One Piece of Song Dynasty

Choosing to negotiate peace with the Jin people meant that the court had to pay a heavy property price. Song Qinzong knew this very well, and he decided to take the lead in saving food and clothing. He issued an edict stating that due to the invasion of the Jin people, starting from the eleventh day of the first lunar month, he would "avoid the main palace and reduce daily meals."

On the tenth day of the lunar month, Shen Guan had no chance to enter the palace to see the emperor, so he went to see Li Gang and said to Li Gang: "The enemy's cavalry does not exceed , and those who can fight are only more than . The prince's camp has less than , and Medicine Master Guo always wins." The army has about cavalry, and the troops in the various camps are only more than . Only half of them have crossed the river and can be attacked."

Li Gang said: "We will discuss it with everyone." Then he left Shen Guan in the curtain.

The next day, Li Gang and Shen Guan entered the palace together and waited to be led to the back hall to see the emperor. After waiting for a while, seeing that the chamberlain hadn't come yet, they went to the Privy Council of the East Mansion together. When Shen Guan saw that Geng Nanzhong, Li Zhe and others were also here, he told them what Li Gang had said again.

Li Zhe heard this and said sternly: "The wise man dares to say that if the Jin people are not strong, if they fight with each other, will they be able to decide the outcome?"

Li Gang looked down upon Li Zhe's timidity and said, "You don't have to be so afraid of this golden man."

Shen Guan said with some excitement: "Guan abandoned his home and returned to Tunnan. The purpose is to report to the emperor and let the court know that there are not many Jin people who can attack you. As for the outcome of the battle, Guan does not dare to know."

After a while, Li Bangyan and other ministers came over, and Shen Guan said to them: "The battle under the city, the safety of the country, must not be taken lightly. But when the Jin soldiers return, they will be supported by heavy troops. It will be necessary." A winning strategy." Everyone was silent after hearing this.

The Jin people requested that the emperor's younger brother, King Yun, be sent to the military camp as a hostage, which put Song Qinzong in a dilemma. Because King Yun Zhao Kai was not in the capital, he left the city and went south to seek refuge. At that time, most of the emperor's brothers and sisters of Song Qinzong left the capital on the third day of the first lunar month and fled individually. For some reason, King Su and King Kang stayed in the capital. King Su Zhaoshu was the fifth brother of Qinzong of Song Dynasty, and King Kang Zhaogou was the ninth brother of Qinzong of Song Dynasty.

There is definitely a certain risk in being a hostage in Jinying. I wonder if the two emperor brothers are willing to take the risk. Song Qinzong is not sure about this, and is even a little confused. After retiring from the court on the tenth day of the first lunar month, he sat alone in the Yanhe Hall and pondered over and over again. He didn't know how to persuade the two imperial brothers to solve the country's difficulties and relieve the country's worries.

At this time, Kang Wang Zhao Gou came into the palace to see him. Song Qinzong thought that the emperor's brother had arrived just in time, so he briefly explained to him the Jin people's request for the prince to be a hostage and asked for his opinion. Unexpectedly, Zhao Gou resolutely asked to go. He expressed his position: "The Jin people will definitely want to use the prince as a hostage for the sake of the clan's grand plan, so why should they refuse?"

Song Qinzong felt that his ninth brother was responsible and courageous, and he was very happy. He immediately appointed his ninth brother as the military counselor, and ordered Zhang Bangchang and Gao Shi to do the same. Song Qinzong asked his ninth brother to go to the Prime Minister's Cabinet immediately outside the palace to meet with the Prime Minister and explain the situation to them.

The ministers admired Kang Wang Zhao Gou for taking the initiative to ask Ying to go to Jinying as a hostage. They originally thought that King Yun was not in the capital, and that King Su and King Kang were not necessarily willing to take risks. They had not yet come up with a good solution on how to deal with the Jin people's demands. They all breathed a sigh of relief now that there was no need to worry.

Li Zhe comforted him and said, "Dajin was afraid that the Southern Dynasty would break his promise, so he wanted to send the prince to the Yellow River, but there was no one else."

Zhao Gou said solemnly: "The country is in urgent need, and there is no way to avoid death."

After hearing this, all the ministers in charge were horrified. Especially the forty-seven-year-old young master Zhang Bangchang. The emperor named him and asked him to go with King Kang to Jinying as a pledge. He felt a little scared and uneasy.

The next day, the governors all came to the Chongzheng Hall for a meeting. Li Bangyan focused on reporting to Song Qinzong on the preparation of the property required for the peace negotiation, as well as the drafting of documents for the cession of the three towns. Li Gang did not agree to accept all the Jin people's peace terms, let alone cede the three towns. He said: "You can have the honorific title and the official status you want, and there is no big harm. But the gold coins to reward the master are too many, even if you try your best The world is not enough, so the capital city should consider it. Taiyuan, Hejian, and Zhongshan are the country's barriers. They are called three towns. In fact, there are more than ten counties and lands. Tangluo is full of dangers. How can we establish a country by cutting them off? Moreover, Baosai is where the tombs of Yizu, Shunzu and Xizu are located. As for the descendants and others, as for sending hostages, the prime minister should go there, but the prince should not go.

The plan for today is not to choose to have envoys go back and forth with the Jin people to discuss with them and tell them what is possible and what is not. The number of gold coins was calculated and reported one after another. After a few days' delay, King Qin's soldiers gathered from all directions. The Jin people entered a strong area with an isolated army and could not stay for a long time. Although they were not satisfied with their gains, they must return quickly. Then he made an alliance with him and guarded him out of the country with heavy troops. In this way, they will not dare to look down upon China, and their peace will be long-lasting. "

None of the ministers agreed with Li Gang's views.

Li Bangyan, Zhang Bangchang and others said one after another: "The capital is in ruins, the liver and brain are about to be wiped out, how can there be three towns and the number of gold coins is not enough to compare."

Qinzong of Song Dynasty was "confused by the discussion of the crowd and remained silent without a master."

Li Gang argued with the governors alone for more than two hours, but no one stood up to speak for Li Gang. Li Gang felt very isolated. He "cannot prevail over others", so he bowed again and asked to resign.

Li Gang paid his respects and said, "Your Majesty promoted me from a common official to participate in major affairs for only a few days. The reason why I accepted it without saying goodbye is because I thought that just for discussion, I could make up one ten thousandth. Now that I have objections to the prime minister, I can't make up for it. I would like to return the favor to the common officials, so that I can be at peace with my stupidity."

When Emperor Qinzong of the Song Dynasty saw that Li Gang was about to resign, he quickly comforted him and said: "It doesn't have to be like this. You should go out to manage the army and strengthen the city defense to prevent the Jin people from attacking the city again. This matter can be discussed later."

Li Gang was ordered to leave the Chongzheng Palace to inspect the city defense. After walking out of the palace gate, he felt that he should remind the emperor again, so he returned to the palace and said to Song Qinzong: "The Jin people negotiated for peace, and the prime minister wanted to give him everything. This is just a temporary misfortune. I don’t know who will be punished in the future. I will punish you more for your majesty’s wish. I may regret nothing.”

Li Gang walked out of the palace and inspected the northern city wall area for a while. He returned to Chongzheng Hall, hoping to continue his struggle. However, the imperial meeting has ended, "the oath has been fulfilled, and everything requested has been granted." Li Gang sighed, helpless. Suddenly, he found that the edict to cede the three towns had not been issued yet, so he forcibly detained it and refused to issue it, and warned the scribes: "Anyone who cedes the three towns will be killed."

Li Gang thought that he would wait until the troops of King Qin from all directions gathered at the city before making further plans.

Song Qinzong was quite pleased that his ninth brother agreed to go to Jinying as a hostage. However, Song Qinzong felt very troubled when he thought that the Jin people demanded such a large amount of gold and silver and the treasury was unable to pay. After much deliberation, he found no other way. Only by mobilizing efforts from both inside and outside the palace, from top to bottom of the court, as well as officials and the people, could he overcome the difficulties. lv