Simulates history, but Chongzhen is the Divine Emperor at the beginning

Chapter 237 Yue Fei and Zhao Gou

[“What exactly caused Yue Fei's death in history?”]

After returning to the military camp in Xiangyang, you couldn't help but sit alone on the edge of your bed and think things through carefully...

[In the original historical timeline recounted by Xiangfu, numerous theories and speculations abound regarding the cause of Yue Fei's death.]

Some say it was because Yue Fei's slogan was wrong... His slogan was "Welcome back the two emperors," which violated Zhao Gou's cardinal rule. If the two emperors returned, how could Zhao Gou remain emperor? Therefore, Yue Fei was destined to die!

Some say that because the Jin dynasty's peace terms included killing Yue Fei, the brain-dead, surrender-minded Zhao Gou obeyed the Jin's wishes and killed Yue Fei, thus securing his position as "the Great Jin's ruler of Jiangnan," and spending his days kneeling and writing nauseatingly sweet "Your Majesty's Words" to his Jin father...

Some say that the "Yue Family Army" was Yue Fei's private army, and Zhao Gou feared that Yue Fei's achievements would overshadow his own and lead to a repeat of the "Chenqiao Mutiny," so he killed Yue Fei...

However, the above arguments have significant flaws… For example, some say that Yue Fei's slogan "Welcome back the two emperors" was problematic, but in reality, Yue Fei had already observed the situation and changed the slogan to "Welcome back the Emperor's Favor," and "Emperor's Favor" refers to Emperors Huizong and Qinzong. Therefore, "Emperor" obviously refers to Zhao Gou, which was a clear expression of loyalty… After all, Yue Fei wasn't stupid; why would he deliberately go against his boss's throne?

Secondly, some say that Zhao Gou was so brain-dead that he was determined to be a puppet emperor of the Jurchens, so he killed Yue Fei, who dared to fight his Jurchen father… This is clearly a mindless statement, because Zhao Gou was not only not brain-dead, but he was actually the most capable emperor among the Southern Song emperors! Zhao Gou played a crucial role in enabling the Southern Song to become a standard Southern Dynasty, rather than a chaotic regime like the Southern Ming.

For the Song Dynasty, he was a restorer of the dynasty no less significant than Liu Xiu for the Han Dynasty!

Furthermore, Zhao Gou was not a surrenderist; in his early years, he was a proponent of war, and he was the loudest advocate of "Northern Expedition to the Central Plains." At his most fervent, he even considered entrusting half of the Song Dynasty's military force to Yue Fei, allowing Yue Fei to boldly launch a northern expedition! This demonstrates his trust in Yue Fei and his insistence on the northern expedition.

[In his later years, while he wasn't as extreme as in his early years, he didn't directly kneel before the Jin people either. At most, he adjusted his strategy towards the Jin, shifting from advocating war to advocating peace... The most prominent example of this is his adopted son, Emperor Xiaozong of Song, who was an absolute advocate of war. If Zhao Gou had truly been determined to surrender, he would never have adopted such a son to be emperor.]

As for the final statement, "Because the Yue Family Army was a private army, they were afraid that Yue Fei's achievements would overshadow the emperor and cause a repeat of the Chenqiao Mutiny"... this is also incorrect, because the Yue Family Army was not Yue Fei's private army, but a legitimate Southern Song Dynasty army, only it was assigned to Yue Fei's use...

However, while this statement is incorrect, it's a lucky accident that it touched on the topic!

[Because if Zhao Gou wanted to kill Yue Fei, there was only one possible reason: Yue Fei made him feel uneasy about the loss of control over his generals...]

As is well known, the Song Dynasty emerged against the historical backdrop of the late Tang and Five Dynasties period. What, then, were the most distinctive characteristics of that era?

The answer is the fragmentation of the empire by regional warlords and the rebellion of generals! The military leaders of the Five Dynasties period were simply extraordinary. Of the five dynasties—Liang, Tang, Jin, Han, and Zhou—all except the Later Jin, which was destroyed by the Liao Dynasty, were established and destroyed directly or indirectly due to rebellions by regional warlords and generals. Even the Northern Song Dynasty was established because of the Chenqiao Mutiny.

Therefore, from its founding, the Song Dynasty carried a sense of wariness and unease towards military figures… For example, Emperor Taizu's "releasing military power over a cup of wine," Emperor Taizong's "Complete Plan for Pacifying the Barbarians," the term "traitors exiled to the army," and the policy of "emphasizing civil affairs and de-emphasizing military affairs"... all these indicate that the Song Dynasty overcorrected the narrative of the Five Dynasties period.

After the fall of the Northern Song Dynasty, the collapse of the Song Dynasty's order led to a resurgence of military rebellions, which directly occurred to Zhao Gou himself... This is the famous "Miao-Liu Mutiny"!

Specifically, two arrogant military generals suddenly had a brain fart and arrested Zhao Gou and the entire court, threatening Zhao Gou to abdicate the throne to his two-year-old son...

[After the whole thing was over, although the mutiny was eventually quelled, Zhao Gou's own son, the young crown prince, died soon after due to excessive shock. Even Zhao Gou himself was so frightened that he became impotent and lost his fertility...]

[Because Zhao Gou was so deeply impressed by this incident, he became extremely wary of military generals. Any sign of a general losing control would trigger his PTSD!] [With this background, let's look at Yue Fei's death: Yue Fei had just achieved a great victory over the main force of the Jin army, and then Zhao Gou summoned him back... Naturally, Yue Fei, wanting to expand his gains, didn't want to return, but he couldn't disobey the emperor's orders. Therefore, Yue Fei was very conflicted. Ultimately, only after receiving thirteen imperial edicts did he reluctantly return, and shortly thereafter, he was murdered...]

Therefore, the reason why Yue Fei met his demise was probably not as complicated as later generations thought. It was simply that Zhao Gou felt Yue Fei disagreed with him on the issue of war versus peace, leading Zhao Gou to believe that Yue Fei was at risk of spiraling out of control... Coupled with the machinations of villains like Qin Hui, this ultimately led Zhao Gou to decide to kill Yue Fei!

However, Zhao Gou probably came to terms with it later, realizing he had likely wrongfully killed an innocent person, and thus felt some regret... The evidence is that after Zhao Gou abdicated in favor of his adopted son, Emperor Xiaozong of Song, Emperor Xiaozong gradually exonerated Yue Fei!

How could Emperor Xiaozong, an adopted son, possibly dare to disobey Zhao Gou, the founding emperor? Moreover, Zhao Gou had only abdicated, not died... Therefore, Emperor Xiaozong's exoneration of Yue Fei was actually Zhao Gou's tacit approval or even his instruction...

In conclusion, Yue Fei's death was most likely a tragedy stemming from mutual distrust between the emperor and his minister. Zhao Gou was not incompetent, nor was Yue Fei foolish; their conflict was essentially a continuation of the events of the Five Dynasties period.

[If Yue Fei in the original historical timeline died because of this, will Yue Fei in this historical timeline also inevitably die because of it?]

You can't help but worry, because just like in the original history, Yue Fei has received thirteen imperial edicts for disagreeing with the emperor... In fact, this time the situation is even more serious than in the original history, because the original Yue Fei ultimately obeyed the emperor's order and led his army back to Song territory upon receiving the thirteenth imperial edict.

[But now, Yue Fei, despite the emperor's thirteen imperial edicts ordering him to advance, resolutely chose to retreat... This truly shows he's going down a dark path, openly defying the imperial decree!]

Therefore, Yue Fei was now tantamount to a rebel. In the eyes of Zhao Gou, who suffered from PTSD, Yue Fei was no longer loyal; he was a complete traitor!

And his fate afterward was obvious...

【…】

In the 216th year of the Shaoxing era, Yue Fei, the marshal of the Northern Expedition, refused thirteen imperial edicts from the emperor, disregarding the orders for the Northern Expedition and insisting on withdrawing his troops! As a result, the 200,000-strong Northern Expeditionary army returned to Xiangyang in batches.

Thus, this unprecedented Northern Expedition in two hundred years came to an end in failure...

That year, the imperial court was furious! They ordered Yue Fei to come to the capital immediately!

[Yue Fei, however, showed no sadness upon seeing the harshly worded imperial edict; instead, a look of relief appeared on his face… It was time to end this two-hundred-year-old destiny…]

That year, Yue Fei handed over all military affairs to others, and then boarded a prison cart to Lin'an with his children and family...

That night, you finally made up your mind to meet Yue Fei!

Because if we don't see each other again, we'll never see each other again...

……

(End of this chapter)