The Song Dynasty on the Sand Table

Chapter 537 I Killed Him Beforehand

After acquiring Yanjing, the Song Dynasty did not stop its advance.

A small number of troops were left to manage Yanjing, while the majority of the army continued its advance into Liaodong.

Li Baojun, who had previously been harassing the Jin Dynasty in Dalian, no longer needed to resort to harassment tactics. Instead, he launched a legitimate attack, crossed the Zhen Dongguan Great Wall, and joined the main force at the foot of Shenzhou (Shenyang) to continue advancing northward.

The army continues its northward advance...

This placed immense pressure on Emperor Jin Xizong.

The conditions brought back by Wanyan Xiyin and Wanyan Zongxian are now laid out before Emperor Xizong of Jin.

He's incompetent.

He was unwilling to surrender.

The Song Dynasty didn't even give him room for negotiation, only offering him two choices: destruction or surrender, which is infuriating.

Emperor Xizong couldn't help but ask his subordinates, "Is it feasible to hide back in Changbai Mountain?"

No one answered him, and for a moment the entire hall was quiet.

It's easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality

The Jurchen people were used to the outside world, and now they were asked to retreat to the depths of Changbai Mountain to hunt. Not one of them was willing.

“Perhaps we can still stall for time,” Wanyan Zongxian said. “Liaodong is not like Hebei. The snow here is much deeper, already waist-deep. Although every soldier in the Song Dynasty has a thick cotton-padded coat, they can’t march in such deep snow, can they? We still have some time, at least until next spring. Then we can take out Yue Wenxuan’s words about sweeping across the grasslands, deserts, and plateaus, make a big deal out of it, embellish it, and tell it to the Western Xia, Dali, and Mongols. Maybe we can unite these countries to fight against the Song Dynasty.”

Upon hearing this, Emperor Xizong of Jin felt that it was somewhat plausible.

But Wanyan Xiyin said, "Yue Wenxuan said he has a way to march in the snow, but I don't know if it's true. If they really can march in such deep snow, then... then we won't be able to hold out until next spring."

Emperor Xizong of Jin: "How could anyone possibly march through such snow? Yue Wenxuan must be bluffing us..."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a scout rushed in from outside, his head covered in snowflakes and his face contorted in a terrible state: "Something terrible has happened! The Song army is here, and they're very fast, only a little slower than our sleds."

Upon hearing this, all the ministers of the Jin Dynasty were startled.

What kind of marching speed is that?

Emperor Xizong of Jin: "Impossible, absolutely impossible! They are human, not roe deer. How can they run so fast on the snow? Could they be using sleds to transport troops?"

The Jin Dynasty had long been using sleds as a means of transportation on snow. Sleds were essentially the Eastern version of dog sleds. Although the Jin Dynasty did not have huskies to pull sleds, they had the Silly Dogs of Northeast China, which could pull sleds very fast.

(From the History of Jin: Skilled in riding and archery, resistant to cold, able to ride a sled as fast as the wind even in snow several feet deep. From the History of the Great Jin Dynasty: The land had many dogs, because they could pull carts.)
Although the Jin Dynasty had dog sleds, they could not be used for large-scale troop transport because the number of dogs in the Northeast was limited. They could pull a small group of people, but it was too unrealistic to pull a large army.

How could the Song army possibly march dozens of miles in waist-deep snow in just a few hours? That's impossible! You must be dreaming.
A group of ministers looked at the scout with strange eyes, waiting for him to explain.

The scout had a strange expression on his face: "The Song Dynasty didn't use dog sleds. Their soldiers had two boards attached to their feet, which allowed them to glide on the snow. Although they weren't as fast as dog sleds and even seemed a bit clumsy, I often saw them fall. But they were much faster than walking."

Everyone: "!"

The scout said, "Moreover, those soldiers seem to be getting more and more skilled at gliding. Some of them can already paddle very fast. They deliberately paddle slowly to wait for their comrades. When they discovered that I was scouting them nearby, they came after me on those strange boards. I quickly had the stupid dog pull the plow at full speed, and that's how I escaped back."

Everyone: "!!!"

Scout: "At this rate, the Song army will reach the outskirts of Shangjing in three days." That's outrageous!
Is only Tian San left?

The idea of ​​contacting Western Xia, Dali, Mongolia, and so on was all nonsense.

Emperor Xizong sighed deeply: "Fine, let's fight to the death!"

He wanted to fight to the death, but the other members of the royal family did not.

The other people with the surname Wanyan in the main hall began to exchange glances.

If it's a fight to the death, then everyone present is probably doomed.

But if they surrender, the Jurchens can at least retain two seats in the Regent's Hall and have a tiny bit of say. After all, they are not the emperors of the Jin Dynasty, and they only have a tiny bit of say in the Jin Dynasty. If they change countries, they will still have a tiny bit of say. It seems that there is nothing wrong with that.

After a heated exchange of glances...

The 60-year-old Master Wanyan Xiyin jumped up abruptly and shouted, "Rebellion!"

Wanyan Zongjun, Wanyan Zongpan, and others rushed forward and hacked Emperor Xizong of Jin into mincemeat.

(PS: In the original history, Wanyan Xiyin, Wanyan Zongjun, Wanyan Zongpan, and others were all executed by Emperor Xizong of Jin for treason.)
The death of Emperor Xizong immediately plunged the capital into chaos.

There are many people with the surname Wanyan, but there are only two seats in the Gu Ming Tang. They are now fighting for these two seats. Whoever wins this great battle and is the first to kneel before the Song Dynasty and call it "father" will have a great chance of winning these two seats.

For future riches and glory, kill them!
When the Song army glided through the snow to the walls of Shangjing, they found the city already a scene of carnage, with rivers of blood flowing freely.

The two victors, Wanyan Zongjun and Wanyan Zongpan, knelt at the city gate, joyfully welcoming the arrival of the Song army. Upon seeing Yue Wenxuan, they showered him with flattering words, as if they were performing a Northeast folk opera.

The Song army entered the city without bloodshed and took over Shangjing.

The streets were littered with corpses, mostly soldiers' bodies. The city's inhabitants huddled in their homes, trembling with fear, not participating in this power struggle. Only the personal guards of the princes and nobles wielded their swords, hacking and killing indiscriminately throughout the city, leaving only their dead bodies.

Upon entering the palace, one sees Emperor Xizong's head rolling around on the ground like a ball, Wanyan Xiyin, the 60-year-old creator of the Jurchen script, hacked to pieces, and the naked corpses of the concubines and palace maids lying across the corners of the palace corridors, while the corpses of eunuchs are arranged in various poses...

"Ugh!"

Yue Wenxuan could only sigh deeply. When a country perishes, all sorts of demons and monsters will run rampant.

Just as miserable the Northern Song Dynasty was during the Jingkang Incident, the Jin Dynasty is now in just as bad shape. Fortune changes every thirty years; retribution is inevitable.

As he was lamenting, he saw Yue Fei reach out and grab Wanyan Zongjun's collar, urgently asking, "Where is the late emperor of my Great Song Dynasty?"

It turns out that Yue Fei was still thinking about rescuing Emperor Qinzong, one of the two emperors, Huizong and Qinzong.

Wanyan Zongjun smiled ingratiatingly: "To save the Song Dynasty some trouble, I killed him in advance. Did I do a good job?"

Everyone: "..."

Yue Fei was enraged and wanted to draw his sword.

Han Shizhong walked over, pressed his arm, and sighed, "Garlic bird, garlic bird, life isn't easy for anyone."

(End of this chapter)