You have truly caused me great suffering!

Dengzhou, Daoyu Water Village.

Built in the second year of the Qingli era, the Song Dynasty established the "Daoyu Patrol Inspectorate" in Dengzhou to defend against the invasion of the Khitan in the north, and built the military port "Daoyu Village".

It was named after its naval warships, which resembled knife fish.

This should be considered one of the earliest naval bases.

Inside the water fortress are docks, water walls, and gun emplacements, which were originally garrisoned by the Chenghai and Pinghai naval forces.

However, the troop strength was not large, with a maximum of two thousand soldiers stationed at sea, responsible for maritime patrol and defense.

Now only a little over a hundred old, weak, sick and disabled people remain, but the reported strength is still two thousand, which is nothing more than the usual practice of drawing salaries without working.

Several veterans sat on the harbor, waiting for the fishing boats that had gone out to sea to return.

Although these soldiers were paid the military pay of two thousand men, they received virtually nothing; the money was all divided up by the higher-ranking military officers.

This was also the norm in the Song Dynasty.

Now only eight old soldiers remain to guard the village, just like the hay storage yard that Lin Chong guarded.

Just protect the village and keep it looking like a military stronghold.

The other naval troops were dispatched by the military officers to their own fields, becoming free labor.

Even though these eight old soldiers combined couldn't even produce a decent set of teeth, they still had to fish and sell fish for the commander while guarding the military camp.

There are monthly quotas to meet, and if you don't meet them, you have to pay out of your own pocket to make up for it.

Of course, if you catch more, or if you happen to catch some that a wealthy family wants, you can keep some.

Those military officers calculated very precisely, almost keeping themselves in a half-dead state, just enough to keep them working for them.

If you really drive people to their deaths, it's like draining the pond to catch all the fish.

The military officers of the Song Dynasty were known to exploit soldiers, from the Imperial Guards to the local militias, and even the Western Army, which was constantly engaged in battles, were no exception.

Old Dong is 65 years old. Years of fishing at sea have made it difficult for him to straighten his back.

His skin was tanned and cracked by the scorching sun at sea, making his body look like a piece of withered tree bark. His face was covered with scars, and he was dressed in tattered clothes, sitting in the sea breeze without fear of being blown away.

He didn't have a name. When he was a child, he was called Dong Da because he was the eldest child. When he got old, he smoothly transitioned to Old Man Dong.

Although he had worked for the Pinghai Navy Commander his entire life, to be honest, the Pinghai Navy had changed seven or eight commanders, and he had never met any of them.

Why would the commander come to a place like this? This bird army camp has long been a mere decoration.

In the seventh year of the Qingli era, the Chenghai Navy and the Pinghai Navy were both converted from local troops into imperial guards.

Soldiers of the Imperial Guard of the Song Dynasty served for life.

Not only them, but the Imperial Guards of Bianliang, which once boasted 600,000 troops, were also private slaves of military officers at all levels.

They lived a truly miserable life.

Later, the Imperial Guards of Beijing were defeated by Tong Guan and Cai Jing, but this naval force, being far from the capital, escaped the net.

Old Dong leaned against a rock, dozed off, and waited for his old brothers to return from fishing.

If we can get a good price at the market in Dengzhou, we can collect the amount that needs to be handed over, and save the rest. Maybe we can even use it to buy some dowry for our granddaughter.

To avoid being bullied at her husband's family home.

Just as I was lost in thought, I suddenly heard the sound of rapid hoofbeats in the distance.

Old Dong raised his head, squinted his eyes, and strained to look into the distance.

He slowly stood up, looking at the group of soldiers in bright armor, and trembled all over.

Where did these soldiers come from?

Have the Khitans really come to attack?
The Daoyu Water Village in Dengzhou has always been said to be a place to guard against the Khitans; that's what Old Man Dong's grandfather said back then.

At this time, he was unaware that the Khitan had already been destroyed.

"Where are the Inspector of the Knife Fish, the Commander of the Pinghai Navy, and the Commander of the Chenghai Navy?"

Old Dong trembled and couldn't speak.

Li Yanqi bent down, took a closer look, and cursed, "Damn it, another bandit camp that embezzles pay and exploits its soldiers!"

"Come here, arrest these three men, record their crimes and testimonies, and send them to Taiyuan."

Sending the evidence to Taiyuan would allow them to be dismissed from their posts, since the Dingnan Army was nominally still an army of the Song Dynasty.

The court needs to dismiss these military officers and then appoint a suitable person to rightfully inherit the naval camp.

Old Dong was quite old, with failing eyesight and hearing, and couldn't understand what these men speaking with their Guanzhong accents were saying at all.

Someone came up, grabbed him, and carried him aside, where they began collecting evidence.

After the soldiers shouted for a long time, Old Man Dong finally understood something. They wanted him to point out the crimes of the commanders.

Can I say that?

You absolutely cannot say this, or the consequences might be worse than death.
Looking at his expression, Li Yanqi pouted and said, "Forget it, just write a few paragraphs and have them put their fingerprints on them."

Once the Prince of Dai submits the memorial, does the imperial court really need to verify it?
The entire Dingnan Army was hoping the court would offend the Prince of Dai, and ideally, they would curse him a few more times.

It would be better to strip him of his royal title.

They immediately rebelled, stormed into Tokyo, and seized the throne.

The most ridiculous thing is that even if the imperial court were to come and verify, they wouldn't find anything.

Because although the testimonies were fabricated, the guilt was real.
Old Dong was terrified. He stayed in the water village for a few days, and he and his old fishing buddies saw how the village had changed so much.

Although this group of people were fierce, their repair and construction skills were simply amazing. They transformed the dilapidated Daoyu Water Village, which had been in disrepair for decades, into a brand new place in less than ten days.

The camp was rebuilt, the dock was repaired, and military flags were planted everywhere in the camp.

It turns out they were soldiers from the northwest who had supposedly destroyed the Western Xia.

The Western Xia and the Northern Xia had always been two mortal enemies of the Song Dynasty. Although they were isolated from information, they were aware of the Western Xia.

Repair and construction were the specialty of the Dingnan Army. It was with this skill that Prince Dai led them to destroy the Western Xia.

Of course, strictly speaking, the Prince of Dai also reaped the benefits that came out of nowhere.

The tactic of fortified villages had long been invented by the Song Dynasty. Tong Guan was so eager to attack the Liao that he almost gave up on it, but Chen Shao resolutely carried it out.

One advantage of these soldiers from the Northwest was that they were actually given food.

Old Dong and his fellow old men were just helping to familiarize themselves with the terrain around the water village, and occasionally taking them out to sea by boat.

Even so, being able to eat my fill at every meal is an easy life I haven't had in decades.

Half a month later, three large ships indeed sailed in from the sea.

These three ships were truly enormous; they had lived by the sea for most of their lives and had never seen such magnificent vessels.

The Michigan shipyard, which produces more than 100 ships a year, is already quite efficient.

After Qu Duan strengthened the shipwrights and Xiao Shi replenished the funds, he replaced the officials and Chen Shao even obtained valuable blueprints from the emperor that were hidden in the palace.

They built ten ships over six months with maximum efficiency, and their appearance was stunning.

Even those who have spent their entire lives guarding the sea have never seen such a scene.

Although Daoyu Village is dilapidated and abandoned, it is actually very suitable as a port and wharf.

"Old Dong, you should go home."

A voice suddenly sounded behind him. He turned around and saw the head constable, a middle-aged military officer from the Northwest named Wang Guan.

These days, the group of men eats with their squad.

The group was also bewildered. The Song Dynasty's Imperial Guard operated on a conscription system, with soldiers typically serving for life, but in practice, a "redundant" system was often implemented.
Normal retirement: Those who are 60 years of age or older or who are unable to continue serving due to injury or illness may retire and will be provided with pension by the government.

Battle-damaged units may be demobilized after a major battle, with soldiers either retiring or being transferred to other units.

For example, in the sixth year of the Yuanfeng era, the Song court planned to reorganize the Dengzhou naval force due to the problem of "old, weak, and disabled soldiers".

However, in recent years, there has been no such advantage; you either die of old age in the camp or you have to keep working.

The old men were unsure whether this was a blessing or a curse. The youngest among them, Zheng Ding, bowed and scraped as he asked, "Sir, where will we be assigned to work after we return?"

Wang Guan glanced at him, looked him up and down, and asked, "How old are you?"

"thirty eight."

"Our commander is recruiting naval forces. You're welcome to come; this is the perfect age to make a name for yourself. As for these old fogies, they can all go home." Old Dong asked tremblingly, "What if the commander blames us?"

"Commander?" Wang Guan laughed. "Your commander has been demoted and is in jail. These scoundrels are greedy, negligent, and derelict in their duties. Once their misdeeds over the years are investigated, they'll be lucky to escape with their lives."

The group was skeptical; in their eyes, the commander of the Chenghai navy was already a figure with immense influence and connections.

There is actually someone in this world who can control him.

However, considering that these people were capable of wiping out even the notorious Western bandits who had caused trouble for generations, it's not surprising.

Although I was reluctant to leave, there was no point in staying; I might even be kicked out.

Several veteran naval soldiers packed their belongings and headed home.

When Old Man Dong was halfway there, he saw groups of people marching towards him.

Because it seemed that there was a military officer escorting him along the way, he quickly lowered his head and dared not look any further.

However, someone in the crowd spotted him and shouted, "Grandpa! Grandpa!"

The military officer of the Dingnan Army on horseback looked at the young man in the newly recruited navy, waved his whip, and gestured for him to come out.

The young man was overjoyed and ran up to the old soldiers. Only then did Old Man Dong realize that they were his beloved grandsons.

"Kid, why are you here?"

"The Dingnan Army is recruiting a navy, and I've signed up."

Old Dong's eyes widened in shock and panic. "My child, your grandpa has suffered losses all my life, how did you end up jumping in here again?"

“Sir, this time is different. Oh, by the way, this is my salary for half a year. It was just paid. Take it back and give it to my father.”

Old Dong took the package, and when he looked again, his grandson had already returned to the queue.

He opened the package, which contained thirty strings of cash and a bag of salt.

The amount of money wasn't much. According to regulations, the annual salary of the Imperial Guards of the Song Dynasty, including spring and winter clothing allowances, should have been thirty-eight strings of cash.

But this amount of money is quite large, because it has never been distributed according to regulations.

Most lower-ranking soldiers receive 10 strings of cash upon enlistment; after that, it depends on how ruthless their superiors are.

Generally, after enlisting, soldiers can only ensure they don't starve; there's absolutely no possibility of them supporting their families.

Most of them need to work part-time as vendors or beggars.

The fact that the Dingnan Army paid their salaries with salt shows that they were not particularly wealthy.

But they really did give.

If there is still not enough, salt will be used as a substitute. This is by no means an attempt to take advantage of the situation or harm the soldiers.

Salt is more popular than money in this era.

After Emperor Huizong's extravagant spending, the Song Dynasty's currency was on the verge of bankruptcy in terms of credibility, and its purchasing power was completely incomparable to that of previous emperors.

As for paper money, it was basically worthless.

The Song Dynasty was like a modern company that promised to pay you an annual salary of 100,000, but ended up failing to pay you every year due to financial difficulties.

Ding Nanjun's annual salary is 70,000 yuan, but it is always paid on time, and the promotion opportunities are fair, with great development potential.

On paper, the Dingnan Army did not receive as much as the Imperial Guards of the Great Song Dynasty, but in reality, they received dozens of times more.

An upward trajectory is entirely different.

In places like Dengzhou, Laizhou, and Mizhou, many of the coastal residents are skilled swimmers.

In the newly formed navy of the Dingnan Army, they had plenty of opportunities to stand out.

Old Dong held the package and, along with several other veterans, silently watched the young men marching along the route.

They suffered just as much as we did when we were young, but they were far luckier than we were.

At this moment, they headed towards Daoyu Village with high spirits, the place they had guarded their whole lives, but in the last ten days or so, they witnessed its earth-shattering transformation.

Daoyu Water Village is no longer the Daoyu Water Village it once was.

These elderly veterans almost simultaneously thought of the large ships moored in Knife Fish Harbor.

Their descendants are about to board such a giant ship and brave the waves.

These thirty-eight strings of cash plus a bag of salt were enough to alleviate the anxiety of a young man supporting his family.

Perhaps their own descendants could live a less difficult life—

Black Mountain, where Wanyan Balisu's entire army was located.

Looking at the envoy who had come from afar, Wanyan Balisu was filled with mixed emotions.

He had been waiting for these people for far too long.

Although he hated Chen Shao to the core, he knew that Chen Shao was the only one who could give him a way out.

He didn't want to return to the Jin Kingdom because he knew very well that he would be killed if he went back.

I heard they suffered a crushing defeat. Zonghan and Zongwang will not die or be punished, but it will be different for me.

His brother, Wanyan Yinshuke, who had made great contributions in battle, was dragged out and made a scapegoat.

When Yelü Yanxi turned against his own side, the blame clearly fell on Zonghan, but in the end, Yinshuke was stripped of all his power.

Their family originally came from a minor branch of the family.

They never get any good things, but when it comes to taking the blame, they're dragged out. Even Lou Shi, when facing the old Khan's faction, can only bow down.

When Liu Jizu entered the room, he found that everything was very clean and there was no fishy smell that was typical of the Jurchens.

After they were seated, Wanyan Balisu asked, "How is the Prince of Dai?"

Liu Jizu thought to himself, "This Tartar is quite shrewd; he can even laugh when talking about the Prince of Dai."

If I had been scammed that badly, I would have been filled with righteous indignation long ago.

"The Prince of Dai is doing well. Before he left, he told me to give my regards to General Balisu."

"Hehe, he's too kind."

Although Balisu speaks Mandarin with an accent, it is very clear.

This was also unexpected by Liu Jizu.

In the past few years, he has been stuck in this place, but he hasn't been idle.

Having studied diligently for several years, I am ready to surrender at any time. I heard that there is a battalion of soldiers in Dingnan Army composed entirely of Jurchen warriors.

He was very brave in battle, so he could become a commander-in-chief, make some contributions, and eventually become a wealthy man in the Central Plains.

Now the opportunity has finally come.

"Actually, I have always admired Prince Dai. Zonghan and Zongwang are overestimating themselves and daring to oppose the elite troops and fierce generals under Prince Dai. They are simply courting death."

Liu Jizu felt increasingly uneasy as he listened; it seemed the Tartars were about to surrender!

This is not okay.

The reason why Balishu was sent to fight the Tatars was because he was a Jurchen, nominally belonging to the Jin Dynasty.

If you surrender and become a member of the Dingnan Army, would we still need you?

Liu Jizu immediately interrupted him, saying, "Our Prince of Dai often mentions the general and your elder brother, Yin Shuke. The Prince of Dai often says that you brothers are the true pillars of the Jin Kingdom."

In such a public setting, it was inconvenient for Liu Jizu to directly state his intentions.

After stabilizing the speed of the withdrawal, we can discuss it with him privately.

Chen Shao's meaning was clear: if you want to live, go to the grasslands and fight the Tatars in the name of the Jin Dynasty.

As for whether Balisu could win, and how many soldiers he still had capable of fighting, Chen Shao and Liu Jizu were not too concerned.

The more intense the battle, the better.

The King of Dai was very wary of the newly established Mengwu Kingdom. The territory of the grasslands was too large, and their potential was far greater than that of the Jurchens.

The land that once gave birth to the Xiongnu and Turks may very well give rise to another powerful nomadic kingdom.

Both the Xiongnu and the Turks were unlucky enough to encounter powerful rulers like Emperor Wu of Han and Emperor Taizong of Tang at the height of their power.

Compared to them, the Mongols were much luckier, encountering the corrupt Jin Dynasty, the Southern Song Dynasty after its southward migration, and the last Western Xia Dynasty.
They're all heavyweights. (End of Chapter)