Diqin Designer

Chapter 507 The Jin Army's Southern March: The Jingkang Incident in Progress (History of the Northern Song Dynasty)
"After Wanyan Aguda died, according to the Jurchen tradition of succession from brother to brother, his brother Wanyan Wugumai ascended the throne."

"After Wuqimai ascended the throne, he initially intended to abide by the alliance and give the land that should have been given to Zhao Song according to the alliance agreement. However, the Jin state had a 'Bojilie' system at that time, which was a system in which a small number of core high-ranking officials and the emperor would discuss and decide on important national affairs."

"They can be considered as some of the most powerful and influential people in the Jin Kingdom selected by Aguda, who together made decisions on important national affairs."

Upon hearing this, the First Emperor and others immediately understood the advantages and disadvantages of the Bojilie system: the advantage was that several people could discuss matters together with the emperor, pooling their wisdom and efforts, which would help to make policies more comprehensive and correct, and would reduce the possibility of the emperor acting arbitrarily and recklessly. The disadvantage, especially for the emperor, was that the Bojilie system would limit the emperor's power.

"This system was established by Wanyan Aguda. When Aguda was alive, based on his prestige and achievements, even if there were differing opinions, he could still get the Bojilie to obey him. But Wuqimai doesn't have Aguda's prestige, so those Bojilie might not necessarily listen to him!"

According to legend, Wanyan Wuqimai, the Jin Taizong Emperor, was even beaten with a cane by the Jin court officials, which was truly disgraceful for an emperor.

Of course, it wasn't because of the campaign against the Song Dynasty!

"Therefore, Wanyan Wuqimai intended to abide by the alliance, but others objected, and his word was not enough."

"At that time, the Song Dynasty sought to buy back the towns in Shanxi from the Jin Dynasty by paying more money. Wanyan Aguda had already agreed to this when he was alive, and Wanyan Wugumai also intended to abide by it. However, the Jin generals Wanyan Zonghan and Wanyan Zongwang opposed it."

“Zhao Song’s pursuit of the towns in Shanxi did not violate the alliance, but Wanyan Zonghan believed it was a breach of contract.”

Meng Tian laughed and said, "The Song Dynasty thinks that anything can be bought with money. If they can't conquer it, they'll just buy it from others. They paid tribute to make peace before, and now they're buying land from the Jin people."

Zhao Song did indeed harbor such thoughts, believing that if they could buy peace with a little "money," it wouldn't be a problem: our Great Song is the richest in the world, and even a small amount squeezed from under our fingernails would be enough for those barbarians to eat and drink.

Nine times out of ten, they were still filled with contempt: "Barbarians are indeed barbarians. They have no knowledge and can be easily dismissed with a little money. They have no idea how rich our Great Song Dynasty is!"

The successful strategy of sending tribute to the Liao and Western Xia dynasties fostered a path dependency in the Song court. Furthermore, Wanyan Aguda's approval of the Song court's strategy of sending tribute further boosted the Song court's confidence in sending tribute.

Although the Jurchens were more skilled in combat than the Liao people, they were still a group of barbarians.

But they will soon realize that this wave of barbarians is different from the barbarians of the past!
Li Nian said, "Not only that, Wanyan Zonghan and others opposed returning the towns of Shanxi to the Song Dynasty, also out of concern for the security of the Jin Dynasty's borders. Due to the opposition of Wanyan Zonghan and others, the Jin Dynasty did not agree to the Song Dynasty's request, and the Song Dynasty's plan to buy the land with money suffered a setback."

"If the Song Dynasty court were any more normal, it should have realized at this point that the Jin people's attitude towards them was changing, and should have actively prepared to deal with the Jin army's invasion. But the Song Dynasty court not only reacted slowly, but also wavered in its policy towards the Jin people!"

"Sometimes he wanted to fulfill the alliance with the Jin people, and sometimes he wanted to target the Jin people. For example, he secretly contacted Zhang Jue, a Liao general who had surrendered to the Jin people, and asked him to betray the Jin and join the Song again."

The behavior of the Zhao Song court was like that of a schizophrenic madman.

Wang Ben said, "How can such a matter of national importance be wavered and unclear? If we want to make peace with the Jin, we should not do anything to anger them; if we want to target the Jin, we should not think about getting along with them. We can only choose one of the two. Choosing like the Song Dynasty will only anger the Jin!"

The Song Dynasty court was a typical example of "wanting both".

Given the capabilities of the Zhao Song people, they might have made things even worse. Wang Ben had a thought in mind. He looked at Li Nian and asked, "Could it be that the Zhao Song court later, under pressure from the Jin people, executed the Liao general who betrayed the Jin and surrendered to the Song?"

Upon hearing this, Meng Tian and the others thought about it carefully and realized that, to be honest, the people of the Song Dynasty might actually have done such a thing.

Li Nian laughed and said, "Under the coercion of the Jin people, the Song dynasty killed Zhang Jue and sent his head to the Jin people."

Wang Ben said, "After this, anyone who wants to surrender to the Song Dynasty will have to think carefully, lest they follow the same path as Jue."

Indeed, this matter has affected Guo Yaoshi to some extent. Although Guo Yaoshi is not a kind person, Zhang Jue's incident will strengthen Guo Yaoshi's idea of ​​defecting when the Jurchens attack.

After hearing about Zhang Jue's situation, Guo the Pharmacist said, "If the Jin people want to give him Jue, will they give him to them too? If they ask for the Pharmacist, will they give him to them as well?"

Others who wanted to surrender to the Song Dynasty would also have reservations. If they surrendered to the Song, they would be like Zhang Jue today, and themselves tomorrow!

"Later, the Jin army marched south to attack the Song Dynasty, also using the pretext of the Song Dynasty accepting Zhang Jue's surrender."

However, the fact that the Zhao Song court exhibited a conflict between its left and right brains was because there were indeed two groups of people in the Zhao Song court: one group believed that the Jin people would not attack and that they should live in harmony with the Jin people; the other group believed that the Jin people would attack and that they should prepare in advance!

The former was more powerful and even suppressed the latter. Although the Jurchens were so powerful that they were about to destroy the Liao capital, many people in the Song court still did not think much of the Jurchens.

They believed that the Jurchens were just another newly risen Liao (Western Xia). At worst, they could pay them more money, or at worst, cede some territory and send them back. Their Great Song Dynasty wouldn't be short of money.

"Upon witnessing the incompetence of the Song army, many Jin generals had already conceived the idea of ​​attacking the Song Dynasty. The Song Dynasty was both weak and wealthy, and they had long harbored the desire to march south and attack it. However, at that time, they had not yet completely destroyed the Liao Dynasty, so they had to endure it for the time being!"

"In the seventh year of Xuanhe of the Song Dynasty, and the third year of Tianhui of the Jin Dynasty, in February, the Liao Emperor Yelü Yanxi was captured and the Liao Dynasty fell. In August, Wanyan Zonghan and Wanyan Zongwang petitioned Wu Qimai to attack the Song Dynasty because of Zhang Jue's case."

"Therefore, in October of the third year of the Tianhui era, the Jin army dispatched 100,000 troops, divided into two routes, east and west, to invade the Song Dynasty. The western route of the Jin army was led by Wanyan Zonghan, and the eastern route was led by Wanyan Zongwang."

"The Song army actually possessed considerable fighting strength. While they might not be able to engage the Jin army in open field battles, they were not easy for the Jin soldiers to conquer if they held their cities. It's not impossible for the Jin to destroy the Song Dynasty with 100,000 troops, but it would be very difficult!"

The Song army was not weak at all, especially the elite Song troops, who all had two shoulders and one head. How much worse were they than the Jin army?

Unfortunately, the commanders who led the Song Dynasty were incompetent, and many of the Song army's defeats stemmed from the people who issued the orders.

If the Jin army was truly invincible, with the saying "If the Jurchens number less than ten thousand, they are invincible if they number ten thousand," then how did Yue Fei's army defeat the Jin army? Yue Fei's army had even defeated the Jin's elite "Iron Pagoda" and "Hooked Cavalry."

You can't say that every soldier in Yue Fei's army was a superman, with two extra arms compared to ordinary people.

“When a large army is mobilized, it’s not something that can be done immediately upon receiving an order. Instead, a lot of preparations need to be made, and there need to be signs to follow!” This isn’t “New Three Kingdoms”, where there are teleportation portals to teleport directly and wild food to capture. Even if the Jin soldiers are powerful, they still need to carry food and have to travel over mountains and rivers.

"Before the arrival of the Jin army, many people warned the Zhao Song court, but the Zhao Song court ignored them and did not take them seriously at all. In their view, how could the Jin people possibly march south? Even if they did, it wouldn't be a big deal. Could the Jin people possibly attack Bianjing?"

The Zhao-Song version of fake news only believes what they want to hear; anything they don't want to hear is considered fake news.

"These people even suppressed ministers who advocated fighting against the Jin people."

The Jurchens are no threat at all; the real threat is their political enemies who will try to seize power from them!

If the Jurchens come, we can simply give them some money and land to send them away. The Jurchens can't stay permanently anyway. The only real threat are the political enemies we have to deal with all the time.

The worst that could happen if the Jurchens came was the fall of the country, but that was a very small probability. If political enemies didn't suppress them, then they would lose their power and status.

The ministers of the Zhao Song Dynasty were able to clearly distinguish between what was important and what was not!
"Whether they wanted to believe it or not, once the news of the Jurchen army's southward advance was confirmed, they had no choice but to believe it. The Song court was thrown into chaos, and the great calligrapher was so frightened that he fainted!"

Upon hearing that Zhao Ji had fainted from fright, the First Emperor and others had only one thought: What kind of people are these Zhao Song?
The First Emperor said, "Even if the Jurchens had arrived, let alone before they did, how could the ruler of a nation be so frightened by the enemy army?"

Although the Song people were clearly closer to the Jin people than the Song people, when they heard that the Song dynasty had been invaded by the Jin, the First Emperor and others felt no sympathy. Instead, they thought, "Let's get rid of these bastards!"

These scoundrels jump for joy when they boast about their achievements, and they can pull off things like the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai and the casting of the Nine Tripods to prove that they are the emperors of a prosperous era. But when they actually encounter problems, they are terribly cowardly.

You, Zhao Ji, are the emperor of the Song Dynasty. To be so frightened by the enemy that you fainted is utterly shameless. In this respect, you are far inferior to Guang Shen.

Guangshen once said, "What a fine head, who should chop it off?"

Li Nian smiled and said, "This matter is recorded in the History of Song. The history says: 'The emperor was greatly shocked upon hearing this, and then choked and lost consciousness, falling off his bed. The ministers quickly administered medicine, and he soon recovered. He then asked for paper and pen and wrote: "The throne will be passed to the Crown Prince."'"

He was so scared that he fell off the imperial bed. How terrified must he have been?
Wait a minute, there are two more sentences after this. What does it mean that "The prime minister urgently administered medicine, and he suddenly reviveed. He then asked for paper and pen and wrote: 'The throne is to be passed to the Crown Prince.'"?
The First Emperor and the others were stunned for a moment, then realized that they thought Zhao Ji was already at his limit when he was frightened into unconsciousness and fell down by the Jin army. They did not expect that Zhao Ji was even more shameless than they thought!
This guy is trying to run away before the Jurchen army arrives. What "passing the throne to the Crown Prince"?
That means they'll grab someone to take the blame and die in their place before they run away!

How could there be such a shameless ruler in the world?
But thinking about it, it makes sense. According to Li Nian, Zhao Ji was captured by the Jurchens and subjected to the extremely humiliating "sheep-leading ceremony."

The fact that this guy could still live after being subjected to the "sheep-leading ceremony" is enough to show how shameless he is.

Meng Tian said, "When the Jurchens arrived, Zhao Ji didn't think about preparing the army and resisting them; instead, he wanted to abdicate and flee..."

Meng Tian shook his head and didn't continue, instead asking, "Then who is the 'Eastern Palace' that Zhao Ji wants to pass the throne to?"

This person was probably also a "hero" of the Song Dynasty.

Li Nian said, "The person the great calligrapher wanted to pass the throne to was named Zhao Huan, the great calligrapher's eldest son. This person was not favored by the great calligrapher, but since he was the eldest son of the legitimate wife, the great calligrapher made him the crown prince."

"The great calligrapher intended to depose Zhao Huan as crown prince, but before he could do so, the Jurchens arrived. If the Jurchens had not rushed to send troops, Zhao Huan's position as crown prince might have been deposed by the great calligrapher in a few years."

"This man is not as wicked as the great calligrapher, of course, because he did not have time to do evil; he was captured by the Jurchens less than two years after he ascended the throne. But he is just as incompetent and shameless as the great calligrapher, and he is also indecisive, cowardly, and lacks any independent judgment. He cannot escape the humiliation of the Jingkang Incident!"

Emperor Huizong and his son Emperor Huan, that pair of scoundrels, should bear primary responsibility for the "Jingkang Incident".

Although Zhao Huan was forced to abdicate by Zhao Ji, he had to bear responsibility once he sat on that throne. Moreover, there were many opportunities to avoid the "Jingkang Incident," but Zhao Huan skillfully maneuvered and avoided the correct choices, thus contributing to the Jingkang Incident through his own strength.

"After abdicating in favor of Zhao Huan, the great calligrapher felt that Bianjing was not safe enough. Under the pretext of going to Taiqing Palace in Haozhou to burn incense, he took Cai You, Tong Guan and other favorite ministers and fled Bianjing overnight, heading south. However, he did not stop after arriving in Haozhou, but continued to flee until he reached Zhenjiang."

Upon hearing this, Wang Jian suddenly blurted out, "This Zhao Ji is quite like his ancestor!"

The current emperors of the Zhao Song dynasty are all from the lineage of Emperor Taizong of Song, Zhao Guangyi. Zhao Guangyi escaped two hundred miles in one night by donkey cart, and Emperor Huizong of Song was also able to escape in the same way, which shows that his bloodline is pure!
"Even while fleeing, the great calligrapher continued to issue orders as the emperor. He intercepted grain and silver supplies from the southeast and ordered the army that he believed the Jin army would be unable to resist its southward advance and that he wanted to create another dynasty!"

Sending these grains and salaries to Bianjing would only benefit the Jurchens; it would be better to keep them as provisions for their own court.

Emperor Qin Shi Huang and others were once again pushed to new lows of shamelessness by Zhao Ji. Although emperors are generally selfish, someone like Zhao Ji is extremely rare.

His actions will cause chaos in the Song government and create panic among the people. He has taken away the money and grain and intercepted the army. What will happen to Bianjing? How can it resist the Jurchens?

Not only did they not help resist the Jin, they also undermined their own side from behind, providing assistance to the Jin people.

"The great calligrapher also hinted to Zhao Huan that he should move the capital to the south: Bianjing would certainly be difficult to defend, so it would be better to move the capital!"

Meng Tian said, "To hand over the capital of the Song Dynasty and the northern territories to the Jin people? If Zhao Kuangyin and Zhao Guangyi knew this after their deaths, I wonder what they would think!"

Li Nian laughed and said, "Zhao Kuangyin will most likely give Zhao Guangyi a good beating, and then point at Guangyi's nose and angrily curse: 'Are those people your descendants?'"

Feng Jie said, "Then Zhao Huan should not have responded to Zhao Ji!"

Li Nian nodded and said, "Zhao Huan originally wanted to agree, but he was persuaded to stop by Li Gang, who advocated war in the Song court, and so he did not go."

At this point, the First Emperor said, "Zhao Ji's advice to Zhao Huan to move the capital may have had another reason: his prestige plummeted after fleeing Bianjing, and he was despised by the people. If Zhao Huan moves the capital to the south, then his escape from Bianjing will be justifiable!"

(End of this chapter)