In 1161, Wanyan Liang, emperor of the Jurchen Jin Dynasty, planned to invade the Southern Song Dynasty. Owing to the harsh recruitment policy and the Jin’s cruelty, people in the Central Plain found it hard to live on. Xin Qiji, aged 21, rose up in arms with villagers to fight against the Jin army and then joined a more influential voluntary army led by Geng Jing,