What is the brief history of the Song Dynasty?

The Song Dynasty (960-1279) is an era in Chinese history that inherited the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms and started with the Yuan Dynasty. According to the changes in capital and territory, it can be further divided into the Northern Song Dynasty and the Southern Song Dynasty, collectively known as the Two Song Dynasties.

In order to avoid the separatist rule of vassal towns and the chaos of eunuchs since the end of the Tang Dynasty, the Song Dynasty adopted a policy of emphasizing civility over military affairs. On the one hand, it was weak militarily. In 1127, the two emperors of Hui and Qin received gold They were taken captive, forcing the Song Dynasty to move south; in 1276, Kublai Khan destroyed Lin'an, the capital of Song Dynasty, and the Song Dynasty fell. However, the Song Dynasty was also one of the most prosperous eras in terms of economy, culture and education in Chinese history. Confucianism was revived and the society was filled with the atmosphere of respecting teachers and respecting education. Science and technology also advanced by leaps and bounds, and politics were more open and clean. In the end, there were no serious eunuchs and political chaos in the Song Dynasty. The number and scale of local separatist regimes, mutinies, and civil unrest are relatively rare in Chinese history. The famous historian Chen Yinke said: "The culture of the Chinese nation has evolved over thousands of years and reached its peak in the Zhao and Song Dynasties." There are also some people in Western and Japanese historians who believe that the Song Dynasty was the Renaissance and economic revolution in Chinese history. exist. The economic and cultural development and prosperity of the Song Dynasty were unprecedented in scale. Agriculture, handicrafts, porcelain making, shipbuilding, etc. were all very prosperous.

At the beginning of the founding of the country

Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin The founding emperor of the Song Dynasty was Zhao Kuangyin, whose temple name was Taizu. He was originally a guard in front of the palace in the Later Zhou Dynasty. Due to his outstanding military exploits, he became the right-hand man of Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin, Shizong of the Later Zhou Dynasty. After Shizong died, Emperor Gong who succeeded him was young, so Zhao Kuangyin had the ambition to become emperor. During the Spring Festival of the seventh year of Xian De's reign, Zhao Kuangyin's party members created false information about the Liao attack. Fan Zhi, the prime minister at the time, urgently ordered Zhao Kuangyin to lead his army north to defend against the enemy. On the third day of the first lunar month, Zhao Kuangyin arrived at Chenqiaoyi. When he was sleeping soundly that night, he was covered in yellow robes by his subordinates, who shouted "Long Live Long Live" three times and supported him as the emperor. After the bureaucrats of the later Zhou Dynasty learned about it, they knew they had no choice but to face reality. Emperor Zhou Gong was forced to abdicate. In July of the second year of Jianlong (961) and in October of the second year of Kaibao (969), Song Taizu took over military power (the dramatic theory of "a cup of wine releases military power" circulated in history), and transferred the generals and local officials who held heavy troops The military officers and generals were deprived of their power, entrusted with false posts, and replaced by civilian officials to lead the army, and all military power and financial power were concentrated in the central government. It was not uncommon for the soldiers under the general's jurisdiction not to even recognize the general. This allowed the Song Dynasty to avoid the situation of separatist vassal towns in the Tang Dynasty. But this also led to the Song Dynasty's long-term military sluggishness, which caused the Song Dynasty to repeatedly fail in foreign wars. Zhao Guang (Kuang) Yi, Emperor Taizong of the Song Dynasty Another undertaking faced by Emperor Taizu of the Song Dynasty was to unify the country. After discussing with Zhao Puxue night, Zhao Kuangyin decided to unify the country first from the south to the north. Zhao Kuangyin first implemented a false plan to destroy Guo and destroyed Nanping and Chu. Later, the Three Kingdoms of Hou Shu, Southern Han and Southern Tang were destroyed. Taizu wanted to unify the whole country, and even set up a warehouse to store money and cloth, hoping to redeem the sixteen states of Yanyun from the Liao Dynasty in the future. In August of the ninth year of Kaibao (976), Taizu launched the Northern Expedition again. However, Taizu died suddenly on October 19th, leaving behind the historical mystery of "the sound of candle shadow and axe". His younger brother Zhao Guangyi was busy ascending the throne, and the cause of national unification was temporarily suspended. Zhao Guangyi, the younger brother of Emperor Taizu of the Song Dynasty, came to the throne and took the temple name Taizong. After Taizong consolidated his ruling position, he continued the cause of national unification. First, Chen Hongjin and the Qian family of Wuyue, who had separated Zhang and Quan prefectures in Fujian Province, surrendered, and then the Northern Han Dynasty was destroyed. In May of the fourth year of Taiping and Xingguo's reign (979), Taizong ignored the opposition of his ministers and took advantage of the remaining power of the destruction of the Northern Han Dynasty to launch the Northern Expedition from Taiyuan. At first, Yizhou and Zhuozhou were recaptured. Taizong was so satisfied that he ordered an attack on Yanjing. The result was a disastrous defeat at the Gaoliang River. After this battle, the Song Dynasty's strategy turned passive. In the third year of Yongxi's reign (986), Taizong launched another Northern Expedition, but was defeated again. The famous general Yang Ye was also killed in this battle. After that, the Song Dynasty also suffered many defeats in the war against Dangxiang, and another civil uprising broke out in Sichuan. Taizong's governance had to shift to emphasizing internal affairs while neglecting external affairs. Taizong himself was arty and liked poetry, so the government paid special attention to cultural undertakings, and the Song Dynasty began to emphasize education. Taizong also liked calligraphy, and was good at six calligraphy styles: cursive, official, running, seal, eight-point, and Feibai, especially Feibai style. Even the characters on Chunhua Yuanbao, the currency of the Song Dynasty, were inscribed by Taizong himself. Taizong's accession to the throne is quite suspicious because of the "Candle Shadow and Ax Sound" incident. Folk legend has always said that Zhao Kuangyin was killed by Zhao Guangyi. In order to ensure the legitimacy of the regime, Zhao Guangyi put forward the theory of his mother, Queen Mother Du, which was the "Golden Chamber Alliance". The Golden Chamber Alliance originated when Empress Dowager Du summoned Zhao Pu to the palace to record her last wishes. Empress Dowager Du said that after Zhao Kuangyin's death, he would first pass on Guangyi, then Guangmei (later renamed Tingmei), and then Dezhao (Zhao Kuangyin's eldest son). . This suicide note was hidden in the Golden Chamber, so it was called the Alliance of the Golden Chamber. Although there is talk of the Golden Chamber Alliance, Taizong forced Taizu's sons Dezhao and Defang to death successively, and demoted Tingmei to Fangzhou. Tingmei died in the banishment two years later. Taizong's eldest son Yuanzuo was also deposed because of his sympathy for Tingmei. Another son Yuanxi died violently. Finally, King Xiang Yuankan was established as the prince and changed his name to Heng. In the third year of Zhidao (997), Emperor Taizong died. Empress Li and the eunuch Wang Jien and others attempted to make Yuan Zuo emperor. Fortunately, Prime Minister Lu Duan handled it well, and Zhao Heng successfully ascended the throne and took the temple name Zhenzong. The Song Dynasty also began to enter its heyday.

Enter the prosperous age

Song Zhenzong Zhao Heng After the death of Taizong, Zhenzong Zhao Heng took over the throne. Zhenzong followed the Huang-Lao politics of the last years of Taizong and did nothing. Since Yongxi's Northern Expedition, the Liao Dynasty often looted and killed at the junction of Song and Liao. By the first year of Jingde (1005), it finally turned into a large-scale invasion of the Song Dynasty.

Prime Minister Kou Zhun urged Song Zhenzong Zhao Heng to resist the war. As a result, Zhenzong personally conquered the Song Dynasty. The morale of the Song army was greatly boosted. The Song army was in a stalemate with the Liao army at the gate of Chanzhou, and the Liao army was forced to sue for peace. After several negotiations, the two countries successfully negotiated a peace. The main content of the peace treaty is: Song Dynasty will give Liao 20,000 pieces of silk and 100,000 taels of silver every year. The two sides are countries of brothers. This peace treaty is known as the "Chanyuan Alliance" in history. Later, Kou Zhun gradually fell out of favor and was eventually dismissed. Zhenzong began to trust Wang Qinruo, a sycophant minister. Wang Qinruo was good at flattering people and knew that Zhenzong wanted to create an atmosphere of peace in the world, so he strongly advocated for Zhenzong to enshrine Zen. Wang Qinruo himself also joined forces with another prime minister, Wang Dan, to create many "auspicious" images in various places, which deeply gained the meaning of Zhenzong. As a result, Zhenzong granted Zen status three times in the first year of Dazhong Xiangfu (1009). This has seriously depleted people's power. Zhenzong and Queen Liu had no children. Once Zhenzong happened to visit one of Liu's maids, Li, and in the third year of Dazhong Xiangfu (1011), Li and Yu Dazhong gave birth to a son (Zhao Yiyi), who was later Renzong. Later, Mrs. Liu and another concubine, Ms. Yang, raised the child together. In the Mid-Autumn Festival of the second year of Tianxi (1019), Zhenzong officially made Zhao Yi the prince and changed his name to Zhao Zhen. On February 20, the first year of Qianxing (1023), Zhenzong died. Prince Zhao Zhen ascended the throne, and Queen Liu was honored as the Queen Mother, acting as the agent for military and state affairs before Renzong came of age. This began the sixteen-year period of Empress Dowager Liu's rule behind the curtain. Fan Zhongyan Renzong, who "worries before the world's worries, and rejoices after the world's happiness", was always under Liu's shadow in the early days of his rule. It was not until Liu's death that he was able to realize his ambitions. Although Queen Renzong was from the Cao family, she always loved Concubine Zhang in particular. However, Zhang was born in a humble background and never became a queen. On the eighth day of the first lunar month of the sixth year of Huangyou's reign (1055), Zhang passed away. Renzong actually handled the funeral with the etiquette of a queen and posthumously named him Queen Wencheng. As a result, the two queens who died in one life were unprecedented. After Xixia Li Yuanhao proclaimed himself emperor in the third year of Daqing (1039), several years of war broke out between Song and Xia. The Song army suffered repeated defeats, which led to the increase of coins in Chongxi. Later, Renzong appointed Fan Zhongyan, Lu Yijian, Fu Bi, Bao Zheng, Han Qi and other capable ministers to implement the Qingli New Deal, and achieved very good results. The country has entered the most prosperous stage since its founding. However, some conservative figures accuse these reformist officials of forming cliques, flattering each other and being cronies. Since Renzong always hated forming cliques for personal gain, most of these bureaucrats were later demoted to local officials. This was the end of the short-lived Qingli New Deal. On the border, Renzong appointed general Di Qing to put down the rebellion of Nanman Nong Zhigao and the provocation of Xixia. After Renzong died, Yingzong Zhao Shu took over the throne. He is the grandson of Shang Wang Zhao Yuanfen, the younger brother of Zhenzong. In the seventh year of Jiayou's reign (1063), he was established as the crown prince. Yingzong suffered from many illnesses, and initially the affairs of the court were controlled by Empress Dowager Cao. It was only after May of the first year of Zhiping (1065) that Yingzong began to take charge. However, the Pu Dispute broke out half a month after the Yingzong took office, and the controversy lasted for eighteen months. The cause was Prime Minister Han Qi's request to discuss the identity of Yingzong's biological father. As a result, the court was divided into two factions. One faction believed that Yingzong's biological father, King Pu, should be called Huangbo, while the other faction believed that he should be called Huangkao. In the end, Empress Dowager Cao issued a decree calling Yingzong's father Huang Kao. That settled the dispute. But overall, Yingzong was still a promising monarch. He continued to appoint capable ministers from the previous dynasty, and also boldly discovered new talents. Yingzong also attached great importance to the compilation of books. The writing of "Zi Zhi Tong Jian" was initiated by Ying Zong.

Jianyan Nandu

The Jin Kingdom captured many Song Dynasty clan members during the Jingkang Disaster, and Kang Wang Zhao Gou was one of them who slipped through the net. In the second year of Jingkang (1127), Zhao Gou went south from today's Hebei to Yingtianfu, Nanjing (today's Shangqiu, Henan) and ascended the throne as Gaozong of the Southern Song Dynasty, changing the Yuan Dynasty to Jianyan. After that, Zhao Gou went all the way from the Huaihe River and the Yangtze River to Hangzhou to restore the Song Dynasty and promoted Hangzhou to Lin'an Prefecture. In the first year of Shaoxing (1131), Lin'an was officially established as the capital, named "Xingzai" (accompanying the capital), and it was actually the capital. The Jin Dynasty also rushed southward, approaching Lin'an. Gaozong had no way to escape, so he had to escape into the sea and wandered along the coast of Wenzhou for four months. Due to the humid weather in the south and the criss-crossed rivers in the Southern Song Dynasty, coupled with the heroic resistance of Yue Fei by the soldiers and civilians of the Southern Song Dynasty, Jin commander Wanyan Wushu decided to withdraw his troops and go north. When retreating north to Zhenjiang, the retreat was cut off by Song general Han Shizhong, and he was forced into Huangtiandang. The Song army surrounded 100,000 Jin soldiers with 8,000 troops. The two sides held a stalemate for forty-eight days. Finally, the Jin army opened a gap with fire attacks and was able to retreat. The Jin army was defeated by Yue Fei in Jiankang and never dared to cross the river again. Among the "Four Generals of ZTE" in the Southern Song Dynasty, the most famous was Yue Fei. Through the Northern Expedition, he seized the land controlled by the puppet Qi regime supported by the Jin Dynasty. However, Yue Fei's achievements were so great that he disagreed with Gaozong, which paved the way for his subsequent murder. In May of the 10th year of Shaoxing (1140), the Jin people once again tore up the peace agreement and invaded the south. Due to the heroic resistance of the Song Dynasty soldiers and civilians, the Jin army's attacks in Sichuan, Shaanxi and Huaihe failed. In July, Jin general Wushu turned to attack Yancheng, but was defeated by Yue Fei. He turned to attack Yingchang, but was defeated again. The Yue Army took advantage of the victory and pursued it all the way to Zhuxian Town, which was only forty-five miles away from Kaifeng. The northern rebels also responded to Yue Fei. So much so that the Jin people lamented that "it is easy to shake the mountains, but it is difficult to shake the Yue family's army", and for a time they planned to abandon Kaifeng and cross the river to flee north. But at this time, Gaozong won twelve gold medals in a row to urge Yue Fei to send troops, and the achievements of the Northern Expedition were ruined. In the end, Yue Fei was killed on unfounded charges. In November of the eleventh year of Shaoxing (1141), the Song Dynasty and the Jin Dynasty reached the "Shaoxing Peace Agreement", and the two countries were bounded by the Huaishui River and Dashanguan Pass. The Song Dynasty paid tribute to Jin of 250,000 taels of silver and 250,000 bolts of silk every year. Emperor Gaozong appointed Qin Hui as prime minister. Qin Hui advocated resistance to the Jin Dynasty during the Jingkang period, but was later robbed by the Jin people.

In October of the fourth year of Jianyan (1130), Qin Hui returned south. Because he pursued a surrender policy, he was in close agreement with Gaozong. Qin Hui became deputy prime minister in just three months after returning to the court, and became right prime minister in eight months. Because Qin Hui actively cultivated party members but was not very enthusiastic about peace negotiations, he was dismissed by Gaozong a year later. After resigning as prime minister, Qin Hui kept a low profile and waited for the opportunity to move. In May of the eighth year of Shaoxing (1138), Emperor Gaozong appointed Qin Hui as the right prime minister. After Qin Hui came to power, he persecuted officials who disagreed with him, married relatives, and made friends with internal ministers. Emperor Gaozong only acquiesced to Qin Hui's behavior. In the later period, Qin Hui's power was too great, which aroused Gaozong's vigilance. For example, Gao Zong personally issued an order to make Qin Hui's grandson lose the first prize. Qin Hui's power declined day by day. In the twenty-fifth year of Shaoxing (1155), Qin Hui was seriously ill. He planned to let his son take over the position, but Gaozong vetoed it, and he died soon after. After Qin Hui's death, Emperor Gaozong attacked the remaining parties and re-employed surrender officials. Gaozong was infertile, so he chose his successor from two of Taizu's descendants, Zhao Yuan and Zhao Xu. In the end, Zhao Yuan won. In the thirty-second year of Shaoxing (1162), Zhao Yuan was established as the prince and changed his name to Zhao Yu. In the thirty-first year of Shaoxing (1161), Wanyan Liang, King of Jin Hailing, invaded the south, but was repulsed by Yu Yunwen in quarrying. This incident made Gaozong want to withdraw. In June of the 32nd year of Shaoxing, the fifty-six-year-old Emperor Gaozong issued an edict to abdicate, and Prince Zhao Yu came to the throne as Emperor Xiaozong. He himself was called the Supreme Emperor and lived in Deokshou Palace. Gaozong became the Supreme Empress and indulged in pleasures and spent a lot of money. On October 8, the fourteenth year of Chunxi (1187), Gaozong passed away.

Pianan Jiangnan

After Xiaozong came to the throne, he reformed the government and tried to restore it. The Song Dynasty relatively entered a prosperous period. Xiaozong redressed Yue Fei's injustice and was imprisoned in the Southern Song Dynasty, and appointed war-fighting personnel to regain it. Central Plains. In April of the first year of Longxing (1163), Xiaozong ordered Li Xianzhong, Shao Hongyuan and others to send troops to the Northern Expedition. Although the Northern Expedition was successful for a time, it failed after only 20 days due to the discord among the generals and the mentality of underestimating the enemy. After that, Xiaozong had no choice but to negotiate peace with Jin. In December of the second year of Longxing (1164), Song and Jin formally signed a peace agreement, which was known as the Longxing Peace Agreement in history. However, Xiaozong still wanted to restore the Central Plains and continued to rectify his armaments. However, due to the death of a group of war-fighting generals such as Yu Yunwen, the Northern Expedition came to nothing. In terms of domestic affairs, Xiaozong actively rectified officialdom, eliminated redundant officials, punished corruption, strengthened centralization of power, and paid attention to agricultural production. Generally speaking, the internal political situation of the Song Dynasty has improved. After Gaozong's death, Xiaozong became increasingly indifferent to politics, and finally decided to give way to his son Zhao Dun, also known as Guangzong. However, Guangzong suffered from mental illness soon after he came to the throne. In addition, he was very unfilial to himself, which made Xiaozong very sad. In July of the fifth year of Shaoxi (1194), Xiaozong passed away. Guangzong was jealous by nature and did not trust the ministers around his father Xiaozong. Therefore, he became increasingly crazy two years after he took the throne. In July of the fifth year of Shaoxi, when Xiaozong died of illness, Guangzong refused to mourn. Lin'an City was in chaos and the situation was unstable. The clan members Zhao Ruyu and Zhao Yanyu began to secretly plan to establish a new king. Finally, the Empress Dowager issued an edict, and Guangzong was consecrated as the Supreme Emperor. His son Zhao Kuo ascended the throne as Ningzong and changed his name to Qingyuan (1195). Six years later, Guangzong died. According to historical records, Ning Zong was "unintelligent" and had a low IQ. Ning Zong was controlled by two powerful officials - Han Yuzhou and Shi Miyuan. Although Ning Zong has a low IQ, he is generally considered a loyal master.

Internal and external troubles

In the early days of Ningzong, Zhao Ruyu was appointed prime minister. Zhao Ruyu himself has good political integrity. However, because it was illegal for the royal family to serve as prime minister, and Han Yuzhou fanned the flames, he was eventually dismissed from the position. However, people still miss him very much, and there are poems and essays in memory of him on the gate of Lin'an every day. In order to completely eliminate Zhao Ruyu's influence and exclude dissidents, Han Yuzhou banned the Qingyuan Party in the name of academics. Neo-Confucianism was called "pseudo-science", and many ministers in the DPRK and China who believed in Neo-Confucianism were opposed to Han Yuzhou. Han Zhou used this to expel all the scholar-bureaucrats who believed in Neo-Confucianism from the government. In the sixth year of Qingyuan (1200), seeing that Neo-Confucianism no longer posed a threat, Han Zhouzhou lifted the party ban. However, the party was unpopular. In order to win over the scholars, Han Yuzhou used the name of the Northern Expedition to deceive people. In the second year of Kaixi (1206), Han Zhouzhou rashly launched the Northern Expedition, which quickly failed. The failure of the Northern Expedition made Han Yuzhou the target of public criticism. His political rival Shi Miyuan used this to form an alliance with the peace faction and the Korean opposition. The Jin people also made the killing of Han Yuzhou one of the conditions for peace talks. On November 3, the third year of Kaixi (1207), Shi Miyuan and others forged a secret decree and killed Han Yuzhou. From then on, the period of Shi Miyuan's dictatorship began. Shi Miyuan colluded with Queen Yang and took over all the power. Ning Zong originally had eight sons, but they all died in infancy. So he made Zhao Hong, the son of King Yi, the crown prince. Zhao Hong was very dissatisfied with Shi Miyuan's dictatorship. Therefore, Shi Miyuan deposed Zhao Hong as the crown prince and appointed Zhao Yun as the heir to the throne. In the seventeenth year of Jiading (1224), on leap August 3, Ning Zong passed away. Zhao Yun succeeded him as Lizong. However, Shi Miyuan continued his dictatorship, and Zhao Yun also pursued the strategy of keeping a low profile. In October of the sixth year of Shaoding (1233), Shi Miyuan died. Lizong finally got rid of Shi Miyuan's shadow. The next year, Lizong changed his name to Yuan Duanping and implemented a series of reform measures, which is known as "Duanping Genghua" in history. Lizong dismissed Shi Miyuan's old party, and the government was improved for a time. At the same time, in the north, the Jin Dynasty was facing step by step pressure from Mongolia and was facing the end of the country.

The foreign policy of the DPRK was also divided into two groups. One group believed that the Mongols should be united to fight against the Jin; the other group believed that the principle of lip death and cold teeth and the lessons of the Maritime Alliance should be remembered to assist the Jin Dynasty and let Jin become the vassal screen of Song Dynasty. In December of the fifth year of Shaoding (1232), Mongolia sent envoys to discuss cooperation between Song and Mongolia to attack the Jin Dynasty. Most of the ministers agreed, and only Zhao Fan opposed it. Lizong agreed to Mongolia's request, and Mongolia also promised to return Henan to the Song Dynasty after destroying the Jin Dynasty. But this was only a verbal agreement and no written agreement was left, thus laying the foundation for future troubles. After Jin Aizong learned about it, he also sent envoys to the Song Dynasty to make a strong statement, hoping to unite to fight against Mongolia, but Lizong refused. Lizong appointed Shi Songzhi to be in charge of extinguishing money. In the sixth year of Shaoding (1233), the Song army captured Dengzhou. In May of the first year of Duanping (1234), Caizhou was captured, Jin Aizong hanged himself, and the Jin Dynasty was destroyed. Song general Meng Qi brought the remains of Jin Aizong back to Lin'an. Lizong enshrined the remains of Jin Aizong in the Taimiao Temple to comfort the spirits of Hui and Qin sects in heaven.

Decline and Fall

After the fall of the Jin Dynasty, the Mongolian army retreated northward, leaving Henan empty. Lizong intended to seize the pass (Tongguan), guard the river (Yellow River), and regain the three capitals (Kaifeng, Tokyo, Luoyang, Xijing, and Guide, Nanjing), restored the Central Plains. In May of the first year of Duanping (1234), Lizong appointed Zhao Kui as the commander-in-chief and Quan Zicai as the vanguard, and issued an edict to send troops to Henan. On June 12, Quanzi regained Nanjing. On July 5th, the Song army entered Kaifeng. However, due to lack of food and grass, the Song army was ambushed by the Mongolian army when they attacked Luoyang, and suffered heavy losses. All Song armies were defeated across the board. Duanping's invasion of Luo failed. The Song Dynasty suffered heavy losses in this battle. A large number of elite troops and supplies were wasted, which also provided an excuse for the Mongolian invasion of the Song Dynasty. After Duanping entered Luo, Lizong neglected political affairs and indulged in sensuality, causing great damage to the government. Lizong's two sons died young, so in the end Lizong chose Zhao Yu, the son of his younger brothers Zhao Yurui, as the crown prince. Because Zhao Fu's mother had taken abortion pills during pregnancy, Zhao Fu was born with deficiencies. In June of the first year of Jingding (1260), Lizong issued an edict to establish Zhao Fu as the crown prince. On December 26, the fifth year of Jingding (1264), Lizong died and Zhao Yu came to the throne as Du Zong. After Zhao Fu came to the throne, he ignored the government affairs and indulged in sensuality all day long. The right prime minister, Jia Sidao, therefore exercised power. Jia Sidao formed cliques for personal gain and excluded dissidents. He spent all day playing with his wife and concubines in the Geling Villa. Because he was aggressive with crickets, people at the time called him the "Cricket Prime Minister." He forbade Du Zong to know about the frontline war. Three years after Xiangyang and Fancheng were besieged, Du Zong learned of this. In the second year of Duanping (1235), the Mongolian army invaded south for the first time and was repulsed. Unwilling to accept defeat, the Mongolian army invaded the south twice in September of the following year and in the third year, with its front almost approaching the north bank of the Yangtze River. Because the Song army fought bravely and defeated the Mongolian army, it once again thwarted the Mongolian army's attempt to cross the Yangtze River and move south. Then, under the command of the anti-Mongolian generals Meng Gong, Meng Ying, Yu Jie and others, the soldiers and civilians of the Southern Song Dynasty defeated the Mongolian army many times, forcing them to try to take a detour. In the first year of Kaiqing (1259), the Mongolian Khan Meng Ge was injured by a stray arrow of the Song army during the campaign in Hezhou and died in the army. His brother Kublai Khan was fighting with the Song army in Ezhou. After hearing the news, he immediately prepared to withdraw his troops in order to seize the position of Great Khan. Jia Sidao took the opportunity to send people to negotiate peace with Kublai Khan to ensure peace. In this way, Kublai Khan returned directly to the north and established himself as Khan. In the seventh year of Xianchun (1271), Kublai Khan established his country in the Central Plains and named it Yuan. Du Zong passed away on July 9, the tenth year of Xianchun (1274), at the age of 35. After Duzong died, his eldest son Zhao Xian came to the throne. At that time, the rule of the Song Dynasty had entered a state of paralysis. In the spring of the first year of Deyou (1275), the Yuan army captured the important military towns of Anqing and Chizhou, threatening Jiankang, and the Yangtze River defense line collapsed. There was a great earthquake in the government and the public, and everyone from all walks of life hoped that Jia Sidao would go out to fight. As a result, the Song army was defeated. Jia Sidao was demoted and was killed by the prison officer Zheng Huchen on his way to his post. On November 20th of the first year of Deyou, Changzhou fell and the Yuan army carried out a massacre. Soon Pingjiang also fell, and people in Lin'an were panicked. On the fifth day of February in the second year of Deyou (1276), a surrender ceremony was held in Lin'an City, and Zhao Xi was captured. The Southern Song Dynasty perished. Then, Zhao Xi's younger brothers Zhao Shi and Zhao Bing were protected by ministers and escaped from Lin'an. Zhao came to the throne in Fuzhou as Duanzong and changed to Yuan Jingyan (1276). However, internal struggles continued in the small court. In November of the first year of Jingyan, the Mongolian army approached Fuzhou. On November 15, court ministers Chen Yizhong and Zhang Shijie escorted Zhao Shi and Zhao Bing to escape south by boat. From then on, the small court could only travel by sea. towards. In the spring of the third year of Jingyan's reign (1278), the small court arrived in Leizhou. On April 15, Zhao Shi, who was only eleven years old, passed away. Lu Xiufu and other ministers supported Zhao Bing as emperor and changed the name to Yuan Xiangxing (1278). Under the fierce attack of the Yuan army, Leizhou fell and the small court moved to Yashan (today's Xinhui, Guangdong). The Yuan army, led by the Han rebel general Zhang Hongfan in the Southern Song Dynasty, followed closely behind and launched a general attack on Yashan. The Song army was unable to fight and was defeated across the board. Zhao Bing, along with Lu Xiufu and more than 800 people from the Zhao and Song royal family, collectively jumped into the sea and committed suicide. The world was not ashamed of Zhang Hongfan, so they erected a monument here to ridicule him: "Zhang Hongfan of the Song Dynasty destroyed the Song Dynasty here." The Song Dynasty declared its complete demise here. The Battle of Yashan was extremely brutal. After the war, 100,000 people committed suicide and died for their country. The sea was full of corpses. Wen Tianxiang personally witnessed the tragic situation and wrote a poem: "When Jie came to the South China Sea, people died in chaos. The fishy waves broke the hearts, and the strong wind blew away the hair."

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