In the spring of 549 A.D., outside the city of Yingchuan. Murong Shaozong, a famous general of the Eastern Wei Dynasty, was standing on the newly built weir and looking at the city that had been besieged for more than a year. His brow furrowed, and he was thinking about how to solve it quickly. Suddenly, a gust of wind blew and blew the cable of his ship. The ship was blown towards the city wall in an instant, and Murong Shaozong's face changed greatly. Is this famous general going to die here?
The growth path of a generation of famous generals
Murong Shaozong, a name that sounds very good. This guy is not an ordinary person, he is the sixth grandson of Murong Ke, the first general of the famous Wuhu and Sixteen Kingdoms. You must know that in that troubled era, the ancestors who could become famous generals were already very good, let alone the descendants of the first general. However, Murong Shaozong did not lie on the merits of his ancestors and eat his old books, but relied on his own skills to shine on the historical stage.
Murong Shaozong was born in 501, and his hometown is in present-day Yixian County, Liaoning. As a handsome guy of the Xianbei clan, he is handsome and dashing, and has a burly figure. The only fly in the ointment is that this guy started balding in his early twenties, and a lot of gray hair grew on his head. However, people have real skills, don't look at the usually taciturn, they can show extraordinary vision and courage at a critical moment.
When he was young, Murong Shaozong did not suffer less. His father hung up early, and he didn't leave much inheritance, and it was all up to his mother to pull it up. Seeing the war in the north every day, Murong Shaozong felt that he couldn't live like this, and he had to find a backer. He looked around and found that the Northern Wei Dynasty was the best in Erzhurong at that time. Coincidentally, Er Zhurong is still his distant cousin. So, Murong Shaozong didn't say a word, and took his clansmen to Er Zhurong.
When Er Zhurong saw this cousin, his eyes lit up: This kid is good! Decisively reuse Murong Shaozong. Murong Shaozong did not disappoint his cousin either, and soon made a name for himself in the army and won the recognition of the bigwigs.
A tragic lesson one step away
In 528, Er Zhurong led his troops into Luoyang and supported a puppet emperor. Those Luoyang magnates looked down on Er Zhurong's dirt bag, which made Er Zhurong very unhappy. Er Zhurong was furious and decided to be ruthless. He planned to wipe out those Luoyang magnates when the new emperor took office.
When Murong Shaozong heard this, he was shocked. He hurriedly persuaded his cousin: "Big brother, you can't do this!" Kill so many courtiers for no reason, and everyone in the world will scold you to death!" It's a pity that Er Zhurong has already killed his red eyes, where can he listen to it.
As a result, Er Zhu Rongzhen carried out a massacre in Heyin, drowning more than 2,000 Northern Wei royal families and courtiers, even Empress Dowager Hu and the little emperor. Murong Shaozong saw it in his eyes and was anxious in his heart, but he couldn't do anything.
Since then, Murong Shaozong has followed Er Zhurong to the east and west, and has made great achievements. He soon became the county prince of Solu, and soon after he was promoted to the county marquis. Even Er Zhurong's vanguard general, Hou Jing, came to ask him for advice on the art of war, which shows how powerful Murong Shaozong's ability is.
A trick of fate
Just when Murong Shaozong was proud, something suddenly happened. Emperor Xiaozhuang of the Northern Wei Dynasty couldn't get used to Er Zhurong's arrogance and domineering, so he took the opportunity to slaughter him. As soon as Er Zhurong died, the entire Northern Wei Dynasty suddenly became a pot of porridge.
After Er Zhurong's nephew Er Zhuzhao took over, he encountered an attack from the powerful enemy Sudouling Bufan. Er Zhuzhao was not an opponent, so he had to ask Gao Huan for help. Murong Shaozong couldn't get used to seeing Er Zhu Zhao so weak, so he persuaded him not to do so. He said: "Sudouling Bufan is a fart! Let's take pride in his army first, and then make a surprise attack, and keep him beating him all over the ground. The one we should guard against the most is Gao Huan, that guy is a dragon, once he is given a chance, we will be finished!"
How did he know that Zhu Zhao couldn't listen to it at all, but instead locked up Murong Shaozong. Outcome? Er Zhu Zhaozhen was pitted by Gao Huan. By the time he came to his senses, it was too late. He had no choice but to release Murong Shaozong and let him guard the Huguan to resist Gao Huan's attack.
Gao Huan's fatal blow
In 532, Er Zhu Zhao and Gao Huan fought a decisive battle at Hanling. Gao Huanbing has few major generals, but they are all battle-hardened veterans. He learned from Han Xin to fight against the water, set up a circle formation on the mountain, and blocked the retreat with oxen and donkeys. Gao Huan's soldiers knew that Er Zhu Zhao was cruel and murderous, and there was no way to retreat, so they could only fight hard.
As soon as the battle began, Gao Huan's Chinese army was defeated and retreated. Seeing that the situation was not good, Gao Huan's younger brother Gao Yue rushed forward with 500 cavalry. The fierce general Gao Aocao also led 1,000 cavalry to kill him. Er Zhu Zhao's army had never seen such a desperate style of fighting, and it collapsed in an instant.
Seeing that the general situation was gone, some of the generals of the Erzhu clan fled, some surrendered, and some died in battle. Only Murong Shaozong still remembered his cousin's kindness, erected the flag, blew the horn, gathered the scattered soldiers, and led them to follow Er Zhu Zhao to retreat to Jinyang.
A year later, Gao Huan's power became bigger and bigger, but Er Zhuzhao rebelled and left. In the end, Erzhu Zhao committed suicide while fleeing. Murong Shaozong took the remnants of Er Zhu Zhao and his family and fled all the way to Wutu City.
Master moves, intellectual game
Gao Huan's pursuers soon arrived at the city. Murong Shaozong knew that the general situation was gone, so he asked Gao Huan to surrender, only asking him to treat Er Zhurong's family well. Gao Huan had long taken a fancy to Murong Shaozong's talent, and was very happy that he had come to take refuge, not only retaining his official title, but also letting him participate in military meetings.
In 534, Gao Huan moved the Wei capital to Yecheng and began to run his own foundation. He asked Murong Shaozong and his confidant Gao Longyi to manage the treasury and books. This seems to be a surveillance move, but in fact, Gao Huan is inspecting Murong Shaozong's ability.
In this year, the Northern Wei split into the Eastern Wei and the Western Wei. Gao Huan set up a puppet emperor Yuan Shanjian, who was Emperor Xiaojing of the Eastern Wei Dynasty. In the second year, Yichuan Haoqiang Li Yansun occupied Yiyang after his father was killed by Hou Jing and became a thorn in Gao Huan's side. Gao Huan sent Murong Shaozong to lead an army to conquer Li Yansun.
It was a tough battle. Li Yansun is not only brave and good at fighting, but also very talented as a general, and has won the hearts of the people. He defeated the Eastern Wei army many times, and also killed Murong Shaozong's general Xue Xi. Murong Shaozong dealt with it cautiously on the one hand, and secretly divided and collapsed on the other. In the end, he successfully provoked infighting in Li Yansun's camp, Li Yansun was killed by his subordinates, and Murong Shaozong won a complete victory.
Gao Huan was very happy and named Murong Shaozong as the assassin of Yangzhou, and later changed to the assassin of Qingzhou. Murong Shaozong became a general under Gao Huan. But he didn't know that someone was making small moves behind his back. It turned out that Gao Huan's pen descendants wanted to find a good errand for their brother, so they asked people to intercede with Murong Shaozong. Murong Shaozong didn't look down on this kind of villain, so he politely refused. Sun Yan held a grudge, so he told Gao Huan that Murong Shaozong was anti-voluntary.
Fortunately, Gao Huan still trusted Murong Shaozong and knew that he had no ambitions. However, just in case, Gao Huan still transferred Murong Shaozong back to the court and temporarily did not let him take charge of the army.
The arrangement of fate
In 538, thieves broke out in Henan, and Luoyang was in chaos. Dugu Xin, the general of the Western Wei Dynasty, took the opportunity to occupy Luozhou. Gao Huan had no choice but to release the fierce tiger of Murong Shaozong again. Murong Shaozong led his troops to the Tiger Prison Pass and repelled Dugu Xin in one fell swoop. Gao Huan was very happy and named Murong Shaozong as the prince of Suolu County.
In 547, on his deathbed, Gao Huan said to his son Gao Cheng: "After my death, Hou Jing will definitely rebel." Can you deal with him?" Gao Cheng shook his head and said no. Gao Huan said: "Fortunately, Lao Tzu was prepared and left you a nirvana, Murong Shaozong." I have not allowed him to be in charge of the army alone, just so that he can be used by you in the future. You have to treat him well, so that Hou Jing has nothing to fear. "
After Gao Huan's death, Hou Jing really rebelled. Gao Cheng hurriedly invited Murong Shaozong out and appeased him. Murong Shaozong was very moved and said that he would definitely help Gao Cheng deal with Hou Jing.
Murong Shaozong led his troops to Hanshan, first defeated the reinforcements of Southern Liang, and then repelled Hou Jing at Wuyang. Hou Jing was originally very good at catching his opponent's weaknesses, but this time he met his nemesis. Murong Shaozong knew that Hou Jing was short of food and grass, so he adopted the tactics of clearing the wilderness. A few months later, Hou Jingjun ran out of food and the army's morale was shaken. Murong Shaozong seized the opportunity to launch an attack and defeated Hou Jing in one fell swoop.
Hou Jing was defeated and fled to Southern Liang with only 800 cronies. Before leaving, he didn't forget to set Murong Shaozong and said, "Have you forgotten how Gao Huan treated you?" If I am arrested today, tomorrow Xianbei Xiaoer will think that you are old and useless. For the sake of your future, you'd better think clearly!"
Although Murong Shaozong was grateful for Gao Cheng's trust, he also knew that what Hou Jing said made sense. In troubled times, it is taboo to have high merit and shake the master. So, he deliberately slowed down the pursuit and let Hou Jing escape smoothly.
Murong Shaozong's buddy is also unlucky. He fought all his life, but in the end he died in an accident. In 549, he built a dam under the city of Yingchuan in preparation for a water attack. Unexpectedly, a strong wind blew his ship under the city. The enemy troops in the city seized the opportunity to hook the ships with long hooks and fired a salvo of arrows. Murong Shaozong had no choice but to escape by jumping into the water, but was dragged down by the heavy armor, and was hit by a few arrows, and finally drowned at the age of 49.
After the news of the famous general's death spread, the soldiers of the Eastern Wei Dynasty cried into tears. Even Gao Cheng, a cold-blooded animal, felt very sad and posthumously sealed a large number of official positions in Murong Shaozong. Later, the Northern Qi Dynasty was established, and Murong Shaozong was posthumously regarded as the founder of the country.
Murong Shaozong's life can be said to be full of ups and downs. He went from a poor boy to a famous general, from a famous general to a prisoner, and finally made a comeback. His life is a rollercoaster ride full of drama. However, he has always maintained his principles and positions, which is admirable.
In that troubled era of life and death, it was not easy for Murong Shaozong to survive in the cracks and achieve such great achievements. He told us that even in troubled times, we must stick to our principles and learn to judge the situation. Only in this way can we live a wonderful and dignified life in the troubled times.