Chapter 53 first quarter
Zhao Liangsi, Ma Kuo and other envoys left Daizhou and came to the border defense line of Yingzhou, which had been occupied by the Jin army, and were detained by the Jurchen border guards.A Meng An said rudely to them: Regarding their coming, he had neither received any documents from the Southern Dynasty, nor had he received any instructions from his superiors, and he had to consult the eldest prince before he could follow the instructions.For this reason, they were detained in a barracks for more than ten days.
Then came the clan officials sent by the Great Jin Emperor Wanyan Aguda himself, and Salumu, a full-time diplomat, rushed to the border to meet them as escorts.Wu Shi repeatedly apologized and said: "The emperor has been inspecting the military situation in various places for several days. He just returned to Fengsheng Prefecture yesterday. When he heard the news of your ambassador's visit, he immediately sent us to come overnight to greet you."The Jurchens are progressing so fast!The speech and behavior of this clan member who was later named King Chen was actually very polite.But he was a famous military leader.Not to mention Salumu, a professionally trained diplomat. His taut horse face seems to be dusted with powdered sugar, ready to be scraped off and mixed in diplomatic preserves for the guests.Zhao Liangsi and Ma Kuo have experienced this kind of dessert that will turn sour in the stomach.
There are even more astonishing etiquettes.He has always been known for his rudeness, and now he is in charge of the military in Yingzhou. In fact, he ordered the Song envoy to be detained. Salumu galloped to welcome them together, and as a landlord, took the time to accompany them to visit the famous wooden pagoda in Yingzhou, and then sent two hundred cavalry to escort them on the road.When it was time to break up, Nianhan, who had always been unfriendly to the Song Dynasty, suddenly pointed to his heart and waved to the two Song envoys:
"Don't think it's negligent, both of you. Although I, Nianhan, is an impolite warrior, I am considerate to my guests. Let's go on the road, my 'Nianhan', and I will accompany you all the way to Fengsheng Prefecture."
Both Zhao Liangsi and Ma Kuo had been envoys to the Jin Dynasty, so they knew some Jurchen dialects and understood that the word "Nianhan" means heart.Not only is the powdered sugar on Salum's face, but even the "Nianhan" in Nianhan's accent can be mixed with foreign candied fruit, isn't it so strange!There must be articles in it.
From Yingzhou, Weizhou to Fengshengzhou, the places they passed along the way were devastated by the war, the houses were destroyed, and the population was scattered.In some villages, the houses are nothing but a riddled shell with no residents or living utensils inside. Everything that can be destroyed has been destroyed. The piles of bones were discarded indoors and by the roadside.In some villages, there are more than a dozen or as many as dozens of bones piled up on the field, which are obviously the remains of villagers who were massacred.
In the relatively lightly damaged areas, it takes tens of miles and several dilapidated villages to see one or two wisps of cooking smoke floating in the sky.In order to avoid military disasters, these wisps of cooking smoke hidden in the deep mountains and wild valleys fluttered erratically.Dodging and dodging, even rising in the sky seems weak, unable to stand up.It seems that the legal right to life has not been obtained.
From Yingzhou, Weizhou to Fengshengzhou, they all belong to the sixteen states of Yanyun.Since the end of the Tang Dynasty, the political power has disintegrated, and the area has been plagued by wars and disasters, and the people are in dire straits.The Later Tang government was unable to defend its territory, causing Shi Jingtang to cede the sixteen prefectures of Yanyun to the Khitans.Now the Liao government is broken, and the people are slaughtered by the Jin army. Ma Kuo is deeply impressed by these tragic scenes.
Only when they arrived at their destination, Fengsheng Prefecture, did they see large and small tents stretching from the outskirts to the city, with thousands of troops galloping back and forth, food, fodder and military supplies piled up everywhere into hills.Compared with what I saw on the road, it looked particularly hot and full of vitality.
Aguda himself came here to preside over military affairs in mid-August.The main generals under him, except Nianhan, are all accompanying him at this time, waiting for Aguda's deployment.Gathering so many warriors who are used to fighting in one place at one time, it can be said that the stars are like clouds (these people have shown their talents in the unification of Jurchen tribes and the war against Liao, and they will sweep the Northern Song Dynasty and ravage The south spans most of China. During the reign of King Sejong, most of the twenty-one honored ministers in the beginning of the country who were imaged in Yanqing Palace were in Fengshengzhou at this time).
The nobles of the Jin Dynasty heard that the Song envoy was coming.Since the second prince is inseparable, the fourth prince Wushu, the emperor's younger brother and mother, the general Lou Shi, Yin Shuke, Ta Lan, Lou Shi's son Huo Nv, Yin Shuke's son Quying, and the clan's Shu belong to Wan Yanxi Yin, Sa Liyin, Huangshu Pujienu, Xiangwen, etc. all came to pay a courtesy visit.Those who barely squeezed into this rank were Liao generals Han Qinghe, Chizhanhui, Han'er Wang Bolong, Bohai natives Da Butaye, Gao Biao, etc.They have made great contributions to the Jurchens to varying degrees, so they are also treated differently by the Jurchen nobles, and they are appointed as officials.Among them, Yiwobu has the highest status and is the most familiar with Ma Kuo.As soon as he saw Ma Kuo, he called himself "Sa He Nian" (dark) and "Pugu" (slender man) and asked "Ye Li Ma Li". "Sa He Nian, Pugu" was the nickname Ma Kuo gave Wu Li when he first learned Jurchen, and Wu Li did not take it as disobedience, but now he uses it to call himself, which shows the unusual friendship between the two.
Wu Libu's attitude towards Zhao Liangsi has always been stricter. This is not only because Zhao Liangsi himself lacks the power to attract him, but also because the Jurchen nobles generally have a strict concept of hierarchy: in their minds, the noble Jurchen nobles are of course It should be the ruler of the Great Jin Dynasty, the first-class subjects of the Great Jin Emperor.The Bohai people, Shiwei people, and Khitan people who were ruled by Jurchen, and the Han'er who directly surrendered to Emperor Dajin can be regarded as the second-class people.The Han'er who once belonged to Liao had to be counted as the third-class subjects.What's more, among the third-class people, Zhao Liangsi is not a guy who keeps his own law and order. He only wants to sell Liao to Song (if he sells to Jin, he can be promoted to enjoy the same treatment as Wang Bolong and others).Therefore, there is a deep wariness against him.However, in today's special political atmosphere, Wu Libu also became polite to Zhao Liangsi. He used a formalized diplomatic language to greet the Emperor of the Song Dynasty, and conveyed the will of the Emperor of the Jin Dynasty. It is too late today. Let's take a rest overnight, and we will discuss the interview tomorrow.
Wanyan Aguda, who had been played up by the princes to look like a great emperor, unexpectedly received the envoys of the Song Dynasty in a simple ceremony the next day in an open space outside his own tent.At the time of the interview, he was practicing archery with a group of disciples and generals.Practicing archery is not only the daily professional training of the Jurchens, but also a pleasant enjoyment of life.The emperor thought it necessary for the guests to share their entertainment. After a few pleasantries, he let the guests sit down and watch, waved his hands, and continued to practice archery.
This is an ordinary shooting practice, but it also contains the nature of competition and rewards and punishments.The archers walked to the launching line one by one, and according to their free choice, they used two forms of riding and foot shooting to shoot the five arrows assigned to him.Then go to the throne and accept the emperor's reward or punishment.The emperor sometimes looked at the results reported by Jianhu, or ignored that at all, and only rewarded and punished according to his own judgment.Gleefully twirling the archer's beard, or twisting his wrist to beat his shoulder, is the emperor's reward.To flip his hat angrily or throw it on the ground was the emperor's punishment.His rewards and punishments, like all his words and deeds, are unexpectedly expressed in a unique and strongly personal form.He can do whatever he wants, and is never bound by tradition and habit.He wanted his subjects to adapt unconditionally to his personal form, and he himself never humbly succumbed to social traditions, especially did not succumb to external influences, and did not like to do what others prescribed for him.This is the unique personal characteristic of Wanyan Aguda, the hero who started a dynasty.
After the emperor's evaluation, the archers can also receive a much gentler reward, two young (not necessarily beautiful) maids use large horse ladles to scoop wine from wooden barrels and persuade them to drink.If you hit the target once, you will enjoy a ladle of wine.Of course, it is rare in this circle to have a shooter who has never hit the target once. Even if the person whose hat is thrown off waits until the emperor agrees to leave him, he can still receive one or two spoonfuls of wine from the maid. It's more like humiliating him than rewarding him.He raised his glass, drank it up quickly, and hurried back to the original place.
Archers with excellent grades—generally all hit the target, or some arrows were shot particularly cleverly, and the archers whose beard was hurt by the emperor can also receive greater preferential treatment.
While they were drinking, two half-kneeling maids on the animal skin blanket played the vertical harp, and several maikos (including men and women) formed a group and danced to the monotonous rhythm of the harp.This is a kind of majestic dance, without graceful figure, without quick and changeable steps, the maikos are imitating the movements of riding, shooting, stabbing, fighting, galloping and shouting in unison rhythmically from beginning to end. It's like shouting to kill on the battlefield.Before each break, everyone has to stamp their feet vigorously, and the dancing boots made of animal skins are stamped on the hard ground, making a neat and well-proportioned "wipe...wipe" sound.In the middle of the maiko, there is a protruding athlete wearing a mask who stands out from the crowd and stabs forward, backward, left, and right with vigorous and calm movements.When he stepped up and shuttled among the ups and downs of the dancing partners, the mighty aura was like a giant ship splitting through the waves and advancing in the turbulent waves.
This round of short, powerful and symbolic dance reminded Ma Kuo of Gao Changgong, the young and beautiful King of Lanling, a famous general in the Northern Qi Dynasty.When Gao Changgong went to battle, fearing that his appearance would not be enough to intimidate the enemy, he specially made a pair of hideous and terrifying copper masks to wear.In the Battle of Beiman Mountain, he galloped like flying, repelled the enemy's siege, and finally rushed to the foot of Jinyong City, took off his mask, joined the Qi army in the city, and broke the siege of Jinyong City.The dance song "Lanling King Breaking the Battle" commemorating Gao Changgong's victory in the battle has long been lost in the Central Plains. Ma Kuo imagined it, regardless of music or dance.It should all look like this.
After a round of singing and dancing, another person came up to shoot arrows.
There are two archery targets here: one is two hundred paces away, and a two-foot-square plank is erected on the ground, with a red heart the size of a fist painted in the middle.Another one, on top of a pile of sand dunes farther away, is also erected with the same wooden sign, painted red hearts.The wooden board of the previous arrow swan has been replaced several times, and now the wooden board is still full of arrow marks and wounds all over the body, while the latter arrow swan is still intact and as new, it seems that no one cares about it yet.
Ma Kuo, who was a cavalry officer, knew at a glance that it was no easy task to hit the target in front of him. His own bow strength could not reach that far.According to his visual inspection, the second target was at least three hundred and twenty paces away.They are the only ones in the western army who can shoot two hundred and twenty or thirty paces away, only someone from the Hexi family can shoot two hundred and fifty paces.He had never seen, or heard of, anyone who could shoot three hundred paces, except with a crossbow.
Relatives and nobles came up to shoot arrows one after another, and went to receive awards or be punished one after another, in order.They were on the firing line, poised, the arrows just hitting the net.The drummers began to beat the big drum, and several of them kept beating, until he shot five arrows before the sound of the drum stopped.At this time, the soldiers hidden in the cellar behind the arrows rushed out quickly, checked the results, pulled out the arrows, and waved red and white flags to report the archer's results to people.On the whole, the results are astonishing, and generally hit three or four arrows.Even Wanyan Xiyin, who had become a literati, shot three arrows, one of which hit the red heart.Wanyan Xiyin was proficient in both Chinese and Khitan scripts. In the past two years, he was ordered to create the Jurchen script. It seemed that he was asked to give up his military career and focus on writing. He was still able to maintain the level of a middle-level archer, which made the emperor very happy.The one with the worst grades is Sa Lihe, who shakes his head and sighs every time he shoots an arrow, expressing that his accidental miss has caused him to lose his usual level.He only shot one arrow, and before the emperor could make a move, he respectfully took off his sable hat to accept the punishment.The emperor tugged at his braids, causing him to turn twice.Push him far away again, and don't even let him drink that dipper of wine.
Then it was Wulibu's turn to ride and shoot. People welcomed him as if they were a famous actor on the stage, and hoped that he would have a wonderful performance.Wo Libu really didn't know that Huijia was not busy. After reporting his name and official title as usual, he urged his mount to charge up from a place far behind the firing line, and fired four arrows in a row while galloping.How well he shoots!The four arrows were neatly inserted into Xiaohong's heart, not far apart, as if they were spelling out a beautiful pattern on the arrows and swans from near and far.
Ma Kuo noticed that Wu Libu pulled the reins of the stirrup short while he was galloping, and when he launched it, he seemed to stand up from the horse's back.It was a launch position he hadn't seen before.All the knights, including the archers of Liao, Jin, Song, Xia, and Qiang, sat firmly on the saddle bridge, bent their hips back slightly, and aimed at the target before shooting arrows.Ma Kuo pondered the advantages and disadvantages of these two postures in his heart, and thought that each had its advantages and disadvantages, and he could not do without this new posture, which could use strength, reach far, shoot arrows quickly, and catch the enemy off guard, but from the saddle bridge Stand up but not easy to aim.Now Wulibu's four arrows all hit the red heart, and the distance between each arrow is so close and well-proportioned, it can be seen that he has practiced this posture for a long time, practice makes perfect, and it didn't happen overnight.In vain, I have been friends with him for many years, and I have also accompanied him several times in shooting and hunting.It was snowing heavily that year, and in order to get rid of the cold, there was also a sense of courage in a game. The two of them met to hunt tigers in the deep mountains. As a result, they brought back two cubs from the hunt, and everyone was very happy.At that time, he never noticed his vertical launch.It can be said to be a big negligence.
The inseparable fifth arrow wanted to test shoot the target behind it.He stepped back from his mount, galloped up from behind in the same posture, and shot an arrow fiercely.The arrow had already reached the target and hit the board, but unfortunately it was exhausted, and it was about to fall as soon as it was touched, and fell softly on the sand dune.
The Jurchens present shouted together, which can be guessed to express regret.The emperor, who was more strict with his son than his subordinates and subordinates, glanced at his son angrily, uttered a scolding, then hurriedly stood up from the bearded bed covered with leopard skin, and walked towards the launching line, as if he wanted to give his son and his ministers a warning. The genus made a demonstration performance.The attendants had already presented his iron tire bow and a leopard skin arrow.A Guda rolled up his arrow sleeves, took the bow and arrows, put himself in a good posture, and shot three arrows in a row towards the archery target on the sand dune.With the first arrow, he failed to reach the wooden sign. The second arrow used all his strength and surpassed the wooden sign by more than ten steps. Unfortunately, it was crooked and flew to the sand pile behind the wooden sign to the left. The third arrow It is successful, just nailed to the center of the circle.
The emperor enjoyed such a high prestige that when he fired, there was no sound in the audience.Even the drummers lowered their hands, not daring to beat the drums.After shooting an arrow, when a cavalry galloped back to bring back the arrow target and offered it to him, his mighty eyes looked around, but no one dared to make a sound to express his admiration. In the same way that they dared not regret the first and second arrows he missed.
Wanyan Aguda's actions and demeanor are indeed extraordinary.He set such a high standard for himself, and he was absolutely sure that he could accomplish it (otherwise he would lose face in front of the Southern Ambassador) and finally achieved his goal, which shocked Zhao Liangsi and Ma Kuo, who were waiting to move forward. At the time of congratulations, Aguda had already thrown the bow and arrow to the attendant, shook his head dissatisfied and said:
"The envoy of Nan laughed at me! I played this game every day when I was young, and I was very familiar with it. When I was ten years old, the envoy of Liao saw the bow and arrow in my hand and asked me to show my skills. I fired three arrows in a row. The three birds that flew in the sky were all shot down, and he was so frightened that he shrank his tongue and said, "Awesome, awesome!" How can it be compared with what it was back then?" He said modestly, and then added, "It's a pity that I didn't see 'Ye Li Ma Li' show his skills today, otherwise it would be an eye-opener for you guys." This is obvious. It was a polite remark, but he still remembered the praise he had given to Ma Kuo a few years ago, which showed that he admired the Southern envoy very much.
After the shooting was over, he invited the envoys from the south to enter his account and held a banquet to welcome the distinguished guests, with all the relatives and ministers accompanying him.
For an emperor of a dynasty to show off his personal skills in front of the envoys of his neighbors, this may not be an aimless child's play.Although Ma Kuo had participated in their shooting and hunting several times, he had never arranged it as abruptly as today, nor had he seen Aguda stand out as much as today, which caused Ma Kuo to think deeply.Later, Aguda got drunk and revealed the secret by himself.At that time, he was already very drunk, thinking that Ma Kuo was not drinking to his heart's content, so he shook the wine bottle himself to persuade him to drink:
"The news from Tanma the day before yesterday said that Yang Keshi of your family has won the city of Yanjing. It is a great success. Today is a rare occasion for the guests and hosts of the two countries to gather together. I have drunk eighty-nine points. It makes sense that you two should also drink to your heart's content."
I see!
It turned out that Yang Keshi's army had captured the city of Yanjing. No wonder they were detained on the Yingzhou border defense line for more than ten days, and suddenly received such a warm and grand reception from the relatives and dignitaries of the Jin Dynasty.No wonder Aguda wanted to arrange this shootout today, showing off his personal skills to intimidate the envoy Song.No wonder Aguda was very excited at the banquet, and he praised the Song Dynasty a lot.It turned out that Yang Keshi's military victory broke their prejudice that they had always underestimated the strength of the Song Dynasty.Yang Keshi's victory raised the value of the imperial court in the eyes of the Jurchen nobles, and at the same time raised the value of the envoys. Aguda's showing off his talents was out of a mentality of unwillingness to be outdone, lest the envoys of the Song Dynasty hear the news. , Enhance the position of the speaker, and make progress in the negotiation.
Aguda's precautionary measures seem to be necessary.As diplomatic envoys, Zhao Liangsi and Ma Kuo first heard this amazing news, of course they reacted.Sure enough, Ma Kuo spoke first:
"Since my family has acquired Yanjing, it can be said that the overall situation has been settled," Ma Kuo said happily, feeling suddenly that a solid city wall had been erected behind him, "when the lord of the country abides by the original agreement, Yunzhou and the area behind the mountain will be taken away." All the land belonged to my family, a boundary line was set up, a stele was erected, and the harmony between the two countries will be preserved forever. At that time, people should sincerely congratulate and offer a cup of wine to the lord of the country for his birthday!"
He just heard the good news from Yanjing, and immediately mentioned the land behind the Yunzhou mountain. Ma Kuo has taken such a long step!His sudden attack awakened Aguda's drunkenness by three or five minutes.
A Guda thought for a while, then laughed and said:
"Such a big matter, how can it be settled in a short time?" As soon as he touched the edge of diplomacy, Aguda also became alert and sophisticated, "I am about to send someone to discuss with your Emperor Zhao, please drink tonight."
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