Chapter 148: Han Tuozhou Who Did Not Escape His Original Fate

This year, without a doubt, was filled with magnificent and turbulent changes for the entire East Asian situation.

Every day, heart-stopping stories were unfolding, leaving people breathless and their hearts racing. The situation surged like a violent storm, sometimes clear and sunny, sometimes dark with clouds, making its true direction impossible to predict.

First, Western Xia, which had stood on this land for over a hundred years, was destroyed in a single month. It must be known that although Western Xia was a small nation with few people, its people were tough and tenacious, allowing them to repel the great powers on this land many times.

Great Song, a dynasty with a huge population and a prosperous economy, had launched many expeditions against Western Xia. However, what was shocking was that they failed to achieve the expected success, suffering setbacks repeatedly and even being defeated.

In the end, Great Song was forced to adopt what seemed like a humiliating method, spending huge sums of money to make Western Xia submit as a vassal.

The once-powerful Great Liao and the unstoppable Great Jin, these two equally powerful dynasties, also failed to destroy Western Xia. Western Xia's resilience and tenacity seemed to become an insurmountable chasm for them. This made Great Song, Great Liao, and Great Jin, these three former overlords, appear so powerless when facing Western Xia.

Yet, such a nation was destroyed by someone in just three months; how could this not be shocking?

However, before they could react from the shock, a rebellion broke out within Jin Chao, and the capital was even besieged by the rebel army.

Everything happened so fast that it left them bewildered. A rebellion in Jin Chao was not strange; what was strange was how your Ducheng was besieged by the rebels.

Of course, who besieged the Jin Chao capital did not matter; what mattered was that no matter who beat up Jin Chao, Great Song must definitely help out.

The hatred from the Jingkang Humiliation was too great; two Emperors and a vast number of princes and ministers were kidnapped to the north without any courtesy, let alone, they were mocked to death by the Jin people, and their corpses were even refined into corpse oil.

As for the ministers, imperial clan members, and women, let's not mention them; Jin people, you beasts!

This hatred grew deeper and deeper with the accumulation of time. After Han Tuozhou took power, he had people constantly promote public opinion for the Northern Expedition. In an instant, articles from various patriotic poets were brought to the court, such as Lu You and Xin Qiji.

When a rebellion broke out within Jin Chao and the capital was besieged, Great Song could not wait to prepare all matters for the Northern Expedition and fully support the northern rebels.

They gave money and grain when money and grain were needed, and gave people when people were needed; it was just that something went wrong when they were preparing to launch the Northern Expedition against Jin Chao.

Just as they began the full-scale Northern Expedition, a traitor appeared within their Song nation; Wu Xi, the Vice Commissioner of Sichuan, betrayed Song and surrendered to Jin, ceding the four commanderies outside the pass.

This incident made Han Tuozhou extremely disgusted. He originally thought that with a rebellion inside Jin Chao and the Mongols, a great enemy, to the west, launching an attack now would not only recover Youyun but also achieve a great victory to wipe out the Jingkang Humiliation. Who could have expected such a huge traitor to appear within the Song army ranks?

He truly did not expect the Song army to be defeated and retreat step by step by the Jin army. After the defeat, Han Tuozhou could not wait to negotiate peace with the Jin army. At this time, the Jin army, which had repeatedly defeated the Song army, was very tough; they demanded that Han Tuozhou must be killed before they would agree to negotiate.

But the current situation did not allow it at all. Revolution was running rampant within Jin Chao, the Mongol army had now entered the Guanshan and Sanjin regions, and the capital was still besieged by rebels.

They now only wanted to push back the Song army and then return north to suppress the rebellion. What Han Tuozhou did not know was that his act of seeking peace not only cooled the hearts of the pro-war faction in the court, but the previously suppressed surrender faction and Zhuhe Sect were unwilling to let him go.

For example, Shi Miyuan, the representative of the surrender faction in the court. When the news that Wu Xi, the main commander of the Song western front supported and heavily relied upon by Han Tuozhou, had rebelled and surrendered to Jin, reached the Southern Song capital Lin'an, the Song Emperor and ministers lost confidence in defeating the Jin army and recovering the Central Plains, and Han Tuozhou's prestige was consequently severely damaged.

At this moment, Shi Miyuan's political ambition immediately expanded rapidly, and he resolved to find a way to kill Han Tuozhou and take his place.

In the past, when Song Ningzong established an Empress, Han Tuozhou did not support establishing Yang Guifei (Yang Guizhi) as Empress. After Yang Guifei was established as Empress, she bore a grudge against Han Tuozhou. Shi Miyuan actively courted Yang Cishan, who was falsely claimed as her brother by Empress Yang, and had Yang Cishan propose to Empress Yang to ask her to request Song Ningzong to dismiss Han Tuozhou.

Shi Miyuan also used his concurrent position as Assistant Instructor at Zishan Hall to bewitch the sixteen-year-old heir of Song Ningzong, submitting a memorial to Song Ningzong: "Tuozhou has once again opened the gates of war and will bring harm to the state." Empress Yang strongly supported this from the side, but Song Ningzong paid no attention. Obviously, trying to have Song Ningzong issue an edict to dismiss Han Tuozhou was impossible.

Seeing that Song Ningzong refused to dismiss Han Tuozhou, Shi Miyuan decided to bypass Song Ningzong. He and Empress Yang forged an imperial secret edict in Song Ningzong's name. Xia Zhen, the Commander of the Central Army and Acting Director of the Dianqian Si, under the orders of Shi Miyuan and others, suddenly attacked Han Tuozhou when he was ascending to court, assassinating him in the hidden wall of Yujin Garden. Only after the fact was it reported to Ningzong.

After Han Tuozhou was assassinated, all military and political power was manipulated by Empress Yang and Shi Miyuan. Subsequently, they also executed Su Shidan.

The surrender faction fully complied with Jin Chao's unreasonable demands, cutting off the heads of Han Tuozhou and Su Shidan, and sending the envoy Wang Nan to Jin Chao. They also fully accepted all conditions proposed by Jin Chao: increasing the annual tribute to three hundred thousand, and the silver for rewarding the troops (indemnity) to three million taels. The Jin army withdrew from the occupied lands. Southern Song knelt and surrendered to Jin once again, completing the "Peace Agreement."

Furthermore, Shi Miyuan restored Qin Gui's title of Prince Shen and the posthumous title of Zhongxian.

He remembered that in the Special Forces world, when he saw Guo Jing reading this history, his killing intent was almost condensed into substance. In one word, Shi Miyuan must have his ten clans exterminated. Guo Jing would only be more ruthless; Shi Miyuan had no students when young, heh, his classmates and teachers must all die.

All surrender factions and Zhuhe Sect must be destroyed from spirit to flesh. Just thinking that Qin Gui was standing up again, he almost fainted from anger.

The historical process of Great Song did not change because of the arrival of a few of them; even Zhang Chu'an secretly sent people to accelerate the process of Shi Miyuan seizing power. Anyway, the money, grain, and craftsmen Han Tuozhou supported them with were already in hand.

Next was the time for him to fulfill his own promise. At this time, Shi Miyuan killed his creditor; why should he stop it?

The treaty was signed with us by Han Chengxiang; our negotiator was Han Chengxiang; the one who supported us with money and grain was also Han Chengxiang. Yet you bunch of treacherous villains killed him. Alas, Two Huai, it is truly heartbreaking.

Rest assured, Han Chengxiang, we will definitely treat your family well. We will definitely bloodily purge the gentry of the Zhuhe Sect and the surrender faction in Southern Song, and destroy this decadent dynasty that forced you to your death.

I believe your spirit in the heavens will feel greatly comforted seeing what I have done.