Chapter 62 second quarter

The strategy of the Eastern Route Army going south was basically the same as the attack launched by the Empress Dowager Liaoxiao back then. The target was aimed directly at Kaifeng, the heart of the empire, and did not care about the gains and losses of the fortresses along the way. Therefore, under the leadership of Guo Yaoshi, who is familiar with the military situation in Hebei and other places, the progress was rapid.On December 18, the seventh year of Xuanhe, the Jin army went south to Baoding and Ansu, and after the attack failed, they passed Baoding and Ansu and entered Zhongshan.Zhongshan resisted tenaciously under the leadership of the defender Zhan Du, but also failed to conquer. The Jin army passed around the city again, then captured Qingyuan and Xinde Mansions, entered Handan, and reached the bank of the Yellow River.

What are the monarchs and ministers in Tokyo city busy at the moment? When the battle report of the Jurchens' invasion was sent to Tokyo in a rush of 100,000 miles, Zhao Ji was performing a suburban ceremony to worship the ancestors of heaven and earth. In order not to affect the ceremony, the ministers even hid the battle report and did not report it.Immediately, the envoys of the Jin people arrived in Tokyo and formally issued a declaration of war between the two countries to the former allies. Only then did Bai Shizhong and Li Bangyan know the military situation of the Song and Jin all-out war.After discussing it, the two chief executives felt that the matter was too big. If Zhao Ji was told about it, he was afraid that Emperor Huizong's fragile heart would not be able to bear it, so he simply refused to inform the emperor. gone.

It wasn't until December 16th, when Tong Guan hurried back to Tokyo, that Zhao Ji learned the news of the Jurchens' full-scale invasion.At this time, the West Route Army had arrived in Taiyuan City, and the East Route Army had arrived in Baoding, Zhao Ji's hometown. Shock is normal, and reflection is inevitable. Zhao Ji, who was hit hard by the head, still did what the emperor should do when the country is in crisis. Sin against yourself. The person who drafted the edict of crimes was Yuwen Xuzhong, a senior scholar in the palace, Youcheng Yuwenxuzhong (this person took the initiative to go to the Kingdom of Jin after his trip to the south, and once conspired to rob Qinzong, he was considered the number one spy in the Southern Song Dynasty). This group of guys were dissatisfied, so they scolded Zhao Ji and his confidantes lavishly.

After Zhao Ji listened to Yu Wenxuzhong's sinful edict for him, his frail nerves really couldn't bear the speed at which the empire fell from heaven to hell. He knew that how hard the courtiers scolded him proved that the crisis encountered by the empire was more serious. How serious it was, what he heard from the imperial edict was not self-blame, but panic. Zhao Ji's panic, one hundred and twenty years ago, when that mad woman Xiao Yanyan from the Liao Kingdom and the whole country's soldiers bypassed the barriers set up by the empire on the border and rushed towards Tokyo desperately, his great-grandfather who lived far away Zhao Heng also went through the same experience as him. At that time, the first way his great-grandfather thought of was to escape.

But at that time, he had a civil official like Kou Zhun by his side, who was not afraid of death or trouble, so he dragged him to Chanzhou desperately, and even beat and coaxed Mrs. Xiao to retreat. The land was lost, and in exchange for a hundred years of peace in the Song and Liao Dynasties. Who else is beside Zhao Ji now?Cai Jing, that bad old man who is so old that he can't even kneel down?Or those brothers from the Cai family?Childish?Dashuai Tong took off the tiger skin and became a cat, and now he is still a sick cat that everyone calls for beating.Old handsome guy Wang Wei?Or Bai Shizhong and Li Bangyan?

It seems unreliable, Zhao Ji's heart is even more flustered, he thinks thirty-six strategies are the best strategy. If you want to run away, of course you have to keep someone to watch the house, and the prince is of course the best candidate. On December 20th of the seventh year of Xuanhe, a few days after Zhao Ji learned of the Jurchen invasion, the prince Zhao Huan was appointed as the shepherd of Kaifeng. Kaifeng Mu is not an ordinary official position. It is usually an official position held by the prince before taking over the power temporarily or permanently. From this appointment, it can be seen that Emperor Huizong's idea of ​​running away is already obvious.

No one stopped the sedan chair, and no one begged him to stay with his head broken and bleeding. The former servants (Tong Guan Gaoqiu and others) were quietly packing their luggage and preparing to leave with the boss.Before the Song-Jin alliance was launched, now the Jin people are calling, and they have become street rats. Everyone shouts and beats them. Now that everyone's eyes are on the Jurchens' invasion, they have to sneak away before they have time to settle accounts with them. But someone still stopped Zhao Ji, saying that it was fine to leave, and he had to be given the title of prince, so that he could preside over the work only if he was famous and worthy.

It was Li Gang and Wu Min who took the lead in making trouble. In December of the seventh year of Xuanhe, before Li Gang was born and became the savior of the empire, let's take a look at Li Gang's background and life experience. Li Gang, courtesy name Boji, was born in a family of high-level intellectuals. Although his father Li Kui was a literati, he came to Longtu Pavilion as an official, but he had long-term military experience in the west and participated in the fight against Xixia.When he was serving as the staff of Yan Yanshuai, hundreds of thousands of Xixia people came to invade Yan'an.Li Gang was a teenager at that time, and witnessed this battle with his own eyes, which had a great influence on him in the future.

Li Gang's ancestral home was Shaowu, Fujian, and his father also belonged to the New Party in terms of political views, which caused Li Gang to have a lot of relationship with Cai's father and son, who were also from Fujian.Many unofficial histories also record that he and Cai You have a very close relationship. This is because he was able to jump from a small state son to a vice-ministerial prince within five years after Jinshi (the second year of Zhenghe to the eighth year of Zhenghe). Changsi Shaoqing (Zheng Sipin) has a lot to do with it. Compared with Li Gang's smooth sailing in the political arena after Jinshi, Li Gang's road to Jinshi was not smooth. He only crossed the threshold of Jinshi when he was 29 years old, which made him stay in Taixue, the highest university in the empire at that time, for seven years. Years (repeaters).

What I have to mention is the Taixue of the Northern Song Empire at that time. Taixue is the highest national institution in ancient China. It is usually regarded as a university in ancient China. It started in the Han Dynasty and flourished in the middle and late Eastern Han Dynasty. Changed Taixue in the traditional sense to Guozijian.Guozijian consists of Guozixue, Taixue, Simenxue, Law, Calligraphy, and Mathematics. With the decline of national power in the middle and late Tang Dynasty, Guozijian turned from prosperity to decline. The Northern Song Dynasty basically followed the Tang system. In the Renzong period, Fan Zhongyan carried out the New Deal. One of the key points was to strengthen the cultivation of high-level intellectuals. Hundreds of people.Wang Anshi’s reform during the Shenzong era also focused on the development of education and expanded the enrollment scale of Taixue. Dormitory method: freshmen study in the outer dormitory. After passing all the examinations, they will be promoted to the inner dormitory students;Students in the third dormitory and Taixue are provided with free meals, and students in the inner dormitory and upper dormitory can take up some idle jobs in the government and receive some subsidies.Cai Jing’s reform also focused on education. On the basis of continuing to promote the Sanshe Law, he increased the source of students from other houses, and established “Biyong” outside the Nanxun Gate of Tokyo City to recruit 3,000 students from other houses; The Taixue Headquarters in the city was changed to the Headquarters of Inner House Students and Shang House Students, with 800 people (600 students from Nei House and 200 students from Shang House).

In the third year of Chongning (1104 A.D.), Cai Jing accomplished what Wang Anshi wanted to do but failed to do, and replaced the imperial examinations with school supporters.Song Huizong issued an edict to stop the imperial examination, and Taixue became the only way for intellectuals to become a scholar.Taixue developed to its peak in the hands of Cai Jing. Tai students in the Huizong era were a special group. They were the best young intellectuals in the country and the future pillars of the empire. They were young, passionate, fashionable, and liked to be unconventional. They liked to criticize current affairs. (Although they will be rich and powerful tomorrow). Taixue style, Taixue steamed buns, Taixue costumes, they are a unique landscape in Tokyo, and the leading figures among them have become idols in Tokyo, Li Biao, Chen Chaolao, Chen Dongwu One is not a topic of gossip in the streets and alleys. Of course, Li Gang was once one of them. The breath and experience of Taixue have always influenced Li Gang who entered the political arena. After Li Gang passed the smooth sailing after being a Jinshi, he was soon hit.In the first year of Xuanhe (AD 1119), there was a flood in Tokyo. Li Gang’s memorial titled "Six Events on the Cheapness of Water" severely criticized the emperor and the governors, and pointed the finger at Zhao Ji's obsessed flower stone. outline.This step on Zhao Ji's painful feet, Zhao Ji demoted Li Gang to the Ministry of Officials as a tax supervisor.Then he was demoted twice, and finally he was demoted to Li Gang's hometown in Fujian, a place called Sha County, Nanjianzhou, as a tax supervisor, and he was demoted several levels in a row. After staying in Sha County for more than a year, his father died immediately, and he went home to observe his filial piety.When the filial piety period expired, the imperial court re-appointed him as the magistrate of Xiuzhou, and then in the seventh year of Xuanhe he was re-appointed as Shaoqing (a fourth-rank official) of Taichang Temple. Wu Min is another person who played an important role in Zhao Ji's "inner Zen". Among the characters, Wu Min was born in Zhenzhou with outstanding literary talent. He was the best in the selection of foreign students in the second year of Daguan (AD 1108), and he got Cai Jing's common sense.Cai Jing wanted to marry his daughter to Wu Min at first, but in the end, the stunned Xiao Wu didn't give face and refused on the spot. Cai Taishi was very embarrassed, but this didn't affect Cai Jing's promotion of him, and he was soon promoted to the director of Zhejiang East School Affairs He was the official and secretary of the provincial school, and later Lao Cai personally recommended him to join the library. Cai Jing's leapfrog promotion of Wu Min was opposed by Liu Zhengfu, the servant of Zhongshu, saying that Wu Min had never been in the province and was not qualified to enter the library.The two sides argued endlessly, and Zhao Ji had no time to deal with this matter, so Cai Jing asked Yubi (the letter of carte blanche that the emperor gave to a minister to handle a certain matter, which was used frequently in the later period of Emperor Huizong) to calm down the dispute. The incident of Wu Min’s entry into the museum became a beginning, and the subsequent rulers often used imperial pens to deal with the criticisms of the admonishers and censors. All kinds of decision-making mistakes laid the groundwork. As Lao Cai's key promotion target, Wu Min naturally worked hard for Lao Cai.After Lao Cai was resigned by Zheng Juzhong, Wu Min became his key firepower in the court, frequently firing at Zheng Zhizai, and made a lot of contributions to his re-emergence. In the seventh year of Xuanhe, Wu Min was a fourth-rank official in order to give lectures to Shizhong and Quanzhi Academy. About Wu Min and Li Gang's troubles, the historical records are quite simple, and the process is roughly like this: Cai You knew the idea of ​​the boss wanting to run away and give way to the prince, so he passed the news to Wu Min, and Wu Min disclosed the news to Li Gang. The two decided to set an example and actively respond to the boss's idea of ​​retiring bravely. And decided that everyone would open the skylight to speak brightly, so they were interviewed by Zhao Ji through Cai You's way.Wu Min said harsh words in front of Zhao Ji, saying that you can leave as an old man, but Tokyo is the hub and core of the Northern Song Empire, and it is the century-old foundation of your ancestors. You must not lose it. Xuanzong gave up his position and let the prince lead the country in a legitimate way, leading the people of Tokyo to fight against the invaders. Zhao Ji heard Wu Min's suggestion, "My eyes are bright", saying that I was so confused why I didn't think of this, so the decision of "Inner Zen" became more firm.Seeing that the owner was in the mood, Wu Min recommended Li Gang to him, saying that Li Shaoqing had something to say. So Zhao Ji summoned Li Gang again, and Li Shaoqing took out the attitude of an angry youth when he was in Taixue, and wrote a blood letter to Zhao Ji, saying that the prince supervised the country in peacetime, but now that the prince is not enthroned, he only supervises the country. It is impossible to call on the world to resist the Jin soldiers. Only the official transfer to the prince can solve the current crisis. You old man can go to the south for inspection and tourism with peace of mind. In the end, Li Gang gave Zhao Ji two choices, saying that you, an old man, can decide, either stay and resist the Jin army with the soldiers and civilians in Tokyo, or leave your position, and go wherever you want, as you please. With such sharp remarks from Wu and Li, in any normal period, what awaits them will be the crime of treason against the Jiu Clan.But now it is December of the seventh year of Xuanhe, a chaotic and disorderly era, a chaotic and disorderly era in which civil servants have privileges. In the end they won, and Zhao Ji quickly completed the handover of the power stick before the arrival of Jin Bing, and hurried south, Zhao Huan, the new leader of the empire, surfaced. After carefully observing this period of history, there is an inevitable confusion. In the face of the national crisis, in the matter of the succession of the empire's leaders, it turned out that the two middle-level cadres of the empire played a decisive role.At this time, the rulers of the empire, those faces who had been active in the center of the political stage for a long time seemed to suddenly disappear, and the world evaporated. Of course not, some wrestling must be done in secret. The two protagonists of this incident, Wu Min and Li Gang, both have an inexplicable relationship with a certain force-Cai's father and son. Let's take a look at the political environment before Emperor Qinzong Zhao Huan came to power. Emperor Huizong Zhao Ji avoided the embarrassment of his brother Zhezong Zhaoxu being childless. In the third month of his ascension to the throne, the original wife of the East Palace, the Queen, gave birth to a son, Zhao Huan. Zhao Huan was lucky, because he was the eldest son of Emperor Huizong. According to the thousand-year-old Chinese royal tradition, the first son was not the first son.But Zhao Huan was unlucky again. First, his father was a loving and fertile emperor, who added twenty-five younger brothers to him in one go, and these would become his future contenders for the throne; His mother fell out of favor after giving birth to him, and died when Zhao Huan was eight years old, leaving Zhao Huan without the umbrella at an early age. His seemingly brilliant and bright road is destined to be difficult. As the son grew up, Zhao Ji disliked the eldest son more and more.Zhao Ji himself is the most talented person in the emperor's team throughout the ages. He is proficient in everything in piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, but Zhao Huan is not good at vocals and music. Even the beauties in the palace can't arouse the passion in his eyes.Zhao Ji is keen on making rituals and making music, but Zhao Huan does not stick to small details; Zhao Ji is poor and extravagant and desperately wants to make rich and prosperous Yuda, but Zhao Huan, as the prince, practiced minimalism by himself, known as "the virtue of respect and thrift is heard all over the world"; Zhao Ji They worship Taoism and suppress Buddhism, but Zhao Huan thinks that Laojun and Bodhisattvas should worship together.The divide between father and son is growing. The third son, Zhao Kai, is Zhao Ji's heart and treasure. Zhao Kai was born in November of the first year of the founding of Jingguo (AD 1101), only one year old Zhao Huan. The title was changed to King Yun, and his mother was Zhao Ji's favorite concubine Wang Guifei. Compared with his elder brother's dullness and honesty, Zhao Kai is another copy of Comrade Zhao Ji. He is omnipotent in piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, and his talent is outstanding. There are too many common topics with Zhao Ji. When it comes to writing, it looks good. Although the level is slightly lower than that of a father, it is also "father Yao and son Shun, and they are all together".Especially in the eighth year of Zhenghe, Zhao Kai participated in the scientific examination under a pseudonym, and the result was a blockbuster. With a son like this, Zhao Ji, a literary artist, was very happy in his heart, and his love for Zhao Kai was growing day by day, and it couldn't be increased. Whenever he went to a banquet, he would always bring the third child with him, leaving the eldest alone to guard the East Palace.According to the rules, after Zhao Kai left the palace at the age of 18 and moved into Prince Yun's Mansion, Zhao Ji granted him permission to "enter and exit the forbidden province, no longer limited to morning and evening", and "build a flying bridge on the outside to return to the road" (this treatment is only Li Shishi enjoyed it), and the Yunwang Mansion is also a place where Zhao Ji likes to go. Later Emperor Gaozong and Ninth Prince Zhao Gou followed his father to the Yunwang Mansion to practice archery, showing his amazing arm strength to draw a bow to five fights with one stone. In the seventh year of Zhenghe, Zhao Ji made an exception and named Zhao Kai Taifu, which was a high position that no prince had ever enjoyed.At the same time, he was also appointed as the Secretary of the Imperial City (mainly responsible for defending the imperial city and scouting the movements of the subjects), mastered thousands of guards, and became a general with military power. He was also the only prince who could have military power in the Northern Song Dynasty. Prince. Not only that, but Zhao Ji wanted the youngest son to go to the front line to be the commander-in-chief in the later battle of Liao Dynasty, but Zhao Ji gave up because of the poor record of the Northern Expedition Army and did not let his beloved son go to this muddy water. A fool could understand what Emperor Huizong did, not to mention the gang of confidantes who surrounded the emperor all day, so Wang Fu, Tong Guan, Yang Jian and others quickly stood in the camp of King Yun.Even Taoist Lin Lingsu could smell the wind, and in his Lin Shenxiao mansion, he respected Zhao Kai as the "Emperor of Longevity", second only to Zhao Ji's "Emperor of Longevity".Tong Guan was in charge of building the mansions of the kings. He specially built the mansion of King Yun to be the most luxurious and gorgeous, which was the most luxurious among all the kings. Grand, the descendants will have the meaning of Jin Guoyan", and the heart of flattery is clearly revealed. The main target of the Yunwang party is of course Prince Zhao Huan.In October of the seventh year of Zhenghe (1117 A.D.), Zhao Huan added the eldest grandson Zhao Chen to Zhao Ji.Zhao Ji became a grandfather at the age of thirty-five. This is a good thing that the emperors of the empire have never encountered. Of course Zhao Ji is very happy. The newly born emperor's grandson Zhao Chen was named Chongguo Gong and Chongde Military Jiedushi.Unexpectedly, this move met with righteous indignation from the prime minister, Wang Fu, who remonstrated with the emperor that there is no second master in the family, and there is no second deputy in the country, and that there are suitable sons but no suitable grandchildren. Is the emperor already?This made Zhao Ji, who was just overjoyed, very upset.Not only that, Wang Fu also asked Prince Zhao Huan's courtier Geng Nanzhong to go to his mansion (the airs are big enough), and asked Geng Nanzhong to send a message to the prince, telling Zhao Huan to be acquainted with Zhao Chen, it is best to take the initiative to resign Zhao Chen's official position, otherwise Everyone is in trouble. In the later period of Emperor Huizong's later period, Zhao Huan couldn't stand it any longer, and advised his father that since the financial funds were tight, it might be better to start various projects less frequently. What the son said is not unreasonable, Zhao Ji can only say that the boss is right, it is time to save money. But as soon as Zhao Huan turned around and left, the eunuch Yang Jian made a small report in front of Zhao Ji, saying that the prince's words and deeds have been arrogant recently. Zhao Ji was furious, arrested Yang Feng and beheaded him.Zhao Huan's earnest words were in vain, and everyone around the prince was in danger, and his supporters became fewer and fewer. In June of the first year of Xuanhe, when Kaifeng flooded, Taoist Lin Lingsu blatantly challenged Zhao Huan, preaching everywhere that "the water comes from the prince", so arrogant that he even "followed the prince's day and did not avoid it", openly challenging the authority of the prince . Lin Lingsu did not receive any punishment from Zhao Ji for his actions. Instead, he wrote a letter at the same time. Li Gang, who complained for the prince, was severely punished and exiled. It can be said responsibly that if the political structure of the empire had not undergone drastic changes in peacetime, the dethroning of the Prince Huizong would be a matter of time. Under the repeated unscrupulous attacks of the Yunwang Party, Zhao Huan was in a great situation and under great pressure. However, until the seventh year of Xuanhe, Zhao Huan still sat firmly in the position of the prince when his father fell out of favor and his powerful officials oppressed him. , it has been strong for eleven years, which is indeed a small miracle. The birth of the miracle is mainly due to Zhao Huan's own character.Being in a harsh environment for a long time has made Zhao Huan develop a character of being cautious and tolerant of everything. The future successor of the majestic prince empire basically doesn't care about state affairs, and he will endure the provocations of the King Yun gang.On weekdays, Zhao Huan, apart from burying his head in reading in the study, just stared stupidly at the fish in the fish pond in the garden, a typical nerd. The prince behaved like this, and his political opponents had nothing to do. After all, the eldest son Ren Donggong was an old rule passed down by his ancestors for thousands of years. Before the prince made any mistakes, Zhao Ji really couldn't say that the boss should dismiss the get out of class immediately after class. In the Northern Song Empire, the harem and eunuchs were basically unable to interfere in the government affairs, and there was not a single incident of abolishing the crown prince in the Northern Song Dynasty under civilian politics.The crown prince's position is super stable, and Zhao Huande thanked him for the good times. Zhao Huan's submissive and indecisive character may have been a good thing for the first half of his life, but it was a disaster for the second half of his life. Of course, this is a disaster for the empire. Another reason for the birth of the miracle was that although the current situation was difficult and most people took refuge in Zhao Kai, some people chose to become princelings. These people escorted the prince at critical moments and made a lot of contributions. Such as Liang Shicheng.As the two most powerful eunuchs in the Huizong era, if Tong Guan took the role of a martial artist, Liang Shicheng took the Wenqing route.At first, he was just a small eunuch in the Hanlin Book Art Bureau, and he was appreciated by Zhao Ji. Firstly, because of his cultural level, he stood out from the crowd among eunuchs with little ink, and secondly, he also had a very unique but extremely controversial identity—— — Su Dongpo's illegitimate son. As for whether Eunuch Liang was Su Dongpo's son, there is no way to verify (deadly there is no proof).Cai Jing came to power to implement the new law. As a member of the old party, Su Dabeard's poems became poisonous weeds and banned books.Liang Shicheng refused to accept it, and ran to Zhao Ji to appeal for grievances, saying that my father had committed some crimes, and even articles were not allowed to be circulated in the world after his death, which is too disrespectful to cultural people. Su Dabeard's articles can be passed on smoothly to later generations, and he, the "illegitimate son", has made great contributions. Probably to prove that he, the son of the Su family, lived up to his reputation, classmate Liang Shicheng did something unprecedented. As a eunuch, he actually went to take the scientific examination during the Zhenghe period, and he passed the examination. Later historical materials are highly suspicious of Liang Shicheng's Jinshi qualifications, but he has worked with the great talent Zhao Ji for a long time, and he is smart, so there is really no technical difficulty in being admitted as a Jinshi.According to rumors in the world, the eunuch Liang later assumed power, and often imitated Emperor Huizong's thin golden body to issue imperial edicts, but few people could tell. Based on this alone, the Jinshi of Su Dongpo's "son" was probably genuine. The eunuch Liang, who had knowledge and "identity", was quickly appreciated and promoted by Zhao Ji, and led the library of Sidian characters, became Zhao Ji's personal secretary, and entered the power center of the empire.In the end, like Tong Guan, the official worshiped Taiwei, Kaifu Yitong and the three divisions, served as Huainan Jiedushi, and successfully broke out from the eunuch group.In the middle and late period of Huizong's era, no matter whether it was Cai Jing or Wang Fu, everyone respected him three points. Not only did Liang Shicheng recognize his father with a different vision, but he also picked out the unpopular in choosing his future political backer.Just when everyone thought that the crown prince was a dou who could not be supported, and they all went to lick King Yun's ass, he became a loyal supporter of the crown prince, and held up an umbrella for the weak crown prince Zhao Huan in the harem . Another one standing in the princeling camp is Li Bangyan. Li Bangyan is a Jinshi in the second year of Daguan. He is very handsome (it can't be helped, Zhao Ji likes a little boy). In addition to being able to dance and write, his biggest specialty is the same as Gao Lian's first-class football skills.In addition, he has a good singing voice and can create some popular songs that the masses love to hear. They are very popular in Tokyo. He calls himself Li Langzi.Later, after Li Langzi became the prime minister of the empire, Tokyo people called him the prime minister of the prodigal son. Li Bangyan looked playful on the surface, but he was relentless in the political struggle. Not long before the Jin army invaded, he had just joined forces with Liang Shicheng and Cai You to get rid of another handsome prime minister, Wang Fu.As a political ally, Li Bangyan also moved to the princeling camp. The third and most important one is Cai Jing. As the political tumbler in the Huizong era, Cai Jing had his unique political art.When his son Cai You once became a supporter of the king of Yun, Zhao Kai, he inadvertently flirted with Zhao Huan repeatedly, and once flattered him with giving the prince a very precious Arabian glass vessel, but Zhao Huan refused to buy it. The account, let people smash this baby.The treacherous and cunning Taishi Cai did not get angry, nor did he rush to embrace him, and he did not give up investing in Zhao Huan, a potential stock. So when great changes took place in the empire, although Cai Jing was already sitting at home with old eyesight, he still made the last political investment for his family swiftly. After Cai Jing's secret speech and Cai You's recommendation, Wu Min and Li Gang, two middle-level cadres of the empire, staged a good show of forcing the palace and became famous overnight. When Huizong's thoughts were still in confusion, Li Bangyan added fuel to the fire and presented Zhao Ji with Tong Guan's proclamation brought back from Taiyuan. And Li Bangyan wanted to stimulate the emperor a bit, so that he could hand over what should be handed over before he left-the throne. On December 23rd of the seventh year of Xuanhe, a crucial day to determine the fate of the empire, in the early dynasty, under the persecution of Li Bangyan and others, Tong Guan presented the Jinren's call to Zhao Ji. Ashamed and angry, tearful, just say, come back later to discuss important matters. In the evening, Zhao Ji summoned Yu Wenxuzhong, Wu Min and other ministers, and just said a few words, Zhao Ji suddenly fainted out of breath, and the eunuchs helped him to rest in the East Pavilion of Baohe Hall.Zhao Ji woke up after a while, but he could no longer speak. The eunuch and others brought pens and paper and wrote the abdication letter. Wu Min drafted the imperial edict.Zhao Huan ascended the throne as Emperor Xiaociyuan, also known as Song Qinzong. But that night, the king of Yun, Zhao Kai, who knew the situation was not good, led his troops to break into the palace, but was stopped outside the palace by He Guan, Marquis of Yu, the capital of the infantry. He Guan was a rare non-Northwest Army famous general at that time. He started his family in Hedong. Although he later served as an official in the west to promote the Qinfeng Road archer, he did not have a good relationship with Tong Guan. The general who worshiped.During Tong Guan's Northern Expedition, He Guan served as the deputy chief of the Yanshan Road, and later fell out with Tong Guan again, and was soon transferred back to the Jingguan Gan Infantry Division.At the most critical moment, He Guan, who was in charge of the Infantry Division of the Imperial Army, firmly stood by Prince Zhao Huan's side and prevented King Yun Zhao Kai from usurping the throne by force. Zhao Kai was not reconciled, and said to He Guan, don't you know who I am? He Guan said that I recognized it, but he did not recognize the sword in his hand. The two sides stalemate for a while, He Guan said that the overall situation has been settled, King Yun, you admit defeat. Zhao Kai sighed, and gave up the plan to use force. The emperor's dream of the prince with the highest diploma in the history of the Northern Song Dynasty was finally shattered, and he withdrew from the political arena. One year later, he became a cowardly and weak person; Together they became captives of the Jurchens. It was on this day that Wanyan Zongwang's (Han Libu)'s East Route Army attacked Qingyuan Mansion (now Zhao County, Hebei). Before that, the Northern Song Empire had completed a vigorous regime change and a complete political reshuffle. Will Zhao Huan, who is weaker than Zhao Ji, be more suitable for the coming storm than the romantic and talented emperor?No one in the empire thought about this issue clearly. After Qinzong came to power, he quickly adjusted the leadership team, appointed Li Bangyan as the Taizai, Wu Min as the servant of the Zhongdafu, Li Gang as the servant of the Ministry of War, and Geng Nanzhong (formerly Prince Zhan Shi of the East Palace) as a member of the Privy Council who signed the letter. , He Guan is the deputy commander of the capital, commanding the two armies and horses in Hebei and Hedong to deal with the crisis. One of the most important things for the new leadership team is how to stop the Jin Army's East Route Army that is rapidly moving south. The Yellow River is naturally dangerous, and guarding the Yellow River ferry is already the last barrier of Kaifeng. On the day before Zhao Ji officially abdicated, the eunuch Liang Fangping (why the eunuch again) had been sent to Junzhou to guard the north bank of Liyangjin with 7,000 elite troops; He Guan led 20,000 soldiers to Junzhou to guard the ferry on the south bank. The 30,000 elites plus the natural danger of the Yellow River should be able to resist the Jurchens for a while. But at this time, the empire finally began to pay the bill for the unfair treatment of generals for a century. Facts have proved that an excellent general is better than any natural danger and strong army, and Eunuch Liang, who led 7,000 elite guards to the dangerous pass, did not even think about how to deploy defenses to meet the enemy when he arrived in Liyang. , but thinking about how to spend the Spring Festival, drinking with his subordinates all day for fun.When the Jin army arrived, Eunuch Liang was so frightened that he almost peed his pants and ran away. Seven thousand people fled. He Guan, who was stationed on the south bank, saw the rout on the north bank and quickly burned the Yellow River pontoon bridge. As soon as the pontoon bridge burned, the Song soldiers who were too late to cross the river were chased by the Jin soldiers and shot and killed thousands of people into the river. The scene was tragic. He Guan turned around, and found that his subordinates started to run away - no way, except for the Northwest Army, no one in the empire has fought in these years. When they set off from Tokyo, many of these soldiers couldn't even ride their horses steadily, and they had to hold on tightly with both hands. The difference in combat effectiveness of the saddle can be imagined. Looking at the wolf-like golden army on the other side, their legs are weak, and there is only one reaction-run. He Guankong is known as the famous general of Hedong. At the most critical moment, he couldn't control his troops to flee, so he had to retreat to Sishui Pass and gave up his defense on the south bank of the Yellow River. The Jin army on the East Road came to the Yellow River without encountering any major resistance. They rushed thousands of miles without preparing boats to cross the river. They only collected more than ten small boats left by the Song army, and it took nearly five days to get six of them. Wan Dajun moved from the north bank of the Yellow River to the south bank of the Yellow River. After Wanyan Zongwang (Han Libu) crossed the river, looking at the rushing Yellow River, he couldn't help sighing, saying that there was really no one in the Southern Dynasty. The Yellow River was so dangerous that if there were one or two thousand elites stationed here, we would not be able to cross it. Kaifeng, Tokyo, the most prosperous city in the world at that time, was presented in front of the Jurchens in this way.