Chapter 5: Staying for spiritual practice and forgetting to return VI. Diplomacy
In the autumn of the 20th year of Jianwu, in September, General Ma Yuan of Fubo returned to Beijing from Jiaozhi and brought back a bronze horse with a height of three feet and five inches and a circumference of four feet and five inches. This horse was cast with Luoyue bronze drums seized in the south, which was of great significance. Liu Xiu was extremely happy and placed the bronze horse under the Xuande Hall. Within two months, because Wuhuan and Xiongnu repeatedly invaded the border, the Xiongnu even frequently attacked Tianshui, Fufeng, and Shangdang counties, constantly harassing the people on the border, Ma Yuan took the initiative to ask for battle again, and Liu Xiu granted his request.
When Ma Yuan set out, Liu Xiu ordered all civil and military officials to see him off. It is said that Liang Song and Dou Gu were among them.
In the early years, due to internal strife, the newly established Han Dynasty was not strong enough to deal with the surrounding ethnic minorities, especially the Xiongnu, in terms of military strength and people's livelihood. For this reason, Liu Xiu still adopted a policy of conciliation and enduring humiliation. In the sixth year of Jianwu, he appointed Liu Sa, Marquis of Guide, as an envoy to the Xiongnu and presented him with a large amount of money. At that time, the Xiongnu Chanyu was arrogant and rude to the envoy, but Liu Xiu remained calm and treated him as before.
In the twelfth year, Lu Fang's subordinates who stayed in Wuyuan surrendered to the Han court with Yu, forcing Lu Fang to abandon his baggage and escape to the Xiongnu with only a dozen cavalrymen. Although the collapse of Lu Fang's power was a good thing, it also forced the Han army in the northern counties to face the Xiongnu head-on and fight against them. Since then, the Xiongnu invaded Hedong and other places on a large scale, and the Han army's defenders were simply unable to resist.
Under great pressure from the Xiongnu's invasion from the south, Liu Xiu adopted the measures of heavily guarding the border and relocating the people living on the border.
In a relatively short period of time, Liu Xiu mobilized a large number of troops to build a defense line in the northern counties. This defense line that contracted inland ran through Xihe, Weiqiao, Heshang, Anyi, Taiyuan, Jingxing, Zhongshan, Yecheng and other places, stretching for thousands of miles. At that time, the court was enfeoffing meritorious officials to take back the military power, but Du Mao, Ma Wu, Zhu Hu, Ma Cheng, Wang Chang, Wang Ba and others were still stationed on this defense line to resist foreign invasion. Because the country had just recovered the country, the focus must be placed on restoring economic production first, and the Han Dynasty had limited military strength and was unable to control the vast remote areas. For this reason, Liu Xiu judged the situation and adopted a defensive strategy of retreating three times, gradually abandoning part of Youzhou and Bingzhou, and relocating the residents there to live in the interior.
After Ma Yuan was stationed at the northern border, he led 3,000 men to attack Wuhuan in the autumn of the 21st year of Jianwu, but unfortunately he gained nothing. However, Liaodong County Governor Ji Zhu defeated more than 10,000 Xianbei cavalrymen, and this battle made the Xianbei dare not approach the border again.
In the winter of that year, the Huns attacked Shanggu and Zhongshan counties again, and Ma Yuan led his people to fight to the death.
At a time when frictions and fierce battles frequently occurred between the Xiongnu and the Han, the countries in the Western Regions, unable to endure the harassment of the King of Shache, turned to the Han court for help.
The Western Regions were located in the northwest of the Han Dynasty. For the Han court, the Western Regions were originally very far away. Now, in order to deal with the Xiongnu, they gave up some lands in Youzhou and Bingzhou in the north, causing the Xiongnu to penetrate further. The eighteen small countries in the Western Regions, including Cheshiqian, Shanshan, Yanqi, Jingjue, and Qiuci, were afraid of being annexed by the powerful Shache Kingdom, so they hoped that China could lend a hand. They each sent their princes to Luoyang as hostages, saying that as long as China was willing to send troops and set up a protectorate in the Western Regions, so that Shache Kingdom would not dare to dominate the Western Regions and have any reckless thoughts, then they would be willing to submit to China from then on.
Faced with such a request, some court officials thought it was a piece of cake, while others disagreed, regarding themselves as a great country and claiming that they did not need to take those barbarian and small countries seriously.
This was a decision involving national politics and diplomacy. The ministers discussed it countless times, but no final conclusion was reached. The arrival of hostages from 18 countries really made the Grand Herald Guo Kuang very busy. The hostages all brought jewels to the court as tributes, and their servants ranged from dozens to more than ten. Adding them together, there were indeed a lot of people who needed to be settled. In addition, it snowed for several days and the weather turned cold, so they had to buy more clothes, quilts, charcoal stoves, firewood and other daily necessities.
Compared to the heated discussion in the court, Liu Xiu's reaction seemed a little cold. I watched from the sidelines, and even if he didn't say anything, I could still understand what he was thinking.
It was a snowy day, and I held Liu Shou's hand and Liu Liliu's hand as we walked from the West Palace to the Yuntai Palace. Although we were sheltered by the verandas, we were still blinded by the snowflakes blowing in our faces. The two children were having a great time, and were particularly excited to see the vast expanse of snow.
There was a charcoal stove in Guangde Hall. As soon as I entered the door, I felt the warmth. I breathed and walked in with the two children. Liu Xiu was reading a document at his desk. When he saw me enter the room, he stood up quickly. Liu Shou smiled and shouted, "Father!" and threw himself over with open arms. Liu Liliu, who was older and more sensible, stood on the ground obediently and said delicately, "Children greet father!"
At this time Liu Xiu had already held Liu Shou in his arms. I was afraid that Liu Xiu would get tired, so I hurriedly sent the wet nurse to take Liu Shou down. However, she refused to give in and clung to Liu Xiu's neck tightly. No matter how I coaxed her, it was of no use.
This was all because Liu Heng died young, so Liu Xiu was particularly doting on this little daughter afterwards. At the beginning of this year, he designated Liyi County as Liu Shou's fiefdom and named her Princess Liyi.
Snow beads hit the window, and the sky darkened. Although the lights were on in the hall, the light was not bright enough. I couldn't help but say angrily, "I told you not to worry too much, but you always give me a perfunctory answer... You are no longer the same as you were when you were a teenager."
Liu Xiu smiled and said, "Yes, yes, I'll follow the Queen's orders." Then he carried Liu Shou into the inner room.
In order to keep warm, a heavy curtain was hung at the door of the dormitory. Once people entered, they felt 10% warmer. I was just mumbling, "Why don't you move the desk from the outer room inside?" I heard a "choo" behind me. It was Liu Liliu who sneezed with his hands covering his mouth.
I turned around and saw her standing at the door, still wearing her mink coat, with the grey mink fur tucked into her neck, which made her face look as white as snow. She was young and small, with a little baby fat on her face, but her long eyelashes and twinkling eyes made me feel dazed for a moment.
"Mother..." Maybe because I looked at her in too strange a way, she called out shyly.
I came back to my senses, blinked, and my tense face slowly relaxed, with the corners of my mouth curled up: "Why don't you take off your coat?" Seeing that my expression had eased, she smiled, reached out to untie her coat, turned around and handed it to the palace maid. I held out my hand to her, and she smiled and put her hand in my palm.
The touch was warm, and the five fingers were white and slender. I rubbed the little hand in my palm and smiled softly, "Your nails have grown longer again. Let Aunt Shanan cut them for you later."
"I want one too." Without waiting for Liu Liliu to answer, Liu Shou shouted loudly in his father's arms.
Liu Liliu smiled shyly, and that pure and flawless smile made my heart tremble again: "Thank you, mother. You treat me so well."
The corner of my mouth twitched, and I stared blankly without saying anything. Suddenly, the room became quiet. I don't know how long it took, but Liu Xiu pushed me from behind and called softly, "Lihua..."
I came back to my senses as if I had just woken up from a dream, hugged Liu Liliu from behind, and said with a smile: "Stop talking nonsense. You are my daughter. If the Queen Mother doesn't love her daughter, who else can she love?"
After hearing this, Liu Shou repeatedly shouted: "What about me? Does the Queen Mother love me?"
I smiled and turned back: "Same! You and your sister are both the Queen Mother's darlings!"
Liu Shou seemed dissatisfied with this answer and pouted unhappily, but Liu Liliu smiled, her smile was as beautiful as a flower, and she was filled with happiness. I smiled gently at her, and she took my hand and made me bend down a little, then stood on tiptoes and kissed me heavily on the face, smiling shyly: "I love mother the most! I want to be the most obedient daughter of mother, and when I grow up, I will be filial to mother like my brother the crown prince and my sister the eldest princess."
"Good girl!" I smiled and touched her face, then picked up a ball from the table and gave it to her. "Go to the outer room with your sister and play football. Mother and father will talk to each other, and I will come back to play with you later."
Liu Li and Liu agreed. Seeing that there was something to play about, Liu Shou also obediently slipped off Liu Xiu's body. The two sisters went out happily hand in hand.
I sat down on the bed, a little dazed. Shanan brought a basin of hot water for me to soak my feet, but Liu Xiu sent her away and rolled up his sleeves to do it himself.
I didn't refuse. As soon as my two feet, which were frozen like icicles, entered the water, I felt as if I had come back to life. It was warm and comfortable indescribably.
The sound of water splashed, I reached out and touched his gray temples, and sighed for a moment: "I really don't know if this is right or wrong?"
He looked up when he heard the voice, his hands were wet, but his eyes were smiling like spring breeze: "As long as you think it is right, stick to it, don't worry about it..."
I sighed again: "So, you have already made up your mind about the matter of the Western Region?"
His expression straightened up, and I pulled him up and sat together at the head of the bed.
"I... intend to send the princes of the Western Regions back to their country, and prepare some generous gifts for them to take back..."
I was shocked when I heard this and remained silent.
Neither he nor I spoke, our eyes locked on each other, his dark pupils clearly reflecting my face. The water in the basin was getting colder, and I suddenly lifted my feet, splashing water everywhere.
"That's good."
He said "hmm", still bent down to dry my feet, then held them tightly with his hands, his palms slightly cold.
I suddenly started to talk in a nonsensical way: "I remember that year when starving people came to my house. My eldest brother and second brother were not at home, and I forced my third brother to take in the refugees. Although he did not dare to say anything, he was not very happy in his heart. In fact, I also know that there are many people in my family. In that situation, it is not easy to take care of the food and clothing of the clan members. How can I take care of others? Moreover... It is easy to save a person for a moment, but it is difficult to save a lifetime. It seems that I have saved so many people, but I didn't expect that I would end up tiring others and myself..."
Liu Xiu called out softly: "Lihua..."
I looked up and smiled at him. "After years of war, the people need to recuperate and restore the economy. These are the top priorities. The Western Regions are too far away from the Central Plains. To be honest, it is too heavy a burden for us to send troops to station there, set up a protectorate, safeguard the interests of those countries, and jointly resist the bullying of the Shache Kingdom. The border is vast and sparsely populated. You would rather abandon Youzhou and Bingzhou, evacuate the people on the border to the interior, and reduce the territory. Aren't you worried that the country's finances are limited and cannot take care of so many areas? In this case, how can we have the extra energy to care about the more distant Western Regions?"
He let go of my feet and sighed again: "Lihua, I am really not a good emperor."
"If you are not a good emperor, I really don't know what the standard is for measuring a good emperor." I smiled and put on my socks. "In my humble opinion, Emperor Wu used military force against the Xiongnu and the Western Regions in his later years, wasted military funds, and put the people in dire straits. He really can't be considered a good emperor."
Liu Xiu's face changed slightly, and he was stunned for a long time before he said dumbly: "How can I compare with Emperor Wu..."
I laughed and said, "Yes, I should compare you with Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing, but I still don't want our Yang'er to become an emperor like Liu Che in the future, even if... he will be remembered in history forever." I couldn't help but straighten my back. "I am dull and don't have any great wisdom of benevolence. In my opinion, the significance of the Western Regions to our Han Dynasty is really negligible. In the past, Zhang Qian went to the Western Regions to unite with Dayuezhi to attack the Xiongnu. This was out of military strategic considerations. Now it seems that what use is there for us in the Western Regions? Its land, its products, and its people are neither useful to us nor a place that must be fought for by military strategists. What's the point of those vassal states, big and small? Setting up a protectorate consumes national strength, labors people and wastes money, and the gains do not outweigh the losses. You still prepared gifts for your kindness. If it were me, I would have sent them back home long ago..."
He sneered, put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me into his arms: "Thank you."
"no need thank me?"
"Thank you for defending me and for taking the trouble to use so many words to praise me."
I laughed: "Then why don't you save the gifts you prepared for the princes of the Western Regions and give them directly to me!"
Liu Xiu couldn't help but burst into laughter when he heard this: "He is indeed a money-grubber!"
I replied, "It's not that I'm obsessed with money, it's that you're stingy! I still remember what the elders and people there said about you when you went to Nandun County, Runan two years ago."
The smile in his eyes grew wider. I pursed my lips and chuckled, "You, my father-in-law, used to be the magistrate of Nandun, so you exempted Nandun's taxes for one year. The officials and people asked you to reduce them for ten years, but you refused. Finally, after much bargaining, you reluctantly added another year." The reason why I still remember that year's events so vividly is that the emperor, his ministers, and the people were all happy at that time. Those officials and people saw that Liu Xiu had a good temper, and they actually teased the emperor, saying that the emperor was petty, and that he was obviously reluctant to give up those ten years of taxes, but he was pretending to be righteous.
Thinking back on this incident, I still laugh. My Xiu'er, sometimes he really doesn't look like an emperor. Not only does he not have the airs of an emperor, but his demeanor is also that of a simple young man who worked in the fields.
"I am indeed stingy." He put away his smile, and suddenly there was a trace of guilt in his eyes. He took my hand and said, "Although I am the emperor, I have not been able to let you live a luxurious life with fine clothes and delicious food. You are the queen, but your food, clothing and expenses are far inferior to those of the previous queen. I am the one who makes you suffer..."
I covered his mouth with my hand. "Fortunately, you are not as extravagant as the previous emperor. If you also had three thousand beauties in your harem, I would have smashed my head against the pillars of this Yuntai Pavilion and died!" I deliberately spoke with strong jealousy to dilute his guilt. "I don't want your gold, I don't want your silver... I just want you, your heart..."
The snow outside seemed to be getting stronger, and the whistling wind was swirling outside the window, but my heart was unusually warm. We leaned on each other, without too many words, watching each other, and occasionally a glance intertwined, that moment was eternal.
In the winter of the 21st year of Jianwu, Emperor Jianwu of the Han Dynasty politely declined the invitation from the Western Regions, sent the prince who was held as a hostage back to his country, and presented him with generous gifts. The 18 countries were greatly panicked when they heard that China was unwilling to send a Protector General, so they sent a letter to the governor of Dunhuang, requesting that the prince stay in the Han territory, hoping to frighten the Shache Kingdom by giving the false impression that China agreed to send a Protector General.
After Dunhuang prefect Pei Zun reported the truth, Liu Xiu agreed.
In the 22nd year of Jianwu, Liu Ying came of age and moved out of the palace. In fact, compared with Liu Qiang and Liu Fu, he had lived in the palace for a long time, but even so, Concubine Xu still cried bitterly when she parted with her only son - I was clear about gratitude and resentment, and I thought that Xu Yanzhi had been honest and dutiful in the past ten years in the palace, and Liu Ying was also well-behaved and obedient, so I ordered the Grand Chamberlain that on the first and fifteenth day of every month, King Liu Ying of Chu would come to the palace to pay his respects to me and then take him to Concubine Xu's palace, so that the mother and son could spend half an hour together.
Concubine Xu knew that her support for the rest of her life depended on her son, but before that, all of this support depended on her thoughts. So she became more cautious in her words and actions in the harem and never went out.
It was in the late autumn of that year, one afternoon in September. I hadn't woken up from my nap yet, but I heard panicked screams in the palace. I was awakened by the screams, and before I opened my eyes, I felt the bed under me shaking constantly. The bed didn't seem like a bed, but like a boat floating on the sea. At first I thought I was dreaming, but then there were crackling sounds all around. I opened my eyes and saw that the furnishings in the room were shaking, and the piles of bamboo slips on the table slid and fell to the ground.
The next second, I jumped up from the bed reflexively. There was no one in the dormitory, but it was very noisy outside. The wall powder of the rammed earth wall was falling down, and the choking lime powder filled the small space.
When I was covering my mouth and nose and about to rush out, a person rushed in and almost bumped into me.
"My Queen!" Shanan was quite skilled. Seeing that I was fine, she couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. She hurriedly pulled my hand and said, "Get out quickly! We can't stay in the house anymore..." As she spoke, there was a loud bang. I don't know what fell from the roof and broke into pieces.
It was a critical moment, so I didn't have time to see what was broken. I quickly grabbed Shanan and we ran out together.
After leaving the main hall of the West Palace, I found that the garden was already full of people, some squatting and some standing. Many palace maids and eunuchs were so scared that they hugged each other, while some brave enough looked up and pointed at the roof.
The ground beneath my feet was still shaking, just like the sky and the earth were shaking. People kept running out of the West Palace, screaming in terror: "Earthquake——"
My heart suddenly tightened and I realized the seriousness of the situation. I cried out, "My child..." I was so anxious that I almost fainted.
Shanan saw that I was panicking, so she quickly grabbed me and said, "Don't panic, Your Majesty! The Crown Prince and the kings and princesses are all fine, Your Majesty, please retreat to a safe place as soon as possible."
The so-called safe place was nothing but some empty flat land. I turned around and looked in the direction Shanan pointed, but I didn't see any signs of Liu Zhuang and others. However, I vaguely saw another familiar figure running towards me in a hurry.
"Lihua--" The earthquake was so severe that people could barely stand. Liu Xiu almost stumbled as he ran in from outside, and he almost fell down several times.
I cried out "Ouch" and hurriedly shouted, "Don't move! Don't move! Squat down quickly!" But he didn't listen to me at all. He staggered to me, and Dai Ang and others followed him in panic.
The earthquake lasted for about five or six minutes, and then it stopped. The quiet palace was indescribably strange. Liu Xiu and I stood side by side. The palace maids who were originally scared to tears sobbed twice, and did not dare to be too timid in front of the emperor and empress, so they stopped crying.
However, at that moment, I really saw fear in Liu Xiu's eyes.
The 22nd year of Jianwu was destined to be a year of disasters. In September, an earthquake occurred, with the epicenter located squarely in Nanyang. According to the report submitted by the Nanyang governor, houses in Nanyang collapsed, the ground cracked, and the people were buried and buried, with countless casualties. In addition to Nanyang County, as many as 42 counties and states were affected by the earthquake, accounting for two-fifths of the total number of counties and states in the country.
Liu Xiu's fear was not without reason. Such a devastating natural disaster caused a huge number of casualties and the huge economic losses were immeasurable. This was undoubtedly the heaviest blow to the Han Dynasty, which was recovering its agricultural economic development. In addition, if we think about this matter from another perspective, what made Liu Xiu feel afraid was the superstitious thoughts in his bones. Due to the lack of correct scientific argumentation, the ancients often imagined natural disasters as punishment from heaven. Ordinary people were like this, let alone Liu Xiu, who was superstitious? The most fatal thing was that the epicenter of the earthquake was in Nanyang, which was the imperial hometown, so Liu Xiu was more convinced that it was the heavens who warned him about his actions.
Of course, I could not possibly agree with his nonsense idealism, so I argued with him and asked the Minister of Agriculture to allocate grain and funds for disaster relief before he led his people to offer sacrifices to the gods.
Disaster relief efforts were quickly launched in counties and prefectures across the country. The emperor issued an edict: "There has been an earthquake recently, especially in Nanyang. The earth is the most heavy, and it is still and motionless. Now it is cracking, and the fault lies with you. The gods are disobedient and immoral, and the disaster will affect the officials. I am very afraid. Order Nanyang not to pay the draft land rent this year. Send messengers to investigate. Those who were sentenced to death before the Wuchen period will have their death penalty reduced by one level; all prisoners will have their shackles loosened and wear silk and cotton. Give the county residents who were crushed to death coffin money, 3,000 yuan per person. Those who owe taxes and whose houses are particularly damaged will not be held accountable. Officials who died or whose houses are damaged and whose families are too weak to clean up should be hired to look for them."
On October 19, the Grand Marshal Zhu Fu, who was in charge of the civil engineering project of Yingchengqiyi , was dismissed from his post. The next day, Guanglu Xun Du Lin was appointed as the Grand Marshal.
Not long after the earthquake, a locust plague broke out in Qingzhou, and the whole country was suddenly shrouded in gloom again.
At this time, the princes of the Western Regions who stayed in Dunhuang could not bear the homesickness and fled back to the Western Regions. The King of Shache learned that China would not send a Protector General to the Western Regions, so he led his troops to attack Shanshan and even killed the King of Kucha. The King of Shanshan wrote to the Han court, expressing his willingness to send another prince to China as a hostage and requesting that China must appoint a Protector General to the Western Regions to suppress the rampant arrogance of the King of Shache.
In addition to the earnest words, this memorial also added a light sentence at the end - if China did not send a protectorate, they would have no choice but to seek refuge with the Xiongnu.
Liu Xiu, who was already worried about the disaster in his country, heard about this and replied indifferently: "It is impossible to send envoys and troops to the Western Regions now. If the countries are unable to do so, then the east, west, south and north are free to do whatever you want!"
The phrase "East, West, South, and North are at your own will" completely refuted the King of Shanshan's threats. Shanshan was frustrated and was forced to surrender to the Xiongnu together with Cheshi.
