Chapter 31 211 Xin Qiji Captures the Traitor Alive

When Wan Yanliang went south in a big way, the people in the north and the Central Plains took advantage of the emptiness behind the Jin Dynasty and revolted one after another.There was a farmer named Geng Jing in Jinan Prefecture, who also gathered dozens of people to stage an uprising, and successively captured Laiwu and Tai'an (both in present-day Shandong Province) two counties.Geng Jing's team soon grew to more than 200,000 people, becoming the largest team among the uprising armies in various places. Most of the people who defected to Geng Jing's uprising army were poor peasants under the cruel oppression of the rulers of the Jin Dynasty, and there was also a patriotic intellectual, and he was Xin Qiji.

Xin Qiji was an outstanding writer in the Southern Song Dynasty and was born in Jinan.When he was born, his hometown had fallen into the hands of the rulers of the Jin Dynasty.Although grandfather Xin Zan had been a magistrate for several years in the area occupied by the Jin Dynasty, his heart had always been toward the Song Dynasty.Xin Zan often told his little grandson the tragic history of the fall of the Northern Song Dynasty. He took Xin Qiji up to the mountains and looked at the great rivers and mountains of the motherland, which left a deep impression on Xin Qiji. After Xin Qiji grew up, because of his outstanding literary talent, he was recommended by the Jinan government to go to Yanjing to take the Jinshi examination.Before leaving, Xin Zan told him to pay attention to the geographical situation along the way and the internal political situation of the Jin Dynasty on the way to Yanjing.When Xin Qiji arrived in Yanjing, he didn't get a Jinshi, but he paid close attention to what his grandfather told him.Three years later, he went to Yanjing to take the exam, and he had a better understanding of the internal situation of the Jin Dynasty.

Xin Zan died without looking forward to the restoration of the Central Plains in the Southern Song Dynasty.Xin Qiji was determined to inherit his grandfather's behest.In the second year, Wan Yanliang launched a southward invasion. Seeing the opportunity came, the 22-year-old Xin Qiji organized an uprising team of more than 2,000 people and defected to Geng Jing. In Geng Jing's uprising team, people with literary talents like Xin Qiji are rare.When Geng Jing saw him coming to join him, he welcomed him very much, and sent him to be in charge of the paperwork of the rebel army and the seal of the rebel army.

Xin Qiji told Geng Jing that there was an uprising army near Jinan, led by a monk he knew well, named Yiduan, who knew the art of war.Geng Jing was very happy to hear that, so he sent Xin Qiji to contact Yiduan.In a few days, Yiduan led his team to join Geng Jing's rebel army. After Yiduan arrived in the rebel army, he was very close to Xin Qiji through his old acquaintance, and Xin Qiji had no doubts about Yiduan. Unexpectedly, Yiduan had bad intentions, one night, taking advantage of Xin Qiji's unpreparedness, he stole the seal of the rebel army in his custody, and fled to the Jin army.

Geng Jing thought that Xin Qiji had introduced spies, so he was very angry and wanted to execute Xin Qiji immediately. Xin Qiji said earnestly: "Yi Duan stole the seal and escaped, of course I should be responsible. Please give me three days to catch Yi Duan back. If I can't catch him within the time limit, I am willing to accept severe punishment." With Geng Jing's consent, Xin Qiji hurriedly chased after Jinying. After a certain distance, he caught up with Yiduan.Xin Qiji grabbed Yi Duan, the traitor trembling with fright, knelt on the ground begging for mercy.Xin Qiji couldn't hold back his anger, he beheaded Yiduan on the spot, tied it to his horse, and returned to Geng Jing's camp.

Not only did Geng Jing not punish Xin Qiji for his crime, but he paid more attention to him. After the quarrying war, the Jin soldiers were forced to retreat northward.While making peace with the Southern Song Dynasty, Jin Shizong used two methods of appeasement and suppression in the north in an attempt to disintegrate the rebel army in the north who resisted Jin.Geng Jing's rebel army was seriously threatened. Xin Qiji said to Geng Jing: "In order to resist the gold, we must get in touch with the imperial court and echo from the north and the south; if we can't stay here, we can also send people to the south."

Geng Jing accepted Xin Qiji's opinion, and sent Jia Rui, the commander-in-chief of the rebel army, as a representative to Jiankang to meet Song Gaozong.Jia Rui is an illiterate military commander who doesn't know the court etiquette, so he asked Geng Jing to send Xin Qiji to go with him.Geng Jing agreed. In 1162 AD, Jia Rui and Xin Qiji arrived in Jiankang with a dozen entourages.Song Gaozong was very happy when he heard that the Shandong rebels had sent people to join him, and summoned them in the official office that day.Accompanying Jia Rui to court, Xin Qiji calmly read out the memorial he had drafted on behalf of the rebels, reporting on the situation of the rebels in the north against gold.

Song Gaozong immediately appointed Geng Jing as the Tianping Army Jiedu envoy, and granted Jia Rui and Xin Qiji each an official title, asking them to go back and convey to Geng Jing. Jia Rui and Xin Qiji finished their mission and happily left Jiankang to go back.Unexpectedly, when passing through Haizhou (now Lianyungang, Jiangsu), I heard a sad news.It turned out that Geng Jing was killed when they left the rebel army. The one who killed Geng Jing was Zhang Anguo, a general of the rebel army.After the Jin government stepped up their surrender-inducing activities, Zhang Anguo, in order to covet the rewards from the Jin people, colluded with another general of Geng Jing's subordinates, took advantage of Geng Jing's unpreparedness, broke into the camp and killed Geng Jing.After Zhang Anguo defected to the Jin army, the Jin Dynasty made the traitor the state official of Jeju (now Juye, Shandong).The rebel army lost its leader, and unwilling to surrender to the Jin army with Zhang Anguo, most of them broke up and left.

When Xin Qiji heard the news, he was heartbroken and angry. He must get rid of the traitors and avenge Geng Jing.As soon as he discussed with the guards in Haizhou, many soldiers volunteered to get rid of the adultery with Xin Qiji.Xin Qiji led fifty warriors and rode to Jeju together. When Xin Qiji's team arrived at the government office in Jeju, the traitor Zhang Anguo was hosting a banquet inside. When he heard that Xin Qiji had come, he felt a little guilty, but he couldn't figure out why they came, so he ordered the soldiers to let them in. Xin Qiji and the warriors who went with him broke into the hall and saw Zhang Anguo and some rebels drinking and having fun at the banquet, they were so angry that their eyes were red.They didn't talk to Zhang Anguo, they hugged him, tied Zhang Anguo up, and dragged him out of the yamen.When the Jeju soldiers arrived, they had tied Zhang Anguo to the horse.

Seeing Xin Qiji's majestic expression, the soldiers in Jeju dared not do anything.Xin Qiji announced to the soldiers on the spot: "The imperial army is coming soon. Anyone who wants to fight against gold, join our team!" Most of the soldiers in Jeju used to follow Geng Jing, and upon hearing Xin Qiji's call, tens of thousands were willing to follow them.Xin Qiji immediately took the rebels, escorted the traitors, and went straight to the south. Xin Qiji took the traitor to Jiankang Camp, and the Southern Song court tried Zhang Anguo's crimes and immediately beheaded him for public display.

After Xin Qiji returned to the south, he was sent to Jiangyin as an official.Regardless of his low position, he proposed to the court several times to resist the gold, but unfortunately it was not adopted.Later, although he served as a local official for several terms and created a "Flying Tiger Army", he still failed to realize his wish of the Northern Expedition to the Central Plains.At the age of forty-two, he was attacked by the court bureaucrats and forced to retire.Throughout his life, he wrote many words reflecting his bold and unrestrained character and patriotic enthusiasm.His words occupy a very important position in the history of Chinese literature. In the year when Xin Qiji went south, Song Gaozong abdicated and his nephew Zhao Yan (sound shen) took over the throne. This is Song Xiaozong.