Three months later, the first year of Jingkang.
Intercalary month ten, Song Eastern Capital.
This is the heartland of the Central Plains, located south of the Yellow River. Starting with Xia Yu, six kingdoms have successively established their capitals here, earning it the reputation of "Ancient Capital of Six Dynasties," with the grandeur of a tiger crouching and dragon coiling, and currently the seat of the Emperor.
Yet now, the gates of this capital are tightly shut, appearing gloomy and oppressive amidst the incessant rain.
It's all because outside the city, to the north and south, military camps stretch nearly a hundred miles, as the Jurchen Iron Cavalry threatens the Great Song Capital.
This is the second time the Jin Kingdom has laid siege to the Song Eastern Capital, Bianliang.
As early as last year, the seventh year of Song Xuanhe and the third year of Jin Tianhui, the Jin Kingdom launched a massive offensive against the Song from both the East and West.
The second Crown Prince of the Jin, Wanyan Zongwang, led the Eastern Route Army to capture Yanjing, crossed the Yellow River, advancing swiftly into the Central Plains, and first besieged Bianliang City.
Seeing the critical situation, Emperor Song Zhao Ji abdicated to the Crown Prince Zhao Heng, who then appointed Li Gang to defend the capital, barely keeping the Jin Army outside the city.
Although the capital was defended, the two Song rulers were unable to withstand the intimidation of the Jin People, repeatedly seeking peace with Wanyan Zongwang.
Wanyan Zongwang seized the opportunity to extort, demanding the Song provide five million taels of gold, fifty million taels of silver as annual tribute, and cede Zhongshan, Hejian, and Taiyuan to the Jin.
After the two rulers negotiated peace, the Jin Soldiers withdrew, and the capital of Song was relieved of the siege. However, within a few months, the Jin Kingdom tore up the treaty and launched another attack on the Song, ultimately joining forces at Bianjing in the first year of Jingkang and the fourth year of Jin Tianhui.
By now, the Eastern Capital has been besieged for a month. During this time, the Jin People attacked repeatedly, and although the Song Army had the advantage of the fortifications, they still suffered heavy casualties.
Under such circumstances, the Song Army sealed the four gates, hoping to rely on the geographical advantage to hold out, awaiting the arrival of the loyalist armies from various regions to protect the Emperor.
Meanwhile, the Jin Army surrounded the city on two sides, no longer mounting strong attacks but instead challenging daily to pressure the Song Army, intimidating the two rulers while also forging siege equipment in preparation for the final assault.
Thus, within the Eastern Capital, within the Forbidden Palace.
"Have the loyalist armies from various regions not yet arrived?"
The new ruler Zhao Heng called a court meeting, looking at the ministers below the hall with a face full of worry.
In the seventh year of Xuanhe, the Jin People first came south, besieging Bianjing. His father, the Daoist-Emperor, seeing the dire situation, abdicated to him to avoid becoming a monarch who lost the country and was reviled for eternity.
And he, thrust into the position, although he strived to repel the Jin Army outside the city, was unable to turn the tide and revitalize the country. In the end, he had to cede land and pay tribute at great cost to make the Jin People retreat.
The court was thus gravely weakened, and though it sought to recover, within a few months, the Jin People tore up the treaty and again marched south, besieging the Eastern Capital anew.
Under a second siege, a month of fierce battles, the Song Army suffered heavy casualties, and this newly appointed Emperor Song also completely lost the courage to resist, having no choice but to both pray for the loyalist armies from various regions and to again seek peace with the Jin People.
Faced with Zhao Heng's anxious inquiries, the full court of dukes below the hall remained silent, with nobody speaking.
"Speak up!"
This made Zhao Heng somewhat desperate and even neglectful of his imperial demeanor, "You, dukes, are the pillars of my Great Song. The nation is in crisis now, so why do you all remain silent?"
"This..."
The dukes below looked at each other blankly, their eyes full of helplessness.
Loyalist armies?
Where are there any loyalist armies?
Ever since the former ruler Zhao Ji ascended to the throne, appointing treacherous ministers that corrupted the court, indulging in grand constructions and Daoist practices, the state's power of the Song has declined day by day. The people, unable to bear heavy burdens, rose in rebellion, creating four major rebel kings and bandits.
Now, with the Iron Hooves of the Jin breaking the gates, the East and Western armies have invaded the Central Plains. The court's armies suffered heavy casualties and were almost completely destroyed. Local military forces were also constrained by local rebel kings and various bands of rebels and could not spare any manpower for loyalist protection.
So...
"What is to be done, what is to be done?"
Seeing everyone silent, Zhao Heng's expression grew even more fearful as he paced back and forth in the grand hall.
"Your Majesty!"
At this moment, one person stepped forward: "At this point, only through negotiation can we preserve the destiny of our Great Song."
"Negotiate?"
"Yes, negotiate!"
Hearing this, Zhao Heng's eyes lit up, and he hastily looked towards everyone: "How are the negotiations going? As long as the Jin are willing to withdraw, whether it's gold or silk, I can give it to them."
"..."
"..."
"..."
Upon hearing this, the ministers remained silent. Only one civil servant stood up with a stiff face: "Your Majesty, the Jin People do not make formal demands, instead demanding money and grain daily and even women to serve in the camp; if not agreed, they will attack."
"..."
Hearing this, Zhao Heng's face turned pale, and he slumped onto the dragon throne, not knowing how to respond.
Seeing this, the dukes also turned tense and pale. One senior minister stood forward: "Your Majesty, our army has suffered heavy casualties, and the city defenses are severely damaged, making it difficult to hold on. Though the Jin's greed knows no bounds, as a strategy of buying time, I suggest we meet their demands."
"Utterly ridiculous!"
The words had barely fallen when an old general stepped forward to rebut: "Throughout history, when did those under siege ever pay the besiegers? Such intimidation from the Jin is clearly an attempt to siphon our resources and break our capital bloodlessly. Your Majesty, you must not agree!"
"General Li, your words are mistaken. Paying the Jin is merely a strategy to protect the state and buy time. Once the loyalist armies arrive, the Jin can be repelled."
"What strategy to buy time? We are holding a solitary city, and our money and grain are already lacking. If we pay the Jin, I fear that we will be exhausted before the loyalist armies arrive, and the Jin will take the city bloodlessly and slaughter us."
"But given the current situation, if we do not make the Jin pause their military actions, I fear we won't even manage to endure until we're exhausted."
"Words that mislead the state! It would be one thing if it were just money and grain, but they even demand women. Where would these women come from? They are the wives and daughters of our city's people and our soldiers. If we hand them over to the Jin camp, how will our soldiers have the morale to fight the enemy and protect their homes and country?"