Stirring for four hundred years: Murong De's hero was brave in his twilight years, and he missed the opportunity to go south in a quiet corner

This article is the 250th in a long series, Four Hundred Years of Turmoil

After occupying Qingzhou as a base area, Murong De, knowing that there was no hope of restoring the country, simply gave up this idea, took a corner of peace, and lived a cruel life.

However, Murong De did not become extremely poor and extravagant, but shared peace with the people, which was not a blessing for the people who had been in war for a long time.

In order to make it easier for the people to avoid secrets, Murong De also changed his name to Murong Beide, and in order to maintain consistency, I still refer to him as Murong De later in the text.

In October of the fifth year of Long'an (401 AD), Murong De was entertaining the ministers of culture and martial arts at Yanxian Hall, and when he was drunk and his ears were hot, he asked the ministers: "What monarch can you compare with since ancient times?" ”

Qingzhou Thorn Shi Juzhong replied, "Your Majesty is the Shengming monarch of Zhongxing Guoyun, of course, the same as the Shaokang Emperor of the Xia Dynasty and the Guangwu Emperor of the Han Dynasty." ”

Murong De motioned for his attendants to reward Ju Zhong with a thousand silk horses, and Ju Zhong quickly resigned because he had given too many things.

Murong De said, "If you use words to laugh at Yuan, can't you laugh at you?" You are not telling the truth. Therefore, you are only rewarding you with empty words. ”

Han Fan said, "The Son of Heaven has no jokes, and today's argument is lost to all the kings and subjects." Murong De was very happy and rewarded Han Fan with fifty silk horses.

Originally, Murong De served as the Prince of Zhangye in Former Qin, living with his mother Gongsun Shi and his brother Murong Na.

Later, Murong De followed Jian Jian into Huainan, leaving behind a golden knife to bid farewell to his mother.

After the Battle of Shuishui, Murong De and Murong Chui rebelled in the east of Mount Kun, and Zhangye Taishou Chang captured Murong Na and several of Murong De's sons and killed them all.

Gongsun was pardoned for his old age, and Murong Na's wife Duan was pregnant and was not executed immediately. Now that Everything was well in Southern Yan, Murong De sent Du Hong to Chang'an to investigate.

Du Hong said, "After the subject arrives in Chang'an, if he can't find the empress, he will go west to Zhangye to inquire and do his best to complete the task until he dies." However, the minister's father, Du Xiong, was over sixty years old, and the minister requested his majesty to give him the county order of Feng Lu in order to fulfill the filial piety of the subject. ”

Zhongshu ordered Zhang Hua to say, "Du Hong, before he left, asked Feng Lu in advance to blackmail the king, and the crime was extremely evil!" Murong Dezheng said, "Since Du Hong greeted his mother for the monarch and asked for his old father, it can be said that he is loyal and filial to both, what a crime!" ”

As a result, Murong De made Du Xiong the order of the plains, and after Du Hong arrived in Zhangye, he was killed by the bandits.

Judging from these two small things, Murong De was a wise man, with both self-knowledge and understanding.

In April of the second year of Yuan Xing (403 CE), Murong De's former official Zhao Rong defected from Chang'an to Southern Yan, and Murong De learned that his mother and brother were dead.

Soon, Murong Da, a lieutenant colonel, rebelled and sent Emperor Xuan of Yamen to attack Duanmen, and the marshal Hou Chimei opened the door in response, and Sun Jin of Zhonghuangmen supported Murong De, escaped from the palace over the wall, and hid in Sun Jin's private residence.

When the general Duan Hong and others learned the news, they urgently assembled the three armies and strictly guarded the guanggu city gate. Subsequently, Murong De led an army into the palace to counterattack, killing Hou Chimei and others, and Murong Da fled to Northern Wei.

Murong De gave preferential treatment to immigrants and exempted them from field taxes and servitude for a long time, so the people kept impersonating them, some with a hundred households in one household, and some with a thousand people in their household registration, all with the purpose of evading taxation and seriously affecting the collection of taxes.

Shang Shu Han Zhuo requested an examination and investigation, and Murong De ordered him to inspect the counties and found 58,000 illegal households. This greatly increased the state's tax revenue, but also triggered a peasant uprising.

A man named Wang Shi in Taishan County instigated the people to rebel, gathered tens of thousands of people, called himself the Taiping Emperor, and set up an official office. Murong Zhen, the king of Guilin, led an army to fight and captured him.

When he was tied up to the execution site for execution, someone asked Wang Shi, "Where are your father and brother?" Wang Shi said angrily, "The Emperor Taishang is out in the dust, and the eastern and western expeditions have been victimized by the rebels." ”

His wife was furious and scolded: "It is because of this broken mouth that you ended up in such a situation, and you still don't change until you die!" Wang Shi said calmly, "The empress does not know that since ancient times, there has been an immortal country!" Even if he died, he would not change the emperor's name after all. ”

In the chaotic world, everyone wants to take advantage of the opportunity to occupy the mountain as the king, calling the lonely and widowed, and the king has become a joke because of his lack of strength, but history is composed of these jokes, big or small.

In September, Murong De, who had fled to Southern Yan's elegant letter, requested a crusade against Huan Xuan, arguing: "Even if Wuhui cannot be pacified, at least the north of the Yangtze River can be pacified." ”

Han Fan also said: "The Jin state is weak and chaotic, there are few household registrations in the north and south of the Yangtze River and huaihe River, and the defense is weak. Coupled with Huan Xuan's rebellion, the separation of the upper and lower levels, and the dispatch of His Majesty's divine martial arts to ride ten thousand to the south, it will surely collapse, and if it is obtained, the Qin and Wei states will not be worried. Expanding the territory and making meritorious achievements is in this dynasty. After the hero Hao Jie killed Huan Xuan and implemented the moral government, not only jiankang could not be obtained, but even the north of the Yangtze River had no hope. ”

Murong De said, "Because of the collapse of the homeland, I have been preparing to pacify the Central Plains first, and then go to sweep Jingyang, and I have never considered the Southern Expedition, and this matter can be handed over to the Gongqing for discussion." ”

Murong De then held a military parade in the city, with a total of 370,000 infantry, 53,000 cavalry, and 17,000 chariots, but the secretary of state believed that Huan Xuan had just succeeded and could not take risks, so he gave up the matter of sending troops.

At this time, it was the weakest time of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, if Murong De decided to send troops, even if he could not destroy the Eastern Jin Dynasty, he could at least seize the opportunity to occupy some territory, but unfortunately the hero was brave in his twilight years.

Seeing that persuasion was unintentional, Liu Jingxuan, Gao Gaozhi, and others secretly befriended the powerful chiefs of the Qingzhou powerful clan and the Xianbei tribe, plotting to assassinate Murong De and elect Sima Xiuzhi to succeed him.

Originally, after these exiled ministers of the Eastern Jin Dynasty fled to Southern Yan, Murong De took Liu Rail as his leader and favored him. Gao Gaozhi intended to invite Liu Rail to participate in the coup, and Liu Jingxuan said: "Liu Rail is old and has the desire to live here for the rest of his life, and he cannot tell him. ”

Gao Gaozhi did not think so, and privately told Liu Rail, who refused.

After the conspiracy was leaked, Liu Jingxuan and others fled south for their lives, Nan yan arrested Liu Rail and beheaded him, sent someone to capture Gao Gaozhi, and beheaded them at the same time, liu Jingxuan, Sima Xiuzhi and others fled to the Huai River and Surabaya.

In March of the third year of Yuan Xing (404 AD), upon hearing the news of Huan Xuan's defeat, Liu Jingxuan and Sima Xiuzhi and others returned to Jiankang. Liu Yu remembered his old feelings and made Liu Jingxuan the Taishou of Jinling.

At this time, Murong De also heard of Huan Xuan's defeat and the internal unrest in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and ordered Murong Zhong, the king of the Northern Territories, to mobilize troops to plan to capture Jiangnan. Unfortunately, due to Murong De's illness, the action stopped.

Missing the opportunity to go south twice in a row, Murong De had no possibility of overturning from then on, and could only sit and wait for the day when Southern Yan was destroyed.