Eastern Jin Dynasty: My powerful father

Chapter 442: The Fall of the Yu State (VII)

“I have heard that the will of Heaven is not permanent, but is determined by virtue.

"The Jie Zhao seized control of the Divine Land, did not implement benevolent policies, and were tyrannical and unjust, so their country was destroyed and their clan was exterminated in one day.

"The Fu family was originally a vassal of the Zhao Dynasty. At a time when the country was in turmoil, Emperor Gaozu Jingming (Fu Jian) ​​responded to the request of the people of Bingzhou and founded the dynasty.

“However, the trend of the world is to eventually unify.

"The Fu family established their kingdom in a small state, and their virtue was weak, so it was difficult for them to shine in the world.

"During the Yongjia period, the Jin Dynasty was in danger of collapse, so the people fled south and took advantage of the Yangtze River to live in a corner.

"Fortunately, the two dukes of Chu and Liang were able to exert their vigour and power, overcome many difficulties, and once again suspend the sun and moon, and even sew the stars, rebuilding the country and reviving the Jin Dynasty.

"Hong is young and of little virtue, and he ascended the throne in a time of crisis. Although Hedong is a dangerous and solid place, a country is built on virtue rather than on danger. Hong cannot live up to the expectations of all the people in Bingzhou.

"When the great way is practiced, the world is shared by all, and the virtuous and capable are selected. Therefore, Tang Yao was not partial to his sons, and his name spread far and wide.

“Although Hong is mediocre and ignorant, how dare he defy the will of heaven for the sake of personal interests?

"Now I wish to surrender my whole country to Duke Liang and return to the embrace of the Jin Dynasty. I sincerely hope Duke Liang will accept it."

Fu Rong read the letter of surrender and presented it to Huan Xi with great respect.

This edict was actually drafted by Empress Dowager Gou in the voice of Fu Hong.

Huan Xi read it and confirmed it was correct, then handed it back to Shen Chiqian and instructed:

"Make three copies, send one to Chang'an, one to Xiangyang, and one to Jiankang."

Shen Chiqian took the order and immediately began to arrange the matter.

Huan Xi asked Fu Rong again:

"What's the situation in Jinyang now?"

Fu Rong said respectfully:
"The Empress Dowager accepted the request of Duke Jianning and appointed Wang Yuan to take charge of the military affairs of the capital, and waited for Duke Liang to come."

Huan Xi nodded with satisfaction. In fact, no matter who was in charge of the military power near Jinyang, it would not affect his march north.

He did not enter the State of Yu alone. He was protected by nearly 100,000 Tiger Guards. Even if someone wanted to plot something, it would be difficult to succeed.

Fu Rong then presented the account books and household registers of the State of Yu. Since ancient times, these things had to be presented as part of surrender.

When Liu Bang entered Xianyang, everyone was searching for silks and other treasures except Xiao He, who was looking for account books and household registers.

Only by obtaining the account books and household registration can the local order be restored as quickly as possible, and we can know how much tax the occupied area can receive in a year, how much income the official salt and iron businesses have, and how many adults are available for corvée and military service.

Otherwise, it would be necessary to conduct a census and register everyone one by one, which would be time-consuming and laborious.

The State of Yu occupied Bingzhou and had jurisdiction over eight prefectures and 65 counties, including Taiyuan, Hedong, Pingyang, Leping, Xihe, Shangdang, Yanmen, and Xinxing.

Among them, the eight counties of Hedong County had already been occupied by Huan Xi, so what Fu Rong presented were the account books and household registrations of the remaining seven counties.

The total population of the State of Yu was nearly 200,000 households, nearly double the less than 70,000 households during the Later Zhao period.

Such a large-scale population explosion certainly cannot be the result of natural growth.

There are three main reasons for this situation.

One was that at the end of the Later Zhao Dynasty, when there was chaos in the north, Ran Wei and Shi Zhao mainly fought in Hebei, and Hedong was not affected. A large number of people fled here to avoid the war.

Second, Fu expelled Zhang Ping in a short time and took control of Bingzhou, which did not prolong the war. They not only brought in the Di people, but also more than 100,000 refugees from Guanxi who had taken refuge under Fu Hong. Third, Fu Jian sent troops to Luoyang, and then took Zhang Yu back north, bringing all the people of Luoyang to Hedong. This alone added nearly 40,000 households to Bingzhou.

The State of Yu only occupied one state, but despite suffering a series of defeats, it has still been able to persist to this day thanks to its population of nearly 200,000 households.

The reason is simple. Only with population can there be manpower and taxes, and temporary failures can be borne.

However, since Fu Jian, the State of Yu had suffered too many defeats in its wars with the State of Liang.

The soldiers lost all confidence in the battle, and Huan Xi seized Hedong County, causing the loss of salt profits, an important source of revenue and taxation, which eventually led to the collapse of the State of Yu.

Huan Xi gave these account books and household registers to Quan Yi for safekeeping, and he organized military clerks to copy two copies, one to be sent to Chang'an and the other to Jiankang.

As for Xiangyang, there is no need to send it away. After all, this is not a surrender.

In the future, if the Huan family father and son really integrate their forces, they can send Chang'an's share to Luoyang.

The next day, Huan Xi led his troops northward from Wenxi County. Local officials of the State of Yu along the way all opened their beds to welcome him.

July 357, the first year of Shengping ( AD).

All the officials of Jinyang were waiting outside the city. The first one to arrive was a woman with a child in her arms. She was none other than Empress Dowager Gou of the Yu State and Emperor Fu Hong of the Great Yu State.

The autumn sun was not very strong, but after standing outside the city for a long time, some elderly officials could not help but tremble in their legs.

Until dusk, the crowd was buzzing with discussions, wondering whether Huan Xi would come today.

With the cooperation of Wang Yuan, the Xiongnu and Xianbei cavalry had already controlled Jinyang inside and outside, and were just waiting for Huan Xi to arrive and accept the surrender in public.

However, Huan Xi did not arrive for a long time, which finally caused a commotion among the crowd.

Suddenly, an eagle flew across the sky and circled above everyone's heads, its cry sharp and piercing.

After a while, the sound of horse hooves roared, almost shaking the earth.

Instead of being frightened, everyone was delighted:
Mr. Liang finally arrived.

Huan Xi, surrounded by his close guards and the Xianbei, came before the officials of the State of Yu.

He rode on horseback, looking down at everyone.

Even after standing in the sun for a whole day, no one dared to show the slightest resentment.

Empress Dowager Gou handed Fu Hong, who was in her arms, to his mother, and personally carried the surrender letter to Huan Xi's horse and read it aloud.

Huan Xi patiently listened to it again before he dismounted from his horse and accepted the surrender letter from the State of Yu.

From then on, the Yu Kingdom, which was established by Fu Jian in the seventh year of Yonghe (351 AD) at the end of the Later Zhao Dynasty, took advantage of the chaos in the north to expel Zhang Ping, the governor of Bingzhou, and thus perished. It lasted for seven years and had four rulers: Fu Jian, Fu Sheng, Fu Jian, and Fu Hong.

When Huan Xi entered Jinyang, he lived in the Jinyang Palace openly. He had always been lawless, otherwise he would not have occupied the Weiyang Palace in Chang'an as his residence. The Jin Dynasty really had no way to deal with him and could only let him do as he pleased.

As for the families of Fu Jian, Fu Sheng, Fu Xiong and Fu Jian, they all moved out, leaving the Jinyang Palace empty.

Although the Former Zhao rose in Bingzhou, it never established its capital in Jinyang, and Shi Hu of the Later Zhao never built a palace there.

Therefore, the Jinyang Palace built after Fu Jian took power was actually not very big.

When Huan Xi left Chang'an, he only took Li Yuan with him. She had monopolized the emperor's favor. Now she was pregnant again and was left in Wenxi County to take care of the baby. She did not follow him to the north.

Quan Yi, on the other hand, went back to his old job as a pimp and secretly brought the Queen Mother and the Queen Mother of King Guiyi back to Jinyang Palace.

(End of this chapter)