Emperor Wu of Liu Song - Campaign Against Huan Xuan

Campaign Against Huan Xuan

Meanwhile, Liu Yu and He Wuji, now at Jingkou, continued their planning to rebel against Huan Xuan now that Huan Xuan had seized the throne. They were soon joined in their plans by Liu Yi (劉毅) and Meng Chang (孟昶), and soon a number of other disaffected individuals joined their plan, with Liu Yu as the leader. Their plan was to simultaneously start several uprisings:

• Liu Yi, Liu Yu's brother Liu Daogui, and Meng would surprise and kill Huan Xuan's cousin Huan Hong (桓弘), then the governor of Qing Province (青州, then with its headquarters at Guangling (廣陵, in modern Yangzhou, Jiangsu)), and seize Guangling.
• Zhuge Zhangmin (諸葛長民) would surprise and kill Diao Kui (刁逵), the governor of Yu Province (豫州, then modern central Anhui) and seize Liyang (歷陽, in modern Chaohu, Anhui).
• Wang Yuande (王元德), Xin Huxing (辛扈興), and Dong Houzhi (董厚之) would rise in Jiankang and attack Huan Xuan directly.
• Liu Yu, He Wuji, and the other conspirators would surprise and kill Huan Xuan's cousin Huan Xiu (桓脩) the Prince of Ancheng, then the governor of Xu (徐州) and Yan (兗州) Provinces, then with their headquarters at Jingkou, and seize Jingkou.

The conspirators put their plans into action. Liu Yu and He Wuji were able to surprise Huan Xiu and seize Jingkou, and Liu Yu then persuaded the capable administrator and writer Liu Muzhi (劉穆之) to join him as his propaganda specialist and assistant. Liu Yi, Liu Daogui, and Meng Chang persuaded Huan Hong to go on a hunt, and as Huan Hong opened the city gates to let his hunters out, they surprised him and killed him. However, Zhuge Zhangmin's plans were leaked, as were those of the conspirators at Jiankang. All were arrested, and the conspirators at Jiankang were executed. (Zhuge Zhangmin was subsequently rescued before he could be executed.)

Liu Yu quickly headed for Jiankang, and Huan Xuan, hesitant to engage him directly, waited at Jiankang, trying to see if he could wear Liu Yu down, although, at Huan Qian's insistence, he sent a detachment to try to stop Liu Yu. However, Liu Yu quickly defeated Huan Xuan's generals Wu Fuzhi (吳甫之) and Huangfu Fu (皇甫敷) and arrived at Jiankang. He then defeated Huan Qian, and Huan Xuan, in panic, fled west, intending to go back to his power base at Jiangling (江陵, in modern Jingzhou, Hubei). Liu Yu entered Jiankang and declared the reestablishment of Jin, even though at this time Emperor An and his brother Sima Dewen were both still in Huan Xuan's control. Liu Yu entrusted most administrative matters to Liu Muzhi while dealing severe punishment to corrupt officials and those who had supported Huan Xuan, and quickly the government was cleaned up. (The only Huan Xuan supporter who was spared was Huan Xuan's prime minister Wang Mi (王謐), who, when Liu Yu was poor, had helped him and paid off his gambling debts, and therefore Liu Yu not only spared but entrusted him with high posts.) Liu Yu, however, prepared for the contingency that Emperor An would not be recovered by making Sima Zun (司馬遵) the Prince of Wuling (a grandson of Emperor An's great-grandfather Emperor Yuan) acting emperor.

Liu Yu sent Liu Yi, He Wuji, and Liu Daogui west to attack Huan Xuan. They quickly defeated Huan Xuan's general He Danzhi (何澹之) and took Jiang Province (江州, modern Jiangxi and Fujian), and then continued to head toward Jiangling. They encountered Huan Xuan's much larger force at Chenghong Island (崢嶸洲), in modern Ezhou, Hubei), and despite the numerical disadvantage, they crushed Huan Xuan's forces. Huan Xuan fled back to Jiangling with Emperor An, while Huan Xuan's brother-in-law Yin Zhongwen (殷仲文) turned against him and took Emperor An's wife Empress Wang Shen'ai and Emperor Mu's wife Empress Dowager He to Jiankang.

Once Huan Xuan arrived back in Jiangling, he tried to prepare to flee to his distant relative, Huan Xi (桓希) the governor of Liang Province (梁州, modern southern Shaanxi and northwestern Hubei). His forces collapsed, however, refusing to follow his orders. At the inducment of his subordinate Mao Xiuzhi (毛脩之), whose uncle Mao Qu (毛璩) was the governor of Yi Province (益州, modern Sichuan and Chongqing), he decided to try to flee to Yi Province instead, but on the way, he was intercepted by Mao Qu's subordinates Mao Youzhi (毛佑之) and Fei Tian (費恬), who attacked him, and the officer Feng Qian (馮遷) beheaded him. The officials Wang Tengzhi (王騰之) and Wang Kangchan (王康產) then declared Emperor An's restoration at Jiangling.

However, with Liu Yi's forces still on the way to Jiangling, Huan Qian and Huan Xuan's nephew Huan Zhen (桓振) made a surprise attack on Jiangling, capturing it and seizing Emperor An and Sima Dewen. Huan Zhen and Huan Qian did not try to redeclare Chu; rather, they tried to hold Emperor An as collateral while trying to maintain their status as Jin officials. They initially defeated He Wuji's forces, but by 405, with the other members of the Huan clan (including Huan Xi and Huan Wei (桓蔚) the governor Yong Province (雍州, then southwestern Henan and northwestern Hubei)) defeated, Jiangling fell to Liu Yi, and Huan Qian and Huan Zhen fled. He Wuji escorted Emperor An back to Jiankang, and Liu Yu effectively became regent, even though the government was at this point still a coalition of near equals.