In the early days of the distant Eastern Han Dynasty, in 52 AD, a political turmoil caused by the interaction between princes and kings and wanderers swept through the imperial court. During this period, the princes and kings competed to establish their reputation in the capital, attracting travelers from all over the world. However, this kind of guest interaction carries significant political risks.
At that time, Ma Yuan's niece and son-in-law Wang Pan was a typical example. Wang Pan was born into an aristocratic family, but due to the failure of Wang Mang's regime, he became a ranger. With his wealth and fame, he made many friends in the Jianghuai region.
Later, he entered the capital and established deep friendships with many imperial relatives. However, Ma Yuan expressed concern about Wang Pan's behavior, believing that he should be invisible and avoid being exposed.
Sure enough, not long after, Wang Pan was killed for a crime, and his son Wang Su was also involved in a political turmoil. At that time, some people wrote to report that Wang Su and other families who were killed had close contacts with the princes and kings, fearing that they would take the opportunity to cause chaos. This incident attracted great attention from Liu Xiu.
During the same period, Liu Li, the son of Emperor Gengshi, also began to secretly make friends with guests because of his deep resentment towards Liu Penzi. This resentment stems from the change in the fate of the First Emperor.
When Wang Mang's new dynasty fell, Emperor Gengshi was proclaimed emperor by everyone, but the good times did not last long, and he was soon deposed by the Red Eyebrow army. Liu Li's heart was full of resentment towards Liu Penzi, because it was Liu Penzi's coming to power that indirectly contributed to the tragic fate of Emperor Gengshi.
In search of an opportunity for revenge, Liu Li began to try to establish contact with Liu Xiu's son, Liu Fu, the king of Pei. He hopes that through Liu Fu's strength and status, he can realize his revenge plan against Liu Penzi. This secret alliance eventually led to a series of political turmoil and violence that shocked the imperial court.
After Liu Li found the protection of Liu Fu, the king of Pei, he secretly accumulated strength and made a group of guests and rangers, trying to take revenge. Their target is Liu Penzi's elder brother Shihou Liu Gong. After careful planning and arrangement, they finally succeeded in assassinating Liu Gong, and the shocking news quickly spread throughout the imperial court.
Liu Xiu was extremely furious when he heard the news, he suspected that Liu Fu, the king of Pei, had provided shelter to Liu Li, and acquiesced in his fiefdom to plan and carry out the case.
Enraged, Liu Xiu ordered Liu Fu, the king of Pei, to be imprisoned in the Imperial Prison, one of the harshest punishments of the time. Liu Fu was released after three full days in prison, which was undoubtedly an extremely severe warning and punishment for him. As for Liu Li, there is no record in the history books of how he ended up in this incident.
In order to completely clean up the aftermath of this political turmoil, Liu Xiu further issued an edict ordering all counties to strictly investigate the guests who were involved with the princes and kings. The widespread manhunt resulted in the deaths of thousands, including innocent victims.
During the same historical period, the Northern Xiongnu felt a great threat due to internal strife and the annexation of the Southern Xiongnu to the Han Dynasty. In order to consolidate their dominance, the Northern Xiongnu began to actively make overtures to the Han Dynasty, not only sending envoys to offer horses and precious furs as tribute, but also repeatedly asking the Han Dynasty for peace.
In addition, they were also eager to obtain the ** culture of the Han Dynasty, and proposed to lead the Hu people from all countries in the Western Regions to meet the emperor of the Han Dynasty.
However, in the face of various requests from the Northern Xiongnu, the Han Dynasty did not respond easily. There was an in-depth and detailed discussion within the imperial court, among which Situ Pengbanbiao's views were particularly noteworthy.
Ban Biao pointed out that there were deep strategic considerations behind the Northern Xiongnu's overtures, and it was likely that they wanted to use this to explore the strength of the Han Dynasty and look for opportunities to revive its power. Therefore, the Han dynasty had to act cautiously in response to the Northern Xiongnu, both to ensure the security and stability of the border and to avoid falling into the traps set by the other side.
After careful consideration, Liu Xiu finally decided to adopt a compromise diplomatic strategy.
He agreed to the Northern Xiongnu's request for peace and gave a certain reward to show the goodwill and tolerance of the Han Dynasty.
However, he did not fully meet all the demands of the Northern Xiongnu, especially when the Northern Xiongnu asked to lead the Hu people of the Western Regions to meet together, Liu Xiu refused, and made it clear that the relationship between the Han Dynasty and the Western Regions was different from that with the Xiongnu.
The countries of the Western Regions were friendly neighbors of the Han Dynasty, while the Xiongnu were enemy states of the Han Dynasty. Therefore, the Han dynasty could not allow the Northern Xiongnu to use the Western Regions states to expand their influence and sphere of influence.
This move not only safeguarded the dignity and interests of the Han Dynasty, but also avoided possible diplomatic disputes.