You have truly caused me great suffering!

Chapter 8 Good wind relies on strength
In the days that followed, Chen Shao began building fortresses and stockades on Dingxing Plain.

He had to keep an eye on things every day. Chen Shao wanted to achieve great things overnight, but he knew that the worst thing to do was to be overly ambitious. Even if you have a high goal, you should first do the things at hand well.

Instead of complaining every day about not being recognized for one's talents.

A gentleman hides his weapon in his body and moves when he waits for time.

His fifty supply soldiers couldn't be idle this time; they all had to go out and work.

This is what they do by nature; transporting grain is something they do only occasionally.

The relationship between these fifty soldiers and Chen Shao is very complicated.

Chen Shao realized that he was merely their nominal superior and had never truly controlled them.

If you ask them to do something outrageous, they will immediately report you.

There's a chance they might cut off their own head to earn military merit.

The reason is simple: Chen Shao couldn't offer them any benefits.

No one will listen to you if there's no benefit to them.

The military families of the Northwest all had their own private armies, such as the Zhong family army, the Zhe family army, the Yao family army, and the Liu family army.
They supported these people, and their soldiers relied on them for food and to support their families. So when their superiors ordered them to rebel, these people would follow without hesitation.

The construction of the fortress was very tiring because of the tight schedule and the need to guard against attacks from the Western Xia army.

Just two days ago, the Western Xia sent a small group of cavalry to harass them, but they were shot back by the Song army, which was on high alert.

This was the first time Chen Shao had witnessed the power of the Song Dynasty's Divine Arm Crossbow.

Let him know that the Song army is not as weak as later generations have said.

One advantage of building a fortified village is that we no longer have to eat in the open, and thanks to the great victory at the front, our meals have been pretty good lately.

Li Yan, out of consideration for Liu Guanglie, also took good care of Chen Shao, even assigning him some men to serve him.

In chaotic times, people are worthless. These servants can be found by searching among the refugees, and many of them may even have come from wealthy families.

At least the girls are all pretty, and the boys are all hardworking.

Tong Guan was fond of embezzling military pay. He would usually only feed his trusted Shengjie Army and didn't care much about the lives of the rest of the troops.

But this time he was in a hurry to make a name for himself, so he didn't care about that.

First, feed these soldiers of the Western Army well, then use them to conquer Liao and achieve his own great deeds.

The laborers were also very enthusiastic, and once the fortress was built, they would most likely continue to farm here.

That's how the fortified villages of the Song Dynasty were structured: they were allowed to cultivate the land in peacetime, but once war broke out, they would fortify their defenses and clear the fields.

The laborers hid inside the fortified villages, and the nearby fortified villages supported each other, causing the Western Xia a great deal of trouble.

This method of building strongholds and engaging in protracted warfare was like hitting the Western Xia right where it hurts. If it continued, the destruction of Western Xia was only a matter of time.

Early in the morning, Li Yan arranged the courtyard with Chen Shao.

As soon as they settled in, the maids and boys who had been assigned to the task quickly boiled water to bathe and change Chen Shao's clothes.

Chen Shao felt sticky and uncomfortable all over, so he naturally jumped in and washed without hesitation.

His four personal guards, too, had washed themselves and were finally able to change into new clothes.

After donning his robes and military jacket, Chen Shao waved his hand and led his personal guards to supervise the construction of the city's supply lines.

Of the guards, only Dong Dahu was truly full of energy, even more so than when he was in the manor.

The other boys were listless, clearly having been quite exhausted from the journey.

"Big Tiger, what do you think about joining the army?"

"Good!" Dong Dahu scratched his head and said with a smile, "Boss, it's good to be a soldier. Soldiers don't have to do farm work and they get to eat meat."

Chen Shao stopped, turned around, and punched him with a smile, "You're a natural-born guy!"

The real generals are different from those depicted in later films and television dramas. Few of them practiced martial arts from a young age and became invincible after leaving the mountains.

It's all innate.

Guan Yu, the warrior capable of defeating ten thousand men, sold mung beans; Fan Kuai was a butcher; and Han Shizhong was a rogue.
There were no renowned masters to teach them superior martial arts. "Master, what about the horse you mentioned?"

"Don't worry, it won't be long."
-
The opportunity to meet Tong Guan came much earlier than Chen Shao had expected.

Less than half a month after arriving at Dingxingyuan, just as dawn broke, a large number of people suddenly poured into the camp.

These soldiers came in large numbers, all fully armored and neatly lined up, looking as if they were facing a formidable enemy.

Their armor was gleaming; each guard wore leather armor with iron plates, and the weapons in their hands reflected a cold light.
Seeing this, even without prior notice, Chen Shao knew who had come.

Soon, messengers arrived and ordered these rank-holding military officers to go to the central command tent.

Chen Shao was just a grain transport officer and was not originally qualified to go, but he bought Han Shizhong's military merits and, with Liu Yanqing's influence, managed to get him the rank of Zhongyi Lang, an eighth-grade official.

Regardless of rank, they were all military officers with official positions.

When they arrived at the central command, they found it already filled with military officers. No matter how nasty these officers were to Tong Guan, once they met him, he was indeed the commander-in-chief of the entire Northwest.

The discipline of these Western Army soldiers is indeed not very good. They are standing here without lining up or standing according to rank; they are just standing randomly.

Li Yan reached out and beckoned Chen Shao over, asking him to stand beside him.

Li Yan was the head of the cavalry and infantry, and he commanded the private army of Liu Yanqing, the general manager of the Fuyan Army.

He commanded over two hundred cavalry and two hundred infantry, holding a key position that combined command of both cavalry and infantry, making him a true military commander.

It had more troops than the commander of a typical military garrison in the Song Dynasty.

After Chen Shao squeezed through, he asked in a low voice, "Brother, what's this?"

"Commander Xuan is here."

Li Yan didn't dare to speak carelessly and tried to keep his words brief.

He often berated Tong Guan behind his back.

Tong Guan didn't keep everyone waiting long. After a short while, surrounded by the guards of the Victory Army, a tall, middle-aged man, dressed in a light fur coat and with a large red cloak on his back, strode over.

Tong, who had long held a high position, truly possessed the demeanor of a renowned general.

If Chen Shao hadn't already known his background, he would have been truly intimidated by this old eunuch.

Unfortunately, all that glitters is not gold; he's nothing but a good-for-nothing.

Tong Guan wore a smile on his face. When he encountered familiar faces along the way, he would exchange a few pleasantries with them, displaying an air of superiority and humility.

After walking along the long carpet, we arrived at the center of the festival hall and looked at the huge map hanging on the wall.

The generals could only see his tall back, and remained completely silent.

Chen Shao was excited, his mind racing.

Sometimes the timing isn't ideal, but you have to consider whether it's the only opportunity.

Even if it's a bit awkward, I have to give it a try!
Whether Tong Guan was genuinely looking at the map or just posing, after about half an incense stick's time, he suddenly flung his cloak and turned around.

Beneath his thick eyebrows, a pair of triangular eyes swept over the generals in the tent. "His Majesty's boundless grace is something we can never repay, even with our lives. On both sides of Dingxing Plain, the Xia rebels are constantly reinforcing their troops, and a decisive battle is imminent. I wish to defeat the enemy and destroy Xia to repay His Majesty. You are all pillars of the nation; if you have any good strategies for destroying Xia, please speak freely!"

Upon hearing this, all the generals in the Western Army rolled their eyes inwardly.

This is how the old eunuch always behaves; with the two armies locked in battle at this point, what good strategies could he possibly devise?

It's nothing more than a fight to the death.

If you, Tong Guan, can maintain your current level and obtain provisions and supplies from the court, we can naturally use a slow, ruthless approach to gradually strangle and eliminate our century-old nemesis, the Xia traitor.

I'm not afraid of the enemy's schemes and tricks, but I'm afraid that you, old eunuch, might come up with a brilliant idea and ruin this great situation.

All the Western Army generals kept their mouths shut.

Just as the atmosphere was becoming somewhat somber, a clear and melodious voice suddenly rang out:

"Have!"

"I have a plan!"

(End of this chapter)