Chapter 817 Murong Ke and Murong Chui
The weather is getting colder.
But it’s not as cold as in previous years.
Among all the big cities in the world today, Jicheng is the northernmost one, backed by Yanshan Mountain and with a desolate feel.
But no one can ignore this place. Hundreds of years ago, this was the capital of the Yan clan of the Ji surname. Hundreds of years later, this was the capital of the Yan clan and the Murong clan successively. They all had the same name, Yan.
At the end of the Han Dynasty, Yan State took the lead in the world by relying on its bravery for more than a hundred years, making Yan State another top kingdom in the hearts of people in the world besides Qin, Jin, Qi and Chu, surpassing Han and Zhao.
If we talk about the political center of Jicheng, on the surface it is naturally the imperial palace, but in fact it is the palace of Taiyuan King Murong Ke.
When the new emperor just ascended the throne, the decree left by the previous emperor was to appoint the "Situ, Sikong, and Lu Shangshu" as regents. However, after he ascended the throne and eliminated another regent who was plotting rebellion, Murong Ke took over the government.
After having made numerous contributions in the wars against the Han State and, most importantly, the Wei State in Hedong, Murong Ke is now "Grand Marshal, Generalissimo, Minister of Civil Affairs, Minister of Works, Recorder of the Secretariat, and Commander-in-Chief of All Military Affairs inside and outside the country."
He had basically reached the top of his official position, but even so, he still treated the little emperor with respect. This attitude was simply a breath of fresh air in the State of Yan, and he was called "Little King Wen" by the people of Yan and even people from other countries.
This was exactly the premise for Wei State to use a counter-espionage strategy. The relationship between Murong Ke and the emperor was indeed very delicate. The continuous usurpation of power had caused the political trust in the world to fall to an extremely serious level.
The mutual trust mechanism established over 300 years of the Han Dynasty was basically lost. After the Luo family left the Central Plains, even the last fuse was gone. There was only one person in the world who could be trusted, and that was Duke Zhao, whose reputation had accumulated from generation to generation for 1,400 years, but now even that person is gone.
The Taiyuan Palace was not luxuriously decorated; it was just a very normal palace. Especially when compared with other nobles of the Yan State, the place where a powerful king like Murong Ke lived was even a little shabby to many people.
Murong Ke himself doesn't think so. He feels that his living conditions are already very good.
No matter from which aspect, he is a very perfect person. He is almost invincible in battle. So far, except for failures in small-scale battles, he has not lost any major battles. It is his credit that Yan State can now overwhelm Wei and Han States with its own strength. According to the system evaluation, he is definitely a genius with a military level of more than 90.
The most powerful thing is that he is also strong in civil administration and basically has no shortcomings in personal morality. With such a person ruling the State of Yan, it is not surprising that the State of Yan can prosper.
Even someone as arrogant as Luo Youzhi spoke highly of Murong Ke, saying that he was a great man who could be a commander on horseback and a prime minister on foot.
However, Luo Youzhi believed that Murong Ke's only shortcoming was that he was too lenient towards his subordinates. This was different from Luo Youzhi's perception. He was the type of person who was rather strict towards his subordinates.
Even though the night was gradually falling, there was still light in Murong Ke's study, and he was still handling state affairs. It had always been like this, especially after what happened in the Wei State, he summoned Murong Chui back as soon as possible.
On the second day, after dawn, Murong Chui and his confidants all came to his house. These people all came from the Kingdom of Taiyuan, which was Murong Ke's fiefdom. Prince of Taiyuan was Murong Ke's full title.
Murong Chui and Murong Ke are brothers from the same mother, both sons born to Gao. Murong Chui is the only person in the Yan royal family who is truly related to Murong Ke by blood.
Murong Ke has always paid close attention to his younger brother, but what really amazed him was the third battle of Hedong. Murong Chui, who was only thirteen years old, was extremely brave. At such a young age, he was able to command an army of a thousand people. His sense of the battlefield was like that of a natural god of war.
This made him want to focus on training Murong Chui, and even train Murong Chui to be his successor, so that after his death, the State of Yan could continue to prosper.
After several people entered the palace, they sat down according to their order.
Murong Ke asked first: "Seventh brother, how is Jinyang?"
Jinyang has always been a key city in Bingzhou and the county seat of Taiyuan County. Going further back, it was the place where states such as Zhou and Zhao started. It is located between two basins and is a strategic location. On the left is the Taihang Mountains, on the right is the Luliang Mountains, and the Fen River runs through it. It is indeed an excellent place to build a capital.
The only problem was that Hedong was not in the hands of Yan State, which resulted in Jinyang being too close to the front line.
Murong Chui clasped his fists and said, "Brother, Jinyang now has a large population. The population that migrated a few years ago has gradually made Bingzhou prosperous. According to your request, some palaces and government offices have been built in Jinyang. But brother, you are no longer in charge of Jinyang, why do you want to do these things in Jinyang?"
Murong Ke explained, "Now our Great Yan's capital is Jicheng, but this is just a temporary measure. It cannot be used as the capital of a great empire. The location is too remote and the land is not particularly fertile. If our Great Yan wants to dominate the world, it will have to move the capital sooner or later. Jinyang is the new capital that you have chosen for our Great Yan."
Murong Chui was even more puzzled when he heard this. He was young and didn't know much about politics, but he knew a few things from what he had seen and heard. He asked in confusion: "If you want to move the capital, why attack Han and then move the capital to Yecheng or Handan?
Although my brother is young, he knows that Yecheng and Handan are big cities in Hebei. They were once the capitals of great countries and are also among the most prosperous cities in the world today. "
Murong Ke glanced at Murong Chui and said with a smile: "Since you asked today, I will explain to you why I want to do this. You must remember that moving the capital is not just a matter of choosing a capital, it is actually choosing a future development direction for the country.
Why did we, Great Yan, move our capital from Liaodong to Jicheng?
This is because our Great Yan has shifted its target from the grassland to the Central Plains. If our Great Yan were still in Liaodong, we should now go west like the Hu people and fight for hegemony over the grassland.
But our ancestors chose to return to the Central Plains, so now we are a Central Plains country, which is the result of choosing Jicheng as the capital.
The reason we give up Jicheng now is that the goal of entering the Central Plains has been achieved. Now our Yan State has a new goal. After conquering Bingzhou, our Yan State has two paths to take. One is to compete with Wei State, and the other is to compete with Han State, and even to break through Jizhou and drive Han State directly to the north of the Yellow River.
With the strength of Great Yan, if we attack Han with all our strength, Great Yan, with its advantageous location in Taihang, will be something Han cannot resist. They will lose the entire Jizhou and the entire area north of the Yellow River."
After Murong Ke finished speaking, Murong Chui and the others all puffed out their chests with pride. This was all the confidence that the Yan cavalry brought them. The Yan had not suffered a defeat for a long time. The saying "getting stronger as it fought" was used to describe the Yan.
Murong Ke smiled confidently and said, "Then do you know why I chose to attack Wei instead of Han?"
Murong Chui and the others looked at each other and asked tentatively, "Is it because Wei is easier to defeat than Han?"
Murong Ke shook his head and smiled, "Of course not, it's because of Liang. If Yan severely damages Han, it will hand over Qingzhou, Yanzhou and other places to Liang. If Liang, which owns these lands, seizes Sizhou, it will become the mortal enemy of Yan.
Using Han to contain Liang is the national policy of Great Yan. Before Great Yan has overwhelming strength, this national policy cannot be changed. Joining forces with Liang to destroy Han, this plan can only be talked about, but not really done. It can be done for show, but cannot really destroy Han.
If the Han State commits any unlawful act against our Great Yan, we will teach it a lesson. When it realizes that Great Yan is invincible, we will let it attack the Liang State and weaken the two countries. That's all.
Use the southern part of Jizhou as a rope to control the Han State. You must remember this, Seventh Brother, you must remember this."
Murong Ke's words made everyone suddenly realize. Murong Chui nodded quickly to indicate that he understood. Murong Ke continued: "Since we are not going to go to war with the Han Kingdom for the time being, and we are not planning to attack the Central Plains, then there is no need to build a capital in the Central Plains.
My plan is to conquer Hedong first, completely take control of the former land of Jin State, then move the capital to Jinyang, defeat the Wei army in Hedong, and then directly attack Guanzhong, seize the land of the Three Qins, and possess the 800-li Qinchuan, plus the old land of Jin and Yan. Is there anyone in this world who can stop my Great Yan?
At that time, we will attack Jizhou and drive the Han Kingdom to the north of the Yellow River, or even cross the Yellow River to wipe out the Han Kingdom. Then we will hunt with the Liang Kingdom in the Heluo area. If we win the battle, the world will be stabilized. By attacking the south from the north, victory will be on our side.
Moving the capital to Jinyang is the first time, but it won't be the last. Chang'an and even Luoyang will be the capitals of Great Yan in the future. It all depends on how far Great Yan can go. Do you understand?"
Murong Chui felt quite shocked just by listening, and looked at Murong Ke with admiration.
Since ancient times, people who can make top-level plans for a big force are the most outstanding talents, people who can see the general trend are the strongest strategists, and Murong Ke is such a person.
He is more than just a god of war.
Murong Chui nodded heavily and said, "Brother, please take me with you to the battle in Hedong. I want to continue to learn the art of war, and in the future I will charge into battle for Great Yan and lead the Great Yan cavalry to conquer all the territories under the sun."
After hearing Murong Ke's previous words, everyone naturally knew that Murong Ke was going to continue to launch the battle of Hedong and defeat the State of Wei.
Murong Ke said slowly: "The Battle of Hedong was fought three times. In fact, I could have conquered all of Hedong the second time, but I withdrew my troops in the end and fought the Battle of Hedong for the third time. Do you know why?"
Several people shook their heads, but Murong Chui's eyes sparkled. He said loudly, "Brother, I know that you want to kill as many Wei soldiers as possible in Hedong, because Hedong is closer to the land of Dayan and it is easier to transport food and grass. Fighting in Hedong is equivalent to fighting on home soil."
Murong Ke never expected that a boy of thirteen or fourteen years old could understand him, while these veterans who had followed him for so many years did not react.
He looked at Murong Chui with increasing satisfaction and said, "Seventh brother, you are truly a genius. The future of Dayan may depend on you.
That's right.
My purpose is to deplete Wei's strength in Hedong as much as possible. Instead of conquering Hedong and then sending troops on a long expedition to Guanzhong, where we risk being cut off from food supplies, it is better to fight a big battle in Hedong.
Wei was powerful and they were not afraid of Yan. In the three battles of Hedong, Wei had been fighting in the field with Yan. After the second battle of Hedong, I thought Wei's strength was not weakened seriously enough, and Wei's most elite guards and Tiger and Leopard Cavalry were not seriously damaged, so I withdrew my troops and waited for the third battle.
In the third war, Wei's imperial guards suffered heavy casualties and their strength has been greatly weakened. Now I have decided to launch the fourth Hedong War. This time, Wei will not fight my army in the field as they no longer have the qualifications.
But even if it is a siege war, it is still in our goal to consume the last elite troops of Wei State in Hedong. This battle will capture Hedong, force Chang'an, and force Wei State to move westward. "
Everyone knew that Wei would not fight another field battle with Yan and would definitely defend the city. However, even if they did so, it would be the same for Wei no matter which city they defended, but it would be different for Yan.
The losses caused by attacking Hedong to Yan State were quite small, while the losses caused by attacking Guanzhong were quite large. Murong Ke's goal was to inflict great losses on Wei State at the lowest possible cost.
"The current political turmoil in Wei is a great boon to Great Yan. It is truly a godsend. The only thing I am worried about is that Liang may take this opportunity to attack Shu. If they only attack Shu, it would be fine. But I am worried that they will directly attack Heluo.
If Liang State seizes Heluo, then my Yan State will have to border Liang State in advance, and hostility will be inevitable. I am worried that it will affect the war in Jizhou.
However, nothing is perfect in this world. Wei still has great strength in Heluo, and Liang may not be able to succeed. I, Great Yan, will take over Hedong first.
Now there is another thing that worries me, that is the murder of the king by the relatives of the Wei Kingdom. "
Murong Chui was shocked and asked, "Brother, have you confirmed that it was a relative who murdered the king?"
Murong Ke shook his head and said, "Of course there is no definite news, but it is almost certain. Wei has been vehemently denying it, so that must be the truth.
This matter reached the ears of the emperor and the empress dowager. Now my Great Yan is also conferring great titles on my clan relatives. This is not a good thing for my Great Yan. Now the empress dowager is preparing to vigorously use the foreign relatives and those noble families. This is obviously affected by the affairs of the Wei Kingdom. "
There are no isolated systems or individuals in this world. Anyone's actions may have an impact on people and things thousands of miles away.
People's influence on destiny and trends varies depending on their identities.
The emperor is obviously the biggest one among them.
The death of Cao Mao would have the greatest impact on other countries, whether they wanted it or not. Xiao Yan of Liang State was worried that his relatives were too powerful because of Luo Xian. Not to mention Yan State, which also began to guard against their relatives. These people must hate Cao Chengsi and Cao Lin to death.
But things have already happened and can only be solved. The problem is that Murong Ke has not found any good solution yet. His position in the State of Yan is very ambiguous. He is a relative of the clan, but not a relative of the clan.
Everyone knew that he was not Murong Chengguang's son, but his surname was Murong, and he was raised by Murong Chengguang and the late emperor since childhood, and he had a younger brother, Murong Ke, so he was able to be granted the title of king.
The Murong clan members treated him as one of their own, but he had drawn a line for himself in his heart, that is, to be a minister like King Luo Wen and devote his whole life to the country. He did not have any extravagant thoughts.
It was really difficult for him to speak on this matter, otherwise he would be criticized. Although he held all the power, there were still quite a lot of opponents in the State of Yan.
Murong Chui could feel that Murong Ke was looking at him out of the corner of his eyes, which was a bit strange.
After finishing the conversation about the war in Hedong, Murong Ke ordered them to leave, saying, "It's getting late. Please go back to your residence. When the time is right, I will go to the palace to let you meet the emperor and the empress dowager, and then lead the troops to Hedong. Seventh brother, stay here. Your sister-in-law has made some household items for you. Take them back to the palace after lunch."
After they said goodbye, Murong Chui was about to ask, but he saw Murong Ke said with a sullen face: "Seventh brother, do you know that the suppression of clan members is largely aimed at you?"
"ah?"
Murong Chui was completely dumbfounded. What did this have to do with him?
Murong Ke sighed slightly and said, "It's because of me. You know I'm not my father's biological son, so the Queen Mother and the others are relatively relieved about me, but not about you. You are my biological brother and one of the only three biological sons left by my father.
Now that I am in power again, they all know that I will not usurp the throne, but they are worried that I will pave the way for you and that you will seize the throne in the future. Especially after what happened with the Wei Kingdom, they are even more worried. And as you know, our mother was included in the Gao family tree, and someone else has been instigating this matter. "
Murong Chui was really not sensitive to this aspect, and asked in a daze: "What does this have to do with my mother?"
Murong Ke had said it very clearly before, and he understood it a little bit. It was simply that his brother had too much power and could even replace the emperor, and he was his brother's younger brother, so some people were worried.
But he didn't understand about his mother.
Murong Ke explained: "Our mother is originally a branch of Bohai Gao family. Because of our brothers' prominent status in recent years, Bohai Gao family recognized our mother as their own.
Mother was very happy to give my brother and me the support of her mother's family. All the noble families under my command in recent years were related to the Gao family. Otherwise, how could those noble families be willing to serve me as their leader?
These things are not good in the eyes of the emperor. Our Great Yan has always been repulsive to the gentry, and until now there have not been too many high-ranking families entering the real upper echelons. "
Murong Chui was a little puzzled and said, "We, Great Yan, conquered the world with bows and horses, why should we cooperate with those noble families? We can study by ourselves and make our children rich and noble."
Murong Ke heard this and said angrily: "Don't have such thoughts. The children of Dayan must study, but the nobles must be employed.
Remember, if you want to conquer the world, the most important thing is to unite all the people who can be united, so that your friends become more and more, and your enemies' friends become fewer and fewer. This is the truth that the saints said that those who are virtuous have many supporters. It is not important to be virtuous, but it is important to have many supporters. With many supporters, you will naturally be virtuous.
Now my Great Yan only has Youzhou, Bingzhou, and half of Jizhou. The current officials are still able to govern. But if my Great Yan annexes Hedong and Guanzhong, can we still use knives to go to every village and every town to force the people to pay taxes?
Do you want to let soldiers who only know how to kill people govern the place?
Only by allowing the gentry to manage the country can we collect taxes from every citizen. Are the citizens who do not pay taxes our citizens?
The strength of a dynasty does not lie in its vast land, nor in the uninhabited land, but in the households living on the land, each household that can pay taxes. Without the help of the gentry to govern, those people are not people, but a bottomless pit that will waste money and food.
Never underestimate the nobles, remember that?"
Murong Chui had never seen Murong Ke like this before, and he nodded quickly and said, "Brother, I understand, I understand. We must respect scholars and the gentry."
Murong Ke patted his shoulder and said, "I'm not asking you to be humble. After all, Dayan belongs to my Murong clan. They are just working for us. If they do well, we will reward them. If they do not do well, whether they are killed or punished, it is up to us to decide. This is a cooperative relationship, of course, it is a cooperation led by us.
Just give these nobles what they want, that's all.
These nobles cannot threaten us. What can really threaten us is the infighting within the royal family, which is the deadly thing.
It is ridiculous to doubt a loyal relative because of something that is not true, but this is the emperor's way of thinking. There is nothing I can do. You have to be careful. I will protect you and will not let you suffer any misfortune."
Murong Chui felt that it was quite unlucky, as he hadn't done anything yet, yet he was suspected. This made him immediately understand the saying "to serve the king is like serving a tiger". Sure enough, every word said by the sages made sense. It just depended on when to encounter the moment to apply these words.
Murong Chui asked dejectedly, "Brother, can I still go to Hedong with you? What if I make any more achievements in Hedong? Will the Queen Mother be more suspicious of me?"
After all, Murong Chui was still a teenager of thirteen or fourteen years old, so he said this naturally out of anger. If Murong Ke had not been here, he would have even gone directly to confront the Queen Mother.
Murong Ke said in a deep voice: "Of course you have to go. Not only that, I also want you to study hard and become the God of War of Dayan in the future. You have talent in this area, and I will never bury you.
Now that I am alive, I can still protect you and help you grow up. I am not much older than you. As long as I am here, I can always protect you. In the future, I will be in charge of government affairs in the court, and you will lead the troops to fight outside. Together, we two brothers will support the State of Yan."
Murong Ke's words immediately made Murong Chui excited again.
"Yes, brother, you are only a few years older than me. With you around, no one can hurt me. I will study hard and try to replace you as soon as possible to share some of your pressure."
Murong Ke was indeed very tired. Managing government affairs was already an extremely mentally taxing task, and he also had to personally preside over the war, which was another extremely exhausting task. With the two things stacked together, Murong Ke even vomited blood.
If Murong Chui grew up and could share the burden of foreign wars with him, he would be much more relaxed and perhaps even live longer.
…
After Murong Ke entered the palace of Yan State, he naturally came here often. The emperor was twelve years old this year, and he had begun to get out of the age of knowing nothing and began to have his own ideas. The queen mother was a rather strong woman and was dissatisfied with Murong Ke. Someone once wanted to sow discord between her and Murong Ke, but in the end it was the emperor who believed in Murong Ke and stopped the queen mother from taking action.
However, as Murong Ke's power grew over the years, the Queen Mother's dissatisfaction with Murong Ke may have disappeared, and she never said anything again before the Wei incident.
Murong Ke still bowed respectfully to the emperor and the empress dowager.
The emperor still spoke in a childish and slightly shrill voice, "Uncle, do you have something important to report to me when you come to the palace this time?"
The Queen Mother followed the Emperor and asked, "Prince Taiyuan, why didn't you come to report what I told you last time? What happened in Wei is too bad. Such a thing must not happen in Great Yan. You must investigate the princes and clan members carefully. You must not allow those who have evil intentions to hold high positions. Do not be partial and betray your majesty's trust."
Murong Ke first said to the emperor: "Your Majesty, I came to the palace this time to report to you on the political affairs of Hedong. After the third Hedong battle ended, I have been preparing for the fourth Hedong battle. Now all preparations have been completed. I am just waiting for the order. I, the son of Yan, will seize Hedong County for your majesty and then attack Guanzhong."
The emperor naturally didn't understand what this meant, but he knew it was a big deal when he heard about the war, so he said, "Then leave it all to my uncle. I will wait in the palace for news of the army's triumphant return."
Murong Ke bowed to the Queen Mother again and said, "Queen Mother, I have already started to investigate my relatives as you requested, and I have not found anything wrong for the time being. Perhaps it is because the Cao family of Wei was in a state of chaos, so today's disaster has occurred. Most of my Murong family members are excellent, so they have never seen it. I will continue to investigate, and if I find anything, I will report it to the Queen Mother as soon as possible."
The Queen Mother knew that she would not find anything by investigating this way, and that was not her original purpose, so she continued, "The most important thing for the country is the harmony of yin and yang, and the same is true for the governance of the court. Too much emphasis on relatives is not good for the country. The Wei Kingdom has learned from this lesson not far away. I think you should promote more relatives to share the responsibility of managing confidential matters. Prince Taiyuan should be more careful. It is your fault that you cannot use so many great talents."
This is what the Queen Mother wanted Murong Ke to promote, in addition to his relatives. Only someone of Murong Ke's status could do this. Upon hearing this, he bowed and said, "I obey your command."
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Since the Murong family reached its peak, they have been the most respected family in Dongxia. Their descendants are all talented and outstanding. They are born in childhood. Who can stop the prosperity of heaven? - "Northern History·Yan Benji"
(End of this chapter)
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