在来找李教授之前，我就查过胡沙虎的资料，但那都是史书当中的一笔带过，远没有李教授这么详细，同时也提出了心中的好奇：“据我所知，胡沙虎因为要兵一事惹怒了皇帝，完颜永济龙颜大怒，下诏列数他十五条罪状，将他罢除官职遣回原乡了。”
"This was precisely the opportunity for Hu Shahu to rebel. He had been sidelined for three years, and his request for troops was a test of the court's attitude. Wanyan Yongji believed that Hu Shahu's power had been greatly weakened due to his absence from the court for three years, so he used this as an excuse to dismiss him from office. This move provoked strong dissatisfaction from Hu Shahu. Although he was no longer in court, he still had his subordinates, so he began to order his followers to put pressure on the court. This method did indeed work, and the following year, Wanyan Yongji summoned him back to Zhongdu to participate in discussions on military affairs."
Professor Li spoke with great emotion when recalling this period of history: "At that time, the Jin court was divided into two factions. One group of people always advocated not to employ Hu Shahu and gradually reduced his supporters. Zhang Xingxin, the Left Censor, and others submitted several memorials listing Hu Shahu's crimes, which made Wanyan Yongji temporarily abandon this idea."
Unfortunately, Wanyan Yongji ultimately could not withstand the pressure from Hu Shahu's faction and reinstated him, bestowing upon him a gold medal and temporarily appointing him as the Right Deputy Marshal, leading 5,000 Wuwei Army troops to garrison north of Zhongdu City. Nominally, it was to restore his military rank, but in reality, it was also to keep him by his side for surveillance.
At that time, the tug-of-war between the two sides was very intense. Hu Shahu knew that this was his last chance, so he conspired with his accomplices Wanyan Weinu, Wugulun Duola, and others to rebel.
At that time, the Mongol tribes rose to power, and Genghis Khan once again led a large army to approach Zhongdu. However, Husha Hu spent his days drinking, making merry, riding horses and hunting, and did not care about military affairs at all. The emperor was furious and sent someone to the army to sternly urge him on. Husha Hu was so angry that he killed his beloved hawk and decided to rebel.
He falsely claimed that Tudan Nanping, the prefect of Daxing Prefecture, and his son, Meilie, the vice minister of the Ministry of Justice and imperial son-in-law, were plotting a rebellion and were ordered to suppress it. At the same time, he tricked Tudan Nanping's relative by marriage, Fuhai, into coming and detained him. In this way, Husha Hu easily stripped the royalist faction of their military power.
That night, Hu Shahu divided his troops into three groups. One group entered the city through Zhangyi Gate. To prevent resistance from the soldiers in the city, he sent scouts to Donghua Gate to falsely report that the enemy was already fighting the Jin army at Beiguan. At the same time, he sent someone to summon Tudan Nanping, the prefect of Daxing Prefecture, and had him executed in Fuyifang. He also sent someone to execute Meilie.
After news of Hu Shahu's rebellion spread, only Fu Baozhi, the Marquis of Shanyang, and Wanyan Shigu, the ten-man guard, summoned five hundred Han soldiers to the rescue, but the entire army was wiped out. The garrison commander of Donghua Gate refused to accept Hu Shahu's offer of defection and was also killed.
Thus, Hu Shahu successfully entered the palace and found a gold seal engraved with "Declaration of Imperial Decree". He then falsely proclaimed an imperial edict to appoint all his subordinates to high-ranking positions and replaced all the palace guards with his cronies.
After Hu Shahu seized the complete set of imperial seals and tiger tallies, he was worried about the safety of the palace, so he made Daxing Prefecture the place where he planned to ascend the throne. He also imitated the emperor's grand sacrifices and arranged them all on the stone steps in front of the main hall of Daxing Prefecture to summon his ministers.
Unexpectedly, the court officials stood motionless like wooden statues, their eyes downcast, lips tightly pressed together, and without any expression. Hu Sha Hu pondered for a long time and decided to use a transitional method to become emperor again. He then proclaimed himself Grand Marshal Regent and ordered Zhang Haoli, a clerk in the Ministry of Personnel, to forge the seal of Grand Marshal Regent for him.
Zhang Haoli, a loyal minister, refused Husha Hu's conditions, citing the ancestral precepts of the Jin Dynasty that forbade non-royal individuals from ruling as regents. This enraged Husha Hu, who sent men to the Prince Shao's residence to assassinate Emperor Wanyan Yongji, intending to forcibly ascend the throne.
After Hu Shahu revealed his thoughts, Prime Minister Tu Danyi stepped forward to remind him that the emperors of the Jin Dynasty had always been from the Wanyan clan. Even if Hu Shahu became emperor, he would not be able to win the hearts of the Jin people. This move would inevitably trigger a larger-scale war, and he would be overthrown.
At this time, Husha Hu had already murdered the emperor. In order to avoid becoming the target of public criticism, he sent people to bring Wanyan Xun back to the court and installed him as the new emperor of the Jin Dynasty, historically known as Emperor Xuanzong of Jin.
From then on, Hu Shahu wielded immense power, holding the emperor hostage to command the other princes. No one in the court dared to offend him. He even granted him a seat to discuss politics during court sessions and had absolute authority in political affairs. Even the prime minister who contradicted him had to bow his head and admit his guilt.
However, just as Hu Shahu was at the height of his power, the repeated defeats of Marshal Shu Hu Gaoqi, the Right Supervisor of the Army, aroused his dissatisfaction. Hu Shahu even warned Shu Hu Gaoqi that if he continued to lose battles, he would be court-martialed.
As a result, Shuhu Gaoqi suffered repeated defeats and realized that he was not a confidant of Hushahu and could not afford to offend this powerful minister. In order to survive, he launched a coup, led the Meng army into Zhongdu, and surrounded Hushahu's mansion.
Hu Shahu, a powerful minister who dared not be punished even for regicide, injured his leg while jumping over the wall to escape and was hacked to death by soldiers.
When Shuhu Gaoqi was desperate, he took Husha Hu's head to the palace to plead guilty. When Emperor Xuanzong of Jin heard that this traitor had been killed, he was overjoyed. Instead of punishing him, he pardoned him and appointed him as the Left Deputy Marshal. It was truly an absurd thing in history that a subject could gain merit by killing someone without authorization.
This is a very interesting piece of history. Wanyan Yongji lacked the ability to govern the country and was also bad at judging people. It was because he heavily relied on Hushahu that he ended up on the road to destruction.
As for Hu Shahu, he was stubborn and self-willed, with an unpredictable temperament. He was so arrogant and domineering that he didn't even respect the emperor and the prime minister. This arrogant and powerful minister didn't die in Si Bai's killings, but was murdered by his own subordinates in the same way. Perhaps this is what is called karma.
This man, born of humble origins, strived his entire life to achieve glory, only to fall sharply. After his death, Emperor Xuanzong revealed his crimes, stripped him of his official titles and ranks, and he faded into obscurity. Perhaps this is the allure of history: a few strokes in the annals of history can be a microcosm of many lives, whether illustrious or humble in life, ultimately becoming a laughingstock.
I scratched my head: "Since Hu Shahu was demoted to a commoner after his death and died without a complete body, doesn't that mean that he didn't even have a grave and just vanished into thin air?"
"This is not entirely true. Emperor Xuanzong of Jin was able to ascend the throne entirely with the help of Hushahu, so his feelings towards Hushahu were also very complicated. Moreover, Hushahu was not the only one in the Jin Dynasty who intended to rebel at that time. Qingshannu, Weibi, Weikang and others in the Imperial Attendants Bureau were also major threats to Emperor Xuanzong. In order to counterbalance these people, he did not exterminate all of Hushahu's faction, and even pardoned Hushahu's wife and children."
Professor Li paused for a moment: "Hu Shahu has long harbored rebellious intentions. Although his life has been full of ups and downs, he has held great power for most of the time. According to the customs of the ancients, he must have already begun to build his own tomb before he died. Since Wanyan Xun is mindful of past friendships and wants to win over Hu Shahu's former subordinates to fight against Qing Shannu and others, it is not impossible that he will allow Hu Shahu to have a grand funeral, provided that even his family can be forgiven."
My eyes lit up: "Then where do you think Hu Shahu's tomb is most likely to be located?"
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