The Battle of Niuxinling not only demonstrated the Song army's weakened combat effectiveness, but also highlighted the losses of its elite troops during the Battle of Xiangfan. The Song army was able to muster 5,000 cavalry, a significant force, and considering the Southern Song's warhorse reserves, it represented a significant investment, yet they were decimated in a single battle.
The defeat at Jiaoshan had far-reaching consequences. Zhang Shijie had originally intended to seize control of Bayan's absence and open up the Yangtze River to the north and south. This failed, and the depleted military forces in Jiangsu and Zhejiang were wasted. This forced the Southern Song court in Lin'an to draft all civilians over the age of 15 into the army. Many of these children were barely four feet tall, yet they were given the euphemistic name of the "Wu Ding Army."
The fall of the Southern Song Dynasty also foreshadowed the establishment of Mongolia's control over the East Asian continent.
Of course, the remnants of Lin'an knew that relying on a fleet of improvised civilians was no match for the ferocious Mongols. Upon Boyan's return from Dadu, they immediately dispatched Liu Yue to negotiate with him. Before the arrogant Boyan, Liu Yue tearfully accused Jia Sidao of betraying the country and leading to the indiscriminate slaughter of Mongol envoys. He also pleaded with Boyan to give the Southern Song one last chance, considering the young age of the new emperor and the empress dowager.
Unfortunately, Boyan no longer wanted to be tricked. He bluntly stated: "The Zhao family bullied the orphans and widows of the Chai family and stole the kingdom from them. Now the Mongols have taken it from the orphans and widows of the Zhao family. This is karma!"
With the Mongol army at the gates, the Wuding Army fled, forcing the Southern Song Dynasty to surrender. The Zhao Dynasty, which had lasted for three hundred years, finally faced its day of reckoning. Although there were still men like Zhang Shijie, Wen Tianxiang, and Lu Xiufu who sought to maintain their position, none of them, with their limited talents, could reverse the tide of events.
This is a map of Jinghu during the Song-Jin confrontation period. If the Mongolian army occupied the old city of Junzhou in 1266, then the corresponding one would be the "Junzhou" in the map.
The idea of an old city and a new city reminds me of Liu Zheng's "12 Light Cavalrymen Capture Xinyang," and the Xinyang in this image belongs to the Southern Song Dynasty. Liu Zheng's capture of Xinyang occurred during the reign of Meng Gong, and during the period of the Mongols' alliance to defeat the Jin Dynasty. If there is only one Xinyang, then it must have been occupied by the Jin army midway through the war and not reclaimed until Meng Gong defeated the Jin. If the idea of an old city and a new city also exists for Xinyang, it is very likely that the Xinyang captured by Liu Zheng was the Jin Dynasty's Xinyang.
When the Song and Jin dynasties drew the border, it was inevitable that many areas along the Qinling Mountains and the Huai River were divided into two. It is possible that one of the Song and Jin dynasties rebuilt a new site on the border.
If Meng Gong abandoned the Xiangfan line after the Jingxiang counterattack, then the subsequent battle of Deng Rang would be different from the above statement. The key point is "Jiao's entry and exit of Xiangyang":
At the beginning of the fourth year of the Xi Dynasty (1240), Meng Gong gathered intelligence and learned that Zhang Rou was leading his troops to cultivate land in Henan and was also accumulating shipbuilding timber in Dengzhou and Shunyang (present-day Xichuan, Henan). He abandoned his old strategy of "fighting the enemy with troops and blocking the water with earth" and proactively sent troops to harass and disrupt the Mongol offensive preparations.
Meng Gong ordered Zhang Ying to march out of Suizhou, Ren Yi to march out of Xinyang, and Jiao Jin to march out of Xiangyang. These separate attacks harassed the Mongol army, preventing them from concentrating their farming efforts. He also dispatched his general, Wang Jian, to launch a surprise attack on Shunyang, burning all the shipbuilding materials accumulated by the Mongol army. He also dispatched his generals, Zhang De and Liu Zheng, to attack Caizhou and burn their supplies. The Song army achieved a significant offensive victory against the Mongol rear base, nipping the enemy's offensive in the bud. This victory is known in history as the "Battle of Deng Rang."
History of the Song Dynasty, Volume 412, Biography 171: Upon learning that the Yuan army was gathering civilians and soldiers in Xiangfan, Sui, and Xinyang, and storing ship materials in Shunyang, Deng, the Yuan army dispatched Zhang Hanying from Sui, Ren Yi from Xinyang, and Jiao Jin from Xiang to disrupt their advance. Wang Jian was dispatched undercover to burn the stored ship materials. Furthermore, predicting the army would rely on Cai for supplies, Zhang De and Liu Zheng were dispatched to Cai to set fire to the stored materials. He was appointed Jiedushi of Ningwu Army, Xuanfu Envoy of Sichuan, and concurrently Governor of Kuizhou.
In 1239, Meng Gong, promoted to the post of pacification envoy of Jinghu and in overall charge of the Jinghu region's defense, fought another battle against the Mongol army, winning three battles and three victories, capturing Fancheng and reclaiming Xiangyang. However, despite the Mongol destruction, Xiangyang's defenses were severely damaged, and the city was severely short of personnel and supplies. Xiangyang had become a difficult city to defend, making it easy to attack. After careful consideration, Meng Gong decided to abandon the city.
In the following years, Meng Gong served as the ambassador of Jinghu pacification and control and the ambassador of Kuizhou Road, responsible for the overall defense of the Xiangyang area, which enabled the Song army to maintain a certain advantage in this local battlefield during this period of events.
In particular, in the autumn of 1251, after years of military preparation by Meng Gong, Gao Da, who was then the deputy governor of the Song Jinghu Administration Office, took advantage of the fact that Mongolia was in constant internal strife for the Khan throne and had no time to take care of the war in the Central Plains, and recaptured the two cities of Xiangfan, which were mainly defended by Mongolian miscellaneous troops.
Data found on a "personal library" website finally confirms the claim that Meng Gong abandoned Xiangfan. However, Meng Gong's "abandonment" does not mean that the Mongolian army reoccupied Xiangfan. It may simply mean that Xiangyang was not heavily garrisoned or stockpiled with food. After Meng Gong's death, the Mongolian army took advantage of the Song army's lack of a major general and moved the battle line south to reoccupy Xiangfan.
In the early years of the Xining reign, Emperor Shenzong of Song, Wang Anshi, initiated new laws and reforms. Su Shi advised: "A nation's survival or failure depends on the depth of its morality, not on the strength of its power. The length or shortness of a dynasty depends on the richness or thinness of its customs, not on the wealth or poverty of its people. ... I urge Your Majesty to uphold morality and enrich customs, and I do not want Your Majesty to rush into achievements and pursue wealth and power."
Emperor Renzong was extremely lenient in his law enforcement, discreet in his appointments, understanding his subjects' mistakes and never changing old laws. When evaluating officials' performance, he never demanded perfection. For example, his military operations failed nine out of ten times; his treasury was barely sufficient for daily expenses, with no surplus left. Yet, Renzong's benevolence remained in the hearts of the people, and when the late emperor passed away, his kindness was known to all.
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