My father is Emperor Wu of Han, how can I be different from him?

Chapter 257 You are so patient

Just as the Han emperor withdrew his troops and was busy with Fengshan, searching for immortals, and testing his seventh brother, a series of changes occurred on the grassland during that period of time.

The changes also occurred after the withdrawal of troops.

The Han army retreated and the Xiongnu tribes returned. This has become an old tradition.

However, after returning to the south this time, the situation was a little different. Zuo Xian Wang, the uncle of the two Chanyus Wuwei and Julihu, and a royal family of the grassland, pledged allegiance to the Han court!
At first glance.

Although the two brothers Wuwei and Julihu were separated, they were both furious. How could the dignified Zuoxian King of the Luandi clan pay tribute to the south?
Uwe was very angry, and in a rage, he immediately announced a break with his uncle. After winning over a group of tough leaders, he immediately led his troops eastward!
This move can be summed up in two words:

Annexation!

The Han army retreated, but the fighting on the grassland became more intense.

At the same time, Ju Lihu was also very angry, but when he heard that the conflict between his brother and Zuo Xian Wang had escalated, Ju Lihu made an unexpected but reasonable decision. He not only suppressed his anger, but also bowed his head...

"Your Majesty, the Great Chanyu deeply misses the friendship between the Han people and the Xiongnu people in the past. He requests a marriage and is willing to ask to be the son-in-law and respect the emperor as an elder."

Inside the Xuanshi Hall.

The Xiongnu envoy, the Right Grand Commandant Hu Wei, bowed sincerely.

At this moment, in the Xuanshi Hall, all the officials, from the three dukes on the highest level to the thousand-stone officials, were present.

This was completely different from the treatment given to Yizhixie when he sent envoys south to request a marriage alliance. The emperor did not discuss it with the ministers and simply rejected the request. Instead, just as he did during the reigns of Emperors Wen and Jing, whenever the Huns sent envoys south, he treated them with great importance.

At that time.

The Han court attached great importance to it because it had to. If the Xiongnu wanted a marriage alliance or wanted the royal family to send a princess, the court had to agree.

But today, the offense and defense have already changed!

Liu Che asked all the civil and military officials in the court to come and listen to this "marriage request" in order to take the opportunity to tell everyone that he wanted to wipe out the last trace of humiliation that the Han Dynasty had suffered in the past hundred years!
"Friendship between the Han people and the Huns?" Liu Che paced on the imperial steps with his arms folded and a smile on his face. He glanced at the envoy Hu Wei below the stage.

"Is it the friendship of my Han people who have suffered from bullying? Or is it the friendship of my sending troops to the north in recent years, causing you Xiongnu people to suffer heavy losses?"

The words fell.

All the civil and military officials in the hall looked at Hu Wei coldly.

In the current situation, the fact that the Right Grand Commandant Hu Wei was sent by Julihu to serve as an envoy must show that he has some cunning ideas.

After hearing the emperor's obviously provocative words, Hu Wei just twitched his face, and then said calmly: "As two neighboring countries, it is inevitable that there will be some friction and misunderstandings."

"The Great Chanyu has a broad mind, so he sent me to reconcile with the Han court. Your Majesty the Emperor is also a king, so I believe he has a broad mind."

"It is useless to talk about the past. If the Emperor can marry a princess to be my Lord Yanshi, there will be a lot of things to do in the future."

kindness……

If it were placed in the period of several previous emperors, this "great potential" would mean that the Huns would not go south to plunder, which was equivalent to exchanging the princess for peace.

And now.

Hu Wei's words "great potential" indicated an inclination toward alliance and cooperation, which was an obvious implication and the emperor received the signal.

He nodded seriously and praised him first, "Your Great Chanyu is a man of character. He is patient and ruthless. He has the foundation to achieve great things."

The praise was a bit blatant, but Hu Wei didn't mind at all. Instead, he showed joy on his face, "So..."

"So I agree to the marriage!"

When the emperor said this, there was some buzz among the court officials, but that was all. The ministers still understood the emperor's temper.

really.

The joy on Hu Wei's face became more and more intense, and just as he was about to express his gratitude -

"But." Liu Che looked at him apologetically and sighed, "I don't have a princess to marry, and I don't find it troublesome to find a princess from the royal family to pretend to be one. So, I will give you a palace maid."

"How about letting her be the wife of the emperor?"

A palace maid? The smile on Hu Wei's face froze instantly. A royal lady and a palace maid who was a slave, one in heaven and one in hell. Giving a slave to the Great Chanyu as his wife?
This is not a marriage alliance, it is clearly a humiliation!
Hu Wei’s smile disappeared, his face turned pale and blue, and his expression was gloomy.

"what!"

"Hahahaha!"

I don't know which loud man laughed first, and then all the officials in the Xuanshi Hall followed suit and burst into laughter.

The emperor is still the same emperor. It is impossible for him to surrender, not even in this lifetime!

As for the Huns, you have also suffered this day! ?
The Han Dynasty has been established for nearly a hundred years. So far, there have been as many as ten princesses who have been married off to foreign countries. They have suffered countless humiliations!
Now that the situation has reversed, it is time for the Han people to humiliate the Huns!
Liu Che stared at Hu Wei and sneered. The emperor did not hide his feelings at all and told you clearly, I am just humiliating you, what can you do to me?

Right Grand Commandant Hu Wei could do nothing to anyone and could only lower his eyelids to hide the indignation and hostility in his eyes.

Take a deep breath.

Hu Wei suppressed the turmoil in his chest, and when he raised his head again, his face was filled with the stiffness of enduring humiliation and he said loudly:

"The maiden bestowed by His Majesty the Emperor must be extraordinary. Since His Majesty is willing to give her, our Great Chanyu is willing to marry her!"

"Absolutely nothing!"

Upon hearing this, the laughter in the hall stopped. Li Guang, who had laughed the loudest before, stroked his beard and glanced at the short Hun envoy in the hall.

Even Liu Ju, who had been watching from the sidelines, glanced sideways.

"it is good!"

The emperor stopped smiling at this moment and pointed at Hu Wei, "I said that your Great Chanyu is ruthless and patient, and he did not let me down!"

A mere envoy could not act on his own, especially when it came to a humiliating treaty. Hu Wei was so straightforward in responding, he must have obtained the Great Chanyu's approval in advance.

This is true.

The conflict between Wuwei and Zuo Xian Wang was a good opportunity for Julihu to make a move. He used the excuse of marriage to stabilize the Han court, and even took advantage of the Han court's desire to retaliate against Wuwei, and brought him in for help, thus driving away the wolf and devouring the tiger!
In order to achieve his goal, Ju Lihu did not mind bowing to Han Ting...

Liu Che didn't mind either.

He could see the intention of the wolf cub in the north, but you want to use me, and I also want to use you. As for who will have the last laugh, it depends on the means.

Now that you have stuck your head out, Liu Che will not be polite.

Let’s take a ride first!
"It is not easy for the Xiongnu Chanyu to bend and stretch." At this time, the general Wei Qing stepped out and said some polite words on behalf of the emperor, which were not convenient to say directly:

"As the envoy said before, this is a gift from the Emperor of the Han Dynasty. Even if she is a palace maid, she is still extraordinary. It is reasonable to add her as the Chanyu's wife."

Wei Qing spoke at this time to pave the way for the emperor to make the final decision. The Han emperor and his ministers had given in to this humiliation, and the Hun envoys were also prepared to swallow it with gritted teeth.

Very good, everyone is satisfied.

but.

Just as the emperor was about to continue speaking along the lines of the general, someone beside the imperial steps suddenly interrupted.

"There is one thing I don't understand. In the past, the Xiongnu was strong, and the Han Dynasty sent the princess to the grassland for marriage. Now that the Han Dynasty is strong, why didn't the Xiongnu send the princess to Chang'an?"

"Even if she is a palace maid, she is a palace maid of the Han Dynasty. Rather than giving her to the Xiongnu, it is better to let the Xiongnu pay tribute to her and add a princess to the palace as a concubine."

"It's a marriage anyway."

The Right Grand Commandant Hu Wei could understand and speak Chinese. As an envoy, he even did some background checks to know who the person who had just spoken was.

The prince of Han!

Liu Ju sensed the gaze, turned sideways to look at Hu Wei, and smiled. When he heard that the other party had agreed to the emperor's humiliating marriage, Liu Ju had slightly side-eyed, not because of surprise, but because he suddenly thought:
"Since you are so patient, how about...?"

"Can you bear with me for a little longer?"

The moment he saw Liu Ju's smile, Hu Wei almost couldn't help himself. His cheeks twitched and a fierce look flashed in his eyes, but before he showed it, he immediately lowered his head and looked away.

The Xiongnu people, who were always arrogant, were obviously not very good at swallowing their anger. But it didn't matter. The Han Dynasty would give them many opportunities to practice in the future...

When their eyes met, it seemed like a long time, but in reality it was only a few breaths.

Look back.

Liu Ju looked at the main seat and bowed, saying, "Father, in the past, the Han Dynasty not only gave the princess to the Xiongnu, but also gave a lot of money and property to the Xiongnu."

"If the Xiongnu send a princess to the Han Dynasty, according to the rules, they should also pay tribute. This way, we can not only replenish the national treasury, but also prove that the emperor is respected as an elder."

"Kill two birds with one stone!"

After he finished speaking loudly, one could hear a pin drop in the hall. To be precise, it started when Liu Chuo uttered the words "a princess was presented as tribute by the Xiongnu to be added as a concubine".

Everyone present was stunned and speechless, including the emperor.

In Liu Ju's view, asking the Huns to offer a princess as a concubine was a humiliation to them. To the envoy Hu Wei, it was even more humiliating!

Think about them, the Great Xiongnu, who roamed the grasslands, drove the Yuezhi and Wusun westward, controlled the countries in the Western Regions, and once went east to control the Wuhuan and Xianbei.

More than a hundred years of glory.

It was always his tribe that sent women to the Xiongnu royal court. Was there ever any Xiongnu royal family that sent women to his tribe?

What a shame!
Both the proposer and the passive recipient considered it a humiliation, but the audience in the Xuanshi Hall and the decision maker on the dragon couch had a different view.

I saw.

Xu Yan, a doctor of the Imperial Academy, suddenly stood up and shouted, "How can a barbarian girl enter the palace of the Han family?"

Good fellow! With this shout, the right commander Hu Wei, who could understand Chinese, had his eyelids twitching wildly and the rage in his chest almost burst out!

But this was ultimately his impotent rage, and he dared not even show it.

The disdain for the Xiongnu continued in the hall. As soon as Xu Yan finished speaking, another minister stood up and kept saying:
"Barbarians!"

"Absolutely not!"

"Absolutely not. Absolutely not!"

Liu Ju's words caused a lot of outrage among the crowd. This incident was not directed at anyone but at the matter itself.

The Han imperial family would never accept a Xiongnu woman, even as a concubine, for a very simple reason.

Blood theory.

As a country of etiquette in the Central Plains, we look at the surrounding areas with a sense of absolute superiority and contempt.

In today's Han Dynasty, this kind of concept is particularly serious.

It's not that the ministers had this idea only after following Emperor Liu Che in fighting for a while. Such an idea has existed for a long time!

And the further back in time we go, the more serious it becomes.

On the contrary, in later generations, after many...ethnic integrations, discrimination based on bloodline and geographical location was not as extreme as it is today.

For example, Liu Ju proposed: women from other ethnic groups would be offered as tribute to the Han Dynasty and brought into the Han palace.

During the Tang Dynasty.

Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Li Longji, had a concubine named Cao Ye Na Ji, who gave birth to a princess for him.

Cao Ye Na Ji was born into one of the Nine Surnames of Zhaowu.

Although Zhaowu and Zhaowu sound like a Han name, it is not the case. The word "Zhaowu" in the Tang Dynasty originated from a city in the Hexi Corridor.

Zhaowu City.

And this city has another name: Hunxie King City!

That’s right, it is the city that Huo Qubing once visited. This city was built by the Yuezhi people, and the Huns occupied it after they drove the Yuezhi people away.

The Yuezhi people who left their homeland all changed their surname to Zhaowu in order to commemorate their homeland, thus forming the Nine Zhaowu Clans that settled in Central Asia during the Tang Dynasty.

in short.

Emperor Xuanzong of Tang took a Yuezhi woman as his concubine...

There were similar precedents in the Tang Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty as well. Zhu Yuanzhang married Consort Han from Goryeo and gave birth to Princess Hanshan.

From Liu Ju's perspective, taking the women presented as tribute by the Huns into the palace was a good thing that would bring both fame and profit.

Even if you don't know the examples of Li Longji and Zhu Yuanzhang, it is not unacceptable if you think about it carefully.

however.

The ministers of the Han Dynasty really cannot accept this!

Dongfang Shuo, Wang Heng and others were hesitating, Lu Bode, Li Gan and others were stunned, the emperor was frowning, and a group of doctors and physicians were frantically opposing.

At such a time when everyone was indignant and Liu Ju seemed isolated and helpless, there was a person, an unexpected person, who took the lead in standing up to support the prince!
That person is not from the prince's party, but from the emperor's party.

"Your Majesty, I think the prince's plan is feasible!" The Grand Minister of Agriculture Sang Hongyang stood up resolutely, his face tense and he said loudly.

obviously.

Deep down, Sang Hongyang rejected the idea of ​​Xiongnu women entering the palace. He thought he was doing something wrong and was very clear about what he would face if he stood up...

"Sang Hongyang!"

As expected, the most violent reaction came from Doctor Xu Yan, who called him by his name and angrily said, "Do you know what you are talking about? I am ashamed to serve in the same palace with you!"

If the prince cannot be scolded, can the ministers also not be scolded?
Xu Yan took the lead, followed by a group of old scholars, spitting everywhere. General Li Guang, who was always known for his quarrels, wanted to retreat when he saw this scene.

just.

You can curse all you want, but when the old guys got tired of cursing and had a chance to catch their breath, Sang Hongyang wiped his face, his expression motionless, and he continued to say:
"I think that the Crown Prince's plan is feasible. Although the Xiongnu women are crude, it is feasible to take them into the palace and make them concubines."

"It's doable you *****!"

Some officials lost their dignity and started to curse loudly, with only a third of the firepower of a certain street-swearing general...

Everyone glared at him, but Sang Hongyang remained indifferent.

to be frank.

As the one who proposed the strategy, Liu Ju was somewhat surprised, and Dongfang Shuo and others were even more surprised, thinking: "We haven't even supported the crown prince yet, and you, Sang Hongyang, are charging into battle?"

"Are you here to ruin my job, or do you want to serve the Crown Prince as well?"

neither.

Sang Hongyang's starting point was very simple and direct. The prince said something that touched the heart of the Minister of Agriculture:

The Xiongnu people should pay tribute to the princess and also pay tribute to property, so that they can supplement the national treasury...

Make up for the finances!
(End of this chapter)