Chapter 61: You will rise with this, and you will fall with this
Luo State, Zhaocheng.
This city, which was built five hundred years ago, is well-known throughout the world. The mottled patterns on the city walls show its antiquity, and the magnificent buildings showcase the heritage of the Luo Kingdom.
Even during the 120 years when Qi dominated the world, no one could ignore this place. As the saying goes, sacrifices were made to the emperor, government affairs were governed by the governors, and the Marquis of Luo was the bridge of communication between the two.
Luo Ci and Luo Yan sat in a quiet room, reading the letter sent by Qin Bo.
After Yili analyzed the situation in the world for Qin Bo, this letter traveled thousands of miles and arrived in front of the master of Luo State.
Luo Ci had a half-smile on his face. He pushed the bamboo slips towards Luo Yan and said, "This is a very interesting letter."
Luo Yan began, “Five hundred years ago, King Wu of Zhou received the mandate from heaven and sealed your ancestor King Su in Luodi, thus establishing an ancient state.
During the past five hundred years, three people have taken charge of state affairs, and nine generations of Luo Hou have served as ministers to the emperor. What a glorious history this is!
Duke Huan of Qi united the nine states and brought peace to the world. His prestige was higher than that of the emperor. He could also use the emperor's rites, music, tripods, carriages, horses, and clothes. Could there be anyone in Zhou State more noble than him?
He was able to achieve such success because your ancestor Ming Gong sent him back to his country and gave him support.
Now you have helped Prince Chong'er to ascend the throne. It seems that Jin will dominate. He is a vassal of the Ji clan and a relative of the emperor. I believe all other countries will submit to him."
"this?"
After reading this, Luo Yan frowned deeply. It sounded like a compliment, but it was obviously an attempt to sow discord among the three parties.
If this letter were to spread, the impact it would cause would probably not be small. It would be a rift between the three.
Luo Ci's expression remained unchanged, and he said calmly: "There are capable people in Qin State, and the following is the key point."
"Qin has achieved its current status because of Duke Xuan's kindness. If we do not repay him, it would be against the will of heaven.
The Western Rong have conquered the city of Haojing and are now trying to advance to the Central Plains.
For three hundred years, the Qin State never dared to forget the promise it made to Duke Xuan to suppress the Western Rong for the royal family.
In the name of Shaohao, I hereby assure you that no Rong people will be able to cross the territory of Qin."
Luo Yan's face showed the same expression as his father's. He shook the bamboo slips in his hand playfully and said, "Qin Bo is showing goodwill and making it clear that he is unwilling to go east.
It is just a delaying tactic, and they are sure that Luo State will not take action against the princes who have made great contributions to the expulsion of the barbarians."
Luo Ci was naturally clear about Qin's thoughts, and nodded and smiled, "This generation of Qin Bo is a general who is good at fighting and killing. Judging from his support for Prince Yin, he has always wanted to go east, but now he has suddenly changed his mind.
There must have been a wise man who came to Qin and gave him this idea. He used the righteous cause of expelling the barbarians to tie the hands of the Luo family. It was really a smart move.
But this is a good thing. The Xia people are bound to fight each other with blood flowing everywhere, but now the barbarians are still prosperous.
If the internal strife allowed the barbarians to invade, our ancestors would definitely blame us.
If the Qin State can really wipe out the Western Rong completely, then maybe when the Zhou State dies, God will really favor the Qin people. "
As they talked, both of them laughed. If the Qin State could really wipe out the Western Rong in the west, it would not move eastward for at least a hundred years.
After putting the letter from Qin aside, Luo Ci began to ask Luo Yan in detail about the situation in Jin.
At this moment, Luo Yan's face suddenly became serious, and his thoughts returned to the time when he was in Jin State.
Shortly after the Rebellion of the Five Princes ended, Prince Chong'er ascended the throne of the State of Jin in the presence of many ministers and the states of Qi and Luo, witnessing him.
The largest country in the Central Plains welcomed its new master.
For any ruler, if he wants to consolidate his rule, the first thing he does is to place his own people in place.
Generally speaking, the monarch would place his brothers, in-laws, and close followers in key positions, but this would lead to an embarrassing situation.
Prince Chong'er's four brothers killed each other and left no one alive. Qi gave them to a group of nobles, and some royal families from Luo also went to Jin, together with the ministers who had always followed him.
When Luo Yan saw that among the six ministers appointed by Prince Chong'er, there was not a single member of the royal family, he could not help but ask, "Lord Jin, why didn't you appoint anyone from the royal family as the six ministers?
Is there anyone in the world more trustworthy than family?
Just as Luo and Jin had a deep friendship that lasted for four hundred years, and Luo and Qi had a deep friendship that lasted for five hundred years, this was because there was blood ties between the two sides, so they trusted each other.
The six ministers you appointed are indeed wise officials who can prosper the country, but such harsh treatment of relatives will probably bring disaster."
But Prince Chong'er didn't listen at all. He said directly: "Prince, what you said makes sense, but Jin and Luo are different.
For five hundred years, there had never been any internal strife in Luo State. Such a loyal royal family and clan were envied by all the princes in the world.
Over the past five hundred years, countless princes and nobles have lived in exile. Which country did not have such people? Jin, Qi, Chu, or Song.
There is no Luo State!
How many incidents like Gongzi Wu have there been in the past five hundred years? I'm afraid no one can count them.
But what about you?
The holy mark on your forehead is something you were born with. Even if there are traitors, can they deprive you of your nobility?
It tells everyone that you are the descendant of King Su, so you have the confidence to face the royal family and the royal clan.
I have the confidence, but what about my descendants?
Let’s start the change from here. I don’t want Jin to miss the opportunity to dominate because of internal strife. "
At this point, Luo Yan already understood that Prince Chong'er did not trust the royal family because the Jin State had always been plagued by serious internal strife, and these royal families and royal families were always thinking about usurping the throne.
Chong'er, who ascended the throne after experiencing such a brutal battle, could not possibly give power to the royal family and promoted ministers. At most, he was a powerful official and was not qualified to ascend the throne of Jin.
Chong'er believed that only in this way could he ensure that the throne of Jin would always be in the hands of his lineage.
"Jin Hou, abandoning the royal family because they might betray you, isn't that like choking on your food and not eating it?"
Human limitations are everywhere, and even a wise monarch like Chong'er is unavoidable.
Chong'er waved his hand and said, "It was not just because of these reasons. My ministers are all wise officials who are capable of assisting the Holy King. They are much more capable than those nobles who have only bloodlines but are corrupt.
With their assistance, Jin will surely prosper. I will respect the king and repel the barbarians, and uphold the kingly way and righteousness. So the crown prince should not worry. "
Luo Yan told Luo Ci the whole story of what happened that day, and sighed, "The nobles of Jin are indeed wise ministers, but the system of hereditary nobility and the policy of granting land lavishly, isn't this the system of the Zhou Dynasty five hundred years ago?
The Jin State will soon prosper, but will eventually perish because of this system, just like the current royal family."
The system of the State of Jin was so realistic that it was naturally beneficial for external expansion, but it required a very high level of power struggle and ability to control people from the monarch.
Otherwise, the end of the Zhou royal family would be the same as that of the Jin royal family.
Duke Chong'er of Jin could not think about those things for the time being. Now he was in power and full of vigor. The State of Jin was indeed the State with the strongest foundation among all the countries.
Since Chong'er reformed the domestic military system and implemented the Six Lords System, the entire Jin State seemed to have turned into a war machine.
Moreover, after suppressing those royal families who only did evil things, the ministers who assisted Chong'er were indeed all wise ministers.
In just three years, huge wealth was accumulated in Yicheng. Jin also had a strong army, and the hereditary noble families gradually eroded the land that originally belonged to the royal family of Jin.
Chong'er held a laissez-faire attitude towards this matter. Most of the princes had followed Prince Wu in the past, and after Jin Hou Wuzhi passed away, they still wanted to follow Prince Wu and kill him.
Chong'er hated these people deeply. He once said to his attendants: "The royal family is the protector of the royal family, but these people followed Prince Wu to kill Jin Hou Wuzhi. When the throne fell to me, they followed Prince Wu to kill me.
It is clear that they have no king in their hearts. I will only forgive these disloyal and unjust people when the heavens and hells run dry."
Chong'er's actions once again intensified the conflict between the royal family and the noble family in Jin State. Some royal family members even openly said: "Chong'er treats the royal family so harshly, which has never been seen in many other countries.
The State of Chu was founded by the southern barbarians. After learning etiquette, they still knew to make use of the royal family. How could Chong'er not know this?
Jin is the ancestral state of the Ji clan granted by King Su, and is ranked first among the Ji clans. If Jin does this, what is the nobility of the Ji clan?"
Chong'er was naturally furious when he heard this. He thought that these princes were testing his attitude. He wanted to kill this man to intimidate the princes and let them know his power.
Under the persuasion of his attendants, he gave up this idea, but still sent a letter of apology to the entire royal family of Jin State.
"As a subject, is it right to slander the monarch at will?
Can a person without virtue and ability hold a high position?
The gold and jade of Jin are piled up like mountains, and beautiful cloth can be seen everywhere. Could it be that I would be stingy with the reward?
The truth is that your virtues are like those of rats in a stinking ditch, and your talents are even less than those of beggars on the street. Beautiful jade is awarded to gentlemen, and cloth is given to wise men.
You are not worthy of these, so you might as well learn more from the sages. If you are willing, you can go to the academy in Luo State, where there are sages who will teach you.
After you come back, you will surely know how to respect your monarch."
Chong'er's stinging sarcasm was like a declaration of war, which shook the entire State of Jin and made the entire Jin royal family lose face.
Chong'er was a monarch with great power. His strong will covered the entire Jin State, and those clamoring princes instantly shut their mouths.
But contradictions will not disappear, they will only accumulate.
Four years after Chong'er ascended the throne, the State of Jin encountered a very critical war.
In order to ensure the safety of the Zhou royal family, the Yi and Luo Rong, who had previously occupied the area between Yi and Luo, were driven upstream by the Jin and Luo states.
As a result, because the living conditions here were too poor, they wanted to take advantage of the fact that Jin State focused its attention on the Di people and launched a plundering war against the Zhou royal family.
…
When Duke Wen ascended the throne, he criticized the royal family for being disloyal, lacking in virtue and talent, and therefore did not use them. He also said that if there were many virtuous ministers, Jin would surely prosper.
Duke Xiang of Luo said: You rose because of this, and you will fall because of this!
On the day when Jin was destroyed, Duke Ai sighed and said: "How could Duke Xiang's vision be so far-sighted?"
People at that time said: If I had known this would happen, why did I do it in the first place? - "Guoyu·Jinyu"
(End of this chapter)
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