htmlThe Battle of Feishui in 1383 was a very important war in Chinese history. If the former Qin Dynasty could win, then the Di people could unify the world. Although the former Qin Dynasty had an absolute advantage, it failed to defeat the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Instead, it collapsed, causing the regime to fall apart. In this war, people often pay attention to people like Xie An, Xie Xuan, Xie Shi. In fact, a surrendered general from the Eastern Jin Dynasty played a greater role. So who is he?
1. The famous general of the Eastern Jin Dynasty
This person's name is Zhu Xu. He is from Yiyang and was born as a general. His father Zhu Tao served as the captain of the Western Barbarians, the governor of Yizhou , and the general of Pingxi. Influenced by family factors, Zhu Xu also joined the army and served successively as General Yingyang and Prime Minister of Jiangxia. In 365, Sima Xun, the governor of Liangzhou, rebelled and led an army to besiege Chengdu, intending to separate Shu. Zhu Xu was ordered to lead his army to quell the rebellion and captured Sima Xun and his accomplices. For his merits, he was named the General of the Conqueror and was awarded the title of Xiang Pingzi.
html In 1369, Zhu Xu participated in the war against the former Yan . As a forward, he broke the former Yan army in Linzhu. In 374, turmoil broke out in Changcheng County, Wuxing County. The imperial court transferred Zhu Xu to put down the rebellion, and he continued to serve as the governor of Yanzhou. In 377, on the recommendation of Huan Huanhuan, the general who conquered the west, the Eastern Jin Dynasty appointed Zhu Xu as envoy Chijie, supervisor of all military affairs in Miazhong, Nanzhong Lang general, governor of Liangzhou, and guarding the important military location of Xiangyang. At that time, the former Qin Dynasty continued to move south, and Xiangyang's strategic position was very important.
2. Forced surrender to Qin
html In the first month of 1378, Fu Jian sent out four armies, led by Fu Pi, Yang An, Murong Chui, Yao Chang and others, with a total strength of 170,000. Their goal is Xiangyang! Zhu Xu thought that the former Qin army had no ships, so he did not take precautions. However, he did not expect that the former Qin cavalry crossed the Han River and the outer city of Xiangyang was breached. As a result, Zhu Xu stood firm in the inner city and fought tenaciously against the former Qin army. His mother even led the women in the city to participate in building the city, and the Battle of Xiangyang entered a stalemate stage.
html In 1379, the war had been going on for nearly a year. The former Qin Dynasty was still unable to break the city, but unexpectedly a traitor appeared in the Eastern Jin Dynasty! Li Bohu, the governor of Xiangyang, sent his son to secretly contact the former Qin Dynasty. Under his guidance, the former Qin army successfully entered Xiangyang City. Zhu Xu and Li Bohu were sent to Chang'an , the capital of the former Qin Dynasty. Fu Jian admired Zhu Xu's behavior and made him Duzhi Shangshu. Instead, he executed Li Bohu who presented the city. At this point, Zhu Xu was forced to become a surrendered general, but he still loved his motherland.
3. Feishui Meritorious Service
html In 1383, Zhu Xu followed Fu Jian on the southern expedition. After the former Qin army arrived in Shouyang, Fu Jian gave him a task to go to the Eastern Jin Dynasty to promote military power and persuade them to surrender. However, after Zhu Xu arrived at the Eastern Jin military camp, he revealed the military situation to Xie Shi and asked him to fight quickly, "If millions of people know this, they will not be able to fight with the enemy, and if they don't know how to attack, they will be successful." Xie Shi adopted Zhu Xu's suggestion and immediately "selected eight thousand warriors to wade into the fat water to challenge".
Before the battle, the Eastern Jin Dynasty proposed to the former Qin Dynasty "move Chen Shaoque to enable the Jin soldiers to cross over and determine the outcome." Fu Jian ignored the dissuasion of the generals and said, "If you lead a small number of troops to retreat and make them halfway across, I will kill them with my cavalry frowning. I will be so contemptuous!" So the army of the former Qin Dynasty began to retreat. Because the former Qin army was too numerous and poorly informed, Zhu Xu shouted loudly from behind the army: "The Qin army is defeated!" As a result, the former Qin army was completely defeated! Afterwards, Zhu Xu fled back to the Eastern Jin Dynasty and was still active on the battlefield.
Reference materials: 1. "Zizhi Tongjian"; 2. "Book of Jin"
