Wen Tianxiang wanted to surrender but was killed, why did Kublai Khan still attack?
Why should a man of national integrity submit to the enemy on his deathbed?
At the end of the Southern Song Dynasty, the Mongolian iron cavalry flooded the north and south of the river, and for a time there were frequent military disasters and the people were not able to make a living. At that time, the Southern Song Dynasty palace was full of mediocre officials, political chaos, greed for life and fear of death. In this dark period, the appearance of the national hero Wen Tianxiang is like a ray of dawn in the depths of the dark clouds.
He sacrificed his life for the country and was captured by the Yuan army twice, but he always fought for the national righteousness. Why, in the third year of captivity, under the strong pressure of the Yuan Emperor Kublai Khan, did this heart of national righteousness bow to death and put forward reasonable conditions to the enemy?
This move not only surprised Kublai Khan, but also changed the evaluation of Kublai Khan by later generations.
i.Loyal to the enemy and captured twice, what is Wen Tianxiang's national integrity?
Wen Tianxiang, a native of Yinxian County, Mingzhou, was born in the 11th year of Chunyou in the Southern Song Dynasty. Yue Fei was a politician, writer and patriotic poet in the late Southern Song Dynasty, and a famous national hero in Chinese history.
When Wen Tianxiang was born, the Southern Song Dynasty was in the critical period of the upcoming Yuan Dynasty. Wen Tianxiang had a resolute and upright personality, and he had already seen through the hypocrisy of the rotten ruling class in the Southern Song Dynasty.
At the age of 20, Wen Tianxiang graduated and began his career. But the good times didn't last long. Because Wen Tianxiang dared to act boldly, he wrote many times to persuade the emperor to reform maladministration and crack down on traitors, and he was soon insulted by the powerful and was transferred to the deputy envoy of the Shangzhou regiment.
Undeterred, however, he continued to demonstrate his political ambitions through his literary creations and built a group of friends loyal to his country. In their discussions,"Heavy Sheji"with"Save the weak"is the unanimous view.
In 1274, the Mongol army attacked the Southern Song Dynasty and the situation was critical. In order to save the country, the Southern Song Dynasty court appointed Wen Tianxiang as a judge to supervise the war on the front line.
Wen Tianxiang was worried about the country and the people, and resolutely responded to the call. When he arrived at the front, he saw the Yuan army approaching the city, and also saw the decay and incompetence of the Southern Song army. Wen Tianxiang was worried and wrote to the imperial court, saying that the country's survival was threatened, and it was necessary to change course and restore morale.
But the theme of the dynasty - rebellion, is Wen Tianxiang's advice. In 1276, under the attack of the Yuan army, the Southern Song army was defeated, and Wen Tianxiang also fell into the hands of the Yuan army.
Wen Tianxiang was in the disaster of five days in prison in the capital, and would rather die than go on a hunger strike. Faced with Kublai Khan's charm, he naturally refused, and finally seized the opportunity to successfully escape to the Southern Song Dynasty.
After Wen Tianxiang fled back to the Southern Song Dynasty, he immediately went south to Jiangsu and Zhejiang, recruited patriots, and united to resist the Yuan Dynasty and save the country. After a long journey, Wen Tianxiang finally established an anti-Yuan regime in Nanshan, Jingding, Fujian, led by the young emperor Zhao Yu.
However, the situation remained dangerous, and in 1278, the Yuan army besieged Wen Tianxiang at Danxia Mountain in Guangdong Province and captured Danxia Mountain for the second time. This time, he failed to escape and was escorted to the capital and thrown into Kublai Khan's dungeons.
Secondly, Emperor Yuan seduced Wen Tianxiang, why should a man succumb to the enemy?
Wen Tianxiang was imprisoned in the Yuan Dynasty, and Kublai Khan persuaded him to surrender many times. Kublai Khan first gave him an official position and gold coins, but he refused, and later sent his son Timur to persuade him to surrender, Wen Tianxiang rightly rejected Timur's narrow-mindedness and ignorance, leaving Timur speechless.
Wen Tianxiang decided not to comply, even though he faced severe punishment and pain. In his poems, he constantly expressed his longing for his homeland and his hatred for the Yuan army. For example, he wrote in the poem "Crossing the Zero Ding Yang"."Since ancient times, no one has died, leaving Dan to take care of his sweat"。He expressed his determination to defend the integrity of the country and vowed not to surrender.
But in the third year of Wen Tianxiang's capture, when Kublai Khan came to persuade him to surrender again, an unexpected scene occurred.
Wen Tianxiang changed his position, saying that if he met a small request from Kublai Khan, he would return to Mongolia and become an auxiliary minister under Kublai Khan.
Kublai Khan begged that he be released from prison and let him wander outside so that he could return to his hometown to become a Taoist priest. When the wind was calm, he would help Kublai Khan as a friend.
Kublai Khan was secretly happy. He soon realized that this might be a ruse by Wen Tianxiang to deceive himself and regain his freedom. With Wen Tianxiang's temper, how could he change his mind three years after the rebellion?
On the other hand, Kublai Khan also had to agree that if he could truly conquer Wen Tianxiang and use Wen Tianxiang's reputation to help the management of the Southern Song Dynasty, the effect would be twice as effective with half the effort.
That's why Kublai Khan hesitated.
Third, why did Kublai Khan finally decide to kill Wen Tianxiang?
Why would a person with a sense of national justice in his heart suddenly change his mind and surrender to the enemy after three years of rebellion?
Kublai Khan thought about it again and again, but he still had doubts about Wen Tianxiang's submission. He understood that Wen Tianxiang's temperament was not unimportant.
Just when Kublai Khan was hesitating, Liu Mengyan, a courtier of the Southern Song Dynasty, said defiantly:"If Wen Tianxiang really surrendered three years ago, why did he wait until today?If you let him go, you will only get into a lot of trouble. It is better to cut the grass and eradicate the roots, so as to prevent future troubles. "
Lü Mengzheng's words instantly ruined Kublai Khan's last chance.
He knew that Wen Tianxiang's request was probably just to regain his freedom, and he was worried that as soon as he left Dadu, Wen Tianxiang would go south to Jiangsu and Zhejiang, regroup and make a comeback.
Kublai Khan was a good statesman, and he knew that continuing to imprison Wen Tianxiang would not stop his power as a spiritual benchmark. The best way is to make an example of the Southern Song people, break the resistance of the Southern Song people, and force them to surrender.
Thinking of this, Kublai Khan immediately ordered Wen Tianxiang to be executed. Soon, Wen Tianxiang was escorted to the capital, where he died heroically at the age of 32.
Before his execution, Wen Tianxiang left a poem "Crossing the Zero Ding Yang", and his heroic righteousness and patriotic feelings will forever be engraved in the long river of history.
Looking back on Wen Tianxiang's four lives, where did his national righteousness come from?
Wen Tianxiang practiced it with his life"Dan was in the sweat"The oath has become the anti-enemy hero of the Chinese nation and a model for the ages.
Although Wen Tianxiang paid tribute to Kublai Khan on his deathbed, a look at his life reveals why Wen Tianxiang was a great patriotic poet and where his spirit of national justice came from.
This is actually due to Wen Tianxiang's feelings for his family and country. He was born in the autumn of the Southern Song Dynasty, at the time of national crisis, and witnessed the weakness of the country and the hardship of the people since he was a child. This further stimulated his enthusiasm for serving the country and saving the people.
Wen Tianxiang is by no means a lone star, and his words and deeds show that a generation of patriots is gathering around him to discuss the state of the country with friends. These patriots from all over the world are a big family and have given Wen Tianxiang great spiritual support.
On the other hand, Wen Tianxiang was a true scholar who was well-versed in scripture and history and had a far-sighted vision. As a result, he had a clear understanding of the decadent ruling class of the time.
Because of this, Wen Tianxiang was not afraid of hardships and dangers and threw himself into the struggle against the enemy when the nation was in danger. His main motive was to love the motherland and the people and completely abandon corrupt rule.
Wen Tianxiang was very upright and short-tempered, and he did not surrender after being arrested twice, becoming a symbol of steel for the country. Although he bowed his head at the last moment, this in no way meant that he was mentally subservient to the authorities.
Wen Tianxiang was patriotic all his life, and his national integrity will continue to inspire countless future generations to follow his example. In the midst of danger and suffering, a nation will always usher in the dawn of justice and hope. Wen Tianxiang is a bright light in the dark history of the Chinese nation.