Lizong's long reign of 40 years did little to improve the predicament of the Song Empire in his time. The court of Emperor Lizong was dominated by consort clans, Yan and Jia, the
eunuchs Dong Songchen and Lu Yunsheng, and his Co-Regent
Empress Dowager Yang. The Emperor was uninterested in governmental affairs, and for the first decade of his rule he delegated matters into the hands of his ministers, notably
Shi Miyuan, who was the
de facto ruler in his absence. Many critics blamed Lizong's leadership for the eventual fall of the
Song dynasty. Lizong faced a minor rebellion led by the former crown prince
Zhao Hong which was put down after two weeks;
Zhao Hong himself was executed on the orders of Empress Dowager Yang. From the winter of 1230 to the autumn of 1231, the Mongols forcibly passed through the Song Dynasty. In the region centered on the three passes of Shukou, they entered into a series of battles with the Song army. This was the second and largest armed conflict between them before the Mongol conquest of Song officially began. This forced Lizong who being strongly influenced by Empress Dowager Yang to ally with the Mongols as they might conquer the Song.
Wuzhun Shifan, a monk was summoned by Emperor Lizong in 1233. Emperor Lizong discussed with
Wuzhun about
Zen Buddhism, and
Dharma. After the deaths of Empress Dowager Yang and
Shi Miyuan in 1233, Emperor Lizong assumed full authority briefly but again quickly abandoned the responsibility of ruling and delegated matters to his chancellor Ding Daquan in order to pursue personal enjoyment. It was said that the emperor often drank wine a lot, frequented brothels and invited prostitutes into the palace in his late years, which was vehemently opposed by his ministers. Notable events during Emperor Lizong's reign included the demise of the
Jurchen-led
Jin dynasty in 1234, which was
obliterated by the joint forces of the
Mongol Empire and the Song Dynasty. The Jurchens had fought
multiple wars with the Song Empire decades before it was conquered by the Mongols and although their ruler
Emperor Aizong tried to make peace with the Song Dynasty to warn them that if the Mongols conquered the Jin Dynasty and they would attack the Song next, Emperor Lizong ignored the warning and the Jin dynasty fell in 1234.
The Start of the Mongol Invasion Siege of Luoyang Once the
Jin dynasty has fallen, the Song dynasty attempted to take back its northern territories originally occupied by the Jin and took back
Luoyang and
Kaifeng in July 1234. However, in September 1234, the Mongols counterattacked with the siege of Luoyang. The Song army holding Luoyang was short of food supplies. Additionally, the Mongols diverted the water of
Yellow River into the city causing great casualties among the Song army. The fall of Luoyang was simply a prologue of a series of upcoming battles which lasted decades. The fall of Luoyang also began the official start of the
Mongol conquest of the Song dynasty. The Mongols blamed the Song for "breaking the alliance". However, it was more of an excuse for further Mongol expeditions. Other notable events include the Song's ally
Dali falling to the Mongols. Emperor Lizong met Zhao Yifu (1189–1256), who was a minister and a defender of
Jiangnan. Lizong started to Yifu, "You have had two years of great toil, minister." Yifu said "My memorials have all reflected Your Majesty's virtue. I have not had a hair of merit." Emperor Lizong replied "You discussed urgent matters like preventing rebellions, imperial succession, and the drought that hit
Jiangnan and
Hunan." Yifu then said "
King Tang reproached himself over the six affairs. Your Majesty should determine whether in the present circumstances there is a 'six affairs' [situation]." Yifu was named imperial reader-in-waiting the next day. The envoy died, but his suite were detained until 1254. That year the Mongol army attacked to take Hejiu but failed. The Chinese freed the suite of the late envoy to show their desire for peace. The New Khan
Möngke concentrated all his attention on the conquest of the
Song dynasty. Taking personal command late in the decade, he captured many of the fortified cities along the northern front. In October 1257 Möngke set out for South China, leaving his administration to his brother,
Ariq Böke.
Wen Tianxiang and
Lu Xiufu passed the imperial examination where Emperor Lizong personally gave
Wen first rank. In 1259, the Song government was forced to capitulate and cede all territories north of the
Yangtze River to the Mongols. Despite this,
Möngke Khan was killed earlier in the year in a
siege with no designated heir setting the stage for the
Division of the Mongol Empire. The invasions frightened Lizong to the extent that he attempted to move the Song capital but was stopped by his
Empress Xie Daoqing; she thought that if they moved, it would create chaos among the people. In 1260,
Jia Sidao became chancellor who would eventually soon take control over the new emperor Zhao Qi after Lizong's death and expel his opponents like
Wen Tianxiang and Li Fu. An account in
Quan's official biography stated that Lizong ordered her to enter the palace where he greeted her, "Your father Zhaosun died in the service of his majesty in the Baoyou reign, the very thought of which makes me grieve." Quan replied "My father can be remembered, but even more should the plight of the masses of the Huai and Hu regions be remembered!" greatly impressing Lizong who said to his high-ranking officials "The words of this daughter of the Quan family are particularly
grandiloquent. A betrothal should be arranged with the
heir-apparent to permit continuation of the ritual line." Also in 1264, Emperor Lizong died sonless (his sons died prematurely) from an illness and was succeeded by his adopted son and biological nephew,
Zhao Qi, known as
Emperor Duzong after his death. One of his daughters married a descendant of
Zhu Xi. ==Calligraphy==