After the two emperors Zhao Ji and Zhao Heng were captured, Zhao Gou was acclaimed emperor and the Southern Song was established, with its capital in Hangzhou (a famous China travel destination). The Jin troops continued to attack the Southern Song Dynasty but was defeated by two generals Han Shizhong and Yue Fei successively.
Although many Jin-occupied regions were recovered by Yue Fei, Zhao Gou ceded some of them to the Jin Dynasty again in exchange for his mother. He also killed Yue Fei without any reason.
In 1162, Zhao Shen succeeded to the throne and became the second emperor of the Southern Song Dynasty. He made great efforts to manage the state, and the situation of the Southern Song was improved. After his death, his son Zhao Dun took the throne.
Due to mental illness, he abdicated to his son Zhao Kuo. In 1224, Zhao Kuo died and Zhao Yun succeeded the throne. During the reign of Zhao Yun, the Southern Song Dynasty and the Great Mongolian Empire united in destructing the Jin Dynasty.
In 1264, Zhao Yun died and Zhao Qi got the throne. In 1271, Kublai established the Yuan Dynasty. When Zhao Qi died and his son Zhao Xian ascended the throne in 1274, the Southern Song Dynasty had become paralyzed. In 1275, the Yuan troops began to attack the Southern Song again and closed the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty.
In 1276, Zhao Xian abdicated, and his young brother Zhao Shi was acclaimed emperor after escaping to Fuzhou. In 1278, the 11-year-old Zhao Shi died and Zhao Bing took the throne. Under pursuit of the Yuan troops, the Song army had no more power to fight and was defeated. Together with hundreds of imperial members, Zhao Bing committed suicide by jumping into the sea, culminating in the end of the Southern Song Dynasty.
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