The Precarious Dawn of the Chongqing Era

The second year of the Mongol-Jin War (1212) began with an air of fragile optimism in the Jin Dynasty’s capital, Zhongdu (modern-day Beijing). Emperor Weishao, hoping to signal renewal, proclaimed the new era name “Chongqing” (崇庆), meaning “Revering Celebration.” Despite the humiliating defeat of the Jin general Wanyan Shourong during the ceremonial archery banquet—a blow to the Jurchen elite’s pride—the city’s residents clung to relief, grateful to have survived another year of war.

Yet this fragile peace shattered by mid-year. As lotus flowers still bloomed in Bai Lian Tan (now Beijing’s Jishuitan) and Qionghua Island (Beihai Park), and vendors hawked fresh water chestnuts, the thunder of Mongol hooves echoed across the northern plains. The Jin Dynasty, already reeling from the disasters of 1211, faced a transformed enemy.

The Mongol War Machine Adapts

The Mongols had turned the setbacks of the previous war into advantages. Their scouts, renowned for gathering intelligence, had meticulously mapped Jin’s defenses—every mountain pass, granary, and garrison—through a network of defectors and spies. The fall of Jin’s horse pastures in Huanzhou proved catastrophic: the Mongols seized hundreds of thousands of warhorses, a windfall immortalized in the poet Hao Jing’s Sand Dunes March:

> “What did the founding war require? Five thousand spears and untamed steeds.
> A million mountains crumbled like walls; victory chased the foe past Yan’s capital.
> Then came four hundred thousand steeds from Jin—great Qing and lesser Qing, unmatched in glory.”

By 1212, the Mongols combined superior mobility with intimate knowledge of Jin’s weaknesses.

The Siege of Zhongdu: Fire and Blood

The Chongqing era’s first major clash unfolded in late 1212, as Mongol forces besieged Zhongdu. Historical accounts like the Nanqian Lu and Da Jin Guo Zhi describe a brutal, multi-pronged assault:

– The Battle for the Gates (November 1212): Mongol troops stormed Shunyang Gate and Sihui Gate, met by Jin defenders pouring boiling sewage from the walls. A Mongol officer led a suicide squad over the northern ramparts, while “black cavalry” charged the gates, collapsing the outer defenses.
– The Fire Trap: When Mongols stacked bamboo and timber to scale the walls, Jin general Li Si’an tunneled beneath the pile, stuffing it with oil-soaked rags and sulfur. The resulting inferno incinerated attackers mid-assault, their bodies “stinking unbearably.”
– The Snowstorm Reprieve: A five-day blizzard (“Yan’s snowflakes big as mats,” as poets wrote) forced a lull, but Mongols returned with iron grappling hooks to scale the walls—only to be decapitated by Jin axes.

After 25 days, the Mongols withdrew. Zhongdu had survived, but the respite was brief.

The Emperor’s Lament and the Onslaught of 1213

By spring 1213, Emperor Weishao dispatched envoys to mourn the war’s victims. His public penitence—inscribed on placards—stirred grief:

> “The rites of tomb-sweeping, our people’s tradition…
> Yet now, no offerings for the dead—only ghosts wailing in bitter wind.
> I alone have brought this upon you. My shame burns; my forehead drips with sweat.”

Crowds wept openly, but Mongol strategy cared nothing for sorrow. That July, Genghis Khan’s forces returned, crushing Jin armies at Gui River and leaving “corpses strewn across forty li.”

The Fall of the Juyong Pass: A Tactical Masterstroke

The Mongols’ brilliance shone in their next move. Facing Juyong Pass—a fortified bottleneck with iron-cast gates and caltrop-strewn paths—Genghis Khan split his forces. While a detachment feinted at Juyong’s northern entrance, the main army swung west through the Taihang Mountains’ treacherous “Eight Passes.”

– The Flanking Maneuver: Guided by local knowledge, the Mongols navigated the lesser-known Feihu and Puyin Passes, emerging at Zijingguan—a weakly defended backdoor. As Ming strategist Gu Zuyu later noted, “Invaders breach Zijingguan seven times out of ten; Juyong, only three.”
– The Pincer Movement: With Zijingguan fallen, Mongol columns raced into the plains, sacking Zhuozhou and Yi Prefecture. Meanwhile, the general Jebe outflanked Juyong’s southern gate, forcing its surrender. By autumn, three Mongol armies converged on Zhongdu’s suburbs.

The Emperor’s Downfall and the War’s Legacy

The military collapse triggered a palace coup. In September 1213, Emperor Weishao was assassinated—a victim of his own court’s desperation. The Jin Dynasty, now a shadow of its former might, would limp on until 1234, but the sieges of 1212–1213 marked the tipping point.

### Why This Siege Matters

1. Military Innovation: The Mongols’ adaptive tactics—scouting, mobility, psychological warfare—became hallmarks of their global conquests.
2. Cultural Trauma: The war’s devastation entered literature, from Hao Jing’s verses to later Ming-era strategists’ analyses.
3. Geopolitical Reordering: The fall of Zhongdu foreshadowed the rise of Mongol Yuan Dynasty and Beijing’s enduring role as a capital.

Today, walk through Beihai Park’s lotus-filled waters, and you tread atop a battlefield where empires clashed—and history turned.