In Chinese history, before the fall of the Southern Song Dynasty, the inheritance and rule of the Han family can be said to have not been interrupted.

In later generations, there is a sentence that is not summed up by the Chinese themselves, which just illustrates this point.

Of course, whether this sentence is reasonable or not, in addition to opinions, this sentence cannot be generalized is also the key.

After Meng Ke's defeat and death, the second large-scale Mongol offensive against the Southern Song Dynasty ended in failure.

Kublai Khan, who had planned to destroy the Song court in one fell swoop, also gave up the attack on the Song Empire because of the crucial factor of power, and returned north to compete with his brother Ali Buge for the position of Great Khan of the Mongol Empire.

And the Song Empire also ushered in the last respite.

......

In 1267 AD, the outbreak of the Battle of Xiangyang officially sounded the death knell of the fall of the Song Empire.

Xiangyang of the Southern Song Dynasty is located at the southern end of the Nanyang Basin, Xiangyang and Fancheng are interdependent on each other with Han water in the north and south, "crossing Jingyu, controlling the north and south", the terrain is very dangerous, it is a place where soldiers must fight since ancient times, and it is also a border town of the Southern Song Dynasty to resist the Mongolian army.

In November of the third year of Xianchun, Liu Quan, the general of the Southern Song Dynasty, presented the strategy of attacking and destroying the Southern Song Dynasty to Kublai Khan, "attacking Xiangyang first and withdrawing its defense", he believed that if the Southern Song Dynasty "has no Xiang, there will be no Huai, and if there is no Huai, Jiangnan can be at your fingertips". Kublai Khan's suggestion that "the strategy of attacking the Song Dynasty should be engaged in Xiangyang first" was adopted by Kublai Khan, and the Song-Yuan War entered a new stage of the Yuan army's strategic offensive against the Southern Song Dynasty.

The Yuan generals Guo Kan and Hao Jing believed that the strategy of attacking the Song Dynasty needed to break through from the heavy army of Hanshui, and Liu Cheng proposed a plan to Kublai Khan, the ancestor of the Yuan dynasty, to take Xiangyang to destroy the Song Dynasty, and the proposal was adopted, and Kublai Khan began to prepare for a big war for five years.

In the fourth year of Xianchun, Kublai Khan ordered Liu Quan and Ashu soldiers to trap Xiangyang and Fancheng, and the guards were the brothers of Lü Wende and Lü Wenhuan, and Lü Wende was a close confidant of Song Quan Minister Jia Nidao.

The following year, Kublai Khan sent Prime Minister Shi Tianze to help in the war. The Mongol army built sieges around the two cities of Xiangyang and Fancheng, and blocked the Han River, and repelled the Southern Song reinforcements many times.

In the third year, Li Tingzhi supervised the war to reinforce Xiangyang, which was unfavorable. Due to the long-term siege of Xiang and Fan, the food and salary were cut off, while at the same time, Song Duzong was still lustful all day long.

In the fourth year, Li Tingzhi was stationed in Yingzhou, with Zhang Shun and Zhang Gui as commanders. In May of the same year, Erzhang led his division against the Han River, broke through the encirclement of the Yuan army, and wounded Liu Quan, the deputy marshal of Meng, with an arrow, and arrived in Xiangyang on the 25th. After entering Xiangyang, Zhang Gui led his army to break through the siege, but was defeated and returned. During the battle, Zhang Gui was seriously wounded and captured, and he did not give in until his death.

So far, the Southern Song Dynasty has failed to rescue 150,000 sailors eight times in five years.

Meng Shuai Ashu and Shi Tianze of Henan Province listened to the advice of Zhang Hongfan of Wanhu and Zhang Xi, the head of the naval army, and added 70,000 newly trained sailors to launch a land and water attack on Xiangyang. He also made the return artillery made by Ah Lao Wading and Yi Si Ma Yin to attack the city, and the city was broken. In the first month of the ninth year, the Yuan army slaughtered the city after breaking through Fancheng, and Lu Wenhuan cried in front of the battle. Fan Tianshun, the general of the Song Dynasty, swore not to surrender and hanged himself; Niu Fu led more than 100 warriors to fight in the streets, and was seriously injured and committed suicide. The Mongolian army commander Ashu asked Xiangyang to surrender so that the whole city could be safe, and then Xiangyang Song general Lü Wenhuan surrendered to Yuan.

From the breakdown of the military alliance between the Song and Mongolia in 1235 A.D. and the war in Xiangyang, until 1273 A.D., when the Xiangyang defender Lü Wenhuan surrendered to the Yuan Dynasty, it lasted for 38 years. During this period of time, the CCP experienced the loss and recovery of Xiangyang City, the loss and recovery of Xiangyang City, the civil strife and even civil war of the Southern Song Dynasty of Mongolia, the negotiation of deceitful negotiations between the two sides, and the attrition of stopping and stopping.

In order to compete for this waterway transportation fortress, which has always been known as a place of contention, the Song and Mongolian sides almost concentrated the world's most elite cavalry and naval army at that time, and used all the advanced weapons that could be found at that time, and the number of casualties on both sides exceeded 400,000.

After Gundam recovered Xiangyang in 1251, the Southern Song Dynasty began to attach importance to Xiangyang's strategy. Emperor Lizong of the Song Dynasty allocated a lot of manpower and material resources, and after more than ten years of vigorous operation, Xiangyang re-became an important town with high cities and deep soldiers, and became the gateway and screen wall of the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River in the Song Dynasty. In the past ten years, another military group began to become the main force in the defense of Xiangyang, that is, the Lu Wende group.

Lu Wende was the first to fight in the army with Zhao Kui's subordinates. Although there is no biography of Lü Wende in the history books, it can be seen from the biographies of others that Lü Wende experienced almost the entire battle of Song and Mongolia.

In the battle against the Mongol army, Lü Wende traveled back and forth between Sichuan and Hubei, and in the decades of fighting, he not only accumulated experience, but also cultivated a group of family arms. Of course, Lu Wende has been able to become an important military group in the Jinghu area for more than ten years, in addition to his military strength and military exploits, there are also important reasons for his collusion with Jia Yidao.

Lu Wende flattered Jia Nidao on the top, and attacked dissidents. Because of this, many generals surrendered to Kublai Khan in order to protect themselves. In particular, Meng Hui's favorite general, Liu Quan, surrendered to Kublai Khan because he saw that other generals were being attacked and killed.

The sailors he led were even more powerful, so Mongolia finally got the coveted sailors. Then, in order to show his loyalty, Liu Chuan proposed to Kublai Khan the strategy of taking Xiangyang first and then attacking Lin'an, which was adopted by Kublai Khan. Therefore, under the advice and planning of Liu Quan, the general of the Song Dynasty, the Mongols refocused their attention on breaking through the Song defense line and returned to Xiangyang between Shuzhong and Lianghuai.

In 1267 AD, Lü Wende, the pacification of Jinghu, made a serious mistake that made people laugh and laugh, he actually allowed the Mongol army to set up a field outside Fancheng. So the Mongol army quickly entered and built a fortress, and suddenly cut off the grain route in Xiangyang. When Lu Wende came to his senses and knew that he had made a mistake, he was angry and anxious, and he couldn't afford to get sick.

In 1268 AD, Kublai Khan sent Ashu as the main general and Liu Quanwei as the deputy general to lead the Mongol army and the Southern Song Dynasty naval division to attack Xiangyang, and the last battle of Xiangyang began. After learning that Xiangyang was besieged, the Song Dynasty hurriedly ordered reinforcements from Sichuan and Lianghuai to reinforce Xiangyang.

At the same time, Lu Wenhuan, the deputy envoy of Jinghu pacification and the prefect of Xiangyang, also took the initiative several times to try to break the encirclement of the Mongolian army, but he was unsuccessful. In March 1269, Zhang Shijie, the commander of the two Huai capitals, led his horse and boat divisions to Xiangyang first, and fought a major battle with the Mongol army on the Han River southeast of Xiangyang. After a fierce battle, Zhang Shijie was defeated by the Mongolian army and was forced to retreat. Xia Gui, the pacification envoy of Sichuan who arrived later, took advantage of the surging Han River in spring to send food, clothing and other materials into Xiangyang City by warship. In June of the same year, Tang Yongjian, the commander of Jing's Hubei capital, fought out of Xiangyang City, but was defeated and captured and surrendered. In July of the same year, Xia Gui led 50,000 troops and 3,000 warships to reinforce Xiangyang again. This time, it was fiercely blocked by the Mongol army in the fortress along the river, and the reinforcements failed.

In December of the same year, Lu Wende died of illness. In the Jinghu Battlefield, the Song army lost its most prestigious military commander in Linbian for 40 years, which had a major negative impact on the defense of Xiangyang.

Despite the Mongol decision to capture Xiangyang at all costs, a steady stream of troops from all over the country marched to Xiangyang, and the number of Mongol troops besieging Xiangyang increased to 100,000 in just one year. However, the combat effectiveness of the military bloc established by Lu Wende should not be underestimated. They operated in the Xiangyang area for more than 10 years, and they relied on the favorable terrain of Xiangyang and Han River, the dangerous terrain of the city, especially the sufficient garrison measures and rich material reserves, so that although the Mongolian army was eager, it was impossible to take Xiangyang in a short period of time.

However, as the Yuan army gained a firm foothold in the Xiangyang area, it adopted a long-term siege and continued to reduce the encirclement. In particular, the Yuan army attacked the troops that came to the aid of Xiangyang, and several reinforcements of the Song army ended in failure. This was the so-called tactic of "encirclement and reinforcement" that later became famous. This tactic lasted three years, and by 1273, the city of Xiangyang was already facing great difficulties. In particular, the Yuan army besieged Fancheng on a large scale, and after the fall, Xiangyang had nothing to fear, and there was already a shortage of food and firewood in the city, and morale was low. At this time, the Yuan Dynasty sent people to persuade him to surrender, and Lü Wenhuan surrendered in February 1273, and the Battle of Xiangyang officially ended.

The Battle of Xiangyang was a crucial battle that determined the fate of the Southern Song Dynasty, and the Southern Song Dynasty participated in the last Battle of Xiangyang mainly by the troops of the Lü military group, although their achievements in bloody battles cannot be erased, but due to repeated command errors and the corruption of the Southern Song Dynasty to self-destruct the Great Wall, it eventually led to the defeat of this crucial battle.

......

In the battle for the defense of Xiangyang, the existence of two people can be said to be the key.

One is Liu Quan, the general of the Song Dynasty, and the other is Lu Wenhuan, the general who has been holding Xiangyang for the longest time.

Although Liu Chuan was a Song general who descended to the Yuan Dynasty, in "History of the Yuan", Liu Quan has his own biography:

Liu Quanzi Wu Zhong, the ancestor of Jingzhao Fanchuan, migrated to Dengzhou Suicheng. Shen Yi is resourceful and good at riding and shooting. Jin Chao, into the Song Dynasty, under the command of Meng Heng, the envoy of Jinghu System. Attacking Jin Xinyang, the whole as a striker, twelve brave people at night, crossing the trench and landing the city, attacking and capturing it, and returning it. Jue was shocked, thinking that Tang Li Cunxiao led eighteen horsemen to pull out Luoyang, and now the whole institute will be even more widowed, and take Xinyang, which is the book of its banner and said that it is filial piety. The pacification envoy of the 15th Military Prefecture of Tongchuan was relocated, and the affairs of the Luzhou Military Prefecture were known.

The whole northerners, the west has merit, the southern generals are all out of it, Lu Wende is jealous, the plan drawn is frustrated, the merit is covered up but not white, with Yu Xing and the whole gap, so that it can be placed in Sichuan to rectify. Xing used military summoning for rectification, but it didn't work, so he made false accusations, and sent the rectification envoy to Lin'an, but it could not be reached. and Xiang Shibi and Cao Shixiong will be killed, and the whole benefit is not self-protective, but is attached to the money.

In the summer of the second year of Zhongtong, the entire 15 counties and 300,000 households in Luzhou were attached. The ancestor Jiaqi came, awarded the province of Kuifu, and pacified the envoy, gave the golden tiger talisman, and still gave the gold and silver talismans to the meritorious ones of the generals. Yu Xing attacked Luzhou, divided the soldiers with the whole treasure, fought fiercely, fought dozens of battles, and was defeated. The repatriation envoy was dedicated to the gold-lettered tooth charm and the seal given by the Song Dynasty, and invited the Yitun soldiers and thick reserves to plan for the Song Dynasty.

In three years, he entered the court, awarded the Zhongshu Province in Chengdu and Tongchuan, gave 10,000 taels of silver, and distributed it to the unemployed soldiers who were still marshals of the capital, and set up the mountains to strangle the Song soldiers. The same column is jealous of the whole work, will plot to trap it, rectify the fear, please divide the commander Tongchuan. In July, he changed the marshal of Tongchuan to teach tea and salt to pay the army. In May of the fourth year, Song pacified Gao Gao and gentle, entered Chengdu, and rushed to his aid. When the Song soldiers heard that they were filial, they fled, and they would pound Tongchuan, and they were defeated in Jinjiang with the whole encounter. In June of the third year of the Yuan Dynasty, General Zhaowu and Nanjing Road Xuanfu envoy were moved.

In November of the fourth year, he entered the dynasty and said: "The Song lord is weak and rebellious, and he has established a corner of the country, and today is the opportunity to start a mix." The minister is willing to follow the dog horse Lao, attack Xiangyang first, and withdraw its cover. The court was frustrated. He said: "Since ancient times, emperors have not been a family from all over the world, and they are not orthodox. There are seventeen or eighteen in the world of the Holy Dynasty, why not ask a corner, and abandon the orthodoxy and evil!" "In July of the fifth year, he moved to the town of the general and marshal of the capital. In September, the marshal of Kaidu, Ashu, supervised the army, besieged Xiangyang, the city of Lumen Fort and the mouth of the Baihe, in order to capture the plan, led 50,000 troops, and omitted the counties along the river, all of which were infant cities to avoid its sharpness, and captured 80,000 people. In June of the sixth year, Tang Yongjian was captured. In March of the seventh year, a solid platform was built in the Han River, and ballistas were placed on the top, and stone hoards were five on the bottom, so as to strangle the enemy ships. And said to Ah Shuji: "I am a crack soldier, and the one who should be broken, but the water war is not as good as Song Er." Seize the strengths of the other, build warships, and learn the navy, and it will be all right. "Take the post to smell, make it. Also, build 5,000 ships, train the navy every day, although the rain can't come out, but also draw the ground for the ship to practice, you have to train 70,000 soldiers. In August, the perimeter was rebuilt to contain enemy reinforcements.

In May of the eighth year, Song Shuai Fan Wenhu sent Zhang Shun and Zhang Gui to drive a steamer, feed Xiangyang armor, invite attack, cut Shun, and enter the city. In September, he was promoted to Henan Province to save trouble. In the ninth year (3) [Zheng] month, he added the marshal of the Han army. [7] Xiangyang Shuai Lu Wenhuan ascended the city to watch the enemy, and said in front of the whole prancing horse: "The king ignores the mandate of heaven and harms the living beings, how can it be a matter of the benevolent! Wen Huan didn't answer, and he was in the middle of the crossbow. In March, he broke the Guo outside the city, beheaded 2,000 people, and captured 16 generals. Spy Wen Huan will send Zhang Gui out of the city to ask for help, is the division of the warship, tied to the grass like a cow, near the Han water, the cotton is wrong, unpredictable to use, in September, Guiguo out of the night, take a steamer, go down the river, the sergeant knows, the grass and cattle on the shore are like day, the whole and the battleship of Ashu, turn to fight for fifty miles, capture the gui in the cabinet door, and kill the rest.

In November, the edict commanded 40,000 households. Song Jinghu set up Li Tingzhi to seal the tooth charm with gold, awarded the marshal of the Han army, the envoy of the Lu Long army, and the king of Yanjun as the book, so that the Yongning monk held the whole house, and expected to be rectified. Yongning order to get it, Yi Yi to hear in the court, Zhang Yi, Yao Shu miscellaneous questions, suitable to the army, said that Song Nuchen painted a plan to attack Xiangyang, so set up this to kill the minister, the minister really did not know. The edict reinstated the book: "Since the whole was ordered, only the governor of the army has been killed, and the ear of the lonely city has been dying. If Song Ruoguo thinks of living beings, he should send a messenger and ask the court to order, and take care of this decimal number, what good will it be!"

It has been five years since Xiangyang was encircled, and Fan, Xiangli and Tooth were also counted, and it was advisable to attack Fancheng first. The people of Fancheng cover the city with a fence, cut wood and place it in the river, and run through it with iron cables. The whole thing is said to Prime Minister Boyan, so that those who are good at water will break the wood and sink the rope, and supervise the warships to go down to the city, so as to shell them back and burn their fences. In the first month of the tenth year, Fancheng was broken and slaughtered. Send Tang Yongjian into Xiangyang, tell Lu Wenhuan, and surrender the city. Merit, give the whole field house, gold coins, and good horses.

Entering the court, he said: "If Xiangyang is broken, Lin'an will be shaken." If the naval army trained will be driven by victory, the Yangtze River will not be owned by the Song Dynasty. Then he changed to the Privy Council of Huaixi, stationed in Zhengyang, sandwiched Huai and the city, forced the river in the south, and broke its east and west. In the eleventh year, the promotion of hussars to the general, the book Zuo Cheng in the line, Song Xia Gui learned that the water army came to attack, and broke it in the continent. In the first month of the twelfth year, the edict did not leave Huainan and wanted to cross the river, but the first general stopped it, but it was not successful. Prime Minister Boyan entered Hubei, and he lost his voice and said: "The first commander stopped me, and I made myself successful for future generations, and good authors don't have to be good, sure enough!" Gift to the dragon and tiger general, the right of the book, and Wu Min.

What can be seen from the content of "History of the Yuan Dynasty: The Biography of Liu Quan" is that if Liu Chuan had not suggested that Kublai Khan take the Xiangfan region first, the pace of the Yuan army's destruction of the Southern Song Dynasty at that time might have been delayed.

(End of chapter)