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Chapter 155 Yang Zaixing and Wen Tianxiang

Jin Wushu killed the Jin ministers who advocated peace and launched a massive invasion to the south. Zhao Gou quickly asked Yue Fei to save the situation. Yue Fei led his army to the north, conquering cities and strongholds along the way, winning great victories and penetrating deep into the hinterland of Henan, just a stone's throw away from Kaifeng.

However, Qin Hui seized on Zhao Gou's suspicion and asked the emperor to summon Yue Fei back to the court. He issued 12 golden medals in a row, forcing Yue Fei to return to the court, and stripped the generals of their military power and negotiated peace with the Jin Kingdom again. One of the conditions for the peace talks was to kill Yue Fei.

In 1141, the famous general Yue Fei was unjustly killed, and the Jin Kingdom signed the Second Shaoxing Peace Agreement with the Southern Song Dynasty. The content of this agreement was even more humiliating than the previous one, not only ceding a large area of ​​territory, but also requiring descendants to remain loyal to the Jin Dynasty for generations.

However, Zhao Gou and Qin Hui were not ashamed of it, but proud of it. Zhao Gou compared himself to Emperor Guangwu of Han, Liu Xiu, who revived the Song Dynasty, and compared Qin Hui to Yi Yin, Duke of Zhou.

The emperor and his ministers colluded with each other, whitewashed the situation, implemented high-handed rule in politics, launched literary inquisitions, and imposed heavy taxes on people's livelihood. The people were living in misery, and the ministers dared to be angry but not to speak out.

In October 1155, Qin Hui was seriously ill. Before his death, he asked Zhao Gou to let his son Qin Hui inherit the position of prime minister. However, Zhao Gou, who was suspicious by nature, issued an edict to expel Qin's descendants from the court.

Qin Hui died at the age of 66. Zhao Gou posthumously conferred the title of King Shen on Qin Hui and praised him in the imperial edict for his contribution to the restoration of the country. However, Qin Hui's bad reputation was so notorious that even Zhao Gou's whitewashing could not overcome the people's support.

In 1206, the powerful prime minister Han Tuozhou changed Qin Hui's posthumous title to "Miao Chou" to build momentum for the Northern Expedition and posthumously conferred the title of Yue Fei as the King of E. However, as the Northern Expedition failed, Shi Miyuan launched a coup and killed Han Tuozhou, and changed Qin Hui's posthumous title to "Miao Chou".

The Southern Song Dynasty remained unchanged, and later historians listed Qin Hui in the biography of treacherous ministers. When the Yue Temple was rebuilt, the kneeling statues of Qin Hui and his wife were placed in front of Yue Fei's tomb, and were cursed by the world.

[One of the prototypes of Yang Jiajiang, a famous general in the Song Dynasty who killed a general with a hundred men - Yang Zaixing. Historical Song Dynasty]

He was the most valiant general under Yue Fei, a man of extraordinary martial arts prowess, and one of the four recorded slayers of a hundred men in history.

He once fought a bloody battle with 300 Jin troops with only 12 cavalrymen, but only a few hundred of them managed to escape unscathed. In this video, let us take a look at the life of Yang Zaixing, a famous general who fought against the Jin army.

After the Jingkang Incident, most of the northern territory fell into the hands of the Jin people, and countless people began to leave their homes and flee to the south to avoid the chaos.

The original ruling order of the Song Dynasty suffered a heavy blow. In the chaotic times, many people took the opportunity to rebel against the court and establish themselves as kings. Officials of the Southern Song Dynasty called them bandits or robbers. Yang Zaixing, the protagonist of Benxi, was one of these bandits. It is said that Yang Zaixing and Yue Fei were from the same hometown. At the age of 31, Yang Zaixing followed Cao Cheng and gathered more than 10 people to occupy Daozhou and Hezhou.

Cao Cheng led his men to roam around Hunan, making a living by robbing and pillaging, which posed a great threat to the rule of the Southern Song Dynasty. The court repeatedly asked Cao Cheng to surrender, but Cao Cheng always refused to obey the order, so the emperor had to send Yue Fei to lead troops to attack Cao Cheng.

After receiving the imperial edict, Yue Fei immediately led his troops to Hunan. Along the way, he maintained strict military discipline and was deeply loved by the local people. Yue Fei pursued Cao Cheng all the way and fought a decisive battle in Hezhou. Han Shunfu, the fifth general under Yue Fei, won the championship and entered the battle. He thought he had already won the victory, but he was ambushed by Yang Zaixing and was beheaded in public.

The generals were leaderless and had to retreat from Moye Pass. Facing the absolute advantage of Yue Fei's army, Yang Zaixing still fought hard and killed Yue Fei's brother Yue Fan. However, Yang Zaixing alone could not reverse the defeat. Cao Cheng was repeatedly defeated under the pursuit of Yue Fei's army and finally had to flee everywhere, while Yang Zaixing was caught up by Yue Fei's army and forced into a desperate situation, and took the initiative to surrender to Yue Fei.

When Yue Fei saw that Yang Zaixing had an extraordinary appearance and was brave in battle, he took him in as his general and said to him: "I will not kill you, but you must repay the country with loyalty and righteousness." Yang Zaixing was very moved and from then on became a member of Yue Family Army, following Yue Fei to fight against the Jin army and repeatedly made military exploits.

At the age of 36, Yue Fei stationed his troops in Xiangyang, preparing for the Northern Expedition to the Central Plains. Yang Zaixing was sent to recover a small city in Luoyang, the Western Capital, which was controlled by the puppet regime of Qi supported by the Jin Kingdom. Facing thousands of enemy troops, Yang Zaixing divided his troops and fought, killing more than 500 people and causing the enemy to flee in defeat.

On the second day, they defeated another 2000 enemy troops, recovered Changshui County, and obtained 2 shi of grain and grass. Later, in the early prosperous period of the Tang Dynasty, they recovered the dangerous areas of Luoyang and obtained thousands of war horses. They distributed all the grain and grass they obtained to the local people, causing the anti-Jin righteous army in the Central Plains to respond to Yue's army.

In the end, the Jin Dynasty and the Southern Song Dynasty signed the first Shaoxing Peace Agreement. The Jin Dynasty recognized that the Southern Song Dynasty owned Henan. At the same time, the Southern Song Dynasty needed to pay 50 tributes to the Jin Dynasty every year.

When Yang Zaixing was 40 years old, a coup d'état took place in the Jin Dynasty. After killing the ministers who advocated peace, Jin Wushu tore up the agreement and invaded the Southern Song Dynasty. He quickly captured Henan and was on the verge of Shunchang. The emperor of the Southern Song Dynasty quickly asked Yue Fei for help and asked him to march north to the Central Plains again to recover the lost territory. Yue's army captured cities and strongholds all the way, penetrated into the hinterland of Henan, and defeated Jin Wushu's army in Yancheng.

Jin Wushu was furious and gathered his best troops to attack Yingchang. Yang Zaixing rode into the enemy's camp alone, captured the Jin general alive, killed hundreds of enemies single-handedly, and was severely injured. He broke through the siege with dozens of wounds. Although he failed to find Jin Wushu, he dealt a heavy blow to the Jin army.

After this great defeat, Jin Wushu became even more angry and assembled an army of 12 to prepare for revenge on Yue Fei's army. Yue Fei sent Yang Zaixing to investigate, but he unexpectedly encountered the Jin army at Xiaoshang Bridge.

Yang Zaixing led 300 cavalrymen to fight to the end, killing 2000 enemies. However, due to being surrounded, Yang Zaixing was eventually shot to death by arrows, with more than two liters of arrowheads in his body. Because Yang Zaixing worked for Cao Cheng before surrendering to the Song Dynasty, the Song Dynasty officials did not have a good impression of Yang Zaixing.

In addition, Yue Fei died unjustly later, and there was no posthumous honor for Yang Zaixing, and no one erected a monument or wrote a biography for him. This is also one of the reasons why the records about Yang Zaixing are vague.

In later historical novels, Yang Zaixing became a descendant of the Yang Family Generals. He mastered the art of shooting, became sworn brothers with Yue Fei, and followed Yue Fei in fighting against the Jin army. His bravery and loyalty left a legend that will be passed down through the ages.

——"Yue Fei is so awesome that he can keep his younger brother alive even after killing him."

——"Yang Zaixing is almost the ceiling of a fierce general."

——"This is really amazing. There are only a few people who can defeat ten thousand enemies. It's a pity. If it wasn't in the Song Dynasty, it would definitely shine."

[How much integrity did the ancient literati have? Let's read the most integrity-oriented top scholar in one breath - Wen Tianxiang's historical poems in the Song Dynasty]

"Since ancient times, everyone has to die. But I will leave my loyalty to shine in history." He was an unparalleled patriot who possessed both the spirit of the Han Dynasty and the bloodiness of the Tang Dynasty. With his steadfast national integrity, he shouldered the heavy responsibility of saving the country and the people.

Although he shed his last drop of blood for the Song Dynasty, he could not change the fate of the country's destruction with 100,000 corpses floating on the sea. In this video, let us understand Wen Tianxiang's life in chronological order.

Wen Tianxiang's real name was Wen Yunsun, and he later changed his name to Tianxiang. He was born in JA City, JX Province. When Wen Tianxiang was born, the Jin Dynasty was destroyed, the Mongols moved south, and the Southern Song Dynasty was in internal and external troubles.

At this time, the Song Dynasty was already in decline and was about to fall. In this last period of the Southern Song Dynasty, where should Wen Tianxiang go?

Wen Tianxiang's father had never been an official, and his family was not wealthy. However, his father was very concerned about the education of his children, and specially invited local scholars to teach his sons.

At the age of 20, Wen Tianxiang went to study at Bailuzhou Academy, one of the four major academies in Jiangxi. Although Bailuzhou Academy has beautiful scenery, the living conditions are not very good and the students' residences are very crowded. In order to find a quiet place to study, Wen Tianxiang often hid in Fengyue Tower to study late at night.

A year later, Wen Tianxiang and his brother took the imperial examination in JX Province. Facing the palace examination presided over by the emperor himself, Wen Tianxiang wrote a nearly ten-thousand-word policy essay on the theme of "Follow the Continuous Principle of Heaven and Earth".

After reading it, Song Lizong was very happy and appointed Wen Tianxiang as the top scholar on the spot. It was also at this time that Wen Tianxiang changed his name from Yunsun to Tianxiang. At this time, there were still 20 years before the fall of the Southern Song Dynasty.

Wen Tianxiang was tall and handsome, and he won the first place in the imperial examination at the young age, which should have been a great joy. However, a piece of bad news forced Wen Tianxiang to return home to mourn - his father died of illness.

According to the system at that time, Wen Tianxiang had to return to his hometown to mourn for 27 months. When he returned to officialdom, the Southern Song Dynasty court had become exhausted.

At the age of 24, Wen Tianxiang was sent to Ninghai, Zhejiang Province to serve as an official after the mourning period was over. But before he could take up his post, news came that the Mongolian army had broken through the Yangtze River defense line and surrounded Ezhou.

Soon after, the Mongolian cavalry entered Jiangxi, and the whole court was in a panic. The eunuch Dong Songchen advised Song Lizong to move the capital, but Wen Tianxiang wrote a letter to oppose the move and listed Dong Songchen's many crimes.

Song Lizong did not move the capital despite opposition from his ministers, but he still trusted Dong Songchen. Wen Tianxiang was disheartened and asked to resign and return home. But within three months, the court sent him back to Nanchang to be an official.

Wen Tianxiang knew that he would not be able to achieve anything in Nanchang, so he applied to the court for an official position in charge of morality. Thus, he cultivated his character and stayed away from the struggles in the officialdom.

Only two years later, Song Lizong issued an edict to summon Wen Tianxiang back to Beijing to take up a post. At this time, the eunuch Dong Songchen had been driven out of Lin'an, and the government was controlled by Prime Minister Jia Sidao. Although Song Lizong was not involved in government affairs at this time, he still admired Wen Tianxiang's talent and appointed him to an official position.

Soon after, Song Lizong suddenly missed Dong Songchen and wanted to recall him to Lin'an. Wen Tianxiang wrote a letter to oppose it, saying that Dong Songchen had misled the country and the people. However, Song Lizong ignored him.

Wen Tianxiang was extremely disappointed and was ready to pack up and go home, but he was sent by Jia Sidao to Ruizhou, Jiangxi Province to serve as an official. At that time, Ruizhou had been devastated by the Mongolian cavalry. After Wen Tianxiang took office, he rectified public security and rested the city, which gradually restored its vitality.

However, a great change will once again change Wen Tianxiang's fate, and also change the fate of the Song Dynasty. The Song Dynasty, which had been established for 300 years, was about to go to its final demise. In 1265 AD, Song Lizong, who had reigned for 40 years, passed away, and the crown prince Zhao Xie ascended the throne and became Song Duzong.

This Zhao Yu was the nephew of Emperor Lizong of Song, who was born mentally retarded. Emperor Lizong of Song was a distant relative of the royal family, so he did not want to find another distant relative to be the crown prince, so he made his mentally retarded nephew the crown prince. But how could a mentally retarded emperor rule the country?

After Song Duzong ascended the throne, he enjoyed himself with his concubines in the harem every day, and the government was controlled by the powerful prime minister Jia Sidao. The 30-year-old Wen Tianxiang was framed by a villain and dismissed from office and returned to his hometown, intending to rest and recuperate in his hometown. At this time, the Mongolian army was approaching step by step, and the Southern Song Dynasty was already shaky.

Recommended by his teacher, Wen Tianxiang once again entered Lin'an as an official, but was repeatedly demoted. However, the 38-year-old Wen Tianxiang had already grown white hair, and the Southern Song court had been messed up by Jia Sidao.

When he was 40 years old, the Yuan army occupied Ezhou, marched south along the Yangtze River, and headed straight for Lin'an, shocking the court and the public. Wen Tianxiang called on the righteous army to come to the king. Although he was just a scholar and had no knowledge of military affairs, under his call, Jiangxi heroes responded one after another and soon formed a team of more than people. But when Wen Tianxiang arrived in Lin'an with this army, he was not reused, but was left aside.

When the Mongolian army massacred the people of Changzhou, the court hurriedly ordered Wen Tianxiang to return to Lin'an. The next year, the Mongolian army came 30 miles outside Lin'an, and the Empress Dowager decided to open the city and surrender.

In order to preserve the legal system of the Zhao Song Dynasty, she secretly arranged for ministers to escort the two little princes to escape from Lin'an, promoted Wen Tianxiang to the position of right prime minister, and sent him to the Yuan army camp to negotiate peace.

Unexpectedly, he was detained in the military camp because of his strong argument with the general of the Yuan army. After several twists and turns, Wen Tianxiang finally escaped from the Yuan army camp and found the exiled court, but he was ostracized again.

At the age of 43, Wen Tianxiang was captured by the Yuan army because of his subordinates' rebellion. The Yuan army had long heard of Wen Tianxiang's name and treated him with courtesy. Wen Tianxiang was forced to write the poem "Crossing the Lingding Ocean" to express his ambition: "Since ancient times, everyone has to die, but I will leave my loyalty to shine in history."

The Yuan army wanted to recruit Wen Tianxiang for their own use, but during his three years in prison, Wen Tianxiang was unwilling to serve the Yuan Dynasty and wrote "Song of Righteousness" to express his national integrity and patriotism. Seeing that he was unwilling to surrender, the Yuan army beheaded him in Dadu when he was 47 years old.

——"A scholar who is admired by his enemies is a true scholar."

——"Many of the literati in the Song Dynasty were not lacking in character, what a pity."

——"You are wrong. It is because many literati in the Song Dynasty lack character that they become like that. The reason why you think they are not lacking is because only dishes that are not lacking are famous."

——"I feel scared at Huangfeng Beach and feel lonely in Lingding Ocean."

——"This is a true national hero."

——"Wencheng Township perfectly interprets the perfect personality of the Chinese nation, the integrity that cannot be corrupted by wealth and honor, cannot be moved by poverty and humbleness, and cannot be bent by might and power. He used his life to draw an imperfect but tragic sentence for the entire Southern Song Dynasty."

——"There is also Lu Xiufu, and those 100,000 soldiers and civilians. Without them, Dasong really doesn't deserve to be remembered."