Chapter 18 2. Aspire to the Central Plains

Once Ran Min died, there would be no one in the entire Hebei land who could compete with Yan.However, the Yan Kingdom has a large number of famous generals, taking advantage of the situation and going south to aspire to the Central Plains, it became a matter of course.However, having more talents is not necessarily a good thing. Fortunately, during the reign of Murong Hao and Murong Jun and his son, the Murong family's children basically adhered to the principle of keeping their guns open, and did not fight prematurely for power. From 354 AD to 357 AD, one small event and three major events occurred in Yan State.A trivial matter is that Murong Ba changed his name to Murong Chui; the first major event is that Zhao and the remaining tribes of Ran Wei unified Hebei after the pacification; , That is to march into Saibei to attack the Chile people.

During an army training, Murong Ba accidentally fell off his horse (it's hard to imagine that a person like him who had been on a horse since he was a child would also fall off) and broke his teeth (very soon Possibly front teeth).Murong Jun didn't like this brave and disobedient younger brother in the first place, so he took this opportunity to force him to change his name to Murong Chuiwei (Chuihechang is the same word, pronounced "guai") in order to ridicule him.Unexpectedly, the prophecy said that the person named "Chuiyu" will rule the world, and Murong Jun was not happy again, so he removed the word "夬" from the word "Chuiyu" and only kept it.From then on, Murong Ba became Murong Chui.

In 357 A.D., a war broke out between Yan State and the Chile people in Saibei.Chi Le, also known as Ding Ling, Gao Che.After Xianbei went south, Chile, who stayed in the Mobei grassland, gradually became stronger and repeatedly invaded the northern border of Yan State.In May, Murong Jun sent General Murong Chui of the Fujun, General Murongqian of the Central Army, and General Pingxi of the Protecting Army led 80,000 cavalry into northern Saibei to crusade against the Chile people. First suppress Murong Chui's fate by changing his name, and then send him to the border to expel him in a disguised form. It would be best for him to die for the country with honor... But God is fair, Murong Jun can deprive Murong Chui of his good name , but could not take away Murong Chui's ability and luck.In the Battle of the Northern Territory, the Yan army won a complete victory, wiped out more than 100,000 enemies, and captured countless cattle and horses.

The three big ones, one small one and four things happened one by one, and Murong Jun moved his capital to Yecheng, and his ambitions further expanded as he proclaimed himself emperor. As early as when Yan State was fighting with Hou Zhao and Ran Wei in Hebei, Duan Kan, the son of Duan Lan, a general of Xianbei Duan Department, took advantage of the chaos in the north and took the rest of Duan Department south to the Central Plains, stationed in Chenliu (now east of Kaifeng, Henan) , and soon moved east to Guanggu in Qingzhou (now northwest of Qingzhou, Shandong), and called himself King of Qi.Duan Kan felt that Yan Guo and Duan Bu were both Xianbei, so he didn't think much of Murong Jun, and turned to the Eastern Jin Dynasty to become a minister.

After the capital of Yecheng was established, the Duanbu who ruled Qingzhou threatened the security of Yan's flank.Soon, Murong Jun sent Murong Ke, Yang Yu and others to lead an army to conquer Duan Kan, the leader of the Xianbei Duan clan who ruled Qingzhou separately. The two armies launched a seven-month tug-of-war under Guanggu City.In the end, Guanggu City ran out of grain and could hardly support it.Duan Kan had no choice but to fight, was defeated by the Yan army, and escaped alone.Four months later, Duan Kan surrendered, and Murong Ke led his troops to pacify the counties of Qingzhou, appease the army and the people, and repel the counterattack of the Eastern Jin army.

In December 359 AD, Murong Jun was critically ill.Compared with his contemporaries Shi Hu, Ran Min, and Yao Xiang, Murong Jun's talent is not outstanding, and his two younger brothers Murong Ke and Murong Chui are also much more capable than him, but it was during his reign that Yan Guoping Foreign aggression, revision of internal affairs, development of production, from a remote small country to the strongest country in the north, and gradually annexed the Central Plains, even Murong Ke and Murong Chui did not dare to half-heartedly.In this sense, it was Murong Jun who laid the foundation for the prosperity of the Yan Kingdom.

Before he died, Murong Jun called Murong Ke, the king of Taiyuan.He doesn't like Murong Chui, but he still trusts this fourth brother who is both civil and military, talented and loyal.He also knew that without Murong Ke, there would be no Yan Kingdom today, and it was impossible for him to become emperor from King Yan. I don’t know if Murong Jun has read the story of Liu Bei’s Tuo Gu Zhuge Liang, but what he said when he took Murong Ke’s hand to Tuo Gu was exactly the same as Liu Bei’s: My son is begging you, if this kid is not good enough, you will replace him . Murong Ke is not a fool, his first reaction was - you are still testing me when you are dying.Therefore, Murong Ke resigned and said, although the prince is young, he will definitely be able to continue your unfinished business well, brother, and I dare not mess up the general rule.

Murong Jun saw that Murong Ke hadn't been fooled, so he became angry (further testing): Brother, why are you talking so much useless nonsense! The leader got mad, but Murong Ke didn't panic, but explained from the bottom of his heart: Brother, if you think that I can take on the burden of conquering the world for the country of Yan, I will definitely assist the young master, and I will do my best and die! Murong Jun was finally relieved. Just like Liu Bei back then, he said happily: If you can help my son like Duke Zhou, I will die in peace! In the first month of 360 AD, Murong Jun died at the age of 41.After Murong Jun's death, Prince Murong Wei came to the throne.

In the second year, Rong Ke led the army to quell the Yewang rebellion, and then marched into the Central Plains, controlling a large area south of the Yellow River.Four years later, Murong Ke conquered Luoyang with Wu Wang Murong Chui.So far, with the joint efforts of Murong Jun, Murong Ke, Murong Chui brothers and others, Yan State has occupied Liaodong, Youzhou, Hebei, Hedong, Qingzhou and most of Henan, and has replaced Later Zhao as the most powerful country in the north . After Murong Wei came to the throne, the government of Yan State was controlled by four "tais": Taizai Murongke, Taifu Murongping, Taibao Yangji, and Taishi Mu Yugen, whose power was basically equivalent to that of auxiliary ministers.Among the four, Murong Ke has the greatest power and is in charge of the government.However, although Murong Ke has great power, he is modest and prudent. On the contrary, the grand master Mu Yugen relied on his outstanding military exploits and was not convinced by Murong Ke's leadership of the government.But he was afraid of Murong Ke's prestige and didn't dare to attack, so he thought of a way-to pull Murong Ke into the water.

Therefore, Mu Yugen found Murong Ke and gave him two reasons: first, the Queen Mother Ke Zuhun also took advantage of her young son and often interfered in political affairs, which was a major national disaster; Today, it is all thanks to you and me, and there are precedents in our country of Yan.In the end, Mu Yugen also put forward a specific plan: abolish the little emperor as king, and let Murong Ke become emperor. After Murong Ke listened, he said: Dude, are you drunk, why are you talking all these crazy things?He severely reprimanded Mu Yugen. With a guilty conscience, Mu Yugen was scolded and ran away in disgrace.

However, this incident aroused Murong Ke's high vigilance, so he called Murong Chui and Huangfu Zhen to talk about the matter.Murong Chui only had one word, kill him!Although Huangfuzhen spoke more politely, he also felt that Mu Yugen was too domineering and would be a disaster sooner or later. He suggested that Murong Ke make plans early so as not to cause harm to the country.Murong Ke believes that the new king has just ascended the throne, and if the auxiliary ministers fight recklessly, it will give others an opportunity to take advantage of it, so he decided to observe Mu Yugen for a while. However, in political struggles, it is always life and death, and there is no room for politeness.Murong Ke cared about the overall situation, but Mu Yugen couldn't sit still.He was worried that Murong Ke and Murong Chui would attack him sooner or later, so he decided to act first.If you want a coup d'etat, you can't do it alone, you must have helpers.Mu Yugen found two people one after another, one was the clan brother Mu Yugan, and the other was the Queen Mother Kezuhun clan. The purpose of finding Mu Yuqian is to control the army in the capital.Mu Yuqian's official position is General Zuowei, who is responsible for the security of the Gyeonggi area. If he controls the capital, the coup d'état has half the chance of success.Mu Yuqian didn't say anything else, and promised to kill Murong Ke and Murong Ping first, and then usurped the throne.The reason for finding the Queen Mother Kezu Hun is that she is the actual ruler of the harem and is full of desire to intervene in politics-removing Murong Ke will reduce the greatest resistance for her to intervene in politics. So, Mu Yugen found the queen mother and the little emperor, and said sincerely, Dazai (Murong Ke) and Taifu (Murong Ping) are planning to do something wrong, please allow me to take the imperial army to kill them!When Ke Zuhun heard this, he thought that the four auxiliary ministers were the four mountains in front of him. They were willing to kill each other, which is naturally the best. No matter who wins, they can kill a few, so they immediately wanted to agree. But before she could speak, the 11-year-old Emperor Murong Wei looked at Mu Yugen and the Kezu Hun family, and said in a slightly childish voice: "Both the Dazai and the Taifu are the pillars of the country. The late emperor appointed them as important ministers to support Gu. We will definitely not kill them easily. How do we know if it is the grand master who wants to monopolize the chaos!" Murong Wei looked at Mu Yugen and Kezuhun's with a pure face, his words were equivalent to rejecting Mu Yugen face to face request. Seeing that Zuhun's words had already been preempted by the emperor's son, he didn't have the nerve to object.Mu Yugen failed to make a plan, so he made another plan. He suggested that the emperor and the queen mother return to Longcheng on the grounds of the turbulent war in the Central Plains and the decline of all industries.Longcheng is located in Liaodong, where the Murong tribe made its fortune and gathered many royal family members. Mu Yugen wanted to take this opportunity to control the emperor in his own hands and weaken the power of Murong Ke and others. For such a major event as moving the capital, it is naturally impossible for the emperor and the queen mother to make a decision on the spot, and the news quickly spread to Murong Ke.Now, Murong Ke realized that the situation was serious, and immediately called for Murong Ping.Murong Ping is Murong Xing's youngest son, Murong Hao's younger brother, and Murong Jun's uncle, and his seniority is higher than Murong Ke's. When he heard that Murong Ke was going to kill him, he and Murong Ke went to the palace overnight to complain to the emperor. Mu Yugen's crime. Murong Wei hated Mu Yugen in the first place, so he immediately ordered his attendant Huangfuzhen and guard Fu Yan to take action in advance, and led the soldiers to arrest Mu Yugen's brothers, their wives and accomplices, and executed them immediately. After Mu Yugen was killed, people inside and outside the court were panicked. Many people advised Murong Ke to bring more guards when he went in and out, so as not to let others fall into the wrong hands.Murong Ke didn't care. Every time he went in and out of the court alone, he said to those who were afraid of assassins: "Human beings are afraid, and we should calm ourselves down. If I am uneasy, why should everyone look up to me!" It means, When everyone is afraid, I, as an example of the courtiers, should use my composure to reassure everyone; if even I am terrified, how can the people below do things with peace of mind? Great, Xuan Gong! It is no exaggeration to describe Murong Ke with the four words "gongzhongtiguo". From the perspective of today's people, among Murong Hao's sons, Murong Ke is the most outstanding talent. He is not only capable of both civil and military skills, but also humble and extraordinary. There are hardly any stains. It can be said that he is a perfect political idol.But in Murong Ke's view, the most powerful among the brothers is not himself, but Wu Wang Murong Chui. When Murong Jun was in power, Murong Ke suggested to him more than once to reuse Murong Chui.He is also talented, but Murong Jun uses Murong Ke a lot, but he doesn't like Murong Chui.Many people think that Murong Jun is stingy and jealous of his talents, but I think that any king has a heart to guard against others, especially a talented brother.Murong Jun reuses Murong Ke because he has long seen that Murong Ke is a gentleman and has no ambitions, so he can use it freely; even so, when he was in Tuogu, he still tested Murong Ke severely.Murong Chui is not a gentleman, he has a domineering aura, once he becomes popular, the consequences will be disastrous.Therefore, the more Murong Ke recommended Murong Chui, the more Murong Jun became wary of Murong Chui. Fortunately, God gave Murong Chui three opportunities: First, Murong Jun is dead, this is the most important. Second, quell civil strife.Murong Chui followed Murong Ke and Murong Ping in Mu Yugen's rebellion (in fact, he was attempted to be killed). Murong Chui also made great contributions, so he was appointed as the general who conquered the south, the governor of the Henan military, the governor of Yanzhou, and the governor of Jingzhou, guarding the southern border. Third, make military achievements.In 365 A.D., Murong Ke took Murong Chui to conquer Luoyang. After returning, he was rewarded for his meritorious deeds. All military affairs were handed over to Murong Chui, and the entire south of the Yellow River became Murong Chui's defense zone. Well, these three opportunities, except Murong Jun's death is force majeure, the other two are given by Murong Ke. Perhaps because he realized that his time limit was approaching, Murong Ke would "teach" the young emperor Murong Wei whenever he had the opportunity. King Wu (Murong Chui) was ten times more talented than me. Before the king of Wu; when I die, your majesty can entrust him with all military and state affairs, and the country can continue to prosper. In 366 AD, Murong Ke became seriously ill.Murong Ke on the sickbed is still worried about state affairs.His biggest worry is that the emperor Murong Wei has no real power in his hands—among the four major auxiliary ministers, Mu Yugen was killed, and he was about to die. It is Murong Ping who has the upper hand; but Murong Ping is small in stature, suspicious by nature, and likely to abolish public affairs for personal reasons, so he is not the best candidate for ruling.Therefore, Murong Ke found Murong Wei's elder brother, Murong Zang, King of Le'an.Murong Zang is Murong Wei's concubine brother, with a loyal and honest nature.Murong Ke told him that although your brothers (referring to Murong Zang and Murong Chong) are smart, they have not experienced many hardships. After their death, they must use King Murong Chui of Wu to help Yan Guo survive the crisis. In the summer of 366 AD, Murong Ke died of illness.Before dying, Murong Wei went to visit him at his home in person.When dying, Murong Ke did not forget to recommend Murong Chui to the emperor.In Murong Wei's personal promise, Murong Ke passed away at the age of 47. Among the Murong family, Murong Ke is the most special one.Whether it is military or government, Murong Ke's talents are not inferior to any famous generals and politicians of the Han nationality.What's even more amazing is that even though he was born in a family full of rebellious blood, what Murong Ke showed was completely selfless. There are two main reasons why Yan State was able to rapidly grow from a small state that dominated Liaodong to a powerful country that unified most of the north in just a few decades: First, it was unanimous in foreign affairs.All the strongmen and careerists set their sights on competing with Duanbu, Yuwenbu, Goguryeo, Houzhao, and Ranwei. Whether it is Murong Han and Murong Hao, or Murong Jun and Murong Chui, they can put aside their prejudices, Focusing on the overall situation, the ruling class was united unprecedentedly and exploded with enormous energy.The second is Murong Ke's personal charm.In terms of talent, no one can match; in terms of prestige, no one can match - as long as Murong Ke himself has no ambitions, those who are about to move will be afraid of three points.Despite the undercurrents, the entire Yan Kingdom has always been moving in the right direction. It's a pity that Murong Ke died, and the person who could suppress internal and external conflicts is gone. The giant ship of Yan State began to slowly deviate from its course. After Murong Ke's death, the pace of Yan's external expansion also slowed down immediately, and a three-legged situation once again appeared in the world-the former Yan ruled Guandong, the former Qin separatist ruled Guanzhong, and the Eastern Jin Dynasty occupied the south. And Qianliang, who ruled the Hexi area.On the surface, the three families are evenly matched, but when Murong Ping took over the power of Yan State, a deep crack appeared inside the powerful Yan State. Someone keenly discovered this crack.This person is Huan Wen, the power minister of the Eastern Jin Dynasty.