A thousand-year-old family that began with the Battle of Makino

Chapter 564: War in Kaifeng and Huan Wen’s Northern Expedition, Shouchun changed to assume power in his later years

May
After passing Shouchun from Hefei, Huanwen was preparing to go north along the Ying River. He was ambushed by the Qin army in Xiang County.

Huan Wen remained calm and ordered to reorganize the formation step by step with his own central army as the core. Instead, he defeated the Qin army and captured the Qin army's general Fu Chang.

The encounter in Xiang County ended, and the Jin army passed through Chen County and advanced on Kaifeng.

However, God was not kind, and there was a sudden drought in Yanzhou. There was no rain for two consecutive months, and the Langdang Canal, which the Jin army relied on for maintenance, was cut off.

The Jin army's food and grass could not be transported.

Huan Wen ordered that a three hundred-mile waterway be dug from Suishui River to connect Yingshui River, so that grain-carrying ships could enter Suishui River from Yingshui River and then reach Kaifeng.

At this time, Xi Chao, who joined the army, suggested that Huan Wen bypass Kaifeng and lead the entire army to attack Luoyang to achieve a quick victory.

Or stick to the river, control water transportation, store food, and continue the attack until next summer.

He believed that if the war was not resolved quickly, the amount of water would be further reduced when the war dragged on into autumn and winter.

However, the objective conditions north of the Qinling Mountains and the Huaihe River will cool down earlier than in the south of the Yangtze River, which will make it more difficult for the Jin army to maintain its strength.

Moreover, the Qin Army has many cavalry troops, and the water and land are dry, which is more conducive to the Qin Army's cavalry regiments.

However, Huan Wen refused to listen and instead accused him of disturbing the morale of the army.

August
Qin Emperor Fu Jian sent Qin generals Fu Liu and Zhang Hao to lead 80,000 troops to resist the Jin army.

The two armies faced off at the foot of Kaifeng City.

To open things up elsewhere.

Huan Wen ordered Yuan Zhen to attack Qiao and Liang and open the Shimen Water Channel.

Unexpectedly, Yuan Zhen attacked Suiyang for more than a month and was unable to capture the small city of Suiyang. Instead, he was defeated by Suiyang defender Yao Chang and lost his troops.

(Yao Chang was the son of Yao Yizhong. After the fall of Wei, Yao Chang raised Suiyang to surrender to Qin. Fu Jian valued him and gave him more comfort.)
September
Under the constant harassment of the Qin army's cavalry, the water channels dug by the Jin army were often blocked.

September

The Jin army finally ran out of food and fodder.

Frustrated, Huan Wen ordered the warships to be burned and retreated.

When Fu Liu saw the Jin army retreating, he knew in his heart that he was running out of food.

So Zhang Hao was ordered to lead eight thousand cavalry to catch up and look for fighters.

September 26
The Jin army retreated to Xiangyi. There was no grain of food in the army, the morale of the army was disorganized, and the military flag was tilted this way and that.

Zhang Hao saw it from a distance and knew that the fighter plane had arrived.

Then he bypassed the Jin army's column and ambush the Jin army's only way to retreat.

When the Jin army passed, they suddenly rushed out from behind the hill.

The Jin army, whose morale had reached its lowest point, had no strength to fight against the elite Qin army's cavalry.

The Jin army's front line was like paper, and it collapsed at the first touch.

Huan Wen was defeated, with more than 30,000 casualties.

November

After the defeat, Huan Wen retreated to Shanyang, where he gathered his scattered soldiers and placed all the blame for the defeat on Yuan Zhen.

He believed that it was Yuan Zhen's unfavorable battle that led to Suiyang's failure and the army's lack of food supplies, so he asked the court to depose him as a commoner.

Yuan Zhen refused to accept it and rebelled directly in Shouchun, and secretly colluded with Qin and Xia.

After receiving Huan Wen's letter, the Jiankang court not only did not dare to blame him, but even ordered its attendant Luo Han to bring cattle and wine to Shanyang to reward Huan Wen's army.

He also appointed Huan Wen's son Huan Xi as the governor of Yuzhou.

In order to prepare for the attack on Shouchun, Huan Wen moved to Guangling.

The second year of Jingping
February
The angry Yuan Zhen died of illness in Shouchun, and the general Zhu Fu supported his son Yuan Jin as the governor of Yuzhou.

At this time, Ran Mingang, the governor of Xia Qingzhou, defeated Duan Qin, the Hu general who claimed to be emperor in Linzi, and killed all three thousand Hu soldiers under him.

Because of his contribution to the pacification of Qingzhou, Xia Ting promoted Ran Min to the general of Zhendong, the governor of Qingzhou, the title of minister, and the title of Marquis of Dong'an County. The holidays remained as before.

Knowing that Yuan Zhen of Shouchun intended to surrender to Xia, he immediately ordered Pingnan General Bai Zheng to lead three thousand troops to meet him.

At the same time, Qin's General Zhengdong, Yuzhou Mu, and Wei Gong Fuliu who were stationed in Kaifeng also received a letter from Yuan Zhen asking for surrender.

He immediately sent his general Huangfu Zhen to lead 5,000 troops, and also went to respond at the same time.

Huan Wen in Guangling also received news that Qin and Xia were sending troops, so he sent his generals Zhu Yao and Jiao Yangzhi to lead their armies to fight respectively.

Because the Qin army was close, Huangfu Zhen arrived first and fought with Zhu Yao at Yingqiu.

As a result, Huangfu returned home defeated.

However, the Qin army had a long journey and had to pass through many obstacles in the way. In the end, it was unable to break through the blockade and could not reach it.

August
Huan Wen led 20,000 troops to attack Shouchun and built a long siege to surround the city.

Yuan Jin had no choice but to hold on to the city.

Jingping three years
New Year
Qin State also sent Wang Jian and Zhang Hao to lead troops to rescue Yuan Jin.

As a result, he was defeated again by Huan Wen's generals Huan Yi and Huan Shiqian.

March
Huan Wen defeated Shouchun and captured Yuan Jin.

Yuan Jin, Zhu Fu and dozens of members of their clan were all sent to Jiankang to be beheaded.

From then on, Yuzhou also fell into the hands of Huan Wen.

Now Huan Wen can control the five states of Jingjiang, Yiyu, and Xu, and controls two-thirds of the military power of the Jin Kingdom, and his power has reached its peak.

September
Originally, the imperial court proposed a gift of nine tins for him, but Huan Wen rejected it.

Therefore, he has always been arrogant about his ability to excel others and has long cherished his ambitions.

If you want to launch the Northern Expedition, you hope to establish meritorious service first, and then return to the court to accept Jiuxi. Only in this way can you achieve the best results and control the power of Jin.

Now that Kaifeng was defeated, his expectations were in vain.

However, Huan Wen was not reconciled and wanted to increase his power again, so he thought of his previous dialogue with Xi Chao.

After the Battle of Shouchun at the beginning of the year, Huan Wen remembered Xi Chao's previous suggestions and regretted not adopting them, so he asked him:
"Can this victory erase the shame of Kaifeng's defeat?"

Xi Chao replied:

"I'm afraid it's difficult." Huan Wen asked again:

"Then is there any good way?"

Xi Chao suggested that Huan Wen follow the example of Yi Yin and Huo Guang and depose the emperor in order to restore authority.

Huan Wen then decided to depose Emperor Sima Yi.

Sima Yi is the son of Sima Pi. Sima Pi suddenly died suddenly last year and ascended the throne.

November

Huan Wen led troops into the court and forced the Queen Mother Chu to depose Sima Yi from the throne.

He also falsely claimed that Sima Yi was infertile due to impotence, and allowed his favored ministers Xianglong, Ji Hao, Zhu Jiongbao and others to have fornications with beauties in the harem. None of the three sons born to him were princes and could not be crowned as kings.

Forced by weapons, Empress Dowager Chu had no choice but to gather hundreds of officials in the court and issue an edict to depose Sima Yi as King of the East China Sea.

November 21

Huan Wen personally led hundreds of officials to the prince's residence in Kuaiji, welcomed Sima Yu into the court, proclaimed him emperor, and changed his reign to Xian'an.

In the more than 100 years since the founding of the Jin Dynasty, there has never been any abolition of the establishment.

Huan Wen's arbitrariness in abolishing the establishment not only shocked all the officials, but also made Huan Wen nervous.

Therefore, he is particularly sensitive to the disturbances in the court. If he doesn't follow the rules at all, he will use axes to kill and exterminate his clan.

At the same time, in order to better control the government, Huan Wen actively suppressed the dissident forces in the court.

Many Sima clan members who held important positions were dismissed and allowed to return to their fiefdoms. Hundreds of Sima clan members and important ministers who had different opinions from him were all involved in the rebellion case of Sima Huang, the new king of Cai, supervised by Huan Wen.

Huan Wen wants to take them all to Tingwei, please kill them.

However, it was rare for Sima Yu to be tough on this matter and refused many times, which won him a chance to save his life.

In the end, several Sima clan members were deposed as common people, more than a dozen big cities were wiped out by their clans, and dozens of officials were removed from office and exiled.

Jingping four years
February
The Yu family in Yingchuan was a prominent and powerful family. The six brothers, including Yu Xi and Yu Qian, were all dignitaries in the court and were deeply tabooed by Huan Wen.

Last year, after Yu Xi and Yu Qian were framed by Huan Wen and involved in a rebellion case, Yu Xi, the remaining descendant of the Yu family in Beijing, escaped and ascended to heaven.

Together with Wu Zun, the son of Wu Shen, the governor of Qingzhou, they gathered a crowd at the seaside to seize ships, attacked Jingkou at night, and drove away Bian Dan, the prefect of Jinling.

Taking the opportunity, he opened the prison, released hundreds of prisoners, distributed weapons, and claimed that he had a secret order to eliminate Huan Wen.

Bian Dan fled to Qu'a and recruited 2,000 soldiers from various counties and villages to fight against Yu Xi.

Yu Xi was defeated and retreated to the city.

In the end, Huan Wen sent people to attack the city and died. The once powerful Yu family was eliminated by Huan Wen, making Huan Wen extremely powerful.

Ordinary people didn't dare to look at him for a long time, and some ministers even used courtesy when facing him.

Although Sima Yu was established as emperor in palace confinement, he was nothing more than a puppet. He was often worried about being deposed by Huan Wen, and even asked Xi Chao whether Huan Wen would depose him again.

Xi Chao assured his family that there would be no more coups, and Sima Yu felt relieved.

April
Sima Yujin appointed Huan Wen as prime minister and kept him in the capital to assist in government affairs.

However, Huan Wen refused and led his army back to Baishi to return Zhen Gushe.

September
Sima Yu then sent his servant Wang Tanzhi to recruit Huanwen, asking him to join the court to assist the government and increase the number of households in the city. Huanwen declined again.

Jingping five years
New Year
Sima Yu suddenly fell seriously ill and urgently summoned Huan Wen back to the court, and issued four edicts in one day and night.

But Huan Wen still refused to enter the court.

Sima Yu had no choice but to leave a legacy and let Huan Wen take over as regent, following the example of Duke Zhou.

However, Wang Tanzhi, the servant, argued hard and changed the word "regent" in the edict to "auxiliary government", in accordance with Wang Dao's old practice.

When I heard that Sima Yu had passed away, Huan Wen originally thought that before he died, he would give him the throne or let him be the regent. But now he was disappointed and resentful.

February
Since the death of Sima Yu, the officials were afraid of Huan Wen and dared not support the crown prince. They all believed that Huan Wen should be asked to make the decision.

Wang Biaozhi, the Minister of Public Affairs, strongly opposed it, and Prince Sima Yao succeeded to the throne.

February 25th
Empress Dowager Chu believed that Emperor Xiaowu was young and was in mourning, so she once again proposed that Huan Wen be regent, but was blocked by Wang Biaozhi.

April
Sima Yao ordered Xie An, the minister of writing, to recruit Huan Wen to assist the government, and also gave him sixty people such as Yu Bao and Zhang Bu.

However, Huan Wen only wanted the gift of Jiuxi and refused.

September
Huan Wen, who had been unable to wait for Jiuxi, was a little anxious because he had obviously felt that his body was getting worse day by day.

September

Huan Wen once again led troops into the court and paid homage to the imperial mausoleum.

Rumor has it that Huan Wen led his troops into the court this time to kill the Wang Xie clan, the two powerful forces in the court, and subvert the country.

So the panicked Sima Yao immediately ordered Xie An and Wang Tanzhi to lead hundreds of officials to the new pavilion to greet him, and bowed to the side of the road with a very low posture.

However, Huan Wen only used the case of "Lu Chou entering the palace" to surrender Shangshu Lu Shi to Tingwei.

September 25
Huan Wen returned to Gushu and was seriously ill, lasting only fourteen days.

Huan Wen, who was seriously ill on his bed, finally stopped hiding it and wrote a letter to force the court to pay him the gift of nine tins. He also sent people to urge him many times.

Xie An and Wang Tanzhi saw that Huan Wen was seriously ill, so they ordered Yuan Hong to revise the Xiwen written by Yuan Hong on the grounds that it was not good, thereby delaying the process.

October 15th

Unable to hold on, Huan Wen died of illness at the age of sixty-two, and the Xiwen text has not yet been completed.

The dead Huan Wen was a good minister of Jin.

October 21

The imperial court traced Huan Wen's achievements and posthumously awarded Huan Wen the title of Prime Minister, with the posthumous title "Xuanwu". The funeral ceremony followed the old practice of presenting kings Sima Fu and Huo Guang in Anping, and also bestowed upon him Jiuzhao Luan, Huangwu Zuohuan and other items.

After Huan Wen's death, all military power was handed over to his younger brother Huan Chong, and he was asked to take over the post of governor of Yangzhou and continue to control the capital for the Huan family.

The title of Duke of Nanjun was left to his youngest son Huanxuan.

This aroused the dissatisfaction of the crown prince Huan Xi, so he murdered Huan Chong with his uncle Huan Mi and younger brother Huan Ji. As a result, Huan Chong found out and they were eventually exiled to Changsha.

Although the Jin State's strength was greatly reduced due to Huan Wen's death, Qin and Xia made no move to send troops.

Because when Jin fell into Huan Wen's rebellion, Qin and Xia also fell into internal strife.

(End of this chapter)