In the heyday of the Han Dynasty, the national strength was strong, the city of Chang'an was resplendent inside and outside, and the palace was as bright as the stars. The empire under the rule of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty ushered in a great challenge - the Xiongnu from the north. The Xiongnu had long been a threat to the Han Dynasty's northern frontiers, and this time, they took advantage of a severe drought to try to pressure the Han Dynasty through intimidation in exchange for money.
The Xiongnu Shan Yu sent a messenger, holding a letter of state, on which only four words were written: "Tianxin takes rice". These four words are not only a request, but also a blatant threat of war. This letter of state caused an uproar in the city of Chang'an, and Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was nervous about it, he understood that this was a provocation by the Xiongnu Shan Yu to the Han Dynasty, but he could not directly inquire about the meaning of the letter of state, so as not to damage the dignity of the Han Dynasty.
In order to interpret this enigmatic national letter, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty ordered the recruitment of talents and the recruitment of talents. Many scholars and literati came to try to solve this mystery, but no one could solve it. Until a small official named He Tang appeared, he made a bold suggestion, that is, to add a stroke to each word, to change its original meaning. He Tang's wisdom brought a ray of life to the Han Dynasty.
He Tang's suggestion was adopted by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, and he began to rewrite these four characters. First of all, he added a vertical to the word "Tian" and changed it to "Wei"; Then, a skimming was added to the word "heart" and it became "must"; Then, a "dare" was added to the word "take", which became "dare to take"; Finally, a horizontal line was added to the word "rice", which became "Laimi". The change of these four words changed the original threat of "Tianxin takes rice" into "may not dare to come", and skillfully resolved the provocation of the Xiongnu.
Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent this rewritten reply to the Xiongnu envoy, and after the envoy received the letter, his face immediately changed, he thought that he could easily get the property of the Han Dynasty, but he did not expect the Han Dynasty to respond to their provocation so skillfully. This left the envoy speechless, and could only hurriedly return to the Xiongnu with a reply.
Returning to the Xiongnu steppe, the envoy presented the reply letter of Emperor Wu of Han to Shan Yu. When Yu unfolded it, he saw that the four words had changed to "may not dare to come", which made him realize that the Han Dynasty was no longer an easy threat. The warriors of the Xiongnu also fell into contemplation as a result, and they gradually realized the strength and wisdom of the Han Dynasty and reconsidered their provocations against the Han Dynasty.
This event became a turning point in relations between the Han dynasty and the Xiongnu, who gradually reduced their provocations against the Han dynasty, while the Han dynasty consolidated its own frontier defenses. The wise decision-making of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and the wisdom of He Tang jointly demonstrated the national strength and foresight of the Han Dynasty, and became one of the important chapters of the Han Dynasty culture.
This history has also been praised by the people of the Han Dynasty, and the wisdom of He Tang has become a good story in people's mouths, inspiring generations of Han people. As for the Xiongnu, they also realized the difficulty of the confrontation with the Han Dynasty from this incident, and began to re-examine their strategies and future routes.