 Meanwhile , one Song prince , Zhao Gou , had escaped capture . He had been held up in Cizhou while on a diplomatic mission , and never made it back to Kaifeng . He was not present in the capital when the city fell to the Jurchens . The future Emperor Gaozong managed to evade the Jurchen troops tailing him by moving from one province to the next , traveling across Hebei , Henan , and Shandong . The Jurchens tried to lure him back to Kaifeng where they could finally capture him , but did not succeed . Zhao Gou finally arrived in the Song Southern Capital at Yingtianfu ( 應天府 ; modern Shangqiu ) in early June 1127 . For Gaozong ( r . 1127 – 1162 ) , Yingtianfu was the first in a series of temporary capitals called xingzai 行在 . The court moved to Yingtianfu because of its historical importance to Emperor Taizu of Song , the founder of the dynasty , who had previously served in that city as a military governor . The symbolism of the city was meant to secure the political legitimacy of the new emperor , who was enthroned there on June 12 . 
