Chapter 58 Yelu Chucai

In the autumn of 1215, Genghis Khan returned to the Mongolian grasslands with mountains of spoils and clouds of beauties. However, among these huge spoils, Genghis Khan loved one trophy the most. This trophy was not an item, but a person.This person was the young man Yelu Chucai whom Wanyan Fuxing met on Zhongducheng Street before committing suicide. Yelu Chucai was a Khitan native, and his ancestor was Yelubei, the king of Dongdan, the eldest son of Yelu Abaoji, the founder of the Liao Kingdom.Yelu Chucai is the ninth grandson of Yelu Abaoji.During the Liao Dynasty, the ancestors of Yelu Chucai were infinitely beautiful, and there were four grand masters in the family.After the Kingdom of Liao was destroyed by the Kingdom of Jin, Yelu Chucai’s ancestors, like most of the Yelu royal family, also served the Kingdom of Jin. His grandfather and father were both middle-level officials of the Kingdom of Jin’s government, and he himself was the same. When he was in the capital, he was captured as Wai Lang, a member of the central government of the Kingdom of Jin.

When someone recommended Yelu Chucai to Genghis Khan, Genghis Khan just said routinely: "Give him any official position." Meet him, this man is extraordinary." Genghis Khan asked calmly: "Why is it extraordinary?" The introducer told about Yelu Chucai's family background, and then introduced Yelu Chucai's personal situation in detail.According to him, Yelu Chucai is a master in the field of Chinese traditional culture. Of course, any Chinese intellectual can become a leader in the field of Chinese traditional culture as long as he is willing to work hard.Yelu Chucai is different. He is not a master of traditional culture who talks about war on paper, but a master of traditional culture who combines knowledge and action.

For example, to study Buddhism, he first forged himself to be a devout Buddhist, which is the unity of knowledge and action.Another example is when he learns the philosophy of Laozi and Zhuangzi, the first step is to imitate Zhuangzi, wandering around in spirit and body; if he wants to learn astronomy, he makes a magnifying glass and a telescope by himself; For the laws of the Kingdom of Jin, while reading the textbooks, he also went to the prison to do field research, reviewing all the case files of the Ministry of Criminal Justice; he studied arithmetic, yes, the key is this, this guy Yelu Chucai can predict the future, he is a half-immortal.

The more Genghis Khan listened, the more interested he became. Finally, when he heard that Yelu Chucai could predict the future, his heart arose.Grassland people also like divination, but the level is very low. They burn a few sheep bones and predict good and bad fortune from the cracks on the bones after burning.Genghis Khan would burn sheep bones every time he went on an expedition or had a major issue. He immediately sent someone to invite Yelu Chucai. As soon as Yelu Chucai came in, Genghis Khan was shocked by his appearance.Yelu Chucai was eight feet tall, with burning eyes, a beautiful beard that reached to his chest, and he spoke like a bell, neither humble nor overbearing, and always maintained the most outstanding aristocratic temperament.

Genghis Khan immediately fell in love with this Khitan man after just one glance. He asked, "Do you have sheep bones on you?" Yelu Chucai couldn't react: "What's the use of the animal bones?" Genghis Khan woke him up: "I heard that you can predict, why don't you bring sheep bones with you?" Yelu Chucai understood, and replied respectfully: "I predict good and bad fortune by looking at the stars, not by sheep bones." Genghis Khan became excited and said: "You can do the math, what battles have happened in my great Mongolian country recently?"

Yelu Chucai counted and said, "There is war in the northwest." Genghis Khan was both surprised and delighted. What surprised him was that the northwest was indeed unstable, and what pleased him was that the other party really came out of the divination. Yelu Chucai's reaction to Genghis Khan's surprise was flat. If you are a good magician, after performing a magic trick, you will have the same flat reaction as Yelu Chucai when you face the audience's surprise. Genghis Khan couldn't wait to ask again: "When can I get the whole Central Plains?" Yelu Chucai didn't pinch his fingers, but said calmly, "Don't worry about it, the Jin Kingdom is at the end of its rope, and it's just around the corner to be wiped out by you Khan."

Genghis Khan liked to hear these words very much. For some unknown reason, he firmly believed that the man in front of him was bestowed upon him by the Changshengtian.Yelu Chucai instilled civilization in this man who didn't know what civilization was, and carefully warned him not to be bloodthirsty, and to preserve the civilization of the Central Plains as much as possible. Genghis Khan kept nodding every time, but his regiments were still burning, killing and looting the captured cities, and his soldiers were still destroying the civilized buildings in various cities.The only difference is that he has consciously warned his corps commanders to exercise restraint when it is time to restrain.As for whether the commanders of the corps violated his orders in order to expand the spoils of war, he was too far away from the battlefield to control that far.

Genghis Khan liked Yelu Chucai so much. A few years later, he said to his future successor, his third son, Wo Kuotai: "Yelu Chucai is a genius sent to my family by God. You must treat him well." If you like someone, you are willing to help him. In the early days, one day, Genghis Khan said to Yelu Chucai: "You Khitans and Jurchens are feuds, and I can avenge you!" Yelu Chucai immediately replied: "My grandfather, father and I have all served as officials in the Jin government. From the perspective of Confucianism, we are all servants of the emperor of Jin. If a servant wants to take revenge on his master, That is the crime of deceiving the king."

These words touched Genghis Khan's heartstrings.One of Genghis Khan's qualities is particularly admirable, he respects the loyalty of a person, even if this person is his enemy. What Genghis Khan said to Yelu Chucai revealed such a message to us. Of course, this message is also what we have seen before: Genghis Khan must avenge his hatred, especially the hatred of the country and the family. Yelu Chucai's reply is not the whole reason. It has been a hundred years since the Liao Kingdom was destroyed by the Jin Kingdom, and Yelu Chucai has already become a member of the Jin Kingdom, and the distant and dreamy Liao Kingdom is no longer his taste.

In fact, it was not the time with Genghis Khan that made Yelu Chucai famous in history. His most dazzling era was during the period of Wokuotai, and during the period of Genghis Khan, he was just an aide.Even so, he already knew how to bring this beastly military kingdom to the orbit of civilization. Once, a Xixia man who was good at making bows and arrows said in front of Genghis Khan that when the country needs military force, what's the use of a scholar? Yelu Chucai immediately said: "If bowsmiths are needed to make bows and arrows, how can those who are in the world not need craftsmen from all over the world?"

These words were soft but firm, and the Xixia man choked, but Genghis Khan greatly appreciated Yelu Chucai's words, and since then he trusted the scholar even more.Because Genghis Khan vaguely felt that a huge country without scholars is really unimaginable, especially a scholar like Yelu Chucai who can pinch and count.