I, the prince, only want to be deposed.

Chapter 247: My son is just a little dirty inside

Xuanshi Hall.

"How dare Wei Youqu, a vassal of the Han Dynasty, be so bold and presumptuous!"

In front of the envoy from the State of Chen, Liu Che slammed the table and stood up.

The State of Chen was located in the southern part of the Korean Peninsula, which is the area of ​​South Korea in later generations. It was mainly composed of Mahan, Jinhan and Byeonhan. Among them, because Mahan was the most powerful, the other two Hans regarded the leader of Mahan as the King of Chen, and their capital was set up in the State of Muzhi.

At this time, the Han Dynasty usually called the area where the Chen Kingdom was located the Land of the Three Han.

The Wei Youqu mentioned by Liu Che is the current king of Wiman Joseon located in the northern part of the Korean Peninsula.

Wiman Joseon was founded by a Yan man named Wiman, who rebelled together with the King of Yan during the reign of Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang, and fled to the Korean Peninsula. He was subsequently treated with courtesy by the then King of Gojoseon, who also granted him a piece of land near the border of the Han Dynasty to accommodate his subordinates.

Later, Wei Man continued to recruit Han refugees and accumulated more strength. When he was fully prepared, he once again betrayed King Gojoseon of Gojoseon and led his army to capture the royal city of Wangjiancheng. He then proclaimed himself king and dominated the country.

At that time, Emperor Hui of Han was in power, and the country had just been settled, so it was not convenient to start a war again.

Therefore, the Han Dynasty and Wei Man agreed to make him a vassal of the Han Dynasty and ask him to defend the border outside the Great Han Dynasty. In return, the Han Dynasty would also provide Wei Man with a lot of assistance.

He not only had the status of a vassal state of the Han Dynasty, but also received military and material support from the Han Dynasty.

As Wiman Joseon grew increasingly powerful, it soon began its expansion, forcing neighboring small countries such as Zhenfan and Limtun to submit to it, and became the dominant power in the northern part of the Korean Peninsula.

Now it is the turn of Wei Man's grandson Wei Youqu to be king of Wei Man Joseon.

Because Emperor Liu Che was warlike and aggressive, although he ordered Wei Qing and Huo Qubing to conquer the Huns and won a great victory in the previous years, the people's lives would not be easy regardless of victory or defeat, so a large number of Han refugees poured into Weiman Joseon.

During this process, the national strength of Wei Man Joseon was further enhanced, and Wei Youqu gradually became arrogant. Not only did he refuse to trade and pay tribute to the Han Dynasty, he also blocked the roads and prohibited neighboring small countries such as Zhenfan and Lintun from paying tribute to the Han Dynasty.

The Three Han states in the southern part of the Korean Peninsula were even more blocked from communication with the Han Dynasty.

Until now, the envoys of Chen State ventured to take the sea route, bypassing Wei Man Joseon and arriving in Qi. They were then received by the officials of Qi and escorted all the way by officials sent by Qi officials before finally arriving in Chang'an.

Now that he had finally met Emperor Liu Che, the envoy from the State of Chen began to complain bitterly, accusing Wei Man Joseon and Wei Youqu.

Pray that Liu Che will show some strength to Wei Youqu, reopen the land route between the Han Dynasty and the State of Chen, and resume trade and tribute.

After all, Chen State is surrounded by the sea on three sides and is short of supplies.

Only by developing trade with the vast Han Dynasty can they maintain such a life. If they continue to be trapped by Wei Man Joseon, sooner or later they will either be annexed by it or have to surrender.

And this is something that Chen State cannot accept.

This was because the leader of Mahan, the most powerful among the Chen states, who was also the "King of Chen" jointly elected by the Three Han states, was not someone else but a descendant of King Jizi of Joseon who fled to the south after his country was stolen by Wei Man. Therefore, the Ji clan and the Wei clan could be said to be enemies for generations.

Even if the current Chen Wang Ji Ba is willing to forgive the Wei family, Wei Youqu will most likely not let Ji Ba and the Ji family members go...

In this situation, Chen State's only chance of survival is to run to the Han Dynasty for help.

"Your Majesty, our King Chen and the Chen Kingdom are loyal to the Han Dynasty, but Wei Youqu is interfering. I beg Your Majesty to make the decision for us!"

"Your Majesty, Wei Youqu no longer recognizes his status as a vassal of the Han Dynasty. Your Majesty, you have evil ambitions!"

"I beg His Majesty to punish Wei Youqu..."

Seeing that Liu Che was getting emotional, several envoys from the Chen State immediately knelt on the ground and cried to heighten the atmosphere.

"The Han Dynasty has its own laws and rules. How can we allow a vassal and foreign minister to do whatever they want? I have my own plans!"

Liu Che glanced at the envoys, then his expression became friendly, and he opened his arms and told them not to be polite.

"You have all been exhausted from the journey. Let the Grand Commander take you down to rest for a few days and appreciate the richness and power of our Han Dynasty. You must not waste this journey."

After the envoys left, Liu Che's smile gradually faded. He looked at Su Wen and asked:

"How much tribute did these envoys bring this time?"

"Reporting to your Majesty, according to the Grand Order, there are only more than 500 kilograms of salted fish of various types and less than 100 slaves. According to them, they should have 3,000 kilograms of salted fish and 200 slaves, but they lost their way while crossing the ocean and drifted for an extra month. They had to eat some of the salted fish, and most of the slaves died of hunger and disease at sea."

Even though Su Wen was well-trained, he couldn't help but twitch his lips slightly when answering.

“So when we finally arrived at Qi, these were all that was left…”

Upon hearing this, Liu Che twitched his lips and muttered with some dissatisfaction:
"These small countries often send these worthless rags, but in order to show the demeanor of a great country, I always give them rewards thousands of times greater, as if I am paying tribute to them!"

"..."

Su Wen bowed slightly and didn't dare to answer.

"Forget it, forget it. They are a poor country, and the royal family can't even get enough food. Why should I bother with them?"

Liu Che pondered for a moment and said,

"I didn't bother to argue with Wei Youqu before. Not only is he ungrateful, he is even more and more disregarding me. It's time for me to teach him a lesson." "Draft an edict and order the Grand Executive to select a capable and strong envoy to go to Korea with my staff to rebuke Wei Youqu."

"If he returns to the right path and is willing to send a prince to Chang'an as a hostage, I will leave him a chance to live."

"If he refuses to change his ways, don't blame me for not giving him a chance when my army is on the way!"

He did not doubt that the envoys from Chen State were lying, because Wei Man Joseon and several small countries on the Korean Peninsula had indeed not come to Chang'an to pay tribute for several years, and the trade routes had indeed been cut off.

As for what Wei Man Joseon had done in recent years, he had already received reports from Liaodong County.

However, this place is not a strategic location, and it is a cold and bitter peninsula with little prospects and resources. The journey is also very long, and the cost of launching a large-scale military operation is extremely high. The effort and reward are completely disproportionate. Therefore, he prioritized his attention to the south and the west, and was really unwilling to mobilize troops in such a place.

But if someone dares to take advantage of me, that’s another matter…

"promise."

Su Wen just bowed and agreed, when he heard a report from outside:
"Crown Prince Liu Ju comes to pay his respects to Your Majesty!"

"Now that the auspicious date has been set, why is this rebellious son not here in Bowang Garden to prepare for his own wedding, but coming to me?"

Liu Che muttered something, but finally nodded calmly:

"Show him in."

……

In fact, Liu Ju had arrived a long time ago. He came for Wei Kang’s matter.

However, he heard from the official outside the palace that Liu Che was meeting with the envoy of the State of Chen in the palace. This was a serious state affair, so Liu Ju would naturally not act rashly. So he just waited outside the palace obediently.

During this process, Liu Ju also asked the official about the situation of Chen State.

After learning that Chen State was the land of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, he immediately knew what was about to happen...

Next, Liu Che will send an envoy named "She He" to Wei Man Joseon, asking Wei Youqu to submit to the Han Dynasty, resume annual tribute, and not continue to block trade routes, let alone block tribute from small countries in the southern part of the Korean Peninsula.

The result was that Wei Youqu did not give him face, so the angry She He killed Wei Man, the prince of Korea who escorted him out of the country, on his way back, and reported the matter to Liu Che.

When Liu Che learned about this, he not only did not blame her, but also felt that She He had brought honor to him, so he appointed She He as the governor of Liaodong County.

Afterwards, Wei Youqu led his troops to raid Liaodong and killed She He to vent his anger. This is the famous "She He Incident" in history, and it was also the fuse that made Liu Che decide to send troops to attack Wei Man Joseon.

After that.

Although the war ended with the destruction of Wiman Joseon, the Han Dynasty established four counties on the Korean Peninsula: Lelang, Lintun, Xuantu and Zhenfan.

But the process was extremely tortuous. Not to mention the immeasurable losses suffered in this war, with nearly half of the 50,000 Han troops killed or wounded and all their ships destroyed, even Liu Che killed two of the messengers who were delivering messages back and forth.

The two generals who led the troops were also sentenced to death after returning. The Left General Xun Zhu was executed directly, while the Louchuan General Yang Pu paid money to redeem his life and was demoted to a commoner.

Let's just put it that way.

Due to various reasons, this war was a typical tragic victory, or even a narrow victory. For the Han Dynasty, the price and cost of ruling paid were simply impossible to recover and would never be recovered.

For Liu Che, attacking such a small country ended in such a mess. He lost the substance but did not gain face either. It was a huge loss.

And what about Weiman Joseon?

They just used the same traditional skills as many small countries in the Western Regions. When the situation became bad, the princes and nobles in the country would kill the king and surrender. No one lost out, it was just a matter of changing the flag on the city wall... After this battle, four nobles of Weiman Joseon were granted the title of marquis.

So since this happened, Liu Ju felt it was necessary to have a good talk with Liu Che.

So enter the temple.

Liu Ju bowed respectfully first, then lowered his head and said:
"Father, I heard that those people were envoys from Chen Country. Wei Man Joseon seems to be a little restless in recent years. They must be here for this matter, right?"

"I have my own plans for this matter, so there is no need for you to interfere... Why did you come to the palace today? You didn't just come to greet me, did you?"

Liu Che obviously did not take Wei Man Joseon seriously, and was unwilling to talk more with Liu Ju.

Liu Ju smiled shamelessly again and said to himself:
"I think that your father must teach this Wei Man Joseon a profound lesson, otherwise the four barbarians will lack respect for our Han Dynasty and you, your father."

"You understand again?"

Liu Che frowned.

Although he had previously sent Liu Ju to join the army in the conquest of Western Qiang, he actually did not want him to participate too much in military affairs.

"How dare I claim to understand in front of a great ruler like my father?"

Liu Ju bowed modestly.
"I just felt dirty inside, and I thought of a dirty trick. I couldn't help but tell you about it. Even if it can only make you smile, it's a filial piety from you."

(End of this chapter)