Chapter 90 Chapter 89: Emperor Gao Deng

Fu Deng, styled Wen Gao, was the grandson of Fu Jian, the former king of Qin.His father, Fu Chang, was the prefect of Longdong and the general of Jianjie when he was in Fu Jian, and was later killed by the tyrant Fu Sheng.After Fu Jian succeeded to the throne, Fu Deng's elder brother Tongcheng became the governor of Liangzhou with his father's favor.After the Battle of Feishui, Guanzhong was in turmoil. Fu Deng fled to Shangyu (now Tianshui, Gansu Province) to join Mao Xing, the governor of Hezhou, and was promoted to Sima.Fu Deng thought he had outstanding talents, and he often advised Mao Xing, and he convinced Mao Xing every time.

Fu Deng’s eldest brother, Tongcheng, was well-versed in the world, sophisticated and resourceful. Hearing that Fu Deng always liked to come up with some new ideas, he said to him: “If you are not in his position, you will not seek his own government. This is the motto of being an official. If you keep coming up with ideas and suggestions, you will definitely be envied by people. In my opinion, you'd better be patient for a while, and after you take power, you can do whatever you want." Tong Cheng's words were very effective, and from then on, Fu Deng He has always been taciturn and stays at home, but he is determined to study and practice martial arts, and his knowledge has greatly improved.

In the 20th year of the Jianyuan period of the former Qin Dynasty (384 A.D.), Yao Chang of the Qiang nationality betrayed Fu Jian and publicly raised the banner of opposing the former Qin Dynasty.Although Mao Xing was in Shangyu, he was inevitably attacked by Yao Chang's younger brother Yao Shuode.Before Mao Xing died, he said to Tongcheng: "You and I have fought against the Qiang people for several years without defeating them. After I die, I can entrust the funeral to your brother Fu Deng. The only one who can eliminate Yao Shuode is him." Who is it!" So Fu Deng became the leader of this team.Relying on the cruel method of making the soldiers kill and eat meat, he developed an extremely good fighting team. Yao Chang was so frightened that he hurriedly called Yao Shuode back, saying, "If you don't come back, you will be eaten up by Fu Deng!"

On July 7th of the second year of Tai'an (386 A.D.), a group of generals from the Di tribe in Fanghan drank at Di Jiang Yiqing's home, discussing how to oust Weiping, the old and sick governor of Hezhou, and elect Fu Deng. He is the governor of all the military forces in Longyou, the general of Fujun, the shepherd of the two states of Yonghe, and the Duke of Lueyang.Fu Deng lived up to expectations and led 50,000 people to capture Nan'an City in one fell swoop.An envoy was sent to report to Fu Pi, and Fu Pi had no choice but to appoint him as General Zhengxi and King of Nan'an.Soon Fu PI was killed by Feng Gai, General Yangwei of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, so Fu Deng was persuaded by his subordinates to ascend to the throne of emperor.

Fu Deng admired Fu Jian so much that he became superstitious.After becoming the former Qin emperor, Fu Deng made a special statue for Fu Jian and put it in the chariot.Before every battle, Fu Deng knelt in front of the statue, wept and prayed: "Grandson Fu Deng ascended to the throne under the blessing of your god. In the past, you were killed by Qiang bandits in Wujiang Mountain. I have no ability to save you. Now I have 50,000 elite soldiers who can wipe out the Qiang people. This year there will be a bumper crop and sufficient rations for the army. Soon I will lead my troops to wipe out the Qiang bandits and avenge you.” Seeing Fu Deng’s devotion, the officers and soldiers were very moved.

The sixth year of Taichu (391 A.D.) was the year when Fu Deng fought the most battles with Later Qin Yaochang.After a year of exhausting fighting, Fu Deng had lost his confidence in defeating Yao Chang.But at the beginning of the second year, Yao Chang suddenly fell ill and became bedridden. Upon hearing the news, Fu Deng hurriedly ordered his troops to refuel and wait for the war order.A year later, when Yao Chang really died of illness, Fu Deng was overjoyed and said to his subordinates, "Just wait and see how I deal with Yao Xing." In April of the ninth year of Taichu (AD 394), Fu Deng led his troops to the abandoned bridge where Yao Chang's son Yao Xingjun was stationed.Because the Later Qin Dynasty had occupied the abandoned bridge in advance, Fu Deng's officers and soldiers had no water to drink, and two or three out of ten people died of thirst.Seeing this, Yao Xing gave an order, and the soldiers descended like fierce tigers, and soon defeated the former Qin officers and soldiers.Fu Deng took advantage of the cover of night to flee to Yongcheng on horseback. Before reaching Yongcheng, he heard that Prince Fu Chong and King Ancheng Fu Guang had abandoned the city and fled to Pingliang like a frightened bird.When he arrived in Pingliang, Fu Deng felt that he was still not safe, so he gathered some of his remnants and defeated generals and entered Ma Mao Mountain.

In July of the same year, Fu Deng sent his son Fu Zong to seek help from Qifu Gangui, the leader of Xianbei in Longxi, and married his younger sister to Qifu Gangui. He ran to Mamao Mountain with food and grass to rescue. Just as Fu Deng was coming down the mountain to meet the reinforcements who begged to return, Yao Xing had rushed from Chang'an to Jingyang and captured Fu Deng at the southern foot of Mamao Mountain.Soon, Fu Deng was killed by Yao Xing at the age of 52.