Zhao Jiu was the tenth emperor of the Song Dynasty and a rare Zhongxing ruler whose historical reputation surpassed even that of Emperor Taizu. In his youth, he was known for his generosity and affability, his love of drinking and poetry, his spirited integrity, and his mastery of spear and staff techniques. As a young man, he followed the example of Emperor Taizu of Song by traveling through Hebei, defeating all challengers in the three prefectures and sixteen military districts with a gilded dragon-staff. People at the time called him "Unrivaled with the spear and staff in Hebei, number one in mounted combat under heaven." Because of his jade-like face and his preference for white robes and socks, he was called "Jade Qilin" or "Jade-faced White Dragon."

Later, during the Jingkang Incident, when the empire was collapsing, Zhao Jiu took command of the military north of the Yellow River as Grand Marshal of the armies of the world. Because of his equestrian skills and his care for his soldiers, many were willing to die for him. At that time, the Central Plains had been at peace for a long time, and both civil and military affairs were neglected. The armies had not been trained for a long time, and many fled when they encountered the Jin. Only Zhao Jiu dared to fight. Although he was repeatedly defeated, he forged an iron army from his failures, which later became the foundation of the world-renowned Imperial Guard.

After Zhao Jiu ascended the throne, he fought several major battles. The first battle was at Mount Bagong, where he gathered defeated soldiers and executed the fleeing general Liu Guangshi to boost morale. Liu Guangshi was from a family of generals in the Western Army and had been skilled in martial arts since childhood. However, Zhao Jiu killed him after only a few exchanges in front of his thousands of troops. At that time, Wang De, known as Wang Yecha (King Ogre), who could stop children from crying at night, and a fierce general under Liu Guangshi, was unable to stop him. The generals were awed by his courage and kneeled to beg for forgiveness, none daring to look up. This battle, fought on the Huai River, using both water and land forces, resulted in a minor defeat for the Jin, with few captured or killed. However, its true significance lay in dispelling the myth that the Jin army could not be defeated by ten thousand men, injecting a shot in the arm for the anti-Jin forces in various regions at the time.

Later, he led his army to reinforce Tokyo, riding three horses hundreds of miles at full speed. It was here that Zhao Jiu met Yue Fei, a meeting of great figures, a ruler and his subject finding each other. The Jin general Wanyan Talan, known for his cruelty and bloodthirstiness, was helpless against the empire's top military leaders, managing only to escape with his life. The Jin were annihilated on a large scale on the battlefield for the first time. The bandit general Wanyan Talan, seeing Zhao Jiu's strength on the battlefield, was frightened by the battle and never dared to set foot south of the Yellow River again in his life.

Later, the Jin war god Wanyan Loushi led his army to invade the south. Zhao Jiu combined several armies to fight him at Yaoshan. In this battle, neither Yue Fei nor Han Shizhong were present, and this battle fully demonstrated Zhao Jiu's military talent. At that time, Wanyan Loushi first defeated the veteran general Wang Yan, then killed the great general Li Shiqi in battle, rampaging through an army of 100,000, and none of the generals could stop him. Zhao Jiu bent his bow and shot an eagle, firing three arrows. The first arrow broke the flag, the second killed the horse, and the third hit Wanyan Loushi directly, and the battle was won from that point on. Later generations called it "Three Arrows to Secure Yaoshan."

Later generations compared Zhao Jiu with Emperor Taizu of Yan as the emperors who were best at fighting wars, but Emperor Taizu of Yan was skilled in military strategy, while Zhao Jiu was skilled in military tactics. Emperor Taizu of Yan led an army of 100,000 to roam the world, while Zhao Jiu led thousands of soldiers to break armies and kill generals. Both were top figures in their respective fields. Of Zhao Jiu, children sang, "No king surpasses Xiang Yu, no general surpasses Li Guang. Emperor Shizu Zhao Jiu is invincible under heaven."