Jinting Han people

Liu Yuan's ascension to the throne was undoubtedly another heavy blow to the authority of the Jin dynasty.

Although nearly seven years have passed since the Crown Prince was deposed and the various princes rose up in rebellion, during which countless warlords emerged, only Emperor Shenfeng, Liu Ni, truly declared himself emperor. Li Chen and Liu Ni ignited a nationwide rebellion, and although their regime was destroyed in just one year, it fundamentally altered the course of the world. The King of Changsha was thus plunged into dire straits, central authority was completely lost, and widespread warfare erupted throughout the north and south of the Yangtze River, the effects of which continue to this day.

However, it was precisely because of the rise and fall of the Divine Phoenix Emperor that many imitators took it as a warning.

Many later scholars believed that the Shenfeng regime failed primarily because it declared itself emperor too early. As the saying goes, haste makes waste; the Shenfeng regime acted too hastily, ascending the throne after conquering only two or three commanderies. As a result, it lacked the time to consolidate its power and became a thorn in the side of the Sima clan princes. Although it swept through several provinces, it lacked a truly reliable army. If it had won every battle, things would have been fine. However, after just one defeat at Xiangyang, its soldiers scattered like birds and beasts, and the situation spiraled out of control.

Therefore, anti-Jin forces rose up in droves afterward, with some declaring themselves kings or dukes, but none taking the throne. After all, the central authority had been eroded, but a considerable number of regional kings still held sway over local prefectures and kingdoms in the Guandong region. This force was substantial, and if combined, they would still be the most powerful force in the land.

But now, this stalemate has finally been broken.

After changing his strategy last year, Liu Yuan's diplomatic offensive achieved brilliant results. Although his plan to form an alliance with Liu Xian and divide the country between the north and south was rejected, he achieved unprecedented success in communicating with other forces.

First, there was the alliance with Liu Baigen, the King of Qi. Liu Baigen's attitude differed from Liu Xian's. He currently occupied Qingzhou, surrounded by the Sima clan. Although he appeared powerful, he was constantly at risk of being besieged and annihilated, and desperately needed external assistance to alleviate the pressure. Furthermore, his general Wang Mi had studied in Luoyang in his youth and became acquainted with Liu Yuan. The two hit it off immediately and became close friends. So much so that when Wang Mi left Luoyang, Liu Yuan tearfully saw him off at the Jiuqu River.

Therefore, under Wang Mi's mediation, the two countries reached a brotherly alliance. Liu Yuan declared himself King of Zhao Han, and Liu Baigen declared himself King of Qi Han, agreeing to jointly oppose the Jin Dynasty. They also agreed that after the success of the alliance, the land north of the Yellow River would belong to Zhao, and the land south of the Yellow River would belong to Qi. Of course, this principle was not absolute; in modern terms, it would mean each side would act based on its own capabilities, attacking wherever it offered the most advantage.

Among the various Sima clan forces in Guandong, the most vulnerable was undoubtedly the army of Sima Teng, the Prince of Xincai. Although he took over Ye City and Ji Province after pacifying Zhang Fang, his foundation was not solid. Furthermore, Sima Ying and Ji Sang still wielded considerable influence in Ji Province, making it possible for Liu Yuan, who had accepted Shi Le, to utilize these remnants of the Northern Expeditionary Army. Therefore, after forming an alliance, both Qi and Zhao Han unanimously focused their attention on attacking Sima Teng.

Therefore, in October of the first year of Qiming, the two armies jointly dispatched 100,000 troops, divided into three routes to attack Hebei, and attacked Sima Teng from the east and west.

Sima Teng was a man of little talent, violent and ungrateful. His hasty takeover of Ye City left him unable to command respect. Therefore, under Shi Le's instigation, long-discontented former subordinates of the Prince of Chengdu, including Gongshi Fan, Zhuge Mei, Li Feng, and Zhu Dan, responded in droves, plunging Hebei into chaos as refugees flocked to his capital. Although some within the Northern Expeditionary Army, such as Shao Xu, Ding Shao, and Wang Zan, remained loyal to the Jin dynasty and possessed considerable ability, they were ultimately outnumbered and quickly overwhelmed by the enemy.

Sima Teng had previously been exhausted by Liu Yuan's harassment, and although he had sent troops to suppress them many times, the results were minimal. This time, he sent Sima Yu, Zhou Liang, Shi Xian and others to lead an army of 50,000 to Zhao County to resist Liu Cong and Shi Le. As a result, in one battle, the vanguard was defeated, causing the army to be completely defeated and the soldiers to scatter and flee.

Upon learning the outcome, Sima Teng was terrified and dared not send troops to engage the Han army. Instead, he consolidated his forces to defend Ye City while sending envoys to Ji City and Xuchang to request reinforcements, hoping that Wang Jun and Wang Yan would send troops to their aid. Prior to this, he ordered all the prefects under his command to hold their positions and await external assistance.

As a result, Sima Teng did not receive any reinforcements in the following three months.

The reason is not hard to understand. Wang Yan had been thoroughly harassed by Wang Mi's rebel army, and now that the pressure had finally eased, he was eager to catch his breath. Why would he care about Sima Teng? Rather than helping Sima Teng, it would be better to deal with Zhang Fang, who was active in the Nanyang area. Wang Yan now regarded Jiangnan as his base, and restoring stability to Jingzhou was his top priority.

As for Wang Jun, he had always harbored ambitions to unify Hebei. Now that Sima Teng was besieged by refugees, he was actually happy to see it happen. As long as Sima Teng's rule in Ji Province completely collapsed, he could righteously lead his troops south to take over Ji Province. So after receiving Sima Teng's letter requesting help, he verbally claimed that he would send troops to his aid, and he did indeed notify the Tuoba Xianbei and Duan tribes to mobilize troops within their territory. However, he delayed sending troops south, watching Sima Teng besieged.

Ultimately, most of Ji Province fell. By February of the second year of Qiming (221 AD), Zhao Han had successively occupied six commanderies: Zhao, Guangping, Changshan, Zhongshan, Julu, and Anping, while Qi Han occupied eight commanderies: Leling, Qinghe, Pingyuan, Bohai, Hejian, Zhangwu, Boling, and Gaoyang. Both sides tightly surrounded Sima Teng within the narrow area of ​​Wei Commandery, Dunqiu, and Yangping Commandery, and their military advance was aimed directly at You Province.

It was at this moment that Wang Jun felt the time was right and finally stepped into the fray again.

Because Qi Han's Cao Yi's troops had already advanced to Hejian County and were besieging Yijing, they were only a stone's throw away from Youzhou. So he ordered Duan Pidi, Duan Wenyang, Duan Mobo and others to lead 30,000 troops to attack Qi Han in the east. The two sides clashed on the banks of the Juma River.

At that time, Duan Pidi's Xianbei troops were stationed at Heyang, while Cao Yi was stationed at Heyin. Duan Pidi's Xianbei troops intended to cross the river, while Cao Yi planned to attack them halfway across. Unexpectedly, Duan Pidi led only a thousand cavalry across the river and launched an attack before the rest of the army could catch up. Cao Yi, thinking the enemy was courting death and unwilling to change his formation, allowed them to charge into the center of the army. This resulted in a grave mistake. Duan Wenyang charged into the enemy ranks first, followed by Duan Mobo and others, tearing the Qi army in two like a swift knife through hot cheese.

By then, it was too late for Cao Yi to reorganize his army. The entire army was thrown into chaos, and the Xianbei cavalry suffered a crushing defeat while attempting to cross the river, losing their armor and weapons for over a hundred li. In their last moments, they fled from Hejian County back to Pingyuan County, having lost more than one-tenth of their previous gains.

Meanwhile, Wang Jun invited the Tuoba Xianbei to deal with Zhao Han. Tuoba Yilu then sent his eldest son Tuoba Liuxiu and nephew Tuoba Pugen with an army of 40,000 to the south to attack Changshan County.

At that time, Shi Le was stationed here with his army. He had witnessed the might of the Xianbei cavalry and knew that he would not be a match for them in a direct confrontation. But now that he had gathered another army, he still wanted to try fighting. So he led his main force of 30,000 men to set up an ambush at Feilong Mountain, and then used Guo Heilüe to lead several thousand light cavalry to patrol outside as bait.

After Tuoba Liuxiu encountered Guo Heilue, he indeed led his army in pursuit. Guo Heilue feigned defeat and retreated into Feilong Mountain, waiting for the Tuoba Xianbei to enter the ambush. Shi Le, confident of victory, was overjoyed and gave the order for his army to charge from the mountaintop to the foot of the mountain, surrounding the Tuoba Xianbei from all sides and engaging them in a desperate battle. However, the Xianbei, accustomed to traversing the desert, were already used to sudden encounters and ambushes. Tuoba Liuxiu, realizing he had been ambushed, remained calm and quickly made the right decision. He led his elite cavalry to fight his way out of the encirclement, riding up the mountain to seize the Feilong Mountain pass, and then flanking Shi Le from the pass, launching a pincer attack. As a result, the Xianbei blocked their escape route and instead surrounded and slaughtered Shi Le's army in the valley. This battle was an unprecedentedly devastating defeat for Shi Le. He lost more than half of his troops, escaping with only about 10,000 men by crossing the mountain path; the rest either died or surrendered.

After this battle, Tuoba Liuxiu, riding the wave of victory, recovered the five commanderies of Changshan, Zhongshan, Zhao, Julu, and Guangping. He originally intended to march straight to Ye City and directly defeat Liu Cong's main force besieging the city. However, Qi Hong, a confidant of Wang Jun who was accompanying the army, stopped this plan. After all, with Sima Teng trapped inside Ye City, Wang Jun could continue to use the pretext of relieving the siege to take control of the commanderies and kingdoms of Ji Province. If he actually relieved Sima Teng's siege, it would be less respectable for him to continue occupying Ji Province, as he would still nominally be operating under the banner of the Jin Dynasty.

Thus, after a great victory, both Xianbei armies retreated back to their respective territories, allowing Wang Jun to establish numerous governors and prime ministers in Ji Province. This gave the two Han dynasties a chance to catch their breath and successfully weather this low point.

From then on, both the Han and Western Han dynasties fully realized the enormous gap between themselves and the two Xianbei tribes. In the short term, the quality of their soldiers was vastly different, and they had virtually no chance of winning in a direct confrontation. This situation was unlikely to change significantly in the short term. However, Liu Cong, the commander of the Zhao Han dynasty, believed that the Xianbei also had a fatal flaw: they were merely subordinate to Wang Jun and had their own territories to manage, so they could not participate in China's wars at all times.

Therefore, under Liu Cong's leadership, the armies of Qi and Zhao changed their strategy, completely avoiding direct confrontation with the Xianbei. They would retreat when the Xianbei came, and advance when they retreated; they would move west when the Xianbei went east, and east when the Xianbei went west. If things became unfavorable, they would attack Henan, operating within the Yanzhou region, thus avoiding provoking Wang Yan too much. In short, they utilized the advantage of having multiple strategic directions to gradually expand their operational space.

This tactic proved quite effective. Over the next six months, the two armies fought together. Although there were setbacks and some defeats, the Zhao Han army gradually captured five commanderies: Guangping, Puyang, Gaoping, Rencheng, and Chenliu. The Qi Han army, on the other hand, recovered six commanderies: Lu, Qinghe, Leling, Bohai, Dongping, and Jibei. Gradually, they regrouped, and the soldiers, seasoned by battle, became much more formidable.

However, for Liu Yuan, the truly important diplomatic breakthrough came in Guanzhong, and the opportunity was related to the Tuoba Xianbei.

Fate is unpredictable. Two years prior, the Tuoba Xianbei were already embroiled in a crisis of fratricide. As Tuoba Luguan, the Great Chanyu, fell seriously ill, the conflict between his brothers Tuoba Yilu and Tuoba Yiyi intensified. After all, power is rarely based on kinship, and only one could inherit the position of Great Chanyu. The struggle would not end until a victor emerged.

Last year, shortly after Tuoba Yilu defeated the Zhao Han army at Jinyang, he led his people back to Shengle, where a major event occurred. During an autumn hunt, Tuoba Yilu was struck by a stray arrow and severely wounded. He died just a month later. This was extremely strange; Tuoba Yilu was a renowned warrior of his tribe, having hunted countless times. How could such a mishap happen? Even the Xianbei themselves couldn't find the cause. In any case, Tuoba Yilu became the sole heir to the Great Chanyu.

In March of this year, with the death of the Great Chanyu Tuoba Luguan, Tuoba Yilu officially succeeded to the throne. However, the Tuoba Xianbei had been practicing the three-tribe system for over ten years, and the various tribes were not harmonious. Upon ascending the throne, Tuoba Yilu planned to abolish this system and gradually centralize power and Sinicize the region. This made him busy with political affairs, leaving him with no time to manage matters outside the Xianbei.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Liu Yuan turned his attention to the vast Shuofang region.

Starting in the seventh year of the Yuankang era, Tuoba Yilu unified Shuofang and brought it under the rule of the Tuoba Xianbei. However, in reality, the Xianbei tribal system made it difficult to truly govern Shuofang. Many tribes nominally recognized Tuoba Yilu as their leader, but in practice, they enjoyed considerable autonomy. Among these tribes were the Qiang and Di peoples, but the most important were the Tiefu Xiongnu.

Back then, the Tiele Xiongnu had two major powers: Hao Duyuan and Liu Xundou. Hao Duyuan was killed after participating in the rebellion of Qi Wannian, while Liu Xundou was defeated and killed by Tuoba Yilu. However, even a centipede with a hundred legs doesn't die easily. After Liu Xundou's death, his son Liu Hu continuously amassed troops on the border of Bingzhou, hoping to revive the Xiongnu.

While Tuoba Yilu was preoccupied with vying for power and had no interest in Shuofang, Liu Hu secretly led his followers back to Shuofang, actively recruiting his father's former subordinates and gradually amassing tens of thousands of followers, with a military force of forty to fifty thousand. In addition, Lu Zhuyan of the Bai tribe Xianbei and Shan Zheng, the Di chieftain, were also dissatisfied with Tuoba Yilu's years of exorbitant taxes and levies. Therefore, they united and openly launched a rebellion against the Tuoba Xianbei.

Upon receiving the news, Tuoba Yilu immediately ordered his nephew Tuoba Yulu to lead 30,000 cavalry to resist the 70,000-strong rebel army at Hequ. After a fierce three-hour battle, the rebels, lacking cohesion, were defeated by Tuoba Yulu, who first broke through Liu Hu's forces. The Shuofang coalition lost order and retreated south. However, after this battle, Tuoba Yilu showed no intention of retaking Shuofang. He ordered Tuoba Yulu to drive the rebels back south of the Yellow River before returning to Shengle, ceasing the pursuit.

Thus, Liu Yuan's opportunity arrived. He had long harbored ambitions for Shuofang. While living in seclusion in Yecheng, he planned to marry Shan Zheng's daughter, Shan Mingyue, as his second wife, and they had a son, Liu Yi. He had also secretly courted Liu Hu and other Tiefu Xiongnu tribes. At this time of great turmoil in Shuofang, he formally sent envoys to recruit these Shuofang tribes and persuade them to submit to the Zhao Han dynasty.

After their defeat, Liu Hu and his men realized that relying solely on Shuofang would make it difficult to defeat the Tuoba Xianbei. Furthermore, Shuofang was impoverished, desperately lacking resources, and struggling to survive independently. Therefore, after some bargaining, by June of that year, the various tribes of Shuofang, having gained considerable autonomy, gradually submitted to Zhao Han.

In this way, Liu Yuan's strength experienced a tremendous leap. The various tribes of Shuofang had been ruled by the Tuoba Xianbei for many years and had fought among themselves for just as long. They were extremely familiar with the Tuoba Xianbei's tactics. The various Xianbei tribes were self-evident, but the Tiefu Xiongnu were a special tribe formed through intermarriage between the Xiongnu and Xianbei. The Qiang and Di tribes of Shuofang were also extremely powerful, far superior to ordinary Qiang and Di tribes. Moreover, they possessed considerable manpower and horses, enough to form an army of 100,000 and tens of thousands of cavalry, all of which now belonged to Liu Yuan.

In addition to all of the above, there is another benefit: after acquiring the Shuofang region, it is equivalent to opening a second door for the Zhao Han army to attack Guanzhong. How could the Zhao Han court not be overjoyed?
Seeing Liu Yuan's growing power, Wang Mi devised a plan. He advised Liu Baigen to submit a memorial urging Liu Yuan to declare himself emperor. He argued that Qi and Han, located in the Central Plains, lacked strategic advantages and were vulnerable to annihilation at the slightest misstep. If Liu Yuan were to become emperor, the other forces would prioritize attacking Zhao and Han, neglecting Qi and Han. Furthermore, Liu Yuan desired to be the leader of the anti-Jin alliance; persuading him to declare himself emperor would be a win-win situation. Why not?

Liu Baigen agreed, and thus, citing the reason that "Heaven's Mandate has fallen to the Liu family," he submitted a memorial to Pingyang, urging Liu Yuan to declare himself emperor. Upon learning of this, Liu Hu, Shan Zheng, Yi Fulin, Lu Zhuyan, Shi Le, Jin Zhun, and others also promptly submitted a joint memorial, presenting auspicious omens and claiming that Liu Yuan was the chosen one and should inherit the throne.

Following Han Dynasty etiquette, Liu Yuan declined the title of emperor three times before finally agreeing to ascend the throne. In August of that year, he enthroned himself in Pingyang County, granting a general amnesty and changing the era name to Yongfeng. He appointed his heir Liu He as Grand Marshal and enfeoffed him as Prince of Liang; Liu Huanle, the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, as Grand Minister of Works and enfeoffed him as Prince of Chenliu; Huyan Yi, the Grand Secretary, as Grand Minister of Agriculture and enfeoffed him as Duke of Yanzhou; and Liu Cong, the Left General, was promoted to General of Chariots and Cavalry and enfeoffed as Prince of Chu. Members of the imperial clan were enfeoffed as princes of prefectures and counties according to their closeness to the emperor, while members of other surnames were enfeoffed as dukes and marquises of prefectures and counties based on their merits and strategies.

Shi Le was promoted to Imperial Envoy and General Who Pacifies the East, and was enfeoffed as Duke of Ji and titled King of Pingjin.

(Map of the situation in August of the second year of the reign of Emperor Qiming of Han) (End of this chapter)