You have truly caused me great suffering!

In the Battle of Tong'an City that year, Liu Fa was defeated, and the main force of 30,000 Jingyuan troops was scattered.

Some died, some fled.

Some followed the road home and fled to Hengshan.

They were recruited by Chen Shao in Hengshan and became his starting force. Later, most of them followed Han Shizhong to destroy Xia and pursue Xia ruler Li Qianshun to Helan Mountain.

However, most of the Jingyuan Army fled to Longyou, where they were incorporated by Yao Gu, following the principle of proximity.

The Western Army was constantly shifting between defense and defense in the various routes of Shaanxi, and their forces were intertwined with each other.

Now Yao Gu is leading a group of Qin Feng soldiers, caught between the Tubo and Fuyan armies.

Meanwhile, Tibet is under attack.

Before long, they will be surrounded on three sides, and judging from the map, it looks like they have fallen into a giant mouth.

As Yao Gu stood on the stockade wall, his mind wandering, he pondered the future situation.

Completely unaware that his Western Army soldiers were also considering their own future.

Of the four great families of the Western Army, three have joined the Dingnan Army. How could we be so unlucky?

Wu Jie's attack on and destruction of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau presents an excellent opportunity.

As long as troops are sent to provide support, it will be natural for them to come under the command of the Prince of Dai.

What is the master thinking?

It should be noted that Wu Jie was originally from the Jingyuan Army, and after the Battle of Tong'an City, he was a lowly soldier who, like everyone else, was routed.

He used to be a lowly soldier!

A living example is right before our eyes.

Can a lowly soldier become the Grand Commander of the eleven northwestern states by following Yao Gu?
Among the Western Army, the most powerful and fortified families held the highest positions, and Han Shizhong was a prime example.

In the past, all five groups of people in Shaanxi were like this, which was fine. But now they have all become part of the Dingnan Army system, where military merit can lead to promotion.

The fact that only they and their ilk were still under Yao Gu's command caused great resentment among the low-ranking soldiers and officers.

More importantly, with the Dingnan Army's successive victories, people began to believe that the Prince of Dai was the chosen one.

In the later stages of the Jurchen conquest of the Liao dynasty, the Khitans fled at the mere mention of the news, which was probably for this reason.

They had come to believe that the Jurchens were invincible, and had even lost the courage to resist.

When you face someone who has never been defeated, it's hard not to feel fear.

People's hearts are yearning for change, and this desire is growing insidiously.

Yao Gu, however, was unaware of this.
-

Taiyuan City.

The weather was no longer scorching hot, and Chen Shao resumed his martial arts practice. After practicing in the courtyard for a while, Li Wanshu came over with a basin of water.

He placed the basin of water on the stone table, took out a towel from the warm water, wrung it out, wiped his face, and then tossed the weapon to her with a smile.

Li Wanshu immediately exclaimed in surprise, bent over and struggled to grab the long spear, and walked towards the weapon rack.

After putting the weapon back on the rack, she straightened her slender waist and rested the back of her hand on her waist to straighten it.

Looking at Chen Shao again, he thought to himself, "The king is quite robust."

Even something this heavy, it moves with such vigor.

In the circles of noblewomen and ladies in Hedong, especially Taiyuan, the story of Chen Shao's night raid on the Western Xia city, killing several defenders, cutting off the city's protective felt, and escaping unscathed has been circulating for a long time.

So when her uncle Li Tangchen found her father and told him that she wanted to enter the Prince's mansion, Li Wanshu was a little scared.

She rarely left her home, fearing that the new king might be a burly, rough man.

Having been waited on hand and foot since childhood, how could I possibly serve someone like that?

After arriving at the Prince's mansion, she realized she had worried too much. Being a personal maid wasn't tiring at all, and she was accompanied by three sisters.

Chen Shao didn't have much energy to devote to domestic matters, especially to romance.

He has always been very direct. A few days ago, he saw Li Wanshu bending over to make the bed, her round, plump buttocks arched and perky. He immediately became interested and pushed her down.

Li Wanshu had no complaints, feeling that it was all she should do, her duty, and even a favor.

For her, the Prince of Dai was quite good.

His usual gentleness and the unintentional care he shows to those around him are already extremely rare.

In this day and age, she is more than grateful to those around her.

After washing up, Chen Shao drank a cup of hot tea before going to the main hall to handle government affairs.

He is currently very concerned about the Qinghai-Tibet war, a war that outsiders believe is a sure victory.

When a person reaches a certain position, especially in Chen Shao's current position, it's best not to fail.

When you make a move, it must be swift and decisive, leaving no chance for your opponent.

Because as long as he can continue to do this, people will feel that he is the chosen one, and they will unconsciously want to join him.

But once it is defeated, this golden body is broken and loses its aura.

Although the cost of failure itself may not be great, the things lost invisibly are many.

Even the most extraordinary individuals of this era are very likely to believe in destiny.

Even avoiding just one war can save enormous resources, which is why, in history, the side that clearly held an absolute advantage would offer extremely high terms to persuade the opponent to surrender.

When they arrived at the Jietang, Chen Shao's staff were already busy.

Chen Shao's usual practice was to first check if there were any letters from important figures. For him, the first letters to deal with were always those from Cai Jing, Xiao Ting, and Wu Jie.

As for the three main battlefronts, Chen Shao would not devote too much energy to them, because the commanders in these three places are all very strong.

However, given the current strength of the Jin Kingdom, dealing with any one of these three main forces alone would be quite difficult.

After Cai Jing took some action to oust Li Gang, he quieted down.

He was originally the kind of person who was extremely steady.

Different attitudes are adopted towards different bosses, while doing the same work.

Since there was nothing major happening, Chen Shao focused on checking the autumn harvest in various places and making some simple arrangements and plans.

The local governments in Hedong collected a total of 180 million shi of grain, and the population also grew to nearly 70.

This amount of 180 million shi of grain was achieved under the premise that no taxes were levied on newly reclaimed wasteland.

Since the beginning of the Song Dynasty, after the Song Dynasty's conquest of the Northern Han, the population of Hedong has steadily increased, and the amount of grain has also increased.

Now Chen Shao is undertaking large-scale water conservancy projects, reclaiming wasteland, and distributing farm tools and seeds, which has brought grain production to a new level.

These grains were mainly used to supply the various routes in Shaanxi, the troops of the Zhe, Zhong, and Liu families, and some were also transported to Yunzhong.

Yunzhong has just experienced war, and although the population is sparse, it still needs to be supplied with some food.

Chen Shao rubbed his temples and started thinking about how to make ends meet.

Given his cautious nature, in addition to ensuring the availability of food in various places, he also needed to store some for unforeseen circumstances.

As for Youyan, although it also experienced war, what's amazing is that every force that conquered Youyan thought about protecting the farmland, thinking that it was their own food supply.

Even Wanyan Wuqimai, when he had just taken over Yanshan Prefecture, ordered the promotion of agriculture and sericulture and sent many Han Chinese ministers to manage it.

As a result, almost everyone here is dying, but the land is very well preserved.
This year, the local area has enough food to be self-sufficient, which is already a great achievement.

As for the expenses of digging the canal next spring, it is estimated that we will still have to raise the money ourselves.

Chen Shao thought for a moment, then circled a red dot in the Youyan area to mark that the supplies in this place were insufficient.

Perhaps Cai Jing should think of a solution.

Chen Shao glanced at the reports from the Northwest again. Thanks to the existence of fortified villages and the capture of Western Uyghurs, Grass-headed Uyghurs, and Tibetan laborers from several major battles, the Northwest was barely able to achieve self-sufficiency in food.

The fortified village economy under Chen Shao's command was somewhat similar to the collective farms of later generations, and was even a bit too advanced for this era.

However, it is very much in line with the situation in the Northwest.

This can be considered a major contribution of the Song Dynasty.

Fortified villages can be used for farming, promote the integration of Han and non-Han peoples, provide soldiers during wartime, and eliminate banditry in the surrounding area.

Because ordinary bandits would hide from government troops and then oppress the people.

In areas where fortified villages are concentrated, civilians are soldiers and soldiers are civilians. They are more familiar with the surrounding environment than you are, and there is nowhere to hide if you want to.

Moreover, like Shaanxi, the Western Xia had been fighting for over a hundred years, and their biggest fear was that their families would have no one to support them after they died in battle.

People from fortified villages can go out to fight without worrying about their families being left without a home, which is very suitable for the northwest region where Han and non-Han peoples live together.

The economy of Northwest China under the rule of the Dingnan Army was extremely complex and diverse, encompassing agriculture, animal husbandry, commerce, and mining.
Farmers are considered small-scale among them.

The main sources of income were the mining of salt and iron, the raising of cattle, sheep, and warhorses, and the prosperity of the Silk Road.

Chen Shao silently covered the report that Xu Jin had sent, already having a good idea of ​​what was going on, which was pretty much what he had expected.

Their own base remains strong, and this initiative to protect agriculture can open up the southern Silk Road and, incidentally, capture a large number of laborers.

Finally, there's Shandong and Hebei. This area is nominally under Qu Duan's responsibility, but his focus is actually on the navy.

Qu Duan was a very traditional military general in the Western Army. He was single-mindedly focused on military achievements and was too lazy to care about or manage the economy.

The government orders in Hebei and Shandong were actually carried out by the bureaucratic system under Cai Jing. Chen Shao only focused on one thing: the canal must be dug next spring.

For this reason, he brought in his own "river-digging master," Yang Cheng, the founder of the Northwest Water Network and a seasoned canal master.

And he was given six months to prepare.

In Chen Shao's grand plan, the east was bordered by the sea, the west by camels and horses and the Silk Road connecting the north and south, and the middle by the Grand Canal connecting the north and south.

The future layout is gradually becoming clear, and it will inevitably be a Central Plains that surpasses all previous dynasties, is open, inclusive, powerful and prosperous.

While everyone was still speculating about when he would become emperor and replace the Song Dynasty, Chen Shao's ambitions had long surpassed that.

In his own plan, when he donned the imperial robes and became the emperor, he would surely be a powerful ruler who would dominate the four seas and rule over all the lands.
-

Laizhou, Xiao Family Villa.

Although there were many guards outside, the courtyard was very quiet. The path was paved with stones and lined with plum trees. There were no flower buds at this time, only a row of rugged trunks. The branches and leaves had been carefully pruned, and instead of the desolation of autumn frost, they looked delicate and beautiful.

The garden is filled with clusters of green hydrangeas, and the two stone lampposts are carved into various exquisite animal shapes, which are vivid and lovely.

In the center of the room stood a huge burl wood bathtub, with hot water bubbling and steam rising from it.

The bathtub is made of smooth wood covered with burl wood grain, resembling small grapes and stems and leaves, clearly a top-grade burl wood. Its name, "Full Grape Ridge," suggests that this bathtub is quite valuable.

Countless jasmine petals were scattered in the basin, and the rich fragrance filled the room as the hot water swirls around them.

Xiao Ting sat naked in the bathtub, her fair skin turning red from the steam, her snow-white skin appearing and disappearing in the water. Her long black hair was tied up high, and her sweaty, pink shoulders and smooth back emitted a soft halo, dazzlingly beautiful.

Two skilled women, well-versed in acupressure, patted, pressed, pushed, and massaged her back, making a crackling sound. Xiao Ting gritted her teeth, feeling both pain and pleasure.

Just then, a maid came in and whispered something to the bathtub.

Xiao Ting squinted and stood up from the bathtub with a splash.

Two healthy women quickly stepped forward, wrapped a bath towel around her, and dried her off.

The maid who was reporting stood obediently to the side, wiping her hair.

Even when far away from Chen Shao, Xiao Ting always had a grand entrance and a strong presence.

A business tycoon with mountains of gold and silver in her hands is unlikely to be an easy person to deal with.

"They've been discussing this for so long, but they haven't come up with any new ideas. They're just trying to use underhanded tactics." Xiao Ting laughed. "No wonder our king insisted on building a navy. It seems he already knew their nature."

"They were nothing more than servants who did shady business for Liang Shicheng, Tong Guan, and Zhu Mian. Now that their masters are dead, they're actually carrying chairs for themselves."

“When Liang and Tong were alive, they had people who spoke up for them. Now they think they can fight us by bribing a few officials of the fifth or sixth rank.”

The maid flattered, "They certainly don't know how powerful the lady is in the Western Regions."

Xiao Ting rolled her eyes at her, then laughed at herself.

The small kingdoms of the Western Regions were no different in the beginning. Regardless of their own strength, they would compete with the Guangyuantang caravan for profits.

Xiao Ting is truly a tiger. Despite being reduced to only five hundred caravan warriors by that scoundrel Chen Shao, she still dared to attack the royal court.

In the Western Regions, apart from her caravan, anyone who dared to interfere in the jade trade was wiped out by her.

"Now that we have a navy, we must put it to use, otherwise all that money will be wasted." Xiao's phoenix eyes narrowed as she said, "They want to compete for business in Korea and Japan, but they don't know that I've been eyeing business in the south for a long time. If they don't come looking for me, I'll make trouble for them."

As Xiao Ting spoke, she gritted her teeth again, lamenting that the navy was no longer in her hands.

Otherwise, wherever the merchant ships sailed, war would have broken out there long ago.

The Fujian-Zhejiang merchant group was actually quite powerful. Over the years, they had accumulated immense wealth by monopolizing maritime trade.

Then, they used this money to bribe officials in the imperial court to gain greater power and amass more wealth.

The wealth of several prominent families in Quanzhou and Mingzhou has reached an astonishing level.

Zhu Fang, the head of the Quanzhou fishing fleet, led a fleet to and from Srivijaya (present-day Sumatra), making a profit of up to 100 times the cost per trip; Yang Ke accumulated assets of 200 million strings of cash over more than ten years of operation.
There are many large families with a scale of millions.

Moreover, in the south at this time, fundraising and momentum had already emerged, with small and medium-sized merchants using a "piggybacking" method to board large ships and participate in trade with a small amount of capital, similar to a modern joint-stock system. For example, maritime merchants divided their goods into "hundred-string shares" to attract investment from ordinary people, forming a mechanism of shared risk and shared benefits.

The Song Dynasty government consistently converted a portion of trade profits into national revenue through the policies of "bo mai" (government purchase of some goods) and "chou jie" (taxation).

Fujian and Zhejiang merchants exploited policy loopholes by inflating the value of goods and engaging in smuggling to expand their profit margins.

Xiao Ting's arrival did indeed take away a larger slice of the pie—from Korea and Japan.

The remarkable thing about Guangyuantang's caravan is that it doesn't need to profit through bribery, falsification, or smuggling.

They acted openly and honestly, because they were operating under the banner of the Dingnan Army, which was tantamount to entering officialdom.

The competitive advantage immediately became much higher.

Although it was Xiao Ting's first time sailing, her subordinates were all experts in business. They were already extremely skilled in commerce and knew exactly what was profitable at sea after just one or two trips.

Although the Fujian-Zhejiang consortium had the advantage of entering the market first, their competitiveness was not on the same level as that of the Guangyuantang caravan.

If they do nothing, they will be squeezed out before long.

Moreover, the Guangyuantang caravan, including Xiao Ting herself, is not the type to keep to themselves and do their own thing.

They are extremely aggressive.

The explorations in the Western Regions are proof of this; some good people destroyed seven or eight small countries along the way just to do business.

After Xiao finished dressing, she asked someone to open the window to let in some fresh air, and then instructed her maid to bring paper and pen.

Biting her pen, Xiao Ting composed herself and began writing a letter to Chen Shao.

She portrayed herself as pitiful, how she was suppressed and threatened by Fujian and Zhejiang merchants, and how her business was stolen.
She asked her man to stand up for her.

The maid stood to the side, barely suppressing her laughter; her face turned red from holding it in.

Through the words in the letter, she seemed to recall how her wife had used to coax and plead with the Prince of Dai back in Taiyuan.

The Prince of Dai was truly a man who lacked romantic understanding, often leaving his wife standing aside and ignoring her.

When she peeked at the cheesy love words in the lady's letter, the little maid stubbornly raised her head, thought through the saddest thing in her life, and still almost couldn't help but laugh.

Fortunately, he covered his mouth in time and was standing behind the lady.

Upon hearing the sound, Madam Xiao turned around, her bright almond-shaped eyes widening slightly, and she immediately stood up with her hands at her sides in fright.

Xiao Ting snorted coldly, picked up her lip rouge, applied it, and bent down under the paper, leaving a faint lip print.

She glanced at her letter, nodded slightly, and seemed quite satisfied. (End of Chapter)