The Battle of Weishui was a famous battle in ancient China, which took place between Fu Jian, the lord of the Former Qin Dynasty in the north, and Sima Rui, the lord of the Eastern Jin Dynasty in the south.
Compared with the former Qin, the Eastern Jin Dynasty appeared to be somewhat weak. Since Sima Rui, the king of Kang, established the Eastern Jin Dynasty in Jiankang, they have always maintained a low-key posture and only sought self-preservation.
In the face of the magnificent southward movement of the former Qin troops, the Eastern Jin Dynasty court was not greatly impacted, and most people were not optimistic about this war, felt frustrated, and were ready to surrender.
In the face of the strong attack of the former Qin army, only the Xie family in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River overrode public opinion, actively prepared for war, and swore to resist to the death. The former Qin was a minority regime in the north established by the Fu clan of the Di ethnic group, and Fu Jian was stationed in Guanzhong after the death of Shi Hu, the leader of the Later Zhao regime, and changed his title to emperor.
The Eastern Jin Dynasty was first built, and all industries were to be lifted. The powerful ministers dominate one side and hold the power.
After Fu Jian's death, his son Fu Sheng succeeded to the throne.
His own brother is Fu Jian, a famous monarch in history. After taking over the throne, Fu Jian went all out and showed his strength.
When almost all the lands in the north belonged to the Former Qin, Fu Jian, who was full of joy, turned his attention to the Eastern Jin Dynasty in the south. In 378 AD, the generals of Former Qin personally led their armies south, hoping to achieve the goal of national unification.
After receiving the news of the defeat, Xie An in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River immediately issued an urgent order to Fu Jian. Fu Jian was a visionary ruler who planned to launch an all-out attack on the Eastern Jin Dynasty in 383 AD after consolidating the many weak regimes in the north.
Throw the whip into the river, and break its flow! The general swallowed mountains and rivers angrily, and said to the soldiers who were about to go out on the expedition: "Throw the whip into the river, and cut off its flow!" ”
Fu Jian was bold and ambitious, and led the army in August, vowing to level the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and no one could match his courage.
On the other side of the Yangtze River, the Qin army of more than 800,000 soldiers and horses was mighty, and the momentum was like a rainbow. At the time of life and death, Emperor Xiaowu of Jin decisively appointed Xie Xuan, the younger brother of Xie An, as the vanguard and led 8,000 elites to meet the battle.
It remains to be seen how they will respond to this life-and-death battle.
In November, the Jin and Qin armies set up positions on both sides of the river. The Qin army on the opposite side was densely packed, and there was no edge in sight at a glance. However, the courage and resourcefulness of the Jin general Xie Xuan did not weaken because of this.
In the face of a strong enemy, he provoked the Qin army with a provocative method, successfully forced the other party to retreat, and allowed the Jin army to cross the river.
Fu Jian originally planned to surprise the Jin army by surprise when he crossed the river to the center of the river with a strong force. However, providence made people, and the Qin soldiers who came from afar were exhausted, and their combat effectiveness was halved.
Under the leadership of Xie Xuan, the Jin army regarded "the responsibility of defending the land" as a glorious mission, and after hearing the order, they bravely crossed the river, like a storm.
The Qin army, which was originally demoralized, was asked to take a step back when they saw the Jin army crossing the river, which undoubtedly worsened their morale. It was not easy to keep the 800,000 army in lockstep, so as soon as the order to retreat was issued, the formation of the Qin army began to be turbulent.
At this point, we need to take steps to deal with this.
The huge army of 800,000 collapsed and disintegrated in an instant, like dominoes, triggering a series of chain reactions. The sound of the striker's fiasco reached the troops behind, and immediately caused a burst of confusion.
Seeing the flowers and trees around them swaying in the wind, they felt frightened and mistakenly thought that the Jin soldiers were ambushing here. This is a cold winter season, the Qin army trampled on each other due to fright, more than 800,000 troops, more than eighty percent of the dead and wounded, Qin lord Fu Jian was also injured by an arrow, and hurriedly fled north back to Luoyang.
When he counted the troops, he was shocked to find that only 100,000 remnants of the army were left.
The news of the victory came from Jiankang, Xie An was playing against the guests, and after reading the news, he gently put it aside and continued to chat with the guests. The guest asked about the battle situation, and Xie An replied calmly: "The guest was too excited to concentrate on playing chess, so he hurriedly said goodbye." ”
After the guests left, Xie An hurried back to the house and picked up the good news again, but when he crossed the threshold, he accidentally stepped on all the teeth of the clogs. This is the allusion to the "broken teeth" in history.
No one could have predicted that the war of aggression launched by the former Qin with an overwhelming margin would end in such a dramatic ending. As the saying goes, "arrogant soldiers will be defeated", this sentence is very suitable for Fu Jian.
If Fu Jian had not been arrogant, ignoring advice, making blind decisions, acting impulsively, stretching the battle line too long, causing the battle situation to get out of control and running for his life, he would not have suffered such a heavy defeat.
The victory in the Battle of Huangshui not only preserved the continuation and development of the Han culture in the Central Plains, but also had a profound impact on the spiritual essence of the Sui and Tang dynasties, and also provided an opportunity for Chinese culture to breathe and re-emerge after the "Five Hu Chaos".
However, this war also led to the instability of the former Qin regime, the collapse of Fu Jian, and the impatience of Murong Chui, Yao Chang and other Di forces, which eventually led to the dismemberment of the former Qin regime again, leaving behind historical regrets.
After unifying the north, Tuoba Tao of the Northern Wei Dynasty quickly advanced to the north bank of the Yangtze River, but failed to complete the unification of the north and south due to the lack of adaptation to the water and soil. However, in 589 AD, Emperor Wen of Sui Emperor Yang Jian inherited the legacy of the Northern Zhou Dynasty and realized the "Great Harmony of the World" and "Ou Yu Family", which was already 206 years after the Battle of Weishui.
Through the mirror of history, we can gain insight into the rise and fall and understand the true meaning of gains and losses. However, despite his ambitions, Fu Jian still lacked the demeanor of a great statesman who could see the whole world and the whole picture, and he could not escape the fate of assassination.