Early Reign: Victory Over Liu Zixun and Loss of Northern Provinces
Emperor Ming posthumously honored his mother Consort Shen as Empress Dowager Xuan but, because he was raised by Emperor Xiaowu's mother Grand Empress Dowager Lu, he continued to honor her as empress dowager. He also tried to pacify the empire by promoting the various officials, his brothers, and some of his nephews. (However, he forced Emperor Qianfei's oldest younger brother Liu Zishang (劉子尚) the Prince of Yuzhang, and his sister Liu Chuyu the Princess Kuaiji, both born also of Empress Wang Xianyuan and both of whom participated in his ill-fated governance, to commit suicide.) He created his wife Princess Wang Zhenfeng empress.
One of the nephews that he tried to promote, Liu Zixun the Prince of Jin'an, whose chief of staff Deng Wan (鄧琬) had just prior to Emperor Qianfei's death declared a rebellion against Emperor Qianfei, refused, and instead declared a rebellion against Emperor Ming, in association with Yuan Yi (袁顗) the governor of Yong Province (雍州, modern northwestern Hubei and southwestern Henan) and Liu Zisui's chief of staff Xun Bianzhi (荀卞之). They accused Emperor Ming of being an usurper and having unduly killed Liu Zishang. Jing Province (荊州, modern central and western Hubei) and Kuaiji Commandery (會稽, roughly modern Shaoxing, Zhejiang), governed by Liu Zixun's brothers Liu Zixu (劉子頊) the Prince of Linhai and Liu Zifang (劉子房) the Prince of Xunyang, also quickly rose in support. In spring 466, Deng Wan, claiming to have received a secret edict from Liu Zixun's grandmother Empress Dowager Lu Huinan, declared Liu Zixun emperor. Upon the declaration, nearly the entire empire declared for Liu Zixun, with Emperor Ming only in control of the region immediately around the capital Jiankang.
However, Liu Zixun's generals proceeded slowly, believing that Jiankang would collapse on its own due to the lack of food supply. Emperor Ming's general Wu Xi (吳喜) was quickly able to advance east and capture Liu Zifang, taking the commanderies around Kuaiji that had declared for Liu Zixun and securing a food supply. The troops of Liu Zixun and Emperor Ming stalemated for months in the Chaohu region, until Emperor Ming's general Zhang Xingshi (張興世) built a defense post at Qianxi (錢溪, in modern Chizhou, Anhui), upstream from Liu Zixun's main troops commanded by Yuan Yi and Liu Hu (劉胡), cutting off their food supplies. As Liu Hu then tried to capture Qianxi to reopen food routes, he was defeated by Zhang and Shen Youzhi, and Liu Hu and Yuan then fled, with their troops collapsing. Liu Hu fled back to Xunyang, but then left under guise that he was going to set up perimeter defenses while instead fleeing. Xunyang was left without a defense, and Deng Wan contemplated killing Liu Zixun to save himself, but instead was killed by another staff member Zhang Yue (張悅). Shen then arrived and executed Liu Zixun, ending his rival claim.
However, Emperor Ming then grew arrogant in light of his victory. Instead of his initial policy of pardoning those who had declared for Liu Zixun, he began to deal with those who had not surrendered by this point harshly. In particular, at Liu Xiuren's suggestion, he put to death all of the still living sons of Emperor Xiaowu, accusing them (the oldest of whom was 10) of treason, along with several other officials whom he suspected of covertly supporting Liu Zixun, including Empress Dowager Lu's nephews. (Empress Dowager Lu herself had died during the war under suspicious circumstances. A rumor that the Nan Shi found reliable but indicated was not conclusively proven indicated that she had been secretly pleased about Liu Zixun's rebellion, and had tried to poison Emperor Ming so that Liu Zixun could be successful, but Emperor Ming, realizing her intend, poisoned her instead.) Late in 466, Emperor Ming created his oldest son, Liu Yu (different character than his own name), crown prince.
Emperor Ming's reprisals brought an immediate heavy toll for Liu Song. When Xue Andu (薛安都) the governor of Xu Province (徐州, modern northern Jiangsu and northern Anhui), who had earlier declared for Liu Zixun, tried to surrender to him, Emperor Ming, instead of just pardoning Xue, sent a force toward Xue's defense post at Pengcheng, Xue became fearful that Emperor Ming had no intent of pardoning him. (Indeed, Emperor Ming did not, and was intending to lead Xue into resisting, and then wiping him out.) Instead of simply resisting, however, Xue surrendered Xu Province to rival Northern Wei. He was joined in this action by Bi Zhongjing (畢眾敬) the governor of Yan Province (兗州, modern western Shandong), Shen Wenxiu (沈文秀) the governor of Qing Province (青州, modern central and eastern Shandong), and Cui Daogu (崔道固) the governor of Ji Province (冀州, modern northwestern Shandong), although Shen and Cui soon changed their allegiance back to Emperor Ming. Northern Wei forces quickly joined Xue's, and they took up defense position against the attacking forces sent by Emperor Ming, commanded by the generals Zhang Yong (張永) and Shen Youzhi. With Liu Song forces unable to siege Pengcheng effectively, Zhang and Shen Youzhi were forced to withdraw in spring 467, and on their retreat, Northern Wei forces commanded by Yuchi Yuan (尉遲元) sandwiched them with Xue, leading to a major rout. Against Shen Youzhi's protestations, Emperor Ming ordered him to attack Pengcheng again in fall 467, and Yuchi again defeated Shen Youzhi, ending Emperor Ming's efforts at recapturing Xu and Yan Provinces. With Ji and Qing Provinces now completely isolated from the rest of Liu Song, they could not be supplied with fresh troops, and the Northern Wei general Murong Baiyao (慕容白曜) forced Cui's surrender in spring 468 and captured Shen Wenxiu's defense post at Dongyang (東陽, in modern Weifang, Shandong), annexing those provinces for Northern Wei. (While Pengcheng would temporarily be taken by Emperor Wu of Liang, the rest of the territory was lost to Southern Dynasties forever.)
Emperor Ming also began to be suspicious of his brothers, and in 469, when a plot to make Liu Hui emperor was discovered, Emperor Ming had his brother demoted and then forced him to commit suicide. He also became displeased at the increasing authorities of Liu Xiuren, and Liu Xiuren, realizing that he was being suspected, surrendered part of his authorities but could not regain Emperor Ming's trust.
Read more about this topic: Emperor Ming Of Liu Song
Famous quotes containing the words early, victory, loss and/or northern:
“Women who marry early are often overly enamored of the kind of man who looks great in wedding pictures and passes the maid of honor his telephone number.”
—Anna Quindlen (b. 1952)
“A victory is twice itself when the achiever brings home full numbers.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“And what greater calamity can fall upon a nation than the loss of worship? Then all things go to decay. Genius leaves the temple to haunt the senate or the market.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“That we can come here today and in the presence of thousands and tens of thousands of the survivors of the gallant army of Northern Virginia and their descendants, establish such an enduring monument by their hospitable welcome and acclaim, is conclusive proof of the uniting of the sections, and a universal confession that all that was done was well done, that the battle had to be fought, that the sections had to be tried, but that in the end, the result has inured to the common benefit of all.”
—William Howard Taft (1857–1930)