Chapter 26 hero of the moment

——Shi Le, the Founding Emperor of Later Zhao Shanxi folklore, in addition to old mature vinegar and hundreds of kinds of pasta, there are also many local operas, miscellaneous operas and martial arts.In Yushe County, every holiday and festive day, you will see dozens of men and women from all over the city and countryside, wearing red silk coats, holding a prop called "Bawangbian", dancing or dancing, left and right. Flick right.There are exquisite copper bells and fine silk tassels tied to the whip pole. In the complex "four-point method" percussion sound, the whip dances with people. Filled with the satisfaction of a well-off life and the joy of a peaceful world.As everyone knows, the "overlord's whip" flying in their hands originated from the commanding whip in the hands of a local hero more than 1,600 years ago. Turned into the dust of history.

Shi Le, courtesy name Shilong, formerly known as Gu Le, was born in Wu Township of Shangdang (Yushe, Shanxi) from the Jie tribe.Shi Le's grandfather, according to the "Book of Jin", was named Ye Yiyu, and Shi Le's father was "joined as the commander-in-chief of the tribe" with Shi Le's father.Ye Yiyu should be eelkhany in Persian, which is generally translated as Yierhanni in modern times, meaning the leader of nomadic tribes.Therefore, their family is likely to belong to one of the nine surnames Zhaowu of the Hu people in the Western Regions. They may be from Kangju (Qiangqu, who once lived in Tashkent, Xinjiang). One of the nine castes.Their appearance is "high nose, deep eyes, and bearded". They should be one of the Europa races.Due to the long-term inland migration, Shile's generation has been completely reduced to a long-term laborer for the local Han landlords. It can be said that they are the real proletariat of the poor and hired farmers.

From the age of seven or eight, Shi Le faced the loess and his back to the sky all day long, working barefoot in the fields.At that time, apart from his strange appearance (a man with a high nose and deep eyes), this poor child had nothing special about him. He just squatted in the corner of the kang in the thatched hut when he was so tired and went home to eat, with a big bowl in his hand. The mother complained that she heard the neighing of war horses and the beating of golden drums.Mother Shi disapproved and persuaded him, "You are too tired from work. It's just tinnitus. It's not an ominous sign." Ning Qu of Qu County believed that Shi Le must be no ordinary person.Although these two men were rich men, they took good care of Shi Le.

When he was fourteen years old, Shi Le, who was in good health, was hired as a porter and once transported things to the upper east gate of Luoyang City.Probably after working for several days, Shi Le roared excitedly when his stomach was round and full just after eating a pile of Hubing.It happened that Wang Yan, a nobleman of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, was passing by in a sedan chair. He saw a big boy with a strange appearance screaming there, and he said to the people around him: "The boy from the Hu nationality just now has a strange voice and appearance. I'm afraid it will become a disturbance in the world in the future." harm." So he ordered his men to return quickly, trying to catch Shi Le.The bazaar was gone, and there were many people coming and going, so Shi Le had gone to some ditch to rest for a long time, and was soon forgotten by Wang Yan, a great talker.

Servant boy with ulterior motives During the reign of Tai'an (302-303), Emperor Hui of Jin Dynasty, there was a famine in Bingzhou. Shi Le and the local servants fled from Yanmen to Yangqu, relying on their former employer Ning Qu.At that time, soldiers from all over the country took advantage of the chaos to tie up wandering barbarians and sell them to other places to earn a few small money to spend.The local Lieutenant Kitazawa once led his troops to "clear households", arrested hundreds of people, and then broke into Ning Qu's manor.Fortunately, Ning Qu hid Shi Le in the rice dump, so that Jiehu escaped.Yishile's burly body is the best material for slaves, and he will definitely be sold by military men for double the price.Seeing that the soldiers around Yangqu were arresting people everywhere, and Ning drove him once, it was impossible to protect him twice, so Shi Le wanted to join the army with Li Chuan, the captain of Najiang. sold as slaves.

Halfway there, Shi Le, who was hungry and thirsty, was in a panic.While breathing, I met Guo Jing, a rich man from the same village, "(Shi Le) wept and prayed for hunger and cold".When Guo Jing saw the young man Shi Le's ugly appearance, he shed tears at him, and hurriedly sold the goods that he planned to sell in the city for a good price on the spot, and bought some food and clothes for Shi Le.A few mustard cakes fell down, and a few more cotton-padded jackets and trousers were added to his body. Shi Le calmed down and turned his head diligently. He said to Guo Jing: "Now there is a severe famine in Bingzhou. If you stay poor, you will definitely starve to death. The surrounding clans Hu people have nothing to eat, so you can trick them, saying that you will lead them to Jizhou to find food and sell them, you can make money, and you can also find a way for these Hu people to survive."

Guo Jing thinks this plan is feasible.Shi Le was ambitious, so he bid farewell to Guo Jing, and was going to offer this plan to Li Chuan's army and make him a lot of money.Unexpectedly, after only a few miles away, the governor of Bingzhou of Jinhu and the sergeant of Ma Teng of Dongying Company were already searching for the wandering miscellaneous Hus, preparing to sell them in exchange for military supplies.From a distance, he saw a big ugly guy approaching with his head bowed and smiling. All the soldiers rushed forward and forced Shi Le, who was thinking about how much he could sell, to stay where he was.This is a good time, before I can sell others, I will be sold by others first.

Sima Teng saw that the number of these "goods" was almost thousands, which was enough for a trip, so he ordered his generals Guo Yang and Zhang Long to escort these looted Hu people to Jizhou to sell them. A barbarian's neck was whipped all the way, kicked with smelly feet, and escorted to the market like an animal. Bingzhou is far from Jizhou, and most of these "goods" died of illness and starvation along the way. Thanks to General Guo Yang, who is Guo Jing's elder brother, he received money in advance and took care of Shile's diet along the way, so that this Jiehu was finally able to walk alive to Jizhou.

Shi Le was sold to Shi Huan, a native of Rimping, as a slave. He worked every day, carrying water and digging fields. Although he was exhausted to death, he still had something to eat.Shi Le is a man of strength and intelligence, and Shi Huan also trusts him very much, unlike ordinary slaves who are locked up and guarded all day long.Shi Le couldn't stay idle, and saw that the government's horse farm was near Shi Huan's field, so he took the opportunity to talk to Ji Sang, Matou Jisang, who was in charge of the horse farm, in the name of being able to train horses.In a few words, Shi Le is indeed an expert, Ji Sang is very happy, and gradually the two become friends who can drink together on the same kang (Shi Le is a lowly slave, it is really not easy to talk to Ma Tou Ji Sang).

Meanwhile, the landlord Shi Huan sublet Shi Le to the landlord in Wu'an.It is also due to Shi Le's bad luck that he was caught by a group of soldiers who looted and sold people for a living on the way, and tied them up locally to be sold in the market.Coincidentally, a herd of deer galloped by in the wilderness, and the greedy soldiers all wanted to eat roasted deer meat. A group of people rushed to chase the herd of deer, but Shi Le broke free from the rope and escaped by chance. After going through this great danger, Shi Le finally figured out that to be a cow, a horse, and a submissive slave can only be passively enslaved like an animal. It is better to arm yourself and do it. Quite a few times.So, he stole a horse from the field, recruited eight friends including Wang Yang and Tao Bao, whom he knew from working together, got some farm tools to sharpen and polish, and started to make a living by robbing everywhere.Soon, eight people including Guo Ao, Hu Yanmo, and Zhi Quliu joined in. A group of people known as the "Eighteen Flying Horsemen" rushed into Chilong and other royal horse farms, straddled the best horses, and robbed and looted everywhere. wealthy households.

At that time, the world was in chaos, and the government was unable to protect itself.Shi Le was like a fish in water, and sent a large number of looted treasures to Ma Shi Jisang, making friends with the local forces to strengthen himself.Not only did Shi Le not harass his own horse farm, but he also brought hundreds of good horses from other royal horse farms to honor him. When Ji Sang was happy, he named Shi Le. It started from Jisang. If it was the Taiping Festival, Shi Le, a low-level underworld gangster who robbed public property and colluded with government farmers, would be a "heinous crime", and he would soon plot to vent the incident and be arrested by the police and taken to the county seat for questioning. Heroes come out of troubled times.At that time, at the time of the "Eight Kings Rebellion", the clan of Sima started fighting. Liu Yuan of the Huns took the opportunity to run back and proclaimed himself King of Han in Liting; Tens of thousands.After judging the situation, Ji Sang took Shi Le to seek refuge with Gongsun Fan, and the two even gave hundreds of fine royal horses as a meeting gift.Gongsun Fan was overjoyed, and worshiped Shi Le as the former team commander (commander of the charge), and attacked Mamo of the Pingchang Company of the Western Jin Dynasty in Yecheng.Ji Sang and Shi Le made the wrong bet this time, and Gongsun Fan was defeated and killed soon after. Ji Sang and Shi Le escaped in the chaos and hid in the middle east of the former royal horse ranch. They gathered desperadoes everywhere and robbed the prisoners in counties and counties, forming a large armed force.Ji Sang claimed to be a great general, and in the name of fighting Sima Yue, the king of the East China Sea, for Sima Ying, the king of Chengdu.Under Ji Sang's command, Shi Le led an army to attack Yecheng, killed Ma Teng of Dongying Company (that is, his subordinates sold Shi Le to Jizhou earlier), "killed more than ten thousand people, and plundered women's treasures."The battles led by small farmers and slaves went smoothly, and they also crossed Yanjin and attacked Yanzhou (now Yuncheng, Shandong). Sima Ying, the king of Chengdu, was terrified.Although this armed force under its own banner killed the opponent Sima Teng and others, they suddenly attacked Yanzhou, fighting without declaration and grabbing their own territory.Frightened and angry, Sima Ying ordered Gou Xi, governor of Yanzhou, to attack Ji Sang and Shi Le. Gou Xi is not a dog at all, this Jin general named "Tu Bo" used harsh methods and moved his troops like a god. In a few months, in more than 30 battles between Yangping and Pingyuan, Jisang and Shile were defeated. More than 10,000 people were killed, and the two were defeated. In a hurry, they wanted to surrender to Liu Yuan, the Hun.On the way, they were attacked by Ding Shao, the governor of Jizhou in the Jin Dynasty, and Shi Le and Ji Sang were separated.Shi Le fled to Leping.Jisang was not so lucky. He was caught by the "begging army" of the Jin Dynasty halfway and killed in Pingyuan County. In poverty and distress, Shi Le wished he could go to Liu Yuan's Huns camp immediately.However, it was not justifiable to meet people with empty hands alone, so Shi Le persuaded the "thousands of people" who didn't know where to go to visit Liu Yuan together in Shangdang.Overjoyed, Liu Yuan named Shi Le the general of the auxiliary Han and the king of Ping Jin.Shi Le was greatly encouraged by the empty-handed white wolf plan, and he hijacked Karasuma Zhang Fulidu, who had more than 2,000 people, "leading his troops back to the sea (Liu Yuan)".Needless to say, Liu Yuan also named Shi Le the governor of Shandong to conquer various military forces.In less than a year, Shi Le transformed from a farming slave to Liu Yuan's noble prince and the chieftain of the local armed forces with thousands of followers. There are many meritorious deeds under the wolf head In 308 AD, Liu Yuan proclaimed himself emperor and sent envoys to grant Shi Le Chijie, General Pingdong, and King Pingjin.In the past, he was playing around like a family, but now that there is really an "emperor" who can make himself king, one can imagine how excited Shi Le is. When Liu Cong attacked Huguan, Shi Le led 7,000 elite troops to serve as the forward commander and killed Jin general Huang Xiu.Then, he attacked Yecheng, Zhaojun, Julu, and Changshan, and killed tens of thousands of Jin troops, and sent eighteen generals who joined him to lead troops to the counties and counties in the north of Bingzhou Mountain. The barbarian local armed forces came to attach. Although Shi Le attacked cities and lands for the Huns and the Han Kingdom, unlike the generals of the Liu family, he seldom killed the local residents.As for Wubao in various folk places that were captured in Wei County, he "selected 50,000 strong and strong soldiers, the old and the weak will be safe and secure, and the army will plunder without selfishness, and the people will cherish it."After the capture of Jizhou, Shi Le was able to put scholars from all over the place together, called "Gentleman Camp", and became a think tank team for him to advise.Zhang Bin, his most powerful adviser, was also famous and surrendered at this time. During the transition, the only major setback Shi Le suffered was the Battle of Feilong Mountain.The Xianbei leader Wu Chen (father of Duan Pichen) sent by Wang Jun, the governor of Youzhou in the Jin Dynasty, led a total of more than 100,000 Xianbei and Jin allied forces, and defeated Shi Le and fled Liyang.Even so, Shi Le did not lose his vitality, and instead entered the Kou Xindu, killing Wang Bin, the governor of Jizhou in the Jin Dynasty.Then, he attacked Juancheng in the east and killed Yuan Fu, the governor of Yanzhou in the Jin Dynasty.Taking advantage of the victory, Shile fell into the counties of Guangzong, Qinghe, Pingyuan, and Yangping, and more than 90,000 people fell.In the Battle of Wude, Shi Le attacked and killed Liang Ju, the champion general of the Jin Dynasty, and killed more than 10,000 soldiers who resisted, which shocked Hebei. "The fortresses in Hebei suffered a major earthquake, please send your son to Shile." After the Xiongnu Liu Cong succeeded to the throne, he gave Shi Le a lot of titles such as General Zhengdong and Governor of Bingzhou.One is to save face in front of the new master, and the other is to fight for status for himself and expand the army. Shi Le cooperated with Liu Cong's son Liu Canhui to attack Luoyang, and then attacked Xiangyang. Zhi". The counselor Zhang Bin had a long-term plan and persuaded Shi Le to return to the north.Shi Le, who was triumphant and triumphant, got carried away and didn't listen.Soon, Sima Rui, the king of Langya in the Jin Dynasty, sent Wang Dao to lead an army to attack Shile.Due to the shortage of food and grass and the epidemic of plague in the army, Shi Le lost more than half of his troops and lost his generals. He finally followed Zhang Bin's strategy, packed his armor with food, attacked and killed all the way, and returned to the north. In April of the fifth year of Yongjia (311), Emperor Huaidi of the Western Jin Dynasty, Sima Yue, the king of the East China Sea, who escaped from Luoyang in the name of begging for thieves, died of a sudden illness.Sima Yue brought out more than 200,000 soldiers of the generals of the court and the family members of the army, holding his big coffin and retreating eastward, preparing to go to the East China Sea (Shandong Tancheng) to bury Sima Yue.Upon hearing the news, Shi Le personally led light cavalry to double the road in May, and surrounded the mourning army in Ningping City, Kuxian County (Luyi County, Henan Province). People trample on each other like a mountain, and no one is immune."Six clan princes including Taiwei Wang Yan of the Jin Dynasty, Xiangyang King Sima Fan, and dozens of high-ranking court officials all became Shi Le's prisoners. Seeing these gentry and princes in fluttering clothes and gorgeous armor are now sitting dejectedly on the grass in front of the big tent waiting for their fate, Shi Le is extremely proud.After drinking several cups of fine wine, Shi Le asked Wang Yan why the Jin Dynasty fell. "(Wang) Yan has the reasons for Chen's misfortune and failure, but it's not his own plan; he also says that he has little official affection and doesn't care about world affairs."Seeing that the two had a speculative conversation, everyone interrupted one after another to excuse themselves.Only Sima Fan, King of Xiangyang, looked dignified and proud, and he sat on the spot and yelled at everyone: "Today's affairs, why are there so many different things!" There are such figures in the Sima family, and Shi Le also respects them in awe. Wang Yan, with "a bright expression and a delicate demeanor", was a rare handsome man in the Jin Dynasty.When he was a teenager, Wang Yan visited Shan Tao, a famous scholar, "(Shan) Tao sighed for a long time, and when he left, he watched him off and said: 'What kind of old woman gave birth to Ning Xin'er! However, it may not be this person who misunderstood the common people in the world!'".This person was also a great insightful philosopher during the Wei and Jin Dynasties, "every time he catches the tail of a jade handle, it is the same color as his hand. If he feels uneasy about the meaning, he immediately changes it."Wang Yan also pretends to be elegant and doesn't talk about money.His wife tried it and asked the maid to surround his bed with money at night.Wang Yan got up in the morning and yelled to the maid: "Pull up the Aduwu!" (Take these things away!) But this man has no loyalty, he lives in the world, and only wants to protect himself. When Shi Le was fourteen years old, Wang Yan saw through the bones of a hero in Luoyang City and was almost killed.But Shi Le, the reckless hero, was heartbroken when he saw this Jin Dynasty Taiwei who respected people and elegance with his own eyes. "I am very happy, and the words move the sun."Wang Yan saw that the murderous demon king was very talkative, so in order to please him even more, he persuaded Shi Le to proclaim himself emperor.Unexpectedly, as soon as these words came out, not only did he fail to protect himself, but instead caused a catastrophe. Shi Le's face changed suddenly, and he stood up, and reprimanded Wang Yan, saying: "The king's name covers the whole world, he has a heavy responsibility, and he is young and strong. As for the white head, how can you say that you don't predict the world! It is the king's crime to destroy the world like this." To!" Immediately, he ordered the left and right guards to escort Wang Yan out of the big tent.Back in the house where he was imprisoned, Wang Yan knew that he would die, and lamented to the people around him: "Whoa! Although my Cao is not as good as the ancients, if I am not as good as my ancestors, I am still superficial, and I will try my best to change the world, but I still can't do it today. !" However, Shi Le really couldn't make up his mind for a while about whether these "human appearances" of the Great Jin Dynasty should be killed or lived.General Kong Chang happened to be by his side, and Shi Le asked: "I have been running around the world for many years, and I have never seen such people with extraordinary appearance and eloquence. Can I keep them alive?" Kong Chang replied rudely: "These people are all princes and officials of the Jin Dynasty. They will definitely not submit to us sincerely. What's the use of keeping them, just kill them!" Shi Le nodded and made up his mind: "The body of such a strange person can be preserved, but not sharpened." So he sent soldiers to lead the others out and behead them one by one, leaving only Wang Yan and Sima Fan to be imprisoned alone. In a brick house, "make people row against the wall to kill them at night".The ancients always thought that the death of the whole body was a blessing to others. In fact, it would be more enjoyable to beheaded than to die of suffocation between bricks, stones and earthen tiles. A generation of great metaphysicians who "stand clear on the rocks and stand on the walls of thousands of feet" (Gu Kai's words) ended their lives in the middle of the broken bricks. Shi Le continued his efforts and defeated the Jin army who had escaped from Luoyang in Weicang (now Yanling, Henan), and killed Sima Pi, the son of the East China Sea King, and other forty-eight princes of the Jin Dynasty. In July of the same year, Shi Le and Liu Yao conquered Luoyang and captured Jinhuai Emperor Sima Chi. Shi Le, who had made great achievements, was stationed in Xuchang not long after he heard that Gouxi, the governor of the Jin Dynasty, had supported Sima Duan, the son of Emperor Huai of Jin, as the crown prince in Mengcheng. , Immediately galloped to Mengcheng, and captured the Confucian general who had once been so powerful and defeated Ji Sang, Shi Le's old boss.After more than a month, Shi Le killed Gou Xi when he saw that he was not using him for himself. At this point, Shi Le, who can advance and retreat freely, be invincible in attack, win all battles, and has wings, began to turn his next target to his friendly army who had been posing a serious threat to his power-the general of the Xiongnu and Han Kingdom, King Mi, Duke of Qi. Wang Mi, a native of Donglai, his father and grandfather were officials at the prefect level, and his family background was clean and dignified.Wang Hong was talented when he was young, he was erudite and memorized, but he was good at chivalry, practiced martial arts and fencing, and had a lot of friends.Dong Zhongdao, a hermit from Luoyang, was a good man, and once said to him: "Your voice is like a leopard, and you are fond of chaos. If the world harasses you, you will not be a scholar-bureaucrat." Perhaps this kind of prophecy gave Wang Mi some psychological hints.In the last years of Emperor Hui of Jin Dynasty, when Bogen, a demon who rebelled in the name of religion, rebelled in Donglai, Wang Mi resolutely "betrayed" his family and led his servant boy to "follow the thief".After Baigen was killed, Wang Mi "destroyed into Changguang Mountain as a group of thieves".Because of his good education, Wang Mi "has many powers and strategies. Wherever he plunders, he must plan for success or failure, and he will make every strategy.Later, Wang Mi led a group of thieves to harass Taishan, Yingchuan, Runan, and Xiangcheng counties one after another, and invaded Xuchang, opened the arsenal, and snatched many excellent armored staffs. There are tens of thousands of people, and the imperial court cannot control them." At the time when the eight kings were attacking each other and the world was in chaos, this bandit head who was born as a scholar-bureaucrat led his army to attack Luoyang.At that time, the Jin army still had the ability to fight back. Situ Wangyan sent Jin generals to fight fiercely with Wang Mi's army at Qilijian.Wang Mi was defeated. On the way to escape, he thought of his old friend Liu Yuan in Luoyang and the leader of the five Huns (Liu Yuan was already called the king of Han at that time), so he took hundreds of defeated soldiers and went to seek refuge.Liu Yuan had just established the country, and was delighted to hear the news, so he sent envoys to welcome him.As soon as Wang Mi saw his old acquaintance, he persuaded Liu Yuan to proclaim himself emperor. In gratitude, Liu Yuan praised Wang Mi as "the lonely Kong Ming". Enter. After Wang Mi joined the Xiongnu Liu Group, he worked very hard. He first attacked Hanoi with Liu Yao, and then joined forces with Shi Le to attack Linzhang.In the early years of Yongjia, Wang Mi defeated the Jin army in Gaodu and killed tens of thousands of Jin troops.Soon, he and Liu Yao and Shi Le broke through Weijun, Jijun and Dunqiu, and fell into more than 50 walls.When he joined forces with Shi Le to attack Yecheng, Wang Mi made another great contribution.Then, Wang and Shi joined forces to attack Chenjun and defeated the Jin army of Sima Yue, king of the East China Sea. Wang Mi can be called the nemesis of the Jin Dynasty.The Xiongnu Liu Yao joined forces with him and won consecutive victories.The two led the army to "Kou Xiangcheng, and then forced the capital".At that time, there was a great hunger in the capital, people ate each other, the people went into exile, and the ministers ran to Heyin.Wang Mi was in front, Liu Yao followed, and the Han army captured Luoyang.Wang Mi first ordered the plunder.Liu Yao came later, fearing that all the treasures would be returned to Wang Mi, he ordered to stop Wang Mi's generals.When Wang Mi refused, Liu Yao beheaded Wang Yan, Wang Mi's Yamen general, on the street.Wang Mi was furious, and the two sides blocked the troops from attacking each other, and more than a thousand people died.After being persuaded by others, the two sides apparently reconciled. Liu Yao was ashamed that he entered Luoyang one step later, so he also sent troops to plunder, raped Emperor Huiyang and Empress Yang (and married her later, raped first and then married, which is not bad), killed Emperor Huai's prince Sima Quan, and three officials and scholars. More than ten thousand. Wang Mi persuaded Liu Yao: "Luoyang is located in the middle of the world, surrounded by mountains and rivers and four dangers. If you preserve the current magnificent palace, you can move the capital of the Han Dynasty from Pingyang to this place." How could Liu Yao listen to it? Luoyang burned to ruins. Wang Mi scolded: "Slaughtering all the little slaves, how could you have the emperor's intentions! This generation never wants to rule the world!" In a rage, he led troops to Xiangguan East. Not only did Liu Yao have grudges against Wang Mi, but Shi Le had always been afraid of Wang Mi's bravery, and he "prepared for it secretly".Although several people have been fighting side by side, they all seem to be in harmony with each other. In the troubled times, they have their own ghosts, and they always want to take the opportunity to annex each other. After conquering Luoyang, Wang Mi sent people to send a large number of beautiful women and treasures to Shi Le as a sign of friendship with Liu Yao.Hearing that Shi Le captured Gou Xi alive and made him Zuo Sima, Wang Mi also sent a letter to congratulate him: "The Duke captured Gou Xi and used it, what a god! Make (Gou) Xi the Duke Zuo, and Mi (Wang Mi claims) the Duke Right, the world is settled!" Shi Le, although he is an old man who has never read any books, his intelligence is no less than that of Wang Mi, who was born as a scholar. If you are humble, I will follow the plan!" At that time, Shi Le fought with Chen Wu, the leader of the begging army (the army that went out to beg for food due to famine, called "begging army") at Pengguan, and Wang Mi and Liu Rui fought.Wang Mi sent reinforcements to Shi Le, but was not accepted at first.Zhang Bin, a counselor, advised Shi Le: "You are always worried that there is no chance to get rid of Wang Mi, and now is a god-given opportunity. Chen Wu is small, so there is nothing to worry about; the prince (Wang Mi) is outstanding, so get rid of him early." Shi Le followed the plan and led The army attacked Liu Rui who was fighting with Wang Mi, and beheaded his head and gave it to Wang Mi. "(Wang) Mi was overjoyed, saying that (Shi Le) really loved him, so there is no doubt about it." At the end of 311 A.D., Shi Le sent someone to hold generous gifts and invited Wang Mi to meet and have a banquet in Jiwu County.Wang Mi's subordinates dissuaded the lord not to go out to the "Hongmen Banquet" lightly, but Wang Mi was stubborn and refused to listen.In addition, Shi Le is an old comrade who has fought side by side for many years, and he just helped kill his opponent Liu Rui, so Wang Mi happily went to the banquet with only a few entourages. The two met each other very happily, took their hands to the table, and talked about their old fighting friendship.While drinking, Shi Le got up, Wang Mi thought that the other party was going to toast again, and as he greeted him with a smile, Shi Le pulled out a sharp knife from his waist, a white light flashed, and the vigorous Wang Mi watched his head move from his neck.This Qingzhou hero, a literati rascal, never dreamed of it in his life, he jumped up and down for half his life, and instead of dying at the hands of a capable minister and famous general, he was killed by a plowing Hu'er instead. To kill this potential opponent who was competing with him in the Central Plains, the Shile villain first filed a complaint, and Liu Cong said that Wang Mi had rebelled and had been beheaded.Liu Cong was furious, and blamed Shi Le for "only harming the public and assistants, and whether he has the heart of the king", but the scolding was scolding. When employing people, Wang Mi died. The general, the governor of Bingyou Erzhou's military forces, and the leader of Bingzhou's governor, "to comfort his heart". Heroes have no provenance since ancient times After Shile plundered the counties in Yuzhou, he stationed an army in Gebei (now Xincai, Henan). The army galloped eastward and westward in the Jianghuai area. During this period, Liu Kun, a Jin official who was fighting against the Xiongnu Liu in Shanxi, obtained Shi Le's mother Wang who had been separated from Shi Le for many years, and his cousin Shi Hu (the great devil Shi Jilong in the future).Liu Kun sent someone to return Shi Le's mother and nephew, and wrote a letter to persuade Shi Le to surrender.Liu Kun, a great writer, has a brilliant literary talent, a heroic figure, and a convincing statement. The excerpts are as follows: The general made his fortune in Heshuo, swept across Yanyu, drank horses from Jianghuai, and rushed to Hanmian. Although he has been a famous general since ancient times, it is not enough to be a commandment.Therefore, when attacking a city without having its own people, and capturing land without having its own land, when the clouds merge, and the stars suddenly disperse, how does the general know this?Survival depends on the winner, success or failure depends on the attached; the winner is a righteous soldier, and the attached is a band of thieves.Although the righteous soldiers are defeated, their achievements will surely be accomplished; although the bandits are defeated, they will eventually be wiped out.In the past, red eyebrows and yellow scarves rebelled against the universe, so once defeated, they will use soldiers to gather without a name and gather to cause chaos.The general, with his outstanding quality, is powerful in the world, and he is respected when he chooses virtue, and he will return at any time.If you turn your back on your ears, you will get rid of misfortunes, and if you turn to the Lord, you will be blessed.Adopt the past teachings, change the map suddenly, the world is not stable, and the ants are not enough to sweep.Today, he is appointed as a servant, Chijie, general of chariots, general of Hunnu Zhonglang, Duke of Xiangcheng County, general internal and external, and also the title of Huarong. In other words, it is also the hope of far and near.Since ancient times, there have been no Rong people who have become emperors and kings. As for famous officials who have made contributions, there are some.It's too late to think about it today, because the world is in chaos, you must be talented.I heard from afar that generals attacking cities and fighting in the field are in harmony with the spirit of machine. Although they don't regard the art of war, they secretly agree with Sun Wu.But if you have to ride five thousand horses finely, with the talent of a general, you will be invincible! In the era of turbulent times and heroes, Shi Le was still unmoved even though he admired Liu Kun's outstanding talent and admired his integrity. You should try your best to save this dynasty, I barbarian myself, it is difficult to do it!" (In Zhonghua Book Company's edition, it is "I am barbaric myself, it is difficult to imitate", there is no good sentence, it is very difficult to understand.) In order to repay Liu Kun's love for sending his mother and nephew Shi Le rewarded Liu Kun with a batch of famous horses and treasures, and treated the envoy generously, but declined the envoy's return. Shi Le repaired his troops and horses and built large ships in Gebei.If it hadn't been for the heavy rain for three consecutive months, he would have had a great chance of conquering the base of Langya King Sima Rui in the south of the Yangtze River in one fell swoop. Most of Shi Le's troops were from the north. When they went to the south, they were not acclimatized to the environment and their combat effectiveness declined.It also caught up with the heavy rain for months, the plague was prevalent in the army, food was cut off, and nearly half of the soldiers died of dysentery, schistosomiasis, and starvation.Sima Rui's side also knew that it was a critical juncture of life and death, and there was no way out, so they strictly ordered the generals to gather in Shouchun (Shouxian, Anhui) and prepare to fight to the death. The hemp pole is afraid of beating wolves at both ends.Shile was also trapped in Gebei for a while.If you want to attack, the soldiers are exhausted, sick and injured, so it is impossible;After collecting a pile of appeals and surrender letters sent by the Jin army, the generals of Shile will ask for advice. You Changshi (chief of the general staff) Diao Ying spoke first. He advised Shi Le to present a surrender letter to Sima Rui, the king of Langya, in the name of sweeping Heshuo by the Jin Dynasty, and make other plans after the Jin army retreated. "(Stone) Le screamed loudly and loudly", the tiger is full of power, which is different from ordinary people. The backbone general Kui'an persuaded Shi Le to go high and avoid the water.Shi Le said: "Why is the general so timid!" Sun Chang, Zhi Xiong and more than 30 old Shile generals were all courageous, courageous and intrepid. Divided into more than 30 roads, climbed to the city at night, beheaded the heads of the guards, won the city, and ate the rice in the warehouse. In this way, this year, Danyang will definitely be destroyed, Jiangnan will be settled, and all the Sima family children will be captured alive!" Hearing this, Shi Le smiled: "It's indeed a brave general's strategy." All the generals were given a horse each.In fact, Shi Le knew in his heart that these generals were bragging. Finally, seeing that the counselor Zhang Bin had been silent, Shi Le asked, "What's your plan?" Zhang Bin was confident and said one by one: "General, you captured Luoyang, the imperial capital, imprisoned the emperor, killed princes, raped concubines, and pulled out the general's hair. The crimes of generals are not enough to count the crimes of generals. How could you be a minister to the Jin Dynasty? Last year you killed Empress Wang Mi should not have stayed in the south of the Yangtze River. Now, it is raining heavily, and hundreds of miles away is Chengze Country. Shanhe, you should return the army to go north and capture this city. Suppress the rebels and destroy Heshuo, who can compete with you, general?" Seeing that Shi Le agreed, but his face was still worried, Zhang Bin further dismissed Shi Le. Concerns: "The Jin army gathered in Shouchun because they were afraid that you, the general, would lead the army to attack. If they heard that we had returned to the north, they would be too happy. Deliberately make a gesture of launching a general attack on Shouchun, and the enemy will not dare to move lightly. After the baggage is over, the army will retreat step by step, and the advance and retreat will be well-founded, and it will be safe!" Shi Le stood up, raised his beard and laughed loudly: "Zhang Bin's plan is exactly what I want!" Then, he turned his head and scolded Diao Ying: "As an assistant and counselor, you should have achieved success. How can you persuade me to surrender? You should have been killed. , but I think you have always been cowardly by nature, not out of selfish motives, so I forgive you this time!" Shi Le immediately announced that Diao Ying would be demoted, and Zhang Bin would take over the position of You Changshi, who was added as the general of the middle base, and was called "You Hou". While deploying the army to retreat, Shi Le sent his nephew Shi Hu to lead two thousand cavalry and go straight to Shouchun, acting as a forward attack.At that time, Shi Hu had just made his debut and was inexperienced in war. Seeing the new arrival of the Jin army grain ship by the river, he and the left and right soldiers were greedy for the military resources in the ship and rushed to attack and snatch it.The Jin army had already been waiting in full force by the river, and several ambush soldiers rushed out together, and defeated Shihu's army at the mouth of the giant spirit. More than 500 Han soldiers fell into the water and drowned. There is the rear army that is retreating north. Shi Le's army was terrified, thinking that the main force of the Jin army was coming to attack, and the camp was in a panic.Shi Le, who had been through the battle for a long time, was still calm and ordered the soldiers to form a formation.The Jin army who was chasing was afraid of an ambush, so they retreated when they saw a good situation, and returned to the army to stick to Shouchun. In this way, they lost the best chance to take advantage of the chaos to wipe out Shi Le. On the way back to the army, Shi Le's troops were really struggling.Because the Jin army adopted the strategy of fortifying the walls and clearing the wilderness, there was no food in the Shile army, and "all soldiers ate each other", so the soldiers could only treat the old, weak, sick and disabled as dry food and retreat northward desperately.Traveling to Dongyan, according to Zhang Bin's plan, Shi Le sent out a surprise army to capture the warship of the Jin general Xiangbing, transported the entire army across the river, and then attacked back and forth, defeated Xiangbing, and seized a large amount of food and supplies Finally got through. After the repair, Shi Le ordered to drive Liu Yan, the Jin general who attacked Yecheng, and knock down tens of thousands of Jin troops.Due to the danger of the three platforms in Yecheng, Shi Le could not take it for a while, and all the generals proposed to fight desperately regardless of the cost.At the critical moment, it was Zhang Bin who came up with an idea again: "Three Taiwans cannot be conquered easily. It is better to let them go and let them collapse. Today, people have no determination. Those who win the land prosper, and those who lose the land are kings. Handan, Xiangguo, The old capital of Zhao is a country with a strong shape based on the mountains and dangers. You can choose these two places as the capital, and then order the generals to go out and give them strange strategies. In this way, hegemony can be achieved.” Just according to Zhang Bin’s plan, Shi Le captured Xiangguo (now Xingtai, Hebei) has a solid base.From then on, Shi Le swept away the erratic habit of thieves who were victorious in all battles in the past, and began to have a longer-term plan.In fact, Liu Kun's previous persuasion letter also served as a warning to Shi Le and his counselor Zhang Bin and others.A hero's strategy is naturally different from ordinary people. Shi Le's foothold in Xiangguo was not stable, and the first serious challenge he encountered was the Xianbei Allied Forces sent by Wang Jun, the governor of Youzhou in the Jin Dynasty.Duanbu Xianbei's family members Lu Ji, his younger brother Duan Pilin, and his cousin Duan Mobei led more than 50,000 soldiers to attack Xiangguo.At that time, the city god of Xiangguo had not been repaired, and the guards were missing, so the soldiers of Shile could only build temporary barriers to defend against it. The two sides fought, and the Xianbei people were extremely powerful and defeated Shi Le's army several times.The generals were afraid, and they all suggested sticking to it.Shi Le believes that the enemy is outnumbered, and if it takes a long time to get outside, and the civil war is cut off, they can only be trapped in the city and wait to die, so they should go out of the city to fight. The counselor Zhang Bin agreed with Shi Le's proposal. He said: "The enemy army came from afar, and they believed that our army was too weak to fight, so they must slack off. Cut more than 20 gates at the north base, rushed out with lightning speed, and directly hit Duan Mobei's big tent. After defeating this elite team, the rest of the Xianbei and Han soldiers will have nothing to fear." Shi Le acted according to the plan, ordered Kong Chang and other generals to lead their troops out of the Tumen, captured Duan Mobei alive, and pursued the victory. Xianbei general Lu Ji's family stationed in Zhuyang. When he was breathing, he sent armor, horses, gold and silver, planning to make peace with Shi Le, and wanted to redeem the captured Duanmo cup.The generals hated Xianbei's repeated killing of soldiers, and persuaded Shi Le to kill Duan Mobei to frustrate Xianbei's spirit.Shi Le refused, saying: "Xianbei in the west of Liaoxi, and the country of Jian, have never had any enmity with me. They were only sent by Wang Jun to attack me. It is not wise to kill one person and enmity the whole country. Let them go, and they will be happy in the future." Not for Wang Jun's use." Shi Le's discussion was far-sighted.Shihu and Lu Jijuan became brothers, and the Xianbei army led them back.Duan Mobei was even more grateful to Shi Le for not killing him, and knelt down to the south to worship Shi Le on the way home.Since then, most of the Xianbei Duan family has never been used by Wang Jun. In the first battle of Shangbai, Shi Le attacked and killed Li Yun, the leader of the begging army (the Jin Dynasty appointed Li Yun as the governor of Qingzhou), Shi Le thought he refused to fight, and wanted to kill all the soldiers.When he was triumphant, Shi Le rode past the line of Han people who were about to be executed, and suddenly found his old employer, Guo Jing, who had always been kind to him. The old man was pitiful, haggard, with a bruised nose and a swollen face.石勒赶忙下马，执着郭敬的手问：“是郭三爷吗？”郭敬忙伏地叩头，“正是在下。” 石勒泪如雨下，他青少年时代如果没有这位财主恩人相救，恐怕尸首早已喂野狗了。“今日相遇，真是天意啊”！石勒悲喜之下，马上吩咐从人献上衣服车马，立拜郭敬为上将军，准备坑杀的数千人一并免死，归为郭敬统领。善有善报，终于在老实人郭敬身上体现了一回。 晋愍帝建兴元年（313），石虎大军攻克邺城。石勒亲派守令，重新营建，使他在河北的根据地日益扩大和巩固。 不久，他又利用晋臣刘琨和王浚之间的矛盾，使其互不相求，袭杀了王浚，占据了幽州（详情见《功业未及建，夕阳忽西流》）。 接着，石勒军将又连破晋臣刘演、温峤等人，并镇压了河间等地王春的起义，大败乞活军王平，活捉了刘演的弟弟刘启（刘演和刘启都是刘琨的侄子）。石勒很仗义，因感激刘琨送其母侄，也下命赐刘启田宅，并派儒官为刘启讲授儒经。 晋愍帝建兴四年（316）底，石勒又在广牧（今山西寿阳）附近山间设伏，大败刘琨刚从拓跋鲜卑部收来的晋兵数万人，干掉了刘琨的全部老本儿。晋朝并州守军也闻风投降，大英雄刘琨不得不投靠段匹襌，不久被杀。 后赵建国立规模 公元318年，汉主刘聪暴病而死。太子刘粲继位不久，就被国丈靳准干掉。石勒终于找到借口，以讨伐靳准为名，率精兵五万五千，进据襄陵北原。汉国宗室刘曜很快自立为帝。为了讨好石勒，刘曜晋封他为赵公、大司马、大将军，加九锡。 不久，汉国平阳内哄，靳准为其堂弟靳明所杀。靳明等人不仅没有就近投降石勒，反而派人送传国玉玺于刘曜。石勒闻讯大怒，挥军进攻靳明。平阳大急，派人向刘曜求救。靳明得间从平阳突围，率众归于刘曜。狂怒之下，石勒攻入平阳后，把都城宫室烧成灰烬以泄愤。至此，石勒与刘曜已经到了公开决裂的边缘。 刘曜不久把国号从汉改为赵，史称“前赵”。出于礼貌，石勒派王修为使，前去奉贺。刘曜刚称帝，很需要石勒的支持，忙派使出发，准备封赠石勒为太宰，进爵赵王。 石勒从前的一个从官曹平乐现在是刘曜的手下，为了巴结新主子，他对刘曜说：“石勒派王修为使来贺陛下登基，表面上十分尊敬，其实是以王修为间谍，探查陛下的实力。等王修返回，石勒得知您的军力虚实，肯定会趁机袭击陛下。”刘曜当时初登大位，人情不附，加上匈奴刘氏骨肉相残，以及靳准的屠戮，宗室几乎被杀个精光，军力确实弊弱。听曹平乐一席话，刘曜大怒，他忙追还前去加封石勒为赵王的使臣，并派人把石勒的使臣王修斩于来路。 王修从人逃归，细述因由，石勒拍案而起，召集群臣，公然宣布与刘曜反目：“我石氏奉戴刘家，人臣之道没有亏欠。此次如果没有我去洛阳平灭靳准，他（刘曜）能南面称朕吗？根基刚立，便想图谋害我，杀害我远道派去的使臣，过分至极！帝王之起，岂有常理？如今，我为赵王、赵帝，全看自己的欢喜，名号大小，岂是刘曜所能授予的！” 石勒手下众将谋士摸准了石勒的心思，大家一起上书，劝石勒称尊号。假意推让一番，石勒于公元319年（晋元帝太兴二年）称赵王，依春秋列国纪元，改称赵王元年。 赫赫帝王中原路 石勒称王后，删定律令，减百姓一半田租，严禁兵士欺侮衣冠华族士人，并在襄国都城内立小学十余所，崇文敬教，并铸造赵国自己的丰货钱。 石勒自己是羯胡出身，便以羯人为“国人”，严禁国内百姓蔑称羯人为“胡”，违者处斩。从这个法令中可以看出石勒这个佃佣奴仆出身的羯人在内心仍有很深的自卑情结，多树忌讳，以此建威。 即使如此，从下面几件小事，也可看出石勒厚道的一面，并非是因小事动辄杀人的魔王：其一，有位饮酒大醉的羯人骑马闯入王宫，石勒大怒，立即怒问卫队小队长汉人冯翥：“君王威行天下，王宫之内，为何有人敢驰入，作为守卫值班的军官，你为什么不能阻止来人！”惶惧之间，冯翥忘了忌讳，回答说：“刚才那个醉胡乘马驰入，速度很快，我向他喊叫了半天，那个羯胡也听不懂我说什么。”自己话音刚落，冯翥忽然意识到自己刚才犯了“国讳”，叩头出血，以求宽恕。谁料，石勒笑了，说：“胡人确实难和他们讲话沟通。”其二，石勒闻知汉人参军樊垣清贫有操守，便授其为章武内史，外派为官。樊垣辞行时，石勒见这位大儒衣冠破旧，浑身褴褛，大惊而问：“樊参军怎么穷到这个份儿上？”樊垣生性淳朴直率，顺口回答说：“我临来的路上遇见一伙羯贼，把我全家抢个精光。”石勒闻言大笑：“羯贼怎么能这样暴掠别人的财物呢？我替他们偿还你吧。”樊垣忽然意识到面前的赵王本人就是个“大羯贼”，大惧，叩头泣谢。石勒好言相解：“孤王的法令是防禁俗士，不关卿辈老书生也。”赏赐樊垣车马衣服钱三百万。其三，称王之后，石勒派人把武乡老家的邻居故旧相好都接到襄国，欢饮笑语平生。却发现年轻时为了争麻池天天与自己打斗的老邻居李阳没来，石勒对家乡父老说：“李阳，壮士也，何以不来？争麻池是布衣之恨，孤王现在称王天下，怎会计较从前那种小事呢？”他马上派人把李阳请来，聚众欢饮，拍着李阳的肩膀说：“孤往日吃足了你的老拳，你也备尝孤的毒手。”言毕，赐李阳甲第一区，拜参军都尉。 由于石勒为政较为宽和，赵国境内的人民在兵荒马乱之后，稍得喘息。同时，石勒和河南的晋臣祖逖也修书示好，双方罢战，兵事不兴了好一阵子。 石勒为人，虽是文盲出身，但重视教育，常亲自到大学、小学去视察，赏赐学士老师衣物。军旅之中，他也常让儒生读史书给他听，并往往做出超出常人的议论和判断。一次，石勒听人读《汉书》，当他听见郦食其劝刘邦立六国后人为君，石勒大惊，说：“如果这样，又怎能统一天下啊？”儒生接着又读张良的谏言，石勒喘口大气，说：“幸亏有留侯的好主意。” 东晋元帝太兴四年（321），石勒军队进攻晋朝幽州刺史段匹襌，并生俘了段氏兄弟，尽有幽州之地。转年二月，石虎以四万精兵在泰山攻杀降而复叛的晋将徐龛，使徐州、兖州也附于后赵。公元323年，石勒军队又进攻东晋青州守将曹嶷（曹嶷原为汉将，反降于东晋），坑杀三万军士，俘斩曹嶷。324年，石勒军队又攻取了东晋的下邳、东海和彭城等地。 公元325年6月，石勒大将石生占据洛阳后，进攻东晋的司州刺史李矩。李矩等人不敌，就派人向前赵的刘曜投降。刘曜派中山王刘岳率一万多精兵驰援，并在孟津和石梁打败后赵军队，俘杀五千多人。至此，前赵后赵完全撕破脸面，公开交战。 石勒大怒，马上命中山公石虎率四万步骑飞驰成皋关，与前赵中山王刘岳大战于洛水。刘岳大败，退守石梁。刘曜亲率大军增援，夜中军营多次无故溃乱，只得撤回长安。最后，石虎攻克石梁，俘虏了刘岳等前赵将领八十多人，坑杀前赵士兵一万多人。此战过后，石勒的力量已经扩展至淮河流域。 东晋成帝咸和三年（328），石勒发动了灭前赵的战役。但刘曜一战小胜，大败石虎于高侯原（山西闻喜）。前赵乘胜前进，但没有直接扑向襄国，而是包围了洛阳。年底，石勒孤注一掷，亲自率兵前往，与刘曜决战。洛阳一战，石勒大胜，擒杀前赵皇帝刘曜，灭了前赵（详见《血海中原的狼头大纛》）。 大胜之后，群臣功进。东晋成帝咸和五年（330），石勒称大赵天王，行皇帝事。不久，他索性直接称帝，改元建平。至此，中国北方几乎全部归于赵土，此后，一直到石勒去世，后赵与东晋也没有特别大的战事，双方以淮水为界，暂时休战，各自经营内务。 灭前赵，称皇帝，石勒的后赵达到了鼎盛时期。夷汉宾服，四方来朝。得意之际，在一次宴见高句丽使臣的大会上，石勒酒酣之余，问身边的近臣徐光：“朕与古代君主相比，能和谁相仿呢”？ 徐光当然捡好听的话讲：“陛下神武筹略比汉高祖刘邦还高，雄艺英武可比魏武帝曹操，有史以来，轩辕皇帝第一，陛下您排第二。” 石勒闻言大笑，说：“爱卿所言太过。人应该有自知之明啊！朕若逢汉高祖，当北面而事之。若遇光武帝刘秀，当与其并驱中原，鹿死谁手，亦未可知。大丈夫行事应磊磊落落，朕终不效曹孟德、司马仲达父子，欺他孤儿寡母，狐猸以取天下也。所以，朕之才能当在刘邦、刘秀之间的样子，又怎能与轩辕皇帝相提并论呢？” 群臣皆顿首称万岁。心服、口服，不得不服。 帝王最难身后事 石勒称赵王后，其心腹谋臣张宾已经去世。石勒当时深加痛惜，哭叹说：“老天不欲我成就大事，怎么这么早就夺去我的右侯呵！”后来，他与谋士徐光、程遐等人议事，常常觉得这些人水平太低，使他时时感叹：“右侯（张宾）舍我去，令我与此辈共事，岂非酷乎！” 石勒后期，继承人问题也是他很矛盾的事情。其太子石弘，“幼有孝行，以恭谨自守”，自小跟随汉儒学典籍，文质彬彬。想起自己的太子平素亲近文士，石勒也很担忧，对徐光说：“太子文弱，殊不似将家子弟。”徐光回曰：“汉高祖以马上取天下，孝文帝以玄默守之，圣人之后，必有胜残去杀者，天之道也。”石勒闻言大悦，觉得很有道理。 徐光因之进言：“皇太子仁孝温恭，中山王（石虎）雄暴多诈，陛下一旦不讳（死亡），臣恐社稷必危，应渐夺中山王威权，使太子早参朝政。”石勒点头。 右仆射徐遐是皇太子石弘的亲舅，他更加担心国家的安危，也向石勒进言：“中山王石虎勇武权智，群臣莫及，但其本性残忍，骄横不法，其诸子皆掌兵权。陛下在，自当无事，应早除之，以安天下大计。” 石勒不听：“今天下未平，太子年轻，正要依靠中山王辅佐。” 徐光、程遐二人日夜忧心，合计道：“中山王石虎深恨我们两人，一旦主上晏驾，皇太子必遭他的毒手，我们两人也难逃残戮，为了安国宁家，要拼死劝谏皇上除掉中山王。” 于是，趁另一次进见之机，徐光问石勒：“陛下拓平八州，帝有海内，但神情之间仍有不悦、忧虑之色，为什么呢？” 石勒答道：“吴蜀未平，书轨不一，司马氏犹据有江东，恐后人讥笑我未为一统天下之帝王，故而忧形于色。” 徐光进言：“臣还以为陛下是为腹心之患而忧，谁知您在为四肢小患而忧！陛下您鼎定中原，占据洛阳、长安二都，为中国堂堂帝王，天命所归，谁能不服？因此，司马氏江东之患，四肢之小疾也；中山王石虎，凭借您的神威，攻伐四克，自言英武只在您之下，此人残暴多奸，见利忘义，常有怏怏不足之色。近日宴集，多有轻视皇太子之色，陛下隐忍容之，臣恐陛下万年之后，宗庙必生荆棘，此人才是您腹心大患，应早予除之！” 石勒默然。豪杰老矣，该断不断，英雄一辈子，糊涂一下子，子孙骨肉，皆为人所食。 东晋成帝咸和七年（公元333年）八月，石勒病重，未等宣诏，中山王石虎带兵入宫“侍疾”。“矫诏，群臣亲戚皆不得入。疾之增损，外无知者”。 石虎怕石勒死后在外拥有重兵的宗室造反，他又矫诏宣秦王石宏、彭城王石堪回襄国入宫侍疾。回光反照之际，石勒见石宏在床边正哭，大惊道：“朕让你提兵在外拥有强藩，正是预备我病亡后发生万一之事。是谁宣召你入京啊，还是你自己为了探视我来的？如果有人宣召你，马上派人杀掉他！” 石虎大惧，忙在一旁说：“秦王是来探病，暂时还京小住，我马上派他回封地。”话虽如此说，石虎仍派人把石宏等人软禁在京城。 几天过后，昏迷中的石勒再次醒转，问石虎：“石宏回封地了吗？” 石虎回答：“当时就回去了，现在大概已快到了。” 临终，石勒遗令：“三日而葬，敛以时服，载以常车，无藏金宝，无纳器玩。大雅（皇太子石弘）冲幼，恐非能构荷朕志。大雅与其兄弟宜善相维持，司马氏乃汝等殷鉴；中山王石虎深可三思周公辅佐之功，勿为将来口实。” 石勒在位十五年，死年六十。“夜瘗山谷，莫知其所。备文物虚葬，号高平陵”。一代英雄，含忧而逝。 石勒以十八骑起家。后赵王国全胜之时，“南逾淮海，东滨于海，西至河西，北至燕代”，他可以说是十六国期间非常有魄力的帝王。 石勒虽文盲出身不识书史，仍喜读史书，以史为鉴，效法西汉吏治，亲自四处巡幸，劝民农桑，并减轻所辖境内人民的负担，后赵所收租税为曹魏以来最轻。同时，他还注重人才培养和教育制度的建立，并首创了秀考试经制度，举贤荐能，开一代良好的学风。虽身为羯胡，石勒并不轻蔑汉人，反观他手下的重要谋士大臣均为汉人所担当。石勒还能坚持传统的道德标准，对奸臣逆子从不姑息，显示出本性之中天真淳朴的一面。简而言之，这个由奴仆而身登九五的帝王，在十六国那样的乱世，不失为一代明主人杰。