Simulates history, but Chongzhen is the Divine Emperor at the beginning

Chapter 309 Defeat the Song Dynasty!

[In the 239th year of the Shaoxing reign of the Song Dynasty, after more than ten years of painstaking governance, you finally transformed the backward and collapsing old Jin Dynasty into a peaceful and prosperous new Jin Dynasty. In every sense, this was a golden age of feudal dynasties!]

[You even went a step further, upgrading the Jin Dynasty to a "semi-industrialized nation." Although it remained a feudal dynasty, its advanced productive forces, far surpassing those of the present era, made it far superior to normal feudal dynasties in every aspect!]

Relying on this powerful national strength, you launched numerous military campaigns, ultimately succeeding in completely defeating the Mongol heartland, which had been entrenched in the north of the Jin Dynasty for nearly two hundred years. You also occupied the Mongolian steppe and the Hexi Corridor, the former territory of the Western Xia Dynasty. From then on, only the Chagatai Khanate and other Mongol forces, which were too far away to be effectively controlled, remained on the northern border.

From this point onward, the Jin Dynasty reached its historical zenith!

[It was at this very moment that you increasingly viewed the Southern Song Dynasty as a thorn in your side: the Southern Song's control over Jiangnan not only delayed your unification of the North and South, but also forced you to adopt a strategy of surrender, exchanging humility for peace on the border...]

This is completely contrary to the natural order!

With this in mind, you finally decided to change this passive situation.

[So, in the same year, after careful consideration, you risked supporting a seemingly obedient and sensible young member of the Wanyan clan to inherit the throne of the Jin Dynasty, thereby gaining "power" and reversing the Jin Dynasty's unfavorable position in the Song-Jin strategic conflict...]

【you made it! 】

[Immediately after the new emperor ascended the throne, you felt the "power" bestowed upon you by the Jin emperor, and your mind relaxed slightly. You then decisively abolished the unequal treaty signed with the Southern Song Dynasty. To demonstrate your tough stance, you even sarcastically sent Zhao Gou an edict, bestowing upon him the title of "King of the Great Jin-Song"!]

[The news caused a rapid deterioration in relations between the Song and Jin dynasties...]

【…】

[To your surprise, although your change of heart greatly angered the Southern Song Dynasty, Zhao Gou himself did not show any outburst of rage... He merely sighed in disappointment and then sent you an imperial edict.]

In the imperial edict, Zhao Gou stated his demands: as long as the Jin Dynasty continued to be a vassal state of the Song Dynasty, the two countries could return to their previous friendly relations, and the Song Dynasty would try its best to meet any other demands the Jin Dynasty might have!

"If the Grand Tutor is willing, I can re-establish the Treaty of Chanyuan with you, whereby Jin will become a vassal state of Song, and Song will pay annual tribute to Jin. I have no objection to this..."

【what? 】

Upon receiving this imperial edict from Zhao Gou, even if you had prepared for the worst, you couldn't help but feel bewildered: What... is this for?

[The Song Dynasty paid annual tribute to the Jin Dynasty, and the Jin Dynasty became a vassal state of the Song Dynasty... Was this an attempt to buy a son with money?]

You scratch your head, then suddenly realize: That's it! This is the power of money!

Did the Southern Song Dynasty lack money? Not at all!

In this era, the Southern Song Dynasty, with its highly developed commodity economy, was not lacking in meager resources... or rather, at this time, the Southern Song Dynasty truly had the air of a "Celestial Empire with vast territory and abundant resources." If there was something it didn't have, it could simply buy it with money...

In short: problems that can be solved with money aren't really problems! Buy whatever you need!

What did Zhao Gou lack?

[Answer: Without a doubt, the only thing He lacked was the power of lust!]

[But where does this power of lust come from?]

Answer: Insubordination!

[Zhao Gou's humiliation of the emperor, who was of equal rank, was an act of insubordination; the Southern Song's northern expedition against the Jin Dynasty was also an act of insubordination; and the Southern Song's subjugation of the Jin Dynasty was, naturally, still an act of insubordination!]

[In the past, you humbly submitted to Zhao Gou on behalf of the Jin Dynasty, which not only allowed Zhao Gou to gain considerable divine power unknowingly, but also made him gradually accustomed to this simple way of acquiring divine power.]

Compared to this easy and simple method, the Northern Expedition was simply a thankless and arduous undertaking!

This is similar to how the Northern Song Dynasty liked to use annual tribute to buy peace: how much does it cost to wage war? And how much does it cost to pay annual tribute to the Xia and Liao dynasties?

The Northern Song Dynasty did the math and found that paying tribute was cheaper than fighting wars, and the two had the same effect... As a result, the already weak Northern Song Dynasty became even more inclined towards conservative ideology, and thus, whenever faced with trouble, it prioritized paying money.

[This worked for the Xia and Liao dynasties, and it also worked for domestic peasant uprisings. The key was that people actually fell for it; they'd settle down once they got the money… This method always worked, until they encountered the Jin people, who wanted both money and lives…] [Now, Zhao Gou is demonstrating this "Song-style thinking": As long as you continue to submit to me, I will reward you handsomely!]

The Northern Song Dynasty spent money to buy peace, while the Southern Song Dynasty spent money to buy sons—this is what you call a continuous lineage…

Faced with this silver bullet offensive, will you choose to accept the money and call him "daddy," or will you follow the fine tradition of those who live by the money and choose both wealth and life?

You thought about it and then decisively rejected Zhao Gou's offer of money: Who wants your stinking cash!

The reason you turned against the Southern Song Dynasty wasn't just for economic gain; more importantly, you wanted to use this opportunity to completely end the current division between the Jin and Song dynasties!

Zhao Gou's idea will only lead to an indefinite division between the Jin and Song dynasties, which is definitely not what you want!

【…】

[So, in the 239th year of the Shaoxing era, you once again rejected Zhao Gou's tempting offer, and then prepared your army for war, ready to respond to any northern expeditionary attack from the Southern Song Dynasty!]

Seeing that you were utterly obstinate, Zhao Gou finally lost all patience and immediately ordered Yue Fei to lead an army of 100,000 across the Han River to launch a northern expedition!

Seeing this, you show no fear: the past is the past, the present is the present. Do you really think the Northern Expedition will still be of any use to you?

[So you took charge of the "power" and personally led the army south. Hundreds of thousands of passionate Jin soldiers clashed head-on with the Northern Expeditionary Song army. Once the two sides met, the battle became fierce...]

After several months of this stalemate, despite the valiant efforts of the Northern Expeditionary Song army, they were ultimately no match for the endless, mutated Jin soldiers... In the end, Yue Fei was forced to retreat, and you achieved your first victory against the Southern Song!

When the news reached Lin'an, Zhao Gou was furious and immediately ordered Yue Fei to be imprisoned on the pretext of "cowardice in battle."

After Yue Fei was imprisoned, Zhao Gou ordered Han Shizhong to lead an army of 100,000 across the Huai River to launch a northern expedition!

But this was still of no use. With your "power" backing you, you forced Han Shizhong's army to retreat, and Han Shizhong was subsequently imprisoned by the enraged Zhao Gou...

However, this still did not appease Zhao Gou, so the following year, Zhao Gou ordered generals Liu Guangshi and Zhang Jun to lead an army of 200,000 men from Hanzhong on a northern expedition to Guanzhong!

[However, this time is different from the previous two, because after winning two consecutive battles, you've become ambitious: it seems that if you don't teach Zhao Laojiu a lesson, he might never stop!]

[So you no longer held back, leading a large army to confront Generals Liu and Zhang head-on, while secretly dispatching the Embroidered Uniform Guard to the pass to join the battle...]

[When the battle between the two sides reached its climax, you urgently ordered the Imperial Guards to attack from the flank of the Song army. This sudden appearance of elite troops greatly shocked the Song army, and even Generals Liu and Zhang were caught off guard!]

At the critical moment, Liu Guangshi's old habit of being afraid of battle resurfaced. When the Imperial Guards launched a fierce attack on the Song army's flank, Liu Guangshi was the first to flee...

[With their commander gone, even the most elite troops will curse! Zhang Jun was left alone and utterly powerless to hold out. So he could only curse Liu Guangshi as a scoundrel while desperately trying to break through the encirclement. But due to the tight encirclement by the Imperial Guards, Zhang Jun could not break through no matter what he did. He could only watch helplessly as these fierce Mongols and Jurchens grinned and charged towards his face...]

【…】

In the 240th year of the Shaoxing reign of the Song Dynasty, Grand Tutor Zhou Jinu of the Jin Dynasty personally led his troops south to confront the Song army's northern expedition. He first forced Generals Yue Fei and Han Xin to retreat, then decisively defeated Generals Liu Guangshi and Zhang Jun. Liu Guangshi's escape attempt led to Zhang Jun's failed breakout attempt, resulting in the Jin army's defeat, capture, and the annihilation of 200,000 troops!

When the news reached Lin'an, Zhao Gou, already furious, became even more enraged: the Four Generals of the Restoration were the pillars of the Song Dynasty, and now one of them had been lost… This was an utter disgrace!

[Therefore, Zhao Gou swiftly ordered the imperial guards to arrest the fleeing Liu Guangshi, initially sentencing him to beheading, but later commuting the sentence to caning, thus sparing his life...]

Regardless, these astonishing victories forced Zhao Gou to quell his furious desire for a northern expedition, and instead adopt a cautious, defensive strategy against the Jin.

[With this, the Southern Song's Northern Expeditions came to an end, and the Jin Dynasty under your leadership has swept away its past humiliation and restored its superiority over the Song!]

You can't help but feel triumphant: if things continue like this, the Jin dynasty's unification of the Southern Song will be unstoppable. Once Zhao Gou is completely out of supplies, he can "lead a million troops to West Lake and stand atop the first peak of Wu Mountain"...

It seems a happy ending, where you can roam freely across the north and south, is beckoning you...

……

(End of this chapter)