Collection
View my collection
0 useful 1 voted
Lock
Sui Dynasty Unification War It was the unification war at the end of the Northern and Southern Dynasties. After the death of Emperor Xuan of the Northern Zhou Dynasty in 580, the powerful minister Yang Jian deposed Emperor Jing of the Northern Zhou Dynasty the following year and established the Sui Dynasty, namely Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty. After stabilizing the interior, resolving foreign aggression from the northern Turks, and annexing Western Liang, from December to February of the eighth year of Kaihuang's reign (588), Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty Yang Jian ordered King Yang Guang of Jin to command the land and sea armies during the Sui Unification War. More than 500,000 people participated in the large-scale cross-river operation to destroy the Chen Dynasty in the south of the Yangtze River. This battle forced Chen Shubao, the empress of Chen, to surrender, and Chen died. And successively recruited and surrendered Sanwu, Lingnan and other areas. Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty completed the great unification and successfully ended the nearly 400 years of chaos in the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties.
Name
Unification War of Sui Dynasty
Location
Yangtze River Basin and Lingnan area
Time
October 588 - February 589
Participants
Sui Dynasty; Chen Dynasty
Results
Sui Dynasty Destroy Chen and unify China
Troop strength of the participating parties
The Sui army is about 518,000 people; the Chen army is about 220,000 people
Main commanders
Yang Guang, Gao Ying; Chen Shubao, Xiao Mohe
At the end of the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the three main regimes of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, the Turkic Dynasty and the Chen Dynasty coexisted. After the death of Emperor Wu of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, Prime Minister Yang Jian took charge of the government. In February 581 AD, Emperor Jing of the Northern Zhou Dynasty abdicated, and Yang Jian ascended the throne to establish the Sui Dynasty, with Chang'an as the capital. At that time, the territory of the Sui Dynasty generally included the vast area north of the Yangtze River, south of the Great Wall of the Han Dynasty, to the coast in the east, and to Sichuan in the west. On the basis of the Northern Zhou and Northern Qi, Yang Jian further adopted a series of measures to strengthen the centralization of monarchy and develop social economy, which made the Sui's political, military and economic power grow day by day.
When the Jiangnan Chen Dynasty passed to its successor Chen Shubao, it maintained more than 400 counties with a population of more than 2 million from the south of the Yangtze River, east of the Xiling Gorge to the southeast coast. Political corruption, suspicion from top to bottom, heavy taxes, empty treasuries, brutal criminal laws, and people's complaints; the emperor was intoxicated with wine and sex, neglected to be vigilant, and relied on the Yangtze River to block the Sui army's attack.
The Northern Turks were a nomadic slave society that rose to prominence in the mid-6th century. By the time of Sabolo Khan, they controlled the vast area north of the Great Wall, south of Lake Baikal, west of the Xing'an Mountains, and east of the Black Sea. It has hundreds of thousands of cavalry. Because the Sui Dynasty stopped making peace with it, it continued to raise troops to invade the south, threatening the Sui rule. However, at that time, the Turks had four khans, each with heavy troops. Shaboluo was at odds with Apo, Datou and other khans, which provided favorable conditions for the Sui Dynasty to defeat the Turks.
Emperor Wen had prepared to destroy the Chen Dynasty first and then attack the Turks. Because his wife was the daughter of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, the Turkic Shabolue Khan took revenge from the Northern Zhou Dynasty as an excuse to join forces with Gao Baoning, the former governor of Yingzhou in the Northern Qi Dynasty, to capture Linyu Town (now east of Funing, Hebei, or today's Shanhaiguan) in December. And contacted various ministries to prepare for a large-scale attack on the Sui Dynasty. Based on the situation that the Sui Dynasty was newly established, the border defenses were not solid, and the strength was not yet sufficient, Emperor Wen decided to change the original plan and adopt a strategy of fighting between the south and the north, defeating the Turks first, and then destroying the Chen Dynasty. In April 583, Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty divided his troops into eight groups and launched a counterattack against the Turks. And using Chang Sun Sheng's alienation strategy, the Turkic Khanate was finally split into two parts, the Eastern Turks and the Western Turks, and the four khans killed each other for the throne. In 584, Shabolu Khan sued for peace with the Sui Dynasty because he was unfavorable to the Sui war. At this point, the border troubles in the north have been basically eliminated, eliminating the worries of going south to destroy Chen.
Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty stepped up preparations to destroy Chen. Continue to implement the land equalization system and the rent-to-service system, establish the three-province and six-ministry system at the central level, implement the state and county system at the local level, reform the government and military system, and other measures to facilitate the development of social economy, strengthen centralization of power, and improve the combat effectiveness of the army. After several years of hard work, the national strength and military strength have been significantly enhanced. In October of the fifth year of Emperor Kaihuang's reign, Emperor Wen appointed Qinghe Gong Yang Su as the general manager of Guangzhou and conducted a military expedition to the upper reaches of the Yangtze River.
At the same time, within three years, hundreds of thousands of people were mobilized to repair the Great Wall in the areas of Shuofang (zhiyanlu, today's Nanbaichengzi, Wushen Banner, Inner Mongolia) and Lingwu (zhihuile, southwest of today's Lingwu, Ningxia), and to the east edge of Shuofang. It was a dangerous place and dozens of fortifications were built to strengthen the northern border defense and ensure that the rear would be worry-free when advancing south.
After several years of preparation, Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty finally created an opportunity to destroy the Chen Kingdom in the south. In 587 AD (the seventh year of Emperor Kaihuang's reign), Xiao Cong, the later lord of the Western Liang Dynasty, was deposed and occupied Jiangling. The Western Liang Dynasty was destroyed. In November of the same year, Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty and his ministers discussed the strategy of attacking Chen. Shangshu Zuopushe Gaojuan proposed: "During the harvest season in the south of the Yangtze River, with a small number of troops, we announced an attack and forced Chen to gather troops to defend, so as to miss the farming season. When they gathered troops, I disbanded them. This happened so many times that Chen Jun became accustomed to it. , paralyzed and slack, then raised troops to cross the river, landed to attack, sent people to sneak into Chenjing, set fire to it repeatedly, burned its reserves and supplies, and exhausted all its financial resources."
Cui Zhongfang, the governor of Guozhou, proposed: "In Wuchang. (Today's Ezhou, Hubei) deployed elite troops in key places along the river, secretly preparing to cross the river, in Yi (ruling today's Chengdu), Xin (ruling today's Fengjie East, Sichuan), Xiang (ruling today's Xiangfan, Hubei), Jing (ruling today's Jiangling, Hubei) ) and other places quickly built warships to prepare for water battles; if Chen Ru sent elite troops to the upper reaches to aid, the generals downstream could take advantage of the opportunity to cross the river; if Chen Ru supported the troops to defend themselves, the armies of the upper reaches could go east along the river and take Jiankang (today's Nanjing) . ”
Yang Su, He Ruobi and others also offered suggestions for Ping Chen. Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty adopted them. Before attacking Chen, the Sui Dynasty ordered Li Yan, the governor of Jiezhou, to build warships such as the "Wuya" (a large warship equipped with a shooting pole) and the "Huanglong" in Badong County (now east of Fengjie, Sichuan) on Xiangzhou Road. , strengthen the Navy [6]. Deliberately floating shipbuilding waste in the river to deter the Chen people. He Ruobi sold his old horses, bought a large number of Chen ships, hid them, and bought fifty or sixty dilapidated ships and parked them in small rivers, making the Chen army think that the Sui army had no warships. On many occasions, soldiers who were on guard were gathered in Guangling, banners were displayed, and camps were spread all over the fields. Soldiers were also ordered to shoot and hunt along the river, making noise between men and horses, in order to confuse Chen's army and make it unguarded.
In March of 588 AD (the eighth year of the founding of the Emperor), Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty issued an edict, listing the crimes of empress Chen and sending a seal to expose his crimes in 20 articles, and distributed 300,000 copies of the edict in Jiangnan. , to win people's hearts.
In October, the Huainan Province was established in Shouchun. King Yang Guang of Jin was appointed as Shangshu to coordinate all the troops. Gao Xi was appointed as Marshal. Chang Shi decided on the march strategy. He led the eighty generals and fifty-one generals. Eighteen thousand soldiers invaded the south[7]. Yang Guang and Qin Wang Yang Jun and Yang Su served as marching marshals. At the same time, they divided eight routes from the upper, middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River to conquer the Southern Dynasty Chen.
These eight routes are divided into two parts: the middle and upper reaches and the lower reaches. Marching Marshal Yang Jun commanded the three middle and upper reaches. He led the navy and army from Xiangyang to Tunhankou to prevent the Chen army in the middle reaches from supporting Jiankang, the capital of Chen Dynasty in the lower reaches of the Southern Dynasty. . Marching Marshal Yang Su led the fleet eastward from Yong'an (today's Fengjie, Sichuan). Liu Ren'en, the governor of Jingzhou, left Jiangling to join forces with Yang Su, and finally arrived at Hankou to join forces with Yang Junjun. Yang Su and Liu Ren'en's army were responsible for driving Chen's army in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River to Hankou to encircle and annihilate them.
Marching Marshal Yang Guang commanded the five routes downstream. He led Han Qinhu and He Ruobi to attack Jiankang, and ordered Wang Shiji and Yan Rong to attack Jiangxi and Sanwu as the left and right wings. Yang Guang led his army out of Liuhe, Han Qinhu, the general manager of Luzhou, left Lujiang (now Hefei, Anhui), and He Ruobi, the general manager of Wuzhou, left Guangling (now Yangzhou, Jiangsu). These three groups concentrated on besieging Jiankang. Wang Shiji, the governor of Qizhou, led his navy out of Qichun (now north of Qichun, Hubei Province) to attack Jiujiang and cover Yang Guang's main force. Yan Rong, the commander-in-chief of Qingzhou, led his fleet out of the East China Sea (today's Lianyungang, Jiangsu Province) and detoured southward to Taihu Lake to surprise Wuxian County (today's Suzhou, Jiangsu Province) and penetrated deep into Sanwu to support Yang Guang's main force. Before the Sui Dynasty marched, they detained Chen's envoys and cut off all contacts to keep military secrets. And sent a large number of spies to sneak into Chenjing to carry out sabotage and disruptive activities.
Empress Chen was dissolute, arrogant, and politically corrupt. He neither understood military affairs nor accepted the advice of his generals. He relied on the "Yangtze River natural chasm" and neglected defense. In order to celebrate Yuanhui (i.e. Spring Festival), the two sons who were guarding Jiangzhou (now Jiujiang, Jiangxi) and Nanxuzhou (now Zhenjiang, Jiangsu) were ordered to lead warships back to Jiankang, making the river defense even weaker. In December, the Sui army first launched an attack on the upper reaches of the Yangtze River.
On the 15th, Chen Zhendong's general Ren Zhong led his army from Wuxing (now south of Huzhou, Zhejiang) to aid Jiankang, and Empress Chen only allowed him to garrison Zhuque Gate (2.5 miles south of Xuanyang Gate, the south gate of Jiankang City).
On January 20, 589, Empress Chen launched the Battle of Baitugang against He Ruobi's army under the circumstances of "the long-term indecision of the army is disturbing". He hastily sent Lu Guangda, Ren Zhong, Fan Yi, Kong Fan and Xiao Maha to lead the army to fight. They formed a long snake formation for 20 miles from the north to the south of Baitugang. The advance and retreat of the head and tail were unknown to each other. He Ruobi's army suffered a disadvantage in the first battle, and then focused on attacking the weak Kong Fan's army. Chen's army retreated across the board, and He Ruobi attacked Taicheng (Jiankang Palace) from Beiye Gate. After Han Qinhu's army occupied Shizigang (now Yuhuatai, Nanjing, Jiangsu) on the south bank of the Qinhuai River, Chen General Ren Zhong asked for surrender and opened the Zhuque Gate on the north bank to welcome Han Qinhu into the city. At that time, the only minister beside Empress Chen was Shangshu Zuopu She Yuan Xian. Yuan Xian suggested that he solemnly surrender to the Sui army just like the story of Emperor Wu of Liang meeting Hou Jing. But Empress Chen was afraid and refused to obey, so she hid in the well with her beloved concubines Zhang Lihua and Kong Guiren. Finally, he was captured by Han Qinhu and Chen was destroyed. That night, He Ruobi's army also entered the city from Beiye Gate.
After Jiankang was captured by the Sui army, Chen Shang in the Southern Dynasty controlled the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, Sanwu and Lingnan areas. On January 22, 589, Yang Guang entered Jiankang and ordered Empress Chen to issue an order to recruit Chen troops from all over the country to surrender. Zhou Luohu and Chen Huiji who defended Jiangxia and the generals guarding the cities in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River surrendered one after another. Wuzhou (now Wuxian, Jiangsu Province) and Kuaiji (now Shaoxing City, Zhejiang) in the Sanwu area held fast and refused to surrender. Lingnan general Xu Wei blocked the Sui Dynasty. He sent Wei Guang to Nankang, unwilling to surrender to the Sui Dynasty. So Yang Guang led his troops south to Sanwu, Lingnan and other places. The Chen troops in various places either surrendered under the orders of Empress Chen or resisted the Sui troops and were wiped out.
The Lingnan area was controlled by Madam Xian as early as the Liang Houjing Rebellion in the Southern Dynasties. Mrs. Xian led her troops to defeat Li Qian, the governor of Liang Gaozhou, and then took control of Lingnan, and cooperated with the governor Chen Baxian. Chen Ba successively founded the Chen Dynasty, which was the Chen Dynasty in the Southern Dynasty. Mrs. Xian put down many rebellions and ensured the safety of the people. She was revered as the "Madonna" by the local Han people. After Yang Guang learned of this, he ordered Empress Chen to write to Mrs. Xian to return her to the Sui Dynasty. In order to prove that it was true, the Funan rhinoceros staff that Mrs. Xian once presented to Emperor Chen and the military talisman of Empress Chen were given to her for confirmation. After Mrs. Xian saw the letter and the objects, she determined that the Chen Dynasty was dead, and sent her grandson Feng Hun to welcome the Sui envoy Wei Gu to Lingnan. Only then did all the regions come under the control of the Sui Dynasty.
At this point, Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty completed the great unification and successfully ended the nearly 400 years of chaos in the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties.
He Ruobi and Han Qinhu argued in front of Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty about whose contribution was greater. He Ruobi said: "I fought to the death in Jiangshan, defeated the elite troops of the Chen Dynasty, and captured Chen Chaoxiao generals Xiao Mohe and Lu Zongda and others used their national and military power to pacify the Chen state. However, Han Qinhu had almost never fought against the Chen Dynasty army. How could he compare with me? "Han Qinhu said: "I originally received it. Clear instructions ordered He Ruobi and I to join forces to attack the capital of the Chen Dynasty at the same time. However, He Ruobi dared to advance alone and engaged in a decisive battle when encountering the enemy. As a result, the soldiers under my command suffered heavy casualties. However, I led 500 light cavalry and fought without a single blow. We marched directly to Jinling, surrendered Ren Zhong, captured Chen Shubao, occupied the Chen Dynasty's treasury, and destroyed the empress Chen's lair. He Ruobi did not enter Beiye Gate until evening. I opened the city gate to let him in. "It's too late for He Ruobi to redeem himself, how can he compare with me?" Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty said: "Both generals have made outstanding achievements." So he was promoted to Han Qinhu and awarded eight thousand pieces of silk. Relevant officials impeached Han Qinhu for indulging his soldiers and raping the maids of the Chen Dynasty, so he was not granted a title.
Later, a Turkic envoy came to Chang'an for an audience. Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty said to him: "Have you heard of the Emperor Chen of Jiangnan?" The Turkic envoy replied: "Yes." Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty sent orders to his attendants. He led the Turkic envoy to Han Qinhu and said to him: "This is the general who captured the Emperor of Chen." Han Qinhu looked at the Turkic envoy majestically. The Turkic envoy was very frightened and did not dare to look up at him.
The Sui Dynasty's battle to destroy Chen only lasted for two months. The Chen State, which had been a country for more than 30 years, was destroyed in one fell swoop. The Chen State's land was taken over and divided into thirty states, one hundred counties and four hundred counties. and the people and wealth of the land.
In short, several naval forces all contributed to the victory of the final decisive battle with their outstanding actions.