Li Ying frowned: "Your Majesty means... that the things belonging to the Southern Xiongnu were also plundered from the Han Dynasty?"
Liu Hong narrowed his eyes slightly: "Whether it's true or not, the instability of our Han Dynasty's borders is partly due to them..."
Upon hearing this, Li Ying and Chen Fan exchanged a speechless glance.
Li Ying asked, "What does Your Majesty intend to do?"
Liu Hong smiled slightly: "The Xianbei envoys will be arriving in Bingzhou soon, and the timing is about right. After they wipe out the Jie people, it will be time to let them have a showdown..."
"Your Majesty means...?"
Li Ying was slightly taken aback and looked at Liu Hong with some confusion.
"Ah~, have the Grand Tutor and Grand Commandant ever heard of the story of 'Qi seeking the Nine Tripods'?"
Liu Hong chuckled lightly, offering no further explanation, but instead looked at Chen Fan and Li Ying, asking a seemingly unrelated question.
Chen Fan stroked his beard: "In the past, King Wu of Qin wanted to attack Zhou and take the Nine Tripods. In order to protect itself, Zhou asked Qi for help and promised to give the Nine Tripods to Qi. Later, Qi sent troops, and Qin had no choice but to retreat when it saw that it was no match for them!"
After Qin withdrew its troops, Qi demanded the return of the Nine Tripods. However, because the tripods needed to pass through Wei and Chu, they could not reach Qi directly, and Qi ultimately had to give up, having wasted its military resources.
"Yes, Grand Tutor is indeed learned, worthy of being one of the three great rulers of our Han Dynasty!"
Liu Hong smiled and nodded, then showered Chen Fan with praise.
"I wonder what Your Majesty's intention is in bringing up this allusion?"
Chen Fan could only shake his head helplessly at the emperor's flattery, and then asked about the reason behind it.
Liu Hong looked at Li Ying and Chen Fan: "Do you know why the State of Qi failed to obtain the Nine Tripods?"
Li Ying said, "Because... the states of Chu and Wei all covet the Nine Tripods, and it is highly unlikely that they would want to transport the Nine Tripods from their territory!"
“Yes, Qi is a powerful state, and Qin is still afraid of it, yet Chu, Wei, and other states still dare to oppose it. Why is that…?” Liu Hong looked at the two men and asked with a smile.
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