Volume 5 Chapter 15 Autumn Wind
The heat of July.
For the time being, people south of the Yellow River may not feel the temperature change, but here in Yanjing, the passing of summer has been clearly felt.
However, this is probably a good thing.
Because for ordinary people in this era, the heat and cold are still no joke, and still have a bearing on life and death. Of course, although the temperature in spring and autumn is suitable, it is still busy with farming... It is just as hard.
On the other hand, for the real dignitaries of various ethnic groups and some wealthy people in Yanjing City, the change of seasons seems to be a purely good thing.
The weather is clear and the temperature is just right in autumn, which is a good time for scholars to feel sad about autumn and compose two poems to send to the young king in order to plan for the future. Young men of all ethnic groups can also ride horses for autumn hunting and show their bravery in front of Jurchen nobles... Anyway, they don't have to fan themselves all day long.
Back to the present, early in the morning of that day, Qin Hui, who had changed into a horse-riding outfit, came out of his house. In the open space in front of the door, there were already dozens of servants and family servants, plus more than a dozen Han warriors. When they saw their master coming out, they split into two again... The former, after the master nodded, took several vehicles of different shapes and went directly to the north of the city, while the latter, who were generally wearing leather armor, followed Qin Xianggong on horseback, and then went to the direction of the Shangshu Terrace with a crowd of people following them.
Along the way, similar teams with mounted warriors and their entourage kept appearing. When they saw Qin Huizhi, who was the prime minister of the dynasty, a close confidant of the King of Wei, and who was always kind to others, not only ordinary officials and Han people, but even some generals and senior officials of Jurchen origin were very polite. They all made way for him, gave way to him, and even followed him.
During this period, Qin Huizhi first ran into the brothers Wulinda Zanmo, the Minister of Rites, and Wulinda Taiyu, the captain of the army, then met Han Fang, the Hanlin scholar, and finally, as expected, ran into Hong Ya, the chief imperial secretary of the capital province, and Zheng Xiunian, the vice minister of the Ministry of Rites, who were waiting on the way. A group of people gathered, some like Wulinda with nearly a hundred armored knights, and some like Zheng Xiunian with seven or eight leather armored followers, almost blocking the entire street.
"Wulin answered the minister."
After walking a few more steps, Qin Hui, who was riding in the middle, looked around and smiled. "There are too many of us, why not stretch the team out and walk on the right side to avoid blocking anyone's way?"
Hearing this, Wulinda Zanmo had not yet responded, but his brother, Wanhu Wulinda Taiyu, was the first to disagree: "Prime Minister Qin is very good, but he is too cautious... We are walking, and when the kings come, we naturally have to dismount and avoid them. But if it weren't for the kings, who are we afraid of?"
These words were very convincing coming from Wulinda Taiyu's mouth.
You know, as a vassal of the Wanyan clan, the Wulinda clan was considered to be a branch of Wanyan Nianhan because it was Wanyan Nianhan who was responsible for the annexation from the beginning. However, they had their own tribe after all, so they were one of the pillars of the Wanyan regime quite early on. The fall of Nianhan did not seriously affect the status of their clan.
On the contrary, having killed all the male members of Nianhan's family and driven away the king and his son, in order to maintain stability, the three Aguda sons and their children instead tried to win over the rather representative Wulinda clan.
For example, Wulinda Zanmo, the actual leader of the Wulinda clan, was married to the wet nurse of Nianhan's grandson, so he was inevitably a little panicked after the change in the Secretariat. However, it was Qin Huizhi's suggestion that arranged a marriage between the eldest son of Wanyan Erlido, the former Third Prince and today's King of Jin, and Wulinda Zanmo's daughter.
From then on, Wulinda became the core pillar of Aguda's direct power.
And since they have become one of them, Wulinda has actually made another step forward recently... It turns out that the matter started with the change in the Secretariat. After Nianhan surrendered and promoted Wanyan Balisu to be the actual commander of the Western Army and the garrison commander of Taiyuan as promised, in order to prevent the power of Yin Shuke and his brothers from becoming too powerful, and also to retaliate against Yin Shuke's hesitation in the Secretariat at that time, Yin Shuke's post as the garrison commander of Yanjing was "naturally" lost after Yanjing became the only capital.
Therefore, in the Yanjing area, only the other four Heza Meng'ans of the Great Jin Kingdom were used as the base, plus the original Yin Shuke's old subordinates to form the base of a royal guard, and no additional troops were stationed.
However, just two months ago, Wulindatai, a commander of the Eastern Army stationed in Zhending Prefecture, who was born in the Wulinda clan, wanted to get an imperial decree and transferred his talents directly to the south of Yanjing City to set up a large camp. He seemed to be replacing Wanyan Yinshuke and becoming the new chief of the garrison in Yanjing.
Theoretically, no one should be afraid of such a prominent family.
However, no matter how fearful he was, the leader of the Wulinda clan, Wulinda Zanmo, was a diplomatic worker after all, and was much better at dealing with people than his brothers. After a moment's thought, he interrupted his brothers who were still complaining, and then turned around and ordered his soldiers to make way.
What’s interesting is that not long after they made way, dozens of Jurchen armored cavalrymen actually galloped past them from behind, and without even looking at this group of Yanjing dignitaries, they directly overtook them halfway.
Everyone was completely stunned at first, but they quickly reacted and saw the flag. The person who had just passed by was none other than Wulinda Zanmo's mortal enemy Wendun Sizhong... Considering this man's temperament, qualifications, and status as the Fourth Prince's confidant, it would have been unreasonable for him not to take such action when he saw Wulinda's flag in front of him.
However, unlike Wulindatai who was furious and Zheng Xiunian who was trembling with fear, the other four people, namely Qin Hui, Hong Ya, Han Fang and Wulinda Zanmo, looked at each other in confusion after they came to their senses.
It’s simple. Wen Dunsizhong shouldn’t be in Yanjing—he has been exiled to Hezhong Prefecture for a full year.
If this kind of person returns to Yanjing at this time, I'm afraid something might happen in the court!
However, being in public, and with everyone's different positions, it was difficult to communicate, so he could only suppress all his doubts, force a smile, and then arrive at the Shangshu Terrace on time.
When we got here, we saw that the Shangshu Terrace was already crowded with people, with ceremonial guards, soldiers, and flags everywhere, and the dignitaries of Yanjing could be seen everywhere.
Of course, Qin Huizhi and his group did not have to wait outside at all. Instead, they abandoned their guards and entered the Shangshu Terrace. They went directly into the main hall of the Shangshu Terrace and paid homage to the king and two of the three ruling kings.
Immediately, Wanyan Erlido, the Prime Minister of the Prince of Jin's Capital Province, and Wanyan Wushu, the Prime Minister of the Prince of Wei's Central Government, invited the king, who was also dressed in military uniform, to leave the hall.
The three uncles and nephews came outside the hall and mounted their horses directly on the open space outside the hall. Then the Deputy Prime Minister of the Capital Province Wanyan Xiyin, the Deputy Envoy of the Privy Council Qin Hui, as well as Wanyan Yinshuke, Wanyan Talan, Wanyan Wuye, Wanyan Pujianu, Wulinda Zanmo, Wulinda Taiyu, Han Fang, Hong Ya... and many other Jurchen nobles , senior central officials, and even middle-level civil and military officials like Zheng Xiunian, also mounted their horses and surrounded the three of them. The emperor was slightly in front, and the two kings lagged behind by half a horse's length, and then they left the Secretariat together.
When they came outside, the chiefs of various tribes, dignitaries of Yanjing, and military officers of all levels who were waiting there drew their swords and cheered.
In the end, under the leadership of Hezhameng'an, the emperor, they gradually became united. They first shouted together, "May the king live to be 120 years old!" and then they shouted, "May His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin and His Royal Highness the Prince of Wei be blessed, the former will never get sick, and the latter will never be injured."
After a while, the two Heza Meng'ans led the way, and people from all families and tribes brought their warriors to follow them. They walked along the main road in Yanjing City, all the way north and out of Yanjing City.
Then, the logistics team waiting outside the city also caught up in due time. At this time, Wulinda Taiyu also left the team early, bypassed the west of the city, and caught up with the emperor with the five Meng'an who had been prepared long ago, and went north with him.
It turned out that the former young king had his birthday in early autumn, and after this birthday, he was already fifteen years old. Since he was fifteen years old, as the emperor of the Great Jin Dynasty, which founded its country on military force, he had to show some bravery.
Today, everyone is making such a fuss because they are preparing to accompany the Great Jin Emperor on his first trip to the capital for the autumn hunt.
In order to ensure the success of this autumn hunting, Wanyan Woben, the King of Liao, the Grand Tutor and Prime Minister, who was half responsible for the upbringing of this king, led the remaining two Heza Meng'ans out of the pass early to make preparations.
The so-called Prime Minister of the Jin Prince's capital province, Wanyan Erlido, also turned back directly after leaving the city ten miles away.
Finally, King Wei Wanyan Wushu assisted the king and led a large autumn hunting team all the way north. The first stop of their autumn hunting destination was not the old capital of the Jin Dynasty, Dading Prefecture, or Liaoyang Prefecture in the northeast, but the old capital of the Liao Dynasty, Linhuang Prefecture, commonly known as Shangjing.
That is Yelu Dashi’s hometown.
In fact, this move is somewhat inevitable... In the past, the Liao emperor kept visiting the Jurchen leaders to express his condolences for the sake of national stability. Today, the Jurchen emperor must also visit the Khitan leaders to express his condolences for the sake of national stability.
It's a matter of reciprocity.
Especially at this moment, considering the increasing activity and growth of the Mongols to the west of Linhuang Prefecture, and considering the strong diplomatic encirclement alliance policy of Emperor Zhao to the south, going there at this time should greatly deter the Eastern Mongolian King Hebula and the Khitan tribes of Linhuang Prefecture, as well as those fence-sitters caught between the Eastern Mongolian Alliance under Hebula and Linhuang Prefecture.
It was a clear and cool autumn day, the Jurchen cavalry were still famous and their military discipline was still in place. In addition, this was the first time that the king, at the age of fifteen, had worn military uniforms and had great political significance. Therefore, few people dared to cause trouble on the journey north.
So within a few days, the imperial carriage arrived safely at Xinghua (now Chengde), an important place outside the Great Wall, and stationed on the banks of the Luan River.
That evening, Wei Wang Wanyan Wushu presided over a "royal military meeting" and decided to abandon the northeastern Dading Prefecture and directly follow the open area of the upper reaches of the Luan River to Linhuang Prefecture... There are three reasons:
First, to prevent such a large group from entering busy areas and disturbing people, especially the autumn harvest;
Secondly, the open area in the upper reaches of the Luan River is suitable for marching and hunting;
Thirdly, it would be easier to intimidate the Mongols by going west, and it would be easier to intimidate the Khitans by quickly reaching Linhuang Prefecture.
His Royal Highness the Prince of Wei speaks very logically, who dares to object?
Naturally, they all passed.
It must be known that since Wanyan Wushu retreated from Xijing in disgrace last year, many old-school dignitaries outside the Great Wall took the opportunity to attack His Royal Highness the King of Wei under the banner of tribal democracy... However, no one expected that not only the generals of the Eastern Route Army, who had always been the direct descendants of the three Wanyan brothers, but also the generals of the Western Route Army would support Wanyan Wushu.
Following Balisu, the generals of the Western Army, along with the generals of the Eastern Army, wrote a letter to express their opinions. The gist of the letter was that it was not the King of Wei's fault this time. It was just that the emperor of the Zhao Song Dynasty on the opposite side was a scheming person. He happened to seize the moment when the Great Jin Kingdom was preparing for a strategic retreat, and took advantage of the fact that the Great Jin Kingdom was unable to make up its mind to cross the river for a decisive battle, and launched a large-scale attack, making it seem as if the Song people on the opposite side had taken a great advantage.
In fact, those places were the useless ones that the country was ready to give up.
The only problem was Xixia. We should have handed these useless things over to Xixia and then secured the flanks, but Xixia committed suicide and it was too late to save them.
In a word, His Royal Highness the Prince of Wei did not make any mistakes, and the Western Army was still brave, but his teammates were too bad and the opponent was too cunning.
Even Wanyan Huo Nu, who returned to Hedong, wrote a letter to express her approval of Wanyan Wushu... This is understandable, because Wanyan Wushu originally went out to solve Huo Nu's separatist problem, and he remained tolerant of Huo Nu throughout the process, which was almost equivalent to pardoning Huo Nu's separatist behavior several times.
Although Wanyan Huo Nu did not know what the seven captures and seven releases meant, she was somewhat convinced and grateful.
Since the East and West Field Armies all expressed their support, those outside the Great Wall were incapable of doing anything even if they were sarcastic. Moreover, they were arguing for tribal democracy, which angered the young king, the local forces in Yanyun who took advantage of the new king's ascension to the throne, and Qin Hui and other surrendered people.
Therefore, after some trouble, it was exactly the opposite of what those people thought, because of the support of the army, local forces in the Yanyun area and surrendered people, and the fact that one of the three brothers, King Jin Wanyan Erlido, was becoming more and more devout in Buddhism, and his health was gradually deteriorating like Wanyan Loushi's generation, the actual power of King Wei Wanyan Wushu increased instead of decreased.
Back to that night, the military meeting was passed without any surprise, and the central government officials naturally returned to their camps to rest.
By this time, people like Hong Ya and Zheng Xiunian, who were not used to long-distance marches with the army, were already exhausted and simply lay down.
But Qin Hui, the deputy envoy of the Privy Council, was an exception. When he was young, he was nicknamed Qin Changjiao. Later, he was captured by the north, so he was used to the bumpy ride early. So after he returned, instead of resting, he called up several of his servants and guards, and patrolled the camp with lanterns and torches, regardless of the rising autumn wind... Whenever he saw someone in need of something, he would always find a way to help; when he saw someone who was wronged on the road, he would always comfort them... After a round, he could talk to the Jurchens, the Han people of Yanyun, the Bohai people, the Xi people, and the Khitan people.
However, after completing the inspection and returning to his own tent, Minister Qin was surprised to find that someone had come to his tent early and was waiting for him, and must have been waiting for a long time.
That’s right, the person who came was none other than one of the most powerful people in the world today—Wanyan Wushu, the King of Wei and Prime Minister of the Great Jin Dynasty.
"Mr. Qin, have you read all the reports from the south?"
Wanyan Wushu, who was reading the official newspaper, sat on Qin Hui's couch without any hesitation. He raised his head after hearing the noise. Under the light, his white face with a slight beard was facing Qin Hui.
"Of course I have seen it."
Facing the increasingly imposing Wanyan Wushu, Qin Hui bowed carefully, then calmly but cautiously sat down on a stool opposite his bed.
"What does Prime Minister Qin think?" Wuzhu put down the report and asked seriously.
"I think that the official in the south is indeed a brave and powerful ruler, but he is a little too anxious. This time, many things he did were actually a bit treacherous and not like what a wise ruler would do..." Qin Hui said sincerely.
"What is the evil way?" Wushu continued to ask seriously.
"The so-called trickery means taking shortcuts by using deceitful tactics." Qin Huizhi was still sincere.
"Is this a trick?" Wuzhu pointed to the bedside and reported, but still could not ask any more questions.
"Of course it is." Qin Huizhi insisted. "For the sake of thirty million taels, he would do anything he could, how could that not be a trick?"
Wuzhu frowned slightly but said nothing.
Perhaps seeing what Wushu was thinking, Qin Xianggong took the initiative to explain: "However, these things in the court report are only considered trickery for Emperor Zhao, because he is the emperor of a great country, commanding hundreds of millions of people. If it were done by someone else, it would not be considered trickery... Even here, only when the king reaches adulthood can it be considered trickery."
Wuzhu raised his eyebrows slightly and nodded slowly, but he was still a little confused: "Does the emperor of a great country have to govern the country in an upright manner like an upright soldier?"
"That's right." Qin Hui didn't hesitate at all. "Because the most important thing for an emperor of a great country is his identity as an emperor. With this identity, the most important thing is that everyone in the world recognizes this identity... For example, Emperor Zhao was in a panic during the Jingkang period, almost like a dog that had lost its home, but once he took power, Li Gang, Lu Haowen, Han Shizhong, and Zhang Jun followed him. Killing Huang Qianshan was like killing a fly, and killing Liu Guangshi was like killing a chicken... Why? It's because he is the emperor of the Song Dynasty, the emperor! Everyone recognizes his identity!"
Wuzhu nodded repeatedly: "I understand what you mean... The Song Dynasty is too big, with too many scholars and civilians, and its own power is too mixed. If you want to mobilize its power to do things, no method can be more useful than his official status in the long run, so maintaining prestige is the most reasonable and appropriate method... And his actions, selling his private property, snatching maritime business, and the things that Jin Bushi personally said about forcing envoys and forcing transactions from Goryeo, although they can quickly raise some money, they will hurt his prestige. In the long run, it is not worth the loss. Is that what you mean?"
"The King of Wei is wise." Qin Hui nodded quickly.
"But, what if he managed to collect 30 million guan in a short period of time, and then launched a northern expedition directly, and the northern expedition was successful in the end?" Wuzhu suddenly frowned. "His current prestige as an emperor is mostly gained on the battlefield, right? He spent some of it, exchanged it for some silver, and then went to war again. If he wins again, then he doesn't have to worry about his long-term prestige?"
"What the King of Wei said is absolutely right." Qin Hui seemed to have expected this question, but he asked back while twirling his beard. "But what if he loses? Wouldn't he have to pay back the money with interest?"
"So, the outcome will have to be decided on the battlefield?" Wuzhu frowned even more. "But why do I feel like Mr. Qin has said nothing after all his talk?"
"The King of Wei is joking." Qin Hui shook his head and smiled bitterly. "I'm already on the wanted list in the south. I share the glory and disgrace with the Jin Dynasty. Why should I bother with the King of Wei? In contrast, I have a question for His Royal Highness the King of Wei... Your Highness knows about military affairs. Do you think it's better for the Song army to cross the river earlier and when they are weaker, or later and when they are stronger? Doesn't the king want the enemy to come earlier?"
Wanyan Wushu remained silent about this seemingly simple answer and remained silent for a long time.
After a long time, the King of Wei, the ruling force of the Jin Dynasty, spoke slowly on the couch: "To be honest, I was determined to reform the military system before, hoping to restore the strength of the Jurchen army. But these days, when I tried to do this, I found that I had to do many other things first, and it involved too many things... and the south was so pressing, I really hesitated... You say, if I try my best to change it, but fail, and make people panic, and the south crosses the river, wouldn't it be counterproductive? And if I don't change it, I will see the south getting stronger and stronger, while my family is getting more and more chaotic, wouldn't I just sit there and wait for death?"
"Fourth Prince, this is a situation where great powers are fighting to the death. If there is even the slightest mistake, there will be no recovery... Please give up the idea of the Jin Dynasty dominating the world and taking whatever it wants." Qin Hui changed his address at the right time. "The south also has similar difficulties! You and Zhao Jiu from Cangzhou are actually fair this time!"
Wushu was slightly startled.
Qin Hui also lowered his voice and became completely serious: "Besides, why should we think about what will happen three years later? The current situation is that the official in the south is just like before, and he will do his job regardless of whether it is by trickery or the right way! And what about the fourth prince? Is he just going to wait here?"
Wuzhu finally let out a long sigh, but he stroked the couch and said with a sigh: "Why would I just wait? Although I was hesitant in my heart, I was watching and didn't dare to stop for a moment... The south wanted to expand the army, so I set up a signing army as a reserve, and also tried to recruit the Jurchens from outside the Great Wall to set up a new army; the south wanted to form an alliance, so I also sent envoys to Eastern Mongolia and summoned envoys from Goryeo to counter it; the south wanted to send troops to suppress the Jiangnan Taoism, so I prepared this autumn hunt to suppress the rear; the south has so many tricks to build wealth, and I am also ready to bite the bullet and clean up those Meng'an and Mouke in the two rivers who are getting more and more assholes... After returning from Xijing, I dare not hesitate for a moment, and I dare not be at ease for a moment!"
Qin Hui nodded repeatedly: "We all see how hard the King of Wei works."
Seeing this, Wanyan Wushu finally stopped staying and stood up and said, "Mr. Qin, you have worked hard, go to bed early... It is I who forbade you to bring maids with you, please don't mind, Mr. Qin!"
Qin Hui stood up and immediately smiled bitterly: "Even if the King of Wei allowed me to bring a maid, how could I bring one?"
Wanyan Wushu, who had already stood up, was slightly stunned, and then he remembered something. He said no more, but walked out with his hands behind his back. Qin Hui followed closely behind him, ready to see him off.
However, when he was about to leave the tent, Wuzhu suddenly turned back and said calmly: "I'm afraid that the autumn hunt this time, Mr. Qin, will be very strenuous... Now that your family business is quite big, I will give you twenty soldiers, and you can keep them under your tent."
Qin Hui was startled for a moment, then realized something and immediately lowered his head in response.
The autumn wind gradually picked up in July, and the night was peaceful and uneventful.
