The thirteenth century A.D. was the time when the Mongol Empire shocked the world. The powerful Mongol cuirassiers swept away dozens of countries in Europe and Asia, and established an unprecedented huge empire across Europe and Asia.
In the autumn of 1258, Mongke the Great Khan leaded the six armies, intending to follow the river of Chongqing, to join forces with the Mongolian troops of Kublai Khan and Wuliang who attacked Jingxiang, and then destroyed the Song Dynasty at one stroke. The decisive battle of the century between the agricultural civilization and the nomadic civilization entered the final moment of life and death. At this time, a small town which destined to be world-famous for him is quietly guarding on his way forward.
Hezhou county is located at the intersection of the three rivers. It has been an important town of Bashu since ancient times, with beautiful mountains, rivers and fertile fields, where people lived a happy and rich life. In face of the rapid advance of the Mongolian troops, Yu Jie, who took the advice of Bozhou Ran Jin and Ran Pu, began to build a military defense system of the mountain city of Sichuan, represented by Diaoyucheng Fortress, and then moved the military and administrative offices to the mountain city, stationing troops and stocking up with grain and othersupplies here, so as to guard Sichuan and Chongqing.The great Diaoyucheng Fortress, which stands at the intersection of the Jialing, the Qujiang and the Fujiang rivers, can block all directions with its dangerous terrain. So it is a very important part of the defense system for Sichuan and Chongqing.Yu Jie said "The city settled and then the people can live a safe life" and "the key part of the defense system for Sichuan and Chongqing".After many times improving, with the core of the two cities around and the wall of the north and south, relying on the plank road and the eight gates , and connected by the secret roads inside and outside the city, they finally formed a perfect defense system which combined land and water, inside and outside, so as to guard themselves by attacking the enemy and tilling their land between battles for aprotracted war.In the Diaoyucheng city, there are fertile farmland for plowing, wells for drinking, food for living and military workshops for defending. The defense system highly combined the six parts of mountain, water, land, city, army and people together to block the Mongolian army of the Yuan Empire, condensed with the outstanding military wisdom of the Chinese people and is also a glorious model of the world's military fortress.
One day in July 1259AD, The Diaoyucheng Fortress in Hezhou county was shrouded in dark clouds, filled with murderous aura, rumbling gunfire and flying arrows. When Mongke the Great Khan surrounded the city for more than half a year, the Mongolian troops exhausted his tactics in front of a small town. Menge Khan is very anxious, he beat the drum to command the siege in person. Suddenly, a cannon stone struck and Mengke Khan was caught off guard and hit by the blast of the cannon on the spot. "Yuan History" recorded: "the emperor collapsed in the Diaoyucheng mountain, longevity 52, reign for nine years". The death of the Great Khan, causing the invading of of multiple Mongolian troops to withdraw from the Southern Song Dynasty and the expedition to Western Asia and Europe. And also stopped the expansion of the Mongolian troops to further sweep the West.
When the country was in turmoil, the elites of Bashu and Qinggong, under the leadership of Wang Jian and Zhang Jue,depending on the geographical advantage of Diaoyucheng Fortress, went through more than 200 battles and resisted the fighting force of Mongolian. They defended on the isolated city for more than 36 years and created a rare miracle in the history of ancient and modern time.Even after the fall of the capital Lin’an, the Diaoyucheng Fortress still insisted on resisting for more than 3 years.The emperor intends to recover the young emperor and regain the mountains and rivers, whose stubborn loyalty and courage is admirable.However, all things overturned, Diaoyucheng Fortress, the last city in the Southern Song Dynasty, ran out of ammunition and food in successive years of drought and famine in 1279.Guard Wang Li after thinking deeply, finally yielded for a city of military and civilian lives.While Kublai Khan, the Yuan emperor who advocated Han culture, fulfilled his promise not to kill people.The two sides, who had fought each other before, finally embarked on the road of great integration of the Chinese nation, and the establishment of the Yuan Dynasty promoted the important development of China as a unified multi-ethnic country.
Years long, great changes happened, those who used to be the flames of war, hunting flags, has disappeared in the vast space-time,But those vigorous inscriptions on the wall still record the patriotism of the Diaoyucheng Fortress for more than 700 years, and the loyalty and integrity of the fortress will pass through history, endure forever, and illuminate the present.
“Where there is the Diaoyucheng Fortress, looking at a plateau, there is heroic and awe-inspiring spirit!”
It witnessed the turning point of world history; it records the soul of loyalty and courage of the Chinese nation; the military wisdom of the Chinese nation is deposited here; the road of integration of the Chinese nation is written here ; it shows where life comes first.
