Hotspot Engine Project Among the many emperors in Chinese history, Lin Shihong is the only one with the surname Lin, and you can verify it yourself. The only emperor surnamed Lin in history lived in the late Sui and early Tang dynasties and reigned for a total of six years.
His life, if simply put, can be compared to Chen Youliang at the end of the Sui Dynasty.
Lin Shihong's life course is similar to Chen Youliang at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, however, his popularity is far less than Chen Youliang. The reason for this phenomenon can be traced from his early experiences.
Lin Shihong is a native of Poyang, Jiangxi, and there is no record of his early life in the history books, which is not because later historians were prejudiced against him, but because he was born at the bottom, and there were really no deeds worth mentioning in his early years.
As far as we know, in the twelfth year of the Great Cause, a man named Cao Shiqi took the lead in rebelling against the Sui Dynasty in Poyang, and Lin Shihong joined his team. Subsequently, under the leadership of Cao Shiqi, the rebel army gradually grew to a scale of tens of thousands, and even captured Nanchang for a time.
At this time, the peasant army led by Cao Shi Qi naturally attracted the attention of the Sui Dynasty, so the Sui Dynasty immediately sent heavy troops to encircle and suppress Cao Shi Qi.
During the battle, the drill was unfortunately injured by an arrow and eventually died. After Cao Shiqi's death, Lin Shihong took over his leadership and became the new leader of the peasant army.
Next, Lin Shihong led the remaining peasant army and continued to fight against the Sui army that came to encircle and suppress. In the end, in a great battle at Poyang Lake, Lin Shihong won a landslide victory and successfully defeated the Sui army.
Hundreds of years later, Chen Youliang, who was very similar to Lin Shihong, also fought a great battle here. However, despite the fact that they were all fought at Poyang Lake, the result was the opposite, Lin Shihong was victorious, while Chen Youliang suffered a defeat.
In the aftermath of this battle, Lin Shihong's popularity grew, and he not only managed to consolidate his position as the leader of the rebel army, but also continued to expand his sphere of influence. Soon, Jiujiang, Linchuan, Luling, Nankang, Yichun and other places surrendered to Lin Shihong, and he naturally established his own regime, with Chu as the national name, and officially proclaimed himself emperor.
Lin Shihong was the earliest among the many heroes at the end of the Sui Dynasty. When he was proclaimed emperor, Li Yuan was still busy preparing for the army, and he was one step behind him.
Moreover, after Lin Shihong became emperor, his sphere of influence reached its peak, from Jiujiang in the north to Guangzhou in the south, all of which were already under his control. In contrast, the other heroes of the late Sui Dynasty, except for Li Mi, are almost unable to compare with Lin Shihong's power.
However, what is unexpected is that after Lin Shihong was ahead of others, he was not able to maintain his advantage, and even failed to keep his foundation, failing again and again.
In 617 AD, Zhang Shan'an, the leader of another rebel army, took refuge with his subordinates to Lin Shihong. Lin Shihong suspected that Zhang Shanan did not surrender sincerely, but had a plan, so he was wary of him.
However, Lin Shihong's performance angered Zhang Shan'an. Zhang Shan'an saw that Lin Shihong was not enthusiastic enough about him, so he directly attacked Nanchang, and finally completely destroyed the outer city of Yuzhang.
After Zhang Shan'an abdicated, Lin Shihong was forced to face Xiao Miao's attack and could not resist it, so he could only abandon Yuzhang County. In 618 AD, Feng Ang of Lingnan sought refuge from Lin Shihong, but Feng An's family had deep roots in Lingnan and could not be completely controlled by Lin Shihong, and could only become the nominal boss.
However, this position was not stable, and in 620 AD, Gao Facheng and Shen Bao in Guangzhou also took refuge in Lin Shihong, but they were betrayed by Feng Ang behind his back, and the territory fell into Feng An's hands.
Lin Shihong was angry with Feng An, but if he was not severely punished, he might defect to other forces, causing Lin Shihong even more trouble. Therefore, Lin Shihong could only watch Feng Ang annex his territory, but he couldn't stop it.
In the past few years, Lin Shihong has been too conservative to anticipate the great changes that have taken place in the world. The once mighty Sui Dynasty has collapsed, and heroes everywhere have set themselves up as kings.
The Li Tang regime has also emerged, defeating strong enemies such as Xue Ju, Liu Wuzhou, Wang Shichong, Dou Jiande, and Xiao Miao, unifying the north and controlling Shu, and will obviously become the next regime to unify the whole country.
At this time, although Lin Shihong could still maintain power, he had obviously been regarded as the next target by the Li Tang regime. After Xiao Mo was defeated by the Li Tang regime, Lin Shihong received the remnants of his army and received some growth, but this increase was insignificant compared to the rapid expansion of the Li Tang regime.
Now, with the Li Tang regime completely annexing Xiao Miao's territory, Lin Shihong has become the only remaining large power in the south.
Lin Shihong tried to fight the Li Tang regime, but many of his men chose to surrender to the Tang Dynasty. In desperation, he could only let his younger brother lead the troops to fight, but in the end, his younger brother died in battle, and the elite army was also scattered.
At this time, Lin Shihong had no choice but to surrender to the Li Tang regime. However, most of the separatist heroes who surrendered before were killed by Li Yuan, so Lin Shihong did not dare to really go to Chang'an, so he could only flee into the deep mountains and old forests.
There, he died soon after due to the lack of adaptation. The only emperor surnamed Lin in history ended his life.
Lin Shihong and Chen Youliang have many similar experiences, but why is Lin Shihong less influential in history, while Chen Youliang is famous? The answer lies in the different times.
In the last years of the Sui Dynasty, the family was powerful, and if you wanted to make a difference, you needed their support, and Lin Shihong was born at the bottom and it was difficult to be recognized. In addition, the political and economic center of the last years of the Sui Dynasty was in the north, and Lin Shihong's territory did not have a large population.
By the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the economic center had shifted southward, and the economy and population of the south surpassed that of the north, so Chen Youliang, who occupied the same territory, far exceeded Lin Shihong's power.
Lin Shihong's experience reveals the fact that many people's success is not based on their own strength, but with the help of the thrust of the times. If Lin Shihong had lived in the last years of the Yuan Dynasty, the outcome might have been very different.
However, many people who have risen through the power of the times are often overconfident in themselves, mistakenly believing that their abilities are sufficient to get them to that position. In ancient parlance, this is called greed for heaven.
What the times have given you may also be easily taken away. We must live a sober life and discern what is the embodiment of our own ability and what is the gift of the times. Only those who truly recognize themselves can go further.