The Rebellion of the Eight Kings lasted seven years (299-306), the death of the Western Jin Dynasty, and the beginning of the period of great division. It was a long period, nearly three hundred years; it was a period of chaos, with successive regimes. If you use the Western European Middle Ages as an analogy, I don't know if it is appropriate, but both have prepared conditions for the flourishing of history, Western Europe is the Renaissance, scientific revolution, religious reform, China is the Sui and Tang Dynasties, entering the peak of feudal social development.
Renaissance
When we look back at the "dark" era that was opened by the five chaos, we see the darkness and the light; we see despair and hope; we see the cowards and the heroes; we see the shame and the glory; we see the betrayal and the loyalty. We see the vigorous vitality of the new forces, but also see the painful struggle of the old culture, and in the end, the old culture absorbs the new life and purifies itself, and the new life embraces the old culture and grows up with difficulty; and only when the new and the old are fully integrated, a new force, a new culture can break out of the cocoon, before that, it seems that everything is for the preparation of birth. Jian Jian is a new force that looks like a Terminator, but it is actually a kind of preparation.
In 383 AD, the Battle of Shuishui broke out. At this time, it had been 77 years since the end of the Rebellion of the Eight Kings, from Liangyong and Youji to Hanhai, north of the Yellow River, west of Hangu, all submitted to Former Qin, and the north of the Yellow River was once again unified. It seems that the law of long-term integration will be fulfilled again, but in fact, it is still early, because the northern society has undergone great changes, and the integration of national cultures cannot be completed in just 70 or 80 years. The king of Jian Jian, a hero who has never met in a hundred years, has both strong military strength, political courage and personality charm, and he can bring together ethnic minority tyrants such as Murong Chui and Yao Cang of the Qiang people, which is more of a personal role than a historical necessity, but a normal reflection of Wang Meng's deliberate intention to frame Murong Chui or the improper ethnic relations. Unfortunately, Wang Meng passed away earlier, otherwise his realism and Jian Jian's idealism would complement each other and complement each other. Without Wang Meng's ideal kite soaring in the sky, he decided to launch a crusade against the Eastern Jin Dynasty and unify China in this year.
The strength of the troops mobilized by Jian Jian was about 700,000 to 800,000, known as millions, but in fact, because of the vast territory, when the 300,000 main forces commanded by Jian Jian lined up in Shuishui, the Yongliang Corps only reached Hangu Pass, and the Youzhou Corps crossed the Yellow River. But even so, Xie An and Xie Xuan of the Eastern Jin Dynasty had about 80,000 soldiers, and they were not Former Qin's opponents no matter how they looked. Huan Chong's theory of "Wu Qizuo", Xie An's sightseeing in the mountains, a military leader, and a head of government, such words and deeds are all signs of the subjugation of the country no matter how you look at them. However, the Eastern Jin Dynasty side is not without bright spots, Liu Gaozhi and the Beifu Corps have just appeared, which seems to bring a glimmer of hope to the military and people of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. As a result, the two sides began to duel under the situation of seemingly strong and weak judgment, but in fact, the dark tide was surging.
If Jian Jian succeeds, he will be the second Alexander, pushing history forward purely by personal strength, and unification depends on its existence; if he lives long enough, the integration of national cultures is bound to accelerate, and the period of great division may be greatly shortened; if he enjoys a short period of time, unification will be only a flash in the pan, and then not only the north, but also the south will be full of warlords.
But history seems unwilling to pin its fate on the fragile life of someone, so the Battle of Shuishui, the defeat of Former Qin, and history entered the second stage of the great division period. However, what is touching is that although Zhijian was defeated, the situation of "trees falling down and scattering" did not appear immediately, such as Murong Chui was not on the front line at that time, 20,000 elite soldiers were completely preserved, and after Zhijian was defeated, he surrendered his army despite the opposition of the left and right, which seemed to prove that Zhijian's personality charm was the key to Former Qin's unification of the north. However, after Murong Waited for Jian Jian to return to Guanzhong, he eventually ran to Hebei and established Hou Yan, which was a move to repay the favor and seek revival for the Xianbei nation, the so-called "benevolence to righteousness", which is a living example. Personal feelings still have to give way to national righteousness.
The one who made Jian Jian most sad was Yao Cang. He treated him the most, had the deepest feelings, and trusted him the most, but it was Yao Cang who established Later Qin and replaced him with Yao Cang. However, the strange things that happened in the battle between the two seemed to doom Jian Jian to failure. After Former Qin surrounded Later Qin, it cut off the water source and almost died of thirst for the Qin army, but it rained on the old days, and the water inside the Later Qin military camp was three feet deep, and the outside of the military camp was dotted with stars, if this matter is true, it makes people suspect that the heavens are rectifying Jianjian.
Liu Gaozhi and beifu soldiers
From 383 A.D. to 385 A.D., in just two years, Jian Jian went from an ambitious emperor to a defeated monarch who died and destroyed the country, and there was probably nothing more painful in his life than this. Since then, more than a dozen regimes have appeared in the north, most of them spinning and disappearing, becoming historical passers-by, until the Northern Wei unified the north. In the Battle of Shuishui, the incompetence of the Eastern Jin Dynasty regime was also completely exposed, and liu gangzhi from the bottom saw the cowardice of his superiors, felt his own strength, and immediately sprouted new ambitions. The Southern Dynasty is about to begin.