Chapter 11 Qi Yan's Alliance
Qi Yan.
This is a city located in the southern end of Song State. The people in this city have broadened their horizons in recent days. Nobles who are rarely seen in normal days have gathered in this city. There are dozens or even hundreds of princes alone, ministers and officials are everywhere, and there are so many Yuanshi that they are worse than dogs.
There is no doubt that this is definitely the largest alliance of princes in the past 20 years.
Luo Su arrived quite early, and Song Gongshuang came to greet him personally. As the two walked, Song Gongshuang said with a smile: "Hundreds of princes have gathered, and ministers and officials are shoulder to shoulder. The last time I saw such a grand occasion was when the current emperor ascended the throne."
Luo Su also smiled and said, "The fact that all the nobles are willing to participate in the meeting shows that they still obey the system of Bang Zhou. This is a blessing. I believe that no one will refuse such a righteous act of serving the king."
Song Gongshuang felt that Luo Su had changed a lot. When the two of them were traveling together before, he could see that Luo Su was a little hesitant, but now he seemed to have figured something out, giving people a sense of openness.
The princes came to Qi Yan one after another, and Duke Shuang of Song sent ministers of different levels to welcome the princes in full accordance with Zhou rituals.
The princes stationed their troops in the camp that had been allocated for them by the State of Song, and then entered the city with their trusted ministers and some personal guards to pay homage to the Duke of Qi.
When the Duke of Qi arrived with many vassals, this rare event officially began. The princes took their seats according to their titles, bloodlines, and merits.
There were three people sitting at the top. The one in the middle was naturally Song Gongshuang. He was ordered by the king to suppress the princes, dukes, and hosts in the east, and had the most respected status. On his right sat the Marquis of Qi. At this time, the right was respected, and he was the father-in-law of the current king, so he should naturally sit on the right. On his left was Luo Su, the descendant of King Su, who had served in the high position of one of the Three Dukes for many years.
When the sound of the chime bells rang out, the banquet before the alliance officially began. The historian sent from Luoyi sat behind the pillars to prepare to record. The kings of various vassal states also brought historians to the scene. Such a grand alliance naturally had to be recorded in full to boast about to future generations.
Before the banquet began, as the host, Song Gongshuang raised a bronze drinking vessel and said, "There are four poles in the world, so the emperor appointed four princes to guard them. The emperor did not discriminate against me because I was born in the Shang Dynasty. What a grace! The king entrusted me with such an important task, how could I not do my best?
Since I obeyed the king's order and served as the governor of the East, I have always been worried that I could not repay the king's kindness. I have been trembling and treading on thin ice, fearing that I would make any mistakes. Fortunately, over the years, I have relied on the king's will and have achieved some results. Today, I will meet with all the relatives and nobles, so that I will not hide my face and leave.
I summoned you all by the king's order, and you all responded. This is not because you value me, but because you obeyed the king's order. You are all loyal ministers of Bang Zhou. I offer this wine to you loyal ministers."
Even Luo Su felt that these words were quite well-written, and a hearty smile naturally appeared on his face. He also raised his glass and said, "Mr. Song is right. It touches my heart. Don't mention the old things of the Shang Dynasty. We are all loyal subjects of Bang Zhou. In the future, we should work together to ensure that Bang Zhou's bright destiny will last forever."
The princes swore one after another, and the banquet became lively in an instant. All the historians began to record this important scene. Nearly a hundred princes swore together, and they have written the four words "Qi Yan Alliance" in the history books.
The princes who attended the meeting did not realize its importance, but Ji Zhao noticed this meeting through the sudden and rapid increase in his luck points.
The banquet was still going on, and the princes took this opportunity to contact each other, and even princes of different surnames could discuss a few marriages. The three people sitting at the top also began to discuss in a low voice.
Luo Su and Song Gongshuang both have a large number of old friends in the royal capital, so they can get first-hand information. Especially Luo Su and his ally, Handan Hou, so Ji Wan's actions are almost clear to him.
Luo Suxian said: "The six armies in Luoyi have already set out in batches. The two vanguard armies will act first, and they will call on the vassal states along the way to prepare food and grass, as well as a place for the army to rest.
There are more than a dozen vassal states between Luoyi and the State of Chu, basically all of them are vassal states, and there are also southern barbarian tribes, but it is unlikely that they will invade. They may temporarily avoid it by moving westward or southward.
According to the time when the news came, the six armies of the emperor should have all crossed the river and headed towards the Han River."
The Duke of Qi, who had been through many battles, pondered and said, "The emperor's army has come from afar, so normally they should take a short break, which means they won't be able to fight for at least half a month.
Moreover, the armies of both sides are so large, and the South is not as vast as the Central Plains, with many plains, convenient transportation, and easy command, and can even accommodate hundreds of thousands of people for combat. Therefore, the most likely scenario is that both sides will engage in a small-scale battle, which will extend the battle line and prolong the war.”
Finally, the Duke of Qi came to his own conclusion, "The battle between your Majesty and Xiong Dun cannot be ended in a short time. We may need to attack the Dongyi tribe to delay the meeting."
The Duke of Qi was talking about his guess about the battle situation based on his own experience, but he didn't notice that Luo Su's expression was getting uglier and uglier. Song Gongshuang noticed it and said, "Duke Qi, the Duke of Luo seems to have something to say."
Luo Su had a bad feeling in his heart. As his uncle analyzed the development of the war, the bad feeling became stronger and stronger. Seeing that Song Gongshuang and his uncle were looking at him, he forced himself to suppress his voice and asked, "Uncle, if, just hypothetically, the emperor went to war without waiting for the army to rest, or forcibly deployed the army in hilly areas or areas with many rivers, what would happen?"
Hearing Luo Su's question, the Duke of Qi was startled, and without thinking much, he said directly: "If King Wu and King Su were still alive, they might be able to win, but in my opinion, there is no chance of survival. Once the situation collapses, it will be extremely terrifying. The best way is to escape as soon as possible, and then find a way to gather the remaining soldiers and plan for the future."
At this point, the Duke of Qi asked with a look of disbelief: "The emperor shouldn't be so unwise, right? Even if he doesn't understand much, as long as there are people who understand military affairs around him, it shouldn't be difficult to adopt their advice. You must be worrying too much."
At this point, even Song Gongshuang said helplessly, "You may not understand your son-in-law, Marquis Qi. It is not a big deal that he is neither good at literature nor martial arts. His biggest problem is that he is stubborn and has no clear understanding of himself. Otherwise, with Marquis Luo, a great talent in the court, how could such a ridiculous thing happen?"
The three of them fell silent for a moment. In the end, it was Luo Su who broke the silence. He gritted his teeth and said, "Now I just hope that we are just imagining things. I hope that things are not irreversible. I will never allow any turmoil to occur in Bangzhou!"
I originally thought that each chapter should be 4,000 words, but when I got to this point in the chapter, a voice told me that I could stop. I had finished telling one thing, so there was no need to add any extra words. This is just right.
(End of this chapter)
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