[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-shao-song":3,"chapter-shao-song-shao-song-chapter-474":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Shao Song",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1558640,2024,"Chapter 474: Side Story 25: The Proud Son of Heaven — June 17th","shao-song-chapter-474",474,"\u003Cp>Side Story 25: The Proud Son of Heaven — June 17th\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Side Story 25: The Proud Son of Heaven — June 17th\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In twelfth-century Europe, warfare was still a noble affair. Knights in splendid armor would gracefully raise their lances and charge in a magnificent spectacle to win a lady's heart. These proud knights rampaged across the European continent. As God's favored on earth, they were tasked with conveying His will to mankind. Any who questioned them faced the knights' furious charge. No one could stop the advance of these silver tides, except for the light cavalry of the Seljuk Empire in the Arab world. The horsemen of this Asian empire were savage and mad, appearing and disappearing without warning. Their light equipment allowed them to keep a safe distance from the knights. When the knights were exhausted from the chase, they would use every means to provoke the knights' anger. When a knight, for the sake of honor, charged out of formation, these despicable vultures would swarm in, tear the knight apart, and then flee like a whirlwind, leaving only dust behind. Knights with exquisite martial skills and sturdy armor seemed clumsy before these cunning horsemen. Fortunately, their crude swords and crossbows could hardly penetrate the knights' fine armor. In the end, the Christians succeeded in driving these vultures out of God's land. Fighting the infidels to a draw, or even being suppressed by them, was a great humiliation for the arrogant knights. After the victory of the First Crusade, the Western world was eager for the next war, determined to make the infidels feel God's wrath at the right time. The chance for revenge finally came. The Seljuk Empire attacked Edessa. Two years later, the crusaders assembled and swore to fight for Jerusalem. It was then that scouts captured an infidel from the East. This former Pasha of Turkey brought news that the Western world found hard to believe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Five years ago, at the Battle of Qatwan, a regime from the Eastern Silk Country challenged the mighty Seljuk Empire. Sultan Sanjar mobilized the Islamic states to fight, to resist these unbelieving Silk Country people. The result of the war was that the Turkish cavalry suffered repeated defeats before the Silk Country people. The pillar of the Arab world, the mighty Seljuk Empire, retreated step by step over five years. In the end, the Sultan died in battle, and the regime collapsed. This also explained why, in recent years, more and more Muslims had appeared on the borders of the European world, trying to escape into Europe. While the nobles argued over whether an army that could destroy the Seljuk Empire in five years truly existed, the pearl of the Eastern Mediterranean, the center of the world's wealth and art, the last pride of the Romans, Constantinople, welcomed a long-absent \"guest\" from the East. The last news about the Eastern Empire was the astonishing clash between a country called Tang and the Arab world at the Talas River. Four hundred years later, the Arab world had lost its former luck and was shattered into pieces. The Western world had eliminated the Muslim threat without lifting a finger, but what they faced now were the even more terrifying Silk Country people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A threat from the East! Panic spread like a virus through medieval Europe. More crusaders gathered and marched to the Byzantine Empire, joining this conflict with the East. This battle was about faith, and it also determined the life or death of Europe. It was this clash between East and West that made the name Khitan resound throughout Europe and also raised the curtain on Europe's darkest history.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The last emperor of Byzantium, Manuel, was pinned down at the city gate by Khitan men with hands blackened by soot for a victory ceremony to display Khitan martial prowess. Before his execution, he turned his head and looked at Constantinople one last time. This was the final farewell of the last Roman emperor to Constantinople, and also the last time a European set foot on the soil of Constantinople. The city wall that had stood for eight hundred years without falling, together with its emperor, existed only in the mournful songs of the Europeans: \"Many years later, this city will still belong to you, and you will return like lightning.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>— T.N. Dupuy, *The Evolution of Weapons and Warfare (10)*\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>*The Whirlwind from Khitan*\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Splash. It was the sound of water being poured. Dry, cracked lips absorbed this precious moisture. \"Where is this? Who am I?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Splash. Another basin of water poured down. Fragments of memory floated up in his groggy mind: an ancient, towering church, solemn hymns, devout people praying in bright candlelight, a purple robe handed over by the bishop, spirited knights crowding onto the high walls of Constantinople. City walls? City walls!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Splash. A third basin of water thoroughly woke Manuel. Manuel I, the newly enthroned, ambitious Roman emperor, dreamed of reviving the Roman Empire, weakening the authority of the Holy Roman Empire in the West, and curbing the Seljuk Empire's offensive in the East, making the double-headed eagle's name echo across the Mediterranean. But what the young emperor had not expected was that the mighty Seljuk Empire in the East would collapse in a single day. A demon called Khitan drove straight in, using unimaginable tactics to bypass the empire's chain blockade on the river and bring flames beneath the sturdy walls of Constantinople.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The emperor never feared challenges. He personally mounted the city wall and led the knights to cut down the first madmen who scaled it. \"God is on our side!\" the emperor proudly declared. Unless God cast down a thunderbolt of punishment, no one could break the sturdy walls of Constantinople. Until that day. The emperor was climbing the steps as usual, guarded by knights, when a wave of inexplicable heat rolled up from beneath the wall. The emperor was thrown back and knocked unconscious. The last image he saw was the city wall, vanished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You damned Khitan barbarians!\" The moment Manuel opened his eyes, he saw a young man sitting across from him, flipping through the emperor's favorite biography of Caesar. The humiliation of losing his country and the anger of being offended made Manuel roar, but he was immediately gagged.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I came, I saw, I conquered.\" To Manuel's surprise, the young man spoke in Latin, slowly reciting Caesar's famous words. Seeing the astonished emperor, the young man switched to Greek. \"Don't be surprised. If you were in a precarious situation, you too would be motivated to learn. Allow me to introduce myself: Yelü Zongbi, a Meng'an directly subordinate to the Grand Preceptor of the Heart-and-Belly Department before the Imperial Presence of the more dazzling than Caesar Great Liao Emperor Yelü Dashi.\" The young man waved his hand, and someone released the emperor's restraints. Manuel immediately scolded, \"A mere Eastern barbarian dares to falsely claim the imperial title and blaspheme the great Caesar? You shaven-headed crows from a hovel, have you come to tear at God's gift and turn the world's most prosperous city to ashes?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As if he had heard a joke, the young man laughed unrestrainedly, and the warriors around him joined in. The unbridled laughter made the young emperor's face flush. \"Is there something wrong? You barbarians defeated the cruel Turks. You will only be more brutal than them. I would rather die in my robe charging at the Turks. I curse you.\" The emperor suddenly thought of the vanished city wall. Perhaps these barbarians really did possess some evil sorcery. The emperor shrank back a little.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The young man paid no attention. \"You call Khitan barbarians. It seems the noble Roman emperor hasn't had time to learn about the changes in the East. The noble bloodline you speak of is laughable to me. The prosperous land you are proud of is not worth mentioning. Khitan comes from distant China.\" The Silk Country? The emperor's eyes widened. He loved the smooth silk traded from the Silk Country, but he knew little about the country itself. He listened to the young man's story. Khitan, a people as hard as steel, lived tenaciously on the grasslands, growing into a vast empire with tens of thousands of archers. Their broad-mindedness and unique form of civilization, their ability to absorb other cultures, was breathtaking. The young man's story stopped abruptly at the point when Wanyan Aguda resolved to rebel against Liao. \"Khitan was once so glorious, hunting with the Tang emperor, making the Song emperor bow low, defeating the Seljuk coalition, beheading the Sultan in battle. Emperor Yelü Dashi was a divine man, uniting Khitans, Han, Jurchens, Xi, and even Turks. The Romans too will surely submit to him.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The emperor suddenly remembered his own status as the ruler of a fallen state. \"Is Liao really that strong? Why would you Khitans run all the way to the distant Mediterranean? It seems the Jurchens succeeded in rebelling against Liao. You are just a bunch of homeless dogs.\" The emperor had intended to gain the upper hand with words, but the young man laughed even more happily. He began to tell the story of the Jurchens, from Aguda disarming and crossing the river, to Loushi's horse being drenched with sweat, to the Tianzuo Emperor being captured in humiliation, to the Two Saints of Huizong and Qinzong being invited on a northern hunt. This story was more complete and more moving than the Khitan story. The emperor noticed that when Wanyan Wushu was mentioned, the young man trembled slightly. The story ended. The emperor said in a deep voice, \"You are a Jurchen?\" The young man remained silent in response. \"The Jin country you speak of, has it been destroyed?\" Still silence, only the warriors' eyes glistening with tears. \"The mighty Jin country, who defeated it?\" Khitan had defeated the Seljuk Empire that plagued Rome. Jin had driven Khitan off the grasslands. So what kind of monster had defeated Jin?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Song.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Song? That humiliated dynasty whose capital was breached and whose emperor was captured to perform? The young man softly began to tell the story of Song. He mentioned Bagongshan, the recovery of Dongjing, the annihilation of Western Xia, the fall of Taiyuan and Great Ming. The Roman emperor learned of gunpowder. He mentioned the hundreds of thousands of troops slaughtered at Huolu. He mentioned the ten years of work by that Jianyan Emperor, the story of how the Great Jin became the Great Qing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What exactly do you want?\" the emperor couldn't help asking. \"Just to refute me, a ruler of a fallen state?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I came, I saw, I conquered! The Great Jin should conquer everything, not humbly survive as some Qing. Those Liao and Song people should be prostrate at our feet. The Mongols and Bohai people should be our slaves. Western Xia and Goryeo aren't even fit to hold our shoes. Why? Why did the Great Jin lose everything!\" The young man suppressed his grief and anger. The image of a lone figure heading south flashed through his mind, and he grew even more furious. \"These people have all climbed on top of the Jurchens. And Heshilie Liangbi and Zhao Liangbi only know how to serve His Imperial Father, ignoring the lives of people like us. On what grounds!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The young man suddenly drew his saber. \"With a sharp blade in hand, the urge to kill arises. Qing is a dog with its bones broken. Liao can be reborn. The Great Jin can too. I will make the Great Jin come alive in this unfamiliar land! I moved the Sultan's books. I collected Ross's maps. I took Rome's library. I am only waiting, waiting for the day the Great Jin is revived.\" Saying this, the young man threw down his saber, drew a dagger, cut his own palm, and smeared the blood on his forehead. The warriors around him followed suit. The smell of blood invaded the emperor's nose, making him more alert.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You mentioned that after that Jianyan Son of Heaven's great victory, he made the Khitans march west, not return to the Silk Country?\" The young man nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You mentioned that the Khitan population was insufficient and they needed to absorb Jurchen prisoners or Han criminals from the Silk Country to supplement their labor?\" The young man nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You mentioned that the Great Stone Emperor recently dealt with the Three Surnames of Yabghu?\" \"You mentioned that Turks make up an increasing proportion of the Khitan state?\" \"You mentioned...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A series of questions. The emperor's thoughts became clearer and clearer. \"Is this how the Khitans treat you prisoners?\" The young man grinned fiercely, revealing the whip scars on his arm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Your Great Stone Emperor is truly a genius, able to maintain such a stitched-together empire. May I ask about the Great Stone Emperor's health?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The Great Stone Emperor is forever healthy!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Roman emperor read the mockery in the young man's tone. He already had an answer in his heart. He asked the last question of his life. \"Why did you tell me all this?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The young man finally stopped smiling. \"Every time I conquer a place, I find the local leader and tell these stories. Only to warn myself, never to forget the Great Jin's blood feud. Young Roman emperor, your wisdom and bravery allow you to choose a wish before you die.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The emperor straightened his back. \"Between you and Song and Liao, there is the hatred of extermination. Between you and me, there is the humiliation of my country's fall. As an emperor, I cannot die by the blade of an infidel. Let me wear the purple robe and let a Christian cut off my head.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The day after Constantinople fell, the Roman people were forced to cut off the head of their emperor, Manuel. Before the execution, the Romans sang mournfully, \"Many years later, this city will still belong to you, and you will return like lightning.\" That night, the young man who had spoken at length with the Roman emperor silently recited his own birth name. In his heart, his name was always Wanyan Heng, the name his father Wanyan Wushu had left him when he bound himself and went south. \"I cannot forget.\" He fell into a deep sleep.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He fell into a deep sleep. But someone didn't want him to sleep. \"Wang Dahai, get up!\" Rubbing his bleary eyes, the young man named Wang Dahai let out a long yawn, then was shaken by his companion. \"Dahai, those devils are here again. What do we do?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dahai opened his eyes and saw a dark mass of people opposite him, each holding a wooden sword, clearly hostile. The leader walked up to Wang Dahai, raised his head, and shouted, \"Tatar, the lowest status in the recruit camp belongs to the Tatars. Seeing as you're new and might not know, let me, your squad leader, give you a reminder. You're so tall, kneel when you speak.\" Before the words had even faded, the leader swung his sword at the back of Wang Dahai's knee, intending to make him kneel in pain. The strike was fast and vicious. An ordinary man would have knelt on the spot, but Wang Dahai easily caught the wooden sword. \"I am the martial champion personally appointed by His Majesty in the thirty-first year of Shaoxing. My rank is higher than yours. You kneel! Kneel!\" Saying this, he snatched the wooden sword and struck the man in the stomach with the hilt, sending him flying. Wang Dahai looked at the wooden sword, now broken in two, and curled his lip. \"Your devils' stuff is really poor quality.\" Devils and Tatars were derogatory terms for Japanese and Mongols, said to have originated from the Yanjing palace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The other Japanese, seeing how tough Wang Dahai was, didn't dare to step forward, but their mouths wouldn't admit defeat. \"What martial champion? A convict sent here for committing a crime. They've probably already stripped you of your title back home. Tatars love to stir up trouble!\" \"You devils have the nerve to talk. When it comes to stirring up trouble, wasn't it one of your lot who lost his head and gave random scores in the martial arts event, not knowing His Majesty was watching incognito from below? It enraged the dragon, and with a stroke of the vermilion brush, all the participants that year were sent to the army. You'd better keep your legs in check and not step out of bounds again!\" The two sides finally came to blows. The devils had numbers, the Tatars could fight. In the end, it fizzled out. Everyone was tired and fell asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow. Only Wang Dahai kept his eyes open. He wasn't injured, but he had a problem: he slept poorly and always had dreams, the same one over and over. With such bizarre sleep, he might have to thank the Zhao Emperor's policy advocating meat, eggs, and milk for growing up so big.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly, Wang Dahai heard some of the earlier convicts in the next room discussing. \"Did you hear? The Khan Ambaghai's great revenge has been fulfilled?\" \"How? Tell us!\" \"I heard that the son of King Yesugei met the Tatar chief and wrestled him to death on the wrestling ground. They say his technique was so good that it couldn't be ruled a deliberate killing. He didn't have to pay with his life, just got sent here.\" \"The Tatars deserved it. They should have been wiped out back then! That prince sacrificed his future to avenge Khan Ambaghai. From now on, he's my big brother!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dahai sighed. As the voices next door gradually faded, his mind began to wander. Back when the punitive expedition against Jin ended, everyone became allies. On the surface, private feuds were forbidden, but the resentment only grew. It was the Zhao Emperor who came up with an idea: convene a grand alliance meeting and suggest that countries resolve conflicts through competitive matches. The first time, only events like horse riding, archery, and wrestling were set up. Each country sent representatives to compete. Not to mention the other representatives, the Song's first representative was actually Prince Han Shizhong. The moment he stood on the field, his opponents' bones went weak and they couldn't muster any strength. The other princes weren't willing to lose face and compete, so Prince Han, at the age of fifty-five, took first place. His Majesty personally awarded him the title \"Martial Champion of the Three Armies.\" Since this meeting was held in Wulin, the name \"Wulin Society\" was used and became a tradition. After the Zhao Emperor decreed that Prince Han was banned from competing, the second Wulin Society went smoothly, but trouble arose in the wrestling event.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since becoming a leisurely prince, Mongolia's Ambaghai had pursued pleasure. Somehow, he lost his head and wanted to be a second Prince Han. He dragged his old body into the Mongolian specialty event, wrestling. Someone threw him, and he couldn't catch his breath. He died. His opponent happened to be a surviving Tatar from the great war. Rumors spread throughout the city that the Tatars had deliberately taken revenge. In the end, Ambaghai was posthumously titled Khan, and the Tatar contestant was executed. The enmity between the two sides became a sea of blood. It was tough on the referees, who had to keep a close eye on the two teams whenever they met. And yet this still happened: the Tatar chief Temujin Uge was wrestled to death!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dahai finally fell asleep. This dream was different. He dreamed of the time when he won the martial champion and went to see the Zhao Emperor. The Zhao Emperor was a thin, wizened old man, so frail that Wang Dahai could kill him with one hand. But standing before the Zhao Emperor, he didn't even dare to breathe loudly. When the Emperor's gaze swept over him, he only felt a burning heat. Maybe that was why he was the Emperor and Wang Dahai was just a convict soldier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But why was that? Wang Dahai couldn't figure it out. In his dream, he dreamed again of the day his father saw him off. His father had always hoped he would become one of the Zhao Emperor's personal guards and then be sent out as a high official. But at the competition, when he learned his opponent was a Tatar, his father had lain awake all night. Wang Dahai had heard from his father since childhood how good Uncle Ambaghai had been to his father. Of course, his father wanted to avenge him, but the price of revenge was his son's fate. His father hesitated. So Wang Dahai made the decision for him. On the day of farewell, Wang Dahai knelt and asked his father's leave. His father only shot down a great eagle in front of him, then handed him the bow and arrows. His father told him that Mongols belonged to the grasslands, wild by nature, and that he, Wang Dahai, was born to be the leader of the Mongols! Before leaving, his father gave him a Mongolian name. The name his father gave him reminded him of the dream he always had. That name was always in the dream. What was that name again?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dahai woke up with a bitter smile. The leader of the Mongols could only be the Zhao Emperor. How could a convict soldier like him be a leader? He'd better think about how to survive on the battlefield. Speaking of the battlefield, what was the target this time? Oh, right. It was to assist Liao in wiping out the Western Jin. After Yelü Dashi died, Liao had a few years of stability under the Empress Dowager's guidance. Then a Jurchen slave revolt broke out and wasn't suppressed in time. A man named Wanyan Heng, claiming to be the son of Wanyan Wushu, took the opportunity to raise a rebellion. Old Jurchen units, Turks, and Romans all responded. They calmly carved up the southwestern territory of Liao, calling themselves the Western Jin. They soon became a force to be reckoned with. Liao couldn't suppress them, and the frivolous Zhao Emperor had only now thought to help Liao.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yelü Abaoji, Wanyan Aguda, Zhao Gou, Yelü Dashi, Wanyan Heng. Wang Dahai chewed over these names. He had grown up hearing their heroic stories: stories of the Khitans, stories of the Jurchens, stories of the Song people. But there were none about the Mongols. Why? Wang Dahai still couldn't figure it out. He fell asleep again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In his dream, he rode a fine steed, drew a longbow, and galloped freely across the grassland, running from the east all the way to the west. Everyone followed behind him—Mongols, Jurchens, Turks, Khitans, and Song people alike. He drew his bow and shot an arrow, striking a soaring eagle squarely. But when he looked closely, it had turned into Zhao Jiu, who sat on a lofty throne and was killed by that single arrow. In the dream, Wang Dahai was not afraid at all. Instead, he walked up to the throne, took Zhao Jiu's crown, and placed it on his own head. He saw the people behind him cursing in anger, found them annoying, and so he struck. The Western Mongols he beat, the Russians he beat, the Tanguts he beat, the Jurchens he beat, and the Song people he beat as well. Everyone was convinced. Wang Dahai realized that he already possessed a vast empire!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dahai woke with a start, astonished by his bizarre dream and his unrestrained actions within it. Yet his heart had never pounded like this before, as if he had been reborn. This empire—the Khitans could sit on it, the Jurchens could sit on it, Zhao Jiu could sit on it—so why could a Mongol only fight devils in a recruit camp? Wang Dahai couldn't suppress himself and nudged the comrade beside him. \"I want to be emperor!\" The comrade beside him, exhausted from the day's work, hadn't even heard what Wang Dahai said clearly and just responded instinctively, \"Fine, fine, fine. You want to be emperor.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dahai fell into a deep sleep. This time, he dreamed the dream he had always been dreaming. In the dream, he no longer used the Han name Wang Dahai. He remembered the Mongol name his father had given him—the name seized from Temüjin Üge: Borjigin Temüjin. In the dream, he was no longer Wang Dahai. He became an emperor as great as the ocean. He became Genghis Khan. This time, he would not forget again.\u003C\u002Fp>",4118,"2026-06-06T07:46:32.508Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","0209f3df92dd4f3d7739d1b8d319c71b13103fad96d2a38985b7bc00db59d836","shao-song-chapter-475","shao-song-chapter-473",489,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fshao-song-cover.jpg"]