【Li Gang actively responded to the challenge, first defeating the Jin army at the Bian River, and then taking the initiative to attack, burning dozens of siege ladders of the Jin army, killing more than ten Jin army generals, and killing thousands of Jin army soldiers, but gained nothing.】
【So the Jin army started peace talks. This was an old trick that the Jurchen people had always used. They had used it repeatedly when attacking the Liao Dynasty, and they had gained benefits from it more than once. Whenever the Jin army was in trouble, they would send envoys to negotiate. When the other side lowered their guard and the situation eased, the Jin army would recover its strength and launch another attack, wiping out the other side in one fell swoop. The Jin army enjoyed doing this.】
【After the Song court learned about the Jin army's peace talks, they were overjoyed and immediately sent people to negotiate with the Jin army. They reached five conditions: the Song emperor would recognize the Jin Taizong as his uncle, all those who were in the Yan and Yun regions would be returned to the Jin Dynasty, the three towns of Taiyuan, Hejian, and Zhongshan would be ceded, the Jin army would be rewarded with 5 million taels of gold, 50 million taels of silver, and one million bolts of silk, and a prince and a prime minister would be held hostage.】
【Prime Minister Li Bangyan brought back the Jin army's conditions, and the Song court was overjoyed. Only Li Gang strongly opposed it, but his opposition was ineffective. All the high officials of the court agreed to the peace treaty. Li Gang resigned in anger, and the Song Dynasty sent King Kang Zhao Gou to the Jin army as a hostage.】
【At the same time, in order to fulfill the Jin army's demands, officials at all levels began to loot extensively in the city of Kaifeng. First, they auctioned off the objects in the emperor's palace, and then they confiscated the property of high officials, especially the Six Traitors. However, even so, they only obtained 600,000 taels of gold and 13 million taels of silver, which was far less than the Jin army's demands.】
【So the Song court intensified its looting efforts. At this time, the Song Dynasty's reinforcement troops also arrived outside the city of Kaifeng one after another. For example, the Western Army leader Zhong Shidao and Yao Pingzhong's army. As the Song Dynasty's hundreds of thousands of reinforcement troops arrived, the Jin army, which had traveled a long distance and lacked support, began to panic. After the incident where Yao Pingzhong attacked the camp at night, the Jin army decided to withdraw.】
【After the night raid on the camp failed, Zhong Shidao suggested ambushing the Jin army at the Yellow River while it was retreating, which would surely result in a great victory. However, the Song court, headed by Zhao Huan, was determined to make peace and had no intention of fighting back. Therefore, they dismissed the positions of Li Gang, Zhong Shidao, and other war hawks. At this time, the Jin army also released Zhao Gou and replaced him with Prince Su Zhao Shu as a hostage. They then withdrew with countless spoils of war.】
【Not only that, the Song court also had people rush to make two large flags overnight. On the flags, they wrote in large characters: "Anyone who dares to send troops will be punished according to military law." They had the soldiers carry these two large flags and "escort" the Jin army across the Yellow River safely ahead of them.】
【Thus, the first Battle of Kaifeng between the Song and Jin ended with the Song Dynasty making peace and the Jin Dynasty gaining countless benefits.】
……
Seeing this scene, the monarchs of all dynasties glared angrily, looking as if they were filled with righteous indignation!
The realm of the First Emperor of Qin, outside the Xianyang Palace.
“Bang!”
“The Song Dynasty deserves to die! The war to destroy the country was so frivolous? They were cowardly before even fighting, and they even looted money to reward the enemy army. It's simply unreasonable!”
Ying Zheng slammed the wooden case in anger, his eyebrows furrowed, his killing intent exposed, making all the officials present tremble with fear!
Behind him, Meng Yi also stepped forward and roared:
“The Song Dynasty is truly weak to the extreme. They have already won the first battle, yet they still want to make peace. Such monarchs and ministers truly deserve to die!”
“That’s right! How can there be such monarchs and ministers in this world?”
Even Li Si and other civil officials were shocked. They stared wide-eyed, speechless for a long time.
“Humph! Such a Song Dynasty, even if it perished, wouldn't be a pity!”
“I swear here that my Qin Dynasty, the monarchs of future generations, will never make peace with the barbarians under any circumstances. It’s better to die standing than to live on your knees!”
Ying Zheng was furious to the extreme. He even wanted to personally draw his sword and chop the Song Dynasty’s Zhao Huan and his ministers to death!
“Your Majesty is wise!”
……
The realm of Gaozu of Han, outside the Weiyang Palace.
“This Song Dynasty is so cowardly, afraid of the enemy like a tiger?!”
Liu Bang was also full of anger at this time, his fists clenched tightly!
If the previous Treaty of Chanyuan could still be understood because of his own Siege of Baiden, then the current peace treaty between the Song Dynasty and the Jin Dynasty is something that Liu Bang cannot accept anymore!
My Han Dynasty also made peace with the Xiongnu, but that was because our national strength was insufficient, our soldiers were surrounded, and we were forced to do it as a last resort!
But what about you, Song Dynasty?
You keep pushing the boundaries, treating this last resort as a common practice. It’s truly chilling!
You did this to the Liao Dynasty, and you're doing it to the Jin Dynasty!
Most importantly, Li Gang had won a great victory in this siege of Kaifeng. Outside the city, there are still Zhong Shidao's tens of thousands of reinforcement troops. With such military strength, they can still make peace. It’s truly infuriating!
“Ying'er, you’ve seen it too. In the future, my Han Dynasty can make peace with the Xiongnu, but we must never bow down and humiliate ourselves like the Song Dynasty, becoming cowardly before even fighting!”
After scolding, Liu Bang turned his gaze to the Emperor Liu Ying, who was looking on in shock!
Liu Ying was weak-willed, and the current Han Dynasty was no match for the Xiongnu. This made Liu Bang worried that the future Han Dynasty would repeat the mistakes of the Song Dynasty!
Therefore, he quickly spoke out to advise him, saying that he could make peace, but he must not bow down and beg for peace like this!
Upon hearing this, Liu Ying’s eyes hardened, and he clenched his fists:
“Father, don’t worry. Your son will never allow my Han Dynasty to bow down and be humiliated!”
Lü Hou, who was standing beside him, nodded in agreement. “With the crown prince like this, our Han Dynasty will surely be revived!”
Hearing this, Qi Hou immediately became anxious. She poked Zhao Wang Liu Ruyi, who had a wooden expression.
Liu Ruyi immediately reacted and loudly said:
“Father, don’t worry. One day, my Han Dynasty will surely pacify the Xiongnu and stand tall among all nations!”
Liu Bang was taken aback. His eyebrows curved, and he laughed heartily:
“Hahaha! Well said, Ruyi. My Han Dynasty will surely pacify the Xiongnu!”
“Then everyone, let's raise a toast to the future of our Han Dynasty!”
“Cheers!”
“Cheers!”
……
The realm of Yuan Ding, outside the Weiyang Palace.
“Absurd! It's absolutely absurd! Is this the future of the Chinese dynasty? It’s truly sickening!”
Liu Che was furious. The good mood he had all day was ruined by the Song Dynasty’s outrageous actions!
“Your Majesty, don’t worry. The Song Dynasty has been soft on the inside for a long time. They were like this towards the Liao Dynasty before, and now they are naturally the same towards the Jin Dynasty, which is even more powerful than the Liao Dynasty!”
Ni Kuan bowed and said.
“Humph! A bunch of spineless fools! I swear here that my Han Dynasty will surely conquer the Xiongnu and revive the glory of our Han Dynasty!”
Liu Che’s eyes flashed with tiger-like ferocity. He waved his sleeve with authority.
“Your Majesty is mighty! Your Majesty is mighty!”
The officials all echoed his words. For a moment, the scene was filled with excitement…
……
The realm of the Zhenguan era of the Tang Dynasty, outside the Taiji Palace.
“It’s a sin! It’s truly a sin! How can my Han dynasty have such monarchs and ministers?!”
Li Shimin lamented.
Then he turned around and asked: “Do we also have the Khitan and the Jurchen in the northeast of our Tang Dynasty?”
Changsun Wuji bowed and said: “Your Majesty, there are indeed some scattered tribes in the northeast, but they are just small tribes scattered everywhere and cannot pose a major threat.”
Hearing this, Li Shimin gave a bitter smile.
A small tribe that was insignificant in the Tang Dynasty could achieve such great achievements a thousand years later. This was all thanks to the Song Dynasty!
……
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