You have truly caused me great suffering!

Just as Zong Ze had predicted.

Du Chong dared not resist Li Yanqi, who had come to collect the debt.

Li Yanqi thus stayed openly and legitimately in Daming Prefecture.

When the report reached Taiyuan, Chen Shao was very happy, although the situation had not changed much.

But small, positive news has been consistently coming in.

On the eve of a major battle, it all comes down to who is better prepared and who can accumulate small victories into a major triumph.

In a major battle of this scale, once both sides are fully engaged, the ingenious strategies and cunning tactics of the generals rarely have a significant impact on the overall outcome.

At most, it will change the battle in a certain place.

As long as we proceed cautiously, strengthen the defenses of each fortress, and avoid making the same grave mistake as Tong Guan.

Even if there are minor setbacks, they can be stopped in time to prevent major collapses.

Chen Shao then met with several subordinate officials and generals who had retired from the front lines in Yunnei, and listened to their accounts of the difficulties faced at the front.

He didn't hold back; if he could solve a problem, he immediately told them. If he couldn't, he let the frontline staff figure it out themselves.

The main problem at the front was that the Jurchen Tartars' heavily armored infantry were arrayed in formation, and our cavalry could not break through or break through them;

Their Ironclad Cavalry charged into battle, but their side lacked the strength to resist.

Han Shizhong had heavy cavalry under his command, but they were not the fully armed heavy cavalry; they were just cavalrymen with more armor.

That bastard Li Qianshun destroyed and discarded all of Iron Falcon's armor in the Helan Mountains, and it has never been found to this day.

Chen Shao kept it in mind; heavy cavalry was indeed a formidable weapon in this era.

Although raising them is very expensive and their mobility is not high, they are indispensable for dealing with the Jurchens.

He immediately instructed the engineering institute to begin forging his own heavy cavalry equipment, and then ordered Mezang Pangge to begin selecting strong knights from across the army.

After seeing them off, Chen Shao felt inexplicably anxious.

News from the front always made him nervous.

But as the crucial moment approaches, he still tends to think things through more.

Every time Chen Shao talked with Han Shizhong and others, he would tell them that with a major battle imminent, they shouldn't think too much.

When it was my turn, I just couldn't do it.

Chen Shao sighed, clapped his hands, and ordered his personal guards to bring Song Shi over.

After everyone left, Chen Shao flipped through several reports from Bianliang, including a letter from his cousin Liu Guanglie.

Chen Shao cared about this a lot and quickly unfolded it, only to find that it was a letter asking for help.

It turned out that after the Liu brothers were defeated, they disappeared without a trace. Later, it was learned that they had been detained by Zhe Kecun.

Liu Yanqing hoped that Chen Shao would step in and help them get Liu Guangshi and Liu Anshi back.

Chen Shao immediately put it aside. His cousin sent it by letter without giving any special explanation, which showed that he didn't care much about it at all.

Is face so easily given away these days?
Chen Shao valued his personal connections highly and didn't intend to waste them on such matters. In any case, it was unlikely that Zhe Kecun would kill Liu Guangshi and his brother.

It's not a bad thing to let them suffer a little.

They completely squandered the Liu family's fortune, and from then on, Fuyan Road no longer belonged to the Liu clan.

Of the four major families of the Western Army, one has now fallen.

However, this also served as a reminder to Chen Shao that the Zhe family army's constant lingering around the capital region was not a good idea.

It's time for the imperial court to issue an edict ordering those who came to the emperor's aid to return home immediately.

Stop waiting for the imperial court to feed you near the capital.

Previously, the imperial court didn't provide any grain or fodder for us; they could give it to whomever they wanted, and it didn't matter to us.

Now that the imperial court's provisions are to be supplied to my Dingnan Army, you should all stay out of it.

Before long, Song was brought to the courtyard.

After she entered the gatehouse, she was led to the study.

Song didn't want to come at this time. After returning home that day, she was still thinking about how to tell Cai You.

It turned out that Cai You was not there at all.

The conditions in the house have improved a lot, and the maids who used to be there have been released.

This gave Song a special feeling.

She kept her head down as she walked up the wooden stairs.

Upon arriving on the second floor, she saw Chen Shao processing official documents, and her mind was already in turmoil.

After being taken by Chen Shao last time, he "forced" himself to have sex seven or eight more times.

What truly made Song Shi lower her guard was a small thing: Chen Shao would always hug her tightly after they were done.

This was an experience she had never had before.

A woman's heart can be so unpredictable sometimes; because of this, she felt much less humiliated by Chen Shao's coercive behavior.

Instead, there was a hidden sense of expectation tinged with guilt.

After the humiliation subsided, Song began to seriously examine Chen Shao.

He was a handsome and tall young man, unlike the spoiled brats she had met. Chen Shao had a simple and honest air about him, which made him seem quite approachable.

Moreover, he is young and holds a high position, which makes people feel very safe.

So on several later occasions, she actually became somewhat emotionally involved. What should have been a moment of humiliation, unexpectedly...
Chen Shao looked up and saw that Madam Song was wearing a dark blue robe that covered her entire body. Judging from her clothing alone, she seemed very reserved.

He smiled slightly, and at that moment Song suddenly realized that the "big devil" Chen Shao in front of her was not much older than her son, and she felt ashamed and embarrassed.

This shouldn't be happening;
This shouldn't be happening;
"I have a heated floor in my little building, aren't you hot?"

Mrs. Song shook her head.

Then Chen Shao began to gently explore inside the folds of his clothes.

Before long, Song's skin clearly felt the heat and touch of his palm as it slowly moved upwards along her soft, smooth skin.

Song remained seated, motionless, though her face felt slightly flushed.

Her whole body tensed up. Chen Shao loved seeing this dignified woman forcefully suppressing her emotions; it always gave him a guilty pleasure.

"Isn't this hot?" Chen Shao said. "It's scalding hot."

She finally reached out and grabbed Chen Shao's wrist, pulling his hand away and giving him a fierce glare.
-
Maode looked at his sister-in-law with a somewhat embarrassed expression.

She was an extremely kind person by nature and did not gloat over the misfortune; she only felt some sympathy.

Deep down, she still felt that her sister-in-law might be suffering in her place.

At this point, Song had a change of heart.

Chen Shao gave her a feeling she had never experienced before, and she felt that she had not lived in vain.

That joyful feeling, though brief, seemed to release all melancholy and distress, making both body and mind feel very relaxed.

The unreserved love and being loved allowed me, who had lived a muddled and cautious life for decades, to rediscover happiness.

She even felt as if she had returned to the time before she got married, when she was loved and cared for.

She felt young again, the fleeting experience unforgettable, and everything before her eyes became vibrant and colorful.

In a bland and tasteless life, to have someone appear who makes your heart flutter and brings you joy is truly precious.

pretty good.

However, she still felt somewhat embarrassed when facing Maud.

"Sister-in-law...you...you saw him?"

Mrs. Song nodded.

Did he say when the family members would depart?

"Spring begins."

Maode said "Oh," and quickly lowered his head and walked away, but before leaving, he glanced at her curiously one last time.

My sister-in-law's complexion looks very rosy.
Outside the engineering college.

Chen Shao got up very early because he heard that some of the equipment for the heavy cavalry had been completed.

The people from the engineering college sent Chen Shaoqian to watch early in the morning.

Accompanied by a group of officials from Taiyuan Prefecture in Hedong, Chen Shao arrived at the outskirts of the city.

The heavy, clattering sound of horses' hooves rose and fell, striking the road outside Taiyuan City at a leisurely pace.

The horses' hooves were all adorned with finely crafted horseshoes.

These dozens of horses were all tall, strong horses from the Western Regions, with broad shoulders and well-developed muscles.

They are more than a head taller than ordinary horses, and they were all carefully selected from countless warhorses!

If the Xiao family hadn't opened up the Western Regions, it would have been difficult to gather so many fine horses.

These warhorses were all armored, with face shields, neck guards, breastplates, body armor, saddlecloths, and parasitic armor—everything was complete.

The armor plates used on these horses were all cold-forged, and each plate had a terrifying wart on it.

Combined with fully armed heavy armored knights, they moved like mobile fortresses.

This is a heavily armored elite cavalry force that Chen Shao gathered from the original Western Xia craftsmen and built according to the Western Xia's iron hawk craftsmanship.

The Jurchens preferred to form formations with infantry and armored soldiers, which ordinary cavalry could not break through.

The frontline staff had mentioned it many times, and Han Shizhong and others who came from the Western Army all thought of the Iron Falcons, the elite heavy cavalry of Western Xia.

So Chen Shao ordered his men to make the armor according to the original craftsmanship, and then selected elite soldiers.

This thing can only be handled by elites, because each complete set of armor weighs over a hundred pounds.

In real history, the Jurchen Iron Pagoda represented the pinnacle of heavy cavalry power during that period.

Half of the combat power of heavy cavalry comes from their warhorses. The mounts of heavy cavalry must be able to carry heavy armor and have great strength in order to repeatedly charge into battle.

The warhorses used by the Jurchen Tartars were large horses bred in extremely cold regions, and they were extremely valuable tributes during the Liao Dynasty's most powerful period.

Their horse armor was also made of fine iron. The Liao Dynasty was a country known for its fine iron, and its armor-making skills were not much inferior to those of the Song Dynasty.

Chen Shao stood at a distance, watching the horse faces hidden beneath rough veils, exhaling long plumes of white smoke.

The full set of horse armor reflected a chilling light. After the knights donned their armor and mounted their horses, there were twenty-four armored riders, eight riders in a row.

Even with only three rows of troops lined up, they exuded an unstoppable aura on the not-so-wide roads in the suburbs of Taiyuan.

The knight on horseback, clad entirely in imitation Qing Tang wart armor, lowered his face shield at a command.

The patterns on it were all grotesque and terrifying, except for the eyes, which were two deep, dark holes.

Every soldier was broad-shouldered and burly.

Their weapons were not fixed, but were chosen according to their own habits and preferences. Some used long swords and sabers, some used long-handled broadswords, and some used iron hammers and maces.

Most of the weapons were heavy and made of fine iron.

It is worth noting that Chen Shao did not equip them with bows and arrows.

He didn't intend to use this force alone, but rather to coordinate it with the main army.

Otherwise, they are very likely to be worn out and killed due to insufficient mobility.

Historically, the Western Xia Iron Falcons were defeated by the Mongol light cavalry using a tactic of luring the enemy deep into their territory and then outflanking them, ultimately forcing them to surrender.

"Excellent!" Li Tangchen exclaimed, "Excellent! Truly the elite of the elite!"

Chen Shao chuckled. They were elite troops, but they were also expensive.

With Chen Shao's current financial resources, he can barely muster two hundred cavalry.

The key issue is that this thing is not only expensive to build, but also a considerable expense to maintain.

But there was no other way; we had to grit our teeth and scrape together the money!

The supervisor of the engineering institute, standing beside Chen Shao, asked, "General, we've tested these armors with arrows, and they're completely impenetrable!"

"Shall we begin forging?"

Chen Shao gritted his teeth and said, "Forge! Forge two hundred of them for me!"

This winter, he will train his heavy cavalry to be proficient, so they can be used in the battles next year. (End of Chapter)