You have truly caused me great suffering!

Chen Shao returned to his residence and strolled over to Zhong Lingxi's house.

Whether it's public opinion or the feelings of those around you.

Prince Chen Shao of Dai was not a reckless person.

He is very disciplined.

This is actually very important, and many people chose to join Chen Shao because of this advantage.

Assisting such a person will not suddenly turn into a situation where serving a ruler is like serving a tiger, causing your whole family to rise to prominence.

Even in the inner quarters, it was the same. No matter how busy Chen Shao was, he would always take a lot of time to visit Huanhuan's room, which was also a way of following the rules.

Even if it was just holding her while reading or chatting, Chen Shao would come every few days, which was also to consolidate her authority as the legal wife.

As long as Chen Shao respects her, no matter how favored other women are, they will not harbor any improper thoughts.

Even a natural-born femme fatale like Wu Zetian wouldn't have dared to disrespect the Empress if Emperor Gaozong hadn't deliberately indulged and used her to deal with his maternal uncle.

The courtyard was unexpectedly lively.

The maids and servants from each courtyard were all there, gathered together and chattering away.

The room was warm and cozy, and a group of women were playing a game that looked like a kind of board game. They marked squares on the ground with silk lines and then used pitching to determine the number of steps they could take.

They were having a great time and didn't stop when Chen Shao came in. Only Chun Tao, who had been eliminated early, came up with a smile and took off his outer robe.

Chen Shao reached into her waist to warm his hands. The young girl was indeed tender and resilient. Her young body wasn't afraid of the cold, but she giggled because she was ticklish.

"Where's your older sister?" Chen Shao looked around and realized that Li Shishi was not there.

Upon hearing this, Chun Tao pursed her lips and said, "She was in the room making incense and incense seals, and she was always bossing people around. She also complained that I was clumsy, so I just ran out to play and ignored her."

After saying that, she pursed her lips and said with a hint of cunning, "Once she's prepared it, I'll steal it and use it."

Chen Shao slapped her little bottom and told her to go and serve him tea.

With the New Year approaching, there's bound to be nothing much to do everywhere, even border battles have come to a halt.

The trade routes to the Western Regions are also temporarily blocked, and it will probably take three months before they gradually recover.

Chen Shao had already gotten used to this rhythm.

No one would urge their subordinates to work in this kind of weather.

Whether they are high-ranking officials or ordinary people, everyone will experience a baby boom in the autumn of the following year.

Because this winter, people with free time have very limited entertainment options.
The women in his inner quarters, because there were so many of them, could also play games.

For families with just a few members, all they do during the winter months is try to have more babies.

Among the crowd, Huanhuan was the happiest, and getting married was all good for her.

Originally, I only had one relative by my side, but now that person is still there, and I have so many more playmates.

Nowadays, many of the younger female relatives of the Zhong family often come to stay at her place.

Looking at the innocent and carefree Huanhuan, Chen Shao thought to himself that it was impossible to expect her to become a wise empress for all time, but he was young enough to protect her and make her happy for the rest of her life.

Huanhuan's dowry was very generous, consisting of the entire city of Yinzhou, plus countless low- to mid-ranking military officers within the Zhong family army.

They made many contributions, but Zhong Shidao couldn't promote them, so he simply assigned them to the Dingnan Army.

Because everyone knows that in the Dingnan Army, as long as you have military merits, you can be promoted quickly.

Moreover, the Zhong family helped him stabilize the Western Army, the last elite field force within the Song Dynasty.

Whether they admit it or not, Chen Shao, who married a daughter of the Zhong family, was in fact considered one of their own by many in the Western Army.

The reason Qin Fengjun dared to betray the Western Army this time was because he felt that since Lao Zhong was here, they were not considered to have betrayed the Western Army.

Even though three of the four major families of the Western Army had defected to the Prince of Dai, the remaining one was the traitor within the Western Army.

Since it was a rare moment of leisure, Chen Shao cleared his mind and spent some time playing with his wives and concubines.

His arrival made the atmosphere even more cheerful.

As dusk fell, Chen Shao had his whole family invited over for a small family feast.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, the ladies from each courtyard left one after another, leaving only Chun Tao, who had the thickest skin.

Everyone in the inner courtyard knows that there are two people in the Prince's Mansion who can sleep in any of the courtyards: Chen Shao and Chun Tao.

Seeing that everyone had left, she took off her outer robe and sat on the edge of the bed wearing only a thin dress and gauze trousers.

She had a physical attraction to Chen Shao; she was happy just being near him, even without doing anything.

She liked to hang around Chen Shao whenever she had nothing to do, and Chen Shao doted on her, so the two often slept together in beds in different courtyards.

Chen Shao watched as she let her hair down, took off her silk stockings and embroidered shoes, revealing two fair and delicate little feet through her wide trouser legs. Her appearance was both charming and innocent.

He couldn't resist going up to her and wrapping his arms around her waist, becoming affectionate with her.

The maid asked if he wanted to take a bath, and Chen Shao nodded.

Before long, someone filled the pool in the heated pavilion with warm water.

The three of them washed up together, and when they came up, the two young wives were only wearing moon-white undergarments, each wrapped with a pair of exquisite little rabbits, and they laughed and played on the bed with Chen Shao.
-
It was the seventh day of the twelfth lunar month, in the early morning.

On the roads of Mingzhou City, the rapid clatter of horses' hooves echoed incessantly.

It is indeed very close to the sea here. Even when you reach the edge of the city, you can still hear the rushing sound of the river at the estuary and the waves crashing against the shore in the wind.

The faint glimmer of light on the water was barely visible under the cover of night. With the surrounding light dim, the river, occasionally tinged with the glow of torches, resembled the Milky Way.

The caravan on the post road consisted of about a hundred people, led by Qu Duan himself.

The team consisted entirely of his personal guards, including soldiers from the Dingnan Army in the Northwest and naval men from Shandong—a group of roaring soldiers.

Qu Duan's men, like him, were all extremely eager to establish merit; their eyes were practically green with envy.

So while the rest of the world rested, Qu Duan did not. He wanted to take this opportunity to build a navy in Mingzhou, Quanzhou and Fuzhou.

He had already reported it to Chen Shao, who was now the Grand Marshal of the Armed Forces, so Chen Shao's approval was all that was needed for the recruitment. However, Qu Duan remained unchanged; after reporting it, he couldn't wait for a reply and had already started working on it.

Qu Duan had just confiscated the property of several wealthy merchants, who were now rich and had ships, and were eager to train a new navy.

He discovered that the training of the navy had received strong support from the Prince of Dai.

The veterans in Dingnan Army all know that if the Prince of Dai supports something, you can go for it without hesitation, as he will provide you with the greatest protection and assistance.

Moreover, he has a hidden big shot behind him who has been silently supporting him all along, and that is Xiao Ting.

Xiao Ting's desire for a navy was even stronger than Qu Duan's; Qu Duan only wanted to cross the sea to destroy Guo Yaoshi and the Jurchens.

Ultimately, we still have to get ashore.

However, Xiao Ting hoped that warships would escort her caravan to the vast ocean and countless unknown lands.

To seize the wealth of this world.

She knew very well that Chen Shao would not give her military power, but he would definitely protect her caravan.

The officials of Mingzhou Prefecture could only pretend not to see Qu Duan's actions.

Given the fighting strength of the Jiangnan Xiang Army, it is no exaggeration to say that Qu Duan's main force was enough to sweep across Jiangnan Province.

Moreover, Chen Shao's visit to Jiangnan to quell the rebellion of Fang La had a profound impact on the lives of the people of Jiangnan.

These are the soldiers of the Prince of Dai!
If a real war breaks out, it's hard to say whose side the people of Jiangnan will be on.

Qu Duan arrived in Mingzhou City, went straight into the government office, and sat down at the head of the office with an air of nonchalance.

The guards quickly occupied the entire government office, waiting for the officials to arrive.

Before long, officials who had received the news rushed over, many of them being woken up from their beds.

They lack Qu Duan's ambition.
I've cursed him countless times on the way here.

When Lou Yi arrived, the officials seemed to have found their pillar of support and all crowded around him.

In the seventh year of the Zhenghe era (1117), Lou Yi was appointed as the prefect of Mingzhou. The court ordered him to oversee the reclamation of Guangde Lake into farmland to increase tax revenue.

This project of turning lakes into farmland is extremely short-sighted. Although it may increase grain production in the short term, it will cause significant damage to the local area.

If there is a flood disaster, we simply cannot withstand it.

Lou Yi looked sickly. He was a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) and belonged to the most aristocratic and refined class of the Song Dynasty. Naturally, he looked down on Qu Duan's martial arts style.

Such a domineering and rude warrior has not appeared in the Song Dynasty for a long time.

However, he also knew that the Prince of Dai was now powerful and the Dingnan Army was even stronger, so he suppressed his anger and stepped forward, saying, "General Qu, shouldn't you get up from my post?"

The officials in the hall were all sweating bullets for him.

To everyone's surprise, Qu Duan, who was known for his fierceness, was not angry at all. Instead, he stood up and gestured, saying, "Come, sit down."

It wasn't out of politeness; he was simply observing that the prefect looked pale, his legs were weak, and his body seemed unlikely to survive the winter.

Lou Yi didn't expect him to actually give up his seat, and felt a little embarrassed, since Qu Duan was much higher in rank than him.

He was the Pacification Commissioner of the Eastern Circuit of Jingdong, a powerful regional official and the local warlord of Shandong. In a way, he deserved to be called the "Commander-in-Chief".

However, at this time, the title of Commander Xuan had been tarnished by Tong Guan, and no one liked to call him that anymore.

After Lou Yi sat down, Qu Duan did not speak to him, but turned his head to continue the previous topic and chatted enthusiastically with He Guang, the prefect in charge of the Mingzhou Shipyard.

He Guang also had a fawning look on his face, and it seemed that he was preparing to defect to the Dingnan Army. He said eloquently, "Commander Qu is unaware that in order to save on construction costs, the components of the helm, the sail winch, the sails, the cables and other equipment are all distributed among various small shipyards, each responsible for a part. This place is only responsible for building the main body of the ship, and the final assembly will be carried out after completion."

Among the various types of ships built, the towering warships are as tall as city walls and possess formidable power, making them adept at cleaving through the waves. They have a draft of two zhang (approximately 6.6 meters). As for the ships of foreign barbarians, they are as small as the small boats of Jiangnan. Our towering warships, riding the wind, can crush them like a chariot running over a mantis. Therefore, in a true naval confrontation, without needing a single soldier, the enemy ships will scatter into countless sampans simply through hull collisions.

He Guang seemed quite pleased with himself when he said this.

Qu Duan frowned and asked, "What about the ships in Bohai?"

Upon hearing this, He Guang panicked. This Qu Duan from the Northwest was an expert and not easily fooled.

Bohai Shipbuilding's shipbuilding capabilities are also very high.

It's not comparable to those barbarians in the south. Nowadays, the south is just Southeast Asia, which is truly a barren and primitive land.

"They cannot sail long distances, so they still pose a certain threat in coastal operations."

How many ships do you plan to build this year?

"This year, the imperial decree requires Mingzhou to fill in the lake and create farmland. I'm afraid we don't have much financial or human resources to build ships."

Qu Duan shook his head and said, "What lake are you filling in! We must build fast ships and warships that can travel far across the seas. I want to promote any craftsman who can improve the efficiency of the ships and reward him handsomely!"

Lou Yi finally couldn't listen anymore and said, "Reclaiming land from lakes is a national policy, personally arranged by Prime Minister Cai. How can it be abandoned halfway?"

"It won't be like that for long," Qu Duan said confidently.

The Prince of Dai's support for the navy was something he hadn't expected, so Qu Duan felt that the Prince of Dai would definitely stand on his side.

As for Cai Jing, his decree to fill the lake was mostly for the sake of the court's cash flow.

Nowadays, supplies and food are not as scarce as they were a few years ago, so why fill in the lake?

Lou Yi was so angry that his beard stood on end. Combined with his sickly appearance, he looked like he was about to pass out, which was quite frightening.

Qu Duan took a few steps back, held up two fingers, pointed at Lou Yi, and looked up at the surroundings, saying, "Everyone, be my witness, I didn't touch him."

His personal guards chuckled inwardly. "You're quite the officer to make Commander Qu back down."

Lou Yi's act of filling Guangde Lake was truly exhausting. Historically, this measure of his increased arable land by 7.2 mu in a short period of time, generating an annual rent of 3.6 shi of grain, which alleviated the financial pressure on the Northern Song Dynasty.

However, as a result, Mingzhou lost its ability to resist floods, which had a huge impact on the water conservancy and ecology, leading to frequent floods and droughts in western Yinzhou. Later generations said that the benefits were small but the harm was great.

He himself was worked to death as a result.

"The prefect has fainted! Quickly, fetch a doctor!" (End of Chapter)