Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

The envoy from the Kingdom of Jin stayed in the Sifang Pavilion for several days. Instead of being taken to the palace for an audience, he was taken directly to Yujin Garden.

"What does Mingren mean by this?" Wanyan Zongfu asked.

Wang Jun, who had sent an envoy to Kaifeng during the siege of the city by the Jin soldiers to discuss the joint efforts of the Song and Jin Dynasties to destroy the bandits, also served as an advisor to the envoy this time.

Wang Jun explained: "Yujin Garden was a royal garden of the Song Dynasty. There were circles there for worshiping heaven. Rare birds and animals were also raised there. The elephants brought back earlier came from Yujin Garden. Every spring, the emperor of the Song Dynasty would visit Yujin Garden is an archery and banquet for civil and military officials and envoys from various countries. Anyone from Song who can shoot arrows better than envoys from Liao will be heavily rewarded by the Emperor of Song."

"Choose to meet in Yujin Garden. This is a competition to intimidate us." Wanyan Xiyin said.

Wanyan Zongjun's focus was different: "Is it the kind of elephant that was brought back from the Song Dynasty, one of them died of exhaustion on the way, and all of them froze to death in Liaoyang?"

Wang Jun was stunned for a moment, then nodded: "Yes."

Wanyan Zongjun said happily: "I have only heard people say it, but I have never seen it with my own eyes. I think I will be able to see elephants this time."

Wanyan Zongfu looked at Wanyan Xiyin, both of them were speechless.

The insignificant Wanyan Zongjun in front of him is Wanyan Zongwang's half-brother. He not only represents Wanyan Zongwang as the deputy envoy, but also has some connection with Wu Qimai. He is just pretending to be dumbfounded by looking at the elephant at this moment.

Historically, this guy belonged to the peace-making faction of the Jin Dynasty and supported Wu Qimai's son in taking control of the government. He was eventually killed by Jin Wushu for treason.

No longer discussing with everyone, Wanyan Zongjun went back to his room to drink.

Not all of A Guda's sons are good at fighting. For example, Wanyan Zongjun rarely goes to the battlefield, and occasionally joins the army just to join in the fun. This person could be said to be incompetent in both literature and military affairs. He stayed in the Kingdom of Jin and went to Beijing all year round to serve as Wanyan Zongwang's liaison in the capital.

Wanyan Zongjun was drunk and went out for a walk in the middle of the afternoon, wandering in the garden of Sifang Pavilion, followed by two guards.

Suddenly he saw a group of people approaching. Wanyan Zongjun rubbed his drunken eyes and found that the other party's dress looked familiar. He staggered over and asked in Chinese with Liaodong dialect: "But you are from Korea?"

The Sifang Pavilion official responsible for guiding said: "These are the envoys from Korea. They just arrived in Tokyo today."

Wanyan Zongjun was immediately furious and grabbed the Koryo envoy by the collar: "Since you have pledged your vassalage to Dajin, why did you send troops to attack my father's country this year?"

The name of this Korean envoy was Li Deqing. He was a confidant of Jin Fushi and even served as an envoy to the Kingdom of Jin. He recognized Wanyan Zongjun at the first glance. He struggled back with guilt and fear, and hurriedly asked the Sifang Hall officials for help: "Quickly stop this drunkard. How is it appropriate to use force in the Sifang Hall of the Ming Dynasty?"

Before the official could react, Wanyan Zongjun punched Li Deqing's nose with great precision.

"Help...help!"

Li Deqing cried and tried to break free, but his strength was too weak. The drunken Wanyan Zongjun grabbed him by the skirt of his clothes, raised his hand and slapped him again.

"Uu! Uu! Uu..."

The official of the Sifang Pavilion finally blew the whistle, and more than a dozen soldiers rushed over and surrounded Wanyan Zongjun who was beating someone.

Other envoys from the Kingdom of Jin also arrived, and Wanyan Zongfu scolded: "You are still drinking and making trouble when you are on an envoy trip. You have lost the face of Jin Dynasty! Why don't you stop it quickly?"

Wanyan Zongjun rolled up his sleeves and smiled: "When you encounter a disobedient dog, teach it a lesson."

Li Deqing, who was rescued, was no longer so scared and felt his face was dull. He hid behind the soldiers and said, "Barbarians are barbarians and they don't understand any etiquette. This kind of bastard is also an envoy. It seems that the Kingdom of Jin is real." There is no one left.”

Wanyan Zongjun shouted angrily: "If you dare to speak harshly again, I will send troops to fight Goryeo next year."

But Li Deqing replied: "You come here, there are Ming Dynasty troops stationed in Pyongyang and Baozhou. If you want to raise troops to attack our country, you have to ask the Ming Dynasty soldiers if they agree. This year, the Ming Dynasty's emperor has already consecrated me. King Goryeo, Ming Dynasty and Goryeo will be the country of father and son from now on. With the help of my father’s country, how can I be afraid of you, a mere Jurchen barbarian?"

"Begging for a beating!" Wanyan Zongjun planned to rush over and beat someone again.

"Stop!"

The soldiers formed a formation and raised their weapons, aiming at Wanyan Zongjun's vital points.

Wanyan Zongfu finally couldn't stand it any longer, so he stepped forward and grabbed Wanyan Zongjun's sleeve, and forcibly pulled the man back to the courtyard of the envoy of the Kingdom of Jin.

After closing the courtyard door, Wanyan Zongfu angrily shouted: "Did you do it on purpose?"

"Ah?" Wanyan Zongjun looked like he hadn't sobered up yet.

Wanyan Zongfu asked: "Are you deliberately disrupting the peace talks?"

Wanyan Zongjun didn't answer and staggered back to his room to sleep.

There is a big problem within the Kingdom of Jin!

Wanyan Zongwang was the first to have the idea of ​​making peace, but now he is the most reluctant to make peace. Because the land that the Jin Kingdom planned to give up was all Wanyan Zongwang's territory, but the compensation given by the other two factions made Wanyan Zongwang extremely dissatisfied.

Wanyan Zongwang was even in danger of being deprived of his military power. Even if he could still control the army, he would still be under the control of others.

The Shizu clan has joined forces with the Bohai nobles, and Wanyan Zonghan has strong military support. These forces intend to sacrifice Wanyan Zongwang's interests.

As a result, the "marginal people" headed by Wanyan Zongwang and Wanyan Talan joined forces with the powerful Han, Xi, and Khitan people, and secretly formed an alliance with the emperor Wu Qimai. They want to derail the peace talks and continue to maintain the status quo until they force concessions from their political opponents.

Wu's begging situation is similar to Wanyan Zongwang's. He previously supported the peace negotiation, but he felt that the two factions wanted to swallow up Wanyan Zongwang. This was a very dangerous signal. Wu Qimai was afraid that those guys would cause chaos if they broke up with each other.

But from the perspective of the ancestral lineage, this is a perfectly normal approach.

Because Wanyan Zongwang became popular because Wanyan Xieye and Wanyan Zongqian launched it.

They have always regarded the East Route Army as a tool of checks and balances. Now that the West Route Army has lost troops, there will be no need for checks and balances, so it is natural to put away the tools.

They will still let Wanyan Zongwang continue to lead the troops, but the military power of the soldiers of all ethnic groups must be handed over, and they will honestly become a member of the ancestral nobles. Wanyan Zongwang can only mobilize his own men in the future. You can also command other troops, but the prerequisite is to obtain the collective permission of the ancestors.

The triangular relationship is very strong. If it is broken and the two heroes coexist, there will definitely be problems.

The situation has been completely reversed. The Jin Kingdom's main war faction in history has now become a peacemaker. However, the historical peace negotiators of the Jin Kingdom are now trying every means to prevent peace negotiations.

…

royal palace.

After Ju Ming received the news, he discussed it in the Privy Council, and then ran to his father.

"The internal conflicts of the Jin Kingdom have become public." Ju Ming gloated.

After listening to the analysis, Zhu Guoxiang felt a little strange: "The Jin Kingdom has been beaten into such a horrible state, don't they know how to compromise? This is a major military matter, not a struggle for power in a small unit."

"What is the difference between a country and a unit? They are just different in size."

Zhu Ming said: "Wanyan Zongwang was originally a member of the Shizu Clan, and was the front of the Shizu Clan in the army. But this facade, which was pushed out by everyone, has been popular for too long and has become a trend of becoming a unique compound. And the control of the Shizu Clan People, I guess they only plan to give it to a side hospital, and Wanyan Zongwang feels aggrieved. If the price is not agreed upon, then he will make a fuss to show his value."

Zhu Guoxiang sighed: "The distribution of benefits has not been negotiated, and it is really a matter of life and death."

"The main reason was that we broke the balance on the battlefield," Ju Ming elaborated. "The Jin Kingdom's Bojilie Conference was similar to the Manchu Qing Dynasty's Council of Ministers. The Manchu Qing Dynasty was able to take over power from the nobles because Nurhaci failed. However, Huang Taiji's prestige in turning the tide was too great, and he suppressed other nobles. On the basis of Huang Taiji, the Dorgon brothers continued to defeat them, and it was not until Shunzhi took over the power completely."

"But the Kingdom of Jin is much more tortuous. The successor is not a figure like Huang Taiji, but Wu Qimai, who has lost power. Not only has the power of the aristocracy not been taken back, but it has become stronger, and some have changed from two factions to three factions. trend."

"In history, the Jin Kingdom went through three large-scale political massacres before finally solving this problem. But while solving the problem, it also eliminated those who could fight."

"The current political system of the Jin Kingdom is extremely backward, which is probably equivalent to the time when Nurhaci of the Manchu Qing Dynasty just died. They urgently need a Huang Taiji."

"Wanyan Zonghan and Wanyan Zongfu both have the potential to be Huang Taiji. But the former's bloodline is wrong. He is not the son of Aguda, so he will never be recognized by the ancestral line. The latter's military prestige is insufficient, and he himself has no politics. Ambition is a waste of unique resources.”

"As for Wu Qimai, because he won the country unfairly and it was difficult to gain military morale, he had to compromise with the ancestral nobles. Compromise step by step, compromise step by step, and now they are all in vain."

"The Jin Kingdom is like this. As long as the Southern Song Dynasty didn't mess around, the Jurchen nobles themselves could kill each other to death."

"We are equally matched opponents. It's purely a competition to see who is worse, and the Southern Song Dynasty is obviously worse."

After hearing this, Zhu Guoxiang sighed and said: "It seems that the Kingdom of Jin has nothing to worry about. Do you agree to negotiate a temporary peace?"

Ju Ming smiled and said: "The Jin people are in internal strife, so of course I want to negotiate for peace. Once the external pressure disappears, they will fight more excitingly. When the time comes, immediately tear up the peace treaty and kill them! They can tear up the peace treaty with the Song Dynasty, why can't I go back on my words?" "

"Since we have to negotiate a temporary peace and Ming Dynasty's financial pressure can be alleviated, should I take the opportunity to retire?" Zhu Guoxiang finally said the key topic.

Ju Ming rolled his eyes at his father: "You can just hold on for a few more years. I heard that Concubine An is pregnant again. Why is she retiring before she gets old?"

"roll!"

Zhu Guoxiang became angry because of shame, and his happy life as an emperor was far away.

Ju Ming stood up happily, patted his butt and said: "If there is no war next year, I will just take the time to send people to Japan to explore the Iwami Silver Mine. Damn it, the rich people in China are all hamsters, they have built so many All the silver coins have been hidden, and now you can’t even see any silver coins on the market.”