One Piece of Song Dynasty

Fan Zongyin, the admonishment official, first made a clear proposal to cede three towns to the Jin people to alleviate the disaster. He said: "Since the imperial court has been willing to abandon the land before and has reached an agreement with the Jin people, how can it not abandon the three towns today? If it does not abide by the agreement, it will not just provide the Jin people with a reason to send troops." Speaking of urgency, Fan Zongyin fell to the ground Weeping and weeping.

Seventy officials expressed their support for Fan Zongyin's opinion on the spot, including Geng Nanzhong and Wu Kai, who also advocated abandoning the land and negotiating peace. Only thirty-six people, including He Li, Mei Zhili, Sun Fu, Lu Haowen, Hong Cu, Qin Hui, Chen Guocai, Yu Ruli, Song Qiyu, Cao Fu, Chen Yangting, Feng Li, and Li Ruoshui, believed that the land could not be ceded. Li Ruoshui fell to the ground and cried just a few days after returning to Beijing.

What's ridiculous is that there are more than a dozen people who hold ambivalent opinions.

The reason for advocating the cession of three towns is that since the imperial court has promised to cede the three towns to the Jin people, it should fulfill its promise. If we don't give it now, it means China has broken its trust with the Jin people. It's better to give it to them temporarily. If the Jin people continue to advance aggressively, the sky will be angry and people will complain, and their troops will be unknown, but they can surrender without fighting.

The reason for opposing the cutting of three towns is that it took three generations for the country to gain access to the east of the river, which was a hard-earned achievement. Hebei is the limb of the world, and there are mausoleums there. If your limbs are gone, you will become a useless person, let alone the world. This is the world created by Taizu and Taizong, not your Majesty's world. How can we follow Shi Jingtang’s decision to cede land?

At this time, Sun Zhan, a member of Zhongshushe, presented another note and said: "I heard that a poisonous snake stung my hand, and the strong man's wrist was cut off. The Jin people took advantage of the Central Plains for a long time and were unprepared. When they came to overwhelm the country, they should be compliant and care for them. Fortunately, they had no chance. However, the ministers who robbed the stronghold acted arrogantly, provoked military disasters, and ruined the country. This can be said to be a harm to the brothers. Your Majesty must get rid of them urgently. If you do not get rid of them decisively, you will definitely suffer from internal and external troubles.

Jin's army went south, crossing Heshuo for more than miles. In the prefectures and counties it passed, no one or even a horse rose up to resist. If the imperial court uses the Yellow River as a border defense, who can control it?

Today, from the ministers and attendants to the gentlemen and officials of Jin, it's not that they don't know that the land of three towns has to be ceded to the Jin people, nor that they don't know that ceding the land of three towns can slow down the war and relieve the disaster. Just because Yuanyou made the same mistake before, no one was willing to consider the safety of the country, causing himself and his family to suffer great disasters. At the beginning, the new party took revenge on the old party. They removed their names for the crime of abandoning their land, fled to the mountains and seas, imprisoned their descendants, and refused to pardon them. This was extremely cruel. Therefore, they all kept silent and planned for themselves.

I believe that after the cession of territory, the two countries ceased their military operations, so that they can have time to reorganize their internal affairs to strengthen the country, select generals and recruit troops to consolidate national defense, and rise and fall to reverse chaos to achieve resurgence. If you regret the loss of three towns and hold the chief minister accountable, whether he is in jail or in exile, he will be as happy as a shepherd's purse and dare not resign.

I also heard that you should never choose disasters as light and blessings as heavy. Today's events are a disaster rather than a blessing. The mausoleum in Hebei and the three towns in Henan are more important, and the capital is more important. Your Majesty knows the importance of it and has no doubt about it, so you should urgently eliminate the troubles of your brothers and feet without weighing the burdens of your heart and mind. "

Finally, Song Qinzong decided to listen to the public opinions and cede territory to relieve the difficulties. Therefore, Kang Wang Zhao Gou and Wang Yun were re-sent to the north with gifts to Zongwang's army to cede territory and ask for peace.

At this time, the Jin Army on the East Hebei Road had reached Zezhou and Luzhou areas, and the Jin Army on the East Hebei Road had reached the foot of Qingyuan City.

Zong Han's troops of the West Route Army went south from Longde Mansion, aiming at Huaizhou. Shortly after occupying Pingyang, Lou Shi's troops received orders from Zong Han and also advanced rapidly towards Huaizhou.

The magistrate of Huaizhou is Huo Anguo, the direct secret pavilion of Zhongfeng Dafu. He came here to take office at the end of September last year.

Huo Anguo once served as the Yanshanfu Road transfer judge. At that time, Pharmacist Guo once threatened that he could guard Yanshan alone without having to trouble the court to arrange military commanders. At that time, in addition to Guo Yaoshi, the person in charge of Yanshan's defense was also Zhan Du. The two had conflicts due to their struggle for power. All colleagues disagreed with what Yaoshi Guo said, only Huo Anguo agreed. Huo Anguo also reported the matter to the court, but was dismissed from office because of it.

Huo Anguo knows a lot about border defense matters. After coming to Huaizhou and taking office, he said to his colleagues many times: "The Jin people will be troubled by the imperial court, and this state must be prepared."

Huo Anguo planned to build more city walls, dredge the moat, repair weapons and manufacturing equipment, and actively prepare for war. In October last year, the Transportation Department of Hejian Prefecture sent a document saying: "The Jin people will gather troops to come south, and Huaizhou must be prepared."

However, many officials disapproved of the strengthening of city defense. They said: "This state is thousands of miles away from the border. How can the Jin army get here so quickly?"

In early December last year, Tong Guan returned to Beijing from Taiyuan Prefecture. He walked in a hurry. When he arrived in Huaizhou, it was already dark, but Tong Guan ordered not to stop. Fan Na, the counselor of Jiedu, Yu Wenxuzhong, a Hanlin scholar, and Wang Yun, a member of Zhongshushe, all followed Tong Guan through Huaizhou at night. Yu Wenxuzhong is an old friend of Huo Anguo, and he once quietly told Huo Anguo to strengthen his defenses.

In February of this year, Lu Yundi signed a letter to the Privy Council and was ordered to go to Zong Han's army to cede the land of Taiyuan. He stayed in Huaizhou for several days. At that time, Zong Han ordered Yin Shuke to continue to surround Taiyuan, while he led the main force southward, and the forwards had crossed the North and South Passes. There were rumors in the society that the Jin people had learned that Lu Yundi was on an envoy, and they would not stop their march until they saw him. So thousands of people from Huaizhou came to Lu Yundi's residence and asked him to leave Huaiyang quickly to meet the Jin people. Lu Yundi then arrived in Gaoping, met Zong Han, and went north together.

When Li Gang was appointed as the Xuanfu envoy to Hedong and Hebei, he placed the Xuanfu driver in Huaizhou. Later, Li Gang was dismissed from his post, and Liu Tao, the deputy envoy of Xuanfu, was also dismissed. The work of the Xuanfu Department was represented by Zhe Yanzhi, the magistrate of Xuanfu. Later, Zheyanzhi was promoted to the deputy envoy of Xuanfu, a direct bachelor of Longtuge.

On this day, Huo Anguo learned that the Jin people were marching towards Huaizhou, so he went to see Zhe Yanzhi to seek countermeasures. Zhe Yanzhi said: "The soldiers and horses of the Xuanfu Division have been in the city for a long time and are very sleepy. In a day or two, I want to go to the foot of the Western Mountain to practice and relax a little."

The next day, Zhe Yanzhi led his troops out of the city and conducted military exercises at the foot of Taihang Mountain, twenty-five miles away from the city. This day coincided with Li Ruoshui's return from the Jin army. The two of them talked quietly together for a long time before returning to the city at night.

That night, Fan Zhongxiong, the Prime Minister of Hanoi County, Huaizhou, came to see Zheyan. Zhe Yanzhi said to him: "Today there is an imperial edict, saying that no other envoys will be sent to guard the river, and I will be in charge alone. There is disturbance in Heyang, so I go to Fuding. I heard that the people in Heyang are more confused than in Huaizhou. , I must go in person."

The next day, Zhe Yanzhi led his troops to leave Huaizhou and go to Heyang.

Fan Zhongxiong saw that Zhe Yanzhi led his troops away regardless of the safety of Huaizhou, so he went to see Huo Anguodao, the magistrate, and said, "The Jin people are about to come, but Zhe Yanzhi has left."

Huo Anguo was also very angry and said: "I will write a memorial to impeach this person. Now Huaizhou has food and armor, so it is not easy to be defeated. At that time, everyone will go to the city, divide the areas to defend separately, and fight the enemy together. "Fan Zhongxiong agreed.