Chapter 699: The Alliance of Zhaocheng! (6000 words!)
Priceless!
This was the evaluation from the mouth of the Luo clan's high priest.
Zhen Mi blinked her big, watery eyes, her eyes were full of affection. The high priest touched her head, feeling the familiar feeling, and said softly: "You will have an excellent and noble husband who will love you and care for you. Your life will be smooth, peaceful and happy. The goddess Luo will be with you."
There was a sound of metal and stone in her voice, and a sacred solemnity.
Outside Zhaocheng, Liu Bei arrived right after Yuan and Cao. Looking at the towering city in front of him, Liu Bei breathed a sigh of relief. Although there were no princes to stop them along the way, there were still many bandits and pirates, so it was indeed unsafe for a small number of people to travel.
Mi Zhen poked her head out of the carriage with her son in her arms, her face full of curiosity. She had been to Zhaocheng when she was young, accompanying her brother on a business trip, but this was her first time as a member of the Luo family.
Luo Shu and Luo Jin, father and son, were waiting in front of the city gate. Liu Bei stepped forward and the three of them greeted each other. Mi Zhen stepped forward holding her son, with visible nervousness on her pretty and fair face. Luo Shu and Luo Jin introduced themselves, and a girl from the Luo family walked out from behind them, took the child from Mi Zhen's hand, and said with a smile, "Is this my second brother's child?
Second sister-in-law, my name is Luo Xuan, you can call me A Xuan or Xuan Er. "
Mi Zhen saw that the Luo clan members were just as Luo Qi said, and her nervousness was mostly gone. She said politely, "My concubine greets my second uncle and elder brother. I hope Xuan'er is well."
Luo Shu took Liu Bei to meet Luo Zhang and Tang Ji, while Luo Jin and Luo Xuan took Mi Zhen to the courtyard where Luo Qi lived in Zhaocheng.
The moment the carriage slowly passed through the inner city gate, Mi Zhen truly felt that her current identity was indeed different.
As time goes by.
Yuan Shao, Cao Cao, Liu Bei, Lu Bu, Zhang Yan, Liu Yu, Ma Teng, Han Sui, Zhao Hong, Guan Hai and more than a dozen other princes, big and small, came to Zhaocheng.
This was a feast for the historians and also a great opportunity for the princes to observe hostile forces.
For example, Zhang Yan.
If it were in history books, it would definitely be recorded that he was a subject of Yuan Shao, but today he came to Zhaocheng as an independent person, which means that he was still only an ally of Yuan Shao, not just a subject, just like the relationship between the princes of different surnames and Liu Bang in the early Han Dynasty.
Liu Biao and Luo Chu arrived in Zhaocheng one after another, and then a person who was quite beyond Cao Cao's expectations appeared here, Yuan Shu!
Cao Cao never expected that Yuan Shu would come to Zhaocheng. After all, he had arranged people to attack Yuan Shu's territory and trap Yuan Shu in Runan. Yuan Shao also did not expect that his stupid brother would actually come to Zhaocheng.
Yuan Shu arrived on September 11, and no other princes from Zhaogong Kingdom came.
September 13th, accompanied by the ringing of bells.
These heroes and princes from troubled times walked into the hall under the guidance of brave warriors. These people were people who could make the entire Chinese and barbarians tremble with just the stomping of their feet.
If these people died together in Zhaocheng, the situation in the entire world would become unpredictable.
After the collapse of the authority of the central court of the Han Dynasty, only Duke Zhao could gather these people together with the credibility and prestige accumulated over 1,300 years.
Of course, wanting to command the world is just a dream.
At the top of the hall, Luo Zhang and Tang Ji sat upright, and below them were the princes sitting in a row. Big princes like the two Yuans, Cao, and Liu were at the front, and the rest of the princes were arranged in order.
Looking at the crowd of people in the hall, Luo Zhang suddenly felt that summoning these princes today would change something.
The world is materialistic, but peace and chaos are in the human heart.
When people are at peace, the world will be at peace. When people are at chaos, the world will be in chaos.
Many people lack courage in their hearts, but today they come to Zhaocheng, sit here as the lord of a region and are equals. After they go back, can they still be calm and serve as vassals of others?
Could it be that there is something called ambition growing in my heart?
This is almost inevitable!
Once what you want in your heart changes.
Once their hearts start to get confused, it is unimaginable what these people with power will do.
Luo Xiao had already seen this, so he warned the Taiping Army commander.
The banquet in Zhaocheng was different from that of other nobles. There were no beautiful dancers. In this era, dancing was something that many nobles would learn. It was a tradition passed down from Bangzhou, where women danced for men to express their love.
For example, Wang Wenjun danced the Snow Dance for Luo Bai, which was recorded in historical books such as Records of the Grand Historian to be passed down to later generations.
Zhaocheng often held banquets, where beautiful women held each other's hands and sang and danced, but they were unwilling to dance for outsiders.
Although there were no dancers, there were men's war dances and singing of the ancient war songs of Bang Zhou. The whole hall was filled with a murderous atmosphere, as if it were a military drill.
When the war dance ended, the exciting music did not stop, but it became slightly quieter. Luo Zhang raised the wine cup high and said, "Welcome everyone to Zhaocheng. Please drink this cup of wine."
After three rounds of drinking, Luo Zhang looked around at everyone and saw that some people could no longer contain their anxiety and curiosity. He said loudly amid the music: "I believe you all can't wait to know the purpose of my inviting you here.
Before that, I would like to ask you, do you still remember the opening of "The Kingly Way"? "
"The Way of Kings"!
In order to teach King Kang, King Su wrote a classic book. When he was enfeoffed, all the princes had a copy. In that distant era, whoever did not follow the guiding ideology of "The Kingly Way" would be stripped of his title and country. King Su's sword frightened all the princes in the world.
As for the kingly opening, who could forget it?
The kingly way cannot be partial, and Xia and Yi cannot coexist!
Yuan Shu asked loudly: "My Lord.
Thousands of years ago, the barbarians ravaged the Chinese nation. When the Chinese nation was in danger, it was like a thread that could break at any time, or an egg that could break at any time.
But the millennium has passed.
After thousands of years of development by successive Zhou emperors and princes and nobles, the barbarians retreated.
In addition, the successive emperors of the Han Dynasty spared no effort to repel the foreigners.
Today, all the nations in the world are flourishing, just like the bright sun.
Those barbarians can only hide in the mountains, forests and swamps, and live in misery. Is it necessary to mention Xia Yi now?"
This was not just Yuan Shu's idea, but the idea of all the princes present. In their view, even the Hu people in the north were no match for the Central Plains.
Gongsun Zan rode his white horse galloping, Lu Bu was incomparably brave, Ma Teng and Han Sui both looked proud, and the State of Yan drove the Donghu and the newly rising Xianbei westward. These barbarians could only flee in fear when they encountered the Chinese.
Luo Zhang said in a serious tone: "King Su said that the world is changing all the time, and only change is constant. Isn't it the same for the strength between Xia and Yi?
The barbarians are indeed weak.
However, the Later Han Dynasty's military operations in the northwest over the past hundred years have not been very effective. Although there were reports of victory every time from the border princes, the power of the Hu people in the north was growing increasingly stronger.
When Emperor Ling ascended the throne, there were eight million households in the Han court. Now, after only a few years, there are only seven million households left. It is true that some of them hid themselves or fled, but how many of them died directly?
How heavy were the casualties in the last war between the princes?
How many people would have died if the plague that broke out in Guanzhong and Central Plains had not been controlled when it was still at its infancy?
If seven million households become two million, or one million, would you still think that the Chinese are better than the barbarians?"
The princes' faces suddenly changed, and they forced a smile and said, "My Lord, if seven or eight out of ten people in the world die, isn't this too alarmist?"
Luo Zhang said sternly: "Alarmist?
Don’t you know how terrible the plague is?
In a county with 50,000 households, six or seven out of ten people would die within seven days.
If a family member had not happened to pass by and deal with the situation, it would have caused enormous damage and would have killed countless people.
The plague does not care whether you are powerful or common people, it always treats everyone equally.
All the nobles and powerful families in that county died of the plague. If you are willing to follow their example, I will have nothing to say today.
The Luo family has the best doctors in the world, and they are able to protect themselves even if there is a plague. It is true that a summer insect cannot talk about ice, and a boy is not worth consulting with!"
I'm afraid that in this world, only Luo Zhang and Luo Chuan dare to point at the noses of these princes and curse them.
In today's world, there are many ways to prevent plague, such as burning large amounts of accumulated corpses, which has been popular since the Zhou Dynasty, and drinking less raw water, but plague is still something that makes people shudder.
Voices rang out from the hall, "Please give your instructions."
Seeing that everyone finally took it seriously, Luo Zhang looked around and said loudly: "There are rumors in the world that the plague is a punishment from God. This is a fallacy. The plague is a lesion. Since it is a disease, it can be cured.
Nowadays, there is a book called "Treatise on Febrile and Miscellaneous Diseases" compiled in Zhaocheng, which contains prescriptions for treating various colds, as well as measures to prevent colds, plagues, etc.
I believe that one person’s strength is limited, but many people’s strength is great. As a doctor, being able to save lives is a meritorious deed.
How many lives can a doctor save, just ten or a hundred?
If we sign an agreement together, we can jointly protect the doctors who travel around the world and provide convenience for them, so that they can smoothly prescribe medicine to save lives and pass on the medical knowledge so that everyone in the world will know the art of saving lives.
Save the dying and the wounded, suppress the epidemic, save the wounded, and restore the vitality of the world.
Such merits can be seen even by the Suwang Nine Heavens, who would still congratulate us!
I wonder what you guys think?"
Protect doctors?
Everyone knows that there are many good doctors in Zhaocheng. Just as Lord Zhao said just now, the best doctors are all in Zhaocheng.
King Zhao saw that the world was in chaos, so he wanted doctors to become neutral, form guilds, and travel around the country. Many soldiers died because they could not receive treatment after being injured.
In addition, the continuous wars left no time to deal with the corpses, leading to the outbreak of the plague. If these doctors wanted to deal with the plague, they had to enter the ward, which would have meant they would face many risks.
As expected of Luo family!
Dare to be a danger to the world!
Yuan Shao, Cao Cao, Liu Bei and others all stood in awe. Yuan Shao and Liu Bei clasped their fists and bowed, saying, "Lord Zhao is so righteous. How dare we not obey him?"
As soon as the two of them took the lead, everyone in the hall shouted in unison: "Duke Zhao is so righteous, how dare we not follow his lead!"
Luo Xuan, who was listening to the noise in the side hall, suddenly let out a light breath. The loud chorus made his confused expression suddenly become enlightened.
He was born with a talent for medicine, and he co-edited "Treatise on Febrile and Miscellaneous Diseases" with Zhang Zhongjing. However, he always felt that something was missing from just writing books. He felt that medicine should be a practical science. Now, after hearing his uncle's words, he understood what he should do.
In the hall, Luo Zhang was not happy to see the princes agree, because this was just an appetizer.
The music in the hall gradually became more sacred and ethereal. Luo's music could always arouse the fantasies in people's hearts. Faintly, the princes in the hall seemed to see countless majestic gods watching them.
Luo Zhang's voice rang in everyone's ears, "God has the virtue of loving all life, and the ancient sage kings all had good virtues. Look at those kings who have done wrong things.
King Jie of the Xia Dynasty and King Zhou of the Shang Dynasty, thus they lost their empire.
King Li of the Zhou Dynasty died in the chaos of war, King Huang was expelled from the country and died in the mountains, King You was killed by the Quanrong and Shen Hou, and King Jie was executed by his son.
Emperor Li of the Han Dynasty was killed by the Jingnan princes, and Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty was killed by the Taiping Army. Did any of these kings who brought disaster to the country and the people and had no virtue have a good end?
It is precisely because God hates these kings that he has sent down the decree to kill them.
What's more, it's not just the king?
Which of those unjust princes and rulers of the Zhou Dynasty was not given a bad posthumous title and then killed?
The Qin Dynasty originally had the Mandate of Heaven to last for 400 years, but the Qin monarch used tyranny to unify the world and did not repent, so the Second Emperor ended his Mandate of Heaven.
Isn’t this a wake-up call?”
The Qin Dynasty had a four hundred year mandate of heaven?
But because he gained the world through tyranny, the second emperor died?
This was the first time everyone had heard of it, and they were all a little surprised and confused for a moment. Luo Zhang was talking nonsense but his face was serious, and no one knew he was talking nonsense.
Do you understand what the credibility of a thousand-year-old family means?
Luo Zhang calmly lied: "How much the King of Su cares for the people of Zhuxia. He woke up briefly, and then the Luo family went to Guanzhong to kill Li Jue and Guo Si. This is because the King of Su really disliked Li Jue and Guo Si.
During the war, Li Jue and Guo Si disregarded the lives of civilians, killing them and looting their food and fodder.
Trampling on the moral bottom line and propriety and honor formed over thousands of years, tearing apart the moral principles of heaven and making human ethics disappear in Guanzhong, this is something that the supreme and holy King Su cannot tolerate, so Li Jue and Guo Si must die. "
!!!
Everyone in the hall straightened their backs instantly. Once Luo started to mention King Su, it meant that Luo was serious.
Previously, the Luo family sent brave warriors to Guanzhong to kill Li Jue and Guo Si. Most people thought that they were going to avenge the Luo family caravan, but it should be more than that.
Because it is impossible for the Luo family to fight with two powerful princes just based on suspicion.
Everyone wants to know what the criteria for Luo's actions are.
What Luo Zhang is talking about now is why the Luo family took action against Li Jue and Guo Si.
It was not because of Li Jue and Guo Si’s brutal rule in Guanzhong, because the Luo family always believed that it was the people’s responsibility to resist brutal rule. Just like the Taiping Rebellion, it was only after Zhang Jue’s uprising that Luo Xiao helped.
Only those who dare to resist are qualified to have a peaceful and stable life. Those who are submissive and only wait and rely on others will only die in vain under oppression and exploitation.
The real reason why Li Jue and Guo Si disgusted Luo was that they trampled on many rules. These rules were benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and trustworthiness. These rules sounded empty but were actually what enabled people to be human beings instead of becoming beasts. They were the things that maintained social trust and social connections.
Luo Zhang sighed slightly and said, “The spirit of the Su King is in heaven, and the king who practices the kingly way will sit on the throne.
If someone massacres a city, can such a person become the leader of the princes?
If someone causes the people to be separated from each other, can such a person become the ruler and father of the world?
If someone does not regard the people as human beings, but as cattle and horses, can such a person practice the way of a king?
If a king does not follow the kingly way for his people, but instead clings to tyranny, can he bring freedom and stability to the world for a long time? "
There is so much information contained in Luo Zhang's words that people can't help but recall that King Zhaosheng once practiced the law in Zhaocheng and trampled the ruling method of controlling people's minds into the mud. The Legalists in the pre-Han period were completely skinned alive.
Until now!
The situation in the Later Han Dynasty was not as bad as that at the end of the Qin Dynasty and the end of Emperor Li's reign, but the people of the world had already found it intolerable. They followed Zhang Jue in an uprising to destroy the Han Dynasty.
And among the nobles of the Han Dynasty, some were loyal to the orthodox emperor, while others were loyal to their own beliefs and obeyed their orders unconditionally?
Why?
Cao Cao broke out in a cold sweat after listening to this. He felt that every word Luo Zhang said was pointing at him. He really did not care much about human lives. He almost had to eat people when he was short of food in Yanzhou.
However, because Xun Yu knew Luo very well, he always reminded him that even if people starved to death, they should be allowed to live as human beings.
Once people take the step of cannibalism, they are no longer human beings but beasts.
Luo will destroy these cannibals at all costs, and will even stand completely against him.
In the end, Cao Cao did not waver and forced himself to restrain himself, but the price was that many soldiers starved to death.
Liu Bei felt that every word Luo Zhang said hit the nail on the head, and he couldn't help but applaud, "Lord Zhao, this is a great idea!
This is exactly what I have always wanted to say. The reason why the world is in turmoil is that there are too many ambitious people who do not care about the world, and the people are suffering. If the princes of the world had benevolent hearts, even if there were wars year after year, the death toll would not exceed 100,000. How could millions of households disappear?
Did Duke Zhao summon us for this matter?
Please speak up, and I am all ears.”
Liu Bei's words were inspiring, and the princes in the hall were naturally a little dissatisfied with his performance, but Liu Bei was indeed benevolent, which made everyone not know how to ridicule him.
Luo Zhang nodded at Liu Bei. In his opinion, it was a pity for Liu Bei. Although King Su said that there is no destiny in the world, people have a scale in their hearts. Not to mention that Yuan Shao and Cao Cao would never let Liu Bei revive the Han Dynasty, even Jiangdong occupied by Luo Chu would probably not help Liu Bei revive.
Putting these thoughts aside, Luo Zhang looked at the princes who were staring at him and said loudly: "I have been thinking about how to minimize the losses in the war.
How can we prevent people from turning into beasts during a great war?
Coming from the barbaric era of eating raw meat and drinking blood, our ancestors and saints have been teaching us etiquette. If we abandon it easily, wouldn’t that be betraying our ancestors?
Since ancient times, there have been rumors that killing prisoners is unlucky.
But the commander was worried that the prisoners would rebel, so he had to kill them.
Some soldiers had lost their will to fight and threw down their armor and surrendered, but they had no way to survive.
I was wondering, why is this happening?
It's just a word of trust. There is no mutual trust between the two sides, and they are suspicious of each other, which leads to such things. It would be better for us to make an agreement not to kill prisoners after the war.
This matter is certainly complicated and difficult to explain, but we can use this as a basis to discuss a specific regulation for prisoners, do you agree?"
Not killing prisoners?
The princes nodded in agreement. No one was willing to kill prisoners unless it was absolutely necessary. The main reason for killing prisoners was because of lack of food and fear of betrayal.
Seeing this, Luo Zhang said, "Massacre in the city is against the harmony of nature, I think it should not be done.
Moreover, agriculture is the foundation of the world, and people are the root of agriculture. Without people, there would be no agriculture.
Moreover, during the massacre, order was trampled upon and morality was completely destroyed.
Gentlemen, ask yourselves, those soldiers dare to commit those heinous crimes against humanity today and abandon benevolence and righteousness, they will forget loyalty and filial piety tomorrow. Once evil takes root in the heart, it cannot be eradicated. Can you sleep in peace when all your men are such tigers and wolves?
Do you agree with me?"
really!
Some people in the hall had already anticipated that Luo Zhang would talk about the city massacre. After all, one of the most vicious events in war is the city massacre, and almost every major event in the purgatory on earth is reflected in the city massacre.
Liu Bei almost laughed out loud when he heard this, probably because he found that he could do everything Luo Zhang said, or he had never done these things before, and now he felt very relaxed.
The other princes became a little uneasy. What Luo Zhang said was to put constraints on everyone and make all the princes who were determined to dominate the world abide by these moral bottom lines.
These things are not difficult to implement, after all, that's what Liu Bei did, but this makes many people uncomfortable. After all, these methods are really useful, and complying with them is like tying one's hands and feet.
But looking at the expression of Duke Zhao, he was so serious that there was no doubt that if they did not agree, the Luo family would definitely take action.
Luo Zhang did not stop, and then documents appeared in the hands of the princes, containing the specific content of what Luo Zhang said.
The princes were silent for a while, agreed with Luo Zhang's idea in principle, and began to argue about the specific implementation methods of the clauses.
————
The signing of the "Jian'an Zhaocheng Convention" is an event worthy of special mention in the history of ancient my country. It was led by Duke Zhao Luo Zhang, and all the major princes in the late Eastern Han Dynasty stamped their seals on the treaty.
This is the first legal treaty in the world that constrains the rules of conduct between hostile parties in a state of war. It effectively reduces the damage to the moral bottom line and social economy caused by inevitable war. It contains the simple humanitarian spirit of the ancient Chinese people. This is an immortal contribution made by my country to world civilization. ——"History·Grade 8, Volume 2·Royal Publishing House"
Thanks to my brothers for voting, I am in the top 50.
(End of this chapter)
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