Wen Tianxiang was a famous loyal minister at the end of the Southern Song Dynasty, and after he was captured by the Yuan army, he was distinguished because of his loyalty and integrity. Kublai Khan, who loved talent, always wanted to take him for his own use, and after 3 years of persuasion, Wen Tianqian finally relaxed and made a small request, but Kublai Khan immediately killed him.
(Wen Tianxiang)
In the "History of Song", it is recorded that Wen Tianxiang was born with "a rich physique, beautiful as jade, beautiful eyebrows and long eyes, And Gu Pan Yeran", and was a jade-faced scholar. In fact, he was indeed very talented, and at the age of 20, he passed the entrance examination, and in the temple examination, he was hand-picked by Song Lizong with a 10,000-word policy.
Wen Tianxiang was not only handsome and learned, he was also young and ambitious. When he was young, he saw that Ouyang Xiu, Hu Quan, and others worshipped in the Xuegong were all given the titles of "Zhong", so he was envious and set the ambition that "if you can't become one of them when you grow up, you won't be considered a man".
Unfortunately, Wen Tianxiang, who was just and loyal, after entering the army, was much ostracized because of the treacherous ministers in the dprk, and was repeatedly reprimanded and released in his career, and was not valued by the emperor.
In 1274, Wen Tianxiang once again sent Out Ganzhou Zhizhou.
At this time, the Yuan army, which had already taken most of the Great Song Dynasty, had taken the cities of Jiankang and Lianghuai in a menacing manner, and saw that Lin'an was in danger. The main peace faction and the main war faction argue with each other endlessly and are full of contradictions. Song Gongzong was only a young boy, and in desperation, Empress Xie issued an edict to the king of the whole country, and on the other hand, she begged for a letter to surrender to the Yuan army.
After Wen Tianxiang received the news, he immediately recruited tens of thousands of people in the local area and prepared to enter the King of Jingqin.
At that time, his friend advised him that the Yuan army was fierce and cruel, and it was only a matter of time before he could break through Kyoto. Isn't it the same as a sheep going into the mouth of a tiger now that you are gathering a bunch of mortal pawns to die?
Wen Tianxiang resolutely replied, I also know that it is difficult to take these people to defend Kyoto. However, the country has nurtured the people for more than 300 years, and now the country is in difficulty, and no soldier is willing to defend the country. If I take these people with me, even if I am martyred in war, the benevolent and righteous people of the world will surely rise up bravely and stand on their own feet with loyalty and righteousness. The large number of people and great strength will naturally allow the country to survive the crisis.
Subsequently, Wen Tianxiang donated his rich family assets to military funds and participated in the Anti-Yuan War.
(Powerful Yuan army, to take its meaning)
However, while he was fighting the Yuan army, the Southern Song Court planned to surrender to the Yuan army.
Since Zhang Shijie, Chen Yizhong, and others had already led their troops out of Lin'an, the Song court ordered Wen Tianxiang to be the Right Minister and Privy Counsellor, and asked him to go to the Yuan army camp to negotiate peace.
For the unreasonable demands of the Yuan army, Wen Tianxiang resolutely refused to give in, and the negotiations were not happy, and Wen Tianxiang was arrested for this reason. Later, he took advantage of the jailer's shift to escape. After many hardships, we finally arrived in Wenzhou.
By this time the Yuan army had conquered Lin'an, and both Empress Xie and Emperor Gongzong of Song had been captured and taken to Dadu.
After consultation, Wen Tianxiang and Lu Xiufu and others finally established zhao yan, who was only 7 years old, to be proclaimed emperor in Fujian as emperor for Emperor Duanzong of Song.
Wen Tianxiang recruited soldiers and horses everywhere and vowed to fight the Yuan army to the end.
After all, there are few soldiers and widows, although they are full of enthusiasm, but where can they defeat the iron cavalry army of the Yuan Dynasty!
On the one hand, loyal and brave people are dying in battle, and on the other hand, those who are greedy and afraid of death are surrendering. As a result, Wen Tianxiang's troops became smaller and smaller, and in the end he could only fight and retreat, and his wife and daughter were also captured by the Yuan army.
In 1278, Emperor Duanzong of Song died of illness. The 8-year-old King of Wei, Zhao Fu, was proclaimed emperor in Guangzhou by Lu Xiufu and others, and at the same time, Wen Tianxiang was made the Duke of Xinguo.
Poor this year the plague was rampant, and Wen Tianxiang's old mother and his son also died of the epidemic during the war. However, Wen Tianxiang could not bear the grief, so he led his army into Chaoyang and launched a deadly struggle with the Yuan army.
At that time, there was a vicious bandit named Chen Yi in Chaoyang. Not only was it a local harm, but it also defected to the Yuan army several times. After Wen Tianxiang arrived at Chaoyang, he wanted to destroy him and his people. But in the process of annihilation, let him escape.
In order to take revenge, Chen Yi secretly colluded with the Yuan general Zhang Hongfan and secretly attacked Wen Tianxiang's troops, and Wen Tianxiang was also captured.
(Kublai Khan)
At that time, Kublai Khan was recruiting talented Ande Southern Song officials everywhere. After learning that Wen Tianxiang had been captured, he respected Wen Tianxiang's talent and integrity, so he successively asked Zhang Hongfan and the Southern Song Dynasty subordinates to persuade Wen Tianxiang to surrender. He also said that as long as Wen Tianxiang promised to be loyal to him as he was loyal to the southern Song Dynasty court, he would be given the position of Zhongshu Chancellor. But no matter who tried to persuade Wen Tianxiang, Wen Tianxiang would rather die unyieldingly and be bent on martyrdom.
Kublai Khan then asked Wen Tianxiang's daughter Liu Niang to write to him about the pain of being taken prisoner. After Wen Tianxiang read the letter, he burst into tears. He knew that as long as he surrendered to the Yuan Dynasty, he would be able to meet his wife and daughter, but he still did not change his original intention.
Wen Tianxiang's actions not only touched the prison guards, but also inspired the determination of the old people of the Southern Song Dynasty to resist the Yuan.
Kublai Khan's new dynasty was established, and it was urgent to alleviate the contradictions between the Han and The Mongols. He knew very well that as long as Wen Tianxiang surrendered to him, he could deal a great blow to the anti-Yuan wave of the old people of the Southern Song Dynasty.
Therefore, Wen Tianxiang was imprisoned for 3 years, and Kublai Khan not only did not rebuke him, but was quite tolerant of him.
Kublai Khan sent people to persuade Wen Tianxiang several times, and Wen Tianxiang finally relaxed and made a request. According to the "History of Song", Wen Tianxiang said: "When the country dies, I will die one by one." Qiu Yuan was on a leave of absence, and he was able to return to his hometown with a yellow crown, and he prepared an adviser to the Japanese and The Party, but also. "This means that when the country is dead, I deserve to be martyred." But if you are willing to let me go back to my hometown, I will become a monk and then serve you as an outsider, which is not impossible.
For a time, many southern Song dynasty vassals asked Kublai Khan for orders, hoping that he would release Wen Tianxiang and make him a monk. Kublai Khan also felt that although he changed his ways, he could not only make a name for himself among the Han people, but also eliminate their hatred for the Yuan Dynasty regime among the old people of the Southern Song Dynasty, so he also had this heart.
However, Liu Mengyan, a subordinate of the Southern Song Dynasty, was resolutely opposed because he had a personal vendetta against Wen Tianxiang. He also said that Wen Tianxiang had always regarded death as a homecoming, and suddenly expressed his willingness to surrender, but asked to let him go first, which was obviously a conspiracy. If he returned to Jiangnan, his influence would easily gather the old people of the Southern Song Dynasty. What should I do if I start a war?
Kublai Khan felt that it was reasonable, and in order to reduce unnecessary risks, he finally ordered Wen Tianxiang's execution.
(Reference: History of the Song Dynasty)