The First Yamen of the Great Song Dynasty

Chapter 134

Maybe defeated the joint pursuit of the Liao army and the Song army, Wan Yan Zongqiang felt that they would not be so stupid as to chase again, Gao Ming could see that he was relieved a lot, he was not in such a hurry to rush on the road, and basically rested at night.

That evening, after defeating the Liao Song army, Wanyan Zongqiang, who was a little bloated, could no longer control his complacency, and showed off to Gao Ming.

Although there was Han Zhuer's translator in the middle, I could still hear his tone of complacency.

"The Liao army and the Song army are really vulnerable. We only have a hundred riders, and they have three or four hundred. They still can't take you away. If I had known this, I would not have arranged a surprise attack."

After Han Zhuer finished translating, Wanyan Zongqiang looked at Gao Ming with a smile.

Gao Ming thought to himself, these young people in the Jin Kingdom might be so proud, otherwise there would not be so many main fighters, who are capable and confident, so they would not stop fighting the Liao Kingdom and then the Song Kingdom.

It's a matter of national system. How can Gao Ming admit that the strength of the Song State is not enough, and explained lightly: "Our Song State is not like you, all the people are soldiers, and the military and civilian departments are not divided. We have various divisions of labor. There are those who cultivate land and those who do business. , there are those who cast iron, and they don’t do anything except their own jobs. And it’s the same in the army, there are also those who plow the fields, some cook, and some transport. The ones who fought against you a few days ago were only our transport soldiers. His specialty is being able to walk, and those who can really fight are all in Song State, think about it, how can we bring heavy troops when we come to Liao State?"

Of course, that's not the case. Those who fought against the Jurchen Ministry that day were the elite of the Forbidden Army.

Han Zhuer organized the language and translated everything in one go. Wan Yan Zongqiang listened, half-believing, "Really? Is that leader also a transport soldier?"

Gao Ming summed it up, Huarong's level, it would be too ridiculous to call it a simple transport soldier, and said: "He is not, he is a general. However, we have a large population in Song Dynasty, and not all the people are soldiers, so organize He is one of the selected members because of the examination and selection of talents."

Wanyan Zongqiang had heard a little about the national conditions of the Song State, and knew that they were very troublesome and had to take exams, so he asked Han Zhuer to translate a question, "I heard that in the Song State, the weaker the people, the higher the status is it true? ?”

Gao Ming was taken aback, "Huh?"

Wanyan Zongqiang looked at Gao Ming's confused eyes, and explained again, "The more a warrior can ride and shoot, the lower his status is, isn't it? Why is it like this? Just like you, you are obviously not as good as your subordinate, but your status Obviously taller than him. Why do your missions respect you, a powerless person?"

"Without the power to restrain a chicken" is Han Zhu'er's translation, and it is estimated that Jurchen's original words are almost weak chickens and the like.

After seeing Yan Zongqiang's expression, Gao Ming was really puzzled. If he wanted to come to Song Dynasty, who "emphasized culture over martial arts", they couldn't understand that they could sit in court and suppress a group of warriors who could fight and fight.

"It's complicated to say."

Wanyan Zongqiang continued to ask, "We Jurchens were bullied by the Khitans. We never forget our hatred. Both men and women practice riding and archery. They want to avenge their revenge one day. Why do you Song people face the threat of the Khitans and let the status of warriors So low?"

Gao Ming was taken aback for a moment, thinking that you are quite good at thinking.

If it was in the Taiping era, it would be fine, the tigers and wolves of the Song Dynasty looked around and played the game of emphasizing civility over military affairs, suppressing generals hard, even the Jurchen didn't understand.

"It's very complicated. It involves hundreds of years of history. When the Khitan people established the Liao Kingdom, our generals in the Central Plains had no benevolence and led troops to cause chaos, making the people miserable. That's why it happened now. That way. You'll see later."

To put it bluntly, it's all because the military generals in the late Tang and Five Dynasties acted too harshly, which hurt their later colleagues.

Wanyan Zongqiang was still very confused, "I still think it is more important to fight the Khitans. We Jurchen are very united, and things like yours will not happen."

Gao Ming just laughed. Facts have proved that after the external expansion is stopped and the external environment is comfortable, the internal struggles of the Kingdom of Jin are no worse than those in the Central Plains.

"It's too early to tell." Gao Ming said, "If Liao has something, if Song has it, you will have it too."

Wanyan Zongqiang could see that he was thinking seriously, but he didn't seem to think about anything, and finally said: "I still think you Song State is very strange, we will never abandon the riding and archery that is the foundation of the country like you, turn to And to train a weak man like you."

Gao Ming smiled. Unexpectedly, Fleige of the Qing Dynasty, you established yourself here.

It was late, the chatting was over, and like every day, they slept around the campfire with their horses on their pillows.

Gao Ming finally understood why generals and nomads regard horses as their relatives.

It is so reliable that it can carry its master for a walk during the day, and sleep with its pillow on it at night, and it will never betray you.

After sleeping until the middle of the night, Gao Ming felt a cold on the tip of his nose. When he opened his eyes, he saw snowflakes falling from the sky like catkins.

He was taken aback, how many months has it been, and it's still snowing?

"It's snowing! It's snowing!" Gao Ming exclaimed in a low voice.

Wanyan Zong next to him said strongly: "It's normal, sleep!"

Gao Ming sat up slightly, looked around, and saw that everyone was still asleep as usual, only a few of them retracted their heads into the animal skin, but they didn't make any noise like him.

It is no wonder that the Jurchens honed in such a harsh environment have such combat effectiveness. After all, for them, fighting is no different from ordinary life.

In contrast, the environment in the Song Kingdom was really comfortable. Even if you were a soldier, you would probably suffer less than a Jurchen woman.

Just like Han Zhu'er, although she is not a Jurchen, she has been tempered with the Jurchens. She is so tenacious, and it is estimated that many men in the Song Kingdom are not as good as her survival ability.

It's really difficult to deal with such a strong opponent.

Another night of tossing and turning for the fate of the country.

Gao Ming retracted his head into the animal skin, but after staying for a while, he felt stuffy, so he exposed his mouth and nose to breathe.

Suddenly, he felt a small stone fall on him, he froze for a moment, sat up slowly, and looked around, when another small stone fell on him.

This is definitely on purpose.

Gao Ming thought about it, sat up brazenly, pushed the animal skin, and said to Wanyan Zong: "I want to pee, you go with me!"

Wanyan Zongqiang said impatiently: "Go by yourself!"

Not to mention that Gao Ming has given up the idea of ​​running away. Even if he can run, give him time to run a hundred miles, and then he can catch up. Besides, he doesn't even have any dry food on him, and he can't hunt. If you go out, you will starve to death if you don't know the direction.

"Okay." Gao Ming stood up and walked out next to the sleeping Jurchens, but he believed that many of these people must have woken up.

Gao Ming kept walking until he left the Jurchen's camp, and continued walking when suddenly another small stone was thrown on him.

He looked forward, and there seemed to be a figure, so he glanced back and saw that the Jurchen was still asleep, and ran towards the direction of the stone.

He ran with a deep foot and a shallow foot, and when he got closer, he found that it was Hua Rong.

Gao Ming threw himself into his arms at once, asked Huarong to hug him for a while, and after enjoying the warmth for a while, he put his arms around Huarong's neck, tiptoed and kissed him hard on the cheek, in order to express his joy .

Hua Rong kissed him hard on the lips, and then said: "Let's go, the horse is ahead." He took Gao Ming's hand and wanted to take him away. In order to chase them, he only slept for an hour or two every day, and the rest They were all on their way, and finally caught up with them here.

Who knew that Gao Ming shook his head, Hua Rong thought he was worried that he would not be able to escape, so he said, "As long as we don't get caught within a day, we can rush to a town, hide in it, and set up a business trip. They are not so easy to find .”

Gao Ming would definitely not be able to escape by himself, the success rate would be much higher with Hua Rong.

Gao Ming still shook his head, "I don't want to leave. I changed my mind. It's okay to go to the Kingdom of Jin to meet Wanyan Aguda. If I come back from the Kingdom of Liao and then come to the Kingdom of Jin, I will ask the people of the Kingdom of Liao to criticize me. Now I'm from them. The land boundary was kidnapped, they can't blame Song Guo for contacting Jin Guo."

Hua Rong was taken aback, "It's freezing cold, how can you hold on? As you said, the Kingdom of Jin is uncivilized. If you go, you don't know what danger you will encounter. If you disagree, you... "

"With you here, I'm not afraid." Gao Ming said truthfully: "Actually, I want to leave Wanyan Zongqiang and escape back. Ninety percent of the reasons are because you are not by my side. Another ten percent of the reasons are because of the emperor's life. But now you come As for the emperor's order, I think I can go to the Kingdom of Jin first, so I can better complete the task of reducing or exempting the old coins."

After hearing what Gao Ming said, Hua Rong didn't rush to leave. After all, as long as the two of them are together, it's the same everywhere, "How do you say it?"

"Look at how nervous Yelu Dashi was. I was taken away by Jin Guo. To put it bluntly, he was not worried about what I would do with Jin Guo to endanger the Liao Kingdom. He definitely didn't want to see the alliance between Jin and Liao. So, even if I didn't negotiate with Wanyan Agu, but I pretended to be close, so that the Liao State was frightened, and then I also won over the Song State, agreeing to the agreement of reducing or exempting the old coins."

The relationship between countries is sometimes very similar to falling in love. Only when there is a rival in love, can there be enthusiasm and concessions.

Hua Rong said worriedly: "But aren't you afraid that the Kingdom of Jin will really ask you to reach an agreement? If you don't reach an agreement, you won't be allowed to return to the Kingdom of Song. You won't be Su Wu anymore?"

If Gao Ming was a native of the Song Dynasty and didn't know what would happen in the future, he would definitely not take the initiative to take on such a heavy responsibility, but the problem is that he knows that he must do his best to restore it.

"Then are you willing to accompany me to stay in Beidi to herd sheep?" Gao Ming asked with a smile.

Hua Rong smiled lightly: "Yes."

Gao Ming laughed and said, "It's a pity, you didn't bring the envoy's staff." Su Wu was forced to herd sheep back then, but the Han Dynasty's envoy's staff was always in his hand and never put it down, "However, it is enough for you to bring yourself. Do not use the scepter."

When Huarong heard this, she smiled and hugged him into her arms.

-

Wanyan Zongqiang turned over, subconsciously opened his eyes slightly and glanced at Gao Ming next to him, but found nothing.

The snow on the ground was as thick as a finger. It had been a while since Gao Ming left, so he should be back anyway.

Either it was picked up by a nearby wild animal, or it escaped.

Either way, it was not what he wanted to see.

He sat up abruptly, and kicked the Jurchen warrior next to him, "The Song people are gone!"

When he yelled, everyone woke up. Han Zhuer was sleeping on the other side of Gao Ming. She vaguely remembered that Gao Ming had left, and then she fell asleep, so she didn't know. She thought Gao Ming was back. Not even.

"His horse is still there, and he won't escape. Was it taken away by a wild animal?"

Wanyan Zongqiang's face changed, he might as well run away, and get it back, and be eaten by wild beasts, that would be really terrible, he got on the horse, took out the bow and arrow in his hand, and divided the people into several strands, "Go and search for them all. !"

He also led a group of people to chase in the direction where Gao Ming left last.

After riding for a short time, he saw Gao Ming standing not far away, but he was not alone, and beside him was the Song State general whom he met earlier, that is, Gao Ming's subordinate.

They seemed to be chatting, Gao Ming kept talking with a smile on his face, seeing them catching up, he didn't feel nervous at all, and waved to him, "This is Hua Rong, he's here to find me."

Wanyan Zongqiang could remember the performance of this Hua Rong, he was not an ordinary person, he pointed his bow and arrow at him vigilantly before he dared to ride over, circled around them, and said to Gao Ming: "Tell him to go!"

Gao Ming and Hua Rong were surrounded by Jurchens on horseback. If these people fired their bows and arrows, they could turn them into hedgehogs.

Gao Ming said loudly: "If I wanted to escape, I would have gone with him long ago. Would I still be sitting here waiting to die?!"

Wanyan Zongqiang didn't quite understand the word sit and wait, but he could roughly guess what it meant, but he still insisted on his point of view, "Tell him to go!"

Gao Ming said: "I won't let him go, he stays, I promise to go with you, no more complaints."

Hua Rong also explained: "I don't worry about him, that's why I came alone. You don't have to worry, I won't cause trouble. And I'm the deputy envoy of the mission, so my words carry some weight."

At this time, Han Zhuer came and saw Hua Rong beside Gao Ming, and was surprised that he didn't give up and followed him all the way, but instantly remembered that Gao Ming called him Xianggong, so she understood.

Wanyan Zongqiang somewhat felt that Huarong had chased his master for so long, and his loyalty was touching, but he was still afraid that accidents would happen if he stayed in the team.

Gao Ming said: "Could it be that you have so many Jurchen warriors, are you still afraid of an ordinary Song general?"

Wanyan Zongqiang immediately said: "Of course not!"

"Then let him stay. If he doesn't stay, let me tell you, if I cooperate with the negotiation, I will write the last name upside down."

Han Zhu'er wanted to end the confrontation as soon as possible, and persuaded Yan Zongqiang, "Gao Ming is very courageous, and he is not afraid of death. We still meet his condition. He can't even bear the snow. It's okay to ask his followers to take care of him. Seeing that the time is coming Now that the Kingdom of Jin is over, even if Huarong is a general, he has nothing to fear."

Wanyan Zongqiang thought about it for a while, and it was true that they were about to reach the border of the Kingdom of Jin. They were getting more and more safe, and there was nothing wrong with having one more person from the Kingdom of Song. He asked Han Zhuer to translate to Hua Rong, "I just believe that you did it to take care of him." I came after you. Well then, go back to sleep and go on your way at dawn."

After Han Zhu'er finished speaking, Hua Rong and Gao Ming looked at each other, then blew the whistle to call the horse he was waiting in the distance, and followed Wanyan Zongqiang and others back to the camp to sleep.

Said to be a camp, Hua Rongjian is just a campfire area, the sky is the quilt, and the ground is the bed.

He originally thought that it would be fine for him to chase alone and stay in the wild, but he didn't expect Gao Ming to be so bitterly cold with the eighth prince of the so-called Jurchen country.

"You sleep like this?"

Gao Ming shook the animal skin in his hand, "It's okay, with this cover, come here quickly."

Hua Rong lay down next to Gao Ming, took off the cloak and spread it under Gao Ming's body, then lay down with his arms covered with the animal skin.

Gao Ming felt that many Jurchens were staring at him from behind him, so he didn't dare to move, and said softly, "Go to sleep."

Hua Rong nodded, hugged Gao Ming, and closed his eyes.

Gao Ming huddled in Hua Rong's arms, feeling endless warmth in body and mind, and when Hua Rong came, he was not afraid of anything, and the corners of his mouth could not help but curl up.

After dawn, the snow had stopped, Gao Ming and Hua Rong sat up, tore off the animal skins from their bodies, and shook off the snow on them.

Gao Ming whispered to Hua Rong: "Look at them, they are used to such bad weather..."

Huarong fought against the Jurchens that day, knowing how powerful they are, but this is the first time they have come into close contact with them. Seeing that they are able to do a job with ease under such harsh conditions, I can't help but think that Wanyan Zongqiang is only a teenager, and he is fighting against the Eighth Prince. Even if he can do so, if he is a soldier of the Great Song Imperial Army, it may not be as good as him.

Gao Ming said: "There is no way, it is determined by the geography, they are born like this, but we can train the day after tomorrow."

Huarong agrees.

The Jurchens also woke up one after another, lit a fire, and briefly heated up the leftovers from last night, before riding on their horses again.

With Hua Rong as his companion, Gao Ming was in a much better mood, especially when he saw the silvery white behind the snow and the cleanness between the sky and the earth, he felt suddenly enlightened, but Wanyan Zongqiang was in a better mood than him.

Gao Ming saw him riding a horse, and put his legs on the horse's back as he was riding. After a while, he stood up directly, with his hands open, shouting excitedly, enjoying the speed of the cold wind blowing on his face.

Gao Ming looked sideways, you really dare to play, aren't you afraid of falling to your death?

Probably seeing the prince doing this, and the Jurchen imitating the example and standing on the horseback, enjoying the thrill of speed and death overlapping.

Gao Ming thought, maybe they really learned to ride a horse before they learned to walk, and the horse's legs were just like his own.

After running all the way, it didn't take long to enter the territory of the Kingdom of Jin. Although it wasn't long before it was returned to the Kingdom of Jin, there was always someone with thick arms who was the boss outside the pass. The Khitan people were beaten away. The management of the Jurchens.

Khitans, Jurchens, Han people, all gathered together, whoever is strong will have all orders.

But when he arrived in the Kingdom of Jin, he had to continue riding and go to Liaoyang Mansion to meet Wanyan Aguda.

However, the only advantage is that when the state capital of Jinjun borders the border, there is a house with a roof to live in, so there is no need to sleep in the wild.

However, Wanyan Zong forced his way, and never deliberately rushed or slowed down, but lived wherever he went. If it happened to be in the wild when it was dark, he would live in the wild.

Anyway, Gao Ming didn't see any objection from the Jurchens following him, it really doesn't matter where they live.

But this way of traveling is also beneficial, that is, the speed is fast, and Gao Ming and others arrived at the destination of Liaoyang Mansion after rushing all the way.

Gao Ming really wanted to present himself with a pennant. It was really difficult for him to keep up with the Jurchens. Of course, Hua Rong was largely responsible for this. In the last few days, he basically took him to ride a car with him. The horse, or by itself, would have been paralyzed by the jolts.

Gao Ming slept in the open, thinking that if he wanted to meet the emperor of another country, he had to take the country's face into account, otherwise he would be looked down upon if he was ashamed, so he lived in the courtyard arranged by him, and ordered someone to boil water and take a bath before Wanyan Aguda summoned him.

Considering efficiency, he should wash with Hua Rong, but considering safety, he decided to wash separately.

He finished washing first, then changed into the Han clothes prepared by Jin Guoren, and walked out to see Hua Rong, "I feel like I've been reborn, so go wash it too."

After Huarong went in, Gao Ming returned to the house and lay down on the kang.

That's right, it's the kang. Gao Ming thought that the heated kang must have been an invention during the Ming and Qing Dynasties at least, but he didn't expect it to have taken shape in this era.

He washed clean and lay down on the warm kang. He just felt so comfortable and wanted to sleep.

He told himself in his heart that he couldn't sleep, and that he would see Wanyan Aguda later, so he woke up when he sat up.

He muttered in his mouth: "Sit up and sit up." After a while, he didn't move any further, and closed his eyes and said: "Oh, forget it, just lie down for a while, it doesn't matter."

In a daze, he felt someone touch him, he knew who it was, couldn't help laughing and said, "Someone from the Kingdom of Jin will come in a while."

Hua Rong didn't speak, but still kissed him.

Gao Ming responded to him with his eyes closed. When the atmosphere was getting thicker, he suddenly heard someone outside the door speaking in Chinese: "Two envoys of Song Dynasty, our Lord invites you to come over."

Gao Ming just opened his eyes, looked at Hua Rong with a wry smile, and sat up propped up. After Hua Rong sighed, he quickly straightened his clothes and went to open the door. He saw a man dressed as a Jurchen standing outside the door.

This person was around thirty, very thin, when Huarong opened the door, he introduced in fluent Chinese: "My name is Wanyan Xiyin, and I will take the two of you to see the lord."

Gao Ming remembered that this person seemed to be Wanyan Aguda's nephew. Later, he imitated Chinese characters and created the Jurchen script. No wonder Chinese is so fluent.

Gao Ming rushed out to welcome him, and praised: "It's a pleasure to meet you, your Chinese is really good, I just listened through the door and window, and thought it was an authentic Han person."

Nothing pleases them more than boasting about a non-native speaker's accent.

Wanyan Xiyin felt at ease after being praised for her pure accent, "I'm flattered, but I didn't speak very well."

"No, no, very good, I can't hear the accent." To be honest, there is still an accent. After all, Chinese is quite difficult to learn, but if you are seeking truth from facts, it is still called boasting.

The three of them left the yard, rode on the street, walked for a while, and entered a large mansion to meet Wanyan Aguda.

This place was originally the residence of the left-behind official of the Liaoyang Mansion of the Liao Kingdom, but it was captured by the Jurchens last year, and it was temporarily used as the imperial palace of the Jin Kingdom.

Because Gao Ming praised Wanyan Xiyin's Sinology accomplishments along the way, which made the other party feel very comfortable. When Wanyan Aguda was at the office, his attitude towards Gao Ming and Hua Rong was already quite good.

Wanyan Xiyin led them directly into the mansion, and when they reached the main room, they also opened the door and entered directly, "The envoy of the Song Dynasty is here."

Gao Ming and Hua Rong walked in, and saw a large kang under the window, unlike the narrow row along the window in the impression of later generations, it was as big as half a room.

Why do you say that, because there are more than ten people sitting on the kang, including Wanyan Zongqiang.

This kang is the main place for the daily life of the northern people, and it needs to be big enough.

As soon as Gao Ming and Hua Rong came in, they started talking in Jurchen language, Wanyan Xiyin also said something in Jurchen language, and everyone nodded, apparently agreeing.

At this time, a middle-aged man with long and narrow eyes, tall and tall, with a strong physique, and a man who is good at fighting, he said to Gao Ming and Hua Rong in Chinese: "The two envoys of the Song Dynasty, Sit down, I have something to talk to you about."

Gao Ming was taken aback, and sat down?Could it be sitting on the kang?

Gao Ming hesitated for a moment, then cupped his hands and saluted, "Are you His Majesty the Lord of the Kingdom of Jin?"

If Song State met the emperor of Jin State, Gao Ming's etiquette would not be enough, but he saw that the group of Jurchens were very casual, so he didn't say too much, just asked politely.

"It's me." Wanyan Aguda admitted his identity, "You are Gao Ming from the Song Kingdom, right? Your father is a Taiwei, right?"

Gao Ming said, "It's me."

Wanyan Aguda pointed to a place and said, "Wushu, sit over there and ask the envoy of Song Kingdom to sit by your side."

I saw a young man who looked very difficult to mess with, and moved to the side of Wanyan Zongqiang to make room.

Gao Ming confirmed again: "Sit on the kang, right?"

Wanyan Agu nodded, "Come on, I have something to tell you."

Jurchen has just founded the country, and there is still a strong legacy of primitive society, no etiquette, no idea what etiquette is, there are not so many rules of monarchs and ministers in the Central Plains, and when it comes to military and state affairs, they all sit together to discuss.

Everyone sat in rows on the kang, expressing their opinions, and it was the court.

Military construction has been achieved, but cultural construction has not kept up.

The Kingdom of Jin originally centered on the Wanyan tribe, or in other words, the circle of relatives of the Wanyan Aguda clan.

The famous generals of the Kingdom of Jin were either Aguda's cousins, or his sons or nephews.

In the future, those famous generals of the Jin Kingdom who destroyed the Liao Dynasty and the Song Dynasty were all sitting on the kang at this time.

Gao Ming and Hua Rong looked at each other, "..."

All right, then do as the Romans do, go to the kang first.