You have truly caused me great suffering!

Taiyuan.

The weather was hot, and Chen Shaoxian practiced with Da Hu and the others for a while, working up a good sweat.

He simply took a bath, and then, dressed in a light robe and wearing a square scarf, he sat in a round-backed chair under the pavilion in the backyard, looking like a scholar, and read military reports.

Today's military report also included several letters.

"People's hearts are restless!"

Chen Shao looked at the letters in his hand; most of them were from his subordinates urging him to be more ambitious.

How can a mere regional warlord like myself advance in rank?

You might as well put your words more clearly!

Now that everyone in the Dingnan Army is involved in this great battle, they are all feeling the pressure.

At this point, there were only two paths: either abandon everything, return to the northwest to establish a self-governing alliance, and become the second emperor of Western Xia.

Or go further, expand territory, seize resources to supply the war, and fight those damned Jurchen Tartars to the bitter end.

The fighting has reached this point, and no one is willing to give up. Everyone has followed you to build their future, and many have already sacrificed their lives; there's no reason for them to back down.

And if you really leave, you might become a sinner for all time.

People in the Northwest are not afraid of dying. In the past, during the war between Song and Xia, people died every day, which was even more difficult than it is now.

Back then, fighting was just about saving your life; now, fighting might just get you a title of nobility.

The Northwest was strong and well-equipped, and Chen Shao himself was only a military commander; many of his generals had already reached the point where they could not be promoted further.

It's understandable that people's hearts are restless.

Chen Shao did not suppress this, nor did he dare to, otherwise, who knows what might happen.

As for this war...

Chen Shao's meaning was clear: Wanyan Zongwang must not be allowed to return comfortably with the reparations.

If all else fails, force the Song court to gather its forces and fight a battle.

Near Tokyo, an increasing number of troops are gathering, including Wang Bing's Huanqing Army, Yang Keshi's Shengjie Army, Yao Gu's Xihe Army, Qin Feng's Army, the Zhe Family Army, the Zhong Family Army, Zong Ze's Hebei Righteous Army, and the Capital New Army of Bianliang.
All in all, the total number was over 100,000. If you include the local troops and soldiers who marched north from various places, the number might exceed 200,000.

With so many people, at least in terms of numbers, they already overwhelmed Zong Wang's forces and Guo Yaoshi's ever-victorious army.

After winning, they might even be able to take back Yanshan Prefecture. It's true that the Song people have lost the hearts of the people in Yanshan Prefecture, but the Jin army is not much stronger than the Song people. Including the time they took it from the Liao people, they have already massacred Yan three times.

The only concern is that after Zongwang went south, he was almost invincible and had no rivals.

This made Chen Shao doubt whether the Song army would dare to fight again.

At this moment, a commotion came from the courtyard. A group of young maids were shuttling back and forth, carrying large and small bags inside. They were young and didn't have much strength.

By this time, they were exhausted and their faces were red. Several old women were strong but also experienced, and they were directing them from the side.

"What are you doing?" Chen Shao asked curiously.

An old woman wiped her sweat and came over, saying, "It's from Madam Mei's house. They've brought some of the things that Madam Mei is used to using at home."

"Who sent it?"

"They said it was delivered personally by Professor Li."

Upon hearing this, Chen Shao put down the military report in his hand and said, "Li Tangchen has recovered. Why didn't you come to report it?"

The old woman chuckled awkwardly, thinking to herself, "All this running around here, doing all this for you, is just to remind you of this."

Chen Shao beckoned and said, "Please invite him in."

A moment later, Li Tangchen walked in with a smile.

Chen Shao extended his hand and said, "Sit down."

Li Tangchen knew that he was not very formal and was very close to his subordinates, so he sat down without ceremony.

"Are you fully recovered?"

Li Tangchen came today to deliver things to his daughter, intending to remind Chen Shao that he was almost fully recovered and that he should be given a new job soon.

If we arrive any later, there probably won't be any good spots left.

He quickly replied, "It's all right now."

Chen Shao nodded and said, "This assassination attempt should serve as a reminder; we must all be more careful from now on."

Li Tangchen nodded, noticed the pile of documents on the table, and said with a smile, "The commander is so busy, it is truly shameful that we, the dullards, cannot share his burdens."

Chen Shao smiled and said, "Then you can give me some advice."

Li Tangchen immediately sat up straight and concentrated.

Chen Shao explained the current situation and expressed his intentions.

Li Tangchen immediately said, "General, there are many officials in the court who are from Hedong, and their families are all in Hedong. I can contact some of them. How about we have them speak up for you in court?"

The Song Dynasty supported many idle officials who had nothing to do on weekdays, but they were still very useful in expressing their opinions during court assemblies.

Upon hearing this, Chen Shao immediately became interested and nodded, saying, "Can these officials from Hedong speak on our behalf?"

Li Tangchen nodded, "They're all on our side."

Chen Shao immediately understood: if this person said they were all on their own, then it was pretty much true.

The highest institution of learning in Hedong was undoubtedly Taiyuan Prefectural School, and Li Tangchen had always been in charge of managing and overseeing it.

Their families and clans were in Hedong, and their interests were actually aligned with those of their own.

This indeed filled the void of not having a mouthpiece in the court.

Chen Shao was in high spirits and immediately promised Li Tangchen the position of councilor of Hedong, just as Wei Li held the position of councilor of Dingnan Army.

For all matters, large and small, in Hedong, they would propose solutions for Chen Shao to choose from, and after Chen Shao made the decisions, they would implement them.

Li Tangchen was excited, but his face remained calm and smiling as he stood up to express his gratitude.

"There's no time to lose. Once you get back, immediately send someone to contact the officials in Hedong. Make sure that anyone who is on our side opposes the peace talks in the court!"

"Anyone who dares to negotiate peace should be impeached relentlessly, brought down, and utterly disgraced!"

Peace talks are inherently prone to criticism, and the presence of such a group of people deliberately seeking trouble will likely deter many eager peace advocates.

With the civil affairs arrangements settled, the military affairs cannot be neglected.

Chen Shao then sent someone to Bianliang to inform Guo Hao that if he saw the Jurchen envoy, he could execute him first and report later.

The people of Guangyuantang could also incite the common people to attack the peace delegation sent by the Song Dynasty along the way.

If Zong Ze could use this trick, why couldn't he?

Li Tangchen rose to take his leave.

He came with ulterior motives, but when he left, Chen Shao personally saw him off.

They held hands and chatted happily.

Anyone who witnessed this knew he was about to be promoted.

Back at his residence, Chen Shao was still in high spirits, even though he didn't have many people he could rely on in Bianliang.

Because there were no officials from the Northwest in Bianliang.
Regardless of the academic performance of scholars from the Northwest, even if they were truly excellent, they would still end up serving as officials for the Western Xia in Xingqing Prefecture.

The situation in Hedong is quite different!
Chen Shao always placed great importance on having a legitimate reason for his actions, so having a group of people who could speak up for him was especially important.

Often, whoever shouts the loudest is right.

Thinking of Li Tangchen's great achievements, Chen Shao went to Li Yumei's courtyard on his way.

There was some furniture in the yard, all of which had just been replaced.

Li Yumei was packing her new belongings when she moved in. She never expected that her father would come to deliver them to her personally, given her high status.

Hearing that Chen Shao had personally seen his father off, Li Yumei was in a particularly good mood and diligently helped Chen Shao change his clothes.

A new round peach wood table was added to the room, along with four round peach wood stools. Against the wall stood a large ebony carved bed with a purple brocade canopy hanging down. Inside the canopy, the mats were neatly arranged, and the pillows and quilts were in pairs.

A round mirror and dressing table were placed directly in front of the bed. On the table were about a dozen bottles and boxes of various sizes, containing rouge, face powder, lipstick, and floral perfume, all exuding a rich fragrance.

Chen Shao curiously fiddled with the powder bottles and jars, pinched her cheek, and teased, "Little hussy, it must be hard to maintain your fair skin. Look at all these bottles and jars, it's amazing that you can distinguish and remember them all."

“Only those who take good care of themselves are worthy of serving the master; otherwise, how dare they enter our mansion!” Li Yumei said with a smile.

Chen Shao quite liked this bright and bold girl. He pulled her into his arms and said, "My wife is not here. You and Caiwei are in Hedong. You should entertain some of the officials' wives for me."

"As long as the master doesn't mind us."

Li Yumei is the daughter of a university professor. She is beautiful and has a well-known reputation for beauty in Taiyuan. Many noble and wealthy families would love to marry such a woman.

It's only because Chen Shao's current status is special that his family is willing to send their daughter to be a concubine.
-
After Chen Shao made two decisions at his residence, things quickly became complicated.

First, there was the court in Bianliang. Officials were all idle at home, content as long as they didn't go hungry, and had no time to enjoy the splendor of the capital.

But suddenly, overnight, many people emerged and vehemently criticized the peace talks.

The appeasement policy of the pro-peace faction is said to lead to the Jin army becoming more aggressive, such as ceding territory and paying reparations, which will only make the enemy more arrogant.
Moreover, negotiating peace violates the Confucian principle of "distinguishing between the civilized and the barbarian" and represents a loss of national integrity.

Ceding territory would cause people to be displaced, and paying reparations would increase their taxes. This is essentially harming one's own people in order to appease foreign powers.

They were spouting platitudes that were impossible to refute.

Soon, observant people noticed that these officials who suddenly appeared with strong words all had one thing in common—they were from Hedong.

These officials from Hedong don't hide anything; they're very open about it. They say they have powerful backers.

With hundreds of thousands of soldiers fighting against the enemy, who dared to utter a single word?
Moreover, after they began to speak, a large number of officials were promoted in various prefectures and cities in Hedong.

They were all relatives of these people, who replaced the officials originally assigned by the Song Dynasty from other regions.

In these turbulent times, they dared not argue their case, for Chen Shao's words in Hedong were more effective than an imperial edict.

Zhao Huan laughed it off and remained silent during court assemblies, but in private he continued to negotiate with the Jin people.

He had just learned how to negotiate from Emperor Huizong (Zhao Ji), which greatly reduced his stress. Emperor Huizong himself never expected that he, nearing fifty, would still be able to teach his son to be so successful.

This idiot used to genuinely intend to pay the price demanded by Wanyan Zongwang. During court assemblies, he would often find himself lost in thought, calculating accounts—a truly rare and exceptional emperor, a rare breed indeed.

Because Wanyan Zongwang didn't expect him to be a fool, and was asking for an exorbitant price, never imagining that the Song Dynasty would offer so much.

With so many pro-war figures suddenly appearing in the court, and all of them being former idle officials, it was hard for Li Gang and his men not to notice.

Wu Min has now been promoted to Vice Minister of the Imperial Secretariat and is now in charge of government affairs together with Li Gang.

With the addition of the strategist Yuwen Xuzhong, the three gathered in the lecture hall to discuss the current situation.

Originally, Li Gang was in charge of the battle from the outside, but after organizing several battles, he realized that he was not really cut out for it.

He then recommended Wang Bing to serve as the commander of the front lines and return to Bianliang to focus on handling affairs of the court.

Wang Bing was deeply grateful to Li Gang for giving him such an important position.

Since he was promoted by Tong Guan, and logically speaking, Tong Guan's downfall was also due to the efforts of Li Gang and others, Wang Bing's official career should have ended there.

According to the conventions of the Song Dynasty, he should have been relieved of his military command at this time, demoted to a remote prefecture as a defense commissioner or similar official, and then waited for further demotion.

However, Li Gang was indeed good at recognizing talent. He could see that Wang Bing was a talented person with the ability to lead troops, and that he was actually very loyal by nature.

Therefore, he strongly recommended Wang Bing, thus saving him. Now is the time when Li Gang holds the most power, and since it concerns the war on the periphery, no one dares to interfere.

Interrupting at this point would be a responsible act. Most officials, like Emperor Huizong, actually preferred to avoid worrying about national affairs and just let the matter pass by.

Aside from secretly insisting on peace talks himself, Zhao Huan largely listened to the three of them.

After Geng Nanzhong left, the people with the closest relationship with Donghua Palace were the three of them, plus Shao Chengzhang from the Inner Palace Secretariat.

The three usually meet in the council hall to discuss important matters, and occasionally they also invite other people to come.

The idea came from Yuwen Xuzhong, and the decision was made by Li Gang. Wu Min had been slightly dissatisfied lately, but had been holding back her anger.

These old party officials, who had been suppressed by Cai Jing for more than a decade, had a perverse desire for power.

"Chen Shao's instigation has prompted these officials to speak out in his favor. While advocating for war is a good thing, it is clear that they have been controlled by Chen Shao, and we must be wary of them."

Wu Min's voice sounded tired. He had been very busy these days, as coordinating the supplies for the various troops around Tokyo was no easy task.

Most importantly, they also had to transport grain and fodder to Hebei to support Zong Ze.

Nowadays, when grain supplies are transported from the east through Daming Prefecture, they are frequently intercepted by the Jin army.

Fortunately, they were few in number and could barely supply the Hebei rebels.

Military leaders in the Daming Prefecture area, especially Yang Keshi, frequently intercepted people.

“Chen Shao has always opposed peace talks,” Li Gang tried to convince himself, trusting that Chen Shao was a loyal minister.

If he were truly a loyal subject, the situation would be much better.

Unfortunately, even if you want to deceive yourself, it's hard to succeed.

Now that Chen Shao has gained power, will he truly be loyal to the Song Dynasty?
Cao Cao did indeed have the idea of ​​being loyal to the Han Dynasty back then, or at least he once did.

However, once he has gained power, if he dares to relinquish all power and become a loyal subject of the Han Dynasty, then his family will inevitably be destroyed after his death.

Li Gang sighed and decided to stop thinking about these things. The biggest enemy now was still the Jurchen Tartars.

Chen Shao may have harbored malicious intentions, but the Jurchen Tartars were already slaughtering the people of the Song Dynasty with real swords and spears.

Sometimes, he really wanted to fight both sides to the death, until both sides were severely damaged.
But the truth is, they were all very restrained and never went all out in the final battle.

Clearly, the decision-makers on both sides are not fools.
"Should we deal with these officials from Hedong?"

Yuwen Xuzhong, who had been silent until now, quickly stopped Wu Min from continuing, waving his hand and saying, "They are not harmful at all, and they can still let us hear Chen Shao's demands. If we silence these people, we will have no way of knowing what Chen Shao is thinking and can only guess."

"With these officials, we also have another channel to contact Chen Shao."

Li Gang nodded and said, "That's right, these officials have no real power, so there's no need to take action."

Yuwen Xuzhong looked at Wu Min and asked, "What has Guo Hao's troops, who are stationed outside the city, been up to lately?"

"It's relatively peaceful."

Yuwen Xuzhong sighed and said, "I have dealt with Chen Shao before. He is always thorough in his work. Since he is so opposed to peace talks, he cannot possibly only incite the officials of Hedong to speak out in the court."

"what do you mean?"

"My fear of Guo Hao is one of his tactics."

Li Gang took a deep breath. "We absolutely cannot let them enter Bianliang."

Although these troops entered Bianliang, they would not pose much of a threat to the imperial city, because Bianliang had the Capital New Army, which was enough to suppress them.

But the fear is that they might take risks and do something outrageous, and then you'll have to decide whether to intervene or not.

If we really take control, will the Dingnan Army use this as a pretext to attack Bianliang?

These myriad matters were truly exhausting, and the Song Dynasty they served had been severely turbulent.

By this time, it was already extremely weak, and to make up for it would truly depend on favorable timing, location, and human factors.

Li Gang considered himself to be hard-hearted and resolute, yet he still often felt despair and even had thoughts of giving up.

He thought, needless to say, about the others.

"Disaster!"

After Li Gang finished speaking, the other two exchanged a wry smile.

Who said no.

The former emperor and his close ministers have ruined the country, squandering all the wealth accumulated by the Song Dynasty over the past century.

He left himself with such a mess.

Wu Min said fiercely, "It's hateful that people like Cai Jing and Liang Shicheng are still living freely. How can one not feel hatred!"

"The former official executed Tong Guan and obtained millions. If he could also kill these few corrupt officials, he might be able to save the situation."

Li Gang strongly agreed with this, as killing Tong Guan earlier had given them confidence.

"The most important thing now is this matter!" Li Gang said. "I heard that Cai You has already escaped. What a pity! What a hateful thing!"

Yuwen Xuzhong originally didn't want to say it, but seeing that they had come to this point, he sighed and clicked his tongue, "Previously, Chen Shao had submitted several memorials to the court, demanding that the court execute Cai You, and his words were even more vehement than when he ordered the execution of Tong Guan."

“This time, Cai Jing sent Cai You to the Northwest under the pretext of visiting Cai Tiao. Cai Jing’s love for his son is now common knowledge. It is obviously impossible for him to send Cai You to his death.”

Li Gang's eyes widened, and he said, "Are you saying that Cai Jing and Chen Shao have secretly joined forces?"

"We should know the answer by seeing whether Chen Shao kills Cai You or not," Yuwen Xuzhong said. "If Chen Shao doesn't kill Cai You, it's most likely that Cai Jing made some kind of offer to him."

"That old scoundrel Cai Jing deserves to die!"
-
When Cai You left the capital, his caravan was seven or eight miles long, and he had a large number of servants.

His retainers, riding on horseback, were also quite imposing.

Although it was in the relatively safe western part of Kaifeng, Cai You was still worried that the Jurchen soldiers were coming, and urged his men to advance quickly.

Fortunately, the official roads near Bianliang were smooth and wide, making them very easy to travel.

They traveled westward, and it was seven days later when they arrived in Mengzhou. Only then did their carriages and horses turn north.

As soon as they entered the Hedong area, they were surrounded by a group of soldiers.

The leader was mounted on a horse, his armor gleaming, and his military robe clearly identified him as a soldier from Yinzhou.

Which one is Cai You?

"Who are you?" the Cai family guards demanded.

They used to act arrogantly in Bianliang, and they hadn't yet changed their social status, still feeling superior to others.

The military officer from Yinzhou lashed out with his whip, shouting, "Which one of you is Cai You!"

Cai You's carriage was in the very center of the procession, extremely magnificent and extravagant.

There were about ten carriages in total, all carrying his wives and concubines. There was also one carriage carrying the family of his fifth brother, Cai Tiao, who were going to Xiping Prefecture to visit Cai Tiao.

The wheels are made of Hainan rosewood, the body is made of sandalwood, and the silver ornaments on the body are openwork carvings with lotus and cloud patterns. The curtains are made of Suzhou embroidery blue silk, with pearl tassels along the edges.

Hearing the commotion ahead, Cai You angrily lifted the curtain, taking the opportunity to get some fresh air.

"Who's blocking the way!"

"Reporting to my lord, they are a group of common soldiers."

Cai You suddenly felt a little guilty. His father had warned him before he came that he must keep a low profile, especially when he arrived in the Northwest.

But I haven't arrived yet.

At this moment, the family retainer, who had been beaten black and blue with a bloody mark on his face, arrived with a troop of cavalry.

Without even asking, the leading military officer immediately recognized Cai You from the crowd, and reined in his horse, asking, "Is this Cai You?"

The servant hurriedly nodded, fearing he would be beaten again.

"Take it!"

Upon hearing this, Cai You immediately cursed, "You audacious convict, are you trying to rebel?!"

Upon recognizing these people's banners, Cai You immediately said, "I am a guest invited to the Northwest by your commander!"

"The commander has ordered that you do not need to go to Xiping Prefecture for now, but take him to Taiyuan to see him."

Cai You chuckled, "Knowing I'm a guest of honor of your commander, you still dare to be rude? Didn't you see he wanted to invite me to Taiyuan?"

"Sorry, our commander also said that he would beat you up first when he saw you, and then beat you up again every three days on the way."

Just as Cai You was about to curse, a thunderous sound rang out above his head.

Immediately afterward, a whip came down, and the pain instantly spread throughout his body, causing him unbearable agony. He let out a miserable scream.

He has lived a life of luxury, never suffering even the slightest hardship.

How could he endure such a whipping? After letting out a howl, he immediately fainted.

The military officer cried out in alarm, "How can this man be so weak? Could he be dead?" (End of Chapter)