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The Battle of Fei River or “Feishui” () was a battle in 383, where Fu Jiān (T.: ) of the Former Qin was decisively defeated by the numerically inferior army of Eastern Jin. (The location of the battle, the Fei River, no longer exists, but is believed to have flown through modern Lu'an, Anhui, near the Huai River.) The battle is considered to be one of the most significant battles in the history of China, it is due to this battle that the chinese culture can continue develops without Barbarians' influence. The aftermath of the battle includes the Former Qin empire falling into massive civil war and its eventual destruction, ensuring the survival of Eastern Jin and other regimes south of the Yangtze River (Chang Jiang).
Background
The state of Former Qin, lead by ethnic Di (氐) tribesman, rose rapidly from a string of successes in the 350s. Fu Jiān, nephew of the founder Fu Jiàn, was a vigorous leader of tremendous drive and ambition. In 370 he conquered the state of Former Yan and in 373 seized modern Sichuan and Chongqing from Jin. In 379, the strategically important city of Xiangyang, gateway to the Middle Yangtze fell to Qin. By 381, he had united all of north China and was preparing for an invasion of the south.
In the summer of 383 a Jin army attempted to recover Xiangyang but was driven off by a Qin relief column of 50,000 men. According to the "Chronicle of Fu Jian" in Jin shu, Fu Jian responded in the eighth month with an army of 270,000 cavalry, 600,000 infantry and 30,000 elite guards (羽林郎), marching from Chang'an. Fu Jiān's brother Fu Rong the Duke of Yangping (who had opposed the campaign) was the commander in chief, although Fu Jiān himself also accompanied the army. Separate columns were to push downstream from Sichuan but the main offensive would occur against the city of Shouchun on the Huai River. Emperor Xiaowu of Jin hurriedly made preparations for defense. He gave Huan Chong responsibility for the defense of the Middle Yangzi. The pressing defense of the Huai River was given to Xie Shi (謝石) and Xie Xuan (謝玄) and the elite 80,000-strong Beifu Army (北府兵). The prime minister Xie An oversaw overall strategy, and, while he lacked military abilities, he calmed the panicking officials and people by himself acting in a calming manner.
Battle
In winter 383, the Former Qin forces under Fu Rong captured the important Jin city Shouyang (壽陽, in modern Lu'an, Anhui). Fu Jiān sent the captured Jin official Zhu Xu (朱序) as a messenger, to try to persuade Xie Shi to surrender. Instead, Zhu tipped Xie Shi to the fact that not the entire Former Qin force had arrived yet, and that he should try to defeat the advance Former Qin forces to try to lead to a collapse. Under Zhu's suggestion, Xie Xuan and Liu Laozhi (劉牢之) engaged advance Former Qin forces and killed 15,000 men.
However, the other Former Qin troops then arrived, and set up camp west of the Fei River. The Jin forces stopped east of the Fei River and could not advance. Xie Xuan sent a messenger to Fu Rong, suggesting that that the Former Qin forces retreat slightly west to allow Jin forces to cross the Fei River, so that the two armies could engage. Most Former Qin generals opposed, but Fu Jiān overruled them, planning to attack the Jin forces as they were crossing the river. Fu Rong agreed, and he ordered a retreat. As the army was retreating, however, the army went into a panic, and Xie Xuan and other generals Xie Yan (謝琰) and Huan Yi (桓伊) crossed the river and launched a major assault. Fu Rong tried to personally halt the retreat and reorganize his troops, but his horse suddenly fell, and he was killed by Jin troops. The Jin soldiers continued their pursuit, and the entire Former Qin force collapsed.
Aftermaths
Fu Jiān's forces would not at all be reorganizable, even after he eventually withdrew to Luoyang under the protection of Murong Chui, whose army was one of the few which did not collapse. Meanwhile, there were agrarian rebellions that rose after news of the defeat at Fei River. Murong Chui would use this opportunity to request Fu Jiān to permit him to try to lead an army to pressure the rebels in the eastern empire back into submission. Instead, Murong Chui himself rebelled in early 384, which started a chain reaction of many Xianbei and Qiang uprisings. The Former Qin capital Chang'an would fall in 385 to the Xianbei forces of Western Yan, and Fu Jiān himself would die later that year at the hands of his former general Yao Chang, the founder of Later Qin. While Former Qin would last until 394, it would never regain its power and glory.
External links
- Battle of Feishui Discussion and analysis about the history of this battle.
"Battle of Fei River"