There is a saying that "it is the mule that is the horse, pulling out and slipping." "It is said to verify whether a person has the ability, and it is not possible to say it with a bare mouth, and it can only be verified by putting it into the corresponding real environment." In many literary, film and television works, we often see that in the chaotic world, most ordinary people can often put the national righteousness as the most important thing and sacrifice themselves for justice. And is that really the case? What I want to talk about today is a story that really happened in the ancient chaotic world. Look at how the common people in ancient times behaved in an unstable environment in the face of foreign aggression.
The Period of the Five Hu and Sixteen Kingdoms is a famous turbulent period in ancient China, and it is also a history of national suffering. In the early sixteen kingdoms, Sima Shi's Western Jin Dynasty had just destroyed Shu and Pingwu, unified the world, and ended the chaotic era at the end of the Han Dynasty. But the great unification of the Western Jin Dynasty did not last long. Due to the major mistakes made by Sima Yan, the Emperor of Jinwu, in arranging the aftermath, after his death, an endless coup d'état broke out, and the imperial authority flowed between foreign relatives and the kings of the Sima clan. This is the famous Rebellion of the Eight Kings in history. The Rebellion of the Eight Kings lasted intermittently for sixteen years. At first, the chaos was confined to the ruling class of the dynasty and did not harm the people. However, with the expansion of the coup d'état, starting with the people in the capital City of Luoyang, the disaster gradually spread to the people of the whole country. This unrest dealt a great blow to the political, economic and ruling foundations of the Jin Dynasty, and seriously depleted the Jin Dynasty's military strength and control over the frontiers. Thus, in the later stages of the Rebellion of the Eight Kings, in 304 AD, the Xiongnu leader Liu Yuan proclaimed himself king at Zuoguocheng (左国城, north of Lishi County, Shanxi). In the same year, the warlord Li Xiong (李雄) was declared king in Yizhou. At the same time, the Miscellaneous Hu around the Jin Dynasty rebelled against the Jin Dynasty. These ethnic minorities have long been oppressed and exploited by the Han rulers and have accumulated grievances for a long time, so they took advantage of the chaos to raise troops and massacre the Han people on a large scale. The land of the Central Plains is full of smoke, and countless Han scholars and noble families north of the Yellow River have moved their families south, which is the famous Yiguan Nandu. And those Han people who are unable to move south, or who are too late to move south, are naturally in a precarious situation.
The Han people who failed to move south naturally could not sit still and wait for the Hu people to rebel and plunder and massacre. In order to protect themselves, they naturally united, and some formed a "beggar army", led by a capable displaced person, occupying a city or a place, and seeking survival in the chaotic world. Some displaced people cling to a powerful or landlord and build "dock forts" to protect themselves. The "Beggar Army" and "Wubao", which were of a military nature, became han gathering places interspersed in the Hu-ruled areas. It is reasonable to say that the Han people in these "occupied areas" should have hated the Hu invaders and should have hoped that the Eastern Jin Dynasty court in the south would restore their homeland during the Northern Expedition, but this was not the case.
In 317 AD, the fifty-one-year-old famous general Zu Ti only led an army of a few hundred people north across the Yellow River and began the Northern Expedition. The leaders of the "Wubao Lord" and the "Beggar Army" who were entrenched in Henan were selfish and did not help Zu Ti. After Zu Di entered Huaiyin, he could only recruit non-commissioned officers and smelt weapons. When Zu Di was ready to send troops to attack Hou Zhao Shile, the selfish and rebellious side of the "common people" in those occupied areas was highlighted.
Zhang Ping and Fan Ya, the masters of the Fort, were worried that Zu Ti would march to invade and occupy their own interests, so they sent troops to block Zu Ti. Zhang Ping and Fan Ya were only a microcosm of the displaced people in the northern occupied areas, who were nominally appointed by the Eastern Jin dynasty court, but they were completely unfettered, untrustworthy, and ready to rebel. Zu Ti sent people to persuade him to surrender, so he sent troops to attack Zhang Ping and Fan Ya, and after arduous battles and clever strategies, Zu Ti finally defeated Zhang Ping and Fan Ya and gained a foothold in Yuzhou. Just when Zu Di was in Yuzhou and fighting and cultivating, expanding the achievements of the war, he also saw the "untrustworthy" and "cruel" side of the displaced people.
At that time, Zu Ti had a "beggar army" under him, and the leader of this beggar army was named Chen Chuan, who once surrendered to Shi Le and was appointed by the Eastern Jin dynasty court. Chen Chuan saw that Zu Di's strength was limited, so he betrayed his faith and led his army to Shi Le. When Zu Di learned of this, he immediately led his troops to pursue. Chen Chuan rebelled on Shile Road, and one of his generals said a good word for Zu Ti, and was immediately brutally killed by Chen Chuan. Later, Zu Di intercepted Chen Chuan's army and defeated it.
Looking at the difficulties encountered in the early days of the Northern Expedition of the Ancestors, they did not come from foreign enemies, but from friendly troops composed of Han civilians in the occupied areas. From another point of view, the old saying is "cangxiao is realistic and knows etiquette", these "beggars" and "dock lords" who are in a chaotic world and are precarious, their lives are still difficult to save, and naturally they cannot be trustworthy and polite, and they are important to righteousness. Therefore, the behavior of Zhang Ping, Fan Ya, Chen Chuan and others can also be understood.