Chapter 291: Zhao Yu: Are You Using Them to Force Me Into an Alliance?

…

As long as the money is paid, the Zhao Song dynasty is still quite reliable.

After the Song and Jin states agreed on prices, Zhao Song's ocean-going ships arrived at Lion's Mouth one after another.

——At this time, parts of the Dalian region were called Jinzhou, the Lüshunkou area was known as Lao Tieshan, and the harbor was called Lion's Mouth.

After unloading grain, they loaded up gold, silver, cattle, sheep, and all manner of special products from Jin, and Zhao Song's ocean-going ships departed Lion's Mouth to return home, making way for the next ocean-going ship to arrive and trade with Jin.

This cycle repeated until both sides completed the transaction entirely.

With the most urgently needed grain secured and many cotton quilts and coats purchased, Wanyan Aguda and his ministers felt considerably relieved: this winter, fewer people in Jin would freeze or starve to death, and the newly reclaimed territories would not erupt in rebellion due to cold and hunger.

Yet on the other hand, seeing the gold, silver, livestock, and Jurchen specialties they had barely managed to seize all shipped off to Zhao Song, Wanyan Aguda and his ministers—especially the younger generation of Jurchens—felt deeply bitter.

It felt as if their year's hard-won harvest had been openly carried off by idle neighbors, leaving only bare branches and a heart full of resentment and helplessness.

Among the Jurchens, especially the young, what surged within them was not merely material loss, but a blow to their dignity and pride. After all, these riches had been forged in blood and iron; every ounce, every penny soaked in the sweat and blood of the Jurchen people.

Wanyan Zonghan, Wanyan Zongwang, and others could not help but recall why they had rebelled against the Liao: because the Liao had been insatiable, brutally exploiting and oppressing them, treating them like grass, trampling them at will, stripping them of dignity and freedom until they could endure no more—and rose in revolt, founding Jin, vowing to reclaim everything from the Liao.

Now, though they had driven the Liao into retreat and seemed on the verge of toppling its tyranny, they found themselves trapped in another trading vortex—seemingly civilized, yet equally cold and heartless. Though Zhao Song used money as a medium and appeared fair, in their hearts, this was no different from another form of exploitation and plunder—a more subtle yet more piercing one.

Wanyan Zonghan's eyes burned with defiance. He recalled the days of bloody battle against Liao troops, when Jurchen warriors, outnumbered, crushed the Liao again and again through unyielding will and fierce combat prowess. Back then, their hearts swelled with victory's joy and boundless hope for the future. But the present reality was like a bucket of ice water, dousing the fire in their hearts, forcing them to confront a cruel truth: even winning the war did not guarantee control over their own fate.

Wanyan Zongwang voiced his discontent more directly: "The Song Ren are as treacherous as the Khitans. One day, I shall make them pay a hundredfold!" His voice rang strong, stirring a chorus of agreement among the young Jurchens present.

Many defiant young Jurchen faces were etched with anger and resentment; they echoed Wanyan Zongwang's words.

Yet the Jurchens were skilled in patience, and they knew well that their enemy at this stage was the Liao, not Zhao Song. To alienate Zhao Song now would leave the fledgling Jin state caught between two fronts, surrendering hard-won victories and possibly plunging the entire Jurchen people into irrecoverable ruin—a catastrophic outcome. This rationality, like icy chains, tightly bound their boiling blood and thirst for revenge. Thus, though bitter, they understood the greater good and suppressed their fury and humiliation deep within, turning it into driving force.

Wanyan Aguda gazed at these fiery young tribesmen and was deeply worried. He knew that if this discontent and rage were not properly guided, it would become an unstable force within Jin.

So, while Zhao Liangsi, the Imperial Clerk of the Right Literary Hall, and Wang Huan, the Loyal Training Officer, were still in Jin negotiating trade, Wanyan Aguda decided to make a bold move—to intimidate Zhao Song and ideally force it into an alliance, sending troops to jointly carve up the Liao. At the very least, he hoped to secure alliance pricing for future goods sold to Jin, rather than the usual three- to five-fold markups. This would help the younger Jurchens regain some face before Zhao Song, sparing them the constant sense of humiliation; if this bitterness festered, it might lead them to rash mistakes that provoked Zhao Song and left Jin exposed to dual threats.

With this in mind, Wanyan Aguda resolved to strike swiftly, catching Yelu Yanxi off guard by launching a surprise total assault on the Liao capital.

He acted immediately, drafting a battle plan, personally commanding one army, and assigning Wanyan Xieye and Wanyan Hanlugu each to lead another army, marching toward the Liao capital, Shangjing.

At first, Zhao Liangsi and the other Song envoys knew nothing of this.

Only after the Jin army was fully prepared—and even after Wanyan Xieye and Wanyan Hanlugu had already set out—did Wanyan Aguda summon Zhao Liangsi and the other Song envoys and say: "I intend to seize the Khitan Shangjing in one strike. Will you witness this historic moment with me?"

At that moment, Wanyan Aguda rode a chestnut stallion, wearing a sable hat, a breastplate mirror, and black leather boots, imposing and solemn, radiating an air of unquestionable authority.

This made Zhao Liangsi and the others find it hard to refuse—and they also wished to see what made these Jurchens so impressive in Zhao Yu's eyes.

Thus, Zhao Liangsi and the others accepted Wanyan Aguda's invitation and joined the army.

Wanyan Aguda's force was a formidable cavalry unit; every thirty li, they sounded horns to bolster their military might.

Several days later, Zhao Liangsi followed Wanyan Aguda to a hill south of Shangjing.

This hill was called Longgang; surrounded by mountains, teeming with birds, its pine forests exuded lush vitality. Standing atop it, one felt utterly refreshed.

Gazing at the distant Shangjing, Zhao Liangsi's heart churned with emotion. He knew this city well—once, when he was still a Liao subject, especially a Liao official, he had visited many times. Yet ten years had passed; time had shifted, landscapes turned, the city remained, but all else had changed. Now, he stood here as an envoy of Zhao Song, accompanying the Jin emperor.

Wanyan Aguda said to Zhao Liangsi and the others: "Come down with me and watch how I deploy my troops."

Having come this far, Zhao Liangsi and the others could only obey Wanyan Aguda's orders.

Thus, Zhao Liangsi and the others descended the hill with Wanyan Aguda, arriving at the front lines.

Wanyan Aguda ordered the Jin soldiers to beat the war drums.

Instantly, horns blared and war drums thundered.

Cavalry clad in steel and iron charged forth with a roar; infantry followed like crashing waves, shouting as they advanced.

From dawn until just before noon, Jin general Wanyan Dhamu (Wanyan Aguda's half-brother) led his troops to scale the walls and seize Shangjing's outer city.

Yelu Dabuye, the Liao governor of Shangjing, surrendered with his remaining troops; the Liao capital fell so easily into Jurchen hands.

After capturing Shangjing, the Jurchens conducted an extremely professional plunder.

They divided Shangjing into zones: Jurchens took the wealthiest districts, Bohai people the next, Han people the next, and the Khitans and Xi were left to scavenge the poorest areas.

During the plunder, other ethnic groups—even the Bohai—only seized portable wealth; only the Jurchens burned, killed, looted, and committed every atrocity.

Moreover, the Jurchens seized and divided all Liao women in the city, capturing every Liao man to enslave them.

In addition to large-scale plundering in Shangjing Circuit, the Jin army systematically excavated the Liao imperial tombs. They breached Tianshan Hall in Zouzhou, burned everything to ashes, looted its gold, silver, and jewels, demolished all above-ground structures, and sought to sever the Liao dynasty's dragon veins to ensure its utter destruction. They also burned down all ancestral temples of the Liao imperial Yelu clan.

Notably, in the Jurchens' view, this was entirely justified—part of their legitimate rights, akin to a boss taking his top performers out for singing and massage after completing a project.

In essence, to the Jurchens, the most important meaning of capturing a city was rewarding the warriors who led the charge.

Moreover, the Jurchens had weak national consciousness; many soldiers brought their own weapons and horses, and some had even gone into debt to acquire them, all hoping to recoup their costs and grow rich through plunder.

In short, the Jurchens treated this as a business transaction.

Thus, capturing a city meant, above all, the burning, killing, and looting that followed—the path to wealth.

Anyone who tried to deprive the Jurchens of these spoils risked immediate mutiny—even Wanyan Aguda, the Jurchen hero and Jin emperor, could not change this unless he paid the cost himself.

In short, even with Zhao Liangsi and other Song envoys present, after capturing Shangjing, the Jin army still carried out a brutal plunder.

This shocked Zhao Liangsi and the other Song envoys profoundly; they finally understood Zhao Yu's frequent warnings about Jurchen greed. They now approached dealings with the Jurchens with heightened caution and dread. Gazing at the horrors before them, their hearts were filled with conflicting emotions. They had once believed that even war had its limits and rules—but the Jurchens had shattered that belief. The helpless cries of captured Liao women, the despairing eyes of enslaved Liao men, the desecrated tombs—all spoke of the cruelty and sorrow behind this victory.

Wang Huan stood beside Zhao Liangsi, his face equally solemn. He whispered to Zhao Liangsi: "Given the Jurchens' conduct, our Great Song must deal with them with extreme caution."

Zhao Liangsi nodded slightly, silently thinking: 'The Jurchens are inherently greedy and cruel. Allying with them is like bargaining with a tiger. The Emperor's strategy of letting the snipe and the clam fight is far safer.'

As Zhao Liangsi sank into thought, Wanyan Aguda, mounted on a tall stallion with a group of Jurchen generals, rode over. Their faces glowed with victory's joy as they asked Zhao Liangsi and the others: "How are my Great Jin warriors?"

Zhao Liangsi smiled and replied: "The finest army in the world."

Wanyan Zonghan asked beside him: "How do they compare to your own army?"

Zhao Liangsi replied without expression: "Each has its strengths."

Wanyan Zonghan pressed: "Oh? What are the strengths of your army?"

"This…"

Zhao Liangsi truly found this question hard to answer.

Beside him, fifteen-year-old Ma Kuo answered calmly: "Our Song army excels in defense. If our troops held Shangjing, according to Li Jing's Military Methods, we would divide combat units into five tactical formations based on troop type and mission: the Jumping Assault Team, the Cavalry Team, the Surprise Team, the Front Assault Team, and the Reserve Team. The Front Assault Team is for offense; the Reserve Team is for defense…"

Ma Kuo spoke at length, using his perspective as commander-in-chief to simulate how to defend the city.

As a result, the Jin soldiers discovered that, if the city were defended as Ma Kuo described, they would indeed have a hard time taking Jingcheng.

The key point was that Ma Kuo was only fifteen years old — though that wasn't exactly young, still, having such insight was no easy feat.