient and, disregarding the objections of the Western Army generals, forcibly ordered his men to attack, causing the Song army's campaign to destroy Xia to fail and suffer heavy losses.

In fact, he remembered correctly: Tong Guan was eager for quick success and instant benefits, and disregarded opposition, forcibly ordered Liu Fa, the military commissioner of Xihe, to attack Shuofang.

Historical records state that 100,000 people died in this battle, but Guan concealed the defeat and reported it as a victory.

The deaths of 100,000 skilled and battle-hardened Western Army soldiers was already a devastating defeat that shook the very foundations of the nation, yet he managed to cover it up. This shows just how incompetent the emperor was and how treacherous the officials in the court were.

Chen Shao sighed inwardly. If he had thought about his past life, he would never have imagined that he would end up getting involved with Tong Guan and his gang.

Most people would feel invigorated, wanting to join forces with figures like Zong Ze and Yue Fei to save the collapsing empire, turn the tide, change the tragic fate of these heroes, and erase the lingering resentment in this part of history.

Together with them, we marched straight to the enemy's lair, reined in our horses at Yanran, ate the flesh of the barbarians, and drank the blood of the Huns.

However, the reality was that he had to flatter Tong Guan and join him in allying with the Jin to attack the Liao.
Chen Shao shook his head, as if trying to shake off these jumbled thoughts.

If you want to do something, you have to become an official first. Without enough power, how can you change the course of history?
Dong Dahu swung the stone with great force, and when he put it down, he wasn't even out of breath or red in the face.

"Master, may we go out for a walk?"

Chen Shao glanced at them. The four guards were still just teenagers. Teenagers can't stand being alone. After staying in the courtyard for a while, they were all getting restless.

"If we don't cause trouble, that's fine."

Chen Shao thought for a moment, then clapped his hands and said, "Never mind, let's go together."

(End of this chapter)