The image of Murong Chui in the game
In the long martial arts novel "Eight Parts of the Heavenly Dragon", Jin Yong fictionalizes a Murong family who lives in Gusu and is known for his martial arts. In the forty-second article " The Old Devil Clown Can't Win a Blow "Invincible", Jin Yong mentions that several distant ancestors of "Murong Fu" "Murong Fu, Murong Ke, Murong Chui, and Murong De were all heroic kings of the Yan kingdom at that time, who shocked the world and created a vigorous cause." Today, we will talk about the deeds of Murong Chui mentioned by Mr. Jin Yong.
First, the Former Yan Prince, with great military achievements
Murong Chui (慕容崔) (4 November 326 – 2 June 396), courtesy name Ba, was a Chinese poet and a chinese poet. The fifth son of Former Yan lord Murong Hao. Although he was young, he was gifted with bravery. According to historical records, he "put his hands over his knees" and was seven feet seven inches long (during the Wei and Jin dynasties, 1 foot was about 24.2 centimeters today. Seven feet seven inches, equivalent to about 186 centimeters today. At the time, it was definitely "tall"). Therefore, Murong Hao was very fond of him, and often looked at Murong Chui and said to his brothers:
Here Koda is curious, and can eventually break the family, or can become an adult.
”
As early as 339, Murong Hao ordered Murong Ba, who was only 13 years old, to lead an army with his brother Murong Ke to attack the Yuwen clan of the Xianbei tribe. At the age of 13, for many of our modern children, they are still snuggled up to their parents and played tricks. However, the young Murong Chui rode on a war horse with high will, rushed left and right on the battlefield, and bravely championed the three armies.
In 342, in order to completely solve the problem of his confidants who marched into the Central Plains, Murong Hao personally led an army to attack Goguryeo. He ordered Murong Ba and others to be forwards. After fierce fighting, the Former Yan army captured the Goguryeo capital of Marudu (present-day Ji'anxi, Jilin). Goguryeo king Gao Zhao fled alone.
In February 344, Murong Hao personally led Murong Ba, Murong Ke, and others to attack YuwenBu. Yuwen Yidou, the leader of the Yuwen Clan, sent elite troops to meet the attack. During the fierce battle between the two armies, Murong Ba's army suddenly attacked from the flank, and the unprepared Yuwen army was defeated, and the Yan army took advantage of the victory to capture the Yuwenbu capital of Zimengchuan (zimengchuan, northwest of present-day Chaoyang, Liaoning). Yuwen Yidou fled in defeat and died in Mobei. Yuwenbu dispersed.
In 345, the Later Zhao emperor Shi Hu led an army to invade Former Yan. Later, although Shi Hu withdrew due to the incident, he still ordered the general Deng Heng to lead tens of thousands of troops and garrison TunLe'an (tun le'an) (northeast of present-day Laoting County, Hebei) to seek an opportunity to annex Former Yan. Murong Hao ordered Murong Ba to be the general of Pingdi and garrisoned Tuhe (土河, northwest of present-day Jinzhou, Liaoning) to confront him. Deng Heng was afraid of Murong Ba, and did not dare to provoke easily.
The image of the stone tiger in the game
In 348, Murong Hao died and was succeeded by his son Murong Juan. The following year, the Later Zhao Emperor Shi Hu died, and his sons competed for the throne, and there was great domestic turmoil. Murong Chui played Murong Juan and said:
The time is easy to lose, the opportunity is fast, and the weak attack is ambiguous, and now is the time.
Murong Juan refused to allow Murong Juan to play on the grounds that murong Juan had just died and his people's hearts were unstable. Murong Chui personally rushed to longcheng (龙城, in modern Chaoyang, Liaoning), urged Murong Chui to volunteer, and asked him to be the vanguard. Feng Yi and other ministers also strongly supported Murong Chui. Murong Chui ordered Murong Chui to be the forward governor, and selected more than 200,000 elite soldiers to prepare for zhao.
In February 350, Murong Chui ordered Murong Chui to lead an army along the Eastern Road through tuhe to cut down Zhao, mu you to lead an army out of the western province, and to lead the Chinese army to cut down Zhao in three ways. When Murong Chui's army reached Sanxing (三陉, in modern Maoshishan, Funing County, Hebei), the Later Zhao general Deng Heng was terrified, burned the warehouse, and fled to Jicheng (present-day Beijing). Murong Chui and Murong Chui joined forces to attack Jicheng. In March, the Yan army captured Jicheng. Murong Juan personally led an army in pursuit of Deng Heng, and when he reached Qingliang (清梁, in present-day southwest of Qingyuan County, Hebei), the Zhao general Lu Bo led thousands of men to sneak up on the Yan army at night. The Zhao army burst into the vicinity of Murong Chui's tent, and the situation was precarious. Murong Chui was calm and self-assured, personally killing dozens of soldiers who wanted to escape, and commanding the Yan generals to fight back and repel the attack.
In April 354, Murong Juan declared himself emperor. Murong Chui was made the Prince of Wu and the town of Shouxin (守信都; present-day Jizhou District, Hebei).
In May 357, Murong Juan sent Murong Chui and others to lead 80,000 troops to attack the area living in northern Sai (north of present-day Great Wall) and constantly harassing the Former Yan people. The Yan army defeated Shu le, capturing more than 100,000 people, capturing 130,000 horses, and countless cattle and sheep. Tranquility was regained on the northern border. According to historical records, Former Yan marched into the Central Plains and marched south to the North."
As a striker, tired of fighting has a great achievement
”。
The battle that really shook Murong Chui's name was the Battle of Fangtou (枋頭, in present-day southwest of JunXian County, Henan). In April 369, Sima Huanwen of the Eastern Jin Dynasty led a 50,000-strong infantry horse and northern Expedition to Former Yan. The Jin army fought successive battles, and the Former Yan Emperor and Murong Wei's son Murong Wei panicked and had to ask for help from his sworn enemy, Former Qin. In July, Huan Wen swung his army to capture Fangtou, which was only a hundred miles away from the capital. Murong Wei and Murong Wei and other ministers panicked and prepared to flee. Murong Chui and others firmly advocated a death-defying battle. Murong Chui said passionately:
If the battle is not successful, it is not too late to go.
Murong Wei was only then able to calm his mind slightly. He ordered Murong Chui to be the governor of Southern Qi, leading 50,000 horsemen to resist Huan Wen, and sent people to Former Qin for help, and promised to cede the land west of Hujiao (虎牢, in present-day Xingyang, Henan) to Former Qin as a reward for sending troops. Former Qin king Jian Jian summoned his courtiers for consultation. He adopted Wang Meng's strategy of first aiding weak Yan and defeating Qiang Jin, and then taking advantage of Yan's decline and annihilation of "one stone and two birds".
Murong Chui led his army to engage the Jin army several times, but blocked the Jin army's offensive momentum. In August, Former Qin reinforcements entered Tunyingchuan (屯颍川, in modern Xuchangdong, Henan). Huan Wen lost one after another, and when he heard that Former Qin reinforcements were coming, he decided to lead his army to retreat by land. Former Yan generals suggested taking advantage of the victory to pursue. Murong Chui said, "Don't be in a hurry first. Huan Wen had just retired from the army, and his heart was bound to be afraid, and he would definitely set up strict guards and select elite soldiers as a rear refusal. If our army rushes to attack, it may not be victorious. It is better to put it off for a few days. If Huan Wen had detected that our army was not in hot pursuit, he would have been lucky and would have led his army in a hurry day and night; when the Jin army's strength was exhausted and our army attacked again, it would certainly win. As a result, Murong Chui personally led 8,000 cavalry and secretly followed the Jin army. Huan Wen's subsequent deployment was indeed as Murong Chui had expected. A few days later, Murong Chui ordered his troops to advance and caught up with the Jin army at Xiangyi (襄邑, in present-day Sui County, Henan), beheading more than 30,000 men.
Because of Murong Chui's southern conquest of the northern war and his outstanding merits, he was known as the "Four Masters of Murong" along with Murong Juan, Murong Ke, and Murong De. Although Murong Chui was honored, he also brought him great danger.
Second, the lord was ostracized and framed, and forced to flee to the enemy country
As the saying goes: "Wood shows in the forest, and the wind will destroy it." Murong Chui was outstanding and had outstanding merits, and was deeply favored by his father Murong Chui, "En yu Yue Shizi", Murong Chui even had the idea of replacing Murong Chui with Murong Chui. It was only because the ministers advised them that it was not appropriate to abolish the long and young that they did not put it into practice. As a result, Murong Juan and others were extremely jealous of Murong Chui and constantly provoked trouble.
After Murong Juan ascended the throne, he changed his name to "Murong Chui" on the grounds that Murong Ba had fallen off his horse and broken his teeth while he was a young man hunting. Hanging, the ancient word for "lack", was actually a mockery of Murong Chui's broken teeth. Later, Murong Juan heard that "Chui" would write down the nobles, so he ordered that the character "夬" be removed and renamed Murong Chui.
In April 354, Murong Juan declared himself emperor. Although he made Murong Chui the King of Wu, Zhen Shouxindu. However, because Murong Chui was well-governed and prestigious in the local area, Murong Chui was even more jealous, and hurriedly issued an edict and summoned him back to the imperial court.
If it is said that changing his name and conscripting the return to the dynasty was nothing more than Murong Juan's "small fight", then the prison of the Duan clan that he set off in 358 was bound to put Murong Rong to death. Murong Chui married Duan Shi. The Duan clan was highly temperamental and was not at odds with the Empress Kezuhun clan. The empress was enraged and plotted to frame Duan and Murong Chui. She secretly instructed people to report to Murong Juan that Duan and Wu Guodian had Gao Bi secretly cast witchcraft and frame the emperor. Murong Juan issued an edict, arrested Duan Shi and Gao Bi and imprisoned them, and tortured them severely, hoping that the two would be beaten into a confession and implicate Murong Chui.
Unexpectedly, although the two were tortured, they did not yield. Murong Chui was heartbroken, and secretly sent someone to say to Duan Shi: "If a person will eventually die, why should he endure such a poisonous punishment!" It is better to go along with their wishes and confess. Duan Shi sighed and said, "I am also afraid of death!" However, if I were to use such a wicked thing to make a false claim to survive, I would insult my ancestors at the top and the prince at the bottom. I would rather die than do such a thing! Later, Duan died in prison. Although Murong Chui was lucky enough to get away with it, his relationship with Murong Chui was even worse.
In the first month of 360, Murong Juan fell ill and died, and was succeeded by the 11-year-old crown prince Murong Wei. He honored Kezuhun as empress dowager, his uncle Murong Ke (慕容恪) as Dazai (大zai), Lu Shang (錄尚書事), and chancellor (朝政); Murong The Prince of Shangyong (上庸王 慕容) was rated as Taifu (太傅). Murong Ke, who was loyal to the country, had outstanding talents, and was open-minded, was quite appreciative of Murong Chui. He repeatedly recommended to Murong Wei: "King Wu (Murong Chui) will be ten times more talented than his subjects. The first emperor is the second eldest and the youngest, and the subject is the first. After the death of his subjects, may His Majesty entrust The King of Wu with the throne, which can be described as both pro-virtuous and virtuous. ”
The image of Murong Ke in the game
In May 367, Murong Ke fell ill and died. Before dying, Murong Ke again recommended Murong Chui to Murong Wei:
King Wu wen and Wu are both assets, Guan and Xiao Zhiya, and if His Majesty is in charge of the great government, the country can be safe; otherwise Qin and Jin will have a voyeur.
However, Murong Wei did not listen to his last words. He ordered Murong Chong, who was narrow-minded and jealous of his ability, to evaluate the premiership of the imperial government, and murong Chong, who had no military talent, was appointed as the post of Grand Sima of the presidential military power. Not only that, the empress dowager and Murong Jue joined forces to ostracize and frame Murong Chui many times. Although Murong Chui did not care about his previous suspicions, in the Battle of Fangtou, he defeated the Jin army and saved Former Yan's crisis. However, Murong Jue intensified his efforts and plotted to kill Murong Chui. In desperation, Murong Chui had no choice but to secretly abscond to Former Qin.
Former Qin Emperor Jian Jian, assisted by Wang Meng and others, grew in power and looked at Former Yan with long attention. However, because he was jealous of Murong Ke, Murong Chui, and others, he waited for the opportunity. Murong Ke died of illness, and Murong Chui came to defect, which made Jian Jian overjoyed. He not only gave Murong Chui extremely high treatment, but also repeatedly refused the advice of Wang Meng and others to kill Murong Chui in order to avoid future troubles.
In 370, Jian Jian ordered Murong Chui and others to be the vanguard and raised an army to attack Yan. The Qin army was like a broken bamboo, and soon captured Murong Wei and others, and destroyed Former Yan. Whether it was governing the country or conquering the country, Murong Chui made outstanding contributions to Former Qin.
3. Zhongxing Yanguo, destroying Western Yan; supporting Tuoba Jue and digging his own grave
In 383, the Battle of Shuishui broke out in Former Qin and Eastern Jin. Former Qin was defeated, and the Former Qin army was annihilated and scattered, as many as more than 700,000. Only Murong Chui's 30,000 men and horses were intact. The defeat at the Battle of Shuishui not only completely shattered Jianjian's dream of unifying the north and the south, but also caused many of the rulers of various nationalities who had been conquered by Former Qin force and intimidated by the former Qin army's might, and soon set off a wave of restoration and independence, resulting in the temporary unification of the north and the disintegration of the situation. Murong Chui also died in the first month of 384"
He claimed to be a great general, a governor of dadu, and a king of Yan, and undertook to act
", rebuild the Yan Kingdom. In 386, Murong Chui established himself as emperor with the capital at Zhongshan (中山, in modern Dingzhou, Hebei), known historically as Later Yan.
After the defeat of Former Qin, the Xianbei people, who were forcibly relocated to the Guanzhong region, under the leadership of Murong Wei's son Murong Hong and others, took the opportunity to raise an army against Qin. Murong Chong also raised an army in Hedong, joined forces with Murong Hong, and marched west into Chang'an. Murong Hong's subordinates believed that Murong Hong's dedewang was inferior to Murong Chong's, and his usage was harsh and severe, so they killed Murong Hong and established Murong Chong instead. In 385, Murong Chong was proclaimed emperor, with the state name Yan and the historical name Western Yan.
As the saying goes, "one mountain does not allow two tigers". Although Later Yan and Western Yan were both founded by Murong Xianbei, the two kingdoms soon met each other because of the power struggle. In the winter of 393, Later Yan launched a major attack on Western Yan. In August 394, the Later Yan army invaded the eldest son, killed Murong Yong and others, and Western Yan perished. In its heyday, Later Yan's territory stretched from Langxi in the south, liaohai in the east, Hefen in the west, and Yan Dynasty in the north. It was the most powerful regime in the Central Plains in the late Sixteen Kingdoms period.
Although the later Yan and the Xianbei tuoba tribes restored the state after the Battle of Shuishui (later renamed Wei, known historically as Northern Wei) initially had a harmonious relationship, Murong Chui, based on the interests of Later Yan's state, repeatedly took the initiative or was invited to send troops to assist Tuoba Jue, the dai king, in defeating strong enemies. However, due to the conflict of interest, the contradiction between the two countries has become increasingly acute.
In May 395, Murong Chui ordered murong bao the crown prince to lead an army of 80,000 troops from Wuyuan (present-day Baotou, Inner Mongolia) to attack Wei. Tuoba Jue adopted a strategy of avoiding decisive battles and constantly attacking, which made the Yan army exhausted. On their way back to China, the Yan army, which had found nothing, was raided by Wei forces at Shanhepi (陳合陂, in present-day Liangcheng County, Inner Mongolia, fifty miles northwest of Shizigou, said to be in present-day Yanggao, Shanxi). The Yan army was panicked and scattered. Tens of thousands of people were killed, trampled to death by horses, and drowned in the water. Later Yan Wenwu's generals, thousands of officers and 40,000 to 50,000 soldiers, were captured, and tens of thousands of soldiers and grain were captured. The Later Yan generals were lucky enough to escape, and only a few thousand people were there. This is the "Battle of Samhepi".
The disastrous defeat at the Battle of Hepi made Murong Chui dare not despise Northern Wei anymore. He also soberly realized that the rising Northern Wei would be a major problem for Hou Yan's confidants. Therefore, despite his severe illness, in March 398, he personally led a large army to attack and capture the Northern Wei capital of Pingcheng (present-day Datong, Shanxi). Northern Wei was caught off guard and captured countless times, and Tuoba Jue only led a few horses, and fled in a hurry.
When Murong Chui led his army through Sanhepi, he saw that in the fierce battle three years ago, the corpses of the fallen soldiers of the Later Yan army were still piled up. Murong Chui ordered the establishment of a memorial to the victims. The soldiers wept loudly, and the cries shook the valley. Murong Chui was ashamed and angry in his heart, spurting blood wildly, and his illness became serious. Soon after, he died in the army. A generation of gods of war, thus fell.
After Murong Chui's death, Murong Bao succeeded to the throne, and Later Yan's internal turmoil was incessant, and the national strength was weakening day by day. Tuoba Jue took the opportunity to lead an army of 400,000 and attacked Hou Yan in a big way. Later Yan perished.
Wen Shijun said
Murong Chui was a man of considerable military talent and political foresight, and he made significant contributions to the development and growth of Former Yan. However, because of his outstanding talents and outstanding achievements, even if he had the status of a royal family, he would inevitably be jealous, ostracized and persecuted by the rulers repeatedly. As the saying goes: "A good bird chooses a tree to perch, and a good subject chooses the Lord." In order to save his life, Murong Chui had to defect to Former Qin. There is nothing wrong with this choice. In Former Qin, although he was also framed by Wang Meng and others many times, he relied on the trust and solicitation of Emperor Jianjian, and not only barely escaped, but also made many meritorious achievements for Former Qin.
After the Battle of Shuishui, Former Qin collapsed, but Murong Chui's forces were saved. Murong Chui's old subordinates persuaded him to take the opportunity to kill Murong Jian in order to achieve great things. He categorically refused, and handed over his soldiers to Jian Jian, reflecting the gentlemanly demeanor that a politician should have. Former Qin collapsed, the various ethnic groups became independent, and the north fell back into a state of division and division. Murong Chui adapted to the situation of the times, established himself as emperor, rebuilt the State of Yan, and eliminated the surrounding separatist forces, making Later Yan the most powerful regime in the north in the late Sixteen Kingdoms. Objectively, it laid the foundation for the reunification of the North. However, although Murong Chui had a strategic vision and far-sightedness, he repeatedly supported Tuoba Jue based on the consideration of Later Yan's national interests. Unexpectedly, decades later, it was the full-fledged Tuoba Jue and the Northern Wei he established that destroyed the Later Yan he had single-handedly created. The unpredictable nature of the world and the speculation of the human heart have made future generations overwhelmed.
bibliography
1. (Tang) Fang Xuanling et al.: Book of Jin, Beijing: Zhonghua Bookstore, 1974.
2. Lü Simian: History of the Southern and Northern Dynasties of the Two Jin Dynasties, Shanghai: Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House, 1983.
3. Wang Zhongji: History of the Southern and Northern Dynasties of the Wei and Jin Dynasties, Shanghai: Shanghai People's Publishing House, 2016.
4. Bai Shouyi, Editor-in-Chief, He Ziquan, General History of China (Volume V), Shanghai: Shanghai People's Publishing House, 2004.
(Author: Haoran Wenshi Gaosheng)
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