Chapter 21 Later Zhao destroyed former Zhao

——Liu Yao's final defeat Just after finishing the family affairs, Liu Yao finally took a breath and made Mrs. Liu the queen. Zhao Wang Shile was not idle either. In April 325 A.D., he sent his subordinate Shi Tuo out of Shangjun from Yanmen to attack the Northern Qiang king Punchu who belonged to the former Zhao Dynasty. He captured more than 3,000 people and captured cattle and sheep. More than 20,000 returned. Liu Yao was very angry when he heard the news, so he jumped up and sent troops from Chang'an on the same day, sending Zhongshan King Liu Yue to pursue Shi Tuo.Liu Yao himself was stationed in Fuping to express his solidarity.Liu Yue's division made a profit. After the battle at Hebin, the Zhao army was defeated, and Shi Tuo and his soldiers were beheaded by 1,500 ranks. After more than 5,000 Zhao troops were driven into the Yellow River and drowned.

According to Liu Yao's edict, Liu Yue took advantage of the victory and advanced, and after attacking Zhao General Shi was born in Luoyang. At the beginning, the former Zhao army fought smoothly, and after Liu Yuejun captured it, more than 5,000 Zhao soldiers died, and they entered the siege. Shisheng was born in Jinyong.At a critical moment, Shi Le's nephew, the great devil Shi Hu, rode 40,000 troops into Chenggao Pass, and fought against Liu Yue in Luoxi.Liu Yue was defeated and surrendered to Shiliang (North Bank of Luoshui).Shi Hu defeated Hu Yanmo, the former general of Zhao, and killed him in front of the battle.

Upon hearing the news of defeat, Liu Yao personally led an army to rescue Liu Yue, and Shi Hu also led an army of 30,000 to resist the battle.Liu Yao won a small battle first, and defeated Shi Cong, Shihu's subordinate, at Bateban near Yougu.At night, Liu Yao's army camped in Jingu, and was shocked for no reason in the middle of the night. The army collapsed and had to retreat to Mianchi.Unexpectedly, the soldiers were shocked again for no reason, no enemy attacked, and the army broke up and scattered all night.Liu Yao had no choice but to return to Chang'an. Seeing that there was no hope of rescue, Liu Yue's remnant army was quickly defeated. More than 80 former senior Zhao generals, including Liu Yue, were captured alive and sent to Xiangguo. More than 15,000 soldiers were killed.

After this defeat, Liu Yao became ill with resentment.After returning to Chang'an, misfortunes never come singly, and his empress Liu died of illness again. Before the beautiful and charming Empress Liu died, Liu Yao personally came to the bed and embraced the little beauty, asking her what her last words were.When returning to the light, Empress Liu said: "Uncle Liu Chang, my concubine, has always had no children. I was raised by him since I was a child, and I can't repay him with virtue. I hope Your Majesty will honor my uncle. Another uncle of mine, Liu Ai, has a very special daughter. She is virtuous and beautiful, I hope His Majesty can accept her as your queen."

Liu Yao accepted Empress Liu's dying "entrustments" one by one, and immediately issued an imperial edict to confer Liu Chang as the Great Situ and Record Minister; made Liu Ai's daughter Empress, and entrusted Empress Liu's relatives with high-ranking officials.Shangshu Hao Da and others solidified their advice, Liu Yao was furious, and sent people to kill these admonishers with a large pot of poisoned wine. In June 328 AD (the third year of Emperor Xianhe in the Eastern Jin Dynasty), Zhao Shile later sent his nephew Zhongshan Gong Shihu to lead an army of 40,000 troops from Zhiguan (now Jiyuan, Henan) to the west to attack the former Zhaohe River. More than 50 counties responded one after another, and the later Zhao army attacked Puban (now Yongji County, Shanxi) like a broken bamboo.

When a powerful enemy came to attack, Liu Yao had no choice but to go on a personal expedition again, "self-directed the elite Chinese and foreign land and water armies to save Puban".At the same time, he sent the prince Liu Yin to guard the capital of Chang'an, and ordered Liu Shu, the king of Hejian, to send soldiers of Di and Qiang to defend Hexi. Although Shihu, the Zhongshan Gong of the Later Zhao Dynasty, was known as a brave general, he had to be afraid in the face of the 100,000 troops led by the Zhao Lord Liu Yao.After Liu Yao's army crossed the self-defense pass to the north, Shi Hu saw the enemy's menacing approach and hurriedly led his army to retreat.Liu Yao was born as a general, and he knew that the opportunity must not be missed, so his army pursued him.

In September, Liu Yao's army caught up with Shihu in Gaohou (now Wenxi County, Shanxi), and the two sides fought.Because the emperor was in the army and the number was superior, the former Zhao army rushed forward bravely, the Shihu army was defeated, and the general Shi Zhan was killed. Shi Hu led the remnants of the defeated generals, and retreated like a rabbit in the direction of Chaoge (now Qi County, Henan). Liu Yao crossed the Yellow River from Dayangguan (now Pinglu County, Shanxi Province), attacked Shi Sheng, the later Zhao general who guarded Jinyong City in Luoyang, and dug the river to irrigate the later Zhao defenders.The former Zhao took advantage of the victory and dispatched generals to attack Jijun, Hanoi and other places of the later Zhao. Yin Ju, the prefect of Xingyang of the later Zhao, and Zhang Jin, the prefect of the wild king, surrendered one after another. The situation was very favorable to Liu Yao for a while.But the biggest fatal mistake he made at that time was that he did not attack Xiangguo, the capital of Zhao, with the prestige of victory, which delayed the great opportunity bestowed on him by heaven.

In the city of Xiangguo in Jizhou, Shi Le, the king of Zhao, was angry and anxious, and immediately wanted to send his soldiers to rescue Luoyang.Some courtiers advised him "not to move lightly", but Shi Le had his own idea: "Liu Yao took advantage of the victory in the first battle and surrounded Luoyang. A city cannot be conquered in a hundred days, and the veterans are in a hurry. With my sharp soldiers in a hundred battles, I can capture it in one battle!" Then, Shi Le further analyzed: "If Luoyang falls, Liu Yao will come to Jizhou to take advantage of the victory. Attack, from the river to the north, sweeping, if this is the case, the big event will be over!"

Xu Guang, a counselor of Shile, agreed very much, saying: "Liu Yao took advantage of Gaohou's victory, and was unable to enter Xiangguo and guard Jinyong. This is incompetent. It is obvious that you will command the army with your mighty king, and he will surely look forward to it." The flag is defeated. The world will be pacified in one fell swoop!" Therefore, Shi Le, the leader of the Later Zhao Kingdom, personally rode 40,000 people in the direction of Luoyang. In January 329 A.D., all the armies of Later Zhao gathered in Chenggao (now Xingyang, Henan), with a total of 60,000 infantry and 27,000 cavalry.What makes Shi Le even more gratifying is that there is no former Zhao garrison before Chenggao Pass.As a result, Shi Le's army "rolled armor and titled pieces, practiced tricks and tricks, and came out of Gong and Zijian".

On Liu Yao's side, he was proud of his victory.When the army was away, he didn't think about offensive and defensive strategies. He drank and gambled with a few courtiers in the camp every day, and he didn't care about the soldiers at all.The left and right followed the ministers to remonstrate, "(Liu) Yao was angry, thought it was a monster, and cut him off." It wasn't until the news that Shi Le had led his troops across the Yellow River that Liu Yao began to discuss with the generals about strengthening the defense of Xingyang City. Soon after, Zhao Qianfeng went to Luoshui.During the encounter between the two sides, when the former Zhao captured the Jie soldiers of the latter Zhao, Liu Yao personally interrogated the truth: "Did Hu (Shi Le) lead the army in person? How many horses did he bring?"

The prisoner told the truth: "The king of Zhao has come, and his army is very strong." Liu Yao changed his face when he heard the words, and immediately ordered to withdraw from Jinyong, and set up an army in Luoxi to meet Shile's army.Originally, Liu Yao surrounded Luoyang, but now, he was surrounded instead. On the hillside, Shi Le saw more than 100,000 soldiers of the former Zhao army standing in formation, more than ten miles north and south, Shi Le was not afraid of rejoicing, and said to the left and right: "You can congratulate me now!" Shi Le did not fight Liu Yao first, but led 40,000 cavalry into Luoyang City, which had been besieged for several months. While Liu Yao was hesitating, he suddenly discovered that Shi Hu led 30,000 infantry from the north of Luoyang City, heading west; The two sides fought at Xiyangmen.Shi Le personally wore the armor and rushed out from the Changhe Gate in Luoyang, forming a pincer attack on Liu Yao's army. Liu Yao has been fond of drinking since he was young, and his addiction to alcohol became even greater after he became emperor.The battle is approaching, but he still drinks a lot, not knowing whether it is to strengthen his courage or satisfy his hunger.He had just put on his horse, and for some unknown reason, the red horse he had been riding on usually knelt down on his front legs and could not stand up.The battle was critical, and it was too late to find a good horse, so Liu Yao temporarily led a pony that was generally used to carry goods and rode up.Before leaving the gate of the camp, he "resumed drinking and fighting for more". Arriving at Xiyangmen, Liu Yao commanded his men to prepare to join the battle.Shi Kan knew Liu Yao (because both sides had fought side by side under the same name of Han Emperor Liu Cong in the past), so he hurriedly led his fine horses to charge directly at the emperor.The former Zhao army was defeated. Liu Yao was in a coma and fled after being surrounded by the defeated soldiers.The pony he was riding was slow and not strong enough, its front hooves got stuck in the stone ditch, and Liu Yao fell to the ice all at once.Later, Zhao Zhuibing shot and stabbed Liu Yao with arrows and guns. Liu Yao was "injured more than ten times, and three of them were successful." He was finally caught by Shi Kan and sent to Shile camp. After counting the heads, Zhao Jun beheaded more than 50,000 former Zhao soldiers. At this time, Liu Yao, the Xiongnu who had been all-powerful, heroic and captured the second emperor of the Western Jin Dynasty, had no prestige, and was thrown on the ground in the Shile camp covered in blood. The former Emperor Zhao fell at the feet of King Zhao. In Liu Cong's era, Liu Yao and Shi Le fought together many times, and they can be described as "old comrades" who shared weal and woe.Liu Yao raised his elbows and greeted his "old friend" Shi Le: "King Shi! Have you ever recalled the alliance of Chongmen?" Shi Le took the high seat, and after a long time, he asked Xu Guang to pass the message: "What happened today was caused by angels, so what's the use of talking about anything else!" Although he refused to reminisce with Liu Yao, Shi Le still ordered doctors to treat Liu Yao's injuries, and sent his grandson Shi Sui's elite soldiers to guard him and escort Liu Yao to Xiangguo. Passing Luoyang Beiyuan, an old man named Sun Ji asked to see Liu Yao, and Shi Le allowed it. Sun Ji, with a fluttering white beard, entered Liu Yao, who was lying on a stretcher, with wine in his hand, and murmured: "King Pugu, Guan You is called the emperor. Be cautious and protect the land and borders. Use troops lightly and defeat Luoyang. Zuo luck is poor, The sky is dead. Open the big points and hold a cup." Facing the old man criticizing him like this, Liu Yao was also open-minded. He stood up, took the glass of wine, and said, "It really makes sense. You should drink this glass for the old man!" When Shi Le heard about it, he changed his face sadly and said, "The people who have lost their country are enough to make the old man scold them!" After arriving in Xiangguo, Liu Yao was imprisoned in Yongfeng Town.At the beginning, Shi Le treated this "old comrade-in-arms" with good food, drink and good treatment, "give him prostitutes and concubines, and surround him with strict soldiers", and sent Liu Yue and others who were captured in Shiliang before to visit Liu Yao in fresh clothes. . Liu Yao was also taken aback when he saw Liu Yue, the "King of Zhongshan" in his family, and said, "I always thought that you, Aiqing, have already been killed, and that King Shi is benevolent and has survived until now. It's really shameful. Today's disaster should be brought on by oneself." In the past, the monarchs and ministers stayed at banquets all day long and wept farewell at night. Seeing that Liu Yao's injury was improving day by day, Shi Le sent someone to ask Liu Yao to write a letter to the crown prince Liu Xi in Chang'an City, urging them to surrender as soon as possible.Although he has been captured, Liu Yao still has the blood of the Huns, and he is considered a man. He only wrote a few words to the crown prince Liu Xi: "With all the ministers Kuangwei Sheji, don't change your mind with me!" Shi Le read the book and became angry, knowing that Liu Yao was no longer useful, so he sent someone into Liu Yao's prison, and killed the former Emperor Zhao with one blow. The news of Liu Yao's imprisonment spread to Chang'an. Prince Liu Xi, Nanyang King Liu Yin and others were "terrified". After careful discussion, they wanted to withdraw from Chang'an and protect Qinzhou in the west.Shangshu Hu Xun advised: "Although the emperor is bereaved today, the land is still intact, the soldiers will not rebel, and they should try their best to reject them; if they can't resist, it's not too late to go!" Liu Yin, the king of Nanyang, was furious. He thought Hu Xun was frustrating and blocked the hearts of the people, so he ordered to beheaded, and then hurriedly led all the officials to flee to Shangyu (now Tianshui, Gansu).Liu Yin is both talented and talented, but the sad news of his father being captured and killed has exhausted his courage. In addition, Liu Xi, the younger brother of the crown prince, was young and cowardly, ignorant of everyone, so he abandoned Chang'an, a strong base, and fled outwards. The number of days is up. As soon as the prince and Nanyang king ran away, the clans and generals of the towns around Chang'an also "abandoned their positions and followed them", and Guanzhong was in chaos. Former Zhao generals Jiang Ying, Xin Shu and others gathered hundreds of thousands in Chang'an, and sent envoys to surrender to Zhao Shile.Shi Sheng received Shi Le's edict and led Luoyang soldiers to Chang'an, where they took over this fortified city that would have killed hundreds of thousands of soldiers without bloodshed. In September of 329 A.D. (the fourth year of Emperor Xianhe in the Eastern Jin Dynasty), Liu Yin, the former king of Zhao Nanyang who had been panting in Shangyu, regretted his withdrawal from Chang'an and led tens of thousands of troops to counterattack Chang'an. "Longdong, Wudu, Anding, The counties of Xinping, Beidi, Fufeng, and Shiping, Rong and Xia, all raised their troops to respond." Liu Yin camped in Zhongqiao, a place outside Chang'an. Shi Sheng in Chang'an city saw the enemy approaching menacingly. Hearing that Liu Yin was coming to die, Shi Le sent Zhongshan Gong Shihu to fly to Luoyang with 20,000 fine riders. In October, the two sides fought in Yiqu, Liu Yin was defeated, and rushed back to Shangbi. Shihu chased and killed him along the way, covering thousands of miles with corpses, and chased him all the way to Shangyu.The soldiers of Shangyu were originally taken away by Liu Yin to attack Chang'an, but now they are defeated like a mountain. After Liu Yin broke into the city, before he could close the city gate, the stone tiger cavalry rushed in, wiped out all the former Zhao emperors and generals, and captured the prince. There are more than 3,000 people in Liu Xi, Nanyang Wang Liu Yin and Wang Gongqing.Shihu was brutal and immediately ordered all to be slaughtered.The prince Liu Yin was never able to repeat the live drama of escaping from birth and making a comeback. A generation of elites died uselessly.At the same time, Shi Hu ordered that more than 5,000 people from various nobles of the Xiongnu Tu in the five counties and the former Prince Zhao captured earlier should be escorted to Luoyang for collective burial. Since Liu Yuan ascended the throne, the Han (former Zhao) has experienced three emperors (Liu Yuan, Liu Cong, Liu Yao) for a total of 27 years.The Xiongnu who lived in the Central Plains massacred all kinds of people, and were ordered by Shi Le to kill them all. The noble population of "Heaven's Proud Son" was wiped out in an instant.