Usurping the Mongols: My Father-in-Law is Genghis Khan

Lin'an, the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty, the Imperial Palace.

In a secluded courtyard in the northwest corner of the Imperial Palace, there was a house with green tiles and white walls.

The room was devoid of any gold or jade decorations, with only a few Taoist books such as "Baopuzi," "Yunji Qiqian," and "Huangting Jing" placed on the desk.

At this moment, a middle-aged man, nearing fifty, with a thin frame and a refined appearance, wearing a plain Taoist robe and holding a horsetail whisk, was sitting upright on a futon, his eyes slightly closed, softly chanting the "Huangting Jing."

If it weren't for the sparse beard on his chin, who would have thought that he was the only man in this Imperial Palace, the Emperor Zhao Kuo of the Great Song Dynasty, later known as Emperor Ningzong of Song.

Back then, when Wanyan Liang of the Jin Dynasty invaded the south, Emperor Xiaozong of Song signed the "Longxing Peace Treaty" with the Jin people. From then on, the Song Emperor addressed the Jin Emperor as "Uncle."

The Southern Song Dynasty was deeply ashamed of this.

When Zhao Kuo first ascended the throne, he was indignant about this matter. He was once ambitious, wanting to work diligently day and night, raise troops to launch a Northern Expedition, wash away the great shame of the Jingkang Incident, and unify the world.

However, the ideal was full, but the reality was skinny.

After several years of preparation, Zhao Kuo launched the Kaixi Northern Expedition, suffering a crushing defeat. Not only did he bury hundreds of thousands of soldiers of the Great Song Dynasty, but he also had to compensate the Jin people with three million taels of silver and change the address to the Jin Emperor from "Uncle" to "Uncle-Father."

This completely nailed him to the pillar of shame.

Don't underestimate this title.

If the Jin Emperor is the Song Emperor's Uncle-Father, then shouldn't you, Zhao Kuo, be filial?

During festivals, shouldn't you, Zhao Kuo, send gifts to show your respect to your Uncle-Father?

When your Uncle-Father has a birthday every year, shouldn't you congratulate him?

Every so often, the Ministry of Rites would inquire about these matters, rubbing his face on the ground.

Each time Zhao Kuo endured it, the Jin Emperor would reply, praising Zhao Kuo's filial piety.

It was so frustrating that it made people vomit blood.

In addition to the hopelessness of the Northern Expedition, Zhao Kuo, who had been determined to govern diligently, became completely disheartened. He not only handed over all military and state affairs to Prime Minister Shi Miyuan, but also stopped playing with women.

Since the signing of the "Jiading Agreement," he either cultivated in the alchemy room or stood on the stargazing platform to observe celestial phenomena, seemingly losing interest in everything in the mortal world.

However, in the past year or so, whether stargazing or cultivating, Zhao Kuo had begun to feel restless and unable to immerse himself in it.

There was no way around it; the news from the north was too shocking.

The Mongols attacked the Jin Dynasty. In the Battle of Yuhuling, they defeated a million Jin troops. The Pingzhang Zhengshi (Administrative Vice-Minister) Duji Sizhong and the Canzhi Zhengshi (Vice-Minister) Wanyan Chengyu barely escaped with their lives. They then attacked Huihe Fort, annihilated 400,000 Jin troops, and nailed the Jin Dynasty's Canzhi Zhengshi Wanyan Chengyu to the wooden donkey.

Then, a portion of the troops not only kept an eye on the defenders of the Central Capital but also defeated the 200,000-strong army led by Wanyan Gang, nailing the Jin Dynasty's Left Prime Minister to the wooden donkey.

The majority of the troops divided into four groups, attacking the Jin Dynasty's northeast, Shandong, Shanxi, and Hebei, annihilating 800,000 enemies. They completely destroyed the Jin Dynasty's Tokyo and Shangjing, beheading all the men in the cities and taking the women as slaves.

Refreshing!

It was so refreshing!

Destroying the Jin Dynasty's Shangjing and Tokyo was even more impressive than "directly attacking Huanglong!"

Both of these cities were the Jurchens' "places of origin." All the men were beheaded, and the women were taken as slaves. Serves them right; it was the retribution the Jin people deserved!

Whenever he put himself in Genghis Khan's shoes, Zhao Kuo couldn't sleep all night, trembling with excitement.

Of course, Zhao Kuo, as the Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty, still had a basic understanding of military affairs.

These numbers were too exaggerated. All in all, the Mongols had wiped out more than two million Jin troops.

How was that possible?

If the Jin Dynasty really had more than two million troops, could Zhao Kuo just call the Jin Emperor "Grandpa"? He would have knelt down and called him "Ancestor"!

Recently, after hearing that the main force of the Mongol army was besieging the Central Capital, Zhao Kuo became even more worried.

Could the Mongols really do it?

The Jurchen soldiers were not to be trifled with.

Could it be that the Jurchens were deliberately weakening themselves to the Mongols, preparing for a great victory in the Central Capital?

Hmm, very likely.

Back when my Great Song Dynasty launched the Kaixi Northern Expedition, didn't we start off with unstoppable momentum, only to be taught a lesson by the Jurchen soldiers later?

But then again, if the Mongols really broke through the Central Capital, wouldn't that mean the Jin army wasn't that scary?

"In the end, are the Jurchen soldiers stronger, or are the Mongol soldiers stronger? Or is it that my Kaixi Northern Expedition actually consumed almost all of the Jin Dynasty's elite troops, allowing the Mongols to take advantage of this great opportunity? If I hadn't killed Han Tuozhou back then and had gritted my teeth and persevered, could I have directly collapsed the Jin Dynasty?"

Three possibilities constantly lingered in Zhao Kuo's mind.

Especially the last possibility, which made Zhao Kuo feel as uncomfortable as if a hundred claws were scratching his heart.

Dong dong dong~~

Just as Zhao Kuo was reciting the "Huangting Jing" with a restless mind, a burst of hurried footsteps suddenly came.

The visitor was none other than Wang Li, the Central Secretariat Academician, the Director of the Imperial City Division, the Chief Eunuch of the Inner Attendants Bureau, and concurrently the Bearer of the Chonghua and Cifu Palaces, the number one eunuch of the dynasty.

The reason why Wang Li was able to hold so many positions, even managing the Great Song Dynasty's secret service agency, the Imperial City Division, was because of his seniority.

When Emperor Gaozong of Song, Zhao Gou, was still alive, Wang Li was already the Grand Master of the Guards and the Propagating Emissary of the Baocheng Army.

"Your Majesty, great joy! Great joy! This is truly a great happy event!"

Wang Li, who was eighty-seven years old this year and held a high position and great power, usually had to be supported by two young eunuchs even when he saw Zhao Kuo.

Today, this white-haired ancestor of the eunuchs came to Zhao Kuo's alchemy room with a scroll of documents in his hand, running all the way.

"Happy event? The country is in a difficult situation now; what happy event could I possibly have?" Zhao Kuo said indifferently without even raising his eyelids.

However, the slightly trembling hands on the desk revealed his tension and excitement.

"It is indeed a great happy event, Your Majesty, please take a look!"

As he spoke, Wang Li handed the scroll to Zhao Kuo and said, "The Mongols have already withdrawn from the Central Capital. They have announced the 'Daan Agreement' reached with the Jin people to the world and posted it all the way on their return journey.

Some people in the Mongol army even took the initiative to reveal the details of the withdrawal.

Moreover, as soon as the Mongols withdrew, our Imperial City Division's spies in the Central Capital were able to send messages out.

After multiple confirmations, this old servant dares to guarantee with his head that everything written on this document is true, not a single word is false."

"Ah? There is such a thing!"

Zhao Kuo was delighted and took the document to examine it carefully.

"Good! It's really too good!"

"Delightful! Truly delightful!"

"Jurchens, you have this day too! This is all your retribution!"

"Hahahaha!"

… …

Zhao Kuo praised repeatedly as he read, and in the end, he laughed out loud.

Although the Mongols did not ultimately break through the Central Capital, it made him feel even happier than if they had broken through the Central Capital.

The Jin Dynasty compensated three million taels of gold and thirty million taels of silver. The shortfall was made up by other wealth and women. Nearly 30,000 Jurchen women were sent to the Mongol army's camp!

It is said that 10,000 of them were to be distributed to the駙馬 (Imperial Son-in-Law) Zhao Shuo. Zhao Shuo then distributed them to the Han army so that the Han army could also taste the taste of Jurchen women!

Serves them right!

This is the retribution for the 'Jingkang Incident' that you Jin people gave us, the Great Song Dynasty!

Didn't you turn countless Han women into your female slaves?

Now, it's the turn of your Jurchen women to be female slaves!

Moreover, a full 10,000 Jurchen female slaves for our Han people to enjoy!

Okay, in fact, the Mongols and Balu's camp took about one-third of these 10,000 Jurchen female slaves, and Zhao Shuo and the Han Eight Banners together got two-thirds. However, Zhao Shuo also sold a lot of private female slaves, and the Han army got too many female slaves. The rumors spread, and it was said that all 10,000 female slaves were given to the Han army. No matter how powerful the Imperial City Division of the Great Song Dynasty was, it was difficult to figure out these details.

Moreover, even if these details were clarified, it would not affect Zhao Kuo's excitement at this time in the slightest.

Zhao Kuo was even in high spirits and said to Wang Li, "Similar! It's too similar! This 'Daan Agreement' looks like a replica of the 'Jingkang Agreement.' This time, we Song people have really vented a mouthful of anger!"

Wang Li said, "The Mongols and the Jurchens have a deep blood feud. Their ancestor Ambaghai was nailed to the wooden donkey alive by the Jurchens. Moreover, when the Jurchens were in power, they had to go to the grasslands every year to burn, kill, and plunder, called 'reducing the population.'

It is not surprising that the Mongols referred to the 'Jingkang Agreement' and set the 'Daan Agreement' to severely humiliate the Jurchens."

"No, I think you're a bit wrong."

Zhao Kuo shook his head slightly and said, "Tell me, is there any reason for that Imperial Son-in-Law Zhao Shuo? He, like me, wanted to wash away the shame of the Jingkang Incident of my Great Song Dynasty, which influenced the Mongols and set such harsh terms for the peace treaty?"

Wang Li nodded repeatedly and said, "Very likely. Although the Mongols only wanted three million taels of gold and thirty million taels of silver. However, how can the Central Capital of Jin be compared to our Great Song's former Bianliang City?

These three million taels of gold and thirty million taels of silver are enough to loot the children, women, gold, and silk of the Central Capital. It is no exaggeration to say that it washes away the shame of the Jingkang Incident. It's just that this old servant is incompetent and hasn't been able to find out the details clearly. Please punish me, Your Majesty."

Zhao Kuo waved his hand and said, "I'm just saying it casually; it doesn't matter whether you can find out clearly or not. By the way, how is Zhao Shuo's background? Is he really a member of my Great Song Dynasty's royal family?"

The Mongol army had been attacking the Jin Dynasty for more than a year, and the Imperial City Division of the Great Song Dynasty was naturally very diligent in collecting information about the Mongols.

Zhao Shuo, as the number one fierce general of the Mongols, naturally became the top priority after Temujin.

Zhao Shuo's Han Chinese bloodline, his ancestors who had wandered to the grasslands hundreds of years ago, and even the great achievements Zhao Shuo had made in Mongolia were no secret. The Imperial City Division had naturally found out about them long ago. Naturally, they guessed Zhao Shuo's royal ancestry.

Wang Li said, “This old servant is incompetent and still hasn’t figured this matter out. However…”

“However, what?”

“It is said that Zhao He, the child of Zhao Shuo and Temujin’s eldest daughter, Huazheng, wears a longevity lock around his neck, which is an ancestral item. There may be some clues on this longevity lock that prove his identity. However, without His Majesty’s permission, the Imperial City Division dares not approach the family of the Mongol nobles. We still know nothing about what this longevity lock looks like.”

Zhao Kuo said, “Continue to enforce that ban. If it angers the Mongols or Consort Zhao Shuo because of this, it would be a greater loss than gain.”

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“Then, Consort Zhao Shuo’s identity…”

“We can investigate slowly, no need to rush.”

There are hundreds of thousands of members of the Song Dynasty’s royal family. Zhao Kuo was not worried that Zhao Shuo could pose any threat to his throne; he was just very curious about Zhao Shuo.

Zhao Kuo thought to himself, Zhao Shuo’s surname is Zhao, and the time he spent wandering in the grasslands was so coincidental. He also possesses peerless martial power similar to that of his ancestor Zhao Kuangyin, who said, “The four hundred military prefectures I conquered all bear the surname Zhao.” There is a seventy to eighty percent chance that he is a descendant of his ancestor Zhao Kuangyin, his own family.

What?

Can Zhao Kuo not do what his own family can do?

Although Zhao Kuo read too many books when he was young and did not practice martial arts, missing the opportunity to inherit the invincible courage of his ancestors, he is the Emperor of the Great Song!

Can the achievements he can obtain in this life not compare to Zhao Shuo, who started from scratch?

Immediately, Zhao Kuo issued an edict, summoning the assembled ministers to discuss matters.

The Left Chancellor and Chief Military Councilor, Qian Xiangzu, the Right Chancellor, Shi Miyuan, the Participating Policy Advisor, Lou Ji, the Participating Policy Advisor, Zheng Zhaoxian, the Administrator of the Military Affairs Bureau and Participating Policy Advisor, Lei Xiaoyou, and the Associate Administrator of the Military Affairs Bureau, Lou Yao.

These six people are the current governing ministers of the Great Song.

Among them are loyal ministers who are loyal to the Great Song, and flattering and sycophantic officials. There are both upright and self-respecting gentlemen, and despicable villains who are corrupt and accept bribes.

However, these six people were completely united in their position on the Jin Dynasty: they feared the Jurchen army like tigers and resolutely opposed the Kaixi Northern Expedition.

The Left Chancellor, Qian Xiangzu, and the Right Chancellor, Shi Miyuan, even directly participated in the assassination of Han Tuozhou.

But then again, after reading this document sent by the Imperial City Division, their positions quickly diverged.

The simple reason is that Shandong, Shanxi, Henan, and the Northeast of the Jin Dynasty were indeed swept away by the Mongol army! The reinforcements sent from Shaanxi to Zhongdu were also defeated by Temujin! The Jin Dynasty heavily defended Zhongdu but was forced to sign such a 《humiliating treaty》. Doesn’t this mean that the Jin Dynasty’s heavy troops in Zhongdu are not that great either?

If we don’t conquer the Jin Dynasty now, when will we?

They didn’t dare to deal with the powerful Jin Dynasty. However, they were quite interested in bullying the weak Jin Dynasty.

“Your Majesty, I believe that the current Jin Dynasty is at its weakest moment since its founding. Our Great Song should immediately launch a Northern Expedition to restore the Central Plains and avenge the Jingkang Humiliation!” Lou Yao, the Associate Administrator of the Military Affairs Bureau, spoke first.

He had only been the Associate Administrator of the Military Affairs Bureau for less than a month and was at the time when he wanted to advance.

However, Lei Xiaoyou immediately objected, saying, “Absolutely not! Precisely because the Jin Dynasty is extremely weak now, our Great Song must not take advantage of others’ misfortune. Chief Military Councilor Lou, have you forgotten the painful lesson of our Great Song allying with Jin to destroy Liao?”

Lou Yao retorted sharply, saying, “Even if our Great Song did not ally with Jin to destroy Liao, would the Liao Dynasty not have been destroyed by the Jin Dynasty? After the Jin Dynasty destroyed the Liao Dynasty, could it not attack our Great Song? In my opinion, our Great Song should not have allied with Jin to destroy Liao, but rather lost vigilance against the Jin Dynasty, leading to the Jingkang Incident.

This time, we should be more careful with the Mongols and strengthen our defenses.”

The Participating Policy Advisor, Zheng Zhaoxian, said, “We can’t say that. Even if we don’t talk about whether the alliance with Jin to destroy Liao was correct, the principle of ‘if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold’ is always correct, right? The Jin Dynasty is already on its last breath. If we attack the Jin Dynasty again, wouldn’t the Jin Dynasty be about to perish immediately? At that time, we will have to face the Mongols, who are even more ferocious than the Jurchens.”

The Participating Policy Advisor, Lou Ji, suddenly had an idea. He stood up and bowed slightly to Zhao Kuo, saying, “I believe that the three Chancellors are all right. The Jin Dynasty has suffered such a great defeat, which is a great opportunity for our Great Song to avenge its past humiliation, and we must not miss it.

However, with the lesson of allying with Jin to destroy Liao in front of us, we should not aim to destroy the Jin Dynasty this time.”

Zhao Kuo’s heart stirred, and he said, “Then what should our goal be?”

Lou Ji said, “First, we must recover some lost land and people. Second, we must make the Jin Dynasty admit that the 《Jiading Agreement》 is no longer appropriate. The annual tribute of 300,000 taels of silver and 300,000 bolts of silk to the Jin Dynasty should be completely abolished. The Jin Dynasty and the Song Dynasty are no longer a country of uncles and nephews, but a country of brothers. The Great Song is the elder brother, and the Jin Dynasty is the younger brother.”

“Well said!”

Zhao Kuo, of course, understood the principle of ‘if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold.’ Although he hated the Jin Dynasty, he rationally did not want to eliminate the Jin Dynasty.

However, as Lou Ji said, if we don’t eliminate the Jin Dynasty, can we weaken the Jin Dynasty?

It wouldn’t be too much to ask him to no longer call the Jin Dynasty’s emperor uncle and instead call him brother, would it? Maybe the Jin Dynasty will call him uncle because of its weak national strength! Thinking about it carefully, what would that be like?

He looked at Shi Miyuan and Qian Xiangzu and said, “Left Chancellor, Right Chancellor, what do you think?”

Although Shi Miyuan was a well-known treacherous person in history, he was, after all, a contemporary hero. He pondered and said, “When our Great Song allied with Jin to destroy Liao, we also thought that the Liao Dynasty was failing and wanted to take the opportunity to recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun.

As a result, we still couldn’t fight against the remnants of the Liao Dynasty, making the Jurchens even more contemptuous of our Great Song, leading to the Jingkang Incident.

Will attacking the Jin Dynasty this time repeat the same mistake?”

The Left Chancellor, Qian Xiangzu, shook his head slightly and said, “Where, Chancellor Shi is overthinking it. That’s right, the Kaixi Northern Expedition, our Great Song was defeated. However, how much of an advantage did the Jin Dynasty’s army have in the end? At best, it was a little stronger than our Song army.

Now, their main force must have been defeated by the Mongol army.

Could it be that our Great Song can’t even deal with some remnants of the Jin Dynasty?”

“Yes, yes, yes!”

Lou Yao immediately echoed, “Chancellor Shi, have you forgotten about our archery competition with the Jin people? The Jurchens have already degenerated. How can they compare with the Liao army back then?”

What Lou Yao said was actually about the “archery banquet” held by the Jin Emperor thirteen years ago when he was an envoy of the Great Song and went to the Jin Dynasty.

This kind of “archery banquet” was supposed to be just for entertainment, only allowing officials and nobles to participate, and not allowing professional soldiers to participate.

At the beginning of the Jin Dynasty, there were many fierce generals in the court, and the Song envoys had to suffer great losses every time.

However, gradually, the Jin Dynasty’s high-level officials gradually degenerated.

Thirty or forty years later, the advantage gradually shifted to the Song envoys, and the carefully selected envoys of the Great Song won the biggest prize every time.

This time, the Jin Dynasty even cheated directly.

Lou Yao noticed at the time that the Jin nobleman in charge of the finale had “carved green fine characters” tattoos on his hands, which was obviously a low-level professional soldier. The Jin people lost face a few years ago, so this year they specially selected a low-level professional soldier to impersonate a Jin nobleman to destroy the prestige of the Song envoy!

As a result, professional soldiers were not good either.

The Great Song delegation led by Lou Yao still won big.

This shows that the Jin Dynasty has degenerated in all aspects from top to bottom.

From then on, the Song Dynasty became more and more contemptuous of the Jin Dynasty, which led to the “Kaixi Northern Expedition.”

That’s right!

Qian Xiangzu and Lou Yao’s words moved Shi Miyuan.

The Jin Dynasty’s degeneration is an all-round degeneration from top to bottom. How can it be compared with the Liao army back then?

As for the failure of the Kaixi Northern Expedition?

Wasn’t there also the factor that he and others were holding back, and the factor that Wu Xi rebelled in Sichuan?

The Jin Dynasty has been beaten half to death by the Mongols. Isn’t it too conservative to not dare to attack the Jin Dynasty now? Besides, the Great Song does not want to go to war with the Jin Dynasty in an all-round way, but only wants to give the Jin Dynasty a small lesson and demand that the two countries be equal. Is this request excessive?

Immediately, even the cunning Shi Miyuan nodded slightly and said, “This is reasonable. However, since we are only giving the Jin Dynasty some lessons, where should our army attack the Jin Dynasty from? The land of Henan is absolutely impossible. The Jin Dynasty’s army has never mobilized a single soldier from there.”

“Qinzhou!”

Lou Yao blurted out, saying, “Qinzhou is located in Shaanxi. The Qinzhou Prefect, Shu Hu Gaoqi, led his three thousand Yanzhou troops to rescue Zhongdu. After the Mongol army retreats, he will definitely be promoted and given titles and will not have time to return. We will take the opportunity to capture Qinzhou.”

Qinzhou belonged to Gansu in later generations, but in the administrative divisions of this era, it belonged to Shaanxi.

This place is located at the intersection of Shaanxi, Gansu, and Sichuan provinces, guarding the upper reaches of the Yellow River valley and has been a gateway to Longyou and a strategic stronghold since ancient times.

As long as the Song army breaks through Qinzhou, the eight hundred miles of Qinchuan will be at the mercy of the Song army. This is why the Jin Dynasty placed the famous general Shu Hu Gaoqi and three thousand elite Yanzhou troops here.

“Very good.”

Zhao Kuo said, “Pass on my decree, An Bing, the Pacification Commissioner of Sichuan, should lead an army of 100,000 troops and capture Qinzhou for me. But after capturing Qinzhou, there is no need to continue advancing. Lest we destroy the Jin Dynasty, which would be unsightly.”

“Your Majesty is wise!”

The assembled ministers bowed in unison.

At this moment, whether it was Zhao Kuo or the assembled ministers of the Great Song, what they were worried about was, what if the Jin Dynasty was destroyed if they fought too hard?

Not a single person was worried about what would happen if the Song Dynasty lost the battle.