Why did the Southern Song Dynasty lose the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty? Occupied by the Jin dynasty.
In 1127 AD, after the Jin army destroyed the Northern Song Dynasty and captured the Hui and Qin emperors, the Northern Song Dynasty was declared extinct. Many believe that the Song dynasty lost the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty, Tokyo Bianliang City (present-day Kaifeng, Henan), and it was not until the end of the Jin dynasty that it was destroyed by the Mongols and the Southern Song Dynasty, and the Southern Song Dynasty briefly gained Bianliang again.
However, in fact, in the early years of the Southern Song Dynasty, the Southern Song Dynasty regained Bianliang City twice, but eventually lost it twice. So how did the Southern Song Dynasty recover Bianliang twice and eventually lose it twice during this period of history?
The history of Bianliang City, which has changed hands three times in a few months, is full of twists and turns. On February 6, 1127, Wanyan Sheng (Wanyan Wu Qimai) ordered the abolition of the thrones of Song Huizong and Song Qinzong, who had been imprisoned by the Jin army, and demoted them to the status of concubines.
Subsequently, the Jin army retreated north, taking away more than 3,000 royal families and courtiers of the Northern Song Dynasty, including Hui and Qin, and the Northern Song Dynasty was completely destroyed.
In the last years of the Northern Song Dynasty, the Jin army invaded south and tried to establish rule in the Central Plains. However, they are not confident in this, believing that it could lead to many troubles. In contrast, they are more inclined to set up puppet regimes for huge tributes.
Nevertheless, the establishment of a puppet regime was also one of the necessary means for the Jin dynasty to gain benefits. Therefore, before evacuating, the Jin army instructed the Song Dynasty** who remained in Bianjing to appoint a new monarch.
However, these ** candidates for puppet emperors were all members of the Zhao royal family of the Northern Song Dynasty, and they were all vetoed by Jin Taizong. In the end, the Jin army directly established the former Northern Song ** Zhang Bangchang, who they had controlled for some time, as emperor and established the puppet Chu regime.
So, who is Zhang Bangchang?
Zhang Bangchang, the prime minister of the late Northern Song Dynasty, was ordered to go to the Jin army camp with Zhao Gou, the king of Kang, to hold peace talks when the Jin army besieged Bianliang in 1126 AD.
After that, Zhang Bangchang stayed in the Jin army and attacked Bianliang with the army. Therefore, he was accused of being a "thief of the society". When the Jin army looked for a puppet emperor, Zhang Bangchang became the first choice.
Despite his lack of integrity, he is not a fool, and he knows that once Jin Jun leaves, he will not end well. He repeatedly refused Jin Jun's orders on the grounds of illness and crying, but eventually became a puppet emperor on the spot.
The image of Zhang Bangchang in modern literary works, when he was made the "emperor" by the Jin army, he already had a premonition that his end was coming. Therefore, his desk was not placed to the south like the emperor of the Northern Song Dynasty, but to the west, and he did not let ** bow down to him.
When he ascended the throne, he called himself "Yu", and these actions were manifestations of his deep fear and self-knowledge that he would be liquidated. After the Jin army retreated, the Song Dynasty's Qinwang troops arrived at the city of Bianliang, Zhang Bangchang was even more panicked, he announced a general amnesty, looked for Zhao Gou everywhere, and invited Song Huizong's elder brother Song Zhezong's long-deposed Empress Meng to enter the palace to listen to the government.
Finally, on April 10, he officially announced his abdication.
After Song Gaozong ascended the throne, he immediately stabilized the situation, and although Zhang Bangchang showed a strong performance on the day of his return to power, Song Gaozong still reserved a position for him as a deputy envoy. However, Zhang Bangchang was dissatisfied with the Southern Song Dynasty because of his entanglement with Li Chunyan, the concubine sent by the Jin army, and was finally given death by Song Gaozong.
Although Bianliang returned to the Song Dynasty, Zhang Bangchang's misdeeds cost the Southern Song Dynasty dearly.
In the early years of the Southern Song Dynasty, Li Gang fought against the Jin, and in the face of the threat of the Jin army, Song Gaozong's first task was to ensure the survival of the Southern Song Dynasty. After Li Gang took office, he immediately organized an anti-Jin campaign and advocated no more peace talks with the Jin Dynasty.
He activated the 69-year-old minister Zongze and appointed him to stay in Tokyo to renovate the defenses. The situation in Bianliang was very chaotic, with some Jin troops remaining on the banks of the Yellow River, and civil uprisings in the surrounding area.
Wang Shan's power was once very large, and he even wanted to occupy Bianliang. After Zong Ze arrived in Bianliang, he personally went to Wang Shan's camp and made him lead his army to the Southern Song court. The resolute resistance of Li Gang and Zong Ze laid a solid foundation for the survival and development of the Southern Song Dynasty.
Zong Ze held on to Bianliang and used this as an example to successfully recruit civilian forces and build a strong army. Although Song Gaozong Zhao Gou still lacked confidence in confronting the Jin army head-on, in July 1127 AD, the Jin army again attacked the Song on the grounds that Zhang Bangchang had been killed.
Song Gaozong followed the advice of Huang Qianshan and Wang Boyan and other courtiers and decided to move the capital to Jiangnan. However, this decision was firmly opposed by Li Gang. On 18 August, Li Gang was dismissed.
During this period, Zong Ze repeatedly asked Song Gaozong not to move south, but to return to Bianliang, the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty, and preside over the ** plan. Zong Ze said that he had been holding out in Bianliang for several months, and that the rebel armies in Hedong and Hebei were looking forward to the arrival of the Song Dynasty's official army.
Therefore, now is the best time for the Song Dynasty to regain its lost territory, and Song Gaozong should seize this opportunity. However, if Song Gaozong insisted on moving south, it might make the people of the world think that he had decided that the Central Plains could not be defended, and thus lose the support of the people, resulting in the Central Plains being completely occupied by the Jin army.
Zong Ze held on to Bianliang and repelled the famous generals of the Jin Dynasty, causing the Jin army to abandon its plan to occupy Bianliang again. Yue Fei defected to Zong Ze during this period and won a great victory in the Battle of Bishui, Zong Ze promoted him to the rank of commander, and Yue Fei became famous.
However, Song Gaozong Zhao Gou made up his mind to move south, and fled to Yangzhou despite Zong Ze's opposition. Zong Ze's health deteriorated, and he eventually died on July 12, 1128.
Zongze's Northern Expedition, cutting off support from all over the country, led to the destruction of the righteous army in many places by the Jin army, the diversion of the Yellow River made the people ** miserable, the Jin army went south to attack Bianliang, Du Chong gave up Bianliang and went south to Nanjing, Yue Fei's opposition was ineffective, Du Chong led his troops south, the Jin army captured Bianliang, and the Southern Song Dynasty lost the capital.
Du Chong had no intention of resisting after going south to Jinling, and was defeated in a row, the Jin army persuaded him to surrender successfully, Du Chong surrendered to the Jin army, and the Jin army did not fulfill its promise, but Du Chong did it in the Jin Dynasty as the right prime minister of Yanjing.
The establishment of the Southern Song Dynasty marked the end of the Northern Song Dynasty. The move of Song Gaozong to the south further confirmed the Jin dynasty's control over the territory south of the Yellow River, thus prompting the Jin dynasty to establish a puppet regime in the region.
In 1130 AD, the Jin Dynasty canonized Liu Yu, a vassal of the Southern Song Dynasty, as the "emperor" of the puppet Qi, and Bianliang once became the capital of the puppet Qi. Although the Southern Song Dynasty tried to recapture Bianliang, they were unsuccessful.
Along with the Jin army, the puppet Qi fought many times with the Southern Song Dynasty, including Yue Fei and other Southern Song generals. In 1136 AD, the Yuejia army led by Yue Fei seized tens of thousands of war horses from the puppet Qi army, which greatly enhanced the strength of the Yuejia army.
The sphere of influence controlled by the puppet Qi gradually shrank, and the battles against the Southern Song generals were mostly defeated, which became more and more a burden for the Jin dynasty, causing the Jin dynasty to lose interest in maintaining the puppet Qi regime.
In 1137 AD, the Jin generals Wanyan Chang and Wanyan Zongbi captured Bianliang, the capital of the puppet Qi, in the name of invading Jiangnan in the south, and imprisoned the puppet Qi leader Liu Yu and his son Liu Fu.
Subsequently, the Jin dynasty demoted Liu Yu to the king of Shu, and the puppet Qi regime fell with it, and the Jin dynasty began to directly rule the south bank of the Yellow River, centered on Bianliang. However, at this time, there was disagreement within Kinting about whether to continue the war with the Southern Song Dynasty, which was closely related to the fierce infighting within Kinting in the previous years.
In 1132 AD, Jin Taizong was bedridden due to a stroke, and his eldest son, Wanyan Zongpan, was likely to inherit the throne at that time. However, Wanyan Zonghan had a heavy army in his hands, and after Jin Taizong suffered a stroke, he joined forces with Jin Taizong's cousin Wanyan Zonggan to force Jin Taizong's grandson Wanyan Kang, who was only 13 years old at the time, to become the crown prince.
Three years later, Kim Taejong died, and Wan Yan succeeded him as Kim Heejong.
Wan Yanchang tried to negotiate peace with the Southern Song Dynasty, and finally reached a peace treaty, the Southern Song Dynasty called the vassals and paid tribute, the Jin Dynasty returned Henan, Shaanxi and other places, and the Southern Song Dynasty got Bianliang again.
Wanyan Zongbi (Wushu), with the support of Jin Xizong, accused Wanyan Chang and Wanyan Zongpan of attempting to rebel and seize the throne of the Jin Dynasty, and launched a surprise attack to kill them. In May of the following year, Jin Xizong tore up the peace treaty and sent Yan Zongbi to use troops against the Southern Song Dynasty again, and soon after, he took away Bianliang and other places in Henan and Shaanxi again, and the Southern Song Dynasty lost Bianliang City for the second time.
Yue Fei once attacked again in the confrontation and was only one step away from Bianliang, but Song Gaozong, provoked by Qin Hui, recalled him with twelve gold medals and killed him. From then on, the Southern Song Dynasty lost the opportunity to regain Bianliang again, and Bianliang was occupied by the Jin Dynasty and became its capital.
It was not until after the fall of the Jin Dynasty that the Southern Song Dynasty briefly reoccupied the city of Bianliang.