Jingkang Shame

Author: Stephen the Thunderman

Jingkang Shame

"What do you think will happen to you on the day when Bianjing City is destroyed?"

The old storyteller in the lobby was talking about how Emperor Xiaoci Yuansheng sent people to reward the Jin people's siege troops and horses, which made everyone very angry.

Although less than fifteen years have passed since this incident, in the memories of many people, it seems like it happened in a previous life.

If these older people hadn't mentioned it often, many people would have almost forgotten what the Song Dynasty was like.

In other words, they don't want to remember it at all.

Sibeilou's restaurant in Lin'an is completely different from its flower boat on the edge of the West Lake.

Pretty ladies are rare here, even a girl is hard to see.

Except for a few old women who put some tea on each table from time to time, this building was almost entirely filled with young and old men.

Compared with the hook-and-mortar tile shop on the next street, Sibei Building not only provides a place to sit, but also allows everyone to eat and drink well.

Although places like this are not uncommon in Lin'an City, there are not many of them.

After all, it has to satisfy both needs, wants, and needs, and the price shouldn’t be too outrageous... You can do a few things for a small amount of money.

For people who have worked hard all day, the threshold here is low enough. Even if a murder occurred on this street, Sibei Tower is still their first choice for recreation.

But for the literati, no threshold is the biggest threshold.

Moreover, the storytellers here are so ignorant that they only talk about things that happened in the first year of Jingkang.

You have just entered the rhythm of spring flowers and autumn moon here, and you want to make everyone cry out there.

Over time, Sibeilou's reputation among the people has grown, and it has become less popular in higher circles.

Following Liu Bang was Liu Qi, the commander of the Ma Army.

Among the three yamen of the Song Dynasty, the front office clerk was in charge of the palace. The matters in Lin'an City were handled by Ma Junsi.

As for the outer city, that is a matter for the Infantry Department.

Speaking of which, Zhao Mi, the commander of the Infantry Division, also came from Zhang Jun's command.

It also took Liu Bang some time to figure out the relationship between these people.

But it was just a rough idea. The most important thing was that he understood what Yue Yun meant when he said, "The Forbidden Army will follow."

It turns out that the most capable soldiers of the Song Dynasty are not outside, not in the hands of others.

But in Lin'an, in my own hands.

At this time, after listening to the storyteller's words, Liu Bang was still a little suspicious that it was a joke made up by Jianghu people.

Then he asked Liu Qi in a low voice:

"How come you are approaching the city and you still want to reward others?"

Liu Qi also came from the Western Army, but unlike Xiang Guangshi, he was a serious Han Chinese.

If there had not been the Jingkang Rebellion, Uncle Liu Xin would not have been bullied into this state by Captain Zhang.

But having said that, if there had been no Jingkang Rebellion, Taiwei Zhang would probably have been a martial arts master until his death.

Now when the emperor asked him, he was not as dumb as Yang Yizhong. He was just stunned for a moment and then remembered that the emperor had a brain injury.

After organizing his language, he replied:

"But it's not a reward. The people in the world don't understand the overall situation and just say some random words."

"It's not a reward... Then it's really bleeding. What, is it a bribe?"

Liu Qi said: "The Jin people do not know the Four Books and Five Classics and do not understand the teachings of the saints. It is because we think too well of them and think that if we give them property, they will truly keep their promises and retreat..."

"This is not a man-made disaster, but... it is really the Jin people's betrayal. Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty did not bribe the Xiongnu when he was siege by Bai Deng. Who would have thought that the Jin people were not even as good as the Xiongnu."

Liu Bang rolled his eyes at the old boy and said angrily:

"You know nothing! Do you really think that Xiongnu Maodun is a fool? Hundreds of thousands of Han troops were on the road at that time. Do you think he really can't tell the difference?"

"Besides, then... Liu Ji is so good at fighting, even if he fights to the death, he still has to bite off a piece of his flesh."

"You only talk about your emperor's affairs, don't involve others! If you are biased again, I will reward you with some Amitabha!"

After spending a long time with Monk Daoji, Liu Bang still didn't know what Amitabha meant, but he felt that these four words were very useful.

It was here at this moment, although neither he nor Liu Qi understood what it meant.

Liu Qi didn't know why the emperor was suddenly so excited. He just kept echoing his approval and didn't dare to say a word "no".

After being scolded by the emperor for a long time, he thought that it was not some palace secret, it was something that everyone in the world knew, and the officials would not blame him for it.

In this way, Liu Qi said seriously:

"The Jin people forced Emperor Huizong to go to the camp to negotiate peace. I, the Song Dynasty, governed the country with filial piety, and Emperor Xiaoci Yuansheng replaced him... Wanyan Zonghan and Wanyan Zongwang ordered me to bow to the emperor and ministers facing the north to fulfill their courtesy, read out Lower the table."

"It was windy and snowy, and the emperors and ministers of the Song Dynasty were so humiliated that they all wept secretly. Only after they had surrendered and offered their tributes, did Emperor Xiaociyuan Sheng be released."

"The emperor had just returned, and the Jin people came to ask for 10 million ingots of gold, 20 million ingots of silver, and 10 million bolts of silk. Kaifeng is already an isolated city. Even if they plunder everything, it is still not enough."

Liu Bang frowned: "Then, how was it done?"

Taking a gentle breath, Liu Qi said:

"The Jin people came to ask for mules and horses, and more than 7,000 of them were found in Kaifeng City. All the officials went to court on foot."

"The Jin wanted thousands and five hundred girls, and as a last resort, they even sent out the concubines in the harem... There were many who were unwilling to be humiliated, and many died."

"In this way, the amount demanded by the Jin was still far behind, so the Jin threatened to enter the city and rob it, and also allowed Emperor Xiaociyuan to enter the camp as a pledge. They had to collect all the property before they could release the emperor back to the city."

"The city of Kaifeng is indeed empty... To satisfy their appetite, ritual vessels for worshiping heaven, emperor's dharma chariot, books and classics, and Dacheng musical instruments..."

"All the doctors, all the musicians in the studios, all kinds of craftsmen, all the pretty women, all the things that can be used, are all lost."

"The Heavenly Family is in trouble, everyone..."

Liu Bang's face had completely turned away, and Liu Qi didn't know what the emperor's expression was.

He waved his hand and said, "Don't talk about the Zhao family, let's talk about the people."

Although Liu Qi had an official title at the time, promoted by his father's subordinate, Captain Gao Qiu, he only received a salary and no actual duties.

Therefore, during the Jingkang Rebellion, he was not in Bianjing City.

Now that the emperor asked about this matter... he had no choice but to accuse:

"I really don't know."

The news coming out of Kaifeng Mansion was that the royal family had suffered a great disaster, or that a loyal minister had died for the country.

It's not like Liu Qi has never heard of people asking people like the emperor did today, but it's really not that many.

I don’t know if he heard the conversation between the two, but the old storyteller finally sipped a cup of tea and continued:

"The city of Bianjing was scraped again and again, but where could anyone find food in the city? First they looked for cats and dogs, and they ate them all. Then they looked for rats, and rats ate them all. They ate leaves, and when they ate up all the leaves, they died of hunger.

"

"In addition to the spread of the epidemic, people died of starvation, disease, freezing, and there were also people who didn't want to serve the Jin people and hanged themselves, or threw themselves into wells..."

The old man chuckled: "As long as you want, you can take care of the corpse!"

Although he was smiling, there was no smile in his eyes.

There are many people in this building, but it is also very quiet.

No one laughed with him, and the old man didn't take it seriously, and continued:

"Speaking of corpses, from Liuzi in the east, to Xijing in the west, to Hanshang in the south, and to Heshuo in the north, the Jin soldiers killed people like mowing hemp, and the smell could be heard for hundreds of miles..."

"If you had been there at that time, you would have seen two or three 'Beijing Temples' along the road for one mile!"

Liu Bang was no stranger to Jingguan.

King Zhuang of Chu once did this. He collected the corpses of his enemies and piled them on the roadside, then compacted them with soil to make a mound.

He wanted to tell himself that this was a matter for the people of the Song Dynasty, and that the Emperor of the Song Dynasty was a coward. It was the people of the Song Dynasty who suffered, and it had nothing to do with him.

But after a while, he couldn't convince himself.

Because the old man stood up... The child next to him struck the gong with a wooden hammer, and this story came to an end.

"What you can see is: corpses soaked in blood, ghosts crying and gods howling; evil winds blowing over the Han Dynasty, the stars, sun and moon cannot be seen, evil spirits are crossing the river, and it is difficult to distinguish north, south, west, and east."

"Whose young lady, with her green servant girl and red sleeves, will all belong to the Huma Xiongnu? Whose good son, green silk hair and talented man, will prefer those fangs, swords and spears."

"In the middle of the night will-o'-the-wisps roam around, and during the day black dogs eat people."

"I can only hear people weeping from Li, there are no birds in the hundreds of alleys in the empty city, there is no smoke, and there are few people walking at the intersection of ten states."

“Gold and pearls are like earth, peace cannot be bought in one day;”

"Luo Qi gave birth to smoke, and several places turned into ashes."
To be continued...