【In the seventh year of Jin Tian Fu, Wanyan Aguda died, and his younger brother Wanyan Sheng ascended the throne, known as the Jin Taizong.】
【At this time, the Liao Dynasty had perished, Xixia had submitted to Jin, and Jin had occupied almost all of the territory of the Liao Dynasty, successfully bordering the Song Dynasty.】
【After the accession of Song Taizong, he was ambitious and soon set his sights on the Song Dynasty to the south, and began actively preparing for the invasion of Song.】
【But before invading Song, they needed to find a pretext to break the alliance between Song and Jin, and this alliance was the famous maritime alliance between Song and Jin!】
【During the Zhenghe era of the Song Dynasty, Zhao Ji sent Tong Guan as an envoy to the Liao Dynasty to investigate the Liao Dynasty's situation. When he passed by Lugou Bridge, he met a young man named Ma Zhi. Ma Zhi told Tong Guan that Jin was rising and the Liao Dynasty would perish one day. Tong Guan was overjoyed and presented Ma Zhi to Song Huizong shortly after returning to the capital.】
【Ma Zhi was eloquent, and his words immediately captivated the Song emperor and ministers. Zhao Ji was moved and agreed to Ma Zhi's request, changing his name to Zhao Liangsi. In the first year of Chonghe, he sent Zhao Liangsi and Huyan Qing to sail from Dengzhou in Shandong, cross the river, and reach the northeast to establish contact with the Jin Dynasty.】
【The two sides quickly reached an agreement: the Jin army would capture the Liao Zhongjing (Central Capital), while Song would take the Liao Yanjing (Yan Capital). After the destruction of the Liao Dynasty, neither side would cross the border, and Song would receive the Yan Yun land, transferring the tribute previously paid to Liao to the Jin Dynasty. Not only that, Wanyan Aguda also verbally promised Song the recovery of the Liao Xijing (Western Capital) and Ping, Ying, and other prefectures.】
…
Seeing the maritime alliance signed between Song and Jin, Zhao Kuangyin and his ministers looked at each other, their expressions solemn, their brows furrowed.
There was no way around it, the Jin army was too powerful, and in just a few years, they had destroyed the invincible Liao Dynasty. The newly ascended Song Taizong was determined to conquer the Song Dynasty!
Under such circumstances, the Song Dynasty's alliance with the Jin Dynasty was like playing with fire, wasn't it?
But on second thought, the Liao Dynasty was in decline, heavily damaged by the Jin Dynasty, which was a perfect opportunity for the Song Dynasty to launch a Northern Expedition and reclaim the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan Yun. If they missed this opportunity, it would be impossible for them to do so for another hundred years. This was also the reason why the Song Dynasty was eager to form an alliance with Jin.
Thinking of this, Zhao Kuangyin sighed and said dejectedly,
“Our Song Dynasty is so difficult!”
“Your Majesty, this strategy is wrong!”
Zhao Pu furrowed his brows and said earnestly.
“What do you mean?”
“The Liao Dynasty is weak and will surely be defeated by the Jin Dynasty. This proves the strength of the Jin Dynasty. If our Song Dynasty allies with the Jin Dynasty now, when the Liao Dynasty is destroyed, even if we reclaim the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan Yun, what use will it be?”
“At that time, Song and Jin will border each other, and the two nations will inevitably clash!”
Zhao Pu was worried, lamenting.
Actually, Zhao Pu hadn't finished speaking. What if the two nations inevitably clashed?
Just fight, who can determine the outcome?
But at this moment, Zhao Kuangyin and his ministers were numb, their hearts already disillusioned with the Song Dynasty of the future!
With so many underlying causes, plus the incompetent emperors and treacherous ministers like Zhao Ji, if they bordered the Jin Dynasty, how would the Song Dynasty have the strength to fight?
Therefore, instead of forming an alliance with the Jin Dynasty, their final choice was to abandon the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan Yun and instead form an alliance with the Liao Dynasty to resist the Jin Dynasty!
As they considered this, everyone present lowered their heads, silent.
This was so ironic, the chance to finally reclaim the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan Yun was lost, simply to allow the Song Dynasty to survive, which was truly heartbreaking!
After a long silence, Zhao Kuangyin sighed and said faintly,
“Zhao Pu, you are right, but things have come to this, our Song Dynasty has no other choice. If we can truly reclaim the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan Yun, even if we perish, it will be a great achievement.”
At this point, Zhao Kuangyin no longer had much faith in the Song Dynasty. He just hoped that Zhao Ji and his ministers could seize the weakness of the Liao Dynasty and reclaim the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan Yun. Then, he could rest in peace!
Having said that, Zhao Kuangyin looked at the golden list with vacant eyes, quietly waiting for the news.
The Song Dynasty should be able to do it, right? The Liao Dynasty is already finished, could they not even do this?
【After signing the alliance, the two sides began discussing the date of the expedition. However, the Song Dynasty's attitude was ambiguous, and for three months they could not decide on a time. 无奈，the Jin envoys could only return to the Jin Dynasty, which no longer waited for the Song Dynasty, but instead launched the expedition first.】
【The Song Dynasty was also going to dispatch troops, but on the eve of their departure, a peasant uprising broke out in the Jiangnan region!】
【Caused by the tyranny of the Hua Shi Gang and other abuses, the Fang La Uprising spread across six prefectures and fifty-two counties. The Song Dynasty's imperial army had to go south to quell the rebellion, thus missing the opportunity to attack the Liao Dynasty.】
…
“Bang!”
Seeing this, Zhao Kuangyin was furious, slammed his hand on the table, his anger surging, his eyes like lightning!
“Scoundrels! These treacherous ministers, they wasted my Song Dynasty's chance to reclaim Yan Yun?!”
Everyone already knew that the tyranny of Emperor Huizong and his Hua Shi Gang would eventually provoke a peasant uprising. They thought it would happen before the alliance, but unexpectedly, it broke out just before the expedition!
Thus, the Song Dynasty could only temporarily postpone its actions. Putting down the rebellion and regrouping would take at least a year!
A year, the Jin Dynasty was so powerful, after a year, would the Song Dynasty still be able to reclaim the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan Yun?
Seeing this, Zhao Kuangyin and his ministers' hearts sank!
But they still held a sliver of hope, what if? What if they could quell the rebellion and succeed within a year?
Then the Song Dynasty could reclaim the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan Yun ahead of schedule?
Thinking of this, Zhao Kuangyin and the others clenched their fists, cold sweat dripping from their palms!
【In the fourth year of Song Xuanhe, the Song Dynasty successfully quelled the Fang La Uprising. Tong Guan led the army on a Northern Expedition. At this time, the Jin army had already captured the Shang, Dong, Xi, Zhong, and Xi four capitals of the five capitals of the Liao Dynasty, leaving only the Nanjing Youzhou Prefecture. The alliance previously agreed upon had already lost half its effect.】
Seeing this, Zhao Kuangyin's body trembled!
The capture of the Western Capital by the Jin Dynasty meant that the part of the alliance where Song would reclaim the Western Capital had become unlikely!
Since this was the case, only Nanjing was left as their target. Fortunately, Youzhou Prefecture was the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan Yun. If they captured Nanjing, the Song Dynasty would have successfully reclaimed the Yan Yun region.
Thinking of this, Zhao Kuangyin's breath caught, and his eyes became sharp.
【At this time, Yelü Chun ascended the throne in Nanjing. The Song and Liao armies fought a decisive battle at Baigou River. Unexpectedly, the Song army suffered a major defeat, with over ten thousand casualties.】
【Two months later, Wanyan Aguda personally led an expedition to Yan Yun, and Nanjing surrendered. The Jin army easily captured the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan Yun, which the Song Dynasty had coveted and failed to capture many times.】
【From then on, the alliance between the two countries changed completely. The Sixteen Prefectures of Yan Yun, which should have been reclaimed by the Song army, were captured by the Jin army, while the Song army suffered a major defeat, without capturing a single city.】
【But even so, the Song army still sent envoys to negotiate with the Jin army, hoping that the Jin army would return the Yan Yun region according to the terms of the alliance.】
“Bang!”
Seeing this, Zhao Kuangyin could no longer hold back!
“Shameful! Truly shameful!”
It's one thing that they couldn't capture it themselves, but now, to have to shamelessly ask the other side to honor the alliance?
Even the Treaty of Chanyuan wasn't this humiliating!
…
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