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

Inside the Western Xia palace.

"Prime Minister, what on earth is to be done?" Emperor Li Chunyou of Western Xia asked, his brow furrowed with worry.

Li Anquan's face was full of anger as he said, "Who would have thought that the Mongol驸马(FuMa, title for a prince consort) Zhao Shuo would be so unscrupulous? We gave him such a generous gift, yet he did absolutely nothing. It's only been a little over a year, and the Mongols are attacking again! Do they really think Western Xia is made of clay?"

"Does the Prime Minister mean to send reinforcements?"

"That's not necessary. Western Xia is, after all, a small country. Even if we win against the Mongol army, we would suffer heavy losses." Li Anquan said, "I mean, we should seek help from the Jin Dynasty. You must know that we and the Jin Dynasty have a treaty!"

"Uh…"

Li Chunyou thought to himself, 'The last time, when you sent gifts to Zhao Shuo to persuade the Mongols to attack the Jin Dynasty instead of Xia, why didn't you think about that treaty then?'

However, having said that, the Jin and Xia Dynasties did indeed have a treaty.

A hundred years ago, when the Jin Dynasty destroyed the Liao Dynasty, it issued an edict to Xia: 'If Xia repents of its past mistakes, captures and sends the Liao Emperor, establishes an alliance and submits a memorial, and continues to follow the old system of the Liao Dynasty and the granted oath edict, then in the future, if there are any unforeseen circumstances, we shall provide mutual assistance.'

Xia indeed acted according to this edict, betraying the Liao Dynasty and submitting to the Jin Dynasty.

In other words, the two sides did indeed establish a treaty, and once faced with foreign enemies, both Jin and Xia had the obligation to provide military assistance to each other.

However, as time passed, after the Jin Dynasty destroyed the Liao Dynasty and ended its war against the Song, it was no longer worried about Western Xia's betrayal, and its attitude towards Western Xia gradually became one of disdain. The treaty was no longer mentioned.

The Jin Dynasty didn't mention it, and Xia didn't mention it either, but the treaty hadn't been torn up after all, had it?

Li Chunyou said, "What if the Jin Dynasty doesn't recognize the treaty and refuses to send reinforcements?"

"We can prepare a generous gift for the Jin Emperor and send someone eloquent to explain the principle of 'if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold.'"

…

…

Half a month later, the Jin Dynasty's capital, Yanjing City, the Imperial Palace.

"Come, Shier, take a look at this calligraphy I've written. What do you think?"

"In my opinion, Your Majesty's Slender Gold style has become even more profound and reached the pinnacle of perfection, making you the number one in the world. This calligraphy of yours, with its vigorous brushwork, natural composition, beautiful bones, and elegant charm, is truly a rare masterpiece throughout the ages!"

Just listening to this conversation, one might think it was Emperor Huizong of Song, Zhao Ji, and his beloved woman, Li Shishi.

However, in fact, this was Emperor Wanyan Jing of the Jin Dynasty and his beloved concubine, Li Shier.

It must be said that this Wanyan Jing, whose posthumous title was Emperor Zhangzong of Jin in later generations, although he cannot be said to be a fatuous and tyrannical ruler, he is highly suspected of being the reincarnation of Emperor Huizong of Song, Zhao Ji.

Let's put it this way, whatever Emperor Huizong liked, Wanyan Jing liked as well.

Emperor Huizong engaged in "abundant prosperity," and Wanyan Jing also liked extravagance and waste. Wanyan Jing changed the palace furnishings, employing 1,200 embroiderers every day, and it took two years to complete. During his reign, the bureaucratic structure rapidly expanded, tripling compared to the previous emperor's time.

Emperor Huizong created the Slender Gold style of calligraphy, and Wanyan Jing also liked the Slender Gold style.

Emperor Huizong liked to paint, and Wanyan Jing also liked to paint.

This is not the most bizarre thing.

The most bizarre thing is that the traces of calligraphy and painting left by the two people are almost as if they came from the same hand.

For example, the famous painting "Admonitions of the Instructress to the Court Ladies" circulating in China has a postscript written by later generations. Based on the handwriting, people have always thought it was written by Emperor Huizong of Song, Zhao Ji. It was not until it was discovered that a stroke was missing from the character "恭" (gong, respect) that it was understood that this was written by Wanyan Jing to avoid a taboo. This inscription was written by Wanyan Jing!

There are also paintings.

Among the Ten Famous Traditional Chinese Paintings, one is called "Lady Guoguo's Spring Outing."

This painting is the work of the Tang Dynasty painter Zhang Xuan. The original has been lost, leaving only the Song Dynasty's copies.

Later generations of experts carefully studied it and believed that it should be the work of Emperor Huizong of Song, Zhao Ji. However, after many years, they realized they were wrong. This was the work of Wanyan Jing!

A hundred years apart, the calligraphy and painting of the two people are almost identical. How can this be explained?

By the way, even the names of the women they both liked are similar. Emperor Huizong loved Li Shishi, and Wanyan Jing loved Li Shier!

No matter what, Wanyan Jing seemed to become more and more like Emperor Huizong of Song, Zhao Ji, from a hundred years ago, as he got older.

"Where, where? How many capable people and strange scholars are there in the world? My humble calligraphy is really not worthy of being called the number one in the world."

Despite what he said, the corners of Wanyan Jing's eyes and eyebrows were filled with smiles.

Saying that there are so many capable people and strange scholars in the world? The implied meaning is that he hasn't seen or heard of anyone surpassing Wanyan Jing now, right?

"Therefore, Western Xia hopes that Your Majesty will, in accordance with the treaty between the two countries a hundred years ago, send troops to aid Xia."

"They think too highly of themselves!"

Wanyan Jing's face was full of mocking smiles, and he sneered, "The treaty from a hundred years ago is something from the distant past. How dare Western Xia even mention it?

"The Xia envoy also wants to talk to you about the principle of 'if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold.'"

"Does Western Xia deserve it?" Wanyan Jing's expression became even more disdainful, and he said, "My Great Jin's heavenly soldiers are invincible. We just beat the Song Dynasty into a state of panic. Under the entire heavens, who is a match for my Jin Dynasty? Does my Great Jin need to engage in some 'if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold' with his Xia Dynasty? It's simply a huge joke!"

On the surface, this statement is not entirely without reason.

Three months ago, under the planning of Chancellor Han Tuozhou, the Song Dynasty's court launched a massive attack on the Jin Dynasty.

This is also the famous Kaixi Northern Expedition in history.

As a result, it hasn't even been three months yet, and Song General Guo Ni's army was stationed in Yangzhou. He dispatched Guo Zhuo and Li Ruyi to join forces to capture Suzhou, but they were defeated by the Jin army and retreated to Qizhou. Jiankang's commander Li Shuang attacked Shouzhou and was also defeated. Huangfu Bin was also defeated at Tangzhou. Jiangzhou's commander Wang Dajie attacked Caizhou but was unable to break through. Only Bi Zaiyu's army achieved victory.

It can be said that the Jin Dynasty has already grasped the strategic initiative of this war, and the final victory is not far away.

Under these circumstances, Wanyan Jing became even more indulgent in pleasure, indulging in debauchery with Li Shier. Where would he have the heart to care about what Xia Dynasty or Mongols?

Li Xinxi, having received bribes from Western Xia, still tried his best to make a final effort to help Western Xia, saying, "That Xia envoy also prepared a generous gift for Your Majesty, inside there is…"

"Enough! Enough! I am rich within the four seas. Would I care about the gifts from Western Xia, a remote and small country?"

Wanyan Jing became even more impatient and simply said, "Let's do this. I will not meet with the envoy of Xia. I will personally write an edict and have that envoy take it back."

Then, Wanyan Jing wielded his brush and splashed ink, writing eleven large characters on the blank edict: "When enemy countries attack each other, it is a blessing for our country. What is there to worry about?"