The Strategic Retreat and Bloody Pursuit

Following Huan Wen’s withdrawal from his northern expedition against Former Qin, Crown Prince Fu Chang and other Qin commanders launched a relentless pursuit. The Qin forces had recently achieved a decisive victory at Bailuyuan against Sima Xun’s troops from Ziwu Valley, effectively cutting off Huan Wen’s escape route through Wuguan Pass. This forced the Jin general to retreat eastward along the treacherous Hangu Pass route. By the time Huan Wen’s battered forces reached Tong Pass, they had already suffered over ten thousand casualties.

While Fu Chang pursued Huan Wen eastward, Chancellor Fu Xiong turned westward to attack Sima Xun and Wang Zhuo at Chencang. The Former Qin forces ultimately prevailed in this defensive campaign, though at tremendous cost. The battle had been particularly devastating for Qin’s elite troops, with Huan Wen’s disciplined infantry formations proving remarkably resilient against cavalry charges—a significant tactical achievement in an era when mounted warriors typically dominated battlefield engagements.

The Devastating Consequences of War

The campaign’s aftermath revealed its true destructive impact. Huan Wen’s scorched-earth tactics had compelled the Qin forces to destroy their own grain supplies, leading to severe famine the following year (355 CE) with skyrocketing rice prices. More critically, the war claimed the lives of two pivotal Former Qin leaders:

1. Fu Xiong’s Untimely Death: The brilliant strategist and chancellor died in late June shortly after lifting the siege of Chencang, likely from battle wounds. Emperor Fu Jian, who had compared Fu Xiong to the legendary Duke of Zhou, wept bitterly: “Heaven does not wish for me to pacify the four seas! Why else would it take my Fu Xiong so soon?”

2. Crown Prince Fu Chang’s Fall: The heir apparent died in October after being struck by a stray arrow during the pursuit of Huan Wen’s retreating forces.

These losses created a dangerous leadership vacuum in the nascent Qin state, compounded by a severe locust plague in 355 that destroyed even livestock fodder—exacerbating the earlier food shortages from scorched-earth tactics.

The Rise of a Controversial Successor

With Fu Chang’s death, Emperor Fu Jian—influenced by prophecies about “three sheep with five eyes”—named his one-eyed son Fu Sheng as crown prince. This controversial decision stemmed from Fu Sheng’s extraordinary martial prowess but ignored his volatile temperament. Historical accounts paint a disturbing portrait:

– As a child, when grandfather Fu Hong mockingly asked if blind boys only cried from one eye, Fu Sheng immediately stabbed his blind eye and declared: “This is tears from the other eye!”
– His physical capabilities bordered on superhuman—reportedly capable of lifting immense weights, wrestling wild beasts barehanded, and outrunning horses.
– During the defense against Huan Wen, Fu Sheng led suicidal cavalry charges into enemy formations, personally cutting down dozens of officers.

Yet these battlefield exploits couldn’t mask his political liabilities. Fu Sheng’s violent tendencies and physical deformity made him unpopular with the court elite, setting the stage for instability.

A Kingdom in Crisis: The Violent Transition

When Emperor Fu Jian fell gravely ill in June 355, succession tensions erupted violently:

1. The Failed Coup: Four days after Fu Jian’s collapse, his nephew Fu Jing stormed the Eastern Palace intending to seize power, only to find Fu Sheng absent. Believing the emperor dead, Fu Jing attacked the Dongye Gate—until the dying Fu Jian miraculously appeared at Duammen Gate, causing the conspirators to flee.

2. Deathbed Machinations: Fu Jian’s final act was executing Fu Jing, securing Fu Sheng’s accession. His massive regency council included eight high-ranking officials—a structure destined for conflict given Fu Sheng’s temperament.

3. A Reign of Terror Begins: Fu Sheng immediately demonstrated his governing style:
– Executed regent Duan Chun for opposing his premature calendar change
– Killed his own empress and three senior regents to “fulfill” astrological omens
– Systematically eliminated seven of eight regents within months through brutal methods (disembowelment, limb-sawing)

While later histories emphasize Fu Sheng’s cruelty (earning comparisons to the infamous Shi Hu), his rapid consolidation of power—with surprisingly limited collateral damage (about 500 deaths)—arguably stabilized a precarious transition. As historian Sima Guang noted: “The speed and precision of these purges, however brutal, prevented wider civil conflict during a vulnerable period.”

Huan Wen’s Second Northern Expedition

Amid Former Qin’s turmoil, Huan Wen launched another northern campaign in 356—this time targeting the weaker warlord Yao Xiang at Luoyang. This strategically savvy shift reflected several calculations:

1. Logistical Brilliance: Huan Wen’s unprecedented waterborne approach—sailing from Jiangling to Jinling, then via the Zhongdu Canal to the Yellow River—demonstrated masterful use of China’s hydraulic infrastructure.

2. Political Theater: His famous “Weeping at Golden City” episode (mourning willow trees planted decades earlier) served as potent propaganda, contrasting Jin’s cultural continuity with northern chaos.

3. Ideological Positioning: Huan Wen sharpened his anti-elitist rhetoric, comparing idle aristocrats to Liu Biao’s “useless bull” that Cao Cao slaughtered—a clear warning against empty philosophical discourse during national crisis.

The campaign concluded successfully with Yao Xiang’s defeat and Luoyang’s temporary recapture, though Huan Wen ultimately withdrew after resettling populations southward—a pattern highlighting Jin’s limited capacity for sustained northern expansion.

Legacy of a Pivotal Decade

This turbulent period (354-356) reshaped the geopolitical landscape:

– For Former Qin: Despite military victory, the loss of leadership and Fu Sheng’s violent reign set the stage for Wang Meng’s later reforms under Fu Jian.
– For Eastern Jin: Huan Wen’s campaigns, though inconclusive, demonstrated southern military potential and began shifting power from aristocratic clans to professional commanders.
– Military Evolution: The battles showcased evolving combined-arms tactics, with disciplined infantry proving they could withstand elite cavalry—a lesson that would influence later conflicts.

The human dimension remains most poignant: from Fu Jian’s grief for his lost generals, to Yao Xiang’s mysterious charisma that drew thousands of refugees despite constant defeats, to the tragic figure of Fu Sheng—a potentially brilliant military leader undone by the political demands of peacetime rule. These intertwined stories reveal the complex interplay of strategy, personality, and historical contingency during China’s fractured Sixteen Kingdoms era.