Wanyan Wushu drew his knife, but Wanyan Zonghan felt contemptuous.

Firstly, there were so many generals of the Western Route Army present, including many true veterans and a host of outer guards. It was impossible for a person with ulterior motives to harm him, the Bo Jilie and commander of the Western Route Army.

Secondly, although this meeting was only in Yanjing, and only two Bo Jilie were present, it was in fact a major occasion for the two of the three major factions of the Great Jin Dynasty to conduct 'large-scale friendly consultations' on the main military operations of the year. Wanyan Wushu disregarded etiquette by calling him Zonghan by name, and then drew his knife at the slightest disagreement, which only showed that this young man was impetuous. After one defeat in an expedition, he was at his wit's end, lost his mind, and was utterly incompetent.

Finally, and most importantly, it wasn't Wanyan Wushu's incompetence that was frightening, but the fact that he had shown his incompetence to everyone!

However, just as Zonghan was sneering inwardly and maintaining a calm face, Wanyan Wushu, under the gaze of everyone, suddenly did something that no one expected… After drawing his short knife, the fourth prince of the Jin Dynasty didn't threaten anyone, but instead, without a word, publicly slashed his forehead!

White blade, red flesh, dripping blood.

As everyone stared in astonishment, Wanyan Wushu threw down the short knife again, knelt directly facing north, kowtowing repeatedly, and even wailing:

"Father, if you have a spirit in the underworld, please open your eyes and see, it has only been five or six years since you left, and your son has been bullied to this extent by a house slave!"

Like everyone else, Zonghan was first stunned, then dumbfounded, and then filled with anger mixed with a chill in his heart… This fourth Old Wanyan was too dramatic and shameless!

Was it worth it for a grudge over a buttock?

"Fourth Brother!"

As expected, in this eerily quiet atmosphere, without anyone else speaking, Wanyan Aguda's eldest son, the other Bo Jilie present, and the true leader of the Aguda faction, Wanyan Wolben, spoke up in reprimand, and his expression was by no means fake. "Zonghan is our elder brother, not some house slave. If you dare to talk nonsense again, I will ask the emperor to send you back to Liaodong, never to enter the pass!"

Upon hearing this, Wanyan Wushu, disregarding the blood dripping from his forehead and the bloodstains on the ground in front of him, immediately turned around, raised his buttocks slightly, and made a grand gesture of apology to Zonghan, with a serious look on his face, as if he wasn't the one who had just cut his face and cursed: "Brother Zonghan, it was I who didn't know the importance of things and spoke nonsense, offending you. Please punish me."

"Wushu, we are brothers. You are young, and it's okay if you accidentally curse me a couple of times." Zonghan's anger had reached its peak, but he actually endured it on the surface, only complaining slightly. "But you shouldn't have said anything about house slaves… because that statement dragged my father in as well! And my father was the cousin of Emperor Taizu, your uncle, and the State Chancellor of the Great Jin Dynasty! The title of Hūlǔ Bo Jilie on your eldest brother is precisely inherited from him. If my father was Emperor Taizu's house slave, wouldn't your eldest brother also become the Jin Emperor's house slave?"

"Drag him down!" Hūlǔ Bo Jilie Wanyan Wolben, who was standing to the side, was slightly stunned, and then spoke again, pointing at his fourth brother in the hall. "Right here, whip him twenty times!"

The guards hesitated for a moment, but in the silence of the two Bo Jilie, they gritted their teeth and stepped forward, dragging Jin Wushu to the threshold of the Shangshu Province hall. They didn't dare to pull down his pants, but simply rolled up his shirt and began to administer the punishment to the fourth prince in public from his back.

The sound of whipping was slow and heavy, and the scene in the Shangshu Province of Yanjing became quiet again, to the point of being frightening.

In short, no one had expected Wanyan Wushu to pull this stunt, but the fourth prince, in addition to slashing his own forehead, also easily tore open all the outer curtains of the core power of the Jin Dynasty with one sentence.

Zonghan was certainly not a house slave. As Zonghan himself said, his father, Wanyan Sagai, was Emperor Taizu Wanyan Aguda's cousin and State Chancellor.

In fact, Wanyan Sagai's faction was initially the second largest faction within the Jurchen… and Zonghan himself, after inheriting his father's power, also possessed the command of one of the three main forces of the Jin Dynasty, or rather, the strongest Western Route Army, and after the death of Wanyan Oulin (Aguda's second son), he actually relied on the great military achievements and prestige accumulated in the wars of annihilating Liao and Song, becoming the number one person in the army and the most meritorious official in the founding of the nation.

Therefore, Zonghan certainly had the right to be angry! He also had the right to force Wanyan Wushu to be punished… not to mention a Wanyan Wushu, a few years ago, Zonghan had also led the event of beating the current Jin Emperor Wanyan Wuqimai with a staff! No one had heard of Wuqimai, the emperor, retaliating against Zonghan in any way after receiving twenty blows.

However, Zonghan was Zonghan, and others were others. With Wanyan Wushu's words just now, almost everyone sensitively realized a problem, that is, no matter how chaotic the internal power of the Jin Dynasty was, how it checked and balanced each other, how it had a tribal democratic spirit, how it was rapidly being Sinicized, and how much power vacuum was left under the parallel system of Bo Jilie and the Grand Marshal's Office… an undeniable fact was that the core power could no longer tolerate others.

The three major factions of the Jin Dynasty.

The first was the Wanyan Wuqimai faction. He was the second emperor of the Jin Dynasty, rightfully and naturally;

The second was the Zonghan faction, and the source of Zonghan's power was too classic… Political tradition, bloodline inheritance, military power, plus the prestige accumulated by personal military achievements, the natural haven of the distant Wanyan clan. The complexity and rationality of the situation could simply fill a book entitled "On What is Political Power";

But the third faction, the Aguda faction, was in turn too direct. Especially after the death of the highly prestigious second prince Wanyan Oulin, the source of power for this faction was actually simple to the point of criminality. It was bloodline inheritance, simply because they were Wanyan Aguda's descendants!

Based on this, Wanyan Wolben, Aguda's eldest son, could become Wu Lu Bo Jilie, the actual State Chancellor; based on this, Wanyan Eliduo, Aguda's third son, could take charge of the military power of Yanjing after the death of the second son Oulin, and nominally be the commander of the Eastern Route Army; based on this, Jin Wushu, who was young, inexperienced, and even suffered a defeat and lost troops, could shut everyone up, not daring to interfere in the affairs between their brothers and Zonghan.

In fact, after a round of whipping, Jin Wushu, covered in blood, stood up, looking not at all like someone who had just been punished and lost face, but rather like an absolute victor!

His face was ferocious, and he looked around, examining everyone. Wherever his gaze fell, the nobles of various tribes in the hall, countless generals of the Eastern and Western Routes, and countless civil and military officials in Yanjing all avoided it.

After a moment, Wanyan Wushu sat down again, and the two sides began to discuss the military plans for this year again. However, this time, because heavyweight confidants such as Wanyan Lou Shi, Wanyan Gushen, and Wanyan Yinshuke were not present, only Zonghan was facing the three Wanyan brothers, which was extremely embarrassing. The others, after what had just happened, did not dare to easily interject… even Wanyan Talán, a representative of the third faction and the Grand Marshal's Left Supervising Army, remained silent with a dark face throughout the entire process.

It is said that Jin Wushu used a strange tactic, sacrificing eight hundred of his own men to kill a thousand enemies, turning the expanded meeting into a core meeting, creating a situation of encirclement, so that Zonghan was full of loopholes under the siege of the three brothers… but the most powerful official in the Jin Dynasty never wavered. In the end, perhaps because he was angry, he simply followed Wushu's example and started playing the rogue in public.

"No matter what you brothers say, the Western Route Army has its own place to go." As the sun began to set, Zonghan said these words, and the meeting could only end on an unpleasant note.

After the meeting, the Jin nobles from all walks of life in Yanjing, who had been holding back for a morning, naturally called their friends and returned in groups, then discussed the matter.

However, speaking of the stifling meeting just now, aside from the backbones of the two major factions, most neutral people held the same view – from the perspective of individual performance at the high level, the fourth prince Wushu had undoubtedly gone too far, to the point of being repulsive; however, Zonghan also fell into a disadvantage in the subsequent debate, because he was unable to effectively explain his strange position on the Western Xia issue, why he refused to assist the Eastern Route Army with Western Xia as a reason, but refused to launch a war to destroy Western Xia?

Combined with the recent rumors in Yanjing, some people speculated that either Western Xia had given Zonghan a huge bribe, or Zonghan wanted to deliberately keep Western Xia around, so-called raising bandits to maintain his political privileges in western Hebei and Shanxi.

It should be known that the recently concluded first imperial examination in the Jin Dynasty was handled by Zonghan in the name of the Left Deputy Commander of the Grand Marshal's Office, and all the talents who passed the examination were arranged by him in Hebei and Shanxi.

However, as the nearly white-hot contradiction between the so-called direct line and collateral line of the Wanyan clan was revealed, not to mention the discussions among others in Yanjing city, the Grand Marshal's Left Supervising Army of the Grand Marshal's Office, Wanyan Talán, a close minister of the current emperor, returned to his residence, but did not return to his own house, but hurriedly turned into a remote courtyard in his residence, and asked the 'owner' of the courtyard, who was caught off guard, to consult with him.

"How is it, Scholar Qin, what do you think I should do?" Wanyan Talán sat cross-legged on the stone stool under the grape trellis in the small courtyard, and after talking about the situation in detail, his face was still not very good. "Which side should I help?"

Scholar Qin, naturally, was the handsome Qin Hui (Qin Huizhi), who was at the golden age of a scholar. Hearing this, he responded calmly and seriously, without the trepidation of the past: "This matter is actually simple, but it may be inappropriate for it to come from this student's mouth."

"What does that mean?" Wanyan Talán frowned slightly, becoming increasingly unhappy.

"Reporting to the Deputy Commander, the current situation is that the differences between the Eastern and Western Route armies cannot be easily reconciled. Rather than thinking about helping one side persuade the other, it is better to take advantage of such an intense situation between the two sides to seize the opportunity for you to gain some benefit." Qin Hui carefully cupped his hands. "However, not to mention that this student once received great kindness from the late Second Prince Oulin, and also received great kindness from Marshal Zonghan, and later also received great kindness from the emperor. Now, the country is in a three-legged balance of power. If you want to benefit from it, it may be necessary to manipulate things from a high level, which would be suspected of manipulating power, and would this be considered inappropriate for a surrendered person like me?"

Talán was slightly stunned, and after understanding the meaning of the other party's flowery words, he couldn't help but stroke his beard and sigh: "Scholar Qin, you also said that the country is in a three-legged balance of power, and the situation between the two sides is intense, and we cannot intervene. You have been in my residence for many years, and we are already very close people. What is inappropriate about offering advice and making plans for me at this time?"

"Yes." Qin Hui became more careful.

"So, how should I manipulate it?" Talán, disregarding the heat, leaned forward, seemingly impatient. "And what benefits can I get?"

Qin Hui, smelling the strong fragrance on his benefactor's body, pursed his lips slightly, and took two deep breaths before slowly saying: "Deputy Commander, although the scholars call you Deputy Commander, it is only a common term. In reality, you are only the Left Supervising Army of the Grand Marshal's Office; and Marshal Zonghan, although everyone calls him Marshal, is only the Deputy Marshal of the Grand Marshal's Office… is that not so?"

"What is the matter with that?" Hearing this, Talán couldn't help but smile, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth. "Since Ambán Bo Jilie Xieye returned the position of Grand Marshal, the Grand Marshal of the Grand Marshal's Office is actually the emperor, and the Left and Right Deputy Marshals are actually the true commanders of the left and right routes, east and west, and the two Supervising Armies of Wanyan Gushen and I are actually Deputy Marshals… there is no mistake in the term."

"Then has the Deputy Commander ever thought about becoming a proper commanding marshal?" Qin Hui suddenly said, directly pointing at the other party's innermost thoughts.

Talán fell silent, and sat back down, shaking his head after a long time: "Hui Zhi, don't joke with me, who wouldn't want to be a proper marshal? But the Left and Right Deputy Marshals are Zonghan and Eliduo (Aguda's third son, Wushu's third brother), what can I use to compete with these two?"

Qin Hui was slightly smug in his heart, but did not show it on his face, but took the opportunity to catch his breath, and then continued to respond calmly: "Deputy Commander, you naturally cannot compete with these two… but what if the Grand Marshal leaves office, leaving a marshal's position vacant?"

Talán felt more and more absurd: "The Grand Marshal is naturally the emperor, how can the emperor leave office? If he leaves office, what will happen to the military power of the Marshal's Office?"

"Naturally, Marshal Zonghan will be promoted to Grand Marshal, and Third Prince Eliduo is already stationed in Hebei, why not transfer him to Marshal of the Western Route Army? And you, Deputy Commander, can take the opportunity to be promoted to Marshal of the Eastern Route Army!" Qin Hui clasped his hands and spoke without thinking. "In fact, it is precisely because the emperor has left the Grand Marshal's Office that he needs you, Deputy Commander, to take charge of the military power in his place!"

Talán's heart stirred, as if he had grasped something, but he could not see it clearly, and he was anxious, asking earnestly again: "But why would the emperor voluntarily abandon the position of Grand Marshal and let me take charge of the military power in his place?"

"Two reasons." Qin Huizhi explained again, clasping his hands. "One is that the emperor actually cannot lead troops, so-called using the Grand Marshal to take charge of the military power is rather chicken ribs… oh, rather a show of force, it is better to send a confidant to truly grasp the military power, and the emperor's acquisition of the position of Grand Marshal that day was not purely for military power; the other is that several marshals are naturally willing to give the emperor what he most wants."

"Don't mystify." Talán became more and more anxious. "What is it that the emperor most wants?"

"Naturally, it is the say in who will be the third emperor of the Great Jin Dynasty after the emperor passes away." Qin Hui bowed remotely to the north.

Talán was as if he had seen the moon through the clouds, and was completely enlightened.

It is said that at the beginning of the founding of the Jin Dynasty, the issue of succession was a mess!

After Aguda's death, his younger brother Ambán Bo Jilie (crown prince) Wanyan Wuqimai succeeded to the throne, that is, the current emperor; and after Wanyan Wuqimai succeeded to the throne, Ambán Bo Jilie (crown prince) was his younger brother Wanyan Xieye… At the same time, Aguda, with the prestige of the founding of the country, left huge political and military legacies to his several sons. As the leader of the faction, Aguda's eldest son, the Hūlǔ Bo Jilie Wanyan Wolben, who is opposed to Zonghan today, has been trying to compete with Xieye for the throne, so that people above and below openly call these descendants of Aguda the nth Prince.

However, returning to the current emperor, Wanyan Wuqimai is neither willing to let his younger brother do it, nor is he willing to let his nephew do it. He allows his nephew to compete with his younger brother for the throne, and previously deprived his younger brother of the position of Grand Marshal, and then he took the position himself, in fact, for only one purpose, that is, to support his own son to the throne! And the biggest obstacle for this emperor is none other than Zonghan! Because if the bizarre inheritance system is maintained, Zonghan can also get his hands on some things. In fact, the previous farce of beating the emperor with a staff was a broken thing jointly created by Zonghan and Xieye.

Such things, for the Jin nobles who came out of the primitive tribal alliance, some of whom are still confused, but for the surrendered people of the Song Dynasty who are familiar with the 'Golden Chest Alliance' of Emperor Taizu of Song and Emperor Taizong of Song, who know the unscrupulous operations of Emperor Taizong of Song, and even the surrendered people of the Liao Dynasty, or even the Jin nobles who are slightly Sinicized and have active minds, are well aware.

In fact, there is a recognized joke among the Han people in Yanjing, that is, Emperor Taizu Wanyan Aguda of the Jin Dynasty was a generation of heroes, and Emperor Taizu Zhao Kuangyin of the Song Dynasty was also a wise leader, but Aguda only learned the bad things without learning the good things, and learned the entire Golden Chest Alliance, which was full of endless disasters.

Then returning to the present, Qin Hui's proposal is simple to put it bluntly:

The three major factions of the Jin Dynasty each have their own reliance, and the current dispute over the marching routes of the Eastern Route Army and the Western Route Army cannot be reconciled at all, because they did not form the Eastern and Western Route armies according to factions, but because as the Eastern and Western Route armies, they formed two huge interest groups in the war, so they formed factions.

So at this moment, Talán, as the representative of the third party, the Jin emperor, in Yanjing, can take advantage of the white-hot situation between the two sides, from the perspective of the highest level, manipulate things up and down, and right and left, and seek benefits for himself in the name of the emperor far away in Huining Prefecture… or say that he can take the lead in the overall situation and share the worries for the emperor!

"Marshal Zonghan's confidants are not in Yanjing, so he is isolated and helpless. He is also a person who cannot swallow his anger, and he should understand after today's events that it is impossible for him to reach the throne at his age, so it is a good opportunity to use the position of Grand Marshal to exchange Marshal Zonghan for giving up supporting Xieye. With the Grand Marshal, becoming truly second only to one person and above ten thousand, he should be satisfied to suppress the three princes…" Qin Hui gritted his teeth and continued, but he finally dared not say it clearly.

"It will definitely succeed, the emperor and Zonghan will probably agree, but Wolben, Eliduo, and Wushu will definitely make trouble." In addition to being excited, Talán couldn't help but become uneasy on the stone stool. "In fact, Wolben will also agree, because he is also competing with Xieye, but Xieye has always been pushed by Zonghan, and also has the name of Ambán Bo Jilie. But Eliduo and Wushu have no benefits, but instead have the suspicion of losing the military power of the Eastern Route Army, so they are destined to make trouble, and then even Wolben dare not agree."

"Fourth Prince will not make trouble." Qin Hui replied seriously. "After what happened this spring, this Fourth Prince has lost his mind. As long as you go and tell him that if you become the Marshal of the Eastern Route Army, regardless of whether the dispute is resolved, you will urge the emperor to send troops quickly, and the Eastern Route Army will fully cooperate with him to attack Nanyang at that time. With these words, he will definitely agree!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Qin Hui himself suddenly lost his composure, but barely concealed it.

Talán was stunned, but he was overjoyed under the grape trellis: "If the second and fourth brothers support me, even if the third is a little unhappy, he can only endure it, and this matter will be successful… Scholar Qin is truly the number one person in the world, and he has easily allowed me to glimpse such a great opportunity, allowing me to manipulate the power of the country like a child playing with clay in the position of Deputy Marshal! If I really take power one day, I will definitely let you be the State Chancellor!"

This time, Qin Hui was completely at a loss, and could only cup his hands in a panic.

ps: Great Master Rui Gen has a dimensional attack on the history category, a new book "Numerous Outstanding Figures", a historical official career development category, a "Dream of the Red Chamber" + late Ming semi-fictional background, more than 200,000 words, those who like this type can go and bookmark it.