Jinting Han people

Chapter 724 Revisiting the Hostages

Liu Xian was indeed a person who was busy with the present moment. After meeting Fotucheng once, even though his sermon was met with applause, he quickly put the matter out of his mind and continued to be busy with his daily affairs.

Especially since May, although he was constantly worried and anxious about family matters, upon hearing reports from the Shangming region that the recent torrential rains had caused the Yangtze River to rise rapidly, and that the newly built dikes were showing signs of breaching, Liu Xian put aside his affairs and decided to personally inspect the situation. If the situation was true, he would relocate tens of thousands of local residents to safety and plan their refuge. As for the various family matters in the palace, he had no time to attend to them, so he entrusted them to Empress Cao Shangrou to handle.

From this perspective, it's no wonder that some people privately criticize the current emperor as a heartless and ruthless person.

To be fair, he was simply clumsy in this area; no matter how intelligent a person is, there will always be areas where they are not good at. And as Fotucheng rightly said, no matter how many years pass, a person's nature is difficult to change. Even after experiencing so much, Liu Xian's essence remains a sword, an incomparably sharp divine sword. He is constantly honing his edge to cut down everything he despises. Before, he faced tangible war and swords; now, he is targeting the customs, systems, and hearts of people from the past century.

However, precisely because of this, no matter how hard Liu Xian tried to conceal his sharpness, it was difficult for him to gain the favor of others. After all, the more unparalleled one's skill, the more fearsome one becomes. Without a good scabbard to protect him, he might injure himself sooner or later.

Fortunately, he did have such a scabbard. Faced with Liu Xian's various troubles that he couldn't handle, Empress Cao Shangrou always managed to find a way to make amends and mediate.

Recently, in response to Yang Hui'ai's illness, Cao Shangrou has frequently visited the palace to check on her and take care of her, which goes without saying. Regarding the conflict between Liu Xian and Liu Lang, Cao Shangrou has also mediated between them. While Liu Lang was out pacifying the soldiers, she would send him gifts he liked on holidays in Liu Xian's name, and also have messengers buy some local specialties to send back to Liu Xian, clearly easing the tension between father and son.

For example, after Emperor Emeritus Liu Xun arrived in Chengdu from Sichuan, he was still troubled by the past estrangement between father and son, so he did not intend to go to the capital, but wanted to live in Chengdu until his death. Shang Rou knew that the Emperor Emeritus was different from others, and if he stayed in Chengdu for a long time, it might damage the image of the emperor as a filial son. So she wrote to him many times, using the excuse that the grandchildren wanted to see their grandfather, and tried her best to persuade Liu Xun to come to the capital to live.

Since the founding of the state, the criticisms within the imperial clan regarding Liu Xian's stinginess with rewards had been gradually quelled by Cao Shangrou. The method was simple: in her spare time, Cao Shangrou arranged marriages for her clansmen, forging alliances with prominent families whom they had previously been unable to marry in Luoyang. The chosen families were renowned clans such as the Pei clan of Wenxi, the Guo clan of Taiyuan, the Cui clan of Qinghe, and the Xun clan of Yingchuan. These prominent families, of course, dared not be arrogant and readily offered gifts in agreement. For a time, weddings were frequent in Yi'an City, with constant gongs and drums, a continuous stream of wedding carriages, and a bustling marketplace. Amidst the joyous celebrations, the resentment in the hearts of the clansmen vanished.

Moreover, in order to respond to Liu Xian's advocacy of frugality, Cao Shangrou set an example by personally raising silkworms and reeling silk in the palace. Apart from the formal dresses she wore when going out, she usually wore only plain clothes and skirts, and rarely showed any extravagance.

All of this relieved Liu Xian of many worries, allowing him to concentrate on handling state affairs. By the end of May, when Liu Xian returned to Yi'an from Shangming, the atmosphere in the palace had improved considerably. When Liu Xian visited A'die again, it seemed that due to Fotucheng's guidance and sermons, her mood had eased considerably; at least she was able to travel normally again and appeared to be alright. The main change was that she had converted to Buddhism and no longer enjoyed riding horses and playing football as before, but instead spent her time in the palace reciting Buddhist scriptures and praying for others.

Liu Xian then remembered the matter of Fotucheng. He asked Cao Shangrou about it, and Cao Shangrou replied, "Master Fotucheng has already left Yi'an."

"He's already left?" Liu Xian was greatly surprised. He thought that after the temple was built, Fotucheng would translate Buddhist scriptures and teach disciples here, just like the monks of Baima Temple back then. He didn't expect him to leave so quickly.

Cao Shangrou explained, "The master said that if he wanted to continue to spread Buddhism, he could not stay in one place, but had to travel all over the world and spread the true Dharma among all people. Therefore, he planned to continue eastward to Jiangzhou and Huainan to lecture and recite scriptures."

"What will happen to the temples built in the east of the city if he leaves?"

"The master left ten eminent disciples, including Subhuti, here, saying that after the temple was completed, they would preach the Dharma, resolve doubts, and chant sutras to pray for blessings in this place."

At this point, Cao Shangrou exclaimed sincerely, "Biji, Master Fotucheng is truly an enlightened person. Isn't it a blessing that he is in the country? Back then, there were more than a hundred foreign monks at the White Horse Temple in Luoyang, but none of them had ever seen such a person!"

This statement surprised Liu Xian even more. Fotucheng had only been in Yi'an for two short months, yet he had received so much praise wherever he went, which was truly unusual.

Although judging from his words and actions, in the eyes of others, Fotucheng was probably just a simple hermit, deeply versed in Buddhism, and fearless of hardship, deserving no further praise than admiration. But Liu Xian knew that this eminent monk from the Western Regions harbored a dream of finding the King of Reincarnation; in other words, he had certain political ambitions, which could not be taken lightly.

Logically speaking, after his first attempt at persuasion failed, Fotucheng should have made other attempts. Yet he left Yi'an so casually. Did he really give up? Or was he looking for a better opportunity elsewhere? Liu Xian was originally uninterested in Fotucheng's departure, but now that he had created such a significant political impact on public opinion, Liu Xian realized that he should still pay some attention to him.

Perhaps, even if we cannot truly employ Fotucheng to realize the so-called Buddhist kingdom, it would be more appropriate to at least keep him by our side.

Upon thinking of this, Liu Xian issued an edict to He Pan, who was stationed in Hefei, instructing him to keep an eye on Fotucheng's whereabouts. If Fotucheng came to the Huainan area, he was to invite him back to Yi'an in the name of the emperor.

Unexpectedly, not long after the letter was sent, Liu Xian received a reply from He Pan. Clearly, given the distance between Hefei and Yi'an, this letter must have been sent several days ago. Could it be some important military matter concerning Huainan? Upon opening it, Liu Xian discovered that it was about the hostage issue that he had discussed with Qi Han several times before, and there had finally been progress.

Previously, in order to redeem his former relatives and friends, Liu Xian had entrusted He Pan with the task of negotiating with Qi Han and doing his best to facilitate the return of Sima Xiuhua, Ji Shao, Yang Dan (Yang Xianrong's younger brother), Le Kai (Le Guang's son), and others to the country.

In Liu Xian's mind, this should have been a very simple matter. Although these people were close to Liu Xian, they were not close enough to be blackmailed. They should have been able to be redeemed with a small amount of gold and silver.

Unexpectedly, when the news reached Qi Han, Qi Han's attitude was very ambiguous. They neither explicitly refused nor decisively agreed. Instead, they asked He Pan to provide a specific list first, and then they would take the time to verify it one by one. They said they would give He Pan a reply after verification.

This was certainly not difficult. He Pan quickly provided a list, adding relatives of some high-ranking officials of the Southern Han Dynasty in addition to those requested by Liu Xian, resulting in a list of about a hundred people. However, after the list was sent to Qi Han, it seemed to have sunk without a trace, and there was no further news. He Pan repeatedly sent envoys to inquire about the progress, but the Qi Han envoys would always decline, saying that the list was too long and the Da Xing court was searching for them, asking the envoy to be patient. As a result, this dragged on for almost a year, and He Pan's health deteriorated, to the point that he had almost given up hope. Then, in mid-May of this year, Qi Han suddenly replied, saying that the first batch of hostages had been collected, but to hand over these hostages, Qi Han needed the Southern Han to sign a peace treaty and open trade.

Such a demand is completely impossible to achieve. Everyone knows that the contradictions between the two countries are irreconcilable. Both sides claim to be of Han dynasty origin, so how can peace last for even a day or two? Therefore, lasting peace is impossible. The reason they are still sending envoys to each other is simply because Liu Xian needs time to complete the reforms and reorganize the army. Once he has achieved initial success, Liu Xian will lead his troops north.

Knowing this, He Pan naturally dared not make a decision on his own. So he left the messenger behind and sent a fast cavalryman to Yi'an to let the emperor make the decision.

After discussion, the officials of the inner court believed that the Qi people's nominal peace talks and trade negotiations were likely a test.

After all, the people of Qi knew that, from any perspective, long-term peace between the two countries was impossible. But the court didn't only have Qi and Han as enemies; there was also Zhao and Han to the west. Especially at the beginning of the year, when the situation in Guanzhong and Longxi was extremely tense, the people of Qi were even more eager to know which direction the court intended to focus its strategy on, so that they could make corresponding adjustments.

If the strategic focus is on the Guanzhong region, the court's attitude will inevitably be more moderate, allowing the Qi people to develop with peace of mind. If the strategic focus is on the Guandong region, the court's attitude will inevitably be more assertive, requiring the Qi people to prepare for war in advance.

Liu Xian cautioned, "It could also be a feint by the Qi people. As things stand, among all the states, the Qi people are the most cunning in their military tactics. We must not underestimate them."

In conclusion, faced with the Qi people's show of weakness and plea for peace, Liu Xian still intended to adopt a relatively proactive attitude. On the one hand, he instructed He Pan to prepare for a possible surprise attack from the Qi army moving south, and on the other hand, he sent Meng He, a Gentleman Attendant at the Palace Gate, with a message to the Qi envoy:

"There's no need for a peace treaty; neither of us needs to engage in such hypocritical formalities. However, for the sake of the people of Qing and Xu, we can emulate the trade between Lu and Yang in Jingzhou back then, where the two countries traded with each other to ensure the safety of the people. If your country does not recklessly start a war, I will also not recklessly start a war. If war does break out, we may exchange official letters and formally declare war."

The Qi envoy was delighted upon hearing this and replied, "Then I will report back as soon as possible. Please wait for my news, Your Excellency."

About half a month after the Qi envoy returned, he came to Hefei again. This time, the Qi envoy said to Meng He and He Pan, "Our Emperor said that your lord's request is not a big problem, but in order to show the sincerity of our two countries, he requests that your lord redeem people with grain, five thousand bushels of rice per person, what do you think?"

Upon hearing this, He Pan and Meng He exchanged bewildered glances. Their list contained about one hundred people, and to redeem them all would require 500,000 bushels of grain, enough to empty the entire granary of Huainan.

He Pan's expression immediately changed. He slapped the table and said sarcastically, "Your Excellency can cut off my head and go to your master to claim your reward. Let's see if it's worth 500,000 bushels of grain."

The envoy quickly smiled ingratiatingly and said, "Sir He, you are joking. Your head is worth far more than 500,000 bushels of grain. My lord meant that we can redeem the people in batches. If you think 500,000 bushels is too much, you can redeem a few people this year and a few more next year, no problem at all! The people you are looking for are all nobles, 5,000 bushels per person, is that really not expensive?"

Your Excellency said, "As for which people to redeem, Your Excellency can come with me to Daxing. After we have selected them, I will escort you to the border, where you will receive the grain and the people in return. How does that sound?"

Meng He and He Pan exchanged a glance and agreed that this was indeed a acceptable solution. It seemed that the Qi people were sincere in their desire for peace; by prolonging the process of ransoming the hostages, the two countries would naturally find it difficult to wage war in the meantime. Therefore, He Pan agreed to first hand over 50,000 bushels of grain, and Meng He would go to Daxing, the capital of Qi, to select the first batch of hostages to be ransomed.

Without delay, around mid-June, after a month of back-and-forth negotiations, decisive progress was finally made. Meng He was able to enter Qi-Han territory and was subsequently received by Emperor Liu Baigen of Qi-Han.

This was the first time that Emperor Liu Bogen of Qi-Han had appeared among the officials of Southern Han. His otherworldly demeanor and ethereal grace were something Meng He had never seen before, and he was momentarily stunned.

Liu Baigen asked Meng He repeatedly before he seemed to wake up from his dream. Liu Baigen then asked Meng He with a smile, "What is wrong with me that makes you look like this?"

Meng He cupped his hands and replied, "Meng He is a vulgar man. I did not expect Your Excellency to have such an extraordinary appearance. I was momentarily flustered."

Upon hearing this, the people of Qi all laughed, but Liu Bogen asked, "Oh? How does that compare to your lord?"

Meng He replied again: "My lord does not possess the same captivating celestial aura as Your Majesty, but he possesses a majestic and righteous spirit that is enough to win the hearts of the people and make the whole world submit to him."

These words enraged Liu Baigen's attendants, who were about to seize him, but Liu Baigen stopped them and instead praised him, saying, "I have long heard Lord Liu say that Minister Meng is the most loyal minister under your lord. Seeing him today, I can confirm that his reputation is well-deserved."

So they invited Liu Tun to meet Meng He, who was taken aback. Years ago, during the siege of Luoyang, Meng He had gone out of the city to ask Liu Tun for reinforcements, so the two were old acquaintances. Unexpectedly, several years later, they would meet again in Daxing, a thousand miles away, and both were filled with emotion.

Liu Tun was the liaison officer from the Qi and Han sides responsible for arranging the transfer of hostages. After exchanging pleasantries, Liu Tun immediately took Meng He outside the palace to select people. The first person Liu Tun visited was none other than Ji Shao, a renowned scholar from the former Jin dynasty who had been held captive in Daxing by the Qi people for two years. (End of Chapter)