Chapter 192 Zhang Yi Lobbies the State of Chu
The news of Qin's declaration of kingship quickly spread throughout the six kingdoms, which made the students and merchants of the six kingdoms feel very emotional and confused at the same time.
They had no idea what changes this new kingdom would bring to the world.
When the Qin State proclaimed itself king, Zhang Yi naturally became the prime minister of the Qin State.
Zhang Yi and Su Qin, the brothers, finally completed the first step of their ambition.
Su Qin became a hot figure. As the saying goes, "A man in glory does not return to his hometown, but it is like traveling at night in brocade clothes." Naturally, he did not forget to visit his hometown Luoyang.
But just after returning to Daliang from Luoyang, Su Qin suddenly received a piece of news that shocked him: King Wei of Chu died and the crown prince succeeded to the throne.
Qu Yuan sent a secret messenger with a fast horse to deliver the message, asking Su Qin to quickly form an alliance of the six countries, otherwise there would be changes.
Although the number of troops each party would contribute had been agreed upon beforehand, these troops had not yet arrived.
Su Qin had to speed up the deployment of troops and then plan to launch the first attack on Qin in the early spring of the next year.
However, the news of King Wei of Chu's death also reached the State of Qin, and Zhang Yi immediately seized the opportunity.
He knew very well that now was not the time to take action. King Wei of Chu had just died, and there would inevitably be a tough battle between those powerful aristocratic officials and the ministers who were in charge of reform.
If he went too early and the struggle had not yet begun, he would easily be targeted by the two forces.
So you have to wait until they are fighting fiercely and have a deep blood feud before going there. It will be easier to find loopholes if you go there at this time.
Facts have proved that Zhang Yi's judgment was correct. The current civil strife in Chu has completely changed the political situation.
Before the reform was implemented, the power of the old aristocracy was greatly reduced, while the power of new-school court officials such as Qu Yuan and Chunshen Jun who supported the reform was greatly enhanced.
The momentum of this alliance was fully realized, and the threat to Chu from the six countries was temporarily lifted. King Wei of Chu had originally planned to implement the second reform, but who would have thought that he would pass away just two months after returning from the alliance ceremony.
As soon as King Wei of Chu died, the old nobles immediately smelled something and began to secretly discuss how to regain power.
So as soon as King Huai of Chu came to power, they immediately handed over a blood letter, demanding the dismissal of Qu Yuan and the abolition of Chunshen Jun, otherwise they would all return home.
Seeing this group of old nobles making such a passionate appeal, Qu Yuan and Huang Xie were both panicked for a moment.
Huang Xie even wanted to use the new army to wipe out these people, but was stopped by Qu Yuan.
Qu Yuan went to King Huai of Chu to discuss major plans, hoping that he could stabilize the situation.
However, King Huai of Chu was a king without any opinion of his own. After Qu Yuan's speech, he immediately slammed the table and said that he would definitely support his father's reform plan.
But as soon as Qu Yuan left, the old nobles put in a little effort and he had no idea what to do.
The old nobles found his favorite princess and asked her to help persuade King Huai of Chu, and this man really listened to the princess.
So after a few days, Qu Yuan was dismissed. Although Huang Xie retained the title of Chunshen Jun, most of his power was taken back.
Qu Yuan was filled with grief and indignation but was powerless to do anything, so he could only write a letter to Su Qin asking him to return to the State of Chu to negotiate.
But when the fight in Chu was almost over, Zhang Yi also smelled the scent.
Like the old nobles, Zhang Yi chose to start with the princess. He presented her with treasures, hoping that she could help reconcile the Qin and Chu relations.
Zhang Yi then went to see another old nobleman, and after some coercion and inducement, the old nobleman also stood on his side.
So this group of old nobles and princesses began to persuade King Huai of Chu to make peace with the State of Qin.
But Qu Yuan broke into his palace and asked him where the late king's will was placed?
King Huai of Chu was very conflicted. He really didn't dare to take the blame for Qu Yuan'an's crime. After all, he really had no ability, and his foundation depended entirely on the prestige of the previous king. Without the previous king, he was nothing.
It was not easy to offend both sides, so King Huai of Chu ran away and went on vacation, letting them fight among themselves and he would not get involved.
Qin Sheng: ...
Qin Huaishu: ...
Qin Sheng could already feel how desperate and suffocated those ministers who supported the reform and the coalition were.
Having such a king is really...
No wonder King Wei of Chu couldn't close his eyes when he died and died so unwillingly. It turned out that he knew that his son was a person who was not worthy of being in the public eye.
In such a chaotic era, a monarch like King Huai of Chu appeared. With the vast territory of Chu handed over to him, it would be strange if it did not go downhill.
It took Zhang Yi a lot of twists and turns to meet the legendary new king of Chu and explain his purpose to him.
It is only for the sake of reconciliation between Qin and Chu, nothing else.
King Huai of Chu made a request that as long as Qin could return Fangling, the large granary of Chu that was seized by Sima Cuo, he would agree to withdraw from the coalition and form an alliance with Qin.
Zhang Yi agreed without hesitation and signed the alliance on the spot.
But when it came to stamping, he said that his Prime Minister's seal was in Xianyang and he didn't bring it with him. King Huai of Chu asked someone to get it, but he said that the seal was dead, but the person was alive.
Anyway, he didn't sign the treaty, but King Huai of Chu actually believed his lies.
At this point, Qin Sheng already knew very well how King Huai of Chu was deceived. Although the story differed from the real history, King Huai of Chu was almost the same in terms of stupidity.
He sighed, looking at the words on the paper with some emotion: "It's not without reason that the art of diplomacy is called the art of deception."
Although I understand the principle of all is fair in war, it is not a good thing for someone to rashly break this convention when everyone is abiding by the alliance and keeping their promises.
Chu Yian took a breath to calm his throat, and sighed: "Yes, that's why Mencius dislikes the diplomats."
"Although Zhang Yi divided the states and reduced Qin's losses, as Qin's prime minister he used deceptive tactics against King Huai of Chu, which made the other states see Qin's unscrupulousness and lack of integrity."
"Interactions between nations are based on interests and good faith. This moral decline and lack of integrity have, to a certain extent, made the situation in the Warring States period even more turbulent."
"Alliances between countries have become extremely fragile, and there is a lot of wariness and distrust towards each other."
But no matter what, Zhang Yi did lead the situation to a more favorable one for the Qin State.
The news that King Huai of Chu had signed an alliance with Zhang Yi quickly spread. Qu Yuan and Huang Xie angrily accused him of being deceived and urged him to immediately cancel the alliance and send out the coalition forces.
King Huai of Chu was also very angry. I recaptured Fangling without any soldiers. What did I do wrong?
Qu Yuan was so angry that he almost died. He said, "That's all I have to say. What else can I say?" Then he turned away.
After waiting for a long time, Su Qin arrived and Qu Yuan told him about the affairs of the Chu State. After all, Su Qin knew Zhang Yi well, and he knew as soon as he heard it that King Huai of Chu had been deceived, and Zhang Yi would definitely not really return Fangling.
Qu Yuan felt that Zhang Yi was too outrageous. He actually used an important matter of diplomatic relations to cheat. How could he survive if this got out?
However, Su Qin did not think so. Everyone was calculating and scheming, and everyone would do anything for life and death. Could he blame the other side for being cunning when he was stupid?
After thinking about it, he soon came up with an idea.
As long as Zhang Yi's deception was exposed to the world, King Huai of Chu would certainly be furious. Once the allied forces attacked Qin, he would not be able to change his mind even if he wanted to.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
