You have truly caused me great suffering!

Chapter 103 The Troubles Resurface
After Cui Lin left, Cai Jing fell silent again.

Cai You, who had been hiding in the inner room, stepped out again and looked at the things that Chen Shao had brought.

He picked up a box and laughed, "I've heard of this Chen Shao. It's said that he dared to go against you back then, and everyone thought he was very loyal to Tong Guan, haha."

Cai You was overjoyed. He could imagine how frustrated Tong Guan must have felt after being betrayed by this man.

Looking at his overjoyed eldest son, Cai Jing sighed and tentatively asked, "Do you think we should accept this gift?"

He wanted to see just how much political acumen his eldest son possessed.

“Take it! Why not take it! These are all good things, things that money can’t buy. Take this box of Panax notoginseng, for example, it’s very nourishing! Father, you probably won’t need it anymore, so give it to your son.” After saying that, Cai You put the box of Panax notoginseng into his pocket.

Cai Jing remained silent for a long time, not because he was considering the pros and cons. He had already figured out how to respond to Chen Shao's overtures; he was simply trying to appease Chen.

After silently repeating to himself that he was, after all, his own son, and recalling Cai You's obedient childhood, Cai Jing finally breathed a sigh of relief and said:

"Currently, the imperial court is waging war on all fronts, fighting against the Western Xia, the Khitan, and who knows, the Jurchens might invade in the future; even if we break the alliance, we'll still fight. Wang Fu and his men are ruthlessly exploiting the people of Jiangnan, their greed insatiable. I predict this will incite a popular uprising, and we'll have to fight in Jiangnan as well."

"At this time, if we don't have an army that is on good terms with us, we simply cannot stand firm in the court. The Western Army is following Tong Guan in his campaign against Liao, the local militia are all unreliable, and the Imperial Guards are firmly in the hands of Liang Shicheng and Gao Qiu."

"So we accept this gift regardless of its value. Even if he gave us a stone, we would gladly accept it."

Cai Jing said, "When Chen Shaochu came, I also misjudged him. I didn't expect him to be such a person. In fact, he has been pretending so well, so why not continue to pretend? Tong Daofu's health is such that he can't lead troops for many more years. Why turn against him now?"

“A few days ago, Gao Lan from Yongning Road came to the capital and visited my residence. He told me about his actions in the five prefectures of Dingnan. This young man is quite insightful, but I don’t know why he couldn’t hold his temper this time. Perhaps there is a reason we don’t know. Perhaps he thinks that Tong Daofu’s campaign against Liao will fail.” Cai Jing nodded. “That’s the only reason. This young man does have some courage. He only saw a few signs of trouble, but he dared to resolutely sever ties with Tong Daofu.”

"As the sage said, time flows on like a river, never ceasing day or night. In this court, new people replace the old, and we old bones will eventually leave. Your Majesty is still young and vigorous. How you will establish yourself in the court in the future is up to you... I only have one sentence for you, which is not really advice, and I don't know if it's right or wrong. If I were in your place, don't offend Chen Shao in the future, and always show some consideration for him."

After Cai Jing finished speaking, he looked up and saw his eldest son bending over, rummaging through the pile of gifts.

He didn't seem to have listened to much of what he was saying, which made Cai Jing so angry that his beard trembled. He snatched the hand warmer from the maid's hand and threw it at her.
-
The howling wind accompanies the rustling snowflakes.

The Northwest truly lives up to its reputation as a harsh and cold place, with snow falling early in the season.

Chen Shao soaked in the steaming hot spring, looking out at the snow-covered landscape and feeling the cold wind blowing in through the wooden window. This contrast of hot and cold gave him a refreshing feeling.

Not long after Cui Lin went to Bianjing, Cai Jing sent someone to return the favor.

Grand Tutor Cai!
Return gift!

No one would believe this if I told them, but Chen Shao understood.

In the current Song Dynasty court, Cai Jing is a supermodel.

Although they were all treacherous officials, he was not on the same level as Liang Shicheng and Wang Fu.

If we say that Liang Shicheng, Gao Qiu, and Wang Fu only knew how to flatter the emperor and seize power and wealth, they belong to the first level of treacherous officials;
Tong Guan was in the second level because he was somewhat capable.
Cai Jing is at the fourth level; if he can rectify his mind and intentions, he can advance to the next level.

In the hazy white mist, Chun Tao's slender figure was wrapped in a soft, moon-white robe with peach blossom patterns, making her look like a young girl who had not yet come of age. However, her beautiful hair was loose, tied only loosely with an apricot-yellow ribbon, which added a touch of charm.

While bathing, she lazily combed her hair, her black hair half-tied up, her wrists like lotus roots, her eyes like black lacquer. Wearing a soft robe, her delicate, youthful face, as fair as a young girl and as beautiful as jade, was charming and alluring.

Gently brushing a strand of hair aside, her pretty face slightly flushed, Chun Tao took off her soft robe and, after entering the water, nestled in Chen Shao's arms. "Brother Chen, this place is really nice. I want to move here."

Chen Shao was thinking about Cai Jing and was so engrossed that he didn't hear what she was saying. He simply placed his hand on her leg and gently patted it underwater.

Tong Guan has now realized that Wang Fu and others lack the ability to manage finances and cannot guarantee his success in the campaign against Liao.

So he turned his attention to his old friend Cai Jing.

Chen Shao felt the same way; he really hoped that Cai Jing could come to power, so that even if the Song Dynasty still couldn't win, it wouldn't collapse to such an extent.

When I come out of seclusion, the pressure will be less, allowing the Song Dynasty to hold on a little longer.

Chen Shao has now gained some strength, but to the Song Dynasty, his strength is insignificant.

Because his territories are all outside the capital region, in the present Song Dynasty, only the power in Bianliang is real power.

This situation will only change after the Jin army breaks through Kaifeng.

Seeing that he was thinking, Chun Tao didn't pester him any longer and quietly nestled against his chest.

The scenery inside and outside the greenhouse was like two completely different seasons, and the girl's eyes were somewhat unfocused.

Her heart was small, unable to hold too many things; it was nothing more than the trivial days spent with her parents, the secret and innocent thoughts of a young girl, and the illusions that intertwined memories of the past with present reality.

Because of the signals Cai Jing sent out, Chen Shao's heart also became active.

He needed someone in Bianliang to speak for him, or rather, a collaborator. Of course, Cai Jing might not have thought that way.

They would only think that they were going to rely on him or find him to be their protector.

But whatever he thinks doesn't matter, as long as he achieves his goal.

Even someone as brilliant as Cai Jing couldn't escape the word "factional strife" in the Song Dynasty court today.

Since Wang Anshi's reforms, factional strife has been rampant in the court.

Over the decades, the first thing almost every official in the Song Dynasty, especially the scholar-official class, did upon taking office was to choose a side before doing anything else.

As long as they win the party struggle, they can disregard everything else, even betraying national interests.

It's not that these people are short-sighted or narrow-minded. It's just that once people get involved in factional struggles and are immersed in them for decades, it naturally becomes a trend, making those involved unable to care about anything else.

The heroes of the world are as numerous as carp crossing a river, and few can escape the word "factional struggle".

This was not unique to the Song Dynasty, but a chronic problem of unified dynasties, which would occur once or many times every time a dynasty was unified.

Going back a few years, after the disaster of the partisan purge at the end of the Han Dynasty, both sides of the factional struggle used their relatives of the empress and local powerful figures to suppress their opponents, ultimately leading to the downfall of the Han Empire.

This is too far removed from history. Before the Song Dynasty, during the unified Tang Dynasty, the Niu-Li factional strife completely ruined the Tang Empire, which was still somewhat recoverable after the An Lushan Rebellion.

At that time, both sides were unscrupulous and would stop at nothing when they fought. If you befriended the regional military governors, I would ally with the eunuchs, all in order to suppress the other side.

Ultimately, the power of civil officials was completely transferred to the hands of regional military governors and eunuchs, leading to the demise of the Tang Empire.

A few years later, we arrive at the story of the late Ming Dynasty, a time that has left countless people heartbroken.

The history of the late Ming Dynasty is a history of factional struggles that led to the downfall of the country. In order to suppress each other, the various factions would even fight to the death.

The Donglin Party, known as the "Honest and Upright Party," was the most terrifying weapon in the history of factional struggles. It combined the best of all factional struggle tactics from previous dynasties, and when it fought, it was truly a bloody and chaotic battle.

Even during the Southern Ming period, when foreign threats were imminent and the Tartars were practically behaving themselves, they still fought each other fiercely, ultimately allowing a mere small tribe in Liaodong to overthrow the Ming Empire.

Although Chen Shao had come to the northwestern border region to develop his career in the Song Dynasty at an early age, he could still feel the terrifying atmosphere of factional strife.

If you look through the history books of the Song Dynasty, it's utter nonsense to say that the two factions, the New and the Old, had any differences in their political views and policies. Wang Anshi had been dead for many years, and some of his reforms succeeded while others failed; the reason for the conflict was not at all.

The ultimate goal of all factional strife is, frankly speaking, to seize power. It's about completely overwhelming the opponents and ensuring that one's faction holds absolute control of the central government.

Those who win temporarily will fight tooth and nail to maintain their gains, suppress their opponents, and prevent them from making a comeback. Those who lose temporarily will do everything in their power to make a comeback.

They'll use any means necessary to secure power, and they won't hesitate to disregard national affairs.

Once this power struggle begins, even sages and virtuous men find it difficult to escape it and can only rise and fall with it.

Until they huddle together and are completely destroyed, or until someone who can break free from this pattern emerges out of nowhere, shattering the old framework and creating a new situation.

Grand Tutor Cai was not the one who broke the deadlock; he was simply the one who played the game best in this game.

Since he came to power, the old party has been suppressed and has suffered terribly.

In particular, they created a monument to the Yuanyou Party members, which stripped a group of scholars from the old party of their official status and barred them from ever being employed again.

In the Song Dynasty, this kind of punishment was almost the same as killing the scholar-officials.

Since we were going to cooperate with Cai Jing, we had to understand Cai Jing himself. Chen Shao didn't know much about Cai Jing, and most of his knowledge came from the Water Margin, which was of no reference value whatsoever.

The character of Grand Tutor Cai in Water Margin is entirely fictional, except for his real name, Cai Jing.

Thinking of this, Chen Shao stood up from the pool, splashing water in his wake.

Chun Tao got splashed in the face, but she laughed and splashed water back at Chen Shao.

Chen Shao quickly captured her, sat her by the pond, and asked Chun Tao to help him cool down.

Chuntao was still young and inexperienced, and not enthusiastic about that kind of thing. She was always in a lot of pain and preferred to use her words to her advantage.

After getting dressed, Chen Shao left the hot spring room in Youzhou and agreed to Chun Tao's idea of ​​staying there.

Chuntao happily led a few little black girls to choose a house.

As soon as Chen Shaogang came out, Da Hu followed with a group of guards.

"Go and call Wei Li here."

Wei Li was a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) during the Chongning era. He had just entered officialdom and had been immersed in it for more than ten years. Just when he was about to make a name for himself, he tragically encountered the rise of Cai Jing.

Fortunately, he was not from a noble family, so the following year, he was expelled from Bianliang and came to this remote border region to serve as an official.

A few years ago, he was captured by the Western Xia and imprisoned in Hongzhou City. After Chen Shao broke through Hongzhou, Wei Li, who was disheartened with the Song Dynasty's officialdom, was unwilling to go back and stayed by Chen Shao's side as a clerk.

Wei Li arrived outside the study and knocked on the door. The burly guard beside the military commander opened the door for him.

He stepped inside, and Chen Shao greeted him with a smile, "Sit down."

After bowing respectfully, Wei Li sat down, saying, "The commander has summoned me; I wonder what brings you here."

Chen Shao asked, "When did Mr. Wenxi become a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations)?"

"The third year of the Chongning era of the Great Song Dynasty"

Chen Shao nodded and asked, "What do you think of Cai Jing, sir?"

Wei Li's resentment towards Cai Jing was so great that he could curse him endlessly for a year or two, but since it was the military commander who wanted to ask, he couldn't let too much personal emotion get in the way.

Having spent over a decade in officialdom and nearly broken through the encirclement, Wei Li keenly sensed that the commander's inquiry about Cai Jing at this time likely indicated that he intended to have some dealings with Cai Jing.

If he were to speak carelessly about such an important matter, he would be looked down upon by the military governor in the future. He could only barely suppress the resentment in his heart and slowly said, "Grand Tutor Cai is very skillful. The struggle between the old and new parties has already turned in his favor."

Those who had fallen out of favor with the old party finally got to the Xuanhe era. However, they were old and their favor had waned, while Liang Shicheng in the inner court rose to prominence, and Wang Fu, Tong Guan, and others also turned their backs on Cai Jing.

Not long after, Cai Jing indeed stepped down for the second time, and the situation eased somewhat, allowing those in the old party who were frustrated to finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Liang Shicheng and others naturally dared not give important positions to Cai Jing's former cronies, as it would take time to cultivate their own faction. Therefore, Liang Shicheng was somewhat biased towards the old party's scholar-officials.

Only then did some members of the old faction manage to gain a foothold, and some even managed to secure a place in the central government.

At this point, Wei Li felt a little regretful. If he hadn't been captured by the Western Xia people, he might have had a chance to return to Bianliang.

Now that the opportunity has been lost, the only path left is to follow Chen Shao, so he spoke frankly and continued: "In truth, it is not that these old party scholars are so loyal to Liang Shicheng, but that they are deeply afraid of Cai Jing."

Even though Cai Jing was already very old, he was still a formidable figure in the eyes of the old party scholars. Cai Jing came from a scholar-official family, had passed the imperial examination, and was a legitimate descendant of the new party. He had many influential figures in the court, was shrewd and capable, and possessed financial management skills that the emperor relied on.

If he were to take office, no one would have a chance. While Liang Shicheng was known as the "Reclusive Prime Minister," and Wang Fu, Li Bangyan, Tong Guan, and others enjoyed unparalleled power for a time, they were still not a threat in the eyes of the old party's scholar-officials. As long as they had some time to stabilize their positions in the court, dealing with them would be much easier than dealing with Cai Jing.

Chen Shao nodded in satisfaction. It was good that Wei Li hadn't hidden anything from him.

Working with such smart people can save you a lot of trouble.

Some people clearly only have one path to take, yet they still feign politeness and cling to their past glory, working under Chen Shao while looking down on him.

Such idiots are not uncommon.

Wei Li's explanation was very clear and thorough, and Chen Shao listened attentively, instantly understanding many of the intricacies of the old and new factions' struggle.

Cai Jing's biggest advantage now is his financial management skills.

Ultimately, he was truly capable, and when it came to crucial moments, the emperor and those like Tong Guan who wanted to get things done needed to rely on him.

Chen Shao stood up and mentally reviewed the recent situation.

He felt that regardless of whether Emperor Huizong of Song had used Cai Jing at this time in history, there was a high chance that he would give Cai Jing a heavy responsibility this time.

Because Tong Guan's trajectory has changed.
His appearance changed Tong Guan's situation. Although Tong Guan was probably ungrateful at the time, there was no doubt that Chen Shao's presence in the Northwest was a great thing for Tong Guan.

This would free him from relying so much on Liang Shicheng to cover up his defeat in Tong'an City.

Chen Shao gave Tong Guan a reason, a reason to reunite with Cai Jing.
At this time, Chen Shao was unaware that Tong Guan not only intended to join forces with Cai Jing, but also planned to mobilize the Imperial Guards.

These historical figures, regardless of whether they possessed genuine talent or not, all possessed greater courage than the average person.

Otherwise, there wouldn't have been such a commotion.

If we loosen the reins on Tong Guan a little, so that he is not bound by the Western Xia, he will dare to stir up a storm in order to succeed in the conquest of Liao.

Chen Shao was unaware that his contact with Cai Jing had unwittingly drawn him into the conflict.

(End of this chapter)