Chapter 72 Sun Wu and Qing Ji
Several years have passed since the meeting between the two sages, Laozi and Confucius. In these years, the academy has become more and more prosperous, and countless sparks of thought have blossomed in it. The number and quality of these ideas are so large that even Luo Shi has no time to copy them down.
The Luo Kingdom even began to purchase blank bamboo slips from neighboring countries. Luo Ci was in poor health, but when he saw those volumes of books entering the patriarch's ring one after another, he couldn't help laughing.
Ji Zhao was even happier than him. Whenever Laozi and Confucius gave lectures in the academy, huge amounts of luck would flow in. He couldn't help but feel that Luo Xiu was indeed the son of destiny. Even though he had passed away, the academy he established was still playing a huge role.
In the Luo Palace.
Luo Yan exclaimed in amazement: "Warfare is the art of deception. This is truly a profound insight. Throughout the world, is there anything that can better summarize the art of war than these five words?
You are truly a sage in military affairs!"
Qingji and Sun Wu knelt opposite Luo Yan. They came to borrow troops from Luo Yan. Different from the ideological giants like Lao Tzu and Confucius, Sun Wu was not only an ideological giant, he was a super powerful man with a potential of 99 in military strategy and command.
Hearing Luo Yan's praise, Sun Wu shook his head and said, "Your Highness, your praise is really too much.
The art of war is broad and profound.
The choice of generals is naturally the most important. As the saying goes, if one general is incompetent, the whole army will be exhausted.
But whether the country is strong, whether the people are loyal, whether the monarch and his subjects are wise, and whether the people at all levels are united, these are the keys to victory or defeat.
If the State of Qu fought against the State of Qi, even if they won ten battles, they would still be destroyed in the end. "
Luo Yan said solemnly: "In the academy, there are two saints, Lord Boyang and Lord Zhongni. They have the great principles of governing the world, but whether they are used or not is like a minister asking the monarch for help.
Changqing is not like that. As the book says at the beginning, war is a matter of great importance to a country, a matter of life and death, and the key to survival or destruction.
The most important affairs of the state are war and sacrifice. If this book of yours were to be circulated among the nations, their rulers would flock to you and offer you the title of Supreme General."
This book by Sun Wu is enough to make a family prosperous for a thousand years. It is truly an extremely precious classic.
Military sages are different. This kind of professional knowledge will not be easily passed on to outsiders. It is usually passed down within the family or among direct disciples.
The time when Sun Wu was born was really unfortunate. The Central Plains was in a period of truce. The only places still experiencing war were the southeast regions, between Wu and Yue, and between Wu and Chu.
Although Sun Wu is still young, he cannot waste his time like this. Qingji saved his life, and given his character, he naturally wants to repay him.
The most crucial thing was Qingji's ambitious character, which was very much to his liking, so he decided to help Qingji regain the throne.
This book was handed over to the State of Luo, but Sun Wu had conditions. Not only did he have to lend more chariots, warships, and elite soldiers, but he also had to prevent the book from being passed on to other people.
Luo Yan certainly agreed. Most of these books were originally circulated in the government office, and in most cases they only taught knowledge and did not impart books.
Qingji said in a loud voice: "Prince, in the art of war, Changqing's ability, if it is not considered a gift from heaven, is probably not inferior to that of King Wu and King Su.
With the help of Changqing and my bravery, my journey back home will be smooth, and by then, Wu and Luo will still be close allies."
King Wu was appointed by Heaven to lead his army to destroy the Shang Dynasty. He was invincible in every battle and conquered every city. After the Battle of Muye, he established his rule over the world.
King Su led an expedition to the east and destroyed dozens of states. All the old clans of the Shang Dynasty migrated to the southeast, laying the foundation for the 500-year state of the Zhou Dynasty. No one later had ever dared to challenge such a great military achievement.
But Luo Yan didn't know how to refute. Su Wang was an all-rounder, omniscient and omnipotent, but that didn't mean that there was no one who could be compared with him in some aspects.
From the perspective of military affairs alone, Sun Wu is indeed a sage-like figure.
He nodded and said, "Chang Qing's ability is rare among the various countries in Xia. If he hadn't borrowed the help of wind, rain, thunder and lightning, I'm afraid he would really be able to hold his own against the Su King."
Sun Wu couldn't help but twitch the corners of his mouth. With the help of wind, rain, thunder and lightning, who could win the battle?
Luo Yan thought for a moment and said, "Over the years, the prince has recruited 5,000 warriors in Luo State. I will lend you another 10,000. As far as I know, all Helu has are some soldiers from Wudu.
There must be many ministers in Wu who support the prince. If Helu is unpopular, how can he not fail? "
Qingji himself was also full of confidence. Hearing what Luo Yan said, he laughed out loud and said, "What the Crown Prince said is quite similar to what Master Zhongni said at that time. This time, some of Master Zhongni's disciples will also accompany him to the State of Wu."
He touched his broken hair and the tattoos on his body and said, “After several years in the academy, I finally realized how magnificent the Central Plains is.
When we return to Wu, we must bring back the customs of the Xia people."
Although Wu was a suzerain state of the Ji clan, it had even more southern barbarian influence than Chu.
If Luo State had not been pulling him back, it would have probably followed the example of Chu State and usurped the throne, becoming a country independent of the other states.
Before leaving, Qingji visited Confucius.
By now, Confucius's name was known throughout the nations, and he was honored as "Zi" (Master) and had countless students. Although he was frustrated in politics, his exchanges with Laozi made him more casual, and he gradually gave up his ambition to become an official and began to devote his attention to his students and disciples.
Qingji still had a heroic attitude and said in a loud voice: "Mr. Zhongni, Qingji will travel far away and return to Wu to eliminate Helu. I don't know when I will see you again."
Over the years, Qingji was considered half his student. Confucius advised: "Prince, you are a warrior known all over the world. Does Helu dare to confront you head-on?
You are an upright gentleman, like a huge green tree, while Helu is a regicide villain, a maggot in the ditch. He will definitely use vicious means to harm you.
Your father died in a conspiracy and assassination. A villain like Helu will definitely use the same trick again. You must be careful."
…
The waves are surging on the river.
Dozens of large ships were coming and going, and on the warships were the warriors recruited by Qingji from the State of Luo and the soldiers borrowed from the State of Luo. After being trained by Sun Wu, each of them was holding swords, spears and halberds, and looked murderous.
Qingji stood proudly at the bow of the ship with his hands behind his back, the river breeze blew up his robe, he always had this bold and generous demeanor.
Qingji's reputation as the bravest of the three armies was known not only to the Wu and Yue countries. In the war with the Chu State, the reason why the Wu State was able to win every time with a smaller force was because Qingji was too brave.
Qingji's prestige in the State of Wu was extremely high, even higher than that of his predecessor, Wu Bo. So ever since Qingji escaped, King Helu of Wu could not rest at night.
If Qingji had not been hiding in Luo State, King Helu of Wu would have sent countless assassins to kill him by all means.
After leaving Luo State, Qingji led his army along the river and captured the Xuhuai area, which had been incorporated into the rule of Wu State. These defenders did not pose any obstacle to Qingji.
"The land of Xuhuai was conquered in one battle. This is all thanks to Changqing!"
Sun Wu shook his head and said, "It's just a small trick. Your prestige is too high. These Wu people have no fighting spirit at all. In addition, you are extremely brave, so it was so successful."
Qingji laughed loudly and said, "Return to Wudu as soon as possible, comfort the people, and prosper the country of Wu."
A short, ugly man with a broken arm holding a short dagger laughed, "The prince is so powerful that Helu will be unable to sleep or eat. When he returns to Wudu, he will kill people and avenge his hatred."
This man's name was Yaoli. He had a great grudge against King Helu of Wu who destroyed his family and crippled his body. Although he was short in stature, he was a brave man, so Qingji brought him to his side.
Why bring a dagger on board?
Qingji suddenly thought that except for the fully armed soldiers, no one else around was carrying any weapons. Yaoli came to the bow to talk, but he was carrying a dagger?
If it were before, with his kind-hearted character, he would never have thought of these things. However, based on what Confucius said to him before leaving, King Helu of Wu did not dare to confront him head-on, so he would definitely send assassins to kill him.
Qingji admired Confucius from the bottom of his heart, so he always kept Confucius' words in mind and was extremely careful along the way.
At the moment when he was distracted, the dagger in Yaoli's hand stabbed towards Qingji's heart. Qingji, who had already been on guard, dodged and chopped off the dagger with his backhand, lifted up Yaoli and threw him hard onto the deck.
"Yao Li!"
Qingji didn't expect that Yaoli actually wanted to assassinate him. He shouted angrily, and at the same time couldn't help feeling a little scared. If Confucius hadn't reminded him in advance, something really would have happened.
Everyone rushed forward and pinned Yaoli to the ground. Sun Wu was also filled with fear. Qingji was sweating profusely and angrily asked, "Why?
Your whole family died at the hands of Helu, and your arm was also killed because of..."
Qingji couldn't continue, he knew the truth of the matter, Yaoli laughed wildly and said, "That's right, I cut off my own arm and sacrificed the lives of my entire family just to gain your trust, how could it not succeed?
tell me!
Why are you on guard against me?"
Yaoli asked in a somewhat crazy way, he didn't understand, Qingji clearly trusted him, why was his body in a state of readiness just now, leading to his assassination failure.
"For the sake of fame in history books, you are willing to sacrifice your parents, wife and children. You are such an unkind and unjust villain, you are worse than the mud at the bottom of the river.
I really don't have anything to say to you. Kill him and cover up this matter. Since he wants to become famous, we must not let him do as he wishes!"
Qingji, who had followed Confucius for several years, despised people like Yaoli from the bottom of his heart. After hearing what Qingji said, Yaoli was instantly furious. Killing him didn't matter, but he couldn't tolerate not letting him become famous.
But no one cared about his reaction, so the soldiers killed him with a single blow and sank him directly into the river.
Full of anger, Qingji and Sun Wu returned to the cabin with gloomy faces. "Thanks to the guidance of Master Zhongni, we were spared from the disaster today. The villain Helu will be killed without a burial place."
The news of Qingji's assassination quickly spread throughout the army. In this era, it was important to kill the minister if the lord was humiliated, and the entire army held their breath.
(End of this chapter)
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