Jin Guo Da'an for three years, Song Jiading for four years, summer and May. In the northern areas of Hengzhou (present-day Zhenglanqidong, Inner Mongolia), Changzhou (present-day Jiuliancheng, Taifusi Banner, Inner Mongolia), and Fuzhou (present-day Zhangbei, Hebei), countless Geer (Note 2) were like white clouds, the banners almost covered the blue sky, and the cold light flickering on the armor of various weapons was even more dazzling than the sun.

Among this boundless army, a great man is the most noble, and wherever he goes, no matter how strong a warrior is, he is as docile as a sheep, and wherever his eyes touch, it seems that a flame will burn at any moment.

He is a generation of Tianjiao, Temujin.

Temujin, who was forty-nine years old (real rather than imaginary), was entering the most glorious period of his life. At this time, he seemed to be a male lion, with inexhaustible energy, if not to vent it on those looting women, then to vent it on his enemies.

He was tall even among the Mongols, with a broad and shiny forehead, not like an old man of nearly half a hundred years old. His face was plump, and his abundance of meat and milk made him ruddy, and his cat-like eyes were shining, sharp, intelligent, and ambitious. His beard was not very thick, but it was longer than his neck and hung almost down to his chest, and his color changed from jet black to gray over time. (Note 3)

He looked at the warriors with satisfaction, and the warriors responded to his gaze with cheers.

He had been preparing for this southern expedition for a long time, and he had gathered as many as 150,000 warriors, plus auxiliaries, the number exceeded 300,000, so that the number of troops left behind in the large camp was only 2,000. Those who are old enough to use soldiers like Temujin naturally understand that although this is the first battle of the levy, it is also the first battle that determines the fortunes of the country.

The first battle was a decisive battle, but Temu didn't feel nervous in his heart - for no other reason, he already knew the truth and the truth for the behemoth-like Dajin Kingdom.

When the current Dajin Emperor was only the king of Wei, he once went to Jingzhou (which should be the banner of the four sons of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region) as a special envoy of the Dajin Kingdom to accept tribute from the Mongolian tribes. Although this Wei Wang Yongji was tall and good-looking, he was cowardly and incompetent, and Temujin knew his details after a little temptation, and the earth looked down on him in his heart, so he "saw that Yongji was not courteous", that is, he refused to give a great salute to Wei Wang Yongji as a subordinate of the country. Three years ago, Yongji became the new emperor of the Great Golden Son, and ordered the envoy to Mongolia to issue an edict, Temujin asked who the new monarch was, and after learning that the person who ascended the throne of the Great Golden Son of Heaven was the Wei King Yongji, who was despised by him, he spat in front of the envoy to the south, and provoked with disrespectful words: "I say that the emperor of the Central Plains is made by a man of heaven, and such a cowardice is also for it, why worship it!" When he had said that, he rode away on his horse.

Recalling this past, the corners of Temujin's mouth curved slightly downward, forming an arc.

"Genghis Khan, the morale of the sons is high, and they can't wait to fight the Jin people!"

He was accompanied by Yelu Ahai, a Khitan who was originally from Dajin and had been appointed by Dajin as an envoy to the Great Khan Wang Han of the Mongolian Kereh tribe, that is, Temujin's father-in-law, and became acquainted with Temujin at that time. Because of his admiration for Temujin's talent, he and his younger brother Yelu Bald turned their backs to Meng, served Temujin, and repeatedly advised Temujin to invade the south. Because he was familiar with Dajin, was proficient in many languages, and was good at negotiation, Temujin appointed him as the vanguard of this southern expedition.

"Ah Hai, you and Tian Zhenhai have persuaded me many times to cut gold, and today you will be satisfied." Temujin said with a laugh.

"It's not that I am satisfied, but that the Great Khan is satisfied, and I truly own the four seas." Yelu Ahai also smiled, but he was a little disapproving.

Although Tian Zhenhai used a Chinese name, he was actually a mercenary Vultures merchant, like all Vulture merchants who took refuge in Temujin, greedy, murderous, and short-sighted. Yelu Ahai prides himself on being a national soldier, but he actually doesn't look down on Tian Zhenhai. However, most of the Mongol tribes under Temujin's command were rough herdsmen, and it was easy to select a warrior who could match a hundred men, but it was even more difficult to select two civil officials who could count and understand civil affairs.

What they are best at is not buying and selling, but looting.

"Great Khan, the people of the Jin Kingdom drove 750,000 people to build the Great Wall on the border, and these cowardly cowards shrank behind the Great Wall like turtles." Jebe said: "Although we have the guidance of the Wang Gu Department and bypassed the Great Wall, but after all, there are many people in the Jin Kingdom, even if we stand there and cut off their heads, it will also exhaust our warriors, we can't be careless, let the rabbits in our hands go back into the hole." ”

Jebe was known for his bravery under Temujin's tent, and when he said this, no one would think him was cowardly. Temujin also nodded approvingly: "The goshawk was escaped by the lamb because of carelessness, and it is not tight to be cautious ten thousand times, and carelessness is too much at one time." ”

He looked to his side, and a leader with pursed lips caught his attention, and he raised his whip and asked, "An answer, you are familiar with the reality of the Jin Kingdom, tell me what to do?" ”

The man he called "Antahu Answer" was the lord of the Wanggu tribe, Ashuwusi, who originally guarded the Great Wall for the Jin Kingdom to defend against the northern tribes, but had secretly taken refuge in Temujin a few years earlier, and in order to entrap him, Temujin married his third daughter, Ajihebeji, to his son. Therefore, when Temujin's army arrived, he not only surrendered his defenses, so that Dajin lost the Great Wall, but also did his best to raise supplies for the Mongol army, plundering cattle and sheep on the border of the Jin Kingdom to supply Temujin.

"Genghis Khan, the people of Jin are cowardly and incompetent, they only know how to build fortresses and trenches, and although the Great Khan refuses their request for peace, they still do not think of attacking. The Duji Qianjia slaves and Wanyan Chengyu sent by the gold lord are all incompetent, as long as our army arrives, they will inevitably collapse. "Our greatest enemy is not the people of Jin, but the hot weather, when the army comes from Mobei, where even in summer they have to wear furs, but here, even the cattle and sheep are so hot that they don't want to graze." Great Genghis Khan, please keep your army on my pastures, and wait until the cool autumn comes, and then it is not too late to attack the kingdom of Jin. ”

Asa's words were sincere, and he didn't speak loudly, but Temujin heard every word. He looked around at the generals around him, and although there were still people who wanted to speak and ask for battle, they were all stopped by his gaze.

His gaze made it clear that Athugus's suggestion was his decision, that he had made up his mind, and that any objection from anyone would only cause him unhappiness.

After killing his father-in-law Wang Han and his brother-in-law Zamuhe, Temujin became more and more suspicious, his power increased day by day, and his suspicion also increased day by day, and his subordinate generals who had dared to argue with him in the past have now learned to keep their mouths shut.

"Since everyone agrees, then we will take refuge in the summer on the pastures of Anda Suda." Temujin was very satisfied with the silence of his subordinate generals, and he shook his horsewhip: "In the middle of the year, there is a golden silk for children, and after the autumn harvest, we will be able to get more!" ”

He looked south, and beyond his line of sight was the vast and rich land of the Central Plains.

Note 1: At this time, the Jin people have regarded themselves as orthodox in the Central Plains, so they call the Mongols Hu people, and the Jin people Shi Su said in the poem "Mourning Wang Dan": The August wind is high and Hu Ma is strong, and Hu Er bends his bow to look south.

Note 2: The Mongolian language of the yurt.

Note 3: The description of Temu's true appearance is based on the Elephant Book of the Yuan Emperor in the Forbidden City, the records left by the Southern Song Dynasty envoy Zhao Heng and Islamic historians.