Chapter 4 Three to six months of the emperor's dream

The most important thing for Huan Xuan to step up his actions to usurp power is to continue to establish his prestige.The main force he relied on was his elder brother Huan Wei who was guarding Jingzhou. Although other members of the Huan Clan were placed inside and outside the court by him, their military strength was limited.This Mr. Huan recalled his father's method of gaining prestige back then—the Northern Expedition to the Central Plains. tolerance?There is no other way but to play tricks. He asked on the table to lead the army to sweep up the Central Plains area occupied by the Qin Dynasty, and ordered the imperial court to issue an edict to stop it, and then said: "I did not send troops because of the edict." Have fun.In September of the second year of Yuanxing (AD 403), in the name of the idiot emperor Sima Dezong, he appointed himself as the Prime Minister and the Chief Baikui, and was named the King of Chu, who owned the land of ten counties. The honor that even failed to get - Jia Jiuxi.

Jiuxi began in the Han Dynasty and is the highest etiquette given by the emperor to heroes.The so-called "nine tins", according to "Hanshiwaizhuan", are "one tin chariot and horse, another tin clothes, three tin tigers (another name for warriors, referring to the army guarding the gate), four tin musical instruments, five tin nabis (door-to-door steps), six tin Zhuhu, seven tin bows and arrows, eight tin axe, and nine tin scorpions (black millet wine used for sacrifices)".During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the canonization of kings with different surnames basically had to be bestowed with "Jiuxi", so later "adding Jiuxi" became a necessary procedure before powerful officials usurped usurpation.

Huan Xuan continued to play with the double-reed Hu, and he asked the emperor to write an imperial edict to keep him.He also fabricated auspicious omens for all officials to congratulate, as a sign of his enthronement and appointment.The most ridiculous thing is that he thought that when the dynasties changed, there were hermits all over the world, and it would be shameful not to have any hermits now, so he sent someone to find Huangfu Xizhi, the descendant of the hermit Huangfumi from the previous dynasty, and allocated funds to let him live in seclusion in the mountains ; Then he was recruited to be a writer, and asked him to "resolutely refuse to accept"; finally, he was awarded the title of "Gaoshi". People laughed at Huanxuan's hypocrisy and stupidity, and privately called this "hermit" conferred by the court a "fake scholar". hermit".

No matter how good the superficial writing is, it can't conceal Huan Xuan's inner desire. What he really loves is money and power.At this time, Huan Wei suddenly died of illness, and Jingzhou, the most reliable base, began to have problems.Yu Ping, a native of Xinye, drove away Feng Gai, the general of Xiangyang, and attacked Huanxuan. The area around Jiangling was shaken, and many people in the court agreed to be an internal response.Huan Xuan sent Huan Shikang to attack, and the situation was calmed down. Yu Ping fled to Houqin, and Yu Bin, the Nanman school captain who served as internal support, was killed.Afterwards, Huan Xuan's nephew, Huan Liang, also set up an army in Luo County (northwest of Miluo City, Hunan Province) in the name of crusade against Yu Ping. He claimed to be General Pingnan and Governor of Xiangzhou. Although he was arrested soon, he was a relative after all. The rebellion dealt a heavy blow to Huan Xuan.

If things go on like this, they might have to repeat their father's regrets, Huan Xuan decided to take the throne immediately, the only thing he had to worry about was the attitude of Liu Yu, He Wuji and others.Although Huan Xuan killed all of Liu Lao's party, he still had to rely on Liu Yu and others, and he never dared to move them.Liu Yu was the internal historian of Pengcheng at that time, and attacked Sun En's brother-in-law Lu Xun along the southeast coast (at this time Sun En had already been defeated in the Battle of Linhai, and the rest were taken over by Lu Xun and continued to make trouble at sea, see), Huan Xuan sent his cousin Huan Qian to test him out, and asked him: "The king of Chu is highly respected. What do you think of the court's intention to abdicate?" Liu Yu replied with a straight face, "The king of Chu is Xuanwu (Huan Wen's posthumous title) )'s son, Xunde is the world's best; Jin Dynasty declines, people's popularity has long been lost, so why not inherit the throne of Tianyun Chan Dynasty!"

Huan Xuan was very satisfied with Liu Yu's reply, how could he know that Liu Yu is not Liu Laozhi who only knows how to fight, he is also very good at acting in every scene.As soon as Liu Yu passed the customs with Huan Xuanmeng, he conspired with He Wuji to return to Jingkou and wait for Huanxuan to proclaim himself emperor. Huan Xuan, who only wanted to be the emperor, finally asked his confidant Bian Fanzhi to draw up the edict of the Zen throne in December of that year, and forced Sima Dezong to copy it, and announced the Zen throne to the king of Chu.Huanxuan moved Jin Emperor Sima Dezong to Xunyang (now south of Jiujiang, Jiangxi), and then took the throne in Gushu (now Dangtu, Anhui), his residence, and changed the year name to Yongshi. This is the short-lived "Yongshi" in history. Chu" regime, also called "Pseudo-Chu".

Regardless of whether you are a king or an emperor, if you don't accept it, you still don't accept it. The governor of Yizhou, Mao Su, was unwilling to accept Huanxuan's transfer order, and spread it to all parts of Yizhou, listing Huanxuan's crimes and raising troops to fight against him.Seeing that the time was right, Liu Yu and He Wuji invited Liu Yi, Meng Chang and other generals of the Beifu Army who were also in Jingkou to discuss important matters.Liu Yu's half-brother Liu Daogui and general Zhuge Changmin both served in Huanxuan's army. Liu Yu secretly ordered them to assassinate their respective chiefs and guard Guangling and Liyang. He also spread undercover agents in Jiankang City. Just wait for an order and start an incident at the same time.

One night at the end of February the next year when Huanxuan proclaimed himself emperor, Liu Yu and He Wuji gathered a hundred people to the city of Jingkou under the pretext of hunting.At dawn the next day, He Wuji put on the clothes of the envoy who passed the imperial edict, and said to the guards who had just opened the city gate: "We are sent by the imperial court to issue the edict, let the governor Huanxiu (Huanxiu is also Huanxuan's cousin) , Huanxuan proclaimed himself emperor, he served as the governor of Xuzhou and Yanzhou, and guarded Jingkou) Come and see me quickly." The guards didn't know, let them enter the city.He Wuji took the lead, followed by his entourage. When Huan Xiu heard that the imperial emissary was coming, he hurried forward to listen to the imperial edict.He Wuji raised the knife and cut him into two pieces. The confused Huanxiu didn't understand what was going on, so Liu Yu used it to sacrifice the flag.Liu Yu climbed up the tower and said to Sima Diaohong of Huanxiu and other civil and military officials in the city: "Emperor Jin has been welcomed back to the capital by Guo Changzhi, the governor of Jiangzhou, and Huan Xuan, the leader of the thief, has been shown to the public by the head of the lord. Aren't you the courtiers of the Jin Dynasty?" Why, do you still want to rebel?" Diao Hong and others believed it was true, and dared not do it again.Liu Yu took advantage of his unpreparedness and executed Diao Hong.

All went well, and Liu Yi, Meng Chang, and Liu Daogui also completed their tasks at the same time, designed to kill Huan Hong, the governor of Qingzhou, and captured Guangling.Liu Yu immediately issued a call to action against Huan, bluffing, and soon recruited thousands of soldiers and horses in Jingkou and Guangling, and went straight to Jiankang to kill them.Huan Xuan, who was not yet seated in the emperor's seat, heard that Liu Yu was raising troops, and was frightened to death.Left and right comforted him and said: "Liu Yu and others are just a mob with weak troops. They can't succeed and are not worth worrying about." Huan Xuan didn't think so. He Wuji looked exactly like his uncle Liu Laozhi, how could it be said that they couldn’t succeed when the three of them got together? (Finally, I still have some brains, but it’s a pity that I woke up too late)” He hunted down Liu Yu's undercover agent in Jiankang City, followed Huan Qian's suggestion, and dispatched generals Wu Fuzhi and Huangfufu to resist.

At this time, Liu Yu had already obtained many new assistants. Liu Muzhi, who was more talented than Xiao He in Wen, Zhu Lingshi, who was both wise and brave in martial arts, and a group of former generals from Beifu, would all assist him in the establishment of the Song Dynasty in the future. capable go-getter.As Huan Xuan expected, although Liu Yu's troops were small, his combat effectiveness was extremely strong.Liu Yu also resorted to the method of calling out to deal with Sun En. One by one, the soldiers under his command descended down the mountain to fierce tigers, invincible, and beheaded Wu Fuzhi.Not to be outdone, Huangfufu personally led thousands of people to fight.The battle was fierce, and Liu Yu's general Tan Pingzhi died in battle. Liu Yu himself was surrounded by Huangfufu and forced to stand in front of a big tree, with no way out.Huangfufu laughed and said, "Liu Yu, Liu Yu, how do you want to die?" As he spoke, he drew his halberd and stabbed him, Liu Yu roared, Huangfufu was so shocked that he missed the stab! (Liu Yu used his roar to save himself from danger several times in unfavorable battles, which shows that his "lion's roar skill" is not very strong.) When the two were fighting each other, Liu Yu's subordinates arrived and shot down Huangfufu with an arrow. Yu made up another knife and hacked Huangfufu to death.Liu Yu took advantage of the victory and marched to the foot of Fuzhou Mountain outside Jiankang City.

In Jiankang City, Huan Xuan was terrified when he heard that two of his generals died in battle.So he had such a meaningful conversation with Cao Jingzhi, the official minister. Huan Xuan asked the ministers: "Did I lose?" Cao Jingzhi replied: "The people are angry with the gods, and I am afraid that I will be defeated." Huan Xuan was puzzled: "The people's complaints are nothing, but why the gods are angry?" What about it?" Cao Jingzhi said: "Your Majesty moved the ancestral temple of the Jin Dynasty to the riverside, making them displaced, and the ancestral temple of our own family did not worship the ancestors (Huanxuan's ancestral temple was only worshiped to his father Huanwen, so it was not in accordance with the etiquette). These gods will be angry." Huan Xuan was angry: "If that's the case, why didn't Aiqing say it earlier?" Cao Jingzhi said: "The emperors on the chariots all regard themselves as Yao and Shun, how can the humble officials dare to speak?" One sentence hits the point The mentality of the emperors when they are proud is extremely thorough.Huan Xuan was speechless, so he had to let Huan Qian, Bian Fanzhi and others take 20,000 troops out of the city to defend against the enemy to try their luck. Liu Yu at the other end was determined to fight decisively. After the soldiers in the army had a full meal, he discarded all the remaining rations, and let the old and weak soldiers climb up the Fuzhou Mountain, raised the flag as suspicious soldiers, and marched in parallel, shouting loudly.Huanxuan's army didn't know the enemy's true strength, and although they were superior in numbers, they dared not fight. What's more, most of Huanqian's soldiers were from Beifu soldiers. .Liu Yu took advantage of the wind and set fire to assist the attack. The army of Huan Qian and others stopped resisting and fled in all directions in an instant. As soon as Huan Xuan, who had no intention of fighting for a long time, received the battle report, he fled in embarrassment with his son and nephew. He was so distraught along the way that he couldn't eat any decent food for a few days.However, as soon as he arrived in Xunyang, he returned to his old ways, thinking that if the sky did not help him, he would be able to make a comeback in the future.He held Sima Dezong hostage, continued westward, and returned to his old nest, Jiangling.He ordered to move the capital to Jiangling, reset hundreds of officials, and increase punishments, without any intention of learning lessons. Such an "emperor", no matter how many soldiers there are, is in vain.He left his general He Danzhi to guard the Penkou in the upper reaches of Xunyang, and asked Yu Zhizu, Huan Daogong and others to jointly defend against the troops of Liu Yu and He Wuji who were chasing up all the way.He Danzhi's tens of thousands of sailors were in Sangluozhou (now northeast of Jiujiang, Jiangxi), but they were completely unable to withstand the rapid attack of He Wuji and Liu Daogui's thousands of sailors, and lost Xunyang. Unwilling to fail, Huan Xuan organized more than 20,000 Jingzhou soldiers and personally led the army down the river.Liu Yi, He Wuji, and Liu Daozhi led an army of less than 10,000 people from Xunyang to the west, and the two armies met at Zhengrongzhou (now northwest of Huanggang, Hubei).Facing an enemy army several times larger than their own, the soldiers were a little scared and wanted to temporarily retreat to Xunyang.Liu Dao ruled: "You can't retreat now. The enemy is outnumbered. If you retreat now because of fear, it will be difficult to hold on even in Xunyang. Although Huan Xuan came from a wealthy family, he is actually very timid in his heart. What's more, he has lost several battles in a row. , The soldiers under him have no confidence in winning. When the two armies meet, the brave will win, so what's the use of having more soldiers!" As he spoke, he led the soldiers of his headquarters to charge forward, and Liu Yi and He Wuji also quickly followed. Huanxuan's temperament and temper were completely met by Liu Daogui.When he commanded the water army to fight, he docked a small boat next to his big ship to prepare for escape. How could such a commander convince the crowd?Liu Yi and others took advantage of the favorable wind and set fire to them, killing Huanxuan's army without any fighting spirit.Huan Xuan fled back to Jiangling in a small boat, dragging Sima Dezong with him. The people in Jiangling city were already in chaos, and the orders were not valid, so they couldn't stay any longer.Huanxuan took advantage of the night and continued to flee westward with his confidants (this time he finally ignored the idiot emperor). He wanted to go to Hanzhong to join Liangzhou Governor Huanxi, but met Mao Chuan's subordinates in Meihuizhou, west of Jiangling City. There is no escape.Huan Xuan, who was at the end of the road, faced Yizhou governor Feng Qian who was swaying forward with a knife, and still thought of giving both kindness and power. He took off a jade guide from his head and gave it to Feng Qian, and asked: "Who are you, how dare you kill me?" Son of Heaven?" Feng Qian sneered disapprovingly: "I'm just a thief who killed the Son of Heaven!" Huanxuan's dream of becoming an emperor ended like this, and it took only six months since he ascended the throne.Throughout the ages, thousands of people have dreamed of being an emperor. However, few people have thought that the steps leading to the emperor's throne may also be the road to hell that never returns.