mesbooks Chapter 285 Xin Qiji
Chapter 285 Xin Qiji
Xin Qiji, standing to the side, wondered: I wonder if he will ever be able to reclaim his homeland!
"Then let's introduce Xin Qiji. He lived in the Southern Song Dynasty, which you all know was established after the fall of the Northern Song Dynasty."
Xin Qiji suddenly drinking water: It was really embarrassing to hear this live! No wonder Wang Wengong needed to drink water!!!
"But it's important to understand that the Southern Song Dynasty was better off than the Southern Ming Dynasty, because it was only a little over 160 years after the fall of the Northern Song Dynasty, so it could live for at least another 100 years."
"So I'm very puzzled, how could the Southern Song court not tolerate those loyal ministers and generals who wanted to recover lost territory? How could it be... sigh!"
Those in the Wanchaozhong area heard Lin Ke let out a sorrowful sigh on the screen, as if it were an endless regret.
"Therefore there is a saying: Qi Ji was like Qu Bing, and the Song emperor was not like Emperor Wu of Han."
Liu Zhuzhu, the Great Han: Is there anything I can do here?!
Emperor Zhao Kuangyin of the Song Dynasty: ...Damn, this is so embarrassing!
……
Before discussing Xin Qiji, I would like to briefly talk about the first twenty years of Emperor Gaozong of Song.
"At that time, military generals such as Zong Ze and Yue Fei were in power, but the treacherous minister Qin Hui was in charge, and he was not a proponent of war."
"Let's start with Zong Ze. In the first year of the Jingkang era, when the Jin army invaded the south again, it was he who repelled them, earning him widespread acclaim in Hebei."
"He petitioned the emperor more than once for a plan to resist the Jin and recover the Central Plains, but this Wanyan Gou not only ignored it, but also sabotaged it. You truly live up to your name, Wanyan Gou!!!"
"Even when Zong Ze died, he was still shouting: Cross the river! At that time, even the Jurchens were somewhat afraid of his prestige, so what are you afraid of!"
"The same goes for Yue Fei, General Yue. From the second year of Jianyan to the eleventh year of Shaoxing, he participated in battles large and small."
"The recapture of Jiankang and Xiangyang, along with the successful northern expedition in the sixth year of Shaoxing, resulted in the capture of Shangzhou and Guozhou. Such achievements are truly remarkable."
"In the tenth year of the Shaoxing era, Wanyan Zongbi wanted to break the alliance and attack the Song Dynasty. Yue Fei immediately led his army northward, and righteous armies from all over the country responded, joining forces to attack the Jin army from both sides."
"At that time, they had only one goal, and subsequently, Yue Fei's army successively recovered Zhengzhou, Luoyang, and other places."
"The situation was initially very favorable, with successive victories making the recovery of lost territory seem imminent, but at this crucial moment, Wanyan Goufei sued for peace!!!"
"Just as Yue Fei was defeating the Jin army at Yancheng and Yingchang and advancing on Zhuxian Town, Wanyan Gou and the treacherous minister Qin Hui were determined to make peace and issued twelve imperial edicts to Yue Fei to allow him to return to the capital."
"What is most shameful is that during the peace process, Qin Hui and his accomplices framed Yue Fei with fabricated charges, which led to the deaths of Yue Fei, his eldest son Yue Yun, and his general Zhang Xian."
Xin Qiji: What a pity for General Yue Fei!
Wang Anshi: How come the later emperors were like this...
"So some people say that Wanyan Gou was lucky; for the first twenty years, he had generals like Zong Ze and Yue Fei helping him fight the Jin, even though treacherous officials were in power."
For the next twenty years, he had the help of a man as capable as Xin Qiji, who was both a scholar and a warrior, and his adopted son was very filial to him.
"If the imperial physician hadn't given him the wrong medicine, he might have lived to be over eighty, or even longer!"
Emperor Zhao Kuangyin of the Song Dynasty (spitting blood in anger): !!!
A scion of a prominent family in the Ming Dynasty: What a pity for General Yue Fei!!!
A Tang Dynasty official: A scourge lives on for a thousand years!
Cheng Yaojin of the Tang Dynasty: Is he out of his mind? The situation might have been salvaged, and he's actually asking for peace?!
Emperor Zhezong of Northern Song Dynasty, Zhao Xu: ...This son of Zhao Ji!?
A bystander in the Ming Dynasty: Like father, like son! Bah!
……
During the reign of Emperor Taizu of the Song Dynasty
Zhao Kuangyin was furious! He was panting heavily, his eyes blazing with anger; no matter how you looked at him, he was utterly enraged!
The surrounding servants knelt down, inwardly lamenting their misfortune—why did they have to run into them?
Meanwhile, Zhao Guangyi, having received the news, had already slipped away. What was he doing here? Getting beaten up by his brother!
He couldn't stand this situation!
……
Lin Ke's voice continued to ring out in the live stream.
"Let's talk about Xin Qiji formally. His original courtesy name was Tanfu, which he later changed to You'an. He and Li Qingzhao are collectively known as the 'Two Ans of Jinan.'"
"When Xin Qiji was born, the north had already been conquered by the Jin people, and his grandfather Xin Zan's clan was too large to follow the Song court south."
"He simply worked on the Jurchen territory. However, Xin Zan did not actually serve as an official under the Jurchens until the Jurchens implemented Sinicization reforms, at which point he became a county magistrate (later promoted to prefect of Kaifeng).
"Although Xin Zan bowed to reality, in his heart he was a man of the Song Dynasty in life and in death."
"Therefore, influenced by his grandfather, Xin Qiji was also a true Song Dynasty man, and he had the determination to recover the Central Plains when he was young."
"Thus, under his grandfather's tutelage, Xin Qiji became both literate and skilled in martial arts, growing into an outstanding young man!"
"Since he reached a certain age, he had to become an official, so Xin Qiji prepared for the imperial examinations. Even so, Xin Zan still encouraged Xin Qiji to take more trips."
"Visiting various geographical routes, learning about customs and habits, and taking a look at how other people store up their military supplies—this is great material for becoming an official in the future!"
Zhu Bajie of the Ming Dynasty: Pfft! This is rebellion! They call it an inspection of customs, hahaha!
A farming expert from the Tang Dynasty: His name actually sounds a lot like Huo Qubing's!
An official from the Han Dynasty said: "That's why there's a saying that the Song emperor was not like Emperor Wu of Han. It seems that the emperor at that time didn't like him!"
A minor official in the Qin Dynasty: He probably never even managed to realize this wish in his entire life!
Liu Zhuzhu (smugly): Look, it's still me! A discerning eye to recognize Zhongqing!
……
"Unfortunately, Xin Qiji failed the exam, but after traveling around, he made a group of like-minded friends. They all shared the same goal (to cause trouble!) and got along very well!"
"For example, in Xin Qiji's circle of friends, there were Zhu Xi and Lu You."
"But how to put it... there were definitely more than just a few people in the Southern Song Dynasty who wanted to recover lost territory, but the emperors above them were really incompetent, and there were treacherous officials in power. Otherwise, do you think Zhao Gou got his title of Wanyan Gou?!"
"In 1161 AD, which is the 31st year of Shaoxing, Wanyan Liang, the leader of the Jin people, prepared to launch a major invasion southward and unify Jiangnan in one fell swoop."
"Let me mention the background to this: at that time, the Jin Dynasty was beating up the Southern Song Dynasty, but the Song Dynasty was indeed rich, so they often came to the Song Dynasty to collect protection money."
"The key is that the Southern Song court still gave it to you, making you feel like a sucker, getting beaten up and then asked for money."
"In short, the Song Dynasty sounds like a unified country, but it always gives people a feeling of being weak and cowardly, and that's probably where the origin of the name comes from."
Emperor Zhao Kuangyin of the Song Dynasty (spitting blood in anger): Fine! Fine! You're all insane!!!
A bystander in the Ming Dynasty: I'm stunned! They're going to beat you up and demand protection money at the same time?!
Judy, the General Who Conquers the North: The key is that they actually gave it to me! I don't understand why they didn't stand up straight!
Zhu Bajie of the Ming Dynasty: Look how strong our Ming Dynasty is!
Emperor Zhao Zhen, the greatest benevolent ruler of all time: ?_?…
"For example, the Treaty of Shaoxing signed by the Southern Song Dynasty in 1141 (the eleventh year of Shaoxing) states that the Song Dynasty not only had to become a vassal state of the Jin Dynasty, but also had to pay the Jin Dynasty an annual tribute of 25 taels of silver and 25 bolts of silk."
"Besides that, there are other agreements, and of course, it's impossible not to pay this money."
"So with this agreement, the Song Dynasty just kept sending money. How can that not be infuriating? The key is that their military generals are all quite loyal..."
Big Liu Zhuzhu (greatly shocked): You're being so humiliated by paying money, and you don't even have a chance to stand up for yourself?!?
Emperor Qin Shi Huang (shocked and bewildered): This is it? How could it be so incompetent when there's no shortage of civil and military officials?!
Li Erfeng of the Tang Dynasty: The Northern Song Dynasty sent money before, and now that they are even weaker, they are sending money again... Oh, and even if we win, we have to return it!
Cheng Yaojin of the Tang Dynasty: The Song Dynasty truly lived up to its reputation as a weak dynasty!
……
In another timeline, Zhao Kuangyin was furious and grabbed Zhao Guangyi, giving him a good beating!
He's so angry! What kind of mess is this?!
This makes it sound like the Song Dynasty was wronged, not only having to pay compensation but also having to give away land!
Damn it, how can I beat up Zhao Gou?!
……
Back to the live broadcast room.
"Returning to 1161 AD, there was another context: the Jin dynasty had only ruled for a little over twenty years, and its Sinicization reforms weren't very deep. Yet, Wanyan Liang wanted to mobilize the entire nation to destroy the Song dynasty. He was thinking too simply!"
"Besides, the country's resources are a problem; all those logistical tasks still need to be done by people!"
"According to historical records, if there were those who were unwilling, they were forced to comply through coercion. It has been said before that such high-pressure tactics would inevitably lead to uprisings."
"And so, a young man stepped forward that year, and that man was Xin Qiji."
"At that time, he was only twenty-one years old. He recruited two thousand brothers and joined a rebel army led by Geng Jing, preparing to fight against the Jin dynasty."
"Xin Qiji and Geng Jing also realized that their uprising was still too small, so they contacted the Southern Song court, and Emperor Gaozong of Song received them."
"By the way, this Emperor Gaozong of Song was Zhao Gou. He had no shortage of capable military generals. So, if it were another emperor who advocated recovering lost territories, the restoration of the Song Dynasty would still have been very promising."
"And let's not even talk about the first twenty years. In the current situation, the Song army is winning one victory after another. Plus, there's Xin Qiji. Others may not know, but we, the later generations, know how capable he is!"
"But Zhao Gou just wouldn't launch a full-scale northern expedition; he insisted on watching the Jin army occupy your original territories!"
Emperor Zhao Kuangyin of the Song Dynasty: ...Holy crap! Wanyan Gou!! ...You scourge?! %...
A bystander in the Ming Dynasty commented: "It seems a good leader is extremely important!!!"
A spoiled young man from the Tang Dynasty: A scourge that lasts a thousand years!
A scholar-official from the Han Dynasty: That's certainly possible. The Northern Song Dynasty was only a little over a hundred years old. Even if you include Zhao Gou, it couldn't have lasted more than three hundred years!
A Qing Dynasty official: Wanyan Gou, it's not a mistake!
……