GBP Chapter 197 Why is it so difficult to conquer the north?
Chapter 197 Why is it so difficult to conquer the north?
Zhang Yi even helped the Qin State break the Hezong by Lianheng. In 325 BC, Ying Si proclaimed himself the King of Qin and became the first king of the Qin State. After that, the Qin State destroyed Shu and defeated Chu, and conquered Yiqu, the most powerful state in the northwest of the Qin State, gradually showing signs of unifying the world.
In 311 BC, King Huiwen of Qin died and King Wu of Qin succeeded him. King Wu was born with supernatural powers and liked to play games related to sharp weapons with warriors since he was a child.
However, at the age of 23, he broke his tibia while competing in a tripod lifting competition and died on the spot. As King Wu of Qin had no son, his younger brother Ying Ji was enthroned as King Zhao of Qin.
In the early days of his reign, Mi Bazi (Queen Dowager Xuan) was the Queen Mother, and his uncle Wei Ran was in power. In 304 BC, the 21-year-old King Zhao of Qin began to rule the country. He was ambitious and continued to implement Shang Yang's reform policy, thoroughly implemented the military merit system, and vigorously promoted talents of civilian origin.
Wei Ran recommended his good friend Bai Qi, who was good at using troops, to King Zhao of Qin. Bai Qi served as the chief general of the Qin army for more than 40 years. He was always able to predict the enemy's situation and win by surprise. In the Battle of Changping, he even killed Zhao soldiers and shocked the six kingdoms.
In 256 BC, King Nan of Zhou wanted to unite the six states in Shandong to attack Qin, but the Qin army captured the capital Luoyi. The Zhou emperor became a prisoner, and King Zhao of Qin moved the Nine Cauldrons to Xianyang, thus ending the 800-year rule of the Zhou Dynasty.
In 251 BC, King Zhao of Qin died and the crown prince ascended the throne. However, this prince died mysteriously after only three days as King of Qin, becoming the shortest-reigning monarch in the history of the Qin State.
After that, King Zhuangxiang of Qin died of illness after only four years in office, and Ying Zheng, who was only 4 years old, became the new King of Qin. In the early days of Ying Zheng, Lü Buwei was appointed as the prime minister, and the national affairs were controlled by Lü Buwei.
In 239 BC, when the 21-year-old Ying Zheng was about to take power, the queen mother's male favorite launched a rebellion, but was easily suppressed by Ying Zheng who was well prepared. Ying Zheng also took the opportunity to dismiss Lu Buwei and began to monopolize power.
After Ying Zheng came to power, he appointed Wei Liao and Li Si to actively implement the unification strategy. In 229 BC, the Qin general Wang Jian defeated the Zhao army, captured the King of Zhao, and the Zhao State was destroyed.
In 225 BC, the Qin general Wang Ben flooded the Wei capital Daliang, and the King of Wei surrendered, and the Wei State was destroyed. In 223 BC, Wang Jian led an army of 60 to defeat the Chu army. The Chu general Xiang Yan committed suicide, and the King of Chu Fu Chu was captured, and the Chu State was destroyed. In 222 BC, Wang Jian pacified the Yue State. In the same year, Wang Ben's army marched south and captured King Jian of Qi, destroying the Qi State.
At this point, Qin King Ying Zheng annexed the six eastern states and finally completed the great cause of unification. He believed that he had the virtues of the Three Sovereigns and the merits of the Five Emperors, and he regarded himself as the emperor, that is, Qin Shi Huang. Since then, China has officially entered the imperial era.
In 210 BC, Qin Shihuang died on his way to the east. The eunuch Zhao Gao and Prime Minister Li Si conspired to tamper with Qin Shihuang's will, enthrone Hu Hai as emperor, and use a forged edict to kill Prince Fusu and General Meng Tian.
After Hu Hai ascended the throne, the government was controlled by Zhao Gao. Zhao Gao's brutal rule soon aroused public anger, triggering the Dazexiang Uprising led by Chen Sheng and Wu Guang and the restoration movement of the old nobles of the six kingdoms. In 207 BC, Zhao Gao forced the death of Qin II, Hu Hai, removed the title of Qin Emperor, and established Ziying as the King of Qin.
In the same year, Liu Bang led his troops into the pass. Ziying, who had been in power for only 46 days, surrendered to Liu Bang, and the Qin Dynasty perished.
[Why was it difficult to succeed in the Northern Expedition? Historical knowledge of Zhuge Liang and Yue Fei]
How difficult was the Northern Expedition? Why did most of the Northern Expeditions in history fail? Only Zhu Yuanzhang completed the unprecedented Northern Expedition. In this video, let us walk into the Northern Expedition in Chinese history.
The first is Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition. It took Zhuge Liang his whole life to walk the road from Ducheng to Luoyang.
In 226 AD, Emperor Wen of Wei, Cao Pi, died and Shu Han had just pacified Nanzhong. Zhuge Liang believed that the time had come for a northern expedition, so in 228 AD he led 30 troops out of Qishan to march north to Chang'an.
Initially, the progress was very smooth, and the three counties of Nangan, Tianshui, and Anding surrendered. However, due to Ma Su's loss of Jieting, Zhuge Liang had to abandon the three counties and withdraw his troops, and the Northern Expedition failed.
Zhuge Liang executed Ma Su with tears in his eyes and demoted himself to the third rank. After reorganization, Zhuge Liang sent troops to seize Wudu and Yinping counties again. In 231 AD, Zhuge Liang went to Qishan for the second time. Sima Yi refused to fight and was mocked by the generals for being "afraid of Shu like a tiger".
However, Sima Yi's defensive tactics worked every time, and Zhuge Liang really retreated because of running out of food. In 234, after three years of farming preparation, Zhuge Liang began the fifth Northern Expedition. The two armies confronted each other for many days. Zhuge Liang gave Sima Yi a set of women's clothing, but Sima Yi still refused to fight.
Soon after, Zhuge Liang died of illness. After Zhuge Liang's death, Jiang Wei took over the Northern Expedition and led 11 expeditions to the Central Plains, but he was unable to realize his dream of restoring the Han Dynasty and returning to the old capital.
The second is Liu Yu's Northern Expedition. Liu Yu, the founding emperor of the Southern Song Dynasty, was born in a poor family and sold straw sandals like his predecessor Liu Bei. He joined the Northern Army in his 30s and made his mark by suppressing the Huan Xuan Rebellion.
In 403 AD, Huan Xuan usurped the throne. Liu Yu first expressed his allegiance, but when he saw that Huan Xuan could not accomplish anything, he contacted his old subordinates to overthrow Huan Xuan and re-establish Emperor An of Jin. In fact, Liu Yu also took control of the power of the Eastern Jin Dynasty.
In 409 AD, Murong Chao, a noble of Southern Yan, captured Guanggu, the capital of Nanjing. Liu Yu executed all the nobles of Southern Yan and took the Southern Yan emperor Murong Chao back to Jiankang and beheaded him.
Later, Liu Yu, the King of Southern Yan, pacified Lingnan, annexed Jingzhou, annihilated Qiao Shu, and recaptured Hanzhong. After the Northern Expedition in 416 AD, Liu Yu, the King of Qin, recaptured Chang'an for the Eastern Jin Dynasty.
Although it was lost again soon, Liu Yu had already recovered a large area south of the Yellow River, north of the Baishui River, and the upper reaches of the Han River. As long as the Northern Wei was destroyed, Southern Yan could unify the world.
However, in 422 AD, two years after Liu Yu proclaimed himself emperor, his plan failed and he died of illness in May of the same year at the age of 5. The Northern Expedition, which was closest to success in history, ended prematurely.
The third is Chen Qingzhi's Northern Expedition. Famous teachers and generals should not be arrogant, and thousands of troops should avoid white robes. Chen Qingzhi was born in a humble family and entered the official career when he was young because he followed Emperor Wu of Liang, Xiao Yan.
Chen Qingzhi was weak and sickly, and could not personally charge into battle, but the troops he commanded often defeated the larger force with a smaller one. In the Battle of Woyang, he defeated the Northern Wei army and forced the Wei army to surrender more than 3 people, which was praised by Emperor Wu of Liang.
In 528 AD, the Heyin Rebellion broke out in the Northern Wei Dynasty. King Yuan Hao of Beihai fled to Southern Liang and asked Xiao Yan to send troops to help him restore his country. So Xiao Yan sent Chen Qingzhi to escort Yuan Hao back to Luoyang, but the army allocated to Chen Qingzhi was only a few thousand people.
Chen Qingzhi led several thousand troops to attack cities and capture strongholds. He advanced deep into the enemy's territory alone and defeated the Northern Wei army with great force. After 47 battles, he captured 32 cities and successfully took Luoyang. Emperor Xiaozhuang of the Northern Wei fled to Hebei to seek refuge with the powerful official Erzhu Rong.
However, after entering Luoyang, Yuan Hao became arrogant, indulged in wine and women, and became suspicious of Chen Qingzhi. Chen Qingzhi requested reinforcements from the Southern Liang several times but received no response.
Soon, Erzhu Rong gathered the Northern Wei army to attack Luoyang. Chen Qianzhi used several thousand troops to fight against the 10-strong Northern Wei army in Zhonglang City on the bank of the Yellow River and held out for three days.
Erzhu Rong sent people to cross the river to attack Yuan Hao, who was defeated and fled. Chen Qingzhi's army failed at the last moment and was wiped out when he encountered a mudslide on the way to retreat.
Although this Northern Expedition was unsuccessful, it allowed the Northern Wei to see the strength of the Southern Dynasty. In the following twenty years, it did not invade the south, allowing the Southern Liang Dynasty to become the most prosperous period of the Southern Dynasty.
The fourth person to lead the Northern Expedition was Yue Fei. "The shame of Jingkang has not yet been avenged, and the hatred of the ministers will never be eliminated." In 1127 AD, the second year of Jingkang in the Northern Song Dynasty, the Jin army looted Kaifeng and captured the royal family and officials of the two emperors Huizong and Qinzong of the Northern Song Dynasty, and then fled, leaving behind a completely unrecognizable Kaifeng City, which is known in history as the Jingkang Disaster.
Zhao Gou, the ninth son of Emperor Huizong of Song, ascended the throne in Shangqiu, Henan. Yue Fei, who was only a low-ranking military officer at the time, wrote a letter requesting a Northern Expedition. However, he was driven out of the barracks by Zhao Gou and fled to Zong Ze who stayed in Kaifeng. Zong Ze admired Yue Fei's talents very much and cultivated him carefully.
He petitioned the emperor for the Northern Expedition many times, but was rejected by Zhao Gou. Zong Ze died in hatred, and his successor Du Chong fled back to Jiangnan with his army in the name of protecting Zhao Gou. Yue Fei had no choice but to follow him south.
Zhao Gou was beaten by the Jin army in Jiangnan and fled everywhere. The important towns in Jiangnan fell one after another. Jin Wushu was very proud and thought he could completely destroy the Southern Song Dynasty. However, he was strongly blocked by the new generation of generals such as Yue Fei and Han Shizhong.
In the Battle of Yancheng, the Jin army sank 15 miles of corpses and fled north in panic. Yue Fei became famous in one battle and became a rising star in the Southern Song Dynasty. Yue Fei was strict in military discipline. He would not demolish houses even if they were frozen to death, and would not plunder even if they were starved to death. He was deeply loved by the people.
Compared to his arrogant colleagues of the same era, Yue Fei was undoubtedly an outlier. Although Zhao Gou expressed his trust in Yue Fei, he was very suspicious of him in his heart. In 1134 AD, Yue Fei recovered the six counties of Xiangyang, and two years later recovered Shangzhou and Guozhou.
The Jin Kingdom negotiated peace with the Southern Song Dynasty, Zhao Gou called off the Northern Expedition and signed the Shaoxing Agreement with the Jin Kingdom. Soon after, the Jin Kingdom launched a coup and invaded the south, Zhao Gou quickly asked Yue Fei to save the situation, Yue Fei led his troops to the Northern Expedition and advanced all the way to Kaifeng.
However, under the instigation of Qin Hui, Zhao Gou issued 12 golden orders in one day to forcibly recall Yue Fei. In 1142, Yue Fei was killed.
Finally, Zhu Yuanzhang launched the Northern Expedition, which was the first time in Chinese history that an emperor successfully unified China through the Northern Expedition.
Zhu Yuanzhang was the founding emperor of a unified dynasty with the poorest family background in Chinese history. He joined the Red Turban Rebellion at the age of 25. At that time, the Yuan Dynasty was already in flames and civil strife. However, for the Red Turban Rebellion, which came from a humble background, it was still a huge force.
After the death of his father-in-law Guo Zixing, Zhu Yuanzhang seized Nanjing and adopted the strategy of building high walls, storing up grain, and slowly declaring himself king. He recognized Han Lin'er, the son of Han Shantong, as the orthodox and developed his own power.
After eliminating competitors such as Chen Youliang, Zhang Shicheng, and Fang Guozhen, Zhu Yuanzhang had become the most powerful warlord at the time, and the only thing left for him to become emperor and unify the country was a northern expedition against the Yuan Dynasty.
In October 1367, Zhu Yuanzhang sent Xu Da and Chang Yuchun to lead 10 troops to the north. In June of the following year, they captured the Yuan capital and completely drove Emperor Shun of Yuan out of the Central Plains.
However, warlords loyal to the Yuan Dynasty still entrenched around the Ming Dynasty's territory, attempting to make a comeback. In order to wipe out the remaining forces of the Yuan Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang launched a total of 13 northern expeditions against Mongolia and gradually unified the country.
The most successful of these was the Battle of Buir Lake in 1388, which dealt a heavy blow to the foundation of the Northern Yuan Dynasty. Toghon Temur, the leader of the Yuan Dynasty, fled in panic, and a large number of royal nobles were captured by the Ming army, as well as military horses, cattle, sheep, camels, and even the seals and books of the Yuan Dynasty. After this battle, the Northern Yuan Dynasty was completely reduced to a guerrilla force and could no longer threaten the Ming Dynasty.
[Understand the history of the Anshi Rebellion and the Tang Dynasty in one breath]
This was the bloodiest rebellion in history, and the prosperous Tang Dynasty fell from prosperity to decline. An Lushan, the governor of the Three Towns, started a rebellion, which marked the beginning of the An Lushan Rebellion. So what exactly caused the An Lushan Rebellion?
How chaotic was it? This video will help you understand the An-Shi Rebellion in one go.
The An Lushan Rebellion lasted for seven years and two months from November 755, when An Lushan launched his rebellion, to 11, when Shi Chaoyi committed suicide. The "An" in the An Lushan Rebellion refers to An Lushan, and the "Shi" refers to Shi Siming.
The beginning of the An Lushan Rebellion can be traced back to the rise of An Lushan. An Lushan's real name was Zha Lushan, and he was born in a humble family. His mother, Ashide, was a Turkic sorcerer. Later, she remarried with her son to a man named An Yanyan.
In the early years of the Kaiyuan period, An Lushan fled from the Turks and risked his life to become a broker with the surname An. Later, An Lushan was discovered stealing cattle and was almost beaten to death by officials.
An Lushan thought quickly and shouted: "Doctor, don't you want to destroy the Khitan in Xihe? Why do you want to kill me?" Zhang Shougui, the governor of Youzhou at that time, was surprised, so he took An Lushan as his subordinate, and later adopted him as his son.
Once, An Lushan lost a war against the Khitan in Xihe, and Zhang Shougui took him to the capital to celebrate his death. The then Prime Minister Zhang Jiuling advised Emperor Xuanzong to kill An Lushan, but Emperor Xuanzong was soft-hearted and let him go. Emperor Xuanzong would regret this decision in his later years.
After Zhang Shougui's death, An Lushan was promoted to Jiedushi of Pinglu and Fanyang. In order to get a higher position, An Lushan took the initiative to make friends with the Yang family and try to please Yang Guifei in order to gain the trust of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang and concurrently served as Jiedushi of Hedong.
However, Yang Guozhong, a distant cousin of Yang Guifei, was very disgusted with An Lushan. Yang Guozhong always felt that An Lushan was suspicious and advised Emperor Xuanzong to kill him as soon as possible. Emperor Xuanzong disagreed and sent eunuchs to investigate An Lushan.
As a result, the person sent was bribed by An Lushan and came back to say a lot of good things about An Lushan. When Yang Guozhong's plan failed, he came up with another one. He asked Emperor Xuanzong of Tang to summon An Lushan to Beijing and wanted to kill An Lushan in the capital. Unexpectedly, Yang Guifei actually tipped off An Lushan.
An Lushan cried and made a scene in front of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, and once again got away with it. After returning, he began to plan a rebellion. In November 755 AD, An Lushan raised an army in Fanyang, commanding 11 troops, which marked the beginning of the An-Shi Rebellion.
As the Tang Dynasty had been peaceful for a long time, the prefectures and counties along the way had no power to resist the rebels. Soon Luoyang fell, An Lushan proclaimed himself emperor, named the country Dayan, and Chang'an fell half a year later.
All the royal family members and officials of the Tang Dynasty were massacred by the rebels. Emperor Xuanzong of Tang fled in a hurry. A mutiny broke out when he passed through Mawei Slope. The soldiers hacked the domineering Yang Guozhong to death and forced Emperor Xuanzong to order the death of Yang Guifei.
Crown Prince Li Heng went north to Lingwu and proclaimed himself emperor, known in history as Emperor Suzong of Tang. He remotely honored his father Emperor Xuanzong of Tang as the Supreme Emperor, and Emperor Xuanzong of Tang had to accept this fact under pressure.
Soon, internal strife broke out within the Yan regime. An Lushan's subordinate Yan Zhuang, who was beaten by An Lushan, was resentful and quietly supported An Lushan's son An Qingxu in killing his father and usurping the throne.
So one night, Yan Zhuang and the eunuch Li Zhuer killed An Lushan, and the era of heroes came to an end. However, the An-Shi Rebellion was far from over. After An Lushan's death, Tang Suzong Li Heng sent Guo Ziyi to successively recapture Chang'an and Luoyang, defeat the usurper An Qingxu, and flee to Yecheng.