Introduction
Born in the fifth year of Yuanyou (1090), Emperor Zhezong, and died in Shaoxing, the twenty-fifth year of Emperor Gaozong (1155), his courtesy name was Huizhi, Jiangning (now Nanjing) people.
In the fifth year of Zhenghe's reign (1115), Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty ascended the throne and became a professor in Mizhou (now Zhucheng, Shandong). He once served as Xuezheng of Taixue. In the late Northern Song Dynasty, he served as Yushi Zhongcheng and was captured by the Jin people together with Song Huizong and Qinzong. After returning to the south, he served as Minister of Rites and twice as prime minister, ruling for nineteen years.
Life
Qin Hui was born in a family of small and medium-sized landowners. His father served as the magistrate of Gu County, Jingjiang Prefecture (now Yongfu County, Guangxi), which was only a minor official among the ruling class of the Song Dynasty. Living in such an environment, Qin Hui could not rise quickly, so he worked as a rural teacher. He was not satisfied with this career and even complained, saying, "If I get 300 acres of paddy fields, I won't be the Hozen King this time." His requirements were not high, as long as he had a few hundred acres of good land, no longer being a "children's teacher" or "children's king", and no longer relying on cultivators to support himself, that would be enough. But since becoming a Jinshi, he has skyrocketed.
In the first year of Jingkang (1126), the Jin soldiers attacked Bianjing (now Kaifeng, Henan) and asked Song Huizong to cede three towns: Taiyuan, Zhongshan (now Dingxian, Hebei), and Hejian. At this time, Qin Hui, who was a member of the staff side, put forward four more important opinions. The first is that the Jin people are greedy, and the only way to cede land is to Yanshan; the second is that the Jin people are cunning, and the defense must be strengthened and cannot be relaxed; the third is to convene hundreds of officials to discuss in detail, and choose the correct opinions to write in the alliance letter; the fourth is to include representatives of the Jin Dynasty Place them outside and prevent them from entering the palace gate. At that time, if we wanted to eliminate the troops, we had to cede territory. The Southern Song Dynasty sent Qin Hui and Cheng Li as representatives to negotiate with the Jin people. Qin Hui was still able to adhere to the above opinions during the negotiations, so he was promoted to the imperial censor and Zuo Sijian. Later, the rulers of the Jin Dynasty "resolutely wanted to gain the land, otherwise they would march to Bianjing". During the discussion among the officials in the court, 70 people including Fan Zongyin agreed to cut the land, but 36 people including Qin Hui thought it was not allowed.
After Emperor Huizong and Emperor Qinzong of the Song Dynasty were captured, the Jurchen nobles wanted the Song Dynasty officials to install Zhang Bangchang as a puppet, but Qin Hui was opposed to it. He believed that Zhang Bangchang had attached himself to powerful people in the past and did things that were harmful to the interests of the country. In the Song Dynasty, the country was in danger and the people were miserable. Although this was not caused by one person, Zhang Bangchang could not shirk his responsibility. In this regard, the people hated him as much as they hated their enemies. If you give him territory and let him dominate the people, then heroes from all over the country will definitely unite to punish him, and Zhang Bangchang will not be able to become an important minister of Dai Jin in the end. It is absolutely necessary to make Zhang Bangchang the emperor, "then the people of the capital can be submissive, but the people of the world cannot be submissive, the eldest son of the capital can be destroyed, but the eldest son of the world cannot be destroyed." Judging from Qin Hui's opinions on the Jin Dynasty, his claims on the issue of territorial cession, and his opposition to the establishment of Zhang Bangchang as emperor, there are no signs of surrender on his part at this time. His official position has been mentioned to Yushi Zhongcheng, and he has considerable authority.
In the second year of Jingkang (1127), the Jin people used Qin Hui's rebellion against Zhang Bangchang as an excuse to arrest him, along with his wife Wang and his attendants. At this time, Song Huizong learned that Kang Wang Zhao Gou had ascended the throne, so he wrote to Jin Shuai Nianhan to negotiate a peace treaty, and asked Qin Hui to revise and polish the peace treaty. Qin Hui also bribed Nianhan with generous gifts, and Jin Taizong gave Qin Hui to his younger brother Talan for appointment. From then on, Qin Hui followed Ta Lan step by step and gradually became his confidant.
In the fourth year of Jianyan (1130), Jin general Ta Lan led troops to attack Shanyang, an important town in Huaibei (i.e. Chuzhou, today's Huai'an, Jiangsu), and ordered Qin Hui to accompany him. Why should Qin Hui accompany us? Judging from the strategy of laziness, luring peace talks and colluding with internal and external parties can lead to the subjugation of the Southern Song Dynasty. Only Qin Hui can use this "inside". However, Qin Hui's face of selling himself to join the Jurchen nobles had not been completely exposed to the Southern Song Dynasty, so the Jin rulers regarded Qin Hui as a suitable candidate. Therefore, Qin Huinan secretly discussed plans with his wife Wang before leaving, and put on a dramatic performance. Wang deliberately yelled and said: "My father married me to you. He had a fortune of 200,000 yuan at that time, and he wanted you and me to share the joys and sorrows. Now that the Dajin Kingdom trusts you, you just leave me on the road." The quarrel continued. When the lazy wife heard about it, she invited Mrs. Wang to her house to find out what happened. Wang told everything.
Qin Hui's proposition aroused strong dissatisfaction from both the government and the public. Out of his own interests and frightened by the situation of the anti-war faction and the people resisting the Jin Dynasty and opposing the peace negotiation, Zhao Gou had to dismiss Qin Hui from his position as prime minister. It was later confirmed that envoys from the Jin Dynasty went to the Southern Song Dynasty and demanded that all northerners be returned, which was consistent with Qin Hui's idea of ??"returning northerners to the north". People of insight further realized that this was the result of Qin Hui's conspiracy with the Jin people, and Qin Hui's face became clearer.
His policy of suing for peace and surrender was difficult to realize for a while, so he had to endure the temporary setback, wait for the opportunity to make a comeback, and wait for the opportunity to make a comeback. Nianhan died in the fifth year of Shaoxing (1135), and Talan gained power. In the eighth year of Shaoxing (1138), Zhao Gou appointed Qin Hui as prime minister. Yan Dunfu, the official minister, said worriedly that Qin Hui was a "treacherous prime minister". But because Ta Laan was Qin Hui's old master, this old master advocated using the strategy of inducing surrender and negotiating peace to induce Zhao Gou to take the bait. Qin Hui, Zhao Gou and Ta Lan colluded internally and externally, so they had no worries about the demise of the Southern Song Dynasty.
Qin Hui saw that the situation in the Song and Jin Dynasties was constantly developing in a direction conducive to his policy of begging for peace and surrender, and considered this an opportunity. Therefore, on the eve of the negotiations between the Song and Jin Dynasties, with the power of the Jurchen noble agents, Zhao Gou was repeatedly tested and inspected again and again to enhance his confidence in suing for peace and strengthen his surrender stance. After the ministers of the Southern Song Dynasty met with Zhao Gou, only Qin Hui stayed to present the memorial. Please look at the wonderful dialogue between a foolish emperor and a treacherous prime minister. Qin Hui said: "The ministers are timid in negotiating peace and have two sides, which is why they cannot decide major issues. If your Majesty is determined to make peace, please discuss it exclusively with me and do not allow the group to make peace." Please intervene." Zhao Gou said, "I will only appoint you to take charge." Qin Hui said, "I'm afraid it will be inconvenient. I hope your majesty will consider it seriously for three days and allow me to make another report to you." Three days later, Qin Hui said. He stayed at Zhao Gou's side again to carry out the work. Zhao Gaohua's idea of ????making peace was already very firm, but Qin Hui thought that it was not enough. He said: "I'm afraid there are still inconveniences in other aspects. I would like to ask your majesty to seriously consider it for three days." , let me make another report to you." Zhao Gou said, "Okay!" Three days later, Qin Hui stayed alone with Zhao Gou just like before. He clearly understood that Zhao Gou was indeed unswervingly determined to make peace, so he took out the letter of peace request to Jin that he had already drafted, and still claimed that the ministers would not be allowed to interfere