Where is the place where Su Wu herded sheep now?

Lake Baikal, Russia.

Su Wu Muyang:

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 from 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 Huns. The Huns sent envoys to sue for peace and released all the envoys from the Han Dynasty. In order to reply to the Xiongnu's goodwill expression, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent Zhonglang General Su Wu with a banner, his deputy Zhang Sheng and his attaché Chang Hui on an envoy to the Xiongnu.

Su Wu arrived at the Huns and sent back the detained envoys 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 Han named Wei Lu who 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 sympathy, but he did not 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 the 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 was subjected to 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 being an accomplice with him even to the death.

Wei Lu reported to Shanyu. 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 asking him to surrender, he said: "I am an envoy of the Han Dynasty. If I violate my mission and lose my integrity, how can I live to see others?"

< p>" He pulled out the knife and wiped it towards 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 hero with integrity and admired him very much. After Su Wu recovered from his injuries, Chanyu wanted to force Su Wu to surrender.

The Chanyu 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, but Zhang Sheng was greedy for life and feared death, so he surrendered.

Wei Lu said to Su Wu: "Your deputy is guilty, and you must also sit together."

Su Wu said: "I am neither an accomplice with him nor a relative of him. Why? Do you want to sit together?"

Wei Lu raised his sword to threaten Su Wu, but Su Wu remained 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 all the wealth and glory.

If you can surrender to the Huns, you will be like me 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 people and became a subject of the Han Dynasty. You are ungrateful, betrayed your parents, betrayed the court, and shamelessly became a traitor. How can you have the nerve to talk to me? I will never surrender, why? It’s useless to force me.

”

Wei Lu went back in frustration and reported to Shan Yu. The Chanyu locked Su Wu in a cellar, deprived him of food and drink, and 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 off some belts and sheepskins and gnawed them to satisfy his hunger. After a few days, he didn't starve to death.

The Chanyu saw that torturing him was useless, so he sent him to the North Sea (today's Lake Baikal) to graze sheep. He was separated from his subordinate Chang Hui, and they were not allowed to communicate with each other. He also said to Su Wu: "When the ram gives birth to a lamb, 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.

The Huns refused to give him food rations, so he dug grass roots from wild rats' 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 follower 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 is still alive, how can you say he is 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 Su Wu with white beard and white hair holding a bare pole banner in his hand, no one was unmoved and said that he was really a man of integrity.