In 377 AD, after the emperor Jian Jian unified the north, he began to turn his attention to the south.
His army had been rested, and with a single order he could conquer the south. Correspondingly, Xie An's nephew Xie Xuan recruited soldiers in the Jingkou area, and because Jingkou was also known as "Beifu", this recruited army was also called "Beifu Army". In 383, this Northern Province army defeated the army of the Heavenly King Jian jian in the area of Shuishui, and successfully saved the southeast region.
After that, in the battle between the north and the south, Liu Yu was always able to win with the Northern Fu Army, so that Jian Jian could not invade and occupy the south. However, by 436 AD, the Northern Province Army began to decline, and the root cause was only because a famous general was brutally killed. Moreover, this famous general was killed by his own people, and his name was Tan Daoji. The result of this infighting can be described by the idiom "self-destruction of the Great Wall" invented by Tan Daoji.
Tan Daoji, like the rest of the Northern Province Army, was a herdsman from the north who migrated here under the pressure of life. Tan Daoji's ancestors lived in Gaoping Jinxiang, and he himself was born in Jingkou. Tan Daoji lost both parents at an early age and could only rely on his brother for his life. Later, he joined the Beifu Army with his brother, and after that, Liu Yu led the Beifu Army, and the two brothers followed Liu Yu to fight in all directions.
Because Tan Daoji fought bravely and could rush to the front every time, he was considered the best among the soldiers, so he was reused by Liu Yu and was named the champion general. Tan Daoji is not only excellent in combat ability, but also his character is also outstanding, especially he is very benevolent. In 416, Liu Yu launched a war against Later Qin, and Tan Dao Ji yong became the vanguard, winning successive battles along the way, capturing many prisoners.
At that time, it was suggested that he execute the prisoners of war and pile up their bodies to form a jingguan. However, Tan Daoji did not dare to agree, he did not think that there was any majesty or benefit in doing so, and would only make his hands stained with blood. Tan Daoji not only did not embarrass the prisoners of war, but also released them all. Later, Tan Daoji led his troops to launch a surprise attack, unexpectedly attacking Tongguan, helping Liu Yu to pacify the enemy for many years.
After Liu Yu's death, his son Liu Yifu succeeded to the throne. However, the auxiliary ministers Xie Han, Fu Liang, and Xu Xianzhi joined forces to depose this little master because they did not obey the control, and then a new emperor Liu Yilong was established, and Tan Daoji also participated in the coup for some reasons. Later, after the new emperor succeeded to the throne, he did not recognize the merits of these people, and successively eliminated these people, but did not move The Taoji.
The rulers at that time knew that Tan Daoji was a barrier to the country, and as long as he was there, the countries in the north did not dare to go south easily. And the Wei state in the north, although it has provoked many times, but it does not dare to go south, because it is jealous of Tan Daoji.
Tan Daoji has been fighting on the battlefield for nearly thirty years, and he summed up his actual combat experience and exported the "Thirty-Six Plans" to the outside world. His own most satisfying battle was probably the "Singing and Counting Sands", which took place in 430 AD. At that time, Tan Daoji led his troops out on a campaign to fight a decisive battle against northern Wei. The situation became very tricky when it was found that there was a shortage of food and grass during the march, and the matter was revealed to the enemy by a fleeing soldier.
When Northern Wei learned of this situation, it immediately sent troops to pursue Tan Daoji's army and surrounded them all. That night, Tan Daoji personally took the soldiers who guarded the grain and grass to check the grain situation in the army, planning to stage a good show for the Northern Wei scouts. He asked some soldiers to count with bamboo chips in their hands, while others measured grain with buckets.
The Scouts of the Northern Wei Dynasty were witnessing this scene, only to hear the sound of their constant measurement of grain, and they felt in their hearts that their grain must be more. Therefore, these scouts went back to report the situation, stating: There is still a lot of grain and grass in Tan Daoji, and this Song soldier who came to ventilate the news may be lying! In fact, what Tandoji asked the soldiers to measure was not rice, but sand.
By passing off rice with sand, you can give your enemies the illusion that there is enough food and grass. Northern Wei knew that tan dao had enough grain and grass, so it did not dare to easily mobilize troops. And Tan Daoji used such a blindfold method to successfully scare off the enemy and break the siege for himself. However, although Tan Daoji worked hard and achieved great feats, he did not know how to converge, so that Emperor Wen of Song began to be jealous of him.
Emperor Wen of Song was wary of Tan Daoji because of his self-esteem, his fierce generals Ruyun, and his involvement in the king's dethronement. Later, Emperor Wen of Song became seriously ill, and his assistant liu Yikang, fearing that Tan Daoji would rebel, summoned him to the palace and wanted to get rid of him. Tan Daoji was summoned to the palace, and before leaving, his wife advised him not to go. Tan Daoji insisted that he had made so many contributions to the country, and the country would not forget him, let alone treat him badly.
So he entered the palace without any doubt. Just as Tan Daoji was preparing to return to the garrison by boat, he received a document from the imperial court to arrest him. Tan Daoji was arrested, and he was very angry, stating: The country is going to destroy the Great Wall! Indeed, the state's killing of heavy subjects is undoubtedly self-amphiting its own arm and will be bullied by the enemy army. In the end, TanDoji, his sons, and his generals were not only convicted, but executed one by one.
Soon, the news reached the Wei state in the north, and they were very happy, and the barrier that had hindered their attack for many years was finally removed, and they could free their hands and feet to do things. As a result, the Northern Wei Dynasty began to frequently attack the self-destructing Great Wall country. In 451, fifteen years after Tan Daoji's death, the Northern Wei army approached the city, and they arrived at Guabu Mountain under the leadership of the emperor, across the river from Liu Song's Jiankang.
At this time, Liu Song panicked, whether it was Li Min or nobles, they were very worried that Northern Wei would break into the city and eventually turn them into their own slaves. At this time, Emperor Wen of Song ascended the city to look north, saw the banner of Northern Wei, and not only was he very emotional, but also said: "If Tan Daoji is there, how can they hit here?" However, it is too late to regret it now. ”
The Tang Dynasty poet Liu Yuxi, because of the indiscriminate killing of innocents by the Liu Song court, wrote a poem "Jing Tan Dao Ji Gu Lei" to express his dissatisfaction:
The Great Wall is broken, and the wild camp is wild grass in autumn.
Mo Ling Doshi woman, singing the white dove.
The Great Wall of the Liu Song Dynasty had collapsed, and the abandoned fortifications were covered with weeds in autumn.
Many men and women in Moling City still sing "White Rune Dove" and mourn deeply.
Noh was killed, the military was abandoned, and the country could only suffer in the end...
Note: The author of the Book of Song was a Song dynasty song from the Southern Dynasty, written decades after Tan Daoji was killed. In the Book of Song, the Jietan incident is recorded in the Book of Song and the Book of Song, the Third Biography of Tan Daoji, both of which indicate that Emperor Wen of Song believed that Tan Daoji's murder was deserved, and granted amnesty to the world in celebration of Tan Daoji's ambush. Even 15 years after Tan Daoji was killed, The Song Emperor Liu Yilong still believed that Tan Daoji was a sinner who "raised his own funds". The Book of Song, Biography of Liu Yikang, Twenty-eighth Biography, does not mention at all the great merits of killing Tan Daoji.
However, the "Biography of Nanshi Tan Daoji", compiled more than 200 years after Tan Daoji was killed, for the first time, appeared in Liu Yikang's correction of the edict. Therefore, it led to historical controversy in later generations: whether Liu Yilong supported Liu Yikang's edict to kill Tan Daoji, or Liu Yilong personally issued an edict to kill Tan Daoji?
Resources:
[The Biography of Jin Shu Jian Jian, The Biography of the Seventeen Hundred Generals, the Biography of Song Shu Tan Dao Ji Lie]