You have truly caused me great suffering!

Zhai Rui's mother's death served as a stark reminder to Chen Shao that this was an era where even a common cold could be fatal.

No matter what earth-shattering things you do, what kind of legacy you leave behind, or whether you change the entire pattern of human civilization.

You are first and foremost a mortal being of flesh and blood.

Seeking elixirs and medicines will not grant immortality, nor will believing in gods or Buddhas prevent death. However, cultivating a broad mind and a strong body can lead to longevity.

Chun Tao got up early this morning, which was unusual for her.

After the three of them had breakfast together, Chen Shao put down his bowl and let Cui Die wipe his face.

"I'll send someone to tidy up today, and you two can go tomorrow."

Because it's a special time right now, we need to be careful with everything we do; we can't just do whatever we want.

Li Shishi understood and nodded.

After leaving the courtyard, Chen Shao felt that the weather was getting colder and colder.

It is estimated that there will be a ceasefire in the north for one or two months. At that time, people's hands will be frozen in the border region.

However, this was the golden time in the south, and Wu Jie repeatedly stated in military reports that the war should be ended before the end of the year.

At least it's a war in general.

This was not because Wu Jie was eager to make a name for himself, but rather a conclusion he reached after analyzing the battle situation.

We can't afford to linger in Jiaozhi, or we'll likely get stuck there, and being held back until the rainy season is no joke.

That's what a top-tier general is like; even with all the victories under his belt, he still sees danger.

Understanding what the enemy wants to do and what they are doing is the mark of a true military strategist.

Clearly, the Joseon Dynasty intended to delay until the rainy season.

Wu Jie was very glad that the Prince of Dai must have done his homework before going to war.

They set out with their troops just as the previous rainy season was ending, which gave Wu Jie relatively ample time.

When Chen Shao arrived at the guest hall outside, he discovered that another large group of people had arrived in Bianliang.

Many of the faces were already somewhat unfamiliar.
"The Prince of Dai!"

A group of people clasped their hands and bowed in the reception hall. Chen Shao stepped forward and helped up the person at the front, saying, "You've come from afar, you must be tired!"

"Congratulations to the King!"

There are many people coming from the Northwest this time. Not to mention You, Yan, Yin, Xia, Liang, Gan, Gua, Su, Sha and other eleven prefectures in Hexi, just talking about the forts and villages, almost every fort and village has three to five people coming.

In addition, there were the Qiang people of Hengshan, as well as the gentry, chieftains, and landlords of the Hu and Han peoples beyond the Great Wall.
These were Chen Shao's trump cards, the foundation of his rise to power.

Chen Shao's reward to them was equally astonishing; he fulfilled his promise long before Chen Shao even became emperor.

Three trade routes have now been opened in the Western Regions:

The Qinglan Railway traverses the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, connecting the Central Plains with South Asia and Central Asia;
Desert Oasis Route: Hexi Corridor → Dunhuang → splits into two routes, north and south, bypassing the Taklamakan Desert → converges at Kashgar → enters Central Asia via the Pamir Plateau (such as Samarkand and Bukhara) → reaches Persia and the Mediterranean coast (such as Rome and Constantinople).
The steppe line runs from the Black Mountains to the desert, through the Western Liao Dynasty under Yelü Dashi, connecting Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

This was a grand occasion unprecedented in history, and the eleven prefectures of Dingnan, being connected to the Central Plains and the Western Regions in the northwest, were already extremely wealthy.

The Northwest region suffered terribly under the rule of the Song Dynasty.

The Silk Road was interrupted for as long as the war with the Western Xia people lasted, and the grand spectacle of caravans from all over the world entering Chang'an during the Tang Dynasty was long gone.

It was Chen Shao's appearance that revived this glory and further developed it.

Chen Shao chatted with them for a few minutes and then instructed Cui Lin to arrange accommodations for everyone.

In a few days, a group of battle-hardened elite troops will be withdrawn from the northern front.

These are soldiers who fought their way from Nuanquan Peak all the way to Gubeikou; they are soldiers from the Northwest.

Chen Shao laughed and said, "We'll go to greet them together then."

Everyone naturally agreed.

It's certain that these people will be brought back. They are currently the most capable group of people, the Prince of Dai's most trusted confidants, brothers, and henchmen.

With them in charge, we have nothing to fear from anyone causing trouble.

As for the situation in the north, to be honest, we no longer need so many soldiers.

At this stage of the war, Qu Duan's forces, along with the now-mature Yue Fei, were sufficient.

When the cold wave recedes next year, it will be time to destroy the Jin dynasty.

People like Cai Jing and Yuwen Xuzhong had a deeper understanding of this matter.

They understood that these people were likely to be rewarded if they were transferred back.

Everyone knows that, apart from the Prince of Dai's forces, the Song Dynasty currently has no strong army.

The Western Army, which could barely be considered an elite force in field battles, had completely surrendered to the Prince of Dai, and in fact, they were originally one family.
To wait until this point to declare himself emperor already shows considerable restraint; most people would find it hard to resist the allure of the throne.
-
On a wasteland on the outskirts of Bianliang, there are two simple earthen graves.

In front of the earthen grave, incense and paper money had been lit, and several plates of offerings of fruit were placed.

Scattered around were some guards, who hadn't changed their clothes and were still wearing the military jackets of the Lingwu Camp.

It was designed by Li Shishi herself.

As soon as Chuntao saw her parents' tombstones, she burst into tears.

Upon hearing this, Li Shishi was first startled, and then a strange feeling welled up in her heart.

She wanted to cry along with them, but she just couldn't feel sad.

She turned to look at her younger sister, Chun Tao, whose skin was now even whiter and smoother than before, as if it could be squeezed to release water.

Her appearance became increasingly beautiful, with bright, expressive eyes and small, vermilion lips. Her delicate features on her fair face made her exceptionally pretty.

Does she resemble me? Yes and no!

Li Shishi tilted her head, knowing in her heart that it was wrong for her to be thinking about these things in this place and at this time, but she couldn't fool herself.

It was only when she knelt before her parents' graves that Li Shishi realized she was truly a ruthless person.

My own heart is truly as hard as iron and as cold as ice.

If you are truly good to me, like a young man, then I will give you my whole heart;

Even if you treat me badly, even if you are my parents who gave me life and Zhao Ji who provided me with a life of luxury, I can still discard you like trash.

Even the usually skilled actress Li Shishi couldn't squeeze out a single tear at this moment.

She felt that people would gossip about her kind heart. Should she choke up in front of the young man when she got back?

Upon returning to the mansion and entering the courtyard, they discovered that Chen Shao was already in the room.

He was holding a report and reading it very carefully; it was a list of soldiers to be rewarded, written by his staff.

After Chun Tao sat down, she sobbed and talked to Chen Shao for a while, while Li Shishi sat quietly to the side.

She didn't feign sadness in front of Chen Shao; she didn't even utter a word.

Will he think I'm heartless or cold-hearted?
Li Shishi was very annoyed. In front of her man, she always appeared gentle and tender, but in reality, her heart was not gentle at all.

Every time she hit Chun Tao, she was extremely ruthless; it was not something a gentle woman would do.

Li Shishi even felt a little smug. Who told me I was born but had no one to teach me? She kept her head down, afraid that if she looked up, she would see Chen Shao's puzzled and confused eyes.

But then Chen Shao took her hand and asked, "So cold?"

After saying that, he put her hand on his waist.

Li Shishi was caught off guard and suddenly felt a warmth in her heart. Her nose tingled, and she burst into tears.

A heart as hard as iron was easily softened by him.

Chen Shaocai doesn't care whether she's filial or not. She was sold when she was just a few years old. She grew up observing people's expressions and suffering the coldness and warmth of human relationships.

It's already quite remarkable that I'm able to give my parents so much money now that I'm all grown up.

Chun Tao sobbed uncontrollably. Before Chen Shao could comfort her, she turned around and saw the two of them embracing again. Her grief intensified, and she cried even louder.
-
In early December, after entering the twelfth lunar month, Bianliang was enveloped in a festive atmosphere, joyous and lively.

Inside the study of the Cai family mansion, Cai Jing, dressed in a linen undershirt, was half-lying and half-sitting on a folding chair, listening to his grandson talk about the latest political affairs.

Cai Jing was in charge of finances and managed the Song Dynasty's treasury for the Prince of Dai. He handled everything with his eyes closed, taking responsibility for whoever's business was responsible, and blaming whoever caused trouble.

Several departments were entangled in a mess, but Cai Jing clarified things in just a few words, and everyone performed their duties.

If it involved the Forbidden City, it was quickly sent to the various departments within the Forbidden City, where people from the Forbidden City would naturally handle it. He already had a clear plan in his mind about which department was involved and which department should handle it.

If you mention a problem, Cai Jing can come up with a solution in no time.

Without him, even if the government offices gathered for ten or fifteen days to discuss the matter, it might not have been as good as Cai Jing's ability to handle it in the blink of an eye.

Countless people came and went, but Cai Jing handled them all perfectly, without the slightest disorder.

No matter who it was, even his political enemies, those who had witnessed Cai Jing's governance all admired him.

This old man may be old, but his mind is still sharp and alert, not a bit less so!

In recent days, especially Chen Shao's caravan system, has gradually begun to integrate with the finances of the Song Dynasty.

Cai Jing then realized that the Prince of Dai had such vision and strategic thinking, and that his talent in leading troops in battle was probably not even a fraction of his talent in financial planning.

In the eyes of most people, the Prince of Dai was top-notch in martial arts and morality, because he only took a few years to build an invincible Dingnan Army.

Although I haven't been on the front lines much, this is the kind of martial skill and virtue that everyone recognizes as the ability to strategize and win battles from afar.

A few days ago, Chen Shao came by and discussed things with Cai Jing for a long time.

Cai Jing still remembers the Prince of Dai's grand ambition: he was confident that he could bring back enough gold and silver from overseas and use it as reserves to issue paper money.

That's something even better than paper money!

Only an expert like Cai Jing knows how serious this matter is.

If the Prince of Dai had truly succeeded in bringing back a large amount of gold and silver reserves from overseas, then the financial predicament accumulated throughout the Song Dynasty would have been resolved in one fell swoop.

Cai Jing used to think that the Prince of Dai was being arrogant by supporting 100,000 cavalry, but in reality, that many troops were not needed for warfare.

But after learning about his caravan, one realizes that the Prince of Dai was incredibly frugal; if someone else had that kind of money...

He will most likely expand his army, expand it further, and then conquer more territory, eventually rebelling and becoming emperor.

But what about the King of Dai?

With the money, he dug canals, built water conservancy projects, made farming tools, smelted iron and coke, and opened up the sea and built ships.
Cai Jing was a very pragmatic and wise man, but at this moment, in his eyes, Prince Chen Shao of Dai was a saint.

A living saint.

There was indeed such a phenomenon around Chen Shao: the more capable and intelligent a person was, the more they admired him.

First came Yuwen Xuzhong, then came Cai Jing.

Because most people cannot see how noble his actions are.

What desire did he overcome?
When Cai Jing heard that the elite troops of the Dingnan Army were about to enter the capital, his eyes widened: "How many troops have returned?"

“Fifty thousand!” Cai Xing said.

Cai Jing frowned.

How will 50,000 elite troops be deployed?
Cai Jing had a strong premonition that the Prince of Dai would definitely take action against the scholar-officials, and it would be a swift and decisive blow.

The Cai family itself was a member of the Song Dynasty's scholar-official class, and one of the larger branches of it.

The Song Dynasty was indeed quite lenient towards its bureaucratic system, which fostered a large number of scholar-officials and powerful families.

It should be noted that in addition to their salaries, Song Dynasty officials received dozens of different allowances, and at its peak, over a hundred.

Moreover, there was a suburban sacrifice every three years. After the suburban sacrifice, all civil and military officials were rewarded, with some receiving the equivalent of two years' regular salary and others receiving several dozen strings of cash.

In addition to rewards, there were also privileges and hereditary privileges. The sons of ministers of the fifth rank and above could enter officialdom through this, and suddenly there was a large number of people living off the Song Dynasty's treasury.

The idea that the emperor and the scholar-officials would share the empire was not just a slogan, but a real national policy of the Song Dynasty.

Over the past century or so, the scholar-officials have long since formed a formidable force.

Cai Jing absolutely refused to believe that the Prince of Dai, who could create such a monster as a caravan, would be blind to the drawbacks and dangers involved.

Could he remain unmoved?
The scholar-officials of the Song Dynasty had so many privileges, so much land, and so much money!
However, there was no corresponding weaponry.

Aren't they just pigs and sheep to be slaughtered? What are these 50,000 elite troops doing in Beijing?
There are several more 50,000s!

Almost instantly, Cai Jing made a decision, regardless of how the Prince of Dai was going to fight the scholar-officials.

The Cai family stood firmly on his side, "We need to take stock of all the farmland, shops, and residences in our mansion, and prepare all the land deeds and house deeds."

Cai Xing asked with some confusion, "Grandpa?"

"Remember this, never go against the Prince of Dai."

Cai Xing was even more puzzled. He had always followed the Prince of Dai, but he didn't know why the Prince of Dai was taking such good care of him.

Ah Weng has always worked for the Prince of Dai, so why is he suddenly so nervous?

Aren't we all in the same boat?

Cai Xing had long considered himself a member of the Dingnan Army; even if he wasn't part of the Dingnan Army faction, he should be considered part of the Hedong faction.

After all, he joined the Prince of Dai's staff in Taiyuan, where he handled confidential military and political affairs.

Cai Jing felt somewhat at ease knowing that his health was still good and that the Prince of Dai would certainly not have to wait too long.

If I were still alive, there would definitely be no problem. No matter what you, the Prince of Dai, want to do, my Cai family will follow you wholeheartedly.

Although the new dynasty has not yet been established, Cai Jing has already foreseen that it will be an unprecedentedly powerful dynasty.

There are plenty of benefits! The Prince of Dai will not mistreat those who follow him!

As a leading figure among the Song Dynasty's scholar-officials and the last prime minister of the old Song Dynasty, I will absolutely not be an obstacle to the new dynasty, but will instead join it in taking off once again!

Cai Jing closed his eyes again and lay down.

At this moment, he also had a question in his mind: how exactly should the Prince of Dai act?
This is no easy task.

The problem of the scholar-official class in the Song Dynasty was a deeply ingrained and persistent issue, deeply rooted in every part of the land.

Cai Jing was somewhat hopeful; he hoped that the Prince of Dai would come to him for a discussion.

Such earth-shattering changes are happening all too often; it would be a great pity not to participate. (End of Chapter)