A famous general was born in troubled times, and there were virtuous ministers in a prosperous age. The greatest troubled times in the history of China in the Northern and Southern Dynasties were also the first era of great national integration. This was also an era when military

A famous general was born in troubled times, and there were virtuous ministers in the prosperous times. The Northern and Southern Dynasties The greatest troubled times in Chinese history, it was also the first era of great national integration. This was also an era when military generals emerged in large numbers, Yu Wentai , Gao Huan , Liu Yu , Murong Ke , Chen Baxian and so on. There are different opinions on who was the most famous general in the Northern and Southern Dynasties. But no matter how you evaluate it here, there will definitely be a place for Murong Ke.

In " The Eight Legends of the Dragon", Murong Bo educates his son Murong Fu . The first ancestor mentioned by was Murong Ke. You must know that Murong Ke was not honored with the title of Ninth Five-Year Plan during his lifetime. Murong Ke, named Xuan Gong, was from Jicheng, Changli (now Yixian County, Liaoning Province), Xianbei . During the Sixteen Kingdoms period, the fourth son of the civilized emperor Murong Kai of the former Yan clan, history records that he was cautious and generous, humble and benevolent. He was kind and did not lead the army, but Murong Ke was famous for his benevolence in leading the army. Later generations rated him as the number one general in the Sixteen Kingdoms. Murong Ke led the army at the age of fifteen and went on an expedition. With 2,000 men, he chased and killed Hou Zhao's 300,000 troops, killed and captured 30,000 enemies alive, and then captured and killed Ran Min, the king of Wu Dao who had the courage to overlord. In terms of command ability, no one of his contemporaries could match him.

The former Yan regime where Murong Ke was located has never been regarded as an orthodox dynasty by historians, but the Tang and Song dynasties recognized Murong Ke. Murong Ke’s ability, position, military exploits, and character were all there, so he became One of the 64 generals in the Wu Temple of the Tang Dynasty and the 72 generals of the Wu Temple in the Song Dynasty. Taiyuan King If the King of Taiyuan cannot enter the martial arts temple, then no one can, But in his early years, Murong Ke was very ordinary. Because his mother, Gao, was of low origin, she was not favored. So he lived a very miserable life. Fortunately, Murong Ke was very studious and indulged in advanced Chinese culture, which allowed him to develop a humble and kind demeanor. Although Murong Ke had never been an emperor, his identity, role, prestige and influence as an auxiliary prince were far beyond those of the emperors of the Yan Kingdom. After the death of the emperor's second brother, he assisted the young master according to the etiquette of Zhou Gong, stabilized the court situation, and became a model of the compatibility between a powerful minister and the young master.

A general must kill decisively, but Murong Ke is just the opposite. His military style is to fight the Bodhisattva to the end. He only paid attention to the overall strategic situation and never bothered to mobilize troops for trivial matters, nor did he advocate the majesty of military law. He only benefited the soldiers with personal favor and trust. Murong Ke's military career may have had minor setbacks at the combat level, but at the battle level he was undefeated in a hundred battles. Looking at the entire five thousand years of Chinese history, he is also worthy of being a first-rate general. In the Battle of Thorn City, the 17-year-old Murong Ke defeated the hundreds of thousands of troops led by Emperor Zhao of the Later Zhao Dynasty Shi Hu and beheaded him. Then the 20-year-old Murong Ke and his father Murong Huang, King of Yan, led an army of 40,000 to the east of Goguryeo and entered Wandu City, the capital of Goguryeo. King Gao Zhao of Goguryeo fled alone. In order to ensure the defeat of the Wei army, he innovated tactics and selected 5,000 people in the army who were good shooters. They connected the horses with iron chains and formed a square formation to carry the Wei army in front. This was the famous chain horse in later generations. The other two Yan troops were divided into left and right wings. Once the central army blocked the Wei army, the two Yan troops immediately cooperated with the central army to surround and kill the Wei army. In the end, the Yan army defeated the Wei army, beheaded more than 7,000 people, killed Wei servants and shot Liu Qun, captured Wei generals Dong Run, Zhang Wen and others alive, and surrounded Ran Min.

Because Murong Ke had made great contributions to the former Yan Empire, Murong Jun, who had already proclaimed himself emperor, appointed Murong Ke as the Grand Sima , Shizhong, Grand Governor, and Lu Shangshushi, and was granted the title of King of Taiyuan. .In 359 AD, Murong Jun fell ill and summoned Murong Ke and said: "Prince Murong Wei is young, and I want to pass the throne to you!" I don't know whether it is true or not, but Murong Ke firmly refused and was willing to assist the young master In 365 AD, Murong Ke, who had been assisting his young master for six years, fell ill. At that time, King Wu Murong Chui had outstanding talents, and Murong Ke relied on him very much.

In 366 AD, Murong Ke fell seriously ill, and Murong Ping took over as his assistant. However, Murong Ping was deeply concerned that Murong Wei had no real power, and Murong Ping was very suspicious, so he recommended Murong Chui, King of Wu, in the hope that Murong Wei could trust Murong Chui. . However, Murong Chui was always subject to unreasonable suspicion and ruthless suppression by the Murong Wei family. How could Murong Ping, who was about to serve alone in power, delegate power to Murong Chui? Moreover, even if he was willing to delegate power, he had always disliked Murong Chui. Can the Queen Mother allow it? It's a pity that no one can understand Murong Ke's painstaking efforts.

In September 367 AD, Murong Wei held a grand funeral for Murong Ke. Enshrine his heroic spirit with the most advanced Tailao gift. But less than 4 years after his death, Yan died at the hands of the former Qin Dynasty, and the person who established the post-Yan Dynasty was Murong Chui who was deposed by Murong Wei.