본문 바로가기
World History/World History(English)

The Battle of Fei River

by 황금나무(Golden Tree) 2025. 1. 7.
반응형

The Emperor of the Former Jin, Fu Jian, returning to Chang'an, could hardly believe his situation. Just a few days ago, he had been commanding an army of one million. With this mighty army, he had intended to conquer Eastern Jin and bring all of China under his control. Yet, his million-strong army had been defeated by only 80,000 troops. It was utterly lamentable that he had ignored the dying wish of Wang Meng, who had advised against attacking Eastern Jin.

 

 

1. Unification of Northern China
Around 383 AD, Emperor Fu Jian of the Former Qin unified northern China, which had been divided since the fall of the Han dynasty. Although Fu Jian was not of Han ethnic origin, he did not discriminate against different ethnicities and promoted talents based on merit. He acquired the services of the great statesman Wang Meng, and together they established a prosperous nation, conquering the northern regions and even the western regions. Additionally, the Sichuan region had already fallen under Fu Jian’s control. Only the final step of unifying the country remained—conquering the Southern Jin dynasty, which resided south of the Yangtze River.

 

2. Fragile Unification
The Jin dynasty was founded by Sima Yi’s descendants, the former imperial family of the Western Jin, in the southern region after the fall of the Western Jin. At the time, Jin was internally weakened due to power struggles among the aristocratic families. However, despite these internal struggles, Jin still represented a Han ethnic regime, which held great significance for the Han people in northern China. On the other hand, the Former Qin was also facing internal issues. Its rapid unification had caused significant ethnic tensions between the Han and non-Han peoples within its realm. If local governance weakened, the Former Qin could easily collapse.

 

3. Fu Jian’s Ambition
Despite these challenges, Fu Jian, the emperor of Former Qin, was very eager to claim the title of the "Emperor of Unified China." He promoted talents without regard for ethnicity and accepted a Han-style governing system, despite his own non-Han background. However, when Fu Jian announced his intention to conquer the Southern Jin, almost all of his officials, including his own family members and even Wang Meng, opposed the idea. Wang Meng even left a dying wish for Fu Jian, advising him not to attack Jin. Though Fu Jian initially respected Wang Meng’s advice and refrained from pursuing the conquest, after seven years, Fu Jian could no longer resist his desire for unification and decided to invade Jin, despite the opposition from his court. Although internal unity was a priority, Fu Jian had already set his eyes on the grand goal of unifying China.

 

4. The Million-Man Army
Fu Jian gathered a staggering army of over one million soldiers to march against Jin. The Former Qin’s massive army was dispatched in three directions toward Jin. From Jin’s perspective, it was clear that if one of the three armies could not be stopped, the entire country would fall. This was a national crisis. In response to the invasion, the Southern Jin gathered only 80,000 soldiers. While this seemed like a disadvantage in terms of numbers, their forces were highly trained and more disciplined. In contrast, the Former Qin’s army, though larger in number, was made up mostly of poorly trained soldiers. Jin’s forces launched a preemptive strike, which had some success but did not turn the tide of the war.

 

5. The Spy
During the campaign, a messenger arrived from the Former Qin offering to negotiate a surrender. However, this was not an ordinary messenger but a spy who was actively aiding Jin. His name was Zhu Se, a former official from the Former Qin who had surrendered to Jin. Rather than negotiating surrender, Zhu Se revealed all of the Former Qin’s strategies to the Jin court. He even advised them to strike the vanguard of the Former Qin before all of their forces arrived, which would cause chaos in their ranks.

 

6. 1 Million vs. 80,000
The Southern Jin feigned willingness to surrender and made a demand: they would surrender if the Former Qin’s forces would retreat slightly. On the day of battle, the two armies stood face to face, separated by a river. Fu Jian accepted Jin’s demand and began to retreat his army slightly. However, Jin’s forces saw this as an opportunity and planned to strike at the rear of the Former Qin army. Fu Jian anticipated this and prepared to counterattack if Jin’s forces turned on his retreating army. Given the massive size of his forces, he was confident that he could crush Jin if things went as planned. However, a key factor disrupted his plans—his intentions were not communicated to his soldiers. As the Former Qin army began its retreat, Jin’s forces crossed the river and attacked. The Former Qin soldiers, confused by the retreat, believed they were already defeated, and their morale collapsed. Meanwhile, Zhu Se spread rumors that the Former Qin had been defeated, exacerbating the confusion. The Jin forces launched a full-scale attack, and the Former Qin army was quickly shattered. Fu Jian barely escaped and made his way back to Chang’an.

 

7. Re-division, Hollow Victory
Upon Fu Jian’s return to Chang’an, news of the defeat spread quickly, causing unrest among the provinces under Former Qin’s rule. Revolts broke out across the empire, and several regions declared independence. Fu Jian was unable to suppress the uprisings, and even in Chang’an, a rebellion occurred. Fu Jian was killed, and the royal family was nearly annihilated. Just before this defeat, Fu Jian had been the closest figure to unifying China, but his greed led him to launch the ill-fated campaign before securing his internal affairs. In the end, he became the ruler of a fallen empire, much like the fate of Emperor Yang of the Sui dynasty after his failed invasion of Goguryeo. Despite Jin’s victory, it too was short-lived, as the northern troops who had played a key role in the victory later rebelled, leading to the fall of the Jin dynasty and the rise of a new regime. Ultimately, the Battle of Feishui was a hollow victory with no true winner.

반응형

'World History > World History(English)' 카테고리의 다른 글

The Battle of Sekigahara  (0) 2025.01.07
The Battle of Gwiju  (0) 2025.01.07
The Battle of Wǔzhàngyuán  (0) 2025.01.06
The Battle of Gaixia  (0) 2025.01.05
The Battle of Yamen  (0) 2025.01.05

댓글