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

"Actually, I don't know much either," Lu You slowly began, his voice low and tinged with contemplation.

He picked up his wine cup, took a light sip, and continued, "It is said that Zhao Shuo's ancestors were Han Chinese who had wandered onto the grasslands, marrying Mongolian women and propagating for several generations before Zhao Shuo was born. From a young age, Zhao Shuo possessed extraordinary talent, killing a warrior from a rival Mongolian tribe at the age of eleven.

Temujin was overjoyed and bestowed upon him the gold-lacquered iron armor worn by that warrior. From then on, this gold-lacquered iron armor became Zhao Shuo's emblem."

"Hmph, just a piece of gold-lacquered iron armor," Xin Qiji waved dismissively, his tone carrying a hint of disdain, and said, "If he's willing to join the Great Song, I'll give him a hundred pieces!"

These words weren't Xin Qiji boasting.

This fellow was not only skilled at raising and training soldiers but also adept at making money.

He implemented policies of 'broad levies and light taxes, attracting refugees, training militias, and discussing land reclamation,' which resulted in Chuzhou experiencing 'crude gatherings of merchants, a doubling of the tax revenue from brewing, the return of refugees, and the gradual recovery of the people.' He changed the 'wine tax law' to the 'wine monopoly law' to raise funds for the 'Flying Tiger Army.' Although this was met with much criticism from the court and the public, it also accumulated a large amount of wealth, effectively solving the financial difficulties of the military. This fellow even smuggled a large amount of cowhide to raise military funds and was intercepted by Zhu Xi…

To put it this way, during Emperor Xiaozong's reign, Xin Qiji was highly valued, serving successively as the Pacification Commissioner of Hubei Circuit, the Pacification Commissioner of Hunan Circuit, and the Pacification Commissioner of Jiangxi Circuit, equivalent to repeatedly serving as the governor of a province in later generations for nearly twenty years. He not only solved the financial difficulties for the Great Song Dynasty and trained an elite army called the 'Flying Tiger Army' but also accumulated a vast amount of personal wealth.

For example, when his good friend Chen Liang wrote to him about his difficult life and the need for assistance, he sent him ten thousand strings of cash (equivalent to ten thousand taels of silver) without batting an eye.

Another example is the Jiaxuan Garden in front of them, covering an area of more than seventy mu, which even the wealthy Zhu Xi was stunned to see.

Although Xin Qiji was now unemployed at home, with his unrestrained and audacious nature, it really wasn't difficult for him to gather a hundred sets of gold-lacquered iron armor.

Lu You smiled and said, "That was when Zhao Shuo was eleven years old; now, he probably wouldn't even look at a thousand sets of gold-lacquered iron armor."

Xin Qiji nodded, signaling him to continue.

"Later, Zhao Shuo rose step by step on the grasslands," Lu You said with a hint of emotion, "When Temujin and Wang Han were vying for hegemony over the eastern grasslands, Zhao Shuo personally beheaded Wang Han. When Temujin seized the western grasslands, Zhao Shuo again personally beheaded Taiyang Khan, the leader of the Naiman people in the western grasslands, and captured Temujin's long-time enemy, Gurkhan Jamukha.

During this western expedition against Western Xia, Zhao Shuo again made great contributions, and many of Temujin's strategies were based on his plans. For example, he established the Balu Camp, using Western Xia prisoners of war as the vanguard, having Western Xia people fight Western Xia people, while the Mongols suffered no losses.

By the way, this person, like you, You'an, is very good at accumulating wealth. For example, the sweet wine that is popular in our Great Song recently seems to have originated from his work."

"So amazing?"

Xin Qiji narrowed his eyes slightly, his tone carrying a hint of admiration and envy, and said, "A man of both literary and military talent, capturing generals and seizing flags, adept at making money, and enriching the country. When I was young, I imagined my life countless times, thinking that my future would be like this.

I never thought that after coming to the Great Song from the Jin Kingdom after all the hardships, I would waste more than forty years in the Great Song, accomplishing almost nothing. And Zhao Shuo in Mongolia can give full play to his talents and create the career I dreamed of. By the way, how old is he now?"

"Not very clear, probably not even thirty," Lu You replied.

"Truly a young man of great promise, very enviable!" Xin Qiji exclaimed, then asked, "What position does Zhao Shuo hold in Mongolia now?"

Lu You was very familiar with this question and said, "Hereditary command of five thousand households, governing the ten thousand households near the Hulunbuir grasslands. The Mongols are all soldiers, which means he has about ten thousand soldiers under his command."

"Ten thousand people is quite a lot," Xin Qiji pondered, "The grassland population is sparse, and the Mongols themselves should have no more than one hundred thousand soldiers. It seems that Zhao Shuo is truly highly valued in front of Temujin."

Lu You said, "That's natural. If Temujin didn't value Zhao Shuo, would he marry his daughter to him?"

Xin Qiji sighed, his tone carrying a hint of helplessness, "However, it's a pity that Zhao Shuo is too trusted by Temujin, holding a position in Mongolia that is practically second only to one person and above ten thousand. If we were to persuade him to submit to the Great Song, he probably wouldn't agree."

Speaking of this, Xin Qiji's gaze became somewhat distracted.

When Xin Qiji was born, the north had already fallen into the hands of the Jin people.

However, under the education of his grandfather Xin Zan, he had established the ambition to restore the Central Plains and avenge the country's shame in his youth.

Later, at the age of twenty-one, the Jin Emperor Wanyan Liang launched a large-scale invasion of the Great Song. In the Central Plains region under the rule of the Jin Dynasty, the Han people could not bear the conscription and rebelled one after another. At the age of twenty-one, Xin Qiji resolutely joined the rebel army and made a great name for himself. Later, after several twists and turns, he came to the Great Song.

However, if he were in Zhao Shuo's position.

If the Jin Kingdom conferred upon him the title of驸马(imperial son-in-law) and allowed him to control more than one-tenth of the country's military force.

Would he still abandon everything and return to the Song Dynasty?

Xin Qiji asked himself, and he wasn't too sure.

Holding onto the last glimmer of hope, Xin Qiji asked, "Who exactly are Zhao Shuo's father and brothers? Has anyone preached to him about loyalty to the emperor, love for the country, restoring the Central Plains, and avenging the country's shame?"

Lu You shook his head and said, "My worthy brother You'an, you think too highly of me. I'm just intentionally collecting various news about Zhao Shuo. His father and brothers are unknown, I don't even know their names, let alone their education of Zhao Shuo. However…"

"However what?" Xin Qiji pressed.

Lu You pondered for a moment before continuing, "Thinking about it, the Zhao family has been wandering on the grasslands for nearly a hundred years, and they haven't been assimilated by the grassland people, maintaining the Zhao surname, and there are even rumors of Han Chinese blood. It must be due to the family's deep roots, not forgetting our Han ancestors."

"That's right!" Xin Qiji suddenly had a thought, and a glimmer of light flashed in his eyes, "You said the Zhao family has been wandering on the grasslands for nearly a hundred years, how many years exactly? A hundred years? Ninety years, or eighty years? Seventy years?"

"Does that matter?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Lu You realized something was wrong and said, "If it's around eighty years, then it's the Jingkang Incident. Countless men and women of our Great Song imperial family were captured by the Jin people and taken north… He also has the surname Zhao, could he be a descendant of the Great Song imperial family? It's possible! It's very possible!"

After a pause, he subconsciously looked around, and after confirming again that there was no one else present, he lowered his voice even further and said, "Actually, although I didn't think about Zhao Shuo possibly having an imperial family identity before, I have already decided to let my sixth son, Zibu, go to Mongolia to assist Zhao Shuo."