Two emperors as captives

Due to the determined resistance of the soldiers and people in Tokyo, the Jin general Zongwang was forced to retreat. The Emperor suggested to Song Qinzong to launch an attack to wipe out the Jin soldiers while they were retreating across the Yellow River. This was a good idea. But Song Qinzong not only disagreed but also dismissed him from his post.

After the retreat of the Jin army, Song Qinzong and a group of ministers thought they could live in peace from now on. They took Song Huizong back to Tokyo. Li Gang repeatedly reminded Song Qinzong to strengthen his armament to prevent the Jin army from attacking again, but every time he proposed it, he was always obstructed by some surrendering ministers. Song Qinzong also disliked Li Gang's lulu.

The Jin soldiers led by Zong Han on the west side refused to give up and intensified the attack on Taiyuan. Song Qinzong sent his general, Seed Shizhong, to bring help, but he was surrounded by Jin soldiers halfway, and Seed Shizhong was defeated and died. The minister of the surrender faction thought that Li Gang was in the way of the capital, so he urged Song Qinzong to send Li Gang to the north of the river to command the war.

Some honest ministers thought that the court should not let Li Gang leave the capital at this time, but Song Qinzong insisted that Li Gang be transferred.

Li Gang knew that he was being ostracized, but he was unwilling to resist when he was asked to go to the front line to fight against Jin. Qinzong allocated him 12,000 men, and he asked the court for one million each in silver, silk, and money, but the court only gave him 200,000. Li Gang wanted to make good preparations before leaving, but Song Qinzong disliked his procrastination and urged him again and again, so Li Gang had to rush out to the army.

When Li Gang arrived at Heyang, he recruited soldiers and horses and repaired his weapons. However, the court ordered him to disband the recruits and go to Taiyuan immediately. Li Gang mobilized his troops and sent them in three directions, but the generals there were directly under the command of the court and did not listen to Li Gang's dispatch. The three sides were not unified in command, and as a result, they lost a big battle.

Li Gang was nominally the commander-in-chief, but had no command, so he had to resign from the court. The surrendered faction attacked him for advocating against the Jin Dynasty but losing troops in the battle. Song Qinzong removed Li Gang from his post and relegated him to the south.

The rulers and ministers of the Jin dynasty were most afraid of Li Gang, but now that Li Gang was just an official, they had no more worries. Jin Taizong ordered Zong Han and Zong Wang to attack Tokyo again.

By this time, Taiyuan city had been besieged by Zong Han's western army for eight months. The defender of Taiyuan, Wang You, led the army and people to resist resolutely. The Jin soldiers used all means to attack the city, but they were all repelled by Wang You. As time went by, the city ran out of food, so the soldiers killed the cattle, horses, and mules to feed the hungry; when the cattle and horses finished eating, they cooked the leather from the bows and crossbows to eat. The common people ate weeds and bran every day, but no one surrendered. Finally, Taiyuan city was broken by the Jin soldiers. Wang, You led the hungry soldiers to fight with the Jin soldiers and then jumped into the Fen water and died.

After Taiyuan was defeated, the two Jin soldiers continued to move south. When the Song generals heard that Tokyo was in trouble, they took the initiative to bring troops to help. Song Qinzong and some surrendering ministers were so busy preparing to cede the land and beg for peace that they ordered the reinforcements to retreat to the same place.

At this time, the Song army defending the south bank of the Yellow River still had 120,000 infantry and 10,000 cavalries. When Zong Han's western army reached the north bank of the Yellow River, they did not dare to cross the river by force. At night, they bluffed and sent soldiers to beat war drums all night. When the Song army on the south bank heard the drums on the other side of the river, they thought the Jin soldiers were going to cross the river and attack, so they threw their camps and fled. 130,000 Song troops fled all at once. Zong Han crossed the Yellow River without moving a single sword or gun. The East Road, led by Zongwang, also captured Da Ming (now Da Ming in Hebei) and crossed the river to the south. The two Jin armies kept approaching Tokyo and scared Song Qinzong out of his wits. Some ministers of the surrender faction kept muttering to Song Qinzong that there was no other way out but to seek peace. Song Qinzong had to send his younger brother, King Kang, Zhao Gu, to Zongwang to seek peace.

When Zhao Gou passed by Magzhou (today's Mag County in Hebei), Zong Ze, an official of the state, told Zhao Gou, "The Jin Dynasty wants to go to the temple to negotiate peace, but this is a trick. What is the use of seeking peace when they are already in the city?"

The people of the state also stopped Zhao Gou's horse and prevented him from going to the Jin camp to ask for peace. Fearing that he would be detained by the Jin Dynasty, Zhao Gou stayed in Xiangzhou (now Anyang, Henan Province).

Not long after, two Jin armies arrived at the city of Tokyo and attacked it fiercely. Only 30,000 forbidden troops remained in the city, and they were also in pieces, almost half of them fled. All the generals did not come to Tokyo's aid because the court had ordered them to do so. At this time, Song Qinzong wanted to recall Li Gang, but it was too late.