Chapter 272: Northern Frontier Madman, I Must Tear Him Limb From Limb
The scorching summer sun baked the Imperial City of Zhongdu, heating the city walls until they were hot to the touch and making people listless.
But for the sake of survival, these cattle and horses of the Jin Dynasty could only continue working under the scorching sun.
This is because most of the land in the Central Plains is barren, and in many places, not even a single tree can be seen for shade.
In contrast to the unbearable heat in the city, a refreshing coolness emanated from the Emperor’s imperial bedchamber.
In the corners of the Great Hall, several large copper basins were filled with ice cubes brought from the ice cellar. Water droplets condensed on the outer walls of the basins wrapped in damp cloth, dripping down and forming small puddles on the golden brick floor.
Wanyan Jing lay naked on a long bench, casting a slightly doting gaze at Li Shi’er, who was playing the pipa beside him.
She wore a moon-white gauze blouse and skirt, with a layer of light red gauze over it, clinging to her exquisite figure. Her slender waist could be grasped with one hand, and as she walked, her skirt hem fluttered, revealing half of her calves, as white as congealed fat.
Seeing this, Wanyan Jing became extremely excited.
Although Li Shi’er was over twenty years old, her eyes and brows exuded a mature charm. As her gaze flowed, it seemed like spring water rippling within, captivating Wanyan Jing’s soul.
After finishing the song, Li Shi’er placed the pipa aside and winked at Wanyan Jing, “Your Majesty, did I play this song well?”
Wanyan Jing smiled and beckoned her closer. As she approached, he grabbed her hand that had been playing the pipa, his thumb rubbing back and forth on her fingertips. His voice, low and with a hint of tenderness, said, “It sounded good.”
“My beloved consort, the music from your hands is more intoxicating than the finest nectar.”
With that, amidst Li Shi’er’s startled exclamations and laughter, Wanyan Jing pulled her into his embrace. Her delicate body seemed boneless, igniting Wanyan Jing’s desire.
Just then, a eunuch’s loud voice suddenly called from outside: “Your Majesty! The Privy Councillor requests an audience, stating there is urgent military information!”
Hearing this, Wanyan Jing immediately stopped what he was doing, a displeased expression on his face.
With his good time interrupted, he felt very agitated.
But he was not a foolish emperor and naturally knew that if the Privy Councillor requested an audience at this time, something major must have happened.
Li Shi’er, standing beside him, quickly got up. Without bothering to adjust her disheveled clothes, she nimbly helped Wanyan Jing put on his casual clothes with her fair hands, and said softly, “Your Majesty favors me, and I am delighted.”
“But state affairs cannot be delayed.”
Saying this, she curtsied and turned to retreat behind the screen.
Li Shi’er, as a Han woman, held a favored position in the imperial harem, and even her two brothers had risen to high positions because of her.
Such favor was not only due to her beauty and charm, but more importantly, because she understood propriety and knew when to advance and retreat.
Wanyan Jing nodded slightly, “My beloved consort, please go.”
After Li Shi’er went behind the screen, the languor in Wanyan Jing’s eyes vanished completely, replaced by the dignity cultivated from years of holding a high position.
“Announce him!”
With this command, the Privy Councillor Wanyan Zonghao strode into the hall, followed by a young eunuch carrying a wooden box.
He was about the same age as Xin Qiji, appearing to be in his sixties, with graying hair and beard, but still full of vigor.
“Your humble servant, Wanyan Zonghao, pays his respects to Your Majesty.”
Feeling the coolness emanating from the imperial bedchamber, Wanyan Zonghao’s inner heat finally subsided somewhat, but the shock from the Western Xia campaign was far from dissipated.
He had been extremely anxious and uneasy on his way here, his forehead already covered in sweat.
It was not just from the heat, but also from the shock.
“The weather is hot, Duke of Rong, be careful of heatstroke.”
“Someone, add ice for the Duke of Rong.”
Wanyan Jing sat at the head of the hall and said with apparent concern.
In the third year of Cheng’an （1198）, Wanyan Zonghao led his troops on a northern expedition into the grasslands, first forcing the Guangjila tribe to surrender, and then successively defeating the Hedishin tribe, the Shanzhi Kun tribe, the Posuhuo tribe, and others, beheading over a thousand enemies and capturing countless cattle, sheep, vehicles, and felt tents.
With these military merits, he was enfeoffed as Duke of Rong by Wanyan Jing and concurrently appointed as Privy Councillor, enjoying unparalleled favor and becoming a key minister in the Jin court.
“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Wanyan Zonghao replied.
Before he could report, Wanyan Jing’s gaze fell upon the wooden box carried by the young eunuch behind him.
He asked curiously, “Duke of Rong, what is in the box?”
To his surprise, Wanyan Zonghao’s face immediately showed anger and grief. Gritting his teeth, he said in a deep, measured voice, “Your Majesty, this is the head of Prince Pingling.”
Upon hearing this, Wanyan Jing’s voice involuntarily rose, “What?”
His eyes widened, and a look of shock and anger instantly appeared on his usually majestic face.
Li Shi’er, who was behind the screen, was even more shocked, her pretty face instantly turning pale. She instinctively covered her mouth and gasped.
The air in the hall seemed to freeze. Wanyan Jing’s pupils constricted, and he suddenly stood up, exclaiming incredulously, “Prince Pingling is dead?”
“Explain clearly, what exactly happened?”
“Prince Pingling was clearly sent by me as a crucial envoy to the Northern Frontier.”
“Who dares to kill him?”
Wanyan Jing roared in anger, standing in the middle of the hall.
Prince Pingling was Wanyan Yongxi, whom Wanyan Jing had dispatched to the Northern Frontier last winter, hoping to bring the Northern Frontier under submission. （See Chapter 236）
Although no news had arrived for a long time, Wanyan Jing had merely assumed it was due to the long distance and inconvenient communication. He never expected that he would be killed.
Who would dare to do such a thing?
Looking at Wanyan Jing, who was on the verge of an outburst, Wanyan Zonghao said in a hoarse voice, “It was the people of the Northern Frontier.”
“And they also attached a letter.”
Saying this, Wanyan Zonghao took out a letter from his robes and handed it to the young eunuch beside him.
Hearing this, Wanyan Jing’s eyes blazed with even greater anger. He clenched his fists and slammed them heavily on the table, shouting, “The Northern Frontier people are simply shameless.”
“War between two nations does not involve killing envoys.”
“They actually disregarded the rules and killed an envoy of my Great Jin’s imperial clan. Do they truly think my Great Jin cannot deal with them?”
Wanyan Jing roared in anger and threw a colored glaze cup within his reach to the ground.
Then, he snatched the letter presented by the young eunuch. Upon opening it, he was so enraged that his entire body trembled.
“To the Jurchen barbarian chief: You are merely beings who ate raw flesh and drank blood in the northeastern forests. Having by chance stolen a divine artifact, you know not the immensity of heaven and earth, and you presume to have the Northern Frontier bow in submission?”
“Arrogant!”
“My Northern Frontier’s three hundred thousand iron cavalry roam the grasslands, victorious in every battle. My saber has drunk the blood of ten thousand elite soldiers of the Xia Kingdom, and my arrows have pierced the city walls of the Hexi Valley.”
“Wherever we went, city walls were destroyed, and not a single survivor was left!
“If you are wise, you will quickly tie yourself up and surrender!”
“Otherwise, I, the Great Protector, will personally lead three hundred thousand iron cavalry into your passes, sweep through the Central Plains, and flatten Zhongdu!”
“I will hang you, the barbarian chief, on the city wall for all under heaven to see the ugly state of the Jin scoundrel chief, and then I will abduct all the Empress and imperial clan women, for my warriors to savor ten thousand times!”
“The events of Jingkang are less than a century ago. Will the instigator have any descendants?”
“The sabers of our Northern Frontier warriors have long been thirsty, awaiting the blood of the Jurchen barbarians!”
“The evil deeds you committed in the Central Plains in the past, I will now repay you a thousandfold!”
At the end of the letter, there was also a handwritten signature by Li Xiao: Great Protector of the Northern Frontier, Li Xiao!
Holding the letter, Wanyan Jing felt as if his head had exploded.
He tightly gripped the letter, his arms trembling slightly. Veins like coiled green snakes bulged on his neck, and bloodshot threads gradually appeared in his eyes.
“Rebellion! Rebellion!”
He suddenly roared, his voice like a tearing sound that echoed through the Great Hall, and he tore the letter in his hand to shreds.
Li Shi’er, behind the screen, was startled by the sudden roar. She fearfully covered her mouth, her beautiful eyes secretly peering out.
She was only curious about what was written in the letter that had driven His Majesty into such a frenzy.
Even more so, in the next moment, a loud “crash~” sound echoed from the hall.
Wanyan Jing violently overturned the table. Wolf brushes and memorial reports flew everywhere, and his eyes bloodshot, he paced back and forth in the hall, “What Great Protector Li Xiao, he’s just a brute who doesn’t know the immensity of heaven and earth!”
“Three hundred thousand iron cavalry to flatten Zhongdu? Very well, let him come!”
“I shall see if his Northern Frontier saber is faster, or if my Great Jin’s arrows are sharper!”
Wanyan Jing had never been so angry. He stepped over the mess on the floor, drew the long sword from the nearby rack, and began furiously hacking at the pillars in the hall.
“To dare to call me ‘Jin dog’? You infuriate me!”
“I will surely dismember him, dismember him!”
“Someone! Someone!” Wanyan Jing, holding his long sword, his face contorted and his bloodshot eyes looking at the attendants in the hall.
“Issue an decree, issue a decree for me.”
“Mobilize fifty thousand troops to march, I want to level the Northern Frontier, and have the madman who wrote the letter be chopped into ten thousand pieces.”
Hearing this, the attendants dared not agree so readily.
They stood there, bewildered and at a loss.
Fifty thousand troops were not the absolute limit for Jin’s military strength, but mobilizing such a massive army for a long-distance campaign was not a decision that could be made lightly.
Even the Emperor could not.
However, facing the enraged Wanyan Jing, only Wanyan Zonghao was qualified to offer counsel.
“Your Majesty, please calm your anger, and listen to this old minister’s words.”
But as soon as he spoke, Wanyan Jing grabbed him by the collar.
He roared, “Did you not read the letter that scoundrel wrote? They want to hang me! They want to take the imperial clan women…”
Wanyan Zonghao dared not struggle and said with a bitter tone, “Your Majesty, this is merely a provocation tactic by the Northern Frontier barbarians.”
“Your Majesty must not believe their wild boasts, nor should you damage your imperial body in anger.”
Saying this, Wanyan Zonghao took out another report from his robes and presented it with both hands, “Your Majesty, this is a battle report that just arrived from the Xia Kingdom.”
“Along with it came Prince Pingling’s head, and a state letter written by the Ruler of the Xia Kingdom.”
Li Chunyou’s letter to Wanyan Jing would be delivered to Wanyan Jing through the Directorate of Introduction （Jin’s diplomatic institution）.
The report in Wanyan Zonghao’s hand was a compilation of intelligence gathered by Jin spies in Western Xia.
It was more detailed and more credible than the state letter from the Xia Kingdom.
As for the head of Wanyan Yongxi, after the Northern Frontier Army retreated to the Hexi Corridor, the Western Xia Army dispatched scouts into Zhuoluo City.
By then, the city was deserted. The people inside and outside the city had either been killed, taken away, or had fled into the mountains.
Only on the table in the hall of the Military Command Department was there a wooden box containing Wanyan Yongxi’s head, and Li Xiao’s letter to Wanyan Jing.
The provocation tactic had indeed succeeded in driving Wanyan Jing into a frenzy.
At this moment, he had no desire to look at any damned intelligence from Western Xia, and instead, in a cold voice, commanded, “Speak!”
Wanyan Zonghao’s Adam’s apple bobbed twice. His aged fingers trembled slightly as he held the yellowed report, the paper rustling in the hall’s cold air.
Even though he had read it countless times before, when he looked at it again now, he was still filled with immense shock and disbelief.
“In the early days of the third year of Taihe, the Northern Frontier Army marched south from the grasslands and plundered the Hexi Corridor.”
His voice seemed to be squeezed from the depths of his throat, carrying the hoarseness and shock of gravel.
“In March, the Northern Frontier Army successively captured Heishui, Dunhuang, Suzhou, and Ganzhou.”
“The garrison commander of Heishui City committed suicide, and the towering flames burned for three days and three nights without extinguishing. The common people fled to the foot of Ganzhou City, where they were intercepted and killed by Northern Frontier cavalry in the Gobi Desert, their corpses piled up like sand dunes.”
Listening to these cold words, Li Shi’er, behind the screen, unconsciously took half a step back, tightly covering her mouth, her pretty face filled with shock.
Being within the confines of the Imperial Palace, she had never encountered such bloody warfare. Her heart was violently shaken, and she felt that the Northern Frontier barbarians were truly so cruel.
Slaughtering ordinary people, worse than beasts.
However, in reality, the transmission of news in this era was extremely difficult, and most of it was through hearsay.
The common people exaggerated rumors, and by the time they reached Xingqing Prefecture, it had become that the Northern Frontier Army had massacred all the people in the Hexi Corridor.
But how could these rumors be true?
Therefore, the Jin spies only listened to and reported some reliable information.
However, the following reports came from the Western Xia official channels and were highly credible.
“In April, the Northern Frontier Army engaged the main army of the Xia Kingdom in a decisive battle at Yanzhi Mountain.”
Wanyan Zonghao’s tone grew even more solemn: “The Xia army, eight thousand elite soldiers, set up camp in a chariot formation. However, the Northern Frontier Army used sulfur and fire oil to burn the abatis, and under a volley of arrows, the Xia army’s formation dissolved like boiling water thrown onto snow.”
“Waiming Shian, Yeli Duowen, and dozens of other Xia generals died in battle, and the eight thousand elite soldiers were completely annihilated. After the battle, the blood flowed like a river at the foot of Yanzhi Mountain…”
The intelligence from the Western Xia court was not entirely accurate, and they did not understand the principle of cannons, only attributing the power to sulfur and fire oil.
“In May, the Northern Frontier Army marched out of the Hexi Corridor and plundered seventeen cities in Hexi.”
“The provisions at Yuanchuan Granary were all seized by the Northern Frontier Army, Zhuoluo City and Xining Prefecture fell, and wherever the Northern Frontier cavalry passed, cities turned into ruins, and the common people were all enslaved…”
The hall was dead silent, except for the dripping sound of melting ice cubes and Wanyan Zonghao’s cold words echoing through the Great Hall, with everyone’s expression filled with horror.
Wanyan Jing stood rigidly before the imperial throne, staring intently at Wanyan Zonghao, his Adam’s apple bobbing violently.
The anger caused by Li Xiao’s insulting letter had long since vanished, replaced by endless shock.
His eyes narrowed fiercely, his palms tightly gripping his long sword, he murmured in disbelief, “How is it possible?”
“Impossible!”
His heart was filled with disbelief, and he shook his head agitatedly, saying, “The Xia Kingdom has tens of thousands of elite troops in Hexi, plus fifty thousand elite soldiers in Xingqing Prefecture, a total of over a hundred thousand men in the Hexi Corridor.”
“Not to mention the strong walls and high city defenses of the various cities in Hexi, how could they be so vulnerable?”
“Eight thousand elite soldiers were annihilated in one battle by the Northern Frontier barbarians, that was eight thousand elite soldiers!”
“Even if there were eighty thousand pigs, placed in the Hexi Corridor, the Northern Frontier people couldn’t possibly capture them all.”
“Are the people of Xia Kingdom stupider than pigs?”
Wanyan Jing’s face turned purple, consumed by anger.
If it were any other time, upon hearing that Western Xia had lost eighty thousand troops, he would have been too overjoyed to sleep.
And then he would have immediately dispatched his army to march west and destroy the Xia Kingdom.
But at this moment, he could not feel the slightest bit of happiness, and was instead furious.
It turned out that what the madman from the Northern Frontier had said in his letter was true.
The sabers of the Northern Frontier had truly drunk the blood of ten thousand elite soldiers of the Xia Kingdom, and their arrows had pierced the city walls of the Hexi Valley.
The entire Hexi Corridor had likely fallen into the hands of the Northern Frontier.
This filled Wanyan Jing with a deep sense of dread.
Was the combat strength of the Northern Frontier Army truly so terrifying?
If the Jin army were to face them, would they have a chance of victory?
Originally, he had only viewed the Northern Frontier as a dog, a dog he led on a leash to attack the Liao State.
When the time was right, Jin would dispatch its entire army to conquer the Western Regions, expanding the territory of the Great Jin to thousands of miles to the west.
But Wanyan Jing never expected that the Northern Frontier was not a sheep to be slaughtered, but a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
Now, with the Northern Frontier occupying the Hexi Corridor and absorbing a large population from the Xia Kingdom, its strength had been further enhanced.
This made Wanyan Jing feel deeply threatened, his mind in turmoil, and he could only pace back and forth in the hall, his expression gloomy and uncertain.
And in the midst of this, Wanyan Zonghao continued, “The state letter from Xia has been delivered to the Directorate of Introduction.”
“As far as I know, that should be a letter from the Ruler of Xia requesting aid.”
Western Xia is a subordinate of the Jin Dynasty, and being bullied by the Northern Frontier, it naturally seeks the help of its elder brother, the Jin Dynasty, to vent its anger.
Wanyan Jing seemed not to hear, Xia was just a dog of the Jin Dynasty.
How much troop they lost, how much territory they lost, Wanyan Jing didn’t care about any of it.
He only cared if the Northern Frontier would pose a threat to the Jin Dynasty.
After pondering for a moment, Wanyan Jing suddenly stopped his steps, raised his head, and said fiercely, “Fight!”
“I will dispatch a large army to march onto the grassland and eliminate those Northern Frontier barbarians who do not know their place.”
Wanyan Zonghao was not surprised, but his expression remained solemn.
The Northern Frontier is located in the Western Regions, thousands of miles away from Zhongdu.
If a large army were to be dispatched on a long expedition, the costs would be considerable.
The preparation of provisions alone would be an astronomical figure.
Moreover, the combat strength of the Northern Frontier Army had already been proven in the battle of Hexi.
They were extremely formidable, much more powerful than the army of Xia.
And the elite of the Jin Dynasty army was only slightly stronger than that of Xia.
Therefore, to ensure victory in the war, at least twice the number of troops as the Northern Frontier Army must be dispatched.
An expedition of hundreds of thousands of infantry and cavalry onto the grassland is something that, throughout history, could only be accomplished during periods of a strong dynasty.
Is the Jin Dynasty strong?
Of course, after five generations of rulers, the Jin Dynasty had reached its peak during Wanyan Jing’s reign.
What followed would be a decline.
However, it was still not a simple matter to mobilize hundreds of thousands of troops for a Northern Expedition.
“Your Majesty, a distant expedition to the Western Regions requires not less than a hundred thousand elite troops and three hundred thousand civilian laborers.”
“Furthermore, to the south of the Great Jin, there is the Song Dynasty coveting our territory.”
“According to intelligence from the Song Dynasty’s Imperial Court, at the beginning of this year, the Anfu Commissioner of Zhejiang East Circuit, Xin Qiji, submitted a memorial for a Northern Expedition.”
“Although the Emperor of Song did not agree, in the past six months, officials of the Song Dynasty have been frequently redeployed.”
“Officials who held hostile views towards our Great Jin have been recalled to the Imperial Court by the Prime Minister of Song, Han Tuozhou.”
“Your humble servant believes this matter to be of great importance and must be guarded against.”
“If the Song Dynasty truly decides on a Northern Expedition, and our main army is on a distant expedition to the Western Regions, wouldn’t we be attacked from both front and rear, risking destruction?” Wanyan Zonghao said with a solemn voice.
Do not doubt the character of the Southern Song officials.
The number of spineless individuals far outnumbered the backbone of steel.
Before this, the Imperial Court was filled with calls for peace; these scholar-officials cared nothing for the grievances between their nation and their enemies, or the righteousness of their people.
They were all landlords, holding vast tracts of fertile land, and had no desire for war.
Wasn’t it better to live their own peaceful lives?
Therefore, the moment Xin Qiji submitted his memorial for a Northern Expedition, some spineless officials relayed the news to the Jin Dynasty.
At first, the Jin Dynasty’s ruler and his officials did not take it seriously.
After all, every year a few hotheads would emerge in the Southern Song court, clamoring for a Northern Expedition, but in reality, they were merely accumulating political capital for themselves, shouting slogans of Northern Expedition to gain fame.
However, as the number of proponents of war in the Southern Song court grew, the Jin Dynasty’s ruler and his officials had to take it seriously.
Ah, Song, you’re really serious about this?
“Even if the Song ruler and his officials are not truly intent on a Northern Expedition, if they see our main army on a distant expedition to the Western Regions, they might very well initiate a war when the Central Plains are vulnerable.”
“At that time, with wolves in front and tigers behind, how will our Great Jin cope?”
“Therefore, your humble servant earnestly implores Your Majesty to be cautious; the matter of a distant expedition requires careful consideration.”
Wanyan Zonghao said with a solemn tone, bowing deeply to Wanyan Jing.
At this moment, Wanyan Jing gradually calmed down, his complexion still a dark, ugly purple.
He gritted his teeth and said, “The Song Dynasty? A bunch of weak and incompetent sheep.”
“Though sheep are incompetent, with the help of a vicious wolf, they can still bite a fierce tiger to death,” Wanyan Zonghao said sternly.
