Chapter Nineteen: The Battle of Shuishui
Former Qin Made Great Efforts to Govern, Reward Farming, and Make Former Qin Prosperous. After years of operation, Former Qin began to save conditions for the unification of the north. After several years of conquest, Jian Jian successively attacked some small states in the north such as Former Yan and Former Liang, unified the north, and became the most powerful regime in the Sixteen Kingdoms.
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"Comeback"
In 383, Jian Jian personally led nearly a million troops from Chang'an to the south to attack the Eastern Jin Dynasty.
The road was billowing with smoke and dust, and the infantry and cavalry, together with vehicles, horses, and heavy loads, stretched for thousands of miles. A month later, Jian Jian led the main force to Xiangcheng (襄城, in modern Shenqiunan, Henan). The water army of Yizhou also went down the river to the east, and the men and horses from the north of the Yellow River also arrived at Pengcheng (present-day Xuzhou, Jiangsu), and on a front of more than 10,000 miles from east to west, Former Qin marched on land and water, directly attacking the south of the river.
When the news reached Jiankang, the Jin Dynasty civil and military officials panicked. The ministers were afraid that Jiangnan would really fall into the hands of Former Qin, and they all hoped that the chancellor Xie An would come up with a coping strategy.
Xie An, a native of Yangxia, Chen County (present-day Taikang, Henan), was of the Shi clan. He was a close friend of the calligrapher Wang Xizhi and often toured the landscape in HuijiDongshan and sang poems and texts. Ann's reputation is great, and everyone thinks he is a very talented person. However, Xie An lived in seclusion in Dongshan and did not want to come out as an official. It wasn't until he was in his 40s that Xie An re-emerged as an official.
After the Former Qin rose up, it often harassed the northern border of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. The imperial court wanted to find a general with all-round talent to defend, and Xie An recommended his nephew Xie Xuan to Emperor Xiao. In this way, Xie Xuan was made a general, and the town guarded Guangling (廣陵, in present-day Yangzhou, Jiangsu), in charge of various people and horses in the north of Jiangsu.
Arriving at Guangling, Xie Xuan immediately recruited troops to buy horses and reorganize the army.
Just when a group of people fled from the north to the Eastern Jin Dynasty, they all turned to Xie Xuan. There was a man named Liu Gaozhi, who had practiced martial arts since childhood and was particularly brave in fighting. Xie Xuan appointed Liu Gaozhi to join the army.
Under the strict training of Xie Xuan and Liu Jiaozhi, a group of men and horses quickly became an army with hundreds of victories, and later people called this team "Beifu Soldiers".
"Confident"
This time, Jian Jian attacked the Eastern Jin Dynasty with great momentum, and Xie An decided to sit in Jiankang.
Xie An sent his younger brother Xie Shi to serve as the governor of the conquest, xie Xuan as the forward governor, led an army of 80,000 to Jiangbei to fight against the Former Qin army, and sent the general Hu Bin to cooperate in the battle.
Although Xie Xuan's Northern Soldiers were very brave, Former Qin's troops were 10 times stronger than those of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, a huge disparity. Before leaving, Xie Xuan was a little nervous in his heart, and he also went to Xie An's house to say goodbye, wanting to understand how this battle should be played. But Xie An was calm and did not say anything.
Xie Xuan, who returned home, was always not very sure in his heart.
The next day, Xie Xuan invited his friend Zhang Xuan to Xie An's house to inquire. As soon as Zhang Xuan saw Xie An, he was invited to play chess.
For a whole day, Xie An didn't say anything, and Zhang Xuan also returned empty-handed. It was not until the evening that Xie An summoned Xie Shi, Xie Xuan and other generals to his home and clearly explained everyone's tasks. At this time, everyone strengthened their confidence and returned to the camp with great spirits. Huan Chong, who was guarding the town of Jingzhou, sent three thousand elite soldiers to defend the capital, but Xie An easily refused.
Shouyang was an important military town, and its gains and losses would have an impact on the entire war.
In 383 AD, Jian Jian insisted on going his own way and personally led a large army to cut down the Jin. In a hurry to win, before all the people gathered, Jian Jian ordered Zhi Rong to attack Shouyang. Xie An did not slacken his efforts, and also sent the general Hu Bin to lead the water army along the Huai River to Shouyang to reinforce. Halfway through, Hu Bin learned that Shouyang had been breached by Zhi Rong, so he had to retreat to Jiaoshi (硖石, northwest of present-day Shou County, Anhui) to wait for a rendezvous with Xie Shi and Xie Xuan's army. When He Rong learned of this, he sent liang cheng to lead an army of 50,000 to attack Luojian (羅涧, in modern Huainan, Anhui) to cut off Hu's connection with Xie Shi's army.
The Jin army was besieged and the situation was extremely critical.
When Jian Jian arrived in Shouyang, he learned that the besieged Jin army was in short supply of food and grass, so he sent Zhu Xu to the military camp to persuade him to surrender. Zhu Xu was originally a general of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, but was captured a few years ago during the confrontation between Xiangyang and former Qin, and later remained in Former Qin. Now, Zhu Xu felt that the present was an opportunity to repay the Eastern Jin Dynasty.
Arriving at the Jin camp, Zhu Xu did not follow Jian Jian's instructions to persuade him to surrender, but instead provided Shi with internal intelligence of the Qin army. After Zhu Xu left, Xie Shi thought twice, and felt that Yang's Qin army was very strong, and it was better to be sure of victory and hold firm. At the same time, Shi and Xie Xuan deliberated and decided to send Liu Gaozhi, a famous general of the Northern Prefecture Army, to lead a force of men and horses to make a surprise attack on Luojian's Qin army at night.
The Qin general Liang Cheng was killed by the Jin army in a panic, and the rest of the Qin soldiers crossed the river to escape, partially falling into the water and drowning. This battle greatly boosted the morale of the Jin army.
Xie Shi and Xie Xuan commanded a large army to advance on the victory and reached the foot of Bagong Mountain on the east bank of Shuishui (in the south of Shou County, Anhui), where they camped and confronted the main force of the Qin army.
When Jian Jian heard that Luo Jian had lost his defense, he couldn't hold his breath, and then he looked at the Jin army on the other side of the castle tower to see that the Jin army on the other side was neat and ordered his soldiers to defend it tightly.
"Battle of the Waters"
If the two armies continue to confront each other like this, waiting for the arrival of the Qin army on all sides will be detrimental to the Jin army. Therefore, Xie Xuan sent a letter to Jian Jian, asking for a regular decisive battle, on the condition that the Qin army would retreat some of its positions, so that the vacant land could be used as a battlefield so that the Jin army could cross the muddy waters.
After receiving the letter, Jian Jian immediately summoned the Former Qin generals to discuss, most of the Qin generals opposed the demands of the Jin army, but Jian Jian said: "We retreat a little, and when they are crossing the river, I will send cavalry to rush up, and I will definitely be able to destroy them." ”
After Xie Shi and Xie Xuan received a reply from Jian Jian's retreat, they quickly reorganized their soldiers and horses and prepared to cross the river. When the Qin army heard the order to retreat, it threw up its legs and ran. Xie Xuan led the Jin army to take advantage of the situation to cross the water and rush towards the Qin army position. Zhu Xu saw the situation and shouted after the battle: "The Qin army has been defeated!" The Qin army was defeated! The retreating Qin Army heard the shouting, and for a moment could not distinguish whether it was true or false, and ran desperately, and the team suddenly scattered.
Xiang Rong wielded his sword, trying to stabilize the team, but it was too late.
He was also squeezed to the ground, and before he could get up from the ground, he was hacked to death by the Jin army. Seeing that the situation was not good, Jian was so frightened that he left his soldiers and rode on a horse to escape desperately.
The Jin army took advantage of the victory to pursue, and chased for more than 30 miles in one breath before collecting troops. Xie Shi and Xie recaptured Shouyang and hurriedly sent people to Jiankang to report the victory. When the messenger rushed back to Jiankang, Ann was playing chess with the guests, and he read the good report sent, put the good report on the bed, and continued to play chess silently. It wasn't until a guest asked that Xie An casually said, "We've already won!" Then he continued to play chess with a relaxed look.
Historical Archives
Go began to flourish
Go originated in China and is recorded to date back to the Spring and Autumn Period. During the Three Kingdoms period, because the nobles of the warrior clan liked to play games, Go began to develop. During this period, not only a large number of excellent chess players emerged, but also established a chess system equivalent to today's dan position system, and even a monograph on chess methods appeared. As an elegant pastime, Go has been universally loved by people, from the emperor to the princes and ministers, and the literati and scholars. People like Cao Cao, Liu Yu of the Southern Dynasty Song Dynasty, and Xiao Yan, Emperor Wu of Liang, all liked Go.