Chapter 3 3. Shi Le, a Jieren

The former Zhao was replaced by the Later Zhao. The emperor of Later Zhao was Shi Le. Shi Le is from Jie. Jie (read as exhausted), also known as Jiehu.They may be descendants of Xiaoyuezhi (pronounced Ruyuezhi or Rouzhi), may be a kind of Hu from the Western Regions, may be vassals or mixed blood of the Huns, or may be of Iranian race.In short, the Jie people distributed in Shangdang (now Lucheng, Shanxi) are of unknown origin and suspicious behavior.But with its deep eyes, high nose and long beards, it can be seen at a glance that it is not my race. In fact, Capricornians are also oppressed and discriminated against.We know that the original meaning of Hu is the wattle of the jaw of a beast, which is already a derogatory term.The original meaning of Jie is a ram whose testicles have been cut off, which is even more derogatory.Called Jiehu, it is extremely insulting.

Jie is a barbarian among barbarians. There is no doubt that this is a weak nation.They were likely brought to China as prisoners of war or slaves of the Huns.Therefore, in that era of war and chaos, the rights and interests of Jie people could not be guaranteed in any way, and they could only be slaves as cattle and horses.Officials of the Western Jin Dynasty even put them on the market as commodities, and when they were sold, they all wore wooden shackles on their heads, and two people shared a pair. Shi Le is such a slave. The slave Shi Le was originally a handsome man of the Jie tribe, so he was somewhat of a status.However, the fate of their nation is so tragic, this little handsome is doomed to suffer all kinds of hardships.In fact, he had worked as a tenant farmer, had done business, and planned to engage in human trafficking, but the Governor of Bingzhou took the lead and arrested him and sold him.

Fortunately, the buyer relieved him of his serf status.Unfortunately, Shi Le, who was free, fell into the hands of the rebels again.This made him understand that in this jungle world where the weak prey on the strong, there is no way out for swallowing one's anger.The only way for Jie people to get rid of the fate of being enslaved and slaughtered is self-improvement. Shi Le rose up. After escaping from the rebel army, Shi Le gathered the desperadoes from the mountains and pulled up a fierce bandit team.Using this as capital, he went from looting houses to conquering cities and lands, from taking refuge in others to occupying mountains and becoming king, and finally completed the conversion from slave to general, and became a brave general of the Huns and Han.In the second year when Liu Yuan proclaimed himself emperor, Shi Le captured Jizhou, and his army strength increased to more than 100,000.

The critical moment has arrived. As a hero rising from the grass, Shi Le can continue his killing career.As Jiehu, who was repeatedly bullied by the Han people, he also has the capital to avenge his hatred.However, Shile in 309 AD showed respect and yearning for Han culture.He set up a special department in the army for Han intellectuals, called Junziying, and respected Zhang Bin, a Han man, as the mastermind and honored guest. Han Zhang Bin is a person like Zhang Liang. Of course, he knew that there were many opportunities to take advantage of in troubled times, so he chose Shi Le as his Liu Bang.Zhang Bin said, I have seen countless people in my life, and only this general Jiehu can accomplish great things together, so he went to the military gate with his sword in his hand and begged to see him.After Zhang Bin's foresight and strategy were tried and tested again and again, Shi Le obeyed the advice of this strategist.

The arrival of Zhang Bin made Shi Le even more powerful, not to mention that this extremely talented chieftain of the Jie tribe had already been tempered to be as bold as a fight and as careful as a hair.In 314 A.D., three years after Liu Yao and Liu Yao captured the captive Emperor Huai of Jin in Luoyang, Shi Le and Zhang Bin cooperated again and swallowed Wang Jun who was entrenched in Youzhou. Wang Jun was born in a famous family, and at the end of the Western Jin Dynasty, he took advantage of the war to recruit the rebels and the separatists.At that time, the northern gentry went to seek refuge in order to avoid the Hu people.Wang Jun didn't understand that it was because he was thinking of the Han, and thought that his destiny was in his own hands, so he actually dreamed of being an emperor, completely unaware that the mantis catching the cicada and the oriole were behind him.

Shi Le was very cautious. Shi Le, who had coveted Youzhou for a long time, adopted Zhang Bin's suggestion and sent someone to pay tribute to Wang Jun with gifts.In a letter full of diplomatic rhetoric, Shi Le humbly called himself "Little Hu" and sincerely expressed his willingness to support Wang Jun in proclaiming himself emperor.Wang Jun was surprised and delighted when he saw it.He asked the visitor: Is General Shi's words credible? Someone said: Our general is indeed a hero, and it's not that he is not interested in the emperor.It's just that he knew very well that since ancient times, there have been only Hu people's famous ministers, but no Hu people's emperors. This is what General Shi has learned.

This remark is very in line with the concept of the Han people, and Wang Jun firmly believes it. Wang Jun relaxed his vigilance, and Shi Le decided to make a surprise attack.Three months later, he drove thousands of cattle and sheep into Jicheng (Ji Du Ru Ji, today's Beijing) in the name of giving gifts and persuading them to enter.These cattle and sheep are actually used to block the streets and alleys so as to deal with Wang Jun's troops, if Wang Jun has ambushes in the city. Of course, in fact it is not. Caught off guard, Wang Jun was captured alive and killed, while Shi Le made great strides and prospered all the way.Three years after the fall of the Western Jin Dynasty (319 A.D.), Shi Le proclaimed himself King Zhao.This title was originally granted to him by Emperor Liu Yao of the Huns, but soon the two turned against each other.So Shi Le said: Whether it is King Zhao or Emperor Zhao, I can be whatever I like!The size of the name, does it belong to him?

Shi Le, who became King Zhao, once again showed his respect for Han culture.He expressly prohibited insulting Han intellectuals, and also set up a public official to manage the gentry.He also implemented the policy of dividing the Han from the Hu, and set up the ministers to offer sacrifices to the Hu people to control the lawsuits of the Hu people, and set up the head secretary of the students to control the Hu people's entry and exit.Of course, he did not forget to maintain the dignity of the Hu people, so after the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Hu people were renamed Chinese people, and the use of the word "Hu" was strictly prohibited.

It is a pity that it is not easy to eliminate ethnic barriers, and Han people still habitually refer to ethnic minorities as Hu people.Once, someone broke into the gate of the palace after drinking. Shi Le asked the gate officer why he didn't strictly enforce the law. Shi Le smiled.He said: Hu people are not good at talking. Once again, a Han official who was summoned by Shi Le was dressed in rags, which greatly surprised Shi Le.Shi Le asked: Is Aiqing so poor? The official of the Han Dynasty replied: All the property of the minister was looted by Jie thieves. Shi Le laughed again.He said: The Jie thief snatched it, and the lonely king came to compensate.

Only then did the Han official realize that he had said the wrong thing, so he quickly kowtowed. But Shi Le said: Gu's ban is aimed at ordinary people, and it has nothing to do with you old scholars.After finishing speaking, I really gave this person a large sum of money. This is really rare.What is even more commendable is that Shi Le attached great importance to cultural education, and even went to the Taixue and primary schools to test the Confucian classics, even though he himself was illiterate.But Shi Le has Shi Le's method. His method is to let Confucian scholars read to him, even on the way of marching.Over time, Shi Le, who was born as a slave and a robber, gradually gained knowledge.

If he hadn't been illiterate, Shi Le might have become a sinologist too. However, he who respects teachers and revives Confucianism is enough to be considered a qualified monarch.After Shi Le became emperor, he once asked one of his officials: Which founding emperor do you think I can compare with?The minister's answer was: The martial arts strategy surpassed Han Gaozu, the majesty surpassed Wei Wudi, Xia, Shang and Wednesday kings are incomparable, maybe it is only slightly inferior to Xuanyuan Huangdi, the old man? Shi Le smiled.He said: I am afraid that you are exaggerating too much.People have self-knowledge.If I meet Emperor Gao, I can only bow my head and become a minister; if I meet Emperor Guangwu, I don't know who will die.However, a man should behave as brightly and aboveboard as the sun and the moon. He should never be like the father and son of the Cao family and the Sima family who played tricks and bullied the orphans and widows to win the world! It is said that all the officials at that time bowed to the ground and shouted long live. Shi Le's words are indeed arrogant, and his historical status cannot be underestimated.If the role of Liu Yuan, the Hun, was to drive a wedge into the hinterland of Han civilization, then the significance of Shile, the Jie man, was to realize the reunification of northern China after the division for the first time, although this reunification was short-lived. However, the situation of the Northern and Southern Dynasties has begun to take shape.After the extermination of the former Zhao of the Xiongnu, the later Zhao of the Jie people owned most of the north except West Liaoning (former Yan) and Gansu (former Liang), facing the Eastern Jin Dynasty across the Huaihe River.That would set the tone for nearly two and a half centuries of history to come, though the North would once again divide until another people would come together and once again achieve brief unity. So, who is responsible for this historical mission?

---

Notes: Volume eighty-eight, eighty-nine.