Chapter 33

"Since you are a key general under Yeli Yusi, why don't you surrender to the imperial court and gain an official position, instead of hiding in our small village?"

"Daniu, you are still young. Have you heard of the brothers Shan Yu's plight?"

Wang Ju was speechless.

The brothers Shan Yu referred to Shan Yu Weiliang, Shan Yu Weiyong, and Shan Yu Weixu, who were uncles of Li Yuanhao. Since Li Jiqian, their Han surname remained Li, but their Qiang surname was no longer Tuoba; it included Weiming, Shan Yu, and others, all of whom belonged to the royal family.

Li Yuanhao wanted to invade the Song Dynasty. At that time, there were many pro-Song ministers in Western Xia, including the brothers Shan Yu, who strongly opposed it. Li Yuanhao then decided to eliminate them. Shan Yu Weiliang planned to surrender to the Song Dynasty, first writing to Li Shibin of Jinming Fort, preparing to lead his troops to guard the Yellow River crossing, block Li Yuanhao's forces, and migrate his tribe to the Song Dynasty. For some unknown reason, he did not receive a reply from Li Shibin, and Li Yuanhao was already preparing to act. He had to flee hastily, and his mother, fearing she would slow them down, set fire to the room and committed suicide.

This was the first mistake. If they had planned better, the Song Dynasty would have welcomed thousands of Shan Yu tribal civilians and soldiers, many of whom were from the Western Xia royal family. Without a fight, just by having them call out on the battlefield, many Xia soldiers would have been thrown into confusion.

Shan Yu Weiliang fled in a panic with his fine horses and treasures to Baoan Army, where the military governor Zhu Ji informed the governor of Yan Prefecture, Guo Quan. This was not a bad move, as the brothers Shan Yu had control over the military and political affairs of Western Xia and knew its strengths and weaknesses. Gaining the brothers Shan Yu would be like gaining ten thousand elite soldiers. However, Guo Quan, to maintain good relations between the two countries, captured the brothers Shan Yu and handed them over to Li Yuanhao. The brothers Shan Yu cried out in injustice, but Guo Quan did not listen and had the supervisor Han Zhou deliver them to the border, where Li Yuanhao had them killed with arrows.

Since then, few high-ranking officials from Western Xia have surrendered to the Song Dynasty, until this summer...

Even though the Song Dynasty realized that Guo Quan had made a mistake, including Emperor Renzong, who was reflecting on it, who would trust the Song Dynasty after that?

"Daniu, it's not that I lack a sense of belonging. China is vast and rich, with hardworking people. With so many people, it's easy to produce outstanding individuals. You, for example, might have become a key general in another dynasty, but why do you have to study so hard? If this continues, no matter how many talents there are, China will eventually be destroyed by the Xia and Liao. The Great King once evaluated the Song Dynasty as a deformed country; otherwise, how could the Great Xia dare to establish a country!"

Wang Ju took a long time to respond, "Then why don't you surrender to the Liao?"

"Where can I run? I'll just take it one day at a time. But, boy, don't tell anyone."

"How is your martial arts? Are you good with arrows, or swords, spears, and staffs?"

"What's the point of asking?"

"The people in the village have short-sighted views. Without good skills, you can't win their respect."

"What about your second uncle?"

"He's pretty good, strong and skilled with arrows."

"I've seen him. But on the battlefield, I could defeat your second uncle in five moves. If I were on horseback, I could defeat him in one move."

The Qiang people speak straightforwardly, but Wang Ju was quite taken aback.

After a long pause, he said, "Alright, I'll talk to the chief. You should also compete with the young men in the village to win their respect... By the way, when the Yeli clan fled, were you the only one?"

"Not just me, there were others."

"What about them?"

Li Sangou shook his head. Even though he had revealed the truth, he did not reveal his real name, which was definitely not "Sangou."

The competition began.

Actually, what does command ability have to do with martial arts? Wang Ju would dare to challenge the limping Chen Qingzhi.

But the villagers believed in this.

The results of the competition were soon clear.

Wang Wei, Su Dading, and Wang Xiaoquan, three strong men, stood on the field, their faces flushed with embarrassment.

They were the best in the village, but none of them could match Li Sangou in archery, swordsmanship, staff fighting, or stone-lifting and wrestling.

What made Wang Wei even more frustrated was that even his most admired elder brother Wang Ping, if he were alive, would probably not be a match for this old Qiang man. In fact, Li Sangou was not old, just in his early forties, but he looked old.

Wang Ju looked at his second uncle's expression and felt like laughing.

This was a result Wang Ju had expected.

The Iron Hawks of Western Xia were all Qiang people, and the Qiang people were generally stronger than the Han people. This was inevitable, as one was a "carnivore" and the other a "herbivore," with generations of genetic differences leading to a significant physical disparity.

When Yeli Yusi had an incident, he commanded hundreds of Iron Hawks. At that time, Li Sangou was only about twenty-five or twenty-six years old. Without extraordinary strength, he could not have become the leader of hundreds of Iron Hawks.

This was a competition on the field. On the battlefield, on horseback, and in armor, his second uncle and the others would have fared even worse.

Wang Ju was watching with great interest when a hand suddenly landed on his shoulder. "Young man, there's trouble."

"Sir, what trouble?"

"I sent someone to contact Daoist Baiyun, but he fled soon after, and his disciples came to me demanding his return, accusing me of harming him." Zhu Huan said dejectedly.

If I had known, I should have just killed him.

Cheng Kan had already let go of the matter at Heao Ridge. Would Cheng Kan really pursue me for a charlatan?

"This is indeed a problem..." Wang Ju pondered.

Whether Zhu Huan harmed him or not, there needs to be evidence.

But Zhu Huan cannot provide a clear explanation.

And with the master's curse, even if the two families marry, they won't feel comfortable.

It seems that the Zhao family's young lady is about the same age as Zhu Jun. Although it is said that some wealthy families' young ladies are willing to wait until they are twenty-five or twenty-six to find a good husband, in Yan Prefecture, the age of marriage is generally younger.

For example, the village's Big Kid got married at thirteen and had a pregnant wife at fourteen, who might give birth by the end of the year. He is only one year older than me, and his wife is also one year older than me, and they are about to become parents.

This left Wang Ju speechless. Not only Big Kid, but his stepmother was only twenty-eight. So she was only sixteen when she gave birth to him. If he followed Big Kid's example, wouldn't it mean his stepmother would be a grandmother at thirty?

He thought seriously for a long time. "Sir, I have two plans. The first is to start with the monk who performed the divination for Zhu Erlang. It might be a coincidence, but it could also be a plot. If someone wants to sabotage the marriage between your two families, the first step would be to target the monk. Once he is in prison, you would have to perform the divination again, giving Daoist Baiyun a chance."

"This might be difficult to investigate."

"Not difficult. You have already contributed the Xia sword-making technique, especially my simplified steel-making method. I believe Cheng Gong has achieved a significant political achievement. Would it be difficult for Cheng Gong to investigate?"

"A significant political achievement?"

"Significant..." But Wang Ju was not sure. Who knows what the court will think?

It is said that someone tested the IQ of all races in the world. The average IQ of blacks is eighty, whites is one hundred, and East Asians is one hundred and seven. But among East Asians, Indians have an average IQ of eighty-five. So once East Asia is at peace, the economy will quickly recover. No matter how many population benefits India has, it cannot achieve a miraculous rise.

I don't know if this is true.

But in terms of diligence, the Han people are undoubtedly the best.

But why so many disasters? One reason is the nomadic tribes in the north, and the other is the unfortunate social structure of scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants!

Wang Ju did not want to think about this for now. He only wanted to think about how to stand out. If he could change history, he would stay. But that is too difficult. Think about the great figures who came later.

So, looking further ahead, it would be the Jin Dynasty.

The Jin Dynasty was a disaster for the northern people.

And even further ahead, two hundred years later.

The entire Jin Dynasty, which had eight million households, was reduced to eight hundred thousand households, and then the first-borns were killed...

Therefore, if history cannot be changed, he must immediately move his family to the south, and away from the river areas!

He continued, "There is another plan: spend a large sum of money to invite the high monk who performed the divination for your two families to come to Yan Prefecture to preach and promote Buddhism. I believe the high monks would be very willing to promote Buddhism. Then perform the divination in public. Rumors start with the foolish and end with the wise, but how many people in this world can be called wise? Let the wise, recognized by the people, personally dispel the rumors."

"Rumors start with the foolish and end with the wise..." Zhu Huan's mouth was bitter. Wasn't he a fool himself?

PS: Thanks to Ten Minutes for the 588起点币 reward.

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