In ancient China, the universe was two meanings, "the upper and lower four squares of the universe, the ancient and the present known as the universe", that is to say, the universe is the concept of space, and the universe is the concept of time. In the period of the Southern and Northern Dynasties, there was actually a "cosmic great general" in China, don't look at this person with disabilities, but he was brave and good at war, and only led eight hundred people to ascend to the throne, and also caused chaos in the world, which directly affected the course of history. So what's going on here?
This person is Hou Jing, a general during the Southern and Northern Dynasties! According to historical records, Hou Jing was not a Han Chinese, but a humble Anderson. Hou Jing worked as a soldier in Huaishuo Town in his early years, Xiao Yong had the courage and was good at riding and shooting, and later the Six Towns Rebellion broke out in the north, and Northern Wei fell into chaos, and he defected to Erzhu Rong. During this period, Hou Jing learned the art of war from the famous general Murong Shaozong, and soon became a general with both wisdom and courage.
Don't look at Hou Jing is not tall, and he has a disease in his legs, but he is very strong in fighting. In 528, Ge Rong led more than 100,000 rebels to the south, Erzhu Rong only led 7,000 cavalry to meet the battle, the two sides launched a fierce battle at Fukou, the result of Erzhu Rong's complete victory, Ge Rong was captured alive by Hou Jingsheng. After Erzhu Rong's death, his nephew was defeated by Gao Huan, and Hou Jing was Gao Huan's old friend. Therefore, he also turned to Gao Huan.
Gao Huan was well aware of Hou Jing's ability, so he entrusted him with a heavy responsibility, "to make the army of 100,000 troops, to despot Henan, and to fight as if he were his own half." Hou Jing sat in Henan for fourteen years, gradually formed his own power group, became very stubborn, he threatened: "Wang (Gao Huan) is here, I dare not be different. Wang Wu, I can't work with Xianbei Xiao'er (Gao Cheng). In 546, Gao Huan became seriously ill, and His son Gao Cheng recruited Hou Jing to join the dynasty.
Hou Jing knew that the situation was not good, so he initially defected to Yuwen Tai, the Western Wei chancellor. However, Yuwen Tai wanted to seize the opportunity to seize Hou Jing's military power and occupy his territory, which caused Hou Jing's dissatisfaction. Therefore, Hou Jing sent emissaries to the south and surrendered to the Liang Dynasty. Emperor Wu of Liang was very pleased and decided to accept Hou Jing and send troops to support him. However, instead of occupying the Henan region, the Liang army was defeated by the Eastern Wei army, losing tens of thousands of people.
In this case, liang dynasty decided to negotiate peace with Eastern Wei, and as a result, the news was learned by Hou Jing. Hou Jing led more than 800 remnants of the army to defeat the general, and by surprise, attacked the Liang Dynasty in the south. As a result, the Liang Dynasty's army was decaying, and Hou Jing's army was rapidly strengthened, from eight hundred to eight thousand, and then tens of thousands. After that, Hou Jing besieged jiankang city, but due to the infighting in the Liang dynasty, he refused to actively rescue it. In March 549, Hou Jing occupied the city of Jiankang.
Later, Emperor Wu of Liang fell ill and died, and Hou Jing coerced Liang Jianwen Xiao Gang and forcibly married his daughter Princess Liyang. At the same time, Hou Jing added many titles to himself, first Xiangguo, King of Han, and then cosmic general. When Emperor Xiao Gang of Liang Jianwen saw the edict of appointment, he exclaimed: "The general has the title of the universe!" It was not until 552 that the Hou Jing Rebellion was put down, and Jiangnan at this time was "thousands of miles of smoke, rare people, and white bones gathered like Qiulong".
Although the Hou Jing Rebellion was put down, it profoundly affected the situation in the world. At that time, the Eastern Wei, Western Wei, and Liang dynasties were three-legged, and the two sides could not destroy each other. During Hou Jing's rebellion, Northern Qi (Eastern Wei had been replaced by Gao Yang) sent troops south to occupy the Huainan region; Western Wei also sent troops to occupy Yizhou, Xiangyang, and Jiangling. The power of the Southern Dynasty was greatly weakened, the Northern Zhou (formerly known as the Western Wei) rose rapidly, and the world showed a situation of weak south and strong north, laying a solid foundation for the later Sui Dynasty to unify China!
References: 1. Book of Liang, 2. Zizhi Tongjian, 3. Book of the South