The 100,000-man army that finally reached the border of Qu Province after three months of hard work did not accomplish anything as they were blocked at the doorstep and killed without a single soldier left.
This military intelligence took only a week to reach the capital from Qu Province.
The entire court was shocked.
The ministers were furious and wrote to the emperor to ask him to send troops to hang these traitors to protect the prestige of the Autumn Dynasty.
The emperor was furious and ordered to send 300,000 troops, along with 20 magicians, to Liang Province as soon as possible. At the same time, he also sent envoys to Liang Province, asking the county governors in Liang Province to voluntarily come to the capital to plead guilty and accept punishment.
Unfortunately, the envoys, who were full of vigor, did not have time to meet the county governor. They heard the news on the road. The angry people beat them to death and threw them at the gate of the Qiu Dynasty army camp at night. The emperor was so angry that he smashed the glass bowls.
The 300,000-strong army, who came with ill intentions, joined forces with General Si, who had finally saved his life, and his defeated soldiers not far from Qu Province. The army launched a fierce attack across the trenches dug by General Si and his troops, and soon the first wave of arrows took away thousands of lives.
Afterwards, the first batch of cavalrymen who had finally ridden through the rain of arrows were blocked by a thick rope that had appeared out of nowhere on the ground before they could even cross the huge gully in front of them.
The horses fell down in a large number, and the leg bones of the horses were broken directly due to the excessive speed. The cavalrymen who fell to the ground either had their organs ruptured on the spot, or were trampled to death by the horses behind them. The
horses that fell to the ground blocked the way forward, obviously hindering the speed of the army's charge. Another round of arrows fell from the sky, and the wailing sound continued.
After being hunted by the rebels for more than half a month, the exhausted General Si looked at the battle ahead with a sullen face. He kept yelling at the sorcerer who was about to fall beside him: "Why is this happening? Why?!"
Aren't they blessed by luck? Shouldn't they be invincible? Why?
The sorcerers fell one after another, struggling to say: "No... How could it be..."
An old sorcerer acted too hastily and was attacked by luck. His body was paralyzed on the ground, and his voice was weak: "... There are sorcerers... helping them, their strength... exceeds..."
Before he finished speaking, he had fainted.
The first confrontation ended with the defeat of the Qiu Dynasty army.
Seeing the corpses and seriously injured soldiers everywhere in front of them, the generals of the Qiu Dynasty no longer dared to take risks recklessly relying on their good luck. They were blocked from the rebels by a distance of more than a thousand meters, unable to advance or retreat.
The court was furious when it heard the news, and it sent more people and transported money and food, determined to make these traitors pay the price.
At the same time, many merchants in the capital were tempted by the glass bowls and glass mirrors worth thousands of gold after hearing the news. There must be a brave man under a large amount of money, and this also applies to merchants. They were afraid that after the emperor conquered Liang Province, those craftsmen would never make glass products for the outside world again, so they rode south at full speed, secretly bypassed the confrontation area, and came to Liang Province from other places. They were amazed by the prosperous scene inside, which was completely different from the rumors.
Merchants who were afraid that they would not have the chance to buy goods next time bought goods here. Carts of goods were shipped to various parts of the Qiu Dynasty, and the Siyi people collected a lot of tariffs. They made a lot of wealth from the sales of those goods.
These merchants did not dare to sell goods openly, so they used smuggling channels. Those dignitaries had long yearned for many treasures for a long time. Seeing that others were using them, they certainly did not want to fall behind. The merchants who took the risk were overjoyed by the large amount of money that was spent. After selling their goods, they found that the emperor had not conquered Liang Province yet, so they bravely went to Liang Province again, and found many treasures that they had not found last time...
When Emperor Qiu Chao reacted, he suddenly realized that he had spent a lot of manpower and material resources to suppress the rebels in the country, while his subordinates were waving silver to buy goods from the rebels, indirectly strengthening their strength.
Originally, the court wanted to fight a war, and the daily food for hundreds of thousands of people in remote areas was a huge expense. After a long time, even the richest treasury could not support it.
On the contrary, if Siyi and his men wanted to eat, there were cities behind them. They could eat as much as they wanted for years, and they were not afraid of a protracted war. As one side gained strength while the other
lost, Emperor Qiu Chao found that his army of hundreds of thousands had not made any progress in the past few months, and he finally realized that things were in trouble.
But it was useless to realize it. Now it was not a question of whether he could defeat these rebels, but whether these rebels would be ambitious and want to take the opportunity to cause trouble for him.
If the sorcerers in the court had not confirmed again and again that Qiu Chao's luck was still on his side and far surpassed that of the rebellious people, the emperor might not have been able to sit still.
In desperation, the emperor could only let the 200,000 soldiers continue to stay in that barren land and let them keep an eye on the rebels.
During this period, because the food was transported there, it consumed too much on the way. A minister read the history books and suggested that the soldiers could farm on the spot and be self-sufficient.
This idea is good, but it is too difficult to implement.
First of all, the barren land there can't grow anything at all. It's too much to rely on it to meet the soldiers' daily supply.
Secondly, these soldiers who are used to a good life have never suffered such hardship. There is nothing here, no food, no shelter, and even drinking water is particularly scarce. After leaving the capital and losing the protection of the local luck, they soon had scars all over their hands and faces from the harsh wind. Allergies and acclimatization appeared one after another. They couldn't even find a single herb to treat them. They could only rely on the dwindling stock of herbs to make ends meet. Their lives were miserable.
They didn't know how people could survive in such a place. Everyone's mental state was visibly exhausted.
On the contrary, the tens of thousands of soldiers opposite them were living well and were very satisfied and happy. Every day they tirelessly carried out rigorous training, and the shouting and yelling made them restless. In their hearts, they began to fear these self-disciplined and powerful people who had always been called scoundrels by them.
This confrontation lasted for a long time, so long that the army of 30,000 people gradually expanded to 50,000, so long that a large number of goods from Liang Province and other places appeared in various places in the Autumn Dynasty, and so long that some courageous dignitaries in the capital dared to follow the caravan to visit Liang Province and see the street scene that the merchants said was more prosperous than the capital.
On the wide and flat road, people with clean faces and neat clothes came and went.
Several noble sons dressed in silk and satin walked among their servants. They stepped on the road in disbelief, looked up at the road that seemed to have no end, and said in confusion, "Why is this stone so huge and polished so smoothly?"
Even on the road from the capital to the palace, there is no road paved with such huge stones, nor is it as smooth as paper.
If they hadn't seen it with their own eyes, it would be hard for them to imagine.
Especially a few years ago, this place was still a poor and remote place where everyone was hungry. Everyone couldn't even afford to eat, let alone want to live a rich life.
But what is all this in front of them now?
The young men who have lived in the capital since childhood and are used to luxurious clothes and food always think that they are the bumpkins who walked out of the poor and remote place. Otherwise, why are the houses on both sides two or three stories high, and the windows made of colored glaze are luxuriously used on the outside, just to add a little more light to the house.
Not to mention the things displayed in the shop, high-quality books that would cost at least tens or hundreds of taels in the capital can be bought here for just a few dozen coins. Even the middle-aged man selling vegetables on the street would take the time to pick up a book and take a look, and occasionally turn around to ask the owner of the next shop how to pronounce a certain word. He seemed to be more studious and motivated than these young men who had no worries about food and clothing.
When they moved into the restaurant, the shock brought by the details became even more obvious. The toilet that should have exuded a strange smell was moved into the house. If it weren't for it, you would never have known that the place was actually used as a toilet.
Clear water only needs to be twisted at a place called a faucet, and it will flow out automatically, without the need for servants to carry it back and forth. The nobles, who claimed to be well-informed, studied the faucet for a long time, but could not figure out how the water came out of the wall. They did not see any river outside the house.
As for the glass bottles and blue-and-white porcelain placed casually on the table, let alone, any of them could be sold in the capital for at least a hundred taels, but their room fee was only fifty coins a day, and the store owner was not afraid that the things would be stolen. Who said that they were worth nothing in Liang Province?
When they saw the so-called schools, hospitals, and administrative districts in Liang Province, they were completely speechless.
At first, they might be dissatisfied with the women here walking freely on the streets, complaining that the girls here could go to school like boys, and accusing them of privately making ironware and refining salt...
But after eating the thing called cake, tasting the barbecue with all kinds of spices, seeing the seven-story office building, and witnessing the doctor of Liang Province easily treating a well-known terminal disease...
These young men became more and more silent, and finally couldn't say anything arrogant.
At this time, it was only two years since they first knew about the existence of the glass mirror, but Liang Province had developed into this.
Then in another two years, five years, or even ten years.
Can the capital still be considered the most powerful and prosperous capital of the Qiu Dynasty? Can they still claim to be the most noble people in the Qiu Dynasty?
With this idea in mind, after a few days of being beaten by reality in Liang Province, the young masters calmed down and took the initiative to communicate with the people of Liang Province.
For the first time, they knew that the so-called women were not allowed to go out casually, but in fact, most of them were rules only in the rich and powerful families. They were ordinary people who couldn't even afford to eat before. Could women in their twenties really stay at home like noble ladies and wait for others to support them? They still had to go to the fields and go out to buy and sell things. There were no so many rules that they couldn't meet strangers.
As for the little girls studying with the boys, it is easier to understand. In the past, few people could go to school. Now they can go to school because the officials and the officials are willing to provide free education for them. They do not charge any tuition. The county magistrate said that girls in the family must come to study. If they are found not to study, their parents will be beaten. After finishing school, girls can find jobs or work in the government.
Although the common social common sense in the Qiu Dynasty was that women could not serve as officials in the court, and that needlework was more important than literacy, since the government said that reading was useful and the people trusted the government so much, they naturally believed what they said. After all, needlework was not as promising as reading in these days. How much goods could a textile factory produce in a day? Who would want to weave cloth by themselves? But you only need to write to get a good salary in the government office.
Because they were not particular, they were not bound by so many rules and regulations.
They dared to rebel, so why didn't they dare to follow the crowd and study?
The young masters listened to the stories of the people around them, and felt that it was absurd, but at the same time, they felt that it seemed reasonable.
If there is something unreasonable, and we must compare the Autumn Court Rituals with them, in reality, the development of Liang Province in the past two years has already shown who is right and who is wrong. In any case, the wrong one is definitely not Liang Province where the people live very well...
The young masters came with the mentality of watching the excitement, and left with a heavy heart.
After returning to the capital, they told their relatives and friends what they saw and heard. Many people did not believe it, and many people did. More and more people quietly entered Liang Province, eating food there that was far more delicious than the restaurants in the capital, using utensils that seemed ordinary but were in fact extremely exquisite, tasting candies that should have been extremely expensive, playing all kinds of novel and interesting chess and card games, and finally sighing deeply at the dams and water wheels that kept rolling on the surging river, and no longer telling lies that the rebels were just like this.
Facts have proved that compared to the capital, Liang Province, which is now developing more and more rapidly, has unknowingly surpassed them a lot.
But such a powerful "remote area", while doing things that disobey the court, has been keeping its troops in place and developing on its own, completely ignoring the increasingly anxious mood of the emperor and others, and life is getting better and better.
Many people said, "Our dynasty is prosperous and we are not afraid of any foreign enemies." At the same time, they subconsciously no longer regarded the people in Liang Province as subjects of our dynasty, but as a neighboring country that posed a huge threat and could annex Qiu Dynasty at any time.
Even the people in Liang Province and other places did not want to call themselves people of Qiu Dynasty anymore.
They would say that they were from Liang Province at first, but later they thought it was strange to say this since they did not live in Liang Province, so they said that we listened to Mr. Si and were his people.
Then, as time went by, they said that they were from Si Country, and they kept calling us "you Qiu Dynasty, our Si Country." They were very proud of being from Si Country.
The names of Si Qi and Si Yi became more and more popular with the rise of Si Country, and the deeds of this master and apprentice officially entered everyone's eyes.
No one knows who Si Qi is or where he came from, including the General's family, who never connected Si Qi with the skinny boy who escaped from their home.
However, Si Yi's life story was made public by the Liang Province governor and others. He is of
royal blood and has amazing luck. After he was born, his father coveted him and tried to forcibly take away his fate. He was imprisoned in the harem and suffered inhuman abuse for a long time.
He was rescued by Mr. Si six years ago and was accepted as his apprentice. He has worked diligently for several years and made many contributions to the people of Si Dynasty and saved countless lives.
Nowadays, Mr. Si hides behind the scenes and rarely shows up on weekdays. All the policies of Si Dynasty, and even the initial battle with Qiu Dynasty, are solved by Si Yi, a student, personally.
Although he is young, his skills are reliable enough, he is knowledgeable and calm, and he is deeply loved by the county governors and county magistrates.
Many people have basically tacitly accepted that Si Yi is the future emperor of Si Dynasty. Except for Si Qi, who has no interest in power, no one is more suitable for this position than him.
In this way, in the spring of the third year of the confrontation between the two countries, the emperor, who really didn't want to waste time any more, sent people to negotiate with Si State, and agreed to divide all the areas around Liang Province to Si Yi's jurisdiction, and exist as a vassal state. As a price, Siyi was not allowed to send troops to invade Qiu Chao's territory, and he had to regularly offer sufficient tribute every year. He was not allowed to sell special products to merchants, but had to hand them over to Qiu Chao for sale. He also had to send craftsmen who mastered relevant skills to Qiu Chao to share their knowledge with Qiu Chao.
When the emperor wrote these regulations, he felt extremely humiliated. It was simply a loss of power and humiliation of the country. Compared with ceding such a large piece of land, what's wrong with him taking a few small things? Everything in Qiu Chao belonged to him. He was willing to take it as their blessing and to add a layer of imperial glory to those things.
However, after listening to the envoy's retelling, Siyi and others were expressionless like icebergs. They waved their hands and asked people to drag the trembling envoy down and throw him at the door.
The envoy was in a bitter mood.
The emperor wanted to exchange a barren land that had been exploited to the point of no longer having any use value for so many good things that could bring endless wealth. He also wanted to take away their sales rights and cut off their financial resources. He also wanted to let a country that was completely equal in power voluntarily become your vassal state and offer you tribute every year. How could you be so idealistic?
After listening to the envoy's tactful explanation, the emperor was so angry that he overturned the things on the table. What made him even more angry was that he even sent troops to attack the Si State to make them understand that the imperial power was inviolable, but he still had no way to deal with the Si State. After being persuaded by a group of spineless ministers who only knew how to flatter, the emperor revised the reconciliation agreement again and again, which made him so angry that he wanted to kill those traitors with a knife. The envoy then went to Si State with the emperor's edict.
This time, Emperor Qiu Chao's words were much more normal. He acknowledged the existence of Si State and ceded all the land to Si State. He allowed the two countries to trade, but Qiu Chao had the right to collect a huge amount of tariffs from merchants. The only requirement was that Si Yi must not offend Qiu Chao's territory, otherwise the two countries would go to war directly.
Qiu Chao's words were also very confident. After all, they had hundreds of years of historical experience, and their luck was so powerful and unreasonable. They didn't believe that their troops couldn't take advantage in a place like Si State where the luck was declining, let alone on their own country's territory. If Si State really came to cause trouble for them, the only ones who would suffer would be the soldiers of Si State.
Si Qi could understand their confidence. In their eyes, they had the capital to be confident.
Xiu Xiu was quite confused before: [Master, why don't you directly control the power of the world and transfer all the luck of Qiu Dynasty to us? ]
Si Qi said at that time: [I want people in this world to no longer believe that luck does not depend on luck, so why would you help Si Yi and others by controlling luck. Doesn't this make them feel lucky and think that luck can actually be trusted, but just needs to be handed over to reliable people? 】
At present, the people of Siguo hate the sorcerers to death. They are so sure that destiny is a harmful thing. They also agree with Siqi and his theory that man can conquer nature. They only want to survive in this barren land with their own abilities.
Even many dignitaries of Qiu Dynasty are now wondering in their hearts whether the sorcerers are unreliable. Otherwise, why can a poor and remote place like Siguo develop so fast, and also take advantage of the confrontation with Qiu Dynasty.
The sorcerers themselves are speechless. Their theory is not wrong, but the people of Siguo are too competitive and play a bad hand of cards very well, while you people of Qiu Dynasty are used to a good life and are spoiled. Even if you have a good start, you can't compare with the grassroots who have fought back all the way. What can you say?
In fact, they were also afraid of the power of Si State. After all, the future monarch of Si State had been tortured by them for so many years, and he must hate sorcerers to death. If Qiu Dynasty lost the war, none of these sorcerers would have a good end.
Not to mention Si Yi, even the people of Si State who were used as sacrifices by them could be eaten alive one by one to vent their hatred.
Many sorcerers understood the whole process of the matter, and they knew that they had done something wrong. Recklessly abusing luck would not only not help everyone, but would only bring disaster to themselves and accelerate the death of the people of the country, but it was too late for them to regret. There
were many executioners among the sorcerers who did not take human life seriously. Their hearts had been corrupted, and now they had no choice but to go all the way to the end.
Si Yi ignored Emperor Qiu Chao's request for peace talks and focused on developing his own power. The emperor finally realized that Si Yi and his people were determined to rebel, seize power and usurp the throne, and wanted him to step down. He no longer cared whether he could conquer Si State or not, and issued a death order to let General Si and others break through Si State and kill Si Yi, Si Qi and all the traitors.
The war was about to break out.
Si Yi and the county governor and others had been waiting for this for a long time. The extra three years were enough for them to do a lot of things and send the researched explosives to the battlefield.
The Emperor of the Qiu Dynasty thought that the war would last for months or even years, but in fact, it didn't last long. The soldiers of the Si State, who had long wanted to take revenge, rushed to the battlefield with sharp weapons and sturdy armor.
They had giant bows and crossbows behind them, fierce gunpowder in front of them to break the city, and in addition, Si Yi had placed people in various parts of the Qiu Dynasty through trade routes in recent years to help him win the hearts of the people, open the city gates, and appease the people.
It took only two months for Si Yi and others to lead the army into the capital, where they saw the emperor with a sullen face, who was pressed down in front of the dragon throne by the soldiers kneeling beside him and could not move.
Looking at the emperor's face, Si Yi's originally steady steps froze in place.
The author has something to say:
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囧, I suddenly realized that if I add my country's name to the name of Si Yi, it will be Si Guo Yi.
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