Chapter 99 Chu State: Central Plains, I am back
Starting from the Yingshui River, the entire Hanyang Plain was almost in the hands of the Chu State. However, the Chu people had not developed this area enough and mainly adopted military garrisons. The tax revenue was very low, mainly to obtain troops from here.
The Nanyang Basin along the Han River is the core area of the Chu State. There are thousands of miles of fertile land here, and countless farmers work in it. The breeze blows, and the lush and green scenery presents a prosperous scene.
The State of Chu had not called up soldiers from across the country for many years. Compared with the wars of previous years with rivers of blood and piles of corpses, this was like a child playing house.
The Jianghan Plain in the heart of the Chu State was the Chu State's base camp. Almost all of the most elite soldiers came from here, and it also provided more than six layers of food for the entire Chu State.
Yingdu, the royal palace of Chu.
Because they were located in a remote area outside the Central Plains and had little understanding of the complex situation in the Central Plains, the rulers and ministers of the Chu State were very surprised by the sudden war launched in the Central Plains.
Before, there had only been some minor frictions on the border, at most a war between one or two cities.
But how come the situation has developed into a bloody war among the Three Kingdoms in such a short period of time, with even the Emperor of Zhou directly intervening?
It was like two people having a brief argument, and greeting each other politely about their parents and family, but suddenly both sides drew knives, and bright red blood gushed out, unstoppable.
"What did the State of Chen do to deserve the whole nation of Zheng to attack it?
I remember that Zheng State has always been a mess, with the nobles fighting each other. How could they act in unison this time?"
The minister of the State of Chen came to ask the State of Chu to send troops, and he was still very confident.
It was not only because Chen was a vassal state of Chu, but also because he had a relatively good understanding of the current King of Chu.
This King of Chu was not a crown prince before, and was not favored by the previous king. Especially after his mother's death, he had a hard time and was finally able to survive under the protection of Xiang family.
He grew up in the Xiang family and studied with the Xiang family's children, so he madly worshipped King Su and was a king with a very high moral bottom line.
In order to borrow troops, the ministers of the State of Chen did not care about the reputation of the royal family of Chen and directly spread rumors to the King of Chu and cried: "Your Majesty.
The State of Zheng was really going too far. The previous Duke of Zheng married Zheng Ji to the State of Chen because she was pregnant with someone unknown's child.
Foreign officials had heard that Zheng Ji had an affair with her two brothers, perhaps one of them.
Zheng State wanted to make this wicked son a prince of Chen State, and eventually annex Chen State."
Hearing this, the king and his ministers in the hall all had expressions of "as expected", the dirty tricks of the royal family of the Ji clan were not uncommon.
“What happened to Prince Wu of Jin in the past was not half as vicious as what happened to Prince Wu of Zheng.
Zheng Ji bewitched the late king, but the king saw through their plot and killed the late king and the child.
Because Zheng was a big country, the king did not dare to kill Zheng Ji, but only placed her under house arrest in the harem.
The Duke of Zheng died in anger because his conspiracy was discovered. This must be a punishment from heaven.
The doctor of the State of Chen directly began to use the art of language to confuse right and wrong. It was impossible to say that Chen Hou Hu killed his father for beauty and then couldn't wait to take possession of his stepmother in front of his father's corpse.
No matter what the king and his ministers of Chu thought in their hearts, they would drive him out directly, even for the sake of face in history books.
The doctor of Chen State thoughtfully continued to find reasons for Chu State to send troops. "The king thought that the conspiracy of Zheng State was over after he saw through it, but he didn't expect that Zheng Houchan was too shameless and used this as an excuse to forcibly attack Chen State.
It was clearly their fault, which eventually led to the fratricide between the king and his ministers in Chen State, but they put the blame on Chen State itself, because Chen State was weak.
The State of Chen has always been respectful to the State of Chu and is your most loyal vassal. The State of Chu is the strongest country among the Xia states.
You are a king on par with the Emperor of Zhou. Your glory will surely shine upon the State of Chen."
These words were truly full of affection, but speaking of these shameful things in the palace of Chu State made the king and his ministers look at each other in bewilderment.
As the Chen doctor had expected, the King of Chu was filled with disgust and angrily said, "Disgusting, disgusting! Is this the so-called Ji clan state?
Haven't they always said that Chu was a barbarian country? How come they are even worse than Chu?"
Xiang Cheng, the prime minister of Chu, said with excitement, "Living in drunkenness and dreaming of death!
Your Majesty, the Luo and Jin States have joined forces to wipe out the barbarians in the Central Plains and maintain peace in the Central Plains. They are so well protected.
If a country has no external threats and no virtuous ministers, it will gradually decline. This is the law of nature. "
The power of Chu State was growing stronger day by day, while the power of the princes in the Central Plains was gradually declining. Could there be any better news than this?
The struggle among nations is a process of competing to be worse. The worst country will die first, and the remaining countries will continue to compete to be worse. The one that is slightly less bad will win in the end.
Upon hearing this, the King of Chu said proudly: "The Chu State has been thriving for more than 700 years. It is because of loyal and upright people like you that the Chu State is now prosperous.
The various states of the Xia Dynasty established their countries and educated the world with virtue. Now that Zheng has lost its virtue, the Zhou emperor still protects it. This is wrong.
As a great country among the Xia people, we should uphold fairness and justice and advise the Zhou emperor to walk on the right path."
Xiang Cheng nodded with great satisfaction. After hundreds of years of cultural reforms, the Chu nobles are finally not so stubborn anymore. They understand that they need to package themselves and wrap themselves in a cloak of righteousness.
Xiang Cheng said: "Chen is a vassal state of Chu. The Kingly Way clearly states that the suzerain state has the obligation to help its vassal state, so Chu should send troops to help Chen.
The emperor has made an intolerable mistake, and as a subject it is your duty to advise him against it. You are the Duke of Chu of Bangzhou and the king of Chu, and you should go to the Central Plains to advise him against it. In order to prevent the assassination by villains, it is very reasonable for you to bring an army of 200,000 to protect you.
I ask the king to use his military force to persuade the emperor to realize his mistakes and maintain the Mandate of Heaven!"
The eyes of the Chu ministers were full of fanatical smiles. The Xiang family had always been opposed to Chu's move to the Central Plains, believing that the time had not yet come. Unexpectedly, they were the first to make suggestions now. It seemed that this was the trend of the times.
The Xiang family was a powerful force in Chu. The ministers of Xiang Cheng's faction bowed down and said, "Please send troops to save the Xia people from the disaster!"
Then the entire hall was filled with voices advising the King of Chu to send troops.
The King of Chu was naturally very willing, and no monarch of Chu could refuse to go to the Central Plains.
However, he was a wise king who had experienced the suffering of the people. He asked with some worry: "Uncle, Jin is very powerful and has always regarded the Central Plains as its own territory.
Although the relationship between Chu and Jin has gradually eased over the past hundred years, if Chu moves north, will Jin agree?
I naturally believe in the bravery of the Chu people, but Jin, Luo, Qi, and even Wu, aren't they just wasting the lives of the Chu people in vain? "
The infiltration of Chu into Jin was quite serious, especially as they fueled the strengthening of the power of the noble families in Jin and even led some minor defeats, just to allow those noble families who were alienated from the Jin royal family to gain a higher status.
This kind of method is really hard to guard against. If Luo Yan woke up in Valhalla and saw his descendants trying so hard to overthrow the clan, he would probably not know whether to cry or laugh.
Xiang Cheng laughed and said, "Your Majesty, have you forgotten the Qin State?
In recent years, the two countries have jointly developed the Shudu Plain. In addition, the climate of the Wei River Plain has gradually improved. The strength of the Qin State has expanded abnormally in recent years. In addition, after years of bloody battles with the Western Rong, every Qin person is brave and is an excellent soldier.
If we join hands with the Qin people to enter the Central Plains, the losses of Chu will surely be greatly reduced."
The King of Chu became even more hesitant. The two countries conquered Bashu and divided the Shudu Plain equally, which gave Qin another way to move eastward.
That is to go directly along the river and go downstream from the original location of the Ba Kingdom.
However, the exit of this road is the Jianghan Plain. As early as when the Chu State and the Ba State were fighting, a pass was built at the place where the river was to prevent the Ba State from going downstream, which was equivalent to the Hangu Pass on the river.
If Qin was allowed to take this route now, it would be equivalent to first smashing a hole in the wall between Chu and Qin in order to get Qin out of the house. Then the Qin people would walk around the Chu house with swords and guns, and then leave leisurely through the gate.
After all, this is no longer the difficult time when Wu State conquered the capital of Chu. The young King of Chu could not accept it. Xiang Cheng was a little puzzled as to why the King of Chu hesitated. After thinking about it for a while, he understood the King of Chu's concerns.
Then he said with a smile: "Your Majesty, do you think that I am asking the Qin State to go down the Yangtze River?
The Jianghan Plain is the foundation of the Chu State, and countless clan relatives and nobles live here.
How could I allow hundreds of thousands of foreign troops to pass through?
If a mutiny were to occur accidentally and the Chu state were to be shaken, even if I had ten lives, would I be able to pay them back?"
With a sharp weapon in hand, one will naturally feel murderous intent.
The army represents danger and destruction. It is difficult to control the army, and you should never think that you really have it under control.
King Li of Zhou was the emperor, but he failed to control his army and eventually died in the chaos. Xiang Cheng certainly would not take the risk.
"Your Majesty, the people of Chu are obsessed with going north. Do you think the people of Qin are willing to live in the west for the rest of their lives, fighting with the bloodthirsty Western Rong?
Ever since Lady Xuan Mi married into the Qin State, the Qin State has always been obsessed with expanding eastwards out of the Central Plains. This is also the reason why the alliance between the Qin State and the Chu State has not broken down for so many years.
The State of Chu did not even need to notify the State of Qin specifically. Now that the Central Plains was in chaos, they would definitely knock on the gates.
With the strength of Qin, at least half of Jin's military forces would have to be deployed in the Qiao-Han Pass.
Otherwise, no matter how steep Hangu Pass is, it will probably be breached directly. You know, there are too many siege weapons nowadays."
Hearing this, the young and heroic King of Chu finally had no more worries. He stood up and said loudly: "Taiyi, the ministers obey your orders!"
"I am here!"
"The King's Order: The Chu State marches north to advise the Emperor!
The royal family, dukes, and feudal lords of Chu each led their private troops to gather in Yingdu.
The counties ordered the county magistrates to recruit the people.
I led an army of 200,000 to the State of Zheng to remonstrate with the Emperor.
Sima led an army of 200,000 to the State of Wu.
The general led an army of 100,000 to garrison Nanyang to guard against the State of Jin."
The Chu royal palace was instantly in an uproar. With a population of five million, only one in ten was drafted to send out soldiers. This was not in response to the military remonstrance!
…
After a hundred years, the Chu people who believed in Taiyi finally set foot on the land that had always haunted them.
Ever since King Su granted the ancestors of the State of Chu a fiefdom in the southern wilderness, successive monarchs of the State of Chu have been determined to return to the center of the Chinese nation. They have failed and been lost countless times here.
This time they regrouped and became stronger than ever, while Zhongyuan was weaker than ever. They came with the confidence of winning, trying to create a legend for the Chu State. - "The Chu State in Flames"
My favorite Chu State, he is back again
(End of this chapter)
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