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

"Yes, I agree with the strategy of 'making friends far away and attacking close friends'. Murong Xuan nodded and said,"Someone gave me a divination before and said that our Murong family will have several emperors in the future." I just shook my head and smiled. Today it seems that our Murong Division is getting stronger and stronger. It is not impossible to conquer the world and establish a national foundation. Now our Murong tribe is so powerful that even the surrounding Duan tribe, Yuwen tribe, Goguryeo and other tribes are afraid of it. When it comes to marching and fighting, and when it comes to riding horses and archery, the soldiers of the Central Plains are not necessarily our opponents. But when it comes to culture and knowledge, we pale in comparison. If we take over the Central Plains in the future, won’t we make the Han people laugh at us?"

"The current plan is, on the one hand, to make Murong's troops stronger and stronger, so that the surrounding tribes will not dare to take a step further. On the other hand, they followed the practices of the Central Plains imperial court, building schools, learning Chinese, and promoting Confucianism."Murong Xuan continued:"Confucianism is broad and profound and is the core of Han culture. Because the two Han dynasties admired Confucianism, they unified the thinking of the people. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty"deposed hundreds of schools of thought and only respected Confucianism." 'Only then did he achieve unparalleled achievements that the emperors could only dream of."

"After a few words, Da Dan asked me to wait for a sudden enlightenment. Liu Zan said:"For the prosperity and long-term peace of the Murong tribe, please order the Great Chanyu to select a site to build a school!""

"In recent years, more and more people have come to western Liaoning and eastern Liaoning to seek refuge with me. In order to manage these refugees, we established Jiyang County for the people of Jizhou, Chengzhou County for the people of Yuzhou, Yingqiu County for the people of Qingzhou, and Tangguo County for the people of Bingzhou. It is up to you, my dear, to manage these overseas counties well so that the people who come from far away can have a stable home and live and work in peace and contentment!"Murong Xuan continued:"We will not only establish Dongxiang Academy in Dajicheng City, but also establish schools and private schools in various counties and counties so that the children of nearby people can also go to school. Only children who can count and read will be useful in the future!"

"Mr. Liu, you don’t serve as Dongxiang’s sacrificial wine for nothing. Murong Xin then said to Liu Zan:"Please, sir, you must be a good teacher to these Murong children. After several years of study, let them know more Chinese characters and study more Confucianism." Especially those Confucian classics, we need to explain them more and train them to become well-educated people like sir and you adults!"

"Subordinates obey! Liu Zan quickly stood up, raised his hands and said,"Please rest assured, Shanyu!" Murong

Xian was very happy and said to Murong Huang:"Yuanzhen, you have to take on the responsibility of the heir apparent. In addition to training soldiers and horses, and in addition to the things they are responsible for, you and your brothers must listen carefully in Dongxiang Academy." Mr. Liu and other gentlemen gave lectures. As a father, I will often go to listen to the lectures given by the gentlemen, and I will inspect you regularly. By the way, you also need to try your best to find some Confucian works from the Central Plains for the gentlemen to teach."

"I obey my father's orders! My son must take the lead in learning Confucian classics well."Murong Huang agreed. Murong Xuan said to Murong Han again:"Yuan Yong, you immediately take a few brothers to the east of Jicheng Palace to choose a place suitable for building a school, and then send people to purchase stones, wood and other materials. , built a Dongxiang Academy imitating the style of Chang'an Palace."

Murong Han immediately stood up and said,"I will go with my brothers to do it right away!"

After listening to the words of the eldest brother Murong Han, Murong Hui's three sons Murong Huang, Murong Huang's brothers Murong Ren and Murong Zhao, his sixth son Murong You, and his seventh son Murong Zhi all stood up and bowed their hands and said:"I am not talented, but I am willing to listen to my elder brother's instructions.!"

Murong Xuan's other underage sons, Murong Jun, Murong Khan, Murong Ping, and Murong Biao, also stood up and asked for errands. Murong Jun said:"We are going too! Murong

Xin said with a smile:"You guys are still too young, so you should be students in Dongxiang!""

Murong Han was very happy when he saw several younger brothers standing up. His eyes paused on each younger brother's face one by one for a short while, and he thought to himself:"The third brother Murong Hao, the fourth brother Murong Zhao and Murong Ren are the same brother. Brothers and sisters, the third brother is usually very domineering. I'd better choose other brothers to go with me to select a site for Dongxiang Academy and purchase stones and wood!"

"Let me see it this way. Murong Han said:"Sixth brother and seventh brother, please come with me!""

"I am willing to listen to my brother’s orders!"Murong You and Murong Zhi said loudly. Murong Han then said goodbye to his brothers and left the main hall. The three of them untied their horses tied to the big tree at the entrance of the main hall, and then came to the street south of the main hall. Murong's main hall, It is located in the north of the center of the entire Jicheng City. Exiting the north gate of the main hall is the East-West Street in the north of Jicheng City. Exiting the south gate of the main hall is the East-West Street in the middle. Murong You said:"Brother, why didn't father delegate the task this time? Third brother, why don't we ask you to build Dongxiang Academy?!"

"My two brothers, I am thirty years old this year. The third brother is only twenty-two years old this year, and building Dongxiang Academy requires understanding many aspects."Murong Han explained patiently. Murong Zhi asked again:"Brother, why did you choose the two of us?"

"this? Murong Han hesitated and said,"One of you is sixteen and the other is fourteen, you have just grown up." The combined ages of both of you are exactly my age. When you are young, you are willing to listen to older people. Two younger brothers, it’s that simple."

Hearing what Murong Han said, the three of them all laughed. The three of them rode horses to the east of the palace and saw an open space. Murong Han got off his horse, and Murong You and Murong Zhi also got off their horses. Murong Han pointed out Looking at this area, he said,"It would be a good idea to build a school here."

This place was covered with weeds, so the three of them let go of their horses' reins and let them graze. Murong You and Murong Zhi looked around. Murong Han pushed aside the weeds, checked the topography and topography, and took steps to measure things. The width and length from north to south are shown.

"I think this is the place, very suitable for building Murong University Hall. Murong Han said, and he, Murong You and Murong Jun came out of the grass. Standing outside the grass, Murong Han said:"Then starting from tomorrow, we will start building Dongxiang Academy." Please invite your sixth and seventh brothers to come to my study in the West Side Hall to discuss matters every day after breakfast."

"Okay, bro!"Murong You and Murong Zhi agreed.

In Murong Han's study in the West Side Hall, after many days of discussions, the details of the construction of the university hall were basically finalized. Murong Han said:"Please invite the sixth and seventh brothers to spend the next few days. Go to the private sector to find some skilled craftsmen. Once the craftsmen have drawn the construction drawings of the university hall, we can purchase bricks, stones and wood, hire migrant workers, and start the construction!"

Because it is necessary to build a palace-style school in Chang'an, many craftsmen are hired from the Central Plains. There are ten craftsmen in total, including craftsmen in earthwork, stonemasonry, bricklaying, carpentry and other fields. The fathers and great-grandfathers of these people all attended Chang'an. , Luoyang palace construction.