A short story of history
During the Yixi period, he broke away from the Eastern Jin Dynasty and established his own regime in Bashu, which is the historical Chenshu. In order to consolidate his power, he took a series of political, economic, military, and diplomatic measures.
Since Bashu was an important western and northern gateway to the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the rebellion exacerbated the chaos within the Eastern Jin Dynasty, so the Eastern Jin Dynasty had to take action to recover Bashu.
Therefore, since its establishment, the Shu regime has been facing the threat of war.
Under the repeated conquests of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, due to the disparity in strength, the Shu regime finally came to an end. Although it was short-lived, it had a profound impact on the situation at the time.
After the fall of the Western Jin Dynasty, Sima Rui established the Eastern Jin Dynasty regime in the south as a descendant of the royal family, coexisting with the Wuhu and Sixteen Kingdoms in the north. The contradiction between the north and the south continued, and this contradiction became more prominent as the former Qin gradually unified the north.
In 383, Fu resolutely conquered the Eastern Jin Dynasty with the intention of unifying China, but was defeated in the famous Battle of Weishui, and the former Qin regime collapsed, plunging the north into chaos once again.
Although the Eastern Jin Dynasty won the war, the rulers were content with a corner of peace, and internal contradictions continued to intensify, not only could they not work together to restore the Central Plains, but instead restrained each other and sabotaged the Northern Expedition, and social contradictions also deteriorated sharply.
From the Western Han Dynasty to the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the Qian family has always been a wealthy family in the Bashu region, and a number of outstanding talents have emerged, such as Chen Long, Chen Xuan, Chen Zhou, Chen Xianzhi, Chen Zong, etc. Chen Zong, a native of Nanchong, Brazil, his grandfather Chen Xianzhi once served as the chief of the Cheng Han regime, and after Huan Wen destroyed the Cheng Han, he was entrusted with the post of Shu Di Counselor.
The privileged living conditions of the Chen family made him a poet and a friendly person, and he was highly respected in Brazil. In the chaotic social reality, with the ambition of helping the world and the people, he joined the army, relying on his own wisdom and strategy, and continued to make contributions, and finally became Anxi Mansion to join the army.
For the Bashu region, surrounded by mountains, inconvenient external transportation, and far away from the political center, the control over it is relatively weak, and the ethnic relations in the region are complex, which makes the Bashu region often a hotbed of secession.
During the Cheng and Han dynasties, in order to fight against the Eastern Jin Dynasty, a large number of bureaucrats were introduced to Shu, which exacerbated the contradictions of the local ethnic groups to a certain extent. The local residents of Yizhou have always had an attitude of rejection of outsiders, from the conflict between the Yizhou natives and the Dongzhou soldiers (migrants) during the Liu Yan period to the uprising of the Li Teh refugees.
After the fall of the Cheng Han Dynasty, the eastern group led by Mao Xuan entered Shu, and the contradictions with the indigenous groups were not avoided. This contradiction reached its climax when Yizhou sent troops to relieve the siege of Jiangling, when the army led by Qian Zong was mainly Di people, but there were also some wingmen, these ethnic minorities lived in their hometowns for a long time, and they were unwilling to travel long distances, and the soldiers were tired of the years of war, which eventually led to the independence of Qian Zong from the Eastern Jin Dynasty.
In the first year of Yixi, Huan Zhen, the son of Huan Xuan, led the army to besiege Jiangling, and proclaimed himself the military governor of Bazhou, the general of Zhenxi, and the assassin of Jingzhou.
Chen Zong had an understanding of the political corruption of the Eastern Jin Dynasty and the rise of thieves, and the people of Shu suffered from war, but he still adhered to the feudal ideology, was unwilling to resist, and chose to commit suicide by throwing himself into the water.
After he was rescued, he was forced to accept the coercion and temptation of the army, and accepted the recommendation of the people. He first captured Fucheng, killed Mao Jin, and was elected as the assassin of Liang and Qin, and then led his army to Chengdu in the southwest.
He ordered Chen Mingzi to ambush Wang Qiong and wait for Mao Ying to arrive before launching an attack, but due to the heavy situation, he could not fight anymore and had to retreat to Chengdu.
With the peace of the people of Bashu in mind, he led the troops to the city of Chengdu. The people of Chengdu, who were suppressed by the Eastern Jin Dynasty, supported his anti-Jin actions, and Li Teng, the Yizhou battalion, even opened the city gate to welcome the conniving army.
In the end, he defeated Mao Xuan, Wang Qiong, Mao Ying and other Eastern Jin Dynasty generals, and proclaimed himself the king of Chengdu, making Bashu separate from the Eastern Jin Dynasty and become an independent political entity. However, the original intention of the connivance was not realized, but instead intensified the conflict with the Eastern Jin Dynasty.
For the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the Shu regime was a traitor and had to be eradicated to maintain stability in the west. For the Shu regime, how to stabilize this weak regime has become the primary issue.
In order to solve this problem, a series of measures have been taken.
The Qian family, a famous family in the Bashu region, occupied an important position in the early days of the establishment of the regime, such as Hou Hui, Yang Yu and others. Militarily, by virtue of its superior geographical location, Qian Shu formed a natural military barrier and granary, which made it effective against the invasion of the Eastern Jin Dynasty.
However, because the country was small and weak, the national strength could not compete with the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and Qian Shu needed to use external forces to stabilize the regime. As a result, Qian Shu took advantage of the contradiction between the Later Qin and the Eastern Jin Dynasty to form an alliance with the Later Qin to jointly fight against the Eastern Jin Dynasty.
The confrontation between the Eastern Jin Dynasty and the Shu Dynasty posed a serious threat to the Shu regime. In order to defend the regime, the Shu regime began to prepare for war from the beginning of its establishment. Soon after, the Eastern Jin Dynasty launched its first crackdown.
The Shu army was led by Qian Mingzi, and they were stationed in the White Emperor City to defend against the attack of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. However, due to a command error by Chen Mingzi, the Eastern Jin army successfully broke through the White Emperor City.
The following year, Mao Xiuzhi and Han Jia Taishou Feng Qian joined forces and successfully killed Yang Chengzu, preparing for the next crusade. In order to resist the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Chen Zong adopted a variety of strategies.
First, he reached a consensus with Lu Xun to jointly fight against the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Secondly, he wrote to the king of Later Qin, hoping to ask Huan Qian to attack the Eastern Jin Dynasty together. He did this for two reasons: first, because the Eastern Jin Dynasty was their common enemy, and second, because he hoped to attract more remnants of the Huan clan through Huan Qian's prestige, in order to plot against Jingzhou.
In summary, the Shu regime faced the threat of war from the beginning of its establishment, and they adopted a series of strategies to deal with the Eastern Jin attack, including cooperating with Lu Xun and asking for help from the Later Qin king.
Faced with the pressure of the Jin army, Chen Zong adopted a two-pronged strategy. On the one hand, he asked for help from Later Qin, and Yao Xing, the king of Qin, quickly sent Yao Xian, the general of Pingxi, and Wang Min, the assassin of Southern Liangzhou, to lead 20,000 soldiers and horses to support.
On the other hand, he dispatched troops to defend the city and wait for the battle. This time the Jin army invaded Shu, which actually involved domestic political affairs, but the dispatch of troops by Later Qin made the contradiction between Shu and the Eastern Jin Dynasty more and more acute, and also opened a frontal conflict between the Later Qin and the Eastern Jin Dynasty.
Later Qin hoped to use Qian Shu as an outpost to the south, and Qian Zong also hoped to use Hou Qin's power to realize his"Eastward expansion"Plan. After the establishment of the Shu regime, it was recognized by another regime for the first time, and the relationship between the main vassal relationship between Later Qin and Shu was established.
Faced with the repetition of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the Shu regime decided to preemptively seize the initiative in the war in order to expand its own power.
In 411 AD, Lu Xun's rebel army was overwhelming, approaching Jiankang, the capital of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, posing a serious threat to it. Although the situation in Shu was favorable, its forces were not enough to compete with the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and it was necessary to unite all forces.
Qian Shu adopted a multi-faceted attack strategy, dispersed the forces of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and achieved a certain victory. However, after summing up the lessons, the Eastern Jin Dynasty adopted a focused attack strategy. In September, Gou Lin was beheaded by Liu Zun in Baling.
In November, Chen Daofu broke through Badong and killed the Eastern Jin garrison general Shi Yanzu and others, but the Shu army suffered heavy losses and was unable to fight with the Jin army for a long time. In the end, the Shu army was defeated and retreated to Chengdu, and its plan to take the initiative to attack the Eastern Jin Dynasty ended in failure.
After a painful lesson, the Jin army adjusted its strategy and adopted the tactic of concentrating its forces to break them one by one, but the Shu army suffered a crushing defeat because it failed to adapt in time. This battle not only caused the Shu army to lose a large number of soldiers, but also caused a shake among the scholars.
In the sixth year of Yixi, Liu Yu defeated Nanyan and relieved the external threat, while in the eighth year of Yixi, Liu Yu pacified Liu Yi's rebellion, which stabilized the domestic situation in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. At this time, the Northern Expedition was once again on the agenda.
And to go on a northern expedition, it is necessary to first eliminate the Shu located in the Bashu region. Due to the containment of the domestic war, the Eastern Jin Dynasty would go all out to conquer Shu, but then Qin was defeated in the long-term war with Helian Bobo, and the state was weakened and could no longer provide assistance to Shu.
Therefore, the Eastern Jin Dynasty had an advantage in all aspects, and this time was the best time to cut Shu. In order to prepare for this attack on Shu, Liu Yu and Zhu Lingshi secretly conspired and discussed how to attack Shu.
The Eastern Jin Dynasty's invasion of Shu did not simply act, but learned lessons, summed up experience, and formulated a quick battle strategy to lure the enemy into internal water and the main force to attack from external water. After everything was ready, the armies of all walks of life marched towards Shu at the same time, and the Shu army was defeated and retreated, and the people's hearts were in turmoil.
In this case, Chen Zong saw that the general trend had gone, so he left Chengdu. In order to welcome the arrival of the Jin army, Shangshu ordered Ma Tan to seal the treasury of the palace. After Wang Shen and Zhu Lingshi entered Chengdu, they killed all the people of the same clan as Chen Zong.
After fleeing from Chengdu, he ran to Daofu, who was guarding Fucheng. However, when Chen Daofu saw Chen Zong abandon the city and flee, he was very angry: "You want to be the one who surrenders, it's impossible!"
Everyone has a time to die, so why be so afraid! With that, he threw his sword at the scumbag, but it didn't hit, only the saddle. After escaping, he hanged himself.
From this process, we can see that the Shu regime has basically collapsed.
As early as 406 A.D., Sima Rongqi successfully defeated Chen Mingzi in the White Emperor City, firmly controlled the eastward exit route of Bashu, although the Eastern Jin Dynasty failed to completely eliminate the Shu in the following years, but they lost the important gateway to their threat to the Eastern Jin Dynasty gradually weakened, and the capture of the White Emperor City also laid the foundation for the later Eastern Jin Dynasty to destroy Shu.
Initially, the state of Shu was weak, and had taken the initiative to attack the Eastern Jin Dynasty, but the result was heavy losses, with the gradual stabilization of the internal and external situation of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, coupled with the strategic mistakes of the Eastern Jin Dynasty and the lack of external assistance, in the face of the fierce attack of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the Bashu region finally returned to the jurisdiction of the Eastern Jin Dynasty.
According to historical records: "Chen Zong occupied Shu and was finally destroyed after holding on for nine years." Under the continuous suppression of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the reason why Qian Shu was able to hold out for nine years is mainly due to the following factors: First, it made full use of the geographical advantages of Bashu.
The intersection of the two rivers in Jiangzhou County, Ba County, the right side is Fushui (inner water), and the left side is Shu River (outer water), which is an important passage into Qianshu.
During his time in power, he adopted a number of strategies to consolidate his power. First of all, he took advantage of the terrain, sent heavy troops to defend, implemented the strategy of attacking and defending, and pinned down the Jin army many times.
Second, he skillfully exploited the contradictions between the Eastern Jin Dynasty and other forces to obtain the assistance of the Later Qin Dynasty and strengthen his own military power. In addition, he also has a certain mass base in the Bashu region, which reduces the obstacles to power.
At the same time, the Eastern Jin Dynasty was full of internal and external contradictions at that time, and it was impossible to go all out to crusade against Shu. Together, these factors contributed to the consolidation of the regime in Bashu.
Although it was short-lived, it had a significant impact on the current situation. As a force in the anti-Eastern Jin Dynasty, Qian Shu contacted Hou Qin, Lu Xun, Huan Qian and the rest of the party to launch an attack on the Eastern Jin Dynasty, which brought a serious impact to the Eastern Jin Dynasty and virtually became a catalyst to accelerate the demise of the Eastern Jin Dynasty.
After the fall of Shu, in the twelfth year of Yixi, the Eastern Jin Dynasty sent troops to Later Qin, conquered Chang'an the following year, and Later Qin perished, which in turn affected the change of the political structure in the north. According to references [1], [2], and [3], the existence and demise of the Shu Dynasty, as well as the wars with the Later Qin, Helian Bobo, Qiuchi, etc., had a profound impact on the situation at that time.
Despite the loss of foreign aid and the disparity in the national strength between Shu and the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Shu was finally unable to resist the crusade of the Eastern Jin Dynasty and perished in 413. However, its role and impact in history cannot be ignored.