Su Mu herding sheep Since the Huns were defeated by Wei Qing and Huo Qubing, the two sides did not fight for several years. They verbally stated that they wanted to reconcile with the Han Dynasty, but in fact they still wanted to invade the Central Plains at any time. The Chanyu of the Xiongnu sent envoys to seek peace again and again, but some of the envoys of the Han Dynasty went to the Xiongnu to return visits, but some were detained by them. The Han Dynasty also detained some Xiongnu envoys. In 100 BC, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was about to send troops to attack the Xiongnu. The Xiongnu sent envoys to sue for peace and released all the envoys from the Han Dynasty. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent Su Wu, his deputy, Zhang Sheng and his attaché Chang Hui as envoys to the Huns in order to respond to the Xiongnu's goodwill gesture. When Su Wu arrived at the Xiongnu, he sent back the detained envoy and presented him with gifts. Su Wu was waiting for Shan Yu to write a reply asking him to go back. Unexpectedly, at this moment, something unfortunate happened. Before Su Wu came to the Xiongnu, there was a Huns named Wei Lu who grew up in the Han Dynasty and surrendered to the Xiongnu after he was sent as an envoy to the Xiongnu. The Chan Yu placed special emphasis on him and made him king. Wei Lu had a subordinate named Yu Chang who was very dissatisfied with Wei Lu. He and Su Wu's deputy Zhang Sheng turned out to be friends, so he secretly discussed with Zhang Sheng to kill Wei Lu, kidnap Shan Yu's mother, and escape back to the Central Plains. Zhang Sheng expressed his sympathy, but he didn't expect that Yu Chang's plan failed and he was caught by the Huns instead. Chanyu was furious and asked Wei Lu to interrogate Yu Chang and also find out his accomplices. Su Wu originally didn't know about this. At this time, Zhang Sheng was afraid of being implicated, so he told Su Wu. Su Wu said: "The matter has reached this point, and I will definitely be implicated. If I die after being interrogated, wouldn't it be more embarrassing to the court?" After that, he pulled out his knife and wanted to commit suicide. Zhang Sheng and his attendant Chang Hui were quick to take the knife from his hand and persuaded him to stop. Yu Chang suffered all kinds of punishments, but he only admitted that he was friends with Zhang Sheng and had spoken to him, but he refused to admit that he was an accomplice with him even to the death. Wei Lu reported to Shan Yu. The Chanyu was furious and wanted to kill Su Wu, but was dissuaded by the ministers. The Chanyu also asked Wei Lu to force Su Wu to surrender. As soon as Su Wu heard Wei Lu telling him to surrender, he said: "I am the envoy of the Han Dynasty. If I disobey my mission and lose my integrity, how can I live with dignity?" He pulled out his knife and wiped it on his neck. Wei Lu hurriedly hugged him, but Su Wu's neck was seriously injured and he fainted. Wei Lu quickly called for rescue, and Su Wu slowly regained consciousness. Chanyu felt that Su Wu was a man of integrity and admired him very much. After Su Wu recovered from his injuries, Chanyu wanted to force Su Wu to surrender. Shan Yu sent Wei Lu to interrogate Yu Chang, and asked Su Wu to listen. Wei Lu first sentenced Yu Chang to death and killed him; then, he threatened Zhang Sheng with his sword. Zhang Sheng was greedy for life and feared death, so he surrendered. Wei Lu said to Su Wu: "Your deputy is guilty, so you have to sit together." Su Wu said: "I have not conspired with him, and I am not his relative, why should I sit together?" Wei Lu raised his sword and threatened Su Wu. Su Wu Calm and calm. Wei Lu had no choice but to put down his raised sword and persuaded Su Wu: "I surrendered to the Huns as a last resort. The Chanyu treated me well and made me king. He gave me tens of thousands of subordinates and mountains full of cattle." Sheep, enjoy the wealth and glory. If you can surrender to the Xiongnu tomorrow, why should you sacrifice your life in vain?" Su Wu stood up angrily and said, "Wei Lu! You are the son of the Han Dynasty. My subordinate. You are ungrateful, betrayed your parents, betrayed the court, and shamelessly became a traitor. How dare you talk to me? I will never surrender. No matter how hard you force me, it will be useless." Go back and report to Shanyu. Chanyu locked Su Wu in a cellar and refused to give him food or drink. He wanted to use long-term torture to force him to surrender. It was winter weather at this time, and it was snowing heavily outside. Su Wu suffered from hunger. When he was thirsty, he took a handful of snow to quench his thirst. When he was hungry, he pulled some leather belts and sheepskin pieces and gnawed them to satisfy his hunger. After a few days, he didn't starve to death. Seeing that torture was useless, Chanyu sent him to the North Sea (today's Lake Baikal) to herd sheep, and separated him from his subordinate Chang Hui. They were not allowed to communicate with each other. He also said to Su Wu: "When the ram gives birth to a baby, Sheep, I will let you go back." How can a ram give birth to a lamb? This just means that he will be imprisoned for a long time. When Su Wu arrived in Beihai, there was no one around him. The only thing keeping him company was the banner representing the imperial court. When the Xiongnu refused to give him food rations, he dug grass roots from wild rat holes to satisfy his hunger. As time went by, all the tassels on the banner fell off. Until 85 BC, the Xiongnu's Chanyu died, and the Xiongnu had civil strife and divided into three countries. The new Chanyu had no strength to fight the Han Dynasty anymore, so he sent envoys to seek peace. At that time, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty had died, and his son Emperor Zhao of the Han Dynasty came to the throne.

Emperor Zhao of the Han Dynasty sent envoys to the Xiongnu to ask Shanyu to release Su Wu. The Xiongnu lied that Su Wu was dead. The messenger believed it to be true and did not mention it again. The second time, the Han envoys went to the Xiongnu again, and Su Wu's attendant Chang Hui was still with the Xiongnu. He bribed the Huns, met privately with the Han envoys, and told the envoys about Su Wu's sheep herding in Beihai. The envoy met Shan Yu and scolded him severely: "Since the Xiongnu wanted to make peace with the Han Dynasty, they should not deceive the Han Dynasty. Our emperor shot down a wild goose in the imperial garden. There was a piece of silk tied to the goose's foot, which said Su Wu He's still alive, how can you say he's dead?" Chanyu was shocked when he heard this. He thought it was Su Wu's loyalty that really moved the birds, and even the geese sent messages for him. He apologized to the envoy and said: "Su Wu is indeed alive. We just put him back." Su Wu was only forty years old when he went on the mission. After nineteen years of torture in the Huns, his beard and hair turned completely white. On the day he returned to Chang'an, the people of Chang'an came out to greet him. When they saw the white-bearded and white-haired Su Wu holding a banner with a bare pole in his hand, no one was unmoved, saying that he was really a man of integrity who stood up against a tree to plead guilty. During the Warring States Period, there were seven great powers, namely Qi, Chu, Yan, Han, Zhao, Wei and Qin are historically known as the "Seven Heroes of the Warring States Period". Among these seven countries, Qin is the most powerful. Qin often bullied Zhao. Once, King Zhao sent Lin Xiangru, a subordinate of a minister, to the State of Qin to negotiate. Lin Xiangru met the King of Qin and won a lot of face for Zhao with his wit and bravery. When King Qin saw that Zhao had such talents, he no longer dared to underestimate Zhao. King Zhao saw that Lin Xiangru was so capable. He was first named "Doctor" and then Shangqing (equivalent to the later prime minister). [1] King Zhao valued Lin Xiangru so much that he made Lian Po, the general of Zhao, angry. He thought: I fought desperately for the State of Zhao, wouldn't my merit be as good as Lin Xiangru's? Lin Xiangru has such great abilities with just one mouth, but his status is higher than mine! The more he thought about it, the more unconvinced he became, and he said angrily: "If I meet Lin Xiangru, I will embarrass him in person and see what he can do to me!" Lian Po's words reached Lin Xiangru's ears. Lin Xiangru immediately ordered his men to be polite and not to quarrel with Lian Po's men in the future. From now on, when he went out by himself in a carriage, whenever he heard that Lian Po was coming from ahead, he would ask the coachman to drive the carriage into a small alley, and wait until Lian Po had passed before leaving. Lian Po's men were even more complacent when they saw Shang Qing giving way to their master. When they saw Lin Xiangru's men, they laughed at them. Lin Xiangru's men couldn't stand this anger, so they said to Lin Xiangru: "You have a higher status than General Lian. He scolds you, but you avoid him and give in to him. He will treat you less and less! If this goes on, , We can't stand it." Lin Xiangru asked them calmly: "Who is more powerful than General Lian?" Everyone said, "Of course King Qin is more powerful." Lin Xiangru said, "Yes! I met King Qin." If you are not afraid, why are you still afraid of General Lian? You know, the reason why Qin dares not come to attack Zhao is because the civil servants and military officers in the country are of the same mind. If two tigers fight, there will inevitably be one. As long as he is injured or even killed, this will give Qin a good opportunity to attack Zhao. Think about it, which is more important, national affairs or personal dignity?" [2] Lin Xiangru's men heard this. I was very moved by these words. When I saw Lian Po's subordinates in the future, I would be cautious and always give way to them. Lin Xiangru's words later reached Lian Po's ears. Lian Po was extremely ashamed. He took off one sleeve, exposed his shoulder, carried a thorn stick on his back, and went straight to Lin Xiangru's house. Lin Xiangru hurriedly came out to greet Lian Po. Lian Po knelt down in front of Lin Xiangru, holding a thorn stick in his hands, and asked Lin Xiangru to whip him. Lin Xiangru threw the thorns on the ground, hurriedly helped Lian Po up with both hands, dressed him, took his hand and asked him to sit down. Lin Xiangru and Lian Po became very good friends from then on. These two men, both civil and military, worked together to serve the country, so Qin did not dare to bully Zhao. "Bearing under a thorn to apologize" has become an idiom, which means to apologize to others and admit mistakes. Tumu believed that the law had been completed but had not been announced. (Shang Yang) was afraid that the people would not trust him, so he set up a three-foot-long wooden pole at the south gate of the capital market and recruited people who could move to the north gate to reward ten Yidium gold. The people were surprised and no one dared to move the pole. He then announced an order: "Anyone who can move it will be rewarded with fifty yi gold." When a man moved the wooden pole to the north gate, he was immediately rewarded with fifty yi gold to show that there was no fraud. Finally the decree (reform) was promulgated.