I Have Your Wife: Difference between revisions

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** For the curious, Liu Bang defeated Xiang Yu (founding the Han Dynasty in the process), and Liu's father didn't get the least bit boiled.
* Another historical example, this time from 12th century England, concerns King Stephen threatening to hang the small son of one John Marshal if he doesn't surrender his castle. John replies, rather crudely, that he still has the hammer and anvil to make even better sons. In justice to John, King Stephen was a marshmallow (sweet and soft) and everybody knew it. Little William Marshal was ''not'' hanged and grew up to be the most famous knight in England and France.
* During the Spanish Civil War, the Republicans, (no, not those republicans), captured the son of José Moscardó e Ituarte, the Nationalist commandant during the [[wikipedia:Siege of the Alcázar|Siege of Alcázar.]] The Republican forces called Moscardó on the telephone, and demanded he surrender or they would kill his son. Moscardó asked to speak to his son, who he told; [[Screw Your Ultimatum|"Commend your soul to God and die like a patriot,]] shouting [[Say Your Prayers|'Long live Christ King']] and 'Long live Spain.'" His son's reply? [[Defiant to the End|"That, I can do."]]'
* Hostage taking was normal practice in the times of dynastic politics as a guarantee of peaceful behavior. It was so much worked into the noble's code of honor, that it was treated as routine and hostages were considered normal courtiers until their kin broke their word.
* In [[World War 2]] the Nazis revived the practice (which had been defunct for some time) and being Nazis did not carry it out with such style as warriors and rulers had. This could include such logical extensions as indulging in massacres whenever the Resistance blew something up, or torturing captured couples to death in each other's sight (which is why the [[SOE]] never sent married agents on the same mission). In point of fact this made the Resistance far less effective than legend paints except in such regions where the Germans [[Kill'Em All|made sure]] there was nothing to lose, or except with Communists who were rather bloody minded about the whole thing anyway.
 
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