Chapter 1 The Beginning

Zhao Jiu had no interest in whipping an old man half the night; he didn't have that kink.

When Hebul arrived at the Zhen Ding Prefecture government office's rear hall, covered in sweaty stench mingling with the faint odor of corpses, the Emperor didn't indulge in any performance art involving washing feet or anything similar. He simply sat there, weary and silent.

However, after Hebul, surrounded by armored soldiers, knelt on the ground and respectfully greeted him, Zhao Jiu feigned sleep on his seat… In the quiet night, the sounds of weeping that had filled the city yesterday were gone, and only the Emperor's soft snoring echoed, sounding especially clear in the rear hall.

Hebul remained prostrate on the ground, motionless, while the armored soldiers around him also stood still. Liu Yan, the Imperial Commander of the Palace Guard, and Shao Chengzhang, the Supervisor of the Palace Affairs Department, exchanged glances, but could only stand at attention as well.

They waited for an unknown amount of time. As the sky began to turn pale, Hebul, whose legs had gone completely numb, suddenly heard a rustling sound, followed by some movement.

After a while, he heard the voice he had heard several times before:

"Hebul? I wasn't deliberately trying to make things difficult for you just now."

"This subject knows," Hebul replied, still not raising his head. His tone seemed somewhat strained, not just because his Central Asian-accented Chinese was inherently awkward, but also because he had been kneeling for too long and hadn't slept all night, making his whole body stiff. "If Your Majesty were pretending to sleep, there's no reason to pretend for so long. It was just that this subject's timing was bad and disturbed Your Majesty's rest…"

"You should go and rest too!" Zhao Jiu continued after wiping his face. "Get enough rest before we talk business. A clear head… I won't be as free today as I was the past two days. I have things to attend to."

With that, the Emperor got up directly, walked past Hebul, and strode out of the rear hall. As for Hebul, as the sound of footsteps faded behind him, he suddenly collapsed from his kneeling position into a sideways sprawl.

In any case, Hebul finally got a chance to rest. Not only that, but after he woke up, someone led him to a simple but ample midday breakfast, and even gave him a bath and a change of clothes… By the time he walked out of Zhen Ding City with several Mongolian princes from the Chixin (Red Heart) unit to meet the Zhao Song Emperor outside the city, it was clearly afternoon.

Compared to the night before, the stench of corpses within Zhen Ding City had greatly diminished, and the city was already bustling with activity. Civil and military officials, tribal chieftains, military generals and soldiers, auxiliary soldiers and laborers, as well as a few merchants and commoners, passed through in a continuous stream.

The foundation displayed by just this one important military town put all the tribes of the Mongolian Plateau combined to shame. And because of trade in previous years, Hebul had long known that in a country as vast as China, there weren't just a hundred such large towns, but probably dozens.

After leaving the city, Hebul saw many familiar faces—in the open space north of the city, there was a large typical Mongolian camp, with carts arranged in a circle, patched yurts scattered about, and livestock gathered in the middle. Many of the Central and Western Mongolian chieftains he recognized were leading light cavalry back and forth at the camp gates, constantly entering and exiting.

Some of these men were fully equipped, riding horses, and leading a team or several teams of light cavalry, shouting military orders to Song officers at the edge of the camp, clearly preparing to go or having just completed military duties; others were in plain clothes, leading warhorses and carrying some spoils, stopping at Song merchant shops by the roadside, gesturing and preparing to exchange them for iron pots, needles, thread, and cloth; but the most shocking scene for Hebul was when he turned a corner of this clearly Western Mongolian camp and clearly saw that the open space in front of the central tent at the rear of the camp was almost piled high with spoils!

Countless suits of armor, gold, silver, copper ingots, iron ingots, silk, and furs were piled nakedly in the open space, and a group of Western Mongolian nobles, who had already changed into lamellar armor, were arguing red-faced… If there weren't Song civil officials and armored soldiers next to these things, these people might have started fighting on the spot.

Hebul was very clear that the Zhao Emperor had made him come out this way to see this scene, and also to let these Mongolian chieftains see him… Along the way, he was certainly looking at these people, but these people had also noticed him, surrounded by the Yuqian Banzhi (Imperial Guards)… But knowing this, both sides still couldn't take their eyes off each other.

The Western Mongolian tribes all knew that Hebul Khan had come alone to see the Zhao Emperor to plead guilty, and Hebul had confirmed two unquestionable facts from what he had seen and heard before—first, of course, that this battle was truly an unprecedented victory, and the Jurchens had truly collapsed in one battle; second, that the Zhao Song Emperor was indeed fair in meting out rewards and punishments.

If either of these two things were missing, it would have been impossible for the Western Mongolians to take away so many spoils.

However, after witnessing this scene, Hebul, for some reason, breathed a sigh of relief instead.

After passing through the camp north of the city and crossing an open space where corpses were being buried (this should have been the source of the stench of corpses last night), Hebul finally came to the bank of a large river, and here he saw the Zhao Song Emperor, whom he hadn't dared to look at closely last night… The latter was sitting by the river in plain clothes, surrounded by armored soldiers, and countless civil and military officials were gathered around him. Someone was reporting something at that moment.

It could be seen that the Emperor's words earlier in the morning were not false.

In fact, Hebul was still not summoned, but could only be held aside like a prisoner, honestly waiting for a summons.

"So, by the side of the Qin River (a semi-artificial, semi-natural river channel running north-south connecting the Hutuo River and the Hulu River), although you swept away many Jurchen soldiers, you only captured one wanhu, Ulinda Taiyu?" Zhao Jiu said thoughtfully.

"Yes," a Song general in front of the Zhao Emperor replied respectfully. It was Zhang Zhongfu, a commander in the Imperial Cavalry. "To let Your Majesty know, when Deputy Commander Liu captured Ulinda Taiyu, this fellow had already changed into ordinary clothes, but he had lived a life of luxury in Yanjing for many years, and was not good at running during the pursuit, which is why he was seen through… It can be seen that the other defeated generals had long abandoned their command positions and escaped one by one, and it will be difficult to capture them again in a hurry… Does Your Majesty want to see this person?"

"No, just chop him up," the Zhao Emperor, sitting on the riverbank, blurted out.

Zhang Zhongfu was startled and quickly responded.

But before he could turn around to give the order, the Zhao Emperor in his seat continued, "Draft a few imperial edicts…"

As soon as these words came out, several close officials and scholars stepped forward to listen, preparing to draft the edicts formally after hearing them.

"The first one is for Liu Qi, telling him to continue leading his troops east, pursuing relentlessly, and must join forces with Yue Fei and Zhang Rong to block the Jurchen routed soldiers from returning north, and not to worry about anything else."

At this point, Zhao Jiu paused slightly, and one of the close officials repeated it once. Then, seeing that the Zhao Emperor had nothing to add, he stepped back slightly and went to draft the edict under the shade of a tree not far away.

"The second… is for Liu Qi and all the officers pursuing the fleeing enemies, telling them that I don't want generals, I only want soldiers… Capturing more Jurchen soldiers at this time is the top priority, don't be blinded by military achievements, what great generals, what fourth prince can be ranked later! If I find out that anyone has allowed Jurchen routed soldiers to return north in groups in order to pursue great generals, I will take action!"

As soon as these words came out, not to mention the civil officials repeating the words, preparing to draft the edict, Zhang Zhongfu standing there turned pale… Obviously, the Zhao Emperor was very dissatisfied that the Imperial Cavalry had captured a wanhu and hastily sent a general to escort him back.

"The last one… I remember that Liu Xi's crimes have been pardoned. Find a border military prefecture in Ningxia Road and let him transfer to a real position." After Zhao Jiu finished the last edict in a hurry, he directly waved his hand to dismiss Zhang Zhongfu, and then called someone again. "Wu Jie!"

Upon hearing this, Wu Da quickly stepped forward. "Your subject is here."

"Has the troop withdrawal sequence been drafted?" Zhao Emperor's tone seemed somewhat aggressive.

"Yes…" Wu Da replied, steeling himself. "The Western Mongolians will withdraw first, then the Imperial Central Army, Left Army, and Rear Army will each be reduced by half…"

"It can't just be reduced by half." Zhao Jiu became somewhat impatient. "Zhen Ding's treasury is sufficient, but it's mostly armor, military equipment, gold, and silver, which can be used as rewards, but there's more grass than grain… Why keep so many soldiers? Is it to waste food or delay spring plowing? It should be reduced more."

Wu Jie dared not speak for a moment.

"Distribute the rewards as soon as possible, and then withdraw." Seeing this, Zhao Jiu took a deep breath, and then slowed down his tone and said, "It's enough to leave 70,000 to 80,000 infantry and cavalry here, including the garrison troops in Taiyuan and Datong, and Wang Sheng's 10,000 troops… Yue Fei's troops should also be withdrawn appropriately, leaving 50,000 to 60,000 is enough… And then arrange for the laborers and auxiliary soldiers who don't have time to return to their hometowns to carry out spring plowing and replanting locally."

"Yes," Wu Da breathed a sigh of relief.

"Also…" Zhao Jiu hesitated for a moment, and finally said seriously, "After this place is cleared and restored, after the meeting in Hejian, in the battle to capture Yanjing, let Liang Chen be the commander, and Jin Qing and Shao Yan be his assistants… Let Yue Fei and Tian Shizhong be the successors. If the Jurchens are still stubborn after Yanjing is captured, then just let Yue Pengju be the commander and go out of the fortress to fight… How is that?"

Han Shizhong and Li Yanxian, who had not said anything, also stepped forward and said yes.

In fact, this was the real key to the troop withdrawal issue.

First of all, the troops must be withdrawn. The main force of the Jurchen army had been eliminated, and maintaining such a large field attack group was really a waste. Only by withdrawing troops and reducing logistical pressure could they continue north, maintain the offensive, and capture Yanjing.

But the question was, who should go to attack Yanjing and who should withdraw to their garrison?

From a military point of view, the next step should undoubtedly be for Yue Fei, Zhang Rong, Tian Shizhong, and others from the Hebei Front Army to gather the Imperial Cavalry that had pursued them this time, as well as the Khitans and Mongolians, and take advantage of the situation to go north from Hejian.

But this also meant that most of the Imperial Central Army, Rear Army, and Left Army would have to withdraw.

So, on what basis?

These Hedong troops had suffered heavy casualties in the Battle of Huolu, and their military achievements were outstanding. They had settled the world in one battle. Why should they, who had made greater contributions, go back directly, and let the Imperial Front Army and Right Army pick the fruit of Yanjing?

Shouldn't the gold, silver, merits, and honors of Yanjing be taken by the Hedong Front Army?

Therefore, Zhao Jiu had to consider the morale of the Hedong Front Army, which had just made great contributions. Han Shizhong, Li Yanxian, and Wu Jie also needed to consider the opinions of their subordinates, so as not to wrong them.

However, as the Emperor, Zhao Jiu could not only consider this. He also had to consider the food issue, the political issue, and the military discipline issue… Therefore, he came up with this compromise plan and first withdrew the Western Mongolian army, which had the worst military discipline.

It could only be said that after the great victory, the road ahead seemed smooth, but all the new problems along the way were not delayed.

Fortunately, after this battle, the Zhao Emperor's authority was obviously greater. As long as he could ensure the words "reward and punishment", no one could openly oppose his opinions.

Turning back to the present, after putting forward his compromised plan and getting the approval of the marshals, the Zhao Emperor looked a little tired, but he immediately pointed towards Hebul, attracting everyone to look over.

Without a doubt, this was another troublesome matter.

"This subject pays respects to Your Majesty."

Hebul knelt on the ground from a distance. "I have kept Your Majesty waiting for a long time."

"Get up," Zhao Jiu said indifferently, with a calm expression. "I have kept you waiting for a long time."

Hebul immediately got up and then said nothing… Some things both sides had already known each other's minds, saying it was just those words, but the attitude must be correct.

"Step forward a few steps," Zhao Emperor continued to order.

Hebul became more and more relieved, and quickly stepped forward a few steps, coming in front of Zhao Emperor, but even so, several officers followed closely, and several marshals also moved slightly to the side and front, implicitly sandwiching him.

"The last time I met the Khan was on the banks of the Yellow River, this time it is on the Hutuo River. Does Mongolia also have such a big river?" Zhao Jiu asked after the other party stood still, but he didn't directly get to the point.

"To let Your Majesty know, Mongolia naturally has rivers." Hebul stood there with his hands clasped, answering seriously. "Our Qiyan tribe is nomadic around the Onon River… However, the rivers on the grassland are not as big as the rivers in the Central Plains, and they also change a lot with the seasons."

"Onon River… Qiyan Tribe… Borjigin… Hebul." Zhao Jiu replied as if he was thinking, and finally seemed to get to the point. "The Onon River directly connects to Huining Prefecture, right?"

"To let Your Majesty know." Hebul continued to answer seriously. "It can be connected by water, but it is not directly connected. The Onon River goes down to the Halam River, and the Halam River and the Hunning River in Huining Prefecture merge further downstream… However, although this road exists, no one dares to take it because it is dangerous and cold along the way. It is faster to go to Huining Prefecture from the Onon River via Linhuang Prefecture."

The Halam River and the Hun Tong River are both the Heilongjiang River, but the names are different in the upper and lower reaches and the north and south flows.

"So that's it, then when Hebul Khan went to Huining Prefecture (the area of Harbin) to see the old Jurchen Emperor, he went from Linhuang Prefecture?"

"Yes."

"In that case, I have a question."

"Your Majesty, please speak."

"Why did the Khan dare to stroke Jurchen Taizong's beard in front of him that day, but was so respectful in front of me last night?" Zhao Jiu asked seriously.

Hebul hesitated for a moment, and finally didn't say those platitudes, but answered honestly:

"Because I know that the Jurchens only occupy the east and south of the Eastern Mongolian tribes, and they can't reach Outer Mongolia and Western Mongolia at all. Even if we fight, we can use the terrain to respond, hide when we should hide, and fight when we should fight… But Your Majesty has not only defeated the Jurchens, but also wants to take the east and south, and also control Western Mongolia, and they know the bottom line with us…"

Zhao Jiu smiled slightly, but did not speak, but the several marshals and generals present sneered.

"In addition, after this battle, Hul Zhahusi Khan has obtained so many iron armor, equipment, and so much wealth, I am afraid that he can't wait for Your Majesty to order to take the opportunity to eradicate our Eastern Mongolian tribes and let the Keraites dominate… So we must be more careful." Hebul continued, "Also, because Your Majesty is willing to do business with us, many people in the tribe are grateful to Your Majesty and are unwilling to oppose Your Majesty."

As soon as these words came out, those who really understood the interests of Hebul and the Eastern Mongolian affairs immediately understood the meaning of this person's words, and the laughter was even louder.

Even the Zhao Emperor smiled slightly:

"Look, aren't you quite smart?"

Without waiting for Hebul to respond, Zhao Jiu suddenly became serious after smiling slightly: "But if you are so smart, then why did you let Elu Guan go in Datong before? Did you think that I couldn't win this battle, or did you think that even if the Great Song won this battle, it wouldn't be that simple? So you can take the opportunity to do it? Or do you think that the Jurchens are here, you can still rely on the geography to advance and retreat freely, and once I, who control Western Mongolia, capture Zhongjing Road and Linhuang Road, your Eastern Mongolia will be bound on three sides… So deliberately indulge the Jurchens?"

"In any case, this subject absolutely did not mean to deliberately indulge the enemy army." As soon as the Zhao Emperor talked about Elu Guan, Hebul knelt down on the spot again and kowtowed in front of the Zhao Emperor. "That day in Datong, it was really that the Jurchens escaped too quickly, and the vanguard tribes did not know the terrain… Moreover, I also let Anbahai deal with those Tatars in the vanguard."

"So what?" Zhao Jiu said with emotion. "Hebul… We in the Central Plains have a saying that to determine a person's merits and demerits, we must not guess what he is thinking, but look at what he has done… In this matter, although no one can prove that you harbored malice, no one can prove your innocence in the end. And in any case, in the end, your tribe not only did not participate in the war in time, but also forced me to put down troops in Datong for surveillance, directly making me lose tens of thousands of troops on my side in the previous battle… This is always right, right?"

Wu Jie turned sideways and stared at Hebul, but Hebul did not say anything this time.

"I know what you are relying on, or rather, half of the people here know what you have been implying." Zhao Jiu squinted his eyes and continued to look at the other party. "The reason why you Hebul are afraid of me is because I can control Western Mongolia, making the Eastern Mongolian tribes face the real danger of extermination… Then, conversely, if there are no Eastern Mongolian tribes, and Western Mongolia dominates alone and occupies the entire grassland, it seems that I will lose control over Western Mongolia! So, you have made up your mind and determined that I will not deal with you, right?"

Hebul still didn't speak.

"But… The so-called rewarding and punishing fairly, Western Mongolia has made great contributions and must be rewarded, and Eastern Mongolia has delayed the war and must be punished. As long as I, the Emperor, want to continue to do it, I must try to be fair, right? What's more, since I ascended the throne, I have killed people with my own hands twice, regardless of the overall situation, and they are all big figures like you who 'avoided war'… You in Datong have committed my biggest taboo!" Saying that, Zhao Jiu suddenly reached out and pointed at the other party.

With this action, several imperial guards stepped forward directly and pinched Hebul's shoulders tightly on the ground.

Hebul did not resist, but still did not say anything.

"Are you really sure that I dare not kill you?" Zhao Jiu laughed again.

"This subject never meant that," Hebul said calmly on the ground. "The reason why this subject was not too frightened was that he knew before coming here that even if he did not die this time, he would definitely not be able to go back, and he had already put life and death aside… As a result, when he got here, he found that Your Majesty did not mean to let Western Mongolia annex Eastern Mongolia, so he didn't care even more… Your Majesty, this subject has only one sentence. After one sentence, to kill or cut, it is up to Your Majesty's will!"

"Speak."

"Hebul is Hebul! The Qiyan tribe is the Qiyan tribe! Eastern Mongolia is Eastern Mongolia!" Hebul suddenly raised his head. "These three things, although they are connected, are definitely not the same thing!"

"You are really smart!" Zhao Jiu finally laughed loudly. "This is also what I originally wanted to tell you… And I also want to say that your Qiyan tribe is your Qiyan tribe, your cousin Anbahai's Taichiut tribe is the Taichiut tribe, and the Borjigin is the Borjigin."

Hebul was finally stunned, but immediately shook his head: "Anbahai is my brother and will not let me down."

"I didn't say that Anbahai would let you down… But after Anbahai and you die, the Qiyan tribe and the Taichiut tribe, which have mixed origins, are destined to fall apart." After Zhao Jiu finished laughing, he couldn't help but shake his head. "I have ten thousand ways to make your Borjigin have internal strife."

"It is useless to think too much about things after death." Hebul tried his best to answer again.

"This statement makes sense." Unexpectedly, Zhao Emperor actually nodded in agreement. "Then let's talk about the living, the present things… Hebul."

"This subject is here."

"Hebul, you didn't think wrong at all… I must protect Eastern Mongolia." Zhao Jiu said frankly. "But you and your cousin Anbahai must be punished… And whether the Qiyan tribe and the Taichiut tribe can survive depends on how you perform to fight for yourself."

"Eastern Mongolia still has ten thousand cavalry, willing to be Your Majesty's vanguard to take Yanjing." Hebul came back to his senses and quickly expressed his position.

"You don't need to take Yanjing, and you are not allowed to go." Zhao Jiu continued to shake his head. "Yanjing is my Yanjing… How can you restrain these people from burning, killing, and looting all the way? I have even withdrawn Western Mongolia."

"Then…"

"You and Anbahai will take Zhongjing Road (now the area of Chifeng and Chengde) for me." Zhao Jiu finally revealed his final verdict on Eastern Mongolia. "If the progress is smooth, you and Anbahai can survive… But you have to bring two family members and children to live in Tokyo for a long time; if the progress is not smooth, you and Anbahai will have to die… If you are unwilling to die, or unwilling to come, or only willing to come one, I will let Tuoli take care of the Qiyan tribe for me, and then find someone from the Merkit tribe or even the Tatar tribe to be the leader."

"Tuoli…" Hebul suddenly panicked.

"Yes, Tuoli… Hul Zhahusi Khan is dead." Zhao Jiu said calmly. "My guard, his son Tuoli, used a spear to tie the Western Mongolian crown to charge for me… Just this morning, he just swept away the Jurchen defeated soldiers for me, and then I distributed the previously agreed spoils to him here, and then added the crown to him… This is also the second thing I want to say. From now on, I don't care about other places, but in Western and Eastern Mongolia, and Goryeo, including the Jurchens if they can survive, if they want the royal family to inherit, I have to crown them, otherwise they will be traitors, and they will be cut into pieces! What do you think of these two things? Can you agree?"

Hebul was silent for a moment and did not answer directly.

Zhao Jiu did not urge him, but just looked up at the Hutuo River in front of him in a daze… Han Shizhong and others looked at each other, not knowing how to interrupt for a while, but several people who were prepared for consultation also looked at the Hutuo River, guessing that if this Eastern Mongolian King did not agree, then this Emperor would sink him into the river.

After a long time, Hebul finally spoke again: "Your Majesty."

"What?"

"I saw someone burying corpses on the road," Hebul said seriously on the ground.

"Yes."

"Are those the corpses of Song people or Jurchens?"

"Jurchens?"

"Are they all Jurchens?"

"Yes."

"How many Jurchens died?"

"More than 30,000 on the spot, and they are still dying non-stop these days… The stench of corpses can't be dispersed, forcing me to send the prime minister who is bedridden elsewhere for recuperation."

"Then how about the Song people?"

"What?"

"How many Song people died?" Hebul looked earnest and serious. "In this battle, how many of Your Majesty's troops died?"

Zhao Jiu finally became alert, just like a cat that had been lazy and depressed suddenly arched its body: "What are you asking this for?"

"Knowing this, I can probably know whether to agree to Your Majesty's two conditions," Hebul was still very serious.

Zhao Jiu looked the other party up and down. After waiting for a while, he calmly informed: "More than 8,000 died at that time, and more than 10,000 have died in these days… They are not buried here, they are all on a high ground on the other side."

"Then how does Your Majesty view these dead subordinates?" Hebul continued to ask seriously.

These words also aroused the curiosity of many people present.

The Zhao Emperor paused for a long time before suddenly speaking solemnly:

"The earth collapsed and the mountains crumbled, and the strong men died, and then the stone ladders and planks were connected… That is to say, so many people died to pave the way… Therefore, no matter how many weeds there are on the road, I will go on! And I will pull the grass clean!"

"This is what this subject wants to know." Hebul finally nodded. "This is what this subject wants to know… This subject is willing to accept Your Majesty's two conditions! But please also Your Majesty agree to this subject's small request."

"Where did you get the courage…"

"Speak," Zhao Jiu stopped several of his subordinates from attacking.

"If this subject does not make any more mistakes, please also let Eastern Mongolia be the same as Western Mongolia, father dies and son succeeds… After this subject takes Zhongjing Road for Your Majesty, let this subject's youngest son, Hutula, take over this subject… Before that, let Hutula come to be Your Majesty's guard." Hebul said with gritted teeth.

"Okay!" Zhao Jiu did not hesitate at all. "Who told Anbahai not to come?"

Hebul immediately kowtowed again, and the armored soldiers released their hands at the right time.

Zhao Jiu immediately looked to the left and right: "Is there anything else to do today?"

No one responded for a while.

ps: Continue to offer a book, "Doomsday Advent: Infinite Upgrade Shelter"!