In 1343, the Yuan Dynasty presided over the compilation of the "History of the Song", which introduced the "Four Generals of Zhongxing" and the "Seven Kings" of the Southern Song Dynasty. Liu Guangshi, who has always been known for his escape and was about to collapse when he encountered Jin Bing, was at the top of the list, higher than Yue Fei, Han Shizhong, Zhang Jun, Yang Yizhong, Wu Xuan, and Wu Jiu. Liu Guangshi's combat effectiveness is average, but he is the head of the "Seven Kings", which is a bit incredible.
In 1127, the Jin army attacked Kaifeng, including Song Huizong and Song Qinzong, 3500 clans and officials became prisoners, and the Northern Song Dynasty fell, which was the "shame of Jingkang". At this time, Zhao Zhuo succeeded to the throne in Shangqiu, but did not dare to recover the Capital Kaifeng, but fled to the south in gray, and once floated on the sea, wretched.
Emperor Zhao and Song, weak will to fight, did not have the determination to resist the enemy, except to flee is to seek peace, and did not have any temper at all. The Jin soldiers went south, the Zhao and Song Emperors heard the wind and fled, but the Generals of the Song Army were different, they rose up to fight back, and beat the Jin soldiers to the ground. The Southern Song Dynasty was able to take a safe corner thanks to the brave killing of the enemy by the soldiers.
After the establishment of the Southern Song Dynasty, seven generals were posthumously awarded the title of prince, namely Liu Guangshi the Prince of Yan, Han Shizhong the Prince of Pu, Zhang Jun the King of Xun, Yue Fei the King of E, Yang Yizhong the Prince of He, Wu Jiu the Prince of Fu, and Wu Xuan the Prince of Xin. The History of Song commented: "The Generals of the Southern Crossing were zhang, Han, Liu, and Yue. In the "Miscellaneous Records of the Dynasty and the Wild Since Jianyan", the Southern Song Dynasty posthumously awarded the "Seven Kings", and Liu Guangshi ranked first in the list.
On the whole, the gold content of the "Seven Kings" of the Southern Song Dynasty is very high, and it is not too much to say that they are famous generals in Zhongxing, and Zhao Zhuo can preserve the ancestral inheritance, mainly relying on them to fight hard. In 1130, Han Shizhong led 8,000 soldiers and horses to fight with 100,000 golden soldiers in Huangtiandang, and Yan Wushu was unable to cross the river smoothly. The two sides continued to fight for more than forty days, and if it were not for the traitors within the Song army, 100,000 Jin soldiers would not have been able to escape.
In 1139, Yue Fei led an army from Ezhou on the Northern Expedition and won successive battles. In the Battle of Haocheng, the Battle of Yingchang, and the Battle of Zhuxian Town, the "Yue Family Army" won more with less, and the "Tiefu Tu" and "Kidnapped Horses" that were the most powerful forces that had completed the Yan Wushu were beaten to the ground and had no strength to resist. At this time, if it were not for Emperor Gaozong of Song's succession of 12 holy wills, Yue Fei was expected to recover the Central Plains and welcome Emperor Huizong and Emperor Qinzong back to the dynasty.
The brothers Wu Jie and Wu Xuan were also very powerful, and the Southern Song Dynasty was able to defend Sichuan, and they were indispensable. In the Battle of Shangyuan, Wu Jie and Wu Xuan led 8,000 soldiers and horses to defend the city and defeated 100,000 jin soldiers. At the Battle of Raofengguan and the Battle of Xianrenguan, the Wu brothers continued to suppress the Jin soldiers and defended the Sichuan-Shaanxi defense line. Off-comment: "Song has Chuan Shu, Wu's merits".
In 1141, Guanyan Wushu led an army of 100,000 to the south, with the fierce general Han Chang as the vanguard, and rampaged all the way, and the Jurchen Iron rode on the north bank of the Yangtze River. The situation in Huaixi was unstable, and Zhang Jun led 130,000 soldiers and horses to march, with Yang Yizhong, Liu Kun, and Wang De as the vanguard, and fought with jin soldiers in Huaixi. In the Battle of Gargao, the Song army and the Jin soldiers engaged in a fierce hand-to-hand combat, and the Jin soldiers could not resist and fled into the wilderness.
Yue Fei, Han Shizhong, Wu Jiu, Wu Xuan, Yang Yizhong, and Zhang Jun, who could be posthumously honored as "kings", had very high gold content, and they all had a good battle. When the Jin soldiers went south, Yue Fei and other 6 generals were not afraid, dared to fight head-on, and could defeat their opponents, which was not simple. So, what about Liu Guangshi? He was not only one of the "Four Generals of Zhongxing", but also the "Head of the Seven Kings", but a general who escaped.
In 1122, Song Jin reached an "Alliance on the Sea" and agreed to attack the Liao state. To this end, Tong Guan led an army of 200,000 to the north to retake Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures. The forward general of the Song Army was initially a seed master, but Tong Guan had a conflict with him, and the seed master road was deposed. Liu Yanqing and Liu Guangshi acted as forward generals and succeeded the seed master Dao.
In 1122, Liu Yanqing and Liu Guangshi led an army of 80,000 to reinforce Guo Yaoshi, and when they heard that the Song army was defeated, Liu Yanqing and Liu Guangshi fled directly, and did not dare to fight with the Liao army. You must know that the Liao army is only 2,000 people, and the Song army has an overwhelming advantage, but it does not dare to fight.
In 1129, 500 Jurchen cavalry arrived in Tianchang, and Liu Guangshi did not dare to resist and directly crossed the river to escape. Emperor Gaozong of Song fled from Yangzhou, but was too nervous to have another heir. After crossing the river, Liu Guangshi guarded Zhenjiang, and then transferred to Jiujiang to defend Jiangnan.
In 1130, Yan Chang led 80,000 jin soldiers to attack Chuzhou, Zhao Li begged for help, and Liu Guangshi did not dare to rescue him. In order to avoid public opinion, Liu Guangshi sent a small group of cavalry to attack the Jin soldiers, which did not help the battle situation.
In 1133, the "Qi army" went south to attack Huainan, and Liu Guangshi did not dare to fight bloody battles and retreated to Jiankang.
In 1134, the Jin soldiers and the "Qi army" jointly crossed the river, but Liu Guangshi still did not dare to fight and continued to flee.
In 1136, the "Qi army" once again went south, and Liu Guangshi fled again. Zhang Jun was not satisfied, and Liu Guangshi had to send Wang De to resist the enemy, but Yang Yizhong had already defeated the enemy at Lotang.
If you don't dare to fight the Golden Soldiers, you don't dare to fight the "Qi Army." In addition to escaping, Liu Guangshi also fled, which caused dissatisfaction among the generals. Zhang Jun continued to play Emperor Gaozong, "Drunk in wine, not sympathetic to state affairs, words to recover, spirits to be refreshed, begging for reprimands, in order to make an example of the general", demanding the removal of Liu Guangshi. Emperor Gaozong had no choice but to agree.
Cai Dongfan commented on Liu Guangshi: "Liu Guangshi's army is undisciplined, and it is not too much to dismiss the enemy. Detachment is so evaluated: "The light world is self-assured, but the choice is discouraged but afraid, there is no need to take orders, and the teacher's law is not strict." It can be seen that Liu Guangshi is indeed very general, far inferior to Yue Fei and Han Shizhong. If the "Seven Kings" were to be replaced, Liu Kun could replace Liu Guangshi. In the Battle of Shunchang, Liu Kai won more with less, defeating 100,000 Jin soldiers with less than 20,000 soldiers and horses.
Even if he is good at "escaping", Liu Guangshi is still the head of the "Seven Kings", why is this? Emperor Zhao and Song liked to escape, and Liu Guangshi had merit in "escorting", perhaps this is the reason. What do you think about this?
Bibliography: History of the Song Dynasty