Professor Li spoke of Hu Shahu, and his evaluation of the man was not very good: "Although Hu Shahu held a high position, he had no sense of righteousness and was a sophisticated egoist. Everything he did was for his own benefit, and he betrayed the royal family and the court he was loyal to. Moreover, he was cruel, which led to his tragic death. However, his family history has always been very complicated. Do you know who Hu Shahu's grandfather was?"

I chuckled and said, "I've been organizing information about Hu Shahu lately, but I haven't gotten to the point about his family relationships yet. Also, my knowledge of the Jin Dynasty is limited, so I really don't know the details."

Professor Li explained: "Hushahu, also known as Heshilie Zhizhong, was the grandson of Heshilie Abo, who served under Wanyan Aguda, the founding emperor of the Jin Dynasty. In 1113 AD, before Aguda established the Jin Dynasty against the Liao, he succeeded his brother Wanyan Wuyashu after his death and became the chief of the Jurchen tribes. In the same year, Abo defected to the Liao Dynasty and offered the city and all his tribesmen to Emperor Muzong of Liao. His cousins ​​Yinshuke and Cilihan also colluded with Hundupusu, a resident of Nanjiang, to try to escape to Goryeo, but they were detained by the Liao Dynasty first."

I sat up straight: "Do you know why A-Bo betrayed Emperor Taizu of Jin?"

"There is no record of this in historical books, but Wanyan Daguda was kind-hearted and had a good reputation. Presumably, Abo was also after wealth and honor."

Professor Li picked up his teacup: "I won't go into the details of the process, we'll just talk about what happened. After Abo defected to the Liao Dynasty, Wanyan Aguda repeatedly asked the Liao Dynasty for his return, but the Liao Dynasty never did. Even after Wanyan Aguda raised an army to destroy the Liao Dynasty and was honored as Emperor Taizu in 1115, he was still concerned about this matter, but the Liao Dynasty still refused to hand him over, and Abo was determined to defect to the Liao Dynasty and refused to return. It wasn't until 1122 that Wanyan Gao, the commander of the Jin Dynasty, captured Heshilie Abo."

The monkey interjected, "This guy betrayed Aguda and has been helping the Liao Kingdom fight against the Jin Kingdom. Didn't Aguda kill him?"

"Every dynasty in history, no matter how bad it became later, generally had a founding emperor with extraordinary abilities. When Aguda met A'bo, he did not kill him, but released him after flogging him and appointed him as the Meng'an of Dongping Road, which is equivalent to a centurion. This also sowed the seeds for Husha Hu's later rebellion."

Professor Li paused for a moment: "Who Hu Shahu's father was is unknown in history, but Hu Shahu inherited A'bo's official position. Although he was fickle in character and of humble origin, he was indeed quite talented. In 1168, at a young age, he became the Crown Prince's guard, served as the Crown Prince's assistant, was reassigned as the head of the Eagle Guard, and was later promoted to Eagle Guard Commissioner and Commander of the Imperial Guard. He was already a powerful minister in all his right."

This early success made Hu Shahu arrogant and domineering, and all the officials in the court despised him. However, relying on his immense power, he continued to do as he pleased.

In 1193, he was sent on a mission. On his way, he passed through a town and complained that the wine supervisor, Yilabao, was late in welcoming him. He then ordered Yilabao to be severely beaten with fifty strokes of the cane on the grounds that the wine was not strong enough. As a result, he was demoted and reassigned as the Right Deputy Inspector. However, he ignored the imperial edict and did not go to take up his post. Later, he was demoted to the Defense Commissioner of Zhaozhou.

Of course, Hu Sha Hu's arrogance was not without merit. Although he was unpopular, his military talent was outstanding, and in 1197, he was reinstated as a Privy Councilor. That year, the emperor ordered him to assist the prime minister in a military campaign, but he refused, citing a rift with the prime minister, and would rather die than comply.

I was somewhat surprised: "In ancient times, the emperor's power was the highest authority in the world, how could this person be so arrogant?"

"Perhaps this is why he dared to assassinate the emperor later. Emperor Wanyan Yongji was determined to deal with him because of his insolent words. However, at that time, Hu Shahu had his own army and had developed his own faction in the court. The emperor had no choice but to pardon him and send him out of the capital to serve as the military governor of Yongding Army. He was later reassigned as the commander of the Northwest Route. After returning to Yongding Army, he was dismissed for forcibly seizing horses from his subordinates' army."

In 1201, Hu Shahu was reinstated as the prefect of Daxing Prefecture, but he continued to act willfully, repeatedly defying imperial orders. The Censor-in-Chief Meng Zhu even submitted a memorial impeaching him, listing numerous crimes against Hu Shahu. He was accused of greed, cruelty, tyranny, and disregard for the law. Even after his sentence was reduced, he continued to commit offenses without repentance, and despite receiving imperial favor, he became even more arrogant and domineering.

Hu Shahu's crimes were numerous, including fraudulently identifying horses in Xiongzhou, embezzling salaries in Pingzhou, destroying Wei Tingshi's property, digging up his family graves, failing to submit memorials to the emperor, privately praying for rain, gathering with prostitutes, beating and verbally abusing colleagues, arbitrarily suspending them from their duties, losing the decorum of a commander, and disrespecting his position as the Prefect of the Capital, among others.

The monkey exclaimed in shock, "Holy crap! This guy's practically shitting on the emperor's neck, and the court isn't doing anything about it?"

"At that time, the Jin and Song kingdoms were locked in fierce battle. The emperor was wary of Hu Shahu's power in the court, saying that he was a rough man and it was only natural for him to be a bit domineering. Meng Zhu reminded the emperor that if Hu Shahu was allowed to continue his reckless behavior, the imperial power would inevitably be affected. So the emperor ordered the Ministry of Personnel to investigate, but he dared not anger Hu Shahu, who held military power, and could only reassign him as the commander of the Wuwei Army."

Professor Li paused for a moment: "Through these countless promotions and demotions, Hu Shahu's awe of imperial power has almost disappeared. He gradually became dissatisfied and began to ask the court for grain and soldiers under the pretext of guarding his territory, secretly accumulating strength."

In May 1206, the Song army invaded Jincheng. Hu Shahu was ordered to fight back and won many battles. He became famous for his military achievements and was granted the hereditary title of Mouke in 1209. Next, he led 7,000 elite troops and encountered a large army north of Ding'an. Seeing that he was no match for them, he led his personal guards to flee, and his troops were subsequently defeated.

When he fled to Weizhou, Hu Shahu took out 5,000 taels of silver from the treasury, as well as clothing and other valuables, and let his soldiers plunder the horses of officials and commoners. When he led his personal guards into Zijing Pass, he also killed the magistrate of Laishui County. This shows that he no longer cared about the imperial court.

After Hu Shahu's defeat, instead of apologizing, he requested that 20,000 infantry and cavalry be stationed in Xuande Prefecture. However, Wanyan Yongji only gave him 3,000 men to garrison Guichuan. To appease him, he promoted him to Right Deputy Marshal and Acting Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel.

Hu Shahu had been stationed in Guichuan for three years. Seeing that no transfer order had been issued, he knew the emperor intended to reduce his influence in court. Therefore, he requested to move his troops to Nankou or Xinzhuang, saying that his own death was insignificant, but his three thousand soldiers were insufficient to resist the invading enemy. He feared they would collapse upon encountering the enemy, and that the Twelve Passes, Jianchun, and even Wanning Palace would be beyond defense.

"This isn't a request, it's a blatant threat!"

I raised my eyebrows: "By saying this, he is clearly threatening the imperial court, saying that if his conditions are not met, he will let the enemy army into the pass!"

Professor Li rubbed his hands together: "That's right, it was Hu Shahu's actions that completely ignited the fuse between him and the imperial court."