Among the past dynasties in China, the Jin Dynasty may have left the worst impression on people. Speaking of the Western Jin Dynasty, people will not only think of the strange couple of the mentally retarded emperor Sima Zhong and the ugly empress Jia Nanfeng, but also of the "Eight Kings Rebellion", "Yongjia Rebellion", "Qing Tan Wrong Country", "Five Unruly China" A noun unique to the Western Jin Dynasty. Speaking of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, people will think of "the king and the horse share the world", "partially peaceful Jiangnan" and other distinctive terms. All in all, in the eyes of many people, the Jin Dynasty was a corrupt, degenerate, infighting, and unpredictable regime. It did not bring progress to China, but only brought heavy disasters to China.
The Western Jin Dynasty only survived for 50 years (266-316 years), so you can't blame it too much. The Eastern Jin Dynasty has existed for 103 years (317-420). During these hundred years, is it true that the Eastern Jin Dynasty will only be "partially in the south of the Yangtze River" without doing anything? When the Eastern Jin Dynasty was founded, Sima Rui’s indifferent attitude towards the Northern Expedition led to the later generations’ evaluation of the Eastern Jin as being “partial to the south of the Yangtze River”. However, afterwards, the Eastern Jin Dynasty did indeed proceed to recover the lost land of the Central Plains for various reasons. There have been many Northern Expeditions, but only a small number of successes.
祖逖北伐
Zuti, named Shizhi, was born in a family of officials, and his family is regarded as a prominent family in the local area. When he was young, he had the ambition to serve the country, and he often made friends with heroes, helped the poor and helped the poor, and his stories of dancing with chickens are well-known. When the Western Jin Dynasty collapsed, Zu Ti took hundreds of pro-Party families to take refuge in Jiangnan, and was appointed as a civil post by Sima Rui, the king of Langxie who had not yet become emperor.
Zu Ti did not have a leisurely mind to enjoy a peaceful life. He only wanted to serve the country, expedition to the Central Plains and regain lost ground. So Zu Ti made a request for the Northern Expedition to Sima Rui, and Sima Rui immediately agreed and appointed Zu Ti as General Fenwei , Yuzhou Governor, and gave Zuti 1,000 people's food and 3,000 pieces of cloth, but Sima Rui did not give Zuti armor or weapons, nor did he allocate troops to Zuti. However, Sima Rui allowed Zuti to recruit men and horses by himself.
Sima Rui's actions make people feel very puzzled. Does he support the Northern Expedition? Or does it not support the Northern Expedition? Putting aside Zuti's Northern Expedition for the time being, let's take a look at the two Northern Expeditions led by Sima Rui. In 316, Chang'an fell and Emperor Jin Min was taken prisoner. After hearing the news, Sima Rui personally led the army to the north. Soon, he killed Chun Yubo who supervised the transportation of grain and grass, and then announced his retreat. In 317, Sima Rui was named King Jin in Jiankang and established the Eastern Jin Dynasty. In the same year, Zu Ti began the Northern Expedition. Sima Rui passed on to the world. He sent his son Langya King Sima Pai to lead his army in the Northern Expedition. Jiankang made this Northern Expedition the same as the last time, with nothing but real actions.
The territory map when the Eastern Jin Dynasty was first established in 317 (from @史图馆)
Sima Rui’s two Northern Expeditions were like child’s play and have always been criticized. As the clan of the Jin Dynasty, Sima Rui was indeed responsible for regaining lost ground, but his position in Jiangnan was not stable, which required him to consolidate his position. Regarding the question of whether to "encourage foreigners" or "Anni" first, Sima Rui finally chose to "Anni" first because of his long-term interests. In fact, "Annei" was not easier than the Northern Expedition. He first used the northern gentry such as Wang Dao and Wang Dun to suppress the southern gentry and refugees' rebellion, and then used Liu Wei and Dai Yuan to pin down the already larger Wang Dao and Wang Dun brothers. In order to strengthen the imperial power, of course, Wang Dao and Wang Dun brothers were unwilling to delegate power, which paved the way for Wang Dun to launch a rebellion.
The newly-born Eastern Jin court was full of internal contradictions, which made Sima Rui unwilling and unable to expedition to the north. Zu Ti could only rely on Sima Rui’s prestige to bring the hundreds of pro-party parties who had taken refuge in Jiangnan (in fact, they have become Homeless refugees) crossing the Yangtze River north, set up a base camp in Jiangyin, while forging weapons and recruiting soldiers and horses. When crossing the river, Zu Ti struck Ji in the middle of the river and swore to the Yangtze River: "Those who can not clear the Central Plains and recover from Zu Ti are like a big river!" His words are so powerful that I am not touched by them now.
After Zu Ti’s management, a team of more than 2,000 people was formed. After that, Zu Ti began a vigorous Northern Expedition. The forces that hindered Zuti's Northern Expedition in the first place were not scumbags, but those who took advantage of the chaos to stand on their own feet and did not want to belong to the court. In Qiaocheng, Wu advocated Ping and Fan Ya supported himself, and Zu Ti lured Zhang Ping’s generals to kill Zhang Ping.Later, Pengpiwu master Chen Chuan sent Li Tou and Nan Zhonglang sent Wang Han to Huanxuan to reinforce Zuti, and together they defeated Fan Ya, and Zu Ti conquered Qiaocheng.
Li Tou was overwhelmed by Zuti’s extraordinary personality, and he meant to take refuge in Zuti, but he was punishable by Chen Chuan’s hatred. Later, Li’s comrades returned to Zuti. , Chen Chuan became angry, and completely broke with Zuti. After Zu Ti defeated Chen Chuan, Chen Chuan turned to Shile. Shi Le sent Shihu to rescue Chen Chuan. Zu Ti defeated Shihu and his troops left behind, captured Pengbei, entered Keyongqiu, and became the epicenter of the Central Plains. After that, Zu Ti and Shi Le started a confrontation. Apart from resisting Shi Le's attack, he integrated the Jin army generals and refugee leaders who fought in their own way, influenced those independent dock owners, and gradually regained the Henan region.
Zu Ti's map of the Eastern Jin Dynasty after the Northern Expedition (from @史图馆)
When Zu Ti was planning to attack Hebei, Sima Rui appointed his cronie Dai Ruosi as the governor and accepted Zu Ti’s hard work. Hit the land. Dai Ruosi failed to achieve a single inch of merit, but his status was higher than that of Zu Ti. Zu Ti felt unhappy. What made Zu Ti worried was that the conflict between Wang Dun and Liu Wei had intensified, and the Eastern Jin Dynasty could break out of civil war at any time. In 321, the worried Zuti had a premonition that it would be impossible to accomplish anything and died with a grudge. His younger brother Zu Yue took over as Yuzhou Governor.
In 322, Wang Dun, who had always feared his ancestors, launched a mutiny and attacked Jiankang. Zuyue had no way to rule the army and could not resist Shile's attack. He was eventually forced to abandon Henan and retreat from Shouchun. In 324, he assisted Emperor Sima Shao of Jinming to put down Wang Dun's rebellion.
Yu Liang, Yu Yi Northern Expedition
In 325, Emperor Ming of Jin passed away, his five-year-old son Jincheng Emperor Sima Yan ascended the throne, and his uncle Yu Liang took charge of the court. Yu Liang's actions were improper, and Su Jun and Zu Yue were dissatisfied with the treatment. They jointly launched a mutiny in 326, and the Eastern Jin Dynasty fell into a civil war again. In 329, Tao Kan suppressed the rebellion with all his troops, and the Eastern Jin Dynasty regained peace, but Yu Liang lost the power of auxiliary government, and Wang Dao took over. Yu Liang first left the town of Wuhu, then moved to the town of Wuchang, succeeding the dead Jingzhou governor Tao Kan in charge of the upper army.
Yu Liang wanted to improve his political status, so he wanted to make contributions through the Northern Expedition and re-establish his prestige. Yu Liang sent Mao Bao and Fan Jun to defend Sucheng. As a frontline base for the Northern Expedition, he was also prepared to lead his army to occupy Shicheng and support Mao Bao and others. Unexpectedly, Shi Hu, who had already seized the post-Zhao throne, took the lead and sent an army to capture Lucheng in 339, causing Yu Liang to still die in the Northern Expedition planned by Yu Liang.
In 340, Yu Liang died of anxiety and anger, and his younger brother Yu Yi took over as the governor of Jingzhou. Yu Yi inherited his brother's uncompetitive career. In 344, he sent Liangzhou Governor Huanxuan to attack Zhao. Huanxuan was at a disadvantage and was defeated by General Zhao Zhao in Danshui. Yu Yi's Northern Expedition suffered the same fate as his brother, and his life ended in exactly the same way as his brother, and eventually died of anger.
Chu Bao, Yin Hao Northern Expedition
In 349, Shihu, Emperor Zhao died, his sons fought for power, and Zhao was in chaos. The court of the Eastern Jin Dynasty took the opportunity of the Northern Expedition. At the time, Chu Bao, the general of Peking University, led an army of 30,000 troops to the north. In Daibei, Chu Bao’s 3,000 elite were wiped out by the post-Zhao generals. Chu Bao saw the situation and withdrew his troops. end.
In 352, Yin Hao, the then General of the Chinese Army, took advantage of Ran Min and Zhu Hu's melee to lead Xie Shang, Dai Shi and others into Shouchun, and set out for the Northern Expedition to the Central Plains. Xie Shang could not comfort Ran Wei Jiang, Zhang Yu. Zhang Yu was angry and rebelled in Xuchang and captured Luoyang. Not long after, the former Qin Wang Fujian sent troops to reinforce Zhang Yu. He defeated Xie Shang in Yingshui and Yin Hao was forced to retreat. Shouchun.
However, Yin Hao’s Northern Expedition was not without any gains. He sent Dai Shi to lead his troops to rescue Yecheng, the capital of Ranwei, which was besieged by Qian Yan. After entering Yecheng, Dai Shi used a trick to deceive his own. In the Western Jin Dynasty, the Seal of the Chuan Dynasty was used by Han Zhao, Later Zhao, and Ran Wei, and He Rong was sent secretly back to the Eastern Jin Dynasty, so that the Seal of the Chuan Kingdom was returned to the Sima family. Before the fall of Yecheng, Dai Shi and others managed to escape, and then they all retreated.
Not long after, Yin Hao sent troops to the Northern Expedition again and sent Xie Shang to conquer Xuchang to make up for the last loss.
In 353, Yin Hao took advantage of the internal strife in the Qin Dynasty and once again sent troops to the Northern Expedition. After Yin Hao, Yao Xiang was the vanguard, but Yao Xiang suddenly rebelled and set an ambush to defeat him in Shansang, so he had no choice but to withdraw from Qiaocheng. Since then, Yin Hao and Yao XiangThey attacked each other and had to stop the Northern Expedition.
桓温北伐
Yin Hao's two Northern Expeditions were unsuccessful, and the then Jingzhou governor Huan Wen took the opportunity to impeach Yin Hao, forcing the court to remove Yin Hao and seizing military and political power. Prior to this, Huan Wen had conquered Chengdu in 347 and regained Yizhou for the Eastern Jin Dynasty. He had already established prestige in the court.
In 354, Huanwen continued the Northern Expedition before the Qin Dynasty. Huan Wen's army was brave and good at fighting, losing streak to the former Qin army in Lantian and Bailuyuan, and then fought forward to Bashang and approached Chang'an, the capital of the former Qin. The former Qin king Fuxiong was strong and clear, resisting stubbornly. Huanwen's army was short of food, and several battles were unfavorable. Huanwen was forced to withdraw his troops. Fuxiong then sent troops to pursue Huanwen. The Jin army was repeatedly defeated and all lost. Huan Wen's Northern Expedition failed.
In 356, Huanwen defeated Yao Xiang in the north, defeated Yao Xiang in Yishui, captured Luoyang, and repaired the tombs of the emperors.
In 369, Huanwen swallows before the Northern Expedition. Huan Wen’s offensive against Qianyan was just like the offensive against Qianyan. At first, he won consecutive battles and approached Yecheng, the capital of Qianyan, but now Yan launched a counterattack. After Murongde cut off Huan Wen’s food path, Huan Wen was forced to withdraw his troops from Fangtou. . Subsequently, Murong Chui and Murong De joined forces to pursue Huan Wen, defeating the Jin army, and Huan Wen returned in embarrassment. Huan Wen's Northern Expedition failed again.
Huanwen Northern Expedition Route Map
Huan Chong, Xie Xuan Northern Expedition
After the former Qin Wang Fujian destroyed Qianyan in 370, he attacked the Eastern Jin Dynasty in 373, Conquered Yizhou.
Former Qin Wang Fujian destroyed Qianliang and Daiguo in 376, after uniting the north, he attacked the Eastern Jin Dynasty again in 378. The former Qin went south in two routes. The West Route Army captured Xiangyang in 379 and captured Zhu Xu. The Eastern Route Army was counterattacked by Xie Xuan. Xie Xuan led the Beifu soldiers to defeat the former Qin Army and reversed the battle in Xuzhou.
In May 383, Jingzhou Governor Shi Huan Chong personally led the Northern Expedition to ease the threat of the Eastern Jin Dynasty from the former Qin Dynasty. He divided his troops into three groups and attacked Xiangyang by himself. The two troops attacked Fucheng and Wudang separately. The former Qin king Fujian immediately sent troops to reinforce Xiangyang, Fucheng and Wudang. Upon seeing this, Huan Chong quickly withdrew his troops without much loss. The former Qin king Fu Jian was out of control. He then mobilized the nation's power to expedite the Eastern Jin Dynasty in one fell swoop, but he was defeated by Xie Xuan in Feishui. This defeat prompted the collapse of the former Qin Dynasty and the situation of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Turn the crisis into peace.
Under the leadership of the ruling Xie An, the Eastern Jin Dynasty launched a large-scale Northern Expedition against the divided Former Qin in 384. The West Route Army was commanded by Jingzhou Governor Shi Huanchong, and the East Route Army was commanded by Yanxu Governor Xie Xuan. Among them, the most fruitful of the Northern Expedition was Xie Xuan. Xie Xuan took the Beifu soldiers as the main force and the brave and militant Liu Laozhi as the pioneer, and successively recovered Yanzhou and Qingzhou, and the army came to Jizhou. In 385, Liu Laozhi went deep into Jizhou, united with the former Qin Dynasty against Houyan, and entered Yecheng. Hebei was just around the corner.
Huan Chong and Xie Xuan's map of the Eastern Jin Dynasty after the Northern Expedition (from @史图馆)
At this time, the court recalled Xie Xuan and Liu Laozhi for no other reason. , The master of the Xie family’s meritorious deeds was met with suspicion by Emperor Xiaowu of Jin, Sima Yao. Emperor Xiaowu of Jin dismissed Xie An and Xie Xuan’s rights under the conditions of the Northern Expedition, which prevented the expansion of the results of the Northern Expedition .
刘裕北伐
After the death of Emperor Xiaowu of the Jin Dynasty, the Eastern Jin Dynasty experienced turmoil such as Sima Daozi's rebellion and the usurper of Huanxuan. Liu Yuping settled the Huanxuan Rebellion and became the actual power holder of the Eastern Jin Dynasty.
In 409, Emperor Murongchao of Nanyan invaded the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and Liu Yu immediately countered and led his troops to defeat Nanyan. After Liu Yu besieged Nanyan's capital Guanggu for more than half a year, he conquered Guanggu in 410, captured Murongchao alive, destroyed Nanyan, and regained Shandong.
In 416, Liu Yu led his army to the Qin after the Northern Expedition and regained Henan. In 417, Liu Yu used the Quoyue formation to rescue Qin's Northern Wei army, and then conquered the capital of the Qin Dynasty, Chang'an, captured the Qin Emperor Yao Hong alive, destroyed Hou Qin, and regained Guanzhong.
刘裕The map of the Eastern Jin Dynasty after the two northern expeditions (from @史图馆)
After Liu Yu retired from Guanzhong, he appointed his son Liu Yizhen to guard Chang'an, and let Wang Xiu, Wang Zhenye, Shen Tianzi, and Mao Dezu , Fu Hongzhi and other experienced generals assisted Liu Yizhen. However, the generals who stayed in Chang'an were not in harmony. In 418, Wang Zhenye, Shen Tianzi, and Wang Xiu were slain in an infighting one after another. The Jin army lost its fighting spirit. Xia Wang Helian took the opportunity to attack Guanzhong and defeated the Jin army in one fell swoop. Liu Yizhen and others abandoned Chang'an and withdrew, and Guanzhong was then owned by Helianbobo.
It can be seen that since the establishment of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the Northern Expedition has not stopped. However, the political struggle within the Eastern Jin Dynasty has always been fierce. Military and politics have never been separated. Therefore, the Northern Expedition has been subjected to political struggles in many cases. It is difficult to achieve long-term victory due to the influence of
