Northern Prefecture Rivers and Mountains

Chapter 1 Prologue
In the 12th year of the Taiyuan Period of the Jin Dynasty (388 AD), the sky was gloomy and the autumn wind was blowing across the vast Yangtze and Huaihe Rivers.

In Jingkou City, at the Northern Army Office, in the west courtyard, a green lamp flickered.

After a series of heavy coughs, Xie Xuan, the Vanguard Commander-in-Chief, Champion General, Governor of Xuzhou, Commander-in-Chief of the military forces of Xu, Yan, Qing, Si, Ji, You, and Bing Provinces, and Duke of Kangle, finally put his pen to paper with difficulty:
"I have seven brothers, all of whom have died one after another, leaving me alone. The hardships of my life are unmatched. Those who grieve and endure this pain, hoping to linger, do so out of a deep desire to repay your kindness. I truly wish to be able to recover and fulfill this wish. Furthermore, my family is filled with orphans, and I feel deeply for them. My desperate desire to survive has prevented me from being able to leave the graves. My heart is filled with pity. I humbly hope that Your Majesty will take my plea into consideration and show mercy, so that I will not bear the grudge in my grave."

This was the fourteenth memorial he wrote, and its wording was even more humble than the previous thirteen. It only requested to be relieved of all his duties and to retire to his hometown.

But the imperial court turned a deaf ear to it. In the past two years, it neither dismissed Xie Xuan from his post nor allowed him to lead the troops to the north, but dragged it out.

It was not until Xie An was expelled from the court and the court appointed Sima Yi, the Prince of Qiao, as the governor of Qing and Yan provinces, stripping Xie Xuan of his military power, that they issued an imperial decree to transfer him to the position of internal official in Kuaiji...

However, military power cannot be taken away by a single imperial edict.

Since the Di Qin moved south, the Northern Palace Army has been victorious in every battle. In the Battle of Feishui, Xie Xuan personally led 8,000 elite soldiers to cross the river and charge towards the Qin army of more than 200,000. He shot and wounded the Di Qin King Fu Jian and killed Fu Rong on the battlefield, making the northern Hu people panic-stricken and afraid of enemies everywhere.

Xie Xuan was famous in Jiangzuo, his reputation was at its peak, and the Northern Army under his command was loyal to him.

Just as the memorial was finished, a cry of grief was heard from outside the door: "Commander-in-Chief, how could you abandon us?"

The shadows of swords and armor were cast on the door by the dim light.

One of them shouted, "The General fought bravely and bravely, and only then did we win the Battle of Feishui. Now the barbarians are killing each other. This is a golden opportunity for us to conquer China and reclaim our land. Why should we lay low, retreat to the Yangtze and Huaihe Rivers, and become cowards?"

"Sima Daozi clearly wants to kill everyone and leave no chance for the governor to survive!"

"With the Northern Army like us here, why should we be afraid of the Sima family? If a Sima family member can be the emperor, why can't the Xie family be the same?"

"At the command of the governor, we will return to Jiankang. Why not?"

The atmosphere outside the house suddenly became lively.

It's no wonder they were so angry, because the Sima family's kingdom was completely saved from the blade of Di Qin by Xie Xuan and his nephew.

Now that the crisis has been resolved and Di Qin has fallen into civil strife, the Sima family has just secured their throne, but they have turned against Xie Xuan and his nephew, ignoring the Northern Expedition.

In recent days, "Prince of Prime Minister" Sima Daozi has become more and more unscrupulous and has transferred troops back from the Northern Expedition front. The generals of the Northern Palace have all suffered a certain degree of suppression.

After Xie An passed away, Xie Xuan, who controlled the elite troops of the Northern Palace, became the person the court feared the most.

Sima Daozi and his son, along with the emperor, repeatedly tested Xie Xuan's bottom line, and eventually forced this famous Northern Expedition general into a corner.

"Cough cough..."

Xie Xuan coughed heavily, and all the noise outside the house stopped immediately.

The generals of the Northern Army looked nervously at the figure on the door. With Xie Xuan's current military achievements and the reputation of the Xie family, they completely surpassed the Sima family.

With just one order, the elite troops of the Northern Palace can cross the Yangtze River and capture Jiankang, just like Su Jun did in the past, and restore the government in the name of clearing the court.

At this time, Jiankang had no power to resist at all.

Right and wrong, success and failure, rise and fall, honor and disgrace, all depend on Xie Xuan's thoughts.

However, the Northern Army did not get what they wanted.

"Who do you think I am?"

Every word was spoken with firmness and determination.

Although the Northern Palace originated from Xi Jian, the Northern Palace Army was indeed established by Xie Xuan. The brave generals in the army, such as Liu Laozhi, He Qian, Zhuge Kan, Gao Heng, Liu Gui, Tian Luo, Sun Wuzhong, and Gao Su, were all promoted by Xie Xuan himself.

These Northern Palace generals became an emerging force in the Jiangdong court.

Jingkou and Jiankang were adjacent to each other, on the south side of the Yangtze River. The generals sighed and lamented for a long time. Some turned away in despair, while others kowtowed twice towards the house and also turned away.

Some people stood in silence for a long time with tears streaming down their faces, but they were ultimately unable to change Xie Xuan's mind.

Without the reputation of the Xie family, no one else could have done this.

A few dead leaves drifted down from the apricot tree and scattered helplessly on the ground.

The courtyard returned to silence.

At some point, a tall and thin figure appeared on the door, standing quietly behind Xie Xuan.

After the Northern Army dispersed, he sighed, "Back then, Huan Xuanwu said that Xie Yuan would be holding a banner and a staff at the age of forty. Wang Yuan would be the Black-headed Duke. They were both talented! And now it has indeed come true."

When Xie Xuan was young, he and Wang Xun served as clerks under Huan Wen.

Heitou Gong means having black hair and ascending to the position of one of the Three Dukes.

"If I had been given another year, I could have joined forces with Fu Pi, suppressed Murong Chui, and then combined the forces of Guandong to advance into Guanzhong, sweeping away two hundred years of barbarian turmoil, avenging our previous humiliation and conquering Shenzhou."

After the Battle of Feishui, the situation in the world was very favorable to the court.

The Di Qin was caught up in the internal strife between the Qiang and Xianbei in Guanzhong, and was fighting with Murong Chong and Yao Chang. Fu Jian was unable to take care of himself. Fu Pi, who was guarding Yecheng, had nominally surrendered to the Jin Dynasty and joined the Northern Palace Army to fight against Murong Chui's Yan Army.

The Northern Army took the opportunity to occupy key locations on both sides of the Yellow River, such as Juancheng, Yanli, Huatai, and Liyang, forming a situation of sitting on the mountain and watching the tigers fight.

All the Wu forts north of the Yellow River responded to the Jin army.

Xie Xuan adopted the advice of the governor Wen Renshi and built an earth dam to intercept the water from Luliang, erected fences, and combined the seven dams into one tributary to connect the water from both sides to facilitate logistics and water transport, in an attempt to firmly occupy both sides of the Yellow River.
As long as the Jiankang court fought hard and fully supported Xie Xuan, with the momentum and military power of the Northern Army at that time, even if they could not defeat Murong Chui's 200,000 Yan troops head-on, they could still drag down the newly born Yan State...

However, the emperor and Sima Daozi were not interested in conquering Shenzhou. They used the defeat of Liu Laozhi in Linzhang as an excuse to recall the armies of the Northern and Western Palaces.

As soon as Xie Xuan left, the north immediately became unstable.

Fu Pi was alone and unable to hold the fort, and Murong Chui was unstoppable. Seizing the opportunity, he personally led his elite troops south, heading straight for Qing, Yan, Xu and other Central Plains provinces. His force was so strong that the enemy was intimidated. After the Battle of Feishui, the prefectures and counties recovered by the Jin Dynasty fell into the hands of the Murong family without a fight...

The results achieved by countless soldiers fighting bravely were so easily abandoned.

Xie Xuan also developed a chronic illness from then on.

"The Governor is joking. If we really conquer Shenzhou, where will Your Majesty and the Prince of Xiang be placed?"

Xie Xuan's self-deprecating laughter could be heard from inside the room. "I... was overthinking it."

"Eight or nine out of ten people in life are not satisfied with their lives. The same is true for the country. This is destiny and cannot be changed by human power."

"Forget it, forget it. Before us there were Zhuge Wuhou and Jiang Boyue, and after us there were Zu Cheqi and Huan Xuanwu. How many people can accomplish the Northern Expedition?"

A bitter laugh, followed by a violent cough.

After the cough subsided, a bowl of medicine was brought to Xie Xuan, "Commander-in-Chief, it's time to take the medicine."

A light breeze rushed into the room, and both figures began to sway.

"When I left, the willows were swaying. Now I come back, it's raining and snowing..."

The sound of mournful chanting was heard in the house.

In the deep night, under the dim light, Xie Xuan seemed to have returned to that afternoon many years ago, when the uncle and nephew of the Xie family were discussing Mao's poems in the courtyard...

(End of this chapter)