You have truly caused me great suffering!

Chapter 98 Singing and Dancing
The cheerful atmosphere inside the hall came to a sudden halt.

Everyone looked up at Chen Shao.

In fact, some tribes had already exhausted their ambitions in eighty years of fighting.

Not everyone wants to dominate a region; many people would rather live a life of ease than risk their lives.

Before Chen Shao could speak, Zhu Lingling slammed her hand on the table and stood up. "Qingduo, what do you mean by this!"

Over the years, he had led the Qiang people of Hengshan in dealing with the Western Xia, and he enjoyed great prestige. Even Qingduo was somewhat intimidated by his roar.

Chen Shao waved his hand and said with a smile, "Calm down, calm down. This conference is a conference of unity. I, Chen Shao, am here to help everyone make money. Harmony is the key to wealth."

“We are all good brothers who fought against the Western Xia together. We risked our lives together on the battlefield. I, Chen Shao, am different from the treacherous Li family of Western Xia. I do not oppress my own brothers.”

"Back then, when the Li family rebelled against the Song Dynasty and established the Western Xia Dynasty, your ancestors all contributed greatly. If it weren't for the mountain soldiers of Hengshan who gave Li Yuanhao the courage to charge into battle, how could he have established a country!"

"But how he treated you all afterwards, I don't need to say more. Now that I, Chen Shao, am here, I will absolutely not do such a heartless thing. My original intention is to help everyone get rich and live a peaceful life. Since some brothers are unwilling, I will never force them!"

"Alright then, those who share the same concerns as the Keita brothers can step forward and continue to stay in the Yokoyama clan. I will not force them!"

After Chen Shao finished speaking, he went over and patted Qingduo on the shoulder to comfort him, and whispered, "It's alright, it's alright, feel free to voice your opinions! We are not Western Xia, we can discuss everything."

After a short while, five more people stood up one after another, making a total of six including Keita.

They were all relatively powerful tribes, while the other smaller tribes didn't care about power at all; they just wanted to get their share of the money immediately.

Chen Shao said with a smile, "It's only natural that these brothers are a little worried. Men, bring the cash from the luxury houses I arranged for them in Yinzhou and deliver them to their respective strongholds today!"

Qingduo was a little embarrassed and quickly waved his hand, saying, "No need for that. It's not that we don't trust Commander Chen, it's just that we're not very knowledgeable. We've never been rich and we can't live without our own village."

Chen Shao laughed and said, "Gentlemen, you needn't doubt me. To be honest, your staying away from the mountain has relieved some pressure on me, and I should be thanking you. However, what follows involves the secrets of my cooperation with you leaders, don't you all agree?"

He chuckled and dismissed him, making Keita, who had been somewhat relaxed, tense up again.

Qingduo quickly raised his right arm, placed it in front of his chest, bowed to Chen Shao, and then bowed to Zhu Lingling.

Chen Shao remained smiling, but Zhu Lingling snorted coldly.

As soon as they got up, Qiang warriors came in and tried to move their table away.

Of the six, one suddenly changed his mind and said, "General, I want to stay."

Chen Shao patted him on the shoulder and said, "You're welcome anytime, please take a seat!"

His table was put back, and the man quickly sat down, his eyes darting away, not daring to look at Keita.

Qingduo and the others glanced back at him, said nothing, and silently walked out.

After everyone left, Chen Shao smiled and said, "Everyone, please sit down, let's continue!"

After Keita and his group left Mingsha Club, two of them tried to back out, but Keita grabbed them.

"Su Luo, are you going back too?"

Su Luo had an unusually large frame, a white head and beard, but a gaunt face with thick eyebrows and piercing eyes. He glanced at Qing Duo and said, "I always feel that if we don't go back..."

"Hmph, that Chen fellow is clearly trying to separate us from our people, and then slowly turn our tribe into his own subordinates. Before long, our warriors will become his warriors, and our village will become his village. At that time, will he still spend so much money to support us?"

"But he is now very powerful, with so many tribes..."

"What's there to be afraid of! Only those short-sighted tribal chiefs have left. The Qiang tribes of Hengshan are still here. At worst, we can fight for another eighty years!"

"Oh, okay."

At this moment, the atmosphere at the Singing Sand Dunes Festival reached a climax.

Chen Shao offered another tempting offer: all the leaders could send their sons and nephews to serve as officials in major prefectures such as Youzhou, Yanzhou, Yinzhou, and Hongzhou!

Someone looked at Zhu Lingling, who was sitting in the second seat, and laughed, "Marshal Chen is truly a hero of our time, a great savior of our Hengshan Qiang people! It was you, Chief Zhu, who had the foresight to marry your precious daughter to him. Your two daughters are the pearls of our Hengshan grasslands. I was originally planning to propose marriage to my son. Hey! Speaking of which, which daughter did you send?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Lingling was not annoyed but rather somewhat smug, and laughed, "Of course, both of them together are needed to produce a son the fastest! It's a pity that my third daughter is still too young, otherwise I would definitely offer her to the General!"

In the Qiang tribes of Hengshan, giving one's daughter to a powerful figure as a concubine is not considered shameful, but rather a very profitable form of speculation.

Their sense of honor and shame is different from that of the Central Plains; they basically take pride in strength and feel ashamed of weakness.

Zhu Lingling was now fully prepared to take a gamble and board Chen Shao's car. He trusted his judgment and his own abilities.

Because Chen Shao is young and has no family, it would be good if he could continue to win, given that he has already conquered such a large territory.

Even if he were to fail and die halfway through, he could still seize a share of Chen Shao's estate by virtue of the son born to his daughter.

Or perhaps, by inheriting part of Chen Shao's forces and then learning from Li Yuanhao, they could establish a country and become emperor!
Next, Chen Shao finalized with them the specifics of the revenue sharing among the various ethnic groups, the compensation measures, and the rules and regulations for transactions.

At dusk, in Yinzhou City, cartloads of jewels and gold were being delivered to the villages of the five tribes that had left, with drums and gongs beating.

The carriages used for transportation were all wrapped in gorgeous silk, and the horses were all pure white.

The people of these five villages watched helplessly as carts carrying treasures entered the village chief's house.

Furthermore, the officials from Yinzhou who came to escort him happily told everyone they met that this was a reward from the military commander to the chieftain, and that there would be even greater rewards to come.

They were very polite and would never show any arrogance to the 'wild men' in the village, after all, they had been given repeated orders before they came.

You have to laugh!
Inside the Blackwater Village, Qingduo watched as the soldiers from Yinzhou brought in cartloads of treasure, then began unloading them from afar, carrying them in exquisite boxes towards him.

A sudden sense of unease welled up inside him.
According to Chen Shao, the Hengshan tribes who are willing to move to Yinzhou will reap great benefits in the short term, especially this autumn.

However, their five tribes will miss out on this share of the profits.

The villagers lived worse than those in the neighboring villages, watching them distribute money, eat meat, and wear new clothes.
What would his own people think?
Considering the treasures they have today, they would surely feel that they betrayed the interests of the tribe and the village for this money.

Even if I expose the conspiracy behind this and tell the people of my tribe, will they believe me?
They certainly don't believe it, and they don't want to believe it. They only care about their own lives, which are indeed far worse than those next door.

These chests of gold and silver treasures are like seeds of doubt and division; no one knows how terrifying they will be when they erupt.

Keita was genuinely scared.

He saw through the conspiracy and knew he was powerless to resist, like a venomous snake crawling towards him with his hands and feet bound.
Keita's wife and children looked at the novel and precious boxes with excitement and beaming smiles.

They couldn't resist opening the box, and the onlookers all saw the dazzling pearl light.

They were so dazzling and captivating, so out of place in the dilapidated village, that they were enough to arouse longing in one's heart.

From the brilliance of these jewels, one could almost see the decadent lives of those noble gentlemen. The moment his foolish son opened the box, Keita's heart sank to the bottom.

In his mind's eye, he seemed to see again the young general with a sincere face and a hearty laugh; the chieftain Zhu Lingling who had once risked his life to lead everyone in resisting the Western Xia.

The figures of two people slowly shifted in his mind, eventually transforming into two venomous snakes.

Keita's eyes widened suddenly, and he gasped for breath, beginning to doubt whether his decision was right or wrong.

At this moment, during the Singing Sands Festival, raging flames rise into the night sky, like a giant torch.

The bright red firelight shone on the faces of everyone gathered around the huge bonfire, giving them a healthy rosy glow.

Sparks drifted into the night sky, like fireflies dancing in the air, casting a mysterious hue over Hengshan.

Chen Shao squinted at the tall fire, his eyes gleaming with the light of the flames.

The Qiang people sitting on the ground nearby played cheerful drumbeats on simple instruments, while more than a dozen Qiang girls sang and danced around the bonfire, their figures slender and their dances graceful.

Others would occasionally join in the dancing, creating a lively and wonderful atmosphere.

Especially the Qiang girls, their charm is quite different from that of girls from the Central Plains. Compared to women from the Central Plains, they are more wild and energetic.

On the grass upwind, a felt rug was laid out, and the tribal chiefs sat cross-legged, with Chen Shao sitting at the head of the table.

On the grasslands, what is respected is absolute right and status; what matters is hierarchy, not age.

The old ways of doing things in the Central Plains don't work here at all. Even if Chen Shao's own father were here today, he would have to sit below him.

Each tribal chief had a small table in front of him, with jars of mare's milk wine beside it, and large pieces of roasted mutton on the plates on the table.

It was a whole roasted lamb, which Zhu Lingling personally butchered and distributed to the leaders and military commanders.

On the plate in front of Chen Shao was a piece of the fattest and most tender mutton, but he did not cut it to eat.

A short while later, a military officer from Yinzhou arrived and whispered something in his ear.

Chen Shao nodded. Since these five clan leaders were unwilling to make money, then he was sorry.

His move was inspired by the Song Dynasty's founding emperor's "releasing military power over a cup of wine," except that Zhao Da was an honest man and had clearly explained things to his brothers.

Chen Shao then used a little bit of cunning and trickery.

There was nothing he could do; Zhao Da and his men were sworn brothers, and he could only bind himself to these Qiang people through shared interests.

They separated them from their followers by giving them mansions; they separated them from their sons and relatives by giving them official positions.

This time, I must acquire the Qiang tribes of Hengshan. Both their warhorses and soldiers are exactly what I need.

If nothing unexpected happens, Tong Guan will bring the Jin army here in three or four years.

There isn't much time left to train myself.

Just as Chen Shao was deep in thought, a huge cheer erupted from the crowd.

He looked up and saw a young girl slowly walking towards the fire, and then dancing gracefully.

To be honest, her dancing skills were just average, like those of an ordinary Qiang woman.

However, her figure and appearance are truly outstanding.

Her eyebrows and eyes were delicate and beautiful, her fair skin was like milk, and a string of bright pearls adorned her smooth forehead. Her white dress resembled a lily, and a long, moon-white shawl was draped over her shoulders, fastened with a gold ring inlaid with a large black pearl.

Her beautiful eyes deftly swept over everyone, finally meeting Chen Shao's gaze, and then seemed glued to him, never to open again.

Chen Shao knew, of course, that it wasn't because of his exceptionally handsome appearance that this beautiful woman took a liking to him at first sight.

It was only because of her power that she was likely the daughter that Old Zhu wanted to give to him, to bear his grandson who would carry his bloodline.

This is also a common method used on the grasslands, and Gao Huan encountered it back then.

At that time, Gao Huan, who was already over fifty years old, was fighting fiercely with Yuwen Tai and wanted to gain the support of Rouran.

The Rouran king Anagui proposed that he would support Gao Huan, but Gao Huan had to marry his sixteen-year-old Rouran princess and make her pregnant.

King Gao, who was over fifty years old, had been fighting for years and his health was failing. However, for the sake of the country, he had no choice but to force himself to continue sowing every day.
As the young Qiang woman danced, she walked towards Chen Shao, extending a hand to invite him to join her on stage.

This Qiang girl has a delicate appearance, with a pretty and charming oval face and a small red mole on her fair chin.

Chen Shao stood up generously and said with a smile, "I am a Han Chinese and I am not very good at dancing."

"I can teach you."

Chen Shao had no choice but to bite the bullet and follow her to the fire, swaying along with their steps.
You know what, it was really fun!

Chen Shao laughed heartily, singing and dancing; this thing really didn't require any skill.

Just jump however you like.

After dancing for a while, when Chen Shao returned to his seat, his dance partner naturally sat down next to him.

The girl looked at Chen Shao with her bright eyes, then smiled, her smile full of charming allure.

Her eyes seemed to speak volumes, filled with tender affection. Even Chun Tao, who loved Chen Shao the most, would never look at Chen Shao with such eyes.

Although he knew it was fake, Chen Shao was still in a good mood.

His hand also unceremoniously wrapped around her slender waist, and he asked, "What's your name?"

Her name is Jin Mo'er.

"Your father's surname is Zhu, why aren't you surnamed Zhu?"

The girl smiled and lightly punched Chen Shao. "Marshal, you're so mean. My father's surname is Zhu Ling, and his name is Zhu Ling Jin Mo'er."

Chen Shao couldn't help but laugh out loud. He had made such a big mistake. Old Zhu was the leader of the Qiang tribes of Hengshan and the subordinate he valued most.

It is clear that the essence of this world is a giant makeshift operation.
"Of course I know, I was just joking."

While Chen Shao and Jin Mo'er were chatting, several pairs of eyes secretly glanced over.

Tonight, the Singing Sands will surely resound with the sound of heartbreak.

　It's the end of the month, everyone please cast your monthly tickets if you have any! Thank you!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)