Chapter 8: Discussing the Assistance to the King
Ji Zhao was once curious about how the system allowed him to survive the long and lonely history, but unexpectedly it gave him a huge surprise. From the moment he entered the void space, the increase in luck points was not just a numerical change on the attribute panel, but also provided him with a stream of Xuanhuang Qi. He could use the Xuanhuang Qi to strengthen his soul. During this process, he could not feel the change of time at all.
This incident reminded him that the final easter egg of the game was to become a god after clearing the level. If this happened in reality, it might not be a joke. This speculation made Ji Zhao take it more seriously.
Moreover, the system will actively push time forward, just like pulling a progress bar. Without any major events, decades may have passed in just a few moments.
The system prompt sounded again, Ji Zhao woke up slowly, and began to understand the key events of these years.
According to the improved feudal system he formulated, the Zhou Dynasty had no problem operating stably for a hundred years.
After his death, the first two generations of emperors always abided by the system he established. The Zhou Dynasty operated smoothly for sixty years. The Zhou rituals had been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and the hierarchy of emperor - princes - ministers - officials - scholars - common people was operating very stably.
Wherever the emperor issued an edict, most of the princes obeyed obediently. The emperor could make the princes fight against each other and suppress rebellion without mobilizing any troops.
But since the fourth generation emperor came to the throne, he wanted to do something on his own. Unfortunately, he destroyed the original system but failed to establish a new one. He died after only eight years as emperor.
His eldest son ascended the throne and became the fifth emperor of Zhou, named Ji Wan.
As for this emperor, Ji Zhao felt that he was not even one thousandth as good as King Wu, a typical waste.
…
An army in full armor drove chariots and escorted a luxurious carriage out of Luoyi, heading towards Luo State along the highway built over the years.
The owner of the carriage was the fourth generation Luo Hou, Luo Su. When he was born, Ji Zhao had woken up. He was the heir chosen by Ji Zhao himself.
Ji Zhao bestowed a blessing on him, which caused his elder brother, the eldest son of the previous Luo Hou, to fall off his horse and become lame, thus losing his inheritance rights.
It is true that Luo Su's talent, potential, and growth attributes are much better than his brother's. After the upgraded system, it has expanded to six-dimensional attributes. After years of training, Luo Su's six-dimensional attributes are [Power struggle: 91 (95); Governing the country: 90 (96); Controlling people: 92 (95); Command: 40 (42); Military power: 54 (62); Military strategy: 46 (50), the limits of talent potential are in brackets].
As a monarch who does not need to command troops, this six-dimensional attribute is superior to the extreme. With such outstanding direct descendants, in order to earn enough luck, he can only sacrifice his great-grandson.
Now there have been some changes in the official positions in Bang Zhou, because Ji Zhao had served as Taizai in the past, after Ji Zhao's death, King Kang established three new officials, namely Taishi, Taifu and Taibao. These three high positions can only be held by dukes and marquises. Luosu, as one of the most important princes of the Ji surname, is the contemporary Taifu.
Since the current emperor ascended the throne, Luo Su has been working hard to maintain the operation of Bang Zhou. He is very good at power struggles, and the opposition has become submissive after being dealt with by him several times. He is also good at governing the country and managing people. He can keenly realize the problems in the royal court and choose the right people to deal with them. His reputation has been very high in recent years.
But he was strong-willed and the emperor was too stupid and incompetent, so he often talked back to him. This time, he was too disappointed with the emperor and kept admonishing him, so he simply resigned from his post and returned to Luo State, no longer caring about the affairs of the royal capital.
Also traveling with him was Song Gongshuang, one of the emperor's assistants. The two of them traveled together because Luo Su's wife was Song Gongshuang's cousin, so the two of them always advanced and retreated together.
Due to their ancestors, the relationship between Luo State and the old Shang Dynasty has always been tense.
Duke Shuang of Song was a wise man. He discovered that although the Zhou Dynasty had been established for more than 70 years, the State of Song had never been able to integrate into the circle of princes with the surname Ji, which was not good for the State of Song.
The root of this was that the Ji clans were not clear about Song's attitude towards King Wu and King Su's eastern expedition. However, Duke Shuang of Song believed that although Song was an old citizen of the Shang Dynasty, the enemy was with King Zhou's branch, which had nothing to do with their branch. If it were not for King Su, they would not have their current status. So they began to seek contacts with the big countries with the surname Ji, and Luo was naturally one of the key targets.
The State of Luo had always been allied with the State of Qi, but at that time in Qi there was only one legitimate daughter of marriageable age, who had already been married to the emperor. The rest of the concubines' daughters might be okay as concubines, but were clearly not qualified to be the main wife.
So Luoguo married his daughter to the prince of Qi to maintain the marriage relationship between the two parties, and then looked for a suitable wife for Luosu.
The Zhou Li also stipulated that people with the same surname could not marry. Given the status of the State of Luo, it was not easy to marry the daughter of a large country. So the two countries of Luo and Song hit it off and this marriage relationship was established.
At this moment, the two men were sitting in the carriage, with a solemn look in their eyes. The current emperor was warlike, which was not a big problem, but being warlike without the ability was a big problem.
It is important for people to know themselves. Luo Su never participated in wars. Whenever there was a military incident, he would keep silent and just prepare logistics and food. However, the current emperor is ambitious and self-willed, which is a huge disaster.
Luo Su really couldn't keep calm. He was probably the most loyal prince in the whole Zhou Dynasty. He hammered hard and said angrily, "When our ancestors established the various states, it was to protect the emperor's royal capital from being damaged by war. Through the tribute system, the emperor was guaranteed to have enough financial resources to support the army. In this way, the emperor always maintained a military advantage over the princes and could deter those princes with evil intentions.
But the core of it is that the emperor must try his best to avoid directly participating in the war. Even if he wants to train the army, it is enough to send a general to lead an army to go on an expedition in rotation.
Why must he lead the army in person? This is a way to bring disaster. If he is defeated, the emperor's majesty will certainly be greatly damaged. Even if he wins, what benefits can he gain?
This idiot king is courting death. Why would he drag tens of thousands of people with him? If he is defeated, the country will be shaken, and how many Zhou people will die? It is unwise to start internal strife before all the land given by God is in his hands. "
Duke Shuang of Song was silent for a moment and sighed, "Chu has repeatedly provoked us and even usurped the throne. The emperor will definitely not tolerate this."
"snort!"
Luo Su snorted coldly and said, "It is really the fault of the king and the princes of the Central Plains that things have happened today.
The previous king treated the southern princes harshly, believing that they were barbarians. Prince of Chu Xiong Dun was a man of great talent. He conquered the southern barbarians and opened up the Chinese country. He should have been promoted to the rank of marquis and granted the title of king to reward his merits.
In the past, when King Su was in power, when he met such a wise man, he did not even have time to swallow his meal, but went out barefoot to ask the wise man for good strategies for governing the country, which led to the stability of the Zhou Dynasty.
But what did the previous king do?
Xiong Dun responded to the imperial edict and came to participate in the alliance meeting of princes, but the previous king sent him to look after the bonfire for offering sacrifices to the heavens and did not allow him to participate in the formal alliance meeting. Is it appropriate for a sage king to humiliate a prince in this way?
My ancestor, speaking frankly, I have also made suggestions to the king, but was brushed aside. Is this the attitude to treat a country as important as Zhou?
The King of Chu usurped the throne and annexed the surrounding countries without regard for the law. He accumulated soldiers and armor, and had long since broken the rule that a small country could only command one army. This is all the fault of the previous king and the current king!
Even if he wanted to conquer the State of Chu, he could just order the princes to gather their troops in Luoyi. Why did he have to mobilize the six armies of the emperor?
The most powerful weapons of the emperor are his fame and righteousness, but he only knows how to resort to war. It is clear that he has no sympathy for his countrymen. I believe that God will not favor him. "
Facing the angry Luo Su, Song Gongshuang just sighed and tried his best to comfort him. Fortunately, Luo Su soon calmed down and began to think about how to deal with the aftermath.
He had already determined that the emperor would lose this battle. After a brief calculation of what might happen, he said to Song Gongshuang: "Brother, the emperor is stubborn and self-willed, ignorant of military affairs, and has flatterers like You and Ji around him. I predict that he will lose this battle, but Luoyi must not be lost. The country of our state is more important than the emperor.
My brother was ordered by the king to suppress the princes in the east. This time when he returns to the country, he will summon the princes. I will sign and seal the summons. I will contact the Marquis of Qi so that I can immediately come to the king’s aid if there is any change.”
"To support the king?" Song Gongshuang's voice suddenly became louder. He did not expect that Luo Su had such a bad estimate of the situation. He could not help but wonder, "The six armies of the emperor are rare elites. Although Chu is strong, it is only a vassal state. I am afraid it only has two armies at most. Moreover, its armor cannot be compared with that of the six armies of the emperor. Even if it is defeated, it will surely be able to retreat unscathed!"
Luo Su shook his head and said, "Luo State and Chu State have a close relationship. Xiong Dun is a rare general in the world today. He is brave enough to fight against thousands of men. The soldiers under his command are all from poor and remote areas. They are able to endure hardships, wear three layers of armor, and are fearless of death. They are the strongest army in the world.
I have heard that Xiong Dun led 3,000 soldiers to defeat the 50,000-strong coalition of southern barbarian tribes head-on, and I have also heard that Hui Hou's 8,000 armored soldiers were wiped out by Xiong Dun's 3,000 men in one battle. How could an ordinary person defeat such a god of war?
As for the Emperor, even if he has a strong army in his hands, it is not easy for him to exert the third level of strength, not to mention that the Emperor's six armies are arrogant because they are several times larger than the enemy. Although I don't understand military formations, I also know that arrogant soldiers will inevitably fail.
The most terrifying thing is that the emperor is actually going to cross the river to attack the State of Chu. The battle of Luoshui by our ancestor King Su was fought by the water. If the army is defeated in this kind of terrain, the casualties will be huge. Even when crossing the river, if we are not careful, we may be overturned!"
Luo Su's words were reasonable and Song Gongshuang was convinced. He began to calculate how much he could benefit from the possible changes that might happen next.
Ji Zhao in the dark watched this scene with interest. Through his understanding of the previous events, he came to the same conclusion as Luo Su. He was curious about what his descendant would do in the future, whether to be a loyal minister of the emperor or a loyal minister of Bang Zhou.
Ji Zhao has no plans to help his descendant for the time being. If a family head with such excellent six-dimensional attributes still needs help, he will be pessimistic about whether he can make it through.
The reason why Luo Su was chosen as the heir was because an excellent family head could obtain more luck points, and Luo Su did not disappoint him. The luck points he obtained over the years were more than his father and grandfather had obtained in their lifetimes combined. By the end of his life, the luck he would be able to obtain would surely be considerable. Although Ji Zhao mainly relied on steady income, he would not refuse the opportunity to become rich suddenly.
In fact, family heads of all generations could vaguely feel that their ancestors seemed not to be dead, or had really gone to heaven. Sometimes they would pay attention to them, especially smart people like Luo Su, who would have deep doubts about some of the things that had happened.
But because it was too bizarre and there was no reaction for so long, he just kept it to himself. But he was much more cautious in his actions and did not dare to cross many of the rules set by his ancestors.
This is why Luo Su tried his best to maintain the authority of the emperor and ensure the authority of the central government of Bang Zhou, because only in this way can the order of the entire world remain stable, and the State of Luo can exist for thousands of years in this order.
Although Luo Su had some sympathy for Xiong Dun's experience, he believed that this kind of behavior of rebellion and provocation to the entire ritual and music system must be resolutely cracked down on, so he contacted other princes without hesitation to form an alliance to deal with Xiong Dun and put down his arrogance before discussing other things.
Luo Su certainly didn't know that his ancestor was observing him. After rushing all the way and parting with Song Gongshuang in Song State, he did not return to Luo State first, but went straight to a city on the border of Qi State. Qi Hou Lu Bai had already received his letter and was waiting for him there.
"uncle!"
As soon as he saw Lu Bai, Luo Su immediately shouted enthusiastically that his mother was Lu Bai's sister, and the two were uncle and nephew.
"You are also the ruler of a country, so be more stable." Qi Hou Lu Bai was also very happy. The previous Qi Hou had very few descendants, only the two of them, brother and sister, so they had a very good relationship. He asked Luo Su to sit down and asked, "Is your mother in good health?"
Luo Su picked up the warm wine and poured it for his uncle, saying, "Don't worry, uncle. Mother is in very good health. She wrote to me a few days ago saying that she was brewing wine and that my father-in-law often drinks it. After it's brewed, I'll give it to you to try."
Lu Bai couldn't help but smile and said, "Okay, okay, I'll definitely try it when the time comes. Tell me, what's the big deal in the letter?"
The current Duke of Qi no longer serves in the royal palace, but focuses on developing the coast of the East China Sea. Over the past few decades, the strength of the Dongyi tribe has declined greatly, and it is no longer comparable to the other princes in terms of overall power. Qi has made an indelible contribution to this, but the news about the royal capital has been a little delayed.
Luo Su explained the situation in the royal capital to Lu Bai, and told him what he had discussed with the Duke of Song. Qi must not be left out in the matter of serving the king. Twenty years ago, Qi had completely become the strongest country in the east. From then on, the title of "obeying the king's orders" had been circulating between Luo and Song, and had never been given to Qi again. However, as the most important in-law country of the emperor, the importance of Qi was unquestionable.
Lu Bai frowned deeply. This incident had a great impact on him. He absolutely did not want anything to happen to the emperor. Among all the princes in the world today, the Qi State of the Jiang clan and the Lu clan had the closest relationship with the emperor, even surpassing other princes of the Ji clan. In the current order, the status of Qi State can almost be called the first among all the countries!
The same is true for the State of Song. The foundation of their country was the two kings and three Ke of the Zhou Dynasty, so they would naturally instinctively protect the system and regime that brought them benefits.
Without letting Luosu wait any longer, the Duke of Qi quickly made up his mind and said, "Asu, you are right. Since we cannot stop it, we must properly handle the aftermath and not let the situation escalate. In particular, Luoyi cannot be lost. After all, the princes in the west have always wanted the emperor to move back to Haojing. We cannot give them this excuse."
Luoyi was originally built to monitor the old clans of the Shang Dynasty and to conquer the Dongyi at the same time. Unexpectedly, the State of Song remained stable for decades, and successive Song dukes treated the emperor with respect. The rest of the old clans of the Shang Dynasty migrated to the south, even farther south than the State of Hui. Even the Zhou Dynasty didn't know what that place was called.
As for the Dongyi, they were hit quite badly by the vassal states. Compared with the barbarians in the west, north and south, they no longer posed a threat. The Quanrong in the west had been fighting with the western vassal states for years, and some vassal states have already submitted petitions to the emperor requesting that the capital be moved back to Haojing City so that the army can concentrate on dealing with the Quanrong.
But at this time, the eastern princes were unwilling to let the emperor leave Luoyi. The capital was in the east, proving that the east was the center of the world. Countless interests gathered here, and everyone could reap the benefits.
Moreover, the western princes paid homage to the emperor once every three years, while the eastern princes paid homage once a year. It was also easier for them to offer tribute and beauties, so the emperor naturally became close to the eastern princes.
Hearing that his uncle agreed to the alliance, Luo Su said happily: "Uncle is wise, Duke Shuang of Song has the right to convene an alliance with the princes. We will each organize our troops to conduct training at Qiyan and keep an eye on the war in the south. Once the beacon fire is lit, we will immediately lead the army into the royal capital to ensure the safety of Luoyi and the emperor."
Lu Bai understood the meaning of Luo Su's words. It was mainly to ensure the safety of Luoyi and the country of Bang Zhou. As for the emperor, if he was safe, it proved that he still had the mandate of heaven. If something unexpected happened on the way of escape, there would be nothing that could be done.
Ji Zhao laughed with relief as he watched this scene. Decisively abandoning those incompetent monarchs who liked to command was the only way to save his life.
After the two men reached an alliance, Luo Su prepared to return home. The coalition forces of the princes would naturally have a large staff group. He did not understand military affairs, but the army could not be completely handed over to the hands of the allied forces, otherwise the war would be over and the army would be wiped out.
After returning to the country, the generals stationed outside must be transferred back, and food and fodder for the expedition, as well as various supplies for the army, must be prepared. It is also necessary to decide which army to mobilize based on the surrounding situation. Some armies guard very critical passes and cannot be moved lightly.
While Luo Su was negotiating with the Duke of Qi, Duke Song was also very quick. After returning to the country, he immediately used his seal to send letters of alliance to various vassal states.
In fact, over the past ten years, the princes have rarely held large-scale alliances. Following the king's orders has become a tool for the princes to gain control of their hearts and minds. They usually only invite princes who are close to them to participate.
None of the princes who received the alliance letter had expected that this time, Duke Shuang of Song actually invited all the princes under his jurisdiction.
(End of this chapter)
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