Usurpation of Mongolia: My father-in-law is Genghis Khan

Chapter 51: Jin Zhangzong, the reincarnation of Song Huizong
Inside the Western Xia Royal Palace.

"Prime Minister, what should we do?" asked Li Chunyou, the Emperor of Western Xia, with a sad face.

Li Anquan's face was filled with anger. He said, "Who could have imagined that the Mongolian prince consort Zhao Shuo would be so unruly, accepting such a generous gift from us and then doing absolutely nothing? It's only been over a year, and the Mongols are attacking again! Do they really think we are made of mud?"

"The Prime Minister wants to send reinforcements?"

"That's not necessary. After all, Xixia is a small country. Even if we defeat the Mongolian army, we will be seriously injured." Li Anquan said, "What I mean is that we ask for help from the Jin Kingdom. You know, we have an alliance with the Jin Kingdom!"

"Uh……"

Li Chunyou thought to himself, why didn’t you think about the alliance last time when you gave gifts to Zhao Shuo and persuaded Mongolia to attack the Jin Kingdom instead of the Xia Kingdom?
However, having said that, the Jin Kingdom and the Xia Kingdom did have an alliance.

One hundred years ago, when the Jin Kingdom destroyed the Liao Kingdom, it issued an edict to the Xia Kingdom: If the Xia Kingdom repented of its past mistakes, captured and sent back the Liao ruler, signed an alliance and submitted a petition, and still followed the old system of the Liao Kingdom and granted an oath, then if there was any unexpected event in the future, they would come to each other's rescue.

The Xia Kingdom actually acted according to this edict, betrayed the Liao Kingdom, and pledged its allegiance to the Jin Kingdom.

In other words, the two sides did sign an alliance, and once they encountered foreign enemies, both Jin and Xia had the obligation to provide military assistance to each other.

However, as time passed, after the Jin Dynasty destroyed the Liao Dynasty and ended its war against the Song Dynasty, it no longer worried about the Western Xia's betrayal, and its attitude towards the Western Xia gradually became contemptuous, and the alliance was no longer mentioned.

Neither the Jin Kingdom nor the Xia Kingdom mentioned it, but the alliance has not been broken after all, right?

Li Chunyou asked, "What if the Jin Kingdom refuses to recognize the alliance and refuses to send reinforcements?"

"We can prepare a generous gift for the Jin emperor. We can also send someone eloquent to explain to him the principle of the lips and teeth being cold."

……

……

Half a month later, in the capital of the Jin Dynasty, Yanjing City, the Imperial Palace.

"Come, Master, take a look at this calligraphy I wrote. What do you think?"

"I believe that your Majesty's Thin Gold style of calligraphy is becoming increasingly profound and has reached the pinnacle of perfection, making it the best in the world. Your calligraphy is characterized by vigorous brushwork, natural meaning, and a graceful and elegant style. It is truly a rare masterpiece throughout history!"

Just listening to this conversation, you might think it was between Song Huizong Zhao Ji and his favorite woman Li Shishi.

However, in fact, this was the Jin Dynasty Emperor Wanyan Jing and his favorite concubine Li Shier.

It has to be said that although Wanyan Jing, who was posthumously named Jin Zhangzong in later generations, could not be said to be a cruel and incompetent ruler, there was a strong suspicion that he was the reincarnation of Song Huizong Zhao Ji.

Let’s put it this way, Wanyan Jing liked everything that Song Huizong liked.

Emperor Huizong of Song promoted "prosperity and extravagance," and Wanyan Jing also embraced extravagance. Wanyan Jing's renovations to the palace furnishings required 1,200 embroiderers daily, a feat that took two years to complete. During his reign, the bureaucracy expanded rapidly, quadrupling in size compared to the previous emperor's.

Song Huizong created the Slender Gold font, and Wanyan Jing also liked the Slender Gold font.

Song Huizong liked painting, and Wanyan Jing also liked painting.

This is not the weirdest thing.

The strangest thing is that the traces of calligraphy and painting left by the two people seem to be from the same hand.

For example, the famous Chinese painting "The Admonitions of the Court Instructress" features an inscription by a later generation. Based on the handwriting, people long assumed it was written by Emperor Huizong of Song, Zhao Ji. It wasn't until they discovered the character "恭" (respect) was missing a stroke that they realized it was written by Wanyan Jing to avoid a taboo. This inscription was written by Wanyan Jing! And then there's the painting.

Among the ten most famous paintings handed down in China, one is called "Lady of Guo State Going Out for Spring".

This painting was created by the Tang Dynasty painter Zhang Xuan. The original has been lost, and only a copy from the Song Dynasty remains.

After careful study, later experts believed that it was the work of Emperor Huizong of Song, Zhao Ji. However, many years later, they found out that they were wrong and it was the work of Wanyan Jing!
After a hundred years, the calligraphy and paintings of the two people are almost exactly the same. How can this be explained?

Oh, and even the women they both loved had similar names. Song Huizong loved Li Shishi, and Wanyan Jing loved Li Shier!

No matter what, the older Wanyan Jing got, the more he seemed to become like the Song Huizong of a hundred years ago.

"No, no, there are so many talented people in the world. I can't claim to be the best with my humble calligraphy skills."

Having said that, Wanyan Jing's eyes and eyebrows were filled with smiles.

When people say there are so many talented people in the world, doesn't the implicit meaning mean that no one has ever seen or heard of anyone who surpasses Wanyan Jing?
At least in Wanyan Jing's cognition, his calligraphy is the best in the world.

"Your Majesty, the Western Xia envoy Zhang Ruchun has arrived." Just when Wanyan Jing was in a very happy mood, the eunuch Li Xinxi walked in and reported.

Wanyan Jing said unhappily, "The Xixia envoy has arrived, so what? It's not a big deal. Why bother disturbing my pleasure?"

Li Xinxi quickly explained, "Something serious has indeed happened. Tens of thousands of Mongolian troops are storming the Western Xia city of Oluohai. Once the city is captured, Western Xia will have few strategic passes left to defend. I'm afraid the country will be in danger of extinction!"

"so what?"

"Therefore, Xixia hopes that Your Majesty will send troops to rescue Xia Kingdom in accordance with the alliance between the two countries a hundred years ago."

"They think beautifully!"

Wanyan Jing's face was full of mockery, and he sneered: "The alliance made a hundred years ago is nothing but a trivial matter, and Xixia still has the nerve to mention it?

"The Xia Kingdom envoy also wishes to discuss with you the principle of the lips and teeth being cold."

"Western Xia is worthy?" Wanyan Jing's face became more and more disdainful. "My Great Jin army is invincible. We just beat the Song Kingdom into a panic. Who in the world can rival my Jin? Do I need to engage in a sympathetic fight with the Xia Kingdom? It's a huge joke!"

On the surface, this statement is not completely unreasonable.

Three months ago, the Song court, under the planning of Prime Minister Han Tuozhou, launched a massive attack on the Jin Kingdom.

This is the famous Kaixi Northern Expedition in history.

Less than three months later, Song general Guo Ni, stationed in Yangzhou, dispatched Guo Zhuo and Li Ruyi to join forces and capture Suzhou. They were defeated by Jin troops and retreated to Qizhou. Li Shuang, commander of Jiankang, attacked Shouzhou but was also defeated. Huangfu Bin was defeated at Tangzhou. Wang Dajie, commander of Jiangzhou, attacked Caizhou but was unable to capture it. Only Bi Zaiyu's army achieved victory.

It can be said that the Jin Kingdom has already grasped the strategic initiative of this war and is not far from final victory.

Under such circumstances, Wanyan Jing indulged himself even more, and had a wild and wild time with Li Shier. How could he have cared less about Xiaguo and Mongolia?
Li Xinxi accepted Xixia's bribe, but still tried his best to help Xixia with his final efforts. He said, "The Xia envoy also prepared a generous gift for Your Majesty, which contains..."

"Alright! Alright! I'm rich enough to cover the world, why would I care about a gift from a remote country like Xixia?"

Wanyan Jing grew increasingly impatient and simply said, "How about this, Xia Kingdom's envoy, I will disappear. I will personally write an edict and have the envoy take it back."

Then, Wanyan Jing wrote eleven large characters on the blank edict: "When enemy nations attack each other, it is a blessing for our country. What is there to worry about?"
(End of this chapter)