Why did Mongolia not destroy Japan, but set a big trap for the Ming Dynasty?

Guide: In the eyes of future generations, the Mongolian fighters built by Genghis Khan and his children and grandchildren are an invincible master of tigers and wolves. They rode horses and whipped, galloped grasslands and conquered Eurasia. However, such an armored lion could not conquer a small island country-Japan. Instead of conquering, it suffered unprecedented losses during its two attacks on Japan. That's not enough. In the Yuan Dynasty, Mongolia.

There has always been a question: Mongolian fighters are powerful enough to sweep across Eurasia. Why are they helpless about India and Japan? Several conquests ended in failure, especially for Japan, which can be said to be a fiasco and a loser. Why? Because almost none of them fought against Japan head-on, they died countless times and were on the run. Are Japan and India stronger than the Mongolian Empire in Yuan Dynasty?

According to historical records, Mongolia conquered Japan twice during Kublai Khan in the Yuan Dynasty. The first time was in the 11th year of Zhiyuan (1274), when Kublai Khan sent Mongolian and Korean allied forces to conquer Japan, which ended in tens of thousands of casualties. Secondly, Zhiyuan 18 (128 1) went on an expedition to Japan, and this time it was even worse. According to historical records, the armies of Mongolia and North Korea together had more than 1 10000 people, and more than half of them died. In fact, winning or losing is a common occurrence for military strategists. The key is the failure of these two expeditions to Japan, which, in my opinion, is particularly timid. If it is really defeated by the Japanese army, the key is that there is no large-scale confrontation with the Japanese army, but there are countless casualties.

According to the history books, when the Mongolian and Korean allied forces landed in Fukuoka, eastern Kyushu, Japan for the first time, they encountered a sudden big storm, which made hundreds of warships and13,000 soldiers hide in the seabed at once, leaving only a few defeated soldiers to flee back to China. The second time, Mongolia in the Yuan Dynasty made seven years of preparation. Kublai Khan felt that everything was planned seamlessly and fully. However, history is strikingly similar. Just as the troops of the Yuan Dynasty were crossing the sea, a typhoon swept through the coast of Kyushu, and more than 900 warships of the Yuan Dynasty were mercilessly overturned and shattered by violent waves. More than 65438+ 10,000 soldiers went to pay their children, and the bodies in the sea were everywhere. This time, the storm swallowed them up. The Mongolian army has never been so big. If it fights the Japanese, even if it is defeated, it can destroy some Japanese, but God did not give Mongolia such an opportunity in the Yuan Dynasty. Therefore, these two expeditions were extremely timid. It can't conquer Japan rather than nature!

What was Kublai Khan's purpose in conquering Japan?

Some people may say, of course, it must be annexation and occupation! In fact, it's really not annexation and occupation, but only letting Japan pay tribute to the Yuan Dynasty. As a matter of fact, the Japanese in history worshipped China very much. Since the Tang Dynasty, Japanese began to pay tribute to China and learn from China's culture, science and technology, agriculture and so on. Until the Song Dynasty. At that time, Japan was absolutely convinced of and respected China. Even in the weak Southern Song Dynasty, Japan still maintained a normal and friendly tributary relationship with the Southern Song Dynasty. Moreover, during the confrontation between Liao and Jin Dynasties in China, Japan only recognized the Song Dynasty orthodoxy of the Han nationality.

For example, in the 7th year of Yuan Dynasty, 90% of Japanese Prime Minister Sang Ying said in "Letter to Mongolia" that "the name of Mongolia is unheard of today". In other words, Japan had never heard of Mongolia at that time. Kublai Khan, the grandson of Genghis Khan, unified China and established the Dayuan Dynasty. He sent envoys to Japan many times to ask Japan to pay tribute to the Yuan Dynasty, but Japan only recognized the Song Dynasty. Kublai Khan of Yuan Shizu thought that the means of peaceful tribute to Japan had been exhausted, so he decided to force Japan to submit by force. This is why he sent troops to conquer Japan for the first time in Zhiyuan 1 1 (1274). During the seven years from the failure of the first expedition to the second expedition, Kublai Khan sent people to Japan many times to ask Japan to pay tribute to the Yuan Dynasty, but they were all rejected by Japan. Kublai Khan was very angry that Japan refused to pay tribute anyway, so after approval and preparation, he began his second expedition.

Why did Kublai Khan fail in his two expeditions to Japan?

The first is natural disasters. There are both natural disasters and man-made disasters. The so-called natural disaster is that Kublai Khan is a little backward. Both expeditions caught up with the big storm, and natural factors were irresistible. There was no weather forecast at that time, so it was impossible to know that there was a heavy rain. Besides, Mongols, the kings of the land, may not know what a storm at sea is. If natural disasters are understandable, then man-made disasters will blame Kublai Khan himself.

One of the man-made disasters: Kublai Khan, as the founding king of the Yuan Dynasty, really wanted to enjoy the achievements of the prosperous monarch of the Central Plains Dynasty. Many countries came to the DPRK in succession, hoping to gain the orthodox status of the previous dynasty as "the salt ministers of all countries". This idea is right, the key is what means to get it. Unfortunately, Kublai Khan advocated military conquest. He probably didn't know that Japan paid tribute by force in the Southern Song Dynasty. Therefore, if economic, political, diplomatic and military means are used together, force is not the best choice. I tried to dissuade Kublai Khan from attacking Japanese imperial officials, but Kublai Khan didn't listen to these words at that time. It is not worth the loss to let Japan pay tribute by force. If you are defeated, you will lose. If you fail, you should do as Liu Fuheng said, "national prestige is damaged, and foot soldiers are damaged."

Man-made disaster number two: Kublai Khan was too confident in his Mongolian soldiers. Although Mongolian soldiers are kings on land, you are not a big shark at sea. Although there was a water war when the Southern Song Dynasty perished and you won, it doesn't mean that you are a master of naval warfare. Just because you can swim in the swimming pool doesn't mean you dare to surf in the sea! However, Kublai Khan's Mongolian fighters just ignored this point. After the Southern Song Dynasty water army won, it began to be arrogant. They did not seriously study the characteristics of naval warfare, the characteristics of sea weather, whether their warships were suitable for crossing the sea, and how their water army was trained. Wait, they think they can defeat Japan only by being brave on land, and the result is heavy losses.

What impact did the two expeditions have on Japan?

Although Kublai Khan's expeditionary forces all ended in failure, their influence on Japan was also enormous.

First, it divided Japanese politics. It was the Kamakura shogunate that was in power in Japan at that time, and its decline was accelerated because of the influence of the war. Those royal families who thought they had contributed went to Kamakura to ask the shogunate for a "reward", but the shogunate didn't give it, which led to civil strife. Fifty years later, Xintian Yixin captured Kamakura, and the Kamakura shogunate perished, and then Japan entered the "Southern and Northern Dynasties". After 60 years of division, Japan was reunified, and the Muromachi shogunate destroyed the Southern Dynasties, replacing the ruling position of the Kamakura shogunate.

Secondly, it broadens Japan's horizons. Japan opened its eyes to these two expeditions to the Yuan Army. Before that, Japan always thought that the Yuan Dynasty was just like the Southern Song Dynasty, and it was the first time to see how powerful the Mongolian-ruled Yuan Dynasty was.

Third, it inflated Japan's ambitions. Japan doesn't know the reason why the Yuan Army failed, so it is written in the old Japanese history that the Yuan Army was defeated by "Yi Shi Kamikaze", "Yagong Dysprosium West Wind" and "Akira Amano's Expedition". From then on, China gradually lost his respect and worship for the Tang and Song Dynasties. They forgot, or even denied, that the Yuan Army's two failures were all due to nature. They think that the Yuan Army didn't conquer Japan = Japan can defeat Yuan Meng who conquered Europe and Asia = Japan can be greater than the ancients in Bimengli. It was driven by this idea that from the Ming Dynasty, Japan abandoned its previous respect for China and dared to cross the sea to invade China, and it succeeded repeatedly. This is not only Japanese misfortune, but also China's misfortune!

Thank you for reading, welcome to pay attention!