Chapter 16: Entering the Realm of Feminity (Part 1)

  Before leaving the Da Xianbei Mountain, on a bright moon night, Zhe Yan-chong, Cao Guang-yi, Ouyang Shi, Alu Man, Yang Kai-yuan, Yang Ying-qi and Xiao Tie-nu became sworn brothers of different surnames, and also paid respects to Di Yu as their elder uncle.

  Zhe Yan Chong was twenty years old, the eldest; Cao Guang Bi was nineteen years old, the second; Yang Kai Yuan, Ouyang Shi, Alu Man, and Xiao Tie Nu were all eighteen years old, arranged in order of birth month. Yang Ying Qi was thirteen years old, the youngest, and seventh in line.

  "Unfortunately, Hezhong and Helute brothers are not here!"

  Yang Yingqi said: "Let's talk about it again when we have a chance to go to the grassland."

  Three hundred Han troops marched out of the mountains and soon encountered scattered Jurchen tribes. They exchanged mountain goods with these Jurchens while inquiring about their current situation.

  As early as the prosperous Tang Dynasty, the central court set up the Heishui Prefecture Governor's Office in the place where the ancestors of the Jurchen people lived, with the largest tribe as the governor and the chiefs of various tribes as historians, implementing a border control policy. However, the territory of the Song Dynasty was far less than that of the Tang Dynasty, and the influence of the Han Chinese regime had long since retreated to the south of Yan and Yun.

  It was the third year of the Zhenghe era in the Great Song Dynasty, and the third year of the Tianqing era in Liao. In Yang Yingqi's "dream", the Jurchen people would rise to power later, but at this time they were still under the rule of the Liao State.

  In the Liao River basin, those who accepted direct rule from the Liao state were called "熟女真" (Shufuren), with a higher degree of sinicization. The Aru people originated from the Shufuren. Most Shufuren had already adopted settled pastoralism and farming as their main way of life. Those on the periphery of Khitan power, still in a semi-barbarous state, were called "生女真" (Shengfuren). The Liao government's rule over the Shengfuren was one of containment and vigilance: on the one hand, they appointed the leaders of the Shengfuren tribal alliances as "Jiedushi", while on the other hand prohibiting them from interacting with the Shufuren. The Jurchen people distributed between the Shengfuren and Shufuren were incorporated into the Liao state's household registry but allowed to interact with the Shengfuren, named after their location, called "回霸女真" (Huibafuren).

  The Wanyan tribe of the Jurchen people rose to prominence several decades ago, and under the leadership of Wugu Lun, they occupied the area around the Hun River (the Songhua River before it merged with the Heilongjiang River; after merging with the Heilongjiang River, it was still called the Hun River at that time). They were appointed as jiedushi by the Liao State and passed down through generations. The leader of the Wanyan tribe had extremely high prestige among the Jurchen people and was known as the "Beile" (a title in the Jurchen language, also translated as "Prince") among the various Jurchen tribes, while externally they held the title of jiedushi of the Liao State. At this time, the jiedushi was Wanyan Uyasu.

  In recent years, the Liao government has been in disrepair, and the Jurchen-led regime has not yet been fully established. The situation in the Northeast is quite chaotic. After Han's troops left the Da Xianbei Mountains, they encountered several groups of Jurchen and Shiwei bandits. Although these bandits were fierce, their numbers were small, and Han's cavalry was well-trained and better armed. These Jurchen bandits were no match for them, but instead became targets for training Han's elite cavalrymen such as Zhe Yan Chong. Along the way, they saw some weak and elderly Jurchens, whom they helped with food and other necessities.

  They wandered for more than a month, living a semi-nomadic and semi-gathering life. The northeast plain was vast and sparsely populated, although it was quite free and easy, but seeing that their food supply was dwindling day by day, Yang Kaiyuan said, "This won't do, we need to find a place as our base."

  Yang Yingqi said: "I also know, but I haven't found a suitable place all along the way!"

  "Zhe Yan Chong said: 'What is the place that suits you in your heart?'"

  Yang Yingqi said: "If we are neighbors with barbarians, our numbers are too small, and in the long run, we will also become barbarians. Therefore, this place must be able to establish a certain connection with the territory of the Great Song Dynasty, so that we can obtain books, medicine - especially cultured talents. This is the first point."

  Just hearing this, several leaders furrowed their brows. Here and Song Tu are separated by the entire Great Liao! Where can we pass through?

  "Secondly, we need to have mineral resources. For the time being, it's difficult for us to establish a large area of good fields, so we must create something to exchange with surrounding tribes for food. It would be best if we could find iron - these days I've been observing that those Jurchen people don't even use many iron tools, let alone iron weapons. Do you still remember that group of bandits from the other day? Their arrows were actually still using bone tips! If there are mineral resources near our base, we can create something to trade with those tribes. Thirdly, we need a relatively stable environment. The farther away from the Liao State's core power, the better - we only have over 300 people left, and if we fight a few more tough battles, we'll be finished."

  Cao Guangyi said, "The second article can be ignored, but the first and third articles are contradictory. We are to the north of Liao State, while Song Dynasty is to the south of Liao State. If we want to get close to Song Dynasty, we can only go south - but going south means entering the lair of Liao State."

  Ouyang Shidao said: "No, I know of a place that can satisfy both conditions at the same time."

  Yang Yingqi said: "What you want to say is none other than the East Sea coast east of Changbai Mountain?"

  Ouyang Shidao said: "That's right! My late father had been to the coast east of Changbai Mountain and made some deals with the Donghai Jurchen."

  "No, no," said Di Yu, shaking his head. "The Donghai Jurchen are even more barbaric than the mixed-blood Jurchen in the Hunjiang River valley, and it's not certain they can get along with us. Moreover, to get there from here, we'd have to pass through the Wanyan tribe and the Five Nations tribe. The Wanyan tribe is the leader of the mixed-blood Jurchen, strong and powerful, but their chieftain still talks reason. As for the Five Nations tribe, in order to prevent the Khitan people from obtaining the Haizhongqing, they have locked down the road to Donghai, making it a dead end. The struggle for control of the 'Eagle Road' is famous throughout the Northeast. That's a road of death; if we want to pass through, well, I'm afraid it won't be that easy."

  Yang Yingqi said: "Even if we can get past, traveling by sea to and from the Great Song requires a large ocean-going ship - to get to the Great Song from where the Eastern Sea Jurchen people live, you have to go around the Korean Peninsula, through the strait between Japan and Korea before you can arrive - it's really far!"

  Ouyang Shi gave Yang Yingqi a glance and said, "Young man, I really suspect that you used to be on the sea too, you know more than me! Actually, building big ships is something I'm also familiar with, but I didn't master it. Sigh, if only my clansmen were here."

  Yang Yingqi said: "What exactly does your clansman do?"

  Ouyang Shidao said: "My ancestors were originally officials of the Great Song, skilled in shipbuilding techniques. After being demoted to the area around Dengzhou, one branch became merchants who did not pay taxes..."

  Yang Yingqi smiled and said, "That's the pirate."

  Ouyang Shi gave him a white eye and said: "Say whatever you want! However, looting is not our main business. We mainly rely on sea ships to navigate between Japan, Korea and other places. Sometimes we also trade with the southern fleet in Quanzhou."

  Yang Yingqi said: "Then where is your base?"

  "Anchorage?" Ouyang Shi sighed: "It's hard! Hard! My Ouyang family has always been confident in our ability to build ships, and we've refined our skills over the generations. But because we didn't have a stable base on land, we were always fleeing east and west, and never became a major force! In recent years, we've even been surpassed by the sea ships built by the officials of Quanzhou. However, when it comes to small, agile sea ships, my Ouyang family dares to say that we're the best in the world!"

  Yang Yingqi said: "The best in the world? More powerful than Jiangnan's shipyard? I don't believe it!"

  Ouyang Shidao said: "I am talking about a small sea boat."

  Yang Yingqi snorted: "A great sea ship can only see the horizon, what's the use of building a small sea ship?"

  Ouyang Yi angrily said: "You're actually an outsider! You don't understand anything! Do you think it's easy to build a good small sea ship? Moreover, our family isn't incapable of building large sea ships, but we lack a big rear base, and there aren't enough manpower or materials, how can we build one!"

  Yang Yingqi didn't expect him to get so angry and hurriedly said, "Sorry, sorry, I really don't understand." He was just about to ask him about the differences between big sea ships and small sea ships and their respective uses when suddenly a scout came to report that over a hundred Jurchen people were charging towards them in a mighty manner.