vrcanaries Chapter 333 The Second Rescue of Taiyuan
Chapter 333 The Second Rescue of Taiyuan
"In fact, the process of these three attack plans reveals that there are significant problems involved."
"Li Gang, the commander-in-chief of the three armies, is nowhere to be seen here. It's as if there are three separate organizations, each fighting its own battle!"
"But Emperor Qinzong still had the opportunity to revise his decision before setting off, however, he preferred to accept defeat in the war rather than allow Li Gang to hold military power."
"At that time, Li Gang suggested that they combine their forces and launch a decisive attack to strike at the heart of the enemy, thereby severely damaging the Jin army."
"However, after Li Gang made this suggestion, Zhao Huan considered Li Gang's pro-war stance. He worried that if they gained military strength, they might turn against him. Thus, things turned out as we described earlier."
"Looking at this whole series of rescue efforts in Taiyuan, the best time would actually have been when the Jin troops retreated."
"But it was precisely because this group of people made the same mistakes repeatedly, and Emperor Qinzong was not ambitious enough, that they ended up like this. There is a saying that those who follow the right path will find many helpers, while those who stray from it will find few!"
"Perhaps, the fate of the Northern Song Dynasty was already set at this moment."
Everyone in the Song Dynasty: ...
Lin Ke sighed softly, not knowing what to say. She had missed several opportunities in a row. Throughout history, no one, no matter how skilled in micromanagement, could compare to Emperors Huizong and Qinzong!
Late Northern Song Dynasty
The people watching the small screen were moved to tears upon hearing this. In such a world, where is there any place for ordinary people like them to live?
The Jurchens are about to breach the city. With the Song Dynasty's limited military strength, they are no match for them. Sooner or later, the Jingkang Incident, as Lin Ke had predicted, will occur!
The only option now is for them to make plans quickly... or perhaps they should run away!?
……
Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty
Xuan Ye breathed a sigh of relief. Hearing about the Jingkang Incident in the Song Dynasty was truly frustrating!
He just couldn't understand why they fought like this. Didn't they know that once their weaknesses were exposed and they fell behind, they would be in an even worse situation?
Thinking of this, he slapped his forehead again, wondering what he was thinking. His ancestors had some connection with the Jurchens, so why was he trying to understand the weak Song Dynasty?
But I can't help but think that if the Song Dynasty was in such a predicament, the Qing Dynasty would also fall into such a dangerous situation a hundred years later!
Miss Lin was right: if you fall behind, you'll be bullied!
……
Back to the live broadcast room.
"Meanwhile, the people of Rufen Prefecture, near Taiyuan, heard more bad news—the Song army had failed yet again. It's estimated that the people here have forgotten what the last piece of good news was!"
"In their eyes, they had waited long enough, and knowing how ferocious the Jurchens were, they realized they could no longer stay here, so they all ran away!"
"Now, Taiyuan City is practically an isolated city. This news is very good news for the Jin people, so they pressed their advantage and attacked the last barrier of the Song Dynasty—Taiyuan City."
"When the Jurchens attacked the city, they used every means at their disposal, such as siege ladders, catapults, and cannons, but they were all repelled. This was all thanks to General Wang Bing, who commanded the battle from the city walls!"
"However, no matter how capable the soldiers and civilians of Taiyuan are, they will eventually fall. The longer this drags on, the worse it will be for the soldiers and civilians of Taiyuan."
Song Ting: It's not that we didn't try to save you, but the whole plan fell apart halfway through!
"As early as after the Song court's rescue plan completely failed, the Jin invasion never gave them another chance. In other words, the Song court repeatedly missed opportunities, completely severing the lifeline of Taiyuan City."
"At this point, the soldiers and civilians of Taiyuan had reached their limit, fighting only with their last shred of willpower. Although human potential is sometimes limitless, Taiyuan at this time was similar to Zhang Xun's situation—running out of ammunition and food..."
"Even though the soldiers and civilians of Taiyuan did not receive the rescue they longed for from the imperial court, they still refused to surrender and vowed to resist to the death. However, due to prolonged hunger, their physical strength was not as good as that of the well-rested Jurchens, and eventually the city walls were breached."
"The city of Taiyuan, which had held out for over two hundred days, was finally breached by the Jurchens. Prefect Zhang Xiaochun surrendered and was captured, but Wang Bing, unwilling to suffer humiliation, insisted on fighting to the death."
"Subsequently, Wang Bing rallied his remaining troops, the city's soldiers and civilians, and the Jurchens to engage in street fighting, attempting a final resistance."
"But the situation in Taiyuan was hopeless. In the end, even with his soldiers crippled, they still refused to surrender. Finally, Wang Bing and several soldiers embraced a portrait of Emperor Taizong of Song, Zhao Guangyi, and jumped into the water to die for their country."
Several emperors of the Northern Song Dynasty: ... =???...
Zhu Baba of the Ming Dynasty: The soldiers and civilians of Taiyuan died tragically, but the ending should not have been like this...
A romantic scholar from the Tang Dynasty: If the Song court had seized one or two opportunities earlier, things wouldn't have turned out this badly!
A minor official in the Qin Dynasty: Sigh... The Song Dynasty was different from the Tang Dynasty. The Tang Dynasty's government was not as bad as the Song Dynasty's!
An official from the Han Dynasty said: "It's a pity that most of these famous generals in the late Northern Song Dynasty were killed by their own people!"
A Ming Dynasty official: The history of the Song Dynasty is truly infuriating to listen to!!!
……
The people of the Northern Song Dynasty were not surprised by this outcome; in other words, they already knew in their hearts that one kingdom was rising and another dynasty was declining.
However, burdened by too much heaviness and lingering sorrow, the Northern Song Dynasty, which had nurtured them, ultimately ended in such a way…
This is unacceptable! Bianjing is so prosperous right now!?
How did they manage to trample our territory and cause such chaos?
Meanwhile, Zhao Kuangyin, Zhao Xu, Zhao Zhen, and others in other timelines were seething with anger, not knowing who to vent it on!
A good general is a good general! With the army and the people united, they would rather die than surrender!
The key issue is that the Zhao family is such a coward! They act like they've seen a ghost around these Jurchens!
……
In the live stream, Lin Ke drank a large glass of water; she was dying of thirst. Those emperors of the Song Dynasty must have been furious!
Throughout history, what emperor has ever had such a winning hand, yet managed to ruin it?
After a moment, she continued, "With the fall of Taiyuan, the Northern Song Dynasty lost its last line of defense. The Jurchens could easily advance unimpeded from Shanxi. Even if the other two towns hadn't fallen, they wouldn't have been able to stop the Jurchens' advance!"
"And the Song Dynasty could never return to the favorable situation it had during the initial defense of Kaifeng."
"Wanyan Zonghan's Jin army on the western route achieved a great victory, avenging the months-long siege they suffered in Taiyuan."
"But on the other side, the Eastern Route Army is also strange; Wanyan Zongwang's luck is much better than Wanyan Zonghan's!"
Wanyan Zonghan: The reason I lost to you can be summed up in one word: luck!!
"Previously, the Song court had diverted a large number of troops from its garrison to support Taiyuan, and the situation was further exacerbated by the defeat of the forces led by Liu Ge and Wang Yuan!!!"
"To sum it up in one sentence, it's like picking up sesame seeds but losing watermelons; in the end, you get nothing from either side!"
"Therefore, places like Zhongshan and Zhengding were left undefended, and the Jin army entered the cities as if they were empty, which allowed Wanyan Zongwang to advance faster than the Western Route Army."
"Alas, isn't this a case of the Song court shooting itself in the foot? They originally thought that fighting a bloody battle to resist foreign invasion was normal, after all, there are many such tragic records in history."
"But I never imagined that in the end, the Song court and its people would suffer so much, only to benefit the Jurchens. They extinguished their own hopes and then worked hard to give the Jurchens an advantage!!!"
Lin Ke's sarcastic remarks have drawn a lot of comments.
A Han Dynasty official: I've seen outrageous things, but I've never seen anything this outrageous!!!
A farming expert from the Ming Dynasty: These guys are really outrageous! Let's save the country! In the end, they all just fed the enemy their kills!
A scion of a prominent family in the Tang Dynasty: Our economy and culture are so advanced, and we're not lacking in brave generals, yet...
Zhu Baba of the Ming Dynasty: That grandson of the Zhao family, I really want to beat him up! Hundreds of thousands of people have been wiped out in just a few battles!!!
Emperor Zhao Kuangyin of the Song Dynasty: ...