Cao Cao and Zhuge Liang were the heroes of the Three Kingdoms period at the end of the Han Dynasty, and they all had high talents and were considered to be super-first-class talents. In the Eastern Jin Dynasty, there was also a very powerful figure, who was both literate and martial, and who was capable of both Cao Cao and Zhuge Liang, and tried to protect the Jiangshan of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and was one of the famous generals in ancient China. Although this person is very good, he is not as famous as his own descendant Tao Yuanming, so who is this person?
This person is Tao Kan, the great-grandfather of the famous pastoral poet Tao Yuanming! In 259, Tao Kan was born in Poyang, Eastern Wu, although his father had served as a general in Eastern Wu, but due to his cold birth and the early death of his father, Tao Kan was very poor in his early years, and once served as a small official in the county. Poyang Xiaolian Fan Kui once passed by Tao Kan's house, Tao Kan had no money to entertain, and in a hurry, he used the money exchanged for his mother's hair cut to buy wine and vegetables.
After the fall of Eastern Wu, Tao Kan moved to Xunyang County, Lujiang County, and although he was recognized by local officials and courtiers, and went to Luoyang, the capital of the Western Jin Dynasty, several times, his career was still very bumpy. This was not because Tao Kan was incompetent, but at that time it was the world of the Shi Clan, and it was difficult for someone like Tao Kan to come out on top. In the last years of the Western Jin Dynasty, the world was in chaos, and Tao Kan, who was already in his forties, finally ushered in his own opportunity!
In 303, an uprising broke out in Jiangxia County, and Zhang Chang led a rebel army to conquer Jiangxia, and the army quickly expanded to 30,000 people. The Western Jin dynasty court sent Liu Hong to quell the rebellion, and after Liu Hong took office, he entrusted the military affairs to Tao Kan. After that, Tao Kan led the army to quell the rebellion, "beheading tens of thousands of people before and after", and quickly quelled the turmoil in the Jingzhou area. Because of his outstanding military achievements, Tao Kan was given the title of Marquis of Dongxiang and had a thousand households.
At that time, due to the turmoil in the north, the rule of the Western Jin court fell into chaos, so there were many rebellions in the southern region, and these people planned to take advantage of the opportunity to divide one side. For example, Chen Min, the assassin of Yangzhou, planned to take advantage of this opportunity to occupy the entire Jiangnan region; for example, the displaced leader Du Tao occupied most of the Jing and Xiang prefectures; the southern Jiaozhou was also occupied by rebels. In the following ten years, Tao Kan led his troops through bitter battles, and finally pacified these areas, and made great achievements for the stability of the Eastern Jin Dynasty.
In 325, Sima Shao, the Emperor of Jinming, entrusted Tao Kan with a heavy responsibility, making him the military governor of Jing, Xiang, Yong, and Liang, the general of The Western Expedition, the Assassin of Jingzhou, and the lieutenant of the Southern Manchus, and almost half of the upper reaches of the Eastern Jin Dynasty was handed over to him. Don't look at Tao Kan as a military general, but he is good at governing the localities, "diligent in his official duties, respectful and close to etiquette", during the period of the town guarding Jingzhou, the people lived and worked in peace and contentment, and there was a scene of "from the Southern Tomb to the White Emperor for thousands of miles, the road is not left behind".
In 328, the Eastern Jin Dynasty rebelled again, and the generals Su Jun and Zu Yue led troops into Jiankang and held the emperor hostage. Since Tao Kan was not an auxiliary chancellor, he once had no intention of qin wang, and then under the persuasion of Wen Zhao, he led the army to qin wang, and finally defeated the rebels and tried to protect the Jiangshan Sheji of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. After that, Tao Kan's prestige spread throughout the world, and Murong Yu, who was far away in Liaodong, praised Tao Kan, "The hope of the present sea is enough for the Chu and Han dynasties, but only in the prince."
At that time, some people commented on Tao Kan, saying that he was "like Wei Wu (Cao Cao), loyal and industrious like Kong Ming (Zhuge Liang), and Lu Kang's people could not reach it." Although Tao Kan held a heavy army and sat on one side, he did not have the ambition of Cao Cao, "with the distinction of stopping at the foot, not with the power of the dynasty." In 334, Tao Kan fell ill and died at the age of 76. The Eastern Jin Dynasty court posthumously awarded Tao Kan the title of Grand Sima and sacrificed him with the ritual of the Etheric Prison. During the Song Dynasty, when the Wu Temple was established, Tao Kan was one of the seventy-two generals of the past.
References: 1. Book of Jin, 2. Zizhi Tongjian