The Song Dynasty on the Sand Table

Chapter 516 Forced into the Palace
In the winter of 1136 AD, a cold wind howled.

Although Lin'an is located in Jiangnan, it is still very cold in winter.

A cold wind swept by, and everyone craned their necks.

After a six-month period of "escape and counter-escape," Lin'an's population has decreased by nearly half, and it no longer has the grandeur of a "capital of a country," becoming a slightly larger prefecture-level city.

In contrast, Kaifeng has regained its former imperial grandeur, boasting a large population and a prosperous, dreamlike atmosphere.

The political situation in the Southern Song Dynasty is becoming more and more chaotic every day.

Two weeks ago, a civil official submitted a memorial requesting the unification of the two Song dynasties, firing the first shot in the "national unification" movement.

Then, a large group of civil officials submitted memorials one after another, requesting the emperor to contact the Northern Song Dynasty and promote the unification of the two Song Dynasties.

Zhao Gou initially thought that these ministers were on his side and wanted to bring the Northern Song back to the Southern Song.

Unexpectedly, these ministers were all incredibly shameless, and their words conveyed an attitude that "it doesn't matter who becomes emperor, what matters is the fate of the Song Dynasty."

Some even went so far as to criticize Zhao Gou for being weak, inferior to Zhao Shi, and suggesting that he should simply abdicate in favor of his seventeenth brother and restore the prestige of the Song Dynasty.

Zhao Gou was furious and ordered the arrest of the man.

Interestingly, these officials who dared to directly criticize Zhao Gou were not actually in Lin'an; they were merely submitting their reports from their respective jurisdictions. As soon as Zhao Gou ordered their arrest, these officials resigned and fled to the Northern Song Dynasty to live a carefree life.

Zhao Gou was so angry he gritted his teeth, but he couldn't do anything about it.

After winter set in, more and more ministers began to submit memorials advocating for the unification of the two Song dynasties. Every word they wrote was for the good of the Song dynasty and the good of the world, but not a single one of them was in the best interest of Zhao Gou.

"Phew! It's so cold!"

Qin Hui hunched his neck as he walked through the streets and alleys, followed by a large group of his cronies, including Wan Qixie, Luo Ruji, Wang Ciweng, Wang Xiang, Gou Longruyuan, Li Wenhui, Duan Fu, and other notorious traitors. They were all following behind him, forming a large and imposing group.

In addition, there were their servants, guards, and hired thugs, whose numbers exceeded at least a thousand.

There's only one reason for this posture: he's going to force the emperor to resign today.

Wan Qixie whispered, "Prime Minister Qin, with only this thousand ragtag troops, I'm afraid we can't defeat the Imperial Guards and will be stopped by Yang Yizhong."

Qin Hui chuckled: "Yang Yizhong fell for my trap and I lured him out of the city to arrest the rebels."

Wan Qixie was overjoyed: "Your Excellency's plan is brilliant!"

Qin Hui sneered: "Besides, I have more than just this many people. Don't forget we also have Zhang Jun and Liu Guangshi."

Wan Qixie nodded: "Prime Minister's calculations are so brilliant, there must be nothing missing."

Qin Hui: "Today we forced him to abdicate and pass the throne to the Seventeenth Prince. We will have done a great service. Everyone, cheer up!"

As they were talking, Zhang Jun and Liu Guangshi's men arrived. Their soldiers were cowardly when dealing with the Jin army, knowing nothing but how to run away, but when it came to dealing with Zhao Gou, these soldiers were all spirited and fearless.

Zhang Jun and Liu Guangshi, dressed in military uniforms, asked Qin Hui as soon as they arrived, "Is Yang Yizhong not here?"

Qin Hui: "No, they left the city this morning. They're still searching and confiscating the property of the rebels outside the city, which I arranged."

Liu Guangshi was overjoyed: "Great! With Yang Yizhong gone, there's nothing to be afraid of. Let's storm the palace directly."

The group walked straight to the palace...

The palace in Lin'an could not actually be called a palace; it was more like a "temporary imperial residence," meaning "the emperor was temporarily here." It was not the grand and majestic Forbidden City, but rather a huge landlord's mansion.

This house was completely indefensible! Zhang Jun and Liu Guangshi's men charged forward, and the imperial guards guarding the gate were cut down.

With a roar, the crowd stormed into the palace and began hacking at any eunuch they saw.

The Miao-Liu mutiny was just like that; the soldiers would slash anyone they saw without a beard, causing rivers of blood to flow.

The eunuchs in the temporary imperial residence suffered heavy casualties immediately, and the few palace guards were unable to resist.

Before long, Qin Hui and his entourage arrived in front of Zhao Gou.

Zhao Gou was trapped in the main hall, with only two eunuchs by his side and not a single guard. Knowing that the situation was hopeless, he couldn't help but sigh, "Qin Hui! I never thought you were this kind of person."

Qin Hui dropped the pretense and burst into laughter: "You didn't expect that, did you? Before I surrendered to the Song Dynasty, I was already a minister under Yue Fei of the Northern Song. Zhao Gou, I advise you to be pragmatic and immediately abdicate in favor of the Seventeenth Prince, otherwise... don't blame us for taking force."

Zhao Gou roared, "You shameless bastard! I'll haunt you even as a ghost!"

Qin Hui: "These words can only scare ghosts."

Zhao Gou was so angry that he trembled all over...

At this moment, something strange happened.

A soldier wearing a helmet behind Liu Guangshi swiftly drew his knife and plunged it into Liu Guangshi's back, a vital spot... Before the people around could react, he suddenly pulled out his knife again and slashed it across Zhang Jun's neck with a thud.

In the blink of an eye, he killed two generals, Liu Guangshi and Zhang Jun.

This terrified Qin Hui and the others, who all retreated.

But then the soldier lifted his helmet, revealing his face; it was Yang Yizhong.

Qin Hui was startled: "Yang... Yang Yizhong... didn't you fall for my trick and go to the city to ransack the homes of the rebels?"

Yang Yizhong sneered: "The traitor is right here, why would I go outside the city? Qin Hui, you didn't expect this, did you? I've been struggling to get evidence against you, this treacherous minister, but now I don't need any evidence anymore. Are you ready to die?"

Qin Hui was taken aback and quickly waved his hand: "Go!"

Although Zhang Jun and Liu Guangshi were dead, many of their men remained, along with江湖 heroes, servants, and guards hired by Qin Hui's faction. They all rushed over, but since Yang Yizhong dared to show himself, he must have been prepared. Doors and windows were smashed down, and a large group of imperial guards charged out...

"Eliminate the treacherous officials!"

"Kill the tyrannical ruler!"

Both sides roared in anger.

They all knew that if they lost this battle, there would be no turning back; they had to fight with all their might...

The shouts of killing shook the sky!

Standing at the center, Zhao Gou was completely stunned with fear. Every now and then, a scream would ring out, and a severed arm would fly past him.

Zhao Gou turned his head to the left and saw the treacherous minister Wan Qixie being caught up by an imperial guard. The guard stabbed him three times in the stomach and then beheaded him. Wan Qixie's head spun in mid-air, spraying blood all over Zhao Gou's face.

Zhao Gou was so frightened that he quickly turned his head to the right, and just then he saw Wang Ciweng, a relative of Qin Hui's wife, directing two servants to cut down an imperial guard soldier. The two servants slashed the soldier several times, cutting him into eight pieces. But suddenly an arrow flew from a distance and pierced Wang Ciweng's heart with a thud.

"Yang Yizhong, you die!" A martial arts master jumped out from behind Qin Hui, his blade aimed at Yang Yizhong's vital points. Seeing that he was about to be defeated, Yang Yizhong suddenly turned around and thrust his spear. The Yang family's spear technique lived up to its reputation. With a "thud," he stabbed the martial arts master through the neck.

(End of this chapter)