Kang Sui, following Zhong Shidao's orders, led his men to dig up Wanyan Zongwang's tomb. It was called a tomb, but in reality, it was just a random earth pit, into which Wanyan Zongwang's body and head were thrown, and then covered with earth.
He also asked the soldiers to bring a fine nanmu coffin, cleaned Wanyan Zongmou's body and put it into the coffin.
Kang Sui, as an army envoy, led a team of soldiers to escort Wanyan Zonghan's coffin northward, playing music and drums along the way according to etiquette.
After crossing the Yellow River, the Jin officials were shocked to hear that it was the Song envoys who came to Jin. They hurriedly welcomed them and sent troops to Shangjing to inform Emperor Wanyan Sheng.
Wanyan Sheng had become much more restrained since he was beaten by the ministers. He no longer dared to drink too much, and the expenses of the harem had also been reduced.
When the Jin emperor ascended the throne, he imitated the etiquette of the Song Dynasty in every way, but some of it was unavoidable and a bit specious.
Later, he also felt that this was not right. He simply went to hell and established his own system of monarch and minister. That is, the relationship between the monarch and minister was relatively looser than that of the Song Dynasty, without so many rules.
The Jin Dynasty's imperial palace wasn't exactly luxurious, but it was certainly presentable. Some elements retained folk architectural styles, such as the heated kang (kang). Given the cold north, even the imperial court had heated kangs.
At this moment, Wanyan Sheng couldn't drink freely, his mouth was dry and he couldn't get angry, so he just curled up on the kang and pretended to sleep.
The Jin Dynasty had few rules. A young eunuch, upon learning of a local military intelligence report, rushed in with the report, without going through the emperor's personal eunuchs. "Your Majesty, Your Majesty! This is terrible! The Song Dynasty envoys are here!"
Wanyan Sheng was so shocked that he rolled off the kang and asked, "The Song Dynasty is invading?"
"No, it's not. It was the Song Dynasty that sent an envoy to Shangjing." The young eunuch said with sweat on his forehead.
Wanyan Sheng was furious. "Someone come! Someone come!"
The eunuch Golmud ran in: "Your Majesty!"
Wanyan Sheng pointed at the young eunuch and said, "Drag him out and chop him off!"
At this time, there were less than a hundred eunuchs in the Jin Dynasty palace, and even Wanyan Sheng himself had only four or five concubines in his harem.
Wanyan Sheng was usually annoyed by these androgynous eunuchs. When the young eunuch rashly barged in and yelled, he thought the Song army was invading the Jin Dynasty. He was furious and wanted to kill him for taking advantage of the situation.
The young eunuch was so frightened that he knelt down and begged for mercy. Wanyan Sheng, his eyes wide open, kicked him over, and the report in his hand fell to the ground. Golmud sent two guards to drag the young eunuch out and behead him.
Wanyan Sheng picked up the report on the ground and finally realized that it was the Song Dynasty that sent an envoy with Wanyan Zongmou's body.
The Song Dynasty was not sure what was going on, so Wanyan Sheng summoned Wanyan Zonghan and Wanyan Ang to discuss the matter. After all, these two were more familiar with the Song Dynasty.
…
Wanyan Ang slammed the table and said, "Humph! What tricks is that little Zhao Huan trying to pull now?"
Wanyan Sheng thought for a moment: "The Song people sent Zong Wang's remains back and treated him with the proper etiquette of a prince. Do they have something to ask of us?"
Wanyan Ang glared at him and said, "What else is going on? That Zhao Huan kid is full of tricks. We can't fall for his tricks!"
Wanyan Zonghan was more clever: "No matter what their purpose is, we will know it when they arrive."
Kang Sui was really surprised when he arrived in Shangjing. He did not expect that the capital of the Jin Dynasty was so dilapidated. It was even worse than a small city in the Song Dynasty.
The fierce Jin people welcomed Kang Sui and others outside the palace, and Wanyan Sheng brought civil and military officials with him.
"Emissary Kang Sui from the Song Dynasty pays homage to His Majesty the Emperor of the Jin Dynasty!"
Wanyan Sheng looked at him coldly: "What are you doing here?"
After all, they were the Zhong family army. Kang Sui showed no fear: "I, your humble servant, am following the orders of the Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty to transport the coffin of the Jin Dynasty Marshal Wanyan Zongwang to Shangjing to show the Great Song Dynasty's intention to make peace. I never thought that your Jin Dynasty Emperor would be so arrogant. Isn't he the laughing stock of the world?!"
Wanyan Sheng had just lost his composure, and his face flushed slightly. "Um, are you guys going to fix it?"
"What should we repair? What tricks is that dog emperor of your Song Dynasty playing now?" Wanyan Ang rolled up his sleeves and shouted.
Wanyan Zonghan, who was standing next to him, grabbed his sleeve and stopped him.
Kang Sui said proudly, "I am an envoy from the Song Dynasty. Your Majesty should treat me with state courtesy. May I enter the palace to speak?"
Wanyan Sheng lost another blow in terms of momentum, and his face flushed again: "Please!"
The Jin Dynasty's Grand Hall was naturally much inferior to Zhao Huan's imperial palace in Bianjing. However, they had still put considerable effort into preparing for the envoy's visit.
Wanyan Sheng sat back on his throne, with a group of ministers standing beside him. The difference was that they did not hold the tablets used in court.
"Emissary from the Great Song Dynasty, why did your emperor send you here?" Wanyan Sheng asked, one foot on the chair as he sat in the hall. After all, he was the king of a country, and his majesty was still there.
Kang Sui did not dare to be presumptuous and bowed, saying, "The Emperor of the Great Song said: When two countries go to war, the people are displaced. The Emperor of the Great Song sympathizes with the people and does not want to engage in excessive military activity. He wishes to maintain peace with the Kingdom of Jin forever."
As soon as Kang Sui finished speaking, Wanyan Ang flew into a rage: "Bullshit! When our Great Jin retreated, you also said that we would be friends forever, but you broke your promise and cut off our retreat. You caused tens of thousands of my Great Jin men to die on the battlefield. Zhao Huan, you little brat, your words are like bullshit. Stop deceiving us!"
Wanyan Ang cursed loudly, losing the demeanor of a great country. So Wanyan Sheng was furious: "Wanyan Ang! Shut up!"
Although Wanyan Ang stopped talking, he still glared at Kang Sui angrily.
Kang Sui showed no fear: "What a broken promise! Song and Jin once swore that if we conquered Liao, Jin would return the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun to our Song. Now these Sixteen Prefectures are in our hands? Is it you who broke your promise or us? Heaven and earth can bear witness to our Song's sincerity in reconciling with Jin, yet you have invaded our territory without any reason. You marched your troops straight towards Bianjing. Is it us, the Song, who are breaking our promise or you, the Jin? Our Emperor is kind and benevolent, and will forgive past mistakes. But now you order me to bring your Majesty's sincerity to make peace with Jin, and yet you keep pressing us. What is your intention?"
Kang Sui spoke passionately, his words leaving everyone speechless. The Song army was now considered the victor, and Kang Sui was right. Although the Jin army was fierce, they could not refute it.
Wanyan Zonghan stepped forward and said, "Since that is the case, please express your sincerity in establishing an alliance."
Wanyan Zonghan called him the distinguished envoy, which meant that he was finally treated as a guest.
Kang Sui resumed his submissive tone: "My Lord has said: Song and Jin have signed an alliance, a non-aggression pact. The Great Song will pay Jin two hundred thousand taels of silver and one hundred thousand pieces of cloth and silk annually to aid military expenses, to be delivered in Xiongzhou. The Yellow River will be the boundary, and both sides will withdraw their troops. From now on, any thieves and fugitives who cross the border will not be allowed to shelter. The border cities of both dynasties will remain as usual, and no new city gods will be built. The two countries will establish trading posts on the border to carry out mutual trade and commerce."
The courtiers in the hall erupted in an uproar. The Jin dynasty was already the defeated, so how could the Song dynasty actually send them annual tribute? Everyone was delighted.
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