Chapter 74 Section 4 Distant relatives of the Seventh World

Liu Xiu's strategy for dealing with Kai Xiao is: not expecting Kai Xiao to take the initiative to pledge allegiance, but to make Kai Xiao have to pledge allegiance.Therefore, first with the help of Ma Yuan, Kai Xiao and Gongsun Shu turned against each other, cutting off Kai Xiao's retreat.Then, actively win over Dou Rong and copy Kai Xiao's retreat. Dou Rong, courtesy name Zhou Gong, was born in Pingling, Fufeng, and Liu Xiu is a distant relative of the seventh generation—Liu Xiu is the seventh grandson of Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty, and Dou Guangguo, the ancestor of the seventh generation of Dou Rong, is the younger brother of Empress Dowager Dou and the uncle of Emperor Han Jing.

Dou Rong's sister, married to Wang Yi as his concubine.Dou Rong relied on his brother-in-law Wang Yi's relationship, and he was very useful in Wang Mang's new dynasty.In the last years of Wang Mang, Dou Rong joined the army and suffered repeated defeats.First served as the assistant army of Taishi Wang Kuangzhi, he conquered the Red Eyebrow Army in the east, and returned in a big defeat; then followed Wang Yi to conquer Jingzhou, and was defeated in Kunyang; Han Chen fought in Xinfeng and was defeated again. Wang Mang was destroyed, and Dou Rong surrendered to Liu Xuan.Liu Xuan worshiped Dou Rong as the prefect of Julu, but Dou Rong refused to take up the post.

Dou Rong is not good at fighting, but he sees the situation very accurately.Although Liu Xuan had established his capital in Chang'an, the Central Plains was still in chaos, with wars and soldiers, and the ascendant.Dou Rong had no intention of working for Liu Xuan, so of course he was unwilling to go to the Central Plains to wade through the muddy waters. The Dou family has managed Hexi for four generations (Liangzhou is located in the five prefectures west of the Yellow River - Jincheng, Wuwei, Zhangye, Jiuquan, and Dunhuang, collectively referred to as the land of Hexi. Dou Rong's great-grandfather was the prefect of Zhangye, and from his grandfather he was the guardian of Qiang school Wei, his younger brother is the prefect of Wuwei), prestige Subu, with many followers.Dou Rong then asked Liu Xuan's father-in-law, Zhao Meng, hoping to be transferred to Hexi, but he got his wish and was renamed the captain of Zhangye.

Dou Rong was overjoyed. He took his whole family to the post. After the collapse of the Gengshi regime, the five counties in Hexi formed an alliance to protect themselves. Dou Rong was promoted as a general by Jiuquan prefect Liang Tong, Jincheng prefect She Jun, Zhangye prefect Shi Bao, Jiuquan captain Zhu Zeng, and Dunhuang captain Xin Xin. Alliance leader. When Kaixiao first raised his army, he captured the whole of Liangzhou and took the five counties of Hexi into his pocket.Later, Kaixiao surrendered to Liu Xuan, wandered around in Chang'an, and then fled back to Liangzhou, only to find that the five counties in Hexi had been taken over by Dou Rongsheng and were no longer owned by him. One can imagine his annoyance.Although Kai Xiao wanted to take back the five counties, he was intimidated by Dou Rong's strength, but he didn't dare to send troops to snatch it, and could only accept this fait accompli.

At this time, Kai Xiao intends to separatize one side, but whether he can succeed in separatist regime, the attitude of Dou Rong who is lying beside the couch is very important.Kai Xiao then sent Zhang Xuan, a debater, to lobby Dou Rong, and everyone separated the regime together. Zhang Xuan said that Dou Rong said: "Liu Xuan proclaimed himself emperor, and he was immediately defeated, which shows that the power of the Han Dynasty is exhausted, and the Liu family cannot be revived. Now the heroes of the world are competing, and the male and female are undecided. Longitudinal, the high can be the six kingdoms, and the low can not lose Wei Tuo."

Dou Rong called the prefects and heroes of the five counties to discuss. Those who are in favor of separatist control of Hexi said: "Hexi Yin is rich, and the river is solid, with elite soldiers and thousands of horses. Once the emergency is avoided, Hejin is enough to defend itself. Why should you submit to others? Once you obey others, and you are taken away from others. In case There is a danger, although there is no regret." There are those who claim to belong to Liu Xiu, saying: "The prophecies all say that Liu Xiu should be the emperor. This is also the destiny. In terms of personnel, there are several people who are called emperors today, and Liu Xiu has the most land and the strongest soldiers. The most clear. Observe the fate and observe the human affairs, Liu Xiu will have the world, you can return to yourself, and you can't compete with him."

The opinions of the two factions were in dispute, and no one was willing to obey the other. In the end, it could only be handed over to Dou Rong for adjudication. Still the same sentence, Dou Rong is not good at fighting, but he sees the situation very accurately, and resolutely decides to go east and pledge his allegiance to Luoyang.In the summer of the fifth year of Jianwu, Dou Rong sent an envoy Liu Jun to Luoyang to present books and horses. Historical coincidences, sometimes bordering on deliberate fabrication.Coincidentally, Liu Xiu also sent an envoy to Hexi to recruit Dou Rong, and by coincidence, he met Liu Jun on the road, and the envoy led Liu Jun back to Luoyang.When Liu Xiu met Liu Jun, he was very happy. He named Dou Rong the shepherd of Liangzhou, gave him two hundred catties of gold, and personally repaired a seal letter. He ordered Liu Jun to take it back to Hexi and meet Dou Rong face to face.

Liu Xiu gave Dou Rong the seal book this time, and the emperor's spirit was even stronger. The book said: After Liu Xiuxi's letter arrived, Hexi was shocked. Liu Xiu was able to see the name of Wei Tuo directly from thousands of miles away, revealing the secrets of everyone.So Dou Rong wrote a letter to Liu Xiu, showing his loyalty, and sent his younger brother Dou You to Luoyang as a hostage to show his effectiveness. Liu Xiu was overjoyed, and gave Dou Rong a special national gift-"Five Aristocratic Families", "Wai Qihou Biography" in Sima Qian's "Historical Records".

"Family of Five Ancestors" describes the sons of Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty, that is, the grandson of Empress Dowager Dou, including Liu Fa, the sixth ancestor of Liu Xiu, the king of Ding of Changsha; The life of Dou Guangguo (the seventh ancestor of Dou Rong); "Biography of Wei Qihou" contains the deeds of Dou Ying, the nephew of Empress Dowager Dou. Liu Xiu chose this national gift, firstly to take the initiative to establish friendship with Dou Rong's distant relatives of the seventh generation, and secondly to commemorate Dou Rong's ancestors and praise Dou's past achievements, expressing the meaning of "telling the past and thinking about the future".

It is self-evident that Dou Rong was moved by this national gift, and his heart of attachment became stronger, and Hexi has been used by Liu Xiu since then.