Chapter 1 The Beginning

Twelfth-century Europe was still indulging in aristocratic warfare. Knights in splendid armor gracefully raised their lances, winning ladies' hearts with magnificent charges. Proud knights roamed freely across the European continent, acting as God's envoys on earth, responsible for conveying His will to humanity. All who questioned them faced the knight's furious charge. No one could stop the advance of these silver torrents, except for the light cavalry of the Seljuk Empire in the Arab world. These Asian imperial cavalry were barbaric and unpredictable. Their light attire allowed them to maintain a safe distance from the knights. When the knights were exhausted from chasing, they would do everything possible to provoke the knights' anger. When a knight charged out of formation for honor, these vile vultures would pounce and devour the knight, then escape like a whirlwind, leaving only dust. Knights with superb martial skills and sturdy armor seemed so clumsy in the face of these cunning cavalry. Fortunately, their crude swords and crossbows had difficulty penetrating the knights' excellent armor, and eventually the Christians succeeded in driving this group of vultures out of God's land. Achieving a draw with the infidels, and even being suppressed at one point, was a great shame for the arrogant knights. After the victory of the First Crusade, the Western world was eager to prepare for the next war, determined to let the infidels feel God's wrath at the right moment. The opportunity for revenge finally came. The Seljuk Empire attacked Edessa. Two years later, the Crusaders completed their assembly, vowing to fight for Jerusalem. At this time, scouts accidentally captured an infidel from the East. This former pasha of Turkey brought news that the Western world could hardly believe.

Five years ago, at Qatwan, a regime from the Silk Country of the East challenged the powerful Seljuk Empire. Sultan Sanjar mobilized all the countries to resist these unbelieving Silk Country people. The result of the war was that the Turkish cavalry was repeatedly defeated by the Silk Country people. The pillar of the Arab world, the powerful Seljuk Empire, had been retreating for five years. Finally, the Sultan was killed in battle, and the regime collapsed. This also explained why more and more Muslims had appeared on the edge of European territory in recent years, trying to escape into Europe. Just as the nobles were arguing about whether there really was an army that could destroy the Seljuk Empire in five years, Constantinople, the pearl of the Eastern Mediterranean, the center of world wealth and art, the last pride of the Romans, welcomed "guests" from the East after a long absence. The last news about the Eastern Empire was the shocking collision between the Tang Dynasty and the Arab world at the Battle of Talas. Four hundred years later, the Arab world did not have the good fortune it had before and was shattered. The Western world eliminated the threat of Islam without lifting a finger, but they had to face the even more terrifying Silk Country people.

The threat from the East! Panic spread through medieval Europe like a virus. More Crusaders gathered and headed to the Byzantine Empire to join the conflict with the East. This battle was about faith and determined the life and death of Europe. It was this conflict between East and West that made the name of the Khitans resound throughout Europe and ushered in the darkest chapter of European history.

Manuel, the last emperor of Byzantium, was pressed to the ground by Khitans covered in black ash at the city gate to perform a surrender ceremony to show off the Khitan's martial prowess. Before the execution, he turned his head and looked at Constantinople one last time. This was the final farewell of the last Roman emperor to Constantinople and the last time Europeans set foot on the land of Constantinople. The wall that had stood for eight hundred years, along with its emperor, ultimately existed only in the sorrowful songs of Europeans, "Many years later, this city will still belong to you, and you will return like lightning."

--t.n. Dupuy "The Evolution of Weapons and Warfare (10)
The Whirlwind from Khitan"

*Swish*, the sound of water pouring. Cracked lips absorbed the precious moisture. "Where is this? Who am I?"

*Swish*, another basin of water poured down. Fragments of memories floated in his groggy mind: ancient and towering churches, solemn hymns, devout people praying in the bright candlelight, the purple robe handed over by the bishop, and high-spirited knights crowding onto the towering walls of Constantinople. Walls? The walls!

*Swish*, the third basin of water completely awakened Manuel. Manuel I, the newly enthroned and ambitious Roman Emperor, dreamed of reviving the Roman Empire, weakening the authority of the Holy Roman Empire to the west, and containing the offensive of the Seljuk Empire to the east, so that the name of the double-headed eagle would resound throughout the Mediterranean. But what the young emperor did not expect was that the powerful Seljuk Empire in the East would collapse, and a demon named Khitan would drive straight in. They used incredible tactics to let warships bypass the chains that blocked the river and burn the flames under the firm walls of Constantinople.

The emperor never feared challenges. He personally ascended the city wall and led the knights to cut down the first to board, "God is on our side!" the emperor proudly announced. Unless God cast down a thunderbolt of punishment, no one could knock down the firm walls of Constantinople. Until that day, the emperor ascended the steps as usual under the protection of knights. An inexplicable heat wave rolled up from under the city wall. The emperor was overturned and fainted. The last picture was the disappearing city wall.

"You damn Khitan barbarians." The moment Manuel opened his eyes, he saw the young man sitting opposite him, reading the emperor's favorite biography of Caesar. The humiliation of losing his country and the anger of being violated made Manuel roar, but he was immediately gagged.

"I came, I saw, I conquered." To Manuel's surprise, the young man spoke in Latin, slowly reading Caesar's famous saying. Seeing the surprised emperor, the young man immediately switched to Greek, "Don't be surprised, if you are in a precarious situation, you will also be motivated to learn. Let me introduce myself, Yelu Zongbi, Imperial Supervisor of the Great Liao Emperor Yelu Dashi, Meng'an directly under the Grand Tutor, more dazzling than Caesar." The young man waved his hand and asked someone to release the emperor's restraints. As soon as Manuel opened his mouth, he rebuked, "You mere Eastern barbarians dare to falsely claim the title of emperor and blaspheme Caesar the Great. You crows with shaved heads in humble houses are here to tear apart God's gift and turn the most prosperous city in the world into ashes!"

As if he had heard a joke, the young man laughed wantonly, along with the surrounding warriors. The unrestrained laughter made the young emperor's face flush. "Is there anything wrong? You barbarians defeated the cruel Turks. You will only be more cruel than them. I would rather die in a robe on the way to charge the Turks. I curse you." The emperor suddenly thought of the disappeared city wall. Perhaps these barbarians really had some kind of sorcery. The emperor shrank back a little.

The young man didn't care about this, "You say the Khitan are barbarians, it seems that the honorable Roman Emperor has not had time to understand the changes in the East. Your so-called noble bloodline is ridiculous in my eyes. Your proud and prosperous land is not worth mentioning. Khitan comes from distant China." Silk Country? The emperor's eyes widened. He loved the smooth silk sold from the Silk Country, but he didn't know much about this country. He listened to the young man telling the story. Khitan, this nation as hard as steel, lived tenaciously on the grasslands and grew into a vast empire with tens of thousands of archers. Its broad mind and unique civilization, and its absorption of other cultures, were amazing. The young man's story ended abruptly when Wanyan Aguda decided to rebel against the Liao, "The Khitan were once so glorious, hunting with the Tang Emperor, making the Song Emperor lower his head, and defeating the coalition forces of the Seljuk Empire, killing the Sultan. Emperor Yelu Dashi is a god, uniting the Khitan, Han, Jurchen, Xi, and even the Turks, and the Romans will inevitably submit to him."

The emperor suddenly thought of his status as the monarch of a fallen country, "Is the Liao really so powerful? Why did you Khitans run to the distant Mediterranean? It seems that the Jurchens' rebellion against the Liao was successful. You are just a group of stray dogs." The emperor wanted to gain momentum verbally, but the young man laughed even more happily. He began to tell the story of the Jurchens, from Aguda removing his armor to cross the river, to Lou Shi washing his horse's body, from Emperor Tianzuo being captured in humiliation, to Emperor Huizong and Emperor Qinzong being invited to the north. This story was more complete and more emotional than the story of the Khitans. The emperor noticed that the young man trembled slightly when he mentioned Wanyan Wushu. After the story was finished, the emperor said in a deep voice, "Are you a Jurchen?" The young man remained silent. "Has the Jin Dynasty you mentioned been destroyed?" Still silence, only tears in the eyes of the warriors. "Who defeated the powerful Jin Dynasty?" The Khitan defeated the Seljuk Empire that plagued the Roman Empire, the Jin Dynasty drove the Khitan out of the grasslands, so what kind of monster would defeat the Jin Dynasty?

Song.

Song? That humiliating dynasty whose capital was captured and whose emperor was captured to perform? The young man softly told the story of the Song. He mentioned the Battle of Bagong Mountain, the recovery of Dongjing, the destruction of Western Xia, the fall of Taiyuan and Daming. The Roman Emperor knew the information about gunpowder. He mentioned the hundreds of thousands of troops fighting in Huolu, he mentioned the ten years of success of that Jianyan Emperor, turning the Great Jin into the Great Qing.

"What exactly do you want to do?" the emperor couldn't help asking, "Just to refute me, the monarch of a fallen country?"

"I came, I saw, I conquered! The Great Jin should conquer everything, instead of humiliatingly living as the Great Qing. Those Liao and Song people should crawl at our feet, the Mongolians and Bohai people should be our slaves, Western Xia and Goryeo are not even worthy of carrying our shoes, why? Why did the Great Jin lose everything!" The young man suppressed his grief and indignation, and the figure of the person going south alone flashed through his mind. He became even more angry, "These people have climbed on the heads of the Jurchens, and Heshilie Liangbi, Zhao Liangbi, only knows how to serve his father, and doesn't care about the life and death of people like us. Why!"

The young man suddenly pulled out his saber, "When you have a sharp blade in your hand, the desire to kill arises naturally. Qing is a dog with broken bones, Liao can be reborn, and so can the Great Jin. I want to make the Great Jin come alive in this strange land! I moved away the Sultan's books, I collected the maps of the Rus, I took away the Roman books, I'm just waiting, waiting for the day when the Great Jin will be revived." As the young man spoke, he threw down his saber, pulled out a dagger, cut open his palm, and smeared his forehead with blood. The surrounding warriors followed suit. The smell of blood squeezed into the emperor's nose, making him even more awake.

"You mentioned that after the Jianyan Emperor won the victory, he let the Khitans advance westward, instead of returning to the Silk Country?" The young man nodded.

"You mentioned that the Khitan's native population is insufficient and needs to absorb Jurchen prisoners of war or Han criminals from the Silk Country to supplement the labor force?" The young man nodded.

"You mentioned that Emperor Dashi recently dealt with the Three-Surnamed Yegu?" "You mentioned that the proportion of Turks in the Khitan country is increasing?" "You mentioned..."

With a series of questions, the emperor's thoughts became clearer and clearer, "The Khitans treat you prisoners of war like this?" The young man grinned, revealing the whip marks on his arm.

"Your Emperor Dashi is really a genius, able to maintain such a stitched-together empire. May I ask, how is Emperor Dashi's health?"

"Emperor Dashi is always healthy!"

The Roman Emperor read the young man's mockery and had an answer in his heart. He asked himself the last question in his life, "Why are you telling me so much?"

The young man finally restrained his smile, "Every time I conquer a place, I will find the local leader to tell these stories, just to warn myself not to forget the Great Jin's deep blood feud. Young Roman Emperor, your wisdom and courage allow you to choose a wish before you die."

The emperor straightened his body, "You and the Song and Liao have a feud of genocide, and you and I have the humiliation of losing our country. As the emperor, I cannot die by the sword of infidels, so let me wear a purple robe and let a Christian cut off my head."

The day after Constantinople fell, the Roman people were forced to cut off the head of their emperor, Manuel. Before his execution, the Romans sang sadly, "Many years later, this city will still belong to you, and you will return like lightning." That night, the young man who had talked with the Roman Emperor for so long silently recited his real name. In his heart, his name was always Wanyan Heng, the name his father Wanyan Wushu left for him when he surrendered south. "I must not forget." He fell asleep.

He fell asleep. But someone didn't want him to fall asleep. "Wang Dahai, get up!" Rubbing his sleepy eyes, the young man named Wang Dahai yawned at length, then was shaken by his companion, "Dahai, those devils are here again, what should we do?"

Wang Dahai opened his eyes and saw a dark mass of people opposite him, each holding a wooden knife, obviously with ill intentions. The leader walked up to Wang Dahai, raised his head and shouted, "Tartars, the lowest status in the new barracks should be Tartars. I see you're new here and I'm afraid you don't know. Grandpa, as the squad leader, will give you a reminder. You're so tall, kneel down and talk to me." Before he finished speaking, the leader swung his knife at Wang Dahai's leg, wanting to make him kneel down in pain. The knife went quickly and hard. If it were an ordinary person, he would have knelt down on the spot, but in reality, Wang Dahai easily pinched the wooden knife, "I am a martial champion appointed by the Emperor in Shaoxing 31st year. In terms of rank, I am higher than you. You have to kneel down to me! Kneel down!" After saying that, he snatched the wooden knife and poked it into the man's stomach with the handle, sending him flying out. Wang Dahai looked at the wooden knife that was broken into two pieces and curled his lips, "The quality of your devils' things is really poor." *Guizi* (devils) and *dazi* (tartars) were derogatory terms for the Japanese and Mongols, respectively. It was said that they were spread from the Yan capital palace.

The other Japanese people saw that Wang Dahai was so good at fighting that they dared not step forward, but they refused to lose in terms of verbal skills, "What martial champion? You're a lowly criminal who was exiled here. It's estimated that your championship has long been taken away in the country. Tartars just like to cause trouble!" "You devils still have the nerve to talk? Speaking of causing trouble, wasn't it because someone among you lost his mind and randomly scored in the martial arts competition, not knowing that the Emperor was watching the competition in disguise, which angered him and made him order that all the participants that year be sent to the army? You should first take care of your legs and stop stepping out of bounds!" The two sides finally started fighting. The devils had more people, and the tartars were good at fighting, and in the end, it ended without a result. Everyone was tired from fighting, and fell asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow, only Wang Dahai kept his eyes open. He was not injured, but he had a problem, he slept poorly and always dreamed, and he always had the same dream. With such a strange sleep pattern, he could grow up so big probably thanks to Zhao Guan's policy of promoting meat, eggs, and milk.

Suddenly, Wang Dahai heard several people who had been exiled earlier discussing, "Did you hear? Ambaghai Khan's great revenge has been avenged?" "How was it avenged? Tell me quickly!" "It is said that Yesukhei's son met the leader of the Tatars and wrestled him to death in the wrestling arena. I heard that he had good skills and it couldn't be determined that he was deliberately wrestled to death, so he wasn't punished with his life, and was exiled here with us." "The Tatars deserve it, they should have been killed clean in the first place! That prince sacrificed his future to avenge Ambaghai Khan, he will be my big brother from now on!"

Wang Dahai sighed, listening to the gradually silent voices next door, and his mind went wild. At the end of the war against Jin, everyone became allies, and private fights were not allowed on the surface, which accumulated more and more resentment. Zhao Guan came up with a way, convened an alliance meeting, and suggested that countries resolve conflicts through competitions. The first competition only included horse riding, archery, wrestling, and other competitions. The representatives of other countries will not be mentioned for the time being. The first representative of the Song Dynasty was actually Han Shizhong, Prince of Han. Standing on the field, he scared his opponents so that their bones were soft and they could not exert their strength. Other princes were not willing to lose face to play, so Prince Han won the first place at the age of fifty-five. The Emperor bestowed the title of Martial Champion of the Three Armies, and since this meeting was held in Wulin, the name of the Wulin Meeting was used and continued as a tradition. After Zhao Guan issued an order prohibiting Prince Han from participating in the competition, the second Wulin Meeting was successfully held, but something went wrong in wrestling.

Since Ambaghai of Mongolia became a leisurely prince, he pursued enjoyment. He somehow lost his mind and actually wanted to be the second Prince Han. He dragged his elderly body to participate in the Mongolian specialty wrestling, but as a result, he was wrestled to death and died of holding his breath. Coincidentally, his opponent was a Tatar who had remained after the previous war, so there was a storm of rumors that the Tatars were deliberately retaliating. The final result was that Ambaghai was posthumously named Khan, and the Tatar contestant was executed. From then on, the feud between the two sides turned into a sea of blood, but the referees suffered, and they had to keep a close eye on the two teams meeting together every time. As a result, this incident still happened. The Tatar leader Temujin-ügei was wrestled to death!

Wang Dahai finally fell asleep. This time the dream was different. He dreamed of the scene when he won the martial championship and went to meet Zhao Guan. Zhao Guan was a thin old man, so weak that he could be strangled to death with one hand, but when he really stood in front of Zhao Guan, he didn't even dare to breathe loudly. Being swept by Zhao Guan's gaze, he only felt hot. Maybe that's why he is the Emperor and I, Wang Dahai, am just a criminal soldier.

But why is this? Wang Dahai couldn't figure it out. In his dream, he dreamed of the day his father sent him away. His father always hoped that he could become Zhao Guan's imperial guard, and then be sent out to be a local official, but at the competition, when he knew that his opponent was a Tatar, his father lost sleep all night. Wang Dahai had heard his father talk about how good his uncle Ambaghai was to his father since he was a child. Of course, his father wanted to avenge him, but the price of revenge was his son's fate. His father hesitated, so Wang Dahai helped his father make a decision. On the day of farewell, Wang Dahai knelt down and asked his father for leave. His father just shot down a large eagle in front of him, and then gave him a bow and arrow. His father told him that Mongolians should belong to the grasslands and be unrestrained by nature, and said that Wang Dahai was born to be a leader of the Mongolians! Before leaving, his father gave him a Mongolian name. The name his father gave him reminded him of the dream he had always had. There was always this name in the dream. What was that name?

Wang Dahai woke up with a wry smile. The leader of the Mongolians could only be Zhao Guan. How could he, a criminal soldier, be a leader? He should still think about how to survive on the battlefield. Speaking of the battlefield, what was the goal this time? Oh, it was to assist the Liao in suppressing the Western Jin. After Yelu Dashi's death, the Liao Dynasty was stable for a few years under the leadership of the Empress Dowager. As a result, a Jurchen slave rebellion occurred. Due to the untimely suppression, a man named Wanyan Heng claimed to be the son of Wanyan Wushu, and took the opportunity to start an uprising. The old Jurchen forces, Turks, and Romans responded one after another, calmly dividing the southwest territory of the Liao Dynasty, calling themselves the Western Jin, and became a force for a time. The Liao Dynasty could not suppress them, and the frivolous Zhao Guan actually only remembered to help the Liao Dynasty now.

Yelu Abaoji, Wanyan Aguda, Zhao Gou, Yelu Dashi, Wanyan Heng, Wang Dahai chewed on these names. He had heard their heroic stories since he was a child. There were stories of the Khitans, stories of the Jurchens, and stories of the Song, but there were no Mongolian stories. Why? Wang Dahai still couldn't figure it out, and he fell asleep again.

In his dream, he rode a steed and drew his longbow, galloping freely on the grasslands, running all the way from the east to the west. Everyone followed behind him. There were Mongolians, Jurchens, Turks, Liao people, and Song people. He drew his bow and shot an arrow, hitting a speeding eagle right in the center. Upon closer inspection, it turned into Zhao Guan. He sat on the high throne and was shot to death with an arrow. Wang Dahai in the dream was not only not afraid, but also walked to the throne, took off Zhao Guan's crown, and put it on himself. He saw the people following behind him cursing angrily. He felt annoyed by them, so he took action. Western Mongolia was beaten by him, the Rus were beaten by him, the Western Xia were beaten by him, the Jurchens were beaten, and the Song people were also beaten. Everyone was convinced, and Wang Dahai found that he already had a big country!

Wang Dahai woke up in shock. He was shocked by his bizarre dream and his wantonness in the dream, but his heart had never beaten so hard, as if he had been reborn. The Khitans could sit on this country, the Jurchens could sit on it, and Zhao Guan could sit on it, so why could Mongolians only beat devils in the new barracks? Wang Dahai couldn't help but push the companion next to him, "I want to be the Emperor!" The companion next to him was tired all day and didn't hear what Wang Dahai said clearly, but just subconsciously responded, "Okay, okay, you want to be the Emperor."

Wang Dahai fell asleep, this time he had the dream he had always had. In the dream, he no longer used the Han name Wang Dahai, he remembered the Mongolian name his father gave him, the name stolen from Temujin-ügei, Borjigin Temujin. In the dream, he was no longer Wang Dahai, he became an emperor as great as the ocean. He became, Genghis Khan. This time, he would no longer forget.