Now we are facing a problem, and that problem concerns Wanyan Zonghan, the commander-in-chief of the Jin army.
Given Zhao Huan's temperament, he should have torn Wanyan Zonghan to pieces. However, yesterday, Liu Yanzong told him something that made him have to reconsider the issue.
There are now two factions in the Jin court. One faction is led by Wanyan Gao, the powerful military and political figure in the Jin state, who has Wanyan Zongwang and Wanyan Zonghan under his command. It can be said that a series of powerful generals in the Jin state have gathered on his side.
One faction was led by Wanyan Zongpan, whose identity was quite special. He was the eldest son of the reigning Jin emperor, Wanyan Sheng. His supporters included Wanyan Chang and Wanyan Zongjun. Wanyan Chang was also a powerful figure in the Jin state. He was Wanyan Aguda's cousin, and Wanyan Zongjun was Wanyan Aguda's sixth son.
When Wanyan Aguda founded the country, he established a system called Bojilie, which was equivalent to the two prefectures in the Song Dynasty. Both were high-ranking officials, and they played the role of the highest power in the country besides the emperor, that is, the head of all civil and military officials.
Wanyan Zongpan really wanted his father to abolish this system, which would greatly weaken the power of the ministers, curb Wanyan Gao and others, and reduce the resistance to the succession.
Wanyan Zonghan was one of the Bojilie, and he held a very high position in the Jin Dynasty, arguably the most meritorious official in the founding of the Jin Dynasty.
Zhao Huan reconsidered the issue that if Wanyan Zonghan were killed, the power balance in the Jin state might collapse, Wanyan Zongpan would gain the upper hand in the short term, and it was even very likely that the Jin emperor would take this opportunity to abolish Bojilie.
Logically speaking, the killing of Wanyan Zonghan and the strengthening of Wanyan Zongpan's power are what Zhao Huan wanted to see, because Wanyan Zongpan was a proponent of peace, and Zhao Huan did not intend to fight for the time being; a bloody battle was the worst possible strategy!
However, according to Liu Yanzong, there was no real pro-peace faction in the Jin court. The so-called pro-peace faction was just someone who wanted to fight against their political enemies. Once their political enemies were eliminated, the pro-peace faction turned into the pro-war faction.
At that time, Wanyan Zongpan would not only obtain the position of crown prince, but also become a proponent of war, which was the situation that Zhao Huan did not want to see.
The current pro-war faction, led by Wanyan Gao, is at least restrained by the pro-peace faction led by Wanyan Zongpan. The internal strife within the Jin state is better than allowing Wanyan Zongpan to become a pro-war figure.
Therefore, Zhao Huan was stumped by this question.
On an emotional level, Zhao Huan naturally wanted to kill Wanyan Zonghan as soon as possible. This fellow had killed so many Song soldiers and civilians, and he couldn't just let him go for no reason.
After much deliberation, Zhao Huan concluded that Liu Yanzong was the worse one. He told Zhao Huan that it would be fine to send Wanyan Zonghan back, but he didn't say to send him back intact. He wouldn't learn his lesson if he dared to lay a knife on the Holy Emperor's territory and didn't cut something off with it.
So Liu Yanzong offered a plan to the puzzled Zhao Huan: castrate Wanyan Zonghan and then release him!
Zhao Huan inwardly exclaimed that Liu Yanzong was a complete genius, how could he come up with such a despicable scheme?
Liu Yanzong also explained to Zhao Huan that there was another benefit to strictly controlling Wanyan Zonghan: it would make Wanyan Zonghan hate the Song Dynasty. This way, he would think about revenge and attacking the Song Dynasty at all times. Once he did so, Wanyan Zongpan would naturally suppress him even more, and Wanyan Zongpan would rely on the Song Dynasty even more.
It must be said that Liu Yanzong was quite capable. After speaking, Zhao Huan nodded repeatedly and immediately praised Liu Yanzong, saying that he would no longer disturb him when he was visiting prostitutes—or rather, discussing life with beautiful women.
Zhao Huan first ordered his men to beat Wanyan Zonghan half to death. While Wanyan Zonghan was being tortured, the emperor sat beside him, eating fruit and watching this rare spectacle. He would occasionally ask the Imperial Guards who were administering the torture why they used that position, apparently to make the prisoner feel excruciating pleasure.
The emperor highly praised their wit and professionalism.
After confirming that Wanyan Zonghan was half-dead, they began to castrate him. At this point, Zhao Huan avoided the scene, not wanting to see it and ruin his appetite for the evening.
There's a little anecdote here, also about Wanyan Zonghan.
After Wanyan Zongpan signed the Taiyuan Alliance with Zhao Huan, he asked for Wanyan Zonghan, saying he would take him back, but Zhao Huan refused.
The reason for the refusal was simple: Wanyan Zonghan was a war criminal and had to be detained without any room for negotiation.
Seeing the emperor's strong stance, Wanyan Zongpan didn't say much. He only hoped that Zhao Huan would kill Wanyan Zonghan as soon as possible. The reason he asked Zhao Huan for Wanyan Zonghan was that he wanted to kill Wanyan Zonghan himself on the way back, so as not to cause any unforeseen complications.
Now it seems that this emperor, who likes to kill people, will surely kill Wanyan Zonghan, so he happily went back.
He never expected that Zhao Huan would not kill Wanyan Zonghan, but instead castrate him and then send people to escort him back to the Jin Kingdom intact, which was a great gift left for Wanyan Zongpan.
Shortly after the signing of the Taiyuan Treaty, the Jin army in Hebei, led by Wanyan Zongwang, began to retreat. According to the demands of the Song Dynasty, Guo Yaoshi and Dong Cai, who had surrendered to the Song, had to be left behind.
Regarding this issue, Wanyan Zongwang wrote to Wanyan Sheng many times, stating that Dong Cai and Guo Yaoshi must not be left unattended, otherwise who would dare to surrender to the Jin Dynasty in the future?
His memorial to the throne did not receive a response from Wanyan Sheng, who neither opposed nor agreed with it, causing great controversy in the Jin court.
When Wanyan Zongpan returned to the Jin Dynasty and presented the alliance treaty to the Jin emperor, he was met with strong opposition and condemnation from the pro-war faction. They refused to accept it, saying it was an insult to the powerful Jin Dynasty, and were willing to send another 100,000 troops south.
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
