The Battle of Feishui is one of the famous battles in Chinese history where the few defeated the many.
The Former Qin, established by the Di people, saw a significant boost in national strength after more than a decade of development. Its emperor, Fu Jian, successively eliminated several small separatist states such as Former Yan, Dai, and Former Liang, largely unifying northern China. In 373 AD, the Former Qin launched attacks on Eastern Jin's Yizhou (present-day Chengdu, Sichuan) and Liangzhou (present-day Hanzhong, Shaanxi), successfully occupying both regions. This further expanded the Former Qin's sphere of influence. Intoxicated by these victories, Fu Jian planned to attack Eastern Jin in the Jiangnan region, aiming to wipe it out in one stroke and unify the north and south.
In August of 383 AD, Fu Jian personally led a massive army, advancing majestically from Chang'an toward the Jiangnan region. At the same time, Fu Jian ordered Pei Yuanlue to command a naval force of 70,000 men, sailing eastward from Ba and Shu along the Yangtze River toward Jiankang. The Former Qin's hundreds of thousands of troops advanced by both land and water, their formations stretching for tens of thousands of li. Gazing at his army, Fu Jian said with great confidence, "If every soldier in my force threw his whip into the Yangtze River, it would be enough to stop its flow."
Facing the menacing Former Qin forces, Xie An, the Prime Minister of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, remained calm and composed. He carefully analyzed the situation, appointed his younger brother Xie Shi as the Grand Commander, and his nephew Xie Xuan as the Vanguard Commander, leading 80,000 troops to the north of the Yangtze River to resist the Former Qin army's advance. At the same time, he sent Hu Bin with 5,000 naval troops to Shouyang (present-day Shouzhou, Anhui) to counter the Former Qin navy heading toward Jiankang.
Following Xie An's orders, Hu Bin led the Eastern Jin navy toward Shouyang. However, halfway there, he received bad news: the Former Qin vanguard, Fu Rong, had already captured Shouyang. Unable to proceed as Xie An had commanded, Hu Bin had no choice but to retreat to Xiashi (northwest of present-day Shouzhou, Anhui), where he sent a messenger to Xie An, awaiting new orders.
After capturing Shouyang, Fu Rong sent troops to take Luojian as well. This was a devastating blow to Hu Bin, as his retreat route was cut off by Fu Rong. Hu Bin's forces were caught in a pincer attack by the Former Qin army, and their supplies quickly ran low. For any army, provisions are as vital as life itself—without them, even the most formidable troops cannot ultimately prevail. Hu Bin understood this principle, so he secretly sent a messenger to Xie Shi, hoping Xie Shi could resupply his forces. However, the messenger was captured by Qin soldiers. Fu Rong obtained the letter Hu Bin had written to Xie Shi, was overjoyed upon reading it, and immediately sent someone to deliver it to Fu Jian.
At that time, Fu Jian was leading a large army at Xiangcheng. After reading the letter, he arrogantly believed that the Eastern Jin Dynasty's resistance against the formidable Former Qin forces was like throwing an egg at a rock. He left hundreds of thousands of Former Qin troops at Xiangcheng and personally led eight thousand soldiers to rush from Xiangcheng to Shouyang. Upon meeting Fu Rong, Fu Jian felt that forcing the Eastern Jin to surrender was the best strategy, so he planned to send someone to persuade the Jin army to capitulate. After some deliberation, they decided that Zhu Xu was the most suitable candidate. Zhu Xu had originally been a general of the Jin Dynasty; several years earlier, he had defended Xiangyang against the Former Qin army's attacks, but was eventually defeated, captured, and surrendered to the Former Qin.
Fu Jian believed that Zhu Xu, having once been a general of the Eastern Jin and having acquaintances among the Jin forces, would surely succeed in persuading the Jin army to surrender if sent on this mission. Fu Jian's plan seemed well-calculated, but he did not know that Zhu Xu's heart was with the Jin, not with him. When Zhu Xu arrived at the Jin army camp and met Xie Shi and Xie Xuan, instead of urging them to surrender, he offered them strategic advice. He pointed out that since Fu Jian's main forces had not yet all arrived at the front, launching an attack at that moment could deal a heavy blow to the Former Qin army, giving the Jin forces a chance to win; if they waited until all of Fu Jian's troops had arrived before attacking, the Jin army would have no hope of victory at all.
Xie Shi believed the Qin army was overwhelmingly powerful and initially planned to hold his ground without engaging in battle, waiting until the enemy grew weary before launching a counterattack. He found Zhu Xu's advice highly reasonable, so he adjusted his battle strategy and decided to take the initiative to strike while the Former Qin army had yet to establish a firm foothold.
In November, the Battle of Fei River officially began. Xie Xuan sent Liu Laozhi, a general of the "Northern Garrison Army," to lead five thousand troops in a surprise attack on Luo Stream. The Northern Garrison Army was exceptionally formidable, and Liu Laozhi was a fierce and skilled warrior; the fifty thousand Former Qin troops at Luo Stream were quickly routed. The defending Former Qin generals Liang Cheng and his brother Liang Yun were killed in battle, over ten thousand Former Qin soldiers were slain, and the Northern Garrison Army achieved a great victory.
Xie Shi and Xie Xuan commanded the Jin army to pursue the victory, chasing all the way to the eastern bank of the Fei River. The Former Qin army set up their formation on the western bank of the Fei River. The arrogant Fu Jian never imagined that his Former Qin army would suffer a devastating defeat at the hands of the Jin army at Luo Stream. While he was still in shock, the Eastern Jin forces arrived at the eastern bank of the Fei River. Climbing the city walls of Shouyang, he looked across the river and saw that Mount Bagong was covered with Jin army banners and soldiers. He felt that the Jin army was extremely powerful and that defeating them would not be easy.
The Jin army and the Former Qin forces had been facing each other across the river for several days. Xie Xuan, realizing that dragging things out would disadvantage the Jin side, devised a provocation strategy. He sent a messenger to Fu Rong with a letter that read: "Your troops have positioned themselves along the banks of the Fei River, clearly intending to fight a protracted war rather than a swift decisive battle. If you would withdraw your lines slightly to allow our Jin forces to cross the Fei River, we could then engage in a decisive showdown—wouldn't that be far more exhilarating than this stalemate?"
Fu Jian's generals all felt that they could not agree to the Jin army's request, but Fu Jian himself believed it was acceptable. He planned to wait until the Jin army was halfway across the river, then send cavalry to charge and attack, which would surely throw the Jin army into chaos, allowing the Former Qin forces to achieve an easy victory. Fu Jian's plan received support from Fu Rong. Thus, Fu Jian sent a messenger to the Jin army, indicating his agreement to their demands.
Fu Jian's plan was originally quite sound, but he did not anticipate that when the Former Qin army retreated, the soldiers' low morale quickly caused them to lose formation and keep falling back. Xie Xuan, seeing that the moment was ripe, led over eight thousand cavalry to swiftly cross the Fei River and launch a fierce attack on the Former Qin forces. Zhu Xu shouted loudly within the Former Qin army, "Our army has been defeated!" Hearing this, the Former Qin soldiers became even more panicked and desperately fled backward. The rear troops, seeing the front units retreating, followed suit and fled as well, resulting in the entire army fleeing northward together. During the escape, Fu Jian was hit by an arrow in the shoulder. He focused solely on riding his horse in flight, not stopping until he reached the north bank of the Huai River. The Former Qin soldiers dared not pause to catch their breath; at the sound of wind and the cries of cranes, they believed the Jin army was pursuing them from behind, so they fled even more desperately. The Jin army pressed their advantage, pursuing the enemy and recapturing Shouyang. The Former Qin soldiers suffered heavy casualties, with many dead and wounded, and by the time they fled to Luoyang, only one hundred thousand remained.
The Battle of Fei River had a profound impact on both Former Qin and Eastern Jin. For Former Qin, the battle resulted in heavy losses of troops and generals, significantly weakening its strength. Seeing Former Qin's decline, Yao Chang of the Qiang tribe and Murong Chui of the Xianbei tribe, who had previously submitted to Former Qin, betrayed it and established their own states. For Eastern Jin, the battle solidified its rule south of the Yangtze River, deterred northern ethnic groups from daring to invade southward, and ensured decades of peace and stability for Eastern Jin thereafter.