Chapter 222: Turned Out to Be Wanyan Zongbi (Silver Alliance Leader WarmSun1314 Bonus Chapter)

*Clang! *

The rust-streaked iron door was yanked open roughly.

A Jurchen soldier with a square face and swarthy skin grinned, revealing big yellow teeth, and called out, "Eat."

The Jurchen soldier casually set the clay bowl he held on the ground, turned, and went back out to lock the iron door again.

Amid the clanging of metal striking metal, Zhao Gou, an iron chain locked around his neck, scrambled over on hands and knees.

At this moment his whole body was covered in filth, his clothes tattered, his frame skin and bones.

His hair was tangled into a chaotic mess, looking just like a bird's nest.

This appearance was even worse than a beggar's in Bianliang City.

It was truly hard to associate him with that Kang Prince who previously had such a fine bearing.

Zhao Gou's blackened hands lifted the clay bowl, and a wave of foul, sour-rice stench hit his face.

In the past, something like this would never have been brought before him.

But the current Zhao Gou did not hesitate in the slightest; he reached out, grabbed the sour rice from the clay bowl, and stuffed it into his mouth.

This was the first meal he had eaten in three days.

Before, while being escorted and imprisoned along the way, he also often went three days with nine meals missed.

The current Zhao Gou was like a starving mad wild dog, frantically wolfing down the sour rice.

Kang Prince Zhao Gou, who had grown up in brocade and jade delicacies, had finally come to live days of living from hand to mouth, unable to get a meal.

"Fourth Prince!"

In the corridor outside the cell, Wendu Sizhong saluted Wanyan Zongbi: "The envoy sent to Bianliang City has returned."

"Their attitude hasn't changed."

"Still the same words — no talks."

Wanyan Zongbi's face grew even darker.

Truly thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river, the feng shui wheel turns.

Before it was the Khitan, the Tangut, the Song begging to negotiate peace with the Great Jin.

The Great Jin manipulated them every which way, aiming for nation destruction.

Now it has turned into the Great Jin seeking peace talks with the Song.

The result is utter humiliation — there is simply no talk to be had.

Actually it's not that there's no talk at all.

Lin Dao's side has still laid out terms: ten million each of gold, silver, and silk, and one hundred thousand mules and horses.

The various Wanyans can be used as valuation to offset the debt.

Even if they plundered the vast wealth of both Liao and Song, the Jurchens still couldn't produce that much wealth and goods.

All the gold and silver in the world added together don't amount to ten million ingots.

As for using the various Wanyans as valuation, it's very obvious the Jurchens have more backbone than the Song's imperial court.

They would rather die in battle, rather return to the Anchuhu River and continue fishing and hunting, than use the Wanyans to offset the debt.

That would be losing all face!

"There's another piece of news."

Wendu Sizhong continued his report: "Word has it, the male members of the Zhao Song royal house are all gone~~~"

"Oh?"

Wanyan Zongbi whipped around, eyes blazing: "Truly?"

"Eight or nine out of ten!"

Wanyan Zongbi, sunk in thought, turned again to look at Zhao Gou wolfing down his food.

"I've been hearing lately those Han who've surrendered telling stories of the Central Plains' ancient past."

"The Emperor I admire most is the one called Qin Shi Huang."

His gaze locked dead on Zhao Gou: "Qin Shi Huang has a story called 'rare goods worth hoarding'."

*That is the story of his Amin! *

Very obviously, Wendu Sizhong knows the Central Plains' stories even better.

But the Fourth Prince's meaning, he understands completely.

The Zhao Song royal male line is cut off; the sole surviving Zhao Gou has become a rare good worth hoarding.

"Just don't know~"

Wendu Sizhong looked with some uncertainty at Zhao Gou, who was licking the clay bowl: "Whether this person is willing."

"A man who, to survive, would willingly hide in a doghole." Wanyan Zongbi's face showed a look of disdain. "For a man like this to survive, what would he be unwilling to do?"

Wanyan Zongbi strode forward, arriving outside the iron bars.

Zhao Gou, in the middle of licking the bowl, heard footsteps, raised his head, and saw Wanyan Zongbi.

"Fourth Prince!"

Zhao Gou suddenly dropped to his knees and slid forward, hands gripping the bars: "Spare my life~~~"

Before, he had truly suffered every kind of hardship.

Having no rice to eat was probably the mildest punishment; those Jurchens had all sorts of ways to torment a man.

Wanyan Zongbi, looking down from above, gazed at Zhao Gou with eyes full of disdain.

*If the Song are all this kind of trash, or rather, if this man is the Song's Emperor, how good that would be. *

*Truly a pity~~~*

He also only recently learned that when the Song are no longer weak, their combat strength is not the least bit inferior to the Jurchens.

Nianhan suffered a crushing defeat there, losing the Hedong territory.

Even a famed general like Woliyanyan died on the battlefield.

Upon hearing the news, Wanyan Zongbi refused to believe it, repeatedly verifying the report yet still disbelieving.

Only when the bedraggled Nianhan fled back to Yanjing City did he truly believe it.

It was also only at this moment that he finally believed what those Han who had surrendered spoke of — the Han and Tang Prosperity!

The Han are not all weak and feeble like the Song.

When they truly straighten their backs.

Even powers as strong as the Xiongnu and Turks were beaten to the point of collapse and annihilation.

Strong enough to chill the heart.

The Jurchens suffered a crushing defeat; the east and west route armies were severely mauled in succession.

Only Wanyan Zongbi won a victory, and his status among the Jurchens rapidly soared.

Especially with Wanyan Zongwang already dead, the remnants of the East Route Army basically all came under his command.

The current Wanyan Zongbi, though young, counts as one of the Jin Nation's top decision-makers.

"Do you know."

Wanyan Zongbi spoke coldly, "Your father and brothers have all been killed."

Zhao Gou's pleading stopped abruptly; he stared up at Wanyan Zongbi in a daze.

After a moment, he threw back his head and wailed.

"Father Emperor~~~"

"Imperial Brother~~~"

"Third Brother~~~"

"Fifth Brother~~~"

Wanyan Zongbi watched Zhao Gou wailing with cold eyes; after a moment, a smile appeared.

"Our Great Jin is willing to help you avenge this hatred and install you as the Song's Emperor."

Zhao Gou's crying halted instantly; his expression management was the picture of control.

He looked at Wanyan Zongbi in disbelief, his face full of wild joy.

"Truly, truly?!"

"Naturally it's true." Wanyan Zongbi smiled again, "I think you can marry Boji Lie's daughter as Empress."

"Change your surname, enter our Wanyan Tribe."

"From now on, you will be called Wanyan Gou!"

Zhao Gou hesitated slightly.

He was not unwilling, but understood that the surname Zhao served him better.

However, right now preserving his life comes first.

He saluted respectfully, "Wanyan Gou, pays respects to the Fourth Prince~~~"

Bianliang City.

Lin Dao, who came from the Chongzhen Spacetime, learned from the furious Zong Ze that Zhao Gou had ascended the Great Song throne and changed his name to Wanyan Gou.

"An utter disgrace!"

Zong Ze's face flushed red with anger, "Wanyan Gou? Wanyan Gou!"

"How dare he, abandoning his ancestors~"

"A man like this, when he dies he'll be a lonely wild ghost."

"No need to be this angry." Lin Dao smiled, "At most it just adds some trouble."

"The Jurchens have only recently been civilized; they don't understand the twists and turns here."

"They think making him change his surname to Wanyan means nominal incorporation and control."

"This is fundamentally not understanding Central Plains rules."

"If he kept calling himself Zhao Gou, that would truly cause no small trouble."

"The local power-brokers of the various prefectures and counties, no matter how shameless, presumably wouldn't acknowledge a man surnamed Wanyan as Emperor."

Lin Dao waved his hand, "Yue Fei is about to send troops to Jun Du Xing, heading straight for Yanjing City; when he wins, everything can be negotiated."

His tone shifted, "Why did Han Shizhong go off to suppress bandits?"

Zong Ze paused slightly, answering truthfully, "Someone has to clean up locally, gather goods to exchange for grain and military rations with you, Immortal Elder."

"You have so many generals under your command; why pick Han Shizhong?"

"In ancient times there were Wei and Huo; today there are Han and Yue."

"A great general like this should be sent to the front to fight the Jurchens; you're truly wasting him."

Zong Ze was greatly surprised, "Immortal Elder actually rates Han Shizhong so high?!"

When I previously looked into the Kunlun Mirror, there was only a bit of description about Han Shizhong, since the protagonist is Yue Fei.

But one sentence from Lin Dao nearly broke Zong Ze's composure.

To be ranked alongside Wei and Huo — that's Wei Qing and Huo Qubing!

And it's Han and Yue — Han Shizhong actually placed before Yue Fei?

"I was wrong."

Zong Ze immediately corrected himself, "I'll arrange for Han Shizhong to build an army right away."

"Just the military rations and pay — can they be advanced on credit?"

Everywhere is in chaos; collecting the goods Lin Dao needs isn't easy either.

Moreover, as the territory under his control gradually expanded, the number of people he needed to support kept increasing, and expenses skyrocketed accordingly.

Zong Ze was also at his wit's end, selling off everything he could.

But wanting to quickly provide Han Shizhong with an army comparable to the Yue Family Army, along with the equipment, provisions, and military pay required, he truly had no way.

If the immortal were willing to accept, Zong Ze wanted to sell himself, this hundred-odd pounds of flesh, just to be done with it.

"Credit is rather troublesome."

Lin Dao proactively gave him a hint: "You can try to find new sources of wealth."

Zong Ze immediately cupped his hands: "Please instruct me."

"The imperial house is gone; keeping the Imperial Palace is of no use."

Lin Dao gestured toward the Imperial City: "The buildings over there—many are made of Huanghuali and other precious woods."

"You can dismantle them and sell them to me; I guarantee a fair price."

Absolutely fair!

High-grade timber is extremely expensive in the Modern World.

But the industrial goods Lin Dao exchanged for these woods were extremely cheap.

Mostly steel products like weapons and armor, rubber products like large tires, and basic industrial goods like flashlights and lighters, and so on.

Going back and forth between the two sides, Lin Dao was truly making a killing.

"Dismantle... dismantle the Imperial Palace?"

This proposal shocked Zong Ze so much that his words became incoherent.

That was the Imperial Palace.

"That's right."

Lin Dao nodded: "The Imperial Palace is a symbol of imperial power."

"Since the Emperor is gone, keeping the Imperial Palace is of no use."

"Dismantling it and selling it for money to deal with urgent needs is a good thing."

Clearly, Zong Ze could not make up his mind for the moment.

Lin Dao was not in a hurry, continuing to point out the way for him.

"There are so many temples; their main business is usury."

"The monks suck the blood of the common people, each one eating until their brains are full and intestines are fat, with big bellies."

"Like at Da Xiangguo Temple."

"Where gold can be used, silver is absolutely not used."

"Where copper can be used, iron will absolutely not be used."

"Doing nothing all day and still researching vegetarian diets—purely bored from being full."

"So many fat sheep; you should get moving on this side right away."

Zong Ze's face showed a look of sudden enlightenment.

"Thank you, immortal, for your guidance; this is truly a case of being blind to what is right under one's nose."

Da Xiangguo Temple was extremely wealthy, and Shaolin Temple and others were landlord-level tycoons.

I had truly forgotten about it before.

"What about the weapons and supplies?"

Facing Zong Ze's expectant gaze, Lin Dao, who had earned quite a bit during this period, waved his hand generously.

"They can be given first, without interest."

"But there is still a condition."

Zong Ze saluted: "Immortal, please speak your mind."

"You must thoroughly exterminate the Jin people and strike directly at Huanglong!"

End of Chapter