in the first month of the first year of deyou, Song Gongdi (1275), due to the massive attack of the Yuan army, the Yangtze River defense line in Song Jun collapsed, and the court issued a letter to all localities to organize military forces to be diligent. Wen Tianxiang immediately donated family assets to serve as military expenses, recruited local heroes, formed a rebel army of more than 1, people, and went to Lin 'an. Song Dynasty appointed Wen Tianxiang to know Pingjiang Prefecture, ordered him to send troops to rescue Changzhou, and then ordered him to rescue Dushongguan. Due to the fierce offensive of the Yuan Army, Jiangxi Rebels fought bravely, but in the end they failed to stop the Yuan Army.
In the first month of the following year, Yuan troops arrived in Lin 'an, and civil and military officials fled. Empress Xie appointed Wen Tianxiang as the right prime minister and a Tang Dynasty envoy, and sent him out of the city to negotiate with Bo Yan in an attempt to make peace with the Yuan Army. Wen Tianxiang arrived at the Yuan army camp, but was detained by Bo Yan. Empress Xie saw that the tide was gone, so she had to give up the city and surrender to the Yuan army.
the yuan army occupied Lin' an, but Huaibei, Jiangnan, Fujian and Guangxi were not completely controlled and occupied by the yuan army. So, Bo Yan tried to lure Wen Tianxiang and use his popularity to clean up the mess as soon as possible. Wen Tianxiang would rather die than surrender, so Bo Yan had to escort him to the north. On his way to Zhenjiang, Wen Tianxiang ventured to flee. After many difficulties and obstacles, he arrived in Fuzhou on May 26th, the first year of Jingyan (1276), and was appointed as the right prime minister by the little emperor Song Duanzong Zhao Yun.
In July, Wen Tianxiang was extremely dissatisfied with Zhang Shijie's autocratic political affairs and disagreed with Chen Yizhong, so he left the Southern Song Dynasty to go to the court and gathered troops in Nanjian Prefecture (now Nanping, Fujian) as the same governor to command the anti-Yuan movement. In October, Wen Tianxiang moved to Tingzhou, Liancheng, and other places, and sent counsellor Wu Jun to contact the anti-Yuan rebels all over the country to persist in the struggle.
In the second year of Jingyan (1277), Yuan soldiers entered Tingguan, and Wen Tianxiang tried to repel the enemy according to Liancheng. Huang Qu, the commander of Tingzhou, heard that the emperor was driving into the sea, and the soldiers in the county were disloyal. Wen Tianxiang moved to Longyan one by one. In February, Wen Tianxiang led an army to attack Meizhou. In April, after killing two domineering generals, Zhixia sent troops from Meizhou to attack Jiangxi. At this time, heroes from all over the country responded to the anti-yuan, and the orders reached Jianghuai. After winning a great victory in Yidu (now Yudu, Jiangxi), he moved to Ganzhou. Li Heng, the envoy of Xuanwei in Jiangxi Province in Yuan Dynasty, launched a counterattack in Xingguo County. Wen Tianxiang was defeated, his wife and children were separated, and the remnants were taken in. He returned to Liancheng with his mother, and asked for help from the soldiers. Later, he moved to Xunzhou.
In the summer of the first year of Xiangxing (1278), Wen Tianxiang learned that Duanzong had died, and his younger brother, Zhao Min, who had succeeded to the throne, moved to Yashan, where he was appointed as a minor protector and believed in the country. In order to get rid of the difficult situation, he asked the army to go and meet with the Southern Song Dynasty. Because of Zhang Shijie's resolute opposition, Wen Tianxiang had to give up and led the army back to Chaoyang County. In the winter of the same year, the Yuan army attacked heavily, and Wen Tianxiang was attacked by Zhang Hongfan, the Yuan general, on his way to Haifeng, and was defeated and captured.
Wen Tianxiang attempted suicide by taking poison, and was taken to Yashan by Zhang Hongfan, asking him to write a letter to surrender Zhang Shijie. Wen Tianxiang said: "I can't protect my parents. Can I teach others to betray their parents?" Zhang Hongfan didn't listen and forced Wen Tianxiang to write again and again. Wen Tianxiang then copied a poem "Crossing Dingyang" written by himself the other day to Zhang Hongfan. Zhang Hongfan read that "life has never died since ancient times, and it takes a heart to shine." Two sentences, can not help but also moved, no longer forced Wen Tianxiang.
Yuan Shizu first sent Liu Mengyan, the former prime minister of the Southern Song Dynasty who had surrendered to Yuan Dynasty, to explain Wen Tianxiang's appearance and persuade him to surrender. Wen Tianxiang was furious at the sight of Liu Mengyan, and Liu Mengyan had to leave angrily. Yuan Shizu asked Song Gongdi Zhao Xian, who had reduced the yuan, to surrender. Wen Tianxiang knelt on the ground in the north, crying bitterly, and said to Zhao Xian, "Please come back!" Zhao Xian have nothing to say, disgruntled. Yuan Shizu was furious, so he ordered Wen Tianxiang to tie his hands and put on a wooden cangue. Put him in the cell of the military forces division. Wen Tianxiang was in prison for more than ten days before the jailer let him go: it was another half month before he took off his wooden yoke.
Yuan Dynasty Prime Minister Boluo personally opened the court to interrogate Wen Tianxiang. Wen Tianxiang was taken to the lobby of the Privy Council, towering, just to Marco Polo a bow. Marco Polo called on Wen Tianxiang to kneel down. Wen Tianxiang struggled and sat on the ground, never giving in. Marco Polo asked Wen Tianxiang, "What do you have to say now?" Wen Tianxiang replied, "There are ups and downs in the world. The country's death and slaughter have occurred in all previous dynasties. I am loyal to Song, and I only want to die early! " Marco Polo flew into a rage and said, "Are you going to die? I won't let you die. I want to detain you! " Wen Tianxiang was not afraid and said, "I am willing to die for justice, and I am not afraid to be imprisoned!"
Since then, Wen Tianxiang has spent three years in prison. In prison, he received a letter from his daughter Liu Niang, and learned that his wife and two daughters were slaves in the palace and lived like prisoners. Wen Tianxiang knew that her daughter's letter was Yuan Ting's hint: as long as she surrendered, her family could be reunited. However, Wen Tianxiang, despite his heart ached, did not want to lose his integrity because of his wife and daughter. In a letter to his sister, he said, "It hurts to receive a letter from a willow girl. Who has no wife, children and flesh and blood? But today, when things come here, it is a life to die in righteousness. What can I do? What a pity! ..... Can make Liu Nv and Huan Nv be good people, but Dad can't manage it. Tears choked and choked. "
Life in prison is hard, but Wen Tianxiang endured the pain and wrote many poems. The immortal masterpieces such as the third volume of the Guide and the Song of Righteousness were all written in prison.
in March, 19th year of Yuan Shizu Zhiyuan (1282), the powerful minister Ahema was assassinated. Yuan Shizu ordered Ahema to be deprived of his family wealth, to pursue Ahema's sins, and appointed Heli Huosun as the right prime minister. He Li Huo Sun put forward the idea of governing the country with Confucianism, which was quite agreed by Yuan Shizu. In August, Yuan Shizu asked the minister: "Who is the prime minister of the south and the north?" The ministers replied: "The northerners are like Yelu Chucai, and the southerners are like Wen Tianxiang." Therefore, Yuan Shizu issued an order to grant Wen Tianxiang senior officials a prominent position. Some of Wen Tianxiang's old friends who had been demoted to Yuan immediately informed Wen Tianxiang about this matter and persuaded Wen Tianxiang to surrender, but Wen Tianxiang refused. On December 8th, Yuan Shizu summoned Wen Tianxiang and surrendered himself. Wen Tianxiang is still bowing to Yuan Shizu. Yuan Shizu didn't force him to kneel either. He just said, "You have been here for a long time. If you can change your mind and be loyal to me in the Song Dynasty, I can give you a place in Zhongshu Province." Wen Tianxiang replied, "I am the prime minister of DaSong. The country is dead, and I just want to die quickly. Inappropriate for a long time. " Yuan Shizu asked again, "What would you like?" Wen Tianxiang replied: "I hope that death is enough!" Yuan Shizu was so angry that he ordered Wen Tianxiang to be executed immediately.
The next day, Wen Tianxiang was escorted to the execution ground in Chaishi. The beheading officer asked, "What do you want to say, Prime Minister? Playing back can also avoid death. " Wen Tianxiang shouted, "If you die, what else can you say?" He asked the prison officer, "Which side is the south?" Someone showed him the direction, and Wen Tianxiang bowed down to the south and said, "My business is over, and my heart is clear!" Therefore, the neck is punished and the righteousness is leisurely. After his death, he found a poem in his belt: "Confucius said to be benevolent, and Mencius said to take justice, only to do its justice, so benevolence is the best." What did you learn by reading the books of sages? Now and then, I have no conscience. " Wen Tianxiang died to die, and his lofty integrity has remained immortal. Wen Tianxiang has a granddaughter named Wen Ying. After hearing my grandfather say that my father committed suicide after surrendering.