This is an interesting historical question. In the fierce confrontation between the Southern Song Dynasty and the Mongol Empire, Xiangyang was a key strategic fortress, and its strong city and geographical location allowed it to resist the Mongol army for six years. However, after the fall of Xiangyang, the Southern Song Dynasty quickly came to an end, and it was declared extinct just three years later. This stark contrast is puzzling: how can an isolated city, as important as it is, determine the life and death of a vast empire? In addition to defending Xiangyang, did the Southern Song Dynasty have any other way to survive? What caused the fall of the Southern Song Dynasty? Let's find out.
The root of the decline of the Southern Song Dynasty
The Song Dynasty was originally a powerful dynasty, with equal emphasis on both culture and martial arts. However, in the Southern Song Dynasty, the national power obviously declined. The root cause of this is that the ruling class is greedy for pleasure and extravagance, which has led to the increasingly tyrannical and corrupt imperial family, coupled with the control of the gentry by the gate lords, the authority of the emperor exists in name only.
Song Gaozong Zhao Gou was a lascivious and mediocre lord, who spent his reign entertaining and indulgent, and the power of the court was in the hands of eunuchs and traitorous cronies. Zhang Bangxiong, the head of Song Gaozong's Longyang Bao, not only defrauded a huge amount of money by forging documents, but also manipulated the government and did evil with the eunuch gang, and his crime was unforgivable.
As the ruling class became more and more corrupt, the lives of the common people were also in dire straits. Excessive collection of money for servitude led to prolonged droughts every year, and the people were displaced. Even the famous poet Lu You wrote that "the tax pavilion is long and short, and the yamen is deep and locked; Since the land is too narrow, there is no more home", describing the difficult situation of the people at that time.
Against the backdrop of the increasingly corrupt ruling class and the impoverishment of the people, the national strength of the Southern Song Dynasty naturally plummeted. In particular, army building is even more barren. The Southern Song Dynasty abolished Yue Fei's military system and returned military power to the central government. A large number of outstanding generals were also excluded because of the turbulent times. As a result, even if the Mongol cavalry pressed the border, it would be difficult for the Southern Song Dynasty to have enough military strength to resist it.
This kind of total decadence from the ruling class to the common people of Li doomed the Southern Song Dynasty to retreat in the confrontation with the Mongol army, and finally to its annihilation. Of course, the strong combat effectiveness of the Mongol army was also an important factor in the fall of the Southern Song Dynasty.
The strategic significance of Xiangyang City
Xiangyang is known as "the thoroughfare of seven provinces", and is located in an important traffic hub in the north-south direction. In the context of the confrontation between the Southern Song Dynasty and Mongolia, Xiangyang's military strategic position was even more important.
Xiangyang is located at the corner of the Han River and the Han River, bordering Jianghan in the east, Qinchuan in the west, Xiangyue in the south, and the Central Plains in the north. This geographical advantage makes it a choke point for the north and south, and whoever controls Xiangyang will have the initiative to attack the other side.
In terms of topography, Xiangyang Castle is located at the great detour of the Han River, surrounded by water on three sides, facing land only in the west, but blocked by mountains, forming a natural barrier. Outside the castle, it is surrounded by a 180-meter-wide moat, making it a fortified city.
Therefore, for the Mongol army, which was good at cavalry archery but not good at attacking cities, it was really a big challenge to capture Xiangyang. The Mongols first tried to attack from the direction of Sichuan and Shaanxi, but the terrain in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River was too steep; He also wanted to rush in from the Huai River valley, but the water network there was crisscrossed, which was really not conducive to cavalry maneuvering.
As a result, the Mongol army locked the direction of the main attack on the city of Xiangyang. After years of hard work, a large fortress was finally built dozens of miles south of the Han River, encircling Xiangyang.
Faced with the heavy pressure of the Mongol army, Xiangyang did not surrender easily. The main reason is that it is a solid city itself, and the guard Lu Wenhuan has been prepared in advance and has hoarded enough grain and grass. Until the Mongol army failed to deploy enough siege equipment, Xiangyang was indeed difficult to capture.
This plunged Xiangyang into a protracted tug-of-war, with both sides expending their national strength and neither being able to achieve a decisive victory. However, just as this war of attrition was gradually heating up, a major mistake brewed by the carelessness of the Southern Song Dynasty finally brought a perfect opportunity for the Mongol army.
Internal and external troubles, survival in a desperate situation
In the face of the pressing of the Mongolian iron cavalry, the internal situation of the Southern Song Dynasty was also precarious. The ruling class was divided and fought for power, treacherous people were in power, coupled with taxes and exploitation of the people, the people were struggling to make a living, and the national strength was declining day by day. In this environment of internal and external troubles, the Southern Song Dynasty was suffering an unprecedented test.
Corruption in the government was the biggest internal concern in the Southern Song Dynasty. Zhao Yun of Song Lizong was manipulated by the traitor Pei Du and others, and his power fell to the side. Clan nobles such as Qian Yu, Zhang Jun and others also have their own selfish intentions and intrigue with each other. In the end, the upper and lower gates of the imperial court were antagonistic, and it was difficult to form a united front to deal with the coming Mongolian iron wave.
The people were plunged into a deep calamity. In the later period of the Southern Song Dynasty, the imperial court levied excessive taxes, coupled with successive droughts, the people were displaced and starved. Even the degraded poet Lu You wrote a bitter complaint of "how difficult the government and the opposition are, and the mountains and rivers are in danger". Under these circumstances, it is difficult to expect the people to serve the dynasty to the fullest.
The external attack was the pressing of the Mongol army. Kublai Khan, commanding the Mongol army, was determined to wipe out the Southern Song Dynasty in one fell swoop and end the long campaign. After failing to capture Xiangyang, they turned to infiltrate and break through from elsewhere. In 1273, they first captured Pengcheng in Henan, and the following year they captured Ezhou, an important city in Wuhan. Seeing that the Yangtze River natural danger has been broken, the foundation of the Southern Song Dynasty will not be guaranteed.
At this critical moment, the Southern Song Dynasty court also made some efforts to save itself. They bought off some Han Chinese generals in the Mongol army with a lot of money in an attempt to disintegrate the Mongol army from within. At the same time, a large number of people were recruited to strengthen the fortifications of important towns such as Xiangyang. But these efforts were in vain.
Eventually, Xiangyang fell in February 1273, marking the end of the Southern Song Dynasty's fate. What followed was the process of the Southern Song Dynasty's heart being completely pierced and turned into a plate of loose sand. Although some ministers also supported the young emperor and established a regime in exile to continue to resist, in the end it was all in vain. The Southern Song Dynasty came to its doomed end.
God assists in classic strategy games
The Battle of Xiangyang was not only a protracted war of attrition, but also a contest of soldiers' wits and resourcefulness. Both sides have invoked ancient books on the art of war and used all kinds of tricks. This game of brains and courage can be described as wonderful and classic.
The Mongolian army has always attached great importance to the art of war and strategy, and when Commander Kublai Khan came to Xiangyang again, he naturally expected the enemy to follow the book. First of all, they referred to the "Art of War" and followed the principle of "attacking them unprepared, leaving them safe", and planned to infiltrate and outflank them from the northwest direction of Xiangyang.
The Mongolian army was the first to take Xiangyang County northwest of Xiangyang by surprise, and quickly took the "tiger's mouth" of Xiangyang. Then he transferred troops to the west gate of Xiangyang City, intending to attack from this weakest link.
In the face of the rapid attack of the Mongol army, the Xiangyang defender Lu Wenhuan did not sit idly by. He referred to the strategy of "waiting" in the three works of "Liutao", and the walls were clear, impregnable, and planned to destroy the enemy's living force.
Lü Wenhuan ordered the burning of houses outside the city to cut off the source of plunder for the Mongol army; Tens of thousands of civilians were evacuated from the city, reducing food rations; Finally, the woods were burned outside the city to clear the hiding places of the Mongol army.
A fierce battle broke out between the two sides in the northwest suburbs of Xiangyang, but the Mongol army was finally beaten to the ground and retreated more than 20 miles away, helpless.
As a result, the strategy of the Mongolian army fundamentally changed, and the attack was changed from the south of the Han River. They first built a large camp dozens of miles long on the bank of the Han River, and a radius of 100 miles was controlled, completely encircling Xiangyang.
However, what the Mongolian army did not expect was that a huge banner was hung on the head of Xiangyang City, which was imitated by the Southern Song Dynasty with the strategy in the "Qingming Riverside Map".
The banner is huge, waving in the wind, presenting a huge picture of mountains and rivers in the air. This is exactly the trick taken from the "Qingming Riverside Map", which is intended to create a false impression of "watching the mountains and boats at the Jihe River crossing", to confuse the Mongol army and make it fall into a maze.
Sure enough, all kinds of evil remarks soon spread in the Mongol military camps, some people said that this was the magic of the Southern Song Dynasty, and others said that it was from the will of the ancestors of the Great Khan...... The morale of the army gradually wavered.
In the end, the two sides engaged in a protracted tug-of-war under the city of Xiangyang. Although the Southern Song Dynasty temporarily held Xiangyang, the price paid was also unbearable. Until the spring of 1273, the guard general Lu Wenhuan had to open the city to surrender the city. This legendary battle of Xiangyang has come to an end.
The cause of loss, the road to destruction
Although under the city of Xiangyang, the Southern Song Dynasty army resisted the Mongol iron cavalry for six years, but in the end it was difficult to escape the fate of being lost. After the fall of Xiangyang, the Southern Song Dynasty embarked on the road of no return.
Xiangyang was solid, and the Southern Song Dynasty regarded it as an iron bucket-like foundation, so it made a desperate bet and did its best to defend it. However, when the important towns fell one after another, and the Yangtze River was lost, the foundation of the Southern Song Dynasty no longer existed.
In 1275, the Mongol army captured the two major military towns of Hankou and Wuchang in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, cutting off the Southern Song Dynasty from the interior. In 1276, they captured Yueyang Pass in Hubei and entered the Ganxiang Corridor. The following year, it broke through Yongzhou and approached the important place in Lingnan.
The fortified cities were broken one after another, and the foundation of the Southern Song Dynasty was already in vain and in danger. In addition, the Mongol army is growing stronger, and the important town of Wuhan, which has been unable to attack for a long time, has finally been lost. Even the defensive forces of Xiangyang City had to be transferred elsewhere to put out the fire.
It can be said that after the loss of Xiangyang, the Southern Song Dynasty had no place to stand, and the morale of the army and the people was also lost. A large number of soldiers surrendered and defected, the morale of the army was weakened, and the national strength was declining. Even the coach Lu Xiufu had to lead the crowd to flee when the army's morale collapsed.
What's worse is that just as the Mongol army was encroaching step by step, the internal contradictions of the Southern Song Dynasty also escalated at this time. Yao Rou and other traitorous ministers stole the power of the country, the clan nobles set up their own door valves, and it was difficult for the court to control even the emperor. Under the changing situation of the country, internal strife and external worries were torn apart, and they turned into a plate of scattered sand in an instant.
In 1279, the Mongol iron cavalry approached the city of Lin'an, which was broken. The Southern Song Dynasty Lin'an was in internal and external difficulties, and it was almost desperate. The young emperor Emperor Song Gong was forced to flee with hundreds of civil and military officials and took refuge in the Zhoushan Islands.
But even so, the rebel generals Zhang Shixiong, Chen Yuanzuo and others did not stop. They surrendered to the Mongol army and helped in the attack. In just a few days, the Southern Song Dynasty regime-in-exile was completely wiped out. A dynasty that once dominated the world and lasted for more than 700 years came to an end.
end
The Southern Song Dynasty's three-year journey from the loss of Xiangyang to its demise was too hasty. But in the final analysis, this is the inevitable result of the accumulation of disasters and the accumulation of hardships.