Ashu, who escaped from Ashu City, fled all the way south to Zhongjing of the Liao Kingdom. He was extremely panicked, fearing that the Liao court would offend him by punishing him, but he had no other choice but to bite the bullet and go to the palace to meet Yelu Hongji. .
Ashu thought to himself, when I enter the palace and see Lord Liao, I kowtow to plead guilty, and then try to sow discord between Lord Liao and Wanyan Yingge, letting Lord Liao know that all of us tribal leaders are finished, and no one can restrain Wanyan. Ying Ge, then the court was in big trouble! Maybe the Lord of Liao will spare my life!
After Ashu thought about it, he came to the palace gate and asked the palace official to report in. Ashu, the leader of the Jurchen He Shilie tribe who blocked the imperial road, came to apologize.
The bailiff reported the situation inside. When Yelu Hongji heard that Ashu came to plead guilty, he was furious and shouted loudly: "Let that Ashu come in quickly and see what he says! If you don't clear my Eagle Road quickly, I will kill him!"
The palace official came outside the palace gate and informed Ashu to come to the palace to see him.
Ashu entered the palace and saw Yelu Hongji. He knelt down on the ground and said with tears: "My lord is here. It was only Ashu who was confused for a moment and blocked my lord's Eagle Road. Now Ashu knows I'm sorry, please spare Ashu's life, my lord."
Because Ying Road was blocked, Yelu Hongji was filled with anger and wanted to punish Ashu for his crime. Now, seeing Ashu personally come to the palace to plead guilty, and his attitude was very respectful, Yelu Hongji felt doubtful in his heart, and hurriedly asked Ashu: "Ashu, I have sent Wanyan Jiedushi to conquer you. Why did you come here by yourself? What's going on?"
Ashu knelt on the ground and cried, "My lord, Wanyan Yingge has led his troops to capture my city god. I escaped in the chaos and came to my lord to plead guilty."
Wanyan Hongji heard this and scolded Ashu: "Ashu, the imperial court has always treated your He Shilie tribe well, and it has also shown favoritism to you, Ashu. How dare you, Ashu, block the imperial court's Eagle Road?! Wanyan It is right for Jiedushi to conquer you. It was the imperial edict that ordered him to conquer you. Since you are here, plead guilty and be punished!"
Ashu knelt on the ground and cried: "My lord, you don't know something. Wanyan Yingge's campaign to conquer me in order to open up the Eagle Road was just a pretense. It was actually because of the hatred between me and him. Some time ago, Wanyan Yingge When Yan Yingge conquered the Wendu tribe, I considered that since the Wendu tribe had been annexed by the Wanyan tribe, the next threat would be the Shilie tribe of Anhe, so I helped the Wendu tribe fight Wanyan Yingge, so I fought with them Having made a grudge, he took this opportunity to avenge his private grudge."
When Yeluhongji heard that Wanyan Yingge had defeated Heshi Lie's tribe and opened the Ying Road to the imperial court, he was overjoyed and no longer hated Ashu much.
So, after listening to the reasons stated by Ashu, Yelu Hongji reprimanded Ashu who was kneeling on the ground: "You Ashu, I tell you the truth, this Wanyan Jiedu envoy's campaign to suppress you is an execution The imperial edict is not an opportunity given by Wanyan Jiedushi to annihilate you, nor is it a private revenge as you mentioned."
Hearing this, Ashu kowtowed three more times to Yelu Hongji and cried: "My lord, you don't know the situation of our Jurchen tribe. The Wanyan tribe is already very powerful and has unified most of the Jurchen tribes. Only a few of our larger tribes can still compete with them; now if our Heshilie tribe is wiped out by the Wanyan tribe, there will be no tribe that can compete with the Wanyan tribe in the future. Then once the Wanyan tribe unifies the entire Jurchen tribe , and then he will not listen to the imperial court’s orders and will only oppose the imperial court. This is definitely not a blessing for the imperial court!”
"That's nonsense!" Yelu Hongji heard this and reprimanded Ashu: "Wanyan Yingge is the military governor of the Sheng Jurchen Tribe Alliance of the imperial court. The Wanyan tribe unified the Sheng Jurchen tribe, which is equivalent to the imperial court unifying the Sheng Jurchen tribe. , how could it not be a blessing to the imperial court?! Think of the Wanyan tribe, the second generation is the hereditary female true governor of my imperial court. They are loyal to the imperial court. They have wiped out the rebel tribes and opened up my Eagle Road. In this way What problems will there be for people like you? On the contrary, you and other rebellious ministers often block the imperial court's Eagle Road and even spank the envoys sent by the imperial court. It is very abominable!"
Ashu knelt on the ground, kowtowed his head, and cried: "My lord, it is indeed Ashu's fault to block the Ying Road, and it is indeed Ashu's fault to spank my lord's envoy. However, it is not right." The imperial court really wants to restrict the Yan tribe and not allow one family to become the dominant one. Otherwise, if the tail becomes too big, the imperial court will be in big trouble."
Yelu Hongji considered that Ashu personally came to accept the crime. As the suzerain state that gave birth to Jurchens, the imperial court also needed to have a certain degree of prestige. It also needed to impose restrictions on the Wanyan tribe and protect some small Jurchen tribes, so as to divide the Jurchens. clan, which has some restraint on the Wanyan tribe.
Thinking of this, Yelu Hongji said to Ashu: "Ashu, as the leader of the Heshilie tribe, when you took the initiative to go to the court to accept the crime during the imperial conquest, it was a sign of repentance. In this regard, the imperial court is I have approved it, and I want to protect you. Get up. Now that the imperial court's Eagle Road is open, other things are no longer a problem. The imperial court will send envoys to Wanyan Yingge to mediate for you. , let Wanyan Jiedushi return your city god and property, and you will still be the leader of your Heshilie tribe, but you will no longer be able to ignore the court, frequently cause chaos, and block the court's Eagle Road."
After hearing this, Ashu got up and said to Yelu Hongji: "I feel deeply for my Lord. Ashu will never forget my Lord's great kindness and virtue, and will never dare to block my Lord's Eagle Road again."
Yeluhongji then settled Ashu in Zhongjing City, and then sent envoys to the Wanyan tribe to find Wanyan Yingge to make peace with Ashu.
The envoys sent by Yelu Hongji rode fast horses and rushed to the Wanyan tribe.
When Yelu Hongji's envoys came to the Wanyan tribe, Wanyan Yingge respectfully welcomed them into the hall, served sumptuous food, and warmly received the envoys sent by Yelu Hongji.
After eating and drinking for a while, Yelu Hongji's envoy said to Wanyan Yingge: "Jiedushi has been living in a remote place for a long time and has been working hard for the imperial court. I have been ordered by the emperor this time to express my condolences. The second purpose of the Du Envoy is to mediate a lawsuit within the jurisdiction of the Jiedushi Envoy."
When Wanyan Yingge heard this, she thought to herself, what the hell is the Liao court trying to do? What lawsuits do our Jurchens have that require your Liao court to mediate? ! When you come to me to mediate the lawsuit, you obviously want me to make concessions on certain things.
Wanyan Yingge thought to herself, with a calm face, and said tactfully: "I deeply appreciate the concern of the imperial court. Since Wanyan has been conferred by the imperial court and holds the post of Jiedu Envoy, it is natural for him to contribute to the imperial court and work harder. As long as it does not delay the court's political affairs, it will be fine. As for the envoy talking about mediating lawsuits, I am very confused. There are no lawsuits to mediate within the jurisdiction of this envoy."
The envoy laughed and said, "Jiedushi has forgotten. Not long ago, He Shilie's tribe Ashu blocked the imperial court's Ying Road. The imperial court sent Jiedushi to conquer. The Jiedushi had been ordered to annihilate He Shilie's tribe. After taking away his city god, property, and women, Na Ashu alone fled into Zhongjing alone and went to the Emperor in person to plead guilty."
Wanyan Yingge was secretly surprised when she heard this and thought to herself, no wonder I couldn't find Ashu after I entered Ashu City. It turned out that the guy had fled into Zhongjing.
Wanyan Yingge concealed her inner surprise and did not show any displeasure.
The envoy continued to say to Wanyan Yingge: "I am talking about Wanyan Jiedushi. As the saying goes, God has the virtue of good life, and a gentleman has the beauty of adulthood. We are all citizens of Daliao. Now that the matter has passed, Yinglu If it works out, then don’t kill any more people and keep fighting one after another. I know that Wanyan Jiedushi has always been generous."
Wanyan Yingge understood that the envoy from the Liao Kingdom came here to serve as a lobbyist for Ashu.
Wanyan Yingge suddenly felt resentful in her heart.
Wanyan Yingge thought to herself, what Ashu blocked was your court's Eagle Road, not my Wanyan tribe's Eagle Road; this matter was originally a matter between your court and Ashu, and had nothing to do with my Wanyan tribe. , you can just solve it yourself. Why do you want to send me, the Wanyan tribe, to conquer Ashu? I, the Wanyan tribe, followed your court's order, risking life and death, and fought tooth and nail to capture Ashu City. Is it wrong? It's good now. You just didn't praise me. Instead, you protected Ashu who had escaped. What is this? Why do you have the nerve to come to my place to lobby for Ashu? ! Isn’t it necessary to be both a **** and a memorial arch? You are the good guy, so I, the Wanyan family, should be the bad guy? !
Wanyan Yingge was very unhappy, but she couldn't show it in front of the Liao court envoy, so she suppressed her anger.
After the envoy said the above words, he also observed Wanyan Yingge's expression to understand Wanyan Yingge's thoughts.
Wanyan Yingge's face did not change color, but in her heart she was thinking about how to take the initiative. After thinking for a while, Wanyan Yingge said to the imperial envoy Qian Kuan: "Ashu rebelled against the imperial court and blocked Ying Road. Wanyan was ordered to conquer, but he escaped unexpectedly. If the envoy hadn't said this, I would have returned. I don’t know that Asuna has fled to Zhongjing. Your Majesty, since Asuna has fled to Zhongjing, and I am following the order of the imperial court to conquer him, the imperial court will return Asuna to this section as soon as possible. It is up to this envoy to handle the matter with full authority."
"What Wanyan Jiedushi said is wrong!" The envoy heard this and said, "It is true that Ashu is guilty. However, both Ashu and Wanyan Jiedushi are under the jurisdiction of the imperial court. If Ashu is guilty, Jiedu can be punished by Jiedushi. The imperial envoy can also handle it by the imperial court; now that the imperial court has stepped in to handle it, the imperial envoy should no longer forcefully ask for people."
The court envoy's words were tantamount to a direct rejection of Wanyan Yingge's request.
When Wanyan Yingge heard this, she felt even more unhappy, but her face still didn't show it.
Wanyan Yingge knew that under the current situation, the Jurchen and Wanyan tribes were not strong enough to compete with the Liao Kingdom, so no matter how angry she was, she still had to endure it.
The envoy of the Liao Dynasty did not care that Wanyan Yingge was happy or unhappy, so he continued: "Envoy Wanyan Jiedu, please listen to me. Now that Ashu has confessed his guilt, the blocked Ying Road has been opened. What does the court mean?" Yes, the prisoners of the He Shilie tribe of the Wanyan tribe must be released, the property that the Wanyan tribe has robbed of Ashu must be returned, the women of the Ashu tribe who have been robbed must be returned, and the city of Ashu must be returned to Ashu."
Wanyan Yingge was so angry that she almost got up.
Wanyan Yingge thought to herself: "What nonsense are you talking about! I finally found an opportunity to wipe out Heshi Lie's tribe and captured his city god. Now you ask me to release his people and return them to him." If his property is returned to his city god, then what kind of fight will I have to fight! Aren’t I just sitting idle with nothing to do? Your court is so reneging on its promise, aren’t you kidding me!”
Naturally, Wanyan Yingge could not agree to this condition of the imperial court. However, considering that the Liao Kingdom was the sovereign state of the daughter-in-law, and its military and economic strength was still very strong, now was not the time for a showdown with the imperial court; therefore, Wanyan Yingge Ge Qiang suppressed his unhappiness and replied to the Liao envoy: "What the envoy said is very reasonable, and it should be so. It's just that in order to open up the Eagle Road to the imperial court, other Jurchen tribes also sent soldiers and horses to risk their lives. Arrow, through life and death, defeated the Heshi Lie tribe and captured Ashu City. For this reason, Ashu's property and women have been distributed to the various tribes participating in the war. Asu City is also jointly occupied by the participating tribes. Now Suddenly asking them to return the property of the Heshilie tribe, return the men and horses of the Heshilie tribe, return the women of the Heshilie tribe, return the soldiers and horses guarding Ashu City, and return Ashu City to Ashu, I am afraid they can't get around this detour. It's hard to accept it. Your Majesty might as well stay in the Wanyan tribe for a while, and I will slowly enlighten them. At that time, the property of the Heshilie tribe will be returned, and the people who were released from the Heshilie tribe will be stationed in Ashu City. All we have to do is withdraw our troops and horses."
Hearing this, the envoy thought he had explained Wanyan Yingge, and was overjoyed, so he settled down in the Wanyan tribe without any worries. He ate meat, drank wine, rode horses and hunted every day, and enjoyed the food provided by the Wanyan tribe. The Jurchen women were overjoyed with joy.
