The Sixteen Kingdoms of the Eastern Jin Dynasty: The Competition in the Central Plains

Murong Xuan took the edict from Murong Huang, looked at it carefully, and said with a smile:"Envoy of the King of Jin, thank you very much for traveling thousands of miles to come here. Let's watch tea!"

A guard moved over to a seat. , Tao Liao sat down. Another guard brought a bowl of tea and handed it to Tao Liao. Murong Xu read the edict several times, and then said to Murong Huang:"Yuan Zhen, please send someone to take the Jin King's envoy and his entourage to stay in the post house, and treat them well.""

"Yes, father."Murong Huang said. Tao Liao followed Murong Huang out of the hall. After a while, Murong Xie laughed and said:"The King of Jin appointed me as the governor of Liaozuo Zayi, the refugees and military affairs, the general Longxiang, and the great Chanyu. , Duke Changli, what do you think?"

Including Murong Xin's sons and dozens of civil and military ministers, there were a lot of discussions about Sima Rui's edict, and they couldn't agree on one. Lu Chang, the general who conquered the captives, said:"Luoyang in the Central Plains and Chang'an in the north. A capital city and a western capital were all captured by the Xiongnu. Emperor Huai has been killed, and Emperor Min has also been plundered. I'm afraid it's more bad than good. King Langye followed the emperor's order and stayed in the south of the Yangtze River. It should be the heart of the world and the hope of everyone. Although my lord dominates the northern grasslands, although his troops are strong and his horses are strong, he is prospering day by day. However, many surrounding tribes held their own, supported their own troops, and did not obey the orders of the Great Chanyu. Why? Because the official position of the Great Chanyu was conferred by himself, not appointed by the Emperor of the Central Plains. Now the King of Jin is acting as the Emperor of the Central Plains, and will surely ascend to the throne in the near future. Therefore, the Great Chanyu should send an envoy to meet the King of Jin. There were two purposes: one was to persuade him to inherit the throne of the Jin Dynasty, and the other was to issue an edict to attack those guilty of rebellion in all directions. Anyone who dares to disobey the emperor's edict will be conquered by everyone!"

"General Lu's analysis was thorough and his words made sense. An arrogant person, an unjust person, cannot achieve the goal of becoming a king. Even if it succeeds temporarily, it won't last long. Although the Jin royal family is currently in decline, people's support still favors the Sima family. In view of this, the Governor should assess the situation and send envoys to follow the King of Jin's envoys to the south of the Yangtze River to persuade them to advance, in order to show the Governor's respect and admiration for the Jin Dynasty. It is certain that the King of Jin will succeed to the throne. If the emperor of the Jin Dynasty can appoint the governor as King of Yan in the future, it will not be difficult to tame other tribes on the prairie." Gao Xu, a native of Liaodong and a scholar, said.

Murong Xuan nodded after hearing Gao Xu's words. Murong Xuan said:"The scholar Gao Xu builds his house from a high place, which is really his foresight and insight. In a few days, I sent Chief Shi Wangji to travel from the sea to Jiankang with the envoys of King Jin to persuade King Jin to ascend the throne."

"Follow the orders of the Grand Governor!"Wang Ji stood up and said

"Father, how do you reply to the edict from the King of Jin?"Murong Han asked

"No thanks!"Murong Xie said very simply.

Murong Xie got up and went back to the study. Murong Han, Murong Huang and other brothers, as well as other ministers, also walked out of the hall one by one. Murong Huang, Murong Ren, and Murong were all from the same mother. The three Zhao brothers returned to the East Hall together. As they walked, Murong Ren murmured:"What did my father think? Since he wanted to send an envoy to the south of the Yangtze River to persuade people to enter, and his father hoped to be rewarded by the Jin Dynasty, why did he refuse the appointment in the imperial edict? Not subject to '?"

"I can’t figure it out either, I can’t figure it out."Murong Zhao said

"The third brother should know what his father is thinking."Murong Ren said. Murong Huang smiled and said:"I can tell you two, but I must keep it secret and not leak it."

"Okay, okay, just the two of us know."Murong Zhao said. Murong Huang said in a low voice:"My father is a man of great talent and lofty ambitions, and he doesn't look down on these empty posts at all."

"Third brother is so smart, no wonder your father likes you."Murongren said

"If King Sima Rui of Jin conferred the title of King of Yan on his father, his father would definitely not refuse."Murong Zhao said with a smile. Murong Huang and Murong Ren looked at him, smiled and said nothing.

Tao Liao and Wang Ji returned to Jiankang a month later. One was delayed in Murong Xin's tribe. A few days later, when I came back, the south wind was still blowing frequently on the sea. Tao Liao, Wang Ji and Zu Lian came to the door of the Jin Palace together and asked a guard to go in and report.

"Please come to see me, Tao Liao and others!"The guard came back and stood at the door and shouted. Tao Liao, Wang Ji and Zu Lian entered the house, and dozens of civil and military ministers turned back to look at them.

"See His Royal Highness the King of Jin!"Tao Liao and three other people came to Sima Rui. Tao Liao, Zu Lian and others knelt down and saluted. Wang Ji then raised his hands and saluted:"See His Highness the King of Jin. I am Wang Ji, the envoy of Murong Dashan, who came to Jiankang specifically to persuade His Highness the King of Jin to succeed to the throne and proclaim himself emperor."

"Well, please ask Murong Aiqing's envoy to rest in the post house first, and we can discuss it in a few days."As soon as Sima Rui finished speaking, a guard came to the door and led Wang Ji to the post house.

"Tao Liao, how did you complete the edict given to Murong Aiqing? Sima Rui asked. Tao Liao said:"Back to King Qian Sui of Jin Dynasty, the edict has been delivered to Murong Xin, the leader of Xianbei Murong Tribe." Chief Murong is approachable, very polite and elegant. only……"

"Just what happened? Seeing Tao Liao hesitate to speak, Sima Rui asked. Tao Liao replied:"I observed Murong Xinyue's expression when he read the edict, and he seemed to be a little dismissive."

"how do I say this? The Murong family had been subjects of the Wei and Jin Dynasties for several generations, and played a great role in stabilizing the north."Sima Rui felt a little strange and then asked. Tao Liao said with a wry smile:"Murong Xuan read the edict and didn't say anything at that time. Later, his ministers told me that"the great chanyu will not accept his resignation." I don't know what his plans are."

"In my opinion, this Murong Xin is a man with lofty ambitions and far-sightedness. He looks down on these rewards that have no real power. What he wants is probably the position of King Yan." Director Wang said. After hearing what Director Wang said, Wang Dun said:"A Hu man who lives far away in the northern grasslands has followed the Central Plains Dynasty for generations. Now we see the chaos in the Central Plains and the North. We want to take advantage of the fire, take chestnuts from the fire, and dream of becoming northern princes. I want to follow Gongsun Yuan's example and establish myself as King of Yan, huh! Then I will use the ambition of Emperor Xuan and send an army to destroy this Murong Xin!"

"General Wang, the Central Plains and Luoyang are still in the hands of the Huns. War is still raging in many places in the north. Should we first recover Luoyang, recover our homeland in the Central Plains, recover the western capital Chang'an, and then deal with the Xianbei people thousands of miles away?"Zhou Wei said sarcastically.

After hearing what Zhou Wei said was reasonable, many civil and military ministers nodded frequently. Although Wang Dun was very angry after hearing Zhou Wei's words, he had no choice but to endure it first.

"Zu Aiqing, while you are escorting Tao Liao, did anything happen on the way?"Sima Rui asked Zu Lian again. Zu Lian replied:"The journey back to Jin King Qian Sui has been smooth sailing."