I, the prince, only want to be deposed.

Chapter 368 The powerful dragon cannot defeat the local snake because the dragon is not strong enough!

"Why do you object again and so firmly?"

Liu Che frowned and looked at Liu Ju. He had made the national policy after careful consideration. He was sure that this move would do more harm than good, so he tried to take advantage of this opportunity to make it happen.

After all, one only needs to send the daughter of a criminal and at most some servants.

While exchanging for a thousand horses, they could also bring a certain degree of harm and constraints to the Huns, reducing the obstacles in the Han Dynasty's process of getting involved in the Western Regions. It was simply a win-win situation.

"..."

Wei Qing and Sang Hongyang also looked doubtful, especially Sang Hongyang. Although he was a staunch war hawk until his death, he also supported the marriage.

Because this marriage was completely different from the previous one with the Huns.

Previously, the Han Dynasty had offered a princess and a large amount of property to the Xiongnu and begged for peace in a servile manner.

This time, because there was a feud between Wusun and Xiongnu, Wusun took the initiative to offer horses as a betrothal gift, and married a Han princess to form an alliance with the Han Dynasty, and jointly control the Xiongnu with the Han Dynasty. There is a fundamental difference between the two.

If this could be accomplished, the Han Dynasty would have an important fulcrum in the Western Regions, and the cost-effectiveness would be high with little effort. A profit-seeking person like Sang Hongyang would definitely not dislike it.

"I have always felt that what cannot be obtained on the battlefield cannot be obtained through marriage. The Xiongnu is the most obvious counterexample."

Liu Ju carefully considered his words and said,

"Before my father went to war with the Xiongnu, our Han Dynasty had been at peace with the Xiongnu for nearly a hundred years, sending countless princesses and treasures to them. Have the Xiongnu ever stopped killing and looting the borders of our Han Dynasty?"

"It was only after my father dealt a heavy blow to the Xiongnu with thunderous force that they were forced to retreat to the northern desert, and the Han border was stable for several years."

"Therefore, no matter what time it is, I will not agree to the marriage. In my opinion, this is the most unreliable and untrustworthy means of alliance."

There are also some historical facts that Liu Ju did not mention, because those were things of the future, and if he did, he would not be able to convince Liu Che and others, let alone explain them.

In fact, after Liu Xijun married into the Wusun tribe, she did not really change the geopolitics of the Han Dynasty.

After hearing about this, the Xiongnu Chanyu sent a so-called Xiongnu princess to Wusun for marriage in order to win over Wusun.

What did the Wusun King Lie Jiaomi do?
He accepted all of it and made Liu Xijun his right wife and the Xiongnu princess Li his left wife.

At present, the Han Dynasty valued the right, while the Xiongnu valued the left. Therefore, the Right Lady and the Left Lady were nominally respected by both the Han Dynasty and the Xiongnu. It can be said that they were playing fence-sitting to the extreme. They did not achieve the Han Dynasty's geopolitical goals at all, nor did they help the Han Dynasty to eliminate the Xiongnu.

As for Liu Xijun, she became a pitiful victim.

When she married Lie Jiaomi, Lie Jiaomi was already old and could not speak the language. Only a few big men who followed him could talk to him, and he was depressed all day long.

The Wusun have always had the custom of a younger brother inheriting his elder brother's wife, a son inheriting his father's wife, and a grandson inheriting his grandfather's wife. This custom was considered immoral in the Han Dynasty.

When Lie Jiaomi was old and weak, he planned to marry Liu Xijun to his grandson Junxumi according to the customs of Wusun. Liu Xijun would rather die than obey. In the end, it was Emperor Wu Che who sent an envoy to force her to "follow the customs of their country and work with Wusun to destroy the Hu", which made this plan come true.

In the end, Liu Xijun only lived in Wusun for five years and died of depression at a young age.

Soon after this, Wusun also welcomed another Han princess.

——Princess Jieyou, Liu Jieyou.

Also traveling with her was Feng Ling, who was known as "Mrs. Feng" and was the first female diplomat in the history of the Celestial Empire.

Although Liu Jieyou and Feng Ling lived long and played an extremely positive role in the external relations between the Han Dynasty and Wusun, in Liu Ju's opinion, what really forced Wusun to submit to the Han Dynasty was the day when Emperor Xuan of Han defeated the Xiongnu, completely controlled the area north of the Tianshan Mountains, and officially established the Western Regions Protectorate.

Liu Jieyou had only one wish throughout her life: to return to her homeland and be buried in the land of Han. Finally, when she was over 70 years old, she wrote a letter to Emperor Xuan of Han, saying that "I am old and miss my homeland, and I wish to be buried in the land of Han." Emperor Xuan of Han expressed deep sympathy and sent people to bring her back and treat her well. Two years later, she passed away and returned to her roots.

So is there any meaning in marriage?

Perhaps for Liu Che and others now, yes! And it is very big!

After all, ever since Zhang Qian opened up the Western Regions, the Western Regions have still been a place that the Han Dynasty has never really set foot in.

A strong dragon cannot defeat a local snake. They need such a fulcrum to explore, understand, and infiltrate!
But in Liu Ju's opinion.

The strong dragon cannot defeat the local snake because the dragon is not strong enough.

In later generations, many people only knew that Zheng He's voyages to the West were to "establish friendly relations with other countries and win over distant people", and therefore he was welcomed by countries along the way.

Little did people know that when Zheng He sailed to the West, he was accompanied by more than a dozen 2000-ton warships and more than 2 elite naval forces, so the people he found wherever he went were more reasonable.

Otherwise, with the bandit mentality of those white people since ancient times, his fate is destined to be exactly the same as that of Xu Fu, who first arrived in Japan...

"How could I not know the truth of what you said?"

After hearing Liu Ju's words, Liu Che showed appreciation, but still shook his head and said,
"You are still young and have not considered everything comprehensively. I have my reasons for making this decision. You only need to take care of the expedition to Loulan and Gushi. You don't have to think about other things. I and the inner court will handle the foreign affairs."

"Wei Qing, Sang Hongyang, you two come and talk."

Liu Che did not originally tell Liu Chu about the marriage, but only asked Wei Qing and Sang Hongyang, both of whom had expressed their opinions on this matter at previous court meetings.

"I think that even if we follow the trend and send Liu Xijun to accompany the army, we should first send people to receive the horses from Wusun, bring the horses back to Yumen Pass, and then send Liu Xijun out of the pass to Wusun, so as to demonstrate the status of our Han Dynasty and the relationship between the host and the princess in this marriage."

Wei Qing said seriously.

Sang Hongyang also bowed and seconded the proposal:
"I agree with the general. Although the marriage is beneficial to our Han Dynasty, the relationship between the Lord and the Lord must not be disrupted."

"Then let's do it, Su Wen. Later, convey my intention to the Grand Executive Order and order them to prepare for this matter as soon as possible."

Liu Che ignored Liu Ju and nodded slightly to give orders to Su Wen beside him.

"promise."

Su Wen quickly agreed.

"I am also a little tired. You all should withdraw and go do your own things. Make sure that this first battle to establish your authority in the Western Region is a complete success."

Liu Che took one last look at Liu Ju, waved his hand, and walked out of the Cuju field accompanied by Su Wen.

"..."

Liu Ju didn't say anything more at this moment.

A little impatience can ruin a great plan. He was afraid that saying too much would affect his plan to become independent, so he just bowed and respectfully saw his father off.

As for this so-called marriage...

As long as he arrived in the Western Regions, he would truly have flown out of the birdcage. How could he still allow Liu Che and others to have the final say?

(End of this chapter)