The great man will live forever

Chapter 177 Everyone is fighting for crossing
In the afternoon, Liu Han returned to the mansion, feeling particularly uneasy.

Shu Yuzhu stepped forward and asked softly: "What's wrong? Things are not going well? Did your Majesty move Sima to prison?"

"I want to protect him, but it's difficult to do so. His Majesty is dissatisfied with me. It's possible to protect him if I insist on it, but it will be detrimental to the subsequent plans. Your Majesty is getting more and more confused.

Li Guangli has average abilities, but he insists on putting them to good use. He doesn't admit when he is wrong, and he always blames others. He only looks at the results in everything, not the difficulties. He is mean and ungrateful, seeks immortals and worships Buddha, and is very happy with his achievements...

I even wanted to start earlier, but the time was not enough and I had no chance. "

"There are only 8 years left. Wait a minute. No matter how powerful the emperor is, he will always be prone to fainting in his later years. New things replace old things. It is a historical process. Gods also make mistakes, let alone humans? Didn't you give him money, Sima Qian? Is that enough? It should be enough for him to atone for his sins, right?"

"It's not a question of whether it's enough, it's a question of whether His Majesty is willing. The so-called laws of the Han Dynasty are all his words. This is the emperor."

"For many things, it is better to let nature take its course. Perhaps only by experiencing hardships could Sima Qian become more determined and brave, and be able to write the rhymeless Li Sao, the swan song of the historian."

Liu Han didn't know what to say for a moment. He asked, "Do you think Li Ling really surrendered or was he pretending to surrender?"

"Half and half, he may have thought about pretending to surrender, or he may be afraid of death, and may achieve such a record. It is rare in the ages. He is leading infantry. This is the most terrifying place. If they are all cavalry, he will definitely Can rush out.

But from the moment Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty killed his whole family, he would never return to the Han Dynasty. Whether true or false, it was all true. If he were in Western culture, he would definitely be regarded as a hero, and his personal life would actually be meaningless. price.

But in Eastern culture, no matter how bad the environment is, it is shameful to surrender after being captured, because some things are indeed beyond life, and there are priceless things beyond price. This is a knot that cannot be untied, and there is no right Wrong, just look at the choice. Don't try to persuade others to do good without suffering others' suffering. "

"Yes, maybe he committed suicide. He is a hero praised through the ages, even more than Su Wu. But if he doesn't commit suicide, is he wrong?"

Shu Yuzhu didn't have an answer to this question, and neither did Liu Han. In the face of life and death, right and wrong didn't seem so clear-cut.

If a person lives by killing and sacrificing his own compatriots and living an ignoble existence, then he must be wrong, like a traitor in later generations. But after he surrendered, it seems that he did not lead the Huns army to take the initiative to defeat the Han Dynasty.

It seems wrong to deny his life just because he is afraid of death...

Liu Han didn't think much about it, and he couldn't figure it out. Many things don't necessarily require answers. Just have a clear conscience. He called Xiong Er again, "I'd like to say hello to Tingwei. Don't use torture, and give me some money." , clear it up and ask the jailer not to embarrass Sima Qian as much as possible, and serve him well and well."

"promise!"

……

In the imperial garden, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty walked in front of him, followed by Tingwei Du Zhou.

During the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, in order to strengthen the centralization of power, Emperor Wu adopted Dong Zhongshu's suggestion to "respect Confucianism alone and depose hundreds of schools of thought", promoted Confucianism, and advocated the rule of virtue;
On the other hand, he reused cruel officials to strengthen the rule of law and govern the country according to law.

In fact, it is the practice of external Confucianism and internal law, and hegemony and kingship.

In the early days, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty had a relatively comprehensive strategy for governing the country. He used both etiquette and law, as well as soft and hard tactics, all of which were used to maintain the supreme imperial dictatorship.

In the later period, he began to lose his temper, often deprived of his title, frequently fined people for killing people, sought immortality and asked questions, was so happy about his achievements, fought all year round, and refused to listen to advice...

Ten famous cruel officials were born under him. They were strict and ruthless in enforcing the law and were not afraid of the powerful. The most famous was Zhang Tang, followed by Du Zhou, Zhao Yu, Ning Cheng, Yizong, Zhou Yangyou, Yin Qi, Yang Pu, Jiaxuan, Wang Wenshu and other nine people.

Most of them ended badly. Cruel officials were the sword in the hands of Emperor Wu. They usually ended badly. Depending on the situation, the emperor would often abandon them in order to pretend to be good people.

Du Zhou was born in Du Yan County, Nanyang County. He was originally a clerk under the Nanyang Prefect. He gained profit by currying favor with his superiors, and was recommended to Zhang Tang and promoted to the rank of Ting Wei Shi.

He acted based on the wishes of his superiors. He would deliberately reduce the charges of those his superiors liked, and attack those his superiors disliked. This is what he learned from Zhang Tang. Zhang Tang also did the same thing back then. Everything he did was based on the wishes of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.

This is also the fundamental reason for their rapid promotion. If you don’t understand your boss’s wishes and don’t satisfy him, how can you get promoted and get a salary increase?

After Zhang Tang was killed, Zhao Yu served as the Tingwei in charge of the prison. He served as Tingwei for 4 years and was transferred to the Prime Minister of Yan State due to his old age.A few years later, he became confused and rebellious, committed a crime, and was dismissed from his post. He returned to his hometown in Tai County and died at home.

This so-called confusion and rebelliousness was most likely just an excuse for Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty to force him to step down.

After Zhao Yu died, Du Zhou came to power and became the new Tingwei. During his tenure as Tingwei, the number of people imprisoned increased greatly and the time in prison was also extended.

His approach was also appreciated by Emperor Wu, who appointed him as the imperial censor. He rose to the status of the third Duke and had numerous family assets.His two older sons became governors of important areas, controlling important lands on both sides of the Yellow River.

Du Zhou was taciturn, mature and prudent, gentle on the outside but profound on the inside. He was known in history as "deep on the inside". Compared with some other "cruel officials" who were known for their harshness at the time, Du Zhou enforced the law particularly harshly.

Especially in the later period of Emperor Wu, punishments became more severe. Du Zhou's approach coincided with the idea of ​​Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. It became the fastest knife in Emperor Wu's hand, the kind that kills people without blood.

"Is Sima Qian's slandering the Lord the final verdict of your court?" Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty asked as he walked away.

Du Zhou carefully observed the subtle expression of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, "Yes, Your Majesty."

Seeing that Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was not angry, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Can his family contribute money to atone for his crime?"

"Your Majesty may have forgotten that a few years ago, Da Sima gave Tai Shiling millions of dollars, and it only cost 50 to atone for his sins. His family didn't have it originally, but it was only a few years ago and he couldn't have spent it all. I guess he had some. "Oh, you said that, I remembered it, it seems that there was such a thing, was it around the time when the Second Division General went to Dawan, right?"

"Yes, I said it was to write historical records for Taishi Ling."

"That's right, who doesn't want to have a good reputation after death? Our Grand Sima cherishes his reputation very much, and that's right, he..."

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty did not continue. This was to expose Liu Han's shortcomings. Now Liu Han was about to be 40. He had many women but no children. He also personally told Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty that he had no children.

"Oh, by the way, Da Sima and Sima Qian have a very good relationship?"

Du Zhou thought about it and said, "It's not that special. Da Sima rarely goes out and rarely meets other people. But he also sent someone to send a message to Tingwei, saying that he wanted to take good care of Sima Qian. Don't He tortured and treated the people in prison. Sima Qian’s wife wanted to see him, but our people stopped her..."

"Hey, it seems that he is still counting on Sima Qian to go out and continue to beautify him. That's all. He will be locked up for now. His wife can be seen if she wants. Pay me the money. We will make a decision after confirming Li Ling's specific situation."

"promise!"

……

In the dark prison, Sima Qian was eating meat. His life was quite good today, and he actually had meat to eat. After he finished eating, he asked the jailer sadly.

"Isn't it a deprivation meal?"

"You are joking. People from Da Sima's mansion came today and said that they cannot treat you harshly."

Sima Qian was a little touched for a while. In the first few days, the people from the Tingwei Department tortured him, but today they were much more polite.

In today's Han Dynasty, except Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, no one dares to disobey Liu Han's words. This is the status of the Great Sima Hussar General of the Han Dynasty and the Marquis of Lanling Liu Han.

If he hadn't known that Liu Han had no descendants, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty would probably have taken action against Liu Han in a few years, because his status and prestige had once surpassed that of the prince Liu Zhi, threatening Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty himself.

After a while, a jailer led two people in, "Sir, your wife is here to visit you."

"Okay, thank you!"

Sima Qian's wife Liu Qianniang is now in her 30s, her charm is still there, her face looks haggard and full of tears. She took her daughter Sima Li and went through many twists and turns, and finally came to the cell to see Sima Qian.

"Husband, you are suffering!"

"Aon!"

The three of them hugged each other, bursting into tears, and expressed their heartfelt feelings to each other.

Sima Qian's daughter Sima Li is already fourteen or fifteen years old and has grown into a graceful girl. At this age in the Han Dynasty, she could have started talking about marriage.

"It's not bitter, it's not bitter, but I have caused you trouble. Da Sima said hello recently, so they are kind to me here. You must thank Da Sima for me."

"Well, Da Sima is the benefactor of our family. They sentenced you to death. I took 50 from the money Da Sima gave you and gave it to them to atone for your sin, saying that you could avoid death, but they said that you must continue to be detained. Yes Your Majesty’s intention.”

"Oh, how can you touch that money? That was given to me by Da Sima specifically to write historical records."

Sima Qian was a little angry when he heard that his wife had used the money Liu Han had given him.

"Husband, if you are gone, who will write the historical records? The money will be of no use."

"Yes, Aweng, at worst, we will return it to Da Sima in the future. Da Sima is a great hero and will not care about these things."

When talking about Liu Han, Sima Li's face flashed a hint of rosy color invisible to the naked eye.

His wife Liu Qianniang's words made Sima Qian silent for a moment. He sighed and said, "Oh, I'm so ashamed of myself. Let's write down historical records after I go out this time."

Liu Qianniang was hesitant to speak. Sima Qian noticed her situation and asked, "What's wrong?"

"After learning that my cousin had surrendered, my uncle vomited blood and died on the spot a few days ago. Before vomiting blood, he shouted, 'God's way is unfair, God's way is unfair.'"

Liu Qianniang is Li Ling's cousin, and the uncle she refers to is naturally Li Gan. Li Gan died of illness the day she learned that Li Ling was defeated and captured.

Before he died of illness, he vomited blood and his face was filled with resentment. He hated both heaven and fate, and he hated fate even more. If Li Ling could escape this time, he would be granted the title of Marquis. He would almost be able to fulfill his father Li Guang's wish. The lintel of the Li family shines brightly.

But he actually surrendered. He wanted to scold his nephew, but he couldn't bear it after all, and he didn't believe that his nephew would surrender so easily.

Or maybe they took fame and fortune too seriously, which became the source of the Li family's tragedy.

But how many people can escape the drunkenness, sex and wealth?What's more, the feudal princes from other lands above this?
In this world of mortals, everyone is fighting to survive!
(End of this chapter)