The reason why the Northern Song Dynasty fell was because the faint monarch and the traitorous ministers had the final say in the court
At the end of 1125 AD, the right side of the Jin army, led by the commander Wanyan Zongwang, attacked the Great Song Dynasty and tightly surrounded Bianjing. At this time, the young Emperor Zhao Huan of Qinzong had just ascended the throne, but he was surrounded by the influence of powerful ministers such as Dazai Li Bangyan. At the beginning, Zhao Huan was bewitched by Dazai and planned to follow the example of Tang Xuanzong's western tour, but was persuaded by Li Gang, a famous anti-Jin general who was stopped by Qin Zhili, and finally gave up this decision.
Just when Li Gang was planning to deal with the Jin army in order to resist it, Dazai Li Bangyan kept instigating Zhao Huan to negotiate peace with the Jin army. At this time, the soldiers of King Qin who rushed to the capital from all over the country had gathered, including the powerful northwest soldiers. The forbidden army and the people in the city expressed their willingness to defend the city with Li Gang.
However, Zhao Huan, the incompetent emperor, had already been frightened by the Jin army, fearing that he would be in danger once the city was broken. At the instigation of Li Bangyan, he agreed to a peace agreement with the Jin army despite the opposition of everyone, and sent Shaozai Zhang Bangchang and Kang Wang Zhao Gou to the Jin army for specific discussions.
Li Gang confronted Zhao Huan again, and after all kinds of persuasion, he finally persuaded Zhao Huan to allow the Northwest soldiers to camp near Bianjing City, and agreed to let Chongshi Dao and Yao Pingzhong enter the city to discuss the response to the Jin army. Seed Master Dao is a highly respected famous general, while Yao Pingzhong is the queen of the gate, and both of them enjoy prestige among the people.
Zhao Huan was annoyed when he learned that the Seed Master Dao had only brought a limited number of troops, and regretted the arrival of the Northwest Army. However, the explanation that he had led the vanguard army to support early, and that his younger brother would lead more troops to arrive in a short period of time, brought Zhao Huan a hint of comfort. Yao Pingzhong also followed, coming with troops to show his loyalty, and said that his father's general with an army of 60,000 could also arrive in a short time.
After Zhao Huan listened to the plan of the Seed Master Dao and Yao Pingzhong, his heart was slightly relieved. At this time, Taneshido began to question Dazai Li Bangyan's actions, asking him why he advocated peace talks with the Jin army. Lee Bang-yan seemed to be at a loss and could not give a definite answer, which made the atmosphere awkward. In the face of the continued questioning of the seed master and the demand to explain the reasons for his actions, Li Bangyan seemed speechless and had no room for defense.
Not satisfied, he went on to criticize Li Bangyan for not adopting the strategy of fortifying the walls and clearing the wilderness when the Jin army approached the city, but instead closed the city gate without actual threat, resulting in the people being unable to enter the city and the grain and grass being taken away by the Jin army. Li Bangyan couldn't justify this, so he could only try to shirk the responsibility, but this did not calm the anger of the cultivator.
Under the pressure of doubts and accusations, the seed master Dao put forward his own suggestion: Zhao Huan should clearly express his determination to resist the Jin in order to boost morale, and adopt the strategy of attacking the Jin army camp at night. He elaborated on the plan, including the support of the Northwest Army and the cutting off of the grain route. This plan made Zhao Huan feel a little comforted, however, Li Bangyan encouraged him to abandon this plan in order to maintain his position.
In the end, Zhao Huan chose Yao Pingzhong's plan and allowed a night attack on the Jin army's camp, trying to capture the Jin army commander Wanyan Zongwang alive in order to welcome back King Kang. However, this plan ended in failure, as the Jin army had already been prepared, the Song army suffered heavy losses in the night attack, and Yao Pingzhong also fled back to the northwest in the night.
When Zhao Huan learned the news of the defeat of the Song army, in the face of such a bleak situation, his expression was as lifeless as ashes, and he was stunned. Li Gang and Seed Master Dao stood in front of Zhao Huan's imperial case, with gloomy expressions on their faces, and their feelings about this defeat were indescribable.
Since Zhao Huan learned the news of Yao Pingzhong's defeat and escape, he felt that the end was coming, and he was in a panic all day long. Li Gang pleaded with the emperor not to give up resisting the enemy because of the defeat in World War I, emphasizing that the city of Bianjing was strong and the Jin army was difficult to break. Seed Master Dao even firmly put forward the plan of attacking the Jin army's camp at night, saying that he would be able to win a complete victory, and even retreated the Jin army through many surprise attacks within ten days.
Li Bangyan was furious when he heard this, and scolded the seed master Dao and others for despising the Great Song soldiers so much, as if they wanted to make the Song soldiers lose their lives in the hands of the enemy. Li Gang expressed anger at this, accusing the prime minister of despising the sacrifice of the Great Song soldiers, and should not make such a judgment. Zhao Huan waved his hand weakly to stop the quarrel between the two sides.
At this moment, a eunuch hurriedly came and reported that Liu Yanzong, the envoy of the Jin State, had arrived outside the city gate and asked to see the emperor. Li Gang suggested that the emperor refuse the envoy of the Jin State, while Li Bangyan advocated an immediate reception. In the case of a dispute, Zhao Huan, who was finally mediocre, chose to follow Li Bangyan's advice, signaled Li Gang and Seed Master Dao to step down, and personally couldn't wait to meet Liu Yanzong, the envoy of the Jin State.
Zhao Huan had always feared that the defeat of the Song army would interrupt the path of peace with the Jin State, but the arrival of the Jin State envoy meant the hope of peace. Therefore, the mediocre monarch could not help but have a glimmer of joy in his heart.
Liu Yanzong had an extraordinary background and was once an outstanding general of the Liao State, but now he came to the Great Song Dynasty as an envoy of the Jin State. His arrogant attitude was fully revealed in front of Zhao Huan, as if every word he said carried the deterrence of authority.
This general, who used to serve the Jin Kingdom, commanded Zhao Huan, and his words were extremely arrogant, like a sharp sword in the wind, stabbing Zhao Huan's heart. Zhao Huan looked cautious in front of him, like a remnant leaf in the wind, trembling with fright from his words.
Zhao Huan obviously failed to show the grandeur and decisiveness that an emperor should have, and under Liu Yanzong's high pressure, he even more cringed. Although Liu Yanzong's arrival meant the possibility of peace talks, it also made Zhao Huan feel pressure. He had always been worried, fearing that if the Song army was defeated again, it would ruin the opportunity for peace talks, so he looked forward to the possibility of peace talks.
Zhao Huan was worried about the huge amount of gold and silver demanded by the Jin people, and asked Li Bangyan how the imperial court could raise such a huge amount. After Li Bangyan learned of the situation, he replied indifferently that the envoy of the Jin State had already said that the Great Song Dynasty did not need to hand over all the gold and silver at once, but only needed to send the part that could be made up to show sincerity.
The remaining amount can be gradually filled up in the future, and the Jin Congress understands and trusts the promise of the Great Song. After hearing this, Zhao Huan felt that things were still satisfactory, and he was grateful and satisfied with the reasonableness of the Jin people.
