Chapter 189: Crushing Bones and Spreading Ashes (6k)

Wu Song did not answer directly, but walked closer to the stone lion on the left, pressed it with his hands and shook it.

Seeing a gap at the foot of the pier, Wu Song secretly measured the weight of the stone lion, and found that it weighed at least 800 kilograms, if not 1,000 kilograms. It was probably more than twice as heavy as the ten-foot-high stone pier thrown in Mengzhou.

He felt that it was a bit arrogant to want to recreate the scene in Mengzhou, but Wu Song was confident that he could do it by simply moving a seat.

Yang Changsu has extraordinary strength. Since he took the initiative to make the request, he must be confident of it.

In just a short while, Wu Song had completed his psychological preparation.

He handed the sword to Ma Baoguo and responded to Yang Chang with a smile.

"Sanlang choose one?"

"Haha, then I'll hold the one on the right."

Yang Chang rolled up his sleeves and walked towards the stone lion on the right. Wu Song handed over his weapon and turned left resolutely.

At that moment, everyone around was stunned.

When Ma Baoguo saw the weapon in his hand, he shook his head violently and thought, am I dreaming?

"No, you"

"What did I see?"

“Is this really a stone lion?”

Ma Kuo, who had always been calm and composed, and the commander Ren Yuan who followed behind him, all looked at this scene in shock.

Wu Song was still shaking before he embraced the lion, but Yang Chang just squatted down and lifted the stone lion up easily as if he was hugging a woman. Then the two brothers walked counterclockwise, like a Tai Chi circle, completing the swap and shift.

The two stone lions, which originally had their heads facing the door, now leaned to the sides like a quarreling couple.

After completing the shift, Yang Chang made fine adjustments like he was playing with a toy. He waited until the spectators nearby closed their mouths before he pinched his chin and discussed with Wu Song.

“This time it’s finally put right.”

"Yes."

Wu Song nodded in agreement, and the two brothers, with their powerful strength, completed the task of calling a deer a horse.

Ren Yuan was the first to wake up. Wu Song was very famous in the martial arts world, and he did not doubt that Wu Song was strong, but Yang Chang's physique and strength were obviously not matched.

Moreover, when moving the stone lion just now, Ren Yuan saw Yang Chang smiling the whole time, and felt that his strength was even more exaggerated than Wu Song's.

Is this really possible?
Could it be that the stone lion is fake?
Are these two performing a trick?

Ren Yuan walked forward curiously and imitated Wu Song to shake the stone lion.

"what?"

"Put more effort on it."

"Uh"

After receiving Yang Chang's 'kind reminder', Ren Yuan pointed at the other side and smiled awkwardly, "I just took a quick look. Sure enough, the stone used is good. I'll try another one."

After Ren Yuan tried the other one, he quickly clasped his fists and saluted the two of them with an expression of great respect.

"Yang Guanchao, Wu Tongzhi, you are really powerful. I have lived for 34 years, and today I know that a single person can hold a stone lion. It must weigh a thousand pounds, right?"

"That's nothing. We have a good brother who can pull out weeping willow trees alive."

"I've heard of this story, the Flower Monk Lu Zhishen, right? I can tell the whole story from a single glimpse. There are always people who are better than you."

"hehe."

Yang Chang agreed with a smile, and immediately covered his stomach to change the subject: "I just moved around a little, and suddenly I felt empty in my stomach. Commander Ren, if you have nothing else to do today, why don't you come with us for a drink? I don't know when we will meet next time."

"It is an honor for Ren to be invited to observe."

Seeing that Ren Yuan was willing to go, Yang Chang invited Ma Kuo again.

"It's past noon now. If you have time, Ma Kuo, why don't you come with us?" (Ma Kuo was the inspector of Guangxin, Ansu, and Shun'an armies in Baozhou at that time, a third-rank official.)
"You go on your own, I have official business."

"Farewell."

Yang Chang immediately said goodbye in front of the mansion, and went to the tavern with Ren Yuan to talk.

Ma Kuo stood on the steps for a long time, until the four figures disappeared at the street corner, then he walked up to the stone lion and tried to push it.

He exerted force with one hand, but did not move at all.

Gather all your strength, push against the ground with your feet, and push with your hands.

The stone lion barely swayed slightly, but Ma Kuo's face had already flushed red, and he could no longer describe the feeling in his heart.

Are you really human?
Although Ma Kuo's official position was the Inspector General of Integrity and he also served as a diplomatic envoy for many years, he was a formal military candidate. In addition to his strategic strategies, he also had outstanding martial arts skills. He was even praised by Aguda as "Yelimali" (a man who is good at archery).

None of the brave men he had met in the Jin Kingdom had displayed such shocking power.

Thinking back to Yang Chang’s previous answer, he might not have been bragging. If Wanyan Jiemu really faced this person, she would most likely be defeated.

At this moment, I feel emotional.

The Song Dynasty had no shortage of military strategies and brave generals, but unfortunately, it was constrained by the ancestral system that valued civil over military affairs, and many brave warriors languished in the ranks of the common people.

If the imperial court recruits talents without any restrictions, why should it be afraid of the Jin people at this time?
It’s not too late.

Ma Kuo, filled with excitement, returned to the front hall and told Tong Guan and Xin Xingzong in vivid detail what he had just witnessed in front of the door.

After hearing this, Tong Guan was stunned. His thoughts went back to a few years ago, when he was fleeing to Liangshanpo.

Xin Xingzong disagreed and murmured in a doubtful tone: "That stone lion is not a watermelon. It weighs at least a thousand pounds. Can it be lifted and moved by one person?"

"The stone lion is at the gate. If General Xin doesn't believe it, you can go and see for yourself."

"Really? Then I really need to see it for myself."

Xin Xingzong had led troops for many years and had seen countless brave generals, so he naturally refused to believe what Ma Kuo said. After he finished speaking, he said goodbye to Tong Guan and left.

After they left, Ma Kuo hurriedly bowed to Tong Guan and said, "Yang Chang and Wu Song are both from Liangshan. Your Majesty handing this team over to the Prime Minister will be very helpful in stabilizing the relationship between the two countries. As long as we actively build defenses on the border, we will not be afraid of the Jin people's brazen invasion."

"Don't believe in the bravery of ordinary people. If the Liangshan army has been victorious, why can't they destroy Fang La in one fell swoop? The right time, place and people will all affect the war, but with Song Jiang stationed in Zhending, at least he can contain the Ever-Victorious Army. How arrogant was Guo Yaoshi before? But he said a lot of discouraging words after Zhang Jue's death. I'm afraid it will turn out to be a problem."

"Although Pharmacist Guo is unruly and difficult to tame, if the Yanjing defense zone leaves the Ever-Victorious Army, it will not be able to defend against the invasion of the Jin people, let alone the remnant Liao of Xiao Gan. However, the Ever-Victorious Army is unreliable, and if they rebel, no one will be able to counterattack. It is indeed necessary to take precautions."

"You are a military scholar with a lot of strategies, and you have been the inspector of the three armies for a long time. You should have a certain grasp of the situation in Hebei. Can you give me some good advice to help me eliminate future troubles?"

"The Ever-Victorious Army has only 50,000 regular troops. The only way now is to use the army to control the army. If the 40,000 Liangshan troops and 20,000 Righteous Victory troops in Zhending are not enough, we can select another 100,000 from the northwest, Hedong, and Hebei, and use two brave and skilled generals to command the two new armies. Then, they can be stationed in the prefectures around Yanjing. If there is a war, the four armies can cooperate with each other. In normal times, we can use three times the military strength to defend against Guo Yaoshi."

After hearing this, Tong Guan stroked his beard and nodded. He agreed with Ma Kuo's method in his heart, but the court would spend too much money to recapture Yanjing, and Tan Zhen had just recruited the Yisheng Army, so it would be difficult to recruit another 100,000 people in a hurry.

Financial, material and human resources are no longer sufficient.

"We will discuss this later. Let's first resolve the threat outside Yanmen. Compared to Olubu (Wanyan Zongwang) in Pingzhou, Nianhan (Wanyan Zonghan) in Yunzhong is the most serious threat."

"But we are unable to respond to the matter of Wanyan Jiemu. How does the Prime Minister plan to deal with it?"

"I have asked His Majesty for the written document. Let's go and test Nianhan's intentions first. If he still uses the Crown Prince of Jin as an excuse, we can test him with Yang Chang's words. Maybe it can have a deterrent effect."

"The Prime Minister wants me to go?"

"It's none other than you."

Ma Kuo understood Tong Guan's intention.

The last time they came into contact with the Jin people, there was a verbal dispute. Now, they have received a reply from Wuqimai regarding the handover of four states. If Nianhan does not obey orders, he will be suspected of rebellion. If he continues to pester the Jin prince, the incident of Yang Chang killing the Hu people will be exposed.

Regardless of whether Wanyan Jiemu was killed or not, the Jin people were in the wrong and could not directly admit it, but if the crown prince of Jin was really dead, it would surely shock the Jurchens.

Ma Kuo planned to exaggerate Yang Chang's martial arts and use the Jin people's usual tricks to deal with the Jin people.

The day after Yang Chang left was November 30th.

Tong Guan sent Ma Kuo and Xin Xingzong as envoys to go out of Yanmen and go to Yunzhong to meet Nianhan.

On the surface, Xin Xingzong was accompanying Ma Kuo, but secretly he received a secret order from Tong Guan and was responsible for observing the defense situation in Yunzhong in order to prepare for the Liao Emperor to send troops from Jiashan to capture Xijing.

Tong Guan sent people to the capital to ask for documents, and had already persuaded the emperor to ally with Yelu Yanshi, so Zhao Ji wrote a personal letter and had it brought to the Liao emperor by a Western Region monk in Tokyo.

Ma Kuo passed by Xinzhou and stayed there for two days. He asked officials and people in the state and found out the burial place of the Hu people's heads. When he dug it up, he found skulls.

They put it in a wooden box and took it on the road, arriving in Yunzhong in early December.

As luck would have it, Nianhan was not there.

His confidant Wushi (Wanyan Xiyin) acted as the commander-in-chief of the southwest and northwest routes of the Jin Dynasty on behalf of Nianhan, and was in charge of daily military and political affairs.

After being informed, Ma Kuo and Xin Xingzong followed the guards into the Wushi tent. Among the civil and military officials in the clouds, they sat on both sides, looking at them solemnly.

"The envoys Ma Kuo and Xin Xingzong from the Xuanfu Division of the Great Song Dynasty have met with Marshal Wushi."

"You are calling yourself Marshal? Why don't you perform the ritual of three bows and nine kowtows?"

As soon as Wu Shi finished speaking, Ma Kuo and Xin Xingzong were all stunned. They thought to themselves, I have just bowed three times and kowtowed nine times in front of the emperor, what on earth does this guy want to do?
Xin Xingzong was unfamiliar with this scene and was shocked for a while, but Ma Kuo had seen it in April of the previous year.

At that time, he followed the Northern Expedition Army to take over the city of Yanjing. The Jin envoy Salum held the imperial edict of the Jin emperor and asked Tong Guan and Cai You to kneel down to receive the edict.

At the humiliating moment, it was Ma Kuo who stepped forward to smooth things over and saved Tong Guan and Cai You from humiliation.

Why do you follow suit?
Salum holds the imperial edict of the Jin Emperor?
What do you have? Nothing!

Do you have hair?

Ma Kuo was complaining madly in his heart, but his expression was as calm as the stone lion outside the Xuanfu Division. He said solemnly: "Etiquette requires equality. Three bows and nine kowtows are the etiquette for meeting the emperor. If we perform great etiquette to Marshal Wushi, it would be disrespectful to your Jin emperor and would not benefit the marshal at all."

"But this Marshal does not feel respected by you!"

In order to suppress the momentum of the Song envoy, Wu Shi deliberately spoke in a bad and difficult tone, but Ma Kuo still answered with neither arrogance nor humility.

"Han people only perform great courtesy to the emperor and elders. The Marshal is a minister of the Great Jin, and we are ministers of the Great Song. We should be equal to each other."

"Smooth words and charming words."

Wu Shi was impatient to listen any further, so he interrupted Ma Kuo and left.

Xin Xingzong had no experience of being a diplomatic envoy, and was stunned by Wu Shi's behavior. He then turned around and looked at Ma Kuo and swallowed his saliva, as if to ask, "Can we go back?"
Ma Kuo was very experienced. He immediately saluted to the person on his left and said with a smile, "Marshal Wushi has a really fierce temper. I came here on the orders of Tong Xuanfu for state affairs."

"You two sit down and talk." The official who responded to Ma Kuo was Gao Qingyi, a surrendered minister of the Liao Dynasty. He was fluent in Chinese and Jurchen, and was accepted by Nianhan as an interpreter and was highly valued.

Ma Kuo had come into contact with Gao Qingyi during the negotiations in Yanjing, so he was not at all panicked when Wu Shi left in anger just now.

"We came to Yunzhong this time to take over the states behind the mountains. The Emperor of Jin agreed to hand over the four states of Wei, Ying, Shuo and Wu to the Song Dynasty. This is the personal reply from the Emperor of Jin."

"Last time we sent someone to Yanmen to make contact, Tong Xuanfu had already mentioned this matter, and the Marshal had already rushed back to the capital to confirm it, so you didn't have the chance to meet."

"Marshal Nianhan is not here, but Marshal Wushi is here. You can verify the authenticity of the letter."

"Ma Lianfang." Gao Qingyi stopped Ma Kuo from describing the incident and said with a smile, "Marshal Wushi is only in charge. Major state affairs must be decided by Marshal Nianhan. You have come at an unfortunate time."

"When will the Marshal return?"

"It is still unknown. You are an old friend of the Jin Kingdom, so you can stay in the clouds and wait. But I want to remind you of two things."

"please say."

Ma Kuo approached with a curious look on his face, and heard Gao Qingyi frowning and stroking his beard, muttering: "The Marshal conquered the states behind the mountains. The reason has been explained before. If the defecting people cannot be recovered, the handover issue will definitely be shelved. He returned to the capital to explain the reason. You'd better find a way to cooperate."

"We have found out something about the Jin prince's matter!"

"really?"

Xin Xingzong did not understand the rhythm of diplomacy. He suddenly interrupted Ma Kuo's thoughts, but made Gao Qingyi surprised and happy.

When Gao Qingyi asked further questions, Xin Xingzong realized that he had lost his composure and handed the initiative to Ma Kuo.

Ma Kuo reluctantly took over the conversation, and said solemnly: "There are only some clues, but due to the long time span, maybe he is not the prince of Jin. The story starts from two years ago."

Wanyan Jiemu disappeared at that moment, and she didn't even make it back to hear Wanyan Aguda's last words, so when Gao Qingyi heard what happened two years ago, his body felt like it was electrocuted, and he instantly became alert and sat up straight.

When he heard that Jiemu was treated as a bandit and killed dozens of people alone, he immediately showed an expression of disbelief.

"One person? Killing fifty or sixty aliens?"

"Don't disbelieve me. There are many talented people in our Song Dynasty. This man once fought against a thousand people alone, so it's no problem for him to deal with fifty or sixty people."

"One against a thousand? Ma Lianfang is really a joke. Even if that person is highly skilled in martial arts, fifty or sixty grassland men riding horses and drawing bows should not be able to stop him from shooting arrows."

"Ma never jokes. Yang Guancha was alone against a thousand men, so how could no one shoot a sneak attack? But he miraculously neutralized them all. This man died two years ago. Your Jin prince is missing this year. It shouldn't be the same person, right?"

Gao Qingyi knew he couldn't respond, so he smiled and said, "You just said that the time span is too long, so it's definitely not the same person. But is the Yang Guancha you mentioned really that powerful?"

"Can this be false?"

Ma Kuo glanced at Xin Xingzong and shook his head in response, "I saw with my own eyes a few days ago that Yang Guancha and his commander carried a thousand-pound stone lion and walked with it as lightly as if they were carrying a watermelon."

"A thousand-jin stone lion? The more you talk about it, the more mysterious it becomes."

"If you don't believe me, ask General Xin. Or if you have time, go to the Taiyuan Xuanfu Division. The pair of stone lions in the mansion are the evidence."

"What a strange story."

Gao Qingyi was just a military advisor and it didn’t matter whether he believed Ma Kuo or not. He just needed to pass the message to Wu Shi.

Xin Xingzong gave Gao Qingyi the wooden box containing the skull and asked him to take it back for identification.

Gao Qingyi also kept the two of them in Yunzhong for a few more days on the pretext of waiting for Nianhan.

Ma Kuo wanted to understand the strength of the Jin army, and Xin Xingzong also wanted to find out about the defense of Yunzhong, so they accepted Gao Qingyi's suggestion and stayed there. It was not until the end of the month when Nianhan showed no sign of returning that the two of them bid farewell to Wushi and returned to Taiyuan.

Wu Shi was so arrogant when he was receiving the envoy, and he was like a completely different person after he heard Ma Kuo's story.

He had a close friendship with Jiemu, and he also knew that Jiemu had entered the pass with the diplomatic delegation, but suddenly there was no news in Daizhou. So he sent many spies to Daizhou to inquire, but unfortunately they did not find any news.

Jiemu was an outstanding martial artist and had extraordinary eyesight. Nianhan had always comforted his fellow Jin soldiers, saying that Jiemu must have gone deep into the heart of the Song Dynasty to understand the mountains and rivers there and make contributions in the event of a conflict between the two countries.

So he had been dead for two years? Or was he killed by an unknown person?

Wushi placed the skull of Jayamu in his private tent.

The memorial service is held every day without interruption.

Nianhan did not return to Shangjing to meet Wuqimai, but instead captured the three states of Wei, Ying and Shuo in May. Soon after, a major event occurred in the northwest of Yunzhong.

Emperor Tianzuo, Yelu Yanxi, took advantage of the power transfer within the Jin Dynasty and was also busy, just like the Northern Song Dynasty.

He dispatched troops out of Jiashan and successively captured Tiande, Dongsheng, Ningbian, Yunnei and other states, intending to make a comeback and retake Xijing. Nianhan then led his troops to stop him.

The Liao army encountered an ambush by Wushi (Wanyan Xiyin) at the border of Ningbian and Wuzhou (west of Shuozhou). After being defeated, Yelu Yanshi retreated to Jiashan. Only more than 4,000 households of his followers and a total of more than 10,000 infantry and cavalry were left.

After a fierce battle, Nianhan took advantage of the victory to recapture various states and ordered his deputy commander Wushi to return to Yunzhong to guard against the Song people taking advantage of the situation to seize Weizhou.

Wu Shi's arrogance and rudeness towards Ma Kuo was a means to confuse Tong Guan.

In addition to focusing on strengthening the defense of Feihu and Lingqiu, the envoys also deliberately trained the surrounding troops on a large scale during their stay in Yunzhong to create a tense atmosphere.

The sixth year of Xuanhe, the end of December.

A few days after Ma Kuo and Xin Xingzong left, Nianhan recovered the lost northwestern states and set up a trap around Jiashan before secretly returning to Yunzhong.

Nianhan first met Gao Qingyi and learned in detail about Ma Kuo's mission. Then he went to Wushi's military tent with an unhappy look on his face.

It was evening at the time, and Wu Shi usually performed a simple memorial service in front of the skull on the table before dinner.

Suddenly the tent curtain was lifted, and snowflakes rushed into the military tent with a strong north wind. The strong wind blew up the ashes accumulated under the incense burner, covering Wu Shi's face and body with them.

"Go to the mother and grab the bird!"

Wu Shi was so angry that he clenched his fists and wanted to hit him, but when he turned around, he found that it was Nianhan. His manic arrogance was instantly suppressed, and he asked in surprise: "You are back?"

"Who were you worshipping?"

"Oh."

Nianhan's tone was stern, and Wushi pointed to the wooden box on the table and explained: "Jiamu has been found. He was killed in Daizhou. This is the skull sent by Ma Kuo."

"You said this is Jammu?"

Nianhan took a few steps forward, took out the wooden box, held it in his palm, pondered over it, and asked.

"The time and details match, but we lied and claimed we were lost in Weizhou this year. We can't find the Song people to question you. What are you doing?"

Before Wu Shi could finish his words, he saw Nianhan raise his hand, and the wooden box fell and broke into pieces. Fortunately, the skull was relatively hard and only a few teeth were knocked out.

He squatted down angrily to pick it up, but was suddenly stopped by Nianhan in a stern voice.

"Stop it! You've been fooled!"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Jia Mu is indeed dead, and indeed died in Daizhou, but she was not killed by Yang Chang. This skull is fake!"

After Nianhan finished his explanation coldly, he kicked Jayamu's skull away with his foot, his eyes as cold as the snow outside the tent.

When he woke up, it was as if he had been kicked on the head, and his head was buzzing for a while.

"I need a reason. If I haven't found out clearly, I shouldn't do that."

"Hey, I know you."

When Nianhan was questioning in Wushi, he took out a gold-inlaid wolf tooth bracelet from his bosom.

That was exactly the token that Jiemu carried with her, which was later stolen by Tian Bao and others. Wu Shi was stunned when he held it in his hand.

"Two years ago, Jiemu was hunting in Daizhou and encountered the bandit Tian Bao who was being chased by Yang Chang. There were probably thousands of them at the time. They saw our horses, so they surrounded us and started a fierce battle. In the end, we were outnumbered and killed by the bandits. Jiemu was an outstanding martial artist in the Jin Kingdom. How could a Han Chinese beat dozens of him? Can you believe what you said to comfort a child?"

"I don't want to believe it either, but Ma Kuo speaks with certainty."

"Ma Kuo is considered a brave man among the Han people. How many of us can he stop by himself? Three or five is considered a lot."

"That makes sense, but how would you know, Marshal? You are not in the northwest."

Before Wushi finished speaking, Nianhan brushed off the snowflakes on his clothes and sat aside, breathing out white mist.

"Last month in Dongsheng, Xixia learned that the Jin army had defeated the Liao army and was afraid that we would take the opportunity to attack Xixia, so they offered this intelligence. In a few months, they will bring Tian Bao and others here."

"So that's it, damn it!"

Wu Shi was so angry that he rushed forward and kicked the skull, but because the force was not in the right place, he jumped on one foot in pain and shouted loudly: "Come here, come here, smash this skull! Turn it into powder!"

Poor Wanyan Jiemu, he was a general of the Jin royal family, but he was crushed to ashes by his own people because of a few thieves' lies.

"A good warrior never gets angry. You must learn to control your emotions. We still have a lot of big things to do."

"Well, I just don't understand why the Song people are like this?"

"Hmph." Nianhan sneered contemptuously: "Ma Kuo praised Yang Chang's martial arts just to scare us? How could such a trick of copying others' words be hidden from this Marshal?"

"hateful!"

Wushi slammed his fist on the table and said viciously: "First they used a fake head to deceive Wuliebu (Wanyan Zongwang), and then brought a fake skull to Yunzhong to deceive me. The Song people are really treacherous and cunning."

"Just bear with it for a while. Once I catch Yelu Yanxi, I will start to deal with them!"

"Yelü Yanxi is hiding in Jiashan. If he escapes to Xixia or flees north, we will be out of reach."

"We have to take a gamble. The Western Xia Kingdom probably won't dare to accept it, but it's hard to say about the ally Song. As for the bitter cold land in the north, Yelu Yanxi doesn't trust the Zubu people (a general term for the nomadic tribes in northern Liao) and has never mobilized them to fight, so he may not be willing to go."

After Nianhan finished speaking, he stood up again, held Wushi's shoulders with both hands, and said seriously: "The Liao people are at the end of their strength, and I have set up a trap around Jiashan. You will continue to be the military and political officer of Yunzhong. I really need to go back to Shangjing to see His Majesty."

"Why?"

"There will be a war between Song and Jin. The one who strikes first will be the strongest. Now the Liao people are almost no longer a threat. It is time to prepare to attack Song. I want to persuade His Majesty to send troops. I need the rear to provide troops and supplies."

"Well, I've long since grown tired of them!"

Wushi nodded solemnly in agreement. Nianhan patted him on the shoulder and reminded him earnestly, "Don't forget our tactics. Show weakness to others first and then take advantage of their unpreparedness. Didn't Tong Guan send an envoy to Yunzhong? Let's also send an envoy to Taiyuan. When we lead troops to attack Song in the future, we will definitely take the Taiyuan route, even if it's just an excuse to see the pair of stone lions and find out the passes and military deployments along the way."

"it is good!"

"See you again, Chief Yang."

"Yes!"

(End of this chapter)