What was the result of Huan Wen's first Northern Expedition in history?

Before Huan Wen's Northern Expedition, the Eastern Jin Empire had made three northern expeditions. The results of these three northern expeditions were not good, and the fate of the three northern expedition commanders was not good: Chu Taizu died of shame; Xie Shang was demoted; Yin Hao was cut into civilians.

At this time, no one in the imperial court dared to block Huan Wen's Northern Expedition, because these three failures proved one thing: the Northern Expedition was definitely a thankless chore.

There are people who don't want to go to the Northern Expedition, because their strength is insufficient. Since Huan Wen became a Han, their strength is absolutely sufficient. So his confidence exploded and he was ready to start the Northern Expedition.

Strategically, Huan Wen's northern expedition strategy was much more brilliant than the previous northern expedition generals. Because Huan Wen knew very well that the goal of the Northern Expedition should be to attack the main military forces of the former Qin Empire or the former Yan Empire, not to play house with the warlords who had mothers in the Central Plains.

The facts are right in front of us. If you can't hit the military main force of the former Qin Empire or the former Yan Empire, no matter how much territory Huan Wen grabs in the Central Plains, it will eventually spit it out.

Therefore, Huan Wen directly targeted the first Northern Expedition at Chang 'an, the capital of the former Qin Empire.

Seeing Huan Wen's choice, I can't help but think of the process of Huan Wen's demise into the Han Empire. When Huan Wen lingered for a long time, he suddenly surrounded Chengdu, the capital of Han Cheng Empire, with Huanglong, and Chengdu collapsed in an instant.

This time, Huan Wen did the same thing, trying to reproduce the glory of the past. Unfortunately, the former Qin empire was not the Han empire. The Chenghan Empire was a decadent empire whose strength was greatly reduced by infighting, while the former Qin Empire was a powerful new empire.

On the March, Huan Wen didn't have too many entanglements with the warlords in the Central Plains, but soon hit near Chang 'an. But in the face of Chang 'an, which is close at hand, Huan Wen has a feeling that there is nowhere to talk.

The main military forces of the former Qin empire have retreated to the vicinity of Chang 'an, but they have not completely collapsed, but have become more powerful because of the contraction of their forces. The ruling foundation of the pre-Qin empire showed no signs of wavering, but became United because of the approaching of a strong enemy.

At the beginning, I also heard the arrival of Wen Jian and cleaned up the wheat for him, so Wenzhong was hungry. As a result, he moved to more than 3,000 households in Guanzhong and came back. -Book of Jin (volume 1 12), recorded 12.

At this point, if Huan Wen stormed Chang 'an, it was bound to have a decisive battle with the military main force of the former Qin Empire near Chang 'an. In terms of military strength, Huan Wen is obviously not dominant. In terms of arms, the cavalry of the former Qin Empire was far more than that of Huan Wen.

Fight or not? Huan Wen was puzzled. It is dangerous to take the initiative to attack Chang 'an, because Huan Wen's troops and arms are at a disadvantage. And the former Qin empire has been "cleared" at the moment, and it is not easy for Huan Wen to support the war by fighting.

Decisive battle, the disadvantage is too great; A protracted war, no supplies.

While Huan Wen was in a dilemma, Wang Meng came to the military camp in Huan Wen. At this time, Wang Meng was not a famous prime minister of the former Qin empire, but a 29-year-old young man.

What Wang Meng did, said and heard in Huan Wen Camp are recorded in detail in the history books. But in my opinion, this record is full of political propaganda, and it is not enough to understand it on the surface.

It is said that Huan Wen talked to Wang Meng about his views on the current situation. Wang Meng talked about world affairs, and no one looked at it. Huan Wen asked him, "I commanded 100,000 elite soldiers to exterminate thieves and insects for the people, but no one from Guanzhong came to comfort me. What is the reason? " Wang Meng said, "You went thousands of miles north, and Chang 'an was close at hand, but you didn't cross the muddy water to take it down. People can't fathom your thoughts, so they refuse to come. "

The messenger, on the other hand, asked, "I am instructed by the Son of Heaven to lead a sharp division of 100,000 soldiers, and use my staff to fight evil and eliminate thieves for the people. What should I do if the hero of Sanqin doesn't arrive? " He said fiercely, "Gong has traveled thousands of miles and gone deep into Koukou territory. Chang' an is just a stone's throw away, and the people don't come because they can't see the public interest. " Wen Moran has no choice. -Book of Jin (volume 1 14), recorded 14.

Many people like to use this passage to analyze Huan Wen's first Northern Expedition, which is actually full of fog. If analyzed from the surface, it is easy to fall into the pit.

According to Wang Meng's dialogue, it seems that as long as Huan Wen makes a little effort, the former Qin Empire will fall apart on the spot, but this is not the case.

I analyzed it in detail. At the moment, Huan Wen is in a dilemma. Wang Meng's words are more like a provocation: "If you have the ability to fight, fight. If you can't fight, simply withdraw. "

For Huan Wen, the biggest puzzle is: What will happen if we lead our troops across Bashui? Naturally, you can take the initiative, but is it worth the gamble?

Wang Meng's so-called "unclear public interests" actually refers not to ordinary people, but to some rich gentry in Chang 'an.

The rulers of the pre-Qin Empire achieved unity and stood by Huan Wen in the wilderness. But if Huan Wen makes a desperate gesture, the situation is likely to change.

Under heavy pressure, some people may choose to surrender to Huan Wen, while Huan Wen, encouraged by the capitulators, is likely to make a more radical choice. At this time, who dares to speak out of turn?

Wang Meng means this sentence: "You have been hesitant, and the swing will not easily press on you. What's the point of spending it like this? "

The implication of Wang Meng's sentence is: make a decision quickly, don't dawdle!

Wang Meng's remarks really hit the nail on the head, but this view is actually not brilliant, and both sides in the bureau can see it.

But Wang Meng was not a senior official of the former Qin Empire, but a reclusive scholar. With such a relatively low status, I can gain insight into the key points of the former Qin Dynasty and Huan Wen. It should be said that Wang Meng's performance after seeing Huan Wen was no less than that of the fledgling Zhuge Liang, who sent envoys to Jiangdong to unite with Wu against Cao Lian. This is really extraordinary.

In my opinion, Wang Meng's brilliant achievements are by no means limited to this. He must have made a more detailed plan for Huan Wen. So after the chat, Huan Wen praised Wang Meng and hoped to take him back to Jiangnan, but Wang Meng refused.

At the beginning, Sun Quan also hoped Zhuge Liang could stay in Soochow and was willing to write to Liu Bei personally to explain. Excellent people can always attract the attention of big people in the first place.

But even though Huan Wen worshipped Wang Meng so much, he didn't listen to Wang Meng's advice. Although Wang Meng only spoke to Huan Wen in a neutral tone, from the context, Wang Meng should be inclined to the decisive battle between Huan Wen and the former Qin Empire. But Huan Wen finally chose to quit, and did not make a desperate choice.

There is also an interesting story in the Book of Jin: Huan Wen met an old maid who was Liu Kun's kabuki on her way to class. As soon as the old handmaid saw Huan Wen, she couldn't help crying. Huan Wen asked why, and the old handmaid replied, "You look too much like my former master (Liu Kun)." Liu Kun has always been the idol of Huan Wen. Huan Wen was ecstatic when he heard this evaluation. So he went into the room to rearrange his clothes and asked the old maid, "How do I look like Liu Kun?" The old maid looked at it carefully and said, "the face is very similar, but a little thin;" Eyes are similar, but a little small; The beard is very similar, but a little red; The figure is very similar, but a little short; The voice is similar, but a little girlish. Huan Wen listened and moped for several days.

This little story reminds me of a joke I often heard when I was a child: someone said to Xiao Ming, "You look like a marshal." Xiao Ming was very happy and asked the other party, "Which marshal do I look like?" The other party said, "You look like Marshal Tian Peng".

Look at the jokes in the Book of Jin. Is there an essential difference between the two?

Did that old handmaid have any enemies with Huan Wen? Otherwise, how can you tell a serial port that even crosstalk performers are ashamed of themselves? If she is really the kabuki of Liu Kun's family, then should she know the most basic code of conduct, sense words and sense emotions? How can you say such a thing that is detrimental to Huan Wen's face?

For Huan Wen's Northern Expedition, the Book of Jin only takes a short space to describe it, mixed with such a folk story with little credibility.

This in itself is enough to prove that Huan Wen's first Northern Expedition did not leave too many records.

As for the reason, maybe Fang and others didn't find the relevant historical materials, or maybe the historical materials that Fang and others saw were also the content of these nonsense.

In that case, let's carry the spoof to the end. So, there is what we see now.

Although Huan Wen's first Northern Expedition cannot be restored, one thing is certain: Huan Wen's first Northern Expedition failed, but it was not a failure.

Because Huan Wen's major military forces were not hit hard, Huan Wen himself remained the most powerful faction in the Eastern Jin Empire.

Although the first Northern Expedition failed, Huan Wen's control over Jingzhou was greatly strengthened. Just after the first Northern Expedition, Huan Wen began to bully the Central Committee of the Eastern Jin Dynasty.