Chapter 39: Eve of the Pingzhou War

  The Song Dynasty envoy team waited in humiliation for a long time, and finally Wanyan Zonghan was willing to meet them. The negotiations were held inside the Jin army's large tent, with animal hides spread on the ground, a long table in the middle without anything on it, and the tent was filled with sword-wearing Jin soldiers staring at Ma Kuo and his entourage.

  Ma Kuo and others waited at the negotiating table for two hours, but still did not see the figure of Wanyan Zonghan. The Jin people neither served tea nor offered food to the delegation, and the scene was very desolate.

  Just as the envoy and others were parched with thirst and their stomachs were growling, Wanyan Zonghan finally arrived late, wearing his nightclothes, with a look of disdain in his eyes, not taking the Song envoys seriously.

  A civil official who accompanied the envoy saw Ma Kuo and other officials nodding in agreement, extremely angry in his heart, stepped forward with a cold smile and scolded: "The people of the Golden Nation are uncivilized mountain barbarians, the land of the Golden Nation is also an unenlightened barbarian land, they don't even understand the etiquette of treating envoys, it's really laughable."

  Wanyan Zonghan's eyes narrowed and he said in a deep voice, "Then I'll let you see what it means to treat guests with courtesy. Come, take this guy away and cut out his tongue."

  The official was dragged out amidst constant struggling and shouting, and soon a mournful cry rang out. Two Jin soldiers dragged the already unconscious official into the military tent, and with a heavy hand, threw him to the ground. The official's face was pale, his mouth bleeding profusely, and he seemed lifeless. A strong smell of blood wafted through the air.

  Ma Kuo's face turned iron-green but he didn't say a word, Wanyan Zonghan's imposing presence immediately silenced the Song Dynasty delegation, and before negotiations even began, they had already lost the upper hand.

  Wanyan Zonghan said lightly, "Some people just can't tell the situation apart. They'd be better off dead and at peace. You Han people have a saying, 'Without rules, there's no square or circle.' I'm sure Marshal Ma understands the rules." Ma Kuo-tzu laughed twice but didn't say anything.

  Wanyan Zonghan smiled and said: "Did Marshal Ma come here just to probe the strengths and weaknesses of our army, without any intention of negotiating?"

  Ma Kuo's heart skipped a beat, it seemed that there was already a traitor who had told the Jin people about the matter of Taiyuan City on that day. With cold sweat flowing, he hastily said: "Not so, this official has come under the orders of Tong Guan, hoping that both countries will maintain a friendly attitude. The Great Song Dynasty will not tolerate any actions that harm our country's territorial integrity. Our determination to defend the nation is unwavering. We demand that the Jin State immediately stop all behaviors that infringe upon the sovereignty of Chinese territory, return the two states of Yu and Wei, as well as the two counties of Lingqiu and Feihu. Return unconditionally to the agreement and understanding reached between the Song and Jin dynasties."

  The Jin State is still preparing to occupy Bianjing, how can it be possible for the already occupied land to be returned? Wanyan Zonghan suddenly slammed his hand on the table and sternly accused: "The Song Dynasty and my Great Jin agreed to attack the Liao State together. You, the Song people, disregarded your oath to Heaven and attacked lazily, allowing the main force of the Liao State to attack my army from two directions. Not only did you not help at all, but also let my soldiers suffer heavy casualties. What explanation do you have for this?"

  Ma Kuang Tong stared with his mouth agape and said in a low voice: "I heard that the Golden Country won a great victory."

  "That was the result of our army's sacrifice and bloody battle, besides, Ying, Wei two states and Lingqiu, Feihu two counties were originally our Jin country land, you Song people occupied for many years, we just took it back. If your Song court has negotiation sincerity, you should cut off some more land from Bian state to express your reconciliation sincerity." said Wanyan Zonghan rudely.

  The Jin people are bandits, unreasonable and barbaric. The Song Dynasty asked the Jin Dynasty to return the two states of Ying and Wei, but the Jin Dynasty instead asked the Song Dynasty to cede more land. What kind of negotiation is this? However, at this time, the Song envoy Ma Kuo had already sensed the atmosphere of war and knew that the Jin people had already intended to break their alliance and invade the south. Ma Kuo angrily said: "General Zonghan, don't be too arrogant."

  Wanyan Zonghan looked at Ma Kuo coldly and said: "What are you going to do?"

  Ma Kuo thought of the fate of that civil official earlier and looked at Wanyan Zongwang's icy gaze. He lowered his head in shame and said: "I was hasty with my words just now, I hope General Wanyan will forgive me."

  Wanyan Zonghan smiled coldly, looking at this group of boneless Song Dynasty envoys with great interest.

  Ma Kuo was anxious at this time, and at this time the city of Taiyuan had no strong defenses. If it were to be suddenly attacked by the Jin people, the consequences would be unthinkable. Although Ma Kuo was timid, he still had a patriotic heart. Moreover, if Taiyuan City were to be breached, he would also find it difficult to escape death.

  "It's been a long time since we left Song territory, it's time for us to return and report back. We'll take our leave today."

  Actually, Emperor Taizu of Jin had already issued a decree to the entire army to launch a large-scale attack on Song. Zonghan, in order not to alert the enemy, did not want to give the Song envoys time to prepare, and smiled as he said: "Although the negotiations were unsuccessful, we also cannot damage the harmony between our two families. In the next few days, the Jin army will be celebrating an important holiday, and you envoys have come from afar. If I do not accept your warm hospitality, would that not be saying that we Jin people do not know how to treat guests?"

  "A warm welcome to you, indeed!" Ma Kuo cursed in his heart. For the past few days of miserable life, Ma Kuo had already greeted the ancestors of Wanyan Zonghan for eighteen generations.

  Ma Kuo replied with difficulty: "This official still has official business on his body and it is inconvenient to stay for a long time, please let the general go."

  "That's saying you can't even give me this bit of face." Wanyan Zongwang's expression changed, his words gradually becoming colder.

  Ma Kuo was shocked and thought that the Golden Man had always been cruel, if he was killed, there would be no place to reason with him. He sighed and said: "So I'll disturb General."

  Wanyan Zonghan burst out laughing and walked over to pat Ma Chao's shoulder, saying: "That's right! You Han people always say that those who know the times are heroes."

  Wanyan Zongwang suddenly turned his head and said to the Jin soldier standing beside him, "Take that tongue-less waste out and chop it up to feed the dogs. Don't dirty my carpet."

  "Yes, General." Two golden soldiers stepped forward and dragged the unconscious official out. For a moment, the entire Song Dynasty delegation was trembling with fear, and Wanyan Zongwang left the tent with a loud laugh.

  When Ma Kuo and others left the military account to prepare for their destination, Xin Xingzong, as the deputy envoy, asked timidly: "Marshal Ma, where should we go?" Ma Kuo was angry in his heart. Xin Xingzong, as the deputy envoy of this delegation, did not dare to say a word just now, hiding behind the crowd. When Zong Han cut off that official's tongue, Xin Xingzong was so scared that his face turned pale. If he hadn't known that he couldn't escape at this time, he would have turned around and run away long ago.

  Ma Kuo was somewhat worried about Taiyuan City, and said lightly: "Let's take it one step at a time. Zong Han is just trying to intimidate us, he shouldn't kill us. What's worrisome is Taiyuan City."

  Xingzong felt a bit better after hearing that there was no danger to his life, of course the safety of Taiyuan city had nothing to do with him, as long as he could save himself and stay alive.

  Tong Guan was also anxious at this time, the envoy had not returned for many days, and the emperor kept coming to inquire about the situation in Bianzhou. At this moment, the attitude of the Jin army was unclear, Tong Guan could only fabricate that the Jin army had no movement at all, the negotiations were going smoothly, and as long as more money was added, he believed the Jin army would withdraw their troops.

  Emperor Song Huizong believed it to be true, and had people withdraw tax silver from the national treasury. The Song Dynasty was quite wealthy at that time and was the country with the strongest economic power in the world. Due to the reduction of land area, commerce slowly underwent a transformation, and even the sprouts of capitalist economy appeared, and the status of merchants was greatly improved. Science and technology developed rapidly, but unfortunately, the brilliant Chinese civilization completely collapsed in the destruction of foreign tribes, which is really frustrating.

  Such a powerful economy does not develop military strength to resist foreign enemies, but only tries to please and curry favor, ultimately allowing the enemy to grow stronger. The six states said: "The more you cater to them, the more urgent their invasion." In those years when seven countries were competing for hegemony, many countries gave in to Qin's demands, ceding territory and paying indemnities, but Qin's appetite only grew bigger. When the other six states had no more land to cede, Qin had already become unprecedentedly powerful and destroyed the six states with one blow.

  Nowadays, the Song Dynasty is facing the same problem. As the ruler, the emperor has taken the same path, leaving many ambitious scholars disappointed and tearful.

  Ma Kuo's envoy was detained in the Jin army's barracks for over ten days, and they didn't even get to participate in the Jin people's festivals. They hadn't even seen any meat dishes, let alone enjoyed them. By the time they were released, everyone had already turned pale and thin, losing their dignified and prosperous appearance as Song officials, looking like beggars on the street.

  When the envoy was about to leave, Wanyan Zongwang tried his best to persuade them to stay and entertain the envoys again. This time, Ma Kuo had made up his mind that if Wanyan Zonghan did not let him go, he would die on the spot. Wanyan Zonghan had almost completed his deployment and it was no big deal whether to keep this group of useless waste or not. When Wanyan Zonghan agreed to let them go, Xin Xingzong actually knelt down to thank him humbly, which made Ma Kuo very displeased.

  Wanyan Zongwang helped Xingzong up and comforted him in a gentle voice. Xingzong only felt that there was an extra piece of paper in his hand, and when he saw Wanyan Zonghan's eyes, he nodded slightly.

  When Ma Kuo and his party returned to Taiyuan from the clouds, the first thing they did was find a good wine house. As soon as they arrived at the door of the wine house, the owner scolded them: "Go away, go away, where are you beggars from? Don't block our door and affect our business."

  Jian Ma Kuo and others have not left yet, and they immediately ordered the staff inside the wine house: "Quickly drive them out."

  Seven or eight shop assistants came forward with sticks, ready to drive away Ma Kuo and the others. Ma Kuo and the others had been holding back their anger for a long time, and ordered several accompanying soldiers to beat up the shopkeepers together with the assistants. Being bullied by the Jurchen people was one thing, but how could they tolerate this kind of treatment when they came back? Ma Kuo said in a low voice: "Beat them, beat them hard, count it as my fault if you kill them."

  He and Ma Kui charged into the Imperial Guards in the clouds, shouting and rushing forward. The group of bandits were no match for the Imperial Guards and soon lay scattered on the ground. The Imperial Guards still unsatisfied, looked around to see who else they could kick.

  Xingzong grabbed the collar of the wine shop owner, and at this moment, Xingzong's martial arts aura was fully displayed, without any cowardice in the Jin army camp. With a slap on the mouth, the hotel owner's cheek swelled instantly, and the hotel owner was stunned by a slap, "When did beggars become so arrogant?" The onlookers outside thought to themselves.