You have truly caused me great suffering!

Originally scheduled to depart today, Chen Shao, looking at the sun-baked ground, ordered the trip to be postponed.

During this period, Chen Shao recommended Wu Jie to be the Pacification Commissioner of the East and West Routes of Guangnan, and concurrently the Commander-in-Chief of the Cavalry and Infantry of the Expeditionary Army.

Zhong Shizhong concurrently served as the General Manager of Fuyan Road, and Liu Guanglie was transferred to serve as the Pacification Commissioner of Liangzhe Road, Jiangnan East Road, and Jiangnan West Road. Liu Jizu was appointed as the Transport Commissioner of the three roads, giving them control over civil affairs, finance, and judicial power.

Firstly, to prepare supplies for the conquest of Jiaozhi; secondly, to establish a foothold in Jiangnan; and thirdly, to control the Yangtze River shipping route.

After three more days, the high temperature dissipated, and Chen Shao led 10,000 Lingwu guards, a hundred or so marshal's staff, most of the elite guards of Guangyuan Hall, and some other entourage towards Bianliang.

The group was quite large; unlike before, they did not travel light.

Instead, it was all about grandeur and pomp.

After traveling south through Fenzhou, Chen Shao arrived in Zezhou ten days later, choosing to travel from Luoyang.

When Chen Shao came to Beijing from the Northwest, he knew that if he wanted to achieve something in the future, he had to make money.

So he used Tong Guan's name to extort money from the local gentry along the way. Because of Tong Guan's great reputation, he was always successful until he entered Luoyang.
The powerful families here were too tough, and Chen Shao finally couldn't extort them anymore. That's when Chen Shao realized how formidable these local Luoyang residents were.

They dared to disregard even Tong Guan's dignity; they were no ordinary local gentry.

After arriving in Beijing, Chen Shao came up with many ways to make money, and even seriously planned to take Da Hu to rob a place.

This is how they accumulate their start-up capital.

He never expected to meet Li Shishi, which saved him a lot of trouble.

Looking at the west gate of Luoyang, Chen Shao felt quite emotional.

At this time, the garrison commander, Meicang Pangge, had already spontaneously led his troops to the scene.

Wherever Chen Shao was, he was there too, head held high and chest puffed out, as if he had suddenly become more spirited.

Looking at the somewhat dilapidated outskirts of Luoyang, with its crisscrossing hills, his advisor Cai Youwang smiled and said to Chen Shao, "Your Majesty, this place was known as 'Lu Hai' during the Sui and Tang dynasties, a vast expanse of dense forest. It was only because there were many nobles in Luoyang that much of it was felled to build palaces, temples, and mansions, resulting in the place as it is today."

Chen Shao nodded and sighed, "What a pity."

From this point on, Luoyang began its decline.

This city, the most brilliant example of Central Plains culture, rose to prominence on the alluvial plain of the Yi and Luo Rivers, where the soil was fertile and water resources were readily available.

However, prolonged wars and over-exploitation have led to the deterioration of the ecological environment, making it no longer able to support a large population.

Because Chen Shao was the Prince of Dai of the Song Dynasty, no one in the region had any reason to stop him wherever he went.

Luoyang is no exception.

Upon approaching the city, Wang Xiang, the prefect of Henan Prefecture and the garrison commander of Xijing, and Zhao Ding, the magistrate of Luoyang County, led officials from Luoyang City to greet them outside the city.

Although they did not belong to the same camp as Chen Shao and had a very bad relationship with him, they had to come to greet him according to the rules.

Upon getting closer, they discovered that Chen Shao had actually come on horseback.

Wang Xiang cursed the bandits in his heart, then stepped forward with a forced smile. Chen Shao simply nodded slightly and led his men into Luoyang.

This time, Mei Zang Pang Ge finally led his men into Luoyang City.

He sneered repeatedly, making no attempt to hide it. Now that he was in, it wouldn't be easy for him to leave.

After entering the city, Chen Shao's guards escorted him into an ordinary street.

Wu Youzhi was standing at the door waiting.

He was just an ordinary wealthy family in the city. His ancestors owned more than ten acres of fertile land. In his generation, because he was really bad at studying, he suddenly wanted to go into business.

As a result, they made a lot of money and expanded their house to a very large area, but they had just become rich and didn't have many people in their family.

Upon hearing that the Prince of Dai was coming to Luoyang, this fellow suddenly had a whimsical idea and went ahead to the Marshal's entourage office to ask if the Prince of Dai could stay at his house.

The person in charge of the tents and beds for imperial processions and suburban sacrifices, who originally had no arrangements, actually reported it after hearing about it.

To everyone's surprise, the Prince of Dai readily agreed.

Wu Youzhi was startled, both surprised and delighted, and quickly returned home to prepare.

But he still felt a sense of unreality.

Today, I brought my wife and sons and waited at the door early in the morning.

Until the King of Dai actually arrived.

Wu Youzhi stared wide-eyed and shouted, "Welcome, Your Majesty!"

The whole family bowed in greeting.

Chen Shao looked at this bold and resourceful middle-aged man and smiled, "No need for formalities."

Those around him all thought to themselves that the Prince of Dai was indeed unconventional in his approach to things.

Chen Shao even had a meal with their family and asked them some questions about Luoyang.

Wu Youzhi, a native of Luoyang whose ancestors were born and raised there, spoke in great detail, which Chen Shao listened to with great interest.

The next day, Chen Shao left them a calligraphy piece that read: "Hospitable Home"
Although his handwriting was mediocre, Master Wu treasured it like a precious gem and couldn't bear to part with it.

Then Chen Shao's entourage left Luoyang.

It was originally thought that Chen Shao would visit some of Luoyang's historical sites and famous temples, but he only stayed overnight at the home of a wealthy gentry in the city before leaving immediately.

His idea for this trip from Luoyang to the capital was actually quite simple.

He really came here to guide Brother Pang who had no way to hide.
In Luoyang, a group of local powerful figures, who were on high alert, were both surprised and somewhat disappointed.

They originally thought that Chen Shao would definitely take the opportunity to make trouble for them, or at least find fault with them.

But their attitude clearly showed they didn't care about them. As if they didn't want to waste any time, they headed directly east from Luoyang, entering the capital region and Kaifeng Prefecture.

It was already early autumn.

Despite having seen it before and even worked there, Chen Shao was still amazed by the prosperity of Bianliang.

Because of Chen Shao's intervention, the Jin army marched south ahead of schedule, so although it is now called the third year of Jingkang, it should actually be the first year of Jingkang.

In other words, it was at this time in history that all the prosperity came to an abrupt end.

Chen Shao's mind was filled with the tragic records of the Jingkang Incident, and he couldn't help but drift into a daze.

Those around him, seeing the Prince of Dai's appearance, naturally assumed he was thinking of taking his place, and were all somewhat excited.

They all looked up at Chen Shao from time to time, until Chen Shao let out a long sigh of relief, "Let's go to the capital!"

At the city gate, one could see the banners of the Japanese army in the distance; they were there to welcome Chen Shao.

Chen Shaozeng once commanded the Japanese army, but times have changed and that batch of imperial guards has long been phased out.

On the contrary, many of the officials who came to greet them outside the city were familiar faces.

At this point, there was no need to hide anything anymore. Wei Li, Zhang Xiaochun, Cai Xing, and a group of officials from Hedong all came out to greet them.

If Cai Jing weren't so old, he would definitely have come out too.

There will definitely be a banquet tonight, Chen Shao said with a smile, exchanging pleasantries with them, "Mr. Wenxi, how have you been?"

Wei Li almost burst into tears, “It has been more than six years since I parted from Your Majesty’s Xiping Prefecture. Your Majesty’s demeanor remains unchanged, but I have grown old.”

"Haha, I do know how to maintain good health. I'll teach you a few tricks in a bit."

Upon entering the city, Chen Shao moved into a very luxurious villa called Zhaode Lane, which was originally Wang Fu's residence.

It was a gift from Emperor Huizong of Tang to Wang Fu. Back then, relying on the emperor's favor, Wang Fu drove away his neighbor, Xu Jiang, a scholar who had served five dynasties, and seized his house, merging the two residences into one.

Therefore, this place is extremely vast and luxurious.

Upon learning that Chen Shao was going to the capital, Emperor Zhao Huan issued a special decree to renovate the place and give it to the Prince of Dai.

Upon entering the house, Chen Shao suddenly remembered that Tong Guan had given him a house back then.

"Big Tiger, do we have a house in Deer Lane?"

Da Hu scratched his head. "Last time Brother Cui went to Taiyuan, he said that place had long been taken back by Tong Guan."

Chen Shao was taken aback upon hearing this. How could Tong Guan possibly care about that small house? He must have remembered it because he held a grudge against him.

It's estimated that he's thought about the kindness shown to him thousands of times over.

Commander En, if you had just a little more ambition, would I not have supported you?

When Chen Shao entered the capital, he brought nearly 20,000 people with him, of which more than 10,000 were soldiers stationed outside, and 2,000 were his personal guards.

But no one was worried about his safety.

Even in Bianliang City, he still had the most troops.

Chen Shao hosted a banquet for his guests in Zhaodefang, and the Emperor dispatched Shao Chengzhang to personally deliver one hundred jars of imperial wine. An imperial decree was issued ordering the musicians and dancers of the Yunshao troupe of the Jiaofang (Imperial Music Bureau) to come to the banquet to sing and dance.

Many officials had long been members of the Dingnan Army, but had never met Chen Shao. Today was a good opportunity for them to get to know him.

For example, Yang Yizhong, who has come to pay his respects and offer a toast.

Although Yang Yizhong is young, he appears calm, capable, and mature.

"Yang Yizhong, the vanguard commander, pays his respects to the King."

"What a strong man," Chen Shao said with a smile to Zhang Xiaochun beside him.

Zhang Xiaochun said, "Commander Yang comes from a military family. His grandfather was General Yang, the former commander of Yongxing Army Road, and his father was the magistrate of Jianning Village in Linzhou. As a son of a military family, he is naturally strong and capable."

"So it's the Western Army, one of our own." Chen Shao laughed. "Keep up the good work!"

Yang Yizhong felt extremely fortunate. Back then, Zhang Di, the commander of the new army of the Beijing garrison, had chosen him to deliver reparations to Wanyan Zongwang, and he had cursed him incessantly.

But at this moment, he felt an urge to kowtow to him.

Because there were still many people behind him, Yang Yizhong could only leave as soon as possible and return to his seat.

Looking at the head of the table, amidst the clinking of glasses and the revelry, one sees the young Prince of Dai.

His gaze was intense, and he was filled with admiration, realizing that the Prince of Dai was so young.

Everyone knows what Chen Shao has done. Since he values ​​military merit, he should go out to fight more battles in the future.

Yang Yizhong was very confident in himself, believing that he was knowledgeable about military affairs.

Unfortunately, it seems there are no battles to be fought right now.

After the Jurchens were completely defeated, he couldn't think of any other places in the west or north that needed to be conquered.

In fact, this idea troubled many young military officers in the new Beijing garrison. They had the determination and courage to kill the enemy, serve their country, and earn military merit.

But it's unclear where else there will be fighting.
If Chen Shao knew what they were thinking, he would probably laugh out loud.

There are plenty of battles to fight!
The fighting will never end, especially in the future.

The southern wilderness alone will likely require many battles.

Moreover, as one moves forward, a wider battlefield will gradually unfold.

Young military commanders have plenty of opportunities to establish their merits. (End of Chapter)