Study On The Enfeoffment Of Nine Princes In The Last Years Of Jin Dynasty

In February 1220,in the fourth year of Xingding,Emperor Xuanzong of Jin conferred the title of nine county princes,including Wu Xian,the chief of the local armed forces in Hebei,Shandong,and Hedong.The "Enfeoffment of Nine Princes" was an important political event in the late Jin Dynasty,which had a certain influence on the military and political situation in the late Jin Dynasty.In the second year of Zhenyou(1214),under the strong military pressure of the Mongols,the Jin Dynasty moved its capital from the central capital south to Bianjing.This meant that the Jin Dynasty had completely exposed the Two rivers area to the Mongol armies for national security.During the Jeonwoo period,the Jin army withdrew from the Two rivers area,but the Mongols could not absorb the area in a short time,so the area became a military buffer zone for the Mongols and the Jin.In the second year of Xingding(1218),after Taiyuan was captured by the Mongol army,the situation of Two rivers area began to change in favor of the Mongol army.The King’s response was to implement the "Enfeoffment of Nine Princes" in the Two rivers area,hoping to rely on the troops under the "Nine princes" to resist the attack of the Mongol army and alleviate the military crisis in the Two rivers area at that time.Most of the "Nine princes" were leaders of the Two Rivers Rebel Army.In the chaos of the late Jin Dynasty,they rose up with military achievements and formed their own military forces in the Two rivers area.In the "Enfeoffment of Nine Princes",they were given fiefdoms and local authority in the expectation that they could lead the army against Mongol attacks and provide breathing space for the Jin Court of Henan.However,within a few years after the implementation of the "Enfeoffment of Nine Princes",most of the "Nine princes" either fell or surrendered to the Mongols.From this point of view,the "Enfeoffment of Nine Princes" is a failure.The reasons included that the time of enfeffment was too late,the action of enfeffment dispersed the anti-Mongol forces,and the lack of a strong bond between the King of Jin and the Nine Princes."Enfeoffment of Nine Princes" has its own particularity in the enfeoffment of ancient Chinese dynasties.It is a failed enfeoffment in order to save the military crisis at the end of the dynasty.In the historical process of increasing centralization,the "nine-duke feudalism" in the late Jin Dynasty reflected the dynamic changes of central power and local power under special circumstances.Although this situation is not universal,the "Enfeoffment of Nine Princes" has certain reference significance for the adjustment and balance of central and local power.