One Piece of Song Dynasty

That night, Song Qinzong heard that the city was in chaos and was in a state of anarchy. He was worried that the Emperor and Empress Dowager Zheng would be attacked by defeated troops and mobs, so he sent people to bring them into the palace and arrange them in Yanfu Palace.

Since the birthday of Song Huizong on the tenth day of October, the father and son have not seen each other for more than two months. In order to prevent his father from intervening in government affairs in the name of the Supreme Emperor, Song Qinzong had blocked outside information from his father during this period. Song Huizong was also disheartened and disappointed with his son.

As early as the early autumn, Song Huizong clearly pointed out that the Jin people would definitely go and come back. He wrote a letter to advise Song Qinzong to make arrangements quickly and leave Tokyo to avoid danger. However, Song Qinzong was stubborn and refused to do so. He was self-righteous and insisted on his own way. It was not until the capital fell into the hands of the Jin that Song Qinzong woke up, cried bitterly, and regretted endlessly. Unfortunately, it was too late.

Zhang Shuye and Liu Yanqing advised Song Qinzong to leave the city and escape quickly, while He Li and Sun Fu advised Song Qinzong to make up his mind to fight the Jin people in the inner city. But Song Qinzong himself felt that both options were risky, and it was best to negotiate with the Jinren. Song Qinzong thought about what to do and still couldn't make up his mind. Difficulty making decisions at critical moments is a fatal weakness for a leader.

At the second watch in the middle of the night, Song Qinzong personally wrote a note and summoned ministers to enter the palace urgently for a meeting to discuss. After a while, only four people, Xie Kejia, the official secretary, Zhao Qi, the king of Jing, Mei Zhili, the secretary of the household department, and Qin Hui, the censor Zhongcheng, came to Funing Hall one after another.

Song Qinzong walked with them and came to Hemen Pavilion for a meeting and discussion. After a short discussion, it was decided to send the Xie Ke family and King Jing out of the city immediately to find out the true intentions of the Jin people among the Second Prince's army.

King Jing Zhao Qi was the sixth son of Song Huizong. He was twenty-two years old. Before leaving, he went to Yanfu Palace to ask for instructions from Song Huizong. Song Huizong agreed with him to go to Jinying and said: "Everything is based on the whole living creature."

Because the inner city gate was closed, the Xie Ke family and King Jing had no choice but to descend from the city, with only two people accompanying them. They first went to Nanxunmen, and then traveled to Liujia Temple in the northeastern suburbs of the city.

Soon after the Xie Ke family and King Jing left, some ministers and princes came to Funing Hall one after another, including He Li, Sun Fu, Chen Guoting, Mo Chou, Wu Kai, and King Yun Zhao Kai, etc. At this time, the sky was already dark, so Song Qinzong and his ministers came to Xiangxi Hall to discuss matters.

Sun Zhan came relatively late because his family lived in an outer city. At that time, the gates of the inner city were closed and the roads were blocked, so he walked north along the Cai River from Xigang in the south of the city and entered the city through Yiqiu Gate. Along the way, he saw the Jin army setting fire to the city walls on all sides. The flames soared into the sky and the night was reflected like day. On the way, he happened to witness with his own eyes the scene of groups of defeated soldiers and civilians rushing out of Wansheng Gate.

In order to prevent the Jin army from entering the city and massacre, He Li suggested that Song Qinzong issue an order to let the people go to Xuandemen to continue to receive weapons and prepare for street fighting. Song Qinzong agreed. He felt that although he had sent people to Jinying to understand the situation, he didn't know what the outcome would be, so he should make two preparations.

At dawn on November th, one eunuch after another was seen hurriedly leaving the palace from Donghua Gate. They were ordered to convey the imperial edict everywhere, and ordered the people in the city to rush to Xuande Gate immediately to ask for help. They rode horses and ran along the streets and alleys, shouting. The mournful voice sounded particularly desolate in the cold morning wind.

After hearing the order, the people gathered from all directions to the square in front of Xuande Gate. People crowded in front of the door, bustling and crowded, noisy and chaotic.

At dawn, Song Qinzong, accompanied by ministers such as He Li and Sun Fu, slowly climbed up to Xuande Tower. Facing the noisy and dark crowd in the square, Song Qinzong looked around at a loss. He Li, Sun Fu and other ministers were also staring with big eyes and small eyes. They were helpless and panicked.

At this time, I saw a middle-aged man in the crowd struggling to squeeze downstairs, and then walked up the stairs and came directly to Song Qinzong. Song Qinzong asked in surprise: "Who are you?"

The man replied: "I am Wang Lun. The people are noisy and I can suppress them." Song Qinzong asked him to go down quickly to suppress them.

Wang Lun said: "If I don't have an official position, how can I suppress him?" So he recommended himself and asked the emperor to grant him an official position.

Song Qinzong couldn't help but feel overjoyed when he saw that Wang Lun was very responsible and could step forward at critical moments. Song Qinzong immediately ordered people to get paper and pen, wrote the letter of appointment in his own handwriting, and appointed Wang Lun as the Minister of Civil Affairs.

Wang Lun is a descendant of Wang Xu, the younger brother of Wang Dan, the famous prime minister in the Zhenzong era of the Song Dynasty. He can also be regarded as a child of an aristocratic family. However, by Wang Lun's generation, his family fortune has declined. When Wang Lun was young, he often wandered around Tokyo and Xijing. He is chivalrous, forthright and upright, has communicative skills, has a talent for vertical and horizontal debates, and has the ambition to do something in his career. Therefore, the people in the market think highly of him, and many people are willing to follow him. However, being at the bottom of society makes it difficult to stand out. He saw that today's scene was an opportunity, so he bravely stepped forward to seize it.

Wang Lun walked down the gate. He had arranged a group of supporters in front of the gate in advance. He quietly asked these people to shout: The minister is here. When these people heard that the emperor had appointed Wang Lun as his minister, they were very excited. They shouted loudly that Wang Lun was coming and cleared the way for him.

Wang Lun walked into the crowd and, as the Minister of Civil Affairs, comforted everyone and asked them to remain calm. The emperor had something important to say. Only then did everyone stop making noise, and the scene gradually calmed down.

Emperor Qinzong of the Song Dynasty held his hand on the railing, faced the square, and said loudly to the crowd: "Now that the matter has come to an end, if the soldiers and the people want to have any plans, I will present them here and I will obey them. I will not ask any questions about the crime of losing the defense. I still order the people to ask for help from the soldiers." Go ahead with the utensils and wait, and protect the old and the young."

Song Qinzong was a little excited and nervous when he spoke. He didn't even notice when the hat on his head fell downstairs.

The people talked a lot and asked many questions to Song Qinzong. At this time, he no longer cared about the etiquette of the emperor and his ministers. The questions and answers between Song Qinzong and the people were all addressed to you and me.

What the people were most worried about was that once the emperor left the city and left, the Jin people would enter the city and massacre him. Someone was crying under the gatehouse and said: "If your Majesty leaves the city, all life will be ruined." When the people heard this, they all burst into tears.

Emperor Qinzong of the Song Dynasty also cried like rain. He declared loudly: "I regard the ancestral temple as the most important thing, how dare I leave this place?"

He Li and Sun Fu felt that what the emperor had said was enough, so they ordered that all the swords, guns, bows and crossbows stored in the armory be transported and distributed to the people.

Regarding the appointment of Wang Lun as the Minister of Civil Affairs, He Li felt that it was somewhat irregular. Wang Lun was a commoner and had not made any great achievements. It was inappropriate to promote him to the position of minister all at once because he was promoted too quickly. He forced Song Qinzong to withdraw the imperial edict and appointed Wang Lun as Xiuzhilang instead.

Wang Lun later became a famous diplomat in the Southern Song Dynasty, specializing in dealing with the Jin people.