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154 China as a Sea Power chapter 5 The War of 1161 and the Expansion of the Navy The peace between Song and Jin was precarious. The Jurchens were warlike and the wealth and resources of the land below the Yangzi presented a constant temptation to them. Only the prudent policy of their ruler, Hola, restrained them from launching an invasion. But in 1150, Hola was murdered by his cousin Digunai, an ambitious man who publicly asserted on the day of his ascension to the throne that his ambition was the conquest of South China.1 In 1156, Digunai transferred his capital from Hui-ning 會寕, southeast of modern Harbin in Manchuria to Yen-ching 燕京 (now Beijing) in order to supervise all military preparations. In the south, Qin Kuai, the ardent advocate of peace had died, but, for a time, the Song emperor Gaozong continued the pacific policy of his minister and refused to heed the reports of militant activities by the Jin government.2 By 1158, the news of Jin preparations for war became more insistent. Digunai was reported to have told his ministers: “It is Heaven’s will that I raise an army to conquer Song. The campaign should not take more than two or three years. Then I would conquer Korea and Xia … and unite the world.”3 Digunai’s invasion plans were encouraged and abetted by a number of renegade Song officials. One of them, Liang Han-ch’en 梁漢臣, suggested to Digunai in 1159 a four-point program of action: (1) transfer the capital to Kaifeng, (2) stockpile food and manufacture arms, (3) build large warships for the navy, and (4) dispatch agents to infiltrate into South China to weaken 154 1 Chen, Songshi Jishi Benmo, ch. 74, p. 600. 2 Ibid., p. 601. 3 Ibid., p. 602. China_Sea Power Chap5.indd 154 2/13/2012 1:16:41 PM The War of 1161 and the Expansion of the Navy 155 Song defenses.4 Digunai adopted the proposals. In his military preparations, he paid particular attention to the building of his naval forces. Building a Navy and the Sea Fight at Chenjiadao Digunai entrusted the program of ship-building to Su Pao-heng 蘇保衡, president of the Board of Works, and Han Hsi 韓錫, a military officer. The technical knowledge on ship-building was furnished by three Southern Chinese shipwrights, Ni Hsün 倪詢, Shang Chien 商簡, and Liang San-erh 梁三兒, who had been lured to the Jin capital by promises of pecuniary rewards.5 The work of ship-building began in the spring of 1159 at T’ung-chou 通州, 15 miles from present-day Beijing, on the Lu River 路河.6 It was reported that the supervisors drove the workers so hard that many of them died from fatigue and over-exertion.7 Digunai, whenever he was in the neighborhood, would inspect the shipyard and exhort the workers.8 Late in 1160, 30,000 men who had seafaring experience were recruited for the navy.9 Hsü Wen 徐文 assisted Digunai in the organization of the navy.10 Digunai was very anxious to try out his new navy. In the spring 1160, when the people of the district of Haizhou (Tonghai in northern Jiangsu) revolted, he sent Xu Wen with a fleet of nine hundred vessels. Asked why, at this time when he was preparing for the invasion of Song, he should send so large a force to punish a few rebels, Digunai told Xu Wen, “I am not concerned about the recovery of a city. My intention is to test my navy.” With such a strong force, Xu had no difficulty in pacifying the people of Haizhou.11 Early in 1161, he watched his fleet carry out maneuvers at sea. The highpoint of the maneuvers was a mock battle between a number of his newly-built warships and a couple of captured large-size Song warships, in which the new but smaller Jin ships emerged victorious.12 Digunai was 4 Yuwen Mouzhao, Dajin Guozhi (in Sichao Bieshi), ch. 14, p. 3. 5 Li Xinzhuan, Jianyan Yilai Xinian Yaolu, ch. 193, p. 28. 6 Yuwen Mouzhao, Dajin Guozhi (in Sichao Bieshi), ch. 14, p. 3. 7 Ibid. 8 Jin Shi, ch. 89, p. 1. 9 XWXTK, ch. 131, p. 3968, col. 1. 10 Jin Shi, ch. 89, p. 1. 11 Ibid., ch. 79, pp. 5–6. 12 XWXTK, ch. 131, p. 3968, col. 1. China_Sea Power Chap5.indd 155 2/13/2012 1:16:41 PM [18.223.32.230] Project MUSE (2024...

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