Chinese traditional culture has a long and profound history! Today, the History Encyclopedia editor has compiled relevant content about Duanping’s entry into Luoyang. May I help you expand your knowledge?
In September of 1233 AD, the Mongol army surrounded the last stronghold of the Jin Dynasty’s small court, Caizhou. The Mongol army commander, Tazar, personally led his army to attack, but was defeated by the Jin army, causing great damage to the morale of the Mongol soldiers. Helpless, Tazar could only lead his army to besiege the city of Caizhou, attempting to trap and kill the officials of Emperor Aizong of Jin in Caizhou.
Soon after, the Mongol army besieging Caizhou was short of food and supplies, and the main force of the Mongol army was scattered in various places to suppress the remnants of the Jin army. After consulting with the Mongol Khan Wokuotai, Tazar sent envoys to seek help from the Southern Song Dynasty in the name of the Mongol Empire and issued an invitation to join forces in destroying the Jin.
At this point, the downfall of the Jin Dynasty was already a foregone conclusion, and the Southern Song Dynasty had already had the idea of sending troops north to seize the last resources of the Jin Dynasty from the Mongols. However, due to the unknown origin, although the arrival of the Mongolian envoy solved this problem. However, the lesson of the “Maritime Alliance” in the Northern Song Dynasty is still vivid in our memory. The rulers and ministers of the Southern Song Dynasty did not reach a consensus on the relationship between Mongolia and the Jin Dynasty, and the Song Mongolian Alliance will once again be put on hold. At this moment, already bedridden due to illness, the powerful minister Shi Miyuan suddenly made a decision – to unite with Mongolia to destroy Jin. He immediately withdrew a large army from the Jinghu Garrison and led 20000 elite soldiers to participate in the Battle of Caizhou, led by Meng Gong, the son of General Meng Zongzheng, with 300000 stones of grain and supplies.
On the fifth day of November of the same year, Meng Gong defeated General Wu Xian of the Jin army and led his troops to Caizhou. Together with the Mongolian army led by Tazar, they besieged the city of Caizhou.
After more than two months of bitter fighting, Meng Gong personally led his army to attack Caizhou City on the tenth day of the first lunar month in 1234 AD, and immediately welcomed the Mongol army into the city. The Song Mongolian coalition and the Jin army engaged in fierce street battles. Not long after, Emperor Ai of Jin saw that the situation was hopeless and proclaimed himself as the last emperor of Jin, Wanyan Chenglin. Only an hour later, Wanyan Chenglin, the last emperor of Jin, died in battle and the Jin kingdom was destroyed.
With the fall of the Jin Dynasty, the sky over Song and Mongolia was shrouded in the shadow of war
In order to prevent the deterioration of relations between the two countries and the outbreak of war, the Southern Song Dynasty resolutely implemented the military deployment formulated by the powerful minister Shi Miyuan before his death – Meng Gong led his army to retreat south after seizing the body of Emperor Ai of Jin and the imperial seal and ceremonial honor symbolizing imperial power; Mongol Khan Wokuotai also ordered the main force of Tazar’s troops to retreat to Hebei (north of the Yellow River, the same below), citing the hot weather and poor food and supplies, only allowing Tazar and Subutai to lead an elite cavalry as mobile units to stay in Henan (south of the Yellow River, the same below). With the successive retreat of the Song and Mongolian armies, the Henan region became an uninhabited area with few defenses.
Just as Song Lizong, who had just taken power, was about to show off his skills and make a great achievement, he ordered the Jinghu Garrison Commander Shi Songzhi to advance the Jinghu Army deployed on the Jingxiang front line to the Xinyang, Tangzhou, and Dengzhou front lines.
At this moment, as trusted aides promoted by Emperor Lizong of Song, the brothers Zhao Kui and Zhao Fan, who were then the envoys of the Huaidong and Yanjiang regions, proposed a northern expedition to Henan and the recovery of the former capital.
They advocated “pacifying the Central Plains, defending the Yellow River, occupying Tongguan, and reclaiming the Three Capitals”, that is, using the main force of the Song army from the Sichuan Chongqing Line, the Jinghu Line, and the Two Huai Line to head north to Henan, and rebuild the “Tongguan Yellow River Line” that Jin relied on to resist Mongolia for more than 20 years.
Many people may not be familiar with this line of defense, so let’s briefly talk about it.
At the end of the Jin Dynasty, the Jin army suffered a disastrous defeat in the Battle of Yehuling. King Wei Shao, Wanyan Yongji, was killed by powerful minister Hu Shahu for unknown rewards and punishments. After Emperor Xuanzong ascended the throne, he launched the “Zhenyou Nanqian” campaign. After this series of events, the Jin Dynasty was almost powerless to fight. It was through this’ Tongguan Yellow River Defense Line ‘that the Jin Dynasty slowly established a foothold in Henan. If it weren’t for Tuolei forcibly’ borrowing ‘the Southern Song Dynasty to attack the rear of the Jin Dynasty, making the Jin Dynasty exhausted, the war between Mongolia and the Jin Dynasty might have continued to be deadlocked.
Emperor Lizong of Song ascended to the throne at the age of 19, but was only able to take power at the age of 29. During this period, he lived under the shadow of Shi Miyuan for ten years, and the world only knew about “Shi Xiang” and not “Lizong”. Such an imperial life had already hurt Emperor Lizong of Song. After taking power, Emperor Lizong of Song was eager to achieve success and showcase his abilities to the world, which led to the occurrence of the “dignified entry into Luoyang”.
Before the war, Emperor Lizong of Song Dynasty consulted the opinions of the civil and military ministers of the Manchu Dynasty. Qiao Xingjian, a political counselor, responded with disdain, saying, “Nowadays, the border is vast, and there is no end to the journey. How many of Your Majesty’s generals are capable of fighting? How many are brave and skilled in strategy? How many of Your Majesty’s soldiers are capable of fighting? How many are divided and interested in Beijing and Luo? How many are stationed and guarding Huai and Xiang?” When asked six times about Emperor Lizong of Song Dynasty, the famous scholar Zhen Dexiu sneered and said, “Moving troops from the Yangtze and Huai Rivers to defend useless empty cities, and moving the golden valleys of the Yangtze and Huai Rivers to control uncultivated wasteland, the effect of prosperity is not yet realized, and the fundamental problem is that See you immediately
Zhao Yanna, the Sichuan Garrison Commander in charge of the Sichuan Chongqing defense line, and Shi Miyuan, the Jinghu Garrison Commander in charge of the Jinghu defense line, once proposed to resist rather than send troops, which only increased casualties. Even the two Huai armies under the command of brothers Zhao Kui and Zhao Fan had no hope for this military operation.
However, in this situation, Emperor Lizong of Song still issued an order to launch a northern expedition to the Central Plains, ordering Zhao Kui to lead 60000 taels of the main force of the Huai Army north to Henan, recapture the “Three Capitals”, and guard the river from Guan.
After receiving the order, Zhao Kui was also dumbfounded. His initial plan was to mobilize at least 150000 troops, including a hundred battle force from the three defense lines of Sichuan Chongqing, Jinghu, and the two Huai regions, to ensure that this military operation was foolproof, rather than just mobilizing the two Huai armies, let alone sending troops from the two Huai regions for a labor expedition!
As a result, due to the long front line of the two Huai armies, there was a shortage of food and supplies. Later, Zhao Kui underestimated the enemy and advanced recklessly, causing the elite of the two Huai armies to suffer losses in Luoyang. Zhao Kui quickly led the army to retreat south. During the southward retreat, Zhao Kui took inappropriate measures, resulting in the collapse of the rear army. All the food, forage, and supplies of the entire army were left in Henan, known as the “Duanping Expedition to Luo” in history.
The following year, Mongolia used this as an excuse to kick off the Song Mongolian War
