In the second year of Jing Kang, the Jin army attacked the city of Kaifeng, and the Northern Song Dynasty collapsed. After plundering, the Jin army abducted more than 3,000 women as booty. In addition to ordinary civilians, these people also included the queen concubines, princesses, and princesses (emperors) of the Northern Song Dynasty. What will happen to the former golden branches and jade leaves, and now that they have become prisoners of war?
So which royal women were taken away? According to statistics, there were 5 concubines of Emperor Huizong of Song, 31 concubines of the first rank, and 108 of titles. There were two concubines of Emperor Qinzong of Song, 10 of the rank of talented and lady-in-law, and 27 of whom had titles. In addition to the concubines of these two emperors, there were 34 crown princesses and 18 princesses.
During the reign of Emperor Huizong of Song, he renamed the princess Di Ji, of whom 21 were his daughters and 30 of his granddaughters. In addition, there are 23 daughters of kings. The total number of the above reached 309, and the average age was around 20 years old. It also included Emperor Gaozong of Song's biological mother, Concubine Wei Xianfei, his wife Xing Bingyi, two side chambers, and his five daughters.
As the saying goes, a phoenix that falls off the shelf is not as good as a chicken! The first unlucky one was Emperor Maode, the fourth daughter of Emperor Huizong of Song and the most beautiful of all the daughters, married to Cai Jing's son. At that time, Emperor Yanzong looked at Emperor Qinzong of Song and demanded it, but the Song Dynasty was unable to resist and had to give Emperor Maode to the Jin army, becoming a plaything of Emperor Yan Zongwang. After the death of Emperor Yan Zongwang, Emperor Maode was again occupied by Yan Xiyin and finally died in his village.
In fact, before the Jin army went north, many women in the clan were tortured to death. At that time, the Jin army was stationed in the area of Liujia temple and Qingcheng Walled, and these women were like sheep being driven into the wolf pack. Among them, Baofu Diji, Renfu Diji, Xianfu Diji, and two imperial concubines died at Liujia Temple and were tortured to death. The three princesses were not yet married, about sixteen or seventeen years old.
After that, the Jin army successively carried the booty and these women, and went north in batches and returned to the Golden Kingdom. For these golden branches and jade leaves, the road to the north is both a path of humiliation and a road of death. After arriving in Shangjing, some of them were chosen by the princes and generals to be concubines, and most of them were thrown into the Huanyi Courtyard and reduced to prostitutes. Emperor Qinzong of Song's empress Dowager Zhu committed suicide in anger because she was humiliated.
Later, Emperor Huizong of Song and his 4 concubines were escorted to the City of Five Kingdoms; of his 31 concubines, 11 were snatched away by the generals of the Jin Army, and the rest were unknown; of the 108 people with titles, only 5 were returned to Emperor Huizong of Song, and the others were either robbed or entered the Huanyi Courtyard. Of course, there were also a few who stayed in Kaifeng and were given to Zhang Bangchang by the Jin Army. After the establishment of the Southern Song Dynasty, Emperor Gaozong of Song used this excuse to put Zhang Bangchang to death.
Among the 21 emperors, in addition to the three mentioned above who were tortured to death, two were taken as concubines, 9 were not in the Huanyi Courtyard, and 7 were sent to other camps. Several of them, such as Jiade Diji, Rongde Diji, Huafu Diji, and Qingfu Diji, later entered the palace to serve Jin Xizong. The situation of the emperor's granddaughter was even worse, and 18 died on the way, and the rest were thrown into the Huan Yi Courtyard.
As for the situation of Song Qinzong's concubines, they were generally similar to those mentioned above, either tortured to death, thrown into the HuanYi Courtyard, or snatched away by the generals of the Jin Army. Let's focus on the situation of the relatives of Emperor Gaozong of Song. His birth mother, Concubine Wei Xian, was thrown into the HuanYi Courtyard, and later occupied by the King of Gaitian, and gave birth to a child. After the Song and Jin peace negotiations, Wei Xianfei returned to the Southern Song Dynasty and executed Emperor Ji of Roufu for impersonating a princess.
In order to cover up Wei Xianfei's experience in the Jin Kingdom, Zhao Zhuo increased his mother's age by ten years. Zhao Zhao's wife, Xing Bingyi, was even more miserable, and was forced to have a fetus on the way, and was bullied by the Jin Army, and was also thrown into the Huanyi Courtyard. In 1139, Xing Bingyi died in the Five Kingdoms City. Zhao Zhuo was still quite affectionate, and did not make an empress for sixteen years, only waiting for Xing Bingyi to return. As for Zhao Zhao's five daughters, none of them survived, either dying on the road or in the Huanyi Courtyard.
References: 1. "History of Song"; 2. "Translation of Qinggong"; 3. "History of Jingkang Barnyard"