Diqin Designer

Chapter 506 Prelude to the Jingkang Incident (History of the Northern Song Dynasty)
This completely exposed the outward strength but inner weakness of the Song Dynasty to the Jurchens:

Hey, these Song people seem pretty weak. They can't even defeat the Liao army, which is already a remnant force. And the Song people are so wealthy... So, should we...?

Meng Tian said, "Seeing that the Song dynasty is so useless, the Jin people will surely harbor rebellious intentions!"

Li Nian nodded: "So a few years later, the Jin army marched south. After pacifying Fang La, the more correct choice for the Song Dynasty was to let the army rest and reorganize first, and postpone the alliance with the Jin to attack the Liao. However, the temptation to attack the Liao and reclaim the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun was too great, and the great calligrapher and Tong Guan and others simply could not wait!"

"The great calligrapher wanted to become the first emperor of the Song Dynasty by recapturing Yan and Yun, Tong Guan wanted to be enfeoffed as a king for this achievement, and many people hoped to gain benefits through the conquest of Liao."

"Moreover, the Liao Dynasty was indeed weak at that time, and in the eyes of great calligraphers and others, it was difficult for them to fail. Moreover, they had the Jin people as allies, so how could they possibly fail?"

Wang Ben couldn't help but say, "Have these people not considered what would happen if they were defeated? After the Liao Dynasty is destroyed, how will the Jin people treat them?"

Li Nian smiled and said, "What would happen if we were defeated? At that time, probably not many people in the Zhao Song court really thought about it. Most of them believed that the advantage was on our side and that we would definitely win this battle."

"Even if there are people who have thought about it, there aren't many, and their voices will be drowned out. Given the great calligrapher's personality, he wouldn't allow anyone to talk about defeat, and he wouldn't pay attention to those voices either."

"Therefore, under the influence of great calligraphers such as Tong Guan, the entire court of the Song Dynasty was caught up in the fervor of about defeating the Liao Dynasty, recovering Yan and Yun, and finally fulfilling the wishes of their ancestors."

"As for how to deal with the Jin people after the Liao Dynasty was destroyed, the two sides had already agreed on it when they formed an alliance. The Jin attacked Liao's Zhongjing, the Song took Liao's Nanjing, and Yanyun was returned to the Southern Song Dynasty. In return, the Jin helped the Song recover lost territories, and the Song had to pay the annual tribute originally given to Liao to the Jin. The two sides used Gubeikou and Yuguan as the boundary..."

Meng Tian smiled and said, "The discussion went quite well, but whether the Jin people will abide by the agreement depends on whether the Zhao Song Dynasty is strong enough."

Regarding the content of this alliance, the Song Dynasty did not suffer much loss. However, as Meng Tian said, whether the Jin people would abide by the agreement depended on the strength of the Song Dynasty.

If the Song dynasty were assertive and domineering, the Jin people would be harmonious and benevolent neighbors. But if the Song dynasty showed signs of weakness, it would immediately transform into a tiger and wolf.

Since your Zhao Song dynasty is so weak, why should we abide by the agreement and take the meager benefits stipulated in the agreement? Wouldn't it be better to just rob your good stuff directly?
Alliances and agreements are only worthwhile if the two sides are evenly matched. If they are not, the agreements they sign are no better than toilet paper.

Li Nian said, "Although the 'Flower and Stone Tribute' triggered the Fang La Rebellion, the great calligrapher still managed to complete the Genyue Garden. Gathering rare flowers and stones from all over the world in one place, the Genyue Garden was built exceptionally well. After the completion of the Genyue Garden, the great calligrapher specially commissioned people to write poems for it, and even composed a hundred poems to praise the Genyue Garden. These hundred poems are known as the 'Hundred Poems of Genyue Garden'!"

"The great calligrapher also personally wrote the poem 'Imperial Record of Genyue' for Genyue. In it, he explained why he built Genyue, his construction philosophy, and the layout of the landscape. Genyue was not only a garden to satisfy his personal enjoyment, but also a symbol of his achievements during the prosperous era."

Meng Tian said, "Because of the construction of Genyue, the 'Flower and Stone Tribute' even forced the people to rebel. Is this worthy of being called a 'great achievement of a prosperous age'?"

Other matters could be attributed to Cai Jing and others keeping the great calligrapher in the dark, but the Fang La rebellion was such a major event that 150,000 elite imperial guards were mobilized to quell it. It's impossible to say that the great calligrapher knew nothing about it.

"The Genyue Garden, created by the great calligrapher, gathers the beauty of the world into one garden. It is said that in the Imperial Record of Genyue Garden, there is a description that reads, 'It features the deep pools of Dongting, Hukou, Sixi, and Qiuchi, and the mountains of Sibin, Linlu, Lingbi, and Furong...'"

"And in the southeast, thousands of miles away, the magnificent Tiantai, Yandang, Fenghuang, and Lufu mountains, the vast Erchuan, Sanxia, ​​and Yunmeng mountains, and the distant and diverse landscapes of the four directions, each possess their own unique beauty. But none can compare to this mountain, which encompasses them all and combines their supreme splendor. Tiantai lacks its majestic charm, Yandang lacks its refreshing grandeur, and Fenghuang and Lufu cannot match it."

From these accounts, one can feel the beauty of Genyue, but this beauty was built from the blood, sweat, and bones of the people.

During the construction of Genyue, in order to obtain suitable Taihu stones, the officials of the Song Dynasty did not hesitate to demolish people's houses just to extract the Taihu stones.

Those families who possessed rare flowers and stones often ended up ruined and killed because of them.

"Genyue is beautiful, but the great calligrapher did not get to enjoy it for many years because of the Jurchens. That was the greatest shame of the Song Dynasty and also the shame of China. Throughout Chinese history, there are few things that can compare to it!"

The First Emperor and his entourage were greatly encouraged. The "Jingkang Incident" had finally arrived, and they wanted to see just how humiliating it would be.

Everyone says that it was a disgrace for the God of War of Tumu Fortress to knock on the door, but compared to the disgrace of Jingkang, Li Nian felt that it was still somewhat inferior.

Of course, if it weren't for Yu Shaobao, and the Great Ming War God had successfully knocked on the door, then things might have been different.

"The Jurchen people were located in the northeastern part of Liaoning. They were called the Jurchen people because they established the Jin Dynasty. It is said that their ancestors can be traced back to the Sushen people during the Shang and Zhou dynasties."

"During the Liao Dynasty, the Wanyan tribe of the Jurchen people, who established the Jin Dynasty, were subjects of the Balhae Kingdom. However, the Balhae Kingdom was conquered by the Liao Dynasty, and the Jurchen people came under the rule of the Liao Dynasty. The Liao Dynasty divided the Jurchen people into 'civilized Jurchens' and 'raw Jurchens' to govern them separately."

"Simply put, the Liao people wanted to divide the Jurchen people, incorporating some of them and letting others go. Of course, letting them go was not true letting them go; the Jurchens would still be under the Liao people's control."

"One reason why the Liao people allowed the Jurchens to exist instead of completely eradicating them was that they needed the Jurchens to provide them with furs for hunting and to collect ginseng, pearls, and other items. The Liao people probably didn't think that these Jurchens could cause much trouble."

"It's normal for the Liao people to have this idea. Although the Jurchen people are nominally one ethnic group, they actually have many tribes. These tribes are not united, just like the Baiyue."

After hearing Li Nian's explanation, the First Emperor and the others instantly understood what the Jurchen people were.

Baiyue is a general term. In reality, Baiyue was never a single entity. It was divided into many tribes, and the conflicts between these tribes were probably greater than those with foreign enemies.

Moreover, the various Baiyue tribes did not regard themselves and other Baiyue tribes as a whole.

"For more than a hundred years, although the Jurchen people were oppressed by the Liao Dynasty, they did not have a tendency to rebel against Liao on a large scale until Emperor Tianzuo of Liao, Yelü Yanxi, ascended the throne."

"Yelü Yanxi led a life of debauchery and extravagance, and was also incompetent and tyrannical. At that time, the Jurchens had grown powerful, and wise men in the Liao Kingdom repeatedly advised Yelü Yanxi to guard against the Jurchens, but Yelü Yanxi turned a deaf ear."

Whenever a dynasty is about to fall, there will always be "heroes" who will cause trouble. In the case of Liao, it was Emperor Tianzuo Yelü Yanxi, and in the case of Song, it was a great calligrapher. Their opponents were powerful figures in life, and usually, powerful figures would emerge one after another. For example, Jin had Wanyan Aguda, Wanyan Wugumai, Wanyan Zongwang, and Wanyan Zonghan.

"Due to his extravagant lifestyle, Yelü Yanxi kept demanding tribute from the Jurchens, such as rare furs, wild ginseng from the mountains, and top-quality pearls. However, these things were not like wild grasses from the mountains that could be obtained easily; they required the Jurchens to expend manpower and resources to collect them."

"This had already caused resentment among the Jurchen tribes, and Yelü Yanxi still liked to act recklessly. After all, he was the emperor of Liao, and who wouldn't dare to do what he ordered?" "In the second year of Tianqing (the second year of Zhenghe in the Song Dynasty), Yelü Yanxi went to Chunzhou in Liao and suddenly became interested in summoning the chieftains of the nearby Jurchen tribes to an audience. Then, at the banquet, a drunken Yelü Yanxi ordered the Jurchen chieftains to dance for him!"

Meng Tian laughed and said, "This Yelü Yanxi thinks he is the Heavenly Khan of the Great Tang Dynasty."

Emperor Taizong of Tang was able to make Jieli the King of Dance of the Tang Dynasty because the Tang army was powerful and influential, and there was a group of strong civil and military officials. Emperor Taizong himself was also wise and powerful.

Jieli was captured by the Tang army and taken to Chang'an, so he dared not disobey!

Feng Quji said, "Whenever a dynasty is in decline, there are often such rulers, who are incompetent and foolish, and act recklessly. They are completely unaware that their actions will offend those Jurchen chieftains!"

Feng Jie also said, "The Jurchen tribes already harbor resentment because of the Liao people's exploitation. Now that the Jurchen chieftains are treated this way, they will surely harbor thoughts of rebelling against the Liao."

Li Nian said, "Even if the Jurchen tribal chiefs who came to pay homage to Yelü Yanxi were unwilling, they were forced to dance. Only Wanyan Aguda, the chief of the Wanyan tribe, refused to comply."

"When Yelü Yanxi saw that Wanyan Aguda refused to comply, he felt that this man was a tough nut to crack and might cause trouble in the future, so he ordered the Privy Councilor Xiao Fengxian to get rid of Wanyan Aguda."

"However, Xiao Fengxian believed that Aguda was merely a barbarian who did not know etiquette, and even if he had rebellious intentions, his limited strength would not be enough to cause any trouble. After hearing Xiao Fengxian's words, Yelü Yanxi abandoned this idea!"

If Xiao Fengxian had obeyed the order, the course of the Liao and Jin dynasties would have changed. The Jurchen people would certainly have rebelled against Liao, but many things would have been different.

"After returning from the banquet, Wanyan Aguda made up his mind to rebel against Liao. Under Wanyan Aguda's leadership, the Jurchen army defeated the Liao army many times, began to occupy Zhouxian in Liao, and left behind the saying 'The Jurchen are not less than 10,000, but more than 10,000 cannot be controlled'."

Our Great Qing Dynasty reveres the Jurchens as our ancestors. There is indeed some connection between the two, but it is not as deep as our Great Qing claims. The connection between the two is that they both belong to the Jurchen ethnic group.

But there were many Jurchen tribes. My Great Qing and the Jurchens were not one tribe at all. They were only one family a few thousand years ago. However, my Great Qing wanted to position itself as a descendant of the Jurchens and their direct successor.

"In the fifth year of the Tianqing era, Wanyan Aguda proclaimed himself emperor at Huangdi Village, establishing the state of 'Great Jin'! After establishing the state, the Jin people continued to wage war against the Liao, causing the Liao to suffer repeated defeats and lose large swathes of territory. The Liao was already showing signs of collapse!"

"When the Song Dynasty saw that the Liao Dynasty had been brutally defeated by the Jin Dynasty, which appeared out of nowhere, they felt that the Liao Dynasty was weak and that this might be a good opportunity for them to reclaim the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun. Therefore, they successively sent envoys to the Jin Dynasty to establish the 'Maritime Alliance' and agreed to attack the Liao Dynasty together."

"However, after the Song and Jin families made an agreement, the Song broke its promise due to the Fang La Rebellion. After the Fang La Rebellion was quelled, the Song rushed to send troops but was defeated by the Liao army, which showed the Jin people the weakness of the Song Dynasty!"

From the perspective of the Jurchens: These Song people couldn't even defeat the Liao people, whom they had defeated, so weren't they far superior to the Song people?

After dealing with Liao, it wouldn't be a bad idea to take care of Song as well. The Liao people were not as wealthy as the Song people. It is said that the women of the Southern Dynasties were delicate and soft, with skin as smooth as jade, far superior to the women of their own tribe. I have heard that the clothes of the Southern Dynasties were magnificent, far superior to those fur coats.

"When Wanyan Aguda was alive, he did not express any intention to attack the Song Dynasty. However, this was not because Wanyan Aguda was willing to abide by the alliance, but because Wanyan Aguda died in the fifth year of Xuanhe and had not yet had time to formulate a plan to attack the Song Dynasty."

It is impossible for Wanyan Aguda to abide by the alliance with Zhao Song if he were alive. A man like Wanyan Aguda would have been more likely to send troops to attack Zhao Song if he saw that Zhao Song was weak and cowardly.

However, he would not rush to send troops, nor would he leave after raiding one or two waves of Zhao Song. Instead, he would formulate a larger strategic plan to annex Zhao Song in one fell swoop.

"After the destruction of the Liao, since the Song army failed to defeat the Liao army, but the Jin army defeated the Liao army instead, it was impossible to continue to implement the original alliance. The two sides agreed that the Song would increase the tax by one million strings of cash every year, and the Jin would hand over Yanjing and the six western prefectures of the Nine Provinces to the Song."

Meng Tian laughed and said, "Are these Jurchens some kind of believers?"

Of course, Meng Tian didn't believe the Jurchens were trustworthy at all. How could the Jurchens possibly be honest and trustworthy enough to return Yan and Yun to the Song Dynasty?

Li Nian said, "Of course not. Before the Song people could take back the six prefectures of Yanjing, the Jin people had already abducted most of the people and looted all the valuables in the city. All the Song people got was an empty city!"

Wang Jian said, "The Jin people have moved their people away. If the Song people want to establish a foothold here, they will have to move people back and build towns. This cannot be done in a short time. It may seem that the Song people have gained land and occupied cities, but in reality, they have not. On the contrary, the Jin people can take them back at any time after they have rested and reorganized!"

In short, the Song army had no one in this area and acquired a bunch of empty cities, which were not easy to defend.

On the contrary, the Jurchens captured the people and robbed them of their property. Although they did not seem to get the land, they actually gained a great advantage.

Wang Jian said, "This must be a trick by the Jin people to delay the Song people, but the Song people still can't help but fall for it!"

The Yan-Yun region was too important. The Song people would never give up the opportunity to regain control of Yan-Yun. Moreover, if the Song people showed any sign of giving up, the Jin people would immediately come back and say: "We have already given you the territory according to the alliance. You gave it up yourselves!"
When we finally take back Yanyun from the Jurchens, who knows what price we'll have to pay...

However, if they did not give up, it would be difficult for the Song Dynasty to hold on, because the towns had been destroyed and the people were still missing. If the Song Dynasty wanted to take control of Yan and Yun, it would have to relocate its own people there, but this could not be accomplished in a short time.

Whether or not the Yan-Yun region was reclaimed, it became a dilemma for the Song Dynasty, and the situation was more favorable to the Jin Dynasty.

This should be Wanyan Aguda's true plan: seemingly returning the Yan-Yun region as agreed, but in reality, turning the Yan-Yun region into a shackle to trap the Song Dynasty.

The Song Dynasty had no choice but to accept this shackle!
Li Nian said, “I think so too. This is a plot by the Jin people. The Song Dynasty has no choice but to accept it, unless the Song Dynasty can defeat the Jin people!”

"As for Yunzhou, Wanyan Aguda also wanted to return it to the Song Dynasty, but before he could do so, he died of illness."

While Wanyan Aguda was alive, he posed a great threat to the Song Dynasty. He would most likely want to annex the Song Dynasty, but he would not be in a hurry to attack the Song Dynasty. He would probably have a period of peaceful coexistence with the Song Dynasty.

After Wanyan Aguda's death, the threat posed by the Jin to the Song Dynasty actually decreased. Given the capabilities and methods of the other Jin people, they could not conquer the Song Dynasty, but the Jin people would be eager to move south and attack the Song.

(End of this chapter)