Chapter 323: Reverse Jingkang Humiliation

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Returning to the Your Majesty Palace, Zhao Yu accepted the congratulations of the ministers.

After the ceremony, Zhao Yu, citing Accompanying Tong Guan's merit, promoted him to Inspector General of the Ministry of Works, Military Governor of Zentao Army, and granted him the title of Minister with Equal Authority to the Three Excellencies.

But Accompanying Tong Guan firmly declined the appointment.

In truth, Accompanying Tong Guan did not truly wish to refuse—he merely had to put on this show due to opposition from the civil officials.

Accompanying Tong Guan was a eunuch; according to ritual protocol, eunuchs were inner court attendants serving the imperial household, their status strictly confined to the category of "inner officials," with a clear boundary separating them from the civil and military ministers who managed state affairs in the outer court.

Ritual protocol imposed strict hierarchical norms on the selection and promotion of officials, centered on preserving the patrilineal order of "rulers ruling, ministers serving, fathers fathering, sons filially obeying."

Eunuchs, residing within the inner court, were commonly regarded as "castrated men"; within Confucian ethics, their status was deemed incompatible with the ideal of "cultivating oneself, regulating the family, governing the state, and bringing peace to the world"—they lacked the foundation of proper familial ethics and were viewed as a deviant group far removed from the "proper path"; granting them high office was seen as undermining the social hierarchy of "scholars, farmers, artisans, merchants" and the tradition of "study excellence leads to officialdom."

Moreover, dynasties throughout history had suffered from eunuch domination and political chaos; thus, ritual protocol restricted eunuchs' authority, fundamentally to prevent their interference in outer court affairs and avoid erosion of imperial power.

Positions such as "Minister with Equal Authority to the Three Excellencies" implied ceremonial status and power equal to that of the chancellor, granting participation in core state decisions—clearly exceeding the ritual role assigned to eunuchs, naturally provoking fierce opposition from the civil official bloc—they viewed this as a challenge to traditional rites and law, threatening the very foundation of dynastic rule.

Ye Mengde, then Hanlin Academician, opposed the appointment, arguing that naming Accompanying Tong Guan Military Governor of Wukang Army was inappropriate and would invite public censure.

Thus, even though Accompanying Tong Guan had earned merit, he had to observe this deeply entrenched ritual constraint and put on a show of refusal.

But Zhao Yu's rule was simple: if you perform well, you are richly rewarded without hesitation; if you perform poorly, sorry—your life is forfeit without debate.

So Zhao Yu rejected Accompanying Tong Guan's resignation, waved his hand, and granted Accompanying Tong Guan ceremonial status and authority equal to that of the chancellor, allowing him to participate in core state decisions.

Accompanying Tong Guan was deeply moved and later secretly presented Zhao Yu with vast quantities of gold, silver, and jewels.

These gold, silver, and jewels were the accumulated wealth of the Liao dynasty over two or three centuries, many already buried with successive Liao emperors and noble lords, then exhumed by the Jurchens.

Zhao Yu never refused such tributes.

Not long after, Cai Jing, who managed affairs in Dongjing Bianliang on Zhao Yu's behalf, submitted on behalf of the ministers a congratulatory memorial, which read:

The army moves by righteous cause, advancing to conquer the north; since marching north, we have won every battle. We reclaim the former lands of Yan, comfort the remnants of the Jie and Di peoples. White-haired elders and children alike cheer and shed their robes; wine and food fill the roads. Ten thousand states come in unity, one region now stabilized; heaven and earth change hue, ancestral temples shine bright. To the north lies a realm, once the wilds of Ji, where Great Yu once marked boundaries and Emperor Shun once toured and inspected...

In short, Zhao Yu's northern campaign resolved the greatest border threat to the Song dynasty, allowing its subjects to rest in peace; throughout the four seas, all praised his holy virtue; the court erupted in jubilation.

Zhao Yu read the memorial with great delight, deeply satisfied by Cai Jing's praise, and immediately issued an edict rewarding all ministers and proclaimed a general amnesty across the realm to celebrate this unprecedented achievement.

In Dongjing Bianliang, firecrackers exploded, drums and gongs thundered, and the people flooded the streets to celebrate this hard-won peace and tranquility.

The crescent moon shines over the nine provinces; some households rejoice, others grieve.

While the Song dynasty celebrated joyously, the Jin state plunged into an unprecedented catastrophe.

The Song advanced north with thunderous force, armor gleaming like golden scales beneath the sun; the once-dominant Jin cavalry, who had ridden unchecked across the northeast, now lay shattered before Song artillery and powerful crossbows.

Half of the once-proud Jin warriors lay dead in pools of blood.

The remaining Jurchens clutched bloodstained wolf-tooth clubs, gazing at the endless sea of Song banners, their eyes filled with fear for the first time—fear precisely what they themselves had once inflicted upon the Liao when they shattered their capital.

Even more devastating to the Jurchens was the collapse of their clans.

Over a hundred thousand Jurchen women were captured—from the Empress and imperial consorts, to the wives and princesses of tribal lords and crown princes, down to concubines, royal mistresses, county princesses, palace maids, clan daughters, servants, singers, noble relatives, and commoner women—every category imaginable.

Without exaggeration, from Emperor Wanyan Aguda downward, nearly half of all Jurchens now faced the risk of being cuckolded.

Shame!

Unparalleled shame!

The Jurchens had long regarded "bride-snatching" as an ancient custom and "capturing" as a honor, believing it natural, a symbol of fearless warriors; when they breached Liao territories, they had seized Liao imperial, royal, and noble women as spoils, distributing them among victorious warriors. They believed in strength as supremacy, that all things belonging to the defeated—including women and dignity—could be claimed.

Now, fate returned the same treatment: those Jurchen women who once sang the "Jurchen Song" and danced the "Mangshi Dance" around campfires had become spoils in the hands of the conquerors. A profound absurdity and humiliation swept through the entire Jin state, and the words "retribution" seemed seared into every Jurchen heart, like a bone-chilling northern wind slicing through their former pride and arrogance.

At this time, the Jin state was still a confederation, fundamentally continuing the tradition of Jurchen tribal alliances.

Wanyan Aguda's core authority did not stem from an established imperial system of absolute power, but from his role as alliance chief of the Jurchen tribes, a leadership grounded in his ability to consistently deliver tangible benefits to each tribe.

Logically, the union of Jurchen tribes was directly motivated by resistance to Liao oppression and exploitation. Wanyan Aguda succeeded in uniting the tribes because he demonstrated military prowess—by defeating the Liao, he not only removed external threats but also seized land, population, and wealth from Liao territory.

These spoils were distributed according to traditional Jurchen tribal alliance customs: participating tribes and nobles received shares proportional to their contributions.

In essence, the Jin state at this time was still a Jurchen tribal confederation. Though Wanyan Aguda had declared himself emperor, he remained the alliance chief of the Jurchen clans; they obeyed him not because he was emperor, but because he led them to break Liao oppression, seize cities, grain, and people, ensuring every tribe received its share.

In vivid terms, the Jin state at this time resembled a joint-stock company, where all Jurchen nobles were "shareholders"; the more warriors and battle merits a clan possessed, the greater its share and influence within the alliance, and Wanyan Aguda functioned as a "chairman" who could lead the shareholders to profit—his stability directly depended on sustained victories and resource acquisition.

That is, Wanyan Aguda held his position as "chairman" only through continuous victories and spoils, binding this loose confederation into a single rope.

When Wanyan Aguda suffered consecutive defeats, this logic reversed: on one hand, he could no longer extract sufficient resources to distribute to the tribes, damaging their material interests and naturally eroding support for him; on the other hand, the losses from defeat—including personnel and supplies—and the humiliation itself caused each tribe to doubt Wanyan Aguda's leadership capability.