Whenever the longest reigning emperor in China's history is mentioned, everyone naturally knows that it is definitely Qianlong, who reigned for 60 years and died at the age of 89. Corresponding to Qianlong, it is natural that he is the shortest reigning emperor in Chinese history, and in people's cognition, the shortest-reigning emperor is Liu He of the Han Dynasty, who was relegated to the title of Shuren after only 27 days of reign, and was historically called the Emperor of the Han Dynasty. However, this perception is wrong, because the shortest-reigning emperor in China was not Liu He, but the last emperor of the Jin Dynasty, Yan Chenglin, who, according to historical records, took only half a day from the time he ascended the throne to his death. What was the reason for the fate of the last emperor of the Jin Dynasty to be so miserable?
According to the "Jin Shi Aizong Benji", the tragic scene at the fall of the Jin Dynasty is not even inferior to the "Shame of Jingkang" concocted by the Jin Dynasty. In 1232, the Battle of Sanfengshan completely lost the elite strength of the Jin army, and it was no longer able to compete with the powerful Mongol army. In March of the same year, the Mongol army surrounded the Jin Dynasty's capital division, Fenjing, and the 9th emperor of the Jin Dynasty, Jin Aizong, chose to abandon the city and flee under the circumstance that Fenjing was easy to defend and difficult to attack. Because the Mongol army attacked Fenjing for 60 days, it still failed to capture Fenjing in one fell swoop, so it withdrew its troops and left. The following year, the Mongol army made a comeback, and the Fenjing general Cui Li mutinied and Kaesong surrendered, and these Mongol troops who broke into the city of Beijing went around looting silver and seizing all the daughters of civilian widows and rich families for themselves.
The fate of the Jin dynasty royal family was even more tragic, all the members of the Zong clan were sent to Inner Mongolia, the princesses and concubines became the playthings of the Mongolian army, and the ministers and civilians of the DPRK and The people were reduced to Mongol slaves. Jin Aizong, who fled from Fenjing to Caizhou, escaped the battle of subjugating the country and destroying the species. On February 8, 1234, the Mongol army joined forces with the Southern Song Dynasty army and attacked Caizhou. Emperor Aizong of Jin suddenly felt that the general trend had gone, and he was not willing to be the king of the fallen country of the Jin Dynasty, and on the night when the Mongol and Song armies broke the city, Emperor Aizong of Jin passed the throne to the marshal of the eastern part of the Jin Dynasty, Yan Chenglin.
There is not much historical information about this last emperor of the Jin Dynasty, according to the historical records, he is a descendant of the Ancestors of the Jin Dynasty, this person is brave and good at war, and he has performed prominently in the campaign against Mongolia and is deeply respected by the Jin Dynasty. On the day of Emperor Aizong's escape, Yan Chenglin abandoned his family members in Beijing and escorted Emperor Aizong all the way to save his life. After arriving in Caizhou, Yan Chenglin served as the commander-in-chief of the anti-Mongol army. Such a loyal and talented general has never coveted the throne in the slightest.
When Caizhou was besieged by the Mongol and Southern Song armies, Yan Chenglin wanted to lead the army to attack. It was only in the early Qing Dynasty that Emperor Aizong of Jin realized that the day of the fall of the Jin Dynasty had arrived, and he did not want to bear the name of the king of the fallen country, and then on the grounds that he was obese and unable to lead troops to fight against the Mongol army, he insisted on entrusting the throne to Yan Chenglin, so that this skilled general could highlight the siege and continue the Jin state. Yan Chenglin could not shirk it, and could only promise Emperor Aizong to succeed to the throne. The succession ceremony was held in the early morning of February 9, and at the same time as the hundred officials congratulated him, the Mongol and Song allied forces had already invaded the city, and Yan Chenglin, who had just taken over the throne, led his troops out to engage the enemy in the alley, and could only retreat to the sub-city because of the outnumbered. At this time, Jin Aizong, who had abdicated the throne, had already hanged himself in Youlanxuan, and Yan Chenglin cried when he heard the news, the defense of the city gradually collapsed, and the last emperor of the Jin Kingdom was also killed by the rebels. According to historians, it is likely that Yan Chenglin's reign did not exceed two hours, so he was the emperor with the shortest reign in China.