Chapter 1 The Autumn Rain

The autumn rain in Yanjing and the autumn rain in Tokyo were quite different, at least in terms of temperature.

After the meeting, the three princes left in order. The last one was Wanyan Wushu, the Prince of Wei of the Great Jin, who was still young. He waited until his two elder brothers had left on horseback before walking out of the main deliberation hall of the Shangshu台 (State Affairs Council). However, he first took a white fur robe from the guard under the eaves in front of the door, carefully put it on, and then put on a strange white leather hat before slowly walking down the steps... This outfit, not to mention compared with the previous two princes, formed a sharp contrast with the other rough Nüzhen nobles in front of the hall gate, especially those with hairstyles that looked like three rat tails on their heads.

Having said that, an obvious fact was that, as Wushu ascended to the throne of supreme power, everyone once again paid attention to the fourth prince's old injury, which he apparently sustained in a battle with the southern official. It seemed to have been four or five years since.

Moreover, if there were no accidents, the injury should be close to the vital part of the groin.

Some vulgar people even said with malice that the fourth prince ran away with his buttocks sticking out that day, and was shot in the back by Han Shizhong, hitting four or five fen (a traditional Chinese unit of length) below the navel, between the water and drought channels. Not only did he suffer from the common root causes of external injuries such as fear of cold, heat, and rain, but even going to the toilet was difficult, and he may have even injured his kidneys, making him unable to consummate marriage. The reason why the fourth prince did not grow a beard for a while was because of this.

However, the latter was obviously a slander, because the fourth prince had recently started growing a beard again. A more reasonable guess was that the fourth prince's crotch injury had gradually healed long ago, but he fled back in embarrassment during the Battle of Yao Mountain, crossed the river on a ‘wooden dragon’, and was soaked for too long, but he became sick again, leaving some other root causes that led to physical weakness.

But no matter what, in this place where Nianhan was hammered to death, no one dared to show any disdain for the fourth prince, no matter what shape or posture he was in, otherwise they would really be muddleheaded.

The rain was drizzling, sometimes stopping and sometimes appearing. Since the important matters had been discussed, the princes dispersed first, and the rest of the civil and military officials, whether Nüzhen, Xi, or Han, also dispersed. Only the autumn rain was so scattered, and it was a bit cold. Although not everyone would learn from the fourth prince and put on a fur coat so early, it was also a good idea to go back early and drink a bowl of mutton soup to warm up.

"Fourth Prince."

With a call that was rarely heard these days sounding behind him, Wushu, who was wearing a fur robe, turned his head and couldn't help but smile slightly in the rain. Then he stopped his horse slightly to wait. It turned out that Qin Hui, the vice minister of the樞密院 (Privy Council), was riding over in person.

When Qin Hui came to him, Wushu smiled and said, "Hui Zhi, everyone now calls me Prince Wei, why are you the only one calling me Fourth Prince? My nephew is already the ruler of the country, how can I still be a prince?"

Qin Hui, whose white face was stained with a few drops of rain, laughed on the spot, but shook his head while holding the reins: "I understand in my heart, but I can't change my mouth!"

"It doesn't matter." Wushu shook his head and smiled again. "The ruler of the country wouldn't take away my position as枢相 (Chief Councilor) for these things... Hui Zhi, what are you looking for me for? I just saw your friend Hong Chengzhi go to look for Xiyin. In this kind of weather, wouldn't it be better for you learned people to get together to drink wine and write poems, and then continue to learn the words in the southern邸报 (official gazette) and discuss the 'deepening of reform'?"

"Is the Fourth Prince chasing me away?" Qin Hui, who was already riding side by side with Wanyan Wushu, continued to joke, but couldn't help but sigh. "Actually, if Hong Chengzhi knew that the Fourth Prince was so amiable, he would have come over long ago... But he is also in a difficult situation. Although the Great Jin is frank and treats the figures from Qi kindly, Liu Yu can be a wealthy man, Liu Ni and Li Qi are both gone, and he can still be a统制官 (military commander), and he entered the central government as soon as he came, but he is still a little worried... Therefore, he doesn't even dare to be close to his old master Talan, who was the留守 (garrison commander) of Yanjing, and he can't come to me, so he can only go to his superior, Vice Minister Xiyin."

"Let him work with peace of mind." Wushu immediately responded loudly. "As long as you work hard, whether Nüzhen, Qidan, Xi, or Han, the Great Jin treats everyone equally. This is what I said!"

Qin Hui was waiting for these words, but he didn't expect to get them at the beginning, so he hurriedly responded, and then prepared to find an opportunity to leave... After the political change, the situation was delicate, and with Qin Hui's slipperiness, although his relationship with Wushu was appropriate before, he didn't dare to easily make a decision among the three princes, especially with a young, smart, and completely Sinicized legitimate ruler sitting on top.

However, after the two exchanged a few words and traveled together in the rain for a while, just as they were about to separate, the rain suddenly became tighter... This was the trouble with autumn rain. It couldn't be stopped, at most it would ease for a while, and then suddenly it would break out again, but it was not as intense as summer rain. It was just continuous rain, carrying cold air that penetrated the heart and lungs.

Wushu and Qin Hui had no choice but to stop by the roadside, asking people to knock on the door of a wine shop on the street. Then, without ordering any dishes, they just threw a few gold coins to the trembling shopkeeper, asking him to set up a table inside the shop's facade on the street, warm a pot of wine, and ask the kitchen to cook some mutton soup for the servants.

As for Wushu and Qin Hui themselves, they sat directly on the street, warming wine and watching the rain.

Having said that, Qin Hui originally just wanted to say a few words for Hong Ya to probe the situation, and had no intention of having an in-depth conversation. But as things stood, if they didn't say anything with their previous political connections, it would seem estranged.

"Fourth Prince."

The charcoal stove was boiling water, and the wine was bathing in the water. After the shopkeeper placed the wine cups, he honestly hid aside. Qin Hui glanced at the soldiers in the shop and found that they were all familiar people who had followed Wushu for a long time. He finally held the pot and poured wine, taking the opportunity to speak.

"Hmm?"

"This humble official is not very clear about the affairs between the Nüzhen nobles and military affairs, so I would like to ask, does the Fourth Prince have full confidence in going to Hexi this time?" Qin Hui personally offered the warm wine, with a sincere expression.

"Where does full confidence come from?" Wushu took the wine, took a small sip, and sighed as he looked at the rain curtain in front of him. "This time, it's obviously to seize the military power and territory of my brother Huonü. It's to take away his means of protecting his life and wealth. How can there be full confidence? Only Huonü is Lou室 (Lou Shi)'s son after all. If he still has any sense, he should know that if he really touches me, Wushu, or does anything disrespectful, his own power will disappear... Therefore, there is no full confidence, but seven or eight tenths is still there."

Qin Hui was thoughtful.

"What does Chancellor Qin think?" Wushu suddenly glanced over.

"There is nothing to think about." Qin Hui held the ceramic wine cup in his hand, still thoughtful. "It's just a pity... The son of a thousand gold should not sit in a dangerous hall. With the Fourth Prince's dignity, even if there is only a 10-20% chance of danger, he should not rashly go to Hexi. Moreover, even if Huonü is subdued and the 20,000 to 30,000 soldiers are sent back to Hedong, it will be a great favor to Bálísù (Balisu), but the Western Route Army is still under the control of the Third Prince, which is of no benefit to the Fourth Prince. Going to Hexi this time is really all hard work."

"What about hard work?" Wushu laughed as he slapped his knee on the spot. "Among our three brothers, I am the youngest. If I don't run around outside, how can I deal with the situation?"

Qin Hui said nothing.

Seeing this, Wushu gradually put away his smile: "Hui Zhi, I know your intentions. I also want to be in power. I also want to be unscrupulous, but since Nianhan has been killed and the abolition has been done, we must talk about being united sincerely, otherwise there will inevitably be chaos... It is good enough for our three brothers to stand together."

"Of course, this humble official knows this principle, but I just lament the difficulty of doing things." Qin Hui took a small sip, then put down his wine cup, and just sat there with his hands folded and his brows furrowed, watching the rain. "Nianhan is gone, but we still can't negotiate peace. The three princes and brothers are governing sincerely together, but it is still difficult... We have just pacified the affairs of Jingdong, and are about to start working on Hebei, but Huonü has caused trouble. It's too coincidental."

"Coincidence or not." Wushu shook his head in response. "The overall situation is like this. It should be so difficult to do things. This has been the principle since ancient times. We shouldn't complain."

Qin Hui was finally stunned.

Wushu himself had already continued earnestly: "Although the articles on the Song people's邸报 (official gazette) that analyze the situation between the two countries are somewhat exaggerated, there is still some truth in them... So-called when the time comes, the world will work together, but when the luck is gone, heroes are not free... At the moment, neither we nor the South have reached the point where the luck is gone, nor have we had the unrestrainedness of the time. Everyone has to do things while enduring all kinds of difficulties. Everyone is having a hard time. So no matter what, no matter how difficult it is, we must continue to do things!"

Qin Hui was still silent.

"Qin Chancellor was so right when he spoke in Huguan last time." The rain was a little lighter, but Wushu had no intention of getting up. Instead, he continued to pour and drink by himself, sighing to himself. "Since the Great Jin cannot advance, it should stabilize the situation. To stabilize the situation, the war is in Hedong, the governance is in Hebei, but the root is always in Hebei... Because the bandits in the Taihang Mountains all ran away from Hebei... And if Hebei wants long-term peace and stability, it must separate the Meng'an (Mongolian and Jurchen military administrative unit) from the local area. Conversely, only in this way can we strengthen the army and benefit the wealth."

Qin Hui still folded his hands and said nothing.

"What does Hui Zhi think?" Wushu was finally a little impatient.

"What can this humble official think?" Qin Hui shook his head and sighed, then stood up again, pouring wine for the other party while answering calmly. "Who doesn't know the principle that things have been difficult since ancient times? Don't say we are having a hard time, isn't that official in the South having a hard time?"

Wushu was slightly stunned, and then smiled bitterly:

"That's indeed the principle. He must also be a person, and he must have started doing things from that situation after the Jingkang Incident. We are having such a hard time at this time, how could he not be having a hard time? But he gritted his teeth and did it."

"Not only before, but even now, isn't he gritting his teeth to do things?" Qin Hui still shook his head. "In the incident of Baima Shaoxing, the world said that he was unfilial, but that's not true... Because at that time, how could he care about the two retired emperors who had lost the hearts of the people? The fundamental reason for that incident was to expel seventy or eighty people who were unwilling to work with him... According to this humble official, the Fourth Prince has lost some of his demeanor compared to that person in the South. He started doing things from that kind of situation, so difficult, but have you ever seen him sitting in the rain complaining about how difficult he is? On the contrary, the Fourth Prince showed his timidity today."

Wushu sighed, then raised his cup and drank it all in one gulp, before shaking his head: "That is indeed the principle, but if you let me say, the current situation of Zhao Song is still better than ours... Because the current situation is that we have to do things, and that official of Zhao Song also has to do things, but Huonü comes out to make trouble, not allowing us to do things... Only the territory of Zhao Song is larger after all. They can divide Guanzhong, and while Guanzhong is fighting, the Central Plains and Southeast can still do things as usual, but we can't."

Qin Hui just chuckled at the roundabout words.

"Alright." Seeing this, Wushu simply got up. "The future is difficult, let's just keep going and encourage each other. There's no need to complain."

Qin Hui also got up, and the two walked out of the door together, about to separate here.

However, Qin Hui took a few steps on horseback, thinking about Wushu's toughness, and thinking about those Zhao Song chancellors who were封王 (conferred as kings) on the邸报 (official gazette), he was still unable to calm down. He turned around in the fine autumn rain, and then was stunned on the spot... It turned out that Wanyan Wushu had long been standing still in the rain, without even wearing a hat, just looking up at him, as if he was waiting for him to speak.

"Fourth Prince." Qin Hui panicked and quickly responded.

Wushu nodded slightly in the rain: "I knew that a smart person like Chancellor Qin would have words to teach me."

"Fourth Prince, you just explained the situation clearly." Qin Hui tried his best to be calm. "And this humble official now has a plan. If it can be done, not only will our Great Jin be able to do things with peace of mind, but also the Zhao Song in the South will not be able to do things with peace of mind. But if it can't be done, it will become a joke. I wonder if the Fourth Prince has the courage..."

Wushu smiled without saying a word.

"Has the Fourth Prince heard of the Battle of Changping in the Warring States period?" Qin Hui gritted his teeth and responded seriously. "The cause of the Battle of Changping was Qin's attack on the Shangdang, a fiefdom of Han, which is now the area of Longde府 (Prefecture). Han was unable to defend it, so it transferred the land to Zhao. Therefore, the Qin and Zhao states launched a major battle there to seize the land of Shangdang..."

Wushu's heart was greatly moved. He woke up almost instantly, but he was speechless for a moment and could not respond.

Qin Hui had no choice but to continue his efforts: "Previously, Western Xia had heavily bribed the traitor Nianhan, seeking the northwestern land of Liao. Nianhan had promised it as early as four or five years ago, but it was delayed again and again because of Yelu Dashi, the Mongol people, and the southern war. After Nianhan's death, Western Xia was even more uneasy, so it withdrew its envoy and turned around to send an envoy to Zhao Song. But everyone in the world knows that Western Xia and Zhao Song have a century-old feud, a deep hatred like the sea, how could they really join forces with the Song people to fight against the Jin? This move is nothing more than a show for our Great Jin to see... In that case, why not give the Western Xia people a big favor?"

"Give Yan'an府 (Prefecture) to Li Qian順 (Li Qianshun)?!" Wushu finally said the words in his heart.

"Not only Yan'an府 (Prefecture), but also Suide Jun, Jinning Jun, and even the three prefectures outside the river, as well as the old land of Liao north of Yin Mountain, so-called both sides of Hengshan and Yinshan, can be given to them!" Qin Hui said to this point, completely uninhibited. "These places are just border areas to the Great Jin, poor and useless, but to Western Xia, they are the foundation they have sought for a hundred years! Even one step further, if Huonü wants to die with us, why not even give Huonü and some of his troops to them?! Let's see if Western Xia can bear it! And if Western Xia can't bear it and invades northern Shaanxi with all its might, let's see if Zhao Song will fight them with all its might? If the two countries fight, the disaster in Guanxi will be Zhao Song's, and our Great Jin can slip away and gain the opportune moment! But I wonder if the Fourth Prince has the courage?"

Wushu did not respond, and directly turned his horse around.

"Fourth Prince!" Although Qin Hui had come up with a strange plan, he himself felt panicked, and shouted again from behind. "This plan also has its disadvantages. If the Song people can quickly defeat Western Xia, it would be a reckless move to provide the enemy with resources. In the end, it is to give the topic to others! Let's see their abilities!"

Wushu still did not respond and disappeared directly into the rain. Qin Hui stood there, wanting to chase but not daring to chase, wanting to retreat but not daring to retreat. As the rain turned heavier again, he was drenched all over. In the end, he could only turn around and ride away in embarrassment.

The weather was getting colder day by day. Since Wanyan Wushu, the Prince of Wei of the Great Jin and the樞密使 (Chief Councilor), had been entrusted with the responsibility of dealing with Wanyan Huonü of Hexi, he quickly left Yanyun and arrived at Zhengding府 (Prefecture) in five or six days. At this time, the half-month-long autumn rain finally stopped.

"Go and do something." That evening, Wushu summoned two confidant guards and handed over two letters. "A Da goes first and goes to Taiyuan with great fanfare to deliver this letter to Bálísù (Balisu), the留守 (garrison commander) of Taiyuan; A Er goes half a day later, without alarming too many people, go directly to find Yelu Ma Wu and give him this letter."

The two Xi guards naturally had nothing to say, but just acted according to his orders.

At the end of October, it was still autumn. Yelu Yu Du, a Qidan defector who was living in seclusion in Linfen, was preparing to go north to Taiyuan to welcome the Fourth Prince Wushu. Before he could set off, he received an order from his former subordinate Yelu Ma Wu, asking him to cross the river to Yan'an to comfort the army.

Yelu Yu Du only thought that he was being squeezed out again, but he could only endure it and act according to the military order... However, after crossing the river, the Qidan Meng'an (Mongolian and Jurchen military administrative unit) who was accompanying him as if he was monitoring him suddenly stopped at the ferry, and then directly told Yu Du a shocking piece of information - the Fourth Prince was actually going to kill him, Yelu Yu Du, to establish his authority! And Wanhu (Ten thousand households commander) Yelu Ma Wu had learned the news in advance, and thinking of their old friendship, he specially sent him here.

"General, the ruler of Western Xia is the son-in-law of the Qidan after all. Take advantage of General Huonü's ignorance and take the opportunity to surrender to the Western Xia people... Don't make things difficult for us." The Qidan Meng'an (Mongolian and Jurchen military administrative unit) said earnestly, leaving only these words before directly turning around and taking all the ships back to Hedong across the river.

Poor Yelu Yu Du, once a famous figure, once held the great power of the Liao military and political affairs. Once he surrendered to Aguda, he was also the元帅都监 (Marshal and Supervisor) of the Great Jin, and held real military power. Even for this reason, he was once regarded as a life-saving straw by the Great Song during the Jingkang Incident... However, at this moment, looking around, there were only two or three hundred followers with him, and they were isolated west of the Great River, unable to even retrieve their families. He was really speechless.

He could only sigh that fortunately, the autumn rain had stopped at this time, otherwise he would really have had the idea of throwing himself into the Yellow River.

ps: Thanks to the running meat bun classmate, the 123rd萌 (cute) appeared, and also thanks to the three alliances of the life tea table boss, and also thanks to the double萌 (cute) of the camelyexs boss... Completely grateful... As for the two silver alliances of the Glazed Zither boss... There is a kind of impulse to completely break the jar and become a scumbag!

How can I be worthy of it?!