You have truly caused me great suffering!

Chapter 76 First Signs of Ambition
It took about ten days to travel.

He finally arrived at Yanzhou City, where a mansion had been prepared for him. It was very close to the military camp at the city gate and was surrounded by elite troops.

After settling his family in, he went straight to the military camp without a moment's delay.

Han Shizhong's camp was built against the city wall and covered a vast area.

During this period, he brought about a remarkable transformation.

From this side of the camp, it seems impossible to see to the other side.

Standing atop the watchtower, military flags were densely packed along the high, thick stockade walls. The fortresses and watchtowers had also been renovated, suggesting that the previous battle had not been particularly fierce.

After all, Han Shizhong had the Tibetan tribes as his inside agents, and with their combined efforts, he captured the unprepared Yanzhou City.

The military tents within the camp were set up neatly and orderly according to the usual orientations for troop deployment.

Whenever the soldiers in the camp moved forward, they all formed their own orderly groups.

Within the old camp, there was a wide and flat road specifically for cavalry to launch counterattacks, with water sprinkled on the loess soil.

The warhorses galloped by, not a speck of dust was raised.

At this moment, the main gate of the camp was already open, and Han Shizhong stood at the gate with some men.

Then they saw dozens of riders on fast horses rushing towards them like the wind.

Chen Shao reined in his horse, and Han Shizhong stepped forward to take the reins, laughing, "The commander has finally arrived! Haha, look at me, I had forgotten that the commander has been promoted again, and now he should be called the prefect."

Chen Shaoyue dismounted, not responding to his words, but instead said, "Your camp is well-organized."

Actually, he couldn't figure it out either, but thinking that Han Shizhong must be quite capable, he praised him first.

"However, the place we occupy is not peaceful."

Han Shizhong laughed and said, "Prefect, rest assured, Hengshan Fortress can be defended. Now that we have cities and provisions, there is nowhere we cannot defend."

Tong Guan has not yet withdrawn his troops. He is now playing the same role as Richard in the past, planted deep in the heart of Western Xia.

In this way, the Western Xia would be in a completely passive position during negotiations and peace talks.

They were forced to concede some benefits.

Chen Shao raised his head, his gaze fixed on the distance, where mountains stretched like waves and green grass rippled like billows. A breeze blew, causing the horse's mane to flutter, and the warhorse beneath him breathed softly.

Tong Guan was determined to support Chen Shao this time, establish him in Yanzhou, and make him a force in the Northwest independent of the Western Army.

To this end, he even forced various forces to each allocate some troops to Yanzhou.

Of course, he couldn't bear to part with any of his precious Sheng Jiejun.

Chen Shao did not enter the barracks, but wandered around outside, with Han Shizhong following closely behind him.

Looking at the continuous mountain range, Chen Shao turned his gaze to Han Shizhong and gave him a deep look. "Han Wu, your merits have been reported. I heard from the brothers in the Pacification Commission that you will probably be promoted to commander this time."

Han Shizhong didn't hide anything from Chen Shao, laughing heartily as if he wanted to shout it out.

He was not afraid of difficulties, even when he suffered a defeat.

What I fear most are those dark and hopeless days when no matter how many merits you make, you can't see a glimmer of hope for advancement.

After laughing, Han Shizhong pointed to the distance and said, "There are many Qiang people around here. In recent years, the Western Xia has been exploiting them more and more ruthlessly. We can recruit some soldiers from here."

"Not urgent!"

Chen Shao sighed. These people would come seeking refuge so soon after arriving?

They all belong to tribes.

"The Qiang people worship the strong and fear power but not virtue. My idea is to fight two battles first to establish our authority, and then recruit soldiers."

Before the negotiations were finalized, the Western Xia and the Song Dynasty remained in a state of hostility.

The Battle of Hengshan, triggered by Tong Guan's expansion of the border, has been going on for five years and hasn't stopped yet.

Both sides are currently in a state of war. It would be best to suppress the Western Xia troops and give them a good beating, so that the nearby Qiang, Han, Uyghur, and Tibetan people can see our strength.

Most of the non-Han peoples in the Northwest lacked ethnic consciousness. Figures like An Lushan and Dong Zhuo first used force to intimidate the non-Han peoples and then subjugate them.

In the end, those non-Han people were even more loyal to them than the Han people.

In the Western Xia, the Qiang and other non-Han tribes were already extremely poor. The amount of cattle, sheep, furs, and money that the Western Xia demanded from them each year far exceeded their ability to pay. So when they could no longer tolerate it, they would launch a rebellion. After being defeated, they would continue to suffer. This drama was always being repeated over and over again.

The Western Xia also used this method to suppress them, preventing any tribe from becoming too powerful and repeating the scenario of them rebelling against the Song Dynasty and establishing their own state.

In fact, there was a huge profit to be made from selling goods from the grasslands to the Central Plains. The problem was that the trade routes with the Central Plains were always firmly controlled by the Western Xia.

These tribes could only sell their products cheaply to the Western Xia conquest, and then the Western Xia would transport them to the Central Plains for sale. Even if these products passed through the territory of the Western Army before entering the Central Plains, they would still be subject to heavy taxes levied by the Western Army generals at each level. In the end, the income was still more than ten times the amount paid to the various Hu and Qiang tribes.

Throughout history, great generals have risen rapidly to prominence on the frontier for this very reason. As long as their military strength is high enough, they can tame the various nomadic tribes and make them work for them. By selling their tribal products directly to the Central Plains, they can avoid heavy taxes.

And since you have the legitimacy of the Central Plains, you can use this money to stockpile resources from the Central Plains.

At that time, we only need to slightly improve their treatment to win the hearts and minds of the Hu people.

Han Shizhong said, "Since that's the case, the Jianing Military Command is located to our east. It's the strongest force of the Xia bandits in the Hengshan area. Let's use it to establish our authority."

The Jianing Military Command was established in the second year of the Guangyun reign of Emperor Jingzong of Western Xia (1035). It was set up at the same time as the other 11 military supervisory commands and formed the core part of the Western Xia "Twelve Military Supervisory Commands of the Left and Right Wings" system. Its total strength once reached 100,000.

As the Western Xia dynasty weakened, it gradually lost its former glory, but it remained one of the "defensive pincers" that allowed it to penetrate the border between the Song and Xia dynasties.

It was specifically tasked with defending against Song Dynasty attacks from the directions of Yanzhou and Fuzhou.

It is now estimated that there are only 30,000 to 50,000 troops, and the defense zone has shrunk to the area around Youzhou, not far from Yanzhou.

When Chen Shao came, he learned about the Jianing Military Command from the Pacification Commissioner's Office.

Right now, it is our biggest threat and enemy. If we want to gain a foothold here, we must take it down.

If they could be eliminated directly, they could even threaten the five prefectures of Dingnan, but the difficulty seems quite high at the moment. Chen Shao sat on the soft grass, looking at the clear sky, and suddenly the Song of Joy of King Gao came to mind. He hummed softly, "The sky is like a yurt, covering the vast wilderness; the sky is vast and the wilderness boundless; the wind blows the grass low, revealing cattle and sheep."

"Han Wu, come here and tell me your aspirations."

Han Shizhong's eyes widened, and after thinking for a long time, he still couldn't come up with a concrete goal. He could only say, "I, Han Wu, want to follow you, Prefect, to get promoted and make a fortune, and share in your wealth and honor."

Chen Shao grinned, thinking to himself, "So what if he's a famous general? He's still not fully polished and refined yet."

Very rough!
He flicked his sleeves, full of vigor, and said, "Come, let me show you. We brothers will use this Yanzhou as our base to accumulate strength, first take over the five prefectures of Dingnan, and when our troops are strong and our weapons are complete, we will unite with the Qiang and other Hu tribes in the northwest and launch an attack on Xingqing Prefecture!"

Han Shizhong's eyes lit up, and he murmured, "Good, good! If we can destroy the Western Xia, we might be able to enter the Privy Council and become a Grand Commandant."

Grand Commandant? I wouldn't even be a dog. Gao Qiu could become Grand Commandant just by playing football. With all my incredible achievements, I'm only a Grand Commandant?
Chen Shao sneered inwardly, thinking that being a Grand Tutor Dong was more appropriate.

And then the Jin soldiers will arrive.
-
After spending two days in Yanzhou City, Chen Shao ordered the people from the five villages of Hengshan to be relocated here.

Population is always the most important factor. In the future, when we need to establish a stronghold in the five prefectures of Dingnan, they will be experienced and capable of employing us.

Moreover, these people are more loyal.

On this day, he rode his horse, accompanied by Dong Dahu and three personal guards, Zhao Shan and Zhao He, to the military camp.

Han Shizhong had been waiting for a long time, and he had brought dozens of his personal guards with him. As soon as the two sides met, they nodded to each other and then rode off on horseback.

They were going to the Tibet region.

As a once-powerful tribe of the Western Xia, the Meicang tribe enjoyed a period of great prosperity. The empress of Li Yuanhao, the founding emperor of the Western Xia, was a daughter of the Meicang tribe.

Her elder brother, Mucang Epang, instigated Crown Prince Ninglingge to rebel and assassinate Li Yuanhao, and then installed his two-year-old nephew, Li Liangzuo, as the ruler.

Empress Dowager Mezang ruled from behind the curtain, appointing her elder brother Mezang Epang as prime minister, thus ushering in an era of power held by the maternal relatives of the Western Xia dynasty.

This powerful maternal uncle frequently attacked the Liao and Song dynasties, while internally he forced his daughter to marry the 9-year-old Li Liangzuo as empress, attempting to control imperial power for a long time.

Later, they even attempted to kill the emperor and declare themselves emperor, but after their failure, they were purged too severely, and the Meicang tribe completely withdrew from the ruling class of Western Xia. Among them, the group near the salt lake was considered one of the more powerful branches of the Meicang tribe.

Along the road, the lush, tall, and dense wild grass reached up to the horses' bellies. From a distance, the horses looked as if they were swimming in a green ocean, until they turned into a valley.

This place is indeed a paradise for raising horses. No wonder the Western Xia cavalry was so elite. Their heavy cavalry, the Iron Falcons, often broke through the Song army's infantry formations.

Once they reached the valley, a dozen or so horses were revealed in their entirety, with a dozen burly men riding them, while Chen Shao appeared somewhat thin.

There was already someone waiting at the valley entrance. The man was wearing a tattered sheepskin coat and holding a fork, looking like a poor mountain hunter. From a distance, he stopped the dozen or so burly men on horseback. After exchanging a few words, the man put his right hand on his chest, knelt on one knee, and then led them into the depths of the valley.

After rounding a grove of trees, the Qiang man let out a whistle, and more than a dozen people emerged from the dense forest opposite. These people came in all shapes and sizes, and most of them were dressed in tattered clothes. They carried various weapons of different lengths and walked on the grassland like a pack of wolves waiting for their chance to strike, their alertness revealing a hint of ferocity.

The two sides approached and stopped more than two zhang apart. An old man with a white beard and hair tied into braids with small beads tassels squinted at the burly general sitting on his horse. Suddenly, he turned his head and said a few words to the young man beside him in the Tangut language.

The young man, despite not hiding Pang Ge's identity, replied with the same tone.

When Brother Pang first claimed that the clan leader was his third great-grandfather, he was simply trying to glorify himself. In fact, he was a distant relative of the clan.

After a few brief words, Mei Zang Pang Ge suddenly dismounted, took two steps, opened his arms, and said with tears in his eyes, "Han Shizhong, my brother."

He wasn't just acting; Han Shizhong was indeed his savior. If Han Shizhong hadn't suddenly appeared, he and his men would never have returned alive.

Those wildlings did not regard them as human beings, nor did they use them as human beings.

Now, working together from within and without, they have broken through Yanzhou City and are now tied to Han Shizhong and Chen Shao in the same boat.

Even if they betray them, the Western Xia will not let them off the hook.

Han Shizhong had no feelings for him; it was just a temporary measure to increase the chances of success, in case they changed their minds at the last minute.

Han Shizhong pointed to his own prefect and introduced him to them, "This is our Prefect Chen, who is now the Observer and Prefect of Yanzhou City, the Deputy Commander of Shengjie Army, a confidant of Commander Tong Xuan, and a military general personally appointed by the Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty."

The man with the white beard is none other than Meizang Canrong, the current patriarch of the Meizang clan.

He looked at Chen Shao and suddenly said in Chinese, "Indeed, heroes emerge from among the young."

When everyone arrived, they heard him speak Tangut, and were somewhat surprised to hear him speak Chinese so clearly.

"please!"

The group went into the bushes and sat down in an open space.

Someone set up a fire in the middle to roast a whole sheep, while two Qiang girls stood around, holding plates and ready to cut off pieces of cooked meat to serve the honored guests.

After exchanging polite pleasantries for a while, Mo Cang Rong sighed and said, "To be honest, since the Song Dynasty and the Xia Kingdom went to war, the Xia Kingdom government has been exploiting us even more severely, and the various tribes are extremely resentful."

“Even if you don’t come, we will still rebel and find a way out for our people.”

An elderly Tibetan man next to him nodded and said, "That's right. We have actually been trying to rise up in rebellion, but we lack food, medicine, and weapons. We are no match for them. To be honest, this time we plan to cross Hengshan Mountain to join the Zhong family army of the Great Song Dynasty."

"Upon receiving news from Brother Pang, we gladly launched our uprising. We hope the Prefect will take us in from now on."

Chen Shao was surprised to find these people to be honest. He had originally thought that these Hu people from the grasslands were all cunning and wicked.

In reality, they were desperate to survive and needed someone to take shelter, so they were exceptionally cooperative.

I'm too lazy to play any more tricks.

There aren't that many ambitious people. Didn't you see that the clan chief's coat has several holes in it?

These people's current wish is to have someone lead them in fighting against the Western Xia and to ensure that the younger generation in the tribe can survive.

Chen Shao laughed and said, "Gentlemen, there is no need to worry. The Xia bandits have high walls and deep fortifications, strong soldiers and horses, abundant military supplies, and complete armor. Although you are brave, you have no one to command the overall situation. Each unit fights independently like a heap of loose sand. You also lack food and weapons. Some soldiers even fight with wooden sticks against the enemy's spears and swords. How can you possibly defeat them?"

"Now that I'm here, everything is different."

The people of the Meicang tribe exchanged glances, then stood up and knelt before Chen Shao.

"I wish to serve the Prefect as the Lord of my Mozang tribe."

　Two combined, another 10,000-word daily subscription achieved today! Please vote with your monthly tickets, thank you for subscribing!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)