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History of the Southern Sung Dynasty.
Oct
proof of cowardice, and sent an envoy, who in insulting terms told Kingtáng, that he had been ungrateful to his benefactor, and he would give another master to China. When the emperor heard these words, his very soul melted in him; he immediately retired to the inner palace, fell sick, and died shortly afterwards in a. d. 936.
His grandson, much against the last expressed wish of the mon- arch, was chosen emperor, and in order to assuage the wrath of the barbarian, sent a most humiliating epistle to the chief. He had however taken his resolution, the Tartar hordes marched boldly into the provinces, and spread over a great part of the northern territory. This inroad was opposed by some brave Chinese generals, who drew пр their soldiers in squares, to protect them against the attacks of the Tartar horse, and the Ketans were obliged to retreat to their own country on account of the losses they suffered.
The Chinese ministers now flattered themselves that they would be free from further attacks, when an unfortunate circumstance, threw the whole court in utter consternation. A fox walked into the imperial chamber, and cowered down on the couch. The archers sent by the emperor to drive away the animal, instead of hitting it. pierced the imperial robes—a bad omen : a number of dogs also were let loose upon reynard, but he walked composedly out of the palace. What could this signify, than that the Ketans were preparing for a new attack! To avert the danger, the young monarch Káiyun, known in history as Chu ti, addressed a very servile letter to the This token of fear roused the spirit of the rovers, and they enemy. appeared with a more formidable army than ever before.
But they might have been driven back, had the generalissimo not played the traitor. The emperor wished to place himself at the head of his troops, but was dissuaded by the advice of his ministers, who sug- gested to him, that being the head of the state, he ought to take care of himself, for the benefit of the public. The commander-in-chief therefore received absolute power, and when the hostile armies ap- proached each other, and remained for a long time inert, the provi- sions of the Chinese began to fail, and the troops were reduced to great misery. The Ketans,
The Ketans, being aware of this state of things, but not wishing to drive them to despair, sent a message offering to the general the imperial diadem, if he would surrender. This bait was too tempting to be rejected; he called upon the officers of his staff whether they agreed to the proposal, and, as all gave their consent, the terms of the capitulation were soon arranged.
The emperor, believing himself in security at Liáng, was just