You have truly caused me great suffering!

Chapter 19 Let's Go Listen to the Music

"If you want to attack Liao, then let me ask you, where do you plan to raise the money needed for the war?"

Cai Jing continued, "In order to launch the campaign against Liao, Tong Guan and Wang Fu raised 60 million strings of cash from Jiangnan."

Seeing Li Liangsi and Chen Shao's bewildered expressions, Cai Jing chuckled and said, "Oh, by the way, you might not know about this yet."

Chen Shao and Li Liangsi were not of high enough rank to know such things, but Cai Jing actually said it out loud.

Has the conflict between the two sides really gotten this deep?

Cai Jing was showing no regard for the other party's feelings; it seems that the campaign against Liao had touched a raw nerve.

Cai Jing was able to become prime minister several times because he was skilled at managing finances for Emperor Huizong (Zhao Ji) and could provide a continuous stream of money for Zhao Ji to squander.

Tong Guan's plan to attack Liao undoubtedly added an enormous amount of work to his workload.

Once war breaks out, the imperial court's money is all used to fund the front lines.

But what about the emperor?
Is he the kind of monarch who can cut back on his own expenses and then fully support the front lines?

Having spent so much time with the emperor, Cai Jing naturally knew he wasn't the right person.

The current emperor will definitely not treat me poorly. Once he finds out that he has no money to squander, he will surely force me to get him money.

Where can I get it?
Cai Jing had long harbored resentment, as the wealthy Jiangnan region had always been his target for making money.

"The people of Jiangnan are suffering terribly, to the point of being unable to survive! And yet you still want to wage war against Liao? Who knows how much of this 60 million strings of cash will actually be used for the war? I'm afraid half of it will end up in the pockets of Wang Fu and Tong Guan!"

After these words were spoken, no one present dared to interrupt.

This includes Chen Shao, who cultivated a "naive and impulsive" persona for himself.

Some things can't be gotten involved in by just being stubborn; he was pretending to be stubborn, not that he was really stupid.

Cai Jing sneered, "Put the campaign against Liao aside for now. If you really force Jiangnan into rebellion and a peasant uprising breaks out there, I'd like to see how you handle the situation."

Chen Shao gasped.

Cai Jing, now in power, is indeed quite capable; he has already foreseen the risks in Jiangnan.

The Fang La Rebellion will probably begin in the next few days.

Today's outburst of anger, seemingly stemming from his own provocation, may also be an attempt to shift blame in advance.

Was Jiangnan Dao truly forced into rebellion by Wang Fu and Tong Guan?
Do you think you can wash your hands of this by just cursing people today? Whose pockets did the money from the Huashi Gang scandal end up in?

Of the six traitors in the imperial court who exploited Jiangnan, which one didn't get a share?

Wang Fu and Tong Guan probably couldn't stomach such a large piece of fat.

Gao Ji said from the side, "My lord, please calm down. Let's not talk about the campaign against Liao and the exhaustion of the people's strength in Jiangnan. Just take this campaign against Xia as an example. With hundreds of thousands of troops and hundreds of thousands of laborers, and six routes of transportation, where is there anything left? It looks like we are about to have to mobilize the Three Departments. With 100,000 soldiers stationed far away, the lack of food and pay is a terrible thing. We can only grit our teeth and bear this burden. The Three Departments have been busy these days, raising funds for the six routes in Shaanxi. I didn't expect that someone would want to open up another battlefield."

The two of them took turns venting their frustrations about what had happened that day.

Someone will definitely pass on the whole story, word for word, to Tong Guan.

So while it may seem that Cai Jing was scolding Li Liangsi and Chen Shao, they were actually there to take the blame for Tong Guan.

They are two straw figures being scolded.

Li Liangsi immediately obeyed and hastily took his leave.

Chen Shao, on the other hand, remained ramrod straight, as if he hadn't understood at all.

After leaving the Cai residence, Li Liangsi kept complaining.

He even started to complain about Tong Guan.

Why send in such a fool out of the blue, a reckless man who even dares to criticize Cai Jing?

Chen Shao, standing to the side, chuckled and said, "Brother Li, haven't you realized yet? Prime Minister Cai will absolutely not support us."

Li Liangsi sighed and said nothing more.

Since things had come to this point, there was no point in saying more; he needed to start preparing for his upcoming audience with the emperor.

He still valued meeting the emperor very much.

In his view, what Cai Jing said was not a big deal.

The Liao dynasty's rulers and ministers were rotten to the core. Li Liangsi didn't understand the Song dynasty, but he understood the Liao dynasty.

He firmly believed that with such a muddle-headed emperor, such treacherous ministers, and such weak soldiers, the Liao Dynasty would surely crumble at the slightest touch.

What's the fear of lacking money? Once we conquer the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun, we'll have plenty of people and money.

The corrupt officials of the Liao Dynasty amassed countless riches.

Everything will be alright as long as war breaks out.

Li Liangsi was born and raised in the Liao Dynasty, and served as an official in the Liao state for several decades.

He felt that there was no empire in the world worse than the Liao Dynasty.

Unfortunately, he arrived too late; he didn't yet understand the Song Dynasty.
Chen Shao mounted his horse, waved, and several personal guards followed closely behind. Just as he was about to return to Duting Post Station with Dong Dahu and the others, Chen Shao suddenly remembered something.

He reined in his horse and said, "Find out which brothel the most beautiful courtesan in Bianliang, Li Shishi, works at."

Instead of waiting idly at Duting Post Station, why not try your luck with Li Shishi? Maybe you can see the emperor sooner.

Li Liangsi was about to go back when he heard this, and couldn't help but ask, "Who is Li Shishi?"

“A courtesan.” Chen Shao gave him a knowing look and said, “Her fame is so great that I’ve heard of her all over the Northwest.”

"The courtesan?" Li Liangsi frowned slightly before realizing what he meant, and then fell into great anger.

This guy almost ruined everything, and now that he's about to meet the emperor, he still wants to go to a brothel.

Li Liangsi sneered, cursing inwardly, "This brat is not worth discussing things with," and then angrily returned to Duting Post Station.

The brothels of this time were quite different from those of later generations; they were truly elegant places.

Some of these geisha were city prostitutes, meaning they were free individuals who entered the profession voluntarily, and therefore were not exploited by brothel owners; they were purely performing for profit.

This is similar to female stars or internet celebrities in later generations.

They don't engage in prostitution on the surface.

Someone like Li Shishi, with her great fame and wealth, was sought after by powerful and influential people. Even if Chen Shao arrived, he would not actually be able to meet her.

However, he did indeed enjoy listening to music in the brothels.

No wonder the ancients listed "sound, color, dog and horse" together, and even put sound first.

sounds so good!
These people are truly skilled; their very words can make people feel weak in the knees and tingle with pleasure.

Seven days later, on the official road to the capital.

Thousands of soldiers escorted a man, raising clouds of dust.

On horseback, Tong Guan held a dossier, sneering as he read it.

"Minister Cai has put a huge label on me, and I, Tong Guan, am afraid I cannot bear it."

After seeing Chen Shao's reply, Tong Guan smiled and didn't take it seriously.

"That Chen Shao kid has some guts. Where is he?"

Among those who came to greet him, one of them said loudly, "These past few days, I've been spending every day in brothels."

He seemed to be letting Li Liangsi and Chen Shao test Cai Jing, but in fact they were under his control. Tong Guan knew everything about their words and actions.

Tong Guan laughed heartily, and Chen Shao's image was instantly fixed in his mind:

Greedy for money, using his own name to solicit bribes and extort money;
He was lustful and became addicted to the songs and dances in brothels as soon as he arrived in Bianliang.

Bold; even a mere eighth-rank military officer doesn't lose face in front of Cai Jing.

Despite being loyal, even when facing Cai Jing, who held immense power and controlled the entire country, he never forgot whose subordinate he was.

He possessed considerable ability and, in a short period of time, subdued his own victorious army's elite troops.

This kind of high-quality pawn is brave and daring, and can be used to break the deadlock at crucial moments.

After all, if you were to order your men to attack an enemy of Cai Jing's caliber, he might not dare.

Just like Sima Zhao killing Cao Mao, it was fortunate that Cheng Ji was such a hothead.

Tong Guan liked to promote young people like this to his side, and there were many such people in his Shengjie Army.

He didn't really give important positions to older military officers, because they all had families to support.

In a place like the Northwest, several military families have been established for centuries, deeply rooted in their traditions. Why would they switch allegiance to you?

If Tong Guan wanted to control the Western Army, he needed to divide them and support some emerging forces to weaken the control of the military and powerful clans over the Northwest.

Tong Guan had already decided in his heart to give this person a chance.

After dismounting, Tong Guan and his party arrived at a residence in Kaifeng Prefecture.

This is one of Tong Guan's residences, where a group of officials were already waiting.

These officials were of very high rank, and they all stood up when they saw Tong Guan enter.

The maids knelt silently to one side, ready to serve the gentlemen tea and water at any time.

"Is everyone here?"

Tong Guan glanced around, and Wang Yun nodded slightly beside him.

Tong Guan waved his hand, and the maids lowered the curtain, bowed, and withdrew.

Soon, another group of people entered. Leading them was none other than Wang Fu, the current Grand Councilor, Junior Chancellor, and Vice Minister of the Chancellery.

A shocking power struggle in the officialdom is about to unfold in Bianliang.

(End of this chapter)