Chapter 47 11. Repaying grievances with virtue, the heroine is grateful to the Huns

The relationship between the Han Dynasty and the Xiongnu can be traced back to the "Siege of Baideng". When the Han Dynasty was first established, the Xiongnu captured Mayi and Taiyuan in the south.In the seventh year of the Han Dynasty (200 years ago), Liu Bang led 320,000 infantry to march north, and was besieged by Maodun with 400,000 cavalry in Baideng Mountain, Pingcheng, for seven days. After using Chen Ping's strategy, he was able to escape. At that time, the Han Dynasty had just been established, the feudal lords were undecided, and the central government was unstable, so they were unable to fight the Xiongnu.In the early Han Dynasty, horses were so scarce that even the emperor’s imperial horses could not find four of the same color, and the generals could only ride in ox carts; the Central Plains was not suitable for raising horses, and most of them could not be used as war horses.The Xiongnu are nomadic people with many horses and herds of cattle and sheep. Their people learned to ride and shoot from an early age.

Liu Bang realized this when he was alive. The Han army could not fight the Huns with infantry alone. In terms of combat effectiveness, the Han Dynasty lost to the Huns.Based on this comparison of strength, the Han Dynasty had no choice but to adopt a kinship policy with the Xiongnu, paying tribute to marry off their daughters, hoping that the Xiongnu Shanyu would be slightly closer to the Han.But the Xiongnu continued to invade the south. The problem of the Huns was not resolved until Liu Bang's death. When Empress Lu was in power, she still had to face the powerful Huns. Empress Lu had just proclaimed her title and rewarded the Lu family, when she received a letter from the Xiongnu Shanyu Modun, which said: "I live on the northern grasslands, and I am good at fighting on horseback. My subordinates have strong warriors Three hundred thousand. I am now at the border, and I really want to go deep into the hinterland of the Han family. I heard that your husband died not long ago, and I just lost my wife. We are both lonely and widowed. Why don’t you marry And me?"

Maodun was the Xiongnu Shanyu who surrounded Liu Bang on Baideng Mountain more than ten years ago.The Han Dynasty married a princess to Shan Yu, and gave a large amount of silk, food, wine, etc. every year, as brothers, trying to subdue the Huns, but the Huns were even more arrogant.Its economy lags behind that of China, and it regards the Han's kinship policy as a sign of weakness, so it still often loots on the border. I don't know what purpose Shan Yu wrote this letter for, maybe it was to humiliate the big man's mistress. After Lu Hou read the letter, his face turned pale with anger, but he didn't attack all of a sudden.She thought for a while, and ordered people to beat the Jujiang drum, and the drum sounded loudly. After a while, all the civil servants and generals gathered in the front hall of Weiyang Palace.

The ministers didn't know what happened, they looked at each other and guessed at each other.Empress Lu picked up the letter and said to the little eunuch beside her, "Read it to all the ministers!" Want to marry our empress dowager?It's too much, don't you want to live anymore?There was a lot of discussion. Empress Lu didn't expect anyone to come up with any plan to wipe out the Xiongnu at once. She asked people to read this letter in public to tell everyone that the border of the Han Dynasty was uneasy, and all the ministers had a long way to go. At this time, General Wuyang Hou Fankui suddenly stood up and said: "Your Majesty, Queen Mother, I am willing to lead a hundred thousand people to sweep the Xiongnu and bring you the head of Maodun!"Empress Lu smiled slightly, but did not speak. Seeing Empress Lu's expression, all the generals wanted to cater to Empress Lu's wishes, and said in unison: "Okay!"

Because Fan Kui is Empress Lu's brother-in-law, Empress Lu has always been partial to him, but this time Fan Kui was too anxious to speak carefully.Empress Lu thought to herself: Fan Kui's speech is too hasty, is it just a brainstorm? At this time, Zhonglang General Ji Bu standing in the corner said: "I think the general's words are inappropriate, so he should be beheaded! Back then, Emperor Gao led an army of more than 300,000 troops and was besieged in Pingcheng. How could people and horses sweep the Xiongnu? This is a lie to the face! Besides, it was because of the Qin Dynasty’s use of troops against the Huns that Chen Sheng and others rebelled. The wound has not healed until now, and Fan Kui flattered and flattered the Huns in person, trying to make the world turbulent. .”

Ji Bu's outspoken words made everyone in the hall terrified.But Empress Lu knew in her heart that what Ji Bu said was true. She straightened her clothes and asked with a smile, "Marquis Wuyang, do you think a hundred thousand horses can wipe out the Xiongnu?" Fan Kui said, "This... this..." It seems that I also feel that what I just said is inappropriate, and now I can't find a suitable excuse.Empress Lu interrupted him majestically: "Forget it, forget it, think about it below." Fan Kui was like a schoolboy who made a mistake, without saying a word. Then, Empress Lu said to Chen Ping who was in the queue: "Chen Aiqing, it's not indecent to come and go, I dictate, you write a letter for me, and order the messenger to bring it to the Huns." !"

Empress Lu's calm voice sounded from Weiyang Palace: "Shan Yu sent you a letter, and the whole country is in awe and fear! Shan Yu is majestic, he is in his prime, and this old concubine should go to serve her in person. It's a pity that she is over sixty years old, and her looks are fading. Weak, hairy and toothless, walking staggeringly, would you not be ashamed to see Shan Yu? I would like to present thirty beauties from the harem, 100,000 pieces of brocade and silk, 800,000 hu of polished rice for the imperial use, and 100 stones of refined palace wine. Please make a big order Yu Xiaona."

The ministers felt very complicated after hearing this, one was ashamed, and the other was admiration.They knew that Empress Lu was cruel and merciless, but they also saw Empress Lu's demeanor as a statesman, which was indeed not something ordinary women could do. After Chen Ping wrote his reply, he presented it to Empress Lu for reading.Empress Lu looked at it and said, "Send an envoy to the Xiongnu." Empress Lu paused and said, "Everyone, the purpose of calling everyone here today is not to make fun of me by reading Xiao Chanyu's letter. It is to let you know that the Xiongnu Strong, we have nothing to do now, everyone should think about what happened today." The officials shouted long live.

Mao Dun Shanyu of the Huns was always confident that the Han army was still not his opponent. When he wrote the letter, he was originally out of a joking attitude, hoping to see how the queen mother of the Han Dynasty would react, and whether he would yell at him.But after reading Empress Lu's letter, Mo Dun was deeply surprised, and said with emotion: "I know that the emperor of the Han Dynasty is dead, but I don't know that his woman is so powerful. This woman is really not simple." Then he sent the letter to his subordinates Let's see, the subjects are all deeply moved.Mao Dun thought for a while and said: "The Central Plains has always paid attention to etiquette. I also married a princess of the Han Dynasty. It is an offense to the Queen Mother and does not match the image of my Da Shanyu. I should write another letter."

So Mouton wrote another letter, this letter was sincere, asking Empress Lu to forgive his mistakes, and at the same time, "thank you for the beautiful women rewarded by the Han Dynasty. The Queen Mother is a junior. I hope that the Han Dynasty will help the Xiongnu with some food, cloth, and food every winter, so that we can survive the winter smoothly, and we will never harass the border of the Han Dynasty again." Empress Lu said: "A child can be taught." He readily agreed to Modu's request and gave material help to the Huns in winter.The Huns living on the border were very grateful to Empress Lu and praised her generosity.

For a long time thereafter, the Han Dynasty and the Xiongnu lived in peace. Judging from Empress Lu's behavior, she can't bear the slightest grievance, and she doesn't care about feelings. You can know Madam Qi's fate, but this doesn't mean that Empress Lu is a naughty, narrow-minded little girl.A provocative "begging letter" from the Xiongnu would have triggered a border war, but it was quietly resolved by Empress Lu.This proves Empress Lu's character of bearing humiliation and the mind and vision of a politician.At that time, the Han Dynasty could not wipe out the Xiongnu, and launching a war easily would only increase the economic burden of the country, and it would also cause the people on the border to fall into war and chaos.When the time was not ripe, Empress Lu chose a soft diplomatic approach, which undoubtedly brought good news to the people, and also created conditions for Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty to severely damage the Huns.