This was a showdown between new forces and old forces. As one historian of the time commented: In the first year of Jingkang, the Song Dynasty, which had been established for more than a hundred years, was suffering from deep-seated problems. The corrupt forces were deeply rooted in the Song Dynasty, sucking away at its life day and night. The emperor launched a northern expedition to forge an iron army and, in the darkness before the dawn of the empire, raised the butcher's knife against the old forces.
This is a bloody upheaval, where all the ancient rules are intertwined and difficult to unravel. Only by crushing them all and exchanging the blood of countless people for the rebirth of an empire can we achieve this.
The imperial court announced the crimes of the rebels to the world. The Great Song Imperial Gazette and the Tokyo Express simultaneously published the names of the imperial officials and newspaper members killed by the rebels, praising their bravery and their sacrifice for the country.
Hanlin Academician Shi Xun personally inquired about the families of these martyrs, and the imperial court provided them with compensation. For a time, people could be seen everywhere in the streets of Tokyo denouncing the rebels.
In early September, the autumn rains brought a chill to the air, and the new army split into two groups and headed towards Jingdong Road and Jingxi Road.
Zong Ze led 10,000 new troops and advanced towards Jingxi Road, while Marquis Yongwu Han Shizhong led 10,000 new troops and advanced towards Jingdong Road.
These days, the Xinyang army has been conscripting men from all over Jingxi Road, piecing together half a garrison, totaling 60,000 men, claiming to be an army of 100,000. The garrison commander, Fu Min, is a man who dreams of sleeping with every woman in the brothels of the entire capital city of Tokyo. He has the same ambition as Liu Yanzong, but he doesn't have Liu Yanzong's brains.
The main force of the Xinyang Army is stationed in Zhengzhou. In the past few days, the local tycoons (those who own land and money) along the Jingxi Road have gathered in Zhengzhou and established relations with the Xinyang Army. The two sides hit it off immediately.
The Xinyang army provided manpower, and the local tycoons provided funds. Under the banner of saving the country and serving the emperor, they gathered an army of 100,000 righteous men, intending to march eastward, purge the court of corrupt officials, and rectify the government!
On this day, after getting out of the bed of the seventh woman, Fu Min dressed and walked as if he were walking on cotton. He met with several wealthy men, namely Liu Banshan, Wang Xiren, Li Fangyuan and Meng Qiaoyan.
After the Confucian scholar case was purged, the number of nobles in Jingxi Road decreased significantly, and the super-powerful families were destroyed. However, wealthy merchants and landlords remained. The Liu, Wang, Li, and Meng families were the four largest families. They were originally from Caizhou, Huazhou, Ruzhou, and Zhengzhou respectively, but now they have all moved to Zhengzhou.
These four families did not have any prominent ancestors, were not scholarly families, and their rise to prominence was only in the last twenty years. They did not produce many scholars and were all business families, so they cleverly avoided the previous case involving Confucian scholars.
Because they were willing to give money to the ministers in the imperial court, they were the ones who did most of the business on Jingxi Road.
Take the Liu and Wang families for example. Every month, they would send three cartloads of money to the former prime minister Li Bangyan, and every three months they would find the most beautiful women from the common people to present to Li Bangyan.
Moreover, they also took good care of the major nobles in western Beijing, and almost all the nobles in Luoyang had received benefits from them.
The Li and Meng families, on the other hand, were dependent on Bai Shizhong. They went even further, sending three cartloads of money to Bai Shizhong's residence every month.
Of course, some of this money ended up in the pocket of the former Grand Tutor Cai Jing.
With the protection of the court officials, they could practically run rampant in Jingxi Road. They not only purchased large amounts of land but also monopolized half of the commerce. Every month, at least 100,000 strings of cash were sent to the prefect's office, and the local prefect was well taken care of.
It can be said that half of the officials, from local to central levels, have taken money from them.
The new policies of the imperial court included reforms to commercial taxes, which increased the rate from 20% to several tiers, with some reaching as high as 10%. In agricultural taxes, corvée labor was abolished, reducing the original tax burden to one-tenth, and almost all miscellaneous taxes and poll taxes were eliminated.
This tax case, from any perspective, is detrimental to their interests.
Having learned from the mistakes of those nobles and Confucian scholars, they directly bribed the Xinyang Imperial Guards with benefits. The Xinyang Imperial Guards were already on the list of those to be dismissed by the court, and now everyone was in the same boat. So these four families stepped forward, contacted some ministers in the court, and began to gather troops to support the emperor.
The phrase "supporting the emperor" here indeed refers to welcoming the late Emperor Zhao Ji back to the throne. Only when Zhao Ji ascends the throne again will they have a good life.
Liu Banshan said with some worry, "Commander Fu, the imperial court has sent Zong Ze with 10,000 troops!"
Fu Min sneered, "What's there to be afraid of! That old scoundrel Zong Ze, at his advanced age, still dares to lead troops into battle. In my opinion, that foolish emperor has no one else to rely on!"
In his eyes, Zong Ze was nothing but a decrepit old man, and Zhao Huan was out of his mind to appoint such a decrepit old man to form a new army to replace the original imperial guards. This time, he would teach Zong Ze a lesson, vent his anger, and let that tyrant cry!
Seeing Fu Min's confidence, Wang Xiren and Li Fangyuan's worries vanished. They raised their glasses and declared, "Come, let's toast Commander Fu! Today, we have successfully defended the emperor. Commander Fu will soon be promoted to the Privy Council and take charge of military and national affairs. We wish Commander Fu all the best in advance!"
Upon hearing that he would one day become the Privy Councilor, Fu Min became elated. He raised his wine cup and said, "I will have to rely on that gentleman in the future. I hope you all will put in a good word for me in front of him."
Meng Qiaoyan said, "Don't worry, Commander Fu. We are all loyal to the emperor and love our country. In the future, when you become the Privy Councilor, I hope you will take good care of me."
"Of course, of course!"
After drinking several cups, the group began to denounce the crimes of the tyrannical Emperor Zhao Huan, claiming that they were the saviors of the Song Dynasty and the millions of common people. They asserted that removing the traitor and abolishing the tyrannical emperor would establish a great achievement for all ages and ensure their names would be remembered in history.
The more they talked, the more excited they became, and the more they drank. The more they drank, the more they talked. They went from talking about the savior of the Song Dynasty to the savior of the world. They said that once the tyrannical emperor was deposed, Fu Min would lead the Northern Expedition to crush the Jin invaders, defeat the Tanguts, pacify the grasslands, conquer Tibet with one hand and Dali with the other, and show the might of the Song Dynasty!
As they played music together, they decided they should become sworn brothers. So they swore an oath of brotherhood at the dinner table, vowing not to be born on the same day of the same year, but to die on the same day of the same year. Their bond was even stronger than that of the Oath of the Peach Garden.
After finishing his drink, Fu Min excitedly went to his eighth woman's bed. It wasn't until evening that his deputy, Wu Zhenxiong, rushed in, ignoring the guards at the gate, and shouted, "Commander Fu! That old scoundrel Zong Ze is attacking!"
Wu Zhenxiong shouted, and Fu Min hurriedly got out of bed, startling the beautiful woman next to him who clutched her mattress and screamed.
"What! They've attacked!"
Seemingly still half asleep, Fu Min looked bewildered and instinctively reached for the armor.
Wu Zhenxiong said, "That old scoundrel Zong Ze has already besieged the city and is about to attack!"
Fu Min yelled, "You've come at the perfect time! Today I'll cut off that old scoundrel Zong Ze's head and send it to that tyrant!"
He dressed quickly, led his men, and rushed off, mounting his horse and heading towards the city gate.
Liu Banshan and the others were also woken up. When they heard that Zong Ze was coming to attack the city, they were a little flustered, but they quickly calmed down and started drinking tea to sober up. They were still very confident in dealing with Min.
Fu Min and his men were still halfway there when soldiers on horseback came galloping up, shouting in a panic, "The city has fallen! The city has fallen! Run for your lives!"
Fu Min was stunned: "What!"
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