In the autumn of 394 AD, the Hexi Army won the eldest son in a battle and destroyed Xiyan, which shocked the world.

Among them, the feeling of Hedong, which is close at hand, is particularly obvious, and the Hedong family is quite tricky in the face of the aggressive Hexi.

At present, there are three major surnames in Hedong, namely Xue, Liu, and Pei, and as for the Wei family who was Xuanhe for a while, it has long disappeared with the killing of Wei Qiang.

Among the three major families in Hedong, in addition to the Pei family's temporary dormancy, the Xue family and the Liu family are powerful, and they are all rampant, and they have been divided into Pingyang and Hedong counties.

Shi Hu, Fu Jian, Yao Chang, Murong Yong and other Hulu monarchs have never shaken the foundation of the two families' rule, and can only win over the Xue family and the Liu family by means of Huai Rou.

In history, the Later Zhao, the former Qin, the Later Qin, and the Western Yan perished one after another, but the Xue family and the Liu family have always stood tall, which shows that their means are extraordinary.

However, the previous series of brilliant victories did not bring more confidence to the Liu family and the Xue family against Hexi.

In the face of the threat from Hexi, the Xue and Liu clans chose different strategies.

Among them, Xue Wei listened to the advice of his father Xue Qiang, and after the defeat of the Later Qin army in Pingyang, he immediately returned to his hometown in Fenyin and trained his troops.

Unlike the Xue family, who were heavily armed, Liu Gong did not want to have a hard time with Hexi, so he took the initiative to claim vassal to the Eastern Jin Dynasty, trying to use the Eastern Jin Dynasty to balance Hexi.

When the news of Xiyan's demise came out, the Xue and Liu families walked together for the first time and reached a consensus on how to deal with Hexi.

The two families agreed to work together against the Hexi threat to ensure that the interests of the family were not violated.

……

In addition to Hedong, the person who felt the threat to Hexi the most was naturally Hou Qin.

The defeat of Pingyang was a huge blow to both Yao Xing and Hou Qin.

Later Qin successively lost tens of thousands of elite troops of Yao Shao and Yao Ping, and the national strength was weakened.

And Yao Xing was hit even harder, as if he was a different person, and he was even more decadent than after the defeat of Shangjun back then.

And what made it even more difficult for Later Qin Wenwu to accept was that Yao Xing seemed to have seen through the red dust and became devoted to Buddha.

He respected Kumarosh as his national teacher, and the whole country began to worship Buddhism.

In the past, he paid attention to frugality, agriculture, culture and education, but now he only cares about Buddhism and spends a lot of money on the construction of monasteries.

Seeing Yao Xing indulging in Buddhist affairs all day long, Yin Wei, Di Bozhi, Yao Shuode, Yao Min and other civil and military ministers were anxious and didn't know how to advise.

After all, no matter how you say Yao Xing, he is also a king, and they are ministers, and there are some things that should not be said by ministers.

"Yin Servant, you have always been resourceful, think of a way! If it goes on like this, Daqin will be finished. ”

Yin Wei glanced at others and said slowly: "Your Majesty is sick with a heart, and he has no heart medicine under him, so he doesn't dare to speak rashly." ”

"Heart disease? What's wrong with your heart? Yao Min asked puzzled.

"Hexi!"

When Yin Wei spit out the word Hexi in his mouth, everyone at the scene changed their faces greatly.

Recently, everyone has also heard some rumors that Hexi has taken the three Jin Dynasty and has surrounded Hou Qin on three sides.

In the face of the overwhelming trend of Mount Tai in Hexi, there was no one who was not afraid of Hou Qin.

Moreover, the three expansions of Hexi and the three blockades of Guanzhong are almost inseparable from Yao Xing.

In the defeat of Shangjun for the first time, Later Qin lost Shangjun, causing the northeast of Later Qin to open the door widely.

And this time the defeat of Pingyang lost the two counties of Hedong and Pingyang, which completely made the plan to go east come to naught.

The only time Yao Xing won a big victory was to destroy the remnants of the former Qin and let the Later Qin take Guanzhong.

But now it seems that it is more like a bone that Hexi deliberately threw to Hou Qin to hide his ambition to annex Longyou.

Yao Xingben was not a person with firm beliefs, and he almost collapsed when Shangjun was defeated, and was finally scolded by Yao Chang to wake up.

And the defeat of Pingyang completely made Yao Xing lose the confidence to defeat Wei Shuo, so he became sluggish.

In fact, not only Yao Xing, many people can see clearly, losing Pingyang and Hedong, and Hou Qin has no future at all.

Suddenly, everyone suddenly felt a mountain of pressure rushing over their faces, which made people a little breathless.

……

Unlike the Later Qin, which was full of depression and helpless, the Later Yan and Northern Wei were relatively relaxed.

Among them, the one who can best look at the merger of Hexi with a normal heart is the Northern Wei Dynasty, which newly occupied Youzhou.

In a series of major changes this year, the Northern Wei Dynasty and Hexi are the two major profiteering.

The two annexed Youzhou and Merge Prefecture respectively, causing their respective strengths to skyrocket, and gradually widening the gap with Hou Yan and Hou Qin.

"Ladies and gentlemen, now that the state has fallen into the hands of Hexi, the situation in the north has also changed greatly."

"Houyan, the former overlord of Hebei, has been reduced to the third largest force, and its strength is far inferior to my Great Wei and Hexi."

"However, Murong Trai is still here, and Houyan is still not to be underestimated!"

"In the future, whether the Great Wei should continue to maintain the Triple Alliance, or join the Hexi to destroy the Houyan, please speak freely."

"King, what is Hexi? Haven't you been pitted by that Wei Shuo? ”

"At the beginning, he said that the three parties would join forces to fight for Yan, but he secretly targeted Bingzhou, and as a result, he almost caused the Great Wei army to defeat Youzhou."

Yes, that's a good point! In the opinion of the ministers, it is better to continue to maintain the Qin, Wei, and Yan alliances to suppress Hexi. ”

"Yes, suppress Hexi!"

"If Wei Shuo wants to form an alliance with Great Wei, he must first withdraw and merge with the state."

Originally, Tuoba Jue wanted everyone to discuss the future policy of diplomatic relations, but unexpectedly, most people started to criticize Hexi as soon as they came up.

Looking at the court like a vegetable market, Tuoba Jue was angry, but when he thought about being cheated by Hexi, he somewhat understood everyone's feelings.

However, after all, he is the head of a country, and he cannot consider problems based on personal feelings, but on the interests of the country.

In Tuoba's view, it is not wise for the Northern Wei Dynasty to compete with Hexi at present.

As the saying goes: when two tigers fight, there must be an injury!

As the two powerful men in the north, once there is a conflict between the Northern Wei Dynasty and Hexi, no one will be the winner in the end except for the cheap Hou Yan and Hou Qin.

"That's it! What's all the noise?! ”

Tuoba Jue scolded everyone first, and waited for the hall to be quiet.

He softened his tone and patiently explained: "The widow knows that everyone hates Hexi to the core, but don't forget the interests of the state. ”

"What good is it for us to have a conflict with Hexi? In the end, isn't it for Houyan to benefit? ”

"Instead of thanklessly dealing with the powerful Hexi, it is better to join forces with the other party to destroy Hou Yan and Hou Qin first."

"At that time, the north will be another situation where east and west stand together, but from the former Qin and the former Yan to the Hexi and the Northern Wei."

"Who can dominate the north in the future will depend on who is stronger."

"The words of the king are like Huang Zhong Da Lu, so that the ministers and others will be enlightened and opened."

……

After a series of failures such as the defeat of the Western Expedition to Xiyan and the loss of Youzhou, Hou Yan finally recognized the facts.

Unlike the Northern Wei Dynasty, which sought a strong alliance, Houyan, whose strength had greatly declined, had basically lost the initiative, and only the strong were to be relied on.

In order to deal with the threat of Hexi and the Northern Wei Dynasty, the sixty-eight-year-old Murong Trai faced a critical situation, and he could only fight hard to maintain his spirit.

When the news of the demise of Western Yan reached Zhongshan, Emperor Murong Chui secretly summoned Murong De to the palace to discuss countermeasures.

He glanced at Murong De with a gloomy face and asked, "King Fan Yang, the state affairs are difficult today, what should I do?" ”

Listening to Murong Chui's sigh, Murong De also had a relative.

Thinking back to the first two years, Houyan still looked like a northern overlord, relying on his strong strength, conquering Zhai Wei in the south and Tuoba in the north.

It's only been a year or two now, and the situation in the world has changed dramatically!

Hexi was originally just a remote force, but now it is overwhelming the northern powers, and no one dares to plunder its edge except the Northern Wei Dynasty.

And the little brother who originally followed Hou Yan, the Northern Wei Dynasty, has surpassed the big brother in strength.

These sudden changes made Hou Yan feel embarrassed, a little overwhelmed, and even powerless.

Look at Murong Chui and Murong Bao's father and son, how can they still have the momentum that was invincible at the beginning, swallowing thousands of miles like a tiger? !

Even Murong De could feel how helpless and anxious the other party was from Murong Chui's tone.

"Brother Huang, there are only two ways to go in front of us right now."

"Which two?" Murong said urgently.

"Either attached to Hexi or attached to the Northern Wei Dynasty, there is no other way out."

"In your opinion, who is the most beneficial for Dayan?"

"Hexi!" Murong De did not hesitate to give a big case.

"Why?"

"Because it is relatively easy to attack the Northern Wei Dynasty, instead of crossing the Taihang Heavenly Danger, it is better to go north with the whole army and join forces with the remnants of Liaodong to recover Youzhou."

"In this way, even if you still can't turn over, at least it's not as passive as it is now."