In the thirteenth century, in the east of the world, the yuan dynasty (Mongolia) and the Southern Song dynasty fought a half-century-long war, and in the end, the Yuan dynasty won a complete victory.
This result is inevitable after the comparison of the strength of the two sides, and the military and civilians of the Southern Song Dynasty are only left with a lot of enthusiasm under the military pressure of the huge Yuan Dynasty.
Nearly half a century of great chaos between the two sides, there have been many well-known battles and well-known generals.
Among them, the Fishing City of Hechuan and the stories that happened around this city are the most talked about.
The Battle of Diaoyu City may not be more tragic than the Battle of Yashan Sea, but it is more well-known and famous in the history of the East and the West.
Because the city is famously the "place where God breaks the whip", it has influenced the historical direction of Europe thousands of miles away.
Since its completion, Diaoyu City has become one of the important military fortresses in the Southern Song Dynasty against the Yuan Dynasty army, and the military and civilians in the city have insisted on resisting the Yuan for 36 years.
In the past 36 years, Diaoyu City has changed five main generals, and this article will briefly introduce these historical celebrities whose names are engraved in the history of Diaoyu City.
Diaoyu City was built by the brothers Ran Ji and Ran Pu, and in popular language, they are the "father of Diaoyu City".
In 1236 (the third year of the Southern Song Dynasty), Ran Jiu and Ran Pu, in order to resist the Mongol Bao Song (at this time, the Yuan Dynasty had not yet been established), went out of the mountains and defected to the Southern Song Dynasty in Sichuan to pacify the envoy Yu Jiu.
At that time, the Mongolian army had already captured Chengdu, and the situation in the Southern Song Dynasty was precarious, and the position of Chongqing, the main road connecting Sichuan and Jingxiang, was quite important.
If Chongqing falls, the Mongolian army in Sichuan can go down the river to Xiangyang, and the Mongolian army in the direction of Henan will attack the Song army in the direction of Jingxiang, and Jingxiang will be in danger, and if Jingxiang is lost, the Southern Song Dynasty will die.
Therefore, in order to give the Southern Song Dynasty a continuation of life, Chongqing could not be lost.
In order to defend Chongqing, Ran Jie and Ran Pu suggested to Yu Jiu that the city be rebuilt on Diaoyu Mountain outside Chongqing.
Previously, there was a military village built on Diaoyu Mountain, which originally existed as a barrier in Chongqing, and Ran Jin and Ran Pu's proposal was nothing more than to strengthen the military status of Diaoyu Mountain.
Therefore, Yu Jie agreed, and reported to the Southern Song Dynasty court, appointing Ran Ji and Ran Pu as Hezhou Zhizhou and Tongjue respectively, and entrusting them with the construction and defense of Diaoyu City (after the city was built, the Hezhou administrative office was moved to the city).
The Biography of Song Shi Yu Jie records:
"If you are allowed to take care of it, if you let it go, accumulate millet to keep it, and be wise enough to be far away from 100,000 teachers, and Bashu is not enough to keep it." Jiu Daxi said: "Jiu Gu suspects that Mr. Jiu is not a shallow soldier, mr. Conspiracy, and Jiu does not dare to plunder and return to himself." "If you do not conspire against the public, and conspire with the DPRK, please do not subordinate officials." Zhao Yixuan was the undertaker lang, Quan Fa sent to the state, and Pu was the undertaker lang and Quan Tongjue the state affairs. The matter of migrating to the city is at its disposal.
By 1243 AD (the third year of the Southern Song Dynasty), the construction of Diaoyu City was completed, and it began its journey in the history of the anti-Mongolian (Yuan) war, and Ran Yan and Ran Pu also became the first commanders of Diaoyu City.
In 1253 (the first year of the Southern Song Dynasty), Yu Jiu was framed, suspected by the Southern Song Court, and prepared to summon him to Beijing, as a result, Yu Jiu fell ill and died in one breath, which is recorded in the Biography of Song Shi Yu Jiu:
In the first year of Baoyou, when he heard that there was a call, he was more and more uneasy, and he died of a violent death overnight, or he died of medicine. The people of Shu are as sad as if they had lost their parents.
After Yu Jie's death, Ran Jiu and Ran Pu, who had been recruited by Yu Jie as officials, could not stay in Diaoyu City, and the brothers could only resign and return to their hometown, the next year, Ran Jie died of illness, and seven years later, Ran Pu died of illness.
In 1254 (the second year of the Southern Song Dynasty), Wang Jian, who accompanied the famous Southern Song general Meng Jue into the Sichuan Dynasty to resist Mongolia, was appointed by the imperial court as the capital of Xingyuan Province and Zhihe Prefecture, becoming the second chief general of Diaoyu City.
Wang Jianzhen guarded Diaoyu City for six years, and he was the most famous general in the history of Diaoyu City, because the Mongol Great Khan (Yuan Xianzong) Möngke died under the fire of the artillery under his command.
In 1259 (the first year of the Southern Song Dynasty), Meng Ge personally led the Mongol army to attack Diaoyu City, and attacked for several months without entering.
In July of that year, Meng Ge built a high platform outside the Diaoyu City to investigate the movements in the city, but wang Jian seized the opportunity to fire artillery wounds, and died a few days later.
After Möngke's death, not only was the Mongol invasion of the Song Dynasty forced to end, but in Europe, thousands of miles away, the Mongol Western Expedition army that had already invaded Europe also terminated its westward advance due to the death of the Great Khan, and Europe escaped the disaster.
Wang Jian's cannon in the head of Diaoyu City, while giving the Southern Song Dynasty a continuation of life, also inadvertently changed the historical trend of Europe.
The year after Möngke's death, in 1260 (the first year of the Southern Song Dynasty), Wang Jian, who had made an immortal contribution, was recalled to Lin'an because he was suspected by the powerful minister Jia Xiangdao, and died four years later.
After Wang Jian left his post in DiaoyuCheng, the Southern Song Court appointed Ma Qian as the capital of Xingyuan Province and Zhihe Prefecture, and Ma Qian became the third chief general of Diaoyu City.
During Ma Qian's defense of the diaoyu town, he was fighting among the powerful people in Mongolia because of the death of Möngke, so there was basically no major war around the diaoyu city.
At that time, Ma Qian should pay attention mainly to preventing the Mongolian army in Sichuan from coming out and making trouble.
In 1263 (the fourth year of the Southern Song Dynasty), Ma Qian's son was captured by the Mongol army in Sichuan at Huxiang Mountain (also known as Huxiao Mountain, in present-day Guangyuan, Sichuan) 120 kilometers away from the city while transporting grain for Diaoyu City.
This was a great gift to the Yuan Army, and if ma Qian could be forced to surrender with his son's life, Diaoyu City would be within reach.
However, Ma Qian's behavior of accepting the Mongol persuasion letter several times was finally known to the Southern Song Dynasty.
Alarmed, in order to avoid accidents, the Southern Song court quickly deposed Ma Qian and appointed a new Diaoyu City guard, Zhang Jue, as recorded in the Biography of Zhang Jue of the Song Dynasty:
At the beginning of Jingding, King Jian of Heshou entered the dynasty and took Ma Chiyo to keep the alliance. In the fourth year, Qianzi fed to Huxiang Mountain, which was obtained by the Dongchuan soldiers, and repeatedly advised Qian to surrender with a book, and the imperial court used Jue to replace Qian.
Zhang Jue was the fourth defender of Diaoyu City, and also the longest reigning commander after the diaoyu City was built, and he guarded Diaoyu City for nearly twelve years.
These twelve years are the most tested period in Diaoyu City.
Especially after the establishment of the Yuan Dynasty, Kublai Khan, the ancestor of the Yuan Dynasty who had leveled the rear, launched the fiercest attack on the various defensive cities and pools of the Southern Song Dynasty.
Most importantly, Möngke Khan died under the Diaoyu City, and almost all the Mongol generals were proud to attack the Diaoyu City and avenge Möngke, and they were particularly strong when fighting the Diaoyu City.
However, under the command of Zhang Jue, the soldiers and civilians of Diaoyu City defeated the Yuan army many times (during Zhang Jue's defense of the city, the Yuan Dynasty was established), and refused to surrender to the Yuan Dynasty, always trying to keep Diaoyu City from losing.
In 1275 (the first year of the Southern Song Dynasty), the Southern Song Court transferred Zhang Jue from Diaoyu City to save the crisis in Sichuan.
Zhang Jue was appointed deputy envoy of Sichuan and prefect of Chongqing, and the Southern Song court sent him to Chongqing to command the anti-Yuan war in Sichuan (later prepared to transfer him to Beijing to participate in the defense of Lin'an, but the edict was not sent).
In Chongqing, Zhang Jue held out for another three years, and after the destruction of Chongqing, Zhang Jue attempted suicide several times (all stopped by his family), and was captured by the Yuan army on the way to escape.
The Yuan army wanted to escort Zhang Jue to Dadu (Beijing), but when he was persuaded by friends on the road, Zhang Jue again found an opportunity to successfully commit suicide and martyrdom, which is recorded in the Biography of Song Shi Zhang Jue:
Jue to Anxi Zhao Lao'an, his friend said: "Gong Du Zhong I, in order to repay what he has done, now, even if he does not die, why not?" "Jue Nai untied the bow string from the toilet, and the slave burned his bones and buried it in the place of death.
After Zhang Jue was transferred from Diaoyu City, his subordinate Wang Li was appointed by the Southern Song Court as a pacification envoy of Hezhou, becoming the fifth and last defender of Diaoyu City.
Wang Li's evaluation in later life was mixed, because he finally surrendered Kaesong.
When Wang Li surrendered, the Southern Song Dynasty had already perished, and all the cities around Diaoyu City were captured by the Yuan army, and Diaoyu City became an isolated city.
In the case of no grain and grass inside and no reinforcements outside, diaoyu city will be breached sooner or later, and even slaughtered (Meng Ge left a last word before his death, ordering his descendants to attack Diaoyu city and slaughter it).
In order to save the lives of the remnants of the soldiers and civilians in Diaoyu City, Wang Li surrendered to Li Dehui, deputy envoy of the Xichuan Privy Council of the Yuan Dynasty who was also a Han Chinese, and The King of Anxi (the King of Anxi was Kublai Khan's son).
At that time, the besiegers of Diaoyu City were actually the troops under the Yuan Dynasty's Dongchuan Privy Council, all of whom were Mongol generals and commanders, who resolutely wanted to slaughter the city.
Wang Li cleverly accepted the persuasion of Li Dehui, who had arrived from Chengdu, and successfully saved the lives of the soldiers and civilians of Diaoyu City by taking advantage of the struggle between the Yuan Dynasty's Dongchuan and Xichuan Privy Councils.
After Wang Li surrendered, he survived for another 22 years, and in 1301 (the fifth year of the Yuan Dynasty), Wang Li was ordered to die by Emperor Yuan Chengzong.
The above is my summary of the basic situation of the previous Diaoyu City defenders, who do you think has contributed the most?
If there are any omissions or errors, readers are welcome to leave a message in the comment area to correct and discuss.
References: History of the Song Dynasty