You have truly caused me great suffering!

On the streets of Wuling, bolts of cloth and gold and silver were piled up like mountains.

A group of people were overjoyed as they accepted the imperial court's reward.

Inside the county government office, twenty-three landlords gathered together, shouting and yelling.

Du Laowu and Li Zheng were among them.

Many of them didn't know each other before, as they belonged to different barracks, but after this battle, they all became familiar with each other.

Moreover, after just a few casual words, they find endless common topics to discuss.

For example, are you at Wu Hui Ling?
Did you catch the Baigou River?

Of course, the most glorious one was the 'Bianjing March'. If you weren't there for that military parade, you could say you'd regret it for the rest of your life.

This time, after destroying the "Great Heavenly Cult," they also conveniently eliminated a group of water bandits who had been entrenched in Dongting Lake for many years.

Du Laowu said with a smile, "This time he almost became a major disaster."

"Who would have thought that he had poisoned so many people in private?"

The Great Jing Kingdom had only been established for a little over a year, and before that, Jinghu did not belong to Chen Shao.

His decrees don't reach here.

As an important grain-producing area, this place has been heavily exploited by the Song Dynasty, which has continuously increased taxes and provisions, driving the people here to the brink of despair.

When Zhong Xiang was preaching, many people actually had no choice at all.

Joining offers some hope, not joining means certain death.

His death was rather tragic.

Otherwise, rebellions would generally happen in remote mountain valleys.

In places like Jinghu, it is generally difficult to launch an uprising.

Zhao Ang walked out of the county government hall, beaming with joy, the bewilderment he felt that night long gone.

He won without lifting a finger during this turmoil; the imperial court's rewards were meager, but he didn't care.

I'm already very content.

I almost died.
Zhao Ang was already considering jumping over the city walls.

"County Commandant Zhao."

A group of people stood up and bowed to Zhao Ang, who was a proper local official.

Even during the Song Dynasty, after a prime minister retired, he still treated the county magistrate of his hometown with great respect.

"Congratulations everyone!" Zhao Ang said with a hint of envy in his voice, "The rewards from the court have been issued, and this is one of them."

He clapped his hands, and several yamen runners, their faces solemn, carried the urgent documents sent from the capital.

Zhao Ang sighed inwardly, realizing that even after decades of hard study, he dared not hope for such an honor.

That's incredibly dignified.

These retired soldiers were confused. When the man came over, Zhao Ang held out his hand and said, "This is a calligraphy by His Majesty, bestowed upon you all."

The twenty-three people stared wide-eyed upon hearing this.

Du Laowu lowered his voice, which trembled with excitement, "County Commandant...is this His Majesty's own letter?"

Zhao Ang nodded with a complicated expression.

A group of people hurriedly knelt down to receive the imperial decree. After receiving the imperial letter written in Chen Shao's own hand, they all saw that they had received the same four characters:
My old soldier
The soldiers and households of the Dingnan Army, who had been through ten years of battles, looked at each other, and then their noses tingled and tears streamed down their faces.

This piece of paper, once framed, will become a family heirloom.

I have to offer my prayers during every festival.

"His Majesty."

His Majesty wrote those four simple words more than twenty times, all for the sake of us few insignificant military households.

My old soldiers, my veterans, one can imagine that when Your Majesty wrote these words, you were proud of yourselves.

Just thinking about this made them feel a surge of heat rushing to their heads, and things they used to valued highly seemed as insignificant as a feather.

For ten years, the Dingnan Army has lived up to Your Majesty's expectations, and Your Majesty's grace towards the Dingnan Army is boundless!
In Chen Shao's eyes, this was indeed the case; everything he did was accomplished with the 100,000 Dingnan Army as leverage.

A pure mutual support and achievement.
-
Annan Road.

In the south, the rainy season usually lasts until around the Mid-Autumn Festival.

For such a long period, it was hot, rainy, and humid.

After autumn, the hot weather will gradually cool down, and rainfall will decrease significantly.

Throughout history, armies from the Central Plains dynasties that wanted to subdue Annam always launched their offensives in the autumn.

At this time, the climate is relatively dry and cool. Otherwise, the hot and humid climate, the prevalence of diseases, and the muddy and difficult roads would have made it unbearable for the Central Plains army to march, even without the locals' resistance.

Of course, this hot and humid climate would also pose difficulties for the local Annamese troops, but they were clearly more adapted to the environment than the Jing army.

Fortunately, at this time, the Central Plains troops did not need to take action.

In Wang Bing's camp, the soldiers hid in their barracks, watching the torrential rain outside and the roaring, turbid waves of the Red River.

Wang Wu squatted down to wipe the armor. Fortunately, the barracks were well-built, so he didn't have to squat in the mud.

"Damn it... This godforsaken place! After wearing iron plates for half a day, green mold has sprouted on my body! When I was a soldier in Lianghuai, at least my armor was scorching hot from the sun. But now—wearing iron armor feels like being covered in a layer of rotten moss!"

Liang Ning, a soldier huddled in a corner, had his trousers rolled up to his thighs, and his calves were covered in red rashes as he applied medicine.

"Brother, let's not talk about Lianghuai... I woke up three times last night because of the heat. The mat was stuck to my back, and peeling it off felt like tearing off a plaster. I went to the outhouse just now, and my foot slipped—guess what? A huge worm crawled up my trouser leg!"

They were all soldiers trained by Wang Bing in the Huai River region, and had not experienced any major battles. They were originally intended by Li Gang to counterbalance the unruly Dingnan Army, but later they surrendered to Chen Shao very smoothly.

At this time, they were stationed in the Red River area. The court said that the garrison would be rotated every three years, so they could only grit their teeth and endure the days.

Fortunately, the pay was never delayed, so when I went back, I could at least give my family an explanation.

Moreover, there were many doctors in the army; otherwise, the miasma would have killed many people.

"Have you heard?" Liang Ning lowered his voice and said, "It seems that the higher-ups have given orders that when we leave, we can take a few Annamese women with us."

Wu Jie committed too many killings in the Battle of Red River, and the male population in this area is almost extinct.

The children were castrated and sold off by Wang Xi and his men, leaving only women and children.

Previously, they could remain as a burden to the enemy, but now that Dai Viet has submitted and become part of Annam, they are one of our own.

To solve this problem, the imperial court ordered them to station troops to handle the digestion.

Wang Wu grinned and said, "What, are you tempted? I'm different from you, I have a wife at home. Actually, your parents are both dead, and you have no one else at home, so you might as well settle down here. Get a wife, use your salary to buy some good land, and you'll have a stable place to settle down."

In order to occupy the Red River Plain, the imperial court also relocated many landless peasants from Guangnan and other areas to settle there.

The policies offered are very favorable: five-year tax exemption, low-price land purchases, and even the option to temporarily defer some payments and wait to pay them off gradually.

Farm tools and oxen could also be purchased first and paid for later. The imperial court even provided wives for free in its retirement homes. If one could bribe officials, one could even choose any wife one wanted. With the resources of retired military households, they could afford to support two or three. The court's intention was for them to settle here and have many children. The stronger the bond between the Red River Plain and the Central Plains, the less likely Annam would have any thoughts of secession.

For military households like Liang Ning, the benefits of settling down were even more generous, but Liang Ning sighed, glanced at his calves, and was still a little reluctant.

The climate here isn't as nurturing as back home. They even talk about the Red River Plain, fertile land for miles around—bah! Fertile my foot! The rice plants are taller than a person, the mosquitoes are as big as bees, and one bite leaves you swollen for three days.

The other day, while on patrol, he saw a green snake coiled on a banyan tree, its scales shimmering with blue light, which startled him. The locals said it was a "malignant snake," and that looking at it would drive one mad!

Liang Ning was from a village under the jurisdiction of Chuzhou City in Huainan East Road, which was close to the capital. He was truly reluctant to leave.

The Great Jing Dynasty intended for the original northern peoples of the Central Plains to occupy the most prosperous Red River Plain.

As for other places, a good show is unfolding now, with meritorious troops returning from overseas campaigns vying for territory with the original local strongmen.

The imperial court was clearly on the side of the military merit group.

The so-called local bullies have been suppressed to the point of being unrecognizable.

Especially after Zhang Boyin arrived, these military groups had a backbone and a backer, making the local powerful families unable to hold their heads high.

But the imperial court didn't pay much attention to those matters, and after Wu Lin arrived, he was stationed in the barracks.

They didn't come to fight; they came to support Annam's local military clique.

You Annamite tyrants, aren't you secretly trying to resist the imperial court's decrees and refusing to cooperate with the court's land policies?

Why don't you just quit and hand over the land?

Beyond the Red River Plain, in the mountain valleys, we Central Plains people don't fight for the land; it's those peasants who returned from fighting overseas who fight for it—it's your internal conflict.
Seeing his hesitation and not making a decision for him, Wang Wu said, "If you talk too much about this, he might regret it later and blame you."

He immediately changed the subject, asking, "Have you all seen the new troops?"

"I saw it!" Xue Sen, who was sleeping with his face covered by a bamboo hat, suddenly sat up and asked, "What are those weapons they're carrying?"

Wang Wu said smugly, "You don't know, do you? I asked our captain last time, and he said it's a firearm, just like a cannon."

"artillery?"

The crowd couldn't help but exclaim in astonishment, "A cannon that's so thin yet can be carried on the shoulder is terrifying!"

“Those wearing iron hats are His Majesty’s personal guards. Everyone should stay away from them. If someone complains to Jinling, someone will come to complain.”
-
According to Chen Shao's military reports, Hirahiko Goro was engaged in a terrifying and brutal death march.
Wherever they went, it was like a locust swarm passing through, leaving absolutely nothing but barren land.

Inside the Funing Palace, Chen Shao held Crown Prince Chen Wang in his arms, looking at the memorial in his hand.

The reports from the past few days are even more interesting to read when read together.

After receiving training from Iwami, Heiha Goro immediately demonstrated the effectiveness of this special training upon leaving the mountain.

It's like a game-changer.

They marched into Bingo Province, which, like many other regions of Japan, was governed by a combination of a provincial governor and local powerful clans.

The Fujiwara clan had limited military strength and relied on the private armies of powerful clans.
Many manors and temples were located along the Seto Inland Sea coast.

This area is a coastal plain, which is advantageous for military operations, but the Numakuma Peninsula is covered by a dense network of waterways, making it vulnerable to ambushes.

So the local gentry decided to lay an ambush, but little did they know that this Hirahi Goro was very cunning and had already sent people to find out the information.

Taking advantage of the fact that the powerful clans had set up an ambush and their forces were weak, he deliberately chose to march at night and directly attacked the old homes of several powerful clans.

When the powerful clan led their private army to ambush the enemy, their home was ravaged, and their wives, children, and grandchildren had their heads chopped off and hung on trees.

They cried out that they had been tricked, and when they rushed back, Hirahi Goro and his men, after many twists and turns, ended up at their sacred White Lotus site—Xingfu Temple.

This is where the earliest riots broke out, and where Huineng stirred up his lotus tongue and unleashed the descent of Maitreya.

It belongs to the Pure Land of White Lotus.

No matter how ferocious, bloodthirsty, and cruel Hirahigoro was, he still respectfully bowed to the Buddha upon arriving here.

Of course, it's not the Buddha of Xingfu Temple, but the Eternal Mother and Maitreya from the East.

Then they circled around again and marched to Bingo Province. This time, instead of killing the powerful clans, they burned the crops and houses that were about to ripen, and once again took a large number of refugees with them.

After Heikagoro occupied Nara, he ordered his men to use the heads of powerful clansmen as weapons. They cut off the organs of their young sons and sons and stuffed them into the mouths of their wives, then laughed and threw them in front of the powerful clansmen.

The powerful clans were all horrified, and some of them simply dared not fight or pursue any further.

They could only return to their tribe, build high walls, stay indoors, and pray that the scourge of the mob would end soon.

Don't be fooled by how ruthless they seem when they bully ordinary people. When they actually encounter someone like Heiha Goro and his gang, their mentality immediately collapses.

This 'brilliant' record made Chen Shao's scalp tingle.

As expected, Japan lacks everything, but it doesn't lack this kind of pervert.

As the instigator of the chaos in Japan, Chen Shao felt no guilt whatsoever; he only cared about his own fortune.

The demand for scenic tickets continues to increase, and the increase in the court's credit has led many officials to suggest printing some ahead of schedule.

Since the people accept the vouchers, the rules don't necessarily have to be so rigid; they can be printed even without silver.

Chen Shao strongly opposed all of this and refuted their memorials.

The silver reserves must be at least 70% of the amount used to print the currency; otherwise, while my generation can abide by the rules, I fear that future generations might produce bastards like Emperor Huizong of Tang.

Only when it is established as a national policy, a rigid rule, and an ancestral law, will Chen Shao feel at ease.

This will also benefit the continuation and development of the scenic spot tickets in the future.

Chen Shao knew perfectly well how the Great Song Treasure Notes became worthless.

Chen Shao knew that he only needed to grit his teeth and wait for Iwami Silver Mine to get on the right track, and all the problems would be solved.

Alternatively, the same effect can be achieved by waiting for Cai Xing to return from Southeast Asia.

Chen Shao is like a hardworking old farmer who has been reclaiming wasteland. Over the years, he has gritted his teeth and accomplished a lot of great things.

These are all major events that take a long-term view, do not concern themselves with short-term gains or losses, and even involve enduring a lot of pressure.

The greater the pressure, the sweeter the fruit will be when it ripens.

That's how it is to govern a country. That's why the most taboo thing is a regime that doesn't last long or an emperor who changes frequently.

Good policies need continuity; otherwise, just when you've gritted your teeth and planted the seeds of success, they're replaced.

When the newcomer saw what this thing was, and realized that even if it bore fruit, it wasn't their achievement, they simply pulled it up and replanted it.

Repeating this process repeatedly will inevitably lead to less effort for less results, or even no gain at all.

At the founding of the Han Dynasty, Liu Bang and Xiao He governed the country. After their deaths, the new prime minister Cao Can said to the emperor: "Emperor Gaozu and Xiao He established the empire, and the laws are clear. Now Your Majesty is ruling with ease, and we, Cao Can and others, are fulfilling our duties, following the laws and not deviating from them. Is this not acceptable?"

This demonstrates exceptional political wisdom.

On the surface, it may seem conservative and even smack of indolence, but it actually contains profound philosophies of governance. Its core is not laziness, but rather a high degree of respect for institutional stability and strategic resolve under specific historical conditions.

Chen Shao glanced at his crown prince, then shook his head with a smirk.

I must take care of my health and get everything back on the right track.

Governing a country is like maintaining one's health; maintaining one's health is like governing a country. (End of Chapter)