Legend of Condor Heroes Book 1

by Jin Yong

  "My gold I can give to whoever I want," Temujin replied with a smile, "your gold you can give to whoever you want!"

  Jebe walked over to Guo Jing and held out the ingot. But Guo Jing just shook his head: "Mom said that helping guests is the right thing to do and that it's wrong to take anything from guests.”

  Temujin had grown to like Guo Jing because of the unyielding toughness the boy showed earlier. Hearing those words now, he liked Guo Jing even more.

  "Bring the boy into our tribe as well." He instructed Jebe before leading the soldiers back. Several of the soldiers stayed behind to put the white colt's corpse on the backs of two horses before leaving as well. Able to save his own life and find a master at the same time, Jebe was overjoyed and tired. So he lay down on the ground, rested until Li Ping returned from the market, and explained to her what had happened.

  "Now that's a good son," Li Ping said to Guo Jing upon hearing of how courageous and loyal he was, even though she was greatly distressed by all the wounds on his face. "That's how a man should act and behave." She figured that joining the army and going through the vigorous training would be much better for Guo Jing than shepherding, especially if Guo Jing was to avenge his father. So the mother and son followed Jebe into Temujin's tribe.

  Temujin made Jebe a Squad Leader under the command of his third son, Ogedai [Wo Kuo Tai]. After meeting with the Third Prince, Jebe met up with Bogurchi. Fueled by mutual respect, the two of them became fast friends. Feeling he owed Guo Jing a debt of gratitude, Jebe took great care in looking after the mother and son. He decided that he would begin teaching Guo Jing about the bow as soon as Guo Jing got a little older.

  On one particular day, Guo Jing was just tossing some rocks around with a couple of Mongolian kids when they saw two Mongolian riders flying into the camp, obviously carrying urgent news for the Khan. Not long after the two riders had entered Temujin's ger, the horns started to sound, causing the soldiers to pour out of their gers. Temujin had an iron fist when it came to the training and discipline of his army. Ten soldiers were organized into a squad, which was led by a Squad Leader. The squads were ordered into platoons made up of ten squads that were led by a Hundred Man Commander, ten Hundred Man groups were led by a Thousand Man Commander, which were then organized under one of the few Ten-Thousand Man Commanders. When Temujin gave an order, it was as if he just moved his fingers and no order was disobeyed or not carried out.

  Eagle Shooting Hero 85

  As Guo Jing and the other children looked on and at the end of the first blow of the horns, all the soldiers had already picked up their weapons and mounted their horses. When the horns sounded for the second time, the world shook from the sound of men and beasts moving. By the time the third sounding of the horns came to a stop, the plain just outside of the main gates of the encampment was covered with some fifty-thousand mounted men and soldiers in formation. Other than the snorting of horses, there wasn't another sound, neither chattering noises of conversations nor any sounds of weapons colliding.

  Temujin, escorted closely behind by his three eldest sons, walked out of the main gate. "We have beaten many foes and news of our feats has reached the Great Jin Empire." He shouted at the top of his lungs. "At this moment, the great Emperor of the Jin has sent the Third Prince and Sixth Prince here to officially anoint your Khan as a Jin officer!"

  The soldiers, in unison, raised their sabers and shouted with joy. At that time, the Jin controlled Northern China with a fierce and strong army. Their empire was famous and powerful. On the other hand, the Mongols were just a small tribe among many in the middle of the Steppe. That was the reason why Temujin would feel honored to be an official of the Jin Empire. Temujin ordered the eldest son Jochi to take ten-thousand men with him to welcome and escort the guests while the other forty thousand men lined up in formation, waiting.

  In reality, the Jurchen Emperor at the time, Wanyan Jing, who took the title of Zhang Zong, was apprehensive of growing power of some tribes on the Steppe such as Temujin's tribe, the Toghril, Ong Khan's tribe and the Keraits. Fearing that his northern neighbors would grow to be troublesome, he sent the Prince of Rong, his third son Wanyan Hongxi, and the Prince of Zhao, his sixth son Wanyan Honglie to anoint the leaders as officers of Jin. But in addition to tightening the ties of the tribes to Jin and increasing tributes, the princes had another mission: to scout the tribes and make note of the weakness of each so as to be able to gain the upper hand in case of future conflicts. The Prince of Zhao, Wanyan Honglie, was the same one that had traveled to Linan, was wounded by Qiu Chuji at Ox Village, and met the Seven Freaks at Jiaxing.

  Guo Jing and the kids stood at a distance, trying to catch a glimpse of this happening. After a long wait, a cloud of dust appeared on the horizon as Jochi met up with Wanyan Hongxi and Wanyan Honglie. The Wanyan brothers had with them ten-thousand elite soldiers, each wearing silk capes, iron armor and carrying a spear in the left hand and a wolf-fang club in the right hand while riding on their horses. The clanging of the armor could be heard for many li around. As the army got closer the silk shone and the armor glowed even more under the bright sun, creating a spectacular scene. The two brothers approached shoulder to shoulder, while Temujin, his sons and generals waited by the roadside to welcome them. Seeing Guo Jing and all the other kids standing there staring at him, Wanyan Hongxi burst out laughing. He reached into his shirt and took out a handful of gold coins and tossed them towards the crowd of kids. "A gift for you kids!" He shouted with a laugh, figuring that the kids would undoubtedly cheer and scramble around on the ground for the money which would show off of his own magnanimity and wealth.

  However, host-guest etiquette and respect was of utmost importance to the Mongolians. Not only were his actions inappropriate for the occasion, it was very disrespectful. The Mongol generals and solders were left aghast at his actions. Every one of the kids was a son or daughter of the Mongolian soldiers and generals. Even though they were little, each of them had a sense of self-respect. As a result, none of them picked up the coins. His joy dampened, Wanyan Hongxi tossed another handful of gold coins and shouted: "Come on! Fight over them little devils that you are!"

  This caused an even bigger stir upon the Mongols. Even though the Mongolians had no written language at the time and little culture, they placed a great deal of importance on politeness and respect, especially regarding guests. Mongolians, traditionally, never curse, even when facing a lifelong nemesis or just joking around. When someone enters their gers, no matter if the person was a friend or not, that person would be treated with great respect and honor. By the same token, the guest must absolutely not disrespect his hosts either, for it was considered the greatest of insults. Even though what Wanyan Hongxi shouted was in Jurchen and none of the Mongols understood it, everyone could tell that he was cursing at the kids from his body language and the tone of his voice.

  Constantly being told stories of how the Jin rape, pillage, and steal from the people of China; of how the Jin corrupted officials and had Yue Fei killed, Guo Jing's young heart had long been filled with hatred for the Jin. Now, seeing how rude this Jin Prince was, he picked up a couple of gold coins from the ground and, taking a little run, threw them at Wanyan Hongxi with all his might. "Who would want your money?" He shouted. Wanyan Hongxi tilted his head sideways to avoid the coins; but nevertheless, one of them hit him squarely on the cheekbone. Even though Guo Jing wasn't strong and it really didn't hurt, he was still made to look bad in front of tens of thousands of people. Every Mongolian from Temujin downwards cheered on the inside.

  Wanyan Hongxi was furious. When he was in China, he had many times killed people at his slightest displeasure. Never had he been humiliated like this. As his temper flared up, he grabbed a spear from the guard that was riding at his side and threw it at Guo Jing's chest with all his might and shouted: "You want to die you little bastard?"

  "Third Brother.no!" Wanyan Honglie shouted, knowing this was bad. But he was too late; the spear was already on its
way. Just as it looked as if Guo Jing was about die from the spear, an arrow suddenly shot out of the Mongolian army to the left. Like a meteor shooting around the moon, the arrow hit the spear dead on the head with a loud "bang!" Packed with incredible strength, the arrow was able to deflect the spear away despite being many times lighter. Guo Jing immediately scrambled away. The Mongolian soldiers all cheered in unison, shaking the Steppe. The person who shot the arrow was none other than Jebe.

  "Third Brother, don't bother with him anymore!" Wanyan Honglie whispered to his brother. Seeing and hearing the might of the Mongolian army, Wanyan Hongxi was a bit shaken, so he just shot a mean look at Guo Jing and cursed under his breath: "Little bastard!"

  At this point, Temujin and his retainers had come forth to formally welcome the two Jin Princes and took them into the main ger. There they served up koumiss and vast quantities beef and lamb. There were translators on both sides, translating between Jurchen and Mongolian. Wanyan Hongxi read the royal decree out loud, granting the title of ‘The Northern Ambassador of the Empire of the Jin’ to Temujin. Temujin, who knelt on the floor during the reading, humbly accepted the official document and the Golden Belt, which signified his allegiance to the Jin Emperor. [Note: Koumiss is a very strong Mongolian alcoholic drink made from horse milk.] That night the Mongolians celebrated with a huge feast to entertain the honored emissaries.

  "Tomorrow, my brother and I are going to bestow a post on Ong Khan." Wanyan Hongxi, somewhat under the influence of koumiss, said to Temujin. "Will the Ambassador join us?"

  Temujin was overjoyed at the news and immediately agreed to come along. Ong Khan, a Toghril, was the leader among the tribes on the Steppe. His tribe was the richest and most powerful;

  furthermore, he was a good man, always treating others as equals. It was no great exaggeration to say that he was respected and liked by every tribe. Ong Khan had once been the sworn brother of Temujin's father. After Temujin's father was poisoned by his enemies and Temujin had nowhere to go, it was Ong Khan who took him as a step-son. Not long after Temujin was married, his wife was taken away by the Merkits. It was only because of Ong Khan and Jamuka, Temujin's sworn brother, joining him that he managed to defeat the Merkits and save his wife. That was the reason Temujin was elated on hearing that Ong Khan would be granted a title as well. "Is the Great Jin Empire going to grant titles to anyone else?" He asked.

  "No, that's all." Wanyan Hongxi replied. "But that's entirely because, up here in the North, there are only two great heroes: Ong Khan and the Great Khan yourself." Wanyan Honglie immediately added onto his brother's statement. "None of the others are worthy."

  "There is another person around here that perhaps Your Excellencies haven't heard of." Temujin replied.

  "Really? Who?" Wanyan Honglie asked.

  "He just happens to be your humble servant's sworn brother, Jamuka. He's a righteous man who is very adept at commanding an army. I humbly request that the Third Prince and the Sixth Prince consider granting him a title as well."

  o0o

  Temujin and Jamuka were childhood friends who grew up together and at that time they became sworn brothers. When Mongolians become sworn brothers, they call it swearing "anda", which was Mongolian for sworn brother. Mongolian tradition dictates that when swearing anda, the sides must exchange gifts. At the time, Jamuka gave Temujin a granite stone that resembled a deer thighbone while Temujin gave Jamuka a granite stone that looked like it was made of brass. Mongolians used small granite rocks to hunt rabbits, but Mongolian kids often played catch with them and competed to see who threw them the furthest. After the two became andas, they went and threw rocks on the frozen Onon River. The next Spring, while the two of them were out shooting arrows with their own little wooden bows, Jamuka gave Temujin a noisy-arrowhead that he carved himself using two little ox horns, Temujin returned the gift with a cypress tipped arrowhead and the two of them swore to become anda once more. [Note: noisy arrowheads are arrowheads that are carved with slits in them so that they create a very loud screeching noise once they were shot. These arrows are often used to relay messages and orders in battle.]

  After they grew up, both of them lived with Ong Khan's tribe and were still very close. Everyday they would compete to see who got up earlier; whichever one got up earlier would get to drink one cup of koumiss out of Ong Khan's own jade cup. Later, after Temujin's wife was kidnapped and was rescued with the combined help of Jamuka and Ong Khan, Temujin and Jamuka exchanged gold and horses and became sworn anda to each other for a third time. The two of them drank out of the same cup in the day and slept in the same ger at night. However, having to migrate with the changing weather and rain, they and their tribes parted. As Temujin's tribe rose in fame and power, Jamuka's tribe was growing nonstop as well. Their friendship was still as strong as ever and was deeper than blood brothers. That's why Temujin, realizing that his brother was not being honored, would ask for him to be honored as well.

  o0o

  "There are so many Mongolians, where can we find all the titles if we give one to each of them? How many titles do you think we have?" Wanyan Hongxi, half drunk, casually answered back without much thought. Wanyan Honglie shot his brother numerous meaningful looks trying to get him to stop, but was ignored.

  Feeling slighted because of the remark, Temujin offered: "Might Your Excellencies consider giving your humble servant's title to him instead?"

  "Are you belittling the titles of the Great Empire of the Jin?" Wanyan Hongxi smacked his leg and shouted. Temujin slammed his palm down on his table and stood up in anger. Finally, barely holding back his fury, he did not say another word and grabbed his cup and drank its conger in one gulp. Wanyan Honglie immediately told a joke and changed the subject.

  The next morning, Temujin and his four sons organized five-thousand troops to escort Wanyan Hongxi and Wanyan Honglie to Ong Khan. By the time the sun was barely peeking over the distant horizon, Temujin had already mounted his horse and the five-thousand soldiers had already lined up in perfect formation. The Jurchen soldiers and generals, however, were still fast asleep.

  At first, Temujin was impressed by the Jurchen army’s grandeur and organization. But after seeing what an undisciplined and fun seeking group they were, he humphed and turned to Muqali, "What do you think of the Jin army?"

  "A thousand of us Mongolian troops can defeat five-thousand of theirs!" Muqali observed.

  "I’ve thought so too," Temujin replied with a smile. "But it's said that the Jin Empire has an army of over one million strong. We only have fifty thousand people."

  "A million troops can't enter battle all at once," Muqali responded. "Divide and conquer, we can take down ten thousand today and then sweep another ten thousand tomorrow."

  "When it comes to military strategy, your opinions are always the same as mine." Temujin smiled and patted him on the shoulder. "A 50 kilogram man can eat ten cows that weigh over ten thousand kilograms. He just won't do it in one day." The two men burst out in laughter.

  Temujin settled back straight in his saddle and suddenly saw that Tolui's horse was rider-less. "Where's Tolui?" He shouted in fury.

  Tolui was just nine years old, but Temujin had always been a harsh disciplinarian whether he was training troops or bringing up sons; he never showed mercy to anyone who violated his rules. With him shouting so loudly in anger, all the generals and troops immediately got a bad feeling in their stomachs. General Boroqul, Tolui's mentor, almost panicked and offered: "The kid has never overslept before, let me check."

  Just as he turned his horse to gallop off to search for Tolui, he saw two kids come running up hand in hand. One of them, with a silk bandana on his head, was Tolui while the other turned out to be Guo Jing. Tolui ran straight towards his father and shouted: "Dad!"

  "Where were you?" Temujin demanded in a harsh tone.

  "Guo Jing and I just became andas down by the river. Look, this is what he gave me." Tolui replied, waving a red handkerchief with a flower embroidered on it in the a
ir. It was something that Li Ping made for Guo Jing.

  Reminded of the time he and Jamuka became andas as kids, Temujin's face immediately became calm. "What did you give him?" He asked the two cute and innocent kids standing in front of him.

  "This!" Guo Jing replied, pointing to the top of his head, where Temujin saw the golden necklace that his youngest son often wore.

  "Now you two have to help and look after each other in the future, you hear?" Temujin said with a smile. Both of the kids nodded.

  "Now get on your horses," Temujin ordered, "Guo Jing can come with us too." Ecstatic, Guo Jing and Tolui both mounted their horses.

  After another period of waiting, the Wanyan brothers finally finished dressing and exited their gers. Wanyan Honglie, seeing the Mongolian soldiers were already in formation, immediately ordered his soldiers to fall in. However, Wanyan Hongxi, determined to put the Mongolians in their place, took his time slowly drinking several cups of wine and ate a little breakfast before finally climbing onto his horse. After another hour of general chaos, the ten thousand Jin troops were finally in formations.

  The army marched northwards for six days before meeting up with Ong Khan's welcoming committee, comprised of Ong Khan's son Senggum and adopted son Jamuka. Upon hearing that Jamuka was here, Temujin immediately rode forth to meet him. The two men hopped off their horses and bear hugged each other. Every one of Temujin's sons rode forth to greeting their adopted uncle as well.

  When Wanyan Honglie first laid eyes upon Jamuka, he saw a tall and skinny man with a few strands of gold in his mustache and a pair of eyes that were filled with energy and enthusiasm. He looked strong and spirited. Senggum, on the other hand, was fat and pale, probably from living in luxury all of his life and not at all like someone who grew up on the Steppe. Not only that, he had an arrogant look on his face and seemingly ignored Temujin whenever he felt like it; a stark contrast to the warmth of Jamuka.