Recently, an ancient tomb was found near Nanjing, which is speculated to be from the Southern Dynasty period, and the owner of the tomb is most likely Liu Yu, the Emperor of the Song Dynasty! Speaking of Liu Yu, he was a great emperor, and Xin Qiyi praised him in his words as "like a tiger". However, many people do not understand, in fact, Liu Yu was born in the grassroots, originally a gambler and a rogue, so why can he stand out in the chaotic world and become the founding emperor of the country who is famous in history?
1. The Rogues of Jingkou
Although Liu Yu was a descendant of Liu Jiao, the King of Chuyuan, Liu Yu's brother, the family was even more destitute, especially after moving south. When Liu Yu was born, his mother died of childbirth, and Liu Yu's father, Liu Yu, was reluctant to pay for his nursing mother, and once planned to throw Liu Yu away, but fortunately he was raised by his uncle and mother of the same clan, so Liu Yu was named "a slave". After Liu Yu grew up, in order to support his family, he once made a living by selling straw shoes.
Don't look at Liu Yu's family is poor, he also likes to gamble, and often pours out his family wealth, so the locals look down on him and think that Liu Yu is a scoundrel. Once, Liu Yu played with the shi clan Diao Kui, and the result was a glorious loss, and he also owed a gambling debt of 30,000 yuan. Liu Yu could not afford to pay back the money, was captured by Diao Kui's men, and was tied up to Ma Chun for public display. If it were not for Wang Dao's grandson Wang Mi, liu yu would have almost survived.
Second, seize the opportunity
One of the important reasons why Liu Yu was able to change his destiny was that he was able to seize the fleeting opportunity! After being rescued by Wang Mi, Liu Yu joined the Beifu Army, and made many achievements in a series of battles, gradually standing out and becoming a mid-level general in the Beifu Army. At this moment, Liu Yu's opportunity came! Huan Xuan, a general of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, led a large army down the river, occupied the city of Jiankang, deposed the Eastern Jin Emperor, usurped the throne as emperor, and established a pseudo-Chu regime.
At that time, many senior generals of the Beifu Army were killed by Huan Xuan, and the entire Beifu Army was torn apart, and the situation was both an opportunity and a challenge for Liu Yu. Because Liu Yu could only control the army of a few hundred people, he was able to seize the opportunity and take advantage of the opportunity of the people's hearts and minds to resolutely raise an army against Huan Xuan. Although Liu Yu had limited troops, he succeeded in defeating Huan Xuan and re-establishing the Eastern Jin Emperor. Since then, Liu Yu has leapt from a mid-level officer to a powerful minister in the Eastern Jin Dynasty.
Third, swallow thousands of miles
There is also a very important reason why Liu Yu was able to create the Liu Song regime, that is, he was superior in force, able to fight in battle, and could be called a first-class famous general at that time. As mentioned earlier, when Liu Yu raised an army to attack Huan Xuan, he only had a few hundred people in his hands, and after being summoned, it was only a few thousand people, and Huan Xuan had tens of thousands of troops and had the upper hand. In the course of the battle, Liu Yu held a long knife, charged forward, and personally beheaded Wu Fuzhi, a fierce general under Huan Xuan.
After pacifying Huan Xuan, Liu Yu still had many enemies, some from within the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and some from other divided regimes. To deal with these people, Liu Yu can only use force to solve them. He successively eliminated the internal Sun En, Huan Chu regime, Lu Xun, Liu Yi, Sima Xiuzhi, etc., at the same time Liu Yu also used troops to eliminate the Shu regime and recover Sichuan, and then he personally led the Northern Expedition and destroyed Southern Yan and Later Qin. Liu Yu established a great prestige by virtue of his military achievements. Eventually, he declared himself emperor in 420 and established the Liu Song regime.
References: 1. Book of Song; 2. Zizhi Tongjian