The Revolt of the Three Feudatories: All-in at the start in Beijing

The Uriankhai people were indeed easily defeated. In just two months, nearly 20,000 Uriankhai people were killed, leaving less than 15,000. The rest surrendered one after another.

Adding the original five thousand or so people, the population of the soon-to-be-established Jin Kingdom was only a mere twenty thousand. Wanyan Wu was not saddened but rather delighted upon learning this.

This way, the emperor wouldn't suspect them, since 20,000 people were less than a single county in the Han Dynasty.

Wanyan Wu then dispersed the Jurchens, making them the backbone of various tribes, and firmly controlled the Ulianghai people, who would later become the Jurchens.

After a preliminary inventory of household registrations, Wanyan Wu officially established the Jin Dynasty on the first day of the eighth month of 1675 AD, which is the same as the first day of the eighth month of 1876 in the Han Dynasty!

Almost all the able-bodied men of the Uriankhai tribes arrived at the capital of the Jin Dynasty, a flat area at the foot of the Tangnu Ula Mountains.

This is the entrance to the Uriankhai Basin. Choosing this place as the capital was mainly to facilitate the entry of merchants, allowing Wanyan Wu to enjoy his life, while also providing supplies and a place for Subutai's western expeditionary army to stay.

As for the capital of the Jin Dynasty, after two months of construction, it had become a city surrounded by a three-meter-high rammed earth wall.

Although its side length was only two thousand paces, roughly the size of a thousand-household unit in the Han Dynasty, it was still a capital city.

As for the interior of the capital, it was almost entirely tents, with only the very center having an inner wall the size of three football fields, inside which stood a solitary palace.

cough cough.

Of course, it was just a mud house built of stones and rammed earth, with a roof made of logs and veneer. There were no floor tiles inside, only slightly flat stones. It was not as beautiful as the landlord's mansion.

But this is still the royal palace!

At this moment, Wanyan Wuzheng was sitting upright on the throne. It was a throne made of wood, and the most expensive item on it was a luminous pearl bestowed by Liu Mu, which was inlaid in the wooden groove at the top. Overall, it looked like an imitation of the king of Joseon.

But this is still the throne.

Subutai sat to the side, but Wanyan Wu dared not let Subutai sit in the lower seat.

Because those sitting at the lower end were all elders of the Wanyan clan, a few young and strong generals, and at the very back were several leaders of the Ulianghai tribe. How could these people compare in status to Subutai? They were not qualified to sit together.

As a burst of drumming and music sounded, several palace maids came forward with trays and removed Wanyan Wu's armor, replacing it with a black and red ceremonial robe with nine tassels and nine patterns.

The emperor's robes had twelve tassels and twelve insignia. The Jin state was a vassal state of the Han Dynasty, and its status was comparable to that of a Han prince.

This outfit is inspired by the everyday clothes of Wanyan Wu of the Ming Dynasty, just like the Korean king's robe, which features a five-clawed golden dragon, but the use of bright yellow is prohibited.

Wanyan Wu stood up and walked to the steps. The Wanyan clan members below, along with the Ulianghai people, immediately knelt down in worship.

"Long live Your Highness! Long live Your Highness! Long live Your Highness!"

This is what it feels like to be a king. Recalling Wanyan Wu, who was exiled to the frontier to guard a city by the Manchus, his eyes under the nine tassels began to moisten, and he couldn't help but choke up.

"Gentlemen, I, Wanyan Wu, am able to sit on this throne entirely by the grace of the Great Emperor Hongwu of the Han Dynasty. From this day forward, every city in my Jin Kingdom shall build a temple for the Great Emperor!"

Seeing that the atmosphere was about right, Subutai took a bright yellow scroll from his personal guard.

"King of Jin, this is His Majesty the Emperor's decree of investiture, officially appointing you as King of Jin. Two copies are made, and the Emperor promises that the Wanyan clan will be a nation that the Han Dynasty will not conquer!"

Wanyan Wu immediately stepped forward, opened the imperial edict, and after confirming that it was correct, carefully placed it on the table and bowed to Subutai.

"General, when will the army march into Siberia? Is there anything the Jin Kingdom can do for us?"

Subutai nodded upon seeing this. This Wanyan Wu hadn't forgotten his roots and still knew what he was supposed to do. So he took out a blueprint from his pocket.

"North of the West Sayan Mountains in the Uriankhai Basin lies a vast plain that stretches as far as the eye can see. The weather there is cold and the marshes are abundant, making it almost impossible to cultivate crops; the only options are hunting and herding."

"September is just over twenty days away, and snow will soon fall on the Siberian plains, making it unsuitable for a large-scale army advance. Your task is to send a small force, well-dressed and warm, to hunt on the Siberian plains and kill those Russian mercenaries!"

"Remember, those Kazakh mercenaries are extremely ruthless in combat; they will kill without hesitation. As for the local savage tribes, you can migrate them back to the Jin Kingdom to become its citizens and replenish its population!"

What Subutai said was naturally based on Liu Mu's geographical knowledge, which, though not much, was practical.

Upon hearing this, Wanyan Wu showed excitement, because the cold weather and swamps were not problems for the Jurchens, who were a natural fishing and hunting people.

The most crucial point is that the north is called the Siberian Plain, which was exactly where the Jurchens ran their horses. They played with cavalry in the icy and snowy land, and the Jurchens were not even afraid of the Mongols.

Thinking of this, Wanyan Wu couldn't help but sigh.

"General, why don't we Jurchens in the Western Sea venture further west? This place is practically our Jurchens' chosen land!"

"Alright, you finish your own work. I still need to travel to the Western Regions to show His Majesty our old home!"

"I'm leaving!"

Subutai had no interest in such things. He ignored Wanyan Wu's fantasies, gave a few instructions, and strode out of the palace.

Upon seeing Subutai leave, an elder of the Wanyan family, who was sitting at the lower end of the table, suddenly revealed a strong ambition.

"Your Majesty, this Siberian Plain is simply a gift from heaven to our Jurchen people. If we can establish a foothold there, in ten or twenty years, our Great Jin will rise again! Hahaha!"

As the elder spoke, he burst into hearty laughter, a natural reaction that only occurs when ambition is amplified to the extreme.

Upon hearing this, Wanyan Wu lowered his head and, before the elder could react, suddenly drew his long sword.

puff.

The head rolled to the ground, blood from the neck splattering on the stone slabs. The once bustling palace instantly turned cold.

Wanyan Wu didn't care about the bloodstains on the ground that would soil his imperial robes. He went straight up and grabbed the elder's head, his gaze sweeping over the other elders, including his cousin Wanyan Kang.

"This Jin Dynasty was won with great difficulty by my own efforts, risking my life for His Majesty the Emperor. This is my Jin Dynasty, not the Jin Dynasty established by Wanyan Aguda. Do you understand?"

"Furthermore, I, Wanyan Wucai, am the founding emperor of the Jin Dynasty, and all my descendants are merely pawns of the Han Dynasty. Don't let me discover this a second time!"

After Wanyan Wu finished speaking, he carried the severed head out of the palace, leaving behind a bewildered Wanyan Kang and the other clan elders.

Three days later, Subutai, who was originally heading to Yili, stopped at the Tangnuwula Pass with his 3,000 troops, as if he were ready to launch a full-scale attack at any time.

Only after receiving a secret letter from the Jin Kingdom did he show a satisfied expression and quickly leave with his army.

At this time, Liu Weiqing was leading 5,000 Han soldiers on a rapid march along the Lhasa River.