The Battle of the Inter River, also known as the Battle of the Fertile Waters, took place in 383 A.D. when the former Qin in the north of China wished to exterminate the Eastern Jin in the south and fought at the Battle of the Inter River (southeast of Shouxian County, present-day Anhui Province), in which the Eastern Jin eventually defeated the 800,000-odd former Qin troops with only 80,000 troops.

Overview of the battle

The Battle of the Interfluve took place above the Interfluve, under the Bakong Mountain. The ancient city of Shou County, Anhui Province. The Interfluve, also known as the Fei Water, originated from the General's Ridge between Feixi and Shouxian. During the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Xie Shi and Xie Xuan defeated Fu Jian in the Interfluo. The Battle of Interfluo in the Eastern Jin Dynasty is a famous example of the battle of the weak over the strong in China's history. There are idioms such as "the wind is blowing," "the grass and the trees are in a state of panic," and "throw the whip to break the stream.

The right figure is the north-south situation map from the Battle of the River to the period of the Northern Expedition, the black line in the figure is the demarcation line between the two sides of the actual control of the area before the Battle of the River, the red line is the demarcation line between the two sides of the actual control of the area of the period of the Northern Expedition victory to the death of Xie An.

Battle background

Original text: from Ziji Tongjian, Volume 105

The Qin soldiers forced the fat water to Chen, and the Jin soldiers were not allowed to cross. Xie Xuan sent an envoy to Yang Ping Gong Rong said: "Jun hanging army in depth, and set Chen to force the water, this is a lasting plan, not want to quick war. If you move Chen less but, so that the Jin troops can cross, to determine the victory or defeat, is not good!" All the generals of Qin said, "I am numerous and they are few, why don't we curb them, so that they can't go up, so that we can be safe." Jian said: "But lead the troops less but, so that half of the ferry, I kill with iron knights knit, contempt not win!" Rong also thought so, so he commanded the troops to make but. The first time I saw this was when I was in the middle of the night, when I was in the middle of the night.

Xie Xuan, Xie Yan, Huan Yi, etc. led troops across the water to hit. Rong chi riding slightly Chen, want to marshal the retreat, the horse fell, for the Jin soldiers killed, the Qin soldiers were routed. Xuan and other victorious pursuit, to the Qinggang; Qin soldiers defeated, from each other and the dead, sheltered wild Sechuan. The walkers heard the sound of the wind and crane, all thought that the Jin troops and come, day and night do not dare to rest, the grass line sleeps in the open, heavy with hunger and cold, the dead Sh7, 8.

Initially, the Qin army less but, Zhu Xu in the back of the Chen call said: "Qin soldiers defeated!" The people then ran. The first time I saw this, I was in the back of the room with Zhang Tianxi and Xu Yuanxi, all of whom came to run away. They captured the mica car that King Jian of Qin was riding on. He took Shouyang again, and executed Guo Bao, the governor of Huainan.

Translation

The army of the former Qin pressed against the Interlake, and the army of the Eastern Jin was unable to cross it. Xie Xuan sent a messenger to Fu Rong, the Duke of Yangping, saying, "You are alone in your advance, yet you are deploying your army close to the Inter River, which is a strategy for a long time, not a way to have a quick battle. Wouldn't it be great if you could move your military formation back a little so that Jin's army could cross the river to decide the outcome!" All the generals of the former Qin said, "We are outnumbered, so we might as well contain them so that they can't get to the shore, and this will be foolproof." Fu Jian said, "Only lead the soldiers to retreat a little, let them cross the river halfway, then we will send out our iron armor cavalry to fight and kill, there is no reason not to win!" Fu Rong agreed, so he waved his battle flag and commanded his troops to retreat. The army of the former Qin was unmanageable once they retreated.

Xie Xuan, Xie Yan, and Huan Yi led their armies across the river to attack them. Fu Rong was trying to lead the retreating soldiers, but his horse fell to the ground, and Fu Rong was killed by the soldiers of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and the army of the former Qin Dynasty collapsed. Xie Xuan and the others pursued the army all the way to Qinggang, where the former Qin army was greatly defeated, and the people who trampled on each other and died covered the mountains and blocked the rivers. The people who fled heard the sound of the wind and the sound of the cranes, thought it was the army of the Eastern Jin Dynasty will come, day and night do not dare to stop, panicked, the wind and food, freezing and starvation, the death of the people of seventy-eight.

In the beginning, when the army of the former Qin was retreating a little, Zhu Xu shouted behind the military formation, "The Qin army has failed!" When the soldiers heard this, they ran wildly and fled. Zhu Xu took the opportunity to defect to Eastern Jin with Zhang Tianxi and Xu Yuanxi. He captured the mica-decorated carriages ridden by the former Qin king Fu Jian. He also captured Shouyang and captured Guo Bao, the former Qin's governor of Huainan.

The Battle of Interlake is a famous example in Chinese history of a battle in which the few won the many.