You have truly caused me great suffering!

Chapter 44 Heavenly Hand
The heavy snow has been falling for five days. The weather in the Northwest is always like this: either severe drought or severe flooding!

Men who grow up in this kind of weather are quick-tempered and rough.

It's hard to imagine the feelings of Xihe's army, which was urged to go into battle by Tong Guan, under such circumstances.

Even now, Chen Shao still gets a little flustered thinking about Tong Guan's comment that "the Western Army is incompetent."

If you're dealing with someone like you, you can't be too honest.

He wanted to present a gift to Emperor Huizong (Zhao Ji) and make a name for himself in front of the emperor, but he ended up exposing his own backside instead.

Chen Shao and his three personal guards shook the snow off their cotton-padded coats, adjusted their hats, and walked into the fortress.

Cui Lin had arrived ahead of time and should be inside the fortress now.

Chen Shao was appointed as a sixth-rank commander under the Shengjie Army, and should theoretically have several battalions of soldiers under his command.

However, Tong Guan only provided the official establishment; you would have to recruit the soldiers yourself.

Today, the Hengshan area is full of refugees, defeated soldiers, and unclaimed barbarians.

Actually, this is a tradition of the victorious team.

As a newly established force by Tong Guan, the Shengjie Army had a very ambiguous relationship between its official titles and ranks. The imperial court implemented the separation of official positions, duties, and assignments, and the actual power of officers depended on their assignments.

For example, "commander" was a temporary post with no fixed rank.

Because they were under the command of Tong Guan's personal guard, they received more supplies than others.

Therefore, this is a very promising official position.

Moreover, the defense zone was located in the Qingping Pass area, which was the Hengshan front line and the most densely populated area of ​​fighting.

Chen Shao didn't even go home; he went straight to the military camp, where he was in charge of the defense of three nearby fortresses.

They are: Xingqing Village, Xingping Village, and Mugua Village.
On the northwestern border, the name of the Great Song Fortress was meant to provoke the Western Xia at will.

The builders of this fortress had a somewhat perverse sense of humor, naming it after Xingqing Prefecture, the capital of the Western Xia Dynasty.

Anyone who didn't know better would think they were here to assume the throne of the Western Xia Dynasty.

Because Chen Shao had already asked Zhao He to give prior notice, a few people were standing sparsely outside the fortress, waiting for Chen Shao.

These people had blank expressions and were covered in dirt; the grime was so thick it reflected the sunlight.

Many people were wearing clothes that even exposed their buttocks; I don't know how they managed to survive in such cold weather.

Actually, this is considered good, at least there are clothes to wear. In many families, the whole family shares one set of clothes, and whoever goes out wears it.

Chen Shao simply walked through, followed by a captain from the fortress, who was not actually in charge of the fortress.

This place had been breached by the Xia people before, and the defending troops had all died long ago. He was a fleeing soldier from the front lines.

Chen Shao noticed that his armor was loose and ill-fitting, like a child wearing adult clothes.

When Chen Shao arrived here, he discovered that the terrain consisted of vast grasslands and land, with many mountains and rivers. The mountains were treacherous, and the rivers were dangerous. There were very few small villages; most of the settlements were tribal fortresses or mountain strongholds, either nestled against mountains or backed by water, all in strategic locations and along roadsides. They were fortified at every step.

The fortresses and strongholds in this area are mostly built of rammed earth, such as those near rocky mountains. There are also a few stone-built fortresses, but they are not many.

The nearby fortresses and strongholds, except for a few sections with stone masonry, were all built of rammed earth. However, this rammed earth was extremely sturdy, hard enough to sharpen a blade, and no less so than stone.

In short, the village is excellent, but the people are lacking.

Halfway there, Cui Lin came over, and Chen Shao went up to him and asked, "How's the check going?"

He sent people not only to inform them of his arrival, but also to inspect the supplies in the fortress.

Cui Lin frowned and shook his head: "Not many. The grain is less than seven days' worth of storage. There is no armor or bows and arrows. There are a hundred or so swords and spears. Other items, especially defensive weapons, are also very scarce... There are also traces of arson in the warehouse. Fortunately, the heavy snow prevented it from burning too much."

Behind Chen Shao, the head constable also said, "Commander, when I came here, this place was dirt poor. These people had to hide in the deep mountains to escape." He didn't want to offend Chen Shao so soon, because this was a commander sent by the Shengjie Army and a confidant of Tong Guan.

Tong Guan is extremely protective of his own, and as the commander of the Shengjie Army, he is highly likely to be able to obtain food.

He and his hundred or so brothers had almost exhausted the people's grain reserves, and they still needed new grain.

He lowered his voice and whispered, "Commander, there are still more than 800 unruly people in this village. If we don't drive them out, they'll eat up our savings in two days."

Chen Shao laughed and said, "I am here on the orders of Commander Xuan to recruit soldiers to defend the fortress. We need laborers to repair the city walls, build defensive structures, dig trenches, and reinforce the camps. If you send the people away, you will do all these jobs?"

The constable bowed and scraped, repeatedly saying he dared not, but a hint of disdain appeared in his eyes as he lowered his head.

With your job to guard the fortress, what will you do when the Xia bandits come?

Anyway, I'm going to run away. I'll stab you on the way and say that Xia the traitor killed you. Who would know?

Chen Shao walked to the middle and found a room with its doors and windows tightly closed. There were three or five soldiers around, lazily leaning against the wall and sunbathing.

He was a little curious and wanted to go over, but was stopped by the head constable, Ma Hong.

"This place is nice, I'll stay here." Chen Shao smiled and went to open the door.

"Commander, this is..." Ma Hong quickly stepped in front of them.

Before he could finish speaking, Dong Dahu grabbed him and pulled him aside, then opened the door.

But they found it was filled with things.

The head constable behind him had a strange expression on his face, but he smiled and said, "I'll get it ready right away. It's all the gear belonging to my men."

Chen Shao chuckled and said, "It's alright, I still have to go take a look around, you can pack up at your leisure."

After he left, the constable sneered, "You think you can take over this little piece of land empty-handed?"

He had made up his mind to keep this young commander here, wait to smuggle some grain from Tong Guan, and when the Xia bandits arrived, he would lead his brothers to kill him and continue running east.

The situation has already collapsed, and 100,000 Song soldiers have died. How can we possibly turn the tide?

Once they left Xingqing Village, Chen Shao slowed down. Cui Lin, on horseback, approached and said, "Master, this constable is named Ma Hong. He's called a constable, but no one has seen his waist badge, and his constable's helmet and armor don't fit him properly."

"He brought about ten men to this place, lured out the people who were hiding in the nearby mountains and forests, and then encircled and robbed them several times."

"Where did the other troops come from?"

"They were all deserters from the front lines, but he kept them behind to serve as his troops."

Chen Shao nodded, understanding the situation.

When he opened the room just now, he saw an earring.

The earrings weren't very expensive, and I don't know what metal they were made of, but they weren't gold or silver.

But below, there was a piece of human earlobe flesh.

Chen Shao glanced back, a slight smile playing on his lips, his expression unreadable.

This place is truly chaotic, but the more chaotic it is, the easier it is to establish a new order.

Those peaceful places are not chaotic, but they are heavily fortified and have long been solidified.

This place is good, this place is chaotic enough.

A perfect start!

(End of this chapter)