You have truly caused me great suffering!

Chapter 79 Salt Lake Blood Oath
The central military camp, where the lives of thousands are decided, exudes a chilling atmosphere.

Hearing footsteps behind him, Zhong Shidao turned around. Compared to when he was at Tong Guanjie Hall, he looked three years older.

People age very quickly, especially generals who braved wind and snow and fought on the battlefield in their youth.

Old Zhong's face looked sickly, with deep wrinkles that seemed to have been sculpted.

He smiled at his brother: "You've arrived pretty quickly..."

Zhong Shizhong clasped his hands in a salute and walked over to stand below his elder brother: "What underhanded trick has Tong Guan come up with this time?"

This is the Zhong family army, and Xiao Zhong is much more relaxed. He would never have said such things in the past.

Only when facing his own brothers can he speak freely and without restraint.

Zhong Shidao shook his head: "Tong Guan, alas, this man is really stubborn. He forced our five routes in Shaanxi to go into battle at the New Year. Liu Fa couldn't stand his provocation and rashly lost his life. Our troops also suffered heavy losses."

"He was so troublesome even before he had any merit. Now, that Chen Shao under his command held off Richard's army, allowing him to leave the pass and pursue them. Relying on this achievement, he's ruthlessly suppressing us."

Zhong Shizhong sneered, "I really don't know what's wrong with Brother Richard. He's been held up for seven days by some nobody!"

"That's not entirely true. Chen Shao was quite capable this time. I've been to that place; there were only three dilapidated fortresses. Chen Shao went alone and, in just one month, organized a force to hold off the elite Western Xia troops." Zhong Shidao said quietly, his hands behind his back, his expression filled with deep emotion.

"It's a pity that this man is also a member of our Western Army, yet he cannot be used by me. I've thought about this carefully these past few days. Perhaps it's because we've been in command of the army for too long, and our clans have branched out so much that there are countless relatives among them over the past hundred years."

“If we take care of our own people, we will inevitably bury many talents. Look at Wang Bing and Chen Shao under Tong Guan. They are the best of the younger generation. Our children are probably not as good as them.”

Zhong Shizhong fell silent; in truth, everyone knew these things perfectly well.

But no one dared to say it.

Everyone keeps quiet and pretends to be confused, acting as if they don't know anything.

Although it is hard to admit, the decline of the Western Army probably stemmed from this.

In recent years, they haven't even been able to defeat the Xia bandits.

Our ancestors besieged Xingqing Prefecture twice, but the reason for their failure was not that the soldiers were incapable of fighting, but that the imperial court's supplies were inadequate.

Now, Liu Fa, leading the Xihe Army, has been truly defeated by Richard in open field battle.

Xihe Army was already a strong force among the Western Army. If Liu Yanqing's Fuyan Army were to be sent up, they would probably be defeated even faster.

The two brothers remained silent in the tent for a while, neither willing to speak first, nor knowing what to say.

Once this matter is revealed and the problem is exposed, how should the Western Army deal with it?
Does this mean we should start reforming from now on, no longer promoting our own sons and daughters, but prioritizing the virtuous and capable?

Breaking a century-old problem is no easy task, given the numerous interests and family connections involved.

The Western Army's families, bound by a century-long marriage alliance, have long been intertwined, each with their own strengths and influences the other.

Now that this veil has been lifted, if there were to be any real reforms, the generals who are currently benefiting would naturally be unwilling to accept it, as they are the backbone of the Western Army.

If reforms are not implemented, now that the truth has been revealed, will the officers and soldiers at the lower levels still remain loyal?
An unintentional remark by Old Zhong might shake the foundation of the Western Army.

Finally, Xiao Zhong spoke first, "What orders did Tong Guan give this time?"

He wanted to cover it up, and his brother had only said it unintentionally, so it's not necessarily true that he wanted to take it seriously.

Sure enough, Old Zhong didn't continue the conversation. Instead, he said, "It's still Chen Shao. He reported that he wants to attack Youzhou and wipe out the Xia bandits' Jianing Military Command."

"How many troops has Tong Guan sent!" Zhong Shizhong thought this was a good idea. If Tong Guan and the Zhong family army attacked from both sides, there might be a chance.

"It's still Chen Shao's troops," Zhong Shidao said with a wry smile. "They say there are 20,000 of them."

"Nonsense!" Zhong Shizhong cursed. "He fabricated 20,000 men out of thin air. It's just a common trick used by Tong Guan's victorious army to collect salaries without actually working."

"He just wants us to fight to the death with the people of the eastern Western Xia, while he watches the show from the sidelines. If we win, it will be credited to that Chen Shao in the Victorious Army; if we lose, it will be blamed on our Zhong family army's poor performance!"

Zhong Shidao remained silent, which clearly implied that he agreed with this analysis.

It's no wonder they think that way; Tong Guan has been using this tactic in the Northwest for over a decade.

Everyone suffered greatly, while he himself rose higher and higher. Whenever these things were mentioned, the generals of the Western Army would curse him in anger.

What does "elder brother" mean?

Zhong Shidao sighed, "Given the current situation, all sides are attacking Xia. Since Tong Guan has given the order, we can't just stand by. Let's send troops out! Let's march out of Hengshan and see what those so-called 20,000 troops are up to before making any further plans."

"Where did these 20,000 troops come from!" Zhong Shizhong spat. "They're probably just a thousand or so hiding in the city, watching us fight to the death!"

Zhong Shidao simply smiled faintly: "Now that things have come to this, we can only take it one step at a time and adapt to the situation."
-
Yanzhou City.

The news of the Wang family's downfall indeed shocked the surrounding forces.

So everyone gathered at the salt lake to swear an oath of blood and pledge allegiance to Chen Shao.

When everyone rose up to resist the Western Xia, they needed a commander, and they were all happy to see Chen Shao become that commander.

Because if they failed, everyone could continue to be obedient subjects of Western Xia; it would simply mean surrendering again.

But if you become the leader, your entire clan will be wiped out if you fail.

That is why, despite the severe oppression by the Western Xia in the past, no one was willing to step forward and lead a rebellion.

After a mass uprising, the principal offender's crime would be extremely serious.

Outside the city, in the military camp, Han Shizhong and Chen Shao rode out side by side, followed by their personal guards, who immediately filed in, and they swept towards the salt lake on the outskirts of Yanzhou like a whirlwind.

Salt Lake is bordered by the vast desert to the west and the Great Wall to the east.

Below the Great Wall is a valley shaped like a fish belly, flanked by continuous mountain ranges, with a large, silvery-white river flowing to the left in front of the mountains.

On both sides of the river, rows of poplar trees stand, their catkins drifting in the wind, looking from afar like a heavy snowfall.

At the meeting place, there was a jujube tree beside them. This jujube tree had been growing for who knows how many years. It was a huge tree with a trunk as thick as a person's embrace, and its gnarled trunk was like a bunch of pythons coiled around it.

There are also many red willow trees around, which originally belonged to the Wang family. These red willow trees are five or six meters tall. Because the water and heat conditions in this valley are relatively good, each tree can penetrate 30 meters underground to absorb salt water and discharge the salt through fallen leaves, forming a salt crust on the ground.

There are even frequent sights of "salt-bearing trees".

At this moment, the local bullies of Yanzhou City, both big and small, had gathered under the tree.

Behind them were tribes, families, fortresses, or merchant guilds. Some sat on the ground, while others sat on prayer mats. Some had good relationships with each other, while others had some enmity.

When the sound of horses' hooves reached them, everyone stood up and looked toward the entrance to the valley.

Two hundred paces away, the men simultaneously reined in their horses and dismounted.

When the crowd saw that Chen Shao had only brought a few dozen people to the meeting, they couldn't help but feel a sense of respect.

They joined Chen Shao out of necessity, but they also preferred to follow a stronger leader.

Chen Shao was not afraid at all. Although he only had a few dozen guards here, there were many warriors from the Mizang tribe around him.

Moreover, with Han Shizhong and Dong Dahu present, he was confident he could charge out if anything happened.

After all, this place was set up by his men, so there was no way to hide assassins here.

As Chen Shao approached, everyone placed one hand on their chest and bowed in respect.

Chen Shao waved his hand and walked to the center of the crowd.

Under the large jujube tree, there were several large pots on the left and right, cooking something. On the right, a sheep was roasted to a golden brown on a sand pit, with fat dripping into the fire and the flames flickering.

He glanced at the people around him. They were all dressed fairly neatly for the alliance meeting today, but there were still some wearing revealing outfits and others wrapped in sheepskin.

This is clearly not some strange hobby; it's simply a matter of poverty. Many tribes have reached the end of their rope.

These people probably couldn't even muster a thousand steel knives, which is why they dared not easily rebel against the Western Xia.

Chen Shao found his seat, sat down, and waved his hand.

Everyone then took their seats.

Chen Shao got straight to the point, "Everyone has suffered under the Xia bandits for too long, but they are too powerful to resist. Today I have come with 100,000 troops in the east, led by Commander Tong Guan, to serve as my reinforcements and to block any support from the direction of Xingqing Prefecture of Western Xia."

With the Zhong family army assisting in the east, they will contain the Yin and Xia prefectures. I will lead everyone to first capture Youzhou, and then, together with the Zhong family army, take the five prefectures of Dingnan. From then on, we will use the Han Sea as the boundary, confronting the Xia bandits of Xingqing Prefecture. Within three years, we will surely destroy Western Xia!

After days of deliberation, Chen Shao's thinking became more meticulous, and his words were more convincing. He restated his plan, which drew frequent nods from the clan leaders, boosting their confidence.

Chen Shao continued, “Over the years, the Song Dynasty and the Western Xia have been at war, and trade routes between the two countries have been severed. As you know, now that Yanzhou is under my control, all the furs, cattle, sheep, and licorice you have stockpiled, no matter how much, I can transport them to the Song Dynasty and sell them all. As for the grain, ironware, porcelain, and cloth you need, you can purchase them from the Song Dynasty through me. The tax and transportation costs saved in the process will be enough for you to make a fortune with me.”

These people who came to the alliance meeting were all tribal chiefs who controlled and managed the livelihood of their tribes, and they could all understand each other.

And they soon realized that Chen Shao was not lying; he was the prefect of the Song Dynasty!
If we join him, we'll all be Song people from now on!

Everyone knows that the Song Dynasty was incredibly wealthy.

Moreover, the demand of the people of the Song Dynasty for furs, cattle, sheep, and licorice was virtually limitless.

Given the limited output of the Northwest, the market of Bianliang alone is enough to absorb it all.

That's simply not enough.
Putting everything else aside, the shortage of beef and mutton in Bianliang has never been filled. No matter how much is transported in, it's never enough to feed the people of Bianliang.

Chen Shao continued, "You couldn't defeat the Western Xia before because you lacked weapons and provisions, but I have all of those!"

At this point, he stood up, raised his wine cup, and said, "I, Chen Shao, swear to destroy Western Xia and lead you all into Xingqing Prefecture!"

After saying that, he tilted his head back and drank a large bowl of wine down.

All the leaders and clan chiefs rose to their feet and knelt on the ground, saying, "We are willing to serve Prefect Chen Shao as our lord!"

Chen Shaoxian looked around and accepted everyone's kneeling obeisance with grace. After a while, he allowed everyone to stand up and take their seats.

"Without rules, there can be no order. You are newly submitted and have not yet had time to familiarize yourselves with the laws of our Great Song Dynasty. However, since we are about to go on a campaign, we cannot leave you without some constraints."

Mo Canrong stepped forward, holding a full cup of wine, knelt on one knee, and said loudly, "A fine horse cannot move without a head. You are our master. Please give us your orders!"

"Wartime rules dictate simplicity. I'll only say three things, and you must remember them!"

"Those who have made contributions will be rewarded, that's one point!"

"Those who commit offenses will be punished; that's the second point!"

"Those who disobey orders will be killed!"

Some insightful people felt a chill and secretly reminded themselves that they must restrain their clansmen after returning.

Because they knew that when various groups of people came together like this, there would inevitably be unlucky ones who would disobey orders and become the chickens to be killed as a warning to others.

Chen Shao did not act very kindly either.

In this land, people do not trust kind people.

As the leader elected by the people of Yanzhou, he only needs to do the following two things:
He led everyone to victory in battle, continuously defeating the Western Xia;
Clear rewards and punishments will make them see the value of fighting on the battlefield.
-
Following a meeting that was not grand, but contained a wealth of information.

Chen Shao rode back to camp with Han Shizhong.

Under the bright moonlight, Han Shizhong's face was flushed from drinking, and his breath reeked of alcohol.

"Prefect, if we can capture Youzhou and shatter the Jianing Military Command this time, we will become famous throughout the land!" He cracked his whip and gritted his teeth, saying, "Only by doing this can a true man live a life without regrets!"

"Is this all the happiness I've ever had?" Chen Shao smiled and shook his head.

If someone else said that, Han Shizhong would definitely disagree, thinking that the person was just putting on an act.

But Chen Shao truly believed it.

Han Shizhong scratched his head and said, "Prefect, what exactly are your ambitions? How can you not care about any great merit?"

"I, Han Shizhong, am a rough man with limited knowledge. Prefect, why don't you tell me what you've learned, so that I can broaden my horizons?"

It was definitely impossible to say, because the Jingkang Incident had not yet occurred.

Chen Shao didn't want to be a charlatan.

He flicked his cloak and laughed, "Sooner or later, you'll find out!"
-
Just as Lao Zhong and Xiao Zhong suspected that Chen Shao was hiding in Yanzhou City to watch them fight to the death.

Chen Shao was already mobilizing troops and preparing for his first major battle after establishing his government office.

The Yanzhou troops, led by Han Shizhong as their vanguard, and aided by the bravery of the Qiang tribes of Hengshan and the abundant supplies provided by Tong Guan, have already departed from Yanzhou.

The army of 30,000, with a claimed 15,000, marched straight towards Youzhou, the garrison of the Western Xia Jianing Military Command.

This has the meaning of feigning weakness to catch the enemy off guard, but it's also something that can't be said much or explained clearly.

The Song Dynasty was still very wary of military generals. Although this place was far from the emperor's reach and had never been under the Song Dynasty's jurisdiction, who could guarantee that those scoundrels wouldn't cause trouble?

It's always better to keep a low profile.

Unlike the Song army, which had a large number of infantry and a small number of cavalry, this expedition had a very high proportion of cavalry.

They weren't going to attack the city, but to defeat the Jianing Army Command in open battle.

Food, clothing, shovels, hoes, axes, picks, gongs, drums, and musical instruments—everything was readily available.

They were equipped with knives, axes, spears, bowstrings, arrows, and tents. The Qiang people of Hengshan had never fought a battle like this in their lives.

Han Shizhong was the same; he had never fought such a costly battle in his life.

If one could lead thousands of troops to defeat the enemy head-on, who would want to lead only a dozen or twenty cavalrymen to raid the enemy camp at night?

Aren't they all forced into this situation?

Unexpectedly, he was already able to command so many troops, and a surge of pride welled up in his heart.

Transportation along the way was not a problem either, as each tribe contributed a large number of cattle and sheep to accompany the army and prepare them as livestock for meat.

Because of the Battle of Hengshan, their cattle and sheep could not be sold to the Song Dynasty for five years, and inflation had already occurred.
In mid-April, while Tong Guan and his men were still locked in a stalemate on the western front, Zhong's army marched north out of Hengshan, their forces heading straight for Yinzhou.

The two prefectures of Yin and Xia were shaken, and the Left Wing Divine Valiant Army, the Auspicious Protector Army, Xia Prefecture, and Long Prefecture all sent troops to provide support.

The Zhong family army was testing the waters, and instead of rushing to attack the city, they retreated twenty miles and set up camp against the mountain.

The Western Xia armies understood each other perfectly, believing it to be another coordinated battle. They unanimously thought that the Zhong family army was forced into this battle by Song Ting and Tong Guan.

They're not serious at all.

However, they dared not let their guard down and remained on high alert.

The Zhong family army has always been their rival, and they are extremely difficult to deal with.

Starting with their ancestor Zhong Shiheng, they were ordered to build Qingjian City in northern Shaanxi, establish 2000 hectares of military settlements, and implement a policy of universal conscription. When he served as the prefect of Huanzhou, he joined forces with the Qiang troops to repel the invasions of the Western Xia on several occasions, preventing the Western Xia from invading Huanzhou for ten years.

Using fortified city defenses to compress the Western Xia's operational space and lay the foundation for the Northern Song's northwest defense line is one of the tactics that the Western Xia fears most today.

The second-generation Zhong E launched a surprise attack to recapture the strategically important Suizhou, decisively defeating the Western Xia counterattack and fortifying the city's defenses. During the five-pronged attack on Western Xia, he led his army to capture cities such as Mizhi, significantly reducing Western Xia's territory.

These two brothers are now the grandsons of Zhong Shiheng, the third generation of the Zhong family. They are still outstanding in battle and are regarded as formidable enemies by the Western Xia.

For this reason, most people's attention was drawn to the Zhong family army.

The Zhong family army's northward march out of Hengshan attracted so much attention that it even overshadowed Tong Guan and Liu Yanqing's actions in Shuofang.

Both the Song and Xia dynasties were paying close attention.

At this moment, a handsome young man led his troops to the outskirts of Youzhou City.

After the scouts reported back, neither the city of Youzhou nor the military command of Jianing took it seriously and dispatched three thousand elite cavalry to wipe out the vanguard of Yanzhou.

Han Shizhong brought with him two thousand soldiers who had been defending Hengshan Fortress with him, serving as the vanguard.

Now, riding on horseback, they are no longer the poor and shabby figures of the past; each one is fully armored and full of vigor.

They chatted and laughed, reminiscing about their nights in Yan'an, their jealous rivalries, their drinking parties with courtesans, their brawls, and their gambling.

Just then, a sound came from afar.

Han Shizhong chuckled and scolded, seemingly reluctant to let go of the previous topic, and stood up slightly.

His eyesight was excellent; he could distinguish lights dozens of miles away even at night. No movement of the wind or grass could escape his keen eyes, and he could see the scene before him clearly in an instant.

Han Shizhong drew his sword, gripped the hilt, and twirled it a few times in the air, his face filled with extreme excitement.

"Brothers, draw your swords!"

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(End of this chapter)