Chapter Eighteen: Humiliation and Betrayal

  Behind a thick cluster of bushes, Di Lie and Yang Zuo exchanged a sharp glance, cautiously observing the Jin army scouts who were galloping by, sometimes near, sometimes far.

  Here, at least ten miles away from the south bank of the Wan River, but the Jin army, which had suffered unexpected blows and losses, was apparently enraged and actually sent out hundreds of scouts to cross the river, with scouts going in all directions, searching everywhere. However, so far, nothing has been gained.

  Di Lie carefully observed the movements of several batches of Jin soldiers' scouts, and said in a low voice: "We can't stay here for long. There are also experienced trackers among the Jin soldiers. The few puzzles we set up earlier won't be able to deceive them for much longer. At any time, they will track us down to this place."

  Yang Zhechong was gazing intently through the scope, watching the front for a whole half hour, reluctant to put it down. He didn't know whether he was observing or playing more. Upon hearing this, he reluctantly put down the scope, hesitated and looked back, saying in a low voice: "That woman only has one breath left, and until now she hasn't woken up. If we move again, with all the bumps, I'm afraid it will be very difficult for her to hold on..."

  Di Lie's expression was calm as he plucked a handful of wild grass, crushing it in his palm. His voice was low and solemn: "Life and death are determined by fate, we've done all we can, if..."

  At this time, the grass and trees behind them rustled, and the two turned their heads at the same time. They saw Ye Die'er's bright and pretty face emerging from the bushes, her slightly red small face with an irrepressible joy: "She woke up..."

  Di Lie and Yang Zhechong exchanged a glance, the latter tightly grasping the scope, smiling: "Let me stay here on watch, leader go take a look."

  Di Lie smiled helplessly and returned with Ye Die'er by his side.

  The resting place of Ye Die'er and that woman was not far from the observation post, only more than 20 zhang away. The surrounding area was dense with thorny shrubs, leaving only a small clearing in the center and a narrow path leading to the observation post. Due to the density of the thorns, it was almost impossible for the Jin soldiers to quietly approach from another direction. Di Lie had chosen this place precisely because of this point, but now it seemed that they would have to abandon this stronghold.

  Because she had no change of clothes, the woman was still wearing her original mud-stained and tattered dress. However, after washing her face, she regained some of her original appearance. Although the woman had suffered greatly and gone through a life-or-death struggle, her pale and thin face was somewhat distorted, but it was still possible to make out its delicate features. Judging from her age, the woman was very young, probably around twenty years old.

  The woman's eyes were somewhat dull and unfocused, but when she saw Ye Die'er walking over with a young and agile man, she quickly came to her senses. With great effort, she propped up her frail body and greeted them, her voice weak and gasping for air: "I am Zhang Xiaomei... thank you... thank you, sir, for saving my life..."

  Di Lie hastily stepped forward to hold her down, carefully observing the pupils and pale face of this woman named Zhang Xiaomei for a while. Seeing that she was panting non-stop after just saying a short sentence, he said in a heavy tone: "Zhang Xiaomei... or should I say Zhang Xiaoniang? I'm afraid we can't repay your kindness, because... we've only prolonged your life by a few days..."

  Ye Die'er was startled and grabbed Di Lie's arm, saying urgently: "Brother Di, you must have a way to save her, right? Right?"

  Di Lie smiled bitterly and didn't speak. When it came to killing, he had plenty of methods; but saving people... his skills were at most on the level of a battlefield medic. This woman's physical condition was not good to begin with, and she had suffered severe trauma before being buried alive without dying... She managed to crawl out of the giant tomb and hold on until now, which was already a miracle. Life isn't made up of miracles; it's impossible for them to happen again and again...

  Zhang Xiaomei smiled bleakly: "I know my life is not long... Thanks to the help of General Meng and Ye Jia's young daughter, I can fulfill one wish, which is also a blessing for our family..." When she mentioned her wish, it seemed to touch the spark of life, and her originally pale face suddenly flushed with a hint of red, and her speech became much smoother.

  Di Lie sighed softly and dissuaded him, saying: "Don't speak for now, rest well, whatever your wishes are, we will definitely do our best to help you achieve them."

  Zhang Xiaomei stubbornly shook her head: "My body... I'm clear in my heart, if I don't speak out now, there won't be another chance... I still want to tell about last night's experience, through the mouth of a brave man, to inform the world, and let future generations not forget the tragic fate of us women of the Song Dynasty!"

  In this extremely frail body, but with an exceptionally strong heart, the ordinary Song Dynasty woman, in a stuttering and hesitant tone, recounted one of the most heinous and egregious cases of death and injury among the seven routes of the Golden Army's retreat northwards, a crime that was as vivid as a bloody painting, unfolding before Di Lie's eyes...

  On the eighth day of April in the second year of Jingkang, more than 2,200 men and 3,400 women from the imperial clan and noble families of the Song Dynasty were escorted by Meng Anbao to Xiangzhou (now Anyang, Henan). Due to a sudden rainstorm, many of the carriages carrying the tribute women leaked, forcing them to take shelter in the Jin army's camp. As a result, they were subjected to ***, resulting in "many being raped and killed". Many women could not bear the humiliation and drowned themselves in the river. On this day alone, hundreds of women died.

  In another time and space of history, from the incomplete historical data, it can be seen that in the first batch of escort cases, a large number of women died on the way: among the first batch of escorted personnel, there were about 3,400 imperial concubines, folk tribute women, and palace maids. They set out from Qingcheng Fortress on March 27th. Due to the "long journey on horseback, wind, rain, hunger, cold, death, and illness", the harsh marching environment caused "nine out of ten people to fall ill". There were 1,500 women who died along the way.

  On April 27, when they arrived at Yanshan, only over 1,900 women were left, with a mortality rate of 44%. The mortality rate for those who finally arrived in Shangjing should be more than 50%. And the night of evil in Xiangzhou accounted for one-third of the female mortality rate. This kind of extremely humiliating way of death is even more unbearable for women.

  The chaste and heroic women ended their shameful fate in the most direct and resolute way, while the weak and timid ones wept every day, and the Jin army generals "embraced women, indulged in wine and meat, played music, and reveled in extreme joy".

  However, they were not able to wait for a better fate. These women, after suffering humiliation and torture along the way, finally arrived in the capital. They were forcibly sent to laundry houses, imperial palaces or distributed to Jurchen generals, some even fell into prostitution. In the end, they looked south towards their hometown, silently passing away in sorrow, anger, and loneliness...

  In this space-time, with the appearance of Di Lie, perhaps their fate will undergo a major turning point. What has already happened is irreversible, but those that have not yet arrived still have the opportunity to be stopped.

  Di Lie did not know about the tragic fate of these women in history, but just the experience of this first batch of women was enough to make his blood burn!

  Zhang Xiaomei painstakingly took out a pale green bracelet from her close-fitting clothes and handed it to Di Lie with trembling hands: "This green jade bracelet is not a valuable item, but it's a treasured family heirloom. I was originally from Dongping Prefecture in the eastern part of Hebei Province, and at seventeen, I married a merchant and moved to Bianjing with my husband. When we were about to leave, my mother gave me this as a dowry, saying it was a family tradition... Please give this to my older brother, he has some reputation among the fishermen in Dongping, many people know of Zhang Dalang... This is my last wish... If you can fulfill it, I will repay you with gratitude for generations to come..."

  In the middle of this empty land, a new tomb has been added. The tomb is very simple, except for a handful of yellow earth, there is only a newly carved wooden tablet, which reads "The Tomb of Zhang's Little Sister".

  Although they had done their best, they could only let this poor woman live for a few more hours. Of course, Zhang Xiaomei, who died with a smile, did not know that it was because of these extra hours that she lived that not only did she fulfill her own wishes, but also made the tragic fate of many sisters who shared the same fate as her take a miraculous turn.

  Di Lie and Ye Die'er stood quietly in front of the grave, Ye Die'er silently shedding tears, while Di Lie gently stroked the green jade bangle in his hand, with a thoughtful expression.

  After a long while, Di Lie suddenly asked: "Earlier, Zhang Xiaomei seemed to have mentioned that you all, including many palace maids, noblewomen, and even the imperial concubines in the palace, were sold to Jin people at a price?"

  Ye Die'er hung her head in shame and didn't respond for a long time before finally saying: "Yes..."

  Di Lie's voice turned cold: "The buyer is the commander-in-chief of the Jin army that invaded the south, and the seller is your great Song dynasty officials."

  Ye Die'er bit her lower lip tightly and didn't make a sound, using her pale hands to clutch and twist the hem of her clothes.

  Di Lie took a deep breath, looked up at the sky and let out a long sigh, saying: "You don't need to feel ashamed, the ones who should be truly ashamed are your emperor and the officials of the Song Dynasty! They use the sale of women to pay for military expenses and compensation, selling off the children of their citizens, then selling off their own wives and daughters, and finally even sacrificing themselves... The highest ruler of a country doing such absurd things is truly a joke for the ages, ridiculed by all eternity! Hahaha..."

  According to the "Nan Zheng Lu Hui", after the Jin army captured Bianjing, Commander Wanyan Zongwang made a request for military expenses compensation to Emperor Gaozong of Song. The original agreement was that 1 million taels of gold and 5 million taels of silver would be paid as rewards for the soldiers, which must be delivered within 10 days without any shortage. If the amount is insufficient, one imperial princess or royal consort would be equivalent to 1,000 taels of gold, one noble lady would be equivalent to 500 taels of gold, one clan lady would be equivalent to 200 taels of gold, one noblewoman would be equivalent to 500 taels of silver, one clan woman would be equivalent to 200 taels of silver, and one aristocratic woman would be equivalent to 100 taels of silver. The commander's headquarters could choose at will.

  Princess (emperor's daughter), queen, the marked price is one thousand gold ingots. I don't know if this is the origin of the term "thousand gold" for girls in later generations? If so, how many people understand what kind of sadness it was at first? The most heartbreaking thing is that the "noblewoman", and she was sold cheaply for just one hundred silver ingots.

  In the Song Dynasty, a silver ingot was generally worth five or ten taels. Even if we calculate it at the highest value of ten taels, one hundred ingots would be equivalent to one thousand taels of white silver, which is roughly the price for redeeming a courtesan from a brothel. These young ladies from official and wealthy families, although they cannot compare with princesses or imperial consorts in the palace, were usually pampered and protected in every way. Now, however, they are being sold off by the emperor himself at the same price as prostitutes...

  What kind of fate will these betrayed people face?

  It is also recorded in the "Nan Zheng Lu Hui" that "from January 25th, Kaifeng Prefecture sent people to send troops into the camp, and women from the imperial concubine to the music house, with more than 5,000 people, all of whom were selected for their fine clothes. Three thousand virgins were selected, and the rest were rejected and entered the city. The national minister took dozens of people, and each general was given several people above Mu Ke, and one or two people below Mu Ke." What is referred to as the national minister is another commander-in-chief of the Jin army, Wanyan Zonghan.

  From then on, these women could only be slaughtered by others, and their bodies and minds were subjected to extreme humiliation. On the fifth night of the next month, Wanyan Zonghan hosted a banquet for his generals, ordering the palace ladies to change into servant clothes and serve wine, with those who refused being executed immediately. The methods used were extremely cruel. At that time, three women, Zheng, Xu, and Lü, disobeyed orders and were beheaded. Additionally, two women, Zhang and Cao, resisted the second prince (Wanyan Zongwang) and were stabbed with iron poles, left to bleed in front of the tent for three days. On the seventh day, the king's concubine and imperial ladies entered the camp, and the crown prince pointed at them as an example, with everyone begging for mercy.

  Under such coercion, there were still women who refused to obey. On the 9th and 10th days, nine new imperial concubines were brought in, one of whom refused to comply. Here is her conversation with Wanyan Zongwang:

  The Second Prince said, "You were bought with a thousand taels of gold, how dare you not obey!" The woman said, "Who sold me? Who received the gold?" He said, "Your family's Taishang (pointing to Emperor Huizong of Song) has a handwritten decree, the emperor has a handwritten agreement, approving the use of military funds." The woman said, "Who needs to provide for the army? Who ordered it to be deducted? Can I tolerate such humiliation?" The Second Prince said, "Your family's Taishang has taken thousands of palace maids from among the people, not as compensation, now that you have lost your country, you are just a commoner's wife, following the rules and entering the harem is also your fate. Besides, isn't it better than your family taking without giving anything in return?" The woman was choked with anger and shame, and repeatedly called out to her attendants to take care of herself, but she was not in control, so the attendant took her own life.

  Wanyan Zongwang actually said that it was reasonable to force women to speak, and thought that this kind of mortgage was more generous and superior than the Song court's recruitment of civilians into the palace. This made the woman speechless and choked with anger. This truly reflects the psychology of both sides at that time.

  Di Lie didn't have specific data on this unprecedented human trafficking deal in his hands, and he didn't need detailed data either - because he refused to acknowledge it!

  Yes, as a de facto citizen of the Song Dynasty, I have every right to say "no" to this humiliating treaty. Even if it's signed by the Emperor himself, it's useless. All Di Lie needs to do is sneer at it and use his gun to shatter it into dust!

  A sudden, urgent footstep came from behind, and Yang Zhe's hurried voice entered his ears: "The Jin army's search patrol is very close, at most half a time, they will eliminate the obstacles we set up and search here."

  Di Lie calmly stuffed the green jade bangle into his upper garment pocket, suddenly pulled the bolt of the sniper rifle in his hand, and coldly said: "Let them come! From now on, I'll let them know what it's like to be haunted by nightmares; I'll let them experience what it's like to be in a human hell! Little Yang brothers, from now on, we don't take prisoners!"