Water Margin: The opening scene involves assassinating Emperor Huizong of Song and forcibly taking L

The remaining guards were all warriors carefully selected from various tribes of the Jin people.

Originally, the Jurchens did not intend to set up this arena to provoke the Han people.

Because in their understanding,

The Song Dynasty lasted for over a century, encompassing a vast territory and a large population.

It must have been a powerful nation to be able to stand against the Liao Dynasty for such a long time!

The Jin tribes have only recently come under unified control.

Even the establishment of a nation is still in the preparation stage and has not yet been accomplished.

The Jurchens, of course, did not expect that at this time, apart from the Liao Dynasty,

He has created a new enemy for himself.

But the Jurchens didn't expect that...

This mission to the Song Dynasty, aiming to form an alliance with the Song to attack the Liao, has unexpectedly encountered numerous setbacks.

First, there was Xu Guanzhong, the newly appointed martial arts champion, who risked his life to submit a memorial to the emperor.

Although Cai Jing, Tong Guan, and others immediately threw him into a death row cell,

The date for the execution was set.

But whether in the imperial court or among the common people,

There are clearly quite a few people who are not optimistic about the alliance between Jin and Liao.

Regardless of their true intentions, these people at least did not want to see the alliance with the Jin dynasty succeed in attacking the Liao dynasty.

However, given the precedent set by Hsu Kuan-chung,

The others, naturally, dared not step forward and risk their lives, so they all changed their methods of persuasion.

In the imperial court, many officials began to submit their memorials.

Help Emperor Huizong recall the ferocity and tyranny of the Liao Dynasty when it marched south with overwhelming force.

It also began to circulate among the common people.

The Liao people were subjected to brutal massacres in the north back then.

When Cai Jing, Tong Guan, and others first heard this, they thought someone was creating momentum for an alliance with the Jin to attack the Liao.

Only by using these events from a hundred years ago could the people of Song be stirred up with a sense of shared hatred and indignation.

They did not stop it.

Unexpectedly, only three to five days later,

Originally in favor of an alliance with the Jin to attack the Liao, intending to achieve great things and surpass his ancestors, Emperor Huizong of Song, suddenly became ambiguous in his attitude.

Meanwhile, many people in the general public have also changed their attitudes.

I think it's really good to live peacefully with the Liao people like this now.

While Cai Jing, Tong Guan, and others were surprised, they quickly figured out what was going on.

It's quite simple; it was just that Emperor Huizong and the people were frightened.

The previous alliance with the Jin to attack the Liao Dynasty created a powerful and imposing atmosphere in both the imperial court and among the common people.

Firstly, because the Song and Liao dynasties were sworn enemies, and even after a century, this hatred had not been forgotten.

Secondly, it was also because of the century of peace between the Song and Liao dynasties.

Whether it was Emperor Huizong of Song or the people of Bianliang,

Many have forgotten the cruelty of war.

Nowadays, when people mention the Song-Liao wars of a century ago...

Emperor Huizong of Song worried that if they allied with the Jin to attack the Liao, it would be disadvantageous.

Enraged, the Liao people marched south again.

They will force him to sign that new "Treaty of Chanyuan".

At that time, he won't be able to boast about his ancestors; he might even be remembered for his infamy for eternity.

For the people of Bianliang,

The concern was that if the allied forces suffered a defeat, the Liao people might retaliate.

Will there be another massacre or similar massacre?

The Liao people did this kind of thing quite often back then.

Shenzhou, Xingzhou, and Dezhou, after being conquered by the Liao people a hundred years ago,

Not content with slaughtering officials and plundering wealth, they also massacred the inhabitants of the three cities.

Seeing that this strategy of allying with the Jin to attack the Liao was about to be thwarted by the cowardice of Emperor Huizong and the people, all previous efforts were in vain.

Tong Guan, who was granted the title of king despite being a eunuch, was in order to reclaim the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun.

Then he came up with a terrible idea.

They allowed the Jurchens to set up an arena in Bianliang City, where Han Chinese could freely challenge them.

Tong Guan's original intention was to involve the people of Bianliang and the officials of the imperial court.

Witness the bravery of the Jurchens.

This would help them regain their confidence in joining forces with the Jin to attack Liaodong.

In order to highlight the military strength of the Jurchens

Tong Guan also specifically ordered that the generals of the Imperial Guards be prohibited from going into battle.

After two days,

The people of Bianliang City truly witnessed the bravery of the Jurchens.

However, the Jurchens killed three Han Chinese men in public on the arena.

This also aroused the hatred of many people.

As for the Jurchens...

The initial awe of the Song Dynasty gradually vanished over the past two days on the arena.

The Jurchens originated in the harsh, cold lands of Liaodong.

For over a century, they suffered greatly from the fear and devastation inflicted by the Liao people.

The Jurchens, however, did not fall; instead, they fought with increasing ferocity and power.

Ultimately, it was because of the Jurchens' worship of bravery.

The Jurchens of the past believed that the Song Dynasty could stand against the Liao Dynasty for over a hundred years.

Within its borders, there must have been countless heroes and brave warriors, which is why they held the Song Dynasty in such awe.

But after two days in the arena...

Seeing that the Jurchen warriors could easily defeat the Song people,

As the fighting progressed, the Song people became so emboldened that they no longer dared to take to the stage.

Naturally, the Jin people felt contempt for them.

Just now, these dozens of golden figures were sitting on the arena.

They were betting on how many Song people would dare to step onto the stage and challenge them today.

The Jurchen man who rose to fight Li Kui was named Boshulu.

He had just made a bet with his companions, saying that the people of Song were all cowardly and timid, and that no one from Song would dare to step onto the stage today.

For this, Boshulu also pledged one of his own fine horses and ten lambs.

Not long after he said that, Li Kui excitedly went up to the arena.

Boshulu lost the bet and, in a fit of rage, immediately rose to accept the challenge...

Chapter 262 Showing Off in the Arena

"Han people, cowardly! You're afraid of getting hurt! Get down!"

Boshulu spoke to Li Kui in broken Chinese.

He was even thinking of persuading Li Kui to back down so that he wouldn't have lost his bet.

Unexpectedly, Li Kui glared at him after hearing this.

"Next bird! Grandpa's here to challenge you. Instead of spouting nonsense, you'd better get to work!"

Although Boshulu couldn't understand what the dark-skinned man in front of him was saying,

But just by looking at Li Kui's expression, one could tell that it was definitely not something nice to say.

Boshulu roared and swung his fist at Li Kui.

Li Kui's martial arts skills were actually only average.

But he had two strengths: great strength and fearlessness.

These two strengths enabled Li Kui to be invincible on the battlefield, transforming him into a killing monster.

However, in one-on-one combat, these two strengths are not as effective as they are on the battlefield.

Especially in these kinds of ring matches, individual martial arts skills are valued more.

Li Kui and Bo Shulu fought for about twenty rounds, but neither could gain the upper hand.

The black man got carried away with the fight, relying solely on brute force, swinging his fists wildly.

Seeing the strength of this Song man, Boshulu abandoned his previous strategy of direct confrontation.

They then began to use martial arts skills to deal with the situation.

This immediately put Li Kui at a disadvantage.

On the arena, he was completely outmaneuvered by Bo Shulu.

The onlookers, who had previously cheered for Li Kui's fierce fighting, were now watching him fight with great force.

At this point, seeing Li Kui being tricked by Bo Shulu,

The crowd fell silent.

Some, unable to contain their anger, began to hurl insults and curses at Li Kui from below.

"Where did this black guy come from? He dares to embarrass himself with such meager skills!"

"If you're not capable, don't participate in the competition. You're just bringing shame to the Song people!"

"Judging from how enthusiastically he fought earlier, I thought he was a fierce tiger, but now that I look at him, he's just a sick cat!"

......

For every person who insults Li Kui, there is someone who defends him.

"You're making such a fuss, why don't you go and fight me!"

"Just now you were complaining that no one went up on stage, and now that someone has gone up, you're blaming him for not being good enough. In my opinion, all you people are good at is talking!"

"This brave man who went up on stage is more courageous than skillful, which is why he was tricked by the Jurchens. But no matter what, the fact that he dared to go up on stage makes him a hundred times better than you guys who only dare to talk from below!"

......

The crowd around the arena split into two groups and gradually became noisy.

On that arena

Li Kui was also angered by Bo Shulu's trickery.

Just as he lunged at Boshuru again, only to be dodged,

In that black bastard's blockhead,

Suddenly, he recalled his previous encounters with Jiao Ting.

In terms of brute force,