Water Margin begins as a captain in Yanggu County

Chapter 411 It's not your fault, it's fate!
Su Wu'an sat on the general's platform, beneath the dragon banner that he had ordered to be abandoned.

The sounds of fighting and thunder could be heard from time to time.

Su Wu fell into a brief mental blank, which was also a strange sense of relief...

With a moment of ease, Su Wu closed his eyes slightly, recalling many things: the four prefectures of Hexi under his control, and now the vast Western Regions...

There were also the Qiangtang tribes, the Tubo tribes, and the Dali Kingdom...

And then there's Yelü Dashi. I wonder how he fared in the Western Regions and Central Asia...

Ok?
Why haven't any Goryeo envoys come to pay homage all this time? We haven't heard a single message. Did Su Wu's Great Yan fail to notify them in time? Or do they simply not take Great Yan seriously at all?

Regardless of the specific issue, this is still a problem...

I remember that Goryeo held the Khitan Liao Dynasty in high esteem. Even the textbooks used by Goryeo people to learn Chinese at that time were called "Lao Qi Da," which means "Old Khitan." In the eyes of the Goryeo people at that time, Chinese was the language and script spoken and used by the authentic Old Khitan!
This kind of thing is kind of funny...

From Su Wu's perspective, there was no irony involved; it was simply a sense of amusement and amusement...

The subservience of the major powers on the Korean Peninsula is also fully reflected in this.

Thinking about it...

Su Wu, amidst the clamor of the battlefield, closed his eyes and fell asleep...

He was truly asleep, snoring loudly. The guards beside him, along with Wu Yong and others, found it all very strange...

One can't help but wonder, how does His Majesty manage to sleep like this?
What kind of mindset would allow someone to fall asleep sitting on the battlefield command platform at this very moment?

May……

Was he just too tired? So, so tired...

But he couldn't sleep much longer. It seemed like he had only dozed off for a moment when a group of knights returned, a group of twenty or thirty men, leading a horse with a bound man sitting on its back...

With the dragon banner present, it arrived very quickly, reaching the foot of the general's platform in no time.

Despite the sound of horses' hooves, Su Wu was still fast asleep.

Twenty or thirty riders approached and reined in their horses. Seeing the emperor reclining on his throne, seemingly asleep, they dared not make a sound. The bound man, however, wanted to speak, but his mouth was gagged...

It was a little awkward for a moment...

Wu Yong was looking at Xu Guanzhong, and Xu Guanzhong was also looking at Wu Yong...

Xu Guanzhong stepped forward and whispered in Su Wu's ear, "Your Majesty..."

"Hmm?" Su Wu suddenly woke up, his eyes still sharp and clear, scanning left and right the moment he opened them.

After Su Wu scanned the area several times, he stood up and asked, "Wu Zhu?"

It was Wuzhu. Wanyan Zongbi, who was tied to the horse, was also looking at Su Wu and nodded slightly.

"Untie me..." Su Wu raised his hand and waved.

Wanyan Zongbi then untied him. Seeing Su Wu raising his hand in a gesture of waving, Wanyan Zongbi sighed and walked forward...

Su Wu was already seated on the edge of the platform, and Wanyan Zongbi stood in front of him, bowing respectfully: "Greetings to the Emperor of Great Yan!"

Su Wu felt conflicted, but he simply said, "Your Chinese is getting better and better..."

Wanyan Zongbi remained silent...

Su Wu continued, "I just didn't expect that you would be brought here bound in such an unexpected way..."

Wanyan Zongbi lowered his head...

Su Wu continued, “I’m not saying this to mock you, but in my heart, you are the bravest warrior among the Jurchens. I’ve thought a lot, I thought you would die fighting to the death, I thought you would commit suicide, but I never expected it to be like this… Actually, seeing you at this moment, I’m in extremely good spirits…”

Wanyan Zongbi looked up and asked, "Is my brother dead?"

"Perhaps not..." Su Wu replied.

"Then where is he?" Wanyan Zongbi continued to ask.

“Wanyan Xiyin went to find him, saying he could persuade him to surrender…” Su Wu smiled slightly.

"Do you still stand by what you said before?" When Wanyan Zongbi first arrived, his face was actually quite expressionless, but at this moment, he was extremely anxious.

"Have you said the same things I'm telling you to many other people?" Su Wu countered.

Wanyan Zongbi nodded...

“It counts!” Su Wu finally replied.

"So today, you won't kill all the Jurchens, right?" Wanyan Zongbi asked again.

Su Wu nodded: "No!"

"Then my brother, I beg you to let him live..." Wanyan Zongbi actually knew how to make a plea.

“This matter is up to your brother…” Su Wu suddenly raised his hand and gently patted Wanyan Zongbi’s shoulder.

Wanyan Zongbi subconsciously turned his head to look and saw Su Wu's hand gently patting his shoulder...

"Is Puluhu dead?" Wanyan Zongbi turned and asked.

"Who?"

"That's the leading general who just rode out of the city and charged into the central army..."

“Oh…him…” Su Wu looked up, searched around, and pointed to a high spot on the right: “There…”

Wanyan Zongbi turned his head to look and saw a human head stuck on a tall pole...

"Who is he?" Su Wu asked.

“He is Wu Qimai’s son, and he wants to be the emperor of the Great Jin…” Wanyan Zongbi hadn’t turned his head back yet, still looking at the head that was waving and rolling from side to side on the tall pole.

"You don't like him?" Su Wu asked.

Wanyan Zongbi did not answer the question, but turned to Su Wu and asked, "Jurchen, where should we go?"

"We're not going anywhere else, just here, right around Dading Prefecture. This place is good; it's close to Yanyun, yet some distance from your old mountain home. It's a good place..."

Su Wu answered.

"Let's go somewhere else..." Wanyan Zongbi said.

Su Wu, not immediately realizing the problem, asked, "Why?"

“This is a place of sorrow, where too many people have died…” Wanyan Zongbi replied.

Su Wu frowned slightly. If not in Dading Prefecture, where else could he go?

Su Wu then asked, "Then let's go to Liaoyang?"

Liaoyang is also an option. Geographically, it's suitable for farming, military deployment, and immigration, and it's located by the sea with rivers nearby...

It's also close to Korea, Korea...

Goryeo is bad, Goryeo needs to be attacked...

Even after the war, troops will still be stationed there, and the Koreans will have to support those troops...

But Su Wu probably won't personally go to fight Goryeo again...

Wanyan Zongbi pondered for a moment, then nodded: "Let's go to Liaoyang..."

Su Wu replied, "You can't go to Liaoyang anymore. You have to go back to Huanglongfu and return to the mountains..."

"I'm going back?" Wanyan Zongbi was somewhat puzzled...

“No rush, let’s go to Bianjing and stay there for a year first, and then go back…” Su Wu replied.

What does Wanyan Zongbi want to go back for?
The military might of the Great Yan could not penetrate the endless mountains and forests, but the influence of the Great Yan could.

Firstly, Huanglong Prefecture needs to be garrisoned; secondly, it needs to establish a trading post, a place for commerce and trade, which is a fundamental method for solving many problems…

To promote the policies of the Great Yan, to promote the majesty of the Great Yan, to promote the Great Yan...

This is also a pilot program. If the results are good, then we should open a few more border markets...

Goods from the mountains and forests were exchanged for ironware, salt, cloth, and the like...

This business still needs to be government-led, and it was Lu Junyi who sent people to seek basic fairness and less oppression and deception...

They even raised recruitment flags, offering generous rewards to attract warriors from the mountains and forests to join the Great Yan army...

Nothing integrates people faster and more effectively than the military, and even military rewards are a way to change lifestyles.

In fact, in many countries and among many nations, the most progressive groups in terms of thought are often the military...

In a few years, or even ten or twenty years, when these soldiers who came from the mountains return home in glory, they will become an even more significant force for national unity.

This method will eventually be implemented in many places.

Su Wu's army was about to embark on a journey to even more distant lands, where they would encounter sights vastly different from those of this region...

Xu Geng can also bring a sense of honor to the soldiers...

Su Wu looked down at Wanyan Zongbi's face, studying it intently...

Once they've actually seen the high-nosed, deep-set-eyed, dark-skinned, short, and sallow-skinned...

It also helps to shape racial identity...

These things won't be too far off; they'll all happen within Su Wu's lifetime...

Su Wu said, "Back then, we met north of Liaoyang. How could we have imagined that things would turn out like this today..."

Wanyan Zongbi replied, "Two male tigers can never live together in the same forest; that's how it is in the forest..."

“Yes…” Su Wu agreed, then continued, “Now, the battle is over… In terms of right and wrong, it was you Jurchens who wanted a larger forest, and now, you haven’t succeeded. In terms of hatred, you suffered humiliation, and what you did afterward has already repaid that humiliation, but it has gone even further. You killed people, and people killed you… Today, here, let it all end…”

Su Wu spoke earnestly, and this was also what he truly thought. He didn't actually care whether Wanyan Zongbi agreed with this point or not...

But Wanyan Zongbi lowered his head and murmured, "Perhaps, my brother is right many times..."

Su Wu knew this elder brother wasn't him, and he didn't ask Wanyan Zongwang what was right...

Su Wu simply said, "I hope that in the future, my descendants here will not harbor the same hatred towards each other as they do today..."

In the future, for thousands of years, descendants will surely continue to fight and wage war against each other on this land...

But we must not allow the same kind of hatred to arise again...

Ideally, it would be a struggle and contest over ideals and beliefs, a war that would determine the future direction of everyone on this land...

If we were to fight another war just because of these reasons, then Su Wu's current plans and desires would not have been in vain...

Su Wu suddenly raised his hand: "Go into the city..."

"Me?" Wanyan Zongbi asked in surprise.

“Yes, go into the city. Listen, the sounds of fighting inside are fading… Go, and try to save a few…” Su Wu knew that at this moment, there were probably very few Jurchens left, in those streets and alleys, within those courtyards…

The tiger-squatting cannons were firing, thunder was booming, crossbows were firing, and fire was raging...

They should at least live to be two or three thousand, right?

We also need to ensure that Wanyan Zongwang, Wanyan Zongbi, Wanyan Xiyin, and others still have something to look forward to, something to consider and restrain themselves from...

In other words, these three thousand or two thousand are actually a shackle, a rope...

How could he not also be a hostage in Su Wu's hands?

We can't let people lose all hope, otherwise how will we handle the future?

Wanyan Zongbi was overjoyed and immediately turned and ran away.

“There’s a horse…” Su Wu shouted, and said to Wu Yong behind him, “Take a troop of knights and go with him…”

Wu Yong nodded and immediately went to greet them...

Wanyan Zongbi also went into the city...

Su Wu climbed up from the edge of the platform, returned to his seat, and took a deep breath...

He glanced at Xu Guanzhong again, said nothing, then turned his gaze to Zhu Wu and chose Zhu Wu, saying, "You also go into the city and take care of things within the city... the imperial city, and those high-ranking officials, nobles, and Jurchen families..."

Zhu Wu frowned slightly... hesitating to speak...

Su Wu waved his hand: "Don't ask any more questions, just let the soldiers do as they please..."

Su Wu refused to give this order...

Zhu Wu understood, nodded, and left with a group of guards...

Xu Guanzhong also sighed, but said from the side, "His Majesty's plans are so grand that very few people in the world can understand them..."

"And you?" Su Wu asked.

Xu Guanzhong smiled slightly: "Your subject can see some clues..."

"That would be wonderful. Please help me with more ideas and strategies..." Su Wu was very pleased.

“Of course! It is my duty!” Xu Guanzhong nodded.

"This place needs to be reclaimed... and even further north, there is an immeasurable vast plain beyond the Great Wall, with fertile black soil far surpassing any other field in the world. Although the winters are cold here, there is no shortage of water. If it were truly cultivated into farmland, I wonder how many people the world could be fed..."

Su Wu spoke slowly... also expressing his expectations for the future...

"Then we'll have to stick to the old method. Liaodong and Jiangnan already have a population of tens of millions. As long as we use the right approach, there will always be poor people willing to come here..."

Xu Guanzhong is confident in the general direction, but he also knows that there will be many difficulties in the details, which he can only solve one by one...

Su Wu suddenly said, "I'll give you a phrase: 'Cross Liaodong'."

“Okay!” Xu Guanzhong nodded.

"Hmm... Liaodong has a lot of gold mines. You can find huge chunks of gold just by digging around in the river!"

Su Wu was trying to find a way to attract people; nothing was more appealing than the promise of overnight riches.

This isn't entirely untrue; there really are quite a few gold mines in this region beyond the Great Wall...

Surely some people can become rich overnight. And once someone becomes rich, the news spreads like wildfire, and naturally, people will flock to them...

Of course, the vast majority of people won't get rich overnight. But as long as you lure people in, give them land, seeds, and a future, you can always keep them here...

Sending prisoners to work in the mines is one solution...

Xu Guanzhong seemed unconvinced by Su Wu's words and asked, "Your Majesty, are there really so many gold mines in Liaodong?"

Su Wu nodded: "It's not an exaggeration, it really is!"

"That would be perfect..." Xu Guanzhong understood the significance of this gimmick and was already planning how to promote it.

This gimmick shouldn't just be used here; it can be used elsewhere in the future, whether it's a gold mine or a silver mine...

On the general's platform outside the city, there was no sense of the carnage within the city, a deliberate choice by Su Wu to avoid experiencing it...

Within the city walls, the war slowly came to an end; the final battle was almost entirely a one-sided massacre…

Many fires broke out, and the air was filled with the aroma of meat...

Countless soldiers had already stormed into the imperial city...

On the street, soldiers wandered around, opening door after door...

The men of Jingdong are mostly interested in material possessions...and not so much in women, especially Jurchen women...

The Khitan men went straight for the people...

Many men from Hebei are like this...

No words...

No words...

Su Wu, standing on the platform, couldn't see anything... Su Wu only looked at the time and said only one thing: "Tomorrow morning, before setting up camp and cooking, each unit must return to camp and count the number of people, make a list of the dead and wounded, and properly place the prisoners. If anyone is still wandering around after setting up camp and cooking, they will be dealt with according to military law! Quickly send messengers into the city to inform the entire army and make sure everyone receives the message."

Someone was sent to carry out the order. In the current situation, ensuring that everyone received the order would be a bit troublesome. There were over two hundred soldiers sent out...

Inside the city, in the north, in a house, Wanyan Xiyin had just found Wanyan Zongwang.

The two are meeting.

Wanyan Zongwang was covered in blood, and there were only about a hundred people around him. The fire started on the left and was about to catch fire on the right as well.

The front and back gates, and the surrounding courtyard walls, were surrounded by an unknown number of Yan soldiers.

Wanyan Xiyin's throat was already hoarse, but upon seeing Wanyan Zongwang, he was overjoyed: "I've finally found you!"

Wanyan Zongwang, holding a large mace, sat on a chair, the mace supporting his head. He leaned forward, already exhausted, but said, "I know why you've come... I'll just ask you one thing: where is Zongbi? Did he break out?"

Wanyan Xiyin shook his head: "I don't know, but at this moment, you must live... Our Jurchens still have a way to survive..."

"Alas..." Wanyan Zongwang sighed sadly, muttering to himself, "Perhaps he won't be able to break through..."

“Then he must be alive too…” Wanyan Xiyin hurriedly said.

Wanyan Zongwang continued, seemingly oblivious to his own words, "The Jurchens have come to this point, ending up in such a state. What did they do wrong?"

“That’s right, that’s right, that’s all right. But that’s how things are, that’s how fate is. As long as you don’t die, the Jurchen will have a future, a future to rise again! If we rely on ourselves, on Zongbi and me, the Jurchen will have no glory left!”

Wanyan Xiyin knew what to say to Wanyan Zongwang.

Wanyan Zongwang suddenly straightened his back, carefully placed the two large maces in his hands against the side of the chair, and lightly wiped his face...

He pointed at Wanyan Xiyin, then at himself, before speaking: "You and I are probably the two people who are most prone to overthinking, so it's best to handle us carefully..."

“If it weren’t for you, even if Uju survived today, he would surely die tomorrow! I am but a minor member of a collateral branch, and I cannot command respect from the people…”

Wanyan Xiyin grabbed Wanyan Zongwang's hand and said, "You have to live with Wuzhu... You know, you understand, if you and Wuzhu both die, then the remaining Jurchens, including me, will be meaningless to Su Wu. In the future, the last remaining Jurchens will likely all face certain death!"

Wanyan Xiyin analyzes these things from his own perspective; he has read a great many books…

"So, he will let some people live, and manipulate you and me, manipulate Wuzhu..." Wanyan Zongwang really thought a lot.

"As long as we live, there is no future. Let's live..." Wanyan Xiyin tightly gripped Wanyan Zongwang's hand.

"Sigh..." Wanyan Zongwang got up but didn't take the two large maces.

"Alright, alright, let's go, Wuzhu might already be waiting for you..." Wanyan Xiyin pulled Wanyan Zongwang outside, afraid that Wanyan Zongwang would change his mind.

The moment I stepped out of the courtyard gate, the tiger-squatting cannons were already set up outside, and the ballistae had been brought in...

Fan Yun also remarked from outside: "Hey, this Jurchen prince, he actually managed to persuade him to come out..."

As he spoke, he laughed with those around him, "Brothers, have we captured a prince? If we present him to His Majesty, he will surely be overjoyed!"

A burst of laughter erupted... Which soldier wasn't delighted? Which wasn't overjoyed? Which wasn't filled with pride?

Wanyan Zongwang suddenly stopped in his tracks...

Wanyan Xiyin immediately pulled her aside: "It's alright, it's alright, it's no big deal. Su Wu is not that kind of person. Su Wu is tolerant! Su Wu respects all the heroes of the world the most. Su Wu and you are both heroes of the world!"

Upon hearing these words, Wanyan Zongwang lowered his head slightly...

Words are certainly useful… Wanyan Zongwang himself, in private, sometimes felt a sense of mutual appreciation with Su Wu…

However, the Jurchens also had another characteristic, a characteristic brought from the mountains and forests: a belief in force and a respect for strength...

Today, Su Wu undoubtedly represents power...

Just like those Jurchen warriors who fought to the very end alongside Wanyan Zongwang at this very moment, they couldn't understand Fan Yun's words...

At the moment they laid down their weapons, they were perhaps already somewhat convinced of their defeat...

"Go up and tie them up!" Fan Yun waved his hand.

As soldiers stepped forward, Wanyan Zongwang slightly raised his head and sighed towards the sky…

Wanyan Xiyin, standing nearby, continued speaking in Mandarin: "His Majesty values ​​this prince most and specifically requested to see him. He must not be treated with disrespect. Be gentle, be very gentle..."

These words really had an effect; the soldiers on both sides did become less rude...

But then, a group of knights approached, and a voice called out, "Brother!"

Wanyan Zongwang turned his head to look. Not far away, on the horse's back, who else could it be but Zongbi?
Wanyan Zongwang replied with a single word: "Wuzhu!"

Fan Yun turned to look, unsure of the situation, and frowned.

Wanyan Xiyin quickly added, "That is His Majesty's sworn brother, Wuzhu..."

Fan Yun's expression improved several times; he had been on guard just moments before, but he went afterward.

Wanyan Zongbi dismounted, squeezed past a circle of armored soldiers, and embraced Wanyan Zongwang.

Wu Yong arrived as well, his horse pulling up beside Fan Yun. He said softly, "Alright, let's not tie him up anymore. Search him thoroughly, and I'll take him before His Majesty..."

Fan Yun nodded: "Mm..."

The two brothers were seen embracing in the street amidst a large encirclement.

Wanyan Zongbi said, "I have failed my brother... I should have done so long ago..."

"It's not your fault, it's fate!" Wanyan Zongwang patted his younger brother's shoulder again.

"Brother, now..." Wanyan Zongbi looked around at the current state of Dading City, and then said, "Now... what should we do, brother?"

“It’s alright, I’m here…” Wanyan Zongwang said softly, his expression unchanged.

(End of this chapter)