Chapter 87 Chen Guo: Don’t come over, I have a father
Tian Chang was executed, and all the vassal states and private soldiers who followed him were killed. Only those peripheral people and the most ordinary farmers were able to survive.
Thousands of soldiers who were able to carry armor died in the internal strife. Although the losses of the Three Kingdoms' coalition forces were far less than those of the Tian army which had already been defeated, there were still many casualties.
And this was just the beginning. After Lü Jing killed Tian Chang, he said in high spirits: "Marquis of Yan, Crown Prince, Tian Chang has been killed, but his accomplices are still alive. As for those traitors who cooperated with him, they must be killed as soon as possible so that we can return to the country to deal with the aftermath."
Dealing with the aftermath? Just returning to the country to kill more people.
After this battle, Qi State must have suffered a great loss of strength. This was an ambush in Yan State and a killing in the field. If it was a real civil war in Qi State, it would probably last for a long time and Qi State would be reduced to a wasteland.
This is now the method that causes the least loss of national strength.
This matter was so serious that it could not be concealed, and it quickly spread to all the countries in the world.
Now is a period of fierce competition between the power of the monarch and the power of the ministers. This is not only happening in Qi, but also in other countries.
Nothing ever happens in isolation in this world. Any small thing may eventually have an enormous impact somewhere else.
The reaction caused by this incident was so great that it completely exceeded the scope of the monarch's killing of powerful ministers. After the news reached the State of Zheng, the nobles of Zheng were extremely terrified.
The prime minister of Zheng State called all the leaders of the nobles together and said in a sad voice: "The situation of the royal family of Qi State is not that bad, but they still want to kill the nobles. The royal family of Zheng State has fallen to the point where they can't even provide meat for sacrifices, and it is still a country with the surname Ji.
If the Duke of Zheng cried and complained that he was being bullied by the nobles, would the State of Luo still not take action?
Look at what happened to Tian, what should we do now?"
But in fact, they were really worrying too much. Since the reign of King Xi, Zheng State had never had a close relationship with Luo State.
Moreover, the royal family of Zheng was too weak. To support the royal family of Zheng, Luo would have to bleed heavily. If it was for the royal family, it would be fine, but Zheng was not worthy of it.
But they didn't know that in the end, the prime minister said harshly: "The king has always been in poor health. Take him hunting in the next few days to exercise. This is what a loyal minister should do."
Only half a month after the extermination of the noble family, the Marquis of Zheng accidentally fell off his horse and died while hunting. A young man who was only one year old ascended to the position of the Marquis of Zheng.
The loyal ministers of Zheng cried bitterly, apologized for their crimes, resigned from their positions, and let their sons inherit.
These chaos and complications did not have the greatest impact on Zheng State. After all, Zheng State was still relatively strong. Even when the king passed away, there were still the nobles to defend the country.
After Zheng, several other kings died from falling off their horses, excessive sexual intercourse, or stepping on empty air. There were many strange and bizarre deaths, but Luo Yu remained silent.
But the State of Chen was truly panicked. The Tian family of Qi was once the royal family of Chen. Although they fled at the beginning, so many years have passed and they are still of the same clan. The relationship between the two sides is very close, and the royal family of Chen has always been in contact with the State of Qi through the Tian family.
Now that the Tian family is plotting rebellion and is even said to be trying to replace the Lu family's Qi State, how could the Chen State not be afraid?
The State of Chen was not strong from the beginning of its founding. Its strongest period was when Luo Su was regent. When Luo Su passed away, the State of Chen also began to decline. Up to now, with its territory and population, the State of Chen is a typical third-rate country.
In the Chen Palace, the Marquis of Chen and his ministers looked at each other in bewilderment.
"Your Majesty, the State of Chen may be in great trouble.
The Tian family of Qi is a fellow clan of Chen. The Tian family also received assistance from Chen in its rise to power. How could Luo and Qi let us go?
After the decline of the royal family, the foreign princes became a thorn in the side of Luo State. What if Luo State and Qi State use this as an excuse to attack Chen State? What should we do then? "
The King of Chen was filled with worry, because Chen had really given a lot of support to the Tian family. Although this behavior of supporting a minor clan was a bit unpleasant to look at, it was actually very common.
But Chen State just hoped that Tian Family could have a higher status in Qi State and then give back some benefits to Chen State.
For example, Qi and Chen could unite to attack Song and seize Song's fertile land during the war.
As a result, all of this has now gone to waste, and it has also brought about the inevitable hostility from the State of Qi.
The Marquis of Chen sighed and said, "If Qi attacks, Chen will be unable to resist.
If they were defeated at that time, Qi would definitely ask Chen to cede land to them, but Chen's territory was already very small.
If Chen was to be ceded to Qi again, Song would certainly not let go of the opportunity of Chen's weakness. It would probably only be a matter of time before Song annexed Chen.
The States of Chen and Song were also established by King Su with two kings and three Ke.
Luo State has tightened its supervision over us, the descendants of the former king. If Chen State is destroyed, Luo State will not help Chen State to restore its independence like it did to the Ji clan states. Is the country that has existed for 500 years going to be destroyed like this?"
Marquis Chen was really too aggrieved, just like Tian Chang before his death. In the land of Bang Zhou, if you were not of the surname Ji Jiang, even breathing was wrong.
I gave you the status before to make you obedient, but now that you are not obedient, I will take away everything I have given you. How overbearing!
When the king and his ministers of Chen State looked at each other, at a loss of what to do, Chen Pi, a doctor from the royal family of Chen State, knew that his chance had come!
Chen Pi stepped out and said loudly: "Your Majesty, you don't need to worry so much. I have a plan that can relieve your worries."
When everyone saw it, it turned out to be Chen Pi, a well-known cunning man in the State of Chen. He once studied in the Luo Palace and was good at clever tricks. Confucius commented on him: good at debate, cunning by nature, and evil in thoughts, which means that he was a man with crooked talents, but his mind was not right and he could not achieve great things.
But Chen Pi was still talented. Seeing his confidence, Chen Hou immediately asked happily, "Doctor, do you have any solution?"
Chen Pi looked around with a proud look in his eyes. The ministers in the hall were all useless people. "Your Majesty, several decades ago, Jin, Chu, and Qin signed a peace treaty. Luo was a witness, and Qi also participated in the treaty as an ally of Jin."
This matter is known to everyone in the entire Xia Dynasty, but what does it have to do with the State of Chen?
Since the State of Chen did not participate, it was reasonable for the States of Qi and Luo to attack.
Chen Pi began to think: "Although the Peace Alliance was signed by four countries and witnessed by Luo State, the covenant clearly states that the vassal states of each country should belong to the sphere of influence of the signatory country.
Therefore, as long as the State of Chen is willing to submit to the State of Chu, pay tribute to the State of Chu, and regard itself as a vassal state, the current situation can be directly resolved.
Luo will never break its alliance. Qi and Luo will swallow their anger even if they want to attack Chen again."
"hiss!"
The ruler and his ministers of the State of Chen all gasped at the same time, their scalps numbing at Chen Pi's showmanship.
I wanted to say something to object, but although Dr. Chenpi's idea was crooked, there was nothing wrong with it in theory. It's just that the price to pay was a bit high.
After all, vassal states and allies are completely different. Simply put, vassal states do not have complete sovereignty!
Especially since Chen was a marquis and Chu was also a marquis. Generally, the lower-ranking state served as a vassal of the higher-ranking state. Now, Chen was being made a vassal of Chu, which was really too shameful.
Seeing that Marquis Chen was in a dilemma and didn't say anything, Doctor Chenpi of course understood what he was worried about. As a loyal and caring minister, he had to give the monarch a way out at this time.
So Chen Pi rolled his eyes and began to deceive: "Your Majesty.
I heard that in the State of Song, there was a farmer who found a very beautiful flower in the wild and took it to the market to sell.
The people of Song liked the flower very much, so they offered prices one after another. Someone was willing to pay the price of a chicken in exchange for the flower in his hand, and he was very tempted.
But I thought to myself: 'I just arrived at the market and someone has already exchanged a chicken for the flower in my hand. Let's wait a little longer, there must be more people coming.'
When everyone saw that he was unwilling to exchange, they dispersed.
As a result, he waited from morning till night until the flowers in his hand withered. No one came to exchange his flowers for them. He regretted it and said, "If only I had exchanged for that chicken earlier."
My lord, now the sovereignty of Chen State is that flower, and the country of Chen State is that chicken.
If Chen used suzerainty in exchange for the protection of Chu, its territory would be preserved, just like getting that chicken.
If you are unwilling to submit to the State of Chu now, will your suzerainty still exist after you lose the State of Chen?
If you are unwilling to be a vassal of Chu now, when the armies of Qi and Song attack, you will have no chance to become a vassal.
Moreover, the so-called vassal policy is only temporary.
After the world was in chaos, which small country would not submit to one country today and to another country the next day?
The capital of Chu, Ying, is thousands of miles away from Chen. With such a long distance, can they directly govern us?"
These words completely convinced the Marquis of Chen. He was about to agree, but the Prime Minister came out first and asked, "Doctor Chenpi, what you said is indeed correct, but now the State of Chu is fighting the State of Wu. If we become a vassal of the State of Chu, should we participate in this war?"
Chen Pi smiled and said, “The war between Wu and Chu is an opportunity for the State of Chen.
Ying State participated in this war, so Wu State gained a stable rear.
If Chen were to negotiate with Chu at this time and was willing to attack Ying from behind, would the king and his ministers of Chu make harsh demands on Chen?
The State of Chen was not afraid of the State of Wu because it did not fight the State of Wu but only fought the State of Ying.
This is the best time for the State of Chen to join the State of Chu."
Chen Pi had considered everything very carefully, so after the king and his ministers of Chen discussed with each other, they decided to follow Chen Pi's method and directly surrender to Chu.
…
Luo State's strict stance on maintaining the Ji-Jiang alliance, which had not changed for hundreds of years, ensured that Qi and Jin would always protect the Zhou royal family. However, this extremely closed alliance based on blood relations not only indirectly contributed to the alliance between Qin and Chu, but also stripped away the princes of different surnames one by one. This was an inevitable outcome. - "The Rise and Fall of the Zhou Dynasty"
(End of this chapter)
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