You have truly caused me great suffering!

Chapter 146 Emergency treatment
Xiping Prefecture, the small courtyard of the Marshal's Mansion.

As the weather gets hotter, this quiet little courtyard is like a paradise.

Upon entering the courtyard, there are three or five apricot trees planted inside. At this time of year, they are bearing fruit, and the whole courtyard is filled with the scent of tender leaves steaming in the blazing sun.

Zhe Ningxiang's belly gradually swelled up, and Chen Shao reduced his visits to the Lingwu camp in recent days, often staying overnight here instead.

He was sitting under a tree, looking at intelligence reports and military reports sent from various places.

On the daybed beside her, Lady Zhe lay with her eyes closed, taking a nap. Her skin was fair, and the elegant satin she wore made her look even more graceful and beautiful. Two white pearls adorned her jade-white earlobes, which aroused affection in anyone who saw them and made them want to play with them.

Her slightly protruding belly also added a touch of mature charm to her as a mother.

Based on intelligence gathered from various regions, Chen Shao concluded that the Song Dynasty was slowly getting back on track.

The blow from Hebei was so severe that it nearly paralyzed the Song Dynasty for half a year.

But it was, after all, a dynasty that lasted for nearly two hundred years, and it had a certain capacity for self-healing.

Moreover, there are many loyal individuals, both literate and skilled in martial arts, who are working hard to improve the situation.

Chen Shao was very pleased.

To be honest, he didn't like Zhao Ji, nor did he particularly like the Song Dynasty, and he had absolutely no loyalty to him.

However, he did not want to see the Song Dynasty collapse now.

Because that would be the situation the Jurchens most wanted to see.

If the Song Dynasty were to fall into chaos now, it would be just like the late Ming Dynasty, allowing the Jurchens to exploit a huge loophole.

Given the size of the Song Dynasty and its two-hundred-year-old dynastic foundation, even if it were to perish, it would take at least ten years to recover.

The loyal and righteous men and heroes who rose up in the Central Plains would all come to fight the rebels first.

This chaotic internal strife would make it exceptionally easy for foreign tribes to invade from the south.

Wanyan Aguda is already seriously ill. Once he dies, the pro-war faction will gain the upper hand over the Jurchens.

Furthermore, Emperor Tianzuo was also driven to a dead end, and the Jurchens only needed one opportunity to invade the south.

If the Central Plains descend into chaos, they will immediately pour into the heart of Youyan from Gubeikou, and then threaten Hebei.

At this moment, whoever starts a civil war is a sinner in history.

Chen Shao will not be the one to commit this crime, and as long as he doesn't become overly ambitious and rebel, the Song Dynasty won't have the energy to provoke him.

By maintaining the nominal relationship of ruler and subject with the Song Dynasty, we can slowly accumulate our own strength. When we finally cross the border, with the banner of the Song Dynasty, the heroes of the Central Plains will also be at our service.

Carefully putting away the intelligence, Chen Shao beckoned to the maid to deliver it to his study for safekeeping by his scribe.

A lot of information may not seem useful at first glance. But when you look at it again after other chain events occur, you'll see something different.

Chen Shao paid close attention to intelligence gathering. He always felt that he could never outwit someone like Cai Jing when it came to scheming and outmaneuvering.

Then we must know ourselves and our enemy, and conduct everything in the open.

I don't expect you to make mistakes intentionally. All your actions are calculated and transparent. Strengthen yourselves and wait for the changes to happen.

Judging from the current battle records of all parties, the chances of the Song Dynasty being able to stop the Jurchens are basically zero.

Compared to its historical counterpart, the Song Dynasty did not make any significant progress; it simply lost the hindrance of the Western Xia.

Although Cai Jing, for the sake of his own power, disbanded the Imperial Guard with great determination and freed up some of the finances, the time allotted for training the new army was too short.

Tong Guan's performance during the campaign against Liao was not much different from his historical performance. Why should we believe that he was better at defending Bianliang and Hebei than he was in history?

Although the maid's footsteps were light, they still woke up Madam Zhe. She rubbed her eyes and saw Chen Shao in front of her. She sat down on the edge of the bed and said with a smile, "I dreamed that these apricots were ripe and sour. I didn't expect that they would actually make my mouth water."

Chen Shao laughed and said, "Maybe you were secretly eating sour plums in your dream."

Lady Zhe stared blankly at the apricots above her head. When the fruit ripened, it would be around the time her child was born.

She reached out and stroked her belly, filled with countless dreams.

Looking at her, and seeing the joy in her eyes, Chen Shao suddenly felt a surge of affection.

The two sat very close together. Chen Shao held her hand, and they smiled at each other. Although they didn't speak, their smiles were full of warmth.
-
Jiashan is a large mountainous area located between Wula Mountain and Daqing Mountain.

This place has a rugged terrain, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack, and it is also close to the Black Mountain region controlled by the Dingnan Army.

So, having nowhere else to turn, Yelü Yanxi sent people across the desert to Xiping Prefecture to ask Chen Shao for help.

Looking at the Khitan envoy in the hall, now known as Minister Xiao Fengqian, Chen Shao was somewhat surprised. Yelü Yanxi was really grasping at straws in his desperation.

At this point, who would help him? Besides, no one could really help him anyway.

They could indeed enter their territory from Heishan, but that would attract all the Jurchens.

Chen Shao sighed inwardly. If he were strong enough, he could bring Yelü Yanxi over and then form a Liaodong restoration army in his name.

Taking advantage of the situation, they invaded the territory of the Liao Dynasty, and legitimately and openly kidnapped Emperor Tianzuo, swallowing up the vast territory of the Liao Dynasty.

"We urge General Chen to send reinforcements as soon as possible. Our Great Liao is willing to form an alliance with you. Once the territory of Great Liao is restored, we will cede Xijing Prefecture and Nanjing Prefecture to you!"

Chen Shao chuckled. At this point, they were willing to give him any conditions, since they were asking him to risk his life.

He did not refuse outright, but said, "Please rest a while, envoy. No decision can be made unilaterally in Dingnan Army. I need to discuss it with my subordinates. If they all agree, I am naturally willing to send troops. After all, the Jurchens are brutal, while Song and Liao are brotherly nations."

The Liao envoy didn't know if he was sincere or just being polite, but seeing that Chen Shao was polite and didn't mock him because of the Liao's current situation, he was already very grateful.

When he arrived, he had planned to tie him up and hand him over to the Jurchens as soon as Chen Shao saw him.

"Guards! Quickly prepare a welcoming feast for the Liao envoy! Do not neglect him!"

Xiao Fengqian glanced at Chen Shao, his heart filled with unease, but he could only follow his personal guards to rest.

As he reached the door, he turned back, clasped his hands in a fist salute to Chen Shao, and said, "Please have mercy, General."

"Don't worry, Minister Xiao, I will naturally explain the advantages and disadvantages to them and persuade them to send troops."

Xiao Fengqian then left, leading a group of his men and his personal guards to a government office, where they were indeed treated to fine wine and food.

Everyone had been fleeing east and west with His Majesty the Emperor for so long that they hadn't had a meal like this in ages. The Khitan soldiers who had escorted him across the desert all swallowed hard.

Xiao Fengqian said, "Let's all sit down and eat. Who knows if this will be our last meal before we're beheaded?"

Chen Shao did not summon anyone to discuss the matter—what was there to discuss?—but he instructed that the letter from the Liao Emperor Yelü Yanxi be carefully preserved.

He instructed, "It must not be lost under any circumstances."

Seeing how much he valued it, his subordinates dared not be careless and carefully preserved it.

If Yelü Yanxi still possessed considerable power, even half the strength of the Liao Dynasty, I might be tempted.

At that point, going there would mean facing the Jurchen army alone.

Yelü Yanxi could no longer even protect himself.

Wei Li, who had been by his side, said, "General, this Liao emperor is being a bit too absurd. We still belong to the Song Dynasty. Doesn't he know about the 'Alliance at Sea'?"

According to the Alliance at Sea, the Song and Jin dynasties were allies, while the Khitan were already enemies.

Chen Shao laughed and said, "Even ants cherish their lives, let alone humans. His seeking help everywhere is also a kind of effort. Speaking of which, the Liao emperor has been on the run for five years since the Jin people broke through Shangjing. He was chased like a stray dog, but he still insisted on not surrendering. So he can be said to have some integrity."

Chen Shao thought of Zhao Ji and his son, and couldn't help but spit inwardly again. "This April, the Jin army surrounded the baggage train at Qingzhong. The Prince of Qin, the Prince of Xu, the concubines, the princesses, and the officials were all captured by the Jin army. The Jin army sent Yelü Yanxi's family and baggage train eastward. When Yelü Yanxi learned that his concubines and children had been captured, he actually dared to challenge the Jin army to a battle at Baishui Lake. Although he was defeated again, at least his courage was commendable."

No matter how incompetent a person is, as long as they dare to fight at this time, they will always receive some sympathy.

This is the inherent sentiment of the Han people, and Chen Shao was no exception.

Emperor Huizong and his son tricked their own daughter and sister into being sent away, hoping to persuade the Jurchens to withdraw their troops.

In the end, they couldn't escape either; they were all rounded up.

Wei Li saw that Chen Shao was keeping Yelü Yanxi's letters so carefully, so it was obviously not for the purpose of passing them down to future generations or selling them for money.

It is estimated that there is an intention to utilize it in the future. Considering the deployment of the Dingnan Army in Xia Prefecture, it seems that the military commander intends to send troops to the prefectures within Yunnei.

The commander also affirmed Yelü Yanxi's courage in volunteering for battle.

Having been caught up in the factional strife in Bianliang, Wei Li was exceptionally sensitive to guessing the emperor's intentions. He secretly reminded himself that he had to demonstrate his willingness and courage to fight at crucial moments and stand with the military commander.

As for whether they could defeat the Jurchens, Wei Li was very confident. He was the one who implemented the Dingnan Army's policies, and only he knew best how much energy and potential the Dingnan Army possessed.
-
The Jurchen army's encirclement and suppression of Yelü Yanxi is entering a fierce stage.

Yelü Yanxi is now a huge hot topic. Wherever he flees, that place becomes the liveliest, even in desolate mountains and deserts.

As the old emperor Wanyan Aguda fell seriously ill, he retreated to the rear and could no longer handle military affairs at the front.

The Jurchen army encircling and suppressing the Jurchens at the front was under the unified command of Wanyan Xieye. Logically speaking, Xieye was also a "Hulubojilie" personally promoted by Aguda, and should rightfully be the commander-in-chief of the Jin army.

However, after Wanyan Aguda left, it was difficult for Xie to control such a large number of troops, especially Wanyan Zonghan of the Western Route Army and Wanyan Zongwang of the Eastern Route Army, who each commanded large armies and acted arbitrarily.

At this moment, near Jiashan, outside the ruins of the destroyed fortress, there was already a vast expanse of tents stretching to the horizon.

The Jurchens have always considered capturing Yelü Yanxi as their most important task.

Therefore, the largest number of troops were deployed. Armored in various colors, with various flags and decorated horses, some were setting up camp, some were patrolling, and some were resting and recuperating in their camps.

The army gathered here was countless; in sight, the elite troops of the Jurchen main force alone numbered no less than 10,000 to 20,000.

Each of the musketeers displayed their banners, which blotted out the sky and fluttered in the wind, fully demonstrating the fierce spirit of this powerful Tatar army.

Although the Jurchens were brave, they were, after all, a small tribe, and their numbers were inherently insufficient. In addition to these burly and strong elite Jurchen troops with their distinctive "money-tailed" hairstyle, the other camps also contained various servants from tribes under Jurchen rule.

The largest group consisted of the thirty Tatar clans from the southern steppes, recruited from the grasslands. These steppe men, whom the Liao people called barbarians, wore fur robes, had unkempt hair, carried horn bows, and rode short, sturdy, but enduring Mongolian horses.

They used their tribes as military settlements, maintaining the same organization as when they were herding livestock, and set up their own scattered camps attached to the Jurchen military tents.

The camp even kept herds of sheep and horses. The sheep being herded were the military rations for these auxiliary soldiers. The sheep and horses neighed and lived among the people, making the camp smell like a series of cesspools.

This was the Jurchen's western army. They had never set foot on the richest lands of the Liao Dynasty and had been fighting in the northwest.

The Jurchen's eastern army occupied the heartland of the Liao people's former territory, and the tribal auxiliary troops they recruited were larger and more organized.

These people were mainly Bohai people, but also included Koreans, Xi people, and even a small number of Khitans and Han people.

Originally, they both came from the Changbai Mountains and the Heilongjiang River Basin, but because they went out in different directions, the two groups of troops developed a gap.

The Eastern Route Army was not only larger than the Western Route Army, but also had a considerable amount of supplies and siege weapons, and its armor and other equipment were also quite complete.

Therefore, in addition to field battles, the Eastern Route Army also had considerable strength to capture fortified cities.

Xijing Prefecture was the poorest place in the Liao Dynasty. Even other places like Weizhou and Yingzhou, which were also part of the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun, were very barren and could not compare with Yan.

The tribal auxiliary troops recruited by the Jurchen Western Route Army could only be mainly composed of various tribes that were the predecessors of the Mongol Empire on the steppe, especially the tribes of Southern Mongolia.

At this time, there was no such thing as the Mongols. They were all loose tribes, and their living conditions were similar to, or even more dangerous than, those of the Jurchens.

While these auxiliary troops, raised on horseback, enhanced Zonghan's field combat capabilities, their ability to fortify strongholds and attack fortified cities remained quite lacking.

This is roughly how the Jurchen army was structured.

Of course, in addition to these warhorses that served as the core of the fighting force, there were also a large number of auxiliary troops such as servants and laborers.

Their treatment was even worse and more miserable; they were almost all captured slaves.

Under the whips of the Jurchens, they went about cutting down trees and gathering firewood in groups, or leading herds of horses to drink and tend to them.

They were responsible for all the hard labor and menial tasks in the camp, and if they were not careful, they would be beaten and scolded at will, and if they were beaten to death, they would not be held responsible at all.

There was no strict order among these servants and laborers. They didn't even bother to select a manager; they organized themselves, with strong or somewhat prestigious individuals taking on the role.

When faced with battle, they were often driven forward without hesitation to serve as cannon fodder, even if it meant wasting the enemy's arrows, which the Jurchens considered worthwhile.

This is why Chen Shao spent money to buy it, and Wanyan Balisu and the Jurchens in Xijing Prefecture at the time were very willing.

In their eyes, these people are utterly worthless, as insignificant as ants.

The Jurchens did not provide food for the people, who relied on plundering the local population for sustenance, resulting in a large number of people starving to death every day.

This time, the entire Jurchen western army was mobilized on a massive scale, including Wanyan Xiyin from Datong Prefecture. Food supplies were even more scarce. By the time they arrived at this place, nine out of ten houses were empty, and there was no sound of chickens for miles around. With nowhere to plunder, dozens or even hundreds of corpses were carried out every day from these settlements of servants and laborers.

Those who had followed the Jurchen army for a long time and were captured in Shangjing Prefecture, Zhongjing Prefecture, or Liaodong, and who had some qualifications, fared better.

The most miserable were the Han Chinese who were forcibly conscripted in Xijing Datong Prefecture, who were at the very bottom of the Jurchen's oppressive system.

The corpses carried out every day were mostly Han Chinese who had been subjugated in Yunnei for over a hundred years, and had been ridden by different foreign masters generation after generation.

In the eyes of the Jurchens, no matter how many Han people died, they wouldn't even blink.

They would even jokingly offer advice, and when the mood struck them, they would shoot one or two more dead.

This chaotic, noisy, and smelly campsite has already filled the nearby open space.

Every day, a steady stream of troops continued to pour in from the north, and no one wanted to miss the opportunity to capture or kill Yelü Yanxi.

The Jurchens rose up in rebellion for revenge, so this was their greatest military achievement.

Wanyan Aguda was no longer in charge, so all the arrogant and fierce generals flocked to this place to compete for the credit.

This is actually not good.

Just like when Chen Shao captured Xingqing Prefecture, Li Qianshun fled to Helan Mountain. The wise move would have been to let Han Shizhong lead a limited force to slowly surround and kill him.

By gathering all of them here, they missed the opportunity to win over the people and establish rule, resulting in the fact that most of the prefectures in Yunnei are now occupied by local powerful clans and bandits.

In other words, the only great power at present—the Song Dynasty—was incompetent. Any Central Plains dynasty with a wise ruler in power would have already launched a military campaign against the north.

In the burnt ruins of the fortress, the Jurchens watched with boredom as the laborers fought over food, only showing a slight interest when they saw people being killed.

Anyone with even a little experience in military operations knows that such a large army cannot afford to linger in this deadly place.

They must surround and encircle them, but Zongwang and Zonghan are locked in fierce combat, and Aguda, the only one who can suppress them, is not present.

Wanyan Zonghan was the son of the prime minister Sagai, and his faction belonged to the military aristocracy.

In order to maintain a balance of power, Aguda promoted his younger brothers Wuqimai and Xieye (Wanyan Gao) to the position of Bojilie, thus suppressing the power of the Sagai faction.

Two years after the uprising, he executed his cousin Wanyan Wodai, who had made great military achievements, on charges of "treason," as a warning to the nobles not to challenge imperial power.

When Wanyan Aguda was in good health, he had a very high level of prestige and kept the two factions from having any major conflicts.

Now that he has fallen ill, things are gradually getting out of control. They even dare to undermine each other in major events like the assassination of Yelü Yanxi.

Neither side was willing to provide cover or assistance to the other, which led to Yelü Yanxi narrowly escaping death several times and breaking free from the encirclement of the army.

(End of this chapter)