Chapter 67 Thirteen, Liu Yu destroys Nanyan

Generally speaking, the last emperors of all dynasties and dynasties in Chinese history books cannot escape the image of being either faint or violent.When I read stories like Xia Jie and Shang Zhou, I didn't have any special feelings. I just thought, oh, they are such bad monarchs, no wonder they perished.After learning some historical knowledge, I couldn't help but think a little more, only to realize that it's not that simple.Most dynasties in Chinese history have dedicated historians (Shu Han is a rare exception, Chen Shou can write such a good "Three Kingdoms·Shu Zhi", which is very admirable.), what happened around each generation of emperors, remember the most It is clear, but it is often sorted out after the next generation of emperor ascends the throne, and the more valuable ones are kept.Therefore, as long as the emperor was not overthrown or abolished by a coup d'état, there will generally be more good records left, while some boring or even bad records that have nothing to do with the "subject" will no longer appear in the annals of history. (Of course, many records were handed down later, so this situation is much better.) For the last emperor, who made his biography (or "Biography") is the person who destroyed his dynasty.In order to add more legitimacy, rationality and inevitability to their victory, these people will spare no effort to give them a bad name and a bad name. (The evaluation of Chongzhen in "History of Ming Dynasty" is slightly better, so some people say: "Chongzhen is not the king of subjugation, and the Ming Dynasty has to perish in his hands." Chongzhen received a posthumous title and even a temple title.)

Therefore, it is not surprising that we see today that "Book of Jin·Murong Chao Zai Ji" is similar to the list of Murong Chao's crimes.We can see from his behavior before he proclaimed himself emperor that this man has a lot of strategy.He fled to Shandong alone. He had no foundation in Nanyan, but he was able to defeat Murong Fa, Murong Zhong and others who already had certain influence in the court. Not a fool.Murong Chao couldn't completely isolate himself, he soon had a close confidant, Gongsun Wulou, which was normal.Then, he took advantage of the contradiction between Gongsun Wulou and Murong Fa and others to wipe out Murong Fa's power in one fell swoop within a year. Murong Fa and Murong Zhong defected to the Northern Wei Dynasty and the Later Qin Dynasty respectively.This incident has always been considered to be the first step in causing chaos in Nanyan, but I think it is understandable. After that, Murong Chao's position was basically stable, and his prestige also increased. got rid of it.

However, I have no intention of saying good things for Murong Chao. His policy is similar to that of Murong De's time, and he is on the verge of self-preservation, which makes it difficult for a small country like Nanyan to last long.In order to bring his mother and wife back from Hou Qin, Murong Chao negotiated with Yao Xing, recruited some musicians in the territory, and exchanged them with Yao Xing.Afterwards, Murong Chao not only saw his long-lost mother and wife again, but also made friends with Hou Qin in the west.However, in order to replenish the number of musicians, he sent troops to attack Jin and plundered the Huaibei area for a while, breaking his self-protection situation and giving the Eastern Jin an excuse (although there is no such excuse, people like Liu Yu will sooner or later will send troops).In the fifth year of Taishang (AD 409), he encountered a fierce attack from Liu Yu's land and water army and was unable to resist.

Liu Yu's fortune is due to Xie Huanwen's son Huan Xuan's proclaiming himself emperor, and Huan Xuan's proclaiming emperor stems from the chaotic situation at the end of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. The lucky victory in the Battle of Feishui made Xie An and Xie Xuan's group powerful for a time, so they were squeezed out by other people in the court.Xie An died after the Battle of Feishui, and Emperor Xiaowu's younger brother, King Sima Daozi of Kuaiji, took over the military and political power.Emperor Xiaowu was a drunkard, and Sima Daozi was even more so. He became more and more arrogant and extravagant in the court.Emperor Xiaowu was very dissatisfied, and promoted his confidants Wang Gong and Yin Zhongkan to restrict Sima Daozi.

In the 21st year of Taiyuan (AD 396), Emperor Xiaowu was suffocated to death by his beloved Zhang Guiren with a quilt just because he said a joke "You are old, you should be abolished".His prince, Sima Dezong, the first mentally handicapped emperor in ancient and modern times, succeeded to the throne as Emperor Jin'an.Emperor Jin'an was a deaf-mute and mentally handicapped child since he was a child. He never did anything independently. Sima Yi and his son did all kinds of evil things back then, but they didn't expect that their descendants would look like this a hundred years later.

Sima Daozi took the new emperor to ascend the throne, let his confidants Wang Guobao and others take charge of the court, and rejected Wang Gong and Yin Zhongkan who were guarding outside.Wang Gong of Jingkou and Yin Zhongkan of Jiangling raised troops in the first year of Long'an (AD 397) and forced Sima Daozi to kill Wang Guobao. Wang Gong took advantage of it and raised troops again the following year. Yin Zhongkan and Huan Xuan responded together.Liu Laozhi, the general of the Beifu army that Wang Gong relied on, turned against him and killed him.In Jingzhou, Huan Xuan annihilated Yin Zhongkan's forces in the third year of Long'an.Huanxuan and Liu Laozhi controlled the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and the north bank of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River respectively, leaving only the eight counties in the east of the Yangtze River in the middle of the Eastern Jin Dynasty.The burden on the people in these areas has suddenly increased and they are miserable.

Sun Tai, a wealthy family in Langya, organized an uprising with the Five Dou of Rice Road, and was killed by the Eastern Jin government. His nephew Sun En fled to the East China Sea.Sima Yuanxian, the son of Sima Daozi, recruited a large number of soldiers in the eight counties, causing large-scale commotion.Sun En led a hundred people to land from Shangyu, and his tribe soon grew to tens of thousands, captured Kuaiji (now Shaoxing, Zhejiang), and the other seven counties also responded. The Eastern Jin government had to send Liu Laozhi's Beifu soldiers Go to Crackdown. When Sun En heard that Liu Jianzhi had come to attack him, he said to his subordinates, "If you are alone in Zhejiang, you can still be a Goujian." Unexpectedly, there have been no wars in Jiangdong for many years. Not the opponent of Beifu soldiers.Liu Laozhi soon crossed Zhejiang and came to Kuaiji to kill him.Sun En left a sentence of "I am not ashamed to go alone" in the legacy of Emperor Wu of the Wei Dynasty, and led more than 200,000 people back to the island.Sun En entered Jiangdong four times successively, but unfortunately failed when he landed and attacked Linhai for the last time, and committed suicide by throwing himself into the water.Sun En's men, led by his brother-in-law Lu Xun, continued to fight in the coastal areas of the south of the Yangtze River.

Liu Yu grew up in these battles with Sun En Luxun. His mother died when he was young, and his family was very poor. He couldn't read a few words, so he could only make a living by selling straw sandals in the market.Liu Laozhi crusade against Sun En, who was originally just a soldier.In a reconnaissance mission, he and dozens of subordinates were besieged, and most of them died in battle, but he held a long knife, fought more and more bravely, and killed hundreds of enemies.Liu Jingxuan, the son of Liu Lao, came to support and won a complete victory.Liu Laozhi admired Liu Yu as a brave general and asked him to defend the city. Liu Yu took the lead in every battle and charged into the battle without hesitation.

The situation in the Eastern Jin Dynasty was not peaceful for a day, and the last bit of capital was consumed.Huanxuan refused Sima Yuanxian's temperance. In the first year of Yuanxing (402 A.D.), he sent troops down the river from Jiangling to Jiankang. Kill them all. In December of the following year, he abolished Emperor Jin'an and established himself as emperor with the name of Chu.Only three months later, Liu Yu was promoted as the leader of the alliance by everyone, and he led the Beifu soldiers to the south, defeated Huan Xuan, and welcomed Emperor Jin'an again. This time, the power of the Eastern Jin Dynasty fell into Liu Yu's hands.

Huan Xuan is a warlord, and Liu Yu is also a warlord.After Xie An, the drunken Emperor Xiaowu and the speechless Emperor An, no matter how good their characters were, they had to obey the orders of the warlords.What Liu Yu is better than Huan Xuan is that he is not in a hurry to become king or emperor, but first set his sights on expanding himself and eliminating dissidents. This may be related to his poor background.After completely destroying Huan's remaining party in the first year of Yixi (AD 405), he began to plan the Northern Expedition.Murong Chao fought with the Eastern Jin Dynasty at this time. I don't want to say that he is ignorant of current affairs, but in fact it is roughly the same.

Liu Yu led the water army from Jiankang to the north, entered Sishui along the Huaihe River, and entered Langya.Gongsun Wulou suggested to Murong Chao: "The Jin army's morale is strong when they first come, so we should not compete with them. Our army should stick to the dangerous place of Daxian Pass (now Muling Pass in the north of Yishui, Shandong Province), and then cut off the Jin army from the sea. On Liangdao, another general, Duan Hui, will be sent to lead the Yanzhou army to attack, so that they will be attacked by the enemy. This is the best strategy; fortifying the walls and clearing the fields, and defending the city, this is the middle strategy; letting Liu Yu enter Daxianguan, and go out to meet the battle, this is the worst strategy." Murong Chao didn't accept it, and only said: "My capital is so rich, how can I fortify the walls and clear the country? It is better to lure the enemy into the plains and attack them with elite cavalry, and they will surely win." The officials complained bitterly, but Murong Chao just refused to listen. Liu Yu's army easily passed through the dangerous Daxian Pass, and the momentum was hard to stop.Murong Chao sent Duan Hui and others to occupy Linqu with 50,000 infantry and cavalry. He also sent Gongsun Wulou to lead troops to Chuanyuan to cut off the Jin army's water source, but was defeated by Liu Yu's forward army one step ahead. Liu Yu and Duan Hui's main force of the Nanyan Army met in the south of Linqu City. After hearing the news, Murong Chao personally took 40,000 infantry and cavalry to supervise the army.The two armies fought fiercely for a long time, regardless of the outcome.At this time, Hu Fan, who joined Liu Yu's army, suggested to Liu Yu: "The main force of the Yan army has already left the city to fight, and the city of Linqu must be empty. I would like to lead an army to take the trail behind the Yan soldiers and take Linqu." Count very much.Hu Fan raided Linqu with a surprise army, claiming to be light soldiers from the sea. Linqu's defenders were shocked and lost the city without much resistance. Liu Yu immediately sent his troops to storm the Nanyan army outside the city. The Yan army was defeated and Duan Hui was killed.Murong Chao fled back to Guanggu in panic. The Jin army took advantage of the victory to pursue, broke through the outer city, and surrounded the inner city of Guanggu.Liu Yu ordered his soldiers to dig a three-story ditch and build a three-foot-high wall to trap Guanggu. Murong Chao was helpless, and failed repeatedly in his attacks, so he had to ask Liu Yu for peace, willing to cede all the land south of Daxian Pass to the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and claim the vassal status to the Eastern Jin Dynasty.Liu Yuzhi was destroying the city and destroying Yan, so naturally he would not agree. Murong Chao insisted on not surrendering, but he couldn't stop the morale of the defenders in the city from decreasing day by day.In the second year (AD 410), Liu Yu's whole army rushed on all sides, and Nanyan Shangshu Yueshou opened the door to welcome the Jin army.Murong Chao led dozens of cavalry to break through and escape. After being captured, he was sent to Jiankang to be beheaded.Although Liu Yu did not carry out large-scale live burials like Tuoba Gui, he also massacred all three thousand Xianbei nobles in the city.Murong Xianbei's nearly century-long struggle story finally came to an end after the demise of Nanyan.