Simultaneous Transmigration: The Re-merging of 99 Selves

Chapter 61 Wanyan Honglie

Upon hearing the messenger's reply, Wanyan Honglie, the sixth prince of the Jin Kingdom, whose title was Prince Zhao, slowly closed the military treatise in his hand.

He looked up at the deputy envoy Wanyan Kan, his face showing no anger, and simply waved his hand: "Enough. If Yue Fei's military treatise were so easy to find, it wouldn't have been hidden away for so many years."

"Send word to bring back all those who went out to search. Reward them with food and drink; they've worked hard these past few days. It's not surprising that they can't find them. I'll find another way to handle this."

"Yes, Your Highness." Wanyan Kan bowed in response, but did not move his feet, his face showing some hesitation.

After a long pause, he couldn't help but look up and ask, "Your Highness, if I may be so bold as to ask, is the 'Wu Yue's Manual' truly that powerful? Is it worth Your Highness personally going to the Southern Dynasty and expending so much effort to find it?"

In his view, the Southern Song Dynasty was already corrupt and decadent, the emperor was weak, the prime minister was a traitor, the army was vulnerable, and the Jin cavalry could drink from the Yangtze River at any time. Why bother to go to great lengths to find an old military book from decades ago?

Upon hearing this, Wanyan Honglie slowly spoke, his tone tinged with a hint of regret: "You don't understand. The wisdom of the Han people should never be underestimated. The reason they are now in a precarious situation in Jiangnan is not because their soldiers are incompetent, nor because their strategies are lacking, but simply because the emperor sitting on the dragon throne is incompetent."

He stood up, walked to the window, and gazed at the distant palace in the night.

"Take this peace negotiation for example. We merely mentioned a few times the possibility of military advance south, and the emperor of the Southern Dynasty was terrified, hastily sending envoys to sue for peace, abandoning even the dignity of his ancestors. What use is a ruler like that, even if he holds the military treatises of Sun Tzu and Wu Qi?"

Upon hearing this, Wanyan Kan scoffed and said, "Your Highness is right. What can a herd of sheep do, even if there are a few wolves with fangs among them? In the end, they will not escape being slaughtered by the grassland hunters."

"The other day, Your Highness led us to the palace to deliver the official letter. When the emperor of the Southern Dynasty saw Your Highness, he actually had to rise to greet you personally, showing not a shred of imperial dignity. What is there to worry about with such a coward?"

Recalling the scene in the palace that day, Wanyan Honglie couldn't help but laugh.

He still remembers the look of fear and unease on Zhao Kuo's face when he saw the letter from the Jin state while sitting on the dragon throne.

With such an emperor, it's no wonder that the State of Song was so weak.

After laughing, Wanyan Honglie composed himself, turned to look at Wanyan Kan, and said in a more serious tone: "That's true, but even the most astute hunter must be extremely careful when hunting, and must never make a mistake."

"Among the Han people, there has never been a shortage of extraordinary talents. Decades ago, Yue Fei led his Yue Family Army and defeated our Jin cavalry one after another, almost recapturing Bianjing and forcing us to negotiate peace and withdraw our troops. If Qin Hui had not killed Yue Fei back then, the state of the world would be very different."

"The Military Manual of Yue Fei contains the essence of Yue Fei's lifelong military strategy. Finding it will not only enhance the military strength of our Great Jin Dynasty, but more importantly, it will extinguish any hope of the Southern Dynasty and ensure that no second Yue Fei will ever appear on this land."

"Your Highness is overthinking it." Wanyan Kan chuckled, his face full of nonchalance. "Even if another Yue Fei emerges, so what? Back then, wasn't Yue Fei still killed by their own emperor and prime minister?"

"In my opinion, Shi Miyuan is just a second Qin Hui. Even if the Southern Dynasty produces a capable general, he will end up like Yue Fei and won't be able to cause any trouble."

Upon hearing this, Wanyan Honglie's expression darkened: "It's fine for you to say these things here in the inn, but if you dare to spread them outside and ruin everything, you'll lose your head!"

Wanyan Kan's face stiffened, and he quickly bowed and cupped his hands, saying, "Your Highness, I know I was wrong. Please calm your anger."

Wanyan Honglie's tone softened slightly: "You must remember that our mission to Lin'an this time is to facilitate a peace treaty, stabilize the Southern Dynasty, and prevent them from affecting our campaign against the Western Xia."

"Shi Miyuan is our greatest asset right now. Without him, it would take a lot of effort to get the Southern Dynasty to sign this peace treaty. If these words reach his ears, it will inevitably cause resentment and ruin everything."

"Understood, Your subordinate." Wanyan Kan quickly replied.

"Oh, right," Wanyan Honglie added, "Take some time tomorrow to visit Wang Daoqian's residence and ask him again if he has any clues about the Wumu Legacy. He serves in the central government of the Southern Dynasty and has access to many secrets that we cannot find. See if he has any clues."

Wang Daoqian was an inside agent whom Wanyan Honglie secretly bribed with a large sum of money during his mission to Lin'an.

This person held the official position of Attendant Censor, and had free access to the palace, thus gaining access to the military and political secrets of the Southern Song Dynasty. He was the most important pawn that Attendant Censor had placed in the Southern Song court.

In the original story, it was because Qiu Chuji discovered Wang Daoqian's collusion with the Jin that he was chased all the way from Lin'an to Jiaxing by Qiu Chuji, and was eventually beheaded. The Jin envoy and the Southern Song military officer who accompanied him were also killed.

Afterwards, fearing that his conspiracy would be exposed, Wanyan Honglie personally led dozens of men to hunt down Qiu Chuji. However, he was no match for Qiu Chuji. After being hit by Qiu Chuji's dart, Wanyan Honglie was seriously injured and fell to the ground unconscious.

Qiu Chuji assumed he was dead, and with the snow raging, he turned and left without checking carefully.

Then comes the beginning of the Legend of the Condor Heroes storyline, where Wanyan Honglie is saved by Bao Xiruo, ultimately harming the Guo and Yang families and setting the stage for the entire Legend of the Condor Heroes.

This incident teaches us that finishing a murder with a follow-up attack is often necessary.

Of course, Wanyan Honglie was unaware of these future events.

He is still dreaming of obtaining the martial arts manual of Yue Fei, unaware that his death is imminent.

Wanyan Kan accepted the order, bowed, and withdrew.

In the vast main hall, only Wanyan Honglie remained.

He sat back down in his chair and opened the military book again, but after reading only a couple of lines, he suddenly shivered for no apparent reason.

Wanyan Honglie slammed the book shut, stood up abruptly, and scanned the entire room with his eyes.

The room was empty, the candlelight flickered, and there was no one else in sight except him. Outside the window, there was only the rustling of the wind through the treetops, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

"Strange, where is this cold wind coming from?" Wanyan Honglie frowned. "Could someone be plotting against me?"

The thought had barely crossed his mind when he nipped it in the bud.

Wanyan Honglie shook his head self-deprecatingly, attributing it to his exhaustion from thinking too much these past few days.

What place is this?

It was Lin'an, the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty. All the officials, from the emperor to the common people, treated the Jin envoy with great respect, fearing that they might offend the Jin Dynasty if they did not serve him well.

Who dares to touch him?

Even if there were a few disgruntled pro-war factions, they only dared to utter a few empty words in the court. How could they have the guts to assassinate the Jin envoy at Duting Post Station?

"Looks like he's really tired."

Wanyan Honglie shook his head, blew out the candle on the table, turned and went into the inner room to rest.