I traveled with them to the Northern Song Dynasty

Chapter 287 I just want to give all the beauties a home
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After Yelü Yanxi sent Yelü Yabuli and three hundred Liao beauties to Zhao Yu, Zhao Yu, fearing that the Liao Kingdom would be shattered by the Jin Kingdom, ordered the Ministry of Commerce to send all the necessary grain, weapons, and other goods to the Liao Kingdom as soon as possible. He also clearly told Yelü Yanxi through Xiao Puxian: "You can fight the Jurchens with peace of mind. Our Great Song will never interfere in your war."

With Zhao Yu's reassurance to Yelü Yanxi, the Liao people felt much more at ease.

Yelü Yanxi dispatched a group of Liao ministers to provide relief to the disaster victims and used the grain and armor sold to Liao by the Song Dynasty to recruit and train 100,000 new soldiers.

Emperor Yelü Yanxi and his ministers planned to send the newly trained army to quell the Jurchen rebellion once it was fully trained.

Unexpectedly, the Song Dynasty sold a large amount of grain and military equipment to the Jin Dynasty.

The Jin army also used the grain and armor sold to them by the Song Dynasty to expand its army.

Next, the Liao and Jin dynasties began a full-scale war, which lasted for half a year in the Taizhou area alone.

Meanwhile, the Liao and Jin dynasties were also engaged in a major battle at Jili Mountain.

Wanyan Xieye and Wanyan Hanlu were both top-notch commanders of their time, while Wanyan Zonghan, Wanyan Loushi, Wanyan Zongwang, Wanyan Zongfu, Wanyan Zhamu, Wanyan Yinshuke, Wanyan Xiyin, Wanyan Zongbi, Wanyan Chang, and Wanyan Salihe were all capable generals who could fight and win battles.

As for the Liao Dynasty, no matter what kind of external support it received, it could not change the fact that it was already on the verge of collapse. Although generals such as Xiao Yixue, Yelü Tanggu, Xiao Hudu, Yelü Yudu, Yelü Mawu, and Xiao Wulila were brave and skilled in battle, the court was full of treacherous officials, loyal and virtuous people were repeatedly ostracized, internal conflicts were rampant, local tribes held their own armies and became powerful, and years of war had emptied the national treasury, causing the people to suffer. The people had lost faith in the court, the morale of the people was low, and the foundation of the country was shaken.

This led to the Liao Dynasty's successive defeats, while the Jin Dynasty pressed forward relentlessly. With the Liao Dynasty's strength waning and its territory being gradually eroded by the Jin Dynasty, its power and territory were being steadily diminished.

……

When the beautiful young women from the Jin Dynasty first entered the palace, Zhao Yu thought they must be ugly, coarse, and withered village girls.

Based on this preconceived notion, Zhao Yu at that time was not really interested in the beautiful girls of the Jin Dynasty.

Moreover, at that time, Zhao Yu was eager to give the people of Liao confidence, and thus he focused more on exploiting the beautiful young women of Liao.

However, the Liao Kingdom only sent three hundred beautiful girls this time, and within two or three months, Zhao Yu had them all turned into young women.

By this time, the Liao Dynasty had basically come to believe that the Song Dynasty would not interfere in the war between Liao and Jin, nor would it ally with Jin, and thus it would go all out to fight Jin.

Zhang Chun, Xiao Puxian, and other ministers reminded Zhao Yu that he could no longer leave these beautiful Jin girls untouched, otherwise it might affect the exchanges and trade between the Song and Jin dynasties.

Left with no other choice, Zhao Yu decided to choose the best among the worst, selecting some attractive young women from the Jin Kingdom to have his way with, in order to avoid any mishaps.

As it turned out, Zhao Yu was wrong, and very wrong indeed.

The beautiful girls of the Jin Dynasty were in no way inferior to those of the beautiful girls of the Liao Dynasty.

While not all three were stunning beauties, Wanyan Wulu, Wanyan Yin'e, and Wanyan Zhulan possessed their own unique charm and elegance. Wanyan Wulu was gentle and graceful, with a serene and composed air about her, like a lily quietly blooming in spring—unassuming yet possessing a captivating allure. Wanyan Yin'e was like a summer night's star, bright but not dazzling; her smile held a touch of playfulness and liveliness, unforgettable at first glance and instantly pleasing to the eye. As for Wanyan Zhulan, she was more like a chrysanthemum in late autumn, proud and unyielding, elegant and refined; her resilience and independence set her apart from the other beauties.

Although Wanyan Aguda's three daughters were only ranked in the middle in Zhao Yu's harem, their status made them, with the added advantage of their status, still made them Zhao Yu's most prized playthings.

The key point is that although the three Wanyan Wulu sisters were not considered exceptionally beautiful, this does not mean that there were no exceptionally beautiful girls among this group of Jin Dynasty girls.

The Wanyan, Tudan, Wugulun, Pucha, Tangkuo, Heshilie, and Pusan ​​clans all had stunning beauties, and quite a few of them. Even the Jiagu, Heshilie, Wulinda, and Puxian clans had stunning beauties. As for the Da, Li, Zhang, and Gao clans, these prominent Bohai families sent Zhao Yu many stunning beauties.

They are either graceful and charming, or have bright eyes and white teeth, or are gentle and lovely, or are full of youthful energy, or are heroic and spirited.

Some of the most exceptional were: some possessed breathtaking beauty, skin as white as snow, and eyes that seemed to see into the depths of the soul; their words carried a subtle melancholy that evoked tenderness; others were strikingly beautiful, with a gentle and graceful nature, proficient in poetry and literature, their works imbued with profound emotion and philosophical insight; still others had eyebrows like distant mountains shrouded in mist, eyes like brimming autumn water, exuding nobility and gentleness in every gesture, their demeanor dignified, their speech extraordinary, their气质 (qi zhi - inherent quality/temperament) and upbringing truly admirable, and so on…

In short, just like the beautiful girls of the Liao Dynasty, the beautiful girls of the Jin Dynasty were also diverse in their own way, with a wide range of body types from plump to slender.

Upon closer examination, this is quite normal, as there were nobles among the Jurchens.

After the Heishui Mohe were conquered by the Khitans, Yelü Abaoji worried that they would become a threat in the future. Therefore, he persuaded several thousand powerful clans to relocate south of Liaoyang to disperse their power and prevent them from communicating with each other.

Those who migrated to Liaoyang and became Khitans were called "Shu Jurchens" or "Hesuguan" (Jurchen word meaning fence or barrier).

Furthermore, from the northeast of Xianzhou, the boundary extends into the valley, reaching the Sumo River. This area belongs to the Xianzhou Military Command. The Mohe people living in this region are neither the "civilized" nor the "raw" Jurchens. The Khitans allow them to interact with their own people.

These two groups of Jurchens were actually no different from other Liao people. They had long since come into contact with and intermarried with Han people or other ethnic groups, becoming the aristocracy among the Jurchens, and their genes had been greatly improved.

After the Wanyan clan rose to power, they frequently used intermarriage with Jurchen nobles to expand their influence, and their genes must have been altered long ago.

After all, these Jurchen nobles had existed for over a thousand years. Some scholars believe that the Sushen people were descendants of the Dongyi tribes, who originally lived on the Shandong Peninsula and later migrated north. They traveled north along the Bohai Bay by land (some say across the Bohai Sea) and arrived in the Changbai Mountains and Heilongjiang River region. Other scholars believe that the Sushen people were descendants of the Tungusic tribes, who migrated eastward from Lake Baikal along the primeval forests to Northeast China. Regardless of their origin, they had existed for over a thousand years, or even longer.

In other words, these Jurchen people may have inherited genes from the Khitan, Xi, Bohai, Goryeo, or even Han Chinese. In short, the Jin beauties presented to Zhao Yu by Wanyan Aguda and his ministers were not only not ugly, but all were very beautiful; some of them were in no way inferior to the top beauties in Zhao Yu's harem.

Later, through deeper interactions with these beautiful Jin girls, Zhao Yu learned that many Jin nobles had actually deliberately given their most beautiful daughters to him.

Yes.

The Jurchen rebellion against the Liao went very smoothly.

But at least up until Wanyan Aguda wanted to send a beautiful woman to Zhao Yu in hopes of forming a marriage alliance, it was hard to see that the Jin Dynasty could defeat the Liao Dynasty and become the hegemon of the north, especially when the attitude of the Zhao Song Dynasty was still unclear.

Those nobles of the Jin Dynasty, especially the Jurchen nobles and the Bohai nobles who were later annexed by the Jin Dynasty, would inevitably want to keep a backup plan.

To put it bluntly, as long as they marry their daughters to Zhao Yu and their daughters are favored by Zhao Yu, then if the Jin Dynasty is defeated in the Liao-Jin War, they can bring their whole family to join the Zhao Song Dynasty, so that they won't be left with no way out and face extinction.

This is why there were so many stunning beauties among the Jin Dynasty women.

Of course, this was not always the case. Some Jurchen nobles genuinely hoped to gain the power and support of the Song Dynasty, which is why they obeyed Wanyan Aguda's order to send all their eligible young girls to Zhao Yu.

It is worth mentioning that many Jin Dynasty beauties possessed a unique charm that Han Chinese beauties, including Liao Dynasty beauties, did not have.

This charm is wildness; of course, you could also call it healthy beauty.

Zhao Yu even discovered that many of the beautiful young women from the Jin Dynasty actually had abdominal muscles.

This may be related to the fact that they had always followed the men of the Jin Dynasty in their campaigns, after all, they were capable of drawing strong bows and riding fierce horses in critical moments.

Zhao Yu had a great fondness for healthy women. In his previous life, Zhao Yu particularly enjoyed watching female athletes compete—he wasn't picky about the events, as long as the female athletes were beautiful.

Zhao Yu also had a fondness for beautiful women who worked out and practiced yoga.

This is one of the reasons why Zhao Yu likes Li Lin so much and is so willing to communicate with her alone.

In short, Zhao Yu was very satisfied and interested in this group of beautiful Jin girls.

Crucially, the thought that during the Jingkang Incident, the Jurchens abducted a total of 11,635 women from the Northern Song Dynasty (many of whom were daughters of the imperial family and clan), coupled with the gold and silver already paid and other debts settled, meant that the Northern Song Dynasty still owed the Jurchens 342,780 ingots of gold and 871,300 ingots of silver, promising to pay tribute annually and come to court every year to make up for the war indemnity. However, even after accepting all the Jurchens' extortion and paying such a despicable and heavy price, Zhao Ji, Zhao Huan, their concubines and children, and the vast majority of the Zhao clan were still taken to the distant north by the Jurchens, never to set foot on their homeland again until their deaths, inevitably fueled Zhao Yu's anger.

—Although these events did not happen to Zhao Yu, since he inherited everything from the Song Dynasty, he naturally inherited this deep-seated hatred as well.

Driven by a desire for revenge, Zhao Yu was inevitably somewhat rough when he played with the beautiful girls of the Jin Dynasty.

To Zhao Yu's surprise, these beautiful young women from the Jin Kingdom were even more compliant than he had imagined. When the female officials in charge of the imperial bedchamber told them to strip naked, they obediently did so.

Even more so, no matter how Zhao Yu abused them, they served him diligently, and judging from their demeanor, it seemed that they might actually regard Zhao Yu as their man.

Later, through in-depth exchanges with these beautiful young women from the Jin Dynasty, Zhao Yu learned the truth.

Firstly, the Jurchens practiced levirate marriage, also known as levirate marriage. Essentially, this meant that the Jurchens of that era believed a woman who married into their clan belonged not only to her husband's family but also to the clan he belonged to. If her husband died, the wife would lose her wealth and labor power if she married elsewhere. Levirate marriage, however, bound her to the clan. Therefore, levirate marriage was a transfer and variation of property inheritance. This was directly manifested in women marrying other men in their husband's family after his death, such as his uncles, nephews, or cousins.

In other words, as soon as a man in the Jin Dynasty died, a woman from the Jin Dynasty would be taken and become another man's woman. Moreover, the Jin people were warlike and frequently engaged in wars, so they could die at any time. Therefore, the women of the Jin Dynasty were already psychologically prepared to become another man's woman.

Secondly, marriage by abduction was practiced on the grasslands (meaning whoever abducted a woman owned her; the most typical example was when Temujin's new wife, Börte, was kidnapped by enemies, and when Temujin abducted her nine months later, she was already pregnant).

Therefore, in the eyes of these beautiful young women from the Jin Dynasty, since they had come to Zhao Yu's side, Zhao Yu was their man, which was perfectly reasonable and there was nothing they could not accept.

Furthermore, Zhao Yu is a tall and imposing man with a handsome appearance. He is young and strong, and he is the most powerful man in the world. These beautiful girls from the Jin Kingdom are better off with Zhao Yu than with other men, right?

In short, women in the Jin Dynasty had little or no social standing, far less than women in the Liao Dynasty. Consequently, they had much less desire to participate in politics and little to no affection for their homeland.

It makes sense, really. The Jin Dynasty has only been established for a little over two years. These beautiful young women of the Jin Dynasty haven't yet developed a deep-seated loyalty and attachment to it. The concept of a nation is still vague to them, far less profound than the imprint of their tribes and families. In their world, survival and the protection of the strong are more direct and urgent pursuits.

Zhao Yu gazed at the three Wanyan Wulu sisters, who were submitting to his desires without much resentment in their eyes, only eager cooperation. He thought to himself, 'In this patriarchal era, they seem destined from birth to be victims of power struggles, whether as tools for political marriages or spoils of war. Their fates have never been in their own hands.'

Zhao Yu embraced Wanyan Wulu, kissed her flushed face, and thought to himself, 'So be it. Since fate has brought you to my side, I will not betray this rare destiny. Although you may only be pawns on the chessboard of power, in my hands, at least you will no longer drift like duckweed, at the mercy of others.'
Zhao Yu's gaze softened, slowly shifting from Wanyan Wulu to the other beautiful Jin girls on the bed, equally immersed in the complex emotions of becoming women. Some bowed their heads shyly, some reminisced, some lined up, all revealing their acceptance of their new life and even their fate.

Zhao Yu thought to himself, 'I'm not a womanizer, nor a lecher, much less a scoundrel. I possess boundless love and simply want to give all the beauties a home…'

……

(End of this chapter)