You have truly caused me great suffering!

The setting sun casts a golden glow, and twilight descends.

On the drill ground of the Beijing garrison, Chen Shao, Han Shizhong, Wu Jie, and Meizang Pangge sat on wooden stakes.

They were discussing military training, and everyone was expressing their opinions. Chen Shao was also busy.

The surrounding area was filled with soldiers who had just finished their drills and were about to disperse.

They were all somewhat excited as they watched the emperor from afar.

After all, those around the emperor were once just common soldiers like them.

Chen Shao had never trained troops; he was very lucky to have inherited Liu Fa's legacy after his defeat.

It's like arriving on the battlefield after a bloody battle between several powerful cultivators and finding some kind of divine weapon.

His initial team was quite strong, and they were able to withstand Richard's attacks, which was indeed due to morale, but it was definitely not solely due to morale.

When Yang Cheng saw the critical situation and that Chen Shao and his men were fighting tirelessly, he wanted to lead the refugees who had fled there to defend the city, but Chen Shao refused.

Because he had already discovered that this group of so-called 'desperate soldiers' had extremely high combat skills.

Bringing ordinary people up would not only be useless, but would also easily demoralize the population.

The men he gathered were his loyal followers; he didn't need to train them from scratch.

However, Chen Shao also had his own insights into training troops.

He believed that the key to training soldiers lay in one word—strictness.

A disciplined military force is bound to be a strong military, and vice versa.

The best way to maintain strict military discipline is to make the soldiers willing to comply.

Make them want something, feel good in the military, and fear being discharged.

There are two ways to achieve this. One is to strengthen education and elevate their thinking.

This approach is not feasible at the moment.

Secondly, there's the issue of shared interests; the many benefits within the military make them reluctant to be discharged.

This is exactly what Da Jing is currently working on.

Military masters like Yue Fei and Qi Jiguang all followed the same approach:
The benefits of ordinary soldiers joining Yue Fei's or Qi Jiguang's armies were tangible—their pay was in full without deductions, they were richly rewarded for their military achievements, they received compensation for those who died in battle, and their families were protected. They were among the few regular elite soldiers in ancient times who could "make a living by joining the army," rather than being exploited cannon fodder.

The monthly salary of an ordinary imperial guard in the Southern Song Dynasty was about 800 wen, while soldiers in Yue Fei's army usually received 2 guan (2000 wen). Moreover, Yue Fei strictly investigated officers who were receiving salaries without working or withholding rations, ensuring that every penny of the money issued by the court reached the soldiers.

明中叶卫所兵月饷名义仅0.3～0.4两且常拖欠，戚家军招募即发安家费（3～5两白银），月饷约1.3～1.5两按时足额发放，高于当时明军精锐家丁标准。

Because the Great Jing Dynasty was wealthy and had a system in place that prevented military officers from embezzling military pay.

This is the secret to the Jing army's high combat effectiveness, which is why every general in the Jing army is now like Yue Fei.

Military officers also gained greater benefits from winning battles. Compared to that, embezzling a small amount of military pay, which carried the risk of execution, was something few people would do.

Of course, there are also stubborn ones. Last year, the South China Sea Fleet arrested six of them; in the Western Expeditionary Army, some soldiers also reported and caught some fools.

After all, many military generals from the former Song Dynasty joined the Jing Army, and they felt that drinking the blood of soldiers was a matter of course, so it was normal that they couldn't change their ways in a short time.

As more and more people are arrested and killed, this trend will naturally change over time.

Chen Shao's suggestion to build an academy specifically to teach military strategy puzzled Han Shizhong and Wu Jie.

They believed that war was something you had to learn on the battlefield, and they all started learning from the lowest ranks of soldiers.

But as Chen Shao explained, they nodded more and more frequently.

The Great Jing Dynasty no longer needs generals who can fight like gods; instead, it needs generals who are well-behaved and don't make fatal mistakes.

The Jing army now has an advantage wherever it goes; where it goes depends entirely on its supply and transportation of materials.

Moreover, heroes are as numerous as carp crossing a river. Not to mention the academy, no matter when, if you gather more than a hundred people, you can find several talented individuals.

Their talent might not be apparent in everyday life, but once it's unleashed, it can unleash unimaginable energy.

The talent of a single county is enough to sweep across the world; this is not an exaggeration, but a conclusion drawn from the weighty history books.

Chen Shao patiently explained, "When we are strong, we must strive to minimize casualties in war. Nowadays, most of our wars are long-distance expeditions, and military officers at all levels must also take responsibility along the voyage."

“Manage your soldiers to keep them clean and free from malaria, plague, miasma, beriberi, and fleas. These things kill our soldiers just as badly as the enemy.”

Han Shizhong was somewhat surprised. He knew Chen Shao's background best. His Majesty had been the supply officer since the day he joined the army, and he had bought his own merit.

He has never told anyone about this.

How can he be so clear about the affairs of the lower-ranking soldiers? It must take a lot of effort.

Thinking of this, a sense of respect welled up in his heart.

Having reached his current position, Han Shizhong no longer thinks about such things. His complaints about his environment when he was a lowly soldier seem as distant as a past life to him.

But His Majesty is able to understand the military situation at the grassroots level.

If we follow His Majesty's suggestion and make these matters part of the responsibilities inherent to their positions, assigning them to mid- to low-ranking military officers, then we can indeed reduce many casualties.

In war, those who are actually killed on the battlefield are never the majority of casualties.

Unless it's a death battle or a bloody battle on the scale of the Dingnan Army and the Jurchen Tartars.

After fighting wars all his life, can't he finally enjoy himself?
The answer is that Han Shizhong can, but Chen Shao cannot.

After destroying Xia and Jin, Han Shizhong had completed his mission; he had done more than enough.

But Chen Shao had other things to do.

With great power comes great responsibility; this is exactly the case.

Chen Shao had a vision a thousand years ahead of his time; he absolutely could not be an ordinary emperor who could simply enjoy the rest of his life.

If Chen Shao wanted to have some fun, he could completely let loose.

Even if he were to create a grand version of the "wine pool and meat forest" in Jinling, everyone would say: "Truly a heroic emperor, he is a first-rate romantic."

In the eighth year of Jianwu, the imperial court began to elevate the status and reputation of military personnel, especially soldiers.

By the tenth year of Jianwu, preparations began to be made to establish a military officer training academy to improve the quality of middle and lower-ranking military officers.

These things may seem like they were all done on a whim by Chen Shao, but upon closer examination, they were all driven by the circumstances.

When the time comes, we must do the right thing; only in this way can we maintain his new policies.

The new policy that Chen Shao painstakingly created has already proven its correctness through its achievements.

They conquered as far west as the Caspian Sea, took over Korea, Japan, and Ryukyu to the east, conquered the entire Southeast Asia to the south, and brought everything north, except for the extremely cold regions, under their control.

What else do you want?
The fear now is that bad people might sabotage the new policies.

Soon, this discussion on the training ground, like other important matters of the Great Jing Dynasty, became a situation where Chen Shao spoke while others listened.

Over the years, everything His Majesty insisted on doing has proven to be the right thing to do.

Everyone gets used to it. If His Majesty only inquires slightly and doesn't insist, then you can argue your case.

His Majesty might just accept your advice humbly and won't hold it against you afterwards; he might even think more highly of you.

But if he insists on doing something, you shouldn't stop him, otherwise he might bring up past grievances.

Chen Shao generally doesn't interfere forcefully in other matters, but usually in issues involving official systems and people's livelihoods, as he is quite opinionated.

For example, the implementation of progressive taxation and land surveying led the usually magnanimous emperor to exile 200,000 people in one go and kill Wei Li, the prime minister who had followed him in establishing the dynasty.

Because this was a crucial step in breaking the vicious cycle of land annexation, Chen Shao could not tolerate any dissent.

When he wanted to bring artisans into the fold, he only encountered sporadic resistance from the civil service.

There was no way around it; this emperor was too powerful. After exiling hundreds of thousands of aristocratic families, he immediately dispersed his close associates and settled 80,000 households in the most prosperous areas of the Central Plains.

Eighty thousand gentry, loyal to him, occupied the most fertile areas.

This is not 80,000 people, but 80,000 households, each of whom is a small landowner. After they settle down, their clans and families will move in to reunite, and their farmhands will come to seek refuge. They have people, money, and food, and their fighting strength is exceptionally fierce. They have just destroyed the invincible Jurchen Jin Dynasty.

Who dares to defy the emperor?
After finalizing the plan to establish a military academy, Chen Shao finalized some details. By then, it was completely dark.

The outskirts of Nanjing are still bustling at night, but the area around the military camp is relatively quiet.

Chen Shao did not join them for the banquet, but obediently returned to the capital.

With his trip imminent, he knew he wouldn't see many of his family members for a year or two, so he wanted to spend quality time with them.
-
Guazhou Camp.

There is good news and bad news.

The bad news is that I won't be able to go home anytime soon.

The good news is that everyone can wait until the day the emperor goes on his tour and follow him back to his hometown in Shandong.

Their final mission was to escort the royal dragon ships at sea.

The route for His Majesty's tour has been basically finalized: starting from Jinling, traveling around Jiangnan, and then heading by sea to Goryeo and Liaodong.

Then we'll go to the northern border and western Liao, making a huge loop.

This trip will take at least a year.

Although we would be setting off a little later, the camp in Guazhou was as festive as if it were Chinese New Year.

People praised General Li Yanqi.

As expected of General Li, who has a powerful background, he got the job after just one trip.

After escorting His Majesty on this voyage, my family genealogy will be dedicated to this mission.

And there's even better news: their merits and awards have already been reported.

It is said that fertile land is being allocated to everyone based on the records above.

After escorting His Majesty, we can return to our hometown and live a peaceful and prosperous life.

If we start counting from when they settled in Korea, they spent ten years wandering overseas and then fought for five years.

All the hard work over the years has been worth it!

Li Yanqi herself was also confused.

Inside the large tent, the candlelight flickered, and Li Yanqi held the imperial edict, having lost count of how many times he had read it.

Thinking back to how he had submitted memorials more than once, saying that he would pacify Japan within a year, especially during the period of the great victory at Fujikawa.

He was truly full of confidence.

He felt that Japan was like a clay sculpture that he could easily kick and destroy.

At that time, His Majesty kept replying that he should guard against arrogance and impetuosity, proceed steadily, and not be impatient for quick results.

At that time, Li Yanqi only felt that His Majesty was too cautious.

There's no need to take it so seriously; I'll conquer the whole of Japan very soon.

He was then dragged on for five years.

Unexpectedly, His Majesty not only did not blame me, but also gave me such a respectable task.

His Majesty
Li Yanqi put the imperial edict away, intending to pass it down as a family heirloom.

The commotion in the camp should have been a major taboo, but tonight all the generals chose to pretend not to hear it.
-
The sound of horses' hooves clattered, and the ruts of carts were shallow. A group of people and horses slowly traveled south along an ancient official road that ran through the Central Plains.

The majestic city walls of Luoyang are now in sight. The city has become somewhat desolate in recent years, but it remains the first choice for many dignitaries to retire in.

Inside a blue-draped carriage in the middle of the procession, retired official Zhang Suo and Fu Liang were playing chess.

“Lord Ji, you have accompanied this old man on his long and arduous journey. Please stay at my humble abode for a few days so that I may do my best to be a good host.” Zhang placed a piece on the board and looked at Xie Qian.

"I appreciate your kind offer, Brother Sanzi, but I am eager to return home and cannot afford to linger on the road. I will come to bother you again when I have more time."

Although both resigned from their official posts, Zhang did not choose to return to his hometown, but instead went to live in Luoyang.

When Zonghan and Zongwang led their armies south, during the brief period when Li Gang held power, he promoted them both to the court.

Zhang Suo was appointed as the Pacification Commissioner of Hebei West Circuit; Fu Liang was appointed as the Military Commissioner of Hedong Circuit.

Hedong was originally Chen Shao's territory, so it was no surprise that Fu Liang was immediately imprisoned upon arrival.

Not long after, he took the initiative to integrate into Hedong and joined Chen Shao.

As for Zhang Suo, he made significant contributions to history. He promoted Wang Yan to the position of Commander-in-Chief and exceptionally promoted Yue Fei to the position of Commander, leading 7,000 troops to advance into Weizhou and other places, intending to relieve the Jin army's threat to Tokyo and Xijing. Not long after, Li Gang was dismissed from his post as Chancellor, and Zhang Suo was demoted to Lingnan. While passing through Jinghu South Road, he was killed by Yang Yao and Zhong Xiang, who had started a rebellion.

Later, Yue Fei avenged him and spent a lot of effort to finally find Zhang Suo's son, Zhang Zongben, "instructing him in Confucian studies, providing him with proper food and lodging, and placing him on the right side of the other sons."

Now that Li Gang has assigned him to Hebei, he has discovered that there is no place for him in Hebei at all.

Tong Guan exploited the land here, raising money to redeem Youyan, leaving nine out of ten houses empty and countless families broken and dead.

Then Qu Duan took them all down.

Zhang Suo then joined the Dingnan Army.

From Li Gang's perspective at the time, it was indeed a desperate situation; the heroes and valiant men of the world had become utterly disillusioned with the Song Dynasty.

Especially after the failed campaign against Liao.

It should be noted that Xiao Gan and Yelü Dashi, who were like war gods who had routed them, were completely powerless against the Jurchen soldiers.

They couldn't help but admire Chen Shao, the Han hero who was able to defeat the Jurchens.

Although they were all promoted by Li Gang to resist the Jurchens externally and guard against Chen Shao internally, it seems that only Zong Ze did not defect to Chen Shao from beginning to end.

Even Yue Fei, who seemed relatively loyal and upright, joined Chen Shao in Tanzhou.

When he arrived at Gubeikou with Zong Ze's last troops, he had already declared that the Song Dynasty was completely hopeless.

Although that force was no match for the Dingnan Army, it was the most likely to protect the Song Dynasty. (End of Chapter)