The year 383 AD was an important watershed in Chinese history. In this year, Fu Jian of the former Qin led an army of one million to the south, intending to destroy the Eastern Jin Dynasty in one fell swoop and unify the whole country. However, he was met with stubborn resistance from Xie An, Xie Xuan and others in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and finally suffered a crushing defeat in the Battle of Weishui, losing most of his troops and territory, and moving from the previous Qin to decline and perdition.
The background of the Battle of Weishui is mainly the rise of the Former Qin and the decline of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. The former Qin was a powerful minority regime during the Sixteen Kingdoms period, founded by Fu Hong, whose successors Fu Jian, Fu Sheng, Fu Jian and others successively pacified various princes in the north, unified the Yellow River Valley, and established a huge empire.
The strong national strength of the former Qin is mainly due to two aspects: first, the wise rule of the Fu family, they were able to absorb talents of all ethnic groups and implement the policy of ethnic integration, which made the social stability and ethnic unity of the former Qin; The second is Wang Meng's reform measures, he is the famous minister of the former Qin, he carried out a series of political, economic, military, cultural and other reforms, so that the former Qin's state mechanism is more perfect, agricultural production is more developed, the quality of the army is more improved, and culture and education are more prosperous. With Wang Meng's assistance, Fu Jian became the third emperor of Former Qin and the monarch of Former Qin's heyday.
The Eastern Jin Dynasty was a Han regime during the Northern and Southern Dynasties, built by Emperor Sima Rui of the Jin Yuan Dynasty, and its successors Emperor Ming of Jin, Emperor Cheng of Jin, Emperor Kang of Jin, Emperor Mu of Jin, Emperor Ai of Jin, Emperor Xiaowu of Jin and others, successively resisted the repeated attacks of the Five Hu and Sixteen Kingdoms, maintained the stability of the south of the Yangtze River, and retained the inheritance of Han culture.
Although the national strength of the Eastern Jin Dynasty is not as good as that of the former Qin, it also has its advantages, which are mainly reflected in two aspects: first, the geographical location of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the territory of the Eastern Jin Dynasty is mainly in the Yangtze River Basin, and the Yangtze River is a natural barrier that can block the invasion of the north, and is also conducive to the water transportation and commerce of the Eastern Jin Dynasty; The second is Xie An, the prime minister of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, who was the actual ruler of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, who was able to balance the various forces in the court and stabilize the political situation of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and also attached importance to military construction, especially the formation and training of the Beifu Army, which laid a solid foundation for the later Battle of Weishui.
The contradictions between the former Qin and the Eastern Jin Dynasty were mainly issues of territory and unification. Fu Jian, the former Qin, had the ambition to unify the world, he thought that his million-strong army could sweep in all directions, no one could stop him, Fu Jian was not satisfied with only ruling the north, coveted the land south of the Yangtze River in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and wanted to eliminate the Eastern Jin Dynasty in one fell swoop and become the real master of the Chinese Empire.
Xie An understood that his national strength was inferior to that of the Former Qin, but he was also unwilling to succumb to the threat of the Former Qin, he was determined to defend the territory and nation of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and he was determined to fight to the death against the invaders of the Former Qin. In this way, a life-and-death war will inevitably break out.
The process of the Battle of Weishui is mainly divided into three stages: the first stage is the southward advance of the former Qin and the defense of the Eastern Jin Dynasty; the second stage was the siege of the former Qin and the breakthrough of the Eastern Jin Dynasty; The third stage was the rout of the Former Qin and the pursuit of the Eastern Jin Dynasty.
In the first stage, in 383 AD, Fu Jian began preparations for the Eastern Jin Dynasty shortly after Wang Meng's death, he mobilized an army of one million and attacked in three directions, and he himself led the Chinese army to the south along the Yellow River, aiming at Jiankang, the capital of the Eastern Jin Dynasty.
His younger brother Fu Rong led the vanguard and went south along the Huai River, aiming at Shouyang, an important town in the Eastern Jin Dynasty; His other younger brother, Fu Shuang, led the backup and headed south along the Han River, aiming for Jingzhou, the barrier of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Fu Jian's plan was to capture Shouyang first, then cross the river, rendezvous with Fu Shuang, and then attack Jiankang together to destroy the Eastern Jin Dynasty in one fell swoop.
When Xie An learned of Former Qin's southward advance, he immediately took countermeasures, and he sent Huan Chong to lead the Jingzhou army to contain Fu Shuang's attack and keep Jingzhou safe; He sent Xie Xuan to lead the Beifu Army, together with Xie Shi, Liu Gaozhi and others, to resist the attack of Fu Jian and Fu Rong and defend the defense line of Shouyang. Xie An himself stayed in Jiankang, coordinating the overall situation, pacifying the people, and stabilizing the morale of the army.
In the second stage, the Former Qin's offensive went very smoothly, and they soon captured Shouyang, besieging the main forces of the Eastern Jin Dynasty on the shore of the river, forming an overwhelming advantage.
Fu Jian could have taken advantage of the victory to pursue and annihilate the Eastern Jin army's army in one fell swoop, but he gave up this opportunity because of his pride and contempt for the enemy, and instead chose to wait for the arrival of backups, trying to completely eliminate the resistance of the Eastern Jin Dynasty with a larger force.
This gave the Eastern Jin a respite and a chance to fight back. Xie Xuan, Liu Gaozhi and others, taking advantage of the laxity of the former Qin, took a series of wise and courageous actions to break the siege of the former Qin and highlight the siege. Their actions include the following.
Zhu Xu was a defender of Xiangyang, who was once captured by Former Qin, and was later appointed by Fu Jian as the Shouyang Defender of Former Qin, responsible for persuading the generals of the Eastern Jin Dynasty to surrender. He secretly contacted Xie Shi and the others, telling them the truth of Qianqin, and at the same time conveying Xie An's instructions to them, telling them to persist in resistance and wait for the opportunity.
The Beifu Army led by Liu Gaozhi was the elite army of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and they played an important role in the Battle of Weishui. Under the guidance of Zhu Xu, Liu Jiaozhi led the elite of the 5,000 Beifu Army, taking advantage of the night, to sneak attack the 50,000 horses led by Liang Cheng of the former Qin, which caught the former Qin by surprise, disrupted the deployment of the former Qin, and created conditions for the breakthrough of the Eastern Jin Dynasty.
Xie Xuan was in charge of commanding the main forces of the Eastern Jin Dynasty and confronted Fu Jian and Fu Rong of the Former Qin. After Liu Gaozhi's night attack, Xie Xuan took advantage of the chaos of Former Qin and decided to lead the army of the Eastern Jin Dynasty across the river and fight a decisive battle with the army of Former Qin. He sent Hu Bin to lead 10,000 men and horses to cross the river from deep water by boat, and he himself led 80,000 men and horses to cross the river from shallow water.
In the third stage, Fu Jian originally wanted to wait for Fu Shuang's reinforcements to arrive and annihilate the Eastern Jin army in one fell swoop, but he didn't expect that the army of the Eastern Jin Dynasty would dare to cross the river to fight him, which surprised him and annoyed him greatly.
He immediately ordered the Former Qin army to meet the Eastern Jin army in an attempt to prevent their crossing, but it was already too late, and the Eastern Jin army had successfully crossed the river and engaged in a fierce battle with the Former Qin army. This battle was the fiercest and most tragic of the Battle of Weishui, and it was also the last of the Battle of Weishui, which determined the outcome of the war. The result of this battle was a crushing defeat for the Former Qin and a great victory for the Eastern Jin Dynasty.
The process of the Battle of Weishui was such a thrilling war, which showed the contrast and contest between the armies of the former Qin and the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and also showed the cruelty and changes of the war, and finally ended with the fiasco of the former Qin and the great victory of the Eastern Jin Dynasty.
This war had a huge impact on the national fortunes and destiny of the former Qin and Eastern Jin Dynasty, and also changed the direction of Chinese history.