0p0 Chapter 200 Insights & Choices
Chapter 200 Insights & Choices
People from all eras who experienced the chaos of war have an unforgettable memory of that period of turmoil.
If their family members had survived back then, perhaps they could be living a peaceful life now!
……
Lin Ke also thought of this, but in chaotic times, ordinary people are the most likely to not survive.
She sighed a few times, then continued, "After Dou Rong and his family arrived in Hexi, they visited various powerful families, contacted old acquaintances, and restored their former relationships."
"The Dou family did indeed hold official positions in the past, but that was quite some time ago, so this is their way of trying to quickly restore their family's network of connections in Hexi."
"Subsequently, the Gengshi regime fell into internal strife. While Wei Xiao and others were still fighting amongst themselves in Chang'an, Dou Rong and his brothers had already begun discussing which ally to join for the future of their families!"
"The people who participated in the talks also included the five counties mentioned earlier. The operation was the same. First, a leader had to be chosen. Because the Dou family had a great influence, Dou Rong was recommended by them as the new leader and was called the General of the Five Counties of Hexi."
"The people of Hexi are simple and honest, and Dou Rong's policies are relatively lenient, so people are close to each other. They even use the time for training soldiers instead of waiting for war. As a result, refugees from Anding, Beidi and other places flocked to Hexi."
A scion of a prominent family in the Song Dynasty said: "A good bird chooses a good tree to perch on; one's discernment can tell the different outcomes for these two types of birds."
A general from the Ming Dynasty: The importance of experience! Choice is more important than effort!
A romantic scholar from the Tang Dynasty: Liu Xuan's side is a trap! And yet people still go there to seek refuge!
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"When Wei Xiao returned to Tianshui, he found that only the three southern counties remained, and the rest had fled to Dou Rong's side. After Liu Xuan was killed, the literati in Guanzhong thought that Wei Xiao was also talented, so they all came to join him."
"Among these people were Wang Mang's former Prefect of Pinghe, Gu Gong from Chang'an, Fan Jun from Pingling, and so on. To put it simply, most of these scholar-officials were from Guanzhong, but upon closer examination, the group was quite complex."
"On the other hand, the military officers are mostly locals from Longxi, and they are all from various powerful clans. The team was already very complicated, and now that another group of people has arrived, it has become even more complicated!"
"Actually, if he thinks about it carefully, the locals in Longxi are better off. Another group of people came to him for help, but they might go to another group and end up taking advantage of him."
A spoiled young man from the Tang Dynasty: Suddenly I remembered the civil officials of the Ming Dynasty, they were quite a handful too!
General Judy, the Northern Expeditionary General: ...
A spoiled young man from the Song Dynasty: Hahahaha, the civil officials of the Ming Dynasty were all about screwing over the emperor!
Zhu Houzhao, the number one brat of the Ming Dynasty: What's so funny! Didn't your Song Dynasty still value civil affairs over military affairs?
Emperor Zhao Kuangyin of the Song Dynasty: ...%?! ...
A Qin Dynasty spectator commented: "Isn't the only thing he lacked a smart person, which is why he had to rely on civil officials for advice?"
.........
"And what is most abundant in chaotic times is the establishment of imperial regimes. For example, during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period after the end of the Tang Dynasty, the change of regimes was very frequent."
"The same is true here. After the Red Eyebrows army kicked out Liu Xuan, they supported Liu Penzi as the founder of the regime. In Hebei, Liu Xiu declared himself emperor, and Gongsun Shu declared himself emperor in Shu, as well as Emperor Liu Yong of Liang."
"Faced with these four imperial regimes, Wei decided to investigate their strengths and weaknesses. He first set his sights on Gongsun Shu, and thus sent General Ma Yuan of Suide to Shu."
"This Ma Yuan has a very distinguished background. His ancestor was Zhao She, a famous general of the Warring States period. Originally surnamed Ma Fu, he later adopted the surname Ma. Ma Yuan's great-grandfather, Ma Tong, was involved in the witchcraft saga."
"I've talked about this before. Whether you take sides or not, you get chopped off by the pigs. So Ma Tong and his brother Ma Helu conspired to risk assassinating the pigs. In the end, Ma Tong and the others were all killed."
Big Han Liu Zhuzhu: ...
A lazy official in the Song Dynasty: It's really hard for officials to survive under His Majesty the Pig!
A scion of a prominent family in the Ming Dynasty: How tragic! So many people were killed! But these people actually dared to assassinate the emperor?!?
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"Although Ma Tong was killed, his son was not implicated and even became a minor official during the reign of Emperor Xuan. He then had another son, Ma Zhong, who rose to the position of Xuanwu Sima. After that, he had four sons, the eldest of whom was Ma Yuan."
"When Ma Yuan was twelve years old, his father passed away. Before he could go out, his elder brother also passed away. So Ma Yuan stayed at home to observe mourning for his elder brother. During this period, he respected his widowed sister-in-law very much and did not leave his elder brother's side."
"He later adapted his farming and animal husbandry practices to local conditions and reaped considerable profits. However, he did not care about these assets and distributed them to his relatives and friends, while he himself lived a simple life."
"Jump to 25 AD. Gongsun Shu declared himself emperor in Shu. Ma Yuan initially thought he and Gongsun Shu shared a hometown connection and got along very well at the time."
"But to my surprise, there was no heartwarming scene of two fellow countrymen meeting and bursting into tears. Instead, he put on airs like an emperor."
"When Ma Yuan saw this fellow townsman, he was so arrogant in front of him, saying, 'Look, I'm the emperor now! Look at you! How about we make you a general?' This kind of arrogance made Ma Yuan feel that this man did not have the temperament of the ultimate winner, so he went back to Tianshui to report to Wei Xiao."
A scion of a prominent family in the Song Dynasty: Ma Yuan: Assessment complete! This guy is no good!
A bystander from the Ming Dynasty commented: "Most people have good judgment! No wonder my great-grandfather was capable of assassinating a pig!"
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"Ma Yuan told Wei Xiao to cultivate a good relationship with Liu Xiu and to ignore Gongsun Shu, who was utterly incompetent, like a frog in a well. Ma Yuan's brother, Ma Yuan, had been the governor of Shangjun, but after Liu Xiu ascended the throne, he went to Luoyang to surrender and requested to be reinstated."
“Ma Yuan continued to stay by Wei Xiao’s side. It can be said that Wei Xiao’s choice was influenced by Ma Yuan. Even amidst various uprising forces, he still chose a good ally based on his experience and knowledge.”
"But in terms of the outcome, you really made the right choice. With this military strategist, Wei Xiao was greatly aided, rather than listening to the opinions of those Guanzhong people and becoming complacent."
"So in 26 AD, Deng Yu's subordinate Feng Yin betrayed him and led his army to flee to Tianshui. Kui Xiao defeated him and captured a large amount of supplies, and was thus appointed as the General of Xizhou."
A bystander from the Song Dynasty: The more historical choices there are, the less those in power can see clearly; there's nothing that can be done about it!
A scion of a prominent family in the Ming Dynasty: Haha, let me tell you from experience, choosing Liu Xiu was the right choice!
An old farmer from the Ming Dynasty: It sounds very complicated, we don't understand it either!
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