You have truly caused me great suffering!

Chapter 93 Welcoming the Bride
Over the next few days, Chen Shao finalized the details of the takeover of Yinzhou with the Zhong family.

Because there was a shortage of manpower, Chen Shao specifically asked the Zhong family not to withdraw the officials they had already dispatched.

Zhong Shidao, who was unable to settle these promoted officials, readily agreed.

Although the marriage arrangement has not been officially finalized, the news has already spread throughout Yongle City.

Chen Shao's status also rose noticeably, and people came to visit him every day.

Once Chen Shao and the Zhong family form a marriage alliance, Chen Shao's vast tracts of land will generate immense profits.

Everyone wants a piece of the pie.

The output of the five prefectures of Dingnan and the Central Plains is completely complementary, and Hongzhou and Yinzhou are both natural transportation hubs.

A prosperous Jiangnan region beyond the Great Wall is beginning to take shape.

Chen Shao did not stay in Yongle City for long. There were still many things to deal with in Youzhou, and Yinzhou had to be completely taken back as soon as possible to prevent the imperial court from interfering.

This time was different from when we came; there were many people seeing us off, including Old Zhong himself.

People escorted Chen Shao to the official road outside the city.

Although most people came for the Zhong family, Chen Shao could sense the ulterior motives mixed in with their warm farewells.

Many people are eager to curry favor with me.
He smiled throughout, and even felt a sense of relief when he mounted the horse.

I'm so tired.
Even though Chen Shao was used to being hypocritical, he still found it hard to cope.

However, he still solemnly bid farewell to everyone on horseback with a fist and palm salute.

Such is life in chaotic times. When saying goodbye, Chen Shao hoped he could be a little more serious, because this farewell might be the last time they would meet.

It's not that the other person will definitely die, but everyone has their own things to do and the most realistic things to face. Once there's no longer any cooperation based on mutual benefit, there's probably no chance to make special trips together just for that little bit of emotion.

Of course, many of them may really die.

He died because of Tong Guan's bluster and cowardice, because of Zhao Ji's ambition and love of glory, and because of the Jurchens' fierce and ruthless nature.
Chen Shao glanced at the various smiling faces and sincerely hoped that they would all still be there when he returned from seclusion.

Together with myself, we will save the world.
-
It was the height of summer, but as dusk fell, a breeze blowing across the river brought a hint of autumnal coolness.

As Chen Shao approached Youzhou, he observed that many elderly people, women, and children were seeing off their sons who were carrying large and small bags on their journeys.

This scene suddenly reminded Chen Shao of his past life, the familiar hustle and bustle of the train station, and the scenes in his memory were also filled with large bags and small packages.

He thought that frequent population movement only occurred in the industrial age, but he never expected to witness such a scene in ancient times.

Chen Shao stopped Yang Cheng, who had come to greet him, and asked, "Who are these people?"

Yang Cheng said, "These are all soldiers who went to the fortified villages and garrisons."

"Has it been repaired yet?"

"Let's cultivate the land and graze the livestock first," Yang Cheng said with a smile. "This place is different from Hengshan. There are no natural defenses here. The fortresses and strongholds can only provide some resistance. We still have to rely on our troops to fight our way through."

Chen Shao frowned and said, "That's not the right way of thinking!"

His tone was stern; the fortified village warfare tactic was the most important policy he had set.

It must be strictly implemented.

It's not about being able to block tens of thousands of troops like the fortresses in Hengshan. The greatest function of a fortress is to achieve a scorched-earth policy, gather nearby people, and allow the Qiang and other Hu tribes to gradually settle down.

With limited manpower and output, we will use the fortified villages and Xia Prefecture to seize food and slowly starve them to death!
“If you think one fortress is useless, then build two. If you think two isn’t enough, then build twenty! Two hundred! Two thousand!” When it came to the most fundamental government orders, Chen Shao no longer held back, saying in a deep voice, “Instead of treating my orders as mere empty words to be brushed off!”

Yang Cheng rarely saw him lose his temper, so he quickly bowed and confessed his guilt.

Chen Shao, his face grim, left them behind and returned to the city. This was the helplessness of a fledgling team; this matter could not be left unresolved, at least someone had to be punished, and more than one.

Yang Cheng and the other officials then stood up and wiped the sweat from their foreheads.

"What should we do?" someone asked in a low voice.

Yang Cheng sighed and said, "Let's quickly revise the plan; thankfully, there's still time."

Chen Shao rode his horse through the gate of the mansion. The outer perimeter was indeed surrounded by personal guards. Just as he entered the inner courtyard, a sudden excited shout rang out: "Brother Chen!"

Then Chun Tao came running over, almost skipping, lifting her long skirt. She quickly passed Dong Dahu and ran straight to Chen Shao.

Chen Shao patted Chun Tao's head, then turned to Dong Da Hu and said, "Da Hu, Madam Dong is here too. Go find your mother."

After Da Hu left, Chun Tao, who was holding his arm tightly, could no longer hold back her longing and stood up to kiss him on the cheek.

This place is not entirely the inner courtyard yet; guards often pass through, so given Li Shishi's personality, she definitely wouldn't come here.

Chuntao doesn't have as many rules.

Li Shishi had been living under someone else's roof since she was young, and had to be careful in everything she did. Chun Tao, on the other hand, was the apple of her parents' eye, spoiled and pampered, and had no manners, much like the personality of girls in later generations.

In addition, her appearance perfectly matched the aesthetic standards of later generations: tall, long legs, a slender waist, and a charming, oval face.

When Chen Shao was with her, he often had a strange feeling, as if he had returned to a past life.

Chun Tao was light and supple, and it was effortless for her to hold the little bottom in her arms with one hand.

Chen Shao carried her to the corner of the wall, reached into his arms, and measured her. She was so tender that you could squeeze water out of her.

Chun Tao didn't resist, just closed her eyes and whimpered softly. When she was ticklish, she would shrink her neck, looking very cute.

After spending some time with Chen Shao, Chun Tao remembered to complain, biting her lip and saying, "My sister won't let me go!"

"What do you mean you can't go?" Chen Shao was completely confused.

"She knew you were coming back today, and she was so fierce that she wouldn't let me into her yard! Don't be fooled by her gentle and sweet words when she's with you; she gets really mean when you're gone!"

Chen Shao chuckled to himself. Had Shishi discovered that his little sister was spying on him?
"Fine, I won't go then. I'll come find you tonight."

"Really?" Chun Tao's eyes lit up immediately upon hearing this. "You're not lying to me, are you?"

Chen Shao looked her up and down, making Chun Tao feel uncomfortable all over, and she shifted her body uncomfortably.

"Something's poking my butt."

Chen Shao held her small hand, stood up, and smiled with a slight bend at the waist: "Go back quickly, wait for me tonight."

After seeing Chuntao off, Chen Shao stood and rested for a while before continuing to walk inside.

Upon reaching the next courtyard and entering through the gatehouse, he saw Li Shishi emerge from a side room. She leaned against the doorway, looking at him, then stepped forward, curtsied, her slender neck remarkably upright.

Chen Shao immediately laughed, feeling much more relaxed.

When they arrived at the door, Li Shishi smiled and took off his outer robe, then squatted down to take off his shoes and socks.

Suddenly, she felt light as Chen Shao lifted her up and looked closely into her eyes.

Her beautiful eyes were captivating, and her naturally light red, smooth lips trembled as they moved, gleaming softly in the light streaming through the carved window.

Li Shishi blushed, her eyes filled with shyness but not avoiding it. She looked directly into Chen Shao's eyes and asked, "What are you looking at, my lord?"

"Looking at you."

Li Shishi's face grew increasingly red, but her eyes remained fixed on the scene. She asked in a trembling voice, "Is it beautiful?"

Chen Shao nodded vigorously, "Shishi is so beautiful."

The two maids that Li Shishi brought back from Bianliang brought food, hot water, and a change of linens and placed them by the bedside.

Hearing the exaggerated voices and some offensive conversations, they covered their mouths, chuckled, and retreated.

"I may be going to marry a woman from the Western Army family."

Chen Shao put his arm around Li Shishi and said softly.

Li Shishi immediately struggled to turn over, hugged Chen Shao's waist, and said weakly, "I knew this day would come, my lord, you don't need to discuss it with me."

As she spoke, she reluctantly placed her slender, white fingers on Chen Shao's muscular chest, her fingertips trembling slightly as they slid across his skin.

Her face was flushed, and that beautiful color made her even more charming.

Despite her demeanor, Chen Shao still saw a hint of fear, unease, and disappointment in her eyes.

Li Shishi was always trying her best to play the role of a perfect lover, and she felt that her status should be a little higher than that of an ordinary concubine.

Sometimes, she even deliberately restrains her emotions to avoid crossing some unseen red line.

Upon hearing the news, she felt a pang of pain in her heart, but almost instinctively, she immediately turned around and said some things against her will.

Chen Shao didn't speak, but simply held her in his arms. Feeling the tightness of his embrace, Li Shishi was stunned for a moment, then felt a warmth in her heart.

He felt guilty, and Li Shishi clung to him even tighter. The fact that her beloved felt guilty meant that he cared about her.

Li Shishi knew that she could never marry Chen Shao; as long as he cared about her, that was enough.

With her pearly white teeth gently biting her crimson lips, Li Shishi nestled against his chest, listening to his pounding heartbeat, and said coquettishly, "My lord, quickly say some sweet words to deceive Shishi."

A man's guilt comes quickly and usually goes away just as fast. After coaxing Li Shishi to sleep, Chen Shao got dressed and went to Chun Tao's courtyard.

In July, Chen Shao asked Liu Guangshi, the son of the military governor of Fuyan, to go to the Zhong family to propose marriage.

Before he even returned, the results of the Song-Xia peace talks were already out.

The Western Xia officially recognized that the Hengshan area belonged to the Northern Song Dynasty and promised never to invade again.
Emperor Chongzong of Xia, Li Qianshun, submitted to the emperor and relinquished his imperial title, calling himself the ruler of Xia.

Reopen the blocked trade routes for blue and white salt;

Resumption of border trade markets
The annual tribute paid by the Song Dynasty was permanently abolished, and from then on, no annual tribute was ever paid to the Western Xia.
He promised to halt the attack on Xiazhou;

Chen Shao looked at the official document and felt it was a bit outrageous. He had won so many battles, and the situation was much better than in the original history, so why was the contract still so lenient towards Western Xia?

Is abolishing the imperial throne all it takes to solve the problem?
They should at least pay tribute, acknowledge their vassal status, and cede a few cities.

Furthermore, the annual tribute was only 0.3% of the Northern Song Dynasty's fiscal revenue. Wouldn't this give the Western Xia a chance to breathe?

Historically, it was during this respite that the Western Xia ultimately retaliated against the Northern Song Dynasty when it lured the Jin Dynasty to destroy it.

It seems that Emperor Huizong and Tong Guan were too obsessed with conquering the Liao Dynasty, so much so that they spared the Western Xia and focused on preparing for the conquest of Liao.

Such shortsightedness also gave Chen Shao an opportunity.

So you're not going to attack Xiazhou?
I'm not attacking, I'm just building fortresses and strongholds, I haven't been attacking any cities.

After the peace talks were successful, Tong Guan immediately withdrew his troops from the Shuofang front, and Liu Yanqing's army also retreated.

Northwest of Yanzhou, the border with the Western Xia army was suddenly reopened, and Chen Shao had no choice but to send an additional 10,000 men to garrison Yanzhou.

The Song troops from Fuyan Road also received orders and withdrew one after another.

Tong Guan also sent a letter to Chen Shao, instructing him not to provoke the Western Xia and to wait until after his campaign against the Liao Dynasty before making any decisions.

Chen Shao immediately replied, expressing that he fully understood the good intentions of the court and the commander-in-chief, and that he would keep a close eye on the Northwest and not cause trouble for the court's campaign against Liao.

Tong Guan didn't know if he was genuinely happy or just pretending to be overjoyed, but in any case, he sent people to deliver many rewards.

At this moment, his heart had already flown to Hebei and to Youyan.

It's no wonder Tong Guan was in such a hurry; he didn't have much time to prepare.

The Hebei routes are different from the Shaanxi routes; there is no Western Army there.

He needed to mobilize the Western Army, a very complicated process that also required preparing provisions and supplies.

The Western Army would not obediently cooperate; fighting the Xia bandits in the Northwest was to protect their homeland.

Even though the veteran generals of the Western Army had some disagreements with Commander Tong Xuan and secretly sabotaged him, they dared not be ambiguous in matters of the overall battle.

However, the soldiers of the Western Army were unwilling to go to Hebei. They had no motivation to fight away from their homes and had lost the will to protect their homeland. Their fighting spirit was extremely low.

Tong Guan had commanded troops for nearly twenty years and fought countless battles; he must have been well aware of these difficulties.

He needs to resolve these issues one by one, and be prepared to wage war against Liao at any time.

He has no time to spare right now, and he can't even be bothered with things like Old Zhong's marriage to Chen Shao.

After conquering the Liao, when I have achieved fame and success, it will not be too late to settle accounts with them.
-
The auspicious day for the wedding was set for mid-July, but Chen Shao was so busy that he didn't plan to get involved. He left everything to his cousin and aunt, and just waited for the wedding night.

The reputation of Western Xia is indeed worthless. As soon as Tong Guan withdrew his troops, Xingqing Prefecture sent reinforcements towards Yanzhou.

Chen Shao didn't tolerate them and ambushed them halfway.

The Western Xia, who originally planned to take advantage of the opportunity to lull the Song people into a false sense of security through the treaty, were completely caught off guard.

Unexpectedly, the Song people went even further than they had, actually striking first.

Fearing that the Song Dynasty would break the contract, the Western Xia could only swallow the bitter pill and pretend that nothing had happened.

They were waiting for the Song and Liao dynasties to go to war, at which point they would wipe out the remaining people in Western Xia.

Immediately afterwards, Liu Guanglie chose an auspicious day in the near future, wrote the date on the letter of appointment, and entrusted Liu Guangshi to deliver it to the Zhong family.

Zhong Shidao didn't care much about these formalities. Although his grandfather, Zhong Fang, was a great Confucian scholar, after so many years of military campaigns, Zhong Shidao valued efficiency above all else.

He felt the date was fine, replied to the message, and the wedding date was settled quickly and efficiently.

Every interaction between the two families involved a set of named rituals, such as "Nacai (betrothal), Wenming (asking the name), Naji (accepting auspicious gifts), Nazheng (presenting gifts), and Qingqi (setting the wedding date)." These rituals may sound complicated and profound, but they are all necessary communication processes.

Once you figure it out, it's all about following the formula; it's very simple.

People just don't understand these etiquette rules. Once a matchmaker is hired and the parents are involved, they generally won't overlook any etiquette, otherwise the wedding itself won't go smoothly.

Although Liu Guanglie was busy, he was extremely happy and felt more and more that his brother was exceptionally talented.

First, he won over the most beautiful courtesan in the capital and lived off her wealth. Then, he got involved with the Zhong family, and his life became even more extraordinary!
Before the wedding, Yinzhou was already given away as part of the dowry.

July 22nd is an auspicious day for marriage.

The weather was quite nice today; the bright sun shone all day until dusk.

As the sun gradually set in the west, the Zhong family and their guests arrived at the courtyard in the mansion where ancestral tablets were enshrined.

They returned from Yongle City to Yan'an Prefecture, to the old residence of the Zhong family. It was from here that Chen Shao brought his bride to Chenjiazhuang in Fuzhou to complete their marriage.

After waiting for a while, Madam Zhe arrived with her daughter, Zhong Lingxi, and went straight into the temple.

Zhong Lingxi walked slowly, her attire impeccable, obscuring her features. However, her black wedding dress was exquisitely tailored, the deep black fabric accentuating her graceful figure.
This outfit is truly impressive; Zhong Lingxi, at such a young age, already exudes a very dignified air.

The family began to worship their ancestors, offering sacrifices, burning incense, kowtowing, and reciting eulogies. They were busy for quite a while, and the temple was shrouded in smoke.

After everyone finished their work, they left the temple, leaving only Zhe Shi and her daughter Zhong Lingxi behind.

Looking at the solemn and dignified scene, Madam Zhe felt a little resentful and said angrily, "When I married into the Zhe family, there weren't so many formalities! It seems they really don't take me seriously and just pushed me into a pit of fire to marry a dying old man!"

"Shut up!" Despite their good relationship, Zhong Lingxi couldn't help but snap when she heard her cursing her own father again.

"You heartless bastard!" Madam Zhe was not one to suffer a loss, so she accidentally pinched her arm.

The mother and daughter almost got into a fight, but luckily there were many maids who quickly separated them.

The two of them started pointing out each other's faults, and as they argued, they even revealed things like who used whose rouge and who ate whose candied fruit.

The air was filled with the aroma of offerings, the scent of incense, and the slightly sour smell of sweat from people due to the heat, keeping the atmosphere of the ritual lingering.

After Zhong Lingxi had finished arguing and calmed down, she smelled this peculiar scent and felt uneasy.

"Stepmother, can I come back to see you again?"

Zhe Shi didn't hold a grudge. She put her arm around her shoulder and said, "Your legs are your own, who can stop you? Come back whenever you want, it's not like we're a million miles apart."

"But you little brat, you've always been heartless."

Zhong Lingxi felt very annoyed and regretted saying that to her.

After a long while, another commotion arose outside, saying that the wedding party had arrived.

The group led Chen Shao to the Zhe family.

Madam Zhe quickly sat up straight and accepted her son-in-law's bow and greeting.

She glanced at them secretly, and felt a pang of envy. They're so young!

Why should I have to marry an old man?!
Chen Shao bowed twice, and an old man with white hair dressed in black stood beside him and chanted in a long voice: "Bow...bowing again and again, the ceremony is complete."

At this point, according to etiquette, it was Zhe Shi who should have reached out and told Chen Shao to get up.

I explained it to them many times beforehand.

But, to her dismay, she was in a daze, her eyes vacant, and she didn't move at all.

The old woman next to him quickly coughed lightly to remind him.

Only then did Madam Zhe realize what was happening, and quickly reached out her hand, saying, "Get up quickly."

Logically, she should have just reached out and done it, but because she was lost in thought earlier, she actually went to help Chen Shao in her haste.

Chen Shao was also startled and dodged slightly, thinking to himself that this young mother-in-law was a bit confused.

Zhong Lingxi rolled her eyes, slowly walked over, and extended her palm. Chen Shao went up and took her hand, then walked towards the door.

Her hands were very soft, and Chen Shao resisted the urge to squeeze them, figuring there would be plenty of opportunities later.

After walking out of that door, she got into Chen Shao's carriage and from then on became his wife.

Zhe Shi chased after her, wiping away her tears, and called out Zhong Lingxi's nickname: "Huanhuan!"

Zhong Lingxi turned her head slightly, without saying a word, but she was also a little saddened by her words. She felt a lump in her throat and quickly held it back.

(End of this chapter)