Chapter 40: The Storm is Coming

  Before long, the imperial guards of the city defense arrived upon hearing the news and saw the already dilapidated wine house. They said in a low voice, "What's going on here."

  The owner of the wine shop saw the head of the Imperial Guard as if he had seen a Bodhisattva, and without regard for the pain on his face, he struggled free from Xin Xingzong's grasp and ran to the feet of the Imperial Guard officer, kneeling down and saying: "Sir, you have arrived, please do justice for me."

  The leader of the imperial guard had also received many benefits from this shopkeeper, and seeing the pleading look in the old man's eyes, he was suddenly delighted. He knew that after the matter was settled, the wine shop owner would certainly offer him a heavy gift. Immediately, he drew out his sword and said viciously: "Come on, take all these thugs away."

  Ma Kuo walked over and said faintly, "Who are you trying to catch?"

  The leader of the forbidden army in front of him was now gaunt and disheveled, dressed in tattered clothes, looking exactly like a beggar.

  "Horse, big horse... sir." The leader of the Jinyiwei's eyes rolled and he said loudly: "Today, I received a secret report that this wine shop is secretly hiding Jin country spies. I've always thought that this wine shop was a den for Jin country spies, so I brought soldiers to come and clean them out. Unexpectedly, sir, you have already captured these people. Come, take these rebels away." The leader of the Jinyiwei said respectfully.

  At this time, the hotel owner was completely frightened and had been given a hat of counter-revolutionary for no reason. Who can bear it?

  "Never mind, let's just wait until we're hungry. Tell the boss to hurry up and serve the dishes." Ma Kuo said impatiently, waving his hand.

  The leader of the imperial guards kicked the hotel owner and said, "Don't you quickly take good care of His Excellency?"

  The boss struggled to get up and ran to the back kitchen to arrange dishes for his colleagues who were also frightened.

  Ma Kuo and others were full of wine and food, and finally felt that they had returned from hell to heaven. After scolding the Jin people for a while, everyone dispersed to rest.

  Xingzong returned to the house, nervously observing his surroundings, and after finding no one else around, locked the door and opened the note given to him by Wanyan Zonghan. The words were few: "I see that you have great talent, but unfortunately it is not valued in the Song court. It's a waste of a precious gem. We, the Great Jin, value talented individuals. If you tell me about the military deployment of the Song army, you will be rewarded with wealth and high office in the future. I hope you consider this carefully."

  Xin Xingzong paced back and forth, he was an orphan since childhood, only a ordinary civilian family raised him up, his family had no many relatives, only a wife and a few years old son left in Bianjing.

  Xin Xingzong thought for a long time, then suddenly gritted his teeth and decided to abandon his wife and children. He would remarry in the Jin country later. Xin Xingzong set fire to the letter, which quickly turned into ashes. The arrow had been shot and there was no turning back. Xin Xingzong was taking a gamble; if the Jin people found him useful at that time, he could gain wealth and honor. If they didn't recognize his value and killed him, he would just have to accept his fate. Isn't life often a gamble? Gamble with one's life, gamble with luck, gamble with heaven.

  Ma Xiang rested for a day, feeling more and more that the situation was serious. The next day, he tidied up his clothes and hat and hurried to see Tong Guan. At this time, Tong Guan was in the midst of a pile of gold and silver treasures that had just arrived, with a gleam in his eyes, casually picking up his favorite precious antiques, happily playing with them.

  Ma Kuo stopped the guard who was about to deliver the message and quietly waited for Tong Guan. It's also laughable that despite the urgent military situation, Ma Kuo could still wait calmly on the side. One can't help but say that he is experienced in officialdom. Tong Guan seemed to be tired of playing and put on a precious emerald green jade ring, tucked three night pearls into his sleeve, and left the warehouse with a agate wine jug.

  The officer in charge of the escort gazed blankly, as if everything was so natural, as if no one had ever been to this place before. Ma Kuo waited for Tong Guan to approach, took a step forward and said: "Lord Tong, I, Ma Kuo, have come to offer my humble advice."

  "Hurry up and tell Master Zuo about that Jin person's attitude." Tong Guan also came to his senses and asked Ma Kuo.

  Ma Kuang said: "Report to Lord Tong, those golden men are all of the mouse kind. Seeing our envoy is like seeing the heavenly majesty of the Emperor, they were so frightened that they didn't dare breathe loudly."

  "Well, then?" Tong Guan also became interested and urged Ma Kuo to continue speaking.

  Ma Kuo thought for a moment and continued: "We, with the great righteousness of the Heavenly Dynasty, in order to enlighten these barbaric and uncivilized people of these desolate lands, ordered them to leave the territory of our Great Song. However, those stubborn Jurchens do not know what is good for them, wanting to use military force to obstruct the heavenly authority of our Great Song. Please, Your Majesty, make early preparations."

  Tong Guan was not a fool either. Upon hearing Ma Kuo's words, he suddenly woke up from his dream and exclaimed: "The Jin people have just established their country, how dare they be so bold and presumptuous?"

  Ma Kuo said: "General Tung, please hurry up and prepare supplies, and quickly make defensive preparations."

  "Miscellaneous households know, you go down first, let me think for a moment." Tong Guan said nervously and somewhat flusteredly.

  "Yes, sir." Ma Kuo bowed and withdrew.

  At this time, Tong Guan had another plan in mind, and it was impossible for him to defend Taiyuan City. The Jin people were extremely brutal, if the city was broken, he would surely die, but he still had wealth and glory to enjoy, how could he bear to die now?

  Two days later, Tong Guan was still thinking of a reason to extricate himself when a guard came in to report: "Your Excellency, the Jin envoy has arrived; how should we respond?"

  Tong Guan was startled, and pretended to be calm, saying: "Come quickly, come quickly."

  The city gate of Taiyuan had long been opened, with tens of thousands of imperial guards standing on both sides, gazing at a group of uninvited guests. A white-faced scholar with a beard rode in on a tall horse, followed by dozens of Jin Dynasty cavalrymen.

  His name is Wang Jieru, originally a Han Chinese. In the Song Dynasty, he was just a poor scholar who was often bullied by his fellow villagers. After repeatedly failing to pass the imperial examination, he defected to the Jin people and suddenly became arrogant and tyrannical, identifying himself as one of them. He looked down on the Han people the most, and if any Han person fell into his hands, they would suffer more than death. Wang Jieru was indeed a notorious traitor to the Han Chinese.

  Wang Jieru arrived in Taiyuan, with an arrogant attitude and not dismounting his horse. He led dozens of Jin soldiers to ride forward proudly until they reached Tong Guan's mansion before stopping. However, he still showed no intention of dismounting. Wang Bin, standing on the side, was furious and wanted to step forward to teach this arrogant Jin envoy a lesson but was held back by Zhang Xiaochun behind him. Wang Bin sighed and retreated.

  Tong Guan's face was somewhat unpleasant, this Jin country envoy was really too arrogant. Just as he was about to order his arrest, Wang Jieyu suddenly dismounted his horse. Perhaps he sensed that the Song officials in front of him had reached their limit of patience, so he dismounted. However, the dozens of cavalrymen behind Wang Jieyu did not intend to dismount, but instead laughed and pointed at the young girls passing by on the road, with greedy and lustful eyes.

  Tong Guan didn't bother with those Jin cavalrymen either, and cupped his fists in a salute: "The Jin envoys have had a hard journey; please come to the government office for a chat."

  Wang Jieru said disdainfully: "Alright, lead the way."

  Wang Jieru followed Tong Guan to the Taiyuan City Governor's Mansion, where Tong Guan ordered his attendants to withdraw. At this time, only two people were present. Wang Jieru calmly took out the declaration of war from Emperor Taizong of Jin from his body. Tong Guan was shocked and said: "Such a major event as raising troops, why didn't you discuss it with me beforehand?"

  Jin Wengong said, "The troops have already been dispatched, what is there to discuss?"

  Tong Guan was also stunned, still fantasizing about negotiating, but the Jin people had already made preparations to send troops. At this time, the vanguard had already set out. The Jin army invaded the south in two routes, with the western route led by Zong Han, leaving from Datong, along Shu and Wu, directly attacking Bianzhou. Negotiation? Fight first, then talk!

  The Jin Envoy Wang Jiuru looked at the flustered and uneasy Tong Guan with contempt, coldly saying: "Actually, our Great Jin is not unwilling to stop fighting, it just depends on whether the Song court is sincere."

  Tong Guan seemed to have seen a lifeline and hastily asked: "Please, envoy of the Jin State, point out the way for me."...

  Wang Jieyu sneered and said, "Song Ting should quickly cede the east and north of the river, using the great river as the boundary, in order to preserve the ancestral temple of the Song Dynasty." At this time, Tong Guan was already bewildered, having been shocked by Wang Jieyu's words and unable to speak. After a long while, he muttered, "Your country refuses to yield territory, yet demands that our country cede two rivers - truly too strange!" The Jin envoy Wang Jieyu suddenly became enraged and said, "If you refuse to cede territory, then we will go to war with you!" Having spoken, he departed.

  Tong Guan muttered: "Great disaster is coming, great disaster is coming."

  Wang Jieru rode on horseback with a mix of emotions in his heart, not knowing whether to cry or laugh. He thought about how he was once looked down upon as a poor and humble scholar, but now he could treat high-ranking officials with disdain. However, he had also taken on the label of a traitor.

  Wang Jieru originally felt good about relying on the Jin State, thinking that he had finally regained his dignity and self-respect. However, one time he fell in love with a Song Dynasty woman who was kidnapped by the Jin people, 28 years old, elegant and beautiful. But on their wedding night, Wang Jieru almost got stabbed to death by her with scissors.

  Wang Jieru tortured the woman until she was no longer human, loudly asking why she did this. The woman only faintly said, 'Her whole family was killed by the Jin people, how could she marry a Han person who claimed to be a Jin person? It's just a pity that Wang Jieru, this great traitor, wasn't killed.' Before she finished speaking, she had already died from exhaustion.

  Wang Jieru always wakes up in a fright from his dreams, unable to forget the girl's gaze before she died. He wants to escape but is tormented by memories of that night.

  On the other side, Wang Xizhen's military camp

  Wang Xichen looked at the map, his brow furrowed tightly. The chaos of the Western Army was beyond imagination. The Imperial Forest Army that had just arrived in the outskirts of Qin Feng City had been robbed seven times already. Wang Xichen found it hard to imagine how the local people could survive.

  What's most infuriating is that these seven bandits are clearly military personnel, with five of them being former soldiers. It's clear what kind of chaos they've caused. However, the Western army's combat strength is extremely powerful, and just a few dozen people dare to charge at 500 Imperial Guards and tens of thousands of civilians. Indeed, old soldiers who have survived on the battlefield are not to be underestimated.

  The Western Army's combat strength was strong and their reputation far-reaching. Apart from Qin Feng City's Qin Feng Army, the rest of the Western Army's ability to cause trouble and fight were directly proportional. If they were to send out a vanguard army to suppress the roaming Western Army in the mountains, it was really uncertain who would be suppressing whom. Wang Xi Zhen suddenly felt a great deal of pressure, rubbed his eyebrows, and continued to think deeply.