Biography
Song Jiang is mentioned in historical texts dating from the time of the end of the reign of Emperor Huizong of Song. His place of birth and base of operations is disputed. One account from Pi Ling Ji notes that Song Jiang rallied some fugitives to form a bandit army and they attacked travellers on the roads of Shandong. Another account from an unknown source states that Song Jiang and his bandits originated from the north of the Yellow River and moved south towards the Huai River Valley. They invaded some ten commanderies and were evidently regarded as being more than merely a nuisance by the imperial court in Kaifeng.
A palace memorial by Hou Meng survives in the historical text History of Song, which states: "Song Jiang and 36 others cross Qi and Wei (the central belt of the North China Plain) at will. Government troops number tens of thousands but none dare to oppose him. His abilities must be extraordinary. In the light of Fang La and his outlaws from Qingxi, why not grant Song Jiang and his men amnesty and allow them to lead a campaign against Fang La to redeem themselves?"
Song Jiang and his bandits were active in the prefectures of Chuzhou and Haizhou (in present-day central Jiangsu) in early 1121. A description of their activities and subsequent defeat by government forces is recorded in the official biography of Zhang Shuye, the Prefect of Haizhou. It states: "Zhang Shuye asked his scouts where they had gone. They say that the bandits have made their way to the coast and seized control of ten huge vessels. He recruited 1,000 men and planted an ambush in a nearby city. Next, he sent skirmishers to lure the bandits into battle. The best foot soldiers were stationed by the coast. When the armies clashed, the bandits ships were then burnt. When the bandits heard that, they lost their will to fight. The army lying in ambush then attacked and captured many of the bandits. Then Song Jiang surrendered." The historical Song Jiang's eventual fate is unknown after his surrender to the government.
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