Liu Yu's Northern Expeditions () were a series of successful campaigns mounted by the

Eastern Jin dynasty Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways * Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air ...

from 409 AD to 416 AD against the

Southern Yan The Southern Yan (; 398–410) was a Xianbei-led dynastic state during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms in China. Its territory roughly coincided with modern Shandong. Its founder Murong De was a son of Murong Huang and brother of Murong Jun and Muron ...

Later Qin The Later Qin (; 384–417), also known as Yao Qin (), was a state ruled by the Qiang ethnicity of the Sixteen Kingdoms during the Jin dynasty (266–420) in China. The Later Qin is entirely distinct from the Qin dynasty, the Former Qin and the We ...

Northern Wei Wei (), known in historiography as the Northern Wei (), Tuoba Wei (), Yuan Wei () and Later Wei (), was founded by the Tuoba (Tabgach) clan of the Xianbei. The first of the Northern and Southern dynasties#Northern dynasties, Northern dynasties ...

and

Hu Xia Hu Xia (; English name: Fox Hu; born 1 March 1990) is a Chinese singer, actor. He won the sixth season of Taiwan's ''One Million Star'' in 2010 and released his debut album ''Hu Love Xia'' later the year. Apart from his albums, he has sung a ...

dynasties that successfully recovered all of Eastern Jin's territory south of the

Yellow River The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Standard Beijing Mandarin, Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the List of rivers by length, sixth-longest river system in the world at th ...

with the exception of the

Chang'an Chang'an (; ) is the traditional name of Xi'an. The site had been settled since Neolithic times, during which the Yangshao culture was established in Banpo, in the city's suburbs. Furthermore, in the northern vicinity of modern Xi'an, Qin Shi ...

area, which was taken by Hu Xia. These victories were the basis of the prosperity of the

Reign of Yuanjia The reign of Yuanjia () was a period in Chinese history under the Liu Song dynasty which was comparatively wealthy and stable compared to previous and later periods. It occurred under the diligent Emperor Wen of the Liu Song dynasty, who was an ab ...

Background

Following the Eastern Jin's victory at the

Battle of Fei River The Battle of Fei River, also known as the Battle of Feishui (), was a battle in AD 383 in China, where forces of the Di-led Former Qin dynasty was decisively defeated by the outnumbered army of the Eastern Jin dynasty. The location of the bat ...

, North China divided into several dynastic states ruled by non-

Han Han may refer to: Ethnic groups * Han Chinese, or Han People (): the name for the largest ethnic group in China, which also constitutes the world's largest ethnic group. ** Han Taiwanese (): the name for the ethnic group of the Taiwanese p ...

peoples. After Liu Yu, one of the most excellent generals of the time, came to power in the Eastern Jin, Liu Yu saw the opportunity to recover the former territories held by the Western Jin dynasty.

Expeditions

1st expedition against Southern Yan

Liu Yu's first expedition was against Southern Yan in 409 CE. The Eastern Jin army attacked from Nanjing to Xiapei, and then to Longchen. Along the roads, Eastern Jin's forces built fortresses to prevent Southern Yan forces from cutting off their supplies. They engaged Southern Yan forces at the

Battle of Linqu The Battle of Linqu was a battle fought in 409 between the Southern Yan and Eastern Jin dynasties during the Sixteen Kingdoms period of Chinese history. The battle ended in a decisive victory for the Eastern Jin, who went on to besiege the South ...

, winning decisively. By May, Eastern Jin forces reached the Southern Yan capital at Guanggu. When he reached the area, Liu Yu saw that the ground was covered with grain and he said to his men that: "The Southern Yan ruler is already in my hand", as there would be no supply problems. In February 410 CE, Eastern Jin forces captured Guanggu and put an end to Southern Yan.

2nd expedition against Later Qin

In 416 CE, Liu Yu launched a major attack against Later Qin, defeating its general, Yao Shao. After this victory, Liu Yu recovered

Luoyang Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River (Henan), Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the ...

, the former capital of the Western Jin dynasty and was crowned Duke of Song. To complete his victory, he sent two armies into Shaanxi to engage the remnants of Later Qin's forces. On their way there, the Eastern Jin forces were harassed by Northern Wei cavalry, who attacked the Eastern Jin forces' supply routes. In a major engagement, Eastern Jin forces defeated Northern Wei forces using crossbows to launch spears through the Northern Wei forces, frightening them and reputedly killing some 30,000 Wei soldiers. Following this victory, Eastern Jin forces continued on Later Qin and captured its capital Chang'an, destroying it.

Loss of Chang'an region

Following this victory, it seemed that the Eastern Jin would quickly destroy Hu Xia, Northern Wei and the remaining non-Han states, reunifying

China proper China proper, Inner China, or the Eighteen Provinces is a term used by some Western writers in reference to the "core" regions of the Manchu-led Qing dynasty of China. This term is used to express a distinction between the "core" regions popu ...

. However, Liu Yu went back to Nanjing on rumors of the death of

Emperor An of Jin Emperor An of Jin (; 383 – 28 January 419), personal name Sima Dezong (), was an emperor of the Eastern Jin Dynasty (266–420) in China. He was described as so developmentally disabled that he was unable to speak, clothe himself, or be able to ...

, leaving his general Wang Zhen'e in charge. Hu Xia forces took the opportunity to attack, and captured the Chang'an region from the Eastern Jin. Nevertheless, the Eastern Jin still held most of the territories south of the

Aftermath

These victories laid the foundation for the

, a period of relative prosperity brought about by diminished threats of invasion or constant warfare.

References

Sources

*Book of Song. {{Jin dynasty (265–420) topics 5th century in China Jin dynasty (266–420) 400s 410s 409 416