Chapter 830: Two Dynasties
The first year of Zhengda in Yan State.
The first year of Mingyuan in Liang State.
The two countries announced changes in their era names at the same time, but for different reasons.
The reason for the establishment of the State of Yan in Liaodong over two hundred years ago was that the State of Yan finally crossed the Yellow River for the first time and owned the land south of the Yellow River belonging to the Yan people. From Liaodong to Hexi, thousands of miles of territory were all the territory of the Yan people, and even Chang'an was taken back.
This group of people who were once exiled and experienced countless hardships and dangers can now return to their ancestral temples to pay tribute to their ancestors and proudly recount the current glory of the State of Yan.
This is a historical burden weighing on the State of Yan. For the entire ethnic group, the exile back then was a heart-wrenching thing to think about. If the regret of this incident cannot be made up, the people of Yan will always feel a lack of something in their hearts.
That was the case when we returned to the Central Plains. It was a climax of the emotions in the Yan State. The Yan people at that time were united to an unimaginable degree.
After returning to the Central Plains, the State of Yan wanted more. Murong Chui captured Chang'an. It was unlucky for the Queen Mother, but for most of the Yan people, it was an exciting event. You know, when he was exiled, the emperor of the Han Dynasty gave orders in the city of Chang'an. But what about now?
The emperor of the Han Dynasty has turned to dust!
However, the descendants who were exiled at that time returned to Chang'an from that distant and desolate land, that uninhabited and almost uninhabitable wild land, and sat in the emperor's Weiyang Palace and Changle Palace.
Isn't this the most satisfying thing in the world?
Now the State of Yan has crossed the Yellow River again. Its sharp military might seems to be able to sweep across the world. When the State of Yan takes Luoyang into its possession, no one can imagine how proud the State of Yan will be.
But the two capitals that every dynasty since the Zhou Dynasty has valued are in their hands. Who is the orthodox one?
it goes without saying.
…
The direct reason for Liang's change of era name was Yan's change of era name. Yan unified the north and also competed with Liang for Qingzhou. It was very arrogant. When Yan changed its era name, a new breath emerged. Naturally, Liang had to follow suit. However, the change of era name could not be done casually. There had to be a happy beginning. Coincidentally, at this time, good news came from Shu.
The main force of the Yan court won a great victory in Guandong, and joined forces with Liang to defeat and destroy the Han State. In the vast Central Plains, only the emperors of Yan and Liang were left.
Murong Chui brutally beat the Hexi rebel army in Hexi. Compared with Murong Chui, a rare god of war, those rebel army were too inferior in field battles. In just a few months, Murong Chui once again completely incorporated Liangzhou into the Guanzhong system. Yang Cheng went with the army to help Murong Chui pacify the situation in Hexi.
Murong Chui's speed in attacking Liang Province was so fast that it was beyond almost everyone's expectations. You have to know that the Wei State had fought so many times before and failed to pacify it.
The reasons behind this are very complicated. First of all, Murong Chui's ability is not comparable to those of the Wei generals.
Secondly, the bureaucratic system under Murong Chui was not as corrupt as that of Wei. Wei was a regime that had been established for a hundred years and had long been riddled with corruption. Murong Chui replaced that group of people, and these newly-appointed aristocratic families were still in their infancy.
These two reasons alone are enough to make a world of difference.
It did not take Murong Chui much effort to conquer Hexi, so of course he set his sights on Shuzhong. Shuzhong has been well known since the Qin Dynasty annexed Shuzhong and had enough power to fight for the world.
In order to annex Shuzhong, the Qin State built the Shu Road leading to Shuzhong. At that time, it was still relatively difficult to attack Shuzhong, but now there are many Shu Roads leading to Shuzhong, so Murong Chui would certainly not be wrong.
But Murong Chui wanted to attack Shuzhong. Not only did he know it, but Cao Lu, who ruled Shuzhong, also knew it. In the eyes of many people, Guanzhong and Shuzhong were already one and the same. Whoever possessed Guanzhong would surely seize Shuzhong.
Even if Murong Chui swore not to attack Shu, Cao Lu would not believe it.
When Murong Chui had just captured Chang'an, Cao Lu was not worried, because in his opinion, it would take a long time for Murong Chui to completely bring Guanzhong under his rule. In addition, there was still chaos in Guandong, and there were also people causing rebellion in Liangzhou.
But the situation in the world changed so quickly that no one had expected that Liang and Yan would attack Han together. What was even more outrageous was that Han, which seemed relatively strong on the surface, was actually so vulnerable and seemed to be somewhat bloated.
Cao Lu knew that Murong Chui was good at fighting. He had been fighting since he was thirteen years old and had never lost. However, he quickly cleared out all the troublemakers in Guanzhong, big and small. In just a few months, he attacked the farthest Dunhuang County and made the entire Liangzhou submit to his military power.
Cao Lu deeply felt the gap between himself and Murong Chui.
Facing Murong Chui, Cao Lu had no intention of fighting at all. Facing the Yan State that had almost unified the north, he had no intention of resisting.
But surrendering to Murong Chui was absolutely impossible. He not only wanted to save his life, he also wanted wealth and glory.
He is a relative of the Cao family. If he really surrendered to Murong Chui, even if Murong Chui followed the rules and did not kill him, he would definitely be imprisoned afterwards. It would be better for him to enjoy himself in Shu for a few years.
After much thought, he still had to contact Liang State. Liang State had been talking to him all along, but the situation in the world was changing every day, which made it difficult to reach an agreement every time the critical moment came.
Now is undoubtedly the best time. Liang is worried that Shu will be seized by Murong Chui. That will undoubtedly be a huge geographical disaster for Liang, and there will always be a knife hanging over Liang's head.
Therefore, even if it costs a huge price, Liang State must ensure the safety of Shuzhong.
As for Cao Lu, he originally thought that even if he did not surrender to Liang State, Liang State would help him resist Murong Chui's attack in order to ensure his own safety. However, the Han State perished so quickly, and he also thought about the sudden demise of Wei State.
He suddenly realized that this world is just a makeshift one.
It is hard for ordinary people to imagine how useless and incompetent those bigwigs in high positions are.
In a nutshell, meat eaters are vulgar!
The reason why they are so-called powerful is mostly because they have access to a large amount of resources and information, and they know more than ordinary people. However, because they are too incompetent, even if they know so much that ordinary people don’t know, they still cannot solve most problems.
In many aspects, they are even worse than ordinary people.
Among the tens of millions of people in the Han Dynasty, there were at least eighty thousand who dared to die. However, the one sitting on the throne was not one of these eighty thousand people, but a waste who only knew how to enjoy himself on weekdays and did not even have the courage to die when the time came.
In the Han Dynasty, there were thousands of people who were more suitable to be the emperor than the emperor, but in the end, he became the emperor, and the people still thought how great the emperor was. This was really ridiculous.
Only those who have read books can understand how incompetent the emperor is, so most scholars look down on the emperor from the bottom of their hearts.
What if the ruler of Liang suddenly went crazy, or had some internal disagreements and was unwilling to support Shu, then wouldn't he have to wait to die here?
After much thought, Cao Lu felt that he could not stay in Shu. The front line facing Murong Chui was too dangerous. When the rebellion reached Chengdu, he didn't know how his family would end up.
Since ancient times, people have fled to the south to avoid chaos, especially the ancient Yue area, now Kuaiji County, where there are many mountains and rivers and beautiful scenery, and wars basically cannot reach there.
Even if the Southern Liang Dynasty or some unknown country was destroyed in the future, they would basically stop after taking Jianye and Gusu, and the rest of the places would be decided by issuing an edict. It would be very safe for the Cao family to hide in Kuaiji.
Thinking of this, Cao Lu felt that it was perfect, so he quickly contacted Luo Xianzhi who was guarding Jianye. The ship set out from Chengdu, sailed down the Yangtze River, and reached Jianye at a speed as fast as an arrow. Then, it delivered this news.
Luo Xianzhi really had good fortune when he was at home. The things he had tried so hard to accomplish before were now delivered to him directly. This was really like planting flowers with great effort but they did not bloom, but planting willows by accident but they grew into a shade.
Moreover, Cao Lu's surrender meant directly offering up Shu, and he himself did not stay in Shu. Even Luo Xianzhi could not think of a better result than this.
Xiao Yan made the decision immediately. As long as Cao Lu was really willing to give up Shu, he would confer the title of Duke of Kuaiji County on Cao Lu, allowing him to enjoy the beauty of mountains and rivers, glory and wealth in Kuaiji.
Murong Chui would never have imagined that his military pressure on Shuzhong would make Cao Lu make such a choice.
This major event of Shu's surrender shocked the entire Liang State and the people of the world. The Liang State's prestige suddenly increased, and Xiao Yan took the opportunity of this event to change the era name.
Basically, anyone with insight could see that after Liang State gained control of Shu, it would be very difficult for the northern forces to capture the south.
It was not because the Southern Dynasty was so powerful, but because the North had no place to train its navy. After the entire Yangtze River was seized by the Southern Dynasty, no matter how strong the cavalry of the Northern Dynasty was, it would be impossible for it to do anything in the Huai and Si rivers where waterways were crisscrossed.
Even strong armies like the Warriors and the Temple Army had to dismount and board ships when they arrived in the south.
Moreover, if the south is united, it will be like a turtle that is difficult to eat. Not to mention how easy to defend and difficult to attack Shu is, just go all the way east and defend Xiangyang. This city alone can be worth hundreds of thousands of troops.
It can be said that if the political situation in the Southern Dynasty was stable, it would be basically a dream for the Northern Dynasty to conquer the Southern Dynasty. As long as the Southern Dynasty had an army of 100,000, the Northern Dynasty would be helpless even if it had an army of one million.
The influence of Cao Lu's affiliation on the world situation was almost subversive, and it directly laid the foundation for the balance of power between the Southern and Northern Dynasties. That is, the Southern Dynasty could not defeat the Northern Dynasty, and the Northern Dynasty could not defeat the Southern Dynasty. The North could only wait for the Southern Dynasty to make a mistake.
Little did they know that Liang State thought the same way.
…
Murong Ke had not returned to Jicheng for a long time. After the army crossed the Yellow River, his headquarters also went to the south of the Yellow River, where he commanded the collision between Yan and Liang. The Han emperor's wavering policy made everyone see the emperor's weakness and hesitation. In this situation, some people chose to surrender, while others chose to die.
Those who were willing to die gradually died away, and those who chose to surrender rushed to do so. The states of Yan and Liang were constantly annexing the lands of the Han, and it even felt like this was not a war, but the collapse of a country.
After the fall of the Han Dynasty, the number of such changing of flags on the city walls has been too many. The gentry were like submissive creatures, and they would cooperate with any warlord that came. After the establishment of various states, this trend of defection changed, but unexpectedly, it is seen again in the current Han State.
During the years that Murong Ke fought, he was also busy pacifying newly acquired cities and arranging arrangements for the population that had newly entered the rule of Yan State. The time he spent commanding battles was much shorter, and most of his time was spent meeting with local scholars.
The same was true for Luo Xianzhi. Although he was in charge of Jianye, his contact with Xiao Yan never stopped. The Southern Dynasty had always been suppressing the gentry, but that was because the gentry in the Southern Dynasty were too powerful and had even affected the country.
The Northern gentry were not as exaggerated as those in the Southern Dynasties. After all, clan records were spread from the Southern Dynasties. Since the Northern Dynasties entered the Central Plains from the Yan State, they have always had a tradition of military aristocracy, which is completely different from the Southern Dynasties. The same was actually true for the Han Dynasty, which had no foundation of family background.
What was difficult for the Southern Dynasty gentry to accept was not a big deal for the Northern Dynasty gentry. The Northern Dynasty gentry even learned from the "advanced" experience of the Southern Dynasty gentry. This wave of mutual integration can be said to be a reversal of the Tiangang.
…
"Your Majesty, the spies have reported that Murong Ke has health problems and the backlash has already appeared. He will die within a year. This is our chance."
This is a letter that Luo Xianzhi sent to Xiao Yan, and no one knows about it.
…
"cough."
The bright red bloodstains on the white cloth were so glaring that Murong Ke covered it with the white cloth in his hand. He coughed up blood from time to time and gradually got used to it.
Murong Ke felt that his health was getting worse and worse. The hard work he had done before was nothing, but after the oath at Luoshui, he often felt powerless. After he coughed up blood for the first time a few months ago, he knew that he might die.
The doctor told him that he needed rest, but the increasingly tense relationship between Yan and Liang, the final war against Han, and the appeasement of the newly seized lands made it impossible for him to rest.
Besides, Murong Ke knew that this was the backlash of his oath on Luoshui, and he didn't think it could be cured.
He looked at the Yellow River in the north and Liang State in the south, and decided to do his last few things.
…
This was the second time Luo Xianzhi and Murong Ke met.
The reason why Murong Ke did not meet with Xiao Yan was naturally because of diplomatic principles. With the Northern and Southern Dynasties coexisting, although Murong Ke had a high status, he was not as good as Xiao Yan. If he met Xiao Yan, he would have to pay his respects, which was naturally not possible for negotiations.
Luo Xianzhi’s current status is one of the Three Dukes, which matches that of Murong Ke. Most importantly, both of them can represent the opinions of the two countries.
This time it is no longer above the Yellow River, but between Qingyan.
Luo Xianzhi smiled and said, "My lord, I haven't seen you for a long time. You are still as charming as ever."
Murong Ke pinched his palm hard to suppress the tormenting itch of coughing. He put some rouge on his face to make himself look rosy and normal. Today he looked like a normal person. He said softly: "The Duke of the County is still as elegant as ever. Time has not left any traces on you."
After exchanging pleasantries, Luo Xianzhi asked, "I wonder why the king invited me here to discuss a ceasefire?"
Murong Ke said sternly: "Han was destroyed, and now our two countries are fighting in Qingyan. Your country is no match for Great Yan. If this continues, your country will lose Yanzhou. Instead of this, why not call a truce between our two countries, draw the boundary along Qingyan, and then settle down on our own? Isn't this a good thing?"
On the vast plains of Qingzhou and Yanzhou, Liang State was certainly no match for Yan State. Xiao Yan and Murong Chui fought twice, both times ending in Xiao Yan's defeat, but the losses were not too great.
The reason why Murong Ke made this suggestion was very simple. He was worried that his body could not hold on. What if the others were no match for Xiao Yan? It would be bad if they lost Qingzhou as well.
Moreover, he wanted to go back to Jicheng. He didn't want to die here. He still had a lot to say to the emperor and to explain to the emperor. Although dying on the battlefield was the most heroic thing, he couldn't do that because he had a heavy responsibility on his shoulders.
The reason why Luo Xianzhi appeared here was because he also wanted to stop the war. Now it seemed that he could drag Murong Ke to death here, but he could also attack after Murong Ke died. There was no need to fight Murong Ke here now.
Xiao Yan was still somewhat unwilling to accept the first time he was defeated miserably, but after being defeated the second time, he didn't say anything more and agreed with Luo Xianzhi's suggestion that if he couldn't beat Murong Ke, he would just outlast him.
But of course he could not agree to it directly. Although Xiao Yan lost two field battles, Liang still had the advantage on the front line. If the boundary was drawn according to Qingyan, the most crucial issue would be who would get Mount Tai. Now most of Mount Tai was in the hands of Liang.
Now Murong Ke wants Mount Tai, which means he wants Liang to cede land to him.
Luo Xianzhi didn't care. Liang would immediately launch a war after Murong Ke died. He pondered for a moment and said, "Most of Mount Tai is in the hands of Liang. It was obtained by the Liang people who fought bloody battles. It's not right to give it to your country like this.
If your country is willing to exchange the pass north of Luoyang for it, I, Daliang, am willing to hand over Mount Tai to your country."
Luoyang has eight passes guarding the safety of Luoyang, but now some of the passes are in the hands of Yan State, which makes Liang State very uncomfortable. Luoyang is now like a leaky hole, with air leaks everywhere.
It would be great if we could take back Luoyang Pass at this opportunity.
Murong Ke thought about it and decided that if Taishan was taken, Qingzhou would be much more secure. Although Heluo was important, it was actually not that stable. With Hedong in hand, the threat to Heluo would not change because of a few passes.
In other words, those Yellow River ferry crossings were not suitable places for Yan State to cross the river, so it would be better to attack directly from Hedong.
The two hit it off and reached an agreement again.
Murong Ke asked one last time, "Are you really unwilling to go to Yan State? A hero like you should be riding a horse and galloping, instead of wasting time in the misty rain of the south.
Liang wanted to conquer the north from the south, but unless the entire north was split into pieces, as long as there were no more than two countries in the north, Liang would not be able to succeed in its northern expedition. Why would you do something that is doomed to fail?"
Murong Ke was sincere and his words were right. As long as the Northern Dynasty was not in chaos, the Southern Dynasty would not be able to succeed in the Northern Expedition even if it only relied on the power of Shandong. However, Luo Xianzhi asked in return: "You should ask the king yourself this question. Why did you still want to do it when you knew it would fail?"
After saying that, Luo Xianzhi smiled and bowed and left without waiting for Murong Ke to react. Although they were enemies, he still had a good impression of Murong Ke. It was a pity that they could not work together.
Murong Ke was a little stunned and didn't understand what Luo Xianzhi was talking about.
The armies of Yan and Liang withdrew far apart. Murong Ke first left some garrison troops in Qingzhou, and then led the army back to the north of the Yellow River and settled the army in Yecheng. He left first with his personal soldiers, and while the rest of the army marched full steam ahead, he quickly rushed to Jicheng first.
Thinking back to the last time he left the army behind and entered Jicheng alone, or returned from Hedong, these were the two most important battles in his life, and they ended up with the same result, which made Murong Ke feel a little emotional.
…
After so many generations of emperors' renovations, the Yan Palace has gradually taken on the appearance of an imperial palace. Although it is still far inferior to Luoyang and Chang'an, it is not inferior to Fenggao.
Moreover, the imperial palace of Yan State had the roughness unique to Yan State, which was brought back from Liaodong. Over the years, although most people had forgotten the sufferings that Liaodong had once experienced, the continuous influx of Liaodong Hu people into Yan State still allowed the Yan people to understand what kind of lives their ancestors had lived.
Murong Ke enjoyed special treatment in the State of Yan. The emperor once allowed him to ride in a carriage in the palace, but Murong Ke never used it. But this time he rode in the carriage into the palace.
Because he felt increasingly powerless, the palace was huge and had many steps, and he didn't want to fall on the road.
In front, behind, and on both sides of him were the royal guards who carried him. These people were considered nobles in the eyes of outsiders, but they carried him like cattle and horses, and they were willing to do so.
Murong Ke felt that he had not seen the emperor for a long time.
The emperor is at an age where he is growing taller, and he is very different from previous years.
He had a very delicate appearance, and the entire Murong family had a somewhat delicate appearance. Almost all of them were handsome men and beautiful women, and the emperor was no exception.
His feelings and attitude towards Murong Ke changed again and again. He often thought how great it would be if Murong Ke was his father, then there wouldn't be so many things going on now.
The emperor still came forward and said with a nostalgic feeling: "Uncle Wang, I often miss you. You have been fighting outside for many years. Now that you are back, I am relieved."
The Queen Mother was naturally nearby. She hated Murong Ke, but she was almost always present whenever Murong Ke appeared. She always liked to confront Murong Ke. Murong Ke wanted to speak, and then he spat out a mouthful of blood.
The emperor was startled for a moment, then he trembled and said, "Uncle Wang, what's wrong with you? What's wrong with you? Go call the imperial physician!"
Murong Ke grabbed the emperor's hand and said, "Your Majesty, there is no need for that. This is not an illness, but fate. A humble person like me swore the Luoshui oath, and ended up like this. It is really my own fault.
I rushed back in such a hurry because I was worried that I might die one day and never see Your Majesty again."
Luoshui oath!
No one noticed that the empress dowager beside the emperor was also trembling in fear. She had not expected that the backlash of Luo Shuishi would be so serious that it would directly turn Murong Ke into this state. He was in his prime but had fallen to this point.
How could Murong Ke die?
This is the only thought in the Queen Mother's mind now. Now that Murong Ke is dead, who will fight in the future, and who will suppress the fierce tiger Murong Chui? She has just released Murong Chui back into the mountains and given him something that makes him even more powerful. But Murong Ke, who can suppress the tiger, is going to die so soon?
She thought of countless possibilities, but never thought that Murong Ke would die, and to die from the backlash of the Luoshui Oath. This was simply too absurd.
The Empress Dowager was still thinking so much, and the Emperor was already struck by lightning. For him, although he regretted that Murong Ke could not assist him wholeheartedly and part of his heart was on Murong Chui, he always stood on the side of the Empress Dowager in all the disputes between the Empress Dowager and Murong Ke. It can be seen that he knew the importance of Murong Ke.
But now, the important ministers who were talented enough to assist him in ruling the world were gone, and it was because of the Luoshui Oath.
He couldn't help but look at his mother, his eyes full of disgust and hatred. Over the years, he felt more and more that his mother was too ignorant, a woman who knew nothing about politics, yet always meddled in these matters.
Eventually, it led to the bitter consequences we have today.
Forcefully suppressing this feeling, he looked at Murong Ke and could only comfort him in vain: "Uncle Wang, don't worry so much. You will definitely get better."
Murong Ke said directly: "Your Majesty, this is the last time I will see you today. After leaving the palace, I will return to the palace and wait for death.
I have something to say.
After I die, don't worry that King Yong will rebel. You should actively contact Guanzhong and never waste your limited strength on confronting your relatives of the same clan.
Otherwise it will only make loved ones sad and enemies happy.
Liang State is a strong enemy of our Great Yan, but there is no need to worry too much about Xiao Yan. He has obvious shortcomings and will eventually have conflicts with Luo Xianzhi.
Moreover, Liang's land is scattered and has no absolute center, so it will definitely split. As long as we maintain the current territory and let the population prosper, relying on these fertile lands, Liang will naturally fall. "
Murong Ke spoke to the emperor word by word, vomiting blood from time to time, which made the emperor want to interrupt him several times, but looking at Murong Ke's expression, he continued to listen.
————
Since the establishment of various states, the reason why Yan was able to have a young ruler in power and conquer Han and Wei was due to Murong Ke. His achievement was not in his literary or military prowess, but in his loyalty. Loyalty makes a country stable, a stable country strong, and a strong country prosperous. Ke stood out in the world, so Yan stood out in the world. - "Characters of the Southern and Northern States"
(End of this chapter)
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