Across the Water Margin: Officials of Ximen

Page 378

"Brother Ximen, what a hero really sees the same thing. Zhao Zhongfeng and I also have the same intention. However, before being personally summoned by Emperor Wanyan Aguda in the army, Zhao Zhongfeng and I are envoys. At this meeting, Ningcheng must obey The master Wanyan Wu begged for the arrangement, how could he go to the army of the Kingdom of Jin without authorization? It is obvious that Wanyan Wu begged for the money and would not give me this convenience. Now, I am afraid that Brother Ximen will need to help "Ma Kuo said after a long sigh.

As envoys, Zhao Liangsi and Ma Kuo were naturally restricted everywhere within the Jin Kingdom and could not act arbitrarily.Ximenqing, as a gold medal merchant of the Kingdom of Jin, has good friendship with many Jurchen nobles. As long as he does not do anything detrimental to the Kingdom of Jin, he can move freely within the territory of the Kingdom of Jin, and become the second son of Zhao Liangsi and Ma Kuo. Things that people can't do.

Ximen Qing rolled his eyes and smiled at Ma Kuo: "Brother Ma Kuo, since you and Zhao Zhongfeng have also thought of bypassing the tough Wanyan Wu begging for money, and go directly to discuss the alliance with the emperor Wanyan Aguda. Then, It was Zhao Zhongfeng who asked you to contact me, begging me to quickly go to the Emperor Wanyan Aguda's army, and build a bridge for you and the other two?"

Ma Kuo smiled wryly and said, "I really can't hide anything from brother Ximen! Zhao Zhongfeng has regretted it now, and shouldn't try to exclude you from the negotiation. Now, for the benefit of Da Song, I can only ask my brother to work hard." Due to his identity, Zhao Zhongfeng couldn't apologize to his brother face to face, so he specially asked me to pay my respects to my brother on his behalf, I hope Brother Ximen will forgive me."

"Hahaha~ Brother Ma Kuo, you don't have to be so guilty when you tell Zhao Zhongfeng. I came to the Kingdom of Jin with you two this time to help you two. At this moment, you and Zhao Zhongfeng are in trouble. When I stepped forward, how could I stay out of it? Brother Ma Kuo, don’t let Zhao Zhongfeng mess up, I will visit Wanyan Wuye tomorrow and ask him to send someone to escort me to the emperor’s army."

"Brother Ximen is so righteous, I am so grateful! I will offer a glass of respect to brother Zhao Zhong!" Ma Kuo said excitedly after hearing Ximen Qing's words, raising his glass to Ximen Qing.

"Hahaha~ They are all my brothers, so you don't need to see outsiders! But, brother Ma Kuo, you won't be lucky with that honey bear paw. I'm going to take it to visit Wanyan Wuye tomorrow." Ximen Qing and Ma Kuoman had a drink. Had a glass.

Ximen Qing and Ma Kuo chatted happily in the camp, and they got a little drunk after eating, and then returned to their camp to rest.

After Ma Kuo sent Ximen Qing away, he came to Zhao Liangsi's tent and told Zhao Liangsi the good news that Ximen Qing had promised to go to Wanyan Aguda barracks in person.

Zhao Liangsi sighed unceasingly, his frown was finally relaxed a little...

Chapter 6 Nineteen Cultural Weapons

"Unexpectedly, this bear's paw can be made so delicious!" Wanyan Wuye sat in his wooden house, eating the "honey sauce bear's paw" sent by Ximen Qing, full of praise for Ximen Qing.

Wanyan Wuye also hunted and killed wild bears in the mountains with his brothers and nephews, and of course ate bear paws.However, Jurchen's food processing methods are crude and simple. After roasting bear paws and other bear meat, boiled them, dipped them in some salty sauce, and then ate them to their heart's content. How can they be so particular about it like the Central Plains people?

As early as the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, people in the Central Plains began to cook bear paws alone, and regarded it as one of the "Eight Treasures" delicacies.

Mencius, a Confucian sage, once wrote in his book: "Fish is what I want; bear's paw is also what I want. You can't have both, and those who give up fish and take bear's paw will also create a popular saying. The famous saying of "you can't have both the fish and the bear's paw" through the ages.This also shows the popularity of bear paws at that time.

It is said that at that time the monarch of Chu State, a barbarian country in the south, was the Xiong family. In order to express their contempt and hatred for the barbarians of Chu State, the nobles of the Central Plains popularized eating bear paws. I don’t know if this legend is true or not.

In the civilized world before Ximen Qing crossed over, black bears had become protected animals. Eating bear paws was illegal and considered cruel and barbaric.But for the Jurchens at this time, hunting was still a very important economic activity and means of survival for them.

Relying on mountains to eat mountains, relying on water to drink water, of course the prey they hunt must eat their flesh and sleep on their skins, so as to ensure the Jurchens themselves to thrive in this bitter cold place.For Wanyan Wuye, eating a bear paw is no different from eating a leg of lamb or pig's trotter, but today he felt something different after eating the bear paw brought by Ximen Qing.

"Brother Ximen Qing, you just said that you have something to discuss with me, what exactly is it?" Wanyan Wuye asked Ximen Qing.

Seeing Wanyan Wuye's questioning, Ximenqing told him that he wanted to go to the front line of Shangjing Dao Ningzhou in the Liao Kingdom to watch the battle and pay a visit to Emperor Wanyan Aguda and others, and asked Wanyan Wuye to help him, and arranged for warriors to guide him. .

Wanyan Wuye laughed and said, "Brother Ximenqing, are you trying to scout the way for Zhao Liangsi, the secret envoy of your country? Presumably the secret envoy of Zhao couldn't hold back anymore, and was eager to see the Emperor of the Great Jin Kingdom."

Ximen Qing said with a smile: "Brother Wuye is said in the Dajin Kingdom to be intelligent, well-read, and known as a scholar. Looking at it today, what he said is true. Brother Wuye really guessed right! Yes, I am exactly what I want to face. See Emperor Aguta, deliver news for our country's secret envoy, and seek an opportunity to meet the emperor. Brother Wuye, may you help me fulfill this wish?"

"Hahaha~ Brother Ximenqing, why do you have Haidongqing squatting on your shoulders, but come to learn from me? I was ordered to stay in Ningcheng to assist my cousin Wu Qimai in managing the state affairs, so naturally I have to be restrained by him. Sending you to the emperor's army to make contact is not in line with Wu Qimai's intentions, but it puts me in a dilemma! My nephew Tang Kuo Talan has an extraordinary relationship with the emperor, why don't you invite him to accompany you? "Wanyan Wuye suddenly smiled meaningfully at Ximen Qing.

Seeing Wanyan Wuye's smile, Ximen Qing was embarrassed, and wondered to himself, did this guy see something?No matter how daring Wanyan Wulu was, he wouldn't have told her uncle how I spent a night in the mountains with her!

"Brother Wuye, after I go down the mountain, have you seen little brother Tang Kuo Talan?" Ximen Qing asked guiltily.

"But it didn't. After you went down the mountain with him yesterday, he sent someone to report my safety, saying that you hunted a big bear together with him, and asked me to go to him some other day to see the bear skin. Today I You came to the door with bear paws, Ximen brother. From the size of the bear paws, I can see that what he said is true. The two of you have indeed hunted and killed an extraordinary bear! Ximen Qing Brother, you have a friendship with him to share weal and woe, to fight together; he has no official position in Huining City, so he can go anywhere, why don't you invite him to accompany you?" Wanyan Wuye talked eloquently to Ximen Qing .

After hearing this, Ximen Qing thought to himself, did Wanyan Wuye benefit from Wanyan Wulu?Why do you always think about bringing me and Ulu together?

Seeing his wretched smile, he must know that Wanyan Wulu is interested in me.He could have helped me go to the Wanyan Aguda army, but now he excused himself and insisted that I go see Wanyan Wulu again!

Anyway, what Wanyan Wuye said is not unreasonable, I followed Wanyan Wulu to the front line to visit her father Wanyan Aguda, who can stop me?Even the high-ranking and powerful Wanyan Wu begged to buy, but he couldn't control his niece.

"Hahaha~ Brother Wuye really wakes up the dreamer with one word! You see, I am so confused, why did I forget little brother Tang Kuota? Please tell him, Brother Wuye, that I will cook it for him in the camp. Take the bear's paw, and invite him to my camp for a while." Ximen Qing directly asked Wanyan Wuye to invite Wanyan Wulu to his camp, so as to test how Wanyan Wuye would respond.

"Hmm~ good! The bear paws cooked by Brother Ximen Qing are really delicious. Tang Kuo Tarlan will definitely be a real treat. Brother Ximenqing, you can go back to the camp and wait. I will definitely find Tang Kuo Tarlan and let him go. See you in your camp." Wanyan Wuye had no scruples, and immediately promised to let his little niece meet him in Ximen Qing's camp alone.

This Jurchen's people are simple and natural, and they have no sense of defense between men and women. It really makes the people of the Central Plains who are repressed by nature moved to tears!

Seeing that Wanyan Wuye was so affectionate and righteous to him, Ximenqing decided to give Wanyan Wuye another generous gift.Before leaving Wanyan Wuye's Dazhai, he gave Wanyan Wuye a set of beautifully printed Buddhist scriptures.

The Jurchens who believe in shamanism are barbaric and primitive, and possess powerful cold weapon combat capabilities.Ximen Qing believes that only by letting them study Buddhist scriptures and believe in Buddhism subtly can they gradually change their aggressive character and disintegrate their combat effectiveness.

The Khitan people of the Liao Kingdom still retain their nomadic traditions, and the riding skills of the cavalry have not degenerated. Why do they always lose to the Jurchens in battle?In addition to the Liao Emperor Tianzuo's licentiousness and immorality, and the Khitan nobles having their own concerns, one of the reasons was that the Khitan people believed in Buddhism after the founding of the country, and many nobles and generals lost their martial spirit.

The Buddhist scriptures that cultural ambassador Ximenqing selflessly printed for the Jurchens will subtly change the Jurchens' tough and martial habits while passing on advanced culture to the Jurchens.I hope that in the future there will be more Buddhist masters and fewer world famous generals among the Jurchen nobles!

Wanyan Wuye is the person who likes to read the most among the nobles of the Jurchen clan, so Ximenqing's Buddhist scripture gift is naturally the first choice for him.

Wanyan Wuye never expected that Ximen Qing had such a grand plan to transform the civilization of the Jurchens in his heart. He loved the Buddhist scriptures presented by Ximen Qing so much that he wished he could immediately send Ximen Qing out of the village to sit down and study them carefully.

Seeing his impatient appearance, Ximen Qing thought to himself that I want you to collude with Wanyan Wulu to deceive me, and I will let you try my tricks too!

6 Chapter Twenty

Ximenqing gave Wanyan Wuye a set of beautifully printed Buddhist scriptures in Chinese and Jurchen. After training the first peace-loving dove among the Jurchen nobles, he bid farewell to Wanyan Wuye and agreed to meet at the dinner party. Waiting for "Tang Kuo Talan" in the camp, he left Wanyan Wuye's Dazhai and disappeared into the bustling crowd of Huining City.

Seeing Ximen Qing walking away, Wanyan Wuye looked up to the sky and laughed loudly, thinking to himself, brother Ximen Qing, you have been so hard to hide from Wulu!You are still pretending to be calm in front of me today, don’t you know that the saber on your waist has already exposed the secret between you and Ulu?

That saber was handed over to Wulu by my cousin Wanyan Aguda.Once Wulu chooses the person he likes, he will give this knife to him as a gift.In my Dajin Kingdom, the man who wears this knife is the future son-in-law!

In my cousin Aguda's army, I don't know how many young warriors want to get this saber.I really don't know what kind of interesting things will happen after you go to the army, Brother Ximenqing?How would my cousin Aguda see the saber at your waist?Hehehe~ It's really exciting!

Wanyan Wuye returned to the village with a cunning smile like a fox, while arranging for someone to invite Wanyan Wulu and tell her about Ximen Qing's invitation; at the same time, he sent his confidantes to the Wanyan Aguda army in advance to wait there Ximen Qing and Wanyan Wulu and their party asked him to report back to him the interesting stories of Ximen Qing and Wanyan Wulu after they rushed to the barracks.

After arranging everything, the complacent Wanyan Wuye took a copy of the "Vajra Prajna Paramita Sutra" and sat in the room to read it with relish.

After Ximen Qing left Wanyan Wuye's house, he didn't return to the camp immediately. Instead, he bought some medicinal materials in the city and went to Guoxiangzhai to visit the sick Guoxiang and Hulu Bo Jilie Wanyan Sagai.

After a long talk with Ma Kuo yesterday, Ximen Qing went back to his camp to think about it alone, and found a piece of information that he had almost overlooked from Ma Kuo's words, that is, the important minister of the Great Jin Kingdom, the important minister of the state, Hulu Boji Lie Wanyan changed his illness.

After interacting with the nobles of the Kingdom of Jin, coupled with the historical memory in his heart, Ximen Qing understood how important Wanyan Sagai was among the nobles of the Jurchen clan.

Although the imperial power of the Great Jin Kingdom is in the hands of Wanyan Aguda brothers, and Wanyan Wu Qimai is the crown prince and future heir to the throne, Wanyan Sagai's strength among the Jurchen ruling nobles is not inferior to Wanyan Wu Qimai!

Before the establishment of the Jurchen state, Du Bojin Wanyan Aguda and the Prime Minister Wanyan Sagai divided and governed the Jurchen tribes. Dubojin Wanyan Aguda was in the north, and the Prime Minister Wanyan Sagai was in the south.It can be said that the Prime Minister Wanyan Sagai is the second most powerful Jurchen figure behind Wanyan Aguda.

When Wanyan Aguda decided to raise troops against the Liao Dynasty, he had to seek Wanyan Sagai's opinion first, and only after getting his support did he resolutely raise troops.After winning the first battle, Wanyan Aguda captured the mount of Liao general Yeluxie Shi, and also gave this special trophy to Wanyan Sagai who did not participate in the battle.When the Jin Kingdom was first established, Wanyan Sa was also the leader and led the Jurchen nobles to support Wanyan Aguda as the emperor.All these past events have shown the world that Wanyan Sagai's strength and political status are second only to Wanyan Aguda in the Jurchen aristocratic ruling group.

Six months after the founding of the Kingdom of Jin, in order to adapt to the rule of the new country, Emperor Wanyan Aguda of the Kingdom of Jin decided to reorganize the ruling system of the original tribal alliance.He reorganized the relatively large Jurchen council, which was attended by Dubojilie, Guoxiang, and Gebojilie, into a Bojilie system in which the emperor's government and a small number of senior core officials at the level of the country's ministers discussed state affairs.

The newly born Jin Guobo Jilie System decided the country's major affairs in the form of a collegiate system of a small number of senior core officials, and it was a political system that assisted the emperor.However, the emperor did not have absolute authority. His power was restrained by various senior core officials, similar to collective leadership.This is an institutional arrangement for the Jurchens to transition from a loose tribal alliance system to a centralized monarchy.

When Wanyan Aguda reorganized the Bojilie system for the first time, there were five members of the nobles in Bojilie, and they were ranked in order of status: Wanyan Aguda was Dubojilie, the emperor; his fourth brother Wanyan Wuqi Ban Bo Jilie is bought as the crown prince, the heir after the emperor's death; Wanyan Aguda's cousin Wanyan Sa is changed to Guolun Bo Jilie, this is equivalent to the former prime minister; Wanyan Aguda's cousin Uncle Wanyan Ci is extremely strong for Ah Maibo, who is equivalent to the first assistant to the Prime Minister; Wanyan Aguda's fifth younger brother Wanyan Xie is also extremely fierce, who is equivalent to the second assistant to the Prime Minister.

Through this reorganization, Emperor Wanyan Aguda concentrated the political power of the ministers of the Jurchen Alliance into the hands of several clan nobles of the Wanyan family, which was a step towards centralization.And in this reorganization, Wanyan Aguda's fourth younger brother Wanyan Wu Qimai became the crown prince, surpassing the prime minister Wanyan Sagai in political status, and Wanyan Sagai was nominally reduced to No. [-] in the ruling core of the Kingdom of Jin. three.

However, is Wanyan Sagai's real power and influence weaker than Crown Prince Wanyan Wuqi because of this reorganization?Not so.

Two months after the first reorganization of Bojilie, Emperor Wanyan Aguda changed Wanyan Sagai's Guolun Bojilie to Guolun Khurubjilie.That is to say, Wanyan Sagai combined the powers of Prime Minister of the country and Generalissimo of the country's soldiers and horses, and at the same time controlled the political power and actual military power of the Kingdom of Jin.It can be said that in the new political territory of Dajin Kingdom, Wanyan Wu Qimai is slightly higher than Wanyan Sagai in terms of political status, but Wanyan Sagai has surpassed Wanyan Wu Qimai in terms of real power, and is still second only to Wanyan Wu Qimai. The second person in the Emperor Wanyan Aguda.

The current situation in the Jin Guojun also further confirms the real power of Khulu Bo Ji Lie Wanyan Sagai.

The army of the Kingdom of Jin is now divided into two major armies, the North and the South. Because of Wanyan Sagai's poor health, the Northern Army is now commanded by Emperor Wanyan Aguda instead of him. However, the most active young general in the Northern Army is Wanyan Sagai. His eldest son, Wan Yannian, did not drink.And the commander of the Southern Legion is Wanyan Sagai's brother Wanyan Wulu.