Chapter 49 Thirteen, the prologue of the war

Until August of the nineteenth year of Jianyuan, that is, before 383 AD, Fu Jian was still the most successful monarch in the history of the Sixteen Kingdoms.In terms of territory, Shi Le, who unified the north before, can only sigh; in terms of character, he is one of the few "kings of benevolence and righteousness" among the sixteen countries with many tyrannical kings; It has eased the vendetta among ethnic groups and promoted the integration of various ethnic groups (whether this integration is good or bad).So the great war he launched in 383 A.D., which was criticized by later generations, looked in advance, but it was the only way he wanted to push his success to the extreme, just like Sima Yan destroying Wu, Yang Jian destroying Chen, and Zhao Kuangyin wiped out the southern countries.If you don't understand these things and just judge heroes based on victory or defeat, it would be irresponsible to accuse Fu Jian of making a big mistake on this point.

As early as the fourteenth year of Jianyuan (AD 378), Fu Jian began to use troops against the Eastern Jin Dynasty.In February of this year, he sent his beloved son Fu Pi, the general who conquered the South, to lead 70,000 cavalry, and nearly 100,000 troops from various walks of life, including the general who conquered the captives, Shi Yue, Jing Zhaoyin Murongchui, and the leading general Gou Chi. Attacking Xiangyang opened the prelude to the war. The defender of Xiangyang in the Eastern Jin Dynasty was Zhu Xu. He believed that the former Qin army had no boats and did not take precautions.Unexpectedly, Shi Yue led 5,000 cavalry, built a pontoon bridge, crossed the Han River, and approached the outer city of Xiangyang.Only then did Zhu Xu think of defending the central city, but it was too late. Shi Yue's army quickly captured the outer city, obtained hundreds of ferries, and thus successfully extradited the remaining Qin army and surrounded Xiangyang City.

The young and vigorous Fu Pi wanted to attack quickly, but General Gou Chang believed that the Qin army had an absolute advantage, so it was better to just surround the Jin army without fighting, block the Jin army's food channels and reinforcements, and try to drag down the opponent and win.Fu Pi thought this was a good idea, and just in time for Murong Chui to capture Nanyang, he joined forces with him under the city of Xiangyang and waited for the change. This war has been dragged on for a long time, but it first annoyed a group of ministers in the court (it can be seen that the internal opinions of the former Qin Dynasty were not unified).Yushi Zhongcheng Li Rou went up to Fu Jian, saying that Fu Pi had 100,000 troops, but the siege of the small Xiangyang City lasted for a long time, costing countless money every day, so it is better to withdraw the troops and punish Fu Pi severely.

Fu Jian was determined to win, so of course he didn't want to return to the army halfway, so he prepared to march in person, but was persuaded by Fu Rong and other people to give up his idea. Finally, he sent an envoy to give Fu PI a sword and said to him: "If you can't attack Xiangyang next spring, , you can cut yourself off and don’t come to see me again!” Fu Pi had no choice but to bite the bullet and storm Xiangyang.Zhu Xu was very brave in front of the battle, and repeatedly went out of the city to repel the Qin army. Unexpectedly, he could not take care of both inside and outside. There were traitors in Xiangyang City, and the supervisor Li Bohu secretly sent his son to the Qin army camp as an internal response.Fu PI had waited for a year, but how could he let go of such a "benefit" and ordered all the troops to attack with all their strength.Xiangyang City suffered from internal and external cooperation, and finally fell. Zhu Xu was captured and sent to Chang'an.Fu Jian's idea was "wonderful". He believed that Zhu Xu was a man who could keep the chastity for the Eastern Jin Dynasty, so he appointed him as Duzhi Shangshu; but he thought that Li Bohu was unfaithful, so he beheaded him. (Fu Jian's way of appointing others is "All the talents in the world are for me", and he never cares what these "talents" really think. He is quite confident in his personality charm, and the spirit in it is really admirable. However, he This kind of self-righteous point of view is too naive, and it is indeed a big regret that his failure in the second half of his life stemmed from this.)

In July of the same year, Fu Jian sent Peng Chao, governor of Yanzhou, to attack Pengcheng (now Xuzhou, Jiangsu), and then sent General Ju Nan and others to attack Huaiyin (now southwest of Huaiyin, Jiangsu) and Xuyi (now Jiangsu) with 70,000 cavalry.The two armies attacked the eastern defense line of the Eastern Jin Dynasty with the momentum of horns. In February of the second year, the Qin army captured Pengcheng and Huaiyin.Three months later, Xuyi was captured.60,000 soldiers of the Qin army entered San'a (now northwest of Gaoyou, Jiangsu), only a hundred miles away from Guangling (now Yangzhou, Jiangsu), and approached Jiankang, the capital of the Eastern Jin Dynasty.

The imperial court of the Eastern Jin Dynasty was shocked, and hurriedly deployed defenses along the river, and dispatched Xie An's younger brother Xie Shi's navy for defense.The real main force of the Jin army was in Guangling at this time, and its military power should not be underestimated. It was the famous "Northern Army Soldiers" in the history of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. A few years ago, Xie An recommended his nephew Xie Xuan to Emperor Xiaowu, who appointed him to guard Guangling.In order to resist the possible attack of the former Qin Dynasty, Xie Xuan recruited brave and good fighters as soon as he arrived in Guangling. Kan and others, through strict military training, built this army with extremely strong combat effectiveness.

Xie Xuan led the Beifu soldiers from Guangling to rescue the siege of San'a. Sure enough, they won the first battle. Not only did they defeat the Qin army in San'a, they also took advantage of the victory to recover Xuyi and Huaiyin, and drove the Qin army back to the north of the Huaihe River. Peng Chao and Ju Nan ended up fleeing back to Chang'an alone.Fu Jian was furious and imprisoned Peng Chao, who committed suicide; Ju Nan was demoted to the common people.However, despite being annoyed, Fu Jian strengthened his determination to destroy Jin, and the plan of the Southern Expedition was hard to shake in his heart.

In the eighteenth year of Jianyuan (AD 382), Fu Jian finally put forward the idea of ​​aggressively attacking the Eastern Jin Dynasty in front of the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty. He recruited 870,000 elite soldiers nationwide and decided to personally lead the troops across the south of the Yangtze River.Many ministers who expressed their views disagreed with the Southern Expedition.From Secretary Jian Zhu Tong, Zuo Pu She Quan Yi, Prince Fu Hong, to the favorite monk Daoan, the favorite concubine Mrs. Zhang, and the youngest son Fu Shen, no matter what the reason was, everyone opposed the expedition.Fu Jian felt unhappy and remained silent.

After retiring from the imperial court, he left Yangping Duke Fu Rong alone, and said to him: "Since ancient times, only one or two people have been able to decide major events. Just now, the court has different opinions, which will only cause trouble. I'd like to discuss this matter with you." Let's do it." Fu Rong thought for a while and said: "There are three difficulties in the crusade against the Jin State: one is that the law of heaven is not smooth, the other is that the Jin State has no provocations, and the third is that our army is exhausted and the people are afraid of the enemy. Those who think that the Jin State cannot be attacked They are all loyal ministers, and I hope His Majesty will listen to your opinions."

Fu Jian said disappointedly: "You actually said that, who else can I count on! I think Qin has millions of soldiers and a mountain of wealth; even if I am not a wise king, I am not a foolish one. With the momentum of victory, if you attack a country that is about to perish, are you afraid that you will not be able to defeat it? How can you keep the remaining hostile forces of the Jin country to harm the future?" Fu Rong burst into tears, and he also brought out Wang Meng's words: "The state of Jin will not perish, it is obvious. The result of the laborious expedition must be fruitless. His Majesty's favored Xianbei and Qiang people have filled the capital. In fact, they are our greatest enemies. Once the army is out, only the crown prince and tens of thousands of weak soldiers and generals will stay in the capital. In case of sudden chaos, it will be too late to regret. The humble officials are stupid, and what they say is indeed not credible; Wang Jinglue Don't your majesty remember his last words for a generation of talents?" Fu Jian just didn't listen.

Fu Rong can be said to be well-intentioned, and then he laid out the way of Zhengshuo. He pointed out: "In ancient times, the poor soldiers were extremely powerful, and there was no one who survived. The country was originally Rongdi, and Zhengshuo would not return to people. Although Jiangdong is weak, However, China is orthodox, and God’s will will never cease.” Fu Jian didn't think so, and asked Fu Rong: "Isn't Liu Chan the Miao descendant of the Han Dynasty, who was eventually destroyed by the Wei Dynasty. The reason why you are not as good as me is that you are so ill!" At this time, many courtiers came to remonstrate, but Fu Jian could no longer listen to any objections. Thinking about "throwing a whip into the river, breaking the flow", what difficulties are there? ! What's more, among the many objections this time, Murong Chui, a "hero" whom he admired, strongly encouraged Fu Jian to march south, saying: Let them oppose if anyone opposes it. The right way is to follow the trend of history. When Emperor Wu of Jin eliminated Soochow That's it-"the ones who are fighting are Du and Zhang's two or three ministers."Fu Jian was very pleased with the praise, and repeatedly praised: "The one who will rule the world with me is only the sole minister." In July of the second year, Fu Jian issued an edict to attack Jin on a large scale, and the common people sent out one soldier for every ten Ding; good family sons, that is, youths under the age of 20 from rich families, all talented and brave people worshiped as Habayashi Lang; He also recruited Xianbei, Qiang and other Hu tribes as soldiers. Under the opposition of the courtiers, Murongchui and the leader of the Qiang people, Yao Chang, and others continued to persuade Fu Jian to use troops.Fu Rong felt bad, and still wanted to persuade Fu Jian, but Fu Jian refused any objection on the grounds that the edict had been issued.Murong Kai, Murong Shao and others happily congratulated Murong Chui, saying: "The lord (Fu Jian) ​​is already very arrogant, and this is where my uncle established Zhongxing's business." Murong Chui replied: "Yes. My It's all up to you." In August, Fu Jian sent Murong Chui, Duke of Yangping, Governor of Fu Rong, and others with 250,000 cavalry as the vanguard, and Yao Chang, the governor of Gunzhou, as General Longxiang to supervise the military in Yizhou and Liangzhou. Before leaving, Fu Jian encouraged Yao Chang and said: "When I started my business as a dragon, I never granted this title to anyone else. You have to work hard!" Dou Chong, the left general, said: "The king has no jokes, this is an ominous sign!" The former Qin's brigade, with a total of more than 600,000 infantry and 270,000 cavalry, marched to the south in mighty strength. In September, Fu Jian arrived in Xiangcheng, Liangzhou's soldiers had just arrived in Xianyang, Shu and Han's soldiers were going down the river, and You and Ji's soldiers arrived in Pengcheng. Thousands of miles from east to west, land and water, and thousands of boats were transported. rare. Facing the large-scale attack of the former Qin Dynasty, the Eastern Jin Dynasty used Shang Shupu to shoot Xie Shi as the general who conquered the captives, and the governor of the great governor. Xie Xuan, the governor of Xu and Gun, was the vanguard. He led a crowd of 80,000 to defend against the Qin army; he also sent General Longxiang Hu Bin to reinforce Shouyang (now Shouxian County, Anhui Province) with 5,000 water troops. With 80,000 soldiers fighting against a million Qin soldiers, the difference in strength was so great that Jiankang, the capital of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, was shaken from top to bottom.Xie An's performance was calm, Xie Xuan and others asked Xie An for advice, but he didn't answer, he simply took them to play chess with their relatives and friends. Huan Chong thought that Jiankang was dangerous, so he asked to bring three thousand elite soldiers into the guard, but Xie An firmly refused, saying: "The imperial court has settled down very well, and there is nothing lacking. You should take good care of your west line of defense." Huan Chong said to his subordinates in despair: "Xie Anshi (Xie Anshi's character) is more generous than general. Now that the enemy is approaching, he is still going to talk with him. The strength of the two sides is so disparate. Alas, the world has already been known. I am on the left! (meaning that the Han people are about to perish)" All of these are the situation at the beginning of the great war: one side is in great agitation, and conflicts are implied in the movement, while the other side seems to be quiet, but the stillness is also full of unease.There is no need to repeat the disparity in power between the two sides here. It seems that all problems have to be solved by war.