Volume 5 Chapter 16 Autumn Fire
Nothing happened that night, so the huge autumn hunting team set out from Xinghua and continued to head north along the Luan River, but they stopped for a while in the wilderness between the upper reaches of the Luan River and the upper reaches of the Luoma River... This is a natural hunting ground, and the prey is at its fattest stage of the year.
Therefore, a massive hunting campaign was naturally launched on the spot, which not only made this autumn hunting activity worthy of its name, but also raised everyone's mood to a higher level.
On that day, the fifteen-year-old Jin Emperor Wanyan Hela rode out on his horse, drew his bow and shot into the sky first, marking the beginning of this great hunt.
Under the leadership of the king, all the civil and military ministers, tribal nobles also came forward enthusiastically... There was no need to say much about the minority officials who were originally fishermen, hunters, riders and archers. Even the Deputy Envoy of the Privy Council, Qin Xianggong, hit the target with one arrow and shot a weasel in front of the emperor, which attracted the king Wanyan Hela's praise in public.
However, the real climax of the hunting activity occurred in the evening of the third day.
In the evening of that day, everyone counted the prey and were shocked to find that the king Wanyan Hela, who was only fifteen years old, had shot and killed 127 rabbits in three days!
This was a remarkable thing. It was not just that the king, at such a young age, was better at shooting rabbits than the Zhao Song official in the south, nor was it about how this move by the king demonstrated the great fishing and hunting tradition of the Jin royal family... The key point was that the young king easily used these prey to severely fight back against the rumors. He was not the so-called "Han boy" as the rumors said!
Even though he looked like a Han Chinese, dressed like a Han Chinese, and spoke like a Han Chinese, he was still essentially a Jurchen! Otherwise, how could he have gotten so many prey?
It is impossible to say that he was not hunting alone during those three days, but that Emperor Shizu Wanyan Helibo and Emperor Taizu Wanyan Aguda were possessed by him, right?
If he is really possessed, it would prove that the king is a great man sent from heaven, with blood of the White Mountains and Black Waters, and is blessed by his ancestors!
Similar remarks reached a climax after the subsequent imperial reward ceremony.
In this segment, the king first announced on the spot the establishment of a royal guard army directly under his command, and then used this as an excuse to promote a large number of young men of various ethnic groups who had outstanding performance in hunting to serve as his attendants; and for the elderly and those with official titles, he rewarded them with large amounts of gold, silver, horses, and property; that’s not all, the real drama is yet to come... Under the suggestion of Wei King Wanyan Wushu, the young king conferred titles of kingship on a large scale on the spot!
It was really a large-scale ennobling of kings! Dozens of kings were given out in one day!
Not only the dozen or so uncles of the king were awarded the title of king, many ministers who had made contributions to the establishment of the dynasty in the past also became so-called kings... Wanyan Yinshu became the King of Shu, Wanyan Talan became the King of Lu, Wanyan Pujianu became the King of Wu, Wanyan Xiyin became the King of Chen... There were also many deaths, the former heir who died, Wanyan Xie was posthumously named the King of Yan, Wuliebu, who presided over the Jingkang Change, was posthumously named the King of Song, Lou Shi was posthumously named the King of Yue... Even the sons of the former king who were driven away were not left out, Wuqimai's eldest son Wanyan Puluhu was named the King of Dai, and his other sons also had the title of king. Then the king publicly issued the ceremonial guards and rewards of the title of king and had them delivered immediately.
For a moment, everyone was excited and smiled. Of course, they raised their glasses and shouted that the king lived to be 120 years old countless times!
Just like that, three days of hunting ended, and everyone continued to head north, and soon came to an endless pine forest... This was the famous flatland pine forest.
Arriving here means arriving at the original origin of the Khitan and Xi peoples.
In later generations, the plain pine forests were affected by human activities, and shrunk greatly or even disappeared. But at this time, this endless pine forest, almost a thousand miles in radius, spread from the southern section of the Greater Khingan Range all the way to the upper reaches of the Luoma River (northwest of Songshan), isolating it from the invasion of the Mongolian Plateau in the west, while providing the Khitans and Xi people with huge survival resources.
The Khitans grew and prospered calmly with the support of this pine forest, and then achieved hegemony... During the Liao Dynasty, there were countless records of this pine forest. The so-called blue ox and white horse meant that the blue ox came out of the pine forest on the plain, and then followed the Huangshui River to Linhuang Prefecture.
Of course, even the thousand-mile pine forest of the Khitan people's ancestral land is now just a playground for the Jurchen nobles to shoot tigers and show their bravery to the king. Entering the east side of the flat pine forest and heading north, it was peaceful. The biggest news two days ago was that someone entered the forest and shot a tiger, and then presented it to the talented young king.
However, early in the morning of the third day, some drama that was supposed to happen finally happened - the envoy of the King of Liao, the eldest of the three ruling brothers, came from the northeast, saying that the Khitans and the Xi people were shocked when they heard that the king was coming, and they contacted each other, and there seemed to be a little instability. The King of Liao only had two Hezhamengans, so in order to be on the safe side, he asked the king and the King of Wei to send reinforcements to him first, so that he could stabilize the situation in Linhuang Prefecture, so as to clean up the situation before letting the king come.
King of Wei Wanyan Wushu agreed without hesitation. Then, Wulindatai led the five Meng'ans to head north first.
To this, people around had no objection... After all, ever since the Jinhepo Alliance last year, Yelu Dashi's tentacles had reached the border, and many Khitans and Xi people had been ready to move. Otherwise, why would the king choose Linhuang Prefecture as the first stop for his first autumn hunt?
In a sense, the occurrence of political events and even bloodshed was a consensus among everyone. However, the military strength of the Jin Dynasty was still unmatched on this side of the Yellow River, so there was no need to worry about any problems.
Therefore, the entire team remained calm, and only a few officials of Khitan and Xi ethnic groups were a little nervous. However, they were personally summoned by the king, who was performing increasingly well, to be comforted, and they could not help but shed tears of gratitude.
In the evening of that day, the huge team camped as usual seven or eight miles away from the outer edge of the flat pine forest. Specifically, it was on the other side of a shallow tributary of the Xiaohuangshui River. There were just a few simple floating bridges on the river, which made it convenient to take pine cones from the pine forest and start a fire... There was a reason for camping like this. Setting up camp near the water was for the convenience of getting water, and camping a little away from the pine forest and on the other side of the river was because the pine forest in autumn must be strictly prevented from fire. In case of a fire, the small river can effectively prevent the spread of the fire.
This was common sense for the Jurchens, who came from a fishing and hunting background.
It can only be said that it is not only Emperor Zhao who pays attention to environmental protection these days. The Wanyan clan is also at the forefront of the times.
Let's not talk about others, just say that Qin Hui, the deputy envoy of the Privy Council, had dinner in the king's tent that evening and returned to his camp. He just personally expressed his condolences to the twenty soldiers who had just been awarded by the King of Wei a few days ago, and then went into the tent early to rest his eyes... Ever since he got these twenty soldiers, this Prime Minister Qin has been like this, and he no longer has the problem of running around late at night.
As usual, the sun sets and darkness falls, but there is constant noise in the camp. If you go out for a walk, although it cannot be said to be brightly lit, it is still dotted with stars.
However, today seemed different from the past. After another half an hour, there was a faint sound of wind outside the tent. This wind was not an ordinary wind. It was the autumn wind that swept the thousands of miles of forest several miles away. The forest rolled into waves, and there was a whistling sound, occasionally mixed with the howling of wild beasts, which was truly breathtaking.
Sitting cross-legged on the couch, Qin Huizhi opened his eyes without even taking off his clothes, and listened carefully to the whistling of the wind. For some reason, he was so absorbed in listening that he thought of countless strange things.
After a long while, the wind died down and there seemed to be no other noise in the camp. Qin Hui sighed and prepared to sleep in his clothes.
But at this moment, suddenly, a barely perceptible shouting sound came from the east... It sounded like the howling of a wild beast, or the sound of wind passing through a gap, and it also sounded like a human voice.
After hearing the sound for just a moment, Qin Hui turned over and sat up.
However, the sound only flashed for a moment and then disappeared. Then there was only a slight breeze and everything was as quiet as before.
Qin Huizhi sighed, then smiled bitterly, feeling that he had been too cautious. Perhaps the King of Wei had given him twenty armored soldiers that day just because he disliked him for pretending to be a coward in the court and not giving him any work, in order to warn and monitor him. It was not what he thought... Thinking of this, Prime Minister Qin turned over and fell asleep, closing his eyes.
Then, he was so startled by the sudden shouting and screaming that he fell off the simple wooden couch!
The shouts and sounds came from the east. Qin Huizhi, who was sleeping with his clothes on, fell to the ground. He hurriedly picked up a pair of boots that were originally placed next to the tent door and ran out of the tent barefoot. Then he turned around and saw flames in the east. There were people shouting loudly... Some were shouting to avenge the Marshal, some were shouting to clear the court and kill Wuzhu, some were shouting "Long live the Great Khitan", and some were even shouting that some commander under Emperor Zhao was leading his entire group here... I don't know if he has read "Water Margin"?
The shouting was very lively, and the chaotic camp was even more lively, but Qin Hui only listened for a few seconds, put on his boots, and turned around to meet the twenty soldiers who were also in a hurry:
"Everyone! The King of Wei sent you here for today's matter. Take me across the river to the west!"
The leader of this group of soldiers was startled when he heard this, and then frowned: "Don't we need to see the king and the King of Wei?"
Qin Hui finally became furious and said, "If you know where the king and the King of Wei are, you can take me there!"
The leader of the armored soldiers looked at the brightly lit tent of the king and became more and more confused, but since the King of Wei had given instructions in advance, he did not delay any longer. Instead, he pushed aside the attendants and servants of the Han official and escorted the Han official directly to the west.
Qin Hui ignored his servants, but took the initiative to point out the location of the pontoon bridge and urged the soldiers to hurry over.
When they arrived at the floating bridge, there were indeed soldiers waiting in a serious and well-prepared state. They took Qin Hui and his entourage over, and then asked the soldiers and his followers to stay on the east bank to fight the enemy. Then they led Qin Huizhi alone to an inconspicuous hill on the west side of the creek.
There weren't many fires on the small slope, but Qin Huizhi was born with sharp eyes and saw from afar the King of the Great Jin wearing a cloak and the King of Wei in full armor. The two were standing on the slope, watching the chaos in the opposite camp...but he couldn't see their expressions.
Qin Hui composed himself and was about to go over to greet them, but when he reached the bottom of the slope, he was taken to the ground by armored soldiers, as if he was not allowed to disturb them easily... This would not be a problem, but what made Qin Huizhi speechless was that in the dim light, two acquaintances were actually waiting here early - it was Hong Ya!
And there is his relative Zheng Xiunian hiding behind Hong Ya!
These two bastards actually ran faster than me, nicknamed Qin Changjiao? !
However, at this point, there was nothing more to say, and the three of them bowed slightly in greeting in the light of the fire at the foot of the hill, then huddled in the shadows, staring at the uncle and nephew just a few dozen steps away on the hill, and pricked up their ears.
After waiting for a while, a voice finally came from the slope, breaking the silence.
It was none other than the young ruler Wanyan Hela, but his tone sounded a little bad:
"Fourth uncle, which family is causing the riot? Or were all these rioters arranged by you and the uncles?"
After all, the king was fifteen years old. At the foot of the hill, Qin Hui and Hong Ya looked at each other, and what they wanted to say was unspoken.
"There is only one person who led the troops to cause trouble tonight, and that is your cousin, Puluhu (Wuqimai's eldest son)..." Wanyan Wushu's voice was equally cold. "This man is always a nuisance. You will not be at peace if he is alive, and neither will the three of us. That's why I and your two uncles played along and deliberately lured him here."
This answer did not cause the two Han officials below to react at all, but the young king was speechless immediately, because this answer obviously made him sober up a lot... This was because Puluhu was none other than the eldest son of the former king Wuqimai who abdicated due to a stroke. If this man succeeded in his rebellion, it would be hard for others to say, but he, the king, would definitely be the first to bear the brunt, and would be the most unlucky one no matter what!
Moreover, this answer also solved another mystery, that is, who had the courage to use a small-scale force to attack the king's ceremonial guard protected by two Hezhamengans in the wilderness within the country?
You must know that this is the most elite army in the world! It was carefully selected from the 200,000 or 300,000 troops during the heyday of the Jin Dynasty!
However, if it was Puluhu, it would seem natural, because when the Hezhameng'an was established, only Aguda, Wuqimai and Nianhan were qualified to establish the Hezhameng'an. Among them, Nianhan's two Hezhameng'an were given to Loushi for use before the Battle of Yaoshan, and they were kept in Hedong. However, two of the remaining four Hezhameng'an in Yanjing City were established by Wuqimai himself.
To put it bluntly, Puluhu may have an accomplice from within!
After a long silence, the young king, Wanyan Hela, could not help but ask in a low voice, "Fourth uncle...does the great uncle (Wuqimai) know about this?"
"The old king really had a stroke and can't stand up." Wushu gave a positive answer. "Now he can only lie down, otherwise why do you think we brothers dared to let him go so easily that day?"
"Who is the accomplice?" Hela asked again.
"There is no insider." Wushu answered calmly. "Puluhu found Talai and wanted him to go to the two Hezhameng'ans in the name of the old king, but Talai went straight to me. It was your other two uncles and I who hastily discussed and decided on today's plan... In other words, how dare the three of us brothers really put you in danger?"
The young king felt relieved.
At this moment, after hearing this secret, Qin Huizhi and Hong Ya could not help but look at each other in the shadow below the hill. Their eyes met hurriedly in the dark night with the help of torches, and they understood each other's meaning again - the king was too young after all. Was it Puluhu who found Talai first, or Wushu who found Talai first? I'm afraid only Wushu and Talai could tell clearly.
So, who knows what's going on?
The autumn wind was blowing gently, and on the other side of the stream, there were still flames rising into the sky and chaos. More and more people were gathering behind the small slope... Wanyan Talan, Han Fang, Wulin Da Zanmo, Wanyan Xiyin, and Wanyan Yinshuke were all here.
Although these people arrived late, they were all smart people. Looking at the scene on the other side of the river, they only felt it was pathetic - not only were the people who were making trouble on the other side pathetic, but those who were kept in the dark were also pathetic, and those of them who had slightly awakened were actually also quite pathetic.
But soon, something even more tragic happened.
"Lord! King of Wei!"
After a few people relied on their status to shout and cause trouble and were dragged away, the slope had actually been quite quiet. But this time, someone couldn't help but shout out to the two nobles who were facing the river with their backs to the pine forest.
And this time, even the soldiers next to him did not stop him.
Wanyan Wushu and his nephew Wanyan Hela finally turned around and were both stunned... but they could only be stunned... It turned out that a fire had been burning in the pine forest behind them since they didn't know when.
It goes without saying that this was definitely caused by the current chaos, and someone ran into the pine forest with fire.
Moreover, once a thousand-mile pine forest caught fire in autumn, how could human power stop it? The fire spread almost immediately with the autumn wind, and the length of the fire line doubled in a few breaths. In just half a quarter of an hour, it had a tendency to become a sea of fire and roll deeper... Compared with this movement, the chaos in the camp on the other side of the river was simply child's play.
Seeing this situation, the instigator like Wanyan Wushu, the noble like the young monarch, the shrewd like Qin Huizhi, the battlefield prodigy like Hong Ya, the veteran like Yin Shuke, and the knowledgeable like Han Fang and Xi Yin, could only stare in amazement, watching the fire rolling freely in the pine forest.
No one spoke.
Not only that, the fire waves in the big pine forest rolled up, and the momentum was overwhelming, which in turn affected the chaos on the other side of the river. The chaos that should have been resolved quickly was dragged on until dawn. Wulin Datai wanted to follow the order and lead five men to wait for a while twenty miles to the north. He should have come to support by following the firelight, but the sudden fire in the pine forest in the middle of the night made him lose his way, and he only came over at dawn.
Of course, it was just an accident after all.
Moreover, shortly after dawn, the situation was completely stabilized, and people finally felt relieved about the wildfire that was still smoking behind them, and then shifted their attention to the chaos. By this time, although the person himself was not caught due to the fire accident, many other rebels were caught. Basically, the evidence was conclusive that the rebel was Wanyan Puluhu, and this guy also colluded with some Khitans and Xi people!
The Yanjing dignitaries who survived the disaster stood in front of the small slope and looked at each other in bewilderment. They had nothing to say about this answer:
"The king just made him king! How shameless!"
"A noble Jurchen clan is actually colluding with a Khitan dog!"
"From what he said yesterday, isn't there still Han'er?"
"Maybe they are colluding with the Song people!"
"He should be executed!"
"Kill all of them brothers together!"
"Lord, please spare his life! After all, the old Lord is still here!"
In the hustle and bustle, because of the disturbance last night and the accident on the way, the young king, who was already very tired, instinctively looked at the armored man beside him in the smoke:
"Fourth uncle, how should we deal with Puluhu and his brothers?"
Wanyan Wushu was about to say something but stopped himself, then turned around and looked at the people behind him… Unlike the people who arrived later who could only stand in front of the slope, the dozens of people who arrived here before the riot was settled had already stood on the slope, standing behind the king and the King of Wei.
The young ruler Wanyan Hela understood what was going on and immediately turned to face the people who had come to look for him. He then asked the people who were closer to him earnestly, "Master Han, Lord Xiyin, Minister Wulinda , and Lord Qin, what do you think?"
Standing on the slope, Qin Huizhi and others naturally knew exactly what was happening below the slope, and naturally had their own opinions when they heard what was happening.
Wulin Da Zanmo and Han Fang both suggested that the king take drastic measures to resolve the matter. Wanyan Xiyin frowned and just said that he would let the king make the decision.
After the three finished speaking, Qin Huizhi bowed slightly and was about to agree. But he glanced down and saw many dignitaries of various ethnic groups standing at the foot of the slope. There was a small slope in front of him and a small river behind him. On the left and right were armored cavalry standing in formation in the dust and fog. On the left was Wulin Dataiyu, and on the right, judging by the flag, it seemed to be the unscrupulous Wen Dunsizhong.
After this glance, for some reason, Qin Xianggong suddenly changed his mind when he was about to say something: "Your Majesty, the weather is dry in autumn. Once the thousand-mile pine forest is on fire, it will be beyond human power to stop... I think we should do less killing..."
Wanyan Hela was slightly startled, then frowned. However, Wanyan Wushu next to him took a deep breath, as if he was sighing, but quickly recovered.
However, the final result was as expected. No emperor would be soft-hearted towards someone who posed a real threat to his throne and took real rebellious actions... The three brothers of the King of Wei also did not want any external force to continue to maintain a semi-independent state, so that the King of Wei could not even draw the Jurchens to train a new army.
Therefore, under the leadership of the King of Wei, an opinion on the handling of the matter was quickly reached. Naturally, a reward was offered for the capture of Wanyan Puluhu, regardless of life or death. Wanyan Puluhu's brothers were also wanted, and Wulin Datai was going to lead troops to capture them immediately.
Of course, the old king must not be disturbed.
At this point, everyone from top to bottom breathed a sigh of relief, and all just wanted the matter to be over as soon as possible.
However, at this moment, His Royal Highness the King of Wei, our Fourth Prince Wanyan Wushu, suddenly stepped forward with his sword, and in the gradually gloomy weather, spoke to the many dignitaries at the bottom of the slope:
"When the riot broke out last night, those who took the initiative to go to the king's tent to rescue him will step out of the line and walk fifty steps to the north. Those who took the initiative to go to the easternmost part to engage the enemy will step out of the line and walk fifty steps to the south..."
As soon as these words were spoken, the young king suddenly realized what was going on and secretly blamed himself for being stupid for forgetting to give the reward.
But for some reason, behind the king, whether it was Shangshu Wulinda, Master Han, or Deputy Prime Minister Wanyan Xiyin, all turned pale.
Only Qin Hui buried his head deeply.
