<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="1" > Section 4 The reasons for the rise and rise of the Wanrong Xue clan are analyzed</h1>
Wanrong Xue clan from the "Hedong Shu" and "Shu Xue" who were discriminated against when they first entered Hedong,
It grew into a chaotic upstart during the Southern and Northern Dynasties, and then developed into a high at the end of the Southern and Northern Dynasties
The reasons for the men's surname, "Hedong Wang", are worth exploring in addition to those mentioned above
In addition to the unique character endowment and heroic temperament of Xue's characters, the author thinks that there is
The following factors are also worth noting.
First, solid economic strength
Since the Four Han Dynasties, the Xue family has "had a famous position", which has laid a certain foundation for the continued development of the family, which should include a certain economic foundation; at the beginning of the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the Wanrong Xue family was regarded as a local powerful family by the local clan, and it was necessary to have solid economic strength; if the transformation of the Xue family into a scholar family was a victory in the superstructure, then the bottom of this superstructure must be supported and backed by a considerable economy. In short, the economy is the foundation, and all this is nonsense. Although no special research data has been seen at present, the economic strength of the Xue family at that time should be beyond doubt. In the biographies of Xue's characters during the Southern and Northern Dynasties, there are many descriptions of the luxurious life of this family. For example, Xue Shan, "The family is rich, and there are hundreds of servants." Brother Yuanxin, arrogant and extravagant, every abbot of every food, sitting guests, string songs endlessly"; and xue zhendu, "there are dozens of female prostitutes, each episode of guests, the fate of the song, silk bamboo song and dance, do not quit in front, do their best to sound and color"; and then such as Xue Yi, "sexual arrogance, shengying garden house, guests sound tricks, to play freely". These examples amply attest to this.
So, how did the family's solid economic strength come about?
In my opinion, there are two crucial factors that cannot be ignored.
1. The basic economic form of combining landlord farms with haoqiang dock walls. Landlord's farmstead
Since the emergence of the Eastern Han Dynasty, at least until the Sui and Tang Dynasties established a unified state power and the economic systems such as equalization of fields and rent adjustment were effectively implemented, it has been the dominant economic form of Chinese society. During the Sixteen Kingdoms and the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the combination of landlord farms and powerful docks was further strengthened, and became the main means for local powerful forces to exploit peasants and accumulate wealth. This is also the fundamental reason why the Xue family has strong economic strength.
The emergence of landlord farms was the result of a long-term land annexation under the feudal economic system. As early as the late Western Han Dynasty, after about 200 years of Chengping development, the division of the rich and the poor and the annexation of land were quite serious, and there was a phenomenon of "the strong rule the land in the thousands, and the weak once had no place to stand". Wang Mang's usurpation of Han not only failed to effectively solve social problems such as land annexation, but further intensified this contradiction, and as a result, it stimulated a huge peasant uprising. It should be said that under the conditions of feudal production relations, the most fundamental driving force of the peasant uprisings and peasant wars in successive dynasties was the desire for land, but the peasant uprising in the Xinmang period was entangled with the demands of the old minister of the Western Han Dynasty Kuangfu "Liu's World", and the result of the uprising was to push Liu Xiu to the emperor's throne, but the original problem of land annexation could not be effectively solved. Not only that, in the process of establishing the Eastern Han Dynasty, a large number of landlords responded and followed Liu Xiu with their own private soldiers, becoming a strong supporter of Liu Xiu and the founding hero of the Eastern Han Dynasty. The power of the new upstarts of the dynasty and the protection of the armed forces of privateers further strengthened their right to occupy and dominate the land, "the centurion is rich, the state is thousands", and the landlord's farm became the most common economic form in the Eastern Han Dynasty. In this kind of self-sufficient landlord's farmstead, the powerful landlord owns a large amount of land, "(the houses) are hundreds of buildings, the fields are full of fields, the slaves are thousands of people, and they are attached to thousands of people..." But their clans, relatives, guests, etc. are "helpless", and they have to "enslave the rich" and become laborers who are attached to the landlord's farms and are exploited and enslaved by them. (1) Although this kind of landlord farmstead began in the Eastern Han Dynasty, it continued to develop during the Three Kingdoms and Two Jin Dynasties and the Southern and Northern Dynasties.
During the Shu and Han dynasties, the Xue clan should be the owner of such a landlord's farmstead. They moved north from Sichuan to Fenyin, and had more than 5,000 followers at a time, and it is safe to say that these figures are not all Xue shi, most of them should be peasants who are dependent on them. The population of more than 5,000 households even exceeded that of some states and counties during the Northern Dynasty, but this was not the end. After the great rebellion of the Sixteen Kingdoms at the end of the Jin Dynasty began, the Wanrong Xue clan "relied on the river to consolidate itself", built a large number of Dock Fort barriers to protect themselves, and established a relatively stable "independent kingdom", and the displaced people around them who avoided chaos and protected themselves turned to them, further expanding their exploitation base. Relying on the Wubi, the Shi zai Wanrong Xue clan not only "entangled the clans" and participated in political and military competitions, but also "established a house and taught to read" in the Wubi, becoming a local separatist force that fought in the Tang Dynasty and had a relatively complete political, economic, and cultural system. The struggle for economic control is undoubtedly an important aspect. For example, the military struggle between the Xue family and the Helian Xia regime was mainly that the two lands were adjacent, resulting in friction of economic interests. (2) The typicality of Xue's dock wall is also very famous in Chinese history. The households they later controlled were more than the initial 5,000. The rulers of the north were powerless to suppress them and had to compromise with them. Later, the Northern Wei Dynasty adopted the method of suzerainty and protection, recognizing their right to rule the native region. The Wanrong Xue clan had a monopoly on local power, so it was natural to expropriate goods and accumulate wealth.
2. The economic policy of the ruling class is fueled. The Vang Vieng Xue clan not only controlled a large number of exploitants, but also seemed to be always favored by the economic policies of the rulers. When Vang Vieng Xue moved north to Vang Vieng, he enjoyed the government's policy of providing land, grain, and seeds free of charge for 20 years, and the surplus fruits of labor of 5,000 dependent households undoubtedly fell into their pockets. At the beginning of the Fourth Jin Dynasty, the rulers also implemented the system of officials occupying the fields and shading guests, and the bureaucratic landlords could occupy the land, tenants, clothing and food customers by virtue of their official positions, and shelter a certain number of households. Those officials of the Xue clan who were officials in the Western Jin Dynasty could also occupy land and population free of charge. During the Northern Wei Dynasty, the suzerainty system and the three-chief system were successively implemented, which not only legitimized the power of the Wanrong Xue clan to control dependent peasants, but also provided them with a new way out. In addition, as members of the ruling class, they may also receive land from high-ranking rulers, and they can receive rewards such as houses and buildings. For example, Xue Hongzuo was given a land by Feng Yi Xiayang because he married Princess Xihe Chang, and Xue Andu surrendered to the land, and Emperor Xianwen gave him "the first mansion and the museum to chongli, and the capital was very generous, in short, these economic policies may greatly contribute to the economic strength of the Wanrong Xue clan." ③
Second, super team combat effectiveness
The Wanrong Xue clan was particularly capable of fighting, and maintained considerable combat effectiveness during the Sixteen Kingdoms and The Northern and Southern Dynasties, and there were a number of military talents who came and went, which has been described in the analysis of the character strategy and family characteristics mentioned above. There are, of course, reasons for this. First of all, because it was an inward migration family, the Wanrong Xue clan originally had a strong centripetal force in the struggle against the original residents; in the last years of the Western Jin Dynasty, in the chaotic environment of turmoil in the Central Plains and the internal invasion of ethnic minorities, the Wanrong Xue clan, whose family business was rough, cherished peace even more, and was more eager to realize the truth that there is no way to survive without unity, so it had stronger cohesion and combat effectiveness. They gathered together to protect themselves, and became the local magnates who dominated the side. Secondly, Xue's Dock Wall was originally a military and political organizational form that was both wary and cultivated, and the dependents in the Dock Wall were also the people and the army, and compared with the ordinary army members, they had a stronger concept of defending the family, a stronger sense of teamwork and better combat cooperation, and also became the supporting force for the Wanrong Xue clan to claim victory in the military struggle. With the increasing number of displaced people sheltering the Xue family, the strength of the Xue family has also continued to grow, and it can be said that the more dependents there are, the stronger the combat effectiveness. The last reason, as Xu Rongsheng revealed, xue qi served as the second county guard of the Shu Han Dynasty before he led his clan to move to Fenyin. Many of these tribes were known for their bravery and good fighting, and were often recruited by the Shu Han regime to fight against Puwei and became the elite of the Shu Han military force. There is no doubt that among the 5,000 households that moved north with Xue Qi, a considerable number of them should be from these tribes, and the combat ability of them and their descendants is far from being comparable to that of ordinary people.
Regarding the Shu people's bravery and good fighting, a description in the Song Shu Kong Qi Biography is a description
Quite convincing: "Long Shu recruited hundreds of Shu people, and many brave men fought, all wearing rhinoceros armor and carrying short soldiers." ...... And the battle, every first board, the easterners and fear, and strange
Its shape and decoration are unique, and the old legend of foxes cannibals, every time they see it, they run away. From the above, it can be seen that the number of this Shu team is not large, but they are unusual weapons
The courage and impact of being well-dressed and striving to be ahead of the curve often frightens their opponents to the point that they are regarded as "foxes" (4). The Xue family takes this
As a backbone force, the combat effectiveness and deterrent power of some Shu people are naturally not insignificant, he
They were able to defeat the Western Yan emperor Murong Yong with a single force and defeat The Great Hu Xia
The regime is proof of this.
Third, excellent ability to grasp the situation
The rise of the Wanrong Xue clan during the Southern and Northern Dynasties of the Sixteen Kingdoms coincided with the political changes at that time
It's very relevant. Because of its own strength and combat effectiveness, the Wanrong Xue clan was often attacked by the Northern Dynasty
Successive rulers have regarded it as a force to be relied upon and have been particularly relied upon by rulers. However, opportunities have always favored only those who are well-prepared, and the fact that Wanrong Xueshi is valued by the authorities is also closely related to their ability to grasp the situation. As a writer said, "Although the road of life is long, the key is only a few steps", in fact, for a family, why not? In the more than 200 years of military and political struggle history during the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Wanrong Xue did take several key steps, and even influenced the development of the situation at that time.
The first was to defect to the Northern Wei Dynasty at the right time When Liu Yu's Northern Expedition failed and he was partial to the southeast of An' side
The Han regime had effectively lost the possibility of unifying the North. In this case, Xue Wei of the Western Ancestral Lineage wasted no time in leading his people to turn to the fledgling Northern Wei
The Tuoba clique enabled the Tuoba clan to hold Hedong without a fight, and directly obtained a strategic springboard for the westward march into Guanzhong. Emperor Tuoba Si of the Ming Dynasty was overjoyed by this and said to Xue Wei: "Qing Xifan, who is determined to be on the right side of Guan, Qing Yike is finally good at calculating, and He is the master of Chang'an." "This means that your strategic goal is Guanzhong, and you should continue to work hard to seize Chang'an for me!" The excitement was palpable.
The second is xue and du's surrender. During the initial confrontation between the North and the South, the Southern Dynasty was the most powerful in the national strength of the Liu Song regime, and the foundation retained a large area of territory south of the Yellow River, and did not fall behind in the confrontation with the Northern Wei, and the Song Emperor Liu Yilong even dared to take the initiative to raise troops in the Northern Expedition. However, Xue Andu surrendered to Northern Wei with the xu and Yan prefectures under his jurisdiction, and suddenly the strategic defense line of the Liu Song regime shrank to the line of the Huai River, and Chuqing lost the strength to compete with northern Wei. After Shi Zai Xue Andu surrendered to Northern Wei with xuzhou he had led, his follower Yanzhou Assassin Shi "Bi Zhongjing and so on... also attributed". At their instigation, Northern Wei successively attacked Qing and Qi Prefectures, thus easily obtaining Liu Song's lands in Huaibei's Qing, Ji, Xu, Yansi Prefectures, and Huaixi Prefectures in Yuzhou. Therefore, the Book of Wei, vol. 88, does not evaluate in the form of "Shi Chenyue": Xue Andu "Shi QiDongnan". This was of course a blessing in disguise for the Northern Wei Dynasty, so much so that Emperor Yuanhong of Xiaowen still remembered his exploits for many years after Xue Andu's death (5).
The third was the full support of the Western Wei during the confrontation between the Eastern and Western Wei dynasties. Here there were both Xue Duan's defense of the Dragon Gate for Western Wei and Xue Shan's dedication to the eastern part of the river to surrender to Western Wei, which was a key move to break the strategic balance between Eastern and Western Wei, and also a decisive step in establishing a relationship of vital interest between Xue and Guanlong's powerful clique, which was of immeasurable significance to northern Zhou's final elimination of Northern Qi and the continued development of the Wanrong Xue clan during the Sui and Tang dynasties. In addition, the aforementioned Xue Xunyi's insistence on Jinzhou for Eastern Wei is also self-evident in the significance of the continuation of Eastern Wei and Northern Qi rule. From the above examples, it can be seen that at that time, the elite members of the Xue family entrusted snakes between the major political forces of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, Eastern Wei and Western Wei, rebelled when they fell, and crossed the border, and when they surrendered to the North Dynasty, the Northern Dynasty was heavy, and when they went to the Southern Dynasty, the Southern Dynasty was light; the Eastern Wei was said to be a man, and the Western Wei was used as a heavy subject, which indeed grabbed major political and economic benefits for this family.
Fourth, a certain national appeal and the influence of the scholar gate valve
Let's start with national appeal. After the rebellion of the Four Jin Dynasties and the Eight Kings, the country was in ruins, the political situation was turbulent, and the forces of the nomadic peoples in the north took the opportunity to develop, entered the Central Plains one after another, and established a series of national regimes like marquees. The expectations of the broad masses of the Han people, who have nothing to survive under the iron hooves of the nomads, can be described as the hope of the Great Drought, while the remnants of the original Jin regime are partial to the southeast and cannot take care of themselves. At this time, although the Wanrong Xue clan was not enough to call on a regime with its own strength, after going through the three generations of minority regimes of Han Zhao, Later Zhao, and Former Qin, it still defended itself from the stronghold and maintained its own national independence, which should have considerable appeal to the Han masses at that time. Further, this was also of great help for Xue Shi to recruit exile and expand its strength. Wang Fuzhi said in the "Reading Through the Commentary": "The Rebellion of Yongjia, the fall of the Central Plains, the Fenyin Xue clan, the Ju clan blocking the river to protect themselves, and those who did not serve Liu (Yuan), Shi (Tiger), and Jian (Jian) for decades. Gu Yanwu's "Pei Cun Ji" also holds this view, and believes that this is the way of "protecting the family and the Kang Sect" of the Hedong family such as Pei, Liu, and Xue. So, did Wanrong Xue have the subjective intention to call on the national flag? There is a very interesting detail here. Among the five brothers of the Xizu of the Xue clan were Xue Hu and Xue Ang, Xue Hu and Xue Ang. At a time when the iron horses of the northern nomads in the Sixteen Kingdoms are running wildly and their power is omnipresent, especially in the past, the Qin and Qi tribes are the most powerful, and the Xue clan wants to "break the Hu" and "break the Krypton", in the author's opinion, this will definitely not be a coincidence.
Regarding the influence of the Shi clan door valve, it has been elaborated on earlier. As early as the beginning of the Xue clan's move to Fenyin, Hedong, although the Xue clan at this time could not be regarded as a "scholar clan", but because the tribal leaders practiced a hereditary system, the great influence of the family was already visible As mentioned earlier, the Western Ancestral Lineage began with Xue Tao, and Several generations of fathers and sons such as Xue Qiang, Xue Zheng, and Xue Jin successively served as tribal leaders and became the objects of competition among the rulers, and Xue Huan, Xue Hongchang, Xue Guang, and others of the Southern Ancestral Fang Branch were also granted posts. In the middle of the Northern Wei Dynasty, after the Xue family was listed as a "Mao" in Hedong County, the influence of this Mengwangshi clan was more prominent. Here, there are both the succession and transfer of titles and economic interests, such as the inheritance of titles and positions between the father and son of many Xue surnamed figures, and the transfer of Xue Hongzuo's gift to Xue Linju's brothers in the field house in Xiayang; there are also mutual attractions and promotions between family figures, such as Xue Huaijun to Xue Yu, xue yi to Xue Xiaotong. There was both the help and support between the in-laws and the relationship, such as the cultivation of the emperor Li Chong's nephew Xue Yingji, and the overall care of the rulers for this family figure, such as Xue Andu's surrender to northern Wei, "In the second year of Emperor Xing, with Bi Zhongjing Dynasty and Jingshi, the great courtesy was heavy, and the sons and nephews were from side to side, and all were enfeoffed, and as for the protégés, they all accepted the book." "Xue Zhendu's nine sons were all appointed or knighted in the Northern Wei Dynasty, although it was not unrelated to their personal talents, but the special care of the rulers should be the main reason.
In addition, the Xue family's ability to gather military forces with the influence of the door valve is also particularly worth mentioning. Xue Yongzong mobilized the strength of the local Shu people to launch an anti-Wei uprising, causing the world to shake; Xue Hongzuo "entangled the clan township and walled on the river", cut off xue Yongzong's connection with Gai Wu, thus breaking through each one and finally suppressing this uprising, which can be seen in the family's military mobilization ability. Xue Duan, in the unfavorable situation of the lord Xue Chongli surrendering to Eastern Wei, relied on the strength of his clan relatives and family servants to hold on to the Yang clan wall and preserve the strategic bridgehead of Western Wei in the Longmen area; when Xue Shan surrendered to Western Wei in the land of Xianhedong, he ordered his brother Xue Ji and other "dozens of disciples" to open the city gates and cooperate with the Western Soul army, and finally succeeded, showing the appeal of this family. Famous examples are also Xue Xunyi In the last years of the Northern Wei Dynasty, there were many uprisings in various places, and in order to suppress the uprising, the Ruler of the Northern Wei Dynasty issued an order that anyone who could recruit 3,000 troops would be granted the post of other general. Xue Xunyi then "returned Hedong ... more than 7,000 people were awarded" and were awarded the titles of False General Anbei and General Xidaobei. These examples fully illustrate the great influence of the Xue family at that time.
Fifth, the special geographical environment factors in The Hedong region
Mencius once said, "The sky is not as good as the place, and the location is not as good as the people." Time, place and people have always been regarded as necessary factors for achieving great things. The points mentioned earlier fully show that the Wanrong Xue clan during the Southern and Northern Dynasties had made good use of the heavens, time, people and factors, and the special geographical environment around Hedong provided geographical convenience for the rise of the Xue family.
In a small way, the Hedong region is at the confluence of the three provinces of Jin, Qin, and Henan; in a big way, it is also at the junction of the three major strategic regions of North China, Northwest China, and the Central Plains, bordering Guanzhong in the west, controlling the Central Plains in the south, rejecting Jinyang in the north, and shangdang in the east, the so-called "heart of the big underground", and the geographical location is very important. During the Southern and Northern Dynasties of the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the successive rulers in the north were either centered on Chang'an in the northwest, or Luoyang in the Central Plains, or Yicheng in the Lushui River Valley, and Jinyang and Pingcheng in Shanxi Province, but no matter where the center of the dynastic regime was, the Hedong region was always in the elbow of the ruling center. Once the hedong is occupied, it can advance from the east to the west, north to the south, and there is no inconvenience in entering and retreating. Therefore, no matter which ruler wants to consolidate or expand power, he must spend a lot of effort to run Hedong. The Hedong region is also located in a warm temperate zone, with a mild climate, fertile land, the exchange of fenshui and shuishui, and the abundant production of grain and hemp, which is the ideal place for the people to give military supplies. Such a treasure land of feng shui will naturally become the coveted place of every political force.
However, the geographical victory of the Hedong region, which is easy to defend and difficult to attack, often makes many political forces sigh. In the north of the Hedong region, there is Lüliang in the west and Taiyue in the east, and two large mountains are sandwiched between each other, and there is only a more convenient entrance to the Quechuan Valley; the Zhongtiao Mountain in the eastern and southern parts has made a circle, showing a semi-circular encirclement; the western boundary is the mighty Yellow River, which is almost a four-plug land as a whole. As long as the defenders of the Hedong region hold the exit of the Squirrel Valley in the north and the yellow river crossings in the west and south, they can resist the enemy outside the "national gate". Even if the foreign forces break through the entrance of the Quesel Valley and the natural dangers of the Yellow River, they still have to face the strong barrier of the Emei Terrace. Emei Terrace is located in the middle of the Hedong region, 300 kilometers in circumference, above 400 meters above sea level, bounded by the Fenhe River Valley in the north, the Yellow River Gorge in the west, and surrounded by the Shuishui River in the east and south. The edge of the terrace is eroded by flowing water and washed by the river, forming a steep loess cliff and ditch, most of the cliffs along the river are above 50 meters, and the entire terrace is like a huge loess castle. In the center of the terrace, there are two Gufeng Mountains and Jiwang Mountains of more than a thousand meters, opposite east and west, condescending to the bottom, Emei Terrace since ancient times is the southwest arch to defend Chang'an, northeast Pinghan Jinyang geographical victory, occupying the Emei Plain, the southeast can control the north and south holes of the Shuishui River Valley, the northwest can control the Fenhe River Valley east and west holes, into the long drive of surprise, retreat can be defended without danger. During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Western Wei Yuwen tai and Li Shimin in the early years of the Tang Dynasty occupied the Jade And Baibi north of the terrace, and successively achieved great victories against the forces of Gao Huan of Eastern Wei and Liu Wuzhou in the north.
In summary, the necessity of taking the Hedong region and the difficulty of the Hedong region are undoubtedly the two difficult choices of successive rulers. At this time, if there is an internal force to respond or even directly hand over the control of the Hedong region, this is a valuable gift for those various political forces that covet Hedong!
And the Wanrong Xue clan during the Southern and Northern Dynasties of the Sixteen Kingdoms was often the provider of this great gift.
The geographical situation of Fenyin, on which wanrong Xue started, was already very conducive to the expansion of their power. In the west of Fenyin, the Yellow River is a natural danger, the north is blocked by Fenshui, and the lonely mountain on the Emei Terrace in the south is used as a barrier, which can be described as easy to defend and difficult to attack in military struggle. When defending, it only needs to despoticize the east, and when attacking, it threatens Puzhou and Hedong from the south, and attacks Daizhou and Pingyang from the north. At the beginning of the Sixteen Kingdoms, the Wanrong Xue clan still built high barriers around Fenyin and relied on the river to consolidate itself; but by the time of the Southern and Northern Dynasties, with the expansion of power, the Wanrong Xue clan had actually exhausted the natural dangers of the Emei Terrace and even the Hedong region. The main basis for this judgment is that during the Southern and Northern Dynasties, a considerable number of Xue family figures served as officials in Hedong, thus controlling the authority of this region. As recorded in the Zhengshi, since the Four Jin Dynasties, only those who held the position of Taishou of Hedong County included Xue Yi, Xue Hui, Xue Jin, Xue Honglong, Xue Hu, Xue Shan, Xue Huaijing, Xue Shouren, Xue Zunyan, and 9 others (the New Book of Tang believes that Xue Ang and Xue Jishan also served as the Taishou of Hedong, which was contrary to the previous dynasties, so it was not used), and Xue Xunyi was also the governor of Hedong and other four counties. In addition, according to the "Chronicle of Puzhou Prefecture", during this period, there were 5 people who served as the Taishou of Hedong, including Xue Ang, Xue Daobiao, Xue Daoci, Xue Xun, and Xue Shou, and Xue Shu also served as the Taishou of Hebei (in the area of Pinglu and Ruicheng in southwest Shanxi, not today's Hebei Province) in the early years of the Northern Wei Dynasty. The origins of Xue Xun, Xue Shou, and Xue Shuai are no longer verifiable, but judging from the super activity energy of the Fenyin Xue clan at that time, it should come from the Fenyin Xue clan. There were still so many county guards, and the low-level local officials should be more prosperous, such as Xue Jingmao, who was once the Commander of the Yi Clan, Xue Chenghua, who was the Zhongzheng of Hedong County, and Xue An, who was the Ruler of Hedong County. In addition, the titles of Xue's characters are mostly in Hedong County, and even if they are not officials here, they will still maintain a high degree of attention to this area... The power of a family can be entangled and immersed in this for a long time, and more than a dozen people have successively served as the top officials of the same region, which fully shows that the Hedong region has been firmly controlled in the hands of this family. At the same time, the Fenyin area also controlled the Miaoqian Ferry, an important passage connecting the Qin and Jin provinces since ancient times, and in 1937, the three main divisions of the Eighth Route Army rushed to the anti-Japanese front, passing through the Line of the 11th Wanrong Temple Front Ferry at the Zhichuan Ferry Port in Hancheng. In the middle of the Northern Wei Dynasty, with the infiltration of the forces of Xue Honglong into Hancheng, Shaanxi, the natural danger of the Yellow River, Hancheng and Longmen sections have actually become the inland rivers of this family. In this situation, it goes without saying that Wanrong Xue has the right to speak about the ownership of the Hedong region.
This strong control of the Wanrong Xue clan over the Hedong region not only determines the direction of the region's ownership, but even determines the financial revenue and economic lifeline of a regime. As we all know, the Hedong region has always been famous for producing pond salt. Salt is a necessity for human life and determines the national economy and people's livelihood, so it will inevitably produce major economic interests. The Chronicle of the Chronicle of Cargo Breeding records that "Yi Dun started with salt... With the Prince of Lifu. At the same time, the interests of salt taxes and other aspects often become an important source of national fiscal revenue, and during the Tang Dynasty, the salt profit income of Yuncheng Salt Lake once accounted for 1/8 of the total financial income of the country. (6) Naturally, the rulers of the past generations did not wait to ignore it. Mr. Qian Mu's "Introduction to the History of Chinese Culture" discussed: "There is a famous Xiexian salt pond near Xiexian, which became a target for the common struggle of various tribes in the central plains of ancient China. ...... Whoever occupies the salt pond means that he has the qualification of the common leader of the tribes. (7) During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the rulers of various regimes naturally did not have a less understanding of the importance of salt ponds than their predecessors. During the reign of Emperor Xiaoming of northern Wei, Xue Xunyi and Xue Fengxian led the Hedong Shu people to revolt, and "Xue Fengxian rebelled against Zhengping, and Xue Fengxian gathered in Hedong, divided up the salt pond, and attacked Pusaka", posing a serious threat to the salt pond in Hedong. At that time, the eldest grandson Zhi, who was the right servant of the Northern Wei Shangshu, said on this note: "Yanchi is gifted with bribes, and the secret is Gyeonggi, and only the treasure must be protected, and it is all reasonable." Now there are many dangers in the four realms, and the house is exhausted. However, the two states are dead and chaotic, and the silk that is often adjusted can no longer be recovered. Looking up to the treasury, there is no entry and exit, and it must be replenished by the economy and the entry and exit. A little about the salt tax, in a year, as far as quasi-silk is concerned, it should not be reduced by 300,000 horses, that is, it is to move the two states to Beida. ...... Once Pusaka fell, no salt pond was lost, and the three armies were killed, and the economy was relieved..." (8) This shows the great significance of the Hedong salt tax to the economy of the Northern Wei Dynasty. In order to ensure the state's salt tax, the first important point is to maintain good relations with the Xue clan of the Hedong qiang clan, as should the Northern Wei Dynasty, and other regimes should do the same. The weight of the Xue clan in Hedong in the state power has also become more prominent. The Xue family held the Hedong region hostage and respected themselves, returning to Later Qin and Later Qinxi, returning to Northern Wei and Northern Wei Qiang, and returning to Western Wei to win the four Wei, and the Hedong region thus became a more important chip for the family's continuous upward development.
exegesis:
(1) See Chapter IV, Outline of Chinese History, edited by Zhai Bozan, p. 162, People's Publishing House, 1995.
(2) According to the Book of Wei. Xue Zhengchuan, whose son "(Xue) Jingzhi was connected with Qu Qi, and he was very powerful in resisting the enemy", and qu Qi was the elder brother of Helian Bobo, the founder of the Hu Xia regime
(3) The materials used here are also found in the Outline of Chinese History, the Book of Wei, the Biography of Xue Andu, and the Biography of Xue Debate.
(4) See Book of Song, vol. 84, and in Hou Jirun's "Hedong Xue Clan Study I Mainly Based on the Hedong Xue Clan Lineage during the Southern and Northern Dynasties Period".
(5) In the eighteenth year of Emperor Xiaowen's reign (494), Xue Zhendu was ordered to attack Ochre Yang and other places in the Southern Dynasty, but returned without success and was impeached. Emperor Xuewen issued an edict saying, "The sin of true degree is as it is played. But Qing and Andu sent money to Peng Fang, opening up Xu, Song... Huaihai came to serve, and the merit was quite here. Words and deeds, every use of Jiamei, Ochre Yang hundred defeats, He Zu Ji also ..."
(6) See Wang Mengfei, The Mysterious Salt Lake of Yuncheng, p. 33, Hainan Publishing House, 2000.
(7) See Qian Mu, Introduction to the History of Chinese Culture, Chapter II, "State Condensation and National Integration," p. 26, The Commercial Press, 1994.
(8) See "Wei Shu • Biography of the Eldest Son", and in Hou Jirun's "Hedong Xue Clan Study: Mainly Based on the Lineage of the Hedong Clan during the Southern and Northern Dynasties"
