My life is like walking on thin ice

Chapter 255: No marriage!

At this moment, Gongsun Hunxie wished he could bite his immediate superior, Dianke Wang Hui, to pieces!

As the head of the only department directly under Dianke, Gongsun Hunxie has not been doing very well in recent years.

——Dianke, as the name suggests, is the subordinate office responsible for liaison between the Chang'an court and internal and external "guests".

Internally, they are the princes of the Guandong clan;

Outside, there were the Xiongnu in the north, the Baiyue in the south, the Mahan and Mustard Korea in the northeast, and even the Yelang and other barbarians in the southwest.

Just think about it and you will understand: three or four years ago, the princes and relatives in Guandong dared to take up arms and fight against the central government in Chang'an, so they would not take a low-paying office like Dianke seriously.

As for the outside world, the Hundred Barbarians in the southwest were not included in any plan of the Han Dynasty, and the same was true for the Korean Peninsula in the northeast.

The Baiyue in the south did not require the Dianke to exercise any subjective initiative, while the Xiongnu in the north were similar to the princes in Guandong - regardless of whether they could be defeated or not, all matters dealing with the Xiongnu had to be dealt with by the entire Chang'an court together, and a single Dianke could not handle it at all.

The strong cannot be managed, and there is no need to manage the weak, which means that the Dianke Yamen has become the most embarrassing and weakest Yamen among the Nine Ministers of the Han Dynasty, without a doubt.

Even the Zongzheng and Fengchang at least have some serious work to do;
On the other hand, the Dianke was responsible for entertaining envoys from the Xiongnu and Baiyue.

As for the princes of Guandong?

Sorry, I am a clan member and I am under the jurisdiction of the clan leader...

This was the case for the Dianke, one of the Nine Ministers. He was under the Dianke Sect and was specifically responsible for external liaison - especially for liaison with foreign vassal states. Naturally, it was extremely embarrassing.

In the current Han Dynasty, what are the real "foreign vassals"?
In addition to the Southwestern Yi, there are also countries such as Nanyue, Minyue, and Donghai that inherited the Han royal seal.

Apart from sending hostages to Chang'an, these countries of the Baiyue in southern Lingnan might not send envoys to Chang'an once every three to five years.

Therefore, the daily work of Gongsun Hunxie, the governor of a vassal state, was limited to caring about the daily life and study of the Baiyue hostages.

Such days are torture for ambitious people, but for a surrendered official like Gongsun Hunxie, it is the best place to work with little money.

In addition, when the Wu-Chu Rebellion broke out, his son Gongsun He followed him to quell the rebellion and won military honors. Later, he was stuffed into the Crown Prince's Palace by Emperor Xiaojing. This made Gongsun Hunxie no longer worried about his own future or even the future of the entire family.

——Although I am a subordinate of the Nine Ministers, I have been granted the title of marquis!
——And he is a real marquis of military merit!
——As long as my boss moves away, I will definitely be one of the Nine Ministers!
Even though he is a powerless Nine Ministers like Dian Ke, he is still a Nine Ministers after all, right?
The silver seal and purple ribbon, the salary of two thousand stones, and the treatment of princes and prime ministers are all indispensable.

Plus my son, he’s the prince’s concubine!
When the prince sits on the throne in the future, my son will rise in status by his side, so how can my family not also rise in status?

This idea has always existed in Gongsun Hunxie's mind since the first day his son Gongsun He was taken into the Prince's Palace.

Until today, when he stood up in the court meeting because of a few seemingly reasonable but actually sinister words from his boss Wang Hui, Gongsun Hunxie finally realized that his son Gongsun He was not a golden ticket to immunity from death for himself or even his family.

If you really commit a crime, you must die!
Moreover, not only will he not be able to use his son Gongsun He's status in Liu Rong's heart to exonerate himself, but he will also implicate his son and ruin his future!

Gongsun Hunxie regrets...

The more he regretted, the more fierce his eyes became when he looked at Wang Hui!

After Gongsun Hunxie's drastic change of position, no matter how stupid the officials in the palace were, they finally reacted.

"Your Majesty, this is to distinguish between friend and foe..."

"—— Taking advantage of the danger at Chaonasai, they deceived those treacherous villains who were leaning towards the East Palace, or even leaning towards letting Your Majesty temporarily retreat behind the scenes and wait for His Majesty to be crowned and rule the country!"

"Um……"

"The Minister of State, Wang Hui, must be one of them;"

"It's a pity for Gongsun Hunxie. He was originally a surrendered minister, and now..."

Thinking of this, Liu She couldn't help but turn slightly and look with a little pity at the center of the hall, where Gongsun Hunxie was kneeling and kowtowing to Liu Rong, but still did not forget to cast a hateful look at Wang Hui behind him from the side of his legs.

Then, Liu She stood up with heavy steps and bowed to Liu Rong.

"His Majesty."

"The danger to Chaonasai may not be imminent."

"But in my opinion, the outcome of this battle is probably already very clear."

"——For our Han family, the best outcome is to keep the Xiongnu outside the Chaona Pass, and to prevent the Xiongnu from taking away even a blade of grass or a tree from the two counties of Beidi and Longyou."

"The worst outcome is that tens of thousands of Xiongnu cavalrymen will come to Xiaoguan, causing turmoil in Guanzhong and unrest in the world..."

Seeing Liu She standing up, Liu Rong knew in his heart: today's trick of setting the nest will not be able to catch other big fish.

Led by the Minister of Guests Wang Hui, Gongsun Hunxie, the Minister of a vassal state, was used as a gun, plus three or five small shrimps at the thousand-stone level - this was all the results for today.

The nest was already startled;
Keep baiting, and it’s unlikely that any fool will take the bait.

On the contrary, the Empress Dowager of the Eastern Palace might have become dissatisfied with Liu Rong because he so blatantly excluded dissidents.

Liu Rong understood the principle of knowing when to stop.

Therefore, as soon as Liu She got up the stairs, Liu Rong took advantage of the situation.

"Marquis Weiqi is suffering from a serious illness. Although it is not a serious hindrance, he has long been unable to lead the army to war."

"——The Minister of the Imperial Court is one of the nine ministers of the court, but he didn't even know about such an important event. I am really disappointed."

"Let Dian Ke rest at home for a few months and recuperate his mind."

"When you recover, come back and be my guest."

The words sound nice, but the subtext is clear: If you can't take good care of it, just go somewhere cool!
My Han family does not need such stupid nine ministers!

In the center of the hall, listening to the emphasis Liu Rong put on the four words "my guest", how could Wang Hui not know that his plot had been exposed?

While regretting his choice and thinking about how to resolve the situation, he left the palace under the escort of the palace officials, walked out of the Weiyang Palace dejectedly, and went straight to the Changle Palace.

——The camp selection has been determined, and Wang Hui’s only choice is to go all the way.

However, the court meeting in Xuanshi Hall was not affected in the slightest by Wang Hui's departure.

As for Gongsun Hunxie, he was, after all, his father, a trusted confidant of his own, and a relative of the Xiongnu Hunxie tribe. He was the first person in Yiqu to stand up and surrender to the Han Dynasty.
Liu Rong did not make it too difficult for him. He just reminded Gongsun Hunxie to "talk more with your son" and let Gongsun Hunxie return to his position.

Liu Rong was so gracious that Gongsun Hunxie naturally kowtowed three times and nine times, and burst into tears in the blink of an eye.

Sitting on the imperial couch, Liu Rong did not dwell on this little episode any longer, but instead took the opportunity to bring up something that Emperor Xiaojing had wanted to do in the early years but ultimately did not have time to do.

"I wish to change the titles of the Nine Ministers."

“——Change the Dianke to Daxing;

——Tingwei, for Dali;
——The Internal History is the Minister of Agriculture;
——Feng Chang, was Tai Chang;"

"In addition, the county governor was changed to the prefect, and the county lieutenant was changed to the commandery, and all other regulations remained unchanged."

"This is what Emperor Xiaojing wanted to do but was unable to do."

"If you have no objection, I will draft an imperial edict soon and issue it to the whole country."

Not many people stood up to oppose this issue.

Firstly, now that the late emperor of the Han Dynasty has passed away and a new emperor has taken his place, the value of the four words "late emperor's last wish" is still within its shelf life.

In addition, this change was not aimed at the existing system of the Han Dynasty, but merely changed the official titles of some of the nine ministers in the court and the chief officials of the counties and kingdoms, which would not affect anything at all.

Secondly, what happened just now inevitably made everyone in the hall feel a little scared, like once bitten by a snake, they would be afraid of the rope for ten years. Who knows if Liu Rong was just trying to fish again?
Anyway, it's harmless. Liu Rong even brought up Emperor Xiaojing. It's better not to stand up and make yourself look boring...

Therefore, Liu Rong's proposal to change the official titles of the Nine Ministers and the chief officials of the counties and kingdoms was quickly passed after three readings in the court.

The new leadership team of the Han family was finally decided at this moment.

——Prime Minister Tao Hou Liu She;
Imperial Censor Cen Mai, Marquis of Jianling;
The Grand Commandant was idle;

——Tian Shu, the Minister of Agriculture (Internal History);
Zhao Yu, the Dali (Tingwei);

Lieutenant Wei Wan;

The Imperial Household Official was honest and unsuspecting;
Shi Fen, the Shaofu;

The Grand Chancellor Wang Hui (tentative);

Liu Piqiang, the chief of the clan;
The doctor ordered Zhou Ren, the Marquis of Rufen;

Taichang is not available yet.

This little episode eased the atmosphere. Back to the battle at the north wall, the reactions of the officials in the hall were relatively calm and composed.

Especially when Liu Rong stood up and sat up to ask for advice from everyone in the hall, he finally did not stand out and say that the court was in danger and Li Jide was not worthy of the position and could not be called a general of chariots and cavalry.

However, the topic eventually returned to Liu She's relatively objective statement just now.

"Since the founding of the Han Dynasty, whenever the Han people fought against the Xiongnu, the result was always like this."

Sitting on the imperial couch, Liu Rong spoke with a stern expression, and then looked towards Prime Minister Liu She in the center of the hall.

"As the Prime Minister said: The best outcome for the Han Dynasty when the Xiongnu invaded was that they were unable to plunder the border counties of the Han Dynasty and rob the people of the Han Dynasty."

"But the worst result is that the border wall will be destroyed, soldiers will be lost, or even the capital will be in danger and the whole world will be shaken!"

Hearing the indignation in Liu Rong's tone, Liu She took a deep breath and nodded slowly with a hint of helplessness.

"What your Majesty said is absolutely true."

"That is why, since Emperor Taizu Gao, every generation of our Han emperor had to resort to marriage to stop the Xiongnu from invading on a large scale."

"——Because marriage can also allow the Xiongnu to get what they want, and it saves much time and effort than sending troops to the border."

"The Xiongnu got what they wanted without losing a single soldier, and the Han Dynasty also avoided the loss of mobilizing troops and even the loss of building a border wall with the barbarians by relying on a large amount of wealth."

"Both parties were very happy, and the system of marriage has been passed down to this day..."

Liu She's words only made Liu Rong instinctively feel a strong sense of humiliation and uncontrollable anger.

——Marriage!
No matter which dynasty or generation it happens in, even if it is a cowardly act that is despised by later generations, it is definitely a shameful act that will make the Chinese people feel humiliated!
But in today's Han Dynasty - the Han Dynasty that was described by later generations as "the Han Dynasty that perished because of its strength", marriage alliance is the most cost-effective way for the Han Dynasty to deal with the Huns at this stage.

Just as Liu She said: If a war breaks out, the Huns will have to mobilize troops, which is time-consuming and laborious, and all they can get is a little rice and grain from the poor Han farmers on the border, plus their own lives.

——Slaves are the foundation of the Huns’ strength.

Plundering the population was the foundation of the Huns' power.

But the Han people are strong-willed. Even when faced with a last resort, some are willing to die to prove their integrity and would rather die than yield!

Therefore, for the Huns, sending troops to plunder the Han border came at a considerable cost.

But what if it is a marriage alliance?
All you have to pay is a letter of credence, plus a covenant that can be torn up at any time - or even not required to be observed most of the time, and you can get far more materials than what you get from plunder. Why not do it?
This is even more true for the Han family.

Take this time, for example, when General Li Ji led his troops to rush to the north to provide assistance: Right now, Li Ji has more than 50,000 soldiers and horses under his command, and the monthly consumption of military rations alone reaches as much as 100,000 stones!

Even though Liu Rongze and the world had lowered the price of grain, Li Ji's troops still spent millions of dollars on military rations every month.

If a war really breaks out, three to five months is still considered good - it is not uncommon for a war to last for a year or two!
In this case, Li Ji's troops would have consumed hundreds of thousands of dan of food and fodder in this war, worth tens of millions of coins.

But what if it is a marriage alliance?

According to the usual practice, when the Han and Xiongnu married, the Xiongnu would give the Han emperor a few horses and gold objects.
The Han emperor would also give away a few Han specialties, such as brocade, silk, swords, etc.

At most, it would be an additional few hundred stones of tea and tens of thousands of stones of grain - even with this, it could still be called a country of brothers between Han and Xiongnu, and the younger brother heard that his older brother was not having enough food, so he sent food to help him.

Humiliation?
It was very humiliating;
But it's a good deal.

The emperor was humiliated, the officials were ashamed and angry, and the dignity of the court was gone;

But for the Han family, it is a good deal...

"Prime Minister, do you think that after this battle, our Han family will continue to form an alliance with the Xiongnu as we did in the past?"

After a brief silence, Liu Rong said something calmly, which caused all the officials in the hall to sigh, as if everyone had encountered a bully that they could not deal with.

After a long time, Liu She finally endured the humiliation, took a step forward with a sad expression, and bowed to Liu Rong again.

"The previous emperors of our Han dynasty all pursued the strategy of making peace with the Hu people and pacifying them in order to recuperate and develop the country;"

"Your Majesty, you will understand the reason."

···
"Emperor Taizong once said: The reason for making peace with the Xiongnu is that the Han Dynasty does not have the strength to fight a decisive battle with the Xiongnu, and there are also clan princes causing chaos within the country."

"Now, although the princes of Guandong have been basically properly dealt with by Emperor Xiaojing, I am afraid that the strength of my Han family is still not enough to ensure victory in the confrontation with the Xiongnu."

"Therefore, I still believe that the Han family should still take marriage as the main strategy and continue to accumulate strength for the future..."

As soon as Liu She finished speaking, all the ministers and officials in the hall lowered their heads with complicated expressions, but not even one person stood up to refute.

——This is a fact.

Every word and sentence Liu She said is objective reality.

You can say that Liu She is not ruthless enough, but you can never say that Liu She is confusing right and wrong.

Before this court meeting, some people had discussed this issue with the government, and perhaps some young people would stand up and oppose it.

In the past few years, similar things have occurred in court meetings more than once.

But no one expected that the person who stood up would be Tian Zirong, who has always been known for his maturity and prudence, and whose political skills are becoming more and more sophisticated.

"I think not!"

"I think that the time has come for the Han Dynasty to stop making peace with the Xiongnu and stop swallowing our anger!"

···
"The Prime Minister is mature and wise in his work for the country. I do not blame him."

"But today, let all the officials in the court and even the people of the world know it;"

"——As long as I am in power, my Han family will never give a grain of rice or a foot of cloth to the northern barbarians, the Xiongnu!"

"If we have to fight, then we have to fight!"

"If you lose, fight again!"

"No matter what, no one should ever reconsider the marriage!!!"

(End of this chapter)