The story of the mother-in-law's embroidery is well-known, saying that the mother of Yue Fei, the hero of the Southern Song Dynasty, stabbed four words in his back: "Jing loyal to the country". Although history is far away, these four words have survived, and they have been used by later generations to describe the national heroes who did their best to be loyal to the country and sacrificed everything.
In 1127 AD, the Jin army marched south and attacked the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty, Bieliang, and the father and son of Emperor Huizong of Song and Emperor Qinzong of Song, as well as more than 10,000 people of the Prince of Wang and Limin, were captured by the Jin army.
Although the Zhao and Song dynasties were basically swept away, the heavens still cared for the Great Song Dynasty, leaving a glimmer of hope for it, and allowing it to continue in the southern half of the Jiangnan for more than 200 years. This glimmer of hope left by heaven is that Zhao Shuo, the ninth son of Emperor Huizong of Song, the King of Kang, after the "Difficulty of Jing Kang", Zhao Shuo took the throne in Ying Tianfu and established the Southern Song Dynasty.
After Zhao established the Southern Song Dynasty, he continued to organize armies to confront the Jin army, and among these troops appeared a unit with the same name as the later "Yue Family Army".
At that time, it should be said that Yue Fei stabbed the four words "Jing Loyal to the Country" in the back and circulated for hundreds of generations. Then this unit is even more powerful, because each of their soldiers has the words "Red Heart to Serve the Country and Swear to Kill the Golden Thief" tattooed on their faces, so this unit is also called the "Eight-Character Army".
So where did this unit come from? After the "Jingkang Disaster", most of the territory in the north fell, and the Jin army burned and plundered in the central plains. The people of the occupied areas could not bear the hatred of the subjugation of the country and organized rebels to revolt. This included more than 7,000 people led by Wang Yan, but unfortunately, due to the lack of logistical supplies and support, this unit could only temporarily retreat to the Taihang Mountains to fight guerrillas.
Wang Yan was resourceful and brave in battle, and was well known among the rebel armies in the north. Knowing that he was in the Taihang Mountains, many people came to him. Among these people, in addition to those who sincerely resist gold, there are many displaced people, bandits, and other people who eat mixed food.
Wang Yan knew very well in his heart that if he wanted to persist in fighting behind enemy lines for a long time, the quality of soldiers was very important. For so many people who came to defect, a way had to be figured out to sift through. This method is to tattoo words on the face, that is, the eight words I mentioned earlier, "repay the country with a pure heart and swear to kill the gold thief.".
Because once the soldier stabs these eight words in the face, then in the future battle, even if he is in a desperate situation, the soldier will not surrender and be a prisoner. This suddenly shuts out those who come to run with the mentality of eating mixed food, and the rest are anti-gold heroes with firm will.
Since then, this unit has regarded death as a homecoming when fighting against the Jin Army, and has bravely moved forward, and once the Jin people heard the name of the "Eight-Character Army", they were immediately frightened and frightened. Soon, this force developed into a huge team of 100,000 people and became the most important civilian anti-gold force in the Southern Song Dynasty.
After Emperor Gaozong established himself in Jiangnan, he began to recruit various rebel armies in the north, among which the "Eight-Character Army" led by Wang Yan was certainly indispensable. Wang Yan also personally went to Yangzhou to meet with Emperor Gaozong and state the matters of the Northern Expedition, but At that time, Emperor Gaozong already had the intention of making peace with the Jin Army, so he instructed the chancellor Huang Qianshan to arrange Wang Yan to an idle post.
Later, the famous "Sichuan-Shaanxi Defensive War" broke out between Song and Jin, and Wang Yan was promoted by Zhang Jun, a general who had long been favored by him, and ordered him to continue to lead the "Eight-Character Army" to assist in the battle. Unfortunately, Zhang Jun was a man of great ambition and talent, and was defeated by the Jin army in the "Battle of Fuping".
Fortunately, Wang Yan fought with Liu Ziyu, Wu Jiu and others, and successively defeated the Jin army in the battles of Shangyuan and Xianrenguan, so that they could stabilize their positions and save Sichuan and Shaanxi. After the "Sichuan-Shaanxi Defensive Campaign", Wang Yan's "Eight-Character Army" was transferred to Jingnan and Huainan. A problem arises here that none of these places are on the front lines of the battle against Gold.
For such a main force against gold, why was it put in the rear? This scene may be familiar, but just a few years later, Yue Fei was treated the same way. This may be related to the Song Dynasty's national policy of suppressing military generals; or perhaps this force was developed by civilian rebels and never received the trust of the imperial court.
Wang Yan, who was in the rear, had an empty ambition to serve the country but could not be extended. In a fit of anger, he resigned, and finally he was depressed and had to make people sigh.
After Wang Yan's death, the "Eight-Character Army" was placed under the command of Liu Kun and participated in the famous "Battle of Shunchang", which dealt a heavy blow to the Jin army.
Later, with the death of Liu Kun, the "Eight Character Army" was constantly suspected and suppressed by the imperial court, and after repeated divisions and disintegrations, this unit with outstanding military achievements disappeared into the long river of history.