Editing Battle of Xiangyang (section)

=== New weapon of the Yuan forces ===
The defense of Xiangyang came to an end in 1273, with the introduction of the counterweight [[trebuchet]]. Because the [[Han Chinese]] commander [[Guo Kan]] fought with the Mongols under [[Hulagu]] in the Middle East, Kublai had heard of siege engines of great effectiveness. Experts [[Ismail (mangonel expert)|Ismail]] and [[Al al-Din]] were sent by [[Abaqa Khan|Abaqa]], [[Ilkhanate|Ilkhan]] of Persia, to China by the decree of Kublai Khan in 1272. They built the powerful siege engines under the [[Kingdom of Qocho|Uyghur]] general Arikhgiya by March, 1273. These counterweight trebuchets had a shooting range of {{convert|500|m}}, and could launch projectiles weighing over {{convert|300|kg}}. On top of their power, these new trebuchets were much more accurate than the old ones, and were the only artillery capable of reaching the walls of Xiangyang. Yuan forces built about 20 of them, and used them to assist the siege of Xiangyang.

The Mongols started the siege with Fancheng in early 1273. Song soldiers in Xiangyang witnessed a giant rock which flew right over the gigantic walls of Fancheng, and hit the houses inside. Under the cover of bombardment, the Yuan army was able to fill the moat and take the walls, after which followed an assault by a cavalry and the storming of the city resulted in high casualties on both sides.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lorge |first1=Peter |title=War, Politics and Society in Early Modern China, 900-1795 |date=2006 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=113437285X |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hQB_AgAAQBAJ&pg=PT143}}</ref> Fancheng, after holding out for years, suddenly fell within a few days.

The Yuan Mongol army then turned their attention to Xiangyang. Lu Wenhuan sent a messenger to [[Emperor Duzong of Song]], to request immediate reinforcements. The messenger successfully got by the Yuan forts and reached the emperor. But upon hearing the effectiveness of these new trebuchets, the emperor considered Xiangyang lost and did not send reinforcements.

For the next few days, Song soldiers looked to the south for reinforcements, but all they saw were Yuan siege weapons and the Mongols waiting to end their lives. The position of Song forces worsened.

In February, Yuan siege weapons began bombarding the city and a shot happened to hit a stone bridge inside. When the stone landed, it made a thunderous noise. Song soldiers went to check the damage, and saw that the stone had sunk a few feet into the solid ground.<ref name="warpolsoc">{{cite book|author=Peter Lorge|title=War, Politics and Society in Early Modern China, 900–1795|date=25 October 2005|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-203-96929-8|pages=84–87}}</ref>

Yuan bombardment began to collapse the city structures as well as reduce the drum tower and turrets on the city walls.

Lu Wenhuan surrendered the city on 14 March 1273; he was made governor of Xiangyang and Fancheng under Yuan rule as part of the terms.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://deremilitari.org/2014/05/the-mongol-siege-of-xiangyang-and-fan-cheng-and-the-song-military/|title=The Mongol Siege of Xiangyang and Fan-ch'eng and the Song military » De Re Militari|website=deremilitari.org|language=en-US|access-date=2017-11-11}}</ref>