Chapter 117: Chu's Strategy and Qi's Situation
Ever since the fall of Luo State, the nobles of Chu State have become more and more arrogant.
That’s Luo State!
Defeating Luo State means that Bang Zhou’s destiny is no longer indestructible and God has begun to give up on Bang Zhou.
Especially among the remaining major powers, Chu could almost take on two at once, so the Chu nobles were in high spirits as they were the best in the world.
Few people realize that a big word of danger is already stuck on their foreheads.
The nobles of the Chu State quarreled with each other every day over issues of interest.
But each of them was a royal relative who had made great contributions, and they were all powerful feudal lords in the State of Chu. They had never done anything to let down the royal family, and their disputes with each other were all personal grudges that would not implicate the royal family.
This gave the King of Chu a headache, because the disputes among these people indirectly affected the strategic planning of Chu.
The King of Chu was very worried when he saw the chaos among the nobles in his country.
In governing a country, there are many things that can only be done by the prime minister and not the monarch, so he once again began to miss his uncle Xiang Cheng.
Before his death, Xiang Cheng laid out a future strategy for the State of Chu, "Your Majesty, there are many snakes and insects in the land of Wu. If the snake catchers cannot kill the snakes completely when catching them, they will definitely be attacked by the snakes.
The State of Wu is a country like a poisonous snake, and it is located in the back and heart of the State of Chu. If the State of Wu cannot be destroyed, it will definitely be harmed in the future.
After years of cultivation, the land of Wu State also became one of the granaries. After Chu State recovered its vitality, it would immediately begin to destroy Wu State.
Your Majesty, please remember that after destroying a country, the counties and fiefs must be established in parallel and in an alternating manner, and then a general should be sent to guard the Wu area.
In this way, the royal office can use the power of the feudal lords to suppress the restoration forces in Wu, and you only need to sit in Yingdu to collect taxes.
It is a pity that there is no talent in the Xiang family who can serve as the prime minister in this generation, otherwise I would not have to worry so much about the obstruction of those nobles. "
After Xiang Cheng's death, the King of Chu realized what he meant by obstruction of the nobles. The nobles agreed with him to destroy Wu, but they had a huge argument over whether or not to continue the offensive on the plains of Shu while destroying Wu.
It was not until Wei defeated Qin, severely damaging Qin's vitality and losing the foundation to compete with Chu on the Shu Plain, that the plan to attack Wu was shelved.
Isn't it a sin to give up the vast land on the plains of Shu Kingdom and give it to Qin Kingdom?
It would be better for Qin to return to the western border to raise horses. He cannot control the land in the plains of Shu, so he has to rely on Chu.
"The Wu State is like a fish trapped in a shallow shoal, and its only fate is death.
The Qin State, however, is a wounded beast. If we do not kill or maim it now while it is weak, will we instead release it into the mountains and forests to recuperate before coming back to fight against the Chu State?
This is unwise.”
If Xiang Cheng were here, he would definitely say, "Wu is not a fish or shrimp on the shallows, but a strong cattle and sheep. Hunting Wu can make Chu stronger, while Qin is a beast that is difficult to conquer."
The King of Chu still felt that he should listen to Xiang Cheng's last words and destroy Wu first, but the nobles were right, and the opportunity when Qin was weak was rare.
Times have changed and things have changed. Now that the situation has changed, the response of the State of Chu should also change.
This strategic shift greatly stimulated Qin's fear of Chu, and eventually led Qin to agree to the proposal of an alliance with its enemy Wei.
However, after Weicheng returned from his diplomatic mission to Qin State, he went to Qi State without stopping. As for Wu State, the difficulty was not great, so he selected another envoy to go there.
After arriving in Linzi, Qi, Weicheng was somewhat surprised and said to his attendants: "Qi is a fertile land with fish and salt. If a country has surplus wealth, it will strengthen its army. If it has strong army, it will expand its territory. It seems that this alliance will be successful."
Although Weicheng was well versed in the art of diplomacy, the representative of the Wei Legalists was his good friend, so he looked down on the Qi Legalists. When he saw the prosperity of Linzi, his first reaction was that Qi was a good place.
As an envoy of Wei State, Weicheng met the Duke of Qi smoothly. Although Wei State also occupied part of the Huai and Si lands, the side close to Qi State belonged to Qin State, so there was no friction between Wei and Qi State in these years.
The Duke of Qi was quite friendly and asked, "Doctor, the Marquis of Wei asked you to come here, but is there something important you want to discuss?"
Weicheng used the six kingdoms' attack on Chu to persuade Qi, "Chu has become more and more arrogant in recent years, and has overly bullied Qin and Wu. The king feels that Chu is arrogant, and for the sake of other kingdoms, he wants to contact Han, Zhao, Qin, Wu, and Qi, so that the six kingdoms can unite and attack Chu, and make Chu no longer dare to have the intention of attacking the north."
The Duke of Qi immediately shook his head and said, "Qi and Chu do not share a border and there is no conflict. It is unwise to attack a distant country like this.
Chu did not raise troops against Qi, but Qi took the initiative to attack Chu. This is not what a benevolent country should do. "
The Duke of Qi's meaning was very clear. Wei wanted to defeat Chu and become the overlord of the world. Qi did not have this intention, but it also did not want to be a tool of Wei, so Qi would not accompany Wei.
Wei Cheng smiled indifferently and said, "Duke Qi, Chu is a large country with an area of 4,000 li, which is unmatched by any other country in the world.
If Qin and Wei had not had your help in launching an attack on Chu, they would have surely failed.
If they fail, they will certainly have to cede land to Chu. What lands do Qin and Wei have that Chu wants, and what lands can Qin and Wei cede?"
Duke Qi's face turned a little ugly when he heard this. What Chu wanted was of course the land of Huai and Si. If Chu got the land of Huai and Si, Qi would be its neighbor. Now Chu was so powerful that Qi could not stop it.
Weicheng said solemnly: "Duke Qi.
The wild animals in the mountains and forests ate rabbits and deer when they were hungry, but they did not hunt the goats. Is it because they are already satisfied?
No, the beast will eat all the prey it sees.
It let the goat go only because it was temporarily full. When it was hungry again the next day, would the goat be able to escape?
The Chu State was such a vicious beast.
The reason why Qin and Wei asked Qi and Wu to cede Huai and Si in the past was because if they did not want them, they would be taken away by Chu.
You said that the lands of Chu and Qi are not adjacent to each other. Isn't it because Qin and Wei occupied Huai and Si?
You said that there was no hatred between Chu and Qi, isn't it because Chu was demanding land from Wei?
Just as the State of Qin did not confront the State of Qi, wasn't it because the State of Wei was tying down the Qin army?
The indestructible friendship between Wei and Qi was a gift from God. If you reject Wei's request for an alliance now, and the Huai and Si lands fall into the hands of Chu, it will be a disaster for Qi.
By then, Chu could not take land from Wei. If not from Qi, where else could it take land from?
By that time, the State of Wu had already perished, and Qin and Wei did not have the strength to resist the State of Chu. Where would you look for allies?
Will Luo State continue to maintain the stability of Qi State as it has done for the past eight hundred years?
You are a wise monarch, can't you see the interests involved?
There are so many wise and capable people in Qi. I sincerely ask you to ask their opinions. I believe they will agree. "
So the Duke of Qi consulted the ministers about government affairs. After the bloody incident last year, the power of the Qi royal family was restored a little, but the government affairs of Qi were still mainly in the hands of a dozen doctors.
These doctors were supported by the scholars. As Qi's national strength recovered, Qi began to make moves again, especially in the Huai and Si regions. This was a pain in the hearts of the people of Qi.
As Weicheng had expected, the people of Qi had long wanted to take back the Huaishui area, and now that the opportunity had arisen, how could they let it go?
"Your Majesty, Qin is a country in the west, how much more than 5,000 miles away from Qi?
The enclave of Huai and Si is like a kite. If the State of Qin becomes strong, it will be a nail in the side of the State of Qi.
But if Qi becomes stronger, it can take the land back by just cutting that thread. Now Qin is weak, so it is beneficial for Qi to keep the land in Qin's hands.
However, Chu is only 500 miles away from Qi. This is what Qi should really worry about. Please agree to form an alliance with Wei.
However, Qi and Chu do not share a border. Qi should join the alliance for moral reasons. Wei and Qin should give Qi land in Huai and Si. All three countries should have land in Huai and Si, so that they can work together to fight against Chu. "
Weicheng had long anticipated that Qi wanted to take back the land of Huai and Si, and the conditions had been negotiated as early as the Qin Dynasty.
Qin was defeated by Wei and now only wanted to keep the Shu plain and the land north of the Three Jins. Its requirement for Huai and Si was to collect taxes, so Qin and Wei each ceded several cities to Qi in exchange for Qi's troops.
As for the State of Wu, it was ecstatic at the sudden alliance of the princes in the Central Plains.
The Marquis of Wu even laughed loudly in Gusu City and said, "The real rise of Wu in the past was the surprise attack on Chu in the Battle of Yanling.
Now that the princes of the Central Plains have united again, with eight thousand miles of land, ten thousand chariots, and millions of soldiers, the State of Chu will be hard to resist.
This is an opportunity for Wu to rise again, and we should recruit men from all over the country."
It was common for countries to reorganize their armaments. Wars would break out between countries from time to time. The State of Chu did not expect that the six countries would form an alliance to attack Chu, and was still preparing to completely defeat the State of Qin on the plains of Shu.
This agreement between the six countries did not escape the eyes and ears of Luo State. Luo Chang smiled to his left and right in Luo Palace and said: "The art of diplomacy will flourish in the world. From now on, lobbyists from various countries will surely be popular in the world. The best among them can make a country prosper or destroy a country with a single word.
Luo State should record these things and send letters to the historians of other countries, asking them to record these things in detail. When the country falls into ruin one day, they should extract them from the history books and compile them into a collection of strategies to be passed down to future generations.
…
Wei Cheng met the Duke of Qi and said, "The Duke of Chu has committed many crimes against the Duke of Qin and the Duke of Wu. My lord wants to attack them, but he does not have the strength to do so. Therefore, he has sent an envoy to borrow troops from Qi."
The Duke of Qi said, "Qi and Chu are in a friendly relationship, and it is unwise to fight."
Weicheng said: "Qi and Chu are in harmony, and they use Qin and Wei as a shield. If Qin and Wei are defeated and Qi is weak, Chu will surely swallow it up. I am worried for you."
The Duke of Qi was delighted and he led his army to attack Chu.
(End of this chapter)
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