You have truly caused me great suffering!

Chapter 5 Wildfire Cannot Burn Out

Autumn is high and fresh.

In Chen Shao's manor, there were five people, including him, gathered around a campfire.

Yellow wine was warmed on the ground nearby, and a steaming casserole was set up, emitting a fragrant aroma of meat.

The border defense order has been issued, and Chen Shao has been promoted to grain commissioner, responsible for transporting grain from Fuzhou to the Hengshan front.

Emperor Huizong (Zhao Ji) granted Tong Guan considerable power this time, allowing him to oversee the military and political affairs of Hedong and Shaanxi.

He received 28 million strings of cash and was allowed to appoint more than 900 officials to reward meritorious soldiers.

Anyone who makes a meritorious contribution can be granted an official position by Tong Guan's border defense office without going through the imperial court, and can even be appointed as a fifth-rank military officer.

All the generals in the Northwest were eager to try their luck.

Having enjoyed decades of peace and prosperity in the capital city of Tokyo, Emperor Huizong (Zhao Ji) was likely planning to completely conquer Western Xia, then expand northward and reclaim the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun.

As the saying goes, it's not that we're afraid of rich kids indulging in pleasure, it's that we're afraid of them suddenly becoming ambitious.

The same applies to emperors.

You're talking about the Song Dynasty. How many emperors have come and gone? Could they even win? It's just a change of name without substance. What's the current level of the Song army?
Tong Guan, a eunuch without a penis, is the head coach. Can he even fight? He doesn't have the ability, you know that!
Chen Shao glanced at the four people beside him. Of all the servants in his estate, only they were willing to go with him.

Apart from Dong Dahu, the other three were all young men living alone, without any family members to stop them.

Even so, Chen Shao had to go and fool them one by one.

Perhaps they've had enough of the hard times and want to make a name for themselves.

These men were Chen Shao's personal guards. Anything could happen on the battlefield, and personal guards were the last resort.

On a haystack not far away, a group of farmhands had just finished packing their belongings. Smelling the aroma of meat wafting in the wind, Li Dashan couldn't help but swallow.

These days, they often get together to mock and ridicule Chen Shao and his group.

They mocked him for never having been on the battlefield and not knowing how dangerous the front lines were.

Moreover, Chen Shao was living off the family fortune; if he were to die on the front lines, it was uncertain who would inherit the family property.

After eating and drinking to their hearts' content, Chen Shao stood up. The four boys looked at him, their eyes filled with confusion.

Chen Shao himself was also very nervous, but at this moment, he felt he should pretend to be calm, so he smiled and said, "Let's go, let's try a different way of life!"

These words were very persuasive, and the boys were filled with excitement.

Even the villagers who were watching the commotion from afar, waiting to clean up the leftovers and have some meat soup, were a little confused by what they heard.

For the past century, life in the Northwest has been bitter, and the people have suffered even more. Everyone has lived a miserable, stifled, and desperately struggling to survive.

Several people carried their bags and followed behind Chen Shao, feeling as if they were walking on air.

The group arrived outside Fuzhou City, where countless footsteps echoed along the imperial road, accompanied by the incessant clatter of horses' hooves.

Chen Shao arrived at the central command tent and waited in line for a long time before finally meeting the accompanying civil official around noon.

He handed over the transfer order, and then the civil official, expressionless, handed him a waist tag, inquired about his name and place of origin, and registered it in the register.

Only after hearing that Chen Shao was a Zhongyi Lang, an eighth-rank official, did he look up at him with slight surprise. Officials with ranks usually had meritorious service, but he could tell at a glance that the man in front of him had never been on the battlefield.

Most of the credit was bought.

The accompanying civilian official did not look down on him because of this, but instead became extra cautious, because someone who could buy credit must have some kind of background.

After finishing recording, he sternly explained military law to Chen Shao.

Because of the crowd and the noise, Chen Shao didn't hear much of what was being said, only hearing him repeatedly chanting: "Chop, chop, chop!"
Hearing this, Chen Shao even felt a chill run down his spine.

After he finally finished speaking, Chen Shao stroked his waist token, looking somewhat dazed.

In the end, I became a member of the battlefield.

A soldier in the central army led them to a granary on the outskirts of the city, gave them a brief introduction, and then left.

The war was urgent, and there was no time for them to get to know each other; they had to leave immediately.

This grain transport team consisted of more than 800 people, including 50 baggage handlers and the rest were civilian laborers.

There were also ten mules and horses in total, one cart, and the rest were carried by laborers on their shoulders. Chen Shao flipped through the account book, waved his hand from his horse, and the carts, horses, and laborers immediately set off, soon raising dust on the road.

The further they went into the front lines, the more desolate the surrounding scenery became.

In any war, the common people are always the first to suffer.

With tens of thousands of troops from both sides gathered in one place, the amount of food and supplies consumed every day was astronomical, not to mention anything else.

The local people, regardless of which side they came from, had to work as laborers to transport all sorts of supplies as long as they didn't run away.

The fields were left uncultivated, the food supplies were all plundered, and the fruit trees were all cut down to make vehicles and machinery.

Tens of thousands of corpses lay on the front lines, and the roads behind were also littered with white bones, all of whom had died from exhaustion and starvation.

Tong Guan was notorious for his lack of care for the laborers. Since he took charge of the Northwest, no fewer than 100,000 laborers have died from overwork, starvation, or beatings.

Many people in the Northwest submitted memorials impeaching him, but he was a favorite of the emperor, a favored minister and close advisor, and was completely unaffected.

The war between Song and Xia began three years ago, five years into the Zhenghe era.

Driven to desperation by the fortified village tactics, the Western Xia resorted to a desperate invasion of Fuyan.

Tong Guan was overjoyed and dispatched Liu Fa, the Pacification Commissioner of Xihe and Lanhuang and concurrently the Prefect of Xizhou, to lead 150,000 infantry and cavalry out of Huangzhou, and Liu Zhongwu, the Pacification Commissioner of Qinfeng, to lead 50,000 troops out of Huizhou. Tong Guan himself stationed the central army in Lanzhou to provide support from both directions.

Liu Zhongwu's army arrived at Qingshuihe, built a city and garrisoned it before returning.

Liu Fazhao fought against Xia's right wing army at Gulong and defeated them, beheading three thousand.

After that, the two sides began to fight a fierce battle, which lasted for three years, leaving villages within a radius of hundreds of miles in ruins.

As long as the common people weren't forced to work as laborers wandering between ditches, those who could escape fled completely.

Bones lay exposed in the wilderness, and for miles there was not a rooster's crow; along the way, only desolate, lifeless villages remained.

Only after the war between Song and Xia comes to an end, and the important figures either negotiate a peace or completely eliminate each other, will this place return to peace.

Those who fled will slowly return and revitalize the community.

Wild fire, in spring.

The common people are like the wild grass that cannot be burned out, tragic, resilient, and indomitable.

After passing Sanchuankou, there were numerous fortified villages built by the Song Dynasty. These fortified villages supported each other and advanced step by step.

The names are all: Weiqiang Village, Mieqiang Village, Pingrong Village, and Jianqiang Village.
Just by looking at their names, you can tell how deep the hatred is between the two sides.

As night fell, Chen Shao directed the group to set up camp near a remote, deserted village.

The laborers dug stoves and gathered firewood, then went into the village to look for any utensils to boil water.

The supply troops didn't help at all; after they finished their work, the laborers had to bring them hot water and soup first.

Chen Shao's true subordinates consisted of these fifty supply soldiers. As for the civilian laborers, they were the army's property and not considered part of the army.

Besides escorting provisions along the way, the supply troops also had another task: to watch over the laborers and prevent them from escaping.

If too many laborers escape, Chen Shao and his men will also be held responsible and punished with military flogging.

Night had fallen, and starlight shone through the completely unpolluted atmosphere, casting shimmering shadows of the surrounding trees.

Apart from the crackling of the firewood in the fire, there was no one around. The deserted village around them was lifeless, as if it had been burned down. Some houses had collapsed, and others had their roofs exposed, like monsters crouching in the darkness.

The laborers gathered together without setting up tents, eating their own dry rations with hot water. Some ran out of food and could only cook some wild grass and vegetables, or beg their companions for some, which they would repay slowly when they returned.

Their branch was considered lucky because Chen Shao didn't covet their food rations or exploit them for bribes.

One of the supply soldiers with a thick beard stepped forward and sat down in front of Chen Shao.

"Chief Chen, we're almost at Hengshan. There are often scouts and riders from the Xia bandits there. We can't make such a big show of things anymore. We need to be careful that they don't try to rob our supplies."

Chen Shao nodded and looked into the distance.

The night was vast and dark, as black as ink, and the world seemed to be in the beginning of time.

(End of this chapter)