Destroy Jin and conquer Song, and carry the Northern Expedition through to the end

Chapter 89: It is difficult to distinguish between the Han and the Hu peoples

At the command, the Song army took quick action.

It is very easy to tell whether a person is Han or Jurchen. The most intuitive way is to look at the hair. Those with braids are Jurchens, and those who do not shave their heads are naturally Han.

In the north, the Hu and Han peoples lived together, and a situation of you in me and me in you had long been formed. So even though this Mouke was theoretically a Jurchen Mouke, there were still many Han people among them.

Although successive rulers of the Jin Dynasty promoted shaving the head and changing clothes, this policy could never be implemented due to the Jin Dynasty's poor grassroots governance.

This means that when looking down from a high vantage point, it is easy to tell who has their hair tied up and who has their hair braided.

Yet things still went wrong.

Previously, the separation of young and strong captives from women and children could be said to be for the convenience of management. But now separating the Han and the Hu people, even a fool would know what these Song people were up to.

It is impossible that the Han people would be cruel to each other and worship the Hu people, right?
"I am not a Jurchen, I am a Han! General! I am a Han!" A Jurchen with braided hair shouted loudly. Seeing Liu Huai looking at her, she became even more excited. She struggled to break away from the encirclement of the Song army, but was kicked over again.

"Behave yourself!" The young Song soldier raised his spear and pretended to stab, scaring the Jurchen man so much that he retreated repeatedly.

Most of the loyal and righteous troops who surrounded the Jin people at this time were once farmers in Wangjiazhuang. They hated the Jin people who took away their wives, daughters, properties and land.

This was also specially arranged by Wang Shilong.

If Liu Huai really ordered everyone to be killed, then these farmers would do it.

In fact, they have wanted to do this for a long time!
Liu Huai was amused and curious at the sight, so he waved and said, "Bring him here."

The Jin man knelt in front of Liu Huai and kowtowed heavily.

"What's your name?" Liu Huai asked casually, holding the roster.

"My name is...my name is Brother Liu Ping."

"Oh, it's my cousin." Liu Huai laughed out loud.

"Bullshit!" Someone among the captives, some holding a grudge against him, or simply despising his servile behavior, shouted, "Your name is clearly Yila Pingge, when did it become Liu Pingge? When did you become a Han Chinese?"

"Oh?" Liu Huai said playfully as he flipped through the roster: "Are you lying to me?"

The man who called himself Liu Pingge raised his head in anger upon hearing this, but he remained kneeling on the ground. He simply turned back and pointed his spear at the captives, "My name is Yelu Pingge! You Jin thieves forced us Khitans to change our surnames, changing Yelu to Yila and Shulu to Shimo, to humiliate us. It was fine in the past, but now that the Heavenly Soldiers have arrived, do I have to endure this humiliation again?! Do I even have to keep the surnames you gave me?!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the golden men, who were originally as calm as quails, suddenly became excited.

"You ballless thief!"

"I misjudged you..."

"...Today's trouble is all your fault!"

Wang Shilong, who had been silent all this time, frowned, stepped forward, grabbed the most noisy Jin prisoner, kicked him to the ground, and beheaded him with a knife.

"quiet!"

Wang Shilong raised his bloody sword and shouted loudly, making the captives silent again.

Liu Huai ignored him and simply smiled and asked Liu Pingge, "It's wrong for the Jin people to change your surnames. It's perfectly natural for you to want to restore your original surnames, but is your last name Yelu or Liu? Are you Han or Khitan?"

Liu Pingge bowed his head again and responded loudly, "Yelü is Liu, and Shulü is Xiao. This isn't just my opinion; it's the words of the founding emperor of the Liao Dynasty. Inspired by the deeds of Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang, and Prime Minister Xiao He, the emperor changed the surnames of the two largest Khitan tribes to Liu and Xiao. The Liao Dynasty is well aware of this."

Liu Huai's expression became even more strange: "Yelü Abaoji?"

Brother Liu Ping: "It's Yelu Abaoji, and also Liu Yi! He is a Khitan and even more so a Han Chinese!" Not only Liu Huai, but anyone who has read books was a little shocked.

On the one hand, I think this person is too shameless. In order to escape possible punishment, he would even sell his ancestors.

On the other hand, I felt that, wow, what this person said seemed to make some sense.

However, Liu Huai still shook his head: "This doesn't count."

Liu Pingge remained undeterred: "May I ask if Yuwen Tai, the leader of the Eight Pillars of the Northern Wei Dynasty, was a Han Chinese or a Hu Chinese?"

Liu Huai: "He is considered a Hu person who has been sinicized."

"What about Yu Wenhuaji, who killed Emperor Yang of Sui?"

Liu Huai knew what Brother Liu Ping wanted to say, but he just smiled and didn't respond.

Liu Pingge didn't care and continued to ask, "Is that famous minister Yuwen Xuzhong a Han or a Hu?"

Liu Huai sighed, his expression gradually becoming serious: "Of course he is a Han Chinese."

"The Yuwen clan was able to transform from a Hu clan into a Han clan. We, the Yelu clan, have changed our surname for over 200 years, so why can't we be considered Han?"

Facing Liu Pingge's righteous questioning, Liu Huai also asked: "It seems that you have read the history books and classics. Since you asked me whether Yuwen Tai was Han or Hu, then I also ask you, is Gao Huan Han or Hu?"

Liu Pingge wanted to say that Gao Huan was naturally a Han Chinese, but he felt that the topic was not right. In the end, he did not dare to anger the young general in front of him, so he moved his lips but did not dare to say anything.

However, Liu Huai didn't bother the captives and directly stated the answer: "If Yuwen Tai is a Han Chinese, then Gao Huan is a Han Chinese. Why? Because Gao Huan spoke Xianbei language, wore Xianbei clothing, followed Xianbei laws, employed Xianbei nobles, and relied on Xianbei soldiers. How can you say he is Han?"

"Just like you, Brother Liu Ping. Although you speak Chinese and have a Chinese name, you still have the shaved head of a Jurchen and adhere to the Jurchen Meng'an Mouke system. How can you be considered a Han Chinese?"

Brother Liu Ping sat on the ground in frustration. He had not expected that even after he had done so much, the young general would still be so ruthless. Now he was caught between two sides. If he returned to the captives, he might be killed.

Thinking of the possible tragic fate, Liu Pingge was heartbroken and burst into tears.

"However, since you were the first to speak out and want to become a Han Chinese, I will naturally give you preferential treatment and a future. You can go to the Han Chinese side. As long as you have no bad deeds, you can escape this. But first..." Liu Huai threw a dagger in front of Liu Pingge: "Shave off your braids. If you want to serve me, you must wait until your hair grows long enough to be tied up."

Liu Pingge hurriedly cut off his braid, knelt on the ground again, and thanked the general.

Liu Huai ignored him and pointed at the group of women and children and said to Wang Shilong, "Among these women and children, there are girls who were abducted by the Jin thieves. You must arrange for someone to investigate thoroughly."

Wang Shilong's face was solemn and he nodded in agreement.

Many women were abducted from the homes of farmers in Wangjiazhuang. Some of them even had children. How to place them was a problem that was not big, but definitely not small either.

"As for those Jurchen captives, since they dared to raise their weapons in resistance, they must be punished. Although many have been killed and wounded in battle, military might is military might, and criminal might is criminal might; the two cannot be confused."

Liu Huai uttered a cold judgment filled with murderous intent: "This will be a 11-draw kill!"

As he spoke, a Song army soldier came forward with the prepared lots and asked the captured Jurchens to draw lots in groups of ten. The Jurchens who drew the shortest lot were beheaded on the spot, regardless of their pleas for mercy and resistance.

Not many people were killed, and being killed was not a punishment.

The real punishment is the immense fear brought by the drawing of lots. The feeling of having a sword hanging over your head by a hair, the feeling of your life hanging by a thread as if on the edge of an abyss is the greatest punishment.

Later in their lives, when they wanted to fight the Song army again, they would think of this feeling.

Wei Sheng watched silently in the shadow of the tree without saying a word.

(End of this chapter)