The chubby orange said, "The historical records are vast and numerous, and I really can't recall them all at the moment."
Sun Miaoqing said smugly, "Then let me remind you, do you still remember the plan to eliminate any offspring?"
The fat orange tree pondered for a moment. The reason why the "extinction plan" is called that is because it is too insidious. Those who fall for the plan will definitely have no descendants.
Chen Ping, a founding hero of the Western Han Dynasty, was adept at using this tactic. First, he spread rumors to sow discord between Xiang Yu and Fan Zeng. Then, when Liu Bang was besieged, he had someone impersonate Liu Bang and surrender. Finally, he used two thousand young women to throw Xiang Yu's army into chaos.
Liu Bang and his men managed to break through the encirclement amidst the chaos, but the two thousand young women suffered inhuman torture.
This tactic is indeed very effective, but if used poorly, his newly established good reputation may be ruined for eternity.
"Chen Ping and his ilk are too vicious. Mongolia is also a bulwark for the Qing Dynasty. I have no such intention."
Sun Miaoqing said, "Chen Ping is vicious, but he's not the only one in the world who has succeeded using this method."
"Emperor Wu of Han's Edict of Grace was also a scheme to eliminate any potential heirs, but it was immensely beneficial to both the court and the sons of the feudal lords. Besides, does Your Majesty think I am such a vicious person?"
The chubby orange said, "That's not what I meant. Consort Cheng has come up with a method that is comparable to the Edict of Grace?"
Sun Miaoqing said with a smile, "During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, the ruler of the State of Qi ordered that his courtiers must wear clothes made of silk."
"However, the state of Qi only allowed the cultivation of grain and not mulberry trees, which caused the price of raw silk to rise. Seeing the potential for profit, neighboring states such as Lu and Liang stopped growing grain and switched to growing the more valuable mulberry trees."
"A few years later, the King of Qi saw that large tracts of farmland in the neighboring countries had been turned into mulberry groves. He then ordered his ministers to wear only plain clothes and to forbid them from selling grain to other countries."
"As a result, the states of Lu and Liang were thrown into chaos due to food shortages, and the state of Qi gained a large amount of territory without losing a single soldier."
"Although there are few arable lands in Mongolia and the people live by nomadic life, the environment is really harsh. Their thoughts of moving south and going to Yuan Dadu (Beijing) were also for the sake of a better life."
"If a good life could be lived so easily, why risk your life fighting with others!"
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