You have truly caused me great suffering!

The roads were covered in a blanket of white snow.

Wang Yin, leading a group of foreigners, looked around as he traveled south.

There were very few pedestrians on the road. He patted his horse's rump and said, "Once we pass Henan Prefecture, the journey won't be so difficult."

Wang Yin hadn't returned to Jiangnan for a long time, and this time when he went back, he felt no emotion whatsoever.

He lost his parents early on, and his clan was basically extinct; otherwise, he wouldn't have joined Fang La's rebellion.

After all, it is a crime that involves the killing of nine generations of one's family.

His memories of Jiangnan weren't exactly pleasant either.

After poisoning Geng Nanzhong, Cai Jing fled to Hangzhou in Jiangnan. Although Cai Jing's ancestral home was Chiling, Cixiao Village, Xianyou County, Xinghua Army, he was a native of Putian, Fujian in later generations.

However, his residence was in Hangzhou, and his clan was mostly in Hangzhou as well. He had originally planned to retire and return to Hangzhou to live out his retirement.

Who knew that because he was so capable, he was repeatedly appointed as prime minister, breaking the tradition of prime ministers in the Song Dynasty not serving more than three years.

Cai then went to the Cai family's old residence in Hangzhou. Wang Yin went there to arrest this man so that Cai Tiao could be convicted.

It is unknown how the Prince of Dai will deal with the matter, or whether he will give Cai Jing any face again.

As the eyes and ears of the Prince of Dai, Wang Yin and Guangyuantang were only responsible for arresting people.

"Prefect, I heard you come from Jiangnan. Is Jiangnan really as pleasant as the rumors say?"

Wang Yin chuckled and said, "Bullshit!"

He felt a pang of regret, having heard that the imperial court had executed Zhu Mian and his son by slicing off their heads with a single stroke.

If this were judged by the people of Jiangnan, the minimum punishment would be slow slicing, and even eight times would not be enough to satisfy their hatred!
Guangyuantang probably has the fewest staff in Jiangnan.

Besides capturing Cai Que, this trip to Jiangnan also aimed to develop Guangyuantang in Jiangnan.

Wang Yin flicked his cloak and said, "Let's go, and come back soon!"
-

The name "Jingkang" is derived from "the sun pacifies the four directions" and "the people enjoy eternal peace".

They are respectively from the Book of Songs and the Book of Documents, and they symbolize bringing peace to all directions and happiness and well-being to all people.

It's a joke in the grand scheme of things.

Now it's starting to look somewhat interesting.

Especially in the Northwest.

After the fall of the Western Xia dynasty, the northwestern border of the Song dynasty enjoyed a rare period of peace.

For the people of the Fifth Route in Shaanxi, they had never seen peace since birth, let alone heard of it.

Although the Dingnan Army was strong and well-equipped, it belonged to the Song Dynasty and would not go to war with the Song Dynasty.

The people didn't care whether it paid taxes to the imperial court or whether it neither obeyed orders nor listened to proclamations.

All we know is that they won't send troops over. Trade between the two sides is very close, and they brought beef, mutton, furs, and horses, which were in short supply in the Northwest.

Cheap salt, a sought-after commodity from the Western Regions.

On Fuyan Road, Liu Guanglie had just visited his father and brother, and on the surface, neither of them seemed to have any problems.

Now that Liu Guanglie is in charge of Fuyan Road, he has gradually become much more stable and is no longer the carefree and irresponsible Third Master Liu he once was.

What makes him better than his father and brothers is that he is loyal enough and more sincere to those around him.

Moreover, unlike those two, he is not calculating and indulges in extravagance.

The Fuyan Army gradually changed according to the rules of the Dingnan Army. With fewer people exploiting the soldiers, the Fuyan Army received real money in pay, which further enhanced its prestige.

After leaving the Liu residence, Liu Guanglie prepared to return to his own house, as he no longer lived with his father and brothers.

Liu Guangshi was able to return because Liu Yanqing traded his position as the chief steward of Fuyan Road. Only after he handed over power to this illegitimate son did Chen Shao plead for him, and the Zhe family was released.

As for the illegitimate sons, in such families, they have always been regarded as high-ranking servants. Liu Yanqing felt that the Chen family had seized their foundation.

This illegitimate son was only nominally the commander-in-chief of the Fuyan Army; in the end, he still had to listen to Chen Shao.

After returning to Fuyan Road, Liu Guanglie gradually began to feel it as well.

He had already been hurt once in Bianliang, the capital of Tokyo, and now he no longer cared, at least not outwardly.

He moved out of the Liu residence, established his own government office, and replaced the senior officers of the Fuyan Army.

The Dingnan Army was his strongest backing.

On the way back, a rider came from afar and called out loudly as he got closer: "Third Brother!"

Liu Guanglie looked closely and recognized him as Hu Qi, a spies from Guangyuantang, one of his former subordinates from Bianliang.

He smiled and said, "Hu Da, what brings you here?"

The man chuckled and said, "There are some things I need to inform Third Brother about."

Liu Guanglie wiped his eyelids, realizing that something was about to be arranged.

The group arrived at Liu Guanglie's office. After they sat down, the man said to Liu Guanglie, "Third Brother, the Prince of Dai has ordered you to transfer your troops to Huanqing."

"That's all?" Liu Guanglie frowned. "If it were just this one thing, a letter would have sufficed. Why would I send you, you scoundrel, on such a pilgrimage?"

Hu Qi laughed and said, "Nothing can be hidden from Third Brother."

He hesitated for a moment before saying, "Old Liu, you've been exchanging letters with Bianliang more frequently. Third Brother, please be careful."

Liu Guanglie chuckled, "I thought it was something that made Hu Da open his mouth, but it turns out it's just this little thing. Although your third brother isn't very capable, I started as a common soldier and worked my way up to the rank of captain in seven or eight years!"

"Do I need anyone else to tell me how my father treats me?"

When Liu Guanglie and Chen Shao were drinking in Fuzhou, they stayed in the courtyard of the prostitute Li Guiniang. At that time, as the son of Old Master Liu, his lover Li Guiniang even had to entertain merchants' clients, and she would be gone for half a month at a time.

Moreover, his rank was Jinyi Xiaowei, which was an unranked military rank in the Northern Song Dynasty's military officer system. His functions and treatment were not included in the nine-rank, eighteen-level orthodox rank system.

That means he wasn't even a ninth-rank official.

Meanwhile, Liu Guangshi, who was the same age, was already the governor of Yaozhou and the military commander of Fuyan Road, and he kept the most famous courtesan in the entire Northwest.

How indifferent was Liu Yanqing to his illegitimate son?

His sons should have been of the "Shi" generation, such as the eldest sons Liu Guangshi and Liu Anshi.

But when it came to Liu Guanglie, he took the character 'Guang' from the name of his eldest son, meaning that he was not worthy to use the character 'Shi' in this generation.

Liu Guanglie said these words in a joking tone, and no one else dared to respond.

At this point, even if Chen Shao were present, he probably wouldn't know what to say.

Liu Guanglie lived up to his father's expectations.

He first saved Liu Yanqing's life in Bianliang, and then rescued Liu Guangshi and Liu Anshi from the Zhe family.

Given Chen Shao's personality, if it weren't for Liu Guanglie's intercession, he would have crushed the father and son to ashes.

Just look at Tong Guan and you'll know.

You suffered heavy losses, a crushing defeat, and relinquished your battle lines, putting immense pressure on the Dingnan Army at the front. It's already a huge favor that they didn't kill you.

Hu Qi didn't say much, and stood up, saying, "Third Brother, it's good that you know what's going on. I still have official duties to attend to, so I'll be setting off now."

"Where to go?"

Hu Qi shouldn't have said it, but considering Liu Guanglie's identity, he still said, "Go back to Xiping Prefecture."

"Is it urgent?"

"It's not in a rush."

A hint of sadness appeared in Liu Guanglie's eyes, but a smile squeezed out of the wrinkles on his face as he said in a feignedly generous manner, "Since it's the New Year, have a drink with me before you go!"

Hu Qi felt extremely distressed. He nodded, but what he was thinking was that as long as the Prince of Dai gave the order, his brothers would definitely kill Liu Yanqing and his son.

Third Brother isn't particularly talented, but he's definitely a good brother and very loyal.

Unfortunately, he encountered the most heartless and ungrateful father and brother.
-

By the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, Chen Shao could no longer stay at home.

However, according to the custom of the Song Dynasty, the holiday was not yet over.
He couldn't very well call everyone back.

Alone, he strolled to the government office of the Prince of Dai's residence, sat down, and began to handle government affairs, reading reports sent from various places.

During this period, two staff members were on duty each day to deliver important memorials to the inner residence.

Chen Shao has come in person today.

The two people on duty were somewhat surprised, but it didn't affect their work. After bowing, they continued tidying up.

Chen Shao also took a stack and began to peruse it on his own.

Because it was close to the New Year, nothing major happened, especially at the border, which was unusually quiet.

Those who liked to cause trouble in previous years, whether they were Western bandits or Northern barbarians, have all been beaten up.

For at least three to five years, no one will take the initiative to attack the Central Plains, except for those starving and insignificant Tatars.

After reading more than a dozen letters, I finally found one that had something important to say.

A report from Qu Duan of Mizhou stated that he had completely taken over the Mizhou Shipyard.

Then Qu Duan sent men to Mingzhou and seized many shipwrights, using rather unethical methods:
First, they tried to bribe some people with money; some were willing to come, while others were unwilling to leave their hometowns.

For those willing to come, extremely generous benefits will be offered.

For those unwilling to come, it's simple: send troops directly to Mizhou to bring the wives and children of the core shipwrights, and then notify them to pack their things and head north.

Or just tie him up and take him to Michigan.

The next report will be from Madam Xiao.

Even during the Lunar New Year, these are the only two that aren't taking a break.

Upon arrival, Madam Xiao immediately began to win over local merchants and recruit them into her caravan.

Anyone who joins will enjoy the same treatment as the Dingnan Army Merchant Caravan; those who do not join will be notified to Qu Duan so that he can 'find a way'.

Although Chen Shao felt this was inappropriate, he did not intervene.

In the early stages of starting a business, some special methods are necessary. If this is done well, it will have a lasting impact, so we can disregard the fairness of the small group of people for now.

Chen Shao placed complete trust in Qu Duan and Madam Xiao, the two people from Mizhou.
He felt that even if he went himself, he wouldn't be able to do it as well or as quickly as the two people did.

They are true pragmatists and never engage in empty talk.

Some people do one thing and then boast about it three.

Both of them only started reporting back to themselves after completing ten minutes of work.

Merchants along the coast, especially those who go out to sea, are lucky to have met them.

Of course, if you can see the situation clearly and join them to get a share of the pie, that would be quite good.

If you dare to be stubborn in front of these two, even Chen Shao himself can't protect you.

Because both of these people are accustomed to acting first and reporting later. (End of Chapter)