You have truly caused me great suffering!

Chapter 121 The Flames of War Against Liao
January of the fourth year of Xuanhe.

Just after the New Year in the Song Dynasty, the war between the Jin and Liao dynasties saw new developments.

Jin conquered Liaogaozhou, Enzhou, and the Uyghur city, and then advanced to the city of Zhongjing Dadingfu.

Upon hearing that the Jin army had arrived, the Liao garrison collapsed without a fight, and the Jin army captured Zhongjing.

Then, the Jin army occupied Zezhou.

The Jurchens had already reached their former territory in Hebei, but the Song army was still slow to mobilize.

Nearly 150,000 troops, filling every pit and valley, were stationed at the front line, idly basking in the sun every day.

Seeing the Khitan army suffer a crushing defeat, many far-sighted people recognized the danger.

Zhong Shidao wrote to the emperor that the Jurchens were too cruel and that the Khitan were already at their last gasp. He suggested that it would be better to protect the Khitan and avoid direct contact with the Jurchens, and therefore proposed "allying with the Liao to resist the Jin".

Emperor Huizong and Tong Guan ignored it.

When Zhong Shidao saw that the court did not agree to protect the Liao Kingdom in order to cut off the Jurchens, he proposed to send troops quickly to attack the Khitans and recapture the cities in Yan.

Emperor Huizong and Tong Guan still disagreed.

Zhong Shidao was helpless and worried every day in the camp, discussing military matters with Xiao Zhong.

The soldiers of the Western Army, who had been stationed in Hebei for half a year, all longed to return home. Although they had fought every day before, it was always in their hometowns and homelands; who would want to be stationed here?

Moreover, there's not much to gain here; military pay is often embezzled, and there's nowhere to rob.

Previously in the Northwest, when they fought against the Western Xia, they would frequently raid the Western Xia territory.

Han Shizhong made his living by harvesting the heads of Western Xia people to fund his gambling and prostitution.

For these soldiers from the Northwest, life in Hebei was so bland it was practically tasteless.
At this moment, Zhao Ji, who was indulging in a life of luxury and extravagance in Genyue, suddenly had a flash of inspiration and felt an urge to take command.

He personally wrote down "Three Imperial Strategies" for Tong Guan, serving as the guiding strategy for the army's northern expedition.

However, this order was extremely ambiguous, fully revealing the emperor's indecisiveness regarding war and peace.

The third strategy was to tell Tong Guan how to deal with Yan and Yun after sending troops.

The best course of action was that as soon as the Song army entered the Yan-Yun region, "the people of Yan were delighted and followed them." The people of the sixteen prefectures of Yan-Yun all longed for the Great Song Dynasty. When the Great Song army came out, the people of the sixteen prefectures brought provisions and followed them without losing a single soldier. The sixteen prefectures became the territory of the Northern Song Dynasty.

The middle strategy was for Yelü Chun, who currently occupied sixteen prefectures, to be pragmatic and voluntarily submit to the Song Dynasty, thus making Yanyun an outer vassal state of the Northern Song.

The worst course of action is that the people of the Sixteen Prefectures have already been assimilated by the Hu people and do not recognize the legitimacy of our Great Song Dynasty. They resolutely resist the Song army, and "the Yan people have not yet submitted to us." In this case, we should stop fighting and "return with our entire army intact."

The soldiers at the front lines were completely dumbfounded when they saw the three imperial edicts.

What exactly are they trying to do? Are they going to fight or not?
These three imperial edicts are completely contradictory!
In the end, Tong Guan understood and conveyed the emperor's decree. According to the emperor's instructions, everyone should remain stationary at the front line and wait for the enemy to surrender.

Perhaps after sobering up, Zhao Ji recalled his three strategies and felt that they were somewhat weak and had tarnished his reputation.

After thinking for a moment, he sent another handwritten order to Tong Guan, saying:

Anyone who dares to resist the royal army, even if they are commoners, shall be slaughtered. Do not disobey the majesty of Heaven!

This was indeed much more imposing, and Zhao Ji felt relieved, but the frontline was even more at a loss as to how to fight.

Fortunately, Tong Guan did not respect the emperor's orders much when he was leading troops in battle.

He knew that the emperor was someone who valued results.

As long as we win, we can say whatever we want when we get back.

In Youzhou, Chen Shao looked at the military report in his hand, as well as the transcribed copy of "Three Imperial Policies," his head full of question marks.

The entire piece is written in ornate language, but Chen Shao only discerned two meanings:
They dare not fight, yet are unwilling to retreat.

Is this even a human being?

A shadow fell over Chen Shao's heart, and he felt a sense of urgency, wondering how much time Tong Guan could buy him in Hebei.

Now it seems that the Western Xia is much more reliable than them, and destroying the Western Xia will be very difficult.

I don't know if Tong Guan listened to the letter I sent him before.

If he listens to advice, a major defeat can be avoided. Given the current state of the Liao people, if Tong Guan's army does not suffer a major defeat, the Liao people will not take the initiative to open a second front.

With the opening of the second front, the Liao people's Nanjing Prefecture will be attacked from both the north and south, leaving them vulnerable to attacks from both sides.

He could even choose not to fight, but instead station himself in Hejian Prefecture, wait for the situation to change, and then go to reclaim the Yan territory.

Don't repeat the mistakes of history by creating a huge mess in Yan; otherwise, the situation could be salvaged.

Chen Shao felt increasingly uncertain. He always felt that the more you try to prevent something from happening, the more likely it is to happen.

Especially when it involves the emperor and his ministers of the Song Dynasty.

When it comes to disappointing people, Zhao Ji and his ministers never fail to do so.

Chen Shao put away the military report, stood up, and walked to the window of the study.

Through the window, he summoned several staff members from the outer office who handled official documents and said, "Help me polish a letter, written in my own words, addressed to Commander Tong Xuan, saying that Chen Shao respectfully bows again."

After watching the letter being sent out, Chen Shao sat back down in his chair, feeling a little more at ease.

This was the only way I could offer Tong Guan advice, and he might not even listen.

Chen Shao was unaware of Tong Guan's reaction last time. In his opinion, even if Tong Guan didn't listen to my letter, I was just writing a letter to remind you, so why would you be angry?

If I put myself in their shoes, I would definitely consider it seriously.

Chen Shao was not a long-time favorite of this era and could not understand the sense of superiority that Tong Guan felt, who had been in a high position for a long time. He felt that Chen Shao was not qualified to give him advice.

Chen Shao also knew that he probably couldn't change Tong Guan, so the most important thing right now was to do his own thing well.

Chen Shao's expression turned somewhat grim when he recalled the intelligence Wang Yin had sent him that morning.

After dressing properly, he stepped out and led his personal guards to a courtyard next to the government office in Youzhou.

This three-courtyard mansion was originally the residence of Li Fanglai, the defense commissioner of Youzhou, and was one of the most prestigious residences in Youzhou City. Now it has become the headquarters of a caravan.

The caravan made many contributions in the war to quell Fang La's rebellion, and Chen Shao rewarded them handsomely.

Currently, the caravan is led by Li Eyi, Xue Fei, and Gao Laowu, who were jointly selected by them.

Li Eyi was a well-known wealthy merchant in the Northwest. Sensing the business opportunities in Dingnan Army, he came here early to make arrangements.

In his early years, he almost monopolized the tea-horse trade. First, he bribed all the local officials along the route to control the horse trade route from Hengshan to Tiandushan. Then, he obtained 500 official tea permits (legal tea transport volume) in the name of military supplies, and amassed countless riches between the Western Xia and the Song Dynasty.

Xue Fei's nickname is "Guanlong Caishen" (meaning "the god of wealth"). He used to be Tong Guan's dirty hand, responsible for transporting grain and embezzling funds for Tong Guan.

Fearing retribution, Chen Shao and Tong Guan severed ties, and Chen Shao indeed sought refuge with Tong Guan.

At the height of his power, he supplied cold-forged armor to the Song Dynasty and monopolized 90% of the iron materials for the Weizhou Military Equipment Institute.

Gao Laowu used to be in the salt trade. Chen Shao had heard people say that he was a dishonest person.

However, he had a large camel caravan and horse caravan, and was in dire need of transportation capacity, so Chen Shao did not pay attention to him and employed him.

These three people cooperated very well with Chen Shao, helping him through the difficult early days of the Dingnan Army.

Of course, they also made a fortune, and Chen Shao felt it was a win-win situation for them.

They came to Chen Shao's territory because they felt their safety was not guaranteed in the Northwest. After all, in the five years since Tong Guan began his campaign against the Xia dynasty, a total of 41 wealthy merchants in Shaanxi had their properties confiscated.

The confiscated assets amounted to 2000 million strings of cash, accounting for 65% of the annual tax revenue of the Northwest, not including those embezzled by Tong Guan and others.

Wealth is utterly vulnerable in the face of power; it's nothing more than someone else's pig, fattened up and then slaughtered, unless you're obedient and can make money for people like Tong Guan.

Upon seeing Chen Shao enter, the busy shopkeepers, assistants, and market operators in the caravan all stood up.

Chen Shao nodded and said, "I want to purchase more grain from the Central Plains for the New Year. You should go back and discuss it."

The people in the room nodded in agreement. In fact, Chen Shao only needed to send someone to tell them about this.

He came in person, and no one dared to guess what he was thinking.

As Chen Shao left the Chamber of Commerce, he suddenly asked, "Da Hu, do you think this Chamber of Commerce is on our side?"

Da Hu was taken aback, scratched his head and said, "How could the Chamber of Commerce be on our side? Boss, we're not even familiar with them."

Chen Shao laughed heartily, "Da Hu, you're right."

Actually, he trusted the Chamber of Commerce quite a bit. He felt that as long as they were given the opportunity to make money and worked honestly with him, they would have no worries about money.

There is no conflict of interest among us.

However, Chen Shao discovered that he seemed to have underestimated the greed of human nature.

Da Hu is right. Some things really do have to be done by our own people.
-
In the study, Chen Shao leaned back in his chair, one hand supporting his chin, while the fingers of his other hand tapped incessantly on the armrest, listening to Wang Yin's report below.

Wang Yin stood in the room and continued, "Since I was ordered to build the camp, I have not dared to slack off for a moment. I have secretly investigated many officials and government offices in the Dingnan Army, and this caravan has the most problems."

"Well done, thank you for your thoughtfulness." Chen Shao nodded.

"Thank you for your praise, General Xie," Wang Yin said with a humble smile.

He did indeed uncover problems with the caravan, but his motives weren't entirely pure.

After establishing his camp, he was ambitious and determined to become Chen Shao's right-hand man.

That would require expanding manpower and building a tight intelligence network, but the amount of money allocated each month is limited.

So he set his sights on the fattest caravans.

What if you have investigative powers but no money?
Then investigate those who have money but no power.

While making some money, he could also solve a few major cases and improve his standing in the eyes of the military commander.

"Li Eyi, known as the 'Underground Tsar' for his ability to smuggle goods across the vast sea, had specially made tea cakes stamped with the 'Dangxiang Golden Sun Pattern,' which sold for more than three times the price on the black market, and he never paid taxes. In addition, he used old grain to supply his army and resold new grain, and smuggled warhorses to sell in the Central Plains."

"Xue Fei, known as 'the God of Wealth,' privately mints inferior coins with only half the copper content, producing 400 million strings of cash annually, which circulate within our Dingnan Army. In Jingzhao Prefecture, he owns 7% of the shops in the western market of Chang'an, as well as seven warehouses at the Wei River wharf. His residence surpasses even a prince's mansion, imitating the Genyue Garden."

Chen Shao sneered, "I don't care if you build a house that exceeds your authority, but minting inferior currency in Dingnan Army is even worse than the 'Underground Tsar' Li Eyi."

Wang Yin continued, "Gao Laowu has a camel caravan, with everyone wearing armor. They trade with the Western Regions through the Hexi Corridor. People say, 'Gao's camel bells shake the Hexi Corridor, avoiding sand bandits at night and passing through the pass by day.' No one dares to stop them!"

"This thief secretly trafficked people, selling maids from the Western Regions to the Central Plains and children from the Central Plains to the Western Regions; he also used felt blankets to wrap salt to cross checkpoints. My subordinates secretly arrested his accountant and found out that he evaded 200,000 strings of cash in taxes on salt alone last year!"

Wang Yin knew these three wealthy merchants like the back of his hand and investigated them thoroughly.

Even the most powerful businessmen are completely transparent when faced with this level of investigation.

The resources they can mobilize and the deterrent effect they have on people are not on the same level. If you, as a merchant, want to use connections with government officials, you need to inquire about their information and buy and give gifts from the bottom up.

If the authorities want to investigate you, a few officers will come to your door, glare at you, and all your subordinates will be put to rest.

Chen Shao pondered for a moment and said, "This caravan should still be controlled by our own people. The carriages, the canals, and the long journeys all over the country make it a good place to gather intelligence."

Wang Yin's heart pounded with excitement.

“We will only eliminate the ringleaders. You can investigate the rest yourself. Continue to use those who are useful. The caravan members are just trying to make a living, and they won’t have many loyal servants,” Chen Shao said. “Of course, we should also gradually place some of our own people in.”

"My subordinate understands!"

Wang Yin truly understood that Fang La's ability to organize followers was very strong.

The development of Manichaeism was largely due to him. Although Fang La promoted and appointed his relatives after becoming emperor, those relatives were actually quite mediocre.

"I'm leaving this matter to you. Just let me know what kind of manpower you need."

After Chen Shao finished speaking, he picked up his pen and wrote on the paper, stroke by stroke: Yipin Guangyuantang
Five large characters.

"Gathering all rivers and connecting the four seas, from this day forward, you will be my eyes and ears, and my henchmen."

Wang Yin stepped forward with a smile, as if he had found a treasure, and held the rather mediocre calligraphy in his hands.
-
The High-Rise Club is located in an ordinary manor outside Youzhou City.

The manor was built against the mountain, and its owner, Gao Laowu, was waiting outside the manor early in the morning.

A black paulownia wood carriage approached from afar. Gao Laowu smiled and stepped forward, personally lifting the curtain for the distinguished guest inside.

Li Eyi and Xue Fei came out side by side. Gao Laowu was very familiar with Li Eyi, and today he was hosting the event to make friends with Xue Fei.

Li Eyi was old, so he was helped out of the carriage. He smiled and said, "Fifth Master Gao, look who my distinguished guest is!"

Gao Laowu laughed and said, "The presence of the God of Wealth is a great honor to our humble establishment!"

While exchanging a few pleasantries with smiles, they kept a close eye on the high-rise clubhouse.

Despite its name, the building is only one story high up and looks low and ordinary.

Once inside, you'll find a hidden gem. It's clear that a lot of effort went into building this guild hall, which is situated right in the middle of the mountain, and it's indeed a series of tall buildings.

The low-ceilinged room outside was just an entrance, quite hidden.

This small hill has been basically hollowed out, with a well-organized layout and magnificent lampposts everywhere. Amidst the golden splendor, there are also some exotic flowers and plants, adding a touch of rare elegance.

From today onward, only the sound of flowing water remains here, creating a serene atmosphere.

As Gao Laowu invited the two inside, he smiled and asked, "I wonder if Brother Xue prefers music or dance?"

Li Eyi laughed and said, "Brother Xue, this is your first time here, so you don't understand the wonders of this place. Just enjoy it!"

Gao Laowu laughed heartily and gestured, "Please! Please! Please!"

The building was inside the mountain and had three stories. Inside, scarlet brocade hung from the ceiling all the way to the floor.

A dozen or so glass lamps hang from the ceiling, directly under which is a circular platform in the center, surrounded by couches and long tables;
As soon as the three entered, the glass lamps were lit at the same time, and the candlelight illuminated the platform, while the couches next to them were hidden in the shadows.

After the three sat down, several beautiful maids immediately came over with small, quick steps, two standing beside each of them, holding towels and serving tea.

Xue Fei sat on the couch, comfortably stretching his legs, and took a sip of tea. He knew why Gao Laowu had sought him out. Gao Laowu had made his fortune in human trafficking and wielded considerable influence in the Northwest and Western Regions. He wanted to leverage Chen Shao's connections to penetrate the Central Plains market.

He owns seven ports in Jingzhao Prefecture and has connections with powerful families in the Central Plains, especially in Luoyang, the secondary capital.

He wanted to use his own path.

A soft tinkling of jade pendants rang out, and a dozen more young women emerged from a nearby cave.

The women were dressed in glamorous and luxurious attire. Not only were they all beautiful with bright eyes and white teeth, but their skin was also exceptionally radiant, giving them a dazzling beauty that made one's eyes light up.

The most striking feature of these girls is their fair and delicate skin.

While Xue Fei was still confused, Gao Laowu clapped his hands, and someone came up with various tools.

The items included: writing brush and ink, horsewhip, incense stick, and branding iron.
Seeing his confusion, the maidservant beside him smiled and said, "These are the incense materials for tonight. Your honored guest may write, whip, burn incense, and brand on their skin as you please."

Xue Fei is known as the God of Wealth, having enjoyed all sorts of blessings; even hearing this makes one somewhat tempted.

Suddenly, a commotion broke out outside.

Gao Laowu frowned unhappily. "Who's making such a racket outside, disturbing my guests' enjoyment? I'll skin him alive."

A beautiful maidservant rushed in, her face deathly pale, devoid of any color, and said in a trembling voice, "Yes, yes."

Before he could finish speaking, a cold snort came from outside, "Whose skin are you going to peel off?"

Wang Yin led several dozen people in as he walked in.

When Gao Laowu saw the newcomer's attire, he was startled.

He stood up and bowed, saying, "Sir, is there some misunderstanding? I met the military commander just a few days ago."

Wang Yin looked at the three of them and laughed, "It's rare to see the three of you together. This saves my brothers trouble. Take them with you!"

A fierce glint flashed in Gao Laowu's eyes, and he gave a wink.

Wang Yin laughed and said, "Still thinking about resisting?"

With a wave of his hand, dozens of guards stepped forward and seized the three men, binding their hands behind their backs.

None of the women and maids dared to move.

Gao Laowu was filled with terror. Where were his assassins?
Once outside, he immediately understood that the corpses in the manor had all been gathered in one place and piled up.

A group of men surrounded the area completely.

Looking at Gao Laowu's ashen face, Wang Yin said, "Are you regretting not taking the tunnel? Let me tell you the truth, I've been watching you for seven days before I arrested you. Every single one of your rat tunnels is guarded by my men." Who is Wang Yin? Beneath the mountains of corpses and seas of blood in Hangzhou, he is a ruthless character who dares to risk arrows and stones to dig through the city walls.

He still managed to unite 100,000 Manicheans, people who dared to rebel. In this feudal dynasty era, never try to outdo someone who dared to rebel in ruthlessness; you simply couldn't match their ruthlessness.
These businessmen were indeed not taken seriously by him.

"We have not committed any crime. We hope that you will do us a favor and let us see the commander," Li Eyi said in a low voice.

Wang Yin ignored him. At this point, he still wanted to see the general?
Dreaming!
He carefully observed the manor, the tunnels, and the hidden mountain tower.

Wouldn't it be perfect to remove those ornate decorations and transform it into a place that integrates interrogation, detention, and surveillance?
With a little modification, this pitch-black mountain pavilion could become a natural prison.

Wang Yin nodded in satisfaction and said, "Take everyone here away and send them to the Youzhou government office for processing, except for these three!"

These three can yield quite a lot.

Wang Yin worked with great enthusiasm and energy under Fang La's command, and now that he's with Chen Shao, the situation has visibly improved.

In his view, the commander's strength was enough to shake up half the country.

As long as chaos descends, the area occupied by the military governor is more suitable than Jiangnan for vying for supremacy!

Moreover, Wang Yin also realized that the military commander's magnanimity, spirit, and ability far surpassed Fang La's.

I must do a good job!
This opportunity won't come twice.
-
Chen Shao looked at the confiscated family property with some surprise.

These are only their assets in the Dingnan Army; Xue Fei's shops and ports in Jingzhao Prefecture cannot be confiscated.

Even so, they still managed to amass over ten million strings of cash.
There were also countless carriages, camels, and boats.
Chen Shao, who was already under some financial pressure, breathed a huge sigh of relief.

In the end, he only glanced at the intelligence sent by Wang Yin in his study and did not go to see the three people.

have nothing to say.

I originally planned to make money with them and live peacefully together.

In fact, Chen Shao didn't know that their fate in history was similar to that of the present.
In the fifth year of the Xuanhe era (the following year), Gao Laowu, taking advantage of the Jin army's attack on the Song Dynasty, hoarded grain and inflated its price tenfold. He was then killed by a mob of refugees in Guanzhong. The "History of Song Dynasty: Biographies of Traitorous Officials" records: "The tyrannical merchant Gao was executed by dismemberment in the marketplace, and the people fought to eat his flesh."

Tong Guan's campaign against Liao failed. In order to make up for the military losses, he forced Xue Fei to "donate" one million taels of silver. Because he refused to hand over half of his assets, he was falsely accused of "colluding with Western Xia". His male family members were sent to the army, and his female relatives were made into government slaves.

After the government seized all of Li Eyi's horses, he falsely accused Li of "colluding with the enemy," confiscated his property, and was executed in the marketplace.
After killing the three, Chen Shao let Wang Yin take over the caravan and begin its formal operation.

From then on, Dingnan's military merchants no longer pursued profit alone, but instead purchased and sold goods according to Chen Shao's needs.

Of course, he still recruited all small and medium-sized businesses and provided them with protection.

In February, Chen Shao ordered the curing of large quantities of beef and mutton.

They manufactured bows and arrows, and gathered craftsmen to develop gunpowder-based thunderbolts.

The atmosphere of preparation for battle is no longer something they bother to hide.

A group of people arrived in Youzhou City and waited outside Chen Shao's residence.

Chen Shao strode over and saw several men standing at the door. The man in the lead was short and stocky with bowed legs. Although he was wearing a brocade jacket and a turban, the scalp underneath was shaved clean.

From the side, you can see that there are two or three coin-sized tufts of hair on the back of their heads, and the long hair behind them is braided into small braids and hangs down.

Eighteen Jurchen envoys stood in the room, speaking in a language Chen Shao could not understand.

Upon seeing Chen Shao arrive, one of them stood up and said, "You are Chen Shao?"

Such rude and arrogant behavior naturally aroused the dissatisfaction of Chen Shao's personal guards, who glared at him angrily.

These Jurchens were completely fearless. Although there were only eighteen of them, they seemed to take Chen Shao and his group very seriously.

Ignoring the tense atmosphere, Chen Shao sat down and asked, "It's me. What brings you here from afar?"

He was also observing these Jurchen people.

They certainly have that fighting spirit of someone in their early stages, looking down on everyone and refusing to submit to anyone.

Even the messengers who delivered the message were arrogant and disdainful of everyone else.

The Jurchen envoy said, "We have told our lord that many Liao dogs have escaped into your territory. You must send people to guard against them and not let a single Liao dog in."

Strictly speaking, the Song and Jin dynasties had a maritime alliance, and Chen Shao nominally belonged to the Song dynasty.

Therefore, although these envoys were arrogant and rude, their demands were actually reasonable.

But that's unreasonable.

Those were all Han Chinese, and even if they weren't Han Chinese, they were the people Chen Shao desperately needed.

He needs as many people to fill the fortresses and strongholds as he has; in times of chaos, these are the most precious assets.

Chen Shao chuckled and said, "Is that so? Song and Jin are allies, so you can rest assured. I will send people to patrol the border right away. If any Liao people are found crossing the border, they will be driven back."

The envoy nodded, seemingly satisfied with Chen Shao's answer.

After seeing him off, Yang Guangqi asked, "General, who should we send to drive out the Liao people?"

He was eager to try, feeling that this was a good opportunity to return to the battlefield and continue to make contributions!
Chen Shao glanced at him and cursed, "Fool! Why are you driving away the Liao people! Besides, where did these Liao people come from? They are all my subjects!"

Yang Guangqi brainstormed for a while, but still couldn't figure it out.

He was too lazy to think about it anymore. He only heard Chen Shao say in a deep voice, "Send the order to Li Xiaozhong to speed up the acceptance of refugees. If necessary, they can ride horses or drive carts across the border to pick them up!"
-
In March, Emperor Tianzuo of Liao listened to the slander of Xiao Fengxian, a relative of the Empress Dowager, and killed his son, Prince Jin, Yelü Aoluwo, and his birth mother, Consort Wen, Xiao Sese. This led Yelü Aoluwo's ​​uncle, Yelü Yudu, to rebel and surrender to the Jin Dynasty. He then led his troops to attack Nanjing of Liao (later known as Beijing, or Yanzhou in the Song Dynasty).

At that time, Emperor Tianzuo was in Nanjing. Upon hearing the news, he was terrified and hurriedly fled towards Juyong Pass.

After Emperor Tianzuo fled to Jiashan, the Liao officials and Han officials unanimously plotted to install Yelü Chun as emperor.

He also summoned more than 10,000 people, including government officials, soldiers, monks, Taoists, elders, and villagers, to Yelü Chun's residence to persuade him to ascend the throne.

Yelü Chun feigned refusal.

Finally, Yelü Chun ascended the throne in a grand manner, taking the title "Emperor Tianxi," and changed the second year of Baoda to the first year of Jianfu, which is historically known as "Northern Liao."

After Yelü Chun became emperor, he demoted Emperor Tianzuo to the title of Prince of Xiangyin; and sent envoys to the Jin state to request that Northern Liao be incorporated into the Jin state as a vassal state.

The Jin state did not reply, but it did not continue its attack on Nanjing Prefecture; instead, it went to pursue Emperor Tianzuo.

The Liao people in Yan breathed a sigh of relief, but soon they discovered that although the Jurchens in the north had left, a group of Song people had arrived in the south.

Remembering Zhao Ji's instructions, Tong Guan sent someone to Yanjing City to persuade Yelü Chun to surrender.

Yelü Chun was furious and immediately executed the Song envoy. Tong Guan used this as a pretext to launch an attack.

The army split into two routes. The western route, consisting of 70,000 troops led by Zhong Shidao, marched from Xiongzhou toward Baigou River!
The Eastern Route Army, numbering 80,000 and led by Liu Yanqing, attacked Fancun from Bazhou.

The great undertaking of conquering Liaodong has finally begun.

The entire Song Dynasty was waiting for Commander Tong Xuan's report of victory.
-
Chen Shao and the Jurchens had several rounds of wrangling and shirking of responsibility, and even had a minor conflict once.

People died on both sides, but neither side chose to escalate the situation.

However, the Jurchens soon withdrew, seemingly to besiege Emperor Tianzuo, and temporarily retreated from the border.

Chen Shao rode his horse, accompanied by some personal guards, to the outskirts of Youzhou.

Upon entering the manor, one sees a stone standing at the entrance with five rather unattractive characters on it.

Yipin Guangyuantang
Looking at his own handwriting, Chen Shao almost laughed.

Stepping into the magical mountain building, Chen Shao immediately felt a chill.

The once magnificent lampposts and glazed lamps have all disappeared. The blue brick prison walls are five zhang high, with iron nails and caltrops covering the top. The only entrance is the dark, heavy iron gate at the bottom of the wall.

There are guide rails under the door, and people inside and outside the door need to work together to turn the winch to open the heavy iron door for entry and exit. Similarly, there are seven layers of iron doors, which gradually go deeper into the ground.

For those imprisoned here, escaping is simply impossible.

There are seven checkpoints, each leading to a room, which could be a prison cell, an interrogation room, or an archive.
Chen Shao nodded and said to Wang Yin behind him, "This place is nice. How did you find it?"

Wang Yin briefly mentioned to Chen Shao the matter of the three merchants indulging in debauchery there.

Chen Shao sneered, thinking to himself that they had given him a reminder that key positions must be in the hands of his own people.

You can't trust any outsiders!
Leaving this prison and heading in another direction, finally some sunlight is shining in.

That was where the agents of Guangyuantang worked. All kinds of intelligence were categorized here, and the most important information was reported to Chen Shao.

After Chen Shao sat down, there was a stack of things in front of him, which he glanced through. In fact, he knew very well that it would be difficult to figure out the specifics of the business just by looking at the ledgers; but he still paid special attention to the warehouse entry and exit list attached to it.

The caravan was operating very well, and Wang Yin was indeed very capable. He did not forcibly interfere with the management of the caravan. Instead, he retained most of the chief captains (general owners/managers), deputy chief captains (second-in-commands/assistants in charge of cargo allocation and accounting, and supervising contract performance), and brokers (marketers/brokers responsible for pricing, negotiating tariffs, and bribing officials, and who needed to be proficient in various languages ​​and local unspoken rules). He also placed many foreigners in the caravan at a ratio of ten to one.

Chen Shao was quite satisfied with the newly established Guangyuantang, as it basically met his requirements.

In some places, there were even pleasant surprises, such as in caravan management and intelligence gathering, where they exceeded their expectations.

Chen Shao wasn't entirely without precautions against him. For example, the most elite guards of Guangyuan Hall were all those who had followed Chen Shao from the very beginning in Hengshan.

This can be considered his main work!

Furthermore, Chen Shao specifically established several battalions that were not under Wang Yin's jurisdiction. These battalions were also located within Guangyuan Hall and were directly responsible to Chen Shao, reporting to him. They were essentially internal supervisory bodies within Guangyuan Hall.

Furthermore, the statistics and ledgers of the caravan's finances were also in the hands of other camps, both of which were responsible to Chen Shao but were not subordinate to each other.

Chen Shao knew how important intelligence organizations were, but he also knew that once they became privileged institutions controlled by one person, they could manipulate events and even control the highest ruler above him.

Therefore, while giving full play to its role, we must also try to prevent it from gradually becoming a private tool of a powerful figure in a certain intelligence organization during its development.

Chen Shao did not doubt Wang Yin's loyalty to him; at least for now, he would not harbor any ill intentions towards him.

However, Chen Shao has never been willing to place his safety on the loyalty of any one person. People are very complex, and anyone can betray you, it just depends on the circumstances.

Ideally, all institutions should be established with corresponding regulations from the outset, and these regulations should be continuously revised and supplemented in practice to make them more perfect and rigorous.

Relying on systems may not be the most perfect, but even if humanity develops to the level of civilization of its time, relying on systems is still a far more reliable method than relying on the personal morality, wisdom, and knowledge of leaders who are fair and selfless.

Wang Yin stood aside, watching Chen Shao's expression, and breathed a sigh of relief.

The commander didn't frown and looked relaxed, which was a good thing.

"General, is there anything you need?"

Chen Shao said, "Right now, we can send more people to Xingqing Prefecture. Also, how are the talks with the Uyghurs going in the Hexi Corridor?"

“We intercepted Gao Laowu’s caravan and made contact with the Uyghurs. Those Uyghurs are very cunning and greedy. My subordinates are afraid that they will not keep their word after taking the money.”

Chen Shao thought about it and realized that this situation was indeed quite likely to happen.

The Xizhou Uyghurs, also known as the Gaochang Uyghurs, traditionally traversed the Hexi Corridor.

Today, oases such as Gansu, Liangzhou, Guazhou, and Shazhou have been occupied by the Western Xia.

The actual control area of ​​the Xizhou Uyghurs has retreated to the Turpan Basin and the northern edge of the Tarim Basin, with a population of approximately 35.

With such a small population, they were divided into two coexisting Uyghur leaders: the Western Khan, Bilege.

Yellow-headed Uyghur Chieftain: Zhai Mochuo
Bilege was the 18th Khan of the Gaochang Uyghurs, from the Pugu family, and a descendant of the Khanate of the Northern Uyghurs.

Zhai Mochuo was the leader of a fighting group formed by the remnants of the Huihe Khanate after its collapse at the end of the Tang Dynasty, who lived together with the Qiang and Dangxiang peoples.

They were almost driven to the brink of death by the Western Xia, but because of his appearance, the Western Xia relaxed their attacks on them and began to offer them benefits, encouraging them to send troops to fight against him.

Chen Shao's attempt to win them over has forced them to consider whether to join forces with Western Xia to deal with Chen Shao, or to join forces with Chen Shao to destroy Western Xia.

The choice wasn't difficult. The only thing to consider was to take advantage of the fact that I was still useful and ask Chen Shao for as many benefits as possible.

Chen Shao said, "No rush. Let's win a few battles first, and then they'll come looking for us."

Han Shizhong was definitely a victim of the Western Xia.

Even when he was just a lowly soldier, he had already crushed the Western Xia, and now he is wreaking havoc on the Xingling Plain.

As long as Han Shizhong applies enough pressure, the Western Xia will eventually be unable to hold back and will once again raise an army to fight desperately. This will accelerate the depletion of the last bit of national strength of the Western Xia, which is already on the verge of death.

The situation in Western Xia was similar to that of Liao, or even more serious.

Although the Liao Dynasty suffered a smooth defeat, a complete rout, their territory was still too vast.

As for the Western Xia, all that remained were the Xingling Plain and a few oasis cities in the Hexi Corridor. They had no strategic depth whatsoever, and their resources and manpower were gradually running out.

When Chen Shao returned to the city, he looked at the green wheat seedlings by the roadside outside Youzhou City.

Spring has arrived.

Just as the guards thought the general was being unusually sentimental, Chen Shao continued, "It's time to go to the Xingling Plain and sabotage the spring planting. Send the order to Han Shizhong: don't just focus on killing people, eliminate all edible crops in their tender sprouting stage!"
-
Upon returning to his residence, Chen Shao received news that the Zhong family had sent people again.

The Zhe family has been here for too long, and although she doesn't usually show her face, there's no gossip about her.

However, within the Zhong family, everyone felt it was inappropriate.

Last time it was said that he fell off his horse, and he should be better by now.

Chen Shao clicked his tongue, seemingly reluctant to release the person.

But there was no suitable reason.

After returning to the courtyard, the Zhong family indeed took it very seriously and even sent several female relatives over.

Fortunately, the Zhe family's seniority was so high that they couldn't force them.

Upon entering the room, Zhong Lingxi appeared somewhat naive and bewildered, unsure of what to say.

When she saw Chen Shao arrive, she felt like she had met a savior. She grabbed his sleeve and said, "They insisted on taking my stepmother away, but she wasn't feeling well, so she got angry."

The daughter-in-law of the plant master in the room stood up and bowed, saying, "Greetings, Uncle."

"No need for formalities," Chen Shao said with a smile. "My stepmother and Huanhuan have always been close, so perhaps she is reluctant to leave."

"Go and try to persuade them!" Zhong Lingxi urged him on.

Chen Shaodao said, "That's fine too."

The group arrived at the Zhe family's courtyard together. Chen Shao said, "You all wait in the courtyard. My stepmother is easily offended. If I go and try to persuade her, she'll throw a tantrum as an elder if you're here too."

Zhong Shizhong's daughter-in-law, who was actually older than Zhe Shi, was also very troubled at the moment, nodding repeatedly and saying, "Uncle is right."

Chen Shao then went inside.

Hearing the commotion, Lady Zhe turned around angrily, and when she saw it was Chen Shao, her expression immediately changed.

"How did you come?"

Chen Shao gave a wink, signaling two maids to stand guard at the door. He then walked to the table, sat down, and patted his thigh.

Zhe sat down happily, wrapped her arms around his neck, and the two kissed.

Looking at her glamorous makeup and curvaceous figure, Chen Shao immediately started having wild thoughts, and her gaze was also very intense.

Chen Shao could hear Huanhuan chatting with Zhong Shizhong's wife in the courtyard.

This did not frighten him; on the contrary, it filled his mind with low-level interests.

Chen Shao lifted her long skirt and said with a smile, "Huanhuan and your granddaughter-in-law are outside, so don't make a sound later."

Zhe Shi shifted uncomfortably, somewhat hesitant, but Chen Shao pushed her to the window.

"I can't persuade them, I simply can't persuade them!"

Chen Shao complained, "I'm sweating buckets just talking about it."

"Uncle, you've worked hard."

Chen Shao suddenly asked, "Old Master Zhong has been gone for half a year. At his age, how is his health after traveling and fighting on the front lines?"

"It's alright, but my old ailment often flares up, making it difficult to even stand up."

Tong Guan really knows how to outlast the old man. Even at his age, he has the nerve to let Lao Zhong take the lead.

That's the Baigou River, a place of sorrow for the Song Dynasty.

Emperor Taizong Zhao Guangyi suffered a defeat there and fled back in a donkey cart.

(End of this chapter)