All along, we believe that Emperor Huizong of Song was the most miserable emperor in the world. This misery not only means that he was a prisoner,—— there are more people in the world who are prisoners as emperors, nor is he the only one, but it means that he has suffered after being captured, and he has completely lost human dignity. According to the "History of Song", Huizong and his son Qinzong were taken to Huining Province (present-day Harbin), and his concubine Wang Wanrong was snatched away by the Jin generals, and he himself was often called to go, and he was forced to wear freshly peeled sheepskins, naked in cold weather, let people tie a hemp rope around their necks, bow their bodies, and be led like goats to the temple of the founder of the Golden Kingdom, Guanyan Akuta, to perform the "sheep-pulling ceremony". Many ministers committed suicide because of this ceremony... Throughout Chinese history, nothing could have been worse.
However, such a Song Huizong was not the most miserable emperor in the world. Because in the ancient Roman Empire, there was also an emperor named Valerian, who suffered much worse after being captured than Emperor Huizong of Song.
(Emperor Huizong of Song)
First, the Great Armageddon was tragically defeated
Valerian was emperor of the Roman Empire between 253 and 260 AD. During this time, the Roman Empire was in a serious "crisis of the third century", with a depressed economy, political turmoil, and frequent rebellions on the border. As soon as Valerian came to power, he suffered from enemies on his stomach, the barbaric attacks of the Goths in the west, and the frenzied plundering of the Sassanid Persian army in the east; if he could not defeat these enemies, his throne would not be stable.
In 258 AD, the famous conspirator of the Sassanid Persian Empire, Shapur I, led an army to occupy Syria, the eastern granary of the Roman Empire, and Valerian led 20,000 Roman infantry (70,000 people) to fight back, and in June 260 fought Shapur I at Edessa in southeastern Turkey.
(Persian cavalry)
However, Valerian was fooled from the beginning, and tens of thousands of troops drove straight into unfamiliar foreign territories, surrounded by Shapur I in a narrow mountain range. Shapur I devised an "inner crescent" with Sassanid Persian armies on both sides and fronts, and Roman infantry within the arc. The Sassanid Persian army first sent out rainy arrows, and before the Romans could react, they were hit by arrows and fell to the ground, and the first round of arrows caused a large number of casualties among the Roman soldiers. After the arrow array, 20,000 Sassanid heavy cavalry came to the ground, and the cavalry and infantry began to meet. Poor Roman infantry led by Valerian, who were thrown head-on by warhorses, trampled to death by iron hooves, pierced in the chest by cavalry spears... The blood flowed like a river, and it was unbearable to see. The Roman soldiers held a shield in their left hand and a short sword in their right hand, fighting back, but even the thighs of the cavalry could not reach...
Despite this, Sassanid Persia was still unable to completely eliminate the Roman army, and Valerian led the remaining Roman army to resist to the death, and finally became a stalemate. Shapur I also thought of cutting off the Food Routes of the Roman soldiers, forcing Valerian to make peace, and asking Valerian to make peace himself. Valerian, in order to survive the remnants of the army, agreed without hesitation, taking only a few retinues to the peace talks, only to be detained by Shapur I. The Roman Emperor thus fell into the hands of Shapur I.
It can be seen from the above that Valerian was not a member of the Song Huizong, who was accustomed to wind and moon and did not understand military politics. Valerian worked very hard, and he understood a little bit about politics and military affairs, but he was not a great talent, the times were unlucky, and he was unlucky because of his lack of political experience.
Second, after being captured, he suffered misery
When Shapur I captured Valerian, he was ecstatic.
At that time, the victors in the war had the habit of using prisoners of war as slaves, and although Valerian was a Roman emperor with a high status, Shapur I did not respect him, but regarded him as a lowly slave. This is best evidenced by a Christian account of the incident, which reads:
Whenever Shapur was about to ride on his horse, he ordered the Roman Emperor Valerian to lie on the ground and use his back as a foot pedal for Shapur to get on his horse.
Yes, it's the foot pedal or "getting on the horse stool." What a disgrace to Valerian! What a disgrace to the World-dominating Roman Empire!
Emperor Huizong of China, although he was not respected after his capture, did not suffer such humiliation; Emperor Huizong of Song was still under his command, and his courtiers who followed him were also taking care of him. Except for the "leading ceremony" that undermined his dignity, everything else was fine, he lived in a separate house with his empress, he could continue his hobbies, writing poetry, painting, studying calligraphy, it is said that during the days when he was a prisoner in a distant foreign country, Song Huizong also gave birth to several children...
Valerian's humiliation is also followed, that is, he could not bear the trauma of the humiliation, and he died soon after, but Shapur I did not spare his body. He actually peeled Valerian's skin, dyed it a dazzling crimson color, stuffed it with hay, took on a human shape, and hung it on the wall. It is said that whenever Rome sent emissaries to Visit Persia, they led Roman emissaries to this room and showed them that the former Roman emperor was now hanging on the walls of his enemies as a trophy to humiliate and provoke the Roman emissaries. This terrible and ferocious act of Shapur I was only done by Zhu Yuanzhang, the Ming Emperor known for his ruthlessness, in Chinese history, and Zhu Yuanzhang also gave it a name called "peeling grass". It is not known whether Zhu Yuanzhang was inspired by Shapur I.
(Zhu Yuanzhang also did this)
Third, the most tragic thing is that the whole world does not understand Valerian
Valerian's misery is also reflected in the fact that no one understands him.
Valerian's son was named Galienus, who was very kind to Galienus and appointed him "Co-Emperor" of the Roman Empire in 253 AD. The so-called "co-ruling emperor" is to jointly govern the country, with Gallienus in charge of the military and political power in the western part of the empire, and Valerian in charge of the military and political power in the eastern part of the empire. Later Valerian was captured, and his son Galienus became emperor, but he did not find a way to redeem his father; after his father was tortured to death, Gallienus did not avenge his father. This situation is very speechless, and we can only understand that Gallienus does not understand his father, and thinks that his failure and humiliation are self-inflicted.
In addition, the Roman Empire did not have a good evaluation of their emperor Valerian, believing that as an emperor, he was not good at civil rule, nor was he good at martial arts, and he was defeated on the expedition and captured as a "horse bench", which humiliated the empire. See, what they care about is that the Empire is disgraced, not that the Emperor suffers. Poor Valerian, the right thing to do would be to die in battle, not to negotiate any judgment, in order to survive the remnants of the army.
(The scene of Valerian's humiliation is carved into stone)
As for external forces or other countries, they will not sympathize with or understand Valerian. The Sassanid Persians boasted of their insults to the Roman Emperor, and painted the details of Valerian's humiliation for posterity; and when it was not enough, they carved it in stone for eternity...