0p0 Chapter 442 Yue Fei's End
Chapter 442 Yue Fei's End
"He was filled with grief and indignation. Before his death, he wrote down the eight characters 'Heaven and Earth are clear and bright.' If he had not been forced into a desperate situation, how could Yue Fei have left these words?"
"On December 29th of that year, while the Jin people were celebrating and Zhao Gou was overjoyed, he did not care that in a corner of the Dali Temple prison, Yue Fei was brutally murdered at the age of thirty-nine."
"His body was secretly carried by the kind-hearted jailer Wei Shun, who sympathized with his plight and suppressed his grief, and brought it to the nearby Jiuqu Congci Temple outside Qiantang Gate."
"To cover his tracks, it is said that Wei Shun also tied a jade ring that Yue Fei always carried with him to Yue Fei's waist, and then filled in the soil and planted two orange trees as a marker."
Many years later, when Wei Shun was old and facing death, he told his child this secret that had been buried for decades, telling him:
If General Yue is ever able to clear his name, remember to go to the two trees beside the Nine-Bend Temple, find General Yue, and give him a proper burial.
"With the death of General Yue, his eldest son Yue Yun and Zhang Xian were also beheaded in the marketplace on the same day. Yang Yizhong supervised the execution. At that time, all the city gates of Lin'an were heavily guarded to prevent the people from causing trouble."
"In that year, Yue Yun was only twenty-three years old, while Zhang Xian's age is unknown."
"Once upon a time, these two men risked their lives on the battlefield, shedding blood and sweat. Even with several wounds on their bodies, they never retreated. Now, however, they died at the hands of the Song Dynasty, the very people they were loyal to."
Isn't this a tremendous irony?!
People in Wanchao: (*?????)……
Upon hearing this, everyone was overcome with grief. Such a young and talented general had not perished because of illness or war!
It was their own people who committed the harm!
Lin Ke continued: "At the same time, the families of Yue Fei and Zhang Xian were sentenced to exile to Lingnan and other places."
"It is said that during their exile, many kind-hearted people continued to provide them with assistance and comfort."
However, the fates of these three men did not diminish Zhao Gou's fear of Yue Fei's army; rather, they were merely the beginning of an event.
"For example, many of Yue Fei's former subordinates were also targeted by Zhao Gou. For instance, Wang Gui did not continue to serve as the military commander of Ezhou, but was replaced by Tian Shizhong, Zhang Jun's son-in-law!"
"As a result, the Yue Family Army was reduced from 100,000 to less than 70,000, or even 40,000 or 50,000, due to the entry of Tian Shizhong. And Zhang Jun's son-in-law was just like his father-in-law."
"Therefore, after such greedy and undisciplined people entered Yue Fei's army, the once disciplined army has deteriorated in quality and combat effectiveness, and it is no longer the same as it was during Yue Fei's time."
"Take Niu Gao, for example. This capable military general who had made many military achievements, still opposed the peace talks between the Song and Jin dynasties after Yue Fei was killed. So in the seventeenth year of Shaoxing, Qin Hui ordered Tian Shizhong to send him to heaven with a cup of poisoned wine."
"As for Yue Fei's staff, such as Li Ruoxu, Zhang Jiefu and others, as well as Jiang Shixiong and others who informed Yue Fei, they were also sentenced to imprisonment by Zhao Gou, that is, exile, or were severely punished, and eventually died in resentment."
"In short, apart from Yue Fei's generals, Zhao Gou carried out a major purge of those who pleaded for him or opposed the peace talks, punishing them severely, either by exile or caning, which led to their unfortunate deaths."
"What is extremely outrageous is that, just because of the character 'Yue', the Song court changed Yuezhou to Chunzhou and Yueyang Army to Huarong Army. Their various actions are too numerous to list."
"In this light, Zhao Gou truly deserves to be called a loyal minister of the Jin Dynasty and a vanguard in the destruction of the Song Dynasty. With Yue Fei dead, Han Shizhong stopped discussing military matters, and other generals from the Yue family were either exiled or poisoned by him. Are there any generals left in the court to face the Jin people?"
"It's obvious that it's gone. Zhao Gou ruined the great situation of the Song Dynasty. By the time Emperor Xiaozong ascended the throne, the military talents might not be able to achieve the strength of the tenth year of Shaoxing."
"Then Zhao Gou's Jurchen overlord must be living comfortably, and Zhao Gou can rest assured!"
Emperor Zhao Kuangyin of the Song Dynasty: Was he the emperor of the Song Dynasty or a lackey of the Jurchens?! How could he do such stupid things time and time again...?
All the emperors of the Northern Song Dynasty: This bastard, let alone being a grandson of the Zhao family... no wonder later generations called him Wanyan Gou... this is what they gave birth to for the Jurchens! I'm truly speechless.
Zhu Baba of the Ming Dynasty: Damn it! I'm so angry at Wanyan Gou!!! @Zhao Kuangyin of the Song Dynasty, you grandson are incredibly destructive!!!
Emperor Zhao Kuangyin of the Song Dynasty: ...Damn it! I'm going to beat that brat Zhao Guangyi up in a bit! He's infuriating me!
Li Jing of the Tang Dynasty: One can imagine that many years later, the court is content with its corner of the country, its military preparedness is lax, and its military talents are dwindling. It would be extremely difficult to launch a northern expedition again!
A bystander from the Ming Dynasty commented: "This is utterly speechless! He managed to squander such a winning hand; only Zhao Gou could do that!"
……
During the reign of Emperor Shenzong of the Song Dynasty
Zhao Xu's face darkened. Hearing that Zhao Gou and Qin Hui had conspired to frame Qin Hui and shamelessly harm other generals, Zhao Xu's actions were simply too numerous to recount!
"Is he stupid? To be so eager to slaughter his own generals just because of a peace treaty from the Jurchens!"
"Haven't you learned any lessons from the repeated peace talks? Who was it that chased him to the sea to escape?"
Zhao Xu's angry voice echoed in the hall.
The officials present exchanged bewildered glances, their silence a profound shock. They too were bewildered as to how the Southern Song Dynasty had managed to squander such a favorable situation.
On the one hand, it was foreseeable that twenty years later, the Southern Song Dynasty would be lax in its military preparedness, and what kind of situation would it face if the Jurchens invaded the south again?
However, fate still gave Song Dynasty a chance, sending him Xin Qiji, a man who should have made his name on the battlefield, but instead shone brightly in poetry!
Thinking of this, everyone sighed repeatedly, while Zhao Xu, still angry, frowned deeply. What were these people thinking now?!
……
Meanwhile, in the live stream room.
Lin Ke sighed again: "After the news of Yue Fei and the other two being murdered spread, the people wept bitterly."
"However, many people were unaware at the time that the peace talks between the Song and Jin dynasties had already taken a significant step forward and were even nearing their conclusion. In other words, the killing of Yue Fei and the peace talks between the Song and Jin dynasties took place around the same time."
"The real beneficiary of the Song-Jin peace talks has always been the Jin Dynasty, and this time is no exception. Therefore, we can't understand why Zhao Gou and others are begging for peace. Is it really necessary to have peace talks?"
"This peace negotiation is known as the Shaoxing Peace Treaty. We won't discuss the aspects of pledging allegiance and paying tribute; the key issue here is the territorial division between the two countries, with the Huaihai Plain to the east and the Dasanguan Pass to the west serving as the boundary."
"The Song Dynasty had to cede most of Tangzhou, Dengzhou, Shangzhou, and Qinzhou, which had been previously recovered by Yue Fei's army, including Fangshanyuan and Heshangyuan, which were recovered by the Wu brothers, Wu Jie and Wu Lin."
Right now, the Zhao family members watching on screen are thinking: (｀Δ′)! This is terrible!!
"During the reigns of Emperors Huizong and Qinzong, an agreement was signed ceding land. What was the result? The result was that the Zhao family's empire was reduced to half!"
"Now, they've pulled this stunt again. The Jurchens are raking in the profits, getting all sorts of benefits. They've got the money, and even the obstacle Yue Fei has been removed. Land without spending a penny is just awesome!"
"On the other hand, in the Song Dynasty, military generals were killed one after another, and the effects continued to this day. In addition, they had to give away a lot of money. All the land they had conquered before was wasted. They still had to lick their boots and submit to the other side!"
"Could it be that Zhao Gou's hobby was being someone else's lackey?!"
Wanyan Jiu Mei of the Great Song Dynasty: You're the one who likes being someone's underling!
Emperor Zhao Kuangyin of the Song Dynasty: ...You still have the nerve to post...you bastard...you still have the nerve to be the emperor of the Song Dynasty!!!
……