by Jin Yong
“So,” Ke Zhen’E said, “it seems to be true. You really are the ‘Four Demons of the Yellow River’. You occupy a certain position in the Jianghu world; how could you lower yourselves to attack four against one?”
Wu Qinglie said cunningly, “What, four against one?” he argued. “Isn't your disciple helped by all these Mongols? Indeed, we are four against several hundred!”
“Third brother,” Qian Qingjian demanded of Ma Qingxiong, “this blind person appears to be very boastful. Who is he?”
He had asked the question in a low voice but Ke Zhen'E heard him. Very upset, he leapt forward and struck with his staff at Qian. Grabbing him by the collar he threw him to the bottom of the hill. Ke Zhen'E, already among them, grasped them one after the other and pitched them far away. The Mongolian soldiers called out joyfully. The ‘Four Demons of the Yellow River’, covered with sand, rose painfully to their feet with their limbs aching and shame on their faces.
At that moment, immense dust clouds rose in the distance, as if tens of thousands of horsemen were coming. A flutter of nervousness immediately moved through Senggum’s army.
Temujin, delighted to see reinforcements arriving, knew that iron discipline reigned in the army of Jamuka. Its officers and soldiers were all battle hardened. Senggum, protected by the reputation of his father, was a less formidable commander in chief. Temujin pointed to the left wing of Senggum’s army and shouted, “Attack in that direction!”
Jebe, Borchu, Jochi and Chagatai signaled the first ones. One could hear the faraway cries of the warriors of the relief column. Muqali swept his saber down on the nape of the neck of Dukhsh and shouted, “Get out of the way! Get out of the way!”
Senggum, who was going to order his men to intercept them, hesitated upon seeing that his son menaced. In a wink, Temujin’s small troop moved to the foot of the hill. Jebe carefully aimed and loosed an arrow headed for Senggum’s head. He shielded himself quickly, but the projectile struck his left cheek and he tumbled down from his mount. Seeing their chieftain fall, his men made their escape in pitiful disarray.
Temujin and his companions broke out of the siege, firing arrows at those that pursued them. Several li away, in the cloud of dust, was Tolui and his soldiers. The pursuers had always feared the bravery of Temujin. Now that they no longer had the advantage of numbers, they turned tail.
It turned out that because Tolui was young, the chieftains and generals refused to obey him since he didn’t have Temujin’s command seal. He could only convince a few thousand young soldiers to follow him here. He then conceived the idea of attaching branches to the tails of the horses, so that quantity of dust thus raised concealed the number of his soldiers. The ploy was a success.
Temujin’s army returned to his camp. On the way they met Hua Zheng leading a small company of soldiers. When she saw that they were unharmed, she was so happy that she wouldn’t stop talking.
That evening, Temujin gave a large banquet to reward his soldiers, but he placed Dukhsh in the place of honor, which caused general indignation. The Khan offered three toasts to pay homage to Dukhsh and said, “Ong Khan, my adoptive father, and my brother Senggum have always treated me well. There is no reason for hatred between our families. Please present my excuses to them, which will be accompanied with gifts of great value. I won't hold a grudge against you because of what you have done. After you return, you will prepare for your marriage to my daughter. We will hold a great feast and we will invite the chiefs of all the tribes. There will be great rejoicing. You will be my son-in-law and thus my son. From now on the two families must be united as one and not let themselves be divided by gossip.”
Dukhsh, relieved at not being killed, accepted all that was offered. He noticed that when Temujin spoke, he kept his right hand on his chest under his tunic, and coughed nonstop. He wondered, “Could it be that he's wounded?”
“This day,” the Khan said, “I was hit by an arrow. It will take three months to recuperate before I'm healthy again; if this hadn’t happened, I would accompany you back myself. He withdrew his hand from under his tunic; it was covered with blood! “There’s no need to wait for my wound to heal before you get married. Otherwise.. .otherwise you’ll have to wait too long.”
All the officers present were amazed and outraged to see their Khan afraid and apprehensive about Ong Khan, and much too eager to marry Hua Zheng to Dukhsh. The son of the division commander that was part of Temujin's escort had been killed defending the hill. The commander, insane with anger, unsheathed his saber and wanted to kill Dukhsh. The Khan had him seized and beaten in front of Dukhsh, until he fainted, covered with blood.
“He will be imprisoned,” Temujin ordered, “and he will be beheaded with all of his family in three days time!” The following day, Dukhsh returned home, taking along two carts filled with gold and furs, a thousand fat sheep, one hundred war horses, and escorted by fifty soldiers. Temujin also sent an emissary known for his eloquence, to plead his cause with Ong Khan and Senggum. At the time of the departure, Temujin, who seemed not to have the strength to ride a horse, arrived on a stretcher and bade him farewell, still coughing.
Eight days later, Temujin brought his officers together. “Gather your soldiers,” he ordered, “we will attack Ong Khan!” All the officers looked aghast. He continued, “Ong Khan has a very large army, whereas we are few. If you can’t win a frontal battle, a ruse is needed. I let Dukhsh go, heaping him with gifts, while I pretended to be wounded by an arrow and near death. I did all that to take him off guard!”
The officers expressed their admiration. At this moment, Temujin freed the commander he had beaten and gave him a large reward. Learning that the army was going to attack Ong Khan, the commander felt joy. He knelt down to express his thanks and asked for the honor of commanding the vanguard, which Temujin granted him. The army of the Khan was divided into three columns, which marched during the night using little used trails and bivouacked during the day. When they met shepherds, they took them captive and brought them along, to avoid any indiscriminate talk.
In the beginning, Ong Khan and Senggum, fearing that Temujin would come to seek revenge, kept their guard up. But the triumphal return of Dukhsh, the gifts he brought back, the servile remarks of the emissary and the news of the serious wound to the Khan reassured them completely. They even withdrew their forward sentinels and spent their time feasting with Wanyan Honglie and Jamuka. One night, the three columns of Temujin’s army fell on them like lightning! The many soldiers of Ong Khan and Jamuka, panic stricken, lost much of their combativeness and the battle turned into a rout. Ong Khan and Senggum fled towards the west where they were killed shortly after by the Naiman and Liao. In the confusion, Dukhsh was trampled by horses.
Wanyan Honglie, for his part, escaped in the middle of the night, in the protection of the ‘Four Demons of the Yellow River’ and headed back to the Jin capital. Abandoned by his soldiers,
Jamuka took refuge at Tangnu Mountain with his five bodyguards. They betrayed him and brought him to Temujin. Temujin was furious, “Bodyguards who betray their master!” he cried. “How can I let such people live?” He ordered them decapitated in front of Jamuka. Then he turned to Jamuka, “Shall we become friends again?”
“Even if you spare my life,” answered Jamuka with tears in his eyes, “I haven't the honor left to live in this world. I only beg that you let me die without bloodshed, so that my soul will not leave my body.”
[According to the beliefs of the shamans, the soul resides in the blood. Princes that are to be killed but still honored were put to death by strangulation.]
Temujin remained sadly silent for a long time. “Well,” he finally said, “I agree to such a death and I will bury you at the place where we played as children. Jamuka knelt before him, then rose and left the ger. A few days later, Temujin united the tribes on the banks of the Onon River in a kuriltai (general assembly). The river’s fame stretched beyond the steppe, and the tribes, warriors and all the shepherds fear and reve
re it. Ong Khan and Jamuka’s men had been integrated into Temujin’s army. During the kuriltai, Temujin was acclaimed Grand Khan of all Mongolia; he carried, from that time on, the title of ‘Genghis Khan’, which meant ‘Supreme Chief’.
Genghis Khan rewarded the most deserving soldiers: the Four Aces, Muqali, Borchu, Boroqul, Tchila’un, while the officers, Jebe, Jelme and Subotai were made generals. During the battle, Guo Jing had rendered exceptional service and he was made a general as well! A young man, who had not yet reached twenty years of age, was regarded as an equal to officers of great reputation! During the banquet, Genghis Khan accepted homage from his faithful ones and drank without restraint. Slightly drunk, he said to Guo Jing, “My good boy, I will give you the most valuable thing I have.” Guo Jing knelt down to thank him. “I give Hua Zheng to you,” Genghis Khan said. “From tomorrow onwards, you will be the Golden Saber Prince. [Jin Dao Fu Ma]”
All the warriors let out cries of joy and congratulated the young man, “Son-in-law, wearing the large golden knife! Well done, hurrah!”
The happiest with all this was, without any doubt, Tolui, who embraced his sworn brother. But the person at the center of interest remained dazzled. He had always regarded Hua Zheng as his sister and he did not feel any other kind of love. He had devoted all his time to martial arts; when had he time to think of other things? The words of Genghis Khan distressed him and he didn't know what to do. Seeing him speechless, everyone burst out laughing.
After the banquet, Guo Jing went to inform his mother. Li Ping remained thoughtful for a long time, and then asked him to invite the Six Freaks from Jiangnan to their ger. They were delighted to see their beloved disciple covered with honors and they congratulated his mother. But she did not say a word. Then she fell suddenly to her knees in front of the Six.
“Please rise,” they protested. “If you have something to say to us, do so, why such ceremony?”
Han Xiaoying helped her up. “Thanks to the teachings of the six Shifus,” Li Ping said, “my child finally became a man. I can never express my gratitude to all of you. But now, I face a difficulty and I need your enlightened counsel.” She then told about the marriage which had been arranged by her late husband and his sworn brother, Yang Tiexin. “That the Khan wants my son to be his son-in-law,” she began again, “is of course a great honor. But if Brother Yang had a girl and I do not keep my husband's promise, how could I, in the underworld, face my husband and Brother Yang?”
“You don't have to worry,” Zhu Cong said laughing. “The honorable Yang actually has a descendant, but it is not a girl.. .it's a boy!”
Li Ping was astonished and delighted at the same time. “How do you know, Zhu Shifu?”
“A friend, who remained in the Central Plains, wrote to inform us. By the way, he wishes that we take Jing’er to Jiangnan to meet the son of Yang, and to compare their kung fu.”
The Six Freaks had never made known to Li Ping and her son about the challenge with Qiu Chuji. Whenever Guo Jing raised questions about the young Taoist Yin Zhiping, they merely murmured something without really answering. Knowing the kind nature of their disciple, they thought that, were he suddenly to know the story of Yang Kang, he would not show all of his potential at the time of the combat; it would distort the competition irretrievably.
Zhu Cong’s words charmed Li Ping. She asked if the Mrs. Yang was still in this world, and asked questions about the character of Yang Kang, but the Six were unable to answer her. Li Ping and the ‘Six Freaks’ decided that the six would take Guo Jing to Jiangnan to meet Yang Kang. At the same time they would try to find Duan Tiande and seek vengeance. Afterwards they would come back and Guo Jing would marry Hua Zheng. Guo Jing went to report this arrangement to Genghis Khan.
“Well,” Temujin said. “Since you go to the south, will you bring back the head of the Sixth Jin Prince, Wanyan Honglie, for me? My sworn brother Jamuka betrayed me and lost his life, and it's the fault of that scum. How many men do you need to achieve this mission?”
After unifying the Mongolian tribes, Genghis Khan posed a serious threat to the Jin Empire. Confrontation would take place sooner or later, it was inevitable. Having met Wanyan Honglie on several occasions, Temujin knew his intelligence and his competence, so it was important that he be gotten rid of as soon as possible. As for his break with Jamuka, the true reasons were elsewhere; he had uprooted traditions, had left the spoils of war to his own warriors, and had sought to attract Jamuka’s soldiers to his own army. The truth was, they both broke their oath of fidelity and they did not want to recognize their responsibilities and preferred to blame it on Wanyan Honglie.
Throughout his childhood, Guo Jing’s mother had told him stories about the past and he had developed a great hatred towards the Jin. This was reinforced by his battle with the ‘Four Demons of the Yellow River’ who were employed by Wanyan Honglie. Thinking of an answer to Genghis Khan’s question, he said to himself, “If my six Shifus will lend me a hand, certainly my mission will be a success. If I take along brave soldiers who do not know martial arts, they are likely to be a hindrance.” He then answered, “If my six Shifus accompany me, I won't need anybody else.”
“Very well,” Genghis Khan said. “We are still weak at the moment and we cannot face the Jin Empire directly. It will be necessary for you to be careful and not to let them guess our intentions.”
Guo Jing agreed. The Khan gave him ten taels of gold for his journey and offered the Six Freaks a part of the spoils plundered from Ong Khan. Learning that he was to leave on a mission to the south, all of Guo Jing’s Mongol friends also offered gifts to him.
“My Anda,” Tolui reminded, “the people of the south don't keep their word, you must be careful, and not get duped ...”
At dawn three days later, Guo Jing and his Shifus left for the grave of Zhang Ahsheng to pay homage. Then they returned to bid farewell to Li Ping before taking the road to the south. Li Ping watched the tall silhouette of her son riding the small red horse as it disappeared on the steppe. She thought of his birth on that desolate battlefield, and felt her heart tighten with concern and sadness.
After riding about ten Li, Guo Jing saw two white eagles soaring in the sky; Tolui and Hua Zheng had come to bid him farewell. Tolui offered him a valuable coat of flawless black sable which he had taken from Ong Khan. Hua Zheng, with glowing cheeks, looked at her future husband without saying anything.
“Oh go ahead, little sister,” Tolui said, “speak to him! I will not listen to what you'll say!” He burst out laughing and moved away.
Hua Zheng bowed her head, not finding anything to say... “Return quickly!” she finally murmured.
Guo Jing nodded his head. “What else do you want to say to me?” he asked. She shook her head. “Then, I'll go ...” She lowered her head without saying another word.
Guo Jing leaned over, lightly pressed her to him, then rode towards Tolui and hugged him also. Then he urged his horse into a gallop in order to catch up with his six Shifus who were already far ahead.
Him being so formal and not showing any tenderness, even though they were promised in marriage and he was traveling faraway, Hua Zheng felt a surge of anger. As she rode off she violently whipped her horse even though the poor animal had nothing to do with the situation ...
Chapter 7 - Joust to Find a Spouse
Translated by Strunf, Patudo, Dugu Seeking a Win and SunnySnow
Guo Jing snatched the ‘joust to find a spouse’ banner and swept the banner pole across the length of his arm; the banner flipped over the Young Prince’s face. The Young Prince slanted his body aside and raised his spear. With a red circling shadow and a flickering spearhead he thrust the spear at Guo Jing.
The ‘Six Freaks of Jiangnan’ and Guo Jing took the southeastern route. The journey promised to be long and many days passed before they’d even left the steppe. One day, they were not very far from Zhangjiakou [known as Kalgan at this time]. It was the first time that Guo Jing had put his feet on Chinese soil; everythi
ng was new to him and he was full of enthusiasm. He loosened his hold on the reins of his horse and it ran so quickly that the wind whistled in his ears and the landscape changed quickly before his amazed eyes. The little red horse galloped without interruption until he reached the Black River [Amur River or Heilong Jiang], then Guo Jing stopped at a roadside hostel in order to wait for his masters.
After this long run, the horse was covered with sweat, so Guo Jing took a handkerchief to wipe it down. He was stunned to see traces of blood on the handkerchief! After passing his hand along its neck, he saw more blood when he withdrew it. He almost burst into tears, blaming himself for not stopping his horse and not taking better care of it. He was the one responsible for its loss! He embraced the horse and caressed him nearly one thousand times; yet somehow, the animal seemed to be very healthy and didn’t appear to be suffering any ill affects.
While waiting for his Third Shifu, who would properly care for the horse, he couldn't stop turning his head toward the road, hoping to see him. Suddenly he heard the tinkling of bells as four snow white camels arrived running full speed on the road. Each was ridden by an individual clothed in white. Guo Jing had grown up near the steppe, but he had never seen any camels as beautiful and couldn’t stop staring fixedly at them. The four camel riders, of about twenty years in age, had similar faces with fine lines and attractiveness; a type of beauty rarely seen in Mongolia. With graceful agility they got down from their mounts to enter the hostel. Guo Jing could not take his eyes off them.
One of the four, embarrassed by his staring, blushed and lowered her head. Another one, who was bolder, got angry, “Little fool! Why do you look at us like that?”
Guo Jing, taken aback, turned his head in embarrassment. The newcomers whispered in low voices and laughed. “Congratulations!” one said to another. “You really dazzled that fool!”
Guo Jing knew that the speaker ridiculed him and felt ashamed. His cheeks turned red. Just as he was wondering if he should remain or leave, Han Baoju arrived on his stallion ‘Wind Chaser’. The young man hastened to tell his Shifu of his misadventure with his horse.