Is “Emperor Renzong of Song sent Hong Xin to Longhu Mountain to pray for blessings due to a plague, which led to the accidental release of demons.” true?
According to the 'History of Song: Annals of Emperor Renzong', it is recorded that 'on the day Xinwei, the emperor died in the Funing Palace', and in the forty-two years of his reign, there is no record of sending a Grand Commandant to pray for blessings or accidentally releasing demons. Chapter 2 of 'Water Margin' narrates that in the third year of Jiayou, due to a plague, Emperor Renzong sent Grand Commandant Hong Xin to Longhu Mountain to summon the Heavenly Master. 'Emperor Renzong approved the memorial, rewarded Hong Xin, and restored his former position.' Opening the Demon-Suppressing Hall and accidentally releasing the Thirty-Six Heavenly Spirits and Seventy-Two Earthly Fiends is purely fictional.
In the official history, there is no such event as praying for blessings at Longhu Mountain during the forty-two years of Emperor Renzong's reign; the novel fictionalizes his sending Hong Xin to release demons by mistake.
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