The Legend of the Condor Heroes: From Being Expelled from Peach Blossom Island

Chapter 157 Shi Miyuan's True Colors
As Shi Miyuan drew closer, a bright smile gradually bloomed on his originally gloomy face, as if he were seeing a lifelong friend.

"Haha, Fourth Prince, it's been a long time. You seem even more vigorous than before, which I can't help but admire."

Upon hearing Shi Miyuan's voice, Wanyan Hongyu, who had been pretending to rest with his eyes closed, stopped putting on an act.

"Lord Shi, I feel quite well today. I suppose it's because you brought me good news. I've been in Hangzhou for almost a month now. Although the scenery in the south is beautiful, I miss my homeland even more."

I humbly request that Lord Shi speak highly of your emperor so that we may reach a peace agreement as soon as possible, allowing me to return to my hometown. I thank Lord Shi for his assistance.

Despite saying thank you, Wanyan Hongyu remained seated in the armchair, showing no intention of getting up.

Shi Miyuan acted as if he hadn't seen anything, his smile remaining unchanged. He stepped onto the platform and sat down in the armchair on the right.

"I have come here today with good news. His Majesty has long hoped for harmony between our two countries and for a peaceful future, and is naturally willing to express his sincerity."

The Emperor has already agreed to the Fourth Prince's request, and the annual tribute will be increased to 300,000, with the military reward silver also to be provided.

Furthermore, to show my sincerity, I have brought a gift for the Fourth Prince. Guards, present it to him.

Four Song Dynasty officials were carrying a large tray, which appeared to contain a heavy object covered by a red silk scarf. The four officials seemed to be carrying it with some difficulty.

When the tray was presented to Wanyan Hongyu, Shi Miyuan personally unveiled the silk scarf, revealing a three-foot-tall golden jade Buddha statue inside.

"This jade Buddha has a golden base, which was made with a full thousand taels of gold. The jade Buddha itself is also exquisitely carved from a single piece of top-quality mutton-fat white jade, crafted by a renowned artisan from the Song Dynasty court. I know that the Fourth Prince is a devout Buddhist, so I present this jade Buddha to him."

Wanyan Hongyu was a devout Buddhist and of noble birth, but he had never seen such an exquisite jade Buddha before; it was a rare treasure.

However, the joy on his face was fleeting, and he forcibly restrained himself, as he still had one last thing to do today.

"Thank you for your kindness, sir. Someone, please accept the gift from Lord Shi."

Lord Shi, I heard a few days ago that some officials in the Song court who were dissatisfied with our Great Jin and wanted to resist our mighty army secretly plotted a rebellion and assassinated you. However, you were able to strategize and wipe them out in one fell swoop.

I immediately sent a letter to you, sir, requesting to meet these men who, while possessing some courage, lacked a sense of righteousness. I wonder if you have brought them with you today, sir.

Shi Miyuan hesitated for a moment, feeling somewhat troubled. He knew that Wanyan Hongyu's desire to meet with these pro-war faction members was not without ulterior motives, and it would also be against the rules and regulations of the court.

But the peace negotiations have reached the final stage. As long as Wanyan Hongyu is satisfied today, the next step is to stamp the peace agreement.

After the peace talks between Song and Jin, his official position was completely secured. From then on, he would be second only to the emperor in the Song Dynasty. At this moment, it was difficult for him to remain calm, and he dared not and did not want to disobey Wanyan Hongyu at this last moment.

However, since he could even plot to kill Han Tuozhou, he no longer cared about these officials who had already fallen from power.

After a moment's hesitation, Shi Miyuan waved his hand downwards, and the guards dragged more than a dozen people down from the other carriages.

These people were all wearing prison uniforms, with their hands and feet in shackles, and their faces looked haggard.

They were pulled off the carriage one by one by the guards and taken directly to the vicinity of the platform. Upon seeing Wanyan Hongyu on the platform, their expressions changed drastically.

One of the elderly men, with white hair and beard, immediately burst into curses: "Shi Miyuan, the victor is king and the loser is villain. Since we have fallen into your hands, you can kill or torture us as you please. But why did you bring us before these Jurchens? Are you trying to humiliate us?"

Shi Miyuan remained silent, while Wanyan Hongyu clapped his hands and cheered: "I never thought there would still be people of courage among the Song people."

In the past few years, you followed Han Tuozhou in fighting against my Great Jin. I have long wanted to meet you and see how tough you really are.

"Where is Puchalieshi?" "Your subordinate is here." The Jin guard commander, a man who loved roasted meat and carried a strong bow, stepped out from behind Wanyan Hongyu.

"Don't you always say you're the best archer in the Great Jin Dynasty? Today, Lord Shi has brought you a dozen live targets."

Now that peace talks between the Song and Jin dynasties are imminent, and the Song emperor has acknowledged our Jin emperor as his uncle, we should help this nephew emperor of the Song dynasty to properly purge the rebellious factions in the court.

“Yes,” Puchalieshi replied, striding forward with a cruel grin on his face. He took the hard bow from his back and drew three arrows from the quiver.

"My lord, why not have someone remove their handcuffs and shackles? I'll let them run a little further away first; this distance won't show my abilities."

Hearing Wanyan Hongyu's conversation, Shi Miyuan remained silent. Wanyan Hongyu was not only humiliating him, but also testing the Song Dynasty's current attitude towards the Jin Dynasty. If the Jin Dynasty allowed these pro-war factions to be shot dead here, then the Song Dynasty would truly have no dignity left.

If the Song Dynasty could tolerate even this, then the Jin Dynasty might have made even more demands in the future.

It was obvious that the more the Song Dynasty yielded, the bigger the other side's appetite became. Wanyan Hongyu clearly wanted to test the waters and propose something even more outrageous under the current peace talks conditions.

Shi Miyuan was willing to endure it, but someone else couldn't. Zhao Ju, the commander of the Imperial Guards, was, after all, a member of the Zhao family of the Song Dynasty, and he simply couldn't tolerate the Jin people shooting Song people right in front of him.

"Lord Shi, this is inappropriate. Where is the dignity of our Great Song Dynasty?"

Shi Miyuan remained silent. Wanyan Hongyu was actually testing Shi Miyuan and had no real interest in killing these people. He thought that Shi Miyuan had played the coward and that once he knew Shi Miyuan's attitude, the matter would be over.

Unexpectedly, someone still dared to object, so he prepared to make an example of this person. He then gave Puchalieshi a wink.

Puchalieshi understood, glanced at Zhao Ju with interest, and said, "Song man, how about we have a competition?"

"Compared to what?"

"Let's see who can draw the bow in my hand. This bow is made of three stones, no less than Yue Fei of your Song Dynasty."

"If you can draw this bow without using your internal energy, I will spare these fellows today."

Zhao Ju remained silent, not daring to speak. The Three Stone Bow was equivalent to three hundred catties of force, but to draw it, the arm strength required was far more than three hundred catties. If he did not use his internal energy, he would not be able to draw the bow at all.

Seeing Zhao Ju retreat, Puchalieshi burst into loud laughter and said, "All you Song people in this manor, come here and see if you Song Dynasty officials are really so cowardly and incompetent."

Upon hearing this, Wanyan Hongyu cooperated by having all the servants in the manor come over and form a circle. Wu Chengyu not only stood among them but also quietly squeezed to the very front.

Puchalieshi raised his large bow and shouted, "Today, any Song person here who can draw my bow will be rewarded with five hundred taels of silver. Is there anyone who dares to try?"

As soon as the words were spoken, a somewhat simple-minded voice stammered, "Five, five hundred taels, good heavens, how much is that? Is it enough to just draw this bow?"

Puchalieshi was surprised that someone actually agreed. He turned around and saw that it was Liu Qing, who always had a silly smile on his face and grilled meat for them every day.

He needed a straight man right now, so he reached out and pulled Liu Qing, who looked like he was scared by the five hundred taels of silver, with a simple and honest face but a greedy look in his eyes, over.

Liu Qing was, of course, Wu Chengyu. The face of the enthusiastic citizen, Mr. Liu, was so deceptive that Puchalieshi, completely unsuspecting, shoved the bow into Wu Chengyu's hand.

“Ah Qing, you give it a try. As long as you draw this bow, not only will you get silver, but I will also take you to my Great Jin, find you a wife and children, and your family will be able to roast meat for us Jin people for generations to come.”

　The plan is to kill Shi Miyuan and escape within one or two days, then move on to the next volume and roam the martial arts world.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)