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

Chapter 494: Blood Oath to Become Friends

On the seventh day of the first lunar month, Wanyan Yong arrived at the Khitan camp where the atmosphere was somewhat tense.

The Khitans could not help but be nervous. When Wanyan Yong set out, the main force of the Jin army, consisting of 10,000 elite cavalry, had already been mobilized, and scouts were sent out to kill the surrounding Khitan scouts.

Therefore, although the Khitan army did not receive any report from the scouts, they began to get nervous, because the fact that the scouts did not return was itself a message.

Immediately, 40,000 Khitan cavalry began to gather.

The origins of the Khitan tribes are complex. To be precise, they extend from the northern part of modern Hebei to the northwestern part of Liaoning through Inner Mongolia. Although they have already started an uprising, they still maintain their tribal organization.

This also led to the situation where the headman became the general, and the person the headman depended on became the commander-in-chief.

But didn’t this mean that the Khitans were divided into two factions?
The Khitans, who mainly lived in Liao territory, felt that they could no longer stay in this broken place, so they decided to go and seek refuge with Yelu Dashi.

The Khitans, who were mainly from Hebei, thought that you were probably crazy and that you should go back to your hometown.

These two factions gathered around Yelu Saba and Yelu Wowo respectively, and this was the root cause of a series of internal conflicts and compromises in history.

It can only be said that where there are people, there are rivers and lakes, and even a makeshift group like the Khitan uprising army is no exception.

The power comparison between these two factions of Khitans was unbalanced.

Whether it is the final outcome of history or the current location of the Khitan uprising army, it can be seen that the number of Khitans who returned to their hometowns is far greater than that of those who migrated far away.

Specifically on the battlefield, there were 43,000 Khitan cavalry, 20,000 of which belonged to the second-in-command Yelu Wuwo, and only 15,000 belonged to the leader Yelu Saba. The remaining thousands of cavalry were led by small leaders such as Kuli.

This was also one of the reasons why the Khitan rebels hesitated in Linhuang Prefecture, wasting cattle and sheep instead of taking the initiative to attack.

How can we fight a war if there is no unified command system?

But now that the Jin army has arrived, the Khitan rebels have no choice but to fight back.

At the outermost edge of the massive Khitan camp, Wanyan Fushou, holding Yelu Wowo's badge, made his way unimpeded. As he neared the camp, he stopped and said to Wanyan Yong, "Duke, are you knocking on the door now?"

Wanyan Yong panted and shook his head, saying, "You are so dirty and grimy that it brings disgrace upon the state. Even if you cannot wear court attire at this moment, you cannot be so disheveled. Take me to freshen up first."

Wanyan Fushou didn't expect Wanyan Yong to be so leisurely, but he could only nod and then pointed in a direction: "There should be a stream over there, it shouldn't be frozen."

After that, the two of them rushed to the stream with more than ten knights as guards. Wanyan Yong washed his face, untied his braids, combed them into a bun, put on a golden crown, and then put on a fur hat to cover himself completely.

After everything was done, Wanyan Fushou once again held the badge in his hand and went to the Khitan camp and started knocking on the door.

The Khitan general guarding the door seemed to have received the order long ago. After checking the badge, he led more than ten Jin army knights towards Yelu Wowo's tent. However, when he turned his head inadvertently, the Khitan general was struck by lightning and was stunned for a moment.

But he was also a man who knew what was going on. He quickly calmed himself down, pretended to notice something, and turned his head back without changing his expression.

At this time, Yelu Wowo had just returned to his own camp from Yelu Saba's tent, and was furious in front of his trusted general Yelu Chenjia.

"I knew the Jurchens were unreliable. One moment they said we'd live peacefully after being pacified, and the next moment they sent their army to attack us. They're truly untrustworthy bitches!" Yelu Wuwo drained the entire glass of wine and then threw a slut. "I just got intelligence that the Jin army is less than half a day's journey away! They'll be here soon!"

Yelu Chenjia's face turned pale and he was speechless for a moment.

After both of them sulked for a while, they finally decided to discuss how to fight the enemy.

We can't just lay down our weapons and surrender just because the Jin Kingdom made some promises and sent troops to attack us, right?!

But just as they started, they heard someone outside the door come in and announce, "The guest who left the day before yesterday is back again today!"

Yelu Wuwo was stunned for a moment, then laughed angrily: "What's with Fushou? What brings you here today? Are you here to see us Khitans make a fool of ourselves?! Quickly tell Cao Zhuwo to kill all the Jin people!"

"Wait!" Yelu Chenjia waved his hand to stop the personal guard, then turned to Yelu Wowo and said sincerely, "Jiedu, there's not much time left anyway. Let's hear what else that guy has to say first, and then it won't be too late to kill him."

Yelu Wowo thought about it and realized that this made sense. He then nodded and said, "Bring them all in!"

Soon, Wanyan Fushou entered the tent first and said to Yelu Wowo with a big laugh, "Jiedu, I'm back early! And I'm here with the person who's in charge!"

Yelu Wuwo's face no longer showed any signs of anxiety or anger. He sneered, "Is it that the manager has brought an army of ten thousand people with him? And he wants to challenge me to a duel with swords?"

Wanyan Fushou was stunned, and then he realized that the main force of the Jin army must have been discovered by the Khitans.

But he remained calm and said directly at the door of the tent, "No, no, even if there are swords, they are only for that bastard Saba. What we give to the governor is only the sincerity of our Great Jin."

As he spoke, Wanyan Fushou leaned toward the doorway and bowed in an invitation: "The one who has come to speak to the governor is none other than the current Duke Cao of the Great Jin, the future Emperor of the Great Jin."

Wanyan Yong strode in, took off his tattered leather hat, untied his tattered leather coat, and threw them on the ground, revealing his jeweled court robes in front of the stunned Yelu Wowo.

"I am Wanyan Yong, Duke of Cao of the Great Jin, grandson of Taizu and son of Taizu's fifth son, Zongfu. I have come here to make a promise to Yelu Jiedu."

Wanyan Yong was handsome and strong, and his reserved temperament, which he had endured for many years under the rule of Wanyan Tan and Wanyan Liang, a madman and a tyrant, combined with his gorgeous court robes, fully displayed the temperament of a Jin Dynasty military aristocrat.

Although Yelu Wuwo was only a tribal leader, he had already been tempered by war. He was distracted for a moment, then laughed and said, "How can you prove that you are not an imposter? How can I know that you are not here to delay us?"

Wanyan Yong smiled faintly and was about to pull out the seal from his bosom. The Khitan general Cao Zhuwo, who had led Wanyan Yong and the others to the main tent and stood directly at the entrance of the general's tent, bowed and said, "Jiedu, this man is indeed Duke Cao. He cannot be fake."

Although Yelu Wuwo was still sitting on the main seat, his heart tightened when he heard this. He didn't show it on his face and asked with a smile, "Old Cao, you actually recognize Duke Cao? Could it be that this Cao State is your Cao family?"

Cao Zhuwo knew Yelu Wuwo was suspicious, so he didn't dare to neglect her. He smiled bitterly and said, "Earlier last year, the Liao River flooded. My tribe happened to be downstream of the Liao River. It was Duke Cao who personally led the people to provide relief and assistance to the people. I once unloaded grain from the grain carts Duke Cao brought with him, and even met him from afar."

Cao Zhuwo, despite his armor, bowed profusely on the spot. "Many of the more than 300 households in our tribe survived that day thanks to Duke Cao. My mother specifically told me to kowtow to him twice on her behalf when I see him again."

This time, not only Yelu Wuwo, but even Wanyan Yong was stunned for a moment, then shook his head and smiled bitterly, feeling that it was fate that was playing tricks on him.

There was indeed a severe flood in Liaoyang Prefecture at the beginning of last year. At that time, Wanyan Liang was mobilizing manpower and material resources to prepare for the attack on Song Dynasty. There was no plan for relief at all, and the emphasis was on letting people fend for themselves.

However, Wanyan Yong keenly felt that this was a good opportunity to gather military power, financial power and administrative power, so he stepped forward to collect food and grass, rectify the river courses, evacuate the people, and make every effort to carry out disaster relief.

This indeed gave Wanyan Yong great prestige. Not to mention the Jurchen nobles in Liaoyang Prefecture, even Wanyan Mouyan chose to follow him because of this incident.

However, although Wanyan Yong's original intention was to fight for power and profit, he actually saved many people, so it was normal for him to be worshipped by Cao Zhuwo at this time.

Yelu Wowo looked at this scene and stretched out his hand to grab the wine glass, but it was empty. Then he remembered that he had thrown the wine glass to the ground when he was angry.

He then scratched his head, stood up, pointed at Wanyan Yong, and then, not knowing what to say, sat back down. Finally, he looked at Cao Zhuwo, who had already stood up, and said, "Old Cao, I'm still the governor. How can you pay homage to someone else? Do you want to follow this Duke Cao?"

Cao Zhuwo shook his head and said, "Duke Cao has been very kind to me. Doesn't the governor have any kindness to me too? If the governor tells me to kill Duke Cao, I will do it immediately. However, after that, I will have to kill myself too. I have to give Duke Cao a life for my tribe."

Yelu Wuwo was even more speechless.

Wanyan Yong laughed heartily a few times, then tried to smooth things over: "I didn't expect that even among the Khitans there are some who are quite docile. Yelu Jiedu, this old Cao is an honest man, don't force him with words. I have a promise here, Jiedu, will you listen to it or not?"

At this time, Yelu Wuwo finally stood up and made a gesture of invitation to Wanyan Yong.

Wanyan Yong said: "All Khitan tribes will return to their original places, and all previous incidents will be forgiven. Khitan generals who are willing to surrender will be given the title of general and continue to lead their tribes. In the future, if the court issues transfer orders, it will not be forcibly conscripted, but will be discussed with the leaders of each tribe.

As for Yelu Jiedu, he will be granted the title of Duke and become a true Jiedu. If he is willing to serve in the central government, he can be made a Shangshu or Xianggong. What do you think, Jiedu?"

This condition can be said to be very realistic and generous.

If Wanyan Yong dared to make any promises such as generous rewards, dividing the land and making him a king, Yelu Wowo would not dare to believe it.

It was precisely because of these expected benefits that Yelu Wowo was somewhat tempted.

But he didn't show it on his face, still smiling and shaking his head: "Duke Cao's offer is generous, but how can it be guaranteed to succeed? You are also a Duke, can you still make me a Duke?"

Wanyan Yong said sternly, "You see me as a duke, but I will be the emperor in the future."

Yelu Wuwo continued to laugh and said, "Duke Cao, please don't look down on my limited experience. How old is Wanyan Liang this year? There can't be a prince this old, right?!"

Wanyan Yong's tone became more serious: "I am not Wanyan Liang's crown prince. I am his enemy and his opponent! I am the one who will kill him one day!"

Yelu Wowo put away his smile.

Wanyan Yong continued, "The Great Jin has reached such a state of despair that the people are suffering. The Jurchens, Han, Xi, Bohai, and even you Khitans have all rebelled. Why?"

"It's because Wanyan Liang imposed heavy taxes and levied heavy taxes, only caring about his own great cause and not caring about our lives!"

"As long as this guy is alive, you Khitans will have a hard time, and neither will we Jurchens. So why don't you and I unite? Then I'll be the emperor, and the Jiedushi will be my general. The Great Jin will be stable, and the Khitans will be able to live!"

Yelu Wuwo reached for the wine glass again, but missed again. Feeling irritated, he grabbed the wine jug and gulped down a few mouthfuls. He then tore open his leather coat and said, "Duke Cao wants to borrow our Khitan troops to achieve his own imperial ambitions?"

Wanyan Yong stepped forward, his momentum undiminished. "The Khitans aren't fighting for me, they're fighting for themselves. As long as Wanyan Liang isn't dead, how can we expect a good life? If I'm killed by a cup of poisoned wine, do you think you can withstand the encirclement and suppression of the Great Jin?"

As he said this, Wanyan Yong spread out his arms, revealing his chest: "If the Khitans are sure that they can defeat the Jin army, then please ask the governor to kill me first!" What a bullshit confidence!

If he was sure, why would Yelu Wowo think about surrendering?

Wouldn’t it be better to capture Bian Jing and seize the throne from that bastard Wanyan Liang?

Yelu Wuwo took two more sips of wine, then looked at Wanyan Yong with red eyes: "Then why did you send troops to attack me?! No, those are not your soldiers! Otherwise, why would the commander come to see me before the battle?!"

Yelu Wowo was overwhelmed by all the news today and only reacted at this moment.

Wanyan Yong was a bachelor: "Among them, only 5,000 are my troops. The commander of the army is Hesheli Liangbi, the left chancellor of the dynasty. He is unparalleled in political and military strategy, and has countless brave generals under his command.

You must have heard of the names of Hesheli Zhining, Wanyan Mouyan, Wuyan Chala, Jiagu Qingchen and others. Their troops were carefully selected from the hundreds of thousands of troops in Liaodong. The governor can consider their combat effectiveness.

Yelu Saba, that bastard, didn't know the will of heaven, and his death was not worth regretting. But does a hero like the Jiedu have to be buried with the Khitan people?"

Yelu Wuwo was completely speechless.

Yelu Chenjia, standing by, grew paler as he listened to these names. Finally, he said in a self-deprecating tone, "Then just come and kill us. Why do you need us?"

Wanyan Yong stepped forward again, took Yelu Wuwo's hands, and said sincerely: "Because we are not enemies, the Khitans rebelled because they were oppressed, and we Jurchens were also oppressed by Wanyan Liang. Why should we kill each other?"

Yelu Wuwo looked at his hands being held and said helplessly, "Since Duke Cao thinks highly of us, I naturally have nothing to say. However, I still have some doubts and need to discuss them privately with my trusted generals."

Wanyan Yong didn't let go of his hand and smiled, "I think I know what the governor is worried about. How about calling all the generals in here and I can give you a guarantee right then and there?"

Yelu Wowo became more and more helpless, but he also knew that when the main force of the Jin army was only half a day's journey away, there was no point in hiding it, so he nodded at Yelu Chenjia.

Yelu Chenjia understood and strode out of the general's tent.

At this time, all the generals knew that a war was about to begin, and were on their way to the commander's tent, so in less than a moment, more than ten generals had gathered together.

When they entered the tent, they were all stunned to see Yelu Wowo holding hands with a nobleman in luxurious clothes, but then they stood in two rows according to their seats, waiting for Yelu Wowo's military orders.

From this we can also see that Yelu Wowo still has some skills in commanding the army.

Yelu Wuwo was about to speak when Wanyan Yong spoke first, "I am Wanyan Yong, Duke of Cao of the Great Jin, and I have come to make a promise to the Khitans! Yelu Jiedu and I have already discussed this. If any of you have any objections, please speak up now."

As soon as these words were spoken, there was an uproar in the tent.

Except for a few confidants, the other generals had no idea about this. When they heard that their leader had directly contacted the Jin Kingdom, and that Duke Cao had come directly to the army to make promises, they were all shocked after a moment of confusion and then started shouting.

Wanyan Yong didn't care about this. Before anyone could draw a knife to attack him, he briefly stated his promise.

"Silence! Shut up!"

"All of you are fucking gone!" Seeing that everyone was still talking nonsense, Yelu Wowo shouted and cursed, regardless of the fact that his clenched hands were sweating.

After all, Yelu Wowo was a veteran commander, so his words were still effective. The atmosphere in the tent fell into silence. However, one Khitan, holding his sword, asked, "Jiedu, what do you mean by this? Are you planning to rebel against King Saba?"

Seeing this, Wanyan Fushou swung his fist and knocked the Khitan to the ground. He had no knife on him, so he leaned over and pulled out the Khitan's knife. Just as he was about to stab him, he heard Wanyan Yong say, "General Fushou, stop!"

The dagger in Wanyan Fushou's hand just stopped at the Khitan's neck, but he still pressed him to the ground, looked up at Wanyan Yong, and waited for the next instruction.

"Stop!" Yelu Wuwo also stopped the other Khitan generals and soldiers from drawing their swords, then looked at Wanyan Yong: "This guy is called Xiao Ping. Both of his brothers died in battle. His elder brother is my best friend, and he entrusted me to take care of him. If there is any fault, I apologize here first."

"Yelü Wowo! You don't have to pretend to be a good guy here!" Xiao Ping was pinned down by Wanyan Fushou, but he still struggled: "If I had known you were such a bastard, I would have killed you long ago! And you, Jin Gou! I will kill you sooner or later!"

Wanyan Yong sighed, shook Yelu Wu's hands, and said, "Jiedu, and generals, this is why I, as a Duke, have come here at the risk of my life."

"The Great Jin killed Xiao Ping's brother, and Xiao Ping's brother also killed many female immortals. The Great Jin hated Xiao Ping, and Xiao Ping also hated the Great Jin. They killed each other back and forth, and the hatred was unresolved unless both the Khitan and the Great Jin were destroyed.

Even if the Khitans win, what will happen? How can you deal with the Mongols with just these few men? Will you become their herdsmen?"

Xiao Ping was not persuaded by such rhetoric: "If you want to let go of your hatred, then why don't you, the Jin Kingdom, let go of it while asking me to? What's the logic? If you, the Jin thieves, don't hate us, why did you send your army here?"

Wanyan Yong shook his head. "The army is settling unresolved grudges, but you are not. If you surrender, everything that happened before will be written off. I will not pursue any further questions!"

A Khitan general loudly asked: "How can you guarantee that the Jin army will not attack us? How can you guarantee that there will be no retaliation later?"

Wanyan Yong smiled and said, "The first one is simple. I've been by the governor's side the entire time, without armor. If I try to deceive you, you can kill me first. As for the second one..."

Wanyan Yong turned and looked at Yelu Wuwo, whose hands he had been holding. "I am thirty-nine years old this year. The governor seems to be a few years older than me. He can be my elder brother. Let us swear brotherhood. Let the heavens and the earth, and our ancestors bear witness to our oath."

This time, not only the Khitans in the tent were shocked, but even Wanyan Fushou and Xiao Ping were stunned. They all raised their heads and looked at the two people who were holding hands tightly.

Yelu Wuwo opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but then glanced at the wine jug on the table. He felt it would be impolite to withdraw his hand, so he could only look helplessly at Yelu Chenjia. However, when he saw that the other party was even more miserable, he was completely helpless. With a wry smile, he said to Wanyan Yong, "Duke, I'm not like you Jin nobles who have experienced many hardships and look older. In fact, I'm only thirty-three years old."

Wanyan Yong nodded heavily. "In that case, I will be the elder brother and you the younger brother. When I inherit the throne, you will be the future Duke of Cao!"

After saying this, Wanyan Yong acted as if he had already made up his mind and greeted the governor without any hesitation: "Quickly, bring some incense and strong liquor! I want to become brothers with the governor right now."

The Yelu Chen family was completely panicked and could only look at Yelu Wowo. After seeing the other party nod with difficulty, he immediately ran out of the tent as if escaping.

No matter how short of supplies the Khitans were, they would not be short of these things. Soon the incense burner and incense were taken over, placed on the table, and placed in front of Wanyan Yong and Yelu Wowo.

The liquor was unsealed and poured into a huge bowl.

Wanyan Yong finally let go of his hand. Yelu Wowo felt his palms were sweaty. He looked at the generals in the tent and was speechless for a moment.

What's all this? !

However, Wanyan Yong did not give Yelu Wowo and others the opportunity to carefully think about the connection.

He knelt down in front of the table, casually pulled out the short knife from Yelu Wowo's waist, cut his palm, clenched his fist, let the blood in his hand flow into the bowl, then turned around and let some of the blood flow into the wine jar.

After everything was done, Wanyan Yong tore open the hem of his clothes and took off a strip of cloth to bandage it simply.

Seeing this, Yelu Wowo had no choice but to kneel down in front of the table and imitate him by cutting his palm.

Whether it was the future of the tribe or Wanyan Yong's own sincerity, the second-in-command of the Khitan uprising army had no choice but to do so.

"As witnesses to Heaven and Earth, and to all our ancestors, I, Wanyan Yong, and Yelu Wowo, have become brothers. We will share life and death, and support each other in times of trouble. From now on, the Khitan tribe is my confidant. I will set aside past grudges, resettle the common people, and employ capable generals and ministers. If you violate this oath, heaven and earth will not tolerate it, and you will be punished by both humans and gods!"

Wanyan Yong held up the lit incense, said his oath, and then inserted the incense into the incense burner.

Meanwhile, Yelu Wuwo hesitated for a moment before steeling himself and, likewise, holding up the incense sticks, swore a loud oath: "Blue Ox and White Horse! Grandfather and Grandfather! I, Yelu Wuwo, and Duke Cao are sworn brothers. We will work together and share weal and woe. From now on, Duke Cao is my lord, and I am his lackey. He will not betray me, and I will not betray him! If I betray you, heaven and earth will forbid me, and I will punish you, both human and god!"

After saying this, Yelu Wowo also inserted the incense into the incense burner.

Afterwards, Wanyan Yong and Yelu Wuwo kowtowed three times in front of the incense burner representing the ancestors of heaven and earth in the Khitan general's tent, and then stood up.

Yelu Wuwo was the younger brother, so he bowed to Wanyan Yong first.

After Wanyan Yong returned the greeting, he picked up the bowl of blood wine and drank half of it first. Yelu Wowo took it and drank the remaining half in one gulp.

Yelu Chenjia took the jar of strong liquor mixed with the blood of the two men and poured it into the bowls in front of the people in the tent one by one, even Wanyan Fushou and Xiao Ping were not left out.

"You are all my brother's confidants, and from now on, you are my confidants." Wanyan Yong waved his hand with a sense of ownership: "Please drink the wine in your cup and follow us two brothers to achieve wealth and honor! To achieve fame and success! To achieve peace and stability!"

The Khitan generals raised their glasses and drank them all. Then, led by Yelu Wuwo, they saluted Wanyan Yong and called him brother.

Wanyan Fushou had never expected to witness such a grand spectacle. Seeing the wine glass in front of him, he was itching to raise his glass, but because he had to control Xiao Ping, he could not raise his glass. He could only pat Xiao Ping on the back and said, "Alas, you really ruined my big event."

Wanyan Yong listened to the Khitan generals in the tent announce their names, and then said to Wanyan Fushou, "General Fushou, please release General Xiao."

Yelu Wowo seemed to want to say something but stopped himself.

Wanyan Yong patted Yelu Wu's hand and said, "My dear brother, it would be unlucky to kill such a young general. It would be better to detain him temporarily and release him after the matter is settled. Then he can go wherever he wants. How about this?"

Yelu Wuwo breathed a sigh of relief.

The other Khitan generals also breathed a sigh of relief.

Wanyan Yong even wanted to release Xiao Ping, who had a deep blood feud with him and was very likely to take revenge. What else do the others have to worry about?

Doesn't this mean that as long as we follow Wanyan Yong and kill Wanyan Liang, the world will be at peace?!

(End of this chapter)