(PS: This chapter is mainly about the background story of the Battle of Fei River. Those who don't like or don't understand this part of history can just skip it.)
On the 16th of June, all the major media outlets in China reported in detail the news that Hardstone City had accepted the Great Xia Dynasty as its suzerain in a prominent position, pushing the players to a climax.
At this moment, a system announcement suddenly spread throughout the China region.
"System Announcement: The China region has successfully promoted 30 level 2 cities, triggering the battle system. The seventh battle, [Battle of Fei River], will officially begin in three days. Please look forward to it. Friendly reminder: The Battle of Fei River is a non-mandatory battle scenario mission. Only territories that have been promoted to level 2 are eligible to participate. "
…
Until now, there were less than 50 territories in the wilderness of the China region. The lowest level was already a level 1 city, and level 2 cities were the backbone. As for Di Chen and the others, they had long been promoted to level 1 marquises and their territories to level 3 cities.
However, there was a huge gap between a marquis and a duke. Not to mention Di Chen, even Feng Qiuhuang only had 400,000 merit points, which was less than half of what a duke needed.
It seemed like the birth of a second capital city in the China region was still far away.
Ouyang Shuo had mixed feelings about the Battle of Fei River. In his previous life, the development of the China region wasn't as fast as this one. Before Ouyang Shuo was reincarnated, the Battle of Fei River was the last battle.
This meant that Ouyang Shuo would no longer be able to foresee the next battle.
…
The Battle of Fei River took place in 383 AD. The Former Qin sent troops to invade the Eastern Jin Dynasty. In the end, the Eastern Jin Dynasty defeated the Former Qin army of 1.12 million with only 80,000 soldiers.
The Former Qin, which had an absolute advantage, lost to the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and the country fell. The northern tribes all left the Former Qin's rule and split into several regimes led by the Later Qin and the Later Yan. The Eastern Jin Dynasty took this opportunity to invade the north and pushed the border to the Yellow River. For the next few decades, the Eastern Jin Dynasty was not invaded by other tribes.
…
To understand the Battle of Fei River, it had to be placed in the special historical background of the Wei, Jin, and Southern and Northern Dynasties.
The Wei, Jin, Southern, and Northern Dynasties were also known as the Three Kingdoms, Two Jin, Sixteen Kingdoms, and Southern and Northern Dynasties. From Cao Pi's ascension to the Sui Dynasty's conquest of Chen and unification of China, a total of 369 years had passed.
This period was the period of the most frequent regime changes in China's history. Long-term separatist rule, continuous wars, and more than 30 dynasties of various sizes rose and fell in three hundred years.
The Wei, Jin, and Southern and Northern Dynasties inherited the Han and Jin Dynasties, and the Sui and Tang Dynasties. During this period of time, each dynasty was short and chaotic. It was also during this special period that Metaphysics, Taoism, Buddhism, and Persian and Greek cultures were introduced. Many new cultural factors influenced and permeated each other.
This period was also a period of transformation and reform of the feudal dynasty system, and its position in history was no less than that of the Pre-Qin Dynasty. The system of the Sui and Tang Dynasties was gradually developed and finalized during this period, and its influence lasted until the Northern Song Dynasty.
In the year 265, Sima Yan replaced Cao Wei and established a new regime. The country was named Jin and its capital was set at Luoyang. The Three Kingdoms were ended and the world was once again unified.
Unfortunately, this unified dynasty was only a flash in the pan.
After the destruction of the Kingdom of Wu, the aristocrats of the Western Jin Dynasty became extravagant and corrupt. The political atmosphere was dark and the aristocratic families were in charge.
During this period, a large number of nomadic tribes moved inland and were taken in as slaves by the aristocratic families. At that time, the foreign tribes in Guanzhong and Liangzhou accounted for half of the local population.
Because of the large number of people that moved in, it was the foreshadowing of the fall of the Western Jin Dynasty and the Five Barbarians Rebellion.
In the year 299, the Western Jin Dynasty fought for the throne, which led to the Eight Lords' Rebellion. It lasted for seven years, and the ethnic groups that moved inland took the opportunity to raise their troops, causing the tragedy of the Five Barbarians Rebellion. A large number of people and aristocratic families moved south.
The Five Barbarians Rebellion started from the fall of the Western Jin Dynasty until the unification of the north by Xianbei and Northern Wei. It was also known as the Yongjia Rebellion, the Sinking of the Central Plains, and the Fall of the Central Plains.
This period was a disaster for the Han people. The north and south of the world were divided and confronted each other for a long time.
The Five Barbarians mainly referred to the Xiongnu, Xianbei, Jie, Qiang, and Di tribes. Before the Battle of Fei River, the Qin Emperor Fu Jian was from the Di tribe.
In the year 357, the King of the Eastern Sea, Fu Jian, launched a coup. He deposed the former Qin Emperor Fu Sheng and ascended the throne. He was known as the Heavenly King of the Great Qin Dynasty and changed the era to Yongxing.
In the next 30 years, the Great Emperor Fu Jian put Wang Meng and the others in important positions. He strengthened the country and conquered the Former Yan, Former Liang, and Dai. Finally, he unified the north and formed a confrontation with the Eastern Jin Dynasty.
Fu Jian was an excellent monarch, and none of the emperors in the Jin Dynasty could compare with him.
During the conquest of the Former Yan, Former Liang, and Dai, Fu Jian never killed the captive emperors, generals, and ministers. Instead, he treated them well.
This might be due to Fu Jian's generous character, but it was more likely due to political considerations.
Because the Di tribe was a small tribe in the north, it was a big problem for them to control the other tribes. Faced with this situation, Fu Jian did not want to kill the leaders of the other tribes, which would cause unrest. He would rather use some tricks to control them and even give them considerable military power.
This included Murong Chui, Yao Chi, and the others.
Ironically, after the defeat of the Former Qin in the Fei River Battle, Murong Chui fled back to the old land of the Former Yan and proclaimed himself as the king. The disciples of the Murong Clan galloped on their horses and wore armors. Yao Chi rose again and finally killed Fu Jian.
…
In the year 375, Wang Meng passed away. Before he died, he said to Fu Jian, "Although the Jin Dynasty is remote from Wuyue, it is a direct descendant of the Shuo Dynasty. Being kind and friendly to one's neighbors is the treasure of the country. After I pass away, I do not wish to use the Jin Dynasty as my goal. The Xianbei and the Qiang Tribes are my enemies. They will eventually cause trouble for others. It is better to eliminate them gradually for the sake of the country. "
Wang Meng's advice made sense.
After conquering the Former Yan, Former Liang, and Dai, the Former Qin obtained a huge amount of spoils of war. However, it was not easy to digest these spoils.
It took time for the races to assimilate and integrate.
The small Di tribe conquering the north of China was like a snake swallowing an elephant. Logically, the snake's priority should be to secrete stomach acid to digest the elephant. It was not a good idea to swallow a rhinoceros before it was fully digested.
Wang Meng was worried about the snake's digestive ability. That was why he had warned Fu Jian earlier.
However, Fu Jian's rise was a history of continuous success. This gave Fu Jian a strong sense of self-confidence. He did not believe that his luck would stop.
Fu Jian happily thought, "Swallowing another rhinoceros is not a problem."
Unifying the world was a huge temptation. Fu Jian could not resist this temptation. Therefore, seven years after Wang Meng's death, Fu Jian felt that the time was ripe and decided to attack the Eastern Jin Dynasty.
In the year 377, the Former Qin intensified their attack on the Eastern Jin Dynasty.
That year, the Former Qin used 170,000 troops to attack the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Xiangyang City defended for a year before falling. The Eastern Jin Dynasty's Governor of Yongzhou, Zhu Xu, was captured.
According to Fu Jian's usual practice of using captives, Zhu Xu was recruited as a Former Qin official.
However, Zhu Xu did not give up. Instead, he played the role of a high-level spy and played a major role in the Battle of the Fei River.
In the year 383, the Former Qin Emperor, Fu Jian, decided to use all the power of the country to conquer the Eastern Jin Dynasty. He ordered that every ten men in the country would be selected to recruit an army. He also ordered that all the horses in the country, be it public or private, be used by the expeditionary army.
Thus, 870,000 troops were gathered. Among them, 270,000 were cavalry. In addition, there were 250,000 vanguards led by General Fu Rong, totaling 1.12 million troops.
At that time, the total population of the Eastern Jin Dynasty was only three to four million. The number of soldiers fighting the war was only about 100,000. However, compared to the million troops temporarily transferred by the Former Qin, the 100,000 troops of the Eastern Jin Dynasty were several times more powerful.
The main force of this army was the Northern Prefecture Army. They were mainly made up of refugees.
Why were they refugees?
After the fall of the Western Jin Dynasty, the refugees from the north moved to the south. Some of them moved to the south of the Yangtze River. They became the vassals of the landlords and became ordinary people. However, there were still many refugees who stayed north of the Yangtze River. They were different from those who went to farm for the big families. They had their own organizations and armed forces.
In ancient times, it was not an easy thing to escape. There were dangers everywhere.
When people escaped, they always wore their best clothes and hid their most valuable things in their bags. This made them the best targets for robbery.
In troubled times, bandits ran amok. It was common to run into bandits and be stripped naked and thrown to the side of the road. The rebels were also around the corner. It was their duty to rob refugees when they saw them.
Other than bandits and rebels, even the Jin officials had ideas about the refugees.
For example, the Duke of Xiyang of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Sima Qiu, had his men pretend to be bandits and openly rob the refugees in Hubei. There were more than one or two black-hearted princes who did this. It had almost become a promising industry. Even the famous Zu Ti, the general of the Northern Expedition, had done this.
When Zu Ti first arrived in Jiangnan, he did not have many belongings. One day, he invited many high-ranking officials to his house and displayed many treasures. He said, "Don't be surprised. I just happened to go to Nantang yesterday and did something."
Zu Ti was not a bad person. Later, he led the army on the Northern Expedition and died in Henan. The locals built an ancestral hall for him and many people burned incense and worshipped him.
The key was that the temptation was too great. There was a group of fat sheep lying outside. How could they let them go? Anyway, they had knives and guns. It would be a waste to rob them. Who wouldn't rob them?
As for whether these sheep would have difficulties living after being robbed, who cared so much about that?
Even refugees would rob each other. Unarmed refugees could easily become victims of their own kind.
Under such circumstances, under the command of the leader, the refugees organized themselves. No matter who they were, if anyone dared to come and steal from them, they would fight them to the end.
These leaders became "Refugee Marshals".
In this way, the refugees became a relatively independent armed force.
Moreover, most of the refugees who went south had gone through turmoil and learned some skills. They were strong in numbers and could fight better than those who spent their whole lives farming at home.
If they were not used to fight, it would be a great pity.
In 377 AD, Xie Xuan took in a large number of refugees from the north in Jingkou and established the Northern Legion Army.
Under the reorganization of a qualified general like Xie Xuan, the Northern Legion Army trained hard for several years and soon became the most elite army in Eastern Jin Dynasty, and in the whole of China at that time.
In the sixth year after Xie Xuan established the Northern Legion, the Battle of Fei River began.
In all fairness, Fu Jian conscripted one out of ten men. This ratio was not too high at that time, and it was not rare to see a higher ratio.
But Fu Jian conscripted the entire Qin Empire. From Hebei to Sichuan, from Shandong to Gansu, all had to be conscripted according to this ratio. This caused a huge problem.
At that time, there were no railroads, trucks, or carriages for these soldiers. These soldiers had to rely on their two legs to travel. Under normal circumstances, if a person carried nothing and walked for eight hours a day, and the roads were well-built, he might be able to walk 40 kilometers.
But as a soldier, he had to carry some personal belongings, and the road might not be so smooth.
According to historical records, the army of Alexander the Great could walk about 25 kilometers a day. The army of the Roman Empire could usually walk 25 kilometers, and when they were especially fast, they could even walk more than 30 kilometers.
But the army of the Qin Empire was not a professional soldier who had been trained for a long time. It was already very difficult for them to walk 20 kilometers. It was a chaotic time, and the roads were not well-maintained.
It would be even worse if they had to cross a river. Without a bridge, they could only wait for a ferry. Even ignoring these difficulties, it would take a soldier in the northwest two months to reach the Huai River valley.
The problem was that Fu Jian's preparation for the war was quite hasty. In the seventh month, Fu Jian issued the conscription order. Normally, this order would take some time to spread throughout the country, and then the local officials would have to spend a considerable amount of time to carry it out. It would take nearly a month for all the armies to be ready to go.
But Fu Jian felt that time waited for no man.
On the second day of the eighth month, Fu Jian sent the Duke of Yangping, Commander-In-Chief Zhang Hao, and Murong Chui, with a total of 250,000 infantry and cavalry as the vanguard. He appointed Yao Chi, the Governor of Yan Province, as the General of Dragon Xiang, to supervise the military in Yi Province and Liang Province.
On the eighth day of the eighth month, Fu Jian set off from Chang 'an for the battlefield, and the main army followed suit.
In the ninth month, Fu Rong led 250,000 vanguard troops to the mouth of the Huai River valley. Fu Jian's army reached Xiang City, and the army from Liang Province reached Xianyang. Pei Yuanlue, the Governor of Zitong, led 70,000 naval troops from Bashu to the east. The army from You Province and Ji Province also reached Pengcheng.
The war had officially begun.
By this time, had all the armies arrived at the designated battlefield? It was obvious that they would not make it in time. According to historical records, when Fu Jian reached Xiang City, the army from Gansu Province had just reached Xianyang.
The armies from all over the country were marching to the assembly point, and the war had already begun.
What was more ironic was that before they reached the battlefield, the Battle of the Fei River had already ended. All they did was run around in the north of China, consuming large amounts of food and blocking all the roads.
It could be said that Fu Jian's failure in the battle of Fei River was caused by the fact that he didn't listen to Wang Meng's dying words, ignored the opposition of Fu Rong and the other ministers, ignored the dissuasion of the famous monk Shi Daoan, Crown Prince Fu Hong, Duke Zhongshan Fu Shen, and even his favorite concubine Lady Zhang.
The defeat of Qin at the Fei River was not a coincidence.
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