Water Margin begins as a captain in Yanggu County

Chapter 412 Celestial bodies are as round as bullets, and the earth is like the yolk in a chicken egg.

The dragon banner was being moved towards the central command tent in the rear military camp, and the emperor was returning to his camp.

Inside the tent, all noise was silenced, for everyone knew that the emperor was utterly exhausted and would soon fall asleep again…

Su Wu, however, was not asleep; he was waiting for someone, waiting for Zong Bi to return…

Xu was also waiting for Wanyan Zongwang, hoping he was alright...

Behind Su Wu was a huge map. Su Wu stood in front of the map and slowly looked at it. This world was truly vast...

Sometimes you don't realize it until you actually see that from here in Dading Prefecture to Xingqing Prefecture in the west, it's more than three thousand li...

Su Wu slowly measured the distance; from Bianjing to Dunhuang was over four thousand li, and this was still not even the Western Regions…

Su Wu looked closely; from Liaoyang to Gaegyeong in Goryeo, it was only a thousand li.

From Liaoyang to the Wanyan tribe's territory north of Huanglongfu, it's a distance of 1,100 to 1,200 li...

From Yanjing to Liaoyang, it's about 1,400 li...

Wanyan Zongwang, Wanyan Zongbi, and Wanyan Xiyin all arrived and entered the main tent...

Su Wu turned his head and casually raised his hand: "Sit, everyone sit..."

The three men bowed, with Wanyan Xiyin bowing deeply, followed by Wanyan Zongbi, while Wanyan Zongwang merely nodded...

Su Wu didn't mind, took a seat, and ordered, "Bring tea and food..."

Then, Su Wu sized up the three men, focusing mainly on Wanyan Zongwang. It wasn't the first time he'd seen him, but he didn't have a deep impression of him. Su Wu scrutinized him carefully; this man really did resemble Wanyan Aguda somewhat, though Su Wu had a strong memory of Wanyan Aguda…

But... their face shapes are similar, but their temperaments are different, especially their eyes. Even when Wanyan Aguda was old, his eyes were like those of a hawk, but Wanyan Zongwang did not have such hawk-like eyes.

“Wuzhu said that in the mountains and forests, two tigers cannot live together in the same forest. In the Central Plains, it is also said that two tigers cannot share one mountain. There must be a winner and a loser. Perhaps this is fate, an inescapable fate…”

Su Wu's opening remarks.

Wanyan Zongwang was not one to stoop to low status, and he sighed, "Wuzhu is right..."

"The outcome is decided. Wuzhu said the Jurchens want to go to Liaoyang, and I agreed. What do you think?" Su Wu only looked at Wanyan Zongwang.

In fact, Wanyan Zongbi and Wanyan Xiyin were also keeping an eye on Wanyan Zongwang.

“Okay!” Wanyan Zongwang nodded.

"Then this matter is settled. Of the three of you, Xi Yin will go to Liaoyang, and you two brothers will go to Bianjing to stay for a year or two..." Su Wu continued.

“Good!” Wanyan Zongwang nodded again.

"Then this matter is settled. All Jurchen children under the age of eight in Dading City will go to Bianjing to study and learn to read and write, and will be incorporated into the armies of various regions throughout the country in the future... If there are any who are truly good at studying, it is fine for them to take the imperial examinations..."

Su Wu was clearly addressing things one by one.

“Good!” Wanyan Zongwang seemed to have no other opinions.

"The surviving elderly, weak, women, and children will all go with you to Liaoyang Prefecture. You will be allocated a large enough plot of land. The imperial court will provide your grain for this year and next year, and you will be self-sufficient the year after... But you must report for duty at the beginning and middle of each month! No one can be missing. If anyone dies, the Liaoyang Prefecture government must be notified. You will no longer have horses, but you can be given some oxen... You will also be given farming tools..."

Su Wu genuinely intended to use the remaining people as hostages. As long as they didn't have horses and the garrison was nearby, they wouldn't be able to escape.

Who should be the general to command the garrison? Su Wu already had someone in mind: Mei Zhan from Yingzhou.

Wanyan Zongwang nodded, but asked, "Your Majesty, could you... show a little mercy today?"

Su Wu remained silent...

Wanyan Zongwang didn't say much, he just sighed...

Su Wu continued, “Your son’s name is Wanyan Hula, and his Han name includes the character ‘Wen’. I know this. Not long ago, I sent word down. If he had survived the chaos of battle, he probably wouldn’t be dead now… If he died in the chaos, don’t blame me, he can still live…”

Those words were truly harsh...

But even someone like Wanyan Zongwang could listen; his son was important, but for the survival and future of the entire Jurchen people, it was also a matter of necessity…

"The reason I'm sending you two to Bianjing isn't for any other reason than to let you learn more about the Chinese language and characters, so you can understand the official documents of the Great Yan. In your spare time, you two will be working in the Hanlin Academy, where you'll be surrounded by learned scholars. Immersing yourselves in their scholarly atmosphere will be of great use in the future. In the future, you two will both go to Huanglong Prefecture, to the mountains and forests..."

Su Wu really had a plan.

Wanyan Zongwang then asked, "How does Your Majesty intend to treat the people of the mountains and forests?"

"At this point, we will naturally adhere to two policies. First, we will not collect taxes from the mountains and forests. Second, we will open markets for fair trade. You two can also supervise this matter. However, there is one thing: all of you must be citizens of Great Yan. You must lead the imperial army and soldiers to deliver the imperial policies to the mountains and forests, guiding the people of the mountains and forests to trade at the markets, and encouraging the able-bodied men of the mountains and forests to come out of the mountains and forests to enlist in the army. Of course, the treatment will be the most generous... And most importantly, we will allow the various tribes of the mountains and forests to select the sons and grandsons of their leaders to attend schools in the nearby prefectures and cities. For large tribes, such as the Tieli and Shiwei, their sons and grandsons will have to attend schools in Bianjing..."

Su Wu looked at Wanyan Zongwang and added, "This is the way for generations to live in peace and prosperity, to love one another, and to avoid hatred—a blessing for future generations! If your son were still alive, he should go to Bianjing..."

Wanyan Zongwang turned his head to look at Wanyan Xiyin and Wanyan Zongbi. Wanyan Zongbi did not express anything, only looking at his elder brother, while Wanyan Xiyin nodded slightly.

"Very well, whatever Your Majesty says... I will take Zongbi with me tomorrow and we'll roam all over the mountains and forests..." Wanyan Zongwang's face showed a hint of helplessness...

Su Wu said, “You don’t need to be repulsed. To be honest, my Central Plains books record countless things. The people of the mountains and forests, especially those in the western mountains and forests, have been called Donghu since ancient times. Rouran, Xianbei, Khitan, Jurchen, Shiwei, and Menggu all originated from Donghu. You probably know these things. Who are the Donghu? They are descendants of the Yin Shang dynasty. You probably don’t know this. In the past, when the Zhou people attacked the Shang, the Shang suffered a great defeat. Some people stayed in the Henan region, and some moved north from Hebei. This group of people continued to move north, and that is how you Donghu came to be…”

Was what Su Wu said true?

That's true, but it's not comprehensive either. And these things aren't important anymore. People always need to find their origin, where they come from, and where they're going...

This is a definition.

The Jurchens, and indeed everyone in the mountains and forests, could not find their own origins at this moment, so Su Wu would find them, and Su Wu would define them.

Only with history can there be inheritance, and only then can we talk about culture.

Have you not heard that in later generations, Türkiye, which was actually Turkic, glossed over its own reputation by claiming that it was the nation that forced the Chinese to build the Great Wall?

Hungary, it is said, is descended from the Huns, came from the East, and is particularly close to China.

How could the people living on this land of millions of square kilometers in the north not have a historical background? How could they not have a wealthy ancestor?
These words stunned Wanyan Zongwang. He went to see Wanyan Xiyin, and he believed Wanyan Xiyin's words...

Wanyan Xiyin swallowed hard, glanced at Su Wu, and nodded: "That's how it's recorded in the historical records..."

See, isn't that enough?
Su Wu laughed heartily: "Who in the Central Plains is a descendant of the Yin-Shang dynasty?"

Wanyan Zongwang was completely baffled...

Wanyan Xiyin was quite knowledgeable: "Your Majesty's question is quite interesting. The state of Song during the Spring and Autumn period was a descendant of the Shang dynasty. After the Duke of Zhou quelled the rebellion of the Three Guards, he enfeoffed Wei Zi Qi, the elder brother of King Zhou of Shang, in Shangqiu, the old capital of the Shang dynasty. Thus, the state of Song was established. The state of Song held a special position, and the Zhou emperor regarded it as one of the 'Three Honored Guests,' allowing the people of Song to continue to worship the ancestral temple of the Shang dynasty with the rites due to the emperor."

"Isn't this interesting? The ancient state of Song during the Spring and Autumn Period was located in what is now Shangqiu, Henan. Two thousand years later, their descendants are still fighting each other..."

Su Wu was intentionally trying to create this recognition. Although it may seem a bit awkward now, who would dare to say it was awkward ten, twenty, or even a thousand years from now?
Now look at the historians, no need for historians anymore, look at Zhu Wu, directing the people to record the events. We haven't had time to get those officials who are supposed to keep the "Daily Records" yet, so these secretaries will temporarily fill in.

Su Wu's words today will become history tomorrow, recorded in historical books, and continue for thousands of years.

It might become important historical material for future generations, and it might even contain the phrase: "The Emperor Discusses the Shang Dynasty."

Wanyan Zongwang then went to see Wanyan Xiyin.

Wanyan Xiyin nodded: "Although I have read these before, I have never thought much about them. Your Majesty's words today have truly enlightened me. I never knew that the Jurchens and the Song people were just two branches of the Yin-Shang dynasty."

There are many stories about the Song people, descendants of the Shang Dynasty. These stories are also among the earliest examples of geographical stigma in ancient China. During the Spring and Autumn Period, the Song people were accused of all sorts of bizarre things, such as "pulling up seedlings to help them grow," "waiting for a rabbit to run into a tree stump," "the wise man suspects his neighbor," and "changing one's mind frequently." In short, our ancestors attributed all these strange stories to the Song people.

Su Wu was very satisfied with Wanyan Xiyin's words and nodded: "Now, it's nothing more than the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. The Yin Shang rose up in two branches, and I, a man from Lu, will rise up in one. If we fight like this until the end, the world will be unified..."

Wanyan Zongwang was completely stunned...

Su Wu didn't care whether Wanyan Zongwang believed him or not, or whether he was skeptical. Su Wu continued to speak, saying that today's scene would be recorded in the history books in the future, and that Su Wu was only telling Wanyan Zongwang what he had said.

That's obviously not it...

"Let me tell you something interesting, something you, Xi Yin, wouldn't know. It's a story you've never heard of before, something you've definitely never read about in a book..."

Su Wu spoke with ease.

Wanyan Xiyin became genuinely interested and turned his gaze toward them.

Su Wu stood up, a map behind him, and gestured with his hand: "Your home is here, Liaoyang is here, this side is all sea. Go up, to the very top, far to the north, there is another road extending from west to east. There is a shallow strait here, easy to cross. Beyond that is another extremely vast land, bigger than our world. Many people live there too, but they don't have carts, horses, or iron like we do here... The people there are probably descendants of the Yin and Shang dynasties..."

What was Su Wu saying?
That strait is the Bering Strait. To the west lies Siberia, and to the east, Alaska. From Alaska lies the Americas. Su Wu continued, “From this ocean, you can cross it. The sea is vast, and you can reach… When the time comes, you can go and see for yourselves. See if their facial tattoos are similar to those of many tribes in your mountains and forests, whether their language has many syllables similar to yours, their clothing, their totems—you can all go and see them then…”

Wanyan Zongwang was stunned. He had thought that Su Wu had come to show off his power, or at least to be bossed around by Su Wu...

Su Wu was baffled. He had just gone on and on about finding ancestors, brothers, and distant relatives for the Jurchens...

Wanyan Zongwang wasn't unaware of Su Wu's intentions; it was simply a matter of finding a legitimate lineage based on blood ties for future rule...

But... what strait, what vast landmass...

This……

When Wanyan Zongwang looked at Wanyan Xiyin again, it was as if he were asking, "Is this true?"

Wanyan Xiyin was also completely baffled... He didn't know either, but after thinking about it, the Emperor of Great Yan wouldn't just spout such nonsense, would he?

Su Wu was certainly not the kind of person who spoke carelessly.

Then Su Wu continued, "I have given this extremely vast land a name: Yin Land!"

What America, what America, from now on let's call it "Yindi" (殷地), the name Su Wu came up with, so it should be used for the rest of the time.

Zhu Wu, standing to the side, was also wiping the sweat from his forehead. He couldn't keep up with the pace either. What was all this about?
But he kept instructing his secretary beside him: "Write it down. Yin, the land of Yin and Shang. One day, we will see them..."

“The people there are called Yin people…” Su Wu added.

Zhu Wu quickly continued, "Write it down, people of Yin..."

And so, another incident has occurred...

what's up?

This word has been important since ancient times, and it is precisely because of this that this matter has been accomplished.

Since ancient times, Yin has been part of China. This was said by the founding emperor of the Great Yan Dynasty himself, and it is clearly recorded in the historical books. If future generations lose Yin, they will die without a burial place and become lonely ghosts!

Su Wu went to see Yan Xiyin...

Wanyan Xiyin, standing nearby, nodded in agreement: "Then I really want to see what the people of Yin look like..."

“No need to rush, it may not be too many years…” Su Wu returned from the map and sat down. The gestures he had made earlier were mostly just making empty gestures next to the map.

But Su Wu had just sat down when his interest was piqued, and he stood up again. He had been on the right side of the map, and now he went to the left side, asking, "Do you know where this side is?"

Wanyan Zongwang was actually shaking his head...

"This way, heading west, Yelü Dashi has already gone there again. The Western Regions are a given. Further west, there are records of places like Ferghana and Kushan, but that's no longer the case. There's Khwarezm there, probably around here. And then there's the Seljuk Turks—you know the Turks, right?…the Turks who once dominated the steppes, driven out by the Tang Dynasty, and they've risen to power here again. The Seljuk Turks…and Europe…down from Rome, historical records say it's Daqin, or Fulin, etc…This is the sea, an inland sea surrounded by land…the Mediterranean, that name makes sense. Here, there's the Abbasid Caliphate, it's all sea…come on, to India, and further on, to Siam and Jiaozhi, and then to our Guangnan…it's huge…"

Su Wu became more and more enthusiastic as he spoke.

This put those who followed Zhu Wu in a difficult position; they picked up their pens, wrote a few lines, and scratched their heads repeatedly…

"Down here, to the south, there's an archipelago, and further south, there's a vast expanse of land. The iron there is as plentiful as hairs on a cow; there's so much of it that even generations of descendants couldn't mine it all..."

"We forgot this place. Below Europe, there's a vast area... populated by dark-skinned people... rich in minerals, with fertile land... truly a great place..."

In the end, Su Wu opened his arms wide and embraced her, saying, "The place where we live is a sphere; we can walk from this side and come back from the other side!"

Su Wu got excited and started talking, this was the first time he had talked about these things with anyone, and he was inexplicably excited as he spoke.

Everyone present was stunned by what he said...

Su Wu went to see Wanyan Xiyin first. Wanyan Xiyin nodded: "Yes, as the ancients said, Zhang Heng of the Han Dynasty said that the celestial bodies are as round as bullets and the earth is as round as the yolk of a chicken egg. This is probably the same principle!"

What? Zhang Heng of the Eastern Han Dynasty said this?
Su Wu was also greatly shocked; it wouldn't be a problem if Wanyan Xiyin really became a Grand Scholar...

"Zhang Heng is right!" Su Wu nodded and looked over at Zhu Wu.

Zhu Wu urged hurriedly, "Write it down, write it all down quickly!"

Su Wu even went over himself: "Seljuk, the border of the border, the Er of Erya, the pillar of the pillar..."

As Su Wu walked past, Wanyan Zongbi tugged at his brother's sleeve and whispered, "What...what was he saying?"

Wanyan Zongwang thought carefully for a moment and replied, "Perhaps it is what I told you before, that there is an even greater world. This is probably the greater world..."

Wanyan Zongbi couldn't understand, but was deeply shocked, and nodded blankly: "Oh..."

Su Wu then turned to Su Wu and said, “Later, I will personally take up my pen and sketch a rough outline, then have someone make a copy and send one to each of you so you can take a good look… This world is like a sphere, like the yolk in a chicken egg… This universe is like the white part of a chicken egg, enclosed like this, with celestial bodies round like bullets, revolving within it…”

Wanyan Zongbi nodded blankly: "So that's how it is..."

"Write it down, write it down quickly..." Zhu Wu urged, and Xin Wenyu's pen flew across the paper.

Su Wu was also thinking, "What Siberia? That's a bad name. Liaobei!"

In the past, the Liao Dynasty had a vast territory stretching from east to west. Further north, if the land were divided into Liaobei East Road, Liaobei Central Road, Liaobei West Road, and so on...

The character "辽" in Chinese also means vast and expansive.

Isn't that obvious? You can understand it as soon as you hear it.

What Bering Strait? It's the Liaobei East China Sea Strait.

Su Wu will write it all down clearly later!
But then he said, "After some time, I will send someone to the west to find Yelü Dashi, for he is currently facing a difficult life..."

This is true. Although Yelü Dashi established the vast Western Liao, the process was extremely arduous, and he was constantly on the verge of death. When people from his hometown came to help, how could he not be happy?
Opening up the Western Regions was the task of Yelü Dashi. This was something that the Han and Tang dynasties could do, and the Great Yan dynasty could certainly do as well.

Little did they know that thousands of years later, in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, there is still a Chu River, a very large river. It was named by soldiers of the Chu Kingdom during the Han Dynasty when they were stationed on the border and longed for their homeland. It has remained unchanged for thousands of years and is still called the Chu River.

Who will go to the Western Regions again?
Su Wu already had a choice: Yue Fei, with 10,000 Yan cavalry from the Northwest, 5,000 Dangxiang cavalry, and an additional 10,000 regular Khitan soldiers and 10,000 cavalry from various grassland tribes.

Forget about the Jurchen cavalry... I'm afraid Yelü Dashi might draw his sword if he saw them...

It was time to open up the Western Regions once again, dealing with the Uyghurs of the Grasslands, the Uyghurs of the Western Regions, the Black Khanate, and the Lion King...

The Han army has arrived again!

Of course, all of this needs to be prepared...

Once the taxes from across the land reach the imperial court next year, Su Wu will be ready.

The thought made Su Wu's heart flutter with excitement...

But Su Wu then added, "Hmm... In a few days, we will send troops to Goguryeo. We don't need a large army; we can fight slowly and there's no rush. The Jurchens will accompany us on the expedition..."

Su Wu also recalled many things, including the past campaigns against Goguryeo, which had both successes and failures.

When they lose, they have one thing in common: they start by making a big show of themselves.

Therefore, Su Wu took a slow approach this time. His grand strategy was to use small-scale troops to constantly harass and attack, launching attacks in all directions to gradually draw the Goryeo troops to gather along the border...

Another large naval force departed from the Shandong Peninsula, crossed the sea, and landed! They attacked from the middle, heading straight for Kaesong.

Let's fight for a year or two first, then have a decisive battle to win.

If we talk about the past victories of Goryeo, the reason for its victory was that the north was mostly mountainous, and the various mountain fortresses were extremely difficult to attack. Now, Su Wu's plan is very reasonable.

It wasn't Su Wu's invention; the Han army had crossed the sea when they attacked the peninsula, which was over a thousand years ago.

Su Wu was so engrossed in his own brainstorming that he ended up talking about attacking Goryeo.

Wanyan Zongwang seized the opportunity to say, "Since we are going to attack Goguryeo, Goguryeo and our Jurchens have a long history of enmity. The Jurchen warriors will surely be willing to die for us. I beg Your Majesty to be merciful... so that in the future, many Jurchens will fight for us!"

Su Wu glanced at Wanyan Zongwang and said, "Tomorrow at dawn, you shall enter the city yourself..."

Wanyan Zongwang lowered his head...

How many Jurchens actually survived will probably only be known tomorrow...

(End of this chapter)