Editing Emperor Qinzong (section)

== Reign ==
Left to deal with the Jin invasion by himself,{{sfn|Mote|1999|p=196}} Emperor Qinzong appointed the general Li Gang ({{lang|zh|李綱}}) to lead the Song military to fend off the invaders. However, Emperor Qinzong was not a decisive leader and often made poor judgments. Eventually, he removed Li Gang from his appointment in the hope of starting peace talks with the Jin Empire and sent his younger brother [[Emperor Gaozong of Song|Zhao Gou]] to negotiate but he was captured and ransomed. This may contribute to [[Emperor Gaozong of Song|Emperor Gaozong]]'s decision to not rescue Qinzong. The first siege of Bianjing ended after Qinzong gave a city to the Jurchens and paid them annual tribute. [[Emperor Huizong of Song|Emperor Huizong]] returned after hearing that the siege was over.

=== Causes of the Second Siege of Bianjing ===
Despite this, almost as soon as the Jin armies had left Kaifeng, Emperor Qinzong reneged on the deal and dispatched two armies to repel the Jurchen troops attacking Taiyuan and bolster the defenses of Zhongshan and Hejian. An army of 90,000 soldiers and another of 60,000 were defeated by Jin forces by June. A second expedition to rescue Taiyuan was also unsuccessful.{{sfn|Lorge|2005|p=53}} Emperor Qinzong rejected a proposal to reinforce the northern borders reasoning that they may never come back and sent his generals to other parts of the country. The Jin imperial court sent two ambassadors to Song. The two ambassadors were nobles from the former [[Liao dynasty]]. Emperor Qinzong misjudged the situation and believed that they could be used to turn against the Jin ruler, [[Emperor Taizong of Jin|Emperor Taizong]]. Emperor Qinzong sent a coded letter which was sealed in candle wax, inviting them to join Song to form an Anti–Jin alliance but the ambassadors handed the letter to Emperor Taizong and in retaliation, accused Emperor Qinzong for violating the peace treaty and sent an even bigger army against the Song.