1127, the Jingkang Incident occurred, and Jin Dynasty occupied Tokyo. He also plundered two emperors, Song Huizong, and Song Qinzong, , civil and military ministers of the Northern Song Dynasty, concubines in the palace, etc., and the Northern Song Dynasty officially perished. However, what the Jin Kingdom did not expect was that just as he destroyed the Northern Song Dynasty, the son of Song Huizong, Zhao Gou, rebuilt the Song Dynasty , in the south, which was called the historical book of , the Southern Song Dynasty . However, although the Jin Kingdom could easily destroy the Northern Song Dynasty, it could not destroy the Southern Song Dynasty. The reason for this is that its strength is really not allowed.
The process of the Jin Dynasty destroying the Northern Song Dynasty was really easy. In 1120, the Jin Kingdom and the Northern Song Dynasty signed the maritime alliance , and the two countries jointly attacked Liao Kingdom . In 1125, the Liao Kingdom was destroyed. After the fall of the Liao Kingdom, conflicts arose between the Jin Kingdom and the Northern Song Dynasty, and then the Jin Kingdom attacked the Northern Song Dynasty. From 1125 to 1127, it took only two years in total. The Northern Song Dynasty, which had been established for more than 100 years, was destroyed by the Jin Dynasty. For the Jin Kingdom, it was really easy to destroy the Northern Song Dynasty. So much so that after the fall of the Northern Song Dynasty, the Jin Kingdom did not know how to rule the territory of the Northern Song Dynasty. That's why they established regimes such as pseudo-Chu , pseudo-Qi .
Not long after the Jin Dynasty destroyed the Northern Song Dynasty, Zhao Gou established the Southern Song Dynasty in the south. The territory of the Southern Song Dynasty was much smaller than that of the Northern Song Dynasty, and the land in the north was basically lost. In terms of comprehensive national strength and military strength, the Southern Song Dynasty was not as good as the Northern Song Dynasty. It is logical that the Jin Kingdom could easily destroy the Northern Song Dynasty and the Southern Song Dynasty. But in fact, the Jin Kingdom not only did not destroy the Southern Song Dynasty, but was eventually destroyed by the Southern Song Dynasty and Mongolia. Let’s now see why the Jin Kingdom could not destroy the Southern Song Dynasty.
is first related to the geographical location of the Southern Song Dynasty. Although the territory of the Southern Song Dynasty is not as large as that of the Northern Song Dynasty, its main ruling areas are in the south, which is crucial to the Southern Song Dynasty.
The terrain is completely different in the south and the north. The north is dominated by plains and has a drought climate. The south is dominated by mountains and the climate is humid. This leads to the dense mountains and rivers in the entire south. The founder of the Jin Dynasty, the Jurchens, mainly cavalry, and they are good at riding and shooting. However, cavalry can only play its greatest role on the plains and cannot play much role in places with dense mountains and rivers. In this way, the Jin army's combat effectiveness in the south was sharply reduced. Moreover, the south is humid and hot, so the Jin soldiers will definitely not be able to adapt to this climate.
In addition to the different terrain between the north and the south, the economic development of the north and the south is also different. Before the Song Dynasty, our country's economic center was in the north. The north was not only the national economic center, but also the cultural and political center, and its population was also very large. But since the Song Dynasty, the economic development of the south was better than that of the north, and the population in the south was increasing. The south at this time was completely different from the south before the Song Dynasty. At this time, the south had become the economic center of the country, and a large number of people lived in the south, not the north. After the Jingkang Incident, a large number of people from the north poured into the south, further widening the gap between the north and the south. Although the Southern Song Dynasty had a small territory, its overall strength was very strong, and the Southern Song Dynasty could completely fight against the Jin Kingdom with its southern territory.
Secondly, it is related to the system of the Song Dynasty. Although the Song Dynasty was also a feudal system, the social environment was generally very loose, and its political system was done very well in all aspects, with basically no loopholes. Therefore, the people still supported the Song Dynasty very much.
The Song Dynasty achieved centralization and the Northern Song Dynasty took over many local rights, making it impossible for the local government to compete with the central government. It is crucial that local governments are completely obedient to the central government. The lack of power in the local area also means that it is incapable of fighting against foreign aggression. When facing foreign invasion, local governments must rely on the unified leadership of the central government to safeguard themselves. Therefore, after the fall of the Northern Song government, the local government urgently needed a new government to lead itself.
In addition to the political system, the people of the Northern Song Dynasty also supported the government. The most obvious point here is that although there were some peasant uprisings in the late Northern Song Dynasty, the scale was not large at all. It is incomparable to the uprisings in the late Tang Dynasty and the late Ming Dynasty. This shows that most people live a good life, so they will not oppose the Northern Song government.
The people support the government, and local governments also need new governments to lead. At this time, no matter which member of the Northern Song Dynasty royal family took the lead in opposing the Jin Kingdom, they could respond with one call and a hundred times, and everyone would oppose the Jin Kingdom together. Of course, some people may say that the Northern Song Dynasty was so good, why was it destroyed? This has a lot to do with the rulers at that time, but no matter what, the local governments and the people still support the central government.
The third one is related to Zhao Gou. It can be said that without Zhao Gou, there would be no later Southern Song Dynasty, and the Southern Song Dynasty could not be in a state of confrontation with the Jin Kingdom.
Zhao Gou is the ninth son of Emperor Huizong of Song and the authentic emperor's son. This identity is very important. After the Jingkang Incident, Zhao Gou was the only one left in the Zhao Kuangyi lineage, and the others were all kidnapped by the Jin Kingdom. Although there are still descendants of Zhao Kuangyin in the south, their blood ties are relatively far apart. Therefore, after Zhao Gou became emperor, no one opposed it, and no one had the ability to object. If no one opposes Zhao Gou, Zhao Gou can concentrate all his strength against the Jin Kingdom.
In addition to Zhao Gou's identity, there is also Zhao Gou's ability. After the establishment of in the Southern Song Dynasty, the reason why they could gain many advantages in the early confrontation with the Jin Kingdom was not only the efforts of military generals such as Yue Fei , but also had a lot to do with Zhao Gou's leadership. You should know that war requires not only good generals, but also people, money and food. Every point is crucial. Only Zhao Gou has the ability to mobilize resources from all over the country to support military generals. Without Zhao Gou's support, Yue Fei and others would not be able to fight so smoothly. Of course, there are other reasons why Zhao Gou killed Yue Fei and others later.
No matter what, due to Zhao Gou, the Southern Song Dynasty was in a favorable position in the confrontation with the Jin Kingdom at the beginning of its establishment. Even a newly established Southern Song and Jin Kingdom could not perish. Later, after the Southern Song Dynasty completely gained its foothold, it would be even more difficult for the Jin Dynasty to destroy the Southern Song Dynasty.
The fourth is related to the Jin Dynasty itself. The founder of the Jin Dynasty was the Jurchens. They were nomadic peoples in the north at that time, and they were still in the slave society period. However, after the destruction of the Liao Kingdom and the Northern Song Dynasty, they were also attracted by the advanced culture, systems, and economy of these regimes, and they also began to change. These changes have indeed accelerated the development of the Jin Kingdom, but to a certain extent it also weakened the Jin Kingdom's combat effectiveness.
The changes in the Jin Dynasty were inevitable at that time. After all, the Central Plains civilization was too advanced, and the Jin Dynasty could not be immune to the influence of Central Plains culture. While the Jin Dynasty was changing, it was unconsciously influenced by the Southern Song Dynasty. Later, the Jin Dynasty learned from the Southern Song Dynasty in terms of culture, economy, etc. While the two countries were exchanging, the Jin Dynasty became increasingly weak, especially in terms of the economy, and the Jin Dynasty was gradually in a disadvantaged position.
In addition to these changes, the Jin army's combat effectiveness has dropped sharply, which is very important. After the Jin army entered a period of peace, its combat effectiveness has been declining. This is easy to understand, and it is similar to the Eight Banners Army of the Qing Dynasty . They were brave and good at fighting because they had nothing. Now after occupying the Central Plains, there is everything, and life is getting better and better. If you live a rich life for too long, your combat effectiveness will definitely decline.
The fourth is related to Mongolia. Not long after the establishment of the Jin Dynasty, Mongolia was established. Since Mongolia and Jin have a feud, their relationship is very bad, and wars often occur between the two countries. This led to the Jin Dynasty being unable to concentrate all its energy against the Southern Song Dynasty, and he needed to be wary of Mongolia at all times.
1206, Temujin established Great Mongolian and unified the Mongolian grassland tribes. After that, Mongolia was always the main place in the Jin Dynasty. Mongolia is in the north of the Jin Kingdom, and the Southern Song Dynasty is in the south of the Jin Kingdom. They are not in the same direction. If the Jin Kingdom used its main force to attack the Southern Song Dynasty, even if the Southern Song Dynasty was defeated, its hometown might be occupied by the Mongols , and there would be no way out at that time. This is also the main reason why the Jin Dynasty did not dare to attack the Southern Song Dynasty in large numbers later.
This is the reason why the Jin Kingdom did not perish the Southern Song Dynasty. However, when the Jin Dynasty destroyed the Northern Song Dynasty, it must have not expected that it would be destroyed by the Southern Song Dynasty in the future. In fact, it was normal for the Jin Dynasty to not perish the Southern Song Dynasty.Even later Mongolia, the Southern Song Dynasty was alone in confronting it for half a century. Although the Southern Song Dynasty had a small territory, it was definitely a country with strong strength. To destroy such a regime, it required strong strength, and the Jin Kingdom at that time did not have this strength.
Reference: "History of Song Dynasty"
