Beiguting, Jingkou, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu
Sunset grass and trees, ordinary alleys, where humane slaves once lived. I think back then, when we were strong and strong, we could swallow thousands of miles like a tiger. These lines come from Xin Qiji's "Yong Yu Le·Jingkou Beigu Pavilion Nostalgia for the Past", which praises Liu Yu's deeds of leading the army in the Northern Expedition and making contributions to the country. As the founder of the Liu Song regime, Liu Yu has always been called the "first emperor of the Southern Dynasties". Looking at his actions, this title is indeed well deserved.
1. Born in poverty, but destined to be extraordinary
Liu Yu was born in a low-class gentry family in Dantu County, Jinling County (now Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province). His grandfather Liu Hun moved from Pengcheng County (now Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province) to escape the war in his early years. I became a small county magistrate here and my life was pretty good. By the generation of Liu Yu's father Liu Qiao , the family was already in decline. His mother fell ill and died of illness shortly after Liu Yu was born, but he could not afford a wet nurse to nurse him. Liu Qiao once wanted to abandon Liu Yu. Fortunately, a relative who had just given birth helped to breastfeed Liu Yu, so Liu Yu did not die. However, fate always plays tricks on Liu Yu, and Liu Yu's father died early. In order to survive, Liu Yu tried many jobs and experienced many hardships since he was a child. However, the training in his early years laid the foundation for his later success. At this time, the of the Eastern Jin Dynasty had long been dilapidated. The corruption of the noble clans, the mediocrity of the emperor, and the arrogance and domineering of the powerful ministers had made the court inside and outside the court a mess, and the people were complaining. With the outbreak of military generals' rebellion and peasant uprising, the imperial court needed to recruit a large number of soldiers to suppress it. At this time, the impoverished Liu Yu joined the army and became a soldier under the command of Liu Laozhi.
Liu Laozhi in the film and television drama
In November of the third year of Emperor Long'an of the Eastern Jin Dynasty (399), Sun En rebelled against the Jin in Kuaiji . A large number of people gathered in a short period of time, seriously threatening the rule of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Emperor Jin'an hurriedly sent Liu Laozhi and others to suppress it. During this suppression, Liu Yu fought bravely and showed extremely strong military capabilities, which attracted the attention of Huanxuan and others. This is why Huanxuan later did not punish Liu Yu when he persecuted the generals of the Beifu Army. persecution. Liu Yu, on the other hand, committed himself to Huan Xuan, waiting for an opportunity to avenge the Beifu army.
Huanxuan film and television drama image
Huanxuan valued Liu Yu's abilities very much. He repeatedly said in front of his wife Liu that Liu Yu was an indispensable talent for him to conquer the Central Plains in the future. But Huanxuan was very ambitious. In December of the second year of Yuanxing (403), he deposed Emperor Jin'an Sima Dezong and proclaimed himself emperor. Liu Yu saw that the time was ripe, and in February of the third year of Yuanxing (404), he gathered the old troops of the Beifu Army under the pretext of hunting, and in the name of restoring the Jin Dynasty, he revolted against King Qin in Jingkou. Because Huan Xuanli was weak-minded and unpopular, many people responded to Liu Yu's visit to the capital to serve as King Qin. Huanxuan and his tribe were defeated steadily under the attack of the coalition forces headed by Liu Yu, and had to flee Jiankang City. However, the remaining tribes were quickly wiped out, and Liu Yu was elected to take charge because he had made the greatest contribution. Lead the government and assist the king. Since then, Liu Yu has successfully transformed from a poor boy into a leader of the dynasty, and there is a prosperous atmosphere both inside and outside the court.
2. Reorganize the imperial court and regain lost ground
Since the establishment of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, a trend of extravagance has been popular among the gentry, and all civil and military officials have been very indulgent. But after Liu Yu came to power, he, who had been poor since childhood, set an example by giving both kindness and power in an effort to eliminate extravagance. After Liu Yu's reorganization, the originally disintegrated Eastern Jin Dynasty took on a new look, and now it was time to consider regaining the lost ground.
Since the establishment of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, many people with lofty ideals have written letters requesting a rapid northern expedition to regain the lost territory.However, the people in power in the Eastern Jin Dynasty and the noble families behind them mostly only cared about their own interests. Although they also had the intention to regain their lost territory, they were afraid of taking the huge risks brought by marching to the north, so they insisted on the policy of partial peace, and only lamented when they missed their hometown in the north. Finished in two sentences. Even if people such as Zu Di, Huan Wen , Xie An and others were allowed to lead the Northern Expedition, they would always encounter constraints, or give up halfway, or end in failure.
But after Liu Yu came to power, the people or families who opposed him were either weakened or weakened. It was completely eradicated, so it was very easy for Liu Yu to do something. In the fifth year of Yixi (409), Emperor Murong Chao of Southern Yan came to the throne and sent his troops south to invade the Huaibei area. Liu Yu led his army to stop the attack, but Murong Chao despised Liu Yu and did not pay much attention to the arrival of the Jin army. This gave Liu Yu an opportunity. Under his command, the Eastern Jin Army defeated the Yan Army, and Murong Chao fled in panic to Guanggu (now northwest of Qingzhou, Shandong). Seeing this as a good opportunity to go north, Liu Yu led his army to pursue the victory and successfully captured the outer city of Guanggu. Murong Chao resisted stubbornly and retreated to the inner city. Liu Yu then came to catch the turtle in the urn. At this time, Murong Chao was very panicked and asked Hou Qin for help. However, what Murong Chao did not expect was that the reinforcements of the Later Qin Dynasty were defeated by Hu Xiaguo before they arrived at Guanggu City. Seeing that Liu Yu had strengthened the production of siege equipment, it was only a matter of time before the city was destroyed. Murong Chao wanted to surrender to Liu Yu and cede territory as vassal, but Liu Yu refused. So in February of the sixth year of Yixi (410), Liu Yu captured the inner city with the help of Nanyan Shangshu Yueshou. Murong Chao and dozens of followers tried to break out, but they were still captured by the Jin army, escorted back to Jiankang , and beheaded on the streets of Jiankang. From then on, Nanyan was declared destroyed. The lower reaches of the Yellow River and the territory to the south were successfully recovered back to the territory of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, The Northern Wei and the Eastern Jin Dynasty became neighbors.
In the first month of the twelfth year of Yixi (416), Emperor Yao Xing of the Later Qin Dynasty passed away, and large-scale rebellion began in the country. Liu Yu thought this was a good opportunity, so he handed over the management of the government to Liu Muzhi, and led his troops to divide into four groups to start the second Northern Expedition. Among them, the army led by Wang Zhene, conquered Luoyang in one fell swoop and arrived at Tongguan, preparing to attack the city. However, the main force of the Later Qin Dynasty used the terrain to resist Wang Zhene's attack and cut off the supply line of the Eastern Jin Army. Thanks to the assistance of the local Han people, they were able to overcome the difficulties. The Northern Wei Dynasty witnessed the successive defeats of the Later Qin Dynasty, and they knew how to deal with the situation and sent troops to contain the troops led by Liu Yu. Liu Yu personally went into battle to break out of the encirclement, and went up the Yellow River to break through the Northern Wei defense line and support Wang Zhenwei. Under the strong attack of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the Later Qin Dynasty quickly lost Tongguan. Wang Zhene took the opportunity to capture Chang'an in one fell swoop and destroyed the Later Qin Dynasty. After Liu Yu's squadron returned to the court, although Chang'an was gained and lost under the attack of the Hu Xia Kingdom, the entire Henan region and part of the Guanzhong area returned to the control of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. The military exploits he achieved during the two Northern Expeditions made Liu Yu's position in the court even more prominent. Liu Yu even controlled the life, death, and abolishment of the emperor. In the 14th year of Yixi (418), Liu Yu appointed Wang Shaozhi, the minister of Zhongshu, to hang Emperor Jin'an and support Emperor Jin'an's younger brother, King Langya, Sima Dewen, to succeed him as Emperor Gong of Jin. Liu Yu even felt that these were not enough, so in June of the second year of Yuanxi (420), Liu Yu deposed Jin Gong Emperor Sima Dewen as King Lingling, proclaimed himself emperor, changed the country's name to Song, and was called Liu Song in history. .
3. Ascend to the throne and create the "Yuanjia Rule"
After Liu Yu ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor, his primary goal was to rectify the government and eliminate separatist forces in order to strengthen centralization.
In order to rectify the administration of officials, Liu Yu screened officials through examinations. Many officials without talent and morality were severely punished or even executed. In order to weaken the power of local separatism, Liu Yu limited the number of generals and officials in each state. In addition, Liu Yu also issued an edict ordering officials not to set up separate military mansions. If ministers needed it, the imperial court would allocate troops. The troops must be returned to the imperial court in a timely manner afterwards. These measures of Liu Yu successfully improved the phenomenon of disorderly appointment of officials in the late Eastern Jin Dynasty and reduced the burden on the people.
In addition, Liu Yu also reused capable talents from poor families to provide development space for talents from humble backgrounds. Liu Yu reorganized the grassroots administrative organs, stipulated that people who moved from the north to the south should be included in the local household registration, canceled their privileges, and required them to pay the same taxes as their original household registration. This not only increased Liu Song's financial revenue, but also restrained local powerful forces. In order to develop the economy and stabilize social order, Liu Yu also reduced the original heavy sentences, relaxed taxation, and lifted the ban on mountains, rivers, and lakes. A series of policies formulated by Liu Yu were later retained by his son Liu Yilong. Together, the two created a prosperous era, known in history as the "Government of Yuanjia", which was a period of relatively stable politics and relatively developed economy in the history of the Southern Dynasties. period.
Liu Yu was the first emperor of the Southern Dynasties. In order, he was the first emperor of the Southern Dynasties. Although Liu Yu also had some problems, when it came to studying martial arts, Liu Yuguang's two Northern Expeditions were beyond the reach of the emperors of the Southern Dynasties behind him. Even his son Liu Yilong couldn't achieve it if he wanted to repeat it. The "Yuanjia Rule" co-created by Liu Yu and Liu Yilong was also one of the few stable periods in the history of the Southern Dynasties. Therefore, Liu Yu's title of "First Emperor of the Southern Dynasties" is well deserved.
