Shi Le Rises From Slave to Emperor

Eastern Jin had suppressed Wang Dun in Jiankang.

Now the story turns back north, where Liu Cong, Jin Zhun, Liu Yao, and Shi Le were pulling the Han-Zhao world into a new shape.

Liu Cong Loosens His Grip After Chang'an

After Liu Cong captured Chang'an, he believed Western Jin had been broken. He handed affairs to Crown Prince Liu Can and sank into pleasure at Pingyang.

He became interested in two daughters and four granddaughters of Liu Yin, the grand guardian, and wanted to bring all six into the palace. Chen Yuanda, the director of the left, warned him that Liu Yin shared the imperial surname and that people of the same surname should not marry under ritual law.

Liu Cong ignored him and took all six into the palace.

As the palace filled, Liu Cong wanted to build more grand halls. Chen Yuanda advised him again, saying the realm was not yet unified and the court should not indulge in luxury. Liu Cong was furious and ordered him dragged out for execution.

Chen Yuanda chained himself to a tree before the hall and shouted that he was speaking for the state. Officials pleaded for him, and the court fell into uproar. Finally Empress Liu E wrote to Liu Cong, saying Chen Yuanda was a loyal minister and should not die over palace affairs.

Only then did Liu Cong stop.

But he did not truly restrain himself. Soon Liu E died in childbirth. Liu Cong continued making new empresses, at one point having several at the same time. Palace factional struggle planted new trouble.

Jin Zhun Stirs the Liu Clan Against Itself

Inside Liu Cong's palace, the Jin family began to rise.

Senior Empress Jin Yueguang was accused by Chen Yuanda of having an affair with a guard and was forced to die. The original information had come from Liu Yi, the imperial younger brother and heir. Jin Zhun therefore hated Liu Yi.

Jin Zhun went to Crown Prince Liu Can and urged him to remove Liu Yi by accusing him of rebellion.

Liu Can worried there was no evidence. Jin Zhun answered that Liu Yi held the title of great chanyu and controlled many Di and Qiang nobles in the capital. Arrest those people and torture them. Would testimony be hard to find?

In the end, Liu Yi was falsely accused of rebellion. Liu Cong was enraged, removed him as heir, and made Liu Can crown prince.

Less than a year later, Liu Cong died. In July 318, Liu Can took the throne. He appointed Jin Zhun to high office and gave women of the Jin family the titles of empress dowager and empress.

Liu Can was even worse than his father. He drowned himself in the palace and neglected government. Jin Zhun used the opening to control power and placed his brothers and nephews over the capital's troops.

Then Jin Zhun continued pushing Liu Can. He claimed that Liu royal princes wanted to depose the emperor. Liu Can, dulled by drink and pleasure, believed Jin Zhun and the Jin women. He sent soldiers to kill his brothers and royal relatives.

Once the princes and major ministers had been cleared away, Jin Zhun stopped hiding.

He led troops into the rear palace, seized Liu Can while he was drinking, and beheaded him. Then he opened the tombs of Liu Yuan and Liu Cong, cut off their heads, and hung them on the gate of Pingyang.

Liu Yao and Shi Le March at the Same Time

Jin Zhun called himself great general and heavenly king of Han, but he did not immediately take the imperial title.

He even claimed he would return to Jin, saying non-Han peoples should not be Sons of Heaven and that he would send the imperial seal back to the Jin house. The situation was so absurd that even the Jin men assigned to carry the seal did not dare accept the mission. In the end, they only sent the coffins of Emperor Huai and Emperor Min back toward Jin territory.

When news of Jin Zhun's coup reached Chang'an, Liu Yao immediately raised troops against him.

At the same time, Shi Le in Hebei heard the news and led his own army toward Pingyang.

Facing armies from two directions, Jin Zhun tried to steady one side first. He knew Liu Yao had deep hatred for him and would be difficult to persuade. So he sent imperial objects to Shi Le, offering to honor him as overlord.

Shi Le refused the bait. He saw it as an attempt to divide him from Liu Yao and immediately sent both the envoys and the objects to Liu Yao.

Liu Yao showed restraint. He released the envoys and told them to say that if Jin Zhun welcomed him into the city early, he could still receive high office.

Jin Zhun hesitated. His brother Jin Kang and others could not wait. They joined subordinates, killed Jin Zhun, put Jin Ming forward as leader, and offered the imperial seal to Liu Yao.

Jin Ming later failed to hold Pingyang and fled with his family to Liu Yao. At their first meeting, Liu Yao turned on them and killed the Jin family.

Shi Le entered Pingyang and burned the palace. Pingyang became ruins, so Liu Yao had to move his capital to Chang'an.

Former Zhao and Later Zhao Split

Liu Yao then took the imperial title and changed the state name to Zhao, later known as Former Zhao.

He appointed Shi Le as grand marshal and soon made him King of Zhao. On the surface, Shi Le was still a high minister of Former Zhao.

But the relationship quickly broke.

Shi Le sent his chief clerk Wang Xiu to Chang'an to congratulate Liu Yao on becoming emperor. Someone whispered to Liu Yao that Wang Xiu had come to inspect the terrain and that Shi Le would soon raid Chang'an. Liu Yao believed the accusation and killed Wang Xiu.

When the news reached Shi Le, he was furious. In his view, without him, the Liu house could not have reached its current position. Yet as soon as Liu Yao steadied his base, he began suspecting a meritorious ally.

In 319, Shi Le established himself at Xiangguo as King of Zhao. To distinguish his regime from Liu Yao's Zhao, historians call it Later Zhao.

The north now had Former Zhao and Later Zhao standing side by side.

Liu Yao Tries to Swallow Liangzhou

Former Zhao and Later Zhao developed separately. A few years later, Liu Yao grew stronger and began thinking of northern unification.

In 323, he personally led 300,000 troops against Liangzhou, the region around today's Gansu corridor.

Zhang Mao, governor of Liangzhou, first listened to advisers who argued that Liu Yao had many soldiers but not all were elite. Di and Qiang groups under him might not remain controlled for a long campaign. Shi Le also threatened him from the east, so Liu Yao could not afford a lasting war. Zhang Mao gained confidence and led 30,000 men out to meet him.

But when he saw Liu Yao's vast army with his own eyes, he was shaken.

Zhang Mao chose submission, but with conditions. He would become a vassal and send tribute on schedule, but he would not hand over his troops or territory. Liu Yao accepted, named him King of Liang, and withdrew to Chang'an.

Liu Yao had not truly swallowed Liangzhou. Zhang Mao fell ill from humiliation and fear and died the next year. His nephew Zhang Jun succeeded him.

Shi Hu Attacks Qingzhou

While Liu Yao attacked Liangzhou in the west, Shi Le moved against Shandong.

He sent his major commander Shi Hu against Cao Ni. Cao Ni had once followed Wang Mi. After Wang Mi died, he occupied Shandong and later nominally submitted to Shi Le, but he kept his own army and power.

Shi Hu advanced quickly to Guanggu. Cao Ni held out for several months, then opened the gates and surrendered.

After entering the city, Shi Hu ordered more than 30,000 soldiers and civilians buried or killed. Only when the Qingzhou inspector appointed by Shi Le arrived and angrily asked whom he was supposed to govern if all Qingzhou people were dead did Shi Hu stop.

After Later Zhao took Qingzhou, Former Zhao turned again toward Luoyang.

Former Zhao and Later Zhao Go to War

Liu Yao sent 20,000 troops to capture Later Zhao's Luoyang. The defender Shi Sheng suffered repeated defeats and urgently asked Shi Le for help.

Shi Le ordered Shi Hu to rescue Luoyang with 40,000 infantry and cavalry. Former Zhao had fewer troops and faced a strong commander. It quickly retreated into Shiliang Fort.

Shi Hu surrounded Shiliang. Liu Yao personally led 30,000 men to rescue it, but by the time he arrived, the fort had been out of food for days, and defenders were killing horses for meat.

Shi Hu left Shi Sheng to continue the siege and met Liu Yao in battle. The two sides faced each other for more than ten days. Liu Yao was badly defeated and withdrew thirty li.

Shi Hu did not chase hard. He sent only 2,000 elite cavalry to harass the camp at night. Every third watch, they beat gongs and drums outside Liu Yao's camp and shouted that Shi Hu had arrived to support them. Former Zhao morale collapsed, and Liu Yao retreated all the way to Chang'an.

Shi Hu calmly occupied Shiliang Fort and again killed surrendered soldiers.

Liu Yao's momentum toward northern unification had been stopped. Afterward he lost spirit, built grand works, feasted in the palace, and neglected government.

The Decisive Battle at Luoyang

Shi Le, by contrast, became more energetic. He kept taking cities and territory, and more than fifty counties submitted to Later Zhao. Warnings kept reaching Chang'an until Liu Yao could no longer sit still. He personally crossed the Yellow River south and attacked Luoyang again.

Shi Sheng shut the gates and refused battle. Liu Yao besieged the city for half a month without taking it. He then cut open nearby dikes and turned the land around Luoyang into marsh. Soldiers and civilians inside moved to higher ground and kept holding.

After more than three months, Liu Yao still could not take Luoyang and had to divide his troops to capture nearby counties.

When Shi Le heard the news, he gathered advisers. One officer analyzed the situation: Liu Yao had not attacked Later Zhao's capital at Xiangguo but was exhausting himself around Luoyang; 150,000 men had surrounded one city for a hundred days without success; morale must be tired. A decisive battle now had good odds.

Shi Le accepted the argument and personally led a great army toward Luoyang.

The two sides fought from morning until evening. Former Zhao troops had been besieging for months and were exhausted. Toward dusk they began to break. Liu Yao was defeated, captured by Later Zhao, and sent to Xiangguo under guard.

Shi Le urged him to write to Crown Prince Liu Xi and tell him to surrender. Liu Yao refused. He wrote instead that the crown prince should guard the state and not submit.

Shi Le was furious and had Liu Yao killed.

Shi Hu and Shi Sheng then attacked Chang'an. When Liu Xi learned that his father had been killed and saw Later Zhao armies approaching, he fled with the officials to Shanggui. Once the crown prince ran, Chang'an's defenders collapsed.

Shi Hu and Shi Sheng entered Guanzhong and took Chang'an. Shi Hu then led elite cavalry against Shanggui. Former Zhao morale had already scattered, and Shanggui quickly fell. Liu Xi, royal relatives, nobles, and ministers were killed. Former Zhao was destroyed.

Zhang Jun of Liangzhou feared Later Zhao would continue west and also submitted to Shi Le.

Much of the north now belonged to Later Zhao. Officials urged Shi Le to take the imperial title. At the end of 330, Shi Le became emperor, one of the rare men in history to rise from slavery to the throne.

For a time, Later Zhao and Eastern Jin faced each other roughly along the Huai River without major war. But inside Later Zhao, the next struggle for power was already approaching.