Chapter 148: Han Tuozhou Did Not Escape His Original Fate

Over the past year, the situation across East Asia has undeniably been marked by dramatic and tumultuous changes.

Heart-stopping events unfolded daily, leaving people breathless and hearts pounding; the situation surged like a storm, shifting between clear skies and dark clouds, making its true direction impossible to predict.

First, the Western Xia—a state that had stood on this land for over a century—was wiped out in a single month. Though small in territory and population, its people were tenacious and resilient, having repelled major powers on this land multiple times.

The Great Song, a dynasty with a vast population and thriving economy, had launched numerous campaigns against Western Xia, yet shockingly, they failed to achieve their goals, suffering repeated defeats instead.

In the end, the Great Song was forced to adopt what seemed a humiliating approach: paying enormous sums of gold to make Western Xia submit.

Neither the once-mighty Liao nor the unstoppable Jin, both powerful dynasties, had succeeded in destroying Western Xia. Western Xia’s tenacity and resilience had become an insurmountable barrier, leaving the Great Song, Liao, and Jin—all former overlords—helplessly powerless before it.

Yet this very state was destroyed within three months—how could anyone not be stunned?

Before they could recover from their shock, rebellion broke out within the Jin, and its capital was besieged by rebel forces.

Events unfolded too rapidly, leaving them bewildered; rebellion within the Jin was not surprising, but how had the rebels managed to surround the capital?

Of course, who besieged the Jin capital didn’t matter—what mattered was that whoever attacked the Jin, the Great Song must lend support.

The hatred of the Jingkang Humiliation ran too deep: two emperors and countless imperial princes and ministers had been dragged north, treated with no dignity, mocked to death by the Jin, their corpses even boiled down into corpse oil.

As for the women of ministers and royal clans—forget it. You Jin beasts!

This hatred had festered over time, and after Han Tuozhou seized power, he ordered constant propaganda to stir public opinion for a northern expedition; patriotic poems by poets like Lu You and Xin Qiji were brought to court.

When rebellion erupted within the Jin and its capital was besieged, the Great Song rushed to prepare for a northern campaign and threw full support behind the northern rebels.

They gave money and grain, sent troops—everything they had. But just as they launched their full-scale northern offensive, disaster struck.

As the Song army began its full-scale northern advance, a traitor emerged within Song territory: Wu Xi, Deputy Military Commissioner of Sichuan, betrayed the Song and defected to the Jin, ceding the four commanderies beyond the passes.

This enraged Han Tuozhou—he had assumed that with rebellion brewing inside the Jin and the Mongols looming as a western threat, launching an attack now would not only recover the Youyun region but deliver a crushing victory to avenge the Jingkang Humiliation. Who could have foreseen such a massive traitor within the Song ranks?

He never imagined the Song army would be driven back in retreat; after the defeat, Han Tuozhou immediately sought peace with the Jin. At that moment, the Jin—having just crushed the Song repeatedly—were defiant, demanding Han Tuozhou’s execution as a condition for peace.

But circumstances now made that impossible: rebellion raged unchecked within the Jin, and Mongol forces had already breached Guanxi and the Three Jin regions, while the capital remained under siege.

All they wanted was to repel the Song army and return north to crush the rebellion. What Han Tuozhou didn’t know was that his plea for peace not only crushed the morale of the pro-war faction at court, but also gave the surrendered and peace-oriented factions, long suppressed, the chance to strike back.

For instance, Shi Miyuan, the leading figure among the surrender faction, saw the news of Wu Xi’s defection reach Lin’an. The Song court and emperor lost all confidence in defeating the Jin or recovering the Central Plains, and Han Tuozhou’s prestige suffered a severe blow.

At this moment, Shi Miyuan’s political ambition surged instantly—he resolved to kill Han Tuozhou and take his place.

When Emperor Ningzong had chosen his empress, Han Tuozhou had opposed elevating Consort Yang (Yang Guizhi). After becoming empress, Yang bore Han a grudge. Shi Miyuan actively courted Yang Cishan, whom Empress Yang had falsely claimed as her brother, and had Yang Cishan urge her to petition Emperor Ningzong to dismiss Han Tuozhou.

Shi Miyuan also exploited his role as Assistant Tutor at the Zishantang to corrupt the sixteen-year-old heir apparent, persuading him to petition Emperor Ningzong: “Han Tuozhou has reignited war, bringing disaster to the state.” Empress Yang strongly endorsed this, but Emperor Ningzong ignored it. Clearly, securing a royal edict to dismiss Han Tuozhou was impossible.

Seeing Emperor Ningzong refused to dismiss Han Tuozhou, Shi Miyuan decided to bypass him entirely. He and Empress Yang forged a secret imperial decree. Under Shi Miyuan’s orders, Xia Zhen, Commander of the Central Army and Acting Director of the Palace Guards, ambushed Han Tuozhou as he entered court, assassinating him in a narrow wall within the Yujin Garden. Only afterward did they report it to Ningzong.

After Han Tuozhou’s assassination, military and political power fell entirely into the hands of Empress Yang and Shi Miyuan. Soon after, they executed Su Shidan.

The surrender faction fully complied with the Jin’s unreasonable demands: they severed Han Tuozhou’s and Su Shidan’s heads, sent envoy Wang Nan to deliver them to the Jin, and accepted all Jin conditions: annual tribute increased to 300,000 taels, war indemnity of 3 million taels of silver. The Jin army withdrew from occupied territories. The Southern Song once again bowed its neck to the Jin, completing the “peace agreement.”

Moreover, Shi Miyuan restored Qin Gui’s title of Prince of Shen and his posthumous name Zhongxian.

When he had seen Guo Jing read this history in the Special Forces world, the man’s killing intent had nearly solidified into substance. One thought: Shi Miyuan must be exterminated with his entire clan. Guo Jing would have been even harsher—Shi Miyuan had no students in his youth? Ha, his classmates and teachers must die too.

All surrender and peace factions must be destroyed, spirit and flesh alike. The mere thought of Qin Gui being restored to honor nearly made him faint from rage.

The course of Song history had not changed because of their arrival; indeed, Zhang Chu’an had secretly sent agents to accelerate Shi Miyuan’s seizure of power. After all, he had already received the money, grain, and craftsmen Han Tuozhou had provided.

Now it was time to fulfill his promise. If Shi Miyuan had killed his creditors, why should he interfere?

The treaty was signed by Chancellor Han. Our negotiator was Chancellor Han. The money and grain that supported us came from Chancellor Han. Yet you treacherous scoundrels murdered him—alas, what sorrow!

Rest assured, Chancellor Han, we will treat your family well. We will purge the Southern Song’s peace faction and surrender aristocrats in blood, and destroy this decaying dynasty that drove you to death.

I believe your spirit, wherever it now rests, will find great comfort in what I have done.