Video spoilers history, starting with the blitzkrieg on Poland

Canopy.

Ran Min knew full well that the fire he had ignited would either burn away all his enemies.

[Or he would burn himself and the people of Ye City behind him to ashes.]

Meanwhile, the Jie nobles and defeated soldiers who had managed to escape the hellish city of Ye spread the terrifying image of the "Order to Kill the Hu" to every corner of Later Zhao.

Fear, like a plague, spread wildly among the nomadic tribes.

The leaders of the Hu peoples established their own independent regimes for self-preservation.

[Grand Chancellor Zhao Lu, Grand Commandant Zhang Ju, Commander of the Central Army Zhang Chun, Grand Master of Ceremonies Shi Yue, General of the Army Shi Ning, General of the Guards Zhang Ji, and more than ten thousand dukes, marquises, ministers, officers, and high-ranking officials fled to Xiangguo.]

[Shi Kun fled to Jizhou, Fu Jun Zhang Shen garrisoned Fukou, Zhang Hedu garrisoned Shidu, Jianyi Duan Qin garrisoned Liyang, Ningnan Yang Qun garrisoned Sangbi, Liu Guo garrisoned Yangcheng, Duan Kan garrisoned Chenliu, Yao Yizhong garrisoned Hunqiao, and Fu Hong garrisoned Fangtou, each with tens of thousands of troops.]

Wang Lang and Ma Qiu fled from Chang'an to Luoyang. Ma Qiu, following a letter from Min, executed over a thousand of Wang Lang's followers. Wang Lang fled to Xiangguo. Ma Qiu led his troops to flee to Fu Hong.

If the Later Zhao dynasty before this was a power struggle within the court and the capital between a puppet emperor, a powerful minister with military authority, and regional princes, then...

[At that time, if Ran Min had been defeated and killed, the Jie clan's Shi family would still likely have maintained power, and the Later Zhao dynasty could have survived.]

Now, let's look at the Later Zhao dynasty after the "Kill the Hu" edict.

That would mean complete collapse, with no possibility of maintaining rule.

In the core areas ruled by Later Zhao, such as Bingzhou, Jizhou, and Sizhou, the deep-seated hatred and blood feuds that had accumulated among the Han people for decades were completely ignited.

Historical records state: "Several million people, including those from Qing, Yong, You, and Jing provinces, as well as various Di, Qiang, Hu, and Man tribes, were relocated and returned to their homelands. The roads were crisscrossed, and people killed and plundered each other. Many died of hunger and disease, and only two or three out of ten managed to reach their destination."

This was not an orderly migration.

Instead, it was a life-or-death struggle, a desperate escape, and a bloody ambush.

[Han Chinese fortified villages, refugee leaders, and even spontaneously organized civilians launched a brutal retaliatory campaign of expulsion and slaughter against the once-powerful non-Han people.]

The nobility and commoners of the Hu tribe who once committed atrocities are now frightened.

[They fled westward or northward in panic under the vengeful blades of the Han people, only to be plundered and massacred by other nomadic tribes along the way.]

Corpses lay strewn across the fields, and cries of anguish echoed for miles.

The ethnic violence that erupted in Ye City had a wide-ranging impact and resulted in a massive death toll.

[Far surpassing Ye City.]

The "Order to Kill the Hu" completely tore apart the remaining shell of the Shi Zhao Empire, pushing the ethnic relations of the entire north into an abyss of utter collapse.

Barrage:

"Excellent! Simply eliminating the inhuman Later Zhao dynasty is a great achievement!"

The "Decree to Kill the Hu" nearly wiped out the Jie people, and from then on, until their demise, the Jie and Hu were no longer considered significant.

Holy crap, the Later Zhao dynasty was truly a gathering of brilliant minds!

The most brilliant thing about Ran Min's move was that it mobilized the entire Han Chinese population across the country.

A question arises: what will happen to the non-Han soldiers under Shi Min's command?

What else can you do? Get killed or run away.

Some non-Han people also followed Ran Min, and Ran Min later proclaimed himself Great Chanyu, which was an attempt to win over these non-Han people.

……

However, this was a different story for Ran Min, who had just gained control of life and death in Ye City.

The brief internal "purge" did not provide a respite.

Instead, it was a desperate situation of being surrounded by enemies on all sides.

In 350 AD, Ran Min deposed and killed the puppet emperor Shi Jian, and at the same time, executed all thirty-eight surviving descendants of Shi Hu.

[Completely sever the lineage of the Shi Zhao clan!]

[Subsequently, in the southern suburbs of Ye City, he burned firewood to announce his ascension to the throne, establishing the state of Great Wei with the reign title Yongxing, historically known as Ran Wei.]

At the coronation ceremony, the country was shattered, surrounded by powerful enemies, and there was no sign of a new dynasty.

[The Ran Wei dynasty was by no means a stable dynasty, but a wartime fortress amidst seas of blood and mountains of corpses, surrounded by the vengeful fury of the nomadic tribes.]

[And Ran Min's edict of accession to the throne.]

[It's less a grand strategy for the new emperor's ascension to the throne and more a war proclamation.]

He recounted the profound suffering endured by the Han people over the decades under the iron hooves of the nomadic cavalry, and vehemently denounced the brutality and tyranny of the nomadic rulers.

[Positioning himself as both the savior and avenger of Han Chinese civilization.]

This assessment greatly boosted the morale of the Han people in the occupied northern territories, and countless Han people struggling on the brink of death saw Ran Min as their only hope.

Many flocked to Ye City, or rose up in rebellion within its controlled territories, responding to the "Order to Kill the Hu".

Ran Min swiftly dispatched envoys, appointing Li Nong as Grand Chancellor, Grand Commandant, and Director of the Imperial Secretariat to jointly support the nation in its precarious situation. He also sent generals to attempt to regain control of the former territories of Later Zhao.

[Especially the fertile lands of Hebei and Henan.]

However, from the moment of its birth, the Ran Wei regime was destined to falter amidst blood and fire.

It faces unprecedented and enormous challenges:

The Hu (non-Han) forces of the former Later Zhao regime were not completely eradicated, and many local generals and powerful clans wavered between two sides.

Even the Han Chinese forces were not monolithic.

Li Nong, who once stood shoulder to shoulder with Ran Min, also found his loyalty to be questionable under immense pressure.

Ran Min was indeed unparalleled in bravery on the battlefield.

However, he was extremely inept at political maneuvering, his policies were inconsistent, and shortly after becoming emperor, he executed Li Nong and his three sons out of suspicion.

This self-destructive act severely weakened internal cohesion and exacerbated the regime's fragility.

[And externally, it is surrounded by powerful enemies.]

Ran Min's rise to power and the frenzy surrounding the "Order to Kill the Hu" were like stirring up a hornet's nest in the north.

All powerful nomadic tribes were thoroughly enraged and alarmed, regarding them as mortal enemies that must be eradicated.

To the northeast, the most powerful Xianbei clan, the Murong clan, has long been eyeing the region covetously.

[After Ran Min declared himself emperor, his powerful ruler Murong Jun immediately intensified his southward invasion.]

Famous generals such as Murong Ba (Murong Chui) and Murong Ke are preparing their troops for battle.

[In the northwest, taking advantage of the weakness of Guanzhong, the Di leader Fu Jian quickly led his people westward into Chang'an, established the Former Qin dynasty, and gained a firm foothold.]

The Qiang people, led by Yao Yizhong, and the remnants of the Xiongnu forces were also observing or waiting for an opportunity to act.

The Ran Wei regime, almost entirely confined to a small corner of the land, resisted the overwhelming hatred of the entire northern nomadic world.

Even before the establishment of the Ran Wei state, in the Battle of Ye City, Ran Min, wielding a double-edged spear, charged on horseback, leading a thousand iron cavalry to rout Shi Kun's 70,000-strong army.

But this is just the beginning; more Hu (non-Han) troops will follow.

Outside the sky.

Late Han Dynasty.

At this moment, Cao Cao, who was in Ye City, saw a map on the sky depicting the fragmentation of the country after the collapse of Later Zhao. He couldn't help but recall his own time raising an army in the Central Plains.

The scene depicts the campaigns in the south and north, and the conquest of various warlords.

Even though Cao Cao himself was a warlord who fought his way up from the chaos of war.

The situation in the Central Plains was also chaotic at that time.

One can see on the sky the scene after the fall of the Later Zhao and the establishment of the Ran Wei, where immortals are lined up like hemp.

Boss Cao also felt a chill run down his spine.

Cao Cao stood on the rooftop, gazing at the prosperous scene of Ye City.

Then, looking at the sky above, one sees Ye City engulfed in war and carnage.

I couldn't help but say with deep emotion:

"Chaos, absolutely chaos!"

"That was truly an extremely chaotic and disorderly era."

"Even I, Cao Cao, came from a chaotic era."

"But we must still admit that compared to the chaotic world we live in today."

"The period of chaos and disorder that followed, during the Five Barbarian Invasions, was truly utterly chaotic."

"After all, after the decline of the Han Dynasty, although the world was divided into warlords, each with their own troops, the situation was different."

"However, as long as I, Cao Cao, am in charge, there are few people in the world who dare to call themselves emperors or kings."

"Most of the feudal lords in the land still had to respect the emperor, at least in name."

"We also value considerations and courtesy among ourselves."

"And the chaos that followed, especially the Five Barbarian Invasions, particularly after Shi Hu's death."

"It was an absolutely chaotic and insane massacre!"

"It's extremely difficult to break out of this chaotic situation."

“Look at the various Hu people forces surrounding Ran Min, each of them is strong and well-equipped.”

"I'm afraid Ran Min won't be able to hold out for long, and it will be difficult to expect him to win any more battles."

"Oh well, it doesn't really matter."

"He is a great Wei."

"I am also a member of the Great Wei."

"His Ran Wei regime had little future."

"But before he dies, he can severely injure that beastly Jiehu and wipe out the Shihu clan."

"That's already quite an achievement."

The narration continues:

To be or not to be?

Being trapped in an isolated city is tantamount to sitting and waiting for death.

Ran Min chose to take the initiative!

He must capitalize on the fleeting fervor aroused among the Han Chinese, using offense as a form of defense before the enemy completes their encirclement, and carve out a strategic space.

Ran Min personally led the elite troops of Ran Wei, like tigers unleashed from their cages, launching continuous campaigns.

[Attack the remaining forces of Later Zhao generals Liu Xian and Zhang Hedu, who were entrenched in the Ji and Qing provinces.]

Historical records state that he "fought great battles against the Qiang and Hu tribes, engaging in more than ten battles, and decisively defeated them each time."

[Especially in the Battle of Cangting, Ran Min decisively defeated the combined forces of Zhang Hedu, Duan Qin, and Jin Tun, generals of the Later Zhao dynasty, beheading nearly 30,000 and capturing all their followers, greatly enhancing his prestige.]

[Immediately afterwards, he led his troops north and defeated the army of Shi Kun, the Prince of Ruyin of Later Zhao, at Yin'an.]

Furthermore, Ran Min sent an envoy to the banks of the Yangtze River to shout to the Eastern Jin soldiers across the river:

"The rebellious barbarians who wreaked havoc in the Central Plains have now been executed. If anyone is willing to join forces to punish them, please send troops."

However, the Eastern Jin Dynasty did not respond to Ran Min's diplomatic request.

Outside the sky.

Qin Dynasty.

Seeing the Eastern Jin's reaction, Fusu couldn't help but feel anxious.

Fusu said:

"Didn't the Eastern Jin Dynasty have its capital captured by the Jie barbarians, and even the emperor was taken prisoner?"

"Now the Later Zhao in the north has collapsed, and the Jiehu have been almost wiped out."

"The Eastern Jin Dynasty presents the perfect opportunity for a northern expedition to recover lost territories!"

How can we remain indifferent?

"No wonder the Jin Dynasty is known by later generations as the most incompetent dynasty; there are indeed reasons for it."

"Such a good opportunity, yet we didn't take the opportunity to launch a northern expedition to recover the Central Plains."

"Ugh, what a bunch of self-degrading fools!"

After listening to Fusu's words, Ying Zheng also fell into thought.

At first glance, Ying Zheng also felt that this was the perfect opportunity for the Eastern Jin Dynasty to recover lost territory.

After all, judging from the map distribution, the Eastern Jin Dynasty was quite powerful at that time.

They should have been able to organize a large army for the Northern Expedition.

Advancing northward from the Huai River line occupied by the Eastern Jin Dynasty, it wouldn't take long to reach the Yellow River.

It was not impossible for them to join forces with the Ran Wei regime to defeat other Hu (non-Han) forces.

But Ying Zheng noticed a crucial problem.

During the Eastern Jin Dynasty, there was an emperor, and Ran Min also declared himself emperor.

That won't do.

Then, Ying Zheng slowly said:
"Ran Min was too hasty in declaring himself emperor."

“If he had only called himself the King of Wei, then the Eastern Jin might have been able to ally with him.”

"But since he has declared himself emperor..."

"How could the Eastern Jin Dynasty, which considered itself the legitimate emperor, possibly ally with a pseudo-emperor like Ran Min, who was practically born a slave?"

"In the eyes of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Ran Min was probably no different from other barbarian and non-Han peoples, except that he was a Han Chinese."

"Let alone allying with Ran Min, the Eastern Jin would be lucky if they didn't attack him from behind." (End of Chapter)