My life is like walking on thin ice

Chapter 595 Everything has two sides

There are no secrets that stay hidden forever.

In particular, Liu Rong summoned envoys from various Korean countries to pay homage, and even, in principle, demanded that the kings of these countries come to Korea to pay homage!

Since it was an officially issued edict, even if it wasn't a national policy or political matter that required discussion in the court, it still couldn't be kept secret.

Soon, the news spread like wildfire throughout the room.

The vast majority of people—mainly those at the bottom of society with virtually no political vision or political awareness—did not realize what this edict meant.

It's just a superficial idea that Liu Rong, having nothing to do lately, happened to notice Yan Dong Joseon and thought of inviting those 'savage chieftains' to Chang'an for a meeting and a chat.

Yes.

In the eyes of the Han people today, only the people of the Xia dynasty are considered "modern" and "civilized".

As for the rest, they are the nomadic peoples of the north, called the Northern Barbarians;
The Hundred Yi of the Southwest—since they were already called 'Yi,' they must naturally be the Southern Yi.

The people of Baiyue in Lingnan were not considered "savages" like the Man and Yi. The term "Yue people" was essentially equivalent to regional terms like Yan people and Zhao people.

Therefore, the people of Lingnan were already recognized as their own people by the various Chinese states.

As for the Korean Peninsula in the northeast, although the common people did not know what to call them—whether to call them barbarians, yi, or something else—they all agreed that since they were "foreigners" who did not belong to the Chinese, whether they were called barbarians or yi, they could not escape the category of "savages".

As for the different cultural customs among the Xiongnu in the north, the Baiyi in the southwest, and the various countries on the Korean Peninsula, the Chinese people of this era understood them as the species differences between different kinds of savages.

Just like how golden monkeys are gentle, pheasants are irritable, silverback gorillas are territorial, and gibbons are extremely clingy—what's with all this talk about culture and customs? Aren't they just different species with different habits?

This cannot be blamed on the narrow-mindedness and ignorance of the Chinese people in this era.

After all, in this era, the illiteracy rate is not calculated as a percentage, but rather as per per thousand—described and counted as nine hundred and ninety-something per thousand;

Asking these farmers, who are illiterate and may not even know the terrain of the next village or have ever seen what the next county looks like, to understand another civilization thousands of miles away is simply asking too much of them.

Furthermore, even if Liu Rong had the desire to help ordinary people understand the world and other civilizations, he simply didn't have the opportunity or the means to do so.

Education requires a medium.

To put it more bluntly: for a teacher to teach students, the prerequisite is that students come to school.

In the Han Dynasty today, it is almost impossible for the government to educate and guide the common people.

At best, this meant that the common people would have a general idea of ​​what the imperial court was going to do, through a concise and obscure edict or decree displayed on a notice board outside the local government offices.

For example, back then, King Liu Bi of Wu issued a proclamation demanding the execution of Chao Cuo and the removal of corrupt officials from the court;

The Chang'an court responded with a proclamation denouncing the traitor, listing the crimes of King Liu Bi of Wu, and declaring to the world the Chang'an court's determination to quell the rebellion and bring peace to the world.

In this back and forth, two lengthy treatises that took months and painstaking effort from scholars to finally be promulgated to the world, were, in the eyes of the common people, actually just a single sentence.

—The King of Wu rebelled, but Chang'an was not intimidated.

To put it in even more detail, even to the extreme, it means: the King of Wu pretended to purge the court of corrupt officials, but in reality he rebelled. Chang'an severely reprimanded him and sent troops to quell the rebellion.

That's already amazing!
It is already a remarkable achievement that the most vulnerable people can receive decisions from the top leadership in such a low-cost way.

However, just like news broadcasts in later generations, different people can get different levels of information from them;
In this era, even the slightest political development can lead to different conclusions depending on who is involved.

Just as Liu Rong summoned the kings of various Korean states, the common people thought that Liu Rong was bored and wanted to see something new and see different kinds of wild people.

However, to the officials, nobles, and other dignitaries both inside and outside the court, this seemingly insignificant action contained a wealth of information that could be extracted and appreciated.

—The westward shift of the Xiongnu's strategic focus and the protracted war between the Han and the Xiongnu were already well-known news both inside and outside the court.

Ever since the Battle of Gaoque, when the Xiongnu made it clear that they wanted to avoid war and shift their strategic focus, the court and the people of Chang'an had entered a period of somewhat agonizing speculation, or rather, political prediction.

The predictions naturally concerned the future direction of the Han dynasty and Emperor Liu Rong's future plans for the Han dynasty.

Is it to keep targeting the Xiongnu and continue to cause trouble in the Munan region, forcing the Xiongnu to take desperate measures?
Or should we slowly wear down the Xiongnu and see who can outlast whom first?

Alternatively, we could put the Xiongnu aside for now, and take advantage of the strategic space when the Xiongnu are preoccupied with their own problems and have no energy to cause trouble for the Han, to resolve other issues.
For example, Zhao Tuo in the south, or those families in Guandong, whose claws and teeth have not been completely eliminated and who have completely lost their threat to the central court in Chang'an, still have the power to cause trouble for the clans and lords in Guandong.

These possibilities correspond one by one to the development strategies and priorities that dukes, ministers, meritorious officials, and nobles inside and outside the court might adopt.

If Liu Rong chooses the first option, namely: to keep the Xiongnu at bay, briefly consolidate the Gaoque defense line he has gained, and then send troops north along the Hetao region to look out of Gaoque and towards the south of the Mu.

Therefore, officials both inside and outside the court should shift their focus from official duties to military matters.

All matters concerning irrigation canals, roads, people's livelihoods, and the need for recuperation and development should be put on hold for now.
Use all available personnel and funds to acquire as many swords, bows, spears, halberds, and arrows as possible, prioritizing their supply to the frontline troops.

Grit your teeth, take over Mu Nan, tear the Xiongnu Chanyu court apart, drive the Xiongnu people to the northern desert to eat sand, and then it won't be too late to talk about water conservancy, roads, people's livelihood and livelihood.

At the same time, as the top group in the bureaucratic system, the court officials could also take advantage of this information gap to contribute to the country while seeking some personal gain within the scope of the 'rules', while doing so.

—If war is about to break out, especially on the grasslands, logistical support will be extremely difficult, and there will inevitably be a shortage of manpower, right?
No matter how wealthy and powerful the Imperial Treasury and the Chief Commandant are, there will always be times when they cannot be perfect in every aspect and make mistakes.

There must be some inconspicuous supplies that the Imperial Treasury and the Chief Commandant unexpectedly didn't have enough of, right?
Even if we take a step back and assume that Mu Nan is going to war, the imperial court should have inside information about which field army it is most likely to send to the front, right?

Once you get the news, use your connections to get a few relatives or nephews into that unit, and then earn some military merit in Munan. Surely no one can find fault with that, right?

If this was the case for court officials and nobles, then it goes without saying that meritorious marquises and noble relatives were even more so.

When court officials seek personal gain, they should at least "prioritize contributing to the ancestral temple and the state, with profiting being secondary." If they cannot obtain such benefits, contributing to the country is acceptable—at least they can earn a good reputation. But the privileged second-generation nobles and relatives of high-ranking officials don't listen to such talk.

These spoiled brats have long since thrown all notions of dignity and reputation to the winds.

Do you really think the term "spoiled brat" is just a joke?
When people are able to pursue their own interests, they will not be able to contribute to the country.

Even if it involves undermining the country, as long as the risk isn't too great—or even as long as there's a chance of 'not getting caught'—they won't even blink.

Back then, Liu Ronghuang, as the eldest son, personally took charge of stabilizing grain prices in Guanzhong as his final test to see if he could be appointed as the crown prince.
What's the result?

These fools, for a mere hundred or two hundred thousand coins and thirty or fifty thousand bushels of grain, didn't hesitate to offend Liu Rong, who was about to move into the Crown Prince's palace, to the point of no return.

Later, when the truth came out and Liu Rong was about to draw his sword, these people shamelessly stepped forward again, saying that if Liu Rong spared them, they would support him to become the crown prince.

呵；
It's as if Liu Rong's position as crown prince was appointed by these spoiled brats through imperial edict...

Closer to home.

In fact, the emperors of the Han dynasty—including Liu Rong—did not completely reject the actions of these aristocratic second-generation rich kids who sought personal gain.

As mentioned above, the pursuit of personal gain by court officials is not inherently in conflict with the national interest.

Or rather, there are many different ways to pursue personal interests.

Some people use the harm to national interests to "rob the country for their own benefit";

Some do neither harm national interests nor contribute to the country, but simply fill their own pockets;

Of course, there are also 'win-win' models that can both contribute to the country and benefit oneself.

In fact, this was always the attitude of the Han dynasty towards meritorious marquises and nobles.

Whenever war broke out, the Han dynasty required the nobles and marquises to fund their own personal armies and go to war to assist the court in suppressing rebellions.

From the perspective of the central government, this was to partially distribute the cost of mobilizing the army to these 'lord'-like meritorious marquises, thus forcing them to contribute to the country;

However, from another perspective, this also gave meritorious nobles the opportunity to establish their careers, obtain military honors and rewards.

After all, in this era, not just anyone could raise a private army or retainers, or even privately form an army and equip it with standard weapons to fight in the war.

It's a very simple principle;

When war breaks out, if ordinary people want to get a share of the spoils, they first need to pass the strict selection process for soldiers during the Han Dynasty.

Even if you are lucky enough to pass the selection and become a member of the army, you will only be a foot soldier or a soldier on the front line, equipped with a long sword and a long spear.

When it came to the battlefield, tens of thousands of people from both sides would fight face-to-face in several rows, and then approach each other with a hiss.
Once they reached a distance of three to five zhang, they began to hold their long spears level and indiscriminately thrust at the enemy soldiers a few zhang away.

This is the meat grinder of the cold weapon era.

Forget about making great achievements, being the first to charge into battle, or capturing enemy generals and flags—survival comes first.

Even if they survived, they would still have to argue with their comrades: among these enemy corpses scattered all over the ground, which one did you kill and which one did I kill?

Even on the same enemy corpse, which hole you made, which hole I made, whose hole was more fatal, and who should have the head...

In contrast, the nobles and relatives who brought their own provisions, weapons, and horses, and formed their own private armies, had the most luxurious equipment imaginable.

These powerful figures, with their extensive connections, could obtain a certain number of crossbows and even large crossbows during wartime and equip them with their private armies.

Moreover, since these noble private armies were not part of the official combat formation, they could not be easily commanded on the battlefield. Therefore, they were often not sent as the vanguard on the battlefield.

At the start of the battle, both sides sent out their vanguard, which consisted of several rows of men holding long spears and advancing and retreating while stabbing each other.

Once one side has been thoroughly stabbed and is on the verge of collapse and scattering, the other side will then advance with full force.

Once they reach this advantageous and rapidly advancing stage, when they are in a favorable position, these well-equipped noble private armies will roar and charge towards the flanks of the battlefield to pick off enemies in the nooks and crannies.

Moreover, since these noble private armies were basically 'quasi-professional soldiers' who had been trained since childhood and were well-equipped, and were cherished by the nobles on the battlefield, even treated like royalty, such noble private armies were always able to achieve astonishing kill ratios.

Let's take the Battle of Suiyang, the decisive battle of the Rebellion of the Seven States of Wu and Chu, as an example.

About forty days after the outbreak of the Battle of Suiyang, the private armies of nobles composed of the relatives of the marquises began to arrive at the Suiyang line in an orderly manner.

Then, together with Zhou Yafu, they stayed in Xiayi until a few days before the rebellion was quelled.

They remained unmoved by the bloody battle at Suiyang;

Even when Zhou Yafu's troops were digging trenches and building fortifications in Xiayi, they didn't let their private soldiers contribute any effort.

When news of Han Tuidang's surprise attack on the Huai-Si estuary, cutting off the retreat route of the main Wu-Chu rebels, reached back, the siege of Suiyang was lifted. The Wu-Chu rebels then turned to attack Zhou Yafu's Xiayi. These nobles, along with their private armies, detoured to Suiyang!
The Battle of Suiyang is over, and they've fled to Suiyang with their troops!
Then, the Battle of Xiayi was over. King Liu Bi of Wu abandoned his army and fled. Hundreds of thousands of Wu-Chu rebels collapsed. Only then did these nobles cautiously leave Suiyang. They even formed small groups and looked after each other, sweeping eastward from Suiyang City.

When it came time to reward those who had contributed after the war, it was truly amazing; Liu Rong got a glimpse of it all!

The reports from the marquises and nobles on their kills, casualties, and losses were often as follows: "Our troops numbered over a hundred, with over a hundred heads taken, one killed, five wounded, and two crippled..."

Each time, the gains were equal to the strength of our own troops, while the casualties were in the single digits!
If Liu Rong hadn't also happened to be in Suiyang at that time and hadn't participated in almost the entire Battle of Suiyang, he would have thought that these nobles were all invincible generals...

(End of this chapter)