Chapter 36 Eighteen, one-third of the world

Ran Min, who presided over the overall situation of the Central Plains, was killed, and no one could stop the Murong family from going south.The city guards who had just attached to Ran Wei for two years all professed their ministers to Qianyan. In Yecheng, the capital of the country, several Ran Wei ministers, including the young prince Ran Zhi and his assistant general Jiang Gan, who were left behind by Ran Min when he set off on the expedition, were still fighting stubbornly.Yan general Murong Ping's army surrounded Yecheng. The city ran out of ammunition and food, and the people ate each other. The worst were some court ladies who stayed behind from the later Zhao Dynasty. Yu Zhao Mie and Wei Xing changed dynasties, but at this time they were killed and eaten because they were really useless.

As a Han, Jiang Gan had nothing to do, so he sent someone to ask for help from the Eastern Jin general Xie Shang who was stationed in Shouchun. Xie Shang sent General Dai Shi to join forces with Jiang Gan to fight against Yan on the condition of passing on the jade seal of the country. This coalition army composed of Han people was no match for the Xianbei cavalry at all. Murong Ping attacked Yecheng, Ran Min's queen, prince and others were captured alive, and Dai Shi and Jiang Gan fled back to the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the country of the Han people in the chaos.The Eastern Jin Dynasty didn't care about failure, but was very excited about the jade seal brought back by Dai Shi, and specially held a grand ceremony to welcome the jade seal to Jiankang.

The Eastern Jin Dynasty, which was peaceful on the surface, was full of contradictions inside.After Huan Wen annihilated Cheng Han, he did not follow Liu Tun's original prophecy, and his reputation in the Eastern Jin Dynasty increased day by day. Emperor Mu of Jin had the lessons learned from Emperor Jin Yuan and Wang Dun, and was deeply jealous of Huan Wen.During the domestic disputes in Later Zhao, Huan Wen wrote several times to request the Northern Expedition, but Jin Mudi deliberately promoted Yin Hao, a minister who was as famous as Huan Wen in the court, and asked him to prepare for the Northern Expedition, but ignored Huan Wen.Huan Wen understood what the court meant, and he knew Yin Hao's abilities very well, so he was not in a hurry, and sat and waited to see Yin Hao's jokes.

This Yin Hao is indeed just a literati who doesn't know how to fight. As soon as he came up, he promoted Xun Xian and others as his wings, and presided over the Northern Expedition together with Xie Shang.He seems to have no dispute with others, but he hates and fears Yao Xiang, a Qiang man stationed in Liyang. Yao Yizhong fought for Guanzhong but failed to fight for Fu Hong, stayed in Guandong but failed to keep the Later Zhao regime, and died in depression the second year after Later Zhao's demise.Before he died, he warned his sons headed by Yao Xiang: "When the Jin family was in chaos, the Shi family treated us Qiang people well, so I wanted to do my best for it right away. But now that the Shi family is gone, there is no one in the Central Plains. Lord, since ancient times, no Rong and Di have been able to be emperors. I think those Hu people who call themselves emperors will fall sooner or later. After I die, you will submit to the Jin Kingdom and be law-abiding officials. Stop doing unrighteous things! (Yao Yizhong's last words are quite insightful, from which we can also see that the degree of Sinicization of Qiangdi and other western ethnic groups is higher than that of Xianbei. Yao Yizhong's orthodox concept is very strong. Although the Jin family moved south , but many people still agree with its orthodox status from the bottom of their hearts. The tribes who stayed in the Central Plains to work hard are always expedient for repaying gratitude or virtue. It’s like everyone has a common ideal boss in mind, but the ideal It can’t be realized for a while, so some people have to find a good boss to work for them first, and they will consider changing jobs when they have the opportunity. Of course, if they are good enough to be their own boss, of course, it is not on the list of discussions.)

After Yao Yizhong's death, Yao Xiang conquered several cities in Guandong, and then led the Qiang people westward to Xingyang. After all, he still did not give up on Guanzhong.At this time, Fu Jian had already occupied Guanzhong and established the former Qin Dynasty.Yao Xiang was blocked by the Qin army, lost the battle, and lost most of the army.Yao Xiang's own horse was also hit by a stray arrow, and was almost caught by the Qin army. Fortunately, his brother Yao Chang gave his horse to Yao Xiang, and when rescuers came to help, the two brothers escaped. Yao Xiang, who lost his army and general, had no choice but to follow his father's behest and surrender to the Eastern Jin Dynasty.Yao Xiang was knowledgeable and good at talking, so he was very popular among Jiangdong scholar-officials and became Xie Shang's right-hand man.

Soon, Yao Xiang and Xie Shang attacked Xuchang, but were defeated by Fu's army.In a critical situation, Yao Xiang threw away his luggage and escorted Xie Shang out of danger.Xie Shang was grateful for Yao Xiang's rescue and entrusted all the funeral affairs to Yao Xiang.After Yao Xiang garrisoned troops in Liyang, he set up farms on both sides of the Huaihe River, trained soldiers, accumulated strength, and his army gradually became stronger. Yin Hao was afraid of Yao Xiang's prestige, so he used "shady tricks". He imprisoned several younger brothers sent by Yao Xiang to the Eastern Jin Dynasty as hostages, and repeatedly ordered assassins to assassinate Yao Xiang.Unexpectedly, these assassins respected Yao Xiang very much, and instead they all told Yao Xiang the whole truth.

Yin Hao failed in the assassination, so he used "force attack" instead.He sent Anbei General Wei Jing to attack Yao Xiang, but Wei Jing was beheaded by Yao Xiang, and his tribe was also annexed by Yao Xiang.Yin Hao also sent General Longxiang Liu Qi to garrison Qiaocheng (now Bozhou, Anhui), and reassigned Yao Xiang to Liang Guolitai (now Suiyang, Anhui).Yin Hao wanted to get rid of Yao Xiang, so he sent Xie Wan to attack again, but was defeated by Yao Xiang again. Yin Hao tried Yao Xiang's calculation repeatedly but failed, but he was still superstitious about the role of assassination, so he bribed former Qin ministers to murder Fu Jian.It also happened to be a coincidence that Fu Jian killed the ministers who made trouble inside, and the former Qin generals stationed in Luoyang fled.Yin Hao thought that Fu Jian was dead, so he led the army from Shouchun to the north in the ninth year of Yonghe (353 A.D.), Emperor Mudi of Jin Dynasty. The terrible thing was that this time he actually let Yao Xiang serve as the forward. (Does Yin Hao think that Yao Xiang would be grateful to him and work hard for him when he gained his army and strengthened his power? I really can't figure out that such a person can become a leader in the Eastern Jin Dynasty.)

Yao Xiang was worried that he had no chance to take revenge, so he led his troops first, and returned to Shansang (today's Mengcheng, Anhui Province) to invite his troops to attack Yin Hao. All became Yao Xiang's spoils of war. Yin Hao's failure should have been expected by Huan Wen, and he lost no time in sending another memorial, demanding that Yin Hao be dismissed and investigated.Emperor Jin Mu couldn't justify ignoring him any longer, so he had to dismiss Yin Hao and agreed that Huan Wen would lead the Northern Expedition instead. But a few years later, the best opportunity for the Northern Expedition has been lost, and the situation in the north faced by the smug Huan Wen is indeed difficult to deal with.Murong Jun, who conquered most of the Guandong area of ​​the former Zhao Dynasty, and Fu Jian, who conquered various warlord separatist forces in Guanzhong, proclaimed themselves emperor in the eighth year of Jinmu Emperor Yonghe (AD 352).Qianyan, which had always been regarded as the orthodox royal family in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, showed its true colors. When the envoys of the Eastern Jin Dynasty went to Qianyan again, the reply was: "Go back and tell your emperor, I was pushed by the people of the Central Plains, and I have already proclaimed myself emperor here. .”

The land of China has once again returned to the situation of the three kingdoms. The difference is that this time the three countries have fallen apart, with the two strong in the north and the weak in the south.Among the Three Kingdoms, the Qianyan established by the Xianbei people is the strongest. When the old hero Murongxin was shooting and hunting outside the Liaodong Great Wall, he probably would not have imagined that his descendants would also win the Central Plains and be conquered by the Dragon King. The story of Murong Xianbei is far from over, but the protagonist of the Sixteen Kingdoms era is quietly shifting.The generation of heroes who grew up in the next Qin Yan struggle for supremacy will eclipse many previous influential figures.