Usurpation of Mongolia: My father-in-law is Genghis Khan

Chapter 115: Yelu Chucai is recruited, and all the Darughachis in the north of the Yellow River

"Prime Minister! Prime Minister, are you okay?" Wanyan Juegan quickly supported Wanyan Chenghui and asked with concern.

"I'm fine, I'm fine."

Wanyan Chenghui forced himself to stay awake, pushed Wanyan Juegan aside, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and said solemnly, "The Great Jin has already lost a cowardly prime minister. I cannot afford to fall again. Pass the order down. Ma Nian Jinzhong has suddenly fallen seriously ill. From today on, I will take over the defense of the entire city."

If the news of Ma Nian Jinzhong's escape were to spread, it would have dealt a heavy blow to the morale of the military and civilians in Zhongdu. Even though Wanyan Chenghui hated Ma Nian Jinzhong to the core, he had to cover up the matter.

"Yes." Wanyan Juegan bowed slightly.

Wanyan Chenghui continued his orders, "Also, withdraw the elite troops from the three sub-cities in the east, west, and south. Leave 3,000 soldiers in each city to wear down the Mongols."

"Yes."

Wanyan Chenghui's decision cannot be considered wrong.

After all, the current defense force is too small. If the elite troops are consumed in the inner city, then the day the inner city is completely destroyed will be the day when Zhongdu falls. If Zhongdu cannot be defended, then nothing can be said.

But it can’t be considered right either.

Because these four sub-cities had a huge impact on the morale of the military and civilians in Zhongdu.

When the Great Jin Dynasty was first established, King Zhongxian Nianhan was responsible for the construction of the Central Capital and the construction of these four sub-cities. At the time, court officials thought Nianhan was being too cautious. Nianhan said that these four sub-cities would be of great use a hundred years later.

Sure enough, before a hundred years had passed, the Mongolian army attacked, and these four sub-cities played a vital role in protecting the center.

I don’t know how many female immortals, because of the existence of these four sub-cities, thank their ancestors for their blessings and still have some confidence in defending Zhongdu.

The fall of Beizi City dealt a heavy blow to their morale.

If all four sub-cities were lost, even the Jurchens would probably lose confidence in defending the city.

However, the next day, Zhao Shuo used 10,000 soldiers from the Baru Camp to cooperate with the Zhenghong Banner to attack Nanzi City, 10,000 soldiers from the Baru Camp to cooperate with the Zhenglan Banner to attack Dongzi City, and 10,000 soldiers from the Baru Camp to cooperate with the Zhenghei Banner to attack Xizi City.

In just one day, all three sub-cities fell.

Upon hearing this news, all the Jin soldiers and civilians in the city were in despair.

Oh my God, can’t even my ancestors help me?
As if to make matters worse, Zhao Shuo ordered his loud-mouthed soldiers to shout to the Zhongdu defenders: If they continue to resist, when the city is captured, all males except the craftsmen will be beheaded, and the women will be taken as slaves. Only children no taller than the wheels of a wheel will be spared.

To avoid such a tragic ending, it is necessary to take the initiative to revolt in the city and surrender the city.

Whether they were Jurchens, Khitans, Xi people, Han people, or Bohai people, as long as they participated in the uprising and resisted the Jin army, they could exempt themselves and their families from punishment.

Furthermore, Zhao Shuo ordered countless Kongming lanterns to be made, carrying the paper with the policy written on it high into the sky. Most of the lanterns landed in Zhongdu City with the help of the wind. Within three days, the entire military and civilian population of Zhongdu knew about this, and the city was in turmoil, with people in panic.

At this time, the Mongolian army's search and looting team had arrived two hundred miles away from Zhongdu City.

The last time the Mongolian army attacked Zhongdu, they had earned a lot of credibility. Hundreds of thousands of able-bodied men gathered and filled the moat with sand and sacks.

Yes, Zhongdu’s moat is nearly forty miles long and is very difficult to fill.

However, there was no need to fill it all up. Within three days, these strong men had filled a section of the moat a mile long.

At this time, the first wave of Jin reinforcements finally arrived. Li Ying, the Imperial Censor, and Wugu Lun Qingshou, the Marshal and the Left Supervisor, led a 50,000-strong army consisting of 10,000 regular troops and 40,000 contract soldiers to support Zhongdu.

Zhang Rou led the Zhenghuang Banner and 20,000 soldiers of the Baru Camp to fight, defeated them, beheaded 8,675 people, and killed Wugun Qingshou in battle.

Zhao Shuo ordered his men to pile the severed heads of the Jin soldiers and the captured armor and flags at the foot of Zhongdu City. Furthermore, he used a catapult to throw Wugu Lun Qingshou's head into Zhongdu City.

This move immediately became the last straw that broke the camel's back.

Even though Wugu Lun Qingshou was easily defeated by Zhao Shuo's army, he was still a renowned general in the Jin Dynasty. He once led 8,000 cavalrymen and easily captured the Song army's important town of Zaoyang.

Even if the Jin Kingdom sent more reinforcements, they might not be able to fight against Ugu Lun Qingshou!

Soon, a Han army troop in Zhongdu City could no longer bear such heavy pressure and attacked Wanyan Chenghui's mansion at night.

As soon as the war broke out, the Khitan army and even part of the Jurchen army immediately defected.

The defection of these troops inspired countless civilians to join in, hoping to gain the title of "rebellion" and protect their families. Countless scoundrels broke into the homes of wealthy families and officials and took advantage of the situation to rob them.

In less than half an hour, fire broke out in the city, and there were shouts and screams, and chaos reigned.

Zhao Shuo took the opportunity to dispatch troops and storm the Chongzhi Gate in Zhongdu.

With powerful enemies outside and a chaotic army inside, the Jin army at Chongzhi Gate only held out for two quarters of an hour before some of them defected and started fighting with their former comrades.

Another quarter of an hour later, Zhao Shuo's army occupied Chongzhi Gate.

By noon the next day, Zhongdu City was completely under the control of Zhao Shuo's army.

At this moment, a historical celebrity came to Zhao Shuo's central military camp.

"Yila Chucai, come and meet the Prince Consort!"

The so-called Yila Chucai is naturally the famous Yelu Chucai in history.

After the Jin Dynasty destroyed the Liao Dynasty, in order to suppress the Khitan people's rebelliousness, it ordered all Khitan people with the surname "Yelü" to change their surname to "Yila".

The so-called "Yelu Chucai" was the name people called him forty or fifty years after his death. When he was alive, he always called himself Yila Chucai.

He was a young man in his mid-twenties, with a square face and almond-shaped eyes. He wore a dark blue, straight-collared, right-fronted plain hemp robe, a gray sash tied around his waist, and no other ornaments. His hair was tied in a bun with a blue cloth scarf, and his temples were neatly shaved.

Judging from these, they are no different from ordinary Confucian scholars in the Central Plains.

But with his carefully grown long beard, it was a completely different story.

The beard was coarse and black as ink, hanging down more than five inches from the chin. The edges of the beard were straight and sharp, and the moustache above the lips was trimmed into a neat "straight" shape, giving him a clean, elegant and dignified demeanor.

No wonder historical records show that as soon as Temujin saw Yelu Chucai, he gave him a Mongolian name "Wutusaheli".

"Wutusaheli" means a person with a long beard in Mongolian.

"Get up," Zhao Shuo said. "Last night, Zhongdu was in chaos. You led forty followers and seized the Zuosi (left office) of the Secretariat. Not only did you secure all the files within, you also chopped off the heads of twelve stubbornly resisting Jin soldiers.

You have done a good job. Not only will I not take a cent from your family, I will also give you some rewards. Tell me, what reward do you want?"

Yelü Chucai's father, Yelü Lu, had served as Shangshu Youcheng (Right Prime Minister) of the Jin Dynasty, one of the Jin's ministers. Although he had been dead for over twenty years, a lean camel was still bigger than a horse, and his family still had some skilled fighters.

In addition, Yelu Chucai himself was the Deputy Director of the Left Secretariat in the Jin Dynasty, and he actually worked in the Left Secretariat.

Last night, Yelu Chucai took advantage of the chaos and led forty followers to occupy the Zuosi of the Secretariat. It was not a difficult task at all.

Yelu Chucai shook his head slightly and said, "Your Highness, I came to see you this time not to ask for any reward, but to ask a favor of you."

"what's up?"

"The Prince Consort had already stated that the soldiers and civilians in the city must rise up and attack the Jin army in order to be pardoned. However, after the Jin Emperor moved the capital, there were still over 600,000 soldiers and civilians in the city. Those ordinary people were all peaceful and kind, so how could they be a match for the vicious soldiers?
Even by the broadest standards, there are now more than 500,000 people who are subject to the punishment of the prince consort.

I would like to ask your Majesty to show mercy and pardon these more than 500,000 people.

In the future, they will definitely be grateful to their son-in-law and become obedient subjects of Mongolia.

Please show some mercy, Prince Consort!"

Boom boom boom!
As soon as he finished speaking, Yelu Chucai knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly to Zhao Shuo.

Zhao Shuo looked at Yelu Chucai kneeling on the ground with an expressionless face, but a slight joy in his heart.

Who is Yelu Chucai?

Temujin praised him: "This man is a gift from heaven to my family. From now on, all military and state affairs can be entrusted to him."

Ogedei commented on him: "Without you, the Central Plains would not be what it is today. The reason I can sleep peacefully is because of your efforts."

This man was the prime minister during the reigns of Temujin and Ogedei. He "determined taxes, divided counties, registered households, and distinguished between military and civilians," laying the foundation for the Mongol Empire.

This kind of internal affairs talent is exactly what Zhao Shuo is in urgent need of now.

Now that he has knelt down and asked for something from me, it is a great opportunity to win him over.

As for the people of Zhongdu whom Yelu Chucai had pleaded for mercy, Zhao Shuo had no intention of slaughtering them. Jurchens made up no more than one-fifth of these people, with the rest being Han, Khitan, and others, with Han being the majority.

If they were to be massacred according to military orders, it would be too cruel. Zhao Shuo didn't mind killing people or massacring a city, but slaughtering hundreds of thousands of people at once was truly against the will of heaven. His original intention was to confiscate the property of those who had not resisted the Jin army and enslave them.

But of course he couldn't say this to Yelu Chucai, otherwise how could he pua him?
Zhao Shuo coldly refused, "I issued this order to minimize losses during our siege. If we spare the five hundred thousand civilians of Zhongdu today, how will we deter those cities that stubbornly resist in the future?"

The Jin Kingdom has hundreds and thousands of cities. Do we need our warriors to storm them all?"

Yelu Chucai's face was filled with sorrow and deep compassion. "But, after all, that's over 500,000 lives. Even if the prince consort only killed males, that's over 200,000 people. Such a massacre would have a huge impact on the reputation of the prince consort and the Mongolian army. I beg the prince consort to show mercy for the sake of Heaven's mercy!"

After saying this, Yelu Chucai bowed again.

Zhao Shuo remained indifferent.

"..."

Yelu Chucai felt a chill in his heart.

If kowtow worked, he would definitely continue to kowtow to Zhao Shuo, even if he died on the spot.

However, Yelu Chucai was a great man of his time. He understood that it would be futile to continue to kowtow or to try to persuade Zhao Shuo.

Although the Mongols had many elite soldiers, their total strength was too small. To destroy the powerful Jin Dynasty, they had to use drastic measures and minimize the number of strong assaults on cities.

Zhao Shuo's approach was indeed the most favorable choice for Mongolia.

I'm afraid there is no possibility of saving the people in Zhongdu City.

When Yelu Chucai thought about the blood flowing like a river and corpses strewn all over the city of Zhongdu, his face turned pale.

However, what Zhao Shuo said next was beyond Yelu Chucai's expectations.

"Yi Ci Chucai, if you want me to give up on slaughtering Zhongdu, that's not impossible. I can show mercy and spare their lives. I can only confiscate their property and enslave them."

"Are you serious, Prince Consort?"

Yelu Chucai suddenly looked up, hope appearing on his face again.

"of course."

"But, but you must be loyal to me." Zhao Shuo said lightly.

"..."

Yelu Chucai's eyes trembled as he looked at Zhao Shuo.

Indeed, he had a high opinion of himself and secretly considered himself a man of great talent. However, he was more aware of how others objectively evaluated him.

In terms of official rank, he was a Langzhong of the Left Secretariat of the Jin Dynasty's Central Secretariat, a sixth-rank official. In Zhongdu, there were at least hundreds of people with higher official positions than him.

In terms of scholarship, he only managed to rank near the top in the Jin Dynasty's imperial examinations, and his academic reputation was also not high in the capital.

He never expected that Zhao Shuo, the son-in-law who was second only to the emperor in Mongolia, would take such a fancy to him.

As long as he is willing to be loyal, he will be willing to change the military order for him and give up the massacre in Zhongdu.

What a favor this is?
Yelu Chucai's heart was shaken, his chest trembling. After holding his breath for a few seconds, he bowed deeply: "Yila Chucai, I am willing to die for your majesty!"

"Don't be so hasty to kowtow," Zhao Shuo said. "Think it through. I want your wholehearted, unwavering loyalty, not just lip service."

"My subordinate understands."

Yelu Chucai stood up, brushed the dust off his robe, straightened his clothes, took a deep breath, kowtowed to Zhao Shuo, and said, "From today on, I am no longer Yila Chucai, but Yelu Chucai. My Lord, you are my Lord and Master. From now on, I, Yelu Chucai, will serve you with all my heart and soul, until my death."

clever!

Zhao Shuo was very satisfied with Yelu Chucai's performance.

According to historical records, why did Yelu Chucai, even though he became the prime minister of Mongolia, still use the surname "Yila" instead of restoring his original Khitan surname "Yelü"?
You have to know that Yelu Liuge has restored his original surname Yelu since the day he started his rebellion.

To put it bluntly, this was because Yelu Chucai had not forgotten the kindness that the Jin Dynasty had shown to his family. After all, three generations of Yelu Chucai's family had served in the Jin Dynasty, and his father had even become the prime minister of the Jin Dynasty. The Jin Dynasty court had indeed been very kind to their family.

Now Yelu Chucai's statement means that he has completely cut off ties with the Jin Kingdom and is wholeheartedly loyal to Zhao Shuo.

This time it’s good. What Zhao Shuo lacks most now is internal affairs talents like Yelu Chucai.

As Zhao Shuo's power grew, he faced more and more tedious government affairs. Gerile's abilities had reached their limit, and he could no longer help Zhao Shuo. Zhao Shuo was fed up with dealing with these trivial matters every day.

Yelu Chucai can definitely help Zhao Shuo build an efficient government system, and his significance to Zhao Shuo cannot be overstated.

As for the 100,000 heads in Zhongdu, for Zhao Shuo, it was up to them to chop them off or not.

Destroying it was a standard operation, a deterrent to future attacks on the city. However, it would certainly leave a great infamy in the history books.

If they don't cut them down, they will leave behind a reputation of being benevolent and righteous, and harvest nearly 200,000 able-bodied male slaves.

If he didn't chop it down, he could gain Yelu Chucai's loyalty, which would be a big profit.

So he was not as embarrassed as he said just now. He was just taking this opportunity to subdue Yelu Chucai.

Yelu Chucai had no resistance to being loyal to Zhao Shuo.

Indeed, the Jin Kingdom treated Yelu Chucai's family well.

But Zhao Shuo is even more generous!

For the sake of Yelu Chucai, they gave up on massacring Zhongdu. This is something that will definitely be recorded in history books!

Although Yelu Chucai was a Khitan, he could not write Khitan characters. However, he was very proficient in Chinese characters and Confucian classics, and he usually associated with famous Confucian scholars. To be frank, putting aside his blood relationship, he was a true Confucian scholar.

The desire to leave a name for eternity was too great for him.

Moreover, according to Confucian moral concepts, "If the king treats me as a national hero, I will repay him as a national hero."

In the historical arc without Zhao Shuo's time travel, Yelu Chucai was unwilling to change his surname because of the kindness shown to him by the Jin court. What? Prime Minister? In the Mongol court, military affairs far outweighed government affairs, so his position as prime minister wasn't actually very valuable.

However, Zhao Shuo treated him as a "national hero" as soon as they met.

How could Yelu Chucai not repay his kindness as a national hero?

To put it bluntly, if Yelu Chucai is unfaithful to Zhao Shuo in the future, all the spit in the world will drown him.

Yelu Chucai's loyalty was not just lip service. He quickly recommended more than a dozen internal affairs talents to help Zhao Shuo stabilize the order in Zhongdu.

Soon, the harvest of the Battle of Zhongdu was counted.

Two hundred thousand three thousand four hundred taels of gold.

Eight hundred and seventy-six thousand eight hundred taels of silver.

Two million, six hundred and eighty-seven thousand four hundred strings of cash.

3,478,000 pieces of various cloths.

687,000 shi of grain.

87,000 sets of ordinary iron armor.

There were 3,156 sets of armored cavalry equipment.

Five hundred and forty-three boxes of various jewels.

……

The Jin Dynasty had already been severely plundered by the Mongolian army once, and the amount of gold, silver and valuables obtained this time was indeed not much.

But then again, there aren’t many people who share the money!

Except for the 30% given to Genghis Khan, the rest is all theirs!

When the news came out, the whole army cheered.

……

A month later, Temujin arrived with an army of 50,000.

It's a very simple logic. It took Zhao Shuo less than half a month to capture Zhongdu. It was really smooth.

This made Temujin feel that there was no need to mobilize the entire grassland.

For example, Jochi is still in his grassland fiefdom.

"Ashuo! You did a great job!"

Of course Temujin had heard that Zhao Shuo did not massacre Zhongdu because of Yelu Chucai.

However, he did not think that a sixth-rank civil servant of the Jin Dynasty was really that valuable.

Temujin said, "Ashuo, if I'm not mistaken, you didn't massacre Zhongdu because you wanted us to stay in the Central Plains for a long time, right?"

"Father Khan is wise," Zhao Shuo said. "The Jin emperor has moved the capital to Bianliang. This is a sign that the heavens are blessing Mongolia, granting us the land north of the Yellow River. How could we refuse it?"

"Haha, Ah Shuo is right. Now that we've come to the Central Plains, we won't leave." Temujin's face grew serious as he said, "Muhuali!"

"exist!"

"I appoint you as the Darughachi of the land north of Tiemenguan Pass. Lead your troops to conquer the northeast. This time, we are here and we will not leave. We must make the entire northeast surrender!"

"Yes!"

Darughachi, translated into Chinese, means "seal-holding official" who has full control over the local military and political power.

Tiemenguan is what the Mongolians called Gubeikou.

Mu Huali has 11,000 grassland warriors under his command, plus 5,000 people from the Baru Camp and 17,000 surrendered soldiers from Shandong. The total strength reaches 33,000. It should not be a problem to conquer the Northeast region.

Temujin said again: "The Prince Consort Zhao Shuo."

"exist!"

"I appoint you as the Darughachi for the entire territory south of Tiemenguan and north of the Yellow River. Lead your troops to attack Shandong, Hebei, and Shaanxi provinces of the Jin Empire!"

"Yes!"

(End of this chapter)