Chapter 215: Never Marry for Peace
Others may not know.
But, Peng Feng absolutely detests marriage alliances for peace.
Marriage alliances for peace, what is that nonsense?
Sending your own princess out to be slept with by someone from another country, and then they won’t attack you?
That’s truly shameful!
To be fair, there are reasons why Liu Bang’s historical reputation isn’t very high.
There are three reasons.
First: Historically, Liu Bang could never defeat Xiang Yu. He encountered Xiang Yu and suffered repeated defeats. In the end, he relied on Han Xin’s help to kill Xiang Yu in one move.
Second: Liu Bang’s battles with the Xiongnu were too ugly. As the ruler of a nation, he was actually surrounded by the Xiongnu at Baideng Mountain. If it weren’t for Chen Ping’s plan, he might have been killed at Baideng Mountain.
Third: When he realized he couldn’t defeat the Xiongnu, he wanted to send a woman for a marriage alliance. That’s right, this tactic of marriage alliances for peace was invented by Liu Bang. It directly misled later generations, and many dynasties followed suit with marriage alliances, even Tang Taizong Li Shimin was no exception. It wasn’t until the Ming Dynasty that the idea of absolutely no marriage alliances for peace emerged.
The Han Dynasty was indeed founded by Liu Bang.
However, the true spirit of the Han people, the true backbone of the Han people, was not established by Liu Bang, but by Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che.
Liu Che directly crushed the Xiongnu and subdued the surrounding tribes.
Therefore, in the poems of the great figures, it is mentioned like this: “Qin Shi Huang, Emperor Wu of Han, Emperor Taizong of Tang, and Emperor Taizu of Song.” Of course, this Emperor Taizu of Song is purely for the sake of rhyme. In reality, Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang is more qualified to be on this list than Emperor Taizu of Song.
Over the thousands of years of Huaxia, the most outstanding figures should be Qin Shi Huang, Emperor Wu of Han, Emperor Taizong of Tang, Temujin, and Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang. The others are a notch below.
The embarrassment Liu Bang suffered in the early Han Dynasty would have been truly shameful if his descendant, Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che, hadn’t made up for it.
The Han Dynasty was founded by Liu Bang.
But the spirit and backbone of the Han people were shaped by Emperor Wu of Han!
Peng Feng’s ideas have never changed.
Since he has come to this world.
He must do what he can.
For example, correcting the trend of marriage alliances for peace.
Don’t let this evil practice of marriage alliances for peace appear in this world.
Peng Feng did not go to Maoshan at the moment, but flew directly to the capital of the Western Han Dynasty, Chang’an City.
In the center of Chang’an City, there is a huge palace called Weiyang Palace.
The meaning of “Weiyang” is very simple, it means no disasters, no calamities, containing meanings such as peace, longevity, and eternal life.
In Weiyang Palace, many guards are stationed.
Among them, the leader of the guards already has the strength of the Celestial Phenomenon Realm.
Peng Feng said with his hands behind his back: “Please inform your Han Dynasty’s Emperor, and say that Peng Feng, an old friend from the past, has come to visit.”
The guard leader was also shocked when he heard Peng Feng’s name.
After all, the Chu-Han Contention was not that long ago.
And the matter of Peng Feng defeating the Hegemon-King of Western Chu Xiang Yu, who was ranked first on the Heaven List, was also not far in the past.
When they heard Peng Feng’s name, the guards were all startled.
The guard leader was suddenly shocked: “Could it be Taoist Master Peng Feng, who defeated the Hegemon-King of Western Chu Xiang Yu in one move for the sake of the people of Xiangcheng?”
“That’s right.”
At this moment, the guards and the guard leader were all frightened, and they looked at Peng Feng with the eyes of seeing a divine being.
This is the real number one expert under heaven!
Even stronger than Liu Bang!
It is said that he has lived for hundreds of years!
A god-like figure!
The guard leader cupped his fist: “So it is Taoist Master Peng, then I will immediately go inside to report, please wait here for a moment, Taoist Master.”
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A moment later.
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Liu Bang had already come out.
At this time, Liu Bang was already an old man, much older than the last time they met.
When Liu Bang saw that Peng Feng was still the same as when they first met, he couldn’t help but sigh. Many years ago, they discussed whether Peng Feng had lived for three hundred years. Seeing that Peng Feng looked like he hadn’t aged at all, he estimated that he was indeed an immortal who could live a long life.
Behind Liu Bang, there were also Empress Lu, Zhang Liang, Xiao He, and Chen Ping.
Empress Lu still looked like she was in her thirties or forties, a beautiful woman with charm.
Zhang Liang was quite thin, with his sleeves fluttering, looking very elegant.
Xiao He was quite tall and surprisingly thin, his clothes looked very wide.
Chen Ping’s face was sallow, and he looked very ordinary.
Liu Bang cupped his hands: “So it is Taoist Master Peng, many years have passed, Taoist Master Peng’s demeanor is still the same. Please.”
Immediately, Peng Feng was invited into a side hall in Weiyang Palace.
Soon, someone brought tea.
The tea of this era is still quite difficult to drink, it is not brewed at all, but boiled. They put a large pile of ingredients in and boiled it, and it has none of the fragrance of tea in later generations.
Liu Bang said: “Taoist Master Peng usually appears and disappears like a dragon, I wonder what brings you here this time?”
Peng Feng held the teacup: “I heard that you plan to marry a princess to the Xiongnu, what is this called? A marriage alliance for peace?”
Hearing this, Liu Bang chuckled: “This was suggested by my subordinate Lou Jing. He said that the Xiongnu people harass the Central Plains because they want to rob some gold and silver items to make themselves more comfortable.
Now, if we marry a princess to them, and the princess’s dowry is very generous, as the son-in-law of the Central Plains Emperor, they will naturally be embarrassed to oppose us. In the future, if the princess’s son succeeds the Chanyu, he will be the nephew or grandson of the Han Dynasty, and the nephew and grandson will be even more embarrassed to oppose the uncle or grandfather. This sounds somewhat reasonable.
So, I also plan to do this.”
“Heh.” Peng Feng couldn’t help but sneer, and said sarcastically: “That’s really a good plan. As long as one woman is sacrificed, the Xiongnu won’t attack, it’s truly a perfect calculation.”
“However, is it just a princess that you are sacrificing?”
Peng Feng sneered: “Do you know how the common people evaluate this matter? They say that this matter of marriage alliances for peace is a disgrace to our Huaxia.”
“When has our Huaxia ever not made those tribes outside the border flee in disarray?”
“During the Warring States period, Li Mu alone guarded the border and made the Xiongnu outside the border lose their armor and abandon their weapons, fleeing far away at the mere mention of Li Mu’s name.”
“During the time of Qin Shi Huang, just Meng Tian sitting at the border could make the Xiongnu outside the border flee far away, and incorporate all of the He Tao region into our Huaxia territory.”
“During the time of the Hegemon-King of Western Chu Xiang Yu, which Xiongnu soldier dared to be presumptuous?”
“Liu Bang, oh Liu Bang, you ended the chaos of the late Qin Dynasty and unified the Han Dynasty, but as a result, you were beaten like this by the Xiongnu outside the border.”
“When you marry for peace, it’s never just one woman that is sacrificed.”
“What is lost is the backbone of our Huaxia!”
“The pride of our Huaxia!”
“Our Huaxia men have never yielded to any foreign race.”
“No matter who the enemy is, we can always meet them head-on.”
“If we can’t win, we’ll go back and practice our skills, go back and repair our spears, and train our troops. When we can win, we’ll come back and fight again.”
“The spirit of our Huaxia is to never give up. Not to marry for peace!”
“Our Huaxia stands at the top of the world, not by marrying for peace, but by the spirit of drawing our swords against any enemy.”
“At worst, we fight.”
“At worst, we die in battle.”
“But we will never be humiliated by sending women to marry for peace.”
“If you don’t have this kind of spirit, what kind of Huaxia Emperor are you!!!”
“Our Huaxia does not marry for peace, does not pay reparations, does not cede land, does not pay tribute. The emperor guards the gates of the nation, and the monarch dies for the state!”
