Misplaced Pages

#543456

62-560: Huan Xuan was born in 369, as the youngest son of Huan Wen , then the paramount general of Jin, and his wife, Sima Xingnan (司馬興男) the Princess of Nankang, the daughter of Emperor Ming of Jin . (An alternative account has him as born of Huan Wen's concubine Lady Ma, who was originally a songstress belonging to Yuan Zhen .) When Huan Wen died in 373, his title should have gone to his heir apparent Huan Xi (桓熙), his oldest son. However, Huan Chong , Huan Wen's brother whom Huan Wen entrusted

124-524: A campaign to seek the removal of Wang Guobao and Wang Xu. Huan Xuan, believing that a disturbance would help his cause, encouraged Yin to join Wang Gong's campaign. Wang Gong, believing that Yin would join him, then started the campaign, and quickly intimidated Sima Daozi into executing Wang Guobao and Wang Xu. In 398, Huan Xuan requested the post of governor of Guang Province (廣州, modern Guangdong and Guangxi ), and Sima Daozi, afraid that he would start

186-430: A carefully worded letter to Huan, persuading Huan to stop. Yin, meanwhile, was preparing his own campaigns, and he launched one campaign in the middle of 352 and one late in 352—the second one being thoroughly disastrous, as he offended and intimidated the general Yao Xiang (姚襄) into rebellion, and was ambushed by Yao at great loss of life and materials. The people despised Yin for his military losses, and Huan submitted

248-516: A counterattack to relieve Luoyang, but the plan was cancelled after Emperor Ai died in spring 365. Soon, Luoyang fell. Late in 365, the Jin general Sima Xun , the governor of Liang Province (梁州, modern southern Shaanxi ), who had participated in many campaigns, rebelled, and Huan commissioned one of his generals, Zhu Xu , to attack Sima. Sima was soon captured and killed. After Murong Ke died in 367, Huan began to plan to attack Former Yan, whose regime

310-444: A homosexual relationship between Emperor Fei and Xiang, Ji, and Zhu.) He then went to the capital and intimidated Emperor Kang's wife, Empress Dowager Chu , to issue an edict that he had drafted deposing Emperor Fei. Emperor Fei was reduced to the rank of Prince of Donghai, and then further to Duke of Haixi, and put under heavy guard. Huan made his granduncle, Sima Yu, Prince of Kuaiji , emperor (as Jianwen), apparently believing that

372-479: A messenger submit a humble surrender petition to Huan. He then surrendered in person after binding himself and bringing a coffin—signifying readiness to be executed. Huan released him and escorted him to the Jin capital Jiankang , where Emperor Mu pardoned him and created him a marquess. To reward Huan, Emperor Mu created him the Duke of Linhe. The victory over Cheng-Han, however, brought fear in imperial officials that

434-456: A new disturbance with Yin, was quite willing to give him the post. Huan Xuan accepted the post but did not actually report to Panyu (番禺, modern Guangzhou , Guangdong ), the capital of Guang Province. Later that year, angry that Sima Daozi had seized part of his domain and given it to his associate Wang Yu (王愉), Yu Kai (庾楷) the governor of Yu Province (豫州, then modern central Anhui ) persuaded Wang Gong and Yin to start another rebellion aimed at

496-407: A petition demanding Yin's ouster. The imperial government was compelled to demote Yin to commoner status and exile him. From that point on, the imperial government largely no longer dared to deny Huan's requests. With Yin out of the picture, Huan launched a major attack against one of Later Zhao's successor states, Former Qin , in 354. His army defeated much of Former Qin's resistance, reaching all

558-420: A poisoning after taking pills given to him by magicians in search of immortality , and Huan was initially summoned to the capital to serve as regent , but a second order was then issued him cancelling that summon. Instead, he set up his base at Zheqi (赭圻, in modern Wuhu , Anhui ) and monitored the situation at Jiankang remotely. In 365, Murong Ke attacked Luoyang, and initially, Huan and Sima Yu were planning

620-610: A visit from Wen Jiao , who saw the infant boy and thought that the child was special. Huan Yi, because Wen had a high opinion of the child, thus named his son Wen, after Wen Jiao's family name. After knowing of the name, Wen Jiao laughed and said, "I'll have to change my surname in the future." In c. August 328, during the rebellion of Su Jun , Huan Yi tried to resist Su's forces, but was defeated and killed by Su's general Han Huang , who received help from Huan Yi's subordinate Jiang Bo (江播). In 329, after Jiang had already died, Huan Wen killed Jiang's sons to avenge his father, and this

682-521: The Hongwu Emperor , founded the Ming dynasty in 1368, he made Jiankang the capital of China, renaming it Nanjing , "Southern Capital". The Tang historian Xu Song (許嵩, Xǔ Sōng), in his work Jiankang Shilu (建康實錄, Jiànkāng Shílù), coined the term " Six Dynasties " for the various regimes that had centred their power on the site: In the 6th century, Jiankang may well have been the largest city in

SECTION 10

#1732766142544

744-483: The Prince of Kuaiji , that went badly—as at one feast where Sima Daozi invited Huan Xuan as a guest, after Sima Daozi became drunk, he made the statement, "Was it not true that when Huan Wen became old, he planned treason?" Huan Xuan was so struck by the statement that he fell prostrate on the ground, fearing that Sima Daozi would kill him, and from this point he bore a grudge against the prince. Eventually, Huan Xuan became

806-683: The Yellow River , stoppinging Fangtou (枋頭, in modern Hebi , Henan ) -- and again hesitated there at crossing the Yellow River and attacking Yecheng, not far away. Murong Wei and Empress Dowager Kezuhun were panicking and planning to flee back to the old capital Helong (和龍, in modern Jinzhou , Liaoning ), but Murong Wei's uncle Murong Chui the Prince of Wu offered to make one last attempt to resist Huan. Murong Chui and his brother Murong De engaged Huan, dealing him minor losses. Meanwhile,

868-460: The nine bestowments on him, and then he could take the throne. Once, he had asked the fortuneteller Du Jiong (杜炅), who had a reputation for accurate prophecies, to see what he could achieve. Du's response was, "Your achievements are as great as the universe, and you will reach the highest rank among imperial subjects." This made Huan rather unhappy, as he hoped to be more than an imperial subject. After recovering Shouchun, he asked Xi Chao whether

930-525: The nine bestowments , both signs of coming usurpation. In winter 403, he had Emperor An yield the throne to him, and he became emperor of a new Chu state. Huan Xuan posthumously honored his parents as emperor and empress, and he created his wife Lady Liu empress. He was, however, described as being constantly in fear after he became emperor, not being able to sleep well. He forced his officials to spend all day on minutiae, and he further started major palatial construction projects that imposed great burden on

992-529: The Ba River (灞水), just east of Chang'an. As the situation stalemated, Huan began to run out of food supplies was forced to withdraw. He invited Wang to withdraw with him, but Wang declined, apparently believing that Huan was not the right person to follow. (Wang would eventually become the prime minister of the Former Qin emperor Fu Jiān a decade later.) In 356, Huan submitted a petition requesting that

1054-664: The Grand Marshal, under the precedents of Zhuge Liang and Wang Dao ," greatly reducing any legitimacy Huan might have if he should try to take the throne. Emperor Jianwen soon died, and was succeeded by his son Sima Yao the Crown Prince (as Emperor Xiaowu ). With Huan not in the capital, actual power at the capital soon slipped into the hands of Xie An and Wang Tanzhi, a situation that greatly displeased Huan, who, however, when again summoned by Emperor Xiaowu and Empress Dowager Chu to serve as regent, declined. He did visit

1116-462: The Huan clan would be entrenched in the Jin power struction for decades, after his son Huan Xuan temporarily usurped the Jin throne in 403 as the emperor of Chu (楚), he was posthumously honored as Emperor Xuanwu of Chu with the temple name of Taizu (太祖). Huan Wen was born in 312. His father Huan Yi (桓彝) was a commandery governor. When he was young (less than a year old), his father once received

1178-417: The Jin army's food supply was running out (as a supply plan that Huan put Yuan in charge of was failing in light of the failure to build a canal quickly). Huan began to withdraw, and Murong Chui and Murong De set up a trap for Huan's army, nearly annihilating it. Soon, Former Qin forces, from which Former Yan had sought assistance from, also arrived, and Huan was dealt another major defeat. Huan, humiliated at

1240-484: The Luoyang region for Jin. He, in 362, reproposed the idea of moving the capital back to Luoyang, but the imperial government again declined. For the next few years, Huan largely spent his effort in securing his power, as he invited many capable people to join his staff, including Xie An , Wang Tanzhi , Xi Chao , Wang Xun , and Xie Xuan . He did not carry out another northern campaign, apparently not willing to face

1302-518: The ambitious Huan intended to control the government. Emperor Mu's granduncle Sima Yu , Prince of Kuaiji , in order to counter Huan, invited a renowned official, Yin Hao , to join in major decision-making with him and Cai Mo . This brought a rivalry that Huan and Yin had since their youth (when both were viewed as up-and-coming talent) into the open. The rivalry intensified after Yin seized more power late in 350 after accusing Cai of being disrespectful to

SECTION 20

#1732766142544

1364-533: The capable Former Yan general Murong Ke in battle. (Indeed, when Murong Ke's brother, the Former Yan emperor Murong Jun died in 360 and was succeeded by his young son Murong Wei , contrary to the optimism that many Jin officials had that with Murong Jun out of the way that Former Yan would be weakened, Huan commented, "Murong Ke is still alive, and I am afraid that we have an even greater problem.") In 364, Emperor Ai , who succeeded Emperor Mu in 361, suffered

1426-502: The capital be moved back to Luoyang —the capital until its fall in 311 to Han-Zhao - but the imperial government declined, instead ordering him to first attack Yao Xiang, who had taken many cities in the Luoyang region after rebelling against Yin Hao earlier. Huan advanced his troops to Luoyang and faced Yao in battle, and he eluded a trap Yao laid for him and dealt Yao a major defeat, forcing Yao to head west. (Yao would eventually be captured and killed by Former Qin in 357.) Huan secured

1488-523: The capital in 373, and there was a rumor that he would execute Wang and Xie and then seize the throne. As Wang and Xie greeted him, however, he did not carry out the rumored actions, and after visiting the young emperor, returned to his base at Gushu (姑孰, in modern Ma'anshan , Anhui ). He grew ill in fall 373, and, after entrusting matters to his brother Huan Chong, died. His domain was divided into three parts, governed by Huan Chong, another brother Huan Huo , and his nephew Huan Shixiu (桓石秀). As Huan Chong

1550-502: The capital of the Eastern Jin and Southern Dynasties, following the retreat from the north due to Xiongnu raids. It rivaled Luoyang in population and commercial activity, and at its height, in the sixth century, it was home to around one million people. In 549 CE, during the rebellion of Hou Jing , Jiankang was captured after a year-long siege that devastated the city: most of the population were killed or starved to death. During

1612-426: The command of the army to, believed (correctly) that Huan Xi was in a plot with another brother of Huan Wen's, Huan Mi (桓秘), and another son of Huan Wen's, Huan Ji (桓濟), to assassinate him and take power, and so detained Huan Xi, Huan Ji, and Huan Mi. Instead, he declared that it was Huan Wen's desire that his title be passed to Huan Xuan, and so Huan Xuan, at age four, inherited the title of Duke of Nan Commandery, with

1674-444: The commander of the military forces in the western provinces (roughly modern Hubei , Hunan , Guizhou , and Yunnan ), even though some other imperial officials had misgivings about Huan's ambitions and independence. Soon after taking over for Yu, the ambitious Huan turned his attention west, wanting to destroy Cheng-Han, whose emperor Li Shi had mismanaged his state and lost the trust of his people. Most generals had concerns about

1736-433: The dukedom roughly corresponding to modern Jingzhou , Hubei . As Huan Xuan grew in age, he became ambitious and wanted high posts, but the imperial government was highly suspicious of him and did not give him governmental posts until 391, when he became an assistant to Emperor Xiaowu 's crown prince Sima Dezong (later Emperor An ). Around this time, he had an encounter with Emperor Xiaowu's younger brother Sima Daozi ,

1798-445: The easy-going Sima Yu would be easy to control. Meanwhile, he carried out several acts intended to both terrorize imperial officials and to affirm his power—he deposed Emperor Jianwen's brother Sima Xi (司馬唏) the Prince of Wuling, and killed many members of the honored Yin and Yu clans under false accusations of treason. (He wanted to kill Sima Xi as well, but Emperor Jianwen wrote humble letters to him begging for Sima Xi's life, and Huan

1860-428: The emperor (by repeatedly declining an honor that was being bestowed on him) and demoting Cai to commoner status. Over the next few years, as Later Zhao collapsed in the midst of internecine wars between the emperor Shi Hu 's sons and adoptive grandson Shi Min after Shi Hu's death in 349, Huan repeatedly requested the imperial government to authorize him to advance north to try to recover northern China for Jin, but he

1922-525: The geographic barriers that isolated Cheng-Han (which occupied modern Sichuan and Chongqing ) from Jin, and that Later Zhao might make a surprise attack if it realized that Jin's forces were attacking Cheng-Han. Late in 346, he launched the campaign. Li Shi sent his uncle Li Fu (李福), cousin Li Quan (李權), and Zan Jian (昝堅) to lead his forces to resist Huan, but Huan defeated Li Fu and then, abandoning most of his supplies and traveling light, quickly arrived in

Huan Xuan - Misplaced Pages Continue

1984-414: The governor of Yixing Commandery (義興, roughly modern Wuxi , Jiangsu ), but felt that the post was not sufficient for his talent, and he therefore resigned and returned to his dukedom, and he wrote a report to Emperor Xiaowu that was highly accusatory in tone in which he claimed that Emperor Xiaowu had much to owe to Huan Wen, and Emperor Xiaowu ignored the report. During Huan Xuan's year at Nan Commandery,

2046-414: The greatest defeat in his career, deflected blame by accusing Yuan of being unable to supply food and ordered that Yuan be demoted to commoner status. Yuan, instead of submitting, occupied Shouchun (壽春, in modern Lu'an , Anhui ) and rebelled, seeking assistance from both Former Yan and Former Qin. With Huan's forces having been severely defeated, Yuan was able to hold Shouchun. He died in spring 370, and

2108-621: The humiliation at the Battle of Fangtou had been removed—and Xi honestly told him that it had not. Instead, they planned an alternate strategy to try to showcase Huan's power—deposing Emperor Fei . Because Emperor Fei had been cautious in his behavior and lacked faults, they decided to spread rumors that Emperor Fei was impotent and unable to bear children—and that his sons, by his concubines Consort Tian and Consort Meng, had in fact been biological sons of men whom he favored, Xiang Long (相龍), Ji Hao (計好), and Zhu Lingbao (朱靈寶). (The rumors also implied

2170-615: The modern municipal region of Nanjing . Jiankang was an important city of the Song dynasty . Its name was changed to Nanjing during the Ming dynasty . Before the Eastern Jin the city was known as Jianye, and it was the capital of the kingdom of Wu during the Three Kingdoms period. It was renamed Jiankang during the Jin dynasty , in order to observe the naming taboo for Emperor Min of Jin . Renamed Jiankang in 313 CE, it served as

2232-646: The national reunification under the Sui dynasty it was almost completely destroyed, and was renamed Jiangzhou ( 蔣州 ) and then Danyang Commandery ( 丹陽郡 ). Under the Tang dynasty , the city regained its prosperity and the name became Jinling ( 金陵 ). By the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period it was called Jiangning ( 江寧 ); in the Southern Song dynasty the name of Jiankang was revived. When Zhu Yuanzhang,

2294-484: The new year 400, Jing Province was suffering under a major flood, and Yin exhausted his food supplies for flood relief. Huan took this opportunity to make a major attack on Yin. Yang came to Yin's aid, but with the troops poorly supplied, Huan defeated both Yin and Yang and killed them, seizing their provinces, becoming effectively in control of two thirds of Jin territory. Huan became even more ambitious, and often had people offer him signs of fortune to try to show that he

2356-528: The people of the commandery were far more fearful of him than of the governor of Jing Province (荊州, modern Hubei and Hunan ), Yin Zhongkan (殷仲堪). Yin himself was very respectful and fearful of Huan as well. Effectively, Huan Xuan got his way with both the people and the governor, whatever he wanted. After Emperor Xiaowu's death in 396, Emperor An became emperor, and as he was developmentally disabled , Sima Daozi, as his uncle, served as regent . Sima Daozi

2418-406: The people. Initially, the only major official who dared to oppose Huan Xuan was Mao Qu (毛璩) the governor of Yi Province (modern Sichuan and Chongqing ). However, a conspiracy soon formed among the general Liu Yu , Liu Laozhi's nephew He Wuji , and Liu Yi the brother of Huan Xuan's official Liu Mai (劉邁). They were soon joined by a number of other conspirators, and in spring 404 they started

2480-432: The powerful posts. This caused an immediate withdrawal of Yin's troops, as Yin wanted to resecure his Jing Province, and soon forced Sima Daozi to return the post to him, but the seeds of dissension between Huan, Yin, and Yang were sown. Yin, apprehensive of Huan, soon entered into an alliance with Yang. However, he was also apprehensive of Yang, and therefore repeatedly stopped Yang's plans to attack Huan together. Around

2542-485: The precedent of the Duke of Zhou ," and "If the child can be assisted, assist him; otherwise, take the throne yourself," mirroring language that Liu Bei , the founding emperor of Shu Han , used when entrusting his son Liu Shan to Zhuge Liang . With Huan not in the capital to affirm it, however, Wang Tanzhi persuaded Emperor Jianwen to tear up the will and rewrite the instructions as, "All major affairs shall be submitted to

Huan Xuan - Misplaced Pages Continue

2604-852: The removals of Wang Yu and another associate of Sima Daozi's, Sima Shangzhi (司馬尚之) the Prince of Qiao. However, not being actually a military man himself, Yin gave the commands of the forward armies to Huan Xuan and Yang Quanqi (楊佺期). They quickly advanced toward the capital Jiankang , but Wang Gong's general Liu Laozhi (劉牢之) then turned against him, capturing and executing him. With Wang Gong dead, Sima Daozi next tried to destroy Yin's coalition by ordering him deposed and giving his post to Huan Xuan's cousin Huan Xiu (桓脩), while giving Jiang Province (江州, modern Jiangxi and Fujian ) to Huan Xuan and Yong Province (雍州, then modern northern Hubei and southwestern Henan ) to Yang. Huan and Yang hesitated—not willing to turn against Yin immediately but wanting to accept

2666-474: The uprising against Huan from the cities of Jingkou (京口, in modern Zhenjiang , Jiangsu ) and Guangling . Huan Xuan panicked, and as soon as his cousin Huan Qian (桓謙) the Prince of Xinye lost some relatively minor battles to Liu Yu, Huan fled west with Emperor An, yielding Jiankang to Liu Yu's coalition. Once Liu Yu was in the capital, he declared the reestablishment of Jin, even though the former Jin emperor

2728-526: The vicinity of Cheng-Han's capital Chengdu . Zan Jian's forces, in fear, collapsed, instead of being able to regroup to try to save Chengdu. However, Li Shi gathered the remaining troops and mounted a counterattack that was initially successful. Huan, in fear, ordered retreat—but his signal officer, in panic, beat his drums (signifying attack) rather than his gong (signifying retreat). The Jin forces attacked harder and defeated Cheng-Han forces, allowing Huan to march upon Chengdu's gates. Li Shi fled, but soon had

2790-503: The way to the vicinity of Former Qin's capital Chang'an —but Huan hesitated at making one final assault against Chang'an. It was at this time that Huan met Wang Meng , who came to see him. Huan was impressed at Wang's knowledge and tactics, and he asked Wang why the people of the Qin lands were not shifting their allegiance to Jin, and Wang pointed out that the people were not sure what Huan's intentions were, given that he hesitated at crossing

2852-532: Was a general and regent of the Jin Dynasty (266–420) , as well as the leader of Huan clan of Qiaoguo (谯国桓氏). He is commonly viewed as one of the greatest generals since Jin's loss of northern China , as he led the campaign that destroyed Cheng-Han and annexed its lands to Jin, and had some successes against the northern states Former Qin and Former Yan (although both campaigns ultimately ended in failure, perhaps due to his overcautiousness). After his death,

2914-411: Was also hypercritical of his officials; any small error would draw a serious punishment from him. He was also very attached to treasures, and whenever he saw precious paintings, calligraphy, or houses, he would find some way to obtain them. Some ambitious individuals began to see signs of weakness in him and considered rising against him. In 403, Huan Xuan had himself created the Prince of Chu and given

2976-495: Was an act that brought him great fame. As he was considered capable, and his father had died for the imperial cause, he was selected as the husband for Emperor Cheng 's sister Sima Xingnan (司馬興男) the Princess Nankang. He inherited his father's title of "Baron of Wanning", and he gradually rose in rank, eventually becoming the governor of Xu Province (徐州, then modern central Jiangsu ). Emperor Cheng's uncle Yu Yi (庾翼)

3038-537: Was being favored by the gods. He further wrote to Sima Daozi (who had, by this point, been displaced as regent by his son Sima Yuanxian ), accusing him of falsely having Wang Gong killed. In 401, at the suggestion of the strategist Zhang Fashun (張法順), Sima Yuanxian declared Huan a renegade and started a campaign against him, but was thoroughly reliant on Liu Laozhi for support. Liu, who was more concerned that Sima Yuanxian would become uncontrollable if he were victorious against Huan, again changed sides and joined Huan, who

3100-674: Was dead, he was formally buried with great honors. Consorts and issues: Jiankang Jiankang ( Chinese : 建康 ; pinyin : Jiànkāng ), or Jianye ( 建業 ; Jiànyè ), as it was originally called, was the capital city of the Eastern Wu (229–265 and 266–280 CE), the Eastern Jin dynasty (317–420 CE) and the Southern Dynasties (420–552), including the Chen dynasty (557–589 CE). Its walls are extant as ruins in

3162-430: Was delivered to Jiangling and beheaded as well. After Huan Xuan's death, his cousins and nephews would hold out at their various posts for more than a year, but eventually were all killed or forced to flee to other states. Huan Xuan's hopes of establishing a new dynasty was no more. Huan Wen Huan Wen (桓溫) (312 – 18 August 373 ), courtesy name Yuanzi (元子), formally Duke Xuanwu of Nan Commandery (南郡宣武公),

SECTION 50

#1732766142544

3224-429: Was impressed with his talent, and often endorsed him for even greater responsibilities. During Emperor Kang 's brief reign, Huan was one of the few officials who supported Yu's plan for a northern campaign against Later Zhao in 343, although Yu's plan was never actually carried out. After Yu's death in 345 (during the reign of Emperor Mu , then a toddler), the chancellor He Chong commissioned Huan to succeed Yu, as

3286-414: Was in even greater distress. Former Qin relief forces, sent in spring 371, were defeated by Huan. Huan then captured Shouchun and slaughtered Yuan's clan, along with the clan of his supporter Zhu Fu (朱輔). Huan had long considered seizing the Jin throne, and his original plan had been that if he had been able to destroy Former Yan, he would then return to Jiankang and force the imperial government to confer

3348-422: Was incompetent, and his trusted associates Wang Guobao (王國寶) and Wang Xu (王緒) took the opportunity to become wealthy from corruption. They feared the military powers that Yin Zhongkan and Wang Gong (王恭) the governor of Yan (兗州) and Qing (青州) Provinces (at that time, roughly modern central Jiangsu ) possessed and persuaded Sima Daozi to reduce their domains. In response, Wang Gong sent messengers to Yin to discuss

3410-524: Was initially fearful of attacking the capital but eventually did so at the urging of Bian Fanzhi (卞範之), soon reached Jiankang, and Sima Yuanxian's forces collapsed. Huan Xuan took over the control of the imperial regime, executed Sima Yuanxian, and exiled Sima Daozi (but soon had him killed in exile). Not trusting of the treacherous Liu, Huan stripped him of his military command, and Liu tried to rebel again—but his own army officers were tired of repeated rebellions and deserted him, and he committed suicide. Huan

3472-471: Was loyal to the imperial government, the threats of a Huan usurpation dissipated. (When, on his deathbed, Huan Wen was asked by Huan Chong what to do with Wang and Xie, his response was, "They will not let you handle them," meaning that while Wang and Xie were not daring to disobey him while alive, they would not obey Huan Chong after his death, and that killing them would not be helpful to Huan Chong either.) Despite imperial officials' secret happiness that Huan

3534-419: Was now in control of the entire Jin empire. Huan, however, soon displayed signs of over confidence and lack of actual fortitude. He had Emperor An issue an edict ordering him to advance north against Later Qin , but then had Emperor An issue another edict ordering him not to do so. Further, as he prepared his fleet, he set aside the treasures on a small ship, ready to flee if the battle turned against him. He

3596-567: Was now largely in the hands of Murong Wei's granduncle Murong Ping the Prince of Shangyong, regarded as incompetent and corrupt, and Murong Wei's mother Empress Dowager Kezuhun . In 369, he launched the campaign, in conjunction with Xi Chao's father Xi Yin (郗愔), his brother Huan Chong , and Yuan Zhen , although he soon seized Xi Yin's troops and put them under his own command. Despite Xi Chao's advice that he head directly for Former Yan's capital Yecheng , Huan proceeded slowly, defeating Former Yan's troops repeatedly but taking three months to reach

3658-491: Was repeatedly rebuffed, even after a campaign by Emperor Mu's maternal grandfather Chu Pou (褚裒) ended badly. Around the new year 352, Huan, upset that his requests were being repeatedly denied, mobilized his troops and gestured as if he were about to attack the capital. Yin was shocked, and initially considered either resigning or send the imperial banner of peace (Zouyu Fan, 騶虞幡) to order Huan to stop. After advice from Wang Biaozhi (王彪之), however, he instead asked Sima Yu to write

3720-698: Was still in Huan's hands. Huan Xuan soon arrive at his old headquarters of Jiangling . Fearful that his officials would no longer respect him, he dealt out even harsher treatments, which led to even greater alienation among his subordinates. He Wuji and Liu Yi quickly advanced on Jiangling, and Huan planned to flee again. His subordinate Mao Xiuzhi (毛脩之), Mao Qu's nephew, falsely informed him that Mao Qu would support him, and Huan Xuan headed west toward Yi Province. He soon encountered Mao Qu's troops, which made heavy bow-and-arrow attacks on his fleet, causing it to scatter. The officer Feng Qian (馮遷) boarded Huan's ship and beheaded him. His five-year-old son Huan Sheng (桓昇)

3782-435: Was succeeded by his son Yuan Qin . Huan's forces, under his generals Zhu Yao (竺瑤) and Huan Shiqian were able to defeat Former Yan and Former Qin forces sent in aid of Yuan Qin. In fall 370, Huan himself arrived at Shouchun and surrounded it. At that time, Former Yan was under a major attack by Former Qin's prime minister Wang Meng, and Former Yan forces withdrew. After Former Yan fell to Former Qin later that year, Shouchun

SECTION 60

#1732766142544

3844-402: Was unable to insist on Sima Xi's death.) In 372, Emperor Jianwen grew ill, and he issued four successive edits summoning Huan to the capital—a strong indicator that he was willing to yield the throne to Huan—but Huan declined each time, apparently believing that the edicts were a trap. Indeed, Emperor Jianwen initially drafted a will that stated, "The Grand Marshal Huan Wen shall be regent under

#543456