Gou Xi


Gou Xi, courtesy name Daojiang, was a military commander of the Jin Dynasty. Due to his achievements in putting down Sima Ying's retainers, he became a very close associate to the Prince of Donghai and emperor's regent, Sima Yue. However, after their relationship turned sour in 311, Gou Xi devised a coup with Emperor Huai of Jin to remove him from power. Their association caused Yue to die from severe stress, but also left them vulnerable to the Xiongnu threat in northern China as their state of Han Zhao grew in power. Although a capable commander, Gou made the fatal mistake of leaving the emperor defenseless in Luoyang, indirectly causing the Disaster of Yongjia. He was eventually captured, and subsequently executed after his plot to assassinate the Han general Shi Le leaked out.

War of the Eight Princes and suppressing Sima Ying's loyalists

Gou Xi began his career as an Assistant Officer to the Jin official Shi Jian. Shi Jian later recommended him to the Prince of Donghai, Sima Yue, who he served as his General Secretary and Prefect of Yangping. After the Prince of Qi, Sima Jiong took over the government in 301 as Grand Marshal, he went to serve as his Right and then Left Assistant Clerk. When the Prince of Changsha Sima Ai killed Jiong the following year, Ai originally removed him from the government but then brought him back as his Assistant Officer of the Household. In 304, civil war between Sima Yue with Sima Ying and Yong broke out. Gou originally sided with Sima Ying as his Adjutant of the Northern Army but after Ying abandoned Yecheng to Wang Jun, he defected over to Sima Yue's brother, Sima Xiao and became the Inspector of Yanzhou.
The next year, Sima Ying's former general, Gongshi Fan, raise troops and invaded Yecheng under his name. Sima Xiao sent Gou Xi to reinforce the city and Gou repelled the invaders. Gou Xi fought with Gongshi Fan again in 306, who was trying to flee by crossing the Yellow River and this time, Gou managed to kill him. Two of Gongshi Fan's followers, Ji Sang and Shi Le, survived the attack and raised their own army. Together they sacked Yecheng, killed the city's commander Sima Teng, and stole the coffin of Sima Ying. Gou Xi successfully campaigned against them, forcing Shi Le to seek refuge under Liu Yuan of Han Zhao while Ji Sang was killed by members of the Qihuo. Gou Xi 's contributions in defeating Gongshi Fan and Ji Sang made him famous as people compare him to the ancient generals Han Xin and Bai Qi. He became Commander of military affairs in Yanzhou and Qingzhou as well as a trusted associate of Sima Yue.

During Sima Yue's regency

As acting commander of Yanzhou and Qingzhou, it was said that Gou Xi was very strict with the law while but also administered adequately. For instance, he had executed a cousin of his for breaking the law despite having a close relationship with his aunt. Meanwhile, Gou Xi and Sima Yue were already beginning to show cracks in their relationship. At the advice of Pan Tao, Sima Yue appointed himself the Governor and Commander of military affairs of Yanzhou along with other important positions such as Prime Minister. Although Gou Xi retained his role of Inspector of Yanzhou and appointments in Qingzhou, Gou was still angered that his power in Yanzhou was diminished, as the province was strategically important. When Gou arrived in Qingzhou to assume his posts, he implemented laws that were so strict that many people were executed each day, earning him the nickname 'Butcher Baron '. Shortly after his arrival, he dealt with a rebellion led by the Administrator of Dunqiu Wei Zhi which he quickly took care of.
At the time, a powerful bandit named Wang Mi was terrorizing Yanzhou and Qingzhou. After he had defeated Sima Yue's general Ju Xian, Gou Xi sent his brother Gou Chun, who prevailed over Wang Mi before during Liu Bogen's rebellion in 306, and Chun routed him. In 308, Wang Mi returned to pillage Qingzhou, Xuzhou, Yanzhou and Yuzhou, this time backed by Han Zhao. Gou Xi attempted to stop him but could not land a decisive victory. Wang eventually looted the Xuchang armory and headed to Luoyang but was fortunately defeated by Wang Yan. In 310, Gou Xi successfully defended Qingzhou from Wang Mi's subordinate Cao Ni. However, Cao Ni defeated Gou Xi the following year, forcing him to retreat to Gaoping.
Due to their bad relationship, Gou Xi was continuously being slandered to Sima Yue by Pan Tao and his other advisors. Eventually, Gou Xi had enough and signed a petition demanding the heads of his slanderers. He also went as far as denouncing Sima Yue for his crimes, and started boasting about his achievements in his own provinces. This caught the attention of Emperor Huai of Jin, who also hated Sima Yue for his control over the government. Thus, the emperor secretly sent an edict to Gou asking him to campaign against Sima Yue. Yue, who was increasingly suspicious of Gou's behavior, sent riders to capture their messengers and surely enough, they discovered edict. Because of this, Sima Yue also denounced Gou Xi and tried to campaign against him. Gou Xi arrested Sima Yue's advisors Pan Tao, Liu Zeng and Cheng Yan and ordered their execution although Pan Tao managed to escape. Overly stressed with the situation at hand, Yue soon died of illness and was succeeded by Wang Yan as prime minister.

Disaster of Yongjia and death

With the death of Sima Yue, Gou Xi was appointed Grand General, Grand Commander, and Commander of military affairs in Qingzhou, Xuzhou, Yanzhou, Yuzhou, Jingzhou, and Yangzhou, wielding very significant power over China. He wrote a petition to the emperor to move the capital over to Cangyuan in Yanzhou so that the emperor would be in his sphere of influence. This proved to be a fatal decision as while he was preparing for the emperor's arrival, Sima Yue's passing left Luoyang practically defenseless to the Han Zhao forces. Emperor Huai was reluctant to move due to his attendants convincing him to stay longer and later because of bandits blocking the paths. Gou Xi also never provided the emperor with a proper escort to defend him from enemies. The capital suffered from a famine, and with no reinforcements coming to its aid, Han Zhao easily conquered the city and captured the emperor in what is now known as the Disaster of Yongjia.
Emperor Huai's surviving son, Sima Duan, fled to Cangyuan, where Gou Xi proclaimed him as the new crown prince and moved his base to Mengcheng. In his final days, Gou Xi grew very cruel and indulgent. His advisors Yang Hen and Ming Yu criticized him for this but Gou executed the former and ignored the latter. He lost the support of the people and soon Shi Le, now a prominent general of Han, defeated Gou at Mengcheng. Shi Le placed a lock around his neck and made him his Marshal of the Left. Just a month later, Gou Xi plotted with his captured ally Wang Zan to assassinate Shi Le, but the plan was unveiled and Shi put the two of them to death.