Shi Tianwu shared with you the magnetic field rotation

Chapter 564 Tong Guan's Mission to Liao
The Jurchen tribes located in Chunzhou in the eastern border region were not registered by the Liao Dynasty and were distinguished from other Jurchen tribes as the "raw Jurchens".

Aguda was the leader of the Wanyan tribe of the Jurchen people, and his family had been leaders of the Wanyan tribe for generations. Not long ago, Wanyan Aguda's elder brother, Wanyan Wuyashu, passed away, and Wanyan Aguda took over the position of leader from his brother.

Although he was the new chieftain of the Wanyan tribe, Wanyan Aguda enjoyed extremely high prestige among the surrounding Jurchen tribes. This prestige was built up by Wanyan Aguda through his wisdom and courage.

Far away in Chunzhou in the northeast, famine also struck. Starving people wandered everywhere, the poor had no means of survival, and the strong went up the mountain to become bandits.

When Wanyan Wuyashu was alive, he advocated killing all the bandits of his own tribe who came up the mountain, but Wanyan Aguda stopped him.

Although called a tribe, the Jurchen tribe was not primitive; it was more like a small country. The tribe also levied taxes on the Jurchen people and sent the collected ginseng, sable fur, horses, pearls, and other local products to the Liao Dynasty as tribute.

Faced with this famine, Wanyan Aguda persuaded the tribal leaders to waive taxes for three years, allowing the impoverished lower-class Jurchen people to catch their breath and easing tensions.

……

The following day at noon, Wanyan Aguda arrived before Yelü Yanxi, the Liao ruler.

"Did your wife give birth to a boy or a girl?" Yelü Yanxi asked Wanyan Aguda.

"My lord, the child died in childbirth, and both mother and child perished." Wanyan Aguda said, tears streaming down his face as he wiped them away.

Yelü Yanxi sized up Wanyan Aguda, the Jurchen chieftain. He looked to be about forty or fifty years old, with a long face and narrow, fox-like eyes. He had an unpleasant appearance and was very representative of the Jurchen people.

"I've heard you're skilled in riding and archery; you'd better put on a good show today while hunting on the Hunjiang River."

"I will not disappoint you, my lord." Wanyan Aguda knelt and kowtowed.

Seeing that Wanyan Aguda didn't seem to be doing it on purpose, Yelü Yanxi waved his hand, letting Wanyan Aguda leave the tent.

In the afternoon, during the hunting trip, the local Jurchen tribes went to great lengths to please Yelü Yanxi. Among the prey were tigers and bears. Jurchen warriors Wanyan Zonghan and Wanyan Wuqi mounted their horses and slew tigers and bears, putting on a beast-fighting performance in front of Yelü Yanxi, making him forget the unpleasant experience he had with Wanyan Aguda.

After the hunt, the Jurchen tribe held a fish feast for their leader Yelü Yanxi and informed him that they would hold another first fish feast in the spring, requesting Yelü Yanxi to come and visit again.

"Chiefs, you may dance again!"

At the fish banquet, Yelü Yanxi made another request, and the four chieftains immediately stood up to perform a dance for Yelü Yanxi. However, Wanyan Aguda dawdled for a long time before finally walking to the center of the banquet, and his movements were stiff and did not resemble dancing.

"Everyone says that you Jurchen people live in the land of white mountains and black waters, and your dance moves are like birds and fish. How come you can't dance?" Yelü Guozhen asked from the side after observing Yelü Yanxi's unfriendly expression.

"Please forgive me, my lord. I have just lost my wife and children and I really cannot dance. Even if you force me to dance, I might be able to perform a sacrificial dance."

Wanyan Aguda knelt down again before Yelü Yanxi and kowtowed forcefully.

"Fine then, you go down and let the four of them jump."

Wanyan Aguda kowtowed to Yelü Yanxi in gratitude, then scrambled back to his original spot, his comical appearance causing Yelü Yanxi to burst into laughter.

“Truly barbarians,” Yelü Yanxi laughed.

Yelü Yanxi spent three days in Chunzhou, causing considerable hardship to the Jurchen tribe. When he led over a thousand Khitan cavalry back to the capital, the Jurchen leaders and nobles all covered their faces and wept.

With a sinister expression, Wanyan Aguda drew an arrow, nocked a bow, and shot it into the sky, bringing down a large bird as a sign of his displeasure.

"The Liao Kingdom wants to declare war on the Song Kingdom and also demands that our Jurchens send troops. What should we do?"

It just so happened that all five chiefs were gathered together, which was also the time to discuss the issue.

“I won’t go,” Wanyan Aguda said. “But we need to conscript soldiers.”

What do you mean by "Agu Da"?

“Let them fight their battles, we'll fight ours,” Wanyan Aguda said. “With an emperor like that, the Liao Dynasty is not far from its demise.”

"Be careful what you say."

"Our thousand Jurchen cavalry can defeat the Liao's ten thousand cavalry," Wanyan Aguda shouted.

"..." The other four chieftains remained silent, and in their opinion, this was indeed the case; the Khitan were no longer the powerful Khitan they once were.

……

……

Yelü Yanxi returned directly to Dading Prefecture, the capital of the Liao Dynasty. Upon his return, he immediately summoned his officials to decide on the matter of launching a southern expedition against the Song Dynasty.

"I will personally lead the army into battle!!"

"Your Majesty, you mustn't!!"

"Why not?"

"Your Majesty only needs to strategize from afar, and the weak Song Kingdom can be destroyed in an instant."

The person who answered Yelü Yanxi was Privy Councilor Xiao Fengxian. His younger sister, Consort Yuan, was Yelü Yanxi's favorite, and he benefited from this.

"Your Majesty, please wait. The Song envoy is on his way. If we are to attack Song, we can make trouble for this Song envoy," said Prime Minister Li Chuwen.

"This time of day is an exception."

"So the Song emperor knew he was in trouble, which is why he hurriedly sent an envoy to pray for peace?" Yelü Yanxi said with a smile.

"In that case, I am even more determined to fight."

"What can we do with it?" Yelü Yanxi asked with a smile as he looked at the court officials.

"Wine, women, wealth, and anger are nothing more than these four things," Xiao Fengxian said. "They can be tempted by wealth and women."

"very good."

The chief envoy to the Liao Kingdom was Tong Guan, while the deputy envoy was Zheng Yunzhong, the Minister of Rites, which put Tong Guan under great pressure.

Minister of Rites Zheng Yunzhong was furious; in his view, this was completely upside down. He should be the one in charge, and the eunuch Tong Guan the deputy.

Sending Tong Guan to handle the mission to the Liao Kingdom was like provoking the Liao Kingdom.

Zheng Yunzhong comforted himself, thinking that no one would know that Tong Guan was a eunuch just by looking at his appearance. Moreover, Tong Guan's current official position was Grand Commandant. Zheng Yunzhong was worried that he might be mistaken for a deputy eunuch.

"The front is Zhongjing."

"finally reached."

Tong Guan and his entourage arrived in Zhongjing and were accommodated in guesthouses. Knowing nothing about Liao diplomacy, Tong Guan accompanied Zheng Yunzhong to the Liao envoy's residence.

News of the arrival of the Song envoys spread quickly, and everyone found it strange that the envoys only had six carriages, far fewer than usual.

"The Lord has prepared a banquet and invited the two envoys to attend."

"So fast?"

Zheng Yunzhong was greatly surprised.

Normally, they would have to wait three to five days to have a chance to see the Liao emperor. How come they were summoned by the Liao emperor after only one day of rest in Dading Prefecture? And it wasn't a formal occasion in the court, but rather an invitation to a banquet.

"Grand Commandant Tong, watch your step during the banquet," said Zheng Yunzhong, Minister of Rites, to Tong Guan.

"I will follow Minister Zheng's instructions," Tong Guan said politely.

A hint of hesitant killing intent flashed in Tong Guan's eyes.

Perhaps he could kill the Liao emperor at the banquet.

(End of this chapter)