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

Chapter 277 My Great Song Emperor guards the nation's gates, the Grand Tutor dies for the country!

[Damn it, let's open for business!]

Faced with the threat of Emperor Zhao Gou, after much deliberation, you finally decided to give up...

After all, you have already witnessed the schemes and methods of this divine emperor. With his countless cunning schemes, he has basically anticipated all your reactions as a capable minister who governs the world. Whether you willingly sacrifice yourself for the sake of the people or muster the courage to launch a final charge against him, the result can only be falling into his trap.

Therefore, if you want to find a way out of this almost certain death situation, you can only take an unconventional approach...

What kind of unconventional approach? Well, that's basically tanking!

[Desperate measures are unacceptable, a Northern Expedition is out of the question, and selling out territory is absolutely out of the question!]

He thought he could use the banner of "the people of the world" to morally blackmail you, but what if you don't care about the so-called people of the world at all...?

Thinking about it this way, your perspective suddenly becomes clear!

Since you've already failed in life, and even "your other self" is planning to send you back to where you started... given this, is it still necessary for you to take everything in the present so seriously?

[The current side quest is something you forcibly added outside the main storyline. You don't expect it to allow you to achieve anything extraordinary. Its only purpose is to let you test whether you can live longer... This is a worldline that exists out of selfishness!]

In this side quest, you don't need to care about the common people or "make the Song Dynasty great again." All you need to do is be selfish...

And you don't have many desires. You just want to live longer on this path so you can witness your parents enjoying wealth and luxury in their remaining years, and do something meaningful for your descendants.

Sacrificing one's own family for the greater good—that's the path of Xiangfu, a path you could never truly learn, no matter how hard you tried your whole life.

Under the pressure of life's unpredictability, you were forced to embark on a path completely different from your father's...

【…】

In the 245th year of Shaoxing, facing the pressure from the Emperor Zhao, once you realized that you couldn't defeat him even if you tried your best, you ultimately chose to give up...

On that day, you stated frankly that you were utterly incapable of saving the Song Dynasty, and thus directly requested to resign your position as Grand Tutor from Emperor Gaozong (Zhao Gou)!

Zhao Gou, however, was quite suspicious of this... After all, judging from your previous achievements in governance, you are actually a wise and virtuous minister who takes the well-being of the people as his own responsibility. For the sake of the people's peaceful and prosperous life, you even said things like "I will do anything."

How could such a wise minister, comparable to Zhuge Liang, suddenly become a lazy bum? Don't you love the Song Dynasty anymore? Don't you love the people?!

I don't believe it!

[Having initially assumed you spoke those words intentionally, Zhao Gou, after careful consideration, ultimately decided to fight you to the bitter end: I don't believe you truly treat the people like dirt!]

[It must be acting...]

Zhao Gou is determined to use moral blackmail to expose your true colors!

[As for using force... let's not rush it. There will be plenty of opportunities. Rather than rushing into something so unromantic, it's better to subject you to mental torture first, until you kneel down and beg for mercy, crying and shouting that you'd sacrifice yourself to save the Song Dynasty!]

[Having made up his mind, Zhao Gou immediately rejected your resignation! Not only that, he encouraged you to continue serving the country loyally until the Song Dynasty is made great again!]

Such boundless imperial grace and unwavering trust between ruler and subject are truly rare throughout history! Under normal circumstances, such encouraged ministers would be moved to tears, weeping and begging to shed their last drop of blood for the Emperor…

【But you are different. 】

[Having received encouragement from the emperor, you, who had failed to resign, could only sigh deeply.]

【…】

[In the 245th year of Shaoxing, having failed to resign from your official post, you officially begin your life of idleness!]

However, abandoning the status quo doesn't equate to reckless actions. Therefore, you still need to govern the country normally, only your governing policies will become more radical and ineffective... Specifically, from now on, you will no longer implement further reforms. Instead, you will maintain the new economic industries such as iron smelting, tea production, and silk production established in Jiangnan and other regions, while simultaneously issuing widespread declarations to the entire Song Dynasty, proclaiming your determination to resist the Jin!

"Although the Jurchens are brutal, we, the iron-blooded Song Dynasty, have always preferred to die standing rather than live on our knees... We will never surrender!"

You stand tall and proud, solemnly declaring to the people: "Our Great Song Dynasty will not make peace through marriage! We will not become vassals! We will not cede territory! We will not pay tribute!"

"The emperor guards the nation's gates, the Grand Tutor dies for the state!"

The people of the Song Dynasty, who had long suffered under the Jurchen rule, were overjoyed upon hearing this!

【…】

[In the 246th year of Shaoxing, just as you were stirring up resistance against the Jin, the Jin army from the north once again marched south! Tens of thousands of Jin soldiers easily broke through the defenses of the important towns of Lianghuai, besieging Han Shizhong in the city while advancing rapidly, their advance pointing directly at the Yangtze River!]

[Faced with the threat of the Jin army, you showed no fear! On one hand, you ordered Yue Fei to lead troops to cut off the Jin army's retreat; on the other hand, you personally led 100,000 imperial guards across the river to charge straight at the Jin army's advance, and the two sides engaged in an unprecedented battle!]

On one side were the Song Dynasty's Imperial Guards, all in their primordial spirit state; on the other side were the Jin Dynasty's troops, all in their mutated state. The moment they clashed, the battle became fierce and intense...

After three days and three nights of fierce fighting by the Song army, the southward-bound Jin troops suffered heavy losses, with tens of thousands of soldiers completely collapsing and retreating north in disarray... However, Yue Fei had already ordered his troops to cut off their retreat, leaving tens of thousands of Jin soldiers with nowhere to go, ultimately resulting in their complete annihilation!

In this battle, the Southern Song Dynasty annihilated tens of thousands of Jin soldiers, a remarkable achievement!

However, the Song army also suffered heavy casualties. In order to annihilate this Jin army, nearly half of the 100,000 imperial guards were killed in action, and Yue Fei and Han Shizhong's troops also suffered considerable losses. Countless civilians along the way were also killed or wounded...

This battle was incredibly costly!

But... you weren't saddened by this, because this was the path you chose: neither surrendering willingly nor launching a northern expedition to your death, leaving you with only passive defense.

Whatever the outcome, you already anticipated it...

You had no choice.

【…】

Over the next decade, the Southern Song Dynasty reversed its previous policy of avoiding war and instead confronted the southward-bound Jin army head-on every time!

It can be said that the Song army fought with great momentum and achieved remarkable results, annihilating hundreds of thousands of mutated Jin soldiers! As a result, the Southern Song Dynasty was filled with the passion of battle, and the previous decadence was swept away!

You changed the Southern Song Dynasty; now it truly is an iron-fisted and powerful dynasty!

However, in stark contrast to these solid military achievements was the increasingly severe internal crisis of the Southern Song Dynasty...

[First, there was the heavy loss of elite troops. To combat the mutated Jin soldiers, ordinary Song soldiers were certainly not fit for the battlefield. Therefore, those who went into battle were all elite warriors possessing a certain level of divine power related to lust. The massive loss of these elite troops directly led to a significant decline in the Southern Song military strength. Faced with the ever-advancing Jin army, the Song army gradually became overwhelmed.]

Secondly, the people's livelihood in the border areas was devastated. Due to the continuous plundering by the Jin army, the entire Song territory north of the Yangtze River was basically destroyed. Only a few important military towns were still functioning on the thousands of miles of land. The people of the other cities either died at the hands of the Jin army or were relocated south of the Yangtze River, leaving only the tragic scene of exposed bones in the wilderness and no roosters crowing for thousands of miles.

[Secondly, there's the economic problem in Jiangnan. Due to the need to resettle the people who migrated south and alleviate social problems, you've already imposed exorbitant taxes on Jiangnan, making life unbearable for its people. Not only are the wealthy resentful, but even ordinary people are cursing you...]

In short, under your iron-fisted policy of war, although the Song Dynasty achieved a military triumph, almost all kinds of social problems among the people were exacerbated. If it weren't for your skillful micromanagement, the Song Dynasty would have exploded long ago!

Even if you master micro-management, you can only barely hold on... while the Jin army in the north is endless. Even though the Song army has annihilated hundreds of thousands of them, how many people are there in the Central Plains? As long as the Jin wants to conscript soldiers, their army is virtually unlimited...

It's clear that the Song Dynasty is on the verge of destruction!

[Just one final blow away...]

……

(End of this chapter)