Diqin Designer

Chapter 513 False Surname "Zhao", Real Surname "Wanyan" (History of the Northern Song Dynasty)

When later generations tried to whitewash Zhao Gou, they often gave the following reasons: First, the Jin people were invincible at the time. Given the fighting strength of the Song army, even if Zhao Gou led his army there, he would have been sending them to their doom.

Secondly, Zhao Gou lacked prestige; although he commanded a large army, he was unable to subdue his generals. Thirdly, Zhao Gou lacked ability and could not command his troops.

This proves that Zhao Gou was right to remain inactive, observe from afar, and not go to Bianjing's aid.

This is entirely an attempt to whitewash Zhao Gou from his own selfish perspective.

Putting everything else aside, Bianjing is the capital of a country. How could we sit idly by and watch the capital fall without doing anything?
If Zhao Gou were all alone, it would make some sense not to go to his aid, but Zhao Gou had troops under his command, he was not without soldiers and generals.

Furthermore, the Jurchens were invincible; even if Zhao Gou led his troops there, he would not be able to defeat them.

The Jin people were indeed formidable at that time. It would be difficult for the Song army to win a direct confrontation with the Jin army. However, the siege of Bianjing could not be lifted by defeating the Jin army in a direct battle.

As long as Zhao Gou leads his army to the vicinity of Bianjing, the court can put pressure on the Jurchens, thereby easing the critical situation in Bianjing.

The Jurchens also needed to eat and drink. With their large army besieging Bianjing, the city's resources were being rapidly depleted, and the Jurchens' own food supplies were also being rapidly consumed.

We could try to establish a scorched-earth policy around Bianjing to cut off the Jurchens' supply lines. No matter how powerful the Jurchens are, they won't be able to fight back without food and water.

To achieve this, there was no need to engage in a direct battle with the Jurchens. All that was needed was to avoid being captured by them. And wasn't being able to run fast a traditional skill of the Song Dynasty?

In this situation, the Jurchens either had to find a way to capture Zhao Gou's army, which had cut off their supply lines, or withdraw their troops, or capture Bianjing before their supplies ran out and obtain supplies from Bianjing.

All the Song dynasty had to do was two things: keep harassing the Jin people to avoid being captured; and defend Bianjing (Kaifeng) to the death to prevent the Jin from breaching the city.

The war will become a war of attrition, with both sides depleting their supplies. Once the Jin army runs out of supplies, the siege of Bianjing will naturally be lifted.

Of course, given the cowardice and shamelessness of Emperor Huizong and Emperor Huan, this plan was bound to fail.

Because these people would never fight the Jurchens to the death. When they learned that Zhao Gou was leading his army to help, they would only try to sabotage the situation and make Zhao Gou and them be captured by the Jurchens.

As for Zhao Gou's lack of prestige and inability to subdue the generals, if he truly wanted to rescue Bianjing, he wouldn't need to subdue the generals at all; he only needed to refrain from hindering the Song army and righteous forces from various places from coming to the rescue.

He lacks the ability to command a large army, and therefore does not need to take actual command. Let the generals such as Han Shizhong and Liu Guangshi who led the troops do their job, and he will not interfere.

The various Song armies and righteous armies originally came to rescue Bianjing, but they were taken under Zhao Gou's command. He then stood by and watched Bianjing fall.

Of course, judging from the actions of Zhao Ji, Zhao Huan and their ilk, Zhao Gou's decision not to go to the rescue was the right one.

Because if he goes to the rescue, he will most likely be tricked by Zhao Huan and others and lose his own life, and the Song army and the righteous army that came to the aid of the emperor will also lose everything.

However, it cannot be said that Zhao Gou's actions of remaining inactive, fearing the Jin people like tigers, and watching Bianjing fall were justified.

The capital city has fallen right under our noses, and we have the ability to save it but don't. What kind of right is that?

The fundamental reason why Zhao Gou did not rescue Bianjing was that he was afraid of the Jurchens and dared not fight them, and that he saw an opportunity to ascend the throne.

If Zhao Gou truly intended to save Bianjing, he wouldn't have thought of avoiding the Jurchens and retreating all the way back, or even trying to escape to Jiangnan.

Li Nian said, "After the Jurchens captured Bianjing, they did not continue south. This was because they had already gained a lot from their campaign against the Song Dynasty, and also because they were not used to the climate and environment of the Song Dynasty. Moreover, they had plundered so much wealth and people, and if they continued south, they would have to take all that wealth and people with them."

"In fact, the Jurchens' return north also presented an opportunity for Zhao Gou's army."

Wang Jian, Wang Ben, and Meng Tian immediately understood what Li Nian meant by "opportunity." Meng Tian said, "With the strength of the Jurchen troops marching south to attack the Song Dynasty, they will inevitably be scattered when escorting the looted goods and prisoners, thus revealing some weaknesses."

So many people and so much wealth will become a burden for the Golden Man.

If Zhao Gou had ordered his troops to seize an opportunity to attack the Jin people at this time, even if he could not recapture Zhao Ji and Zhao Huan, who were being held under strict guard by the Jin people, he would have had a chance to take back some wealth and prisoners from the Jin people.

Li Nian said, "That's right, but Zhao Gou did not do that. When he learned that his father and brother had been captured by the Jurchens and that the Jurchens had made Zhang Bangchang emperor, he wept bitterly!"

Upon hearing Zhao Gou's "weeping," Meng Tian immediately laughed and said, "Wailing? I'm afraid Zhao Gou was secretly overjoyed at the time. With Zhao Ji, Zhao Huan, and others being taken away by the Jurchens, the throne of the Song Dynasty would be his."

Li Nian also said, "There should be some sadness, after all, his father, brothers, wife and daughters were all kidnapped, but the joy should outweigh the sorrow."

"After the Jurchens returned north with Zhao Huan and others, Zhang Bangchang, who had been forcibly made emperor by the Jurchens, jumped out. He knew that if he dared to sit on the throne, his life would be in danger. The only way to save his life was to support a member of the Zhao Song imperial family as emperor and save his life by supporting the emperor."

"And who in the entire world is the most suitable member of the Zhao Song imperial family to be the new emperor? Besides Zhao Gou, is there anyone else?"

"Of course, if we want to support Zhao Gou as emperor, Zhang Bangchang alone is definitely not enough. As a Song official, he is not qualified to establish a new emperor. There must be someone with sufficient status."

"But the Zhao Song imperial family in Bianjing was almost entirely wiped out by the Jurchens. Where in the world are there such figures?"

The First Emperor and others also considered whether members of the Zhao Song imperial family had sufficient status and position to establish a new emperor.

Before long, Feng Jie thought of someone: "Could the person Zhang Bangchang is thinking of be the empress who was deposed by Emperor Zhezong of Song, Zhao Xu?"

Li Nian nodded and smiled, "Although Empress Meng was not favored during Emperor Zhezong's reign and was even deposed, she also benefited from the misfortune, thus avoiding the humiliation of Jingkang and not being captured by the Jurchens. When Zhao Ji, Zhao Huan and others were captured by the Jurchens, she transformed into the person with the highest status among the Zhao Song imperial family."

"Zhang Bangchang also thought of Empress Meng, found her, and supported Zhao Gou in her name. Now, with Empress Meng's support, Zhao Gou's ascension to the throne was legitimate."

"But Zhang Bangchang desperately wanted to support Zhao Gou, yet Zhao Gou dared not go to Zhang Bangchang's territory, nor return to Bianjing. Moreover, according to custom, one should not rush to ascend the throne, but must first show humility and decline, even though Zhao Gou had shown in many ways that he wanted to ascend the throne and become emperor!" "It was not until the first day of the fifth month, when all the officials urged him to ascend the throne, and Empress Meng had also announced to the world that Zhao Gou would 'succeed as the legitimate successor of the Great Song,' that Zhao Gou formally offered sacrifices to Heaven and Earth in Nanjing Yingtian Prefecture of the Song Dynasty, ascended the throne as emperor, and changed the era name to 'Jianyan'!"

“‘Jian’ means to create or establish, and ‘Yan’ means fire. According to the theory of the five elements of dynasties, the Song Dynasty was associated with the element of fire. Zhao Gou and others adopted the reign title ‘Jianyan’ to mean that the Song Dynasty was still in existence and was still the Song Dynasty associated with the element of fire.”

The division between the Northern and Southern Song dynasties was made by later generations. The Song dynasty would not have divided itself into the Northern and Southern Song dynasties. Therefore, it is impossible for Zhao Gou and others to have thought that the Northern Song had perished and that their Southern Song was established from today onwards, inheriting the ideas of the Northern Song.

Feng Quji said, "The choice of this reign title should also have the intention of resisting the Jin. The Jin state has the character 'Jin' (金), and fire overcomes metal. Zhao Gou and others hoped to fight against the Jin people."

Li Nian said: "Zhao Gou did have the intention to resist the Jin, but like his father and brother, he was hesitant and wavering while fearing the Jin people. Moreover, his resistance to the Jin was not a true resistance, but a means for him to consolidate his throne and win over the people."

"Shortly after the founding of the Jianyan Dynasty, Zhao Gou appointed Li Gang, seemingly to make good use of the pro-war faction, but in reality he still wanted to seek peace with the Jin people. Therefore, while he was granting Li Gang an official position, he was also sending ministers to the Jin state to seek peace."

The First Emperor and his entourage were not surprised at all. As expected of fathers and sons, they were all the same. They were all cowards.

If Zhao Gou had been the emperor in Bianjing at that time, his actions would probably not have been much better than those of Zhao Huan. In the end, the city was still breached by the Jurchens, and everyone was taken captive to the north.

"Zhao Gou is a man who says one thing on the surface and another behind the scenes. On the surface, he appears to want to fight the Jin people to the death and is irreconcilably opposed to them, but in reality, he is thinking of touring the southeast. In other words, he still feels that it is not safe in the north and wants to go to the south!"

"However, due to Li Gang's repeated dissuasion, Zhao Gou was unable to make the trip immediately, but Li Gang also became a thorn in Zhao Gou's side. With his tacit approval, Wang Boyan, Huang Qianshan, Zhang Jun and others impeached Li Gang, listing more than ten of his crimes. This Wang Boyan was the prefect of Xiangzhou who had brought Zhao Gou to Xiangzhou, and he and Huang Qianshan were deeply trusted by Zhao Gou!"

Just by hearing that, you can tell what kind of creature it is. How good could it be that it has won Zhao Gou's deep trust?

Meng Tian laughed and said, "These people like Wang Boyan, Huang Qianshan, and Zhang Jun probably want to make peace with the Jin people and flee south, just like Zhao Gou. Their impeachment of Li Gang must be supported by Zhao Gou!"

Li Nian said, "Li Gang and these people jumped out to impeach him, but he understood perfectly well that he should resign voluntarily. After Li Gang resigned, Zhao Gou and his entourage were no longer hindered in their tour of the southeast, and they soon set off for the southeast!"

Wang Jian sighed, “Going is easy, but coming back is difficult. Although the south is good, it is easy to be confined to a corner of the country. It will be even more difficult for the Song Dynasty to take back the lost territory and reclaim Yan and Yun.”

This was also one of the reasons why Zhu Di of the Ming Dynasty moved the capital to the north, in order to prevent the Ming Dynasty from declining in the south and ultimately becoming like the Southern Song Dynasty.

"But Zhao Gou and others didn't think about these things. They only hoped to be safe and not be attacked by the Jurchens, so they could continue to enjoy themselves. As for recovering lost territory, they thought it was their fortune to gain it and their fate to lose it, since there was still so much land left."

"Besides, the Jurchens are so powerful, we probably can't defeat them. Also, even if we do defeat the Jurchens and bring back Zhao Ji and Zhao Huan, what will happen to Zhao Gou's throne? Will the three of them—father, son, and brothers—take turns being emperor?"

When it comes to the struggle for the throne, there is little affection between fathers and sons or brothers; the struggle for the throne has always been cruel.

"After Zhao Gou and others fled south, Zong Ze, who remained in Bianjing, wrote to Zhao Gou more than twenty times, asking him to return to Bianjing, but how could Zhao Gou dare to go back?"

"In the second year of the Jianyan era, Zong Ze died with resentment after shouting 'Cross the river' three times. It's pitiful that he had such a strong will to resist the Jin. But while he had the will to resist the Jin, Zhao Gou had no heart for it. What could be done?"

The Song Dynasty had no shortage of loyal and capable officials, but they were not put to good use. People like Zong Ze ended up dying with resentment in the Song Dynasty.

Meng Tian then said, "The Song Dynasty is unworthy of such ministers; Zhao Gou is no different from his father and brothers!"

"After Li Gang resigned, Zhao Gou and others did not consider how to resist the Jin people and recover the Central Plains. Instead, they continued to seek peace with the Jin people. However, the Jin people already knew that these emperors of the Zhao Song Dynasty were weak and cowardly, and they did not accept Zhao Gou's peace request at all. What they offered in the peace request was not as good as directly sending troops to plunder."

"Why not just destroy the Song Dynasty and swallow it whole? Wouldn't it all be ours then? Why bother negotiating peace with those cowardly Song people?"

"The Jurchens not only refused Zhao Gou's request for peace, but also launched an attack on the Song Dynasty. In this attack, the Jurchens fought extremely far, even reaching Yangzhou, where Zhao Gou had fled."

"Upon learning that the Jin army was about to attack Yangzhou, Zhao Gou did not even have time to consult with his ministers before hastily donning armor, mounting his horse, and fleeing. He only stopped temporarily in Pingjiang Prefecture, where he removed his armor, put on a yellow robe, and then fled to Hangzhou."

Meng Tian said, "This Zhao Gou has the style of his ancestor!"

That's right, Zhao Gou's escape skills are definitely the purest bloodline of Zhao Guangyi.

Feng Jie said, "He may be able to escape, but those Zhao Song people who cannot escape will suffer greatly!"

The common people of the Song Dynasty suffered terribly, being subjected to such inhuman beings. When there was no war, they were exploited and oppressed; when there was war, they were abandoned and became prisoners of war and targets of massacre. Yet, some people in later generations still think that their lives were very rich and happy.

If the people of the Song Dynasty knew that some people in later generations thought they lived a happy and prosperous life, they would definitely say to these people: Come, come, come, we'll trade with you, so you can experience the happy life of the people of our Great Song Dynasty. Anyone who doesn't trade is a bastard!
"The Jurchens were brutal. After Zhao Gou fled, Yangzhou was massacred and burned by the Jurchens, almost reduced to ruins. After arriving in Yangzhou, the Jurchens did not continue to pursue Zhao Gou."

"Although Zhao Gou was so frightened by the Jin people that he abandoned the city and fled, he dared not have any resentment towards his Jin father. On the contrary, he felt that he had made a mistake and tried to seek the Jin people's forgiveness. He sent people to seek peace with the Jin people again."

The First Emperor said, "What a shameless scoundrel! He's no less than Zhao Ji or Zhao Huan!"

就没见过这种狗东西，被金人揍得鼻青脸肿，连母妃妻子都给送去当了妓女，还能觍着脸去舔金人的屁股。

Wang Wan said, "The Song Dynasty was devoid of courage and integrity. The Great Qin should take this as a warning."

The Song Dynasty was not entirely devoid of courage and integrity. There was Wen Tianxiang, who wrote "Ode to Righteousness," Lu You, who thought, "When the royal army has pacified the Central Plains, do not forget to tell your father at the family sacrifice," Lu Xiufu, who betrayed the emperor and died for his country after the Battle of Yamen, and the Song soldiers and civilians who drowned themselves in the sea.

These are all manifestations of the courage and integrity of the Song Dynasty, but this courage and integrity cannot be seen in Emperor Huizong, Emperor Huan, Emperor Gou, and others. The shame they created will forever be recorded on the pillar of shame in Chinese history.

Li Nian said: "Therefore, Zhao Gou was also ridiculed by later generations as 'Wanyan Gou'."

"When facing the Jurchens, he had no backbone at all, like a dog with its spine broken. Even when the Jurchens beat him and insulted him in every way, he still wagged his tail and begged for mercy."

"If he didn't have the surname 'Wanyan,' how could he be so loyal to the Jin Dynasty?"

(End of this chapter)