The First Yamen of the Great Song Dynasty

Gao Ming declared in his heart that the Jurchens had failed to act coercively for the first time.

Who asked him to take Hua Rong, one of the most outstanding archers in the Song Dynasty? Otherwise, according to the Jurchen's ability to ride and shoot, they would have to be compared by them this time.

A Guda saw that the Lou room they carefully arranged was overwhelmed by people from the Song Kingdom. He was surprised, and couldn't help but carefully scrutinized the deputy envoy surnamed Hua. He saw that he was not as rough as Jurchen or Khitan warriors at all from his appearance. It is the elegant posture that Song talents had.

He couldn't help muttering in his heart, could it be that Song people, who don't look very brave like him, have such archery skills?

Wanyan Cheng also frowned, thinking about the same as his brother, it seems that Song Guo should not be underestimated.

Huarong finished shooting the arrow, returned the complete bow to Wanyan Loushi, and stood back beside Gao Ming, his attitude was still calm, without showing any trace of arrogance or arrogance, as if it was a very important thing to hit a eagle. Everyday things.

Gao Ming laughed and said, "This is enough, let's go back."

Most of the Wanyans were sober from the wine, and it was expected that anyone who was overwhelmed by outsiders in terms of their own special skills would be shocked.

A Guda forced a smile, "Well, send someone to find the prey that was shot, let's go back to the house first."

Returning to the house with their own concerns, Gao Ming found that the atmosphere was not as lively as before, but obviously, more eyes were focused on Hua Rong.

Before, the people of Wanyan's family only thought Hua Rong was Gao Ming's personal bodyguard, but they didn't expect to have such ability.

A Guda looked at Hua Rong with admiration, and asked Gao Ming, "Is Vice Envoy Hua the best general in your Great Song Dynasty?"

This question is very clever, if it is the best, then the Jurchen can still accept it, if not, then it is also good to evaluate the strength of Song State.

Gao Ming smiled and said, "What does the Lord think?"

A Gu nodded heavily, "It must be, even the entire grassland can't find a few such good archers."

Gao Ming accepted it, "The Lord thinks it is, so it is."

Ah Gu thought to himself, Gao Ming, you still haven't answered my question just now.

Wanyan Sheng simply asked directly, "Song Kingdom doesn't have too many good archers like Vice Minister Hua, does it? After all, you don't rely on riding and archery to establish the world. It seems that you usually farm the fields."

For Jurchen, riding and archery is not only a means of war but also a means of making a living. Daily hunting life is inseparable from horseback riding and archery. However, most people in the Song Dynasty settled down to farm and used hoes instead of bows and arrows.

Gao Ming still said, "Some people spend their whole life with hoes but never bows and arrows. Of course, there are also people who spend their entire lives with bows and arrows and never pick up hoes. The country collects taxes from farmers to support generals. Soldiers only need to concentrate on practicing riding and archery, and they can be more powerful." concentrate."

At first glance, it sounds like it works, but this system is very easy to breed corruption. Many soldiers in the Song Dynasty only get money, and their usual training is just a waste of time.

But the Jurchen didn't develop to this point, so I thought about it for myself, it seems that I don't need to think about my livelihood, I just fight every day with money, it seems that I can focus more on the war.

A Guda accepted Gao Ming's explanation, but he understood that a system like the Song State needed many people below to support it, and given the current national strength of the Jin State, the Song State's system was incompatible with the national conditions.

But it also shows from the side that Song State is indeed rich, and its population and wealth are beyond the reach of Jin State.

At this time, Zong Han, who was sober on the opposite kang, asked Gao Ming, "I heard that there are 100 million people in the capital of Song Dynasty. Is it true?"

"Actually, it should be more than 100 million, maybe 150 million." Gao Ming answered casually after taking a sip of his wine.

The people of the Wanyan family who were present all gasped secretly, what is the concept of 150 million?There is no such number even if the entire Jurchen is counted.

Song Guo is indeed a huge monster.

Zong Wang also asked, "How do so many people live? Where do they live and what do they eat?"

Gao Ming said with a smile: "Of course it is under the wise leadership of His Majesty the Emperor of our country, and each of them performs his own duties."

With the current social structure of the Jurchens, it is really impossible to imagine how to manage a city of 150 million people.

Even after they occupied the territory of the Liao Kingdom, they had to rely on the surrender of Liao officials to rule, many of whom were Khitan and Han Chinese.

A Guda and Wanyan Sheng couldn't help imagining in their minds that the emperor of the Lower Song Kingdom could sit in a capital city of 150 million people and rule the whole country, so it was quite powerful.

Aguda strengthened his determination to win over Song Guo, and began to say good things, "The emperor of Song Guo is wise and powerful, I really want to meet him. I wonder if his children are as brave as my sons?"

It's okay to catch this kind of meeting in Beidi, Gao Ming continued to beautify Zhao Ji, "Our Majesty now has 20 princes and 30 princesses, all of whom are dragons and phoenixes. Your Majesty is in the prime of life, and there must be children born."

As soon as this statement came out, everyone was even more shocked. From the perspective of fertility worship, if a man has a large number of children, then he must be physically strong, otherwise he would not be able to give birth to so many children.

The hero of Aguda generation, the number of children has already surpassed other Jurchen, did not expect the emperor of Song Dynasty to have more.

Aguda said: "Your emperor must be brave."

The other Wanyans also nodded with complicated expressions.

It's just that he is lustful, Gao Ming thought to himself, if Zhao Ji knew that he worked so hard to give him money in the north, he should make himself a prince.

Wu Shu got a glimpse of something else from Gao Ming's words, that is, with such a large number of children, there must be quite a lot of concubines, "The emperor of Song must have many women, right?"

Mentioning this, Gao Ming felt that the Wanyan clan present became more focused all of a sudden.

It's no wonder that the northern region is cold, and the survival rate of frail women is not as good as that of men. This leads to the lack of women in the grassland peoples. Father and son brothers inherit each other's women, and they plunder and rob women to reproduce.

Women are very important to them.

The Emperor Ji Zongji in Jingkang were all divided up by them, just like robbers divide the spoils.

Zhao Jiguang has more than 100 women in the harem with a title, and hundreds of women without a title. There are also Li Shishi and Cui Niannu outside. It is estimated that the mouths of the Wanyan family will drop with envy.

Gao Ming said foolishly: "The emperor's concubines all live in the deep palace, how can I, a courtier, know the number of them?"

Zongwang muttered, "There must be more than ten!" His father, Aguda, only had five women.

Hehe, I don't know much, multiply by ten first, Gao Ming said, "Maybe."

Wu Shu changed the subject, "Gao Zhengshi, how many women do you have?" If you don't know the emperor, you must know yourself.

Gao Ming shrugged, "Not a single one."

None of the men in Wanyan's family believed it, Wu Shu said: "Gao Zhengshi, you are not telling the truth." With his age and status, no woman would believe him.

"If I lie to you, I will let the eagle peck my eyes blind." Gao Ming said calmly: "As an official, you should regard the country as your family and your family as your family, uphold the concept of the world as the public, and implement the concept of 'giving up the small family'. Home, take care of everyone'."

The Chinese level of Zongzi's generation didn't understand Gao Ming's words very well. At this time, Wanyan Xiyin uttered a voice and translated it into a more understandable version, "For their Song Dynasty, he didn't even have a family, and he didn't even want his children. , wholeheartedly devoted to state affairs."

Everyone Wanyan was taken aback when they heard this, and Ma Zhi also said that the officials of the Song Kingdom had selfish motives and only wanted to benefit themselves, but Gao Ming was obviously not like that.

It is indeed necessary to take a good look at Song Guo.

Wu Shu looked at Huarong again, "What about you? How many women are there?"

Hua Rong matched Gao Ming's words, "I'm the same as him."

What Gao Ming and Hua Rong said caused quite a stir in Wanyan's family, and they all communicated in Jurchen in low voices.

"It would be great if the Khitans and Han officials who surrendered had Gao Ming's thoughts."

"Hmm, that's right."

As the ruling class, who wouldn't want such an official.

A Guda said with emotion: "How I wish you and Deputy Envoy Hua could serve for our Kingdom of Jin."

Farewell, really no need, Gao Ming heard the words, immediately put on a look of righteous indignation, and cupped his hands in the direction of Tokyo: "We are the subjects of the Great Song Dynasty in life, and the loyal ghosts of the Great Song Dynasty in death, we would rather die than change our ambitions!"

Seeing that Gao Ming was so loyal to Song, the crowd of Wanyan dared not look down on them even more.

Agu laughed and said: "Don't panic, I just said it casually, there is no other meaning. Come, drink and drink."

Everyone continued to drink, at this time another thing that surprised Wanyan gradually emerged, that is, the drinking capacity of these two Song people should not be underestimated.

They remembered that Ma Zhi said that Song people like to drink, but they don't hold much alcohol, but Gao Ming and Hua Rong in front of them are not like this at all. After drinking for so long, they are fine.

How much misinformation Ma Shik has provided, no wonder he's hiding.

Gao Ming and Hua Rong stayed awake until the banquet was over, thanked Aguda for his hospitality, left the banquet venue, and went back to their residence.

After they left, the Wanyan family hurriedly closed the door and held another meeting.

Wan Yansheng spoke first, "Many of our views on the Song Kingdom were wrong, no wonder they are unwilling to form an alliance with us. From that Huarong, we can see that they are also very powerful."

Wu Shu frowned, "I can't do it well, only this Hua Rong is good, and the others are not good."

Wanyan Zongqiang, who was relatively young and never had a chance to speak, said, "Gao Ming told me on the road that they have some general exams, and this Huarong is not No.1."

Wanyan Xiyin knew Song Guo better, "It's the imperial examination, and there are literary and military examinations. Once every three years, isn't this Huarong No. 1?"

Aguda said at this time: "The emperor of the Song Dynasty ruled so many people. Officials and generals like Gao Ming and Hua Rong were loyal to him. It's not like Yelu Yanxi who lost all hearts."

They were able to defeat the Liao Kingdom. In addition to the bravery of the Jurchens, another reason was that Yelu Yanxi was fatuous and deviant, and he was alienated from the people below, and no one would work for him.

If the soldiers love one, they will love the whole nest, and the king of the Song Dynasty has such a courtier to serve him loyally, so he is not going to be fatuous.

Wanyan Sheng strengthened his determination, "We must get the support of Song Guo, and we must also get the support of Gao Ming."

But Wu Shu said: "You don't have to think so hard about the Song Kingdom, they are really powerful, why don't they fight against the Liao Kingdom and take You Yun back."

A Guda frowned, "Maybe I'm waiting for an opportunity. Let's ignore this, let's think of a way to change Gao Ming's attitude. Does anyone have a good idea?"

Everyone was silent in unison.

The people of the Song Dynasty were eloquent, and Gao Ming was the best among them. Moreover, there was a language barrier between them. People who could speak Chinese fluently were rare, not to mention debating.

"Wu Shu, tell me." Aguda said.

Wushu can be regarded as the most thoughtful among this group of children.

Wu Shu frowned and thought for a while, "I do have a way..." After he told his thoughts, everyone in the Yan family laughed heartily, "That's the way to do it, the fourth child has brains and ideas."

The battle against Gao Ming was agreed again, and all the people went down, sobering up, sleeping, and preparing for tomorrow.

-

Gao Ming and Hua Rong returned to the residence, and saw that the big kang in the house had been heated by someone, so he lay on his stomach, and when Hua Rong lay next to him, he changed to a side-lying position, looked at Hua Rong and said with a smile : "Tch, you're still comparing archery with our little Li Guang, are you dumbfounded?"

Hua Rong raised his eyebrows, "Isn't it embarrassing you?"

"Not only did you not embarrass me, you are simply winning glory for the country!"

"The officials should reward you to me."

"Can that work? I don't belong to their old Zhao's family. Why should he deal with me?"

Hua Rong smiled and said, "Whose family do you belong to?"

"I am old Gao."

"what about me?"

"You are also from Lao Gao's family!" Gao Ming laughed.

"You are what you said before... How to say it, yes, double standards."

"Yes, I am mine, and you are mine." Gao Ming laughed and said, "Do you have any objections?"

Hua Rong caressed Gao Ming's face and said with a smile, "I dare not."

Gao Ming put Hua Rong's arm on his pillow, and looked at him slightly, "When Wu Shu asked me how many women I have, I wanted to tell them about our relationship, but I didn't say it because I was afraid of scaring them."

"Fortunately not, otherwise they don't know what kind of questions they will ask." Hua Rong said: "They lack understanding of the Central Plains and are curious about everything."

Gao Ming said: "What do you think of these Wanyans? Which one impresses you the most?"

Hua Rong thought for a while, "To be honest, they are quite similar to each other, even their personalities are similar. But the one who impressed me the most is that Zong Bi. When talking to you, I can tell that he is I want to talk."

Gao Ming agreed, "His Jurchen name is Wushu, and I have the deepest impression on him. Today Aguda invited us to a banquet and asked the Jurchen warriors to show their archery skills. It didn't take advantage of them. They will definitely not stop there and have to make a comeback. The more you hit them , the more eager they are to form an alliance."

"Then let's see what else the Wanyan family can do." Hua Rong said with a smile, "Anyway, we're not in a hurry to go back."

"Although Yelu Dashi told you to wait for us to go back, if the emperor of the Liao Kingdom can't wait, he has to bring Wang Fu to meet Yelu Yanxi." Gao Ming speculated with great interest, "What do you think Wang Fu will do? Proposed to reduce or exempt the old coins?"

"I guess. He must not dare to see Yelu Yanxi. He is very likely to pretend to be sick again. This time without you to heal him, he has no burden to pretend. It is likely to pretend that he has lost his voice and cannot speak. Even if the Liao Kingdom Even when the emperor sent envoys to his sick bed, he couldn't speak a single word."

Considering Wang Fu's character, Gao Ming felt that Hua Rong's guess was very possible, he couldn't help sighing, "Oh, the Liao Kingdom is waiting for me to go back, I'm such a busy man."

"Then can you handle it?"

"With you here, I can."

When Hua Rong heard this, he smiled and took Gao Ming into his arms.

-

As Gao Ming expected, Wanyan's family sent Wanyan Xiyin to tell him the next day, inviting him and Hua Rong to participate in the hunt.

Archery is just to show the archery skills of a single warrior. Hunting is different, and it can show the Jurchen's riding and shooting skills in an all-round way.

Especially when rounding up wild animals, endurance, courage and archery skills are indispensable.

Gao Ming has no reason to refuse, and he doesn't want to refuse, the more he can get in touch with Jurchens, the better he can understand them.

After agreeing, Huarong and Hua Rong had an honest sleep that night to recharge their batteries, and when they got up the next morning, they went out together to meet Wanyan Aguda.

Leaving the horses outside, they went inside.

A Guda and the others were all fully dressed, and when they saw Gao Ming and Hua Rong coming, they said: "No matter what we hunt today, I will give the most precious prey among them to you two, as if I let you come to the Kingdom of Jin without authorization." apology."

Gao Ming knew that Jurchen didn't have so many formalities, so he didn't refuse, and said with a smile, "I'm really looking forward to it. Huarong, you have to work hard today. This hunt is also for us to hunt prey."

Lou Shi didn't take advantage of Hua Rong's arrow comparison last time. He stared at Hua Rong with a bow and arrow, which seemed to be superior, "Do you need a bow and arrow?"

Hua Rong said: "My own bow and arrow are all on the horse, so I don't need it."

A Guda knew that Gao Ming was a civil servant, "You can't shoot a bow, let's hunt around, no one is born to be good at it. I asked my sons to protect you and not let the beasts hurt you."

Gao Ming thought to himself, the implication is to let him watch the Jurchen's vigor.

OK, he must look good.

"Thank you, sir, for your kindness. However, I also went hunting with the emperor when I was in the Song Dynasty, and I was never injured by wild animals."

Wanyan Sheng said with a hearty smile, "Our beasts are much more ferocious than those of the Song Kingdom."

Gao Ming also smiled, "Then I really want to take a good look and compare them."

At this time, someone Wanyan said, "There's no need to compare, it's just fiercer than yours."

A Guda didn't want to waste time by bickering, so he said: "Then everyone is ready, let's go!"

Everyone got on their horses and galloped out of the city. I don't know if it was Gao Ming's illusion. He felt that even Jurchen's horses were wilder than Song's horses, and they ran faster.

For the Jurchens, hunting is a basic skill. The Jurchens who can't hunt have long been eliminated by starvation.

This time he came out to hunt, besides his family members, Aguda also brought a hundred Jurchen warriors. According to the conversion of force value, these people can basically fight thousands of Khitan cavalry. As for how many Song troops they can fight, Gao Ming does not want to evaluate .

When sitting on the kang and chatting with the people of Wanyan's family, I didn't feel anything, but once on the horseback, surrounded by hundreds of other Jurchen people, Gao Ming and Hua Rong were only two people, and they were submerged in the crowd. In the movie, the chilling feeling of chilling came back immediately.

Different from the appearance of being drunk and singing that night, Wanyan's family carried bows and arrows on their backs and rode their horses galloping.

The kang is just a place for them to rest temporarily, and the horseback is their real home.

Gao Ming couldn't help but think that half a century later, a Mongol named Temujin would be born on the grassland, and that person would be the real devil-level difficulty. However, that's not what Gao Ming should think about now, the Jurchens should be gnawing at it right now. tough bones.

Liaoyang Mansion is surrounded by forests, rich in wild animals, very suitable for hunting.

A Guda led the crowd off their horses into the forest, skillfully divided them into several groups, responsible for scouting and surrounding the prey.

This way of hunting deep into the forest is quite different from the rounding up method in Gao Ming's impression.

What he was impressed with was a safer and gentler way. The guards drove the animals out of the woods and drove them into an encirclement for everyone to shoot. The arrows were engraved with their names. When the animals were dead, they would count the arrows. Whoever has the most animals will be rewarded.

But it is clear that the Wanyan family led by A Guda is not practicing this kind of show hunting, but real hunting without adulteration.

Gao Ming never thought that in this era of Aguda, hunting was so primitive, unlike the nomadic emperors of later generations who played hunting games where they drove animals into ambush circles and could shoot them with their eyes closed.

At this moment, you are really hunting with your life, and if you don't keep it all together, a bear will jump out, and a tiger will jump out.

As he walked, A Guda said to Gao Ming: "I don't know if you have heard a saying, which is called Jurchen is dissatisfied with ten thousand, and ten thousand is invincible."

Gao Ming's heart trembled. He looked at the Jurchens walking forward with bows and arrows. They were all the best hunters and the best killing machines.

If this sentence is said on the top of the kang, it will definitely not have the current effect.Seeing the change in Gao Ming's face, Ah Guda couldn't help thinking, it is indeed correct to listen to Wu Shu's suggestion, and putting the people of Song State in a dangerous situation, they will be more willing to listen to your words.

Gao Ming said: "I heard this for the first time today, but I will remember this sentence."

A Guda observed the situation ahead, said a few words to his sons in Jurchen language, and then said to Gao Ming: "It's time to separate, you follow Zongwang Zongbi and the others to encircle from the other side, and we encircle from the other side."

Gao Ming obeyed the arrangement, after all hunting, Juzheng is an expert, "Okay." He Huarong followed Wu Shu and they walked to the other side.

Gao Ming followed Hua Rong every step of the way, and asked Wu Shu, "Do you usually hunt like this?"

Wu Shu was puzzled and said: "Yes, how else can I fight?"

"Uh...I mean, why didn't I see you release Haidongqing?" Haidongqing is a Jurchen specialty.

Zong Han said viciously: "The Khitan people are about to be extinct!" Then there was a string of Jurchen language, judging from the tone, it must be a string of curses.

Gao Ming thought to himself, the hatred between the Khitan and the Jurchen is really higher than the mountains and deeper than the sea. It is not only blackmailing Haidongqing, but also a series of policy suppression on the Jurchen. There is no possibility of reconciliation between them.

The Kingdom of Jin and the Kingdom of Liao are deadly rivals, it seems that there is no need to doubt this.

Suddenly, Gao Ming heard a dull and distant roar of a tiger deep in the forest, and he froze, "Old, tiger?"Is that you Siberian tiger?

The Siberian tiger is the largest tiger, larger than the South China tiger and North China tiger on average.

Wu Shu said excitedly: "Today we will gain something."

Zong Han and Zong Wang looked at each other and kept talking in Jurchen language.

Hua Rong took out an arrow and put it on the string, ready to shoot at any time.

Gao Ming felt that everyone's movements were still, and he held his breath to listen to the sounds in the forest.

Suddenly, he seemed to hear the sound of scraping branches, and then he heard a roar of a tiger. Before he could react, a fierce tiger had already rushed out.

The moment it landed, Hua Rong pulled the bowstring full and aimed at its head, and at the moment of releasing the arrow, there was a bang, and the bowstring broke.

Gao Ming felt that it was not the bowstring that was broken, but his own life, so he pulled Hua Rong and said quickly, "Run, the tiger is coming!" While speaking, the tiger didn't run towards others, but rushed towards Gao Ming and Hua Rong. .

Gao Ming had already seen its eye-catching and white-faced face clearly, and it was approaching so fast that it didn't even give them a chance to run away.

Although Huarong's bowstring was broken, he still had a sharp arrow in his hand. He protected Gao Ming behind him, "Run!" He grabbed the arrow and wanted to fight the tiger for his life.

Not only Gao Ming, but even the people of Wanyan's family were shocked. They have seen a few warriors who grow up so big and dare to fight the tiger.

Gao Ming saw that the tiger stood up to a height of one foot, with its bloody mouth open, as if he could smell the bloody smell left by it eating raw meat.

Suddenly, the tiger whined and froze, and Gao Ming saw an arrow hit it in the side. Before he could speak, it was hit by several more arrows, and the last shot hit the top of the head. It fell to the ground completely, revealing Wu Shu and others who were in the archery posture.

Gao Ming hurried to Hua Rong, and anxiously asked while checking, "Are you okay?"

Although the tiger was shot to death by Wanyan Wushu and others before Hua Rong had time to fight the tiger, it was still frightening.

"I'm fine." Hua Rong shook his head slowly, looking at the bow that had just been broken and thrown to the ground by him.

Gao Ming also went to look at it. Why did the bowstring break at a critical moment?

It's strange that Huarong never relaxes in protecting the bowstring.

Could it be that before they set off, when they entered the house to meet Aguda, the horses were bowstrings outside, and they were tampered with?

Want to kill them in the hunting grounds?

No, no, the Jurchens wanted their lives, so they came directly to kill them. Anyway, the people of Song Dynasty died in the Kingdom of Jin, so there is no way to explain it. There is no need to beat around the bush and cause accidents while hunting.

Unless otherwise stated.

Wu Shu walked over quickly, and said with concern to Gao Ming and Hua Rong: "Are you all okay? It's too dangerous!"

Gao Ming himself is a master liar, and he has a strong ability to distinguish lies. This was true in the Song Dynasty, let alone among the Jurchens, whose folk customs are quite simple.

The tiger that jumped out suddenly, and Huarong's broken bowstring, saved their Wanyan family.

A situation was created: Wu Shu and others became his and Hua Rong's saviors.

This is what the Wanyan family wanted.

Gao Ming understood that he had a clear attitude and did not want to form an alliance, so the Jurchens created a tiger crisis and asked Wu Shu and others to save them.

Naturally, Wu Shu and others became their saviors.

With such a great kindness in it, as long as Gao Ming is a normal person, his mentality will change, and he will make friends with Wu Shu and others, and then promote the Song-Jin alliance.

Gao Ming looked at Wushu and thought, is it your kid's plan?Yes or no?As long as you have more eyes!

After spending so much time and effort, he couldn't let the Jurchens waste this pomp, right?

He will use his tricks to see who is fooling whom.

Gao Ming pretended to be grateful for being rescued in time, "Thank you so much, I really don't know how to express my gratitude."

Seeing that the strategy was successful, Wu Shu was overjoyed, and said that my brothers counted me as the smartest, and it was true.