You have truly caused me great suffering!

Chapter 55 Questions and Answers in the Tent
Yao Gu lifted the tent flap and entered. Inside the tent, above Lao Zhong, sat another man, sitting imposingly in the command seat—it was Tong Guan.

Everyone looked at him.

Yao Gu was wrapped in white cloths, strips of which were stained with blood.

He was an important general in the Western Army, and he was already seriously wounded, which shows how fierce the battle was on the front lines.

Ever since Tong Guan urged the five routes of Shaanxi to launch an attack before the new year, Yao Gu had already cursed Tong Guan's ancestors for eighteen generations several times over.

Upon seeing the true god, he showed no kindness, coldly cupped his hands in greeting, then clasped his fists towards Zhong Shidao before plopping down on a stool.

Tong Guan was very unhappy; the generals of the Western Army were taking him less and less seriously.

He actually knew the reason himself.

It's true that Tong Guan received a salary from the imperial court, but he didn't give it to just anyone.

Only those who were on good terms with him could get a little; the rest he kept for himself.

The victorious army only had 30,000 men, which was not even full strength. How much food and supplies could they possibly consume?

Ultimately, Tong Guan pocketed the lion's share of the money.

Tong Guan remained silent. Yang Keshi was his confidant, but he was also a straightforward man. Looking at the wounded veteran of the Western Army before him, especially Yao Gu, who sat there with piercing eyes and covered in wounds, he couldn't bring himself to ask any questions. He just stood there pondering.

Tan Zhen, who was by his side, was a cold-hearted and aloof person, and also a eunuch.

He pointed at Yao Gu: "Yao Gu, the imperial court has repeatedly ordered you to support Liu Fa, why are you afraid to fight and not move forward!"

Inside the camp, a well-dressed eunuch loudly accused the bloodied generals of cowardice.

The atmosphere in the camp immediately turned cold.

Xi He and the fierce general Zhai Jin were the first to lose their temper. They slammed their fists on the table, stood up, and said, "Who are you to dare to spout such nonsense? Back then, General Liu felt the time was not right and was unwilling to risk advancing. It was you treacherous villains who sent letters to coerce him. Now that this disaster has occurred, you're blaming the warriors!"

Tong Guan's face was extremely grim. Liu Fa was indeed unwilling to fight, and Tong Guan directly sent someone to reprimand him:

"When you were in the capital, you personally received orders from the king and said you would surely succeed. Why is it difficult now?"
These words carry great weight; failing to fight would be seen as disloyalty and unfilial piety, and could even be suspected of deceiving the emperor.

When Liu Fa first came to the capital, he couldn't help but boast about himself when he met the emperor.

He was an honest man, so he risked his life and went into battle in the bitter cold.

The Western Army, in fact, had many reservations about his behavior.

Not only did he lose 20,000 elite troops, but he also allowed the Western Xia army led by Chage to plunder and kill, resulting in the deaths of nearly 100,000 Song soldiers, civilians, and laborers.

Now that Zhai Jin has spoken out about this matter directly, it's tantamount to slapping Tong Guan in the face and tearing away his fig leaf.

He was practically saying outright that this crushing defeat was entirely due to Tong Guan's disastrous command.

The entire Western Army in the tent felt a surge of satisfaction, their anger finally released.

Tong Guan glanced at Zhai Jin, who came from a prominent family in Luoyang, a distinguished and upright family of civil officials.

In the Song Dynasty, even he could not easily punish such a person.

The powerful clans in Luoyang, the secondary capital, possessed unfathomable strength and were extremely united.

The current emperor is a man who cares a lot about his reputation. If you really anger those people, they will curse you. Moreover, they hold a high position among scholars and control the voice of the people.

After venting his anger, Zhai Jin took off his helmet and threw it away, saying, "We risk our lives, not to shield others from harm!"

After saying that, he strode away. The few people in the tent snorted coldly and left with him.

Tong Guan's face turned ashen. However, he held back and did not order anyone to stop or arrest the men.

Zhai Jin and his brothers, along with several trusted retainers, left the main tent and mounted their horses.

They were driving aggressively along the way and almost bumped into two people coming from the opposite direction.

Dong Dahu reacted quickly and pulled Chen Shao aside.

Chen Shao glanced at him with some surprise. Tong Guan was not good at fighting, but he was quite strict in disciplining his troops.

He's the kind of person who seems respectable on ordinary days, but reveals his true colors when he encounters a tough opponent.

How could there be people riding horses recklessly in his central military camp?

This eunuch is really unreliable; he can't even put on a proper show.

Chen Shao shook his head and came to the outside of the central command tent. The front of the main tent of the camp was also heavily guarded, with more than a hundred soldiers in armor and holding spears, surrounding the tent tightly.

He gestured to his personal guard.

"Brother Shao, you're here!"

Tong Guan's guards were all acquaintances, so they didn't stand on ceremony with Chen Shao and dragged him behind the tent.

A large red cloak had already been prepared there, and several guards personally helped him put on his armor before saying, "Hurry up and go in, Commander Xuan is getting impatient."

Tong Guan was indeed very anxious; he was waiting for Chen Shao to arrive.

After they finished their work, Chen Shao roughly understood that he had only come to save face.

With that thought in mind, Chen Shao straightened his back and strode into the tent.

He clasped his hands and said, "Chen Shao, the commander, pays his respects to Commander Xuan!"

Tong Guan, whose face was icy cold and ashen, finally revealed a slight smile and said, "Someone, bring Chen Shao a seat."

Chen Shao readily agreed, saying, "I wouldn't dare. All the generals are standing; I am merely a commander of the Victorious Army. How could I possibly sit down?"

"I have always valued only genuine talent, not empty fame or position. Please sit down!"

With Chen Shao's cooperation, Tong Guan took the opportunity to annoy the Western Army and vent his anger.

Inside the main tent, to Tong Guan's right, the junior general Zhong Shizhong coldly asked, "Chen Shao! I heard that in your battle report, you beheaded eight thousand Xia traitors. Is that true?"

Those who knew the details on Tong Guan's side all looked tense, fearing that the young man would reveal his weakness.

Even Tong Guan unconsciously tightened his grip on the armrests on both sides of the chair.

Chen Shao, looking extremely proud, said with his head held high, "That's right! Eight thousand bandit leaders were wiped out, and more than two thousand were captured. Some were incorporated into the local army, and the rest were escorted to Yanzhou to prepare for the flag-raising ceremony."

"To achieve such a victory, I would like to thank two people first. One is His Majesty, and the other is our Commander Xuan."

"Since Commander Xuan arrived in the Northwest, the people..."

"Shut up!" Zhong Shizhong was about to continue questioning him when he was surprised to see him flattering him, which made his beard tremble with anger.

"Let me ask you this: you killed ten thousand Xia traitors, so why is there no official document or news from the Western Xia?"

“This gentleman is being unreasonable. Does he expect us to go out and spread the news of our defeat?” Chen Shao said innocently. “Western Xia is currently beset by internal and external troubles, especially after Commander Xuan came to the Northwest and opened up the borders for five years, bringing Western Xia to the brink of collapse. Naturally, they will only report good news and not bad news to stabilize the hearts of the people at home. Is that so hard to understand?”

"Nonsense! I think you're clearly exaggerating your battle achievements!"

(End of this chapter)