The Huns were humiliated by Longcheng, and of course they refused to give up. In the autumn of this year, they returned and robbed the Han people in retaliation. Among the counties in Han Dynasty, Yuyang suffered the heaviest losses. Emperor Wu then sent Han Anguo to take charge of the military affairs of Yuyang.
It turned out that after Tian Fu's death, Han Anguo took over as prime minister. However, soon after he was guiding a carriage for Emperor Wu, he accidentally fell off the carriage and became lame. He was unable to go to court to discuss affairs. Emperor Wu then made Pingjihou Xue Zeji Anguo the prime minister. After An Guo recovered from his injuries, Emperor Wu made him a lieutenant, and a year later he was transferred to a guard. At this time, the Huns invaded the border, and Emperor Wu remembered this veteran general and sent him to Yuyang.
Anguo captured a Huns prisoner in Yuyang and learned from him that the Huns troops had already returned to Mobei. Anguo was relieved and wrote to Emperor Wu, saying that only 700 people in Yuyang would be left, and the remaining people could go home to farm, because it was the busy farming season. Emperor Wu approved.
But what the prisoner said was untrue. Just a month later, the Huns' army came again. Poor Anguo only had 700 men at his disposal, so he was unable to resist. Fortunately, Yan soldiers came to rescue him at the last moment, otherwise Anguo would have to die for his country before he could Anguo.
Emperor Wu sent Wei Qing and Li Xi to lead their armies out of Yanmen and Daijun respectively to fight back, killing more than a thousand people and winning a complete victory, which dampened the arrogance of the Huns.
After Yuyang fell, Anguo felt depressed, so he wrote to Emperor Wu requesting to be transferred back to Chang'an. Emperor Wu did not agree this time because he received news that the Huns were about to invade again, so he transferred Anguo to Youbeiping for garrison. Anguo was already old at this time, suffering from old injuries and heart disease, and soon died of vomiting blood.
You Beiping cannot be without generals for a day. So Li Guang, the flying general who had been "redeemed as a commoner", was once again enabled by Emperor Wu. This time he did not disappoint Emperor Wu. As long as he was in Youbeiping, the Huns did not dare to invade. But the Huns were afraid of Li Guang, but there was only one Li Guang in the world, and this Li Guang was a mortal and had no clone skills. As a result, Shanggu County and Yuyang were "taken care of" by the Huns again.
You take what's yours, I'll take what's mine.
A year later (127 BC), Emperor Wu sent Wei Qing and Li Xi to lead an army. They fought all the way to Longxi, defeated the Xiongnu Loufan and Aries King, beheaded thousands, and obtained millions of cattle and sheep. This was the Han Dynasty's greatest victory over the Xiongnu since the founding of the country.
When the news came, the whole country was excited. More importantly, with this attack, the Han Dynasty obtained "Henan" (this "Henan" is not today's Henan, but is south of the Yellow River in today's Inner Mongolia).
"Henan" has fertile land and is protected by the natural barrier of the Yellow River. Its strategic location is very important. Previously, Chang'an was only separated from the Xiongnu by a Great Wall. After taking over "Henan", the threat of the Xiongnu to Chang'an was greatly weakened, and the Han Dynasty also switched from defensive to offensive against the Xiongnu. Therefore, the importance of this battle can be regarded as a turning point in the Han-Hungarian war.
Zhu Fuyan was from Linzi, Qi State. His family was not wealthy, and he had not heard of any famous figures in his ancestors. He had earlier studied the theories of political strategists during the Warring States Period, hoping to become a figure like Zhang Yi and Su Qin, who could dominate the world with his sharp tongue. Unfortunately, the world has been at peace for a long time, and there is no need for a tongue to suddenly appear and muddy the waters.
Moreover, since Emperor Wu came to the throne, he has respected Confucianism. Zhufu Yan was very jealous of the great contemporary Confucian scholars like Dong Zhongshu who were respected by him. So in his later years, he changed his "academic" direction and began to study Confucian classics such as "Zhouyi" and "Spring and Autumn"; of course, he also studied the knowledge of hundreds of other schools of thought. He did not avoid knowledge deliberately, but read and absorbed it extensively.
If Dong Zhongshu is a scholar who focuses on theoretical construction, then Zhu Fuyan pays more attention to practice and application. Dong Zhongshu was probably a man who had no worries about food and clothing. He was interested in writing books and establishing theories to pass on to future generations, which is the so-called "posthumous name". His father, Yanze, was from a poor family, so what he was eagerly looking forward to was not the afterlife, but this life, which is The appearance of fame in this world is the material enjoyment of this life.
So Zhu Fuyan began to look for opportunities everywhere - not only his hometown of Qi, but he also traveled to Yan, Zhao, Zhongshan and other places to the west and north of Qi to study and seek advice. However, whether in his hometown or in Yanzhao and other places, he was an unpopular person, and usually no one would even lend him money. This may be because Master Yan is too poor; it may also be because he is too eager to change the current situation of poverty and has too strong a purpose, which arouses resentment from others; of course, there is also a possibility that he is born with People don't fit in with others.
In the first year of Yuanguang (134 BC), the father-in-law, who had encountered obstacles everywhere, was completely disappointed with the vassal states and simply came to Chang'an to try his luck at the feet of the emperor. He found General Wei Qing. Either because everyone came from a poor background, or because they saw the talent of his father Yan, Wei Qing repeatedly recommended him to Emperor Wu. But for some reason, Emperor Wu had no intention of summoning his master.
The days flowed away like water, and what flowed away with the days was the white money. Now the master's father Yan is already short of money and penniless. What makes people even more angry is that all the guests from the princes have their eyes high above their heads, they don't take him seriously, and they try their best to ridicule him. Master Fuyan decided to make a last-ditch effort and wrote to Emperor Wu. There is nothing new in Zhu Fuyan's memorial. It mainly advises Emperor Wu to be cautious in using troops and to cherish the people's strength. This is the consensus of intellectuals in the early Han Dynasty. However, Zhufu Yan had learned the art of vertical and horizontal movements, so this memorial was written with brilliant literary talent and sophisticated reasoning, so it was deeply loved by Emperor Wu. So the memorial was handed over in the morning, and Emperor Wu summoned him in the evening.
Yan An and Xu Le also submitted a letter at the same time, and what they said was very similar to that of Master Fuyan. Emperor Wu also summoned them. Emperor Wu said to the three of them: "Where were you before? Why did it take so long for us to meet today?"
There is a sense of regret for meeting each other too late. So he worshiped the master, father and Yan as the doctors. Among the three, Master Fuyan was the most active. He went to the palace many times to meet Emperor Wu, giving advice on the country and discussing the past and present. His comments were all to the point, and he gradually became Emperor Wu's trusted advisor. Emperor Wu promoted him to the position of chief minister, and soon promoted him to the rank of zhongdafu. In one year, Zhu Fuyan's official title changed four times, and he was promoted four times, and he became the most popular "red man" around Emperor Wu.
It coincided with Wei Qing and Li Xi's attack on "Henan", so his father Yan then suggested that Emperor Wu imitate the old method of Qin general Meng Tian and establish Shuofang County here. In this way, it could be attacked and defended. It was indeed a great undertaking to open up territory and expand the territory, which would never be easy. Emperor Wu's heart was pounding when he heard it, but the manpower and material resources required to build Shuofang County were astronomical, so he did not act rashly, but left it to the officials for discussion.
All the officials were prudent officials. In their view, the construction of Shuofang was a huge investment and its effectiveness was unpredictable, so they expressed their opposition one after another. The representative figure is Gongsun Hong.
Gongsun Hong is unwilling to accept mediocrity
Speaking of which, Gongsun Hong and Zhufuyan were fellow villagers, and he was also from Qi. However, Zhufuyan was from Linzi, and he was from Zichuan.
Gongsun Hong, whose given name is Ji, seems to be the third child in the family. When he was young, he worked as a jailer in his hometown of Xue County. He was dismissed from his post because he committed a crime. Gongsun Hong, like his father Yan, was from a very poor family. He was dismissed from his post and had no source of income, so he had to go to the seaside to herd pigs.
The waves roll back and forth, tirelessly. "Am I going to live like this in my life?" Gongsun Hong was lost in thought as he looked at the vast sea.
At the age of forty, Gongsun Hong still refused to admit defeat. He studied "Spring and Autumn Gongyang Zhuan" from Hu Muzi. This was the beginning of his study of Confucianism instead of grammar. In addition to being diligent and studious, Gongsun Hong was also very filial and respectful towards his stepmother.
In the first year of Jianyuan (140 BC), Emperor Wu had just ascended the throne, but he was already thinking about his talent plan for this dynasty, so he recruited "virtuous literary people" from all over the world. This year, Gongsun Hong, who was already sixty years old, was recruited as a doctor because of his filial piety and virtuousness. Perhaps Gongsun Hong didn't expect that his life had just begun when he was sixty years old.
Emperor Wu sent Gongsun Hong as an envoy to the Xiongnu. When Gongsun Hong came back, he reported to Emperor Wu what he had seen and heard on his mission. Unexpectedly, Emperor Wu was not satisfied and lost his temper, thinking that Gongsun Hong was incompetent. So Gongsun Hong, who fell ill due to the fatigue of the journey, was dismissed from his post and returned home with a sick body and full of grievances.
What did Gongsun Hong say that made Emperor Wu so angry? Could it be that he was too "gentle, courteous, thrifty and accommodating" to the Huns and was too soft? unknown.
Ten years later, in the fifth year of Yuanguang (130 BC), Emperor Wu once again issued an order to recruit talents, and the officials of Zichuan Kingdom once again set their sights on Gongsun Hong.
Gongsun Hong thanked him and said, "I once went west to Chang'an to serve the emperor, but was dismissed because of lack of talent. Please replace me with someone else." The officials refused to listen and insisted on recommending Gongsun Hong. Gongsun Hong had no choice but to come to Taichang Temple. Too often the Confucian scholars who were recruited were asked to write their own strategies. There were more than a hundred countermeasures submitted, and Gongsun Hong's countermeasures were ranked as the lowest. Taichang sent the strategy to Emperor Wu for review, but Emperor Wu ranked Gongsun Hong's strategy first. This was really a slap in the face to Taichang.
Emperor Wu summoned Gongsun Hong and worshiped him as a doctor. I don't know if he meant to embarrass him, but Emperor Wu once again sent him as an envoy at an advanced age, but this time he was not going north, but to the southwest of Bashu to inspect the people's situation. At that time, Emperor Wu was busy setting up counties in the "Southwestern Yi" and wanted to include them. When Gongsun Hong came back, he painfully recounted the sufferings of the people of Bashu in establishing counties and mountains, and said that even if we surrendered to the southwestern barbarians, it would be of no use. It would not bring any real benefit to us.
This is probably the inherent thought of the old people in Shoucheng. The ambitious and energetic Emperor Wu would not listen to this. However, Emperor Wu did not drive him back to his hometown this time, but continued to keep him by his side.
Gongsun Hong's reasons for opposing the building of a city in Shuofang were the same as his objections to building a county in Bashu. He said that with the strong military force of the Qin Dynasty and Meng Tian's unparalleled generals, they recruited 300,000 people to build the city north of the Yellow River, but in the end it was abandoned halfway.
Zhu Fuyan avoided the question of whether it could be built, and emphasized the strategic benefits of building Shuofang County. When Zhu Fuyan first wrote to Emperor Wu, his tone was the same as Gongsun Hong's, emphasizing cherishing the power of the people. Now he changed his tone, which shows that he had no principled stance, but was just trying to cater to Emperor Wu's inner thoughts and gain benefits for himself. It's just fame and fortune.
Emperor Wu adopted Zhu Fuyan's opinion and established Shuofang County and sent troops to build it. According to Zhu Fuyan's character, when he refuted Gongsun Hong, he must have been sarcastic and ridiculed. Gongsun Hong secretly hated his father Yan, but he did not show it and only kept this account in his heart.
