Chapter 32 The third section Xie An decision

The news of the former Qin's large-scale attack spread to Jiankang, and Emperor Xiaowu of Jin Dynasty and many civil and military officials were very panicked.The majority of people in the Eastern Jin Dynasty were afraid of being brutally ruled by the Di aristocrats and insisted on resistance.The ruling class of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, in order to maintain the Pianan regime and their own interests, and considering that the Western Jin Dynasty would be subjugated due to non-resistance, felt that there was no way out except resistance.Under the auspices of Prime Minister Xie An, the Eastern Jin government decided to send troops to resist the attack of the former Qin Dynasty.

Xie An, courtesy name Anshi, was a landlord class politician with rich ruling experience and great political vision.His ancestors were originally landlords in the north, and the whole family moved to the south of the Yangtze River.When Xie An was young, the court called him out to be an official, but he refused. Later, he lived in seclusion in Dongshan, Kuaiji (now Dongshan, southwest of Shangyu County, Zhejiang Province).In 373 A.D., Xie An was finally summoned out of the mountain and was appointed prime minister by the imperial court to take charge of the government.After he came to power, he worked closely with General Huan Chong, another important figure in the Eastern Jin government at that time, and employed those who had lost political power so that they could contribute to the country.In the military, Xie Shi, Xie Xuan and others were appointed as generals to strengthen the defense against the former Qin Dynasty.Therefore, before the Battle of Feishui, the ruling class of the Eastern Jin Dynasty was relatively stable and united, the society was relatively stable, the political power was relatively consolidated, and military preparations were also made.

This time the former Qin army came under pressure, and Xie An was appointed by Emperor Xiaowu as the supreme commander in wartime to conquer the governor.Xie An first ordered the relocation of the people north of the Huaihe River to the south of Huaihe River, to fortify the walls and clear the fields, so as to prevent the former Qin from plundering the labor force of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and at the same time use it to supplement its own source of troops. In terms of military affairs, Xie An believed that the front line of the Huaihe River was the main area of ​​Fu Jian's offensive, so it was necessary to send heavy troops to defend this line first.He sent his younger brother Xie Shi to act as the governor of the expedition to command the entire army; he selected the outstanding general Xie Xuan as the forward governor, and together with the young generals Xie Yan and Huan Yi, led 80,000 elite "Northern soldiers" to the army. To meet the Qin army.In addition, Xie An sent General Hu Bin to lead 5,000 sailors to reinforce Shouyang.

Before Xie Xuan led the Beifu soldiers to set off, he went to see Xie An and asked him how to defeat the Qin army.Xie An calmly replied: "The imperial court has already made arrangements, you just go." After finishing speaking, he stopped talking.Xie Xuan was a little puzzled, but he didn't dare to ask again, so he asked a colleague named Henry Zhang to ask Xie An again.Instead of answering, Xie An went to the villa in the mountains by car with Henry Zhang.Xie An invited Henry Zhang to play Go.Henry Zhang's chess skills were originally better than Xie An's. In the past, Henry Zhang always won and Xie An lost when playing chess; but today Henry Zhang was always worried about the military ahead, and in the end he did not win, and the game ended in a draw.Xie An spent a whole day in the mountains and didn't go home until late at night.

In front of the enemy, Xie An was so calm, calm, unhurried, and full of confidence in victory.Seeing the prime minister like this, the hearts of civil servants and generals of the Manchu dynasty also calmed down.