“Let us drive our chariots through the Helan Pass, My bold aim is to eat the flesh of the nomads. Laughing while I thirst for the blood of the Xiongnu, Wait until we can begin again, Recovering our old rivers and mountains, And paying homage again in the imperial court.”*
Yeah, but how do you really feel, General Yue?
Never one to hold back whether in battle or at court: patriot, general, and case study in why it’s never a good idea to antagonize the emperor (even if you’re right),Yue Fei lived a life devoted to serving the Song dynasty, and it was in a Song prison that he was killed on this date in 1142.
Yue was a military man in a dynasty founded on the principle that military men had no business in state affairs. When the Jurchen invaders of the Jin Dynasty (1115-1234) invaded North China (more on this in a moment), Yue Fei argued passionately against those who sought to trade peace with the Jin for a detente that meant the partition of China. Officials at court, including the notorious Qin Gui (1090-1155)** urged the young and recently enthroned Gaozong Emperor (r. 1127-1162)–the emperor’s father and