Chen Houzhu's downfall of the country

When Emperor Chen Wu founded the Southern Chen Dynasty, the Northern Eastern Wei and Western Wei had already been replaced by Northern Qi and Northern Zhou. In 550 AD, Gao Yang, the son of Gao Huan in Eastern Wei, founded Northern Qi. In 557 AD, Yuwen Jue, the son of Yuwen Tai in Western Wei, founded Northern Zhou. Northern Qi and Northern Zhou fought against each other, and by the time of Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou, they had annihilated Northern Qi and unified the north.

Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou was a relatively accomplished emperor, but Emperor Xuan of Zhou, who bore him, was a debauched and tyrannical person. After the death of Emperor Zhou Xuan, his father-in-law Yang Jian seized power. In 581 AD, Yang Jian ascended the throne and established the Sui Dynasty. This is Emperor Wen of Sui.

During the political turmoil in the north, the Southern Chen Dynasty achieved a temporary stability and the economy gradually recovered. But when it came to the fifth emperor, it turned out to be a remarkably absurd Chen Houzhu.

Chen Houzhu's name was Chen Shubao, and he was a person who had no knowledge of national affairs and only knew how to drink and enjoy himself. He embarked on a massive construction project and built three luxurious pavilions for his beloved concubines to live in. His subordinates, including Prime Minister Jiang Zong and Minister Kong Fan, were a group of corrupt literati. Chen Houzhu and his favored concubine often held banquets in the palace, and during the banquets, they were invited to attend along the way. Everyone stayed up all night drinking and composing poetry. You sang his and his poems, and even paired them with music. Over a thousand palace maids were selected to sing for them.

Chen Houzhu was so extravagant that his plundering of the people was certainly very cruel. The people are forced to live a miserable life, displaced, and corpses can be seen everywhere. A minister, Fu Bi, wrote in a memorial, "We have now reached the land of anger and resentment, as well as betrayal and separation among the people. If this continues, I am afraid the dynasty in the southeast will come to an end

Chen Houzhu became angry as soon as he read the memorial. He sent someone to Fu Gu and said, "Can you change your mind and admit your mistake? If you are willing to change, I will forgive you

Fu Qian said, "My heart is the same as my face. If my face can be changed, then my heart can be changed

Chen Houzhu killed Fu Bi.

Chen Houzhu lived a life of absurdity for five years. At this time, the Sui Dynasty in the north gradually grew stronger and decided to annihilate the Chen Dynasty in the south.

Emperor Wen of Sui obeyed the strategist's plan and gathered troops on the border of the two countries during the harvest season in Jiangnan, threatening to attack the Chen Dynasty and prevent the people of Southern Chen from harvesting. When Nan Chen gathered his troops and prepared to resist the Sui army, the Sui army stopped attacking. For several years in a row, the agricultural production in Nanchen was greatly affected, and the morale of the defending army also relaxed. The Sui army often sent small groups of troops to attack the Chen army's granary, setting fire to the grain, causing great losses to the Chen dynasty.

In 588 AD, Emperor Wen of Sui built a large number of warships of various sizes and sent his sons, Prince Jin Yang Guang and Prime Minister Yang Su, as marshals, and He Ruobi and Han Qinhu as generals. He led a large army of 510000, divided into eight routes, and prepared to cross the river to attack the Chen Dynasty.

Emperor Wen of Sui personally issued a decree to suppress the Chen Dynasty, announcing twenty charges against the Chen Empress. He also copied 300000 copies of the decree and sent people to distribute it throughout the Jiangnan region. The people of the Chen Dynasty originally hated Empress Chen deeply, but after seeing Emperor Wen of Sui's edict, their hearts became even stronger.

The navy led by Yang Su set off from Yong'an and sailed along the Yangtze River with thousands of Yellow Dragon boats. The river was filled with flags and the armor of the soldiers shone brightly in the sunlight. Upon seeing it, the defenders of the Southern Chen River were stunned, unable to find the courage to resist.

The other Sui armies also successfully advanced to the riverbank. The troops of He Ruobi on the north road arrived at Jingkou, and the troops of Han Qinhu arrived at Gushu. The urgent alarm of General Chen's army stationed by the river was continuously sent to Jiankang.

Chen Houzhu was drunk with his favorite concubines and literati, and when he received an alarm, he didn't even dismantle it and just threw it under the bed.

Afterwards, the alarm became increasingly tight. Some ministers repeatedly requested to discuss the matter of resisting the Sui army, and it was only after Chen Houzhu convened the ministers for discussion.

Chen Houzhu said, "The southeast is a blessed land. Northern Qi has attacked three times in the past, and Northern Zhou has also attacked twice, both of which failed. This time, the Sui army has come to die, there is nothing to be afraid of

His favorite minister Kong Fan also agreed and said, "Your Majesty is right. We have the natural danger of the Yangtze River, and the Sui army doesn't have wings. Can they fly over? This must be because the officials guarding the river are trying to gain credit and deliberately create this false intelligence

Everyone speaks their minds and doesn't take the Sui army's attack seriously. After laughing for a while, they still ask the singing girl to play music and drink wine.

In January 589 AD, He Ruobi's troops crossed the river from Guangling and captured Jingkou;

Han Qinhu's troops crossed the river from Hengjiang to Caishi, and two Sui armies approached Jiankang.

At this impatient moment, Empress Chen finally woke up a bit. There are over 100000 soldiers in the Chen army in the city, but the favored courtiers Jiang and Kong Fan under Chen Houzhu do not know how to command them. Chen Houzhu was so anxious that she cried and was at a loss. The Sui army successfully attacked Jiankang City, while the soldiers of the Chen army were captured and surrendered.

The Sui army entered the palace and could not find Empress Chen everywhere. Afterwards, several eunuchs were caught, and it was only then that it was discovered that Empress Chen had fled to the rear hall and thrown himself into a well.

The soldiers of the Sui army found a well in the rear hall. Looking down, it was a dry well. I vaguely saw someone in the well and called out loudly to greet them. No one in the well agreed. The soldiers threatened and shouted, 'If you don't answer, we'll throw a stone.' As they spoke, they actually picked up a large stone and placed it at the wellhead, pretending to throw it.

Chen Houzhu in the well screamed in fear. The soldier threw the rope into the well and finally pulled Chen Houzhu and two favored concubines up.

The last dynasty of the Southern Dynasty, the Chen Dynasty, disappeared. Since the fall of the Western Jin Dynasty in 316 AD, China has been reunited after more than 270 years of division.