Chapter 97: The Emperor Ji Bai, Qi State Overthrows the Powerful (Additional chapter for the leader of the alliance, Di Muxiang)
Luoyi, this majestic city located in the center of the world, has become very dilapidated with the passage of time, especially after the decline of the royal family, which has devoted all its energy to pleasure.
The envoy of Zheng State met the current emperor, Ji Bai, an old man who looked very decadent. He did not have the so-called majesty of an emperor, and the rituals and music in the palace were also very boring.
Except for the State of Luo, who has not heard of the so-called rites and music of the Son of Heaven?
Among the nations today, even a doctor is violating the rules of propriety. The breakdown of propriety and music has reached an extremely serious stage, with only the emperor's crown remaining untouched.
As for the patriarchal system, it had completely collapsed long ago, otherwise the royal families of Chen and Zheng would not have done such things so openly.
Although many people cursed him after the incident, it was more like a way of distancing themselves from others. They said, "Look, I cursed him, so I didn't do such a thing."
Just the things that Luo State knows about, there are countless similar things in Qi State.
As for the tradition of not marrying people with the same surname, the destruction is even more thorough. Except for the tradition between countries where people with the same surname still maintain the tradition, the marriage system within countries has long been destroyed.
The envoys of Zheng State, in accordance with the Zhou rituals, paid great respects to the Zhou emperor, and sang in a loud voice: "The Great Lord of Heaven, may the emperor live forever, and may he shine brightly!"
Then all the palace servants sang in unison: "The Great Lord of Heaven is in heaven. May he bless the king for thousands and thousands of years. May your good name and great virtue shine forever."
The Zheng envoy sang it three times, and the palace ladies sang it three times together. Then the Zheng envoy crawled forward on his knees and knelt in the seat given by the emperor.
Servants from Zheng State brought up gifts for Ji Bai. Ji Bai was half lying down, but when she saw the gifts, she sat up straight and asked, "Envoy from Zheng, what does this mean?"
The envoy of Zheng laughed and said, "Your Majesty, Zheng is a small clan of the Ji clan, and you are the emperor of the big clan.
The king admires your virtues and has received these treasures. He believes that only a person of great virtue like you can enjoy them, so he asked the foreign ministers to bring them to Luoyi. "
Ji Bai heard these compliments, mainly for the sake of the treasure, and laughed heartily: "If all the princes in the world were as loyal as the Duke of Zheng, would the state of Zhou have ended up like this?"
Upon hearing this, the envoy of Zheng said in a sad voice: "Your Majesty, there are more treasures in Xinzheng City. The king is even ready to give you three cities of Zheng, but Chen and Song have joined forces to attack Zheng. Please send troops to rescue Zheng."
Now Ji Bai was a little hesitant. He still had confidence in Wang Ji's military strength, but it would be fine if he used troops against Chen alone. However, if he used troops against Song at the same time, there would definitely be losses even if he could win.
But when he looked at the treasures and the three maps presented by the envoys from Zheng State, he was excited again.
The envoy of Zheng State immediately used his last trump card, kneeling on the ground and crying, "Your Majesty, Zheng State guards the three passages to Luoyi. If they fall into the hands of Chen State and Song State, who will be able to protect your safety?
The State of Song was established by the descendants of the Shang Dynasty, but your ancestor was King Wu who destroyed the Shang Dynasty.
That is such a terrible thing, I am really worried about you."
The face of Zhou Emperor Ji Bai changed instantly. Zheng State was the eastern gateway of the royal capital. There were three roads from Zheng State to Luoyi that could accommodate a large army, and all the checkpoints on these roads were in the hands of Zheng State.
If the State of Song took the land of Zheng, Wang Ji would be like a beautiful woman without clothes facing a gangster, and there would be no chance of escape.
But the Zheng envoy was still deceiving the Zhou emperor, because whether it was to ensure the survival of Zheng or to ensure that these passages did not fall into the hands of Song, it was not up to the Zhou emperor to take action personally.
Ji Bai's expression changed several times, and he said anxiously: "You are right, the big clan should support the loyal small clan."
At this moment, a eunuch suddenly came from outside the palace to report, "Your Majesty, Doctor Luo Qing wants to see you."
Luo Qing is a member of the royal family sent by the Luo Kingdom to Luoyi to keep an eye on the developments in the royal capital. He is basically replaced every three years, which is somewhat similar to a diplomat.
The envoy from Zheng State was a little panicked, but when he saw Ji Bai playing with the beautiful jade with joy, he felt relieved. Is it possible that a monarch who only liked to have fun would listen to advice?
The Zhou emperors of all generations had very complicated feelings towards the Luo family.
Because Luoguo has too strong a sense of being the patriarch, he always acts as if he is doing things for the best. The key is that the royal family repeatedly fails to live up to expectations and is always slapped in the face by Luoguo.
It has been proven countless times that the royal family is like a giant baby who can accomplish nothing after leaving Luo State.
Especially after King Xi, the Zhou royal family's throne was not obtained in a legitimate way, and the Zhou and Luo dynasties became enemies.
The royal family inevitably developed a strong rebellious mentality and liked to secretly oppose the Luo royal family.
Ji Bai looked at Luo Qing who was sitting upright and meticulously, and asked with some discomfort in his heart: "Doctor Luo Qing, you came to see me, is there something you want to teach me?"
Luo Qing said in a deep voice: “Your Majesty.
Would you place your fine china on a table that was going to collapse?
Would you place an egg on the edge of a bronze vessel?
Would you roast the jade in the fire?
Ji Bai of course said no, so Luo Qing said angrily: "Then why did you agree to Zheng sending troops to Song?
King Li led the six armies of the emperor to personally attack the State of Chu, but the six armies were destroyed. King Xuan of the Southern Kingdom lost his army. Don't all these things teach you a lesson?
The affairs of Zheng State can be completely handed over to Luo State for handling. If the emperor has to be troubled for everything, then what is the point of the princes being vassals of the king?
Please ask the king to immediately send the envoys from Zheng back to Zheng. If Zheng is truly loyal to you, it will surely be willing to offer the city to you for free."
The Zheng envoy's face changed slightly when he heard this, and soon he flashed a sneer and said, "Doctor Luo Qing, Zheng's loyalty to the emperor lies in the beautiful jade and treasures in front of you, and in the geomancy map in the emperor's hand, while your loyalty lies in your words. How ridiculous is that."
Ji Bai looked at the treasures that filled the hall, as well as the beauties sent by Zheng State. Most importantly, he looked at the three cities in his hands that could provide him with a steady supply of taxes.
He immediately said: "Doctor Luo Qing, as the Son of Heaven, it is my duty to coordinate the relations among the princes.
I will issue a ceasefire order to the Duke of Song. If Song does not comply, it will be a violation of Zhou rituals, and my attack on him must be the will of heaven."
Luo Qing suddenly became anxious. It is indeed your power to coordinate the relations among the princes, but don’t you look at your own strength?
If we ignore the Ji-Jiang alliance and try to coordinate on our own, wouldn't that be courting our own destruction given the royal family's military might?
But Ji Bai was not willing to listen. Ever since Duke Huan of Qi began to dominate, the royal family had been like flowers in a greenhouse for hundreds of years, and the princes of the world had to pay tribute to the royal family under the influence of the overlord.
Especially for more than a hundred years, the two first-class powers, Qin and Chu, also paid tribute to the royal family, which seriously confused the royal family's judgment of its own strength.
Luo Zhi got the news from Luoyi, and thinking of the situation analyzed by his great-grandmother, he shouted in front of everyone: "Ji Bai!
If the fate of Bang Zhou falls, I will bring you before the King Su to face the charges!"
The officials of Luo State had never seen Luo Zhi lose his composure like this. After asking, they found out that the emperor was going to lead his troops to die again.
Everyone was shocked and angry, so Luo State immediately sent a second wave of people to Qi State. Now they had to stop this uncontrolled war immediately.
But to Luo's surprise, Qi intervened too quickly.
The upper class of Qi State was extremely extravagant, especially as Qi State's business was booming and the huge amounts of taxation made them live too comfortably.
Because of the past events of Tian Chang, the nobles did not dare to touch the core power, and the royal family lacked talents to control the country, so a very strange phenomenon appeared in Qi State.
The power was actually controlled by the grassroots scholars, each of whom controlled a part of the military force. The entire Qi State operated in this situation of unity at the top and division at the bottom.
When the State of Song sent troops to the State of Chen, these border scholars who had risen up through conflicts with the State of Song were determined to do something big.
…
It was a dark and windy night. As a border city, Xuecheng's defenses had always been strict, but tonight was a little different.
Xue Yuan was a noble stationed in Xuecheng, which was the fiefdom of the Xue family. He was leading a team of soldiers on patrol as usual, but suddenly he smelled a strong smell of blood.
"not good!"
Everyone rushed towards the direction where the smell of blood came from, and saw a group of soldiers' bodies lying in the wilderness, with blood all over the ground. They all had expressions of disbelief on their faces, as if they had encountered something unimaginable.
"Was this done by the barbarians or the people of Song?"
Xue Yuan's eyes flashed with pride, but his face was full of anger as he shouted, "It must have been done by the people of Song!"
At this time, a soldier found a weapon made by the State of Song among the corpses and shouted, "General, he is really from the State of Song."
The next day, the news that the Song people had attacked and killed the Qi people spread throughout Xuecheng.
Xue Yuan quickly gathered his troops, brandished his sword and said, "The Song people are shameless. They fought without declaration and killed the Qi people for no reason. Is this a shame that can be tolerated?
This general is guarding Xuecheng for the king and is a loyal minister of Qi. If I don’t avenge the people of Qi, how can I still face the king?
This is a sin that will send you to hell, and even King Haotian Su will not forgive you.
Are you willing to follow me to attack the State of Song for the sake of loyalty?
Long live the Qi Kingdom! "
Encouraged by a few people, the whole city of Xue soon fell into a state of common hatred and hatred for the enemy.
On the one hand, Xue Yuan informed his allies of the progress and urged them to put pressure on Linzi. On the other hand, he sent troops directly to Song State. Of course, not only Xuecheng, but also the troops on the entire border between Qi and Song State.
They were all heroes who had heard of Xue Yuan's loyalty and were willing to follow him. Of course, it was reasonable that the heroes themselves were allies.
When the envoy from Luo State arrived in Linzi City, he was as stunned as the Duke of Qi.
More than a hundred Yuanshi knelt in unison in front of the gate of the Qi Palace. They held high up a piece of cloth written in blood with each person's name on it, and petitioned the Duke of Qi together. This scene was so shocking that it had never happened in the history of more than 700 years.
"Your Majesty, Song State sent out troops without authorization and killed our Qi State's soldiers. This is a provocation to Qi State. If you cannot avenge these innocent soldiers and people who died in vain, how can you still sit in the palace with dignity?
Eighteen loyal and righteous men have led their troops towards the territory of Song. Are we just going to sit back and watch them perish?
This is not what a wise monarch should do. Please mobilize troops from your country and let the people of Song pay for their blood debt with blood."
The Duke of Qi was at a loss as to what to do, and the envoys from the State of Luo felt as if they were trapped in an ice cellar. The sun was clearly in the sky, but they felt cold all over.
…
More than 700 years after the implementation of the patriarchal system, the far-reaching "Qi Palace Blood Letter" incident occurred in Qi State, in which a total of 134 doctors and officials participated in the letter.
This is a mutation product of the collapse of the patriarchal system. Compared with the power slipping into the hands of the nobles, the power of Qi State sunk to the grassroots of the nobles. This protected the royal family of Qi State, but also caused the royal family of Qi State to lose the possibility of regaining power.
The "Blood Letter in the Palace of Qi" incident also showed that the upper class of Qi had basically lost control of state affairs, showing the damage that a short-sighted big country could cause. - "The Rise and Fall of the Zhou Dynasty"
(End of this chapter)
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