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

The two boats went all the way north without encountering any big trouble. During more than ten days, I could occasionally see a small island not far away. The island is lined with green trees and looks like a fairyland. Zu Lian and Tao Liao said:"How wonderful it would be if we could live on a small island without fighting against the world, with men farming and women weaving! I don't know that Xu Fu, an alchemist in Qin Shi Huang's time, led three thousand boys and girls to the East China Sea to give sacrifices to Qin Shi Huang. Looking for the elixir of life, I wonder what happened next?!"

"later? I definitely didn't go back to resume my life later. Think about it, Qin Shihuang burned books to trap Confucians and killed hundreds of alchemists and Confucian scholars. How could Xu Fu dare to go back and recover? What will happen when the three thousand boys and girls grow up and reach the age of starting a family and starting a business?! Tao Liao said

"I know, it turns out Xu Fu is so powerful. He deceived Qin Shihuang and went to Japan with a large number of grain seeds, animals, and various talents. What's more important is how many descendants those boys and girls will leave behind when they multiply and multiply in a few years!"

"So I estimate that Xu Fu must have become the king of Japan later. Tao Liao said.

A few days later, it was a sunny morning. Tao Liao and Zu Lian got up and came outside the cabin. The two looked north, and Zu Lian shouted:"That's not land!""

Getting closer, getting closer, almost all the pedestrians and vehicles on the land can be seen clearly. The guards and soldiers cheered:"We are finally here!"

There were some boats of various sizes moored at a pier on the shore. The guards and soldiers found an empty seat and put the twoThe ship docked. The guards and soldiers got off the boat and tied the ropes of the two boats to the pillars of the pier. One of the guards said:"You two adults, please get off the boat!"

There were about a dozen soldiers dressed as Xianbei people on the shore. When they saw the two boats coming from the south, they had already come over. One of them, the leader, shouted:"Is this person from the south?"

"Brother, please invite us. We are envoys from the Jin Dynasty in the south of the Yangtze River. We are here to deliver the imperial edict to Chief Murong."Tao Liao said, handing over a court document stamped with a jade seal. The Xianbei soldier who led him looked at it and said with a smile:"It turns out that he is an envoy from the Jiangnan Celestial Dynasty. You guys go to the post to rest first. I will send two carriages immediately to take you there. You send it to Dachicheng, the capital of our Murong tribe!"

Connected to the dock on the shore is a small barracks. To the south of the barracks is a military training ground. The post station is closely adjacent to the barracks. Although the barracks is not large, it can only house a hundred or so soldiers. But in daily life, it is necessary There are all the facilities, such as kitchen, stables, fodder warehouse, firewood house and water house. There are several wooden pillars at the entrance of the barracks. The soldiers standing guard at the entrance of the barracks can sit on the wooden pillars when they are tired. A narrow road to the north from the barracks leads to Liaodong. A Xianbei man introduced himself:"My name is Murong Zuo, I am the leader of this barracks, a tooth general, and I am also in charge of the dock here."

Tao Liao and the others were unwilling to delay and wanted to go to Daji City quickly. So Tao Liao said:"General Murong, it has been more than twenty days since we crossed the sea from the capital Jiankang and arrived here. At present, the Jie people in the Central Plains are doing random things, and people are dying every day. We, the King of Jin, hope to convey the edict to Chief Murong as soon as possible, and hope that General Murong will provide convenience."

Murong Zuo said with a smile:"I originally planned to let you stay one night and enjoy our Liaodong delicacies. Since you are in such an urgent mood, you should sit on the wooden pier first, and I will immediately arrange for a manned car to take you on your way. We have grilled fish and fried fish here. They were all caught from the sea yesterday. They are very fresh and can be taken on the road to eat."

"Thank you very much General Murong for your kindness!"Tao Liao bowed his hands and said in salute. Several Xianbei soldiers came to Murong Zuo, and Murong Zuo whispered to a few of them. Then Murong Zuo, Tao Liao, and Zu Lian sat on the wooden pier at the entrance of the barracks and chatted. There was no time. Commander, two carriages have come out of the post house. Each carriage has a bright-eyed Xianbei soldier in charge of driving it. Tao Liao, Zu Lian and the guards and soldiers got on the carriage. Murong Zuo said:"Except Grilled fish, fried fish, some cooked wild boar, cooked lamb. In recent years, wars have continued in your Central Plains region. It is estimated that even people in your court will find it difficult to eat these delicacies. It's different here. We have mountains, forests, grasslands, and the sea."

"General Murong, forget it, you are absolutely right. Because of decades of war in the Central Plains and the North, many people were killed and displaced. Many of our civil and military ministers did not even own a carriage. It would be good to have a donkey cart or an ox cart in the upper court. Director Wang of the imperial court rode an ox cart to and from court every day."

"What did the horses do? Kill them and eat their meat? Murong Zuo felt strange. Tao Liao said:"There are wars everywhere north of the Yangtze River. Horses are so valuable. Who is willing to kill them and eat their meat?" Many war horses died in the war, and many families who originally had horses had their horses confiscated by the court. A large number of horses died on the battlefield and died of exhaustion. Many horses from the south of the Yangtze River were also transported by ship to the north to fight against the Huns. Many horses died, and the number was certainly getting smaller. The horses never had time to breed. Over time, there were fewer and fewer horses in Jiangnan. The people lived in fear every day and had no time or energy to raise horses. In many places, people don't have enough to eat, and not many people raise pigs. Therefore, it is extremely difficult for the civil and military ministers to have a meal of pork, or even to eat a few pieces of pork offal. King Jin's family is also very frugal."

Murong Zuo shook his head and stopped talking. Tao Liao and Zu Lian stood up and said,"Thank you again General Murong for your care. Then we’ll hit the road, see you later!"

Tao Liao, Zu Lian and Murong Zuo saluted each other. Tao Liao, Zu Lian, the guards and soldiers got into two carriages. Two Xianbei soldiers with faces as white as jade shook their horse whips and hummed. Singing Xianbei music on the grassland, running towards Liaodong

"Da Chanyu, Tao Liao, the envoy of Sima Rui, King of Jin Dynasty in the south of the Yangtze River, came to issue an edict!"Murong Xin was discussing the next matter with his sons and civil and military ministers in the main hall. The guards at the door came in to report. Murong Xin looked at the door of the main hall and said:"We have invited the envoy of the King of Jin!"

"See Governor Murong!"Tao Liao said after coming in and saluting Murong Xin. The Xianbei Murong tribe was different from the Jin Dynasty. Because there was no formal founding of the country, Murong Xin sat alone in the main hall. There were no palace maids or eunuchs around him. Tao Liao said, He took out the edict. Murong Huang, who was beside Tao Liao, took the edict and handed it to Murong Xin.