Chapter 23 The lost throne

Zhao Gou fled from Yangzhou back to Hangzhou in shock and fear, while Du Chong, who was supposed to be guarding Tokyo, retreated without authorization. Everything that happened recently made Zhao Gou secretly angry and always wanted to find someone to vent his anger on.But who would have thought that this would cause a huge change. Things have to start from the beginning. Zhao Gou fled from Yangzhou to Hangzhou, and the first thing he did was to settle accounts with Huang Qianshan and Wang Boyan. Obviously, Yangzhou fell, and these two guys bear the inescapable responsibility! However, these two guys were shameless. Not only did they not take the blame and resign, they didn't even have a hint of repentance. They also proudly declared everywhere: "When the country is in trouble, I dare not ask for a retreat."

Looking at these two bastards whose skins were thicker than the city walls, Zhao Gou suppressed his anger and instructed Yushi Zhongcheng Zhang Cheng to list twenty major crimes for them and show them all over the court. Huang and Wang still want to quibble... Get lost!Zhao Gou kicked them with his big feet, kicked them out of the court without any explanation, and demoted them to the outside world. As soon as Huang and Wang left, their seats became vacant. Zhao Gou didn't think much about it at the time, so he filled in Wang Yuan, the commander of the imperial camp. What Zhao Gou never expected was that this time the midfield substitution caused an uproar.

You must know that Yangzhou's loss of such a major event requires accountability and the responsibility of those responsible. So, who is the main responsible person? It is true that Huang and Wang are bewitching the people and advocating peace in words, but in the final analysis, it is the capital of the Imperial Army Division who is responsible for the garrison in Yangzhou and defending the emperor.The more than 40,000 imperial battalion soldiers in Yangzhou were directly dispatched by the capital control. Yangzhou was not fortified, and the Jin soldiers attacked, and they did not organize effective resistance. As a result, there was a joke about 500 scaring away 40,000. This is all the dereliction of duty of the capital control the result of.

And this responsible capital controller is Wang Yuan, who was promoted by Zhao Gouxin to fill Huang Qianshan's position! In addition to giving away Yangzhou to others, Wang Yuan also used government ships to smuggle his family and property a few days before the incident. The boat can cross, and there are countless people who fell into the river and drowned. This kind of person, not only did not receive any punishment, he was promoted to a noble position, and became a high-ranking figure! As soon as Zhao Gou's letter of appointment was issued, the government and the public were in an uproar.

The defenders in Hangzhou were even more aggrieved. The main generals of the Hangzhou garrison were the commanders Miao Fu and Liu Zhengyan.These two people used to be Wang Yuan's subordinates, they had been suppressed by Wang Yuan, and they had long been dissatisfied with Wang Yuan.Now, Zhao Gou has allowed others to be unfair, and just found an excuse for them. In the early morning of March 5th in the third year of Jianyan (1129), Miao Fu and Liu Zhengyan suddenly staged a mutiny. Cut off Wang Yuan's head, put it on a bamboo pole, and then gathered all the generals of the imperial camp, and came to the north gate of the palace aggressively, to discuss with Zhao Gou.

Zhao Gou apologized and explained to Miao and Liu, blamed himself for unfair rewards and punishments, and praised Wang Yuan for killing well. Eunuch Kang Lu, who followed his confidant, pushed it out and handed it over to Miao and Liu to vent their anger. He just wanted to cut through the mess quickly, finish this matter as soon as possible, and make a decision on the spot, promote Miao Fu to be the envoy of the Xuan and the commander of the imperial camp, and Liu Zhengyan to be the commander of the observation envoy and the deputy of the imperial court. All the sergeants will not be held accountable.

But Miao and Liu refused to give up, and asked Zhao Gou to give the throne to the crown prince, and also asked Zhezong Zhao Xu's abolished empress Meng, that is, Empress Longyou, to listen to the government behind the curtain. "Anyway, there is already a precedent for the Taoist emperor (that is, the precedent for Zhao Ji giving the throne to Zhao Heng)." A hero doesn't suffer from immediate losses, so Zhao Gou had to swallow his breath and agree.He issued an edict saying: "Since I ascended the throne, powerful enemies have invaded and bullied me as far as Huaidian. I am afraid that they will raise troops and harm lives in vain. I fear the heavens and obey people, and retreat from the big position. I have Yuan My son, Yude East Palace, can succeed the emperor. I respectfully invite the Empress Dowager Longyou to listen to the political affairs together behind the curtain. The concubine will almost eliminate the changes in the sky and comfort people's hearts.

Satisfied, Miao Fu and Liu Zhengyan looked up to the sky and shouted: "The world is peaceful!" However, Zhao Gou gave the throne to his three-year-old son Zhao Tan, and the world did not follow it. Although Miao Fu and Liu Zhengyan have achieved their initial goals, a coup d'état is a highly technical job. Both of them were born in martial arts and know nothing about politics. Except for "Ming Shou", other political opinions and measures have not changed in any way. When dealing with foreign aggression, they can only copy Zhao Gou's peace policy; when dealing with internal affairs, they have no next step to deal with it. It can be said that they are at best small carpenters and plasterers, but they are doomed to engage in such a large project recklessly. would be a tragedy.

When the news of the Miao Liu coup came out, Lu Yihao and Zhang Jun, who were in charge of military affairs in Jiangning (now Nanjing, Jiangsu) and Pingjiang (now Suzhou), immediately summoned the three generals of the Imperial Army, Han Shizhong, Zhang Jun, and Liu Guangshi, to go to Hangzhou to rescue King Qin. . Han Shizhong, courtesy name Liangchen, was born in Suide, Shaanxi.He looks "sturdy and stalwart, his eyes are as fast as lightning".When he was a teenager, he was "very brave" and could ride untrained wild horses.The family is poor and has no property, but he is fond of drinking and drinking, he is chivalrous and lawless.A fortune teller said that he would sit in the high position of Sangong in the future, which made him furious. He thought that this person was making fun of himself, so he rolled up his sleeves and beat him up on the spot on the street.

He joined the army at the age of 18, "drawing the strong and galloping to shoot, and bravely crowning the three armies". In the battle with Xixia, he repeatedly "killed the pass and killed the general" as an ordinary soldier and made extraordinary achievements.Especially in the Battle of Haopingling, he single-handedly beheaded Wukouyi, the son-in-law of the Xixia Supervisor Army with a small number of enemies, scaring the enemy army away.Han Shizhong's performance in this battle is obvious to all, but Tong Guan, who was in charge of border affairs, "suspected to have embellished it" and only symbolically promoted Han Shizhong to a higher position and salary, and many people were outraged.

However, Han Shizhong's most outstanding performance was the battle against Fangla in the second year of Xuanhe (1120). Han Shizhong served as a partial general under Wang Yuan, and was stationed in Hangzhou with Wang Yuan.At the critical moment, Han Shizhong led 2,000 troops to kill, "the crowd was in chaos", and the thieves were defeated and fled.Wang Yuan couldn't help admiring: "You are so brave." He rewarded Han Shizhong heavily. In order to calm down Fang La as soon as possible, the old man Zhao Ji once issued an edict to encourage the soldiers, and those who can get Fang La's head will be awarded the post of Jiedu Envoy of the Two Towns!Han Shizhong chased Fang La to Qingxi Cave in Muzhou. He went alone with a knife, sneaked into the valley, crossed dangerous miles, killed dozens of people, and captured Fang La alive and escaped from the cave.It's a pity that it's a bit too far-fetched, a general surnamed Xin blocked the entrance of the cave, took his credit, and regarded Fang La as his own trophy. The real hero Han Shizhong was rewarded with the position of "Cheng Jie Lang". The Jin people invaded the south, Han Shizhong still worked hard, did not care about his own personal fame, and bravely killed the enemy in the Hutuo River. On a snowy night in Zhending Mansion, he "struck the enemy camp with three hundred dead men" and stabbed the "big chief" who led the army under his horse. In addition, he led the army to exterminate Hebei thieves many times, and was promoted to Zuowu doctor and Guozhou regiment training envoy after tired work.Zhao Gou ascended the throne in Yingtian Mansion and appointed Han Shizhong as the commander of the Imperial Army Division Zuojun. Zhang Jun, courtesy name Boying, was born in Chengji, Fengxiang Prefecture (now Tianshui, Gansu Province). "Good at riding and shooting, but lacking in talent", he participated in the battle to destroy the Heshuo and Shandong thieves in his early years. In the first year of Jingkang (1126), he followed the deputy envoy of Zhizhi and rushed to help Taiyuan, and made some military exploits in Yuci. Zhao Gou built the Generalissimo Mansion of Bing Ma in the Daming Mansion, and Zhang Jun was one of the first generals who came to report.Because of his handsome and stalwart appearance and his special ability to come to affairs, Zhao Gou liked him very much, and was promoted to be the commander of the rear army of the Marshal's Mansion. Tokyo fell, the two emperors moved to the north, and people were in panic. Zhang Jun persuaded him to be the most diligent, and followed Zhao Gou all the way to Yingtian Mansion, loyal and loyal.The Imperial Camp Division was established and appointed as the former military commander of the Imperial Camp. Liu Guangshi is a very interesting person. He is an outstanding representative of the "second generation of officials". Qichun County) defense envoy. Among the generals in the Southern Song Dynasty, Liu Guangshi was the earliest official, promoted the fastest, and enjoyed unlimited scenery along the way.He once boasted brazenly: "I have always served the country wholeheartedly. In the future, historians will definitely record that I am the number one hero of the ZTE Great Song Dynasty!" But it is a pity that later history books commented on him: "Lack of discipline, unable to control the army, unwilling to serve the country, playing bandits for their own money." In the years that followed, Zhao Gou had to remind him many times to try his best to mend the torn cowhide, saying: "Don't just talk about it, you have to act on it." ") Liu Guangshi was still illiterate and couldn't read a lot of big characters.According to the "Helin Yulu" written by Luo Dajing of the Song Dynasty: Wushi Temple in Yanzhou (now Longyou County, Zhejiang Province) was built on a high mountain, and Yue Fei, Zhang Jun and others all wrote their names on it. Let a prostitute named "Yizhen" act as the secretary.The great poet Jiang Kui wrote a poem jokingly saying: "It is very sad for the old people to wither, and they still leave their names and surnames to press Cui Wei, but Liu Lang is sparse in writing and ink, with a few rouge and green moss." Among these three people, Zhang Jun and Liu Guangshi are the same kind. They are similar in age, temperament, and smell. They have been colleagues in the Northwest, they have carried guns together, and they have been absurd together. Hearing that these three men came with an army, Miao Fu and Liu Zhengyan, who thought the world was at peace, panicked, and quickly sent people to bribe Han Shizhong, Zhang Jun, Liu Guangshi and others with high officials and generous salaries. What Ren Miao and Liu said was hypnotic, and the three were unmoved, and continued to move closer to Hangzhou according to the original plan.Han Shizhong even beheaded the envoys sent by Miao and Liu, and threatened: "I only have Emperor Jianyan in my heart, and I have never heard of Emperor Mingshou!" Han Shizhong's reaction frightened Miao and Liu to such an extent that one Buddha was born and the other ascended to heaven. They couldn't eat or sleep. Someone gave them an idea, saying: "Didn't Han Shizhong say that he only had Emperor Jianyan in his heart? Let Emperor Jianyan send him back." As it turned out, it was a bad idea that couldn't be worse. But Miao and Liu really had no idea at this time. Suddenly they received such "expert" advice, they went to the doctor in a hurry, and quickly found Zhao Gou, earnestly begging Zhao Gou to reset, and ordered Han Shizhong to retreat.At this time, it was only more than 20 days since Zhao Gou abdicated. What Miao Fu and Liu Zhengyan did could not change their fate. On April 2nd, Ji Luqin's army successfully captured Hangzhou, and Miao and Liu took advantage of the chaos to flee from Yongjinmen. Han Shizhong, Zhang Jun, Liu Guangshi and others didn't care about chasing, they rushed into the palace gate first, and rushed to ask Zhao Gou for credit. The first thing Zhao Gou saw was Han Shizhong, holding his hand and weeping, he said, "Han Aiqing, I didn't expect you to come." Han Shizhong replied sensationally: "What are you talking about, Your Majesty, I will come even if it is a mountain of swords and a sea of ​​fire!" Liu Guangshi and Zhang Jun came one after another, "Shangjia has worked for a long time". On the second day, Han Shizhong led his troops to pursue Miao Fu and Liu Zhengyan, captured them without much effort, and executed them Ling Chi.A farce that only lasted for more than 20 days finally came to an end. But the fallout from the farce is far from over. When fleeing in Yangzhou, Zhao Gou himself witnessed the tragic scene of several ministers surnamed Huang being executed by angry people and the army. He was terrified and became more suspicious.And this coup made Zhao Gou have an instinctive fear of the generals in power, which laid the groundwork for a series of tragedies in the future. The leak in the house coincided with the continuous night rain, the boat was late and the wind hit the head. What made Zhao Gou want to cry without tears was that after all these troubles, Zhao Yang, who was regarded as the "Ming Shou Emperor" by Miao and Liu, was overly frightened and died. up.This is Zhao Gou's only son, and he is not yet three weeks old.As soon as his son died, Zhao Gou went crazy and ordered that all the maids in charge of taking care of Zhao Yang be executed, but this did not help the matter, it only vented his anger.This incident caused a series of confusing and uncertain factors in the future issue of the establishment of reserves. In this coup, the ones who benefited the most were Zhang Jun, Han Shizhong, Zhang Jun, Liu Guangshi and others who quelled the coup. Zhao Gou was very grateful to them. The head of civil servants, while Han Shizhong, Zhang Jun, and Liu Guangshi became the three giants in the Southern Song army.Among the four generals of Zhongxing in the Southern Song Dynasty, Han, Zhang, and Liu each had a seat, and Yue Fei was the fourth. In fact, Yue Fei was greater than the other three in terms of merit, contribution, and influence. He could be called a figure who leaned on the Great Wall in the Southern Song Dynasty, but At this time, he was just a pawn.