A Kingdom on the Brink

In the winter of 1232, the Jin Dynasty faced its darkest hour. Emperor Aizong, the ninth ruler of the Jurchen-led dynasty that had once dominated northern China, prepared for what would become the second imperial evacuation in Jin history. The Mongol onslaught under Ögedei Khan had reduced the once-mighty empire to a shadow of its former self, with territories shrinking dramatically since their peak under Emperor Shizong.

The court’s December 10th announcement of an “imperial campaign” thinly veiled the grim reality – this was a desperate flight for survival. The emperor’s carefully curated list of accompanying officials and military commanders revealed much about the dynasty’s dwindling resources. Right Chancellor WanYan Saibu, Vice Marshal WanYan Echou, and other senior figures would join the evacuation, leaving behind a skeleton administration in the southern capital of Nanjing (modern Kaifeng).

The Ill-Fated Expedition Begins

On December 25th, the imperial procession departed Nanjing in a scene of profound melancholy. Contemporary chronicler Liu Qi observed the stark contrast between imperial pomp and current reality: “The ceremonial guards looked desolate, and those who witnessed the scene were overcome with sorrow.” Emperor Aizong, dressed in a deep red gauze robe, bid emotional farewells to his mother Empress Dowager Rensheng and his consorts before riding through the Kaiyang Gate.

The military escort, though numbering 30-40,000, inspired little confidence. The emperor privately lamented the quality of his commanders compared to earlier Jin generals, complaining to留守 officials: “Don’t I know that today’s military leaders are barely adequate? If I don’t lead personally, what choice do I have?” His parting words – stroking the imperial throne while murmuring “I shall never return” – proved ominously prophetic.

Strategic Dilemmas and Divided Counsel

The expedition faced immediate logistical nightmares. Just beyond Nanjing’s walls lay a devastated landscape where, as General WanYan Zhongde reported after his harrowing journey from Shaanzhou, “not a single well or cooking stove remained.” Zhongde’s troops had survived on foraged plants, arriving with just five or six survivors from his original thousand.

Court factions proposed conflicting strategies:

1. Western Option: Chancellor Saibu advocated moving southwest to Dengzhou through the Funiu Mountains, avoiding the Mongol garrison at Ruzhou.

2. Eastern Option: Many military commanders preferred fortified GuiDe (modern Shangqiu), surrounded by protective waterways.

3. Radical Proposal: Reinstated strategist Bai Hua urged a direct assault on the Mongol forces at Ruzhou for a decisive battle, arguing this was the dynasty’s last chance for survival.

The emperor publicly embraced Bai Hua’s aggressive stance, declaring at ancestral temple ceremonies his intention to “seek battle with the Mongol cavalry at Ruzhou.” Privately, however, he appears to have planned the safer Dengzhou route until Zhongde’s grim report made western advance impossible.

Disaster at the Yellow River

By December 29th, the imperial party reached the critical Huangling Crossing on the Yellow River. Here, fate intervened catastrophically during New Year’s Day 1233. As nearly 10,000 Jin troops awaited river crossing, Mongol cavalry under Huiginai attacked. Though initially repelled by General He Duxi’s desperate rearguard action (he took sixteen arrows while rallying troops), a sudden northern gale blew the makeshift transport fleet ashore, allowing Mongol main forces under Subutai to annihilate the stranded Jin units.

The emperor watched helplessly from the north bank as elite Jianwei troops – among the dynasty’s last crack units – were slaughtered or surrendered en masse. The chronicles describe Aizong tumbling from his throne in anguish, later conducting tearful memorial rites for the fallen before executing two brothers of the surrendering commander WanYan Wolunchu.

The Futile Siege of Weizhou

With a quarter of his force lost, Aizong pressed on toward Weizhou, a fortified town controlling access to Nanjing from the north. Military preparations revealed the expedition’s disorganization – troops attempted scaling stone walls with lashed-together spears as ladders. When Mongol reinforcements under Shi Tianze arrived after three days of failed assaults, the Jin army withdrew in disarray.

The January 12th Battle at Baigong Temple proved decisive. Mongol forces including Zhang Rou’s Han Chinese troops and the elite “Black Army” under Chala routed the Jin. Commanders Liu Yi and Zhang Kai perished during the retreat, while Chancellor Bai Sa escaped to Changyuan.

The Emperor’s Midnight Flight

As disaster unfolded, Emperor Aizong made his fateful decision. On the night of January 13th, with Mongol forces approaching, advisors rushed the emperor from his bed to a waiting boat. The evacuation was so hasty that most guards remained unaware until morning, when they found the imperial tent abandoned – its contents including a red case containing the aspirational “Ode to the Revival in Hebei” left for Mongol discovery.

The emperor reached GuiDe safely by dawn, but his stranded troops were massacred attempting their own river crossing. This inglorious conclusion to the “imperial campaign” marked the effective end of Jin field forces and sealed the dynasty’s fate.

Cultural Echoes and Historical Legacy

The abandoned “Ode to the Revival in Hebei” symbolized the tragic gap between imperial aspirations and military reality. Modeled after Tang Dynasty revival narratives, its author Yang Huan (who later changed his name fearing Mongol retribution) had drawn parallels between Aizong and Tang Suzong’s mid-An Lushan Rebellion comeback. The empress dowager’s earlier skepticism – “What revival after just one victory?” – proved painfully prescient.

This episode illuminates several key historical themes:

1. The Jin-Mongol War’s Final Phase: Demonstrates how the 1232 siege of Kaifeng and subsequent campaigns systematically eliminated Jin resistance.

2. Military Institutional Decline: The contrast between early Jin cavalry prowess and these desperate, poorly equipped forces shows the dynasty’s institutional erosion.

3. Imperial Leadership Under Stress: Aizong’s vacillation between bold proclamations and panicked retreats exemplifies the challenges of late Jin rulership.

Modern historians debate whether alternative strategies might have prolonged Jin resistance, but most agree the 1232-33 campaign marked the irreversible tipping point before the dynasty’s 1234 collapse. The flight’s details, preserved in works like the Jin Shi and Liu Qi’s memoirs, offer poignant insights into the final years of this once-powerful empire that had itself conquered northern China from the Liao and Song just a century earlier.