Death of Zong Ze

Timeline

1. 1128Eastern Capital, Kaifeng Prefecture · HenanAfter the Jin army withdrew north, Zong Ze judged Song forces strong and planned a northern expedition with Wang Yan, Ma Kuo and others, moving garrisons to Huazhou and contacting the Wumashan irregulars. He submitted twenty-four memorials urging the emperor to return to the Eastern Capital and drafted a plan to advance on the Chan River in June, but court peace advocates Huang Qianshan and Wang Boyan obstructed him and the expedition was repeatedly shelved.
2. 1128Office of the Left Defender, Eastern Capital, Kaifeng Prefecture · HenanFrustrated that his ambition to recover the Central Plains could not be realized, Zong Ze fell ill with a carbuncle on his back. When generals visited, he sighed 'the campaign is unfinished and I die first,' and passed away on the first day of the seventh month, crying 'cross the river' three times at the end without a word about family affairs. The people of Kaifeng wept at the news, and over a thousand imperial students mourned for three days.
3. 1128Jingxian Mountain, Zhenjiang Prefecture · JiangsuOn hearing of his death the court posthumously granted him the title Scholar of the Guanwen Hall, advanced six ranks, gave the posthumous name Zhongjian, and further honored him with the dignity of Grand Preceptor. His son Zong Ying and subordinate Yue Fei escorted the coffin south, burying him at the foot of Jingxian Mountain in Dantu, Zhenjiang, jointly with his wife Lady Chen. Zong Ze's death collapsed the anti-Jin command center at Bianjing, and the Jin army soon invaded south again.