Chapter 28: The Emperor's Title (Part 1)

  Yang Pu, although having a bit of an eccentric air about him, was not a purebred eccentric. He saw that Yang Yingqi was only in his teens and yet remained completely unruffled by his own provocations, which secretly amazed him. Upon entering Yang Yingqi's quarters, he spotted a bookshelf with over three hundred volumes of fine books.

  Yang Yingqi noticed his gaze and smiled: "Good books are hard to come by outside the pass. I've searched for years, but all I have is this little collection, which is laughable."

  Yang Pu said, "Not so, even among the Jurchen people who can read are not many, you being able to do so while living among them is already quite rare." His tone was much calmer than before.

  Yang Yingqi nodded and said, "Here, there are many heroes and heroes, but few scholars. Those who can talk about elegance and elegance are only a few people like my cousin Yang Kaiyuan."

  Yang Pu saw him burning charcoal to boil water, but not using boiling water, and instead using bubbles. He felt quite strange about it. However, seeing his skilled and steady hands, the demeanor he showed was completely unlike that of a teenager, and in his heart, he no longer dared to look down on Yang Yingqi. He thought: "The skill of tea-making can reveal one's learning and upbringing. Although this place is remote and uncivilized, this young man has a great background, and I must not underestimate him."

  Yang Yingqi said, "Tang people often add Evodia and orange peel when boiling tea. Our dynasty values simplicity, so we just use plain boiling. My method of brewing tea is even more simplified in terms of tea art. Mr. Yang, are you from Bohai? I don't know if you're used to it."

  What he said "this dynasty" naturally refers to the Song Dynasty rather than the Liao Dynasty. At that time, the center of culture in the world was in the Song Dynasty, and the trend among scholars also followed the style of the Song Dynasty. Yang Pu was a scholar from the Liao country, who knew a lot about the tea ceremony of the Song Dynasty, but the tea art shown by Yang Yingqi at this time should have started to be popular only during the Ming and Qing dynasties, so it was very novel for Yang Pu.

  Two people drinking tea and chatting idly, in fact, were probing each other's learning.

  Yang Yingqi thought to himself, "This man indeed has something up his sleeve." Yang Pu then thought, "I was too abrupt earlier. This young man is not someone to be compared with the likes of Hu Mao!"

  After the tea was served three times, Yang Yingqi said: "Just now outside, Mr. Yang said that my village's system of government would collapse in a hundred years or so, I don't know if he can speak specifically about it."

  Yang Pu said: "Just now Yang Mou was reckless. It seems that Young Master Yang has another plan in mind."

  Yang Yingqi said: "It doesn't matter if you say it."

  Yang Pu thought that if he couldn't come up with a single one, two, three, it would be looked down upon, so he pointed out the narrow and biased places in Han Village one by one.

  Yang Yingqi was secretly delighted: "This man has real learning! He's not just a rotten Confucian who only knows how to search for quotes!" After Yang Pu finished speaking, Yang Yingqi asked again: "What does Mr. Yang think of the current situation with Liao and Jurchen?"

  Yang Pu sank into thought for a long time, and sighed: "The Great Liao has already missed the best opportunity to destroy the Jurchen people. As for the future national situation, I'm afraid it will only get worse and worse. As for the Jurchen... although they are barbarians, there are many who are eager to learn, and in the future, they may be able to achieve great things."

  Yang Yingqi said: "What if I were a Han official?"

  Yang Pu stared at him, seemingly trying to guess his thoughts. Yang Yingqi said: "There's no need to be evasive, just speak freely."

  Yang Pu said: "Hearing Young Master Yang say this, could it be that you have a different heart towards the Jurchen?"

  Yang Yingqi listened to this sentence without changing his expression, shaking his head and saying: "No. We Han Department have received great kindness from the Jurchen people, there is absolutely no reason for us to repay kindness with enmity. However, our ideas are not quite the same as those of the Jurchen tribal leaders, they pursue the prosperity of the Jurchen tribe, and do not consider how other tribes will be affected. What we pursue is that everyone under our rule is treated equally. Therefore, the Wanyan Department has slaves, but the Han Department does not."

  Yang Pao said: "If so, why does the Han department only protect the Han people?"

  Yang Yingqi said: "There is no overnight success in any undertaking. The Han people have been civilized for a long time, with a higher culture, and our ideas are quickly accepted by everyone. Moreover, we ourselves are Han people, so it's easier to trust each other. Mutual trust can unite, unity has strength! To build an ideal home, you need strong power to maintain it."

  Yang Pu heard this and was silent for a long time, finally sighing: "The scholars of Liao often claim to be from the Central Plains, looking down on Great Song as a southern dynasty, thinking that the officials of the Song Dynasty cannot surpass the scholars of Liao. Today, seeing Young Master Yang, I realize that this statement is greatly mistaken. Just now, these words were straightforward and seemed ordinary, but they are not something that can be said by the talented scholars of our country!"

  Yang Yingqi asked: "If so, is Mr. Yang willing to stay in Han Village or return to Tiezhou? If he returns to Tiezhou, I will personally send someone to escort him."

  Yang Pu sighed: "The iron state's home has already been ruined, what can be done by going back?"

  Yang Yingqi said, "Dobule is extremely proud and has a strong personality. He attaches great importance to people who are knowledgeable about books and literature. If you think the Hanlin Academy is too small, I can recommend you to Dobule, and he will certainly appreciate your talent."

  Yang Pu said: "If Young Master Yang says so, doesn't that mean there's no place for someone like me in this village?"

  Yang Yingqi smiled and said, "If Mr. doesn't mind, we naturally welcome him!" He took out a map and opened it, and Yang Pu was shocked to see: "This is the map of the five capitals and sixty-two states of the Great Liao!" The map was made with great precision, with varying levels of detail. The Eastern Capital Road was the most detailed, followed by the Central Capital Road and the eastern part of the Upper Capital Road, then the Southern Capital Road, and finally the Western Capital Road and the western part of the Upper Capital Road were only roughly outlined.

  Yang Pu said, "This map is vastly different from the maps Yang Pu has seen before. Just looking at the central and southern parts of the Eastern Capital Road, even the maps stored in the Grand Liao Northern Court's secret archives may not be more practical than this one." He looked up and sighed, "The Jurchen victory was indeed no fluke."

  Yang Yingqi smiled slightly and said: "This map is still far from being completed! Even Da Baoji has not seen it yet."

  Yang Pu murmured to himself for a moment, then Yang Yingqi said: "However, in my opinion, the Jurchen replacing the Liao is only a matter of time. The question is, when that happens, how will our Han people cope? Do you have any views on this, sir?"

  Yang Pu said: "I have been in Huining for several days and have heard a lot about the Han department. Zhe Shouling is the son-in-law of the former national master, both noble and close. As long as he can hide his light and avoid conflicts with the Wanyan department, the Han department will have nothing to worry about."

  Yang Yingqi nodded and said, "Is that so?"

  Yang Pu's eyes flashed: "If not, what else can be done?"

  Yang Yingqi put away the map, smiled and said: "Nothing can be done about it. Let's talk about future things in three to five years. For now, let's think about how to help Du Bo expand his territory."

  Yang Pu said: "That's right. The Han Department relies on the Jurchen. When the Jurchen rise, the Han Department rises; if something unexpected happens to the Jurchen, the Han Department will be in danger." He paused and said: "The prestige of the Jurchen has already spread far, but I don't know whether the leader of the Jurchen has been persuaded to surrender or not."

  Yang Yingqi was taken aback: "To persuade him to take the throne?"

  Yang Pu said: "As for the Jurchen, having already rebelled against Liao, they should establish themselves independently; otherwise, how can they rally other tribes? As for my Han tribe, if we take the initiative to offer our allegiance, then we will be credited with merit."

  Yang Yingqi nodded thoughtfully and said, "You're right. I'll go talk to Big Brother about this immediately."

  On that day, Yang Yingqi invited Zhe Yancong, Cao Guangbi, Yang Kaiyuan, Xiao Tienu and others. Zhe Yancong got along well with Yang Pu.