Chapter 288

…

After Yelu Yanxi sent Yelu Ya and three hundred Liao beauties to Zhao Yu, Zhao Yu, fearing that Liao would be instantly shattered by the Jin, ordered the Shangwu Force to deliver to Liao at once all the grain, weapons, and other goods it required, and through Xiao Pu Xian Nü, clearly told Yelu Yanxi: “Rest assured, fight the Jurchens—we Great Song will not interfere in your war.”

With Zhao Yu’s assurance, the Liao people’s hearts grew steadier.

Yelu Yanxi dispatched his ministers to relieve the famine-stricken, and recruited a new army of one hundred thousand using the grain and weapons sold to Liao by the Zhao Song dynasty, training them rigorously.

Yelu Yanxi and his ministers planned to wait until this new army was fully trained, then crush the Jurchen rebellion.

But then, the Zhao Song dynasty sold vast quantities of grain and weapons to the Jin as well.

The Jin army used these Zhao Song-supplied goods to expand its forces.

Next, the Liao and Jin began a full-scale war; on the Taizhou front alone, fighting lasted half a year.

Meanwhile, the Liao and Jin also clashed fiercely at Zilishan.

Wanyan Xieye and Wanyan Hanlu were among the greatest commanders of their age; Wanyan Zonghan, Wanyan Loushi, Wanyan Zongwang, Wanyan Zongfu, Wanyan Dhamu, Wanyan Yinshuke, Wanyan Xiyin, Wanyan Zongbi, Wanyan Chang, and Wanyan Salihe were all formidable generals who fought with great skill.

On the Liao side, no external support could alter the fact that their dynasty was nearing its end. Though generals such as Xiao Yixue, Yelu Tanggu, Xiao Hudu, Yelu Yudu, Yelu Ma Wu, and Xiao Woli were brave and capable, the court was riddled with traitors, loyal ministers were repeatedly sidelined, internal conflicts festered, regional tribes hoarded troops, years of war had drained the treasury, the people suffered, and public trust in the court had collapsed—morale was shattered, the state’s foundation trembling.

This caused the Liao to retreat step by step, while the Jin pressed forward relentlessly; as one weakened and the other grew stronger, the Liao continued to lose territory and strength to Jin’s encroachment…

…

When the Jin beauties first entered the palace, Zhao Yu assumed they were ugly, crude, shriveled village girls.

Based on this preconceived judgment, Zhao Yu had truly felt no interest in the Jin beauties.

Moreover, at that time Zhao Yu was eager to bolster Liao’s confidence and thus focused more on developing Liao’s beauties.

But this time, Liao had sent only three hundred beauties, and within two or three months, Zhao Yu had turned them all into married women.

At this point, the Liao side had fully come to believe that the Zhao Song dynasty would not interfere in the Liao-Jin war, nor ally with Jin, and would not launch a full-scale war against Jin.

Zhang Chun, Xiao Pu Xian Nü, and other ministers all reminded Zhao Yu that he could no longer ignore these Jin beauties, lest it harm Song-Jin relations and trade.

Forced by circumstance, Zhao Yu prepared to pick the best among the Jin beauties—selecting a few notable, attractive ones to visit, to avoid trouble.

The result proved Zhao Yu wrong—terribly wrong.

The Jin beauties were no less beautiful than the Liao beauties.

Among them, Wanyan Wulu, Wanyan Yine, and Wanyan Zhulan were not flawless, yet each possessed unique splendor. Wanyan Wulu was gentle as water, her brow radiating calm composure, like a lily blooming quietly in spring—unassuming, yet profoundly captivating. Wanyan Yine was like stars in a summer night—bright but not harsh; her smile carried playfulness and liveliness, unforgettable and instantly joyful. Wanyan Zhulan resembled a chrysanthemum in late autumn—resolute, elegant, and refined; her resilience and independence stood out among all the beauties.

Though these three daughters of Wanyan Aguda ranked only mid-tier among Zhao Yu’s harem, their status granted them added value—considering their lineage, they were still Jipin playthings for Zhao Yu.

Crucially, while Wanyan Wulu and her sisters were not flawless, that did not mean this batch of Jin beauties lacked true paragons of beauty.

The Wanyan, Tushan, Wugulun, Pucha, Tangkuo, Heshilie, and Pusan clans all had numerous paragons of beauty; even the Jiagu, Heshilie, Wulinda, and Puxian clans produced exceptional beauties; as for the great Bohai lineages—Da, Li, Zhang, and Gao—they had sent Zhao Yu many paragons of beauty.

They were either graceful and elegant, or fair-skinned and bright-eyed, or gentle and charming, or brimming with youthful vitality, or bold and spirited.

Among the finest: some possessed faces like flowers and moonlight, skin whiter than snow, eyes like autumn pools that seemed to pierce the soul, their speech tinged with quiet sorrow, evoking deep pity; some were ethereally beautiful, gentle and magnanimous, masters of poetry and song, their verses brimming with profound emotion and philosophical depth; some had brows like distant mountains veiled in mist, eyes like dew-filled autumn streams, every gesture exuding nobility and grace, their demeanor refined and speech distinguished, their poise and cultivation leaving all in awe…

In short, just like the Liao beauties, the Jin beauties were varied and diverse—plump or slender, all manner of beauty present.

Upon reflection, this was perfectly natural, for the Jurchens also had nobility.

Originally, when the Heishui Mohe were conquered by the Khitans, Yelu Abaoji feared they might become a future threat, so he persuaded and compelled thousands of prominent families to relocate south of Liaoyang, scattering their power and severing their connections.

These Mohe who settled in Liaoyang and became registered Khitans were called “tame Jurchens,” also known as “Hesuguan” (in Jurchen, meaning “fence” or “barrier”).

Moreover, northeast of Xianzhou, beyond the valley to Sumo River, this region fell under the jurisdiction of the Xianzhou Military Command; the Mohe living here were neither tame nor wild Jurchens, and the Khitans permitted them to interact with their own people.

These two groups of Jurchens were no different from other Liao subjects; they had long intermarried with Han and other ethnic groups, becoming Jurchen nobility, their genes greatly improved.

After the Wanyan clan rose to power, they frequently married into Jurchen noble families to strengthen themselves—their own genes had certainly changed long ago.

After all, these Jurchen nobles had existed for over a thousand years. Some scholars believe the Suishen were descendants of the Dongyi tribes, originally residing on the Shandong Peninsula, later migrating northward—some say crossing the Bohai Sea by land, others by sea—to reach the White Mountains and Black Water region. Other scholars argue the Suishen were descendants of the Tungusic tribes, migrating eastward from Lake Baikal along the primeval forests into Northeast China. Regardless of origin, they had existed for over a thousand years, even longer.

In other words, these Jurchens’ genes may well be those of Khitans, Xi, Bohai, Goryeo, or even Han.