【After the Jin army invaded Lin'an, they didn't find Zhao Gou. They heard that he had fled to the sea, so they spared no effort in forming a navy to search for him on the sea. This was known as "searching mountains and inspecting the sea."】
【Although the Jin army was invincible on land, their naval combat was a disaster. Their navy was easily defeated by the Song, and the Jin army, after a long advance, found the heat and humidity of the Jiangnan region unbearable. Unable to adapt to the climate, Wanyan Zongbi led his forces to withdraw.】
【However, when the army reached Zhenjiang Prefecture, they were first ambushed by Han Shizhong, suffering significant losses. Then, at Huangtiandang, Han Shizhong's 8,000 soldiers surrounded the Jin army's 100,000 soldiers, turning them into helpless fish in a net. Only through the assistance of a local Han Chinese native was Wanyan Zongbi able to escape from a near-death situation.】
【Han Shizhong's victory shattered the myth of "the Jurchen are not a threat unless they number more than 10,000," greatly boosting the morale of the Song army. At this time, Yue Fei, through constant purging and recruitment of local rebel forces, had formed his own army - the Yue Family Army!】
【Wanyan Zongbi had barely escaped Zhenjiang Prefecture when he was ambushed by the Yue Family Army, losing another several thousand men. He then fled to Laoguan Pass.】
【This battle completely shattered the Jurchen's confidence. After the war, the Jin recognized that they could not completely wipe out the Southern Song Dynasty, so they began to think of supporting a puppet regime.】
【After some preparation, the Jin army chose Liu Yu, the former prefect of Jinan in the Song Dynasty. They chose him because of his close ties to the Jin and because he had killed the anti-Jin general Guan Sheng during the Jin army's invasion of Jinan.】
【In September of the fourth year of Jianyan, the Jin state crowned Liu Yu as the "Son Emperor" and established the Daqi Dynasty, historically known as the Pseudo-Qi.】
【At the same time that Liu Yu ascended the throne, the Jin general Wanyan Chang launched another attack. The Song Dynasty sent Zhang Jun to meet the challenge, but Zhang Jun declined and recommended Yue Fei, appointing Liu Guangshi as Yue Fei's rear guard.】
【In this battle, Yue Fei achieved three victories in three battles at Chengzhou, killing the Jin general Gao Taibao and capturing over 70 Jin leaders. Liu Guangshi disappeared once again. This kind of thing would happen many times in the future, because Liu Guangshi would always disappear, and having him as a rear guard was equivalent to never having a rear guard.】
【Meanwhile, in the Sichuan and Shaanxi regions, Zhang Jun, appointed by the Song court, was responsible for overall command. The Western Army in the northwest was the elite of the Song's elite. Because the northwest bordered Xixia, the Song had engaged in hundreds of battles with Xixia over a century, achieving remarkable feats and amassing immense strength.】
【When the Jin army moved south, they broke through Kaifeng and occupied Hebei and Shandong, but they couldn't conquer the northwest. Li Yanxian, a general of the Western Army, rose up to recover Shaozhou. Afterward, he engaged in over 200 battles with the Jin army, repeatedly inflicting heavy losses on them and shaking both the Jin and Song dynasties.】
【When Zhang Jun took office, the Jin army assembled a massive force to besiege Shaozhou. At this critical moment, the Western Army displayed the same problems as the Tang Dynasty's feudal warlords. Faced with Zhang Jun's orders, Qu Duan, the leader of the Western Army, remained unmoved. He even watched as his subordinate, Wu Jie, was defeated by the Jin army without offering any assistance. Zhang Jun, unable to tolerate this, ordered all units of the Western Army to assemble in Fuping, but Qu Duan refused to obey.】
【Zhang Jun personally went to urge him, but Qu Duan insisted that the battle would be a defeat. Enraged, Zhang Jun demanded a military guarantee from Qu Duan, who readily agreed.】
【This was the decisive battle between the Song and the Jin. The Song had assembled nearly all of the Western Army's elite troops, including Wu Jie, Zhao Zhe, Liu Xi, Sun Wo, and Liu Qi, making it a battle of "half the responsibility of the entire world!"】
【The Song army had 100,000 soldiers, while the Jin army boasted 80,000 cavalry, including Wanyan Lou Shi, Wanyan Zongbi, and Wanyan Zongfu. The scale of the battle was unprecedented.】
【On the 14th day of the ninth month of the fourth year of Jianyan, the Jin army launched the first attack. Liu Qi beheaded Chang Chizhanghui, the Jin army's Wanhu, and surrounded Wanyan Zongbi. Under the desperate protection of Han Chang, Wanyan Zongbi escaped, but his forces had suffered more than half their numbers.】
【Furious, Wanyan Zongbi unleashed his trump card - the Left and Right Turning Horses. Wanyan Lou Shi personally led the charge, breaking through the weakest point of the Western Army, the Huanqing Army. During the decisive battle, the Huanqing Army's commander, Zhao Zhe, disappeared without a trace. The commander, Liu Xi, also remained motionless, watching the Huanqing Army be wiped out by the Jin army.】
【The Western Army was defeated. The Jin army acquired countless riches, supplies, and food. Zhang Jun, enraged, had Qu Duan imprisoned and executed. He then ordered the participating troops to return to their respective units, but they were defeated one by one by the Jin army. The Huanqing Army surrendered to Xixia, the Jingyuan Army's commander surrendered to the Jin army, and Zhang Jun could only flee to Xingzhou, effectively abandoning Shaanxi to protect Sichuan.】
【In the midst of this chaos, Wu Jie led a thousand soldiers to break through the Jin army's encirclement and headed straight for Dasan Pass. The Jin army launched a fierce attack on Dasan Pass and marched towards He Shangyuan, but they failed three times and were even defeated by Wu Jie, who killed their general Ulu Zhehe.】
【Shortly after, Wanyan Zongbi died of illness. Six months later, Wanyan Zongbi once again led 100,000 Jin troops to attack, but he was defeated again by Wu Jie. In this battle, the Jin army suffered over 10,000 casualties and nearly 3,000 were captured. Wu Jie's reputation soared, and for his achievements, he was granted the title of Jiedushi of the Western Army.】
…
Seeing this scene, the Song emperor and ministers were shocked. Zhao Kuangyin jumped up in joy, bursting into hearty laughter!
From the moment the golden list began to introduce Zhao Gou, everyone's mood had been like a rollercoaster ride, rising and falling, filled with rage and excitement, with surprises galore!
Zhao Gou's reliance on the treacherous officials Huang Qian-shan and Wang Bo-yan, even after they caused the Yangzhou Incident, merely resulted in demotion without execution, causing a bitter knot in the hearts of Zhao Kuangyin and his officials, making them clench their fists!
Then, Du Chong breached the Yellow River, which ignited Zhao Kuangyin's fury. He slammed his hand on the table and shouted, "I swear to kill this villain!"
Later, the Ming Shou mutiny, with Miao and Liu imprisoning Zhao Gou, turned Zhao Kuangyin's face pale, causing him to gasp for breath.
He exclaimed, "The Tang Dynasty's feudal warlords have returned! Arrogant soldiers and fierce generals are back again!"
After the Loyal Army defeated the rebels, Zhao Gou returned to the throne. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, praying that Zhao Gou would learn from this experience and launch a Northern Expedition!
In particular, upon seeing the Four Great Generals of the Southern Song Dynasty, everyone was ecstatic!
What is meant by "revival?" It's when a dynasty, after its fall, rises again to rebuild the nation. Like Emperor Guangwu of Han, who restored the dynasty, it's known as "revival."
Since the Southern Song Dynasty had the Four Great Generals, didn't that mean these four generals were incredibly powerful and could help the Song Dynasty return to its peak during the Northern Song Dynasty?
At that moment, Zhao Kuangyin and his officials were filled with excitement, clenching their fists, their eyes burning with anticipation!
But then they saw Zhao Gou favor Du Chong, the Jin army invade, search mountains and inspect the sea, and Zhao Gou once again flee in disgrace, causing everyone's faces to turn pale once more!
Was this Zhao Gou?
A creature that remembers to eat but not to learn?
Even after all this, he was still so afraid of the Jin army? He even ran to the sea! Why didn't he just fly to the sky?!
This further enraged Zhao Kuangyin. Breaching the dikes was one thing, but surrendering to the Jin army was unacceptable! This Zhao Gou, I, Zhao Kuangyin, shall kill him!
Then, seeing the Jin army's navy defeated by the Song, everyone smiled and exclaimed, "Of course, of course!"
"This Jin army is no match for our Song army at sea! We, the Song, are not completely useless after all!"
In particular, seeing Han Shizhong and Yue Fei's battle left everyone almost jumping out of their seats!
Hahaha! Worthy of being the Four Great Generals of our Song Dynasty! They are truly amazing! The revival of our Song Dynasty is in sight!
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