The prosperous and splendid Northern Song Dynasty was not just about the elegance of poetry and the fireworks of the city. Under the bright appearance, there were fatal hidden dangers everywhere. In the seventh year of Zhenghe, Gao Yaoshi, a member of the Liao Kingdom, crossed the sea and took refuge in Dengzhou. A piece of information was sent to Bianliang, which aroused Song Huizong's obsession with regaining the sixteen states of Yanyun.
From Ma Zhi's suggestion to join the Song Dynasty and change his name to Zhao Liangsi, to the fierce game in the court, the idea of a maritime alliance slowly emerged. Song Huizong, Tong Guan, and Cai Jing wanted to use the power of the Jurchens to regain their homeland and dreamed of establishing unparalleled achievements. However, Deng Xunwu and other insightful people saw through the reality and bluntly said that the Song Dynasty's military was weak and tearing up the century-old alliance would surely lead to disaster. They tried their best to dissuade the Northern Expedition plan.
On one side are the emperor's grand plans and dreams, on the other are the sober advice of the humble minister. The peace gained by the Chanyuan Alliance for more than a hundred years is on the verge of collapse. Ambition overwhelms reason, luck overwhelms advice, and what seems like an opportunity to regain his homeland is actually a countdown to the demise of the Northern Song Dynasty. The collapse of the prosperous Song Dynasty had already planted the seeds of tragedy in the court's choices.
