Chapter 1318 Murong Brothers
Chapter 1318 Murong Brothers (Monthly Ticket Plus 4)
In a manor of the Cui family in Qinghe County, Shao Xun carefully admired his family's gardens.
What you see is a pine forest growing on slightly higher ground. The Cui family calls it a mountain, but Qinghe is on a large plain, so there is no mountain at all; it is just a piece of high ground.
There are several courtyard houses on the "mountain", which look relatively simple and ancient. This is to meet the psychological needs of Cui's children to "live in seclusion to pursue their ambitions."
At the foot of the "mountain" is a large bamboo forest, with a stone path going deep into it and a pavilion vaguely visible.
When the summer wind blows, the sound of bamboos roars, and sitting in the pavilion can "calm yourself and calm your restlessness."
A little further away, the water was rippling with green water, and there were small boats tied to the shore. The lake was planted with lotus flowers and fish were raised there.
It’s wonderful that the scholars’ aspirations to “love fish and birds” and “enjoy forests and grasses” are truly not to be underestimated.
Well, Shao Xun asked, and Cui produced a land deed from the Jin Taishi period. In other words, this manor has a long history and is not within the scope of the land measurement.
When we start clearing the land before Yongjia, we will discuss whether to keep or go of this manor.
However, considering that the Wei and Jin dynasties were peaceful successions, the gentry during the Cao Wei period were similar to those during the Sima Jin period, and there were many wealthy families who held land deeds of the Cao Wei period, and Shao Xun had seen them before.
If you want to really clean it up, you have to work harder.
Shao Xun was walking back and forth in front, followed closely by the Prince of Zhao, the Duke of Shu, the Prince of Han, the Duke of Song, the Duke of Liangcheng, as well as the Palace Attendant Liu Runzhong, the Imperial Secretary Huan Wen, the Palace Attendant Duan Mobo, and the Secretary Wang Xizhi. Behind the four of them were the Secretary of the Honglu Temple Xun Xu and the two Murong Xianbei envoys Murong Ping and Huangfu Zhen.
When Shao Xun reached the edge of the lake, he stopped, turned around and looked at Murong Ping, and said, "The messenger brought fifty fine horses, which is very much to my liking. But if your brother's sincerity is limited to this, I am afraid it is not enough."
Upon hearing this, Murong Ping immediately stepped forward and said, "My brother is willing to go to the Jin court to be crowned as a king and become a vassal of Daliang."
"What else?" Shao Xun asked.
"Use the Daliang era name and perform tribute every year."
"anything else?"
"I am willing to use my son as a hostage."
"anything else?"
Murong Ping was startled and said, "You can obey the orders of the great country and conquer those who disobey."
Shao Xun sneered after hearing this. It was all just superficial work, just to fool people.
"Is Murong Huang willing to come to the court?" Shao Xun asked, "If he does, I can make him a general of the guards, and he will enjoy wealth and honor for generations."
Murong Ping was startled and said, "My lord has been worried day and night, fearing that he is not up to the task of serving as a vassal. Now the emperor has shown me his grace and bestowed upon me the important title of General of the Guards. How dare I not bow my head and express my gratitude?"
"So you are willing?" Shao Xun asked.
Murong Ping had no choice but to say, "However, the barbarians on the border have not yet been subdued, and the invasion of Goguryeo has not yet ceased. My lord patrols the border day and night, and his body is covered with wounds. I am afraid that his sick body cannot serve the emperor."
"Oh? Are you really sick?" Shao Xun had a playful smile on his face.
Murong Ping said vaguely: "I am willing to serve as your servant, Prince Jun, on behalf of my father."
Shao Xun laughed and said, "Murong Huang is really a man who can do great things. The prince said to abandon him, so he was abandoned."
"Why do you say that, Your Majesty?" Murong Ping lowered his head and said, "My lord is respectful and serves the great country, and Your Majesty is a generous and benevolent person. Even if the prince is like the Khan of the Desert, there will be no trouble."
Seeing Shao Xun's look, the attendant Huan Wen stepped forward and bowed, saying, "The importance of the general is not something that can be assumed by someone who is stationed at the border. If you are sincere in obeying the imperial edict, you should follow the example of Dou Rong and come to the court on a bicycle. Your Majesty is kind and can send the imperial physician to the general's mansion to diagnose and treat him in detail. Isn't it wonderful for the monarch and his subjects to get along well like this?"
Huangfu Zhen also bowed and said, "The reason why my lord dared not leave his horse is because he is guarding the east gate for your majesty. Now the Liaodong tribes are in power, and the Goguryeo caves are not destroyed. If we follow the example of Lord Dou, the emperor's eastern vassal will collapse in an ant hole."
"No problem." Shao Xun said, "I will send a general to take charge of Liaodong's military affairs, and the civil affairs will be handled by the governor of Pingzhou. Murong Huang can come to the court directly."
He didn't want to waste time talking at this point, so he said directly: "The messenger can return quickly. I have set a deadline of three months. If you come to the court before the end of June, I will withdraw my troops. If you don't come to the court, it will be a rebellion. You should know what the consequences of rebellion are."
Having said that, he gestured to Xun Xu.
Xun Xu accepted the order and said to Murong Ping and Huangfu Zhen, "Messengers, please follow me."
The two had no choice but to follow Xun Xu and soon arrived at an independent courtyard.
There was a man standing in the courtyard, it was General Yangwu Murong Han.
Xun Xu smiled at the two of them, closed the gate, and left quietly.
Murong Ping was a little surprised and said in a lost voice: "Agan!"
Murong Han glanced at him and sighed, "When I saw you, I knew that my third brother was afraid."
Murong Ping was speechless, while Huangfu Zhen quietly looked at Murong Han and found that he was fatter than the year he escaped...
"How far has the matter progressed?" Murong Han asked, "I heard that Qiannian (Murong Ren) was defeated but not defeated, and is still in Liaodong?"
"Yes." Murong Ping replied, "The Liang soldiers came across the sea and camped under the city. During the battle, arrows rained down like rain. No army dared to press on, so Qiannian fled back to Pingguo."
"This move of stepping on ice and striking is really unexpected. If I were in Pingguo, and someone defected during the battle, the army's morale would be shaken, and I'm afraid we would also be defeated miserably." Murong Han said: "Since my third brother failed to defeat Qiannian, he knows that his destiny has been lost. If we continue to fight, there will be no good results."
"Brother, why do you think so?" Murong Ping said in surprise, "The Liaoze is hundreds of miles long and the swamp is difficult to navigate. If we delay for a few months, the Liang people will retreat in the fall. It's not impossible to defend it."
Murong Han looked up at him and asked, "If you are so confident, why did you come here?" Murong Ping could not answer.
"The governor is wrong." Huangfu Zhen said, "The Prince of Yan (Murong Huang) just couldn't bear to see the lives of the people suffer, so he wanted to prevent a war."
"Now that things have come to this, there's no need to waste time on empty talk." Murong Han frowned and said unhappily.
Huangfu Zhen smiled bitterly and said no more.
Murong Ping lowered his voice and whispered, "Brother, are you willing to return to Jicheng? If there is a chance for you to escape, I am willing to forgive you for what happened."
For a moment, Murong Han felt a little moved.
But he soon sighed, "My two sons are still in Bianliang. Besides, what can I do if I go back? At this point, we haven't even conquered the Yuwen clan, and the hatred with Goguryeo is not small. Liaodong still has a thousand years to raise an army to resist. There is no chance."
Murong Ping felt a little strange and couldn't help asking, "Brother, why do you have so many concerns? Are the soldiers of Liang State very powerful?"
Murong Han didn't know how to explain, so he could only say in words they could understand: "What do you think of Yuwen's soldiers?"
"Not very good." Murong Ping said.
"Then why haven't the Twelve Yuwen Tribes been wiped out in all these years?"
"I don't want too many casualties, so I slowly divide them, remove their branches, clip their wings, and then defeat them with one strike."
"Isn't that right?" Murong Han said, "The Yuwen tribe can dispatch tens of thousands of cavalry, and the Tuoba clan will most likely send troops as well. I dare not say which of the Yuwen and Tuoba troops is stronger, but they are roughly the same. With so many troops coming over, even if we win, how many people will be killed or injured? After fighting with them, the tribes are exhausted and have suffered heavy casualties. What are the chances of winning a bloody battle with the Liang soldiers who have been gathering strength for a long time?"
Murong Ping was speechless.
Even if the hatred between Murong Xianbei and Yuwen Xianbei was not as deep as the sea, it was not far away. The reason why Murong didn't destroy Yuwen Xianbei was not because of kindness, but because of many considerations.
The Yuwen family is not a dead man. Although they have been defeated in many battles, they will keep fighting!
If we don't charge them head-on a few times, they won't flee easily. But as long as we charge, there will be casualties regardless of victory or defeat.
Sometimes we couldn't capture any prisoners and they would escape early, resulting in a lot of casualties.
Even if Yuwen didn't run away, he would fight you from all sides, and it's possible that he would kill tens of thousands of your people in a few battles. Then you captured his people, but it was hard to digest them for a while, and the Liang soldiers came to kill you again...
"Brother, if you say so, then we are doomed," Murong Ping said dejectedly.
"What did Emperor Liang say? Did Third Brother Xu pledge his loyalty?" Murong Han asked.
"Emperor Liang may feel that the third brother is difficult to control and must have him enter the court," said Murong Ping.
"There's nothing we can do about this." Murong Han shook his head.
Murong Ping seemed to want to say something but stopped himself.
He actually wanted to ask, if Emperor Liang asked his elder brother to go and pacify the tribes in Liaoxi and Tuhe, would his elder brother be willing?
When my father was alive, my eldest brother had been stationed in Tuhe (now Jinzhou) for many years and had thousands of troops under his command. Later, he was transferred to Xiangping, but the old relationships still existed. What if Emperor Liang asked him to come forward to recruit the people?
But he didn't ask after all, there was no point.
He is now mainly thinking about what his elder brother said just now. Can he hold on when he is surrounded on all sides?
In fact, what the eldest brother said is right. The third brother doesn't have much confidence, otherwise he would not have sent him here to negotiate.
Thinking deeper, it is not just the third brother who has no confidence. Do the tribal leaders in Changli have confidence? Do the Han nobles have confidence?
Don't let the situation happen where as soon as the army arrives, people surrender in droves, otherwise we will be doomed.
At noon, Murong Ping and Huangfu Zhen were asked to leave by Xun Xu, who planned to send someone to escort them back to Changli the next day.
Murong Han came to the lakeside.
Looking ahead, Emperor Shao Xun of Liang was chatting and laughing with Lady Shi in the pavilion by the lake.
The war is about to begin, but he is still so leisurely. This shows his contempt for Murong Xianbei.
When Shao Xun saw Murong Han coming, he immediately smiled and said, "Yuan Yong, have you tried to persuade your brother to surrender?"
Murong Han smiled bitterly and said, "I will try again."
"Actually..." Shao Xun said, "I also know that without the Murong Xianbei, some other tribes will rise. I don't really want to kill the Murong clan. If you can surrender and serve as an official in the court, I will not hesitate to reward you with official titles. Did you see Fu Hong who was escorting grain and grass here yesterday?"
"seen."
"I moved their tribe to Fangtou many years ago, and I didn't do anything to them." Shao Xun said, "If the Murong clan is willing to surrender, I can also move some of them inland. Anyway, there are many wastelands in the world. What do you think?"
"Your Majesty's intention..." Murong Han hesitated.
"Yuan Yong is a smart man, how could he not know my intention?" Shao Xun said with a smile.
Murong Han was silent for a moment and said, "I am willing to do my best to recruit the Murong clan members to surrender."
Shao Xun waved his hand and said, "It's not time yet. We have to fight a few battles first to get rid of some people's fluke mentality. Only then can you come forward to be effective. Go down, there will be a place for you to use your skills."
"I obey your command." Murong Han slowly took his leave.
Shao Xun stood there for a while, then patted Shi's butt and said, "I'm going out hunting this afternoon, you go wait in the tent."
Shi looked at him sadly and replied yes.
(End of this chapter)