Wang Rui was originally an official of the Song Dynasty, serving as the prefect of Yancheng. When Wanyan Zongwang conquered the city, he and Guo Yaoshi surrendered together and betrayed detailed information about the Song Dynasty to Wanyan Zongwang.
Wang Rui stood in the court with an arrogant attitude, and did not perform the proper courtesies when he saw Zhao Huan.
According to orthodox history books, Emperor Qinzong of Song was overjoyed when Wang Rui proposed peace. The pro-war faction, which had originally held the upper hand, was sidelined by Emperor Qinzong under the instigation of Li Bangyan. Emperor Qinzong also cowardly agreed to the Jin army's peace proposal and was willing to pay reparations and cede territory.
Furthermore, he ordered all the soldiers defending the city not to engage in conflict with the Jin army. One of the soldiers attacked a Jin soldier with a thunderbolt cannon, and Emperor Qinzong of Song actually ordered him to be beheaded and displayed to the public. It can be said that at that time, the civil officials, led by the emperor, were all terrified of the Jin army, as if being tough on the Jin army was a big mistake. Those who advocated war were labeled as endangering the country.
When Wang Rui saw Zhao Huan, he did not bow. Li Gang said, "Wang Rui, you surrendered to the Jin invaders, yet you still have the nerve to come and meet the Emperor!"
"Hmph! Minister Li, I am now an envoy of the Great Jin Dynasty, you'd better be more polite to me!"
Upon seeing the Jin envoy, some ministers' eyes lit up. Wang Boyan quickly said, "Jin envoy, please state your country's demands."
Wang Rui was just a minor prefect before, but now he can stand with the ministers of the court and doesn't take the two prefectural ministers seriously. He feels very proud and his attitude is very arrogant.
"The commander-in-chief sent me here because he wants to give the Song Kingdom a chance."
Wang Boyan continued, "Please explain in detail, Envoy Jin."
"The Marshal is currently besieging Taiyuan. In less than ten days, Taiyuan will fall. My Great Jin still has 20,000 elite troops outside, and another 100,000 troops are marching south. Hebei and Hedong have already fallen. The 100,000 troops and the Marshal's 60,000 troops will march south and besiege Bianjing. At that time, Bianjing will be nothing but dust!"
Upon hearing this, all the ministers were greatly alarmed.
Even when the Jin Dynasty destroyed the Liao Dynasty, they didn't mobilize such a large number of troops. Now, it seems they are determined to destroy the Song Dynasty!
Seeing the fear on the faces of these ministers, Wang Rui was very pleased.
"The General is merciful and has given the Song Kingdom a chance. As long as the annual tribute is increased to ten million taels of silver, one million bolts of silk, and two thousand beautiful women, the General will immediately withdraw his troops, and the troops in Hedong and Hebei will also immediately withdraw!"
Wang Yanbo said, "Your Majesty, I have something to report..."
Zhao Huan said, "If you dare to suggest peace talks, I dare to exterminate your entire family!"
Wang Yanbo was so frightened that he immediately knelt down. The ministers who were also about to make a proposal dared not utter a word.
The emperor looked at Wang Rui, revealing a set of bright white teeth, and said in a chilling tone, "Wang Rui, you have quite the audacity to betray the Song Dynasty and still dare to come to court to see me!"
Wang Rui, however, was not afraid at all. With the Jin army backing him up, he did not take Zhao Huan seriously at all: "Emperor of Song, I am an envoy of the Great Jin. You had better be polite to me, otherwise, when the Great Jin army arrives, you will all be reduced to dust!"
"Powder? I'll turn you into powder first! Guards! Seize this fiend!"
Wang Rui was slightly taken aback, but immediately became somewhat panicked: "I am an envoy of the Jin Kingdom!"
Zhao Huan's smile became even more cruel: "The Jin envoy is an enemy. If an enemy comes in, should we chop him up and feed him to the dogs instead of supporting him?"
"In war, envoys shall not be killed!"
"Who the hell spouted this bullshit! I'm going to execute him! Xie Dahai, arrest this bastard, find someone skilled in the art of dismemberment, and immediately take him to the Five Dynasties Gate. I want to see this bastard executed by slow slicing with my own eyes!"
Upon hearing this, Wang Rui was immediately terrified and knelt down, banging his head on the ground and kowtowing repeatedly: "Your Majesty, spare my life! This sinful subject came to offer advice to Your Majesty; this sinful subject was actually feigning surrender..."
Xie Dahai pulled Wang Rui's jaw off to prevent him from committing suicide out of excessive fear, and lifted him up from the ground like a chick.
"Your Majesty...Your Majesty, spare my life..."
Wang Boyan immediately said, "Your Majesty, it is inappropriate to execute the Jin envoy..."
He Ye quickly stepped forward: "Young Minister, you wouldn't be pleading for that traitorous dog whose face resembles the Jin thief, would you? Does the Young Minister want to negotiate peace? Or is he also going to become a traitor?"
After being rebuked by He Ye, Wang Boyan immediately swallowed back what he was about to say.
Zhao Huan was in a good mood: "Come, my ministers, let's go to the Five Dynasties Gate and see how this traitorous dog is torn to pieces!"
The news quickly spread among the people. They heard that a traitor who had surrendered to the Jin dynasty and harmed the Song dynasty was going to be executed by the emperor. Everyone immediately rushed to the Five Dynasties Gate to watch.
Now, Wang Rui was no longer the arrogant and haughty man he once was. Every hair on his fat and greasy face revealed fear and despair.
But his jaw was dislocated, making it difficult for him to even speak. He could only let out pig-like screams as he struggled desperately in the prison van.
Upon arriving at the Five Dynasties Gate, Xie Dahai brought over a man named Jiang Yan: "Your Majesty, this man's skills are truly remarkable. He was the one who tortured Geng Nanzhong last time, scraping him a thousand times!"
"This humble servant kowtows to Your Majesty, wishing you eternal peace!"
"Good! Very good! Slice him into pieces! I want to slice him into two thousand pieces, can you do it?"
"Your Majesty, this man is fat and has plenty of flesh; two thousand cuts are no problem!"
"Alright, then take your time to skin it! I'll reward you handsomely if you do a good job!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Jiang Yan took a sharp knife from his toolbox and walked up to Wang Rui, who was tightly bound.
Xie Dahai reattached Wang Rui's jaw, pulled out Wang Rui's tongue with pliers, cut it off, stuffed a thick wad of cotton cloth into his mouth, and tied the cloth around his mouth so that he couldn't spit it out or make a sound.
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