You have truly caused me great suffering!

Kim Bu-sik, carrying Chen Shao's promise, rushed back to Goryeo.

He remained completely calm on the way, knowing he couldn't lose because of Jing Jun's support.

In fact, they had long been aware of Tuo Junjing's ambition, which was why this group disagreed with the king coming to Jinling to pay homage.

But later someone suggested that they should simply lure the snake out of its hole, taking advantage of the king's absence to allow them to rebel freely.

Then, taking advantage of their weakened state, everyone completely wiped out the remnants of Tuo Junjing and Li Ziqian's faction.

This move was very risky.

But after receiving support from Da Jing, the situation became less dangerous.

Kim Bu-sik had thought about this a lot before, and he vaguely felt that His Majesty the Great King of Daejeong might have the idea of ​​annexing Goryeo.

But this time, instead of taking advantage of his vulnerability, he selflessly and generously offered his help.

Kim Boo-seok understands Emperor Jing even less now.

His personal thoughts are complex, and his views on Da Jing are even more unpredictable.

Sometimes he would think that he should simply submit to Da Jing, so that he could have a chance to enter Da Jing's central hub.

Sometimes he felt that as a subject of Goryeo, he should be loyal to his country.

Human nature is never static; what Kim Boo-seok thinks now may change completely tomorrow.

But Emperor Jing did remember one thing the king said: "Do your best and then let nature take its course."

One cannot fight against fate!
-
Chen Shaoming had been relaxing all day in the hot spring, but by dusk he felt particularly tired.

He felt that he might have expended too much energy in the past few days, but he was quite excited at the time, and only now is he feeling tired.

Although the North and South were seemingly worlds apart, Chen Shao had been paying close attention to the war.

Moreover, both of these battlefields are protracted wars.

While the reasons for attacking Zhenla were certainly valid, the main objective was actually to take control of the Indochina Peninsula.

Nowadays, some kings in the Indochina Peninsula are either Buddhists or Hindus, and they all seem to be superstitious.

Even though the Great Jing has become this powerful, they cannot show any awe.

For petty gains, they dared to target Dajing's mines and quarries.

Sometimes Chen Shao admired them quite a bit.

If the roles were reversed, and Chen Shao were the ruler of a foreign state, he would have been so terrified by this neighbor that he wouldn't be able to eat a thing of the past.

Looking at the huge map on his desk, Chen Shao's determination to take over the entire Indochina Peninsula became even stronger.

After conquering Jiaozhi and Champa, the Central Plains forces had effectively entered the Indochina Peninsula.

However, there are still some mountains to the west, but if Dali and Zhenla are completely taken over, the entire peninsula will eventually be occupied by Dajing.

Even if it's just a little bit of annual encroachment and consumption, it will eventually run out. At this point, the gap between them and the Great Jing is too huge, and they simply have no ability to resist.

Even without military force, their tribes and villages will gradually submit to them.

Moreover, the Jing army is so warlike.

Even if the imperial court does not approve of war, the border troops will still provoke a war; there is no doubt about that.

Just look at the border troops during the Tang Dynasty.

Chen Shao closed the map, thinking that he needed to get some rest.

Especially this New Year.

All policies and reforms must be steered by oneself.

It is no exaggeration to say that the Great Jing has lost itself. Even though it is now incredibly powerful, the inertia of the past thousand years will still pull the empire back onto the original track of dynastic change.

For two or three hundred years, it went from prosperity to decline and eventually perished.

With this in mind, Chen Shao went to the hot spring pavilion.

Upon entering, a serene and tranquil atmosphere greets you, accompanied by a familiar fragrance.

It was the dead of winter outside, but he was in a warm spring, with a finely woven, semi-transparent straw curtain hanging in front of him, through which he could even admire the mountain scenery.

Seeing water stains beside the bathtub, Chen Shao, half-lying down, asked, "Who has been here?"

The young palace maid, who was scrubbing his forehead with a loofah, wiped her forehead and said, "It's the Empress."

Chen Shao was somewhat surprised, "Huanhuan is taking a bath so early?"

"The Empress invited several distinguished guests to the palace, quickly took a bath, and then left."

Chen Shao's heart skipped a beat, and he whispered, "Go and see who it is. If it is, then..."

The young palace maid blushed and nodded repeatedly, her ears turning bright red.

It felt like I was helping His Majesty steal someone; I felt guilty, but also incredibly excited.

A short while later, a petite figure, carrying deerskin boots and wearing silk stockings, quietly arrived at the hot spring.

She pursed her lips, her eyes filled with deep affection as she looked at Chen Shao.

Compared to the most beautiful princess of the Song Dynasty who once outshone everyone else, Maode now possesses a more refined and elegant air, but a single glance from her bright eyes reveals a captivating charm.

Watching her raise her slender, jade-like hand and gently tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, Chen Shao was momentarily dazed.

With her delicate fingers slightly raised, she gently tossed a strand of hair; such an unintentional little gesture revealed a strong sense of feminine charm.

In his daze, Chen Shao couldn't help but believe that there really are people in this world who are born with a seductive nature.

In this world, beauty is the only thing that truly depends entirely on talent.

Some people are indeed favored by God.

"You're hiding in a place enjoying yourself, and you've forgotten all about us."

Chen Shao pulled her into the water and laughed, "What nonsense are you talking about? Didn't I go back last month?"

Every time he returned to Nanjing, he would visit Baozhen Temple to see his daughter and three female lay Buddhists.

Maode immediately wrapped her arms around his neck. Her body was becoming increasingly voluptuous, fair and smooth, soft and fragrant.
-
As we enter the twelfth lunar month, the festive atmosphere of the Lunar New Year grows stronger.

The streets and alleys were filled with a lively atmosphere.

People gradually grew accustomed to the stable and prosperous days of the Great Jing Dynasty.

The celebrations in Jinling were the most numerous and lively, and many people from nearby prefectures and counties would come to Jinling for a few days if they had relatives in the capital.

If you're lucky, you might even see the emperor.

At this time, the emperor's influence was still unparalleled.

Even emperors like Zhao Ji and Zhao Huan, simply standing on the city wall without doing anything, could greatly boost morale.

Moreover, Chen Shao is a prime example. This year, representatives from various fortresses and strongholds in the eleven prefectures of Dingnan in the northwest have all come to the capital to offer their congratulations to His Majesty.

They were the first people Chen Shao met.

Because there were so many people, Chen Shao chose to return to Jinling and receive them at the Funing Palace.

These fortresses are ideally located, occupying fertile pastures and fields, and guarding the middle of three trade routes.

In addition, their repeated conquests have brought them a large population, and after several years of stability and development, they have become rich and powerful.

The leaders were quite excited when they saw Chen Shao, and led the others to kneel down and pay their respects.

At this time, the closer to the border, the greater the distinction between superiors and inferiors.

In the Central Plains, however, there is no custom of kneeling and kowtowing to pay respects.

"Greetings, Your Majesty!"

Chen Shao laughed heartily, his voice louder than usual during court sessions, "Get up, we're all family."

He walked into the hall and sat down among a group of people, listening to them greet him one by one.

Hearing them introduce themselves stirred up many memories for Chen Shao, and he would occasionally ask a few questions about some old stories from the area.

The group of people from the fortress could feel His Majesty's enthusiasm, which made them especially happy and touched.

His Majesty has not forgotten them.

The person who brought them here was Zhang Tianwang, the transport commissioner of Dingnan Road. Seeing that everyone had finished exchanging pleasantries with His Majesty and that the time was ripe, he coughed lightly.

Surprisingly, everyone around them quieted down.

Chen Shao knew at a glance that they were about to discuss serious matters.

Sure enough, Zhang Tianwang immediately said, "Your Majesty, Yelü Dashi defeated Khwarazm in one battle, annihilating their 30,000-strong army. After two months of fighting, Khwarazm was almost destroyed."

“The Khitans are so brave, and they had some grudges against us in the past. Your Majesty must be wary.” Zhang Tianwang carefully observed Chen Shao’s expression. “Yelü Dashi is a man with great ambitions. He has only just gained a foothold in the west and has been thinking about conquering the east and returning to their old Khitan lands.”

The former territory of the Khitan is now mostly part of the Great Jing Kingdom. Zhang Tianwang's words carried a lot of weight, but Chen Shao knew he was talking nonsense.

This clearly shows that the power in the Northwest is expanding, and they want to seek greater benefits, but looking around, only the Western Liao can fight them.

Yelü Dashi had no intention of returning east; he had already submitted a memorial to the emperor and pledged allegiance. This time, when he attacked Khwarazm, he made a point of sending someone to inform the Great Jing well in advance.

When Yelü Dashi first arrived in the west, he was filled with hatred for his family and country and wanted to return east to take revenge. It was normal for him to fight the Jin soldiers to the death.

But later, he probably also felt the pressure from the east.

The intensity of the war here was beyond what he had brought out, and those defeated soldiers could have participated in.

During the ten-year war between the Dingnan Army and the Jurchens, both sides had a large number of Khitan soldiers. In the Jurchen camp, their role was basically that of cannon fodder and laborers; in the Dajing camp, it was slightly better, as they served as auxiliary troops.

Throughout their rise to power, although the Khitans established the most glorious empire in the north, they were never considered a particularly warlike people.

Among the foreign dynasties that rose in northern China, if we simply compare military strength, the Liao Dynasty founded by the Khitans would definitely rank relatively low.

There are many examples that illustrate this point. For instance, Yelü Abaoji clashed with the Shatuo people who occupied Shanxi many times at the beginning of his reign, and almost never gained the upper hand.

Although Emperor Taizong of Liao once occupied Kaifeng, he was threatened from the flank and rear by Liu Zhiyuan, a Shatuo leader, and had to retreat hastily.

By this time, most of the genuine Shatuo people in the Shatuo army had died out, and the majority of the soldiers were actually Han Chinese from the north.

In 917, Yelü Abaoji personally led the Khitan elite troops to invade Hebei. After breaking through the border, they successfully reached the city of Youzhou. After failing to attack, they resorted to a long-term siege.

For more than 200 days, they were unable to breach the city. Finally, Li Siyuan, a general of the Later Tang Dynasty, led his army to reinforce the city and, together with the defending forces, attacked from both inside and outside, defeating them.

In 944, Emperor Taizong of Liao launched a massive southern campaign against Later Jin, but after three years, he failed to achieve a decisive breakthrough.

Most of the strategically important Hedong region was firmly in the hands of the Shatuo people. The stalemate was finally broken by the surrender of Du Chongwei, the commander-in-chief of the Later Jin dynasty, and they entered the capital Kaifeng without encountering any resistance.

In 992, the Liao Dynasty dispatched an army of 80 men across the border and occupied a large area of ​​Goryeo territory.

However, when they reached the Cheongcheon River defense line, which the Goryeo army had fortified with strongholds, they were unable to break through. The war reached a stalemate and eventually had to end in peace talks.

After the rise of the Later Zhou dynasty, Guo Rong took the initiative to attack the Khitan, capturing Mozhou and Yingzhou, the southernmost of the "Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun," and sent troops to defend them.

This was a thorn in the side for the Liao Dynasty, so they continuously sent troops to invade, hoping to regain lost territory. However, they never succeeded until they signed the Treaty of Chanyuan with the Northern Song Dynasty.

In reality, although the Khitan army had a higher win rate in battles against the Song army, it suffered more defeats in siege warfare.

The reason why the Liao emperor was willing to negotiate peace with the Song Dynasty at Chanyuan on the banks of the Yellow River was that the Khitan army bypassed those heavily fortified cities, such as Dingzhou and Yingzhou. Although they penetrated deep into Song territory, they were trapped in a narrow strip of land surrounded by the Song army from the east and west, and faced the danger of being cut off from retreat.

As a nomadic army, the Khitan army's main force naturally consisted of cavalry, who were skilled in field battles.

However, when facing heavily fortified cities, they have to rely on a large number of infantry and siege equipment such as battering rams, ladders, towers, and catapults.

The former required a large number of Han infantrymen, while the latter required skilled craftsmen. Both could only be selected from Han people in the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun in the south of the Liao Dynasty and the former Bohai Kingdom in the east.

In general, this alien army is very cunning, adept at surprise attacks and maneuvers, and afraid to engage in direct confrontation.

Therefore, when encountering a barbaric race like the Jurchens, they were naturally restrained.

When faced with the Dingnan Army, which was even more mobile than him, he was neither able to fight nor escape.

Even at its peak, this force was unable to penetrate into the heart of the Central Plains.

Now that the Central Plains are so powerful, would they choose to return and fight back?

Chen Shao was the first to disbelieve it.

However, once they reached the west, they truly rose to prominence, becoming invincible and unstoppable.

This is not the first time this has happened; the same scenario has always played out when the defeated northern tribes fled to the west.

The reason Zhang Tianwang and his men were exaggerating the threat posed by the Khitans was simply because they wanted to start a war.
However, the Great Jing Dynasty is currently fighting simultaneously in the north and south. If a battlefield were to be opened in the west as well, the civil officials would probably be furious.

They are already overloaded with the task of coordinating supplies for both the north and south routes, and another person would be completely unable to handle it.

Even if Chen Shao intends to take over the entire Eurasian continent in the future, it's not now.

The time is not yet ripe.

Letting Yelü Dashi fight in the west first to consolidate his power wouldn't be a bad thing.

Look at the Jin Dynasty, a tiny country, which instantly occupied vast territories after destroying the Liao Dynasty.

With such a large territory, it would take them a hundred years to fight, conquer, and establish a management system for the few thousand people of the Wanyan tribe.

The Khitans were truly masters of this.

Seeing that His Majesty was not responding, Zhang Tianwang was somewhat apprehensive, fearing that His Majesty would blame him.

Fortunately, Chen Shao didn't say anything, but simply shifted the topic back to reminiscing about the past, talking about the hardships and glories of the early days of starting a business.

Although Chen Shao did not intend for them to attack Yelü Dashi.

But these fortified villages in the Northwest really need to do something about it. (End of Chapter)