Chapter 29 Chapter 29 After Su Wu Shepherds the Sheep

In 87 BC, the thirteenth year after Su Wu went to the Xiongnu, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty Liu Che died, and his youngest son Liu Fuling came to the throne. This is the famous young emperor Han Zhaodi in history.At that time, Huo Guang, an important minister of Tuogu, changed Emperor Wu's policy of militarism and wars for years, and the relationship between Han and Huns improved. A few years later, the Xiongnu and Han made peace again.The Han court asked the Xiongnu to return Su Wu and others, but the Xiongnu lied that Su Wu was dead.Later, envoys from the Han Dynasty arrived in the Xiongnu. Chang Hui, who was on a mission at the same time as Su Wu, met with the envoys in secret.When the Han envoy saw Shanyu the Xiongnu, he said, "When our Son of Heaven was hunting in Shanglinyuan, he shot a wild goose flying from the north. There was a silk script tied to the goose's feet, which said that Su Wu and others were in Beihai." His trick was seen through, so he had to admit that Su Wu and others were indeed still alive.

In this way, after nineteen years as an envoy to the Huns, Su Wu, who had endured hardships and never changed his infatuation, finally returned to the Han Empire in 81 BC, which he thought about day and night.Among the envoys at the same time, apart from those who died and surrendered, a total of nine returned with Su Wu. When Su Wu left Chang'an as an envoy to the Xiongnu, he had just passed his age and was an upright man. When he entered Chang'an 19 years later, he was an old man in his sixties with white beard and hair.The passage of time and the vicissitudes of fate make people weep with emotion.Wen Tingyun, a great poet in the late Tang Dynasty, once sang about Su Wu in this way: "Before Su Wu's soul was lost to the Han envoy, the tall trees in the ancient temple were at a loss. The geese in the clouds cut off the Hu Tianyue, and the sheep in the Longshang returned to the grass smoke. When you return to the sun, the towers are not armored tents, but when you go, you are crowned with swords." It was the year of Ding. Maoling didn't see the seal of the Marquis, so he cried to the autumn waves and passed away."

Back then, when Li Ling brought the sad news of Emperor Wu's death, Su Wu cried bitterly in Beihai for several days and nights, and fainted several times.Now that he has returned victorious, of course he has to go to Emperor Wu's Maoling to pay his respects.Su Wu, with white hair and long beard, knelt in front of Emperor Wu's tall mausoleum, talking and weeping heartily.It's a pity that Emperor Wu couldn't hear him anymore, and only the rustling autumn wind and the surging Weishui responded to him. The young Emperor Zhao of the Han Dynasty and Huo Guang, the assistant minister, were both very happy and pleased with Su Wu's return to the country, and appointed him to an important position in the country (equivalent to the current Minister of Foreign Affairs), with a salary of two thousand shi and a gift of two million yuan. Two hectares, one residence.Chang Hui and the others also had their own rewards.

Originally, Su Wu's life could go on in such a peaceful and peaceful way, but fate gave him another heavy blow not long after. In the second year after Su Wu returned to Chang'an, one of the assistant ministers, Shangguan Jie and his son Shangguan An, joined forces with another assistant minister, Sang Hongyang, and Yan Wang Liudan to launch a coup, intending to overthrow the first assistant minister, Huo Guang, and abolish the Emperor Zhao of the Han Dynasty.As a result, the coup soon ended in failure. Shangguan Jie was exterminated, and Su Wu's son Su Yuan was executed for participating in Shangguan An's conspiracy. Su Wu was also removed from office.

Of course it is unfortunate to be old and lose a son. Fortunately, Huo Guang and Emperor Han Zhaodi who are in power are both sensible people, and Su Wu has not suffered much harm. In 74 BC, Emperor Zhaodi of the Han Dynasty died young. Su Wu participated in the ceremony to welcome Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty as a former minister of the former emperor.Later, the minister Zhang Anshi recommended Su Wu to Emperor Xuan, saying that in his last words, the late Emperor had praised Su Wu for being familiar with the court code and allusions, and that his envoys did not disgrace the emperor's order. Soon, Emperor Xuan appointed Su Wu as the vassal of Youcao Dian.Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty respected this noble old minister very much. He not only respected him as a highly respected "sacrificial wine" (equivalent to the president of a national university), but also gave him special care, only requiring him to enter the court on the first and fifteenth day of every month , resting at home the rest of the time.At this time, Su Wu was already an old man who was nearly seventy years old.

Su Wu gave all the emperor's rewards to his relatives, friends, and neighbors, leaving no property in his family, and the civil and military ministers of the Manchu Dynasty respected him very much.Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty felt sorry for his old age and childlessness, so he redeemed his son Su Tongguo (the names of the sons all embody Su Wu's longing for his homeland) with gold, silver and silk when he was shepherding sheep in Beihai and the wife of the Huns. Tong Guo became a Lang Guan, and arranged for Su Wu's nephew to be You Cao. In 60 BC, Su Wu, the greatest envoy in Chinese history and an outstanding patriot, passed away in the capital Chang'an at the age of 81.

Mencius said, "Born in sorrow, died in peace", this sentence has been fully reflected in Su Wu: In terms of material, his body did not collapse due to the nineteen years of suffering, on the contrary, it became stronger. He lived to the age of eighty-one, which is considered an advanced age even now; spiritually speaking, if he hadn't experienced these nineteen years of suffering, but had been living peacefully and peacefully, As an official in the court, even if he later achieved a high position in the country, he must have long since disappeared and been forgotten by history.