Siege of Xiangyang (1273) – SHATTERED: The Gate to the South

A cinematic retelling of the Siege of Xiangyang (1273) — where counterweight trebuchets shattered Song defenses and sealed an empire’s fate.

Xiangyang stood astride the Han River like a lock on China’s heartland — with twin fortress Fancheng guarding the opposite bank. Its walls rose nearly seven meters thick, stocked for years of resistance. This was the final stronghold between Kublai Khan’s evolving war machine and the Song Dynasty’s southern core.

But the siege turned with innovation. Muslim engineers, Ismail and Ala al-Din, introduced counterweight trebuchets whose stones could pulverize towers from beyond arrow range. Fancheng fell in mere days — morale collapsed before the walls did. Naval blockades, scorched-river tactics, and systematic bombardment left Xiangyang isolated and starving.

After nearly five years of defiance, Commander Lu Wenhuan surrendered with honor on March 14, 1273. The fall of Xiangyang opened the Yangtze to Mongol fleets — the south lay exposed, and within six years, the Song Dynasty vanished into history.

The siege of Xiangyang marked the dawn of modern siegecraft in East Asia — when engineering, not endurance, determined empire.

What single invention or decision do you think doomed Xiangyang the most?

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📜 Chapters:
00:00 Prologue—The River Fortress That Defied Empires
02:15 Kublai’s Southern Vision—The Road Beyond the Yangtze
04:30 Twin Strongholds—Xiangyang and Fancheng
06:45 Blockade and Starvation—The War of Attrition Begins
09:20 The Zhang Brothers’ Daring Run
12:10 The Persian Engineers Arrive—Counterweight Trebuchets
15:40 Fancheng Crumbles—Psychology Breaks Before Stone
19:00 The Fall of Xiangyang—Drum Tower Down
23:10 Lu Wenhuan’s Surrender—The Gate to the South Opens
26:00 Legacy of the Siege—When Stone Met Steel

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