In the long river of history, there are always some characters whose fates make people feel regretful and regretful. Li Xin, the late emperor of the Western Liang Dynasty, was one of them. The young emperor, who was once regarded as wise and powerful, at the beginning of taking over the dynasty, he relied on his extraordinary wisdom to defeat the attack of Mengxun in Beiliang, and for a time he was famous. But power and prosperity soon led him to lose his way, and he drank and indulged all day long, and could not listen to advice. Just when he was in abandonment and incompetence, the high-spirited frustrated Qu Mengxun made a comeback, and finally Li Xin died in battle, and Xiliang perished with it. A generation of emperors is destined to end gloomily in this way, which makes people sigh. What is the reason for a seemingly heroic king to embark on this road of no return?
First, an extraordinary beginning
In 417 AD, Li Hui, the Taizu of Xiliang, died, and his son Li Xin succeeded him as the new emperor. Li Xin, who is only 26 years old, is full of spirit and has the style of a general. When he was a child, Li Wei carefully cultivated and educated Li Xin, and often asked him to copy Zhuge Liang's "Teacher Table", hoping to cultivate his sentiments and cultivate him to become a generation of virtuous monarchs.
Li Xin is brave and decisive by nature, and he is endowed with extraordinary talents. After he ascended to the throne, he quickly demonstrated his outstanding military command skills. Beiliang Taizu Fuqu Mengxun was a scrappy war lover bent on annexing Xiliang. In 422 AD, he sent a large army to attack Xiliang, resorting to trickery to lure Li Xin into encirclement.
However, Li Xin judged the situation and saw through the attempt to frustrate Meng Xun. He responded calmly, set up an ambush, and took the opportunity to launch a surprise attack when the forces of the two sides met, inflicting heavy losses on the Beiliang army and completely annihilating the main force of Fuqu Mengxun. The victory catapulted Li Xin to fame and was seen as a rising star of the younger generation.
In the following years, Xiliang was strong for a while, and the government and the opposition had high hopes for Li Xin's future. Many people believe that as long as he continues to maintain this enterprising momentum, he will definitely be able to lay a territory and become famous in the turbulent Warring States Period. Even his father, Li Wei, told Li Xin on his deathbed that he hoped that he could protect the foundation of Xiliang and carry forward the dynasty.
All this made Li Xin feel very encouraged. Seeing that power and wealth were gradually in his pocket, coupled with his youthful vigor, he began to be conceited, believing that with his extraordinary wisdom and bravery, he was omnipotent, and was destined to become a generation of masters. From then on, his steps began to falter, and his fate changed the trajectory.
Second, arrogance and lust are gradually emerging
The soldiers and civilians of Xiliang originally thought that Li Xin would always maintain his original heroic style and carry forward the foundation of the dynasty. Over time, however, power and opulence began to eat away at the young emperor's nature.
At first, it was just a small indulgence, such as drunkenness and extravagance. But soon, Li Xin was completely lost in excessive lust and extravagant life. He abolished political affairs, ignored all opportunities, and only thought of gluttony, wine and meat, and indulged in sex and entertainment every day. From time to time, they will kidnap beautiful women from the people and serve in the palace, kill on a large scale, and indulge in reckless behavior.
Li Xin, who has nothing to do all day, seems to be leisurely, but in fact, his heart has gradually degenerated. He began to fear power, to be obsessed with luxury, and to turn a blind eye to the sufferings of his subjects. Seeing this, people of insight admonished him several times, advising him not to be so debauched and to think twice before acting. But Li Xin remembered his past exploits and didn't care at all, thinking that everything he did should be.
In the face of the persuasion from the Minister of Civil and Military Affairs, Li Xin only stubbornly retorted with his neck in defiance, and never appreciated it. The heroic toughness of the year has long been worn out, replaced by a pampered and hedonistic face.
Some people even witnessed that when Li Xin was drunk, he actually killed an old minister who was dissatisfied with his debauchery. Such mediocrity and stupidity have ruined many people's beautiful hopes for his future.
All of this happened after Beiliang Taizu was frustrated and defeated by Meng Xun repeatedly. The territory of Xiliang is peaceful, and the country is peaceful. However, this peace and prosperity has become a bane for Li Xin, who has tasted power for the first time. He was arrogant and complacent, turning a blind eye to any external disturbances, believing that he could suppress the Quartet by himself.
3. Frustrated and frustrated, Meng Xun stole teachers to learn art
At the same time, the frustration on the Beiliang side did not stop there. Years of defeat have made his thirst for war even more surging. As a pure warman, Frustrated Meng Xun was determined to take down Xiliang in his lifetime to show the majesty of his strong man.
After repeatedly analyzing the gains and losses of the previous battles, Fuqu Mengxun realized that in order to defeat Li Xin, it was not enough to rely on force, but also to play some tricks. So, he began to devote himself to studying the book of war, absorbing the wisdom of the sages' art of war, and combined with his own experience in battle formations, he explored a set of ways to crack Li Xin.
In 427 AD, Fuqu Mengxun personally led a large army to open Xiliang again. This time, instead of attacking as bluntly as before, he changed his tactics and played a tricky side. He ordered his cronies to dress up as envoys and pretend to surrender, intending to induce Li Xin to leave the city of Xiliang, so as to give the Northern Liang army an opportunity.
Sure enough, Li Xin was in the prime of life, and his thirst for power and victory remained undiminished. He was delusional and commanded the troops to follow the "envoy" out of the city, but he didn't know that this was in the hands of the frustrated Mengxun. The Northern Liang army suddenly launched an attack on the way, surrounding Li Xin's main force.
Seeing that the situation was critical, Li Xin woke up and realized that he had fallen for frustration. He secretly screamed that it was not good, and then began to defend and fight. The two sides met near a village and got into a desperate struggle. Li Xin personally commanded the battle at the forefront and struggled with the Beiliang army for several days.
Fourth, Li Xin's complacency caused a fiasco
Although Li Xin tried his best to resist, due to his long-term arrogance and lasciviousness, the declining morale of the army, and the indomitable aggressiveness of Frustrated Qu Mengxun, he still failed to catch it after all. After several days of fierce fighting, Li Xin's army began to crumble.
At first, Li Xin did not take the attack of Frustration Meng Xun seriously. He believed that he had defeated the enemy army at one point, and thought that he would be able to thwart the opponent's spirit by using the old plan again. However, this time it can be said that he has learned a lesson and has been quite scheming in tactical arrangements.
He not only personally commanded the battle, but also divided the army into several lines and put pressure on Li Xin's army from different directions. At the same time, he also arranged for people to secretly set fire to Li Xin's logistical supply line, causing him to fall into the predicament of a shortage of grain and grass.
In the face of such an attack, Li Xin's military spirit began to waver. More and more soldiers surrendered, and most of those who held on were besieged by passive beatings. People of insight saw it in their eyes and were heartbroken, but Li Xin was already arrogant and uncontrollable, and any persuasion was useless.
At this critical juncture, Fuqu Mengxun suddenly launched a general attack, and several armies joined forces at the same time, besieging the remnants of Li Xin's main force in a village. Li Xin ordered people to fight back with all his might, but he was at the end of his rope.
The two sides fought for several days, and Li Xin's soldiers suffered numerous casualties, and the supplies were exhausted. In the end, Frustrated Qu Mengxun ordered the whole army to press the border, and Li Xin had no way to retreat, so he could only fight to the death. He took the lead and personally charged ahead, and soon encountered the Beiliang army horses, and the two sides fought fiercely.
In this scuffle, Li Xin rode and shot bravely, killing several people in a row. But in the end, his horse was shot by the enemy and rolled over. Li Xin fell to the ground in response, and was soon surrounded by the enemy, and after a desperate struggle, he was finally captured alive.
5. The Lessons of the Short-lived Emperor
In this way, Li Xin, who was only 32 years old, died with a whimper. Fuqu Mengxun ordered him to be captured alive and escorted back to the capital of Beiliang overnight, ready to be tortured. After being beaten for several days, Li Xin finally died of his last breath.
This young emperor, who was once heroic and had high hopes, died in disgrace. And his concubines and relatives were also killed and abused by the Beiliang people one after another. Even the entire Xiliang Dynasty eventually perished, and his nationality has been unknown ever since.
The entire Xiliang government and opposition undoubtedly sighed at Li Xin's fall. After all, in just a few years, he was reduced from wise and martial arts to mediocrity and incompetence, and finally fell in one day. The reason for this is probably that power and glory and wealth have bewitched this young emperor.
At the beginning, Li Xin was in the prime of life, brave and heroic. Wise and courageous, he commanded well and quickly crushed the first attack of the frustrated Munson. This victory immediately made him famous, and he was seen as the future lord and virtuous monarch.
It's a pity that this icing on the cake glory soon bewitched Li Xin. He gradually became arrogant, drunk and indulged all day long, wasted state affairs, and could not listen to advice. Slowly, he, along with the entire government and the opposition in Xiliang, were immersed in this peaceful and prosperous world, and gradually became careless about external troubles.
It was this decisive oversight that created a golden opportunity for a comeback. This person has been on the battlefield for a long time, learned lessons repeatedly, and finally figured out a one-and-a-half way to deal with Li Xin. When he played a trick of deception, Li Xin was also planted, which led to this fiasco.
The root cause of the demise of the entire Xiliang lies in Li Xin's long-term arrogance and lasciviousness, and the discouragement of the army. As the saying goes, those who have no permanent property have no perseverance, and Li Xin's army has been relaxed for a long time, and even began to turn against each other. In the face of the ferocious killing, they were even more exhausted and unable to form an army.
In this way, a young emperor who was pinned on high hopes was finally seduced by power and glory and wealth, and his fate was suddenly reversed and he suffered a tragic end. This tragic tragedy has also left a valuable lesson for future generations - no matter who is in power, they must not be arrogant and lascivious and waste state affairs, otherwise they will eventually set themselves on fire and cause a tragedy that is difficult to recover.