Chapter 158: Xiang Family of Chu
Chu State, Jiangdong.
The fiefdom of Xiang, the top noble family of the Chu State, was located here.
Even without talking about the fiefdoms, there were many descendants of the Xiang family in the lands that were set up as counties and directly belonged to the royal family of Chu.
In the Jiangdong area, the co-governance of Xiong and Xiang was almost a consensus among everyone from nobles to common people.
This trend became increasingly obvious, especially after the State of Chu suffered a series of defeats and even lost its capital Ying, while the Xiang clan, located to the east of Chu, did not suffer any losses.
However, the Xiang family did not use their advantageous position to enter the central government of Chu, but continued to stay quietly in Jiangdong.
The entire Chu State was arguing over the reform, but Xiang remained silent.
If it were decades or hundreds of years ago, everyone would have believed that the Xiang family must be a staunch reformer.
But people's hearts are fickle, and now no one knows which side they are leaning towards.
Exquisite palaces, magnificent and continuous buildings, splendid and prosperous, beautiful maids walking around, plates filled with all kinds of delicacies, a scene of wealth and grandeur.
In the palace, smoke was curling up as two people sat facing each other.
Xiang Zeng said with joy on his face: "Father, Prince Zai is indeed brave and incomparable. He has fought several battles, charged into the battle array, killed generals and captured flags, and did not give Bai Qi the opportunity to mobilize a large army, thus defeating Bai Qi's offensive many times.
Some time ago, a businessman went to see Jing Cheng with a valuable gift.
It seems that Qin is going to start spreading rumors to confuse the ruler again."
The Xiang family was well aware of the Qin's sinister tactics, but it must be said that they were really useful.
Money moves people's hearts. People die for money and birds die for food. Most people in the world are short-sighted and greedy. The king is a meat-eater and is despicable. He lives in the palace and cannot distinguish right from wrong.
Xiang Ju heard this and immediately smiled and said, "Our family has a deep foundation. We can always find a way to win if we try hard. You can go to Luoyi to meet the crown prince.
Qu Jingzhao and his two families are really stupid. How can we govern the State of Chu well with them?
To recover Yingdu and prosper the Chu State, we still need the Xiang family."
The last time the State of Chu went to the State of Luo, Xiang did not come, which Luo Zai did not expect.
Luo Zai did not expect Xiang to come to the camp this time.
Xiang Zeng bowed respectfully, "Prince, I wish you victory in every battle and may you be happy and healthy."
Luo Zai smiled with curiosity and said, “The descendants of King Su will always be illuminated by the sun.
You came here from Chu State, is there something important?"
Xiang Zeng said straight to the point: "Prince, Qin sent people with a large sum of money to bribe the prime minister and a group of important officials of Chu, intending to stir up internal strife in the already tense situation of Chu.
This was a tactic often used by the Qin State. With Xiang's understanding of the country, unexpected situations could occur at any time even without Qin's instigation.
Now that Qin has invested heavily, chaos is bound to break out in Chu.
I am worried about the coalition forces under your command.
Bai Qi was a man-killer. There had never been a general as murderous as him before.
I really don’t know what the result would be if he were to defeat the coalition forces.”
A cold light flashed in Luo Zai's eyes, but he had anticipated this situation in Chu State. The coalition forces always had their own ulterior motives.
Over the years, only the alliance with Qi State can be considered unbreakable.
But that is because the two sides have been supporting each other since the founding of the country, and their blood ties and interests are too deeply intertwined.
Luo Zai said in a deep voice: "You came to the camp, of course, not for these words, the Xiang family of Chu State has been in Chu for 700 years but has not forgotten the King Su, which is praised by the ancestors of all generations.
You and I are both descendants of King Su, and now we are facing the powerful Qin together, so there is no need to hide it like this."
The King of Su.
Xiang once was in a trance for a moment. Although he wanted to overthrow Bang Zhou and make Chu the new country that received the mandate of heaven, Xiang's belief in King Su was still firm.
Perhaps, it was precisely because of their firm belief in King Su that the Xiang family was able to assist the royal family of Chu unswervingly for hundreds of years.
For the Xiang family, which had lost the blessing of their ancestors, it was truly a miracle that the family's direct lineage was able to maintain a unified will for hundreds of years.
Thinking of this, Xiang Zeng put away his hypocrisy and courtesy and said directly: "Prince, you are an unparalleled commander who can fight against Bai Qi, so Xiang decided to put all the treasures on you.
Facing the powerful Qin State, are you going to fight with the blood and lives of your brave soldiers?
Those are the descendants of King Su, and they are all our clan blood relatives. I am sure that every time you see the casualties of brave warriors, you will feel heartbroken.
The Xiang family is willing to help you solve your problems and draw elite troops from the fiefdom to serve as your vanguard and charge into battle with you. Even the descendants of the Xiang family will join the battlefield.
In return, Xiang will provide you with a list of Chu nobles who have received bribes from Qin and may hinder you in subsequent wars.
If you wish, you can eliminate them during the war with Qin. Eliminating these unstable factors will also improve the strength of your coalition forces."
Luo Zai didn't expect that Xiang Zeng had this idea. When there are troubles within the country, he will attack the powerful country.
Hundreds of years ago, the nobles of Qi used this method when they wanted to seize power in the country. In the end, the royal family of Qi, with the help of Duke Yi, counterattacked and killed the nobles, still using this method.
Xiang did it more covertly, using Luo Zai to accomplish the task, and he also wanted his own children to join the army.
This not only shows an attitude of living and dying together with the Luo family, but also wants to gild the reputation of one's own children.
Once the war against Bai Qi is won, the Xiang family will gain a lot of military merit.
According to the customs of the Chu State, they can obtain more fiefs, and the power and strength in the hands of the Xiang family will continue to expand.
Xiang Zeng said again: "Prince.
Over the years, the Xiang family has always cried when watching the plight of the State of Chu. I believe that the Luo family must have felt the same way when they supported the Zhou Dynasty in the past.
The Xiang family watched the Qin State capture Yingdu, which had been the capital of the Chu State for nearly a thousand years. Whenever my father talked about this, he felt heartbroken.
The Xiang family wanted to take back the capital city of Ying immediately, but the timing was not right. If they acted rashly, they would only be caught up in the vortex of political struggle again.
After much deliberation, they finally decided on this plan. First, they would eliminate their elite troops abroad, and then Xiang would directly report to the king that these people had accepted bribes and intended to sell out the country.
Given the Xiang family's connections and political credibility within the State of Chu, the king would certainly obey given the irrefutable evidence.
By then, they could kill or demote those nobles and deprive them of their fiefdoms, just as they shot the king's corpse with arrows in the past.
If the State of Chu reforms itself again, it will surely become stronger and will be able to tie up more of the energy of the State of Qin.
The only drawback of this method is that if it cannot be controlled, the national strength of Chu will be greatly damaged.
The Qin State was now so powerful that its vitality was severely damaged. The family was worried that the Chu State would not be able to survive until the moment when the reform was successful.
So I haven't done anything yet.
Until I met an unparalleled commander like you, the time was finally ripe.
As long as you can defeat the State of Qin and prevent it from moving eastward, the State of Chu will have a chance to catch its breath.
And you can control every inch of land on the battlefield and perfectly implement your plan to destroy their army.
Only with your help can Xiang's goal be achieved.
Please lend a helping hand. This is a request from the Luo clan that branched out seven hundred years ago.
I really want to hear the people of Chu singing again in Yingdu, "The spirit of King Su is in heaven, and his glorious name will last for thousands of years."
After the Chu State reformed and restored its strength, the first thing it did was to recapture the capital Yingdu, so it would definitely confront the Qin State, which would also relieve pressure on the Zhou Dynasty.
There is no need for Luo Guo to take action. In fact, Luo Zai is not sure how long he can live. There is always a lingering haze in his heart.
Luo Zai said with emotion: "Your request is so reasonable, how can I refuse it?
Can you tell me how your ancestors were able to maintain this enthusiasm for seven hundred years even though the Xiang family was not in Luo State? "
Xiang Zeng was also somewhat confused about Luo Zai's question, and said uncertainly: "It seems that I was born this way. My family has taught me this way since I was young. After the Mandate of Zhou is established, I must fight for the Mandate of Chu."
Xiang Zeng did not shy away from the fact that the Mandate of Heaven for Zhou was about to be fulfilled, because it was something that everyone could see, but no one knew exactly when.
Everyone was testing the waters, and finally, King Dang of Qin and King Bo of Han used their lives to tell the world that now was not the right time.
The Luo and Xiang families made their plan and watched the Chu army fall into chaos, giving Bai Qi the false impression that their plan to sow discord was successful.
Then the divine soldiers descended from the sky, and the real Chu army suddenly appeared on the battlefield. It must have been a scene of devastating destruction.
I really love Chu.
(End of this chapter)
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