Chapter 18 Sixteen, the end of the former Zhao

The sky is not enough to fulfill people's wishes, and Zhang Bin died of illness in the fourth year after Shi Le claimed to be Queen Zhao.Shi Le said distraughtly: "Could it be that God won't allow me to achieve a great cause? Why did you take away my rightful prince so early!" Whenever he disagreed with the advisers around him, he always thought of Zhang Bin. He sighed: "You Hou left me and let me plan big things with these people. Isn't it a bit cruel?" Despite losing his most powerful assistant in his life, Shi Le still has enough wisdom and means to clean up the remaining separatist forces in the Kanto region.

First of all, Duan Pidun who was entrenched in Youzhou. After he killed Liu Kun, he lost the trust of the Western Jin scholars who had stayed in Youzhou, and his strength became weaker day by day.Since the death of his elder brother Duan Jiuliu, his younger brother Duan Moteng also turned against him.At this time, Shi Le sent his general Kong Chang to attack the counties of Youzhou on a large scale, breaking through the city all the way, and heading straight for Jicheng where Duan Pidun was located.Seeing that he had no place to stand in Youzhou, Duan Pidun had no choice but to abandon his wife and children and go to Leling to join Shao Xu, the governor of Jizhou in the Eastern Jin Dynasty.

At the end of this period, Ting came to attack, and Duan Pi and Shao Xu joined forces to repel him.Duan Pidun thought that the situation had eased, so he and his younger brother Duan Wenyang led troops to attack together, intending to take advantage of the victory to regain their old nest, Jicheng, but left Shao Xu's life and death behind.How could the battle-tested Shi Le miss such a good opportunity? He sent Shi Hu to besiege Yanci and capture Shao Xu alive.Duan Pidun did not capture Jicheng, but on his way back to the army, he ran into Shihu's army, only to realize that even the only stronghold had been lost.Duan Wenyang is a fierce general. He personally led hundreds of troops to defeat the enemy and entered the city of Yanci all the way. Exhausted and captured.Duan Pidun was finally at the end of his rope and led his troops to surrender.Soon Duan Pidun's brothers were accused of treason and ordered to die, so Youzhou entered the territory of Hou Zhao.

Then it was the turn of Wang Mi's subordinates, Cao Yi, who ruled Qingzhou separately, this guy was even worse than Duan Pilu.When Shihu came to attack, he was scared out of his wits. Later Zhao's army surrounded Guanggu City (now northwest of Yidu, Shandong), which he managed so painstakingly, so he had to go out of the city and surrender.Shi Hu sent him to Xiangguo for beheading, and killed 30,000 of his followers (another massacre!), and Qingzhou was completely controlled by Hou Zhao. Then came another golden opportunity, Zuti, the governor of Yuzhou in the Eastern Jin Dynasty who was dedicated to restoring the Central Plains, died of illness, and his generals came to surrender one after another. Later Zhao's army took advantage of the situation and captured Yuzhou, Yanzhou, and Xuzhou in Huaibei. It can also continue to harass the northern border of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, making it impossible to look north for a period of time.In this way, Shi Le finally got the chance to turn around and deal with his real opponent Liu Yao.

In the past few years, Liu Yao's former Zhao has been harassed by discordant notes around him: first, the Di and Qiang tribes in Qinzhou area rebelled, and Liu Yao sent troops to quell the rebellion, and finally settled down.Then Yang Nandi of Qiuchi (this Qiuchi is actually a branch of Diqiang, whose ruling area is in the west of Chengxian County, Gansu Province today) suddenly rebelled and surrendered, which disturbed Liu Yao's mind.There is also the threat from Liangzhou. In 320 A.D., Zhang Shi of Liangzhou was murdered by a group of generals who were bewitched by the cult. Fortunately, his youngest son Zhang Jun was immediately succeeded to the throne, and Zhang Shi's younger brother Zhang Mao was regent, and the rebellious generals were killed. Zhao Chengfan forward to the outside world, stabilized the situation in Liangzhou.Four years later, Zhang Mao died of illness, and Zhang Jun no longer surrendered to the former Zhao sincerely. Although his strength was not good, he was always ready to regain the lost ground of Jin.

These border defense issues are all hidden dangers behind the former Zhao. Liu Yao has no ability to cut grass and roots like Shi Le, and unify all the forces around Guanzhong under his command.The more terrible loss was due to the restraint of several aspects, Liu Yao's army had no time to look around, and sat and watched Shi Le slowly solve his worries.When the armies of the two sides met again on the battlefield, Shi Le's territory had nearly doubled, and the army was much stronger, but Liu Yao was still the same, and even had to be on guard from time to time. sneak attack. (Liu Yao has fought all his life, so he believes in the role of force very much. Even after he becomes the emperor, he will always come to a personal conquest. There are so many opponents, but he can't come up with any decent foreign policy. At least you There is also a strategy of attracting one side and attacking the other, but he doesn't seem to have such a concept at all, so the gap with Shi Le is getting bigger and bigger, and he is gradually at a disadvantage.)

In the eighth year of Guangchu BC (AD 325), Ponjuchu, king of Northern Qiang who was originally between the two Zhao states, surrendered to the former Zhao. Shi Le was furious and sent General Shi Tuo into the territory of the former Zhao state. It was later plundered and prepared to return to the country.When Liu Yao heard the news, he dispatched Zhongshan King Liu Yue to pursue Hou Zhao's army. They caught up with Shi Tuo near the Yellow River and beheaded him.Since this war, the two Zhao countries have been at war for more than three years. (Liu Yao and Shi Le are both people who conquer the world on horseback. For them, there are only two outcomes in such a war, either complete success or complete failure. It is a real decisive battle of life and death.)

A month later, Wang Teng, the general of Later Zhao, killed the governor of Bingzhou of Later Zhao and dedicated the entire Bingzhou to Former Zhao.The enmity between the two countries deepened.At this time, Shi Le's general Shi Sheng was attacking the Eastern Jin army in Henan.Liu Yao felt that this was an excellent opportunity to enter the Guandong area, so he dispatched Liu Yue, who had just won the battle, and Hu Yanmo, the general of Zhendong, to lead an army, cross the Yellow River from Mengjin and Mianchi in two routes, and go to rescue.The latter Zhao army had no time to take precautions, and the former Zhao army won the first battle, and Liu Yue's army surrounded Shi Sheng's army.Shi Le immediately sent Shi Hu's 40,000 infantry cavalry out of Chenggao Pass to help in the battle. The two armies met west of Luoshui. Liu Yue's army was far smaller than Shi Hu's elite troops. During the retreat, the army was surrounded by Shihu Army.Shihu went to attack Huyanmo's army when the former Zhao army was in chaos, and Huyanmo was wiped out in the first battle.Liu Yao felt the seriousness of the situation, so he personally sent troops to aid Liu Yue. Shi Hu did not dare to neglect, and he personally led 30,000 cavalry to fight.Liu Yao garrisoned troops in Jingu near Luoyang, but the former Zhao army had lost the will to fight. That night, there was chaos for no reason, and the soldiers fled in all directions.This night, there was no fighting in the army. After Liu Yao left the customs, he didn't fight a battle, so he returned to Chang'an with the demoralized army in panic.Of course, Shi Hu, who had been on the battlefield for a long time, would not give up this opportunity easily. He quickly wiped out Liu Yue's army, went north to Bingzhou, and captured Wang Teng, who had not long been rebellious.Shi Le buried all the tens of thousands of former Zhao soldiers captured in this war alive.After this battle, Liu Yao was severely injured, and was no longer able to take the initiative to attack Zhao Guo.

After three years, Shi Le finally started to attack Liu Yao.Shi Hu's army stormed the east of the former Zhao Dynasty and broke through more than 50 counties.From the perspective of Qian Zhao, if Hedong is lost, they can only sit and wait for death.In desperation, Liu Yao decided to fight for life and death. He placed Di Qiang's surrendered army in Qinzhou in the west to guard against the attacks of Zhang Jun and Yang Nandi. Save the east.Although Shi Hu was fierce, he inevitably panicked in the face of such a powerful offensive. After this battle, Zhao's army was defeated, and Shi Hu retreated all the way back to Luoyang.Liu Yao felt that this victory was hard-won, so he chased all the way to the city of Luoyang.

Although the capital of Later Zhao was in Xiangguo, Hebei, Luoyang, the former capital of the Wei and Jin Dynasties, obviously did not allow any mistakes.Shi Le accepted the suggestion of counselor Xu Guang, resisted all opinions, and personally led the army to Luoyang.When sending troops, Shi Le said to Xu Guang: "If Liu Yao's army is stationed at Chenggao Pass, it is a good plan; if it is stationed at Luoshui, it is a good plan; if it is stationed near Luoyang, it will be captured for me." The Zhao army gathered at Chenggao Pass. Shi Le saw that there was no former Zhao army. He pointed to the sky happily and said, "God helped me!"

Later Zhao Yuanjun traveled overnight and rushed to Luoyang. Only then did Shi Le see the former Zhao army stationed in the west of Luoyang City.Shi Le excitedly said to the left and right: "You can congratulate me in advance!" Shi Le's army all entered Luoyang City and joined Shi Hu's army. Liu Yao has always been addicted to alcohol, and when the war comes, he only knows how to drink and have fun with his favorite ministers, and never comforts the soldiers.When he heard that Shi Le was personally leading the army this time, he became a little panicked and quickly set up his formation west of Luoshui.At this time, Shi Hu had led an army of 30,000 troops out of the west of Luoyang City, and went straight to the former Zhao army.Liu Yao even drank a few buckets of wine before the battle, and he stumbled as soon as he went into battle.After returning to the army, he felt that the alcohol was not strong enough, so he drank another bucket and went to battle again.This time, I was so drunk that I didn't know what to do next. Then the Zhao army launched a fierce attack, the former Zhao army collapsed, Liu Yao was seriously injured during the retreat, the horse fell into the ditch, and Liu Yao fell off the horse. .It was nine cold days, and the ground was already frozen. This fall was no small matter. There were dozens of wounds all over his body. He was almost dying and completely lost the ability to resist. In the end, he was captured alive by General Shi Kan.The emperor who was personally conquered by the emperor was caught in such a muddle-headed way, and his whole country's army was destroyed in one fell swoop.The Later Zhao army attacked Guanzhong in one go, and the remnants of the former Zhao including Liu Xi, the crown prince of Liu Yao, were wiped out. In the fifth year of Jincheng Emperor Xianhe (330 A.D.), Shi Le, who reached the peak of his career, proclaimed himself emperor in Xiangguo. This legendary figure who was born in a humble Jiehu and was a slave when he was young finally ascended to the honor of Wancheng. The throne, proud of the world.His story is amazing and his experience is fascinating. Shi Le once commented on himself and said: "If I meet Emperor Gao (Han Gao Emperor Liu Bang), I will do things in the north and compete with Han Peng for the whip. When I meet Guangwu (Han Guangwu Emperor Liu Xiu), I will drive in the Central Plains. I don't know who will win the deer. A man should behave in an upright manner, as bright as the sun and the moon, and he can't be like Cao Mengde, Sima Zhongda and his son, who deceived his orphans and widows, and flirted with them to win the world. I should be in the ear of the two Lius!" Shi Le is like Xiang Yu in the period of the Sixteen Kingdoms, but he was decisive and sensible. It should be said that he was a successful man in the history of the Sixteen Kingdoms for a century and a half.However, the winner is not necessarily the final winner. Shi Le's Zhao Guo only had a slight advantage in the starting stage. "The country is so beautiful that it attracts countless heroes." The history of the Sixteen Kingdoms has just finished its first act. At this time, the leaders of the Xianbei, Di, and Qiang tribes in the north are quietly waiting behind the scenes. The second act will begin again.