Professor Li did not give a precise answer to my question: "I only said that there was a possibility that Hu Shahu had a grand funeral, but looking at the entire History of Jin and other historical records, there is no record of Hu Shahu being buried. If I were to speculate, I feel that his tomb is very likely to be in the Heilongjiang area."

I picked up my teacup: "Did you make this calculation based on the birthplace of the Jin Dynasty?"

"Of course, although the Jin Dynasty was established by a minority ethnic group, it was also influenced by traditional culture, and to some extent, the beliefs of the minority ethnic group were purer."

Professor Li explained: "In 1115 AD, Wanyan Aguda established the Jin Dynasty; in 1124, Emperor Taizong of Jin, Wanyan Sheng, adopted a policy of appeasement towards the Western Xia, and the Western Xia submitted to Jin, acknowledging its status as the suzerain state. The following year, Jin captured the last emperor of the Liao Dynasty, Emperor Tianzuo, and destroyed the Liao Dynasty; by 1127, the Jin army had advanced rapidly, attacked the Song capital Bianliang, captured Emperors Huizong and Qinzong, and destroyed the Northern Song Dynasty; in 1140, the Jin Dynasty reached its peak, forcing the Southern Song, which had already submitted to Jin, to sign the Jin-Song Treaty."

From then on, the territory of the Jin Dynasty extended south to the Huai River, north to the Xing'an Mountains beyond the Heilongjiang River, east to the sea bordering Goryeo, west across the Mongolian Plateau, and southwest to the Western Xia, covering a vast area.

The Jin Dynasty was established by the Jurchen people, who originated from the Anchuhu River, which is the area around the Ashi River southeast of Harbin, Heilongjiang Province. During the reign of Emperor Taizong, the capital was established in Huining, near the Anchuhu River, and it was upgraded to Huining Prefecture. As the first capital of the Jin Dynasty, this place is now the Harbin area.

Although by the time of Hu Sha Hu, the Jin Dynasty had moved its capital to Zhongdu, which is present-day Beijing, their roots remained in Heilongjiang. Therefore, many Jin Dynasty tombs from the mid-to-late period have been discovered within Heilongjiang, a kind of homecoming.

"Do you think it's possible that Hu Shahu was buried in the Far East abroad?"

I gave him the excuse I had prepared beforehand: "A while ago, a friend brought me some antiques to appraise. I looked at them and there was nothing wrong with them. They were burial objects from the Jin Dynasty. Moreover, based on the two characters 'Zhizhong' written in regular script on a gold plate, I deduced that the tomb owner was very likely Heshilie Zhizhong, who is also Husha Hu himself. Those items looked like they were unearthed from the ground. My friend also said that he traded chocolates with some local children while traveling abroad. According to him, those children picked up these things in a mine."

"You've been fooled; that thing is a fake."

Professor Li smiled and said, "The Jurchens initially did not have their own script; they used the Khitan script. After Aguda established the state, in order to facilitate the implementation of his decrees, he ordered his minister Wanyan Xiyin to create a Jurchen script in 1119. This man created the Jurchen script by referring to both Han and Khitan characters, later known as the 'Jurchen Large Script.' Later, Emperor Xizong of Jin created a new script in 1138, called the 'Jurchen Small Script.' Although the Jin Dynasty was already on its last legs during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong, it had not yet completely fallen. How could the burial objects in Hushahu's tomb have his name written in Han characters?"

I was deliberately giving Professor Li a clue when I said that, and I immediately showed a disappointed expression: "I knew it! Hu Shahu was a powerful minister of the Jin Dynasty, how could his tomb be located in the Far East! It seems I'm still not good enough. If it weren't for your guidance, I probably would have been fooled!"

"It is possible that Hu Shahu was buried in the Far East, but it should not be said that he was buried abroad, because the territory of the Jin Dynasty extended far to the northeast. The Khabarovsk Krai in present-day Russia, including Vladivostok and Sakhalin Island, was all part of the Jin Dynasty's territory, and it was inherited by subsequent dynasties after the fall of the Jin Dynasty."

Professor Li took out a world map from the cabinet, spread it out on the table, picked up a pencil and circled the entire Khabarovsk Krai, and then drew a small circle near Sakhalin Island: "The Jin Dynasty implemented a five-capital system, initially divided into Shangjing, Dongjing, Xijing, Nanjing, and Beijing. This location is the territory of Shangjing."

For the Jin Dynasty, Harbin was its heartland, while this area was its rear. Hushahu was a powerful minister of the Jin Dynasty, so it was normal for him to choose his burial site within his own territory. Moreover, as a disgraced official, it was understandable that he wouldn't be allowed to be buried near the Anchuhu River after his death.

I continued, "Then what do you think the scale of his mausoleum should be?"

"Historically, Wanyan Yongji is often described as someone who misjudged people and was weak-willed, which is why he raised a tiger that would eventually become his own enemy and die at the hands of Hu Shahu. But I don't agree with this view."

Professor Li put the map away: "Emperor Zhangzong of Jin, Wanyan Jing, who preceded Wanyan Yongji, had many doubts about the princes. After careful consideration, he decided to appoint his uncle Wanyan Yongji as the military governor of Wuding Army to control the military. Soon after, he summoned Yongji to the court and appointed him as the military governor of the royal family to control the imperial clan. Thus, Yongji became the person he trusted most."

When Wanyan Jing was choosing a successor to the throne, he noticed that his son was not yet born. So he issued a secret edict to Yongji, saying that if one of his two unborn sons was a boy, he should be made crown prince; if both were boys, Yongji should choose the more capable one.

Wanyan Yongji solemnly agreed to Wanyan Jing's conditions and succeeded him as emperor. However, in order to maintain his imperial power, he immediately poisoned Consort Jia of Emperor Zhangzong of Jin and forced Consort Fan to have an abortion and shave her head to become a nun, thus severing his nephew's bloodline and completely betraying Wanyan Jing's trust.

You tell me, could such a ruthless monarch, who would even exterminate his own family, be a weak-willed person? How could he possibly let Hu Sha Hu, who posed such a great threat to him, go through so many troubles again and again? The most likely reason is that Hu Sha Hu's power was too great, making Wanyan Yongji hesitant to act against him.

Judging from the situation after Emperor Xuanzong of Jin ascended the throne, although Husha Hu was nominally a subject, he had already wielded absolute power in the court. If Shuhu Gaoqi had not killed him, his ambition to become emperor would have only grown stronger.

When I was studying the history of the Jin Dynasty, I read a passage in a book fragment unearthed from an ancient tomb. It said that Hu Sha Hu had a confidant named Wanyan Hushilai. No matter where Hu Sha Hu took office, this man would amass wealth. Moreover, when Hu Sha Hu led his army to besiege Chuzhou, this man also captured a large number of slaves. This record did not appear in the biography of He Shi Lie Zhi Zhong.

One of my students even hypothesized that Wanyan Hushi's extortion and slavery activities could only have two causes: either he was raising funds for Hushahu's rebellion, or he was building a mausoleum. Considering that after Hushahu's death, Shuhu Gaoqi was appointed and the Attendant Bureau faction began exercising power, it's clear that Hushahu didn't maintain a large private army, and his life wasn't extravagant. Therefore, building a mausoleum is highly probable, given the great importance ancient people placed on their afterlife.

At the time, my students even suggested setting up a project team to investigate the whereabouts of Hu Shahu's funds and to conduct on-site investigations at the Jin Dynasty site. However, this was, after all, a record of unofficial history, and although archaeology, history, and authentication sound similar, they are completely different fields.

Most archaeologists only know how to excavate and then wait for professionals to come and appraise it. As for us historians, we are even more laymen. So his proposal was not even reported and was directly rejected because in those days, the school simply did not have enough funds to send us abroad for research. Moreover, the basis for his proposal was only a piece of unofficial history whose author was unknown.

Perhaps Hu Shahu did indeed amass wealth and build a massive tomb during his lifetime, but without concrete evidence, I cannot answer your question. We academics must be rigorous.”

Although Professor Li did not give a definite answer, I have a general idea of ​​what to do after combining the information I have gathered.