You have truly caused me great suffering!

The autumn harvest season has arrived as scheduled.

Looking at the Central Plains as a whole, this year's harvest is very poor, with the cold wave in the south causing serious damage to the traditional grain-producing area of ​​Jiangnan.

With double-cropping rice unable to be planted and single-cropping rice yields declining, the historical foundation of "when Suzhou and Huzhou are bountiful, the whole country is well-fed" has been shaken.

In the north, alternating droughts and floods cause farmland to be either submerged or parched.

Only in Hedong was a basic harvest secured because Chen Shao vigorously promoted water conservancy projects.

However, production has decreased compared to last year.

In recent years, the winters have been cold and disaster-prone, and the seasons have been out of order. Some people have been saying that this is because the former emperor acted perversely and extravagantly during his reign, which has aroused the displeasure of Heaven.

Initially, these rumors were mostly spread by forces and individuals who supported Chen Shao, with Geng Nanzhong being one of the key figures behind the scenes.

However, many people believed this claim, including some loyalists of the Song Dynasty who also had a sliver of faith in it.

After all, this product has a large market.

Only Chen Shao understood that this was a harbinger of a global mini ice age. Weakened solar activity and volcanic eruptions together led to a strengthening of the East Asian winter monsoon, resulting in so many disasters and strange weather events.

The solution is to build water conservancy projects to store and release water during floods and draw water for irrigation during droughts.

Inside the Daiwang Mansion's government office, Chen Shao leaned back in his chair. "If the Central Plains are in such a state, it will be an unbearable disaster for Tibet! I think they will be in dire straits this year, with both people and livestock in distress, and they will definitely launch a large-scale invasion of our borders."

Chen Shao had previously read about these barbarian raids on the border in history books and thought they were natural occurrences, objective laws.

Now, however, I truly hate it.

Because now he truly has territory and subjects.

What they used to steal were numbers in books, but now they're stealing my money and food.

Living next to such barbarians is truly bad luck.

At this time, few officials from the Hedong faction spoke up, because it was a matter concerning the Northwest, especially Hexi, and they found it difficult to empathize with it.

Now that Yunzhong serves as a protective barrier, Hedong no longer borders the barbarians. Only the Zhe family in Fugu still shares some borders with the Tatars.

The Zhe family is full of martial prowess; if the Tatars dare to go there, they probably won't have a good outcome.

Although the Zhe family sent half of their sons and soldiers to fight against the Jurchen Tartars on the front lines in Yunnei.

But dealing with the Tatars for the remaining half is not too much of a challenge.

Because in the past, they faced enemies on three sides, bordering the Khitan, Tatar, and Western Xia, yet they were still able to maneuver around them.

Now that the two powerful enemies, the Western bandits and the Northern barbarians, have been destroyed, the remaining Tatars are like a minor ailment.

Wanyan Balisu alone was enough to make them cry for their fathers and mothers.

So the real problem to be solved is the various Tibetan tribes on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, these loosely organized tribes that have long lost their unified king.

Their fighting strength was even inferior to that of the Tubo people in the Hehuang region.

But they are truly poor, truly fearless, and their numbers are quite large.

Chen Shao flipped through the memorials, found Xu Jin's, and handed it to his staff, saying, "This is Xu Jin's memorial. Everyone, please read it."

Xu Jin hoped that he could next manage the Tibetan region, and ideally subdue all the Tibetan tribes and make them work for him.

His reasoning was that everyone in Tibet believed in Buddhism, and the right to interpret Buddhist scriptures was now in the hands of the Zhai family.

In Liangzhou, there was a Buddhist temple where the monks were adept at bewitching people and interpreting Buddhist scriptures according to the needs of the Dingnan Army.

Xu Jin hoped to first send these people to the plateau to make contact with the local Buddhist sects, offer them benefits, and in exchange for the submission of the various tribes on the Tibetan Plateau.

Li Tangchen and the others nodded frequently as they read.

Many people said that this plan was feasible.

But Chen Shao shook his head and said, "If it were that simple, Western Xia would have already brought Tibet under its control."

“These barbarians, especially those Buddhist leaders and chiefs, are all cruel and cunning.”

"If we were to subdue these people now, they would only nominally submit when we give them something, but would still come to rob us when we don't. It would be useless except for having an empty title."

Liu Jizu asked, "What does Your Majesty mean?"

"I intend to have Wu Jie lead the troops to inflict heavy losses on them first, then win over a group of those willing to submit, include their tribal leaders in the 'tributary state officials' system, and bestow upon them Han-style official titles, while wiping out the rest!"

When Chen Shao makes a suggestion, some people start cheering without even thinking about it.

Chen Shao had secretly noted down the few who were shouting the loudest, intending to kick them out of the staff.

Sure enough, as soon as he finished speaking, someone clapped and applauded.

However, some people objected, arguing that Tibet was now composed of scattered tribes, and that if they were attacked rashly and pushed too far, they might be forced to band together, which would be disastrous.

After all, Tibet was a much larger country, and its ancestors had been wealthy, unlike the Tatars who had brute force but no technology.

Chen Shao considered more issues than they needed to balance, while the Dingnan Army, which remained in their hometown, suffered from a lack of military merit.

Everyone harbors resentment, and this must be taken into account.

Therefore, Tibet was a very good target.

As for whether or not to use appeasement tactics, Chen Shao felt that appeasement tactics could be used, but only as a supplementary measure.

Tibet was not the Western Xia.

Apart from the vast desert, the territory of the Western Xia Dynasty was actually very small and narrow.

The use of fortified strongholds was enough to compress their living space to an extreme degree, ultimately leaving them to wait for death in despair.

The Tibetan Plateau is vast and sparsely populated; there are no shortcuts to conquering such a place.

The only option was to use the method of conquering the Dzungar Khanate with the Qing dynasty.

However, this method was somewhat unpleasant to talk about, so Chen Shao didn't say it outright, but he would inform Wu Jie. This was because the Dingnan Army originated from the Northwest.

After rising to power, he didn't rest on his laurels, and started punching and kicking everyone around him.

While the Dingnan Army achieved remarkable victories in the north and central plains, their record in the northwest was still incomparable to their achievements there.

It is only because the Central Plains is more important and the opponents are more powerful that it is even more awe-inspiring.

In the northwest, the other small vassal states were the first to feel the threat posed by the rise of the Dingnan Army.

The Western Uyghurs, Yellow-headed Uyghurs, Grass-headed Tatars, Karakhanid Khanate, and Khotan—these tribes and khanates located near Tibet had long been dealt with.

The outcome was invariably the destruction of their kingdoms.

The reason why Tibet has been able to survive until now is not because they have more martial spirit than these countries, but simply because they have nothing of value and are not worth fighting.

The places mentioned above were either essential trade routes, produced jade, or sought to compete with caravans for business.

The poor in Tibet have their own kind of fortune; now that the land is even more barren, it's really not worth fighting for.

Now, their very existence has become the most sought-after commodity (military merit) for the Dingnan Army, so it's their turn to suffer.

Compared to other wars, the Dingnan Army always fought honorably, but this time Chen Shao gave Wu Jie a secret order.

He was instructed to mix his army with the agricultural protection teams and launch a counterattack, aiming to deliver a devastating blow to the Tubo east of Jishi Mountain this autumn.

Chen Shao is currently investing heavily in maritime trade, but has not yet seen any returns, and is at his poorest.

Money is needed everywhere.

The Tibetans who came to rob him at this time were essentially walking into a trap.
-

Xiao Ting wore a light green silk dress, her eyebrows were like mist, and her posture was graceful.

The Xiao clan, which monopolized the position of Empress in the Liao Dynasty, has always produced beauties, many of whom are also highly capable.

Previously, she was not considered a prominent member of the Xiao clan.

But now the Khitan are all gone.

Among the descendants of the Xiao family of the Liao Dynasty, there are very few who are more illustrious than her.

She walked gently to the window, slowly pushed open the lattice window, and asked the maid outside, "Where are the guests from?"

"They said they came from Mingzhou."

Madam Xiao nodded. "No, none of them."

When caravans intervened in maritime trade, they naturally touched upon the interests of many people, including private merchant groups along the Fujian and Zhejiang coasts.

These individuals bribed officials to establish a monopolistic maritime power, controlling shipping and trade in ports such as Fuzhou and Quanzhou.

The East China Sea-Yellow Sea shipping route, used for smuggling trade with Japan and Korea, was originally controlled by the Zhou family of Taizhou.

The involvement of the Guangyuantang caravan has seriously affected their interests.

This group of people are known for their aggressive and ruthless nature, using violence to eliminate competition.

However, they dared not act rashly against the Guangyuantang caravan, thinking of trying to persuade them first before resorting to force.

They would bring the caravans into their ranks and make money together. After all, the Silk Road and the Western Regions trade routes controlled by the caravans were lucrative businesses they coveted.

But Xiao Shi didn't appreciate it at all.

She smiled faintly and said, "I really hope these people are bolder and just take action."

This isn't something she made up.

Private merchant groups along the Fujian and Zhejiang coasts hoped to eliminate her so they could maintain their monopoly on maritime trade.

The Xiao family also longed for a monopoly.

Since they're all in business, the significance of the word "monopoly" is self-evident.

Moreover, Chen Shao was worried about the money spent on shipbuilding and training sailors. If these people were absorbed, it would save a lot of money and effort.

She beckoned, and the maid outside the window came down to the window.

Madam Xiao leaned down, resting her heavy bosom on the windowsill, and smiled, saying, "Send someone to tell General Qu about all this."

The maid nodded, accepted the order, and left.

Xiao fell into deep thought again, mentally reviewing several powerful merchant groups.

These are the real local bullies at sea.

Each of their families possessed wealth comparable to that of a nation.

In the beginning, they might have been lackeys of some powerful and favored officials in the court. For example, Liu Jizu initially made money for Liang Shicheng in Hedong.

However, after Zhao Huan ascended the throne, he purged all of Zhao Ji's close ministers.

Liang Shicheng, Tong Guan, Wang Fu, Zhu Mian, and Li Yan all died suddenly.

Their ostensible assets were confiscated, and the families that had made money for them suddenly lost their masters. Who knows how much they had profited from this?

Ambition can grow infinitely; they probably never imagined they could make so much money.

But once you actually possess it, you'll feel that it's all a matter of course, and you'll want to pursue even more wealth.

Madam Xiao extended her slender, jade-like fingers and gently tapped on the window a few times.

She was certain that these people wouldn't just stand by and watch her plunder the profits of the maritime merchants.

The struggle may have already begun. (End of Chapter)