Chapter 20: The Duke of Qi Heads West
After the Duke of Qi left, Luo Su did not handle government affairs, but sat quietly in front of the desk. The shadows fell, and his eyes were a little dark.
Ji Zhao's gaze fell on him, and his black pupils gradually turned golden.
The first generation of nobles, who had worked hard and overcame all difficulties to open up a living space for their tribe, had fallen to this level in less than a hundred years.
A vassal who had made great contributions like Xiong Dun could not be treated as a guest of honor by the emperor.
A sycophantic villain like Yuki is able to enjoy a high position.
Even the capital city, a symbol of the Zhou Dynasty's mandate of heaven, became a tool for fighting for power.
Luo Su closed his eyes slightly, his mind filled with the classics once written by Su Wang. Those words were constantly reorganized and turned into his spiritual food.
“This is what our ancestors said in the Luo Family Instructions: The kindness of a gentleman will be cut off after five generations.
The world is difficult, and I am the descendant of the Su King. It is time for me to bravely move forward, eliminate the evildoers, and bring peace to the world."
Luo Su, who had figured out some things, shook off those complicated thoughts and quickly devoted himself to work again. Only Ji Zhao knew how much struggle he had experienced in his heart in such a short period of time.
If someone was around him, they might hear him mumbling to himself: "Luckily Ji Wan is dead, otherwise it would be a lot of trouble to kill him."
Ji Zhao withdrew his gaze with a smile on his face. He was becoming more and more satisfied with this younger generation of his.
【Luo Su:
Power struggle: 95 (95); Governing the country: 96 (96); Controlling people: 95 (95); Command: 42 (42); Military force: 50 (62); Military strategy: 50 (50)]
Luo Su's attributes have reached the peak. Even in the long river of history, he is the top prime minister. Now he has broken the ideological seal. Ji Zhao is looking forward to his future actions.
…
The next day.
The Regency Council issued an edict, appointing Taibao Qihou as the king's envoy to oversee the military and national affairs of the western part of Bangzhou, and still adding the title of Taibao of the Three Dukes, the head of Xiaguan, and the temporary governor of the West. He was ordered by the king to lead 12,000 people to the expedition as the general.
This was the greatest power ever granted to a minister who went on an expedition since the founding of the Zhou Dynasty, except for the King Su. All the nobles in the entire royal capital could not help but look at it with awe.
Facing Luo Su who came to see him off, the Duke of Qi could not help but smile bitterly and said, "Ah Su, now I, your uncle, have been put on the spot by you. This decree is too outrageous."
Luo Su smiled and said, "My uncle is a great man, why would he be afraid of these rumors? I have no choice but to do this if I want to intimidate the Western princes."
This is only the case for the Duke of Qi. No one else would be willing to go to such a length for the sake of Bang Zhou, but Jiang Qi is a major shareholder who owns at least a quarter of Bang Zhou's shares.
The Queen Mother is the legitimate daughter of Jiang Qi, and the emperor has half of Jiang Qi's blood. Although there is no crown prince yet, everyone knows that the next crown prince's wife will still be the legitimate daughter of Jiang Qi.
Such a close relationship of interests is the fundamental reason why Luo Su trusts the Duke of Qi.
The Marquis of Qi shook his head and said arrogantly: "It has come to this. I have experienced many battles and I am not a coward. If anyone dares to slander me, I have 30,000 brave soldiers in Qi. Who can stop me?"
Luo Su laughed and said, "My uncle is so domineering. In the past, Tai Gongwang followed King Su to the east and made great contributions to our Zhou State. Today, my uncle is leading the army to the west for our Zhou State. The Jiang family and the Lu family are truly the pillars of our Zhou State!"
Luo Su's words made the Duke of Qi's blood boil. Glorifying ancestors is a memory engraved in the blood of every Zhou person.
The two men clinked their wine cups and drank them all in one gulp. Then the Duke of Qi led his army westward.
…
After seeing off the Marquis of Qi, Luo Su began to prepare to deal with the structural problems caused by the nobles in the royal capital.
The situation of the princes within the capital of Zhou was much more complicated than that of the princes outside the capital. The princes outside the capital were mainly alliances based on blood ties, such as Qi, Luo and Song. A large number of relatives with the same surname lived together, and even an army was composed entirely of people of the same clan.
However, over the past hundreds of years, the princes of different surnames in the capital area have intermarried with the royal family of the Ji surname, and the alliance formed between the two sides is based on politics. This is a relationship that is both strong and fragile. They live together with different surnames, and any move can affect the whole body.
Under the dim oil lamp, Luo Su put down a roll of bamboo slips. In his office, these bamboo slips had been piled up into a mountain. After working hard day and night, he finally managed to sort out the intricate relationships among them.
Today's princes in the capital area can be summarized into four surnames and seventeen clans.
Among them, the descendants of the Ji surname were basically princes who had not been granted fiefdoms outside the capital, such as the three eldest sons of King Li. Many of them took Wang as their surname to highlight their bloodline.
There is another family with Zhou as the main lineage, and this branch is the descendant of King Su.
The rest took their surnames from the locations of their fiefs. Zhang, Yang, Li and Sun were the largest. Most of them were descendants of the Ji clan who were not enfeoffed during the two great feudal periods.
As one of the major shareholders of Bang Zhou, the Jiang family is still powerful in the royal capital, especially the Ji family, which is the branch of Taigong Wang that remained in the royal capital.
The Shen family is also a powerful branch of the Jiang family, but not as prominent as the Lu family.
There are also the Xu, Xie and Gao families, which are the third generation of the Jiang surname. Their main branches are no longer within the royal capital.
Among the princes in the capital area, the Ying surname is a rather unique one. It is the only big surname that has followed the King of Zhou since the time of Qi Zhou, but has no fiefdom outside the capital area. They have raised horses for the Zhou emperor for generations and are one of the great military nobles in the capital area.
This time, when the Duke of Qi traveled westward, a large number of people from the Ying clan followed him. Luo Su made some comments on horse management and thought that such talents should be placed in places like the northwest. It would be a waste to keep them in the royal capital. The Xu, Jiang, and Fei clans of the Ying clan were all relatively practical clans.
The Si clan included three families: Qi, Zeng and Chen, all of whom were descendants of the Qi royal relatives who had come to the royal capital with the queen and the ladies.
The Qi State, a descendant of King Yu, was a principality like the Song State during the feudal era, but its national strength is now completely different. Instead, the descendants of the Si clan who migrated to the royal capital are very prosperous.
Since they were not geographically as far apart as the princes outside the capital, these clans lived together through intermarriage. In a standard town or city, there were even people from three surnames living together.
Luo Su looked at the nobles and clans he had sorted out, and began to recall the political inclinations of these people during his years in power. He planned to have a talk with the patriarchs of these clans.
After judgment, Luo Su decided to start with the Zhou clan of the Ji surname, the Shen clan of the Jiang surname, and the Fei clan of the Ying surname. These three clans were the most likely to support him.
The Zhou family of the Ji surname was considered his royal clan. Although the two sides had relatively few contacts, successive Luo Hous had all ruled the royal capital and had taken care of this clan. Now it was time for them to repay their kindness.
The Shen family of the Jiang surname was once an important state in the western frontier of the Shang Dynasty. Later, with the merger of Ji and Jiang, they joined the Zhou Dynasty. Now the Lu family of the Jiang surname is the most prominent vassal of different surnames in the Zhou Dynasty. The Shen family may not feel so good about it.
As for the Ying surname, since there are relatively few people in the clan and there is more communication, you can just meet any one of them.
…
After many days of marching, the Duke of Qi finally arrived at Haojing. Led by the Duke of Cheng, the princes in the west respectfully welcomed the royal flag into the capital.
The Duke of Qi stood on the chariot. Although he was an old man, he had the style of his ancestor Taigong Wang. He was covered in armor and looked like a veteran of the battlefield.
Looking at the crowd in front of him, the Marquis of Qi took out the imperial edict and said loudly: "The regent meeting issued an order, and the ministers accept it."
The Regency Council possesses all the powers of the emperor, so it is natural for it to issue an edict. Faced with an order of this level, all the princes nodded, and below the princes, whether vassals, ministers, officials, or officers, all bowed their heads.
"The regent council, which shall act on behalf of the king and take charge of all military and state affairs of the state, shall decree:
The Duke of Qi was appointed as the king's envoy, the grand protector, the general who was ordered by the king to conquer the west, the chief of Xia officials, and the prince who guarded the west.
All the princes in the west, regardless of whether they were relatives, dukes, or high-ranking officials, all obeyed his orders.
You should be respectful! "
This was neat and tidy, which was in line with Luo Su's usual style of doing things. When everyone was about to stand up, they heard the Marquis of Qi slowly say, "Don't worry, there is another imperial edict."
Now even the princes bowed their heads.
"Acting on behalf of the king, taking charge of all military and state affairs of the state, the regent meeting issued an edict:
All under heaven belongs to the king, and all within the four seas are the king's subjects.
You gentlemen have been vassal states of the emperor since the time of King Su, and are descendants of important officials of the Zhou Dynasty. Cheng Houyun, one of the princes guarding the west, said that your ancestor Cheng Houlin was the younger brother of King Su, who called him capable. King Su praised him as one of the three dukes, and he was worthy of great responsibilities.
When King Su was on his eastern expedition, Marquis Cheng stayed behind in Haojing to collect food and fodder and teach the emperor. What a high-spirited man he was.
The emperor, grateful for his kindness and merits, granted him two hundred miles of land, which led to the prosperity of Cheng State.
When they moved eastward, they also handed over the important responsibility of guarding the ancestral temple city of Haojing to the monarch of the State of Cheng.
I never thought that you were so incompetent that the Quanrong people caused chaos in the capital of Haojing. We were unable to control the three hundred miles of territory. What use are you!
I really don’t know how you will face your ancestors a hundred years from now.
And you, the princes in the west, Marquis Cheng has the responsibility to stabilize the west. All of you are royal relatives and nobles, and you have enjoyed your current high positions by blood relationship. Don't you have the responsibility to serve as a barrier for the emperor?
The previous king once said that the growth of the Western Rong was like a raging fire, and the emperor should visit Haojing and rebuild the ancestral land.
But from what I see now, the princes in the west are really incompetent. If I were to visit them, you vassals would still be like this, and the Western Rong would show off your might in front of me.
Where is the majesty of the emperor? Where is the Mandate of Heaven?
The edict ends here to see the effect. "
This edict can be said to have cursed all the western princes, especially Marquis Cheng, who was cursed by name in this edict.
It can be seen from his sweaty face that when he heard the imperial edict, he must have been quite frightened, worried that he would be made an example of.
However, after hearing the latter part, their mood improved. This was the first time in decades that they heard official words about moving the capital back to Haojing.
Those who still had glory in their hearts had already blushed with embarrassment after hearing these words, and they covered their faces with their sleeves after standing up.
As for those shameless people who only know how to enjoy themselves every day, the attitude is very casual. Just scold them, because you won’t lose a piece of meat anyway.
The wise men in the west understood what Luo Su meant from the imperial edict. It was telling them that Luoyi Wangji already knew about your plan, so you should stop now and still maintain your dignity.
If one is unwilling to accept this dignity, the 10,000 troops brought by the Duke of Qi and the official position of "the King's Envoy in Charge of Military and State Affairs in the Western Part of Zhou" are not easy to come by. He is responsible for helping those who are unwilling to accept dignity to be decent.
Marquis Cheng, Marquis Mao, Marquis Tai, and Marquis Bi smiled and said to Marquis Qi: "Mr. Qi, we have prepared a banquet for you in Haojing City to welcome you. We have also prepared fine wine and food for the soldiers."
The Duke of Qi did not care what these people were thinking. He just responded to their moves and said, "Please lead the way, gentlemen."
Seeing that the Duke of Qi had a good attitude, many people felt relieved. Since he was still willing to talk, it meant that there was still hope for the situation to turn around.
The Duke of Qi inferred from the behavior of these princes, ministers and officials that these people were panicked but not afraid.
This attitude shows that they have indeed committed a crime, but it should not reach the point where they should be stripped of their titles or expelled from their country.
In other words, it is highly likely that the Western Rong invasion this time was not caused by their collusion with the outside world, but they should be involved. The specific situation will need to be understood later.
Cheng Hou came up to Qi Hou and said with a smile, "Qi Hou, I wonder what the Grand Master's attitude is when he hears about this?"
Although they knew that these two edicts basically represented the attitude of Luoyi Wangji, they still wanted to know the attitude of Luo Su himself.
The Marquis of Qi glanced at the Marquis of Cheng, patted him on the shoulder and said, "The Grand Master has great prestige, and the Regency Council has a single word to decide. This time he was busy with important state affairs, so he sent me here. If I can't do my job well, the Grand Master will definitely come here in person."
Although Luo Su's power has not reached this level, the Duke of Qi naturally has to brag about it. Otherwise, as an outsider, he cannot scare these old hands just by relying on his official position.
The Duke of Qi himself was a vassal lord outside the capital, and he understood the psychology of these vassal lords very well. No matter how powerful Qi was, the emperor was far away.
Luo Su was a famous Duke of the Three Kingdoms who often dealt with the princes. Moreover, since the time of King Su, the rulers of Luo State had been Duke of the Three Kingdoms for four consecutive generations.
In the foreseeable future, the monarch of Luo State will still firmly hold the high position of one of the three highest officials, and no prince will deliberately offend such an existence.
Cheng Houyun looked a little embarrassed and flattered: "Yun's ancestors were outstanding people in the world. Yun is ashamed of his ancestors. He is incompetent in dealing with foreign affairs, which made the Quanrong want to invade the royal capital.
Fortunately, the Grand Master transferred Duke Qi to the western border to preside over the important affairs. Duke Qi is a veteran general of Bang Zhou, and Yun is also well-known in the western border. With the Duke Qi coming, the Quanrong will surely be defeated. With the Duke Qi coming, the royal capital will surely be peaceful. "
The exaggerated flattery of Cheng Hou made the Duke of Qi feel uncomfortable. He quickly said, "Cheng Hou is exaggerating. A country of 300 li is full of talented people. It's easy to capture the Quanrong."
After a round of flattery and a preliminary conversation, the impression that Duke Qi had of Duke Cheng was that he was a smooth-talking, extremely thick-skinned person who was not easy to deal with.
Moreover, no one else came to talk to him along the way, which shows that Cheng Hou, the lord of Zhenxi, still has some prestige.
(End of this chapter)
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