Tang Zhe felt that he was the most unfortunate time traveler in history. Others would travel to the Ming Dynasty to become princes, emperors, or prime ministers. At the very least, they could go to the Chongzhen era, turn the tables, and crush the Jurchens in no time.

However, he transmigrated into the body of Zhao Huan, the good-for-nothing who cried all night when he heard he was going to become emperor.

Everyone was racking their brains to rise to the throne, but he burst into tears as soon as he heard that he was going to become emperor.

Even more tragically, this man only reigned as emperor for one year and two months before being captured by the Jurchens in the north, leading to the fall of the Northern Song Dynasty and the decline of the Central Plains.

This refers to the Jingkang Incident, a humiliating event in Chinese history.

For the next few decades, this guy lived a very miserable life in the north, and eventually, it is said, he fell off his horse and was trampled to death.

This means that in one year and two months, Tang Zhe will be captured by the Jurchens, and the entire Northern Song imperial family will be dragged to the cold and harsh lands of the north like cattle and horses, and their women will be raped again and again.

China has a history of five thousand years, with dynasties rising and falling, each with its own characteristics. But if we were to say which Han dynasty was the weakest and most useless, it would be the Song Dynasty.

During the Song Dynasty, ceding territory and paying indemnities was commonplace.

It couldn't compare to the vigor of the Han Dynasty or the strength of the Tang Dynasty. Even compared to the later Ming Dynasty, it was far weaker. At least the Ming Dynasty had the tradition of the emperor guarding the country's borders, refusing to cede territory or pay indemnities.

Throughout the Song Dynasty, apart from Emperor Taizu Zhao Kuangyin who possessed some great talent, the other emperors were all cowardly and weak.

So, after his cheap father made a mess of the entire Song Dynasty, he heard that the Jin invaders were coming. He was so scared that he wet himself, abandoned the throne, and quickly abdicated, running as far away as possible.

When Zhao Huan saw that the throne had fallen into his lap, he felt as if a tragedy had befallen him, and he fainted from crying in the toilet.

However, after just one night, the haggard new emperor no longer had Zhao Huan in his mind, but Tang Zhe.

Tang Zhe is a junior employee in a company, the kind of employee who is full of enthusiasm but turns into a mess every day.

Getting back to the point, now that we're here, we need to figure out how to survive, right?

In fact, apart from the fact that the Song Dynasty was a bit bloated with bureaucracy, military, and military officers, had a somewhat frivolous officialdom, a timid royal family, and strong foreign enemies, it still had its advantages. For example, the economy was very developed, and no matter the structure, the court could still collect taxes.

At least he wasn't like Emperor Chongzhen, whose treasury was empty and who couldn't borrow money, ultimately leading him to hang himself.

However, by the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, the social structure had become distorted. Civil servants had seized more than 85% of the land. Civil servants accounted for only 3% of the total population, yet they occupied more than 85% of the land. This meant that many people at the bottom of society were forced to become serfs.

This alone is like a long-accumulated explosive, which could blow this seemingly prosperous empire apart at any moment.

The emperor first sorted things out, and according to some books in later generations, Chinese history is actually a game between imperial power and bureaucracy.

To put it simply, the world belongs to the emperor, and the world has people. The people are the emperor's people. The emperor cannot govern alone, so he hires many outsiders to govern.

These outsiders were the civil and military officials, headed by the prime minister and the grand commander.

It's the same principle as bosses and managers in companies in later generations. The boss registers the company himself and pays for the venue himself, but if he needs to develop the business and expand his territory, he needs people.

The prime minister is like the president or chief operating officer of a company, responsible for the overall operation and management of the company; the grand marshal is like the marketing director, responsible for expanding territory; and the judicial department is more like the human resources department, evaluating talent.

However, the biggest characteristic of this bureaucratic group is that they like to exploit the people behind the emperor's back, just like some company presidents who make money behind the chairman's back.

While some chairmen turn a blind eye to the money laundering, after all, too much purity leaves no room for fish, some only care about making money and do no work.

If the chairman is capable, he can keep the bureaucrats who exploit the people in check, or appoint wise officials. But if he encounters a useless chairman, the company will be finished in no time.

Take this bastard in front of you, Li Bangyan, the famous "prodigal prime minister" of the Song Dynasty, for example. He was promoted by the famous brain-dead artist Emperor Huizong of Song.

If Emperor Huizong of Song were alive in later generations, he would have been a moderately successful artist. But he was born into the royal family and caused immense suffering to the people of the country. The treacherous officials of the late Northern Song Dynasty did not appear one by one, but in groups. There was no treachery they were incapable of, only the treacherousness you can't imagine.

"Your Majesty, please take care of your health!"

When Li Bangyan's voice came, Zhao Huan felt nauseous.

This guy can be considered one of the main culprits who brought about the downfall of the Song Dynasty.

One year and two months later, I was kidnapped by those barbarians, my wife was going to be killed, my sister was going to be killed, my life was over, what was the point of taking care of my sacred body?

Tang Zhe, or rather, Zhao Huan, asked in a gentle voice, "What business does Prime Minister Li have with me... or with me, the Emperor?"

Li Bangyan immediately adopted a righteous and awe-inspiring demeanor and shouted, "Your Majesty, the Jin Kingdom is currently invading. I implore Your Majesty to immediately send envoys to sue for peace, so as to prevent our land from being shattered and our nation from being shrouded in darkness."

As expected of a sycophantic surrenderist, Li Bangyan's words are so blatant; he's selling out his country while still managing to find a sense of honor.

"Lord Li, who do you think would be the best choice for the peace envoy?"

Upon hearing the emperor's words, which seemed to indicate that he had agreed to the peace talks, Li Bangyan was overjoyed. Sure enough, the new emperor was easily swayed, just as he had been when he was the crown prince. It seemed that the peace talks were settled.

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