I traveled with them to the Northern Song Dynasty

Chapter 402 The way of heaven brings reincarnation

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After completely controlling the Jurchens in the capital city, Song Jiang and his men became even more ruthless.

Early the next morning, Song Jiang sent Hu Zhiru, the Vice Minister of Revenue, and Xiao Qing, a former official of the Liao Dynasty, into the city to inspect the inventory of the Jin Dynasty's various treasuries and to take over all of the Jin Dynasty's documents and archives.

After Hu Zhiru and Xiao Qing entered the city, they focused their investigation on the Jin Dynasty's treasury.

In the early years of the Jin Dynasty, the Jurchen people were still in a relatively primitive state, with limited wealth accumulation and facing war with the Liao Dynasty, resulting in a tight budget. To ensure the proper use of the national treasury's wealth, Wanyan Aguda, along with the imperial family, nobles, and officials, swore an oath that all gold, silver, jewels, silks, and brocades they had seized would be centrally managed and used exclusively for war, with private use strictly prohibited. It was also stipulated that if the emperor violated this oath, the matter would be submitted to the Bojilie Conference for discussion and punishment.

—The Bojilie were members of the imperial family and nobility. Their council had functions including assisting in government, deliberating on state affairs, administration, justice, and military affairs, and had a significant restraining effect on the emperor's power.

This resulted in the Jin dynasty's treasury holding most of its wealth, making it one of the richest treasuries in the country.

After all, the Jin dynasty destroyed the Liao dynasty and acquired most of its wealth. The Jurchens were also skilled at plundering, ruthless and greedy, even taking treasures from tombs.

More importantly, the Jin Dynasty's treasury was managed with extreme strictness, so strict that even the emperor could not use its funds.

Historically, after Wanyan Aguda's death, his younger brother Wanyan Wugumai succeeded him as Emperor Taizong of Jin. During his reign, the Jin Dynasty successively destroyed the Liao and Northern Song dynasties, and the national treasury became abundant.

Wanyan Wuqimai hoped that the national treasury could allocate a special fund for the renovation of the palace and the improvement of food and drink, but the official in charge of the national treasury refused on the grounds of ancestral rules.

Wanyan Wuqimai was furious, so when the officials in charge were not present, he ordered his attendants to forcibly take a large sum of money from the national treasury for his own consumption.

After the treasury officials learned of this, they reported it to Wanyan Xieye, the then-anbanbojilie, and Wanyan Zonghan, who was then serving as the state bojilie.

Wanyan Zonghan believed that the emperor leading the way in violating the rules would have serious consequences and must be punished.

Ultimately, the Bojilie Conference decided, in accordance with the rules, to give Wanyan Wuqimai twenty lashes with a cane.

And so, in the imperial court, Wanyan Wuqimai was "invited" down from the Golden Palace by the court officials and publicly beaten on the buttocks twenty times by Wanyan Zonghan.

Afterwards, Wanyan Xieye, Wanyan Zonghan, and other officials knelt down to apologize, and Wanyan Wuqimaiye could only admit defeat and accept it helplessly.

In reality, this was not about the emperor stealing money from the national treasury, but rather a power struggle between different political forces.

At the beginning of their rise to power, the Jurchens established a political system similar to a shareholding system, with "Bojilie" as the core leader and all tribes sharing the same head.

At that time, when Wanyan Aguda raised his arm and called upon the Jurchens, they all served him to the death, simply because they shared benefits and power, and there was no hierarchy among them. The emperor and his ministers would go hunting in the mountains and fishing in the river together.

This "shareholding" system worked fine for the early Jurchens, but when the Jin dynasty destroyed the Liao dynasty, its territory expanded, and the number of people under its rule increased, the old tribal alliance system became as unsustainable as rotten wood supporting a building.

—In the old Jurchen system, the royal family and nobles each held military and financial power. When Bojilie (a type of Jurchen leader) discussed matters, each had their own opinion. No matter what the matter was, they had to hold a meeting to discuss it together.

This led to them often neglecting national affairs due to personal grudges. For example, after the fall of Liao, the governance of Liao territory was hotly debated by the various officials for half a year, ultimately causing the people's hearts to sink.

In contrast, in the Song Dynasty, an imperial edict could reach directly to the prefectures and counties, and even major reforms could be implemented nationwide. This centralized power was exactly what Wanyan Wugumai sought.

In addition, after Wanyan Wugumai ascended the throne, he witnessed the majesty of the Central Plains dynasty's absolute imperial power and the efficiency of the Song Dynasty's Three Departments and Six Ministries system, which inevitably made him yearn for it.

The key point is that the evolution of feudal dynasties was essentially a process of power moving from dispersion to concentration.

—The regional states of the Xia and Shang dynasties and the enfeoffment system of the Western Zhou dynasty were eventually replaced by the prefecture-county system of the Qin and Han dynasties, simply because centralized power was the only way to consolidate national strength and cope with the complexities of territorial expansion and the governance of people's livelihoods.

Wanyan Wugumai's desire to emulate the Central Plains was not merely for his own personal gain, but also stemmed from his keen insight into the times: if the Jin dynasty wished for long-term stability, it needed to eliminate tribal customs and strengthen imperial power by absorbing advanced elements of the Han system, thereby consolidating its rule and establishing an order where imperial power was supreme.

Therefore, Wanyan Wuqimai secretly cultivated his confidants and appointed Han Chinese Confucian officials, intending to emulate the Song Dynasty by establishing the Ministry of Personnel and the Privy Council, and gradually seize power from Bojilie.

This process will inevitably affect the interests of the old Jurchen nobles and provoke their opposition.

At that time, there were two factions in the Jin Dynasty court.

One faction, represented by Wanyan Zonghan and others, consisted of powerful families within the Jurchen people who insisted on using the old system in order to ensure the prosperity of their families.

Another faction, led by Wanyan Wugumai and others, was attracted by the advanced culture and economy of the Han people and believed that if the Jin state wanted to become rich and powerful, it needed to introduce the Han official system.

Although Wanyan Zonghan and his ilk strongly opposed it, Wanyan Wugumai, under the guise of "honoring the ancestral system" (Wanyan Aguda once said, "Once success is achieved, it is easy to control"), gradually weakened the functions of the Bojilie Conference, and wanted to abolish the "Bojilie" system in the old Jurchen system, adopt the Han official system, establish the Three Departments and Six Ministries bureaucratic system, and make the political system of the Jin Dynasty closer to the feudal dynasties of the Central Plains.

At the same time, Wanyan Wugumai also wanted to promote the "Tianjuan New System" and the "Huangtong System" to unify the official system and legal system, strengthen the central authority, centralize military power, and control finances in the national treasury, thus initiating the transition of the Jin Dynasty to feudal centralism.

Wanyan Wuqimai's actions were similar to the Jurchen version of "reducing the power of the vassal states".

The clash between the old system and the new power ultimately became an inevitable storm in the Jin Dynasty court.

Wanyan Zonghan was actually forced into a corner by Wanyan Wugumai, so he used the ancestral system (that is, the system in which Wanyan Aguda negotiated with the Jurchen royal family and nobles) to punish Wanyan Wugumai and warn him not to try to "reduce the power of the vassal states" again.

However, this only reflects the historical development of the Jin Dynasty.

In this life, because Zhao Yu and the others traveled through time, the Jin Dynasty did not annex the entire Liao Dynasty, nor did it invade and destroy the Southern Song Dynasty. At this point, even Wanyan Aguda was still alive, and Wanyan Wugumai was only the crown prince, not the emperor.

This meant that the Jin Dynasty was essentially a shareholding system, known as the "Bojilie" system.

At this time, the Jin Dynasty's treasury was also richer than ever before.

Wanyan Zonggu, the second son of Wanyan Wugumai, and Tang Kuohao, an official in charge of the Jin state's treasury, led Hu Zhiru, Xiao Qing, and others into the treasury for inspection. Hu Zhiru and Xiao Qing began their inspection from the first treasury of the Jin state, and after inspecting five treasuries in succession, they obtained the following:
One hundred sets of gilded bronze dragon-patterned wine vessels, thirty gold belt hooks inlaid with gemstones, twelve silver-cast Buddha statues, five thousand gold ingots with horseshoe-shaped ingots, and twenty thousand silver ingots were all looted from the treasuries of the Liao capitals of Shangjing, Dongjing, and Zhongjing during the conquest of Liao. Some of them are engraved with Khitan script dates. There are also gold ornaments cast by Jurchen craftsmen, decorated with gyrfalcons and deer patterns, which are rough and simple.

The Liao region produced thousands of bolts of Yun brocade, which were brightly colored and woven with scroll patterns and Khitan totems; in the early years, the Song region paid tribute of more than 500 bolts of Shu brocade and Wu silk, which were light and thin and exquisitely embroidered; the Jurchen people produced 10,000 bolts of hemp cloth, which were thick, durable and coarse, and were the main material for military clothing.

Tens of thousands of animal hides (mainly fox, mink, and deer hides) can be used to make winter clothing; there are countless medicinal materials such as ginseng, deer antler, bear bile, and tiger bone.

The Liao Dynasty's Emperors' Records and Laws and Codes, in one hundred volumes, are written in Khitan and Chinese; the Jurchen Bojilie Conference Records and Tribal Household Registers are engraved in Jurchen large script; there are also several maps marking the mountains, rivers, cities, and settlements of various Jurchen tribes in Liao territory, which serve as important bases for military and governance purposes.

After seeing all this, Hu Zhiru and Xiao Rong decided to stop looking. There were simply too many treasures in the inner treasury; they dared not look any further.

Hu Zhiru and Xiao Rong immediately rode back and reported to Song Jiang, Zhang Shuye, and Wu Yong.

Song Jiang then sent men again to seal off all the Jin Kingdom's treasuries.

At the same time, Song Jiang had already begun sending people to transport the most valuable treasures from the national treasury back to Bianliang (Kaifeng) to present to Zhao Yu.

The Song Dynasty not only demanded gold, silver, and silk from the Jin Dynasty, but also books, classics, and calligraphy and paintings.

Over the years, Li Qingzhao had been compiling the "Hongwu Encyclopedia" for Emperor Zhao Yu, dedicated to creating a monumental work that would showcase the prestige of the nation and benefit future generations. Its aim was to compile an encyclopedia that "covers all books from the time of writing, including classics, histories, philosophical works, and collections of literature, as well as writings on astronomy, geography, yin and yang, medicine, divination, Buddhism, Taoism, and arts and crafts, into one book."

Prior to this, when the Song Dynasty conquered Qinghai-Tibet, Western Xia, and Liao, it collected their ancient texts.

Now that the Jin Dynasty is on the verge of collapse, Song Jiang and his companions naturally want to collect the Jin Dynasty's books to help Zhao Yu and Li Qingzhao compile the "Hongwu Encyclopedia".

In addition to these valuables, Song Jiang also began demanding people from the Jin officials stationed in the capital city of Jin.

Of course, you can't just ask for it directly, because that would be very unreasonable if word got out.

Following Zhao Yu's instructions, they demanded war reparations from the Jin Dynasty: ten million ingots of gold, ten million ingots of silver, ten million bolts of silk, and 1,500 young girls.

All the wealth in the Jin Dynasty's treasury was considered as war reparations that the Jin Dynasty paid to the Song Dynasty. Even books, classics, and calligraphy and paintings were paid for.

Even if all the wealth in the capital of Jin were given to the Song Dynasty as compensation, it would still be impossible to pay such a large amount of war reparations.

Then...we'll have to use people to pay off the debt.

The first to be affected were the daughters of the Jin dynasty's royal family, imperial clan, and nobles.

Specifically:

Each princess or queen is worth 1,000 gold ingots; each county princess is worth 500 gold ingots; each young girl from the clan is worth 200 gold ingots; each woman from the clan is worth 500 silver ingots; each concubine is worth 200 silver ingots; each noblewoman is worth 100 silver ingots; in addition, 3,000 beautiful virgins must be selected to be presented to Zhao Yu, each worth 100 silver ingots.

That's right.

This is the Jin Dynasty version of the Jingkang Incident.

All the conditions proposed by Zhao Yu were strategies offered to him by Zhang Chun based on the historical Jingkang Incident.

Historically, the Jurchens trampled the Central Plains, abducting members of the imperial family, burning books, and plundering wealth. The lamentations of the Jingkang Incident have not yet subsided. Now, the Song army is advancing northward. As the emperor of the Song Dynasty, Zhao Yu is bound to seek revenge. Therefore, he demands reparations, seizes maps and books, and abducts women from his clan. He is giving them a taste of their own medicine, which is truly a cycle of karma.

The female members of the imperial family who paid off their debts, and the gold and silver they were sold off, were all mirror images of the Jingkang Incident.

The principle of retribution is never far-fetched; the conqueror will eventually suffer the pain of being conquered. This is the most just judgment of Heaven.

In reality, the Jurchen tribes were confined to the Changbai Mountains and the Heilongjiang River region for hundreds of years. They rose to power by resisting the Liao Dynasty, but lost the hearts of the people due to their bloodthirstiness and plundering. In the end, they declined after reaching their peak, just like many nomadic regimes in history that rose and fell suddenly.

Those Jurchens who caused the Jingkang Incident almost all met with bad ends.

Wanyan Zonghan, the mastermind behind the siege of Bianliang and the forced surrender of the Song imperial family's wealth, suffered a crushing defeat in the fierce power struggle within the Jin state in his later years. He was stripped of his military power and titles, imprisoned in his residence, and ultimately died in despair, never setting foot in the Central Plains again.

Wanyan Zongwang, who shared the responsibility of destroying the Song Dynasty with Wanyan Zonghan, died suddenly from an illness less than two years after returning north. Crucially, before he even left Bianliang City, he witnessed his second son kill his eldest son in a fight over a captured Song woman, and then take the woman and escape. The family massacre was the karmic retribution for his plundering and violence.

After Wanyan Wugumai's death, the throne passed to Wanyan Dan, the grandson of Wanyan Aguda. Wanyan Dan was tyrannical and bloodthirsty, leading to his usurpation by Wanyan Liang. After seizing power, Wanyan Liang considered Wanyan Wugumai's descendants a major threat and executed them all, causing his lineage to become extinct. Wasn't this even more tragic than that of Emperor Huizong of Tang (Zhao Ji)?
At least Zhao Ji had children and grandchildren who survived.

The other guilty officials also received their just deserts:
Wanyan Zhamu was a general of the imperial clan who participated in the capture of Bianliang. Later, she was seriously wounded by an arrow during the campaign against Liaoxi and died after returning to the country.
Wanyan Xiyin was involved in the struggle for the throne and was executed by Wanyan Dan on charges of "treason". His family was wiped out, and the record of his achievements in destroying the Song Dynasty that he had helped compile ultimately became a sharp blade that pierced his own body.

Those Jurchen generals who personally escorted the Song imperial family north and wantonly humiliated them were either purged in political struggles, died violent deaths on the battlefield with no trace of their bodies, or were implicated in tribal infighting, their property confiscated and their wives and daughters forced into exile. Few of them met a peaceful end.

Towards the end of the Jin Dynasty, the Mongol cavalry swept across the northern border. The Southern Song Dynasty, remembering the old grudges of the Jingkang Incident, resolutely allied with the Mongols to attack the Jin Dynasty. The former hegemon that destroyed the Song Dynasty was finally caught in a situation where it was attacked from both sides.

On the day Caizhou fell, the Song-Mongol allied forces swarmed in. Emperor Aizong of Jin's body was split in two, one half going to the Song and the other to the Mongols. Empress Tudan was raped, and the other female members of the Jin imperial family were captured and taken north, just like the Song imperial family in Bianliang, becoming playthings of the Mongol nobles. Their cries of agony pierced through the crumbling palace walls, a repeat of the tragedy of the Jingkang era.

Even more tragically, the allied forces issued an order to exterminate the entire Wanyan clan. Regardless of whether they were direct relatives or distant relatives, anyone with the surname Wanyan was doomed to die.

Amidst the clash of swords and the shadows of death, the once illustrious Jurchen royal family was slaughtered, their blood flowing like rivers. The lineage of the Wanyan clan was obliterated along with the blood, just like the Northern Song imperial family they had slaughtered years before.

The Jin Dynasty, which once bullied the weak, ultimately suffered the fate of having its royal family captured and its royal clan exterminated. It can be said that the more intense the hatred of the Jingkang Incident was, the more tragic the Jin Dynasty's downfall was. Retribution was inevitable, and it left an eternal mark of cause and effect in the long river of history.

Since Zhao Yu and his people traveled through time, the Jin Dynasty and the Jin people who caused the Jingkang Incident will not suffer the same retribution as in history. However, since Zhao Yu is the emperor of the Song Dynasty and inherited the Zhao family's throne, he must avenge the Zhao family and wipe away this hatred no matter what...

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(End of this chapter)