The Sixteen Kingdoms of the Eastern Jin Dynasty: The Competition in the Central Plains

The condescending archers shot sharp arrows at these unarmed prisoners. Some prisoners rushed out of the pit and were hacked to death by soldiers holding swords above the pit. Screams continued one after another. In less than half an hour, the surrounding area of ​​the pit returned to its usual calm.

"The archers retreat and start filling in!"Liu Gong ordered. The archers and soldiers with swords in their hands withdrew to the periphery, and a thousand soldiers with shovels began to shovel the soil to fill the big hole.

Liu Yao led the large group of troops and returned to Chang'an. The next day, Liu Yao was There was a banquet for all the ministers in the Guangshi Palace. After three rounds of wine and five dishes, Hu Yanyan said:"Your Majesty, your Majesty, marched in person, and the flag was launched to win, and the horse was ready to succeed. From now on, the Badi tribe will be in peace"

"Your majesty is wise! Long live our emperor! Long live! Long live!"The ministers cheered. At this moment, a Tan Ma hurried in. Tan Ma came in front of the ministers, then knelt down to Liu Yao and said:"Your Majesty, something serious has happened! The Ba and Di tribes have united, and these people jointly promoted King Juquzhi of Ba and Di Guishan as their leader and openly rebelled. More than 300,000 Qiang, Di, Ba, and Jie people from all over the country responded. Guanzhong was in chaos and the situation was very tense."

The ministers looked at each other in confusion and couldn't agree. Fan Long stood up and said:"This riot is much more serious than the rebellion of Yin Che and Xu Kupeng. I would also like to ask your Majesty to personally conquer the rebellion!"

Liu Yao said nothing, and the following generals echoed:"I am willing to go!"

You Ziyuan stood up and said:"Your Majesty, our strength is not very strong yet. The biggest enemy, Shi Le, is always eyeing our country of Han and Zhao. It is not appropriate to continue the army encirclement and suppression at this time. These rebellious tribes should be appeased and surrendered.

Liu Yao said angrily:"You dare to wander far away!" Aren't you speaking for the rebellious tribe? What are your intentions! It can be said that I have treated the Ba, Di, Qiang, Jie and other tribes and tribes with the utmost benevolence and justice. These tribal leaders do not know how to be grateful, but instead encourage my generals and ministers to rebel. This is intolerable! Come on, put the wanderer in prison!"

Two guards came in from outside the main hall and took You Ziyuan down. Liu Yao was still angry. King Liu Ya of Zhongshan remonstrated:"Your Majesty, although You Ziyuan is a civil servant, he is a man of strategy. Now many places where the Ba, Di, and Qiang people live are in war, and the total number of rebels has exceeded 300,000. We have only over 200,000 soldiers of the Han and Zhao Kingdoms. Even if these rebel tribes are just a mob, they still need to consume a lot of troops and treasury resources. If we use the whole country to encircle and suppress them, I am afraid that we will play into Shi Le's hands.

Situ Guo Bin remonstrated:"Your Majesty, King Zhongshan has made a thorough analysis." It is precisely because we executed some rebellious chiefs and leaders some time ago that the resistance in various parts of Badi intensified and Guanzhong was in chaos. Therefore, I ask Your Majesty to forgive You Ziyuan and entrust you with the important task of appeasing him!"

Liu Yao, who was still angry, said:"Since you have been put in jail far away, you might as well let him stay there for two days. We must send someone to take good care of it. I estimate that even in prison, You Ziyuan will think of clever strategies on how to stabilize the Guanzhong area."

Two days later, You Ziyuan was released from the prison. When he came to the main hall, You Ziyuan knelt down and saluted:"I, You Ziyuan, see your majesty, long live my emperor! Long live! Long live!"

Liu Yao said:"Ai Qing, you can live without ceremony! I thought about it for two days and Aiqing's idea is right. If we just blindly attack and suppress, there will be more and more rebellions and rebellions in various places. I will issue an edict to grant amnesty to the world and provide compensation to the families of the more than fifty Badi chiefs who were executed. All who can be conquered will be conquered, and only those who are stubborn will be destroyed."

"Dr. Guanglu, You Ziyuan, listens to the order. I order you to be the general of chariots and cavalry of Han and Zhao, and the commander-in-chief of Yongzhou and Qinzhou to conquer all military forces, station troops in Yongcheng, recruit surrender, and pacify the rebellious tribes in Guanzhong! Liu Yao said. You Ziyuan knelt down and said,"Thank you Lord for your kindness!" I will conquer these rebellious tribes! I will not be merciful to those stubborn rebel forces!"

Five days later, You Ziyuan, together with Liu Gong, the general who conquered the west, Hu Yanqing, the auxiliary general, Xiutu Wang Shiwu, and two generals, Pingxian and Qiu Zhongbo, led an infantry of 50,000 horses and marched to Yongcheng to garrison. You Ziyuan sat in the middle of the Yongcheng Mansion Yamen, and other generals also sat down below. You Ziyuan ordered:"Generals, this time we are not here to fight, but to conquer people's hearts. However, we are also here to prepare for war. Please all the generals split up, take my handwritten letter, and lead your officers and soldiers to the rebellious tribes to persuade the chiefs and leaders of these tribes. We must treat the chiefs and leaders of various tribes and tribes with affection and reason, and mobilize them to submit to Your Majesty. As long as these chiefs and chiefs sign documents of surrender and surrender, and disperse the rebellious tribesmen, we can pacify Guanzhong without any bloodshed. This is called being prepared first, being courteous first and then fighting."

"The general will obey the order!"Several generals received You Ziyuan's handwritten letters one by one, and then retired one by one, each preparing to lead troops to appease the Ba, Di and other tribes.

Three days later, You Ziyuan was waiting for news in the government office. General Zhengxi Liu Gong, auxiliary generals Hu Yanqing, Xiu Tu Wang Shiwu, Ping Xian, Qiu Zhongbo and other generals came back after taking the lead.

You Ziyuan saw several generals come back one after another, and asked:"How is the situation? Hu

Yanqing shook his head and said:"The general's strategy is good. Many tribal chiefs and leaders have expressed their willingness to submit to Your Majesty." However, the most powerful leader Xu Quanqu called himself the King of Qin. He had more than 100,000 troops under his command. Other tribes with smaller power are waiting to see what Xu Quanqu will do. If the power canal is empty, a fortress will be built high and ready to defend"

"Xuxiquan Canal thought that it occupied a dangerous terrain and could defend it with its deep ditch and high fortress. We should besiege it first, and then defeat it with surprise troops!"You Ziyuan said. Shi Wu said:"The general's words are reasonable. We should first surround the Xuquan Canal in Shangjun."

You Ziyuan led his generals and 50,000 troops to surround Fushi City, the seat of the Shangjun Government, which was guarded by Xu Chuquanqu. You Ziyuan and others came to the south gate, just as Xu Quanqu went up to the south gate tower. You Ziyuan He raised his hands and saluted,"Is your leader always good?"

"My king's place has always been peaceful, but the general came with tens of thousands of troops from Han and Zhao. What do you want? I am the King of Qin of the Di and Qiang tribes in Shangjun. I am used to living a life of freedom. I don’t want to be controlled by others, and I don’t want to be your vassal of Han and Zhao!"Xu Chuquanqu said unhurriedly. You Ziyuan smiled and asked:"Excuse me, why does the leader call himself the King of Qin?"

"Doesn’t the general know that this Shangjun is one of the thirty-six counties established by Qin Shihuang, and it was originally the territory of the Wei State? When Wei was defeated, the fifteen counties of Shangjun were given to Qin."Xu Chuquanqu said. You Ziyuan said:"That's it. Your Majesty originally planned to lead the expedition in person, but I don't want to see the loss of life and the death of innocent soldiers and civilians. Therefore, I advise your Majesty to use gentle and appeasing tactics to win over the hearts of the Di and Qiang people. I hope that the leader can understand and cooperate."