Winter in Liaodong comes early, but dawn comes late.

Before dawn, the ministers of the Jin Kingdom, as usual, walked one after another towards the palace.

This was a customary practice during the early morning court sessions, something the Liao people had adopted from the Han Chinese.

Han Chinese officials, led by Shi Ling'ai and Han Qixian, gathered early at the palace gate.

It wasn't until Wanyan Sheng sent someone to summon them that the officials filed in.

As soon as the ministers entered the palace, the palace gates were suddenly locked.

This is usually the routine, but locking the door today was a bit brutal.

The ministers immediately realized something was wrong.

But it was too late; shouts of killing echoed from the empty streets outside.

Wanyan Zongwang, who had been absent from court for the past few days due to illness, suddenly recovered. Not only that, he also put on armor, led his troops, and came to the palace gate.

Not only Wanyan Zongwang, but also Wanyan Wushu came, bringing his Iron Pagoda, which looked like iron men forged from steel.

The ground pounded under the horses' hooves, and the glint of swords flashed coldly in the moonlight.

"It's terrible! It's terrible! Your Majesty, someone is plotting a rebellion!" A Han Chinese minister rushed in.

Wanyan Zongpan, who had just finished changing his clothes, almost jumped up when he heard the news.

All the guards in the palace followed Wanyan Zongpan to the outer palace tower, where he saw that the people coming down were all members of the Jurchen royal family!

He immediately flew into a rage, his face turning cold, and he gritted his teeth: "What do you mean by this? I bestowed titles upon you, have I ever mistreated you!"

"His Majesty has not mistreated us, but the Jin Kingdom must completely cease trade with the Southern Kingdom, otherwise the Jin Kingdom will be in grave danger!"

Wanyan Zongpan was furious: "Nonsense! The people of the Great Jin are now wealthy, and more goods are flowing into the Great Jin. Prices in the Great Jin have also dropped, and the people are the beneficiaries! How dare you talk about the fall of the country? How dare you! How can you face the founding emperor!"

"Wanyan Zongpan, your excessive and cowardly treatment of the Song Dynasty is what will destroy the empire that our Great Jin Emperor Taizu conquered!" The speaker was none other than Wanyan Dan.

Wanyan Dan was the eldest grandson of Wanyan Aguda, and in terms of bloodline, he was more legitimate than Wanyan Zongpan.

He continued, "Back then, it was your slander and flattery that caused the Jin Dynasty to lose the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun."

Wanyan Zongwang added from the side: "Since the Song Dynasty took back the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun, its defenses have become more solid. The Song Dynasty is now like a tiger with wings, while our Great Jin is in a passive state."

"That's right! The current state of Great Jin is all your doing, Wanyan Zongpan. You are the sinner of Great Jin!"

Wanyan Dan continued, "Wanyan Zongpan, if you open the palace gates and surrender now, I might spare your life!"

Wanyan Zongpan's face turned ashen: "You are committing treason!"

Wanyan Dan sneered, "From the moment you killed Wanyan Gao, you had no right to criticize others."

"Where are my personal guards? Where are my personal guards?!"

“Wanyan Zongpan, don’t even think about it. Half of your personal guards are on our side now.”

Wanyan Zongpan roared again: "Where is Wanyan Chang!"

Wanyan Wushu opened a box, inside which lay a human head—it was Wanyan Chang. He thrust it with his spear and lifted it up.

"Wanyan Chang is here!"

Wanyan Zongpan's face was extremely gloomy.

"Aren't you afraid the Song army will attack if you do this?" Wanyan Zongpan forced himself to remain calm. "I spent a tremendous amount of effort to secure peace for the Great Jin!"

"Wanyan Zongpan, you're ridiculous! Open the city gates immediately! Or I'll kill you!"

"Wanyan Wushu, I have treated you well!"

"Your Majesty, you should surrender!"

At this moment, the city gate slowly opened, and Wanyan Zongpan on the upper floor was both surprised and angry.

"Anyone who dares to open the city gates will be killed without mercy!" Wanyan Zongpan roared.

He looked down and almost fainted from anger when he saw what he saw.

The ones who opened the city gates were none other than Han Qixian and Shi Lingai, whom he relied on most.

After the city gates opened, Shi Lingai said, "Gentlemen, we also do not want to associate with a tyrannical ruler."

"Yes, yes, yes! Da Jin needs a new master!"

Seeing the ugly faces of the Han Chinese officials below, Wanyan Zongpan's legs went weak, and he was utterly desperate.

He never dreamed that the Han Chinese ministers, who usually appeared refined and cultured, would betray him in the throes of betrayal at such a crucial moment.

That was a really vicious cut!

Zhao Huan, who was far away in the capital city of Tokyo, paced back and forth after hearing about the coup in the capital.

No, no!

No matter what, we must make sure that good-for-nothing Wanyan Zongpan stays obediently in the position of the false emperor.

Only Wanyan Zongpan could cause the Jin Dynasty to weaken rapidly. The longer he stayed, the faster and more thoroughly the Jin Dynasty would decline.

In fact, Zhao Huan had long been prepared for Wanyan Zongpan to be dealt with by the Jurchen nobles of the Jin Dynasty.

After all, Wanyan Zongpan's approach would definitely make Wanyan Zongwang and his group very unhappy, and the domestic conflict would soon be intensified.

Therefore, a very important task for the Yan-Yun war zone was to assess the situation of the Jin Dynasty.

The next day, the Song Dynasty court announced the crimes of Wanyan Dan, a nobleman of the Jin Dynasty: rebellion!

Rebellion was a capital offense in any dynasty.

However, this rebellion occurred in the Jin Dynasty, not in the Song Dynasty, yet the Song court showed unprecedented enthusiasm and initiative.

Incidentally, from the perspective of the supreme ruler of the world, just as he would treat a vassal state, he declared the crimes of the Jin dynasty's traitors and rebels.

At the same time, the Song army in the Yan-Yun war zone received orders to immediately march north to help the Jin ruler suppress the rebels.

This was a military operation that appeared to be sudden, but it was actually premeditated.

On the evening of the seventh day of the first lunar month, heavy snow fell, covering the Yanshan Mountains in white.

The valiant soldiers of the Song Dynasty wore thick cotton-padded clothes and armor. Some units were uniformly armed with sabers, some with battle axes, and others were musketeers.

The army marched northward.

They formed a long, winding line that stretched as far as the eye could see.

The one in command was Yao Gu, the deputy commander of the Yanyun War Zone, who led 100,000 troops.

This is sufficient proof of the importance that the Song Dynasty court attached to the internal strife within the Jin Dynasty.

Before the army advanced, the Song Dynasty issued a letter of accusation to the Jin Dynasty, clearly stating its intention to intervene in order to maintain order in the country.

That night, the Song and Jin armies clashed in the Yanshan Mountains, but it was only a small-scale battle.

Both sides suffered minor losses, and the Jin state withdrew.

Yao Gu led his army across the Yanshan Mountains the next morning and entered the border of the Jin Kingdom, where they stopped.

He wasn't really going to fight, but rather he deployed 100,000 troops to intimidate the Jin army.

Zhao Huan didn't really want to fight; if he did, 100,000 troops would definitely not be enough.

Zhao Huan only wanted Wanyan Zongpan to regain the position of the false emperor, so that the Jin dynasty would definitely collapse completely within five years.

Five years later, the Jurchen nobles will inevitably fall into depravity, beyond even the help of the gods.

A few days later, another urgent message, delivered from the capital city, was sent back to Tokyo.