In this debate, Xianwen criticized the financial crisis caused by Liang Wudi's conquest of Xiongnu. As a supporter of the political legacy of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Sang Hongyang spared no effort to defend the iron and blood policy of the Han Empire. In "On He Jie's Theory of Salt and Iron", we can see Sang Hongyang's views on this issue:
Since the Han Dynasty, we have repaired the knot, kissed each other and hired many people. However, if you don't pay attention to discipline and quality, you will change your discipline and you will be very harmful. The first emperor saw that he could be defeated by force, but not by virtue. Therefore, he was a general and called for a vigorous attack to punish the Jue for his crimes.
Lin Lei, Emperor Wudi of Han Dynasty, Meng Edition
This passage by Sang Hongyang is actually a simple summary of the Xiongnu policy from the early Han Dynasty to the era of Emperor Wudi. In the early Han Dynasty, Xiongnu adopted the policy of appeasement and pro-intimacy, and "hired a person very generously", but this means of exchanging economic benefits for peace did not work, and Xiongnu was still "extremely harmful". In the era of Emperor Wu, the old appeasement policy was changed, and it was believed that the Huns could only "subdue the enemy by force" and could not "subdue the enemy by virtue", that is, they could only subdue the enemy by force, but could not expect to subdue the enemy by virtue, thus resulting in the long-term war against the Huns in the era of Emperor Wu.
From the "Battle of Mayi" in the second year of Yuan Guang (133 BC) to the promulgation of the "Imperial edict" in the fourth year of Zheng He (89 BC), the Han Dynasty made contractive adjustments to the Xiongnu policy, and the war between Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and Xiongnu lasted for 44 years, including no less than ten major wars and countless minor wars.
Salt and iron conference
Immersed in the historical memory of the Han army's powerful force, we may only see the Xiongnu defeated, and the forces were expelled from Hexi, the western regions and the south of the desert, and issued "Losing Qilian Mountain made my six animals unhappy; I lost my mountain and made my married wife colorless. However, the Han Dynasty also paid a heavy price of "wasting domestic resources and halving the household registration". Glory belongs to Emperor Wu, and the price is borne by the people of the Han Dynasty. The emperor wants to win, so he will not be afraid of sacrifice, because the sacrifice is only the people who are like ants in his eyes.
Sang Hongyang, the son of Jia people, was a "minister of promoting profits" who was highly valued by Emperor Wu. His prosperity is closely related to the various measures taken by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty to promote profits, and the implementation of these measures is mainly to maintain the conquest war of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. It can be said that Sang Hongyang was the beneficiary of the foreign war of Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty. Without war, it would be difficult for these people to get rich economically and politically.
Emperor Wu of Han dynasty
In Sang Hongyang's view, the Huns "take advantage of the situation with unbelief and see the benefits as before", which is a "long-lying country" with repeated unbelief and rebellion, and must be conquered with iron and blood. Although the war in the era of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty consumed national strength, it had three advantages:
First, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty "refused Hu and Yue to avoid the disaster of Kouan, but scattered China's fat Rao to adjust the border. If the border is strong, China's security will be achieved, and China's security will not be achieved", which means that foreign wars can consolidate political power;
Secondly, the foreign conquest of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was for the long-term interests of the Li people, and it was "difficult to control its harm and thought that the Li people had foresight". Although it increased the domestic burden in the short term, it was "very hard at first, but it was also a celebration when I died";
Third, the opening of Liang Wudi's borders can promote the circulation of materials, exchange needed goods between the mainland and the border areas, gain economic benefits, and even reap huge profits like "China slapped the Xiongnu's accumulated gold".
Sang Hongyang
However, according to German literature, the war between Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and Xiongnu was completely unnecessary, because before the Battle of Mayi, the relationship between Han and Xiongnu was peaceful. "In the past, we were outside the customs, exchanging needed goods, and from Khan down, we were all close to Han and traveled all over the Great Wall." The war was completely unprovoked. But since the battle of linen, "the Huns are not near, and the road is blocked."
No matter how much you brag about martial arts, you can't ignore the economic burden brought by foreign conquest. Is the economic burden just an economic problem? Of course not, its influence goes deep into all levels. The foreign war of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, especially the war against Xiongnu, resulted in "the treasure was in vain".
In addition to military and military expenses, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty also gave generous rewards. Just before and after the two wars in the fifth and sixth years of Yuanshuo, more than 200,000 Jin of gold was given to the soldiers who made meritorious service, and even tens of thousands of prisoners were given "generous rewards to feed and clothe the county officials", so "the big farmers hid their wealth and exhausted their taxes, which was not enough to serve the soldiers."
Jun Han
What if the finance is going bankrupt? Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty's strategy of promoting profits is to destroy the existing system, and these measures, such as buying and selling martial arts titles and allowing businessmen to invest in officials, are only temporary expedient measures. With the deepening of the crisis, policies such as salt and iron official operation, accounting, suing, losing even, selling wine were introduced one by one.
Sang Hongyang was an important executor and beneficiary of controlling the economy in the era of Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty, and a group of big businessmen attached to state power became spokesmen of state monopoly capital. The monopoly profits of * * * are closely related to foreign policy. Maintaining the old foreign policy of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty will safeguard the vested interests of political power and big capital.
Sang Hongyang's fame and fortune came at the expense of the common people's general hardship and poverty. "The six livestock are not fat at home, the grains are not cultivated, and the people are not enough to be taken captive." The powerful empire of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was built on the bones of the people of the Han Dynasty.
There was no final outcome in this debate, but there was no large-scale war between the Western Han Dynasty and the Xiongnu since then. The strategic focus of the Han Dynasty shifted from the outside to the inside, and the country lasted for more than 100 years.