Chapter 255: Queen Dowager Xuan died to apologize?
Having said this, Chu Yian paused for a moment and looked at Qin Huaishu.
She actually had a lot of questions she wanted to ask, but she always felt that it would be a bit presumptuous to ask them.
Qin Huaishu knew what she wanted to ask by looking at her eyes, and smiled: "The cultural gap is indeed very serious. There are many things that have no historical records to refer to."
"Everyone thinks those are innate abilities."
"For example, using herbs to treat illnesses. Although it's not clear what herbs are used for, it seems that everyone has known that herbs can cure illnesses since they can remember."
"Even things like drilling wood to make fire are subtly embedded in everyone's mind."
"No one has ever investigated where these things came from or who tried them first."
After all, those things can no longer be verified, so there is no way to find the answers even if you want to.
Even Qin Huaishu himself had never thought about these questions.
They have become common sense, just like people need to eat when they are hungry and drink water when they are thirsty.
Now, after hearing Chu Yian talk about it, he felt a strange feeling that he couldn't describe.
In fact, no one knew those things at the beginning, and someone always had to try.
It's a pity that he doesn't study these things and doesn't have the time to study them.
Now that I hear it, I just feel a little more emotional.
Chu Yian didn't want to ask any more questions, so he continued, "The Five Emperors include Huangdi, Zhuanxu, Diku, Yao, and Shun."
After that, he fell silent.
Qin Huaishu looked at her, looking forward to what she would say next.
Chu Yian's face was full of confusion, and he felt a little embarrassed: "Don't look at me, that's all I know, I don't know anything more."
"I knew that Yao and Shun were both wise and benevolent rulers." After a moment's silence, she added, "A truly wise and benevolent ruler."
Qin Huaishu: ...
Qin Huaishu skipped this topic and talked about another one: "Emperor?"
Knowing that he had misunderstood, Chu Yian took the pen and wrote two words crookedly: Huangdi
"It's this Yellow Emperor."
Qin Huaishu became even more confused, but every time he wanted to ask something, Chu Yian told him to shut up.
As a result, he didn't know whether he should ask or not.
After hesitating for a long time, he finally spoke tentatively: "Actually, I've wanted to ask this for a long time. Doesn't your world have an emperor?"
"The Zhou Emperor is the emperor of the Warring States period? Just called differently?"
If this is the case, then the emperor is too cowardly.
Anyone can beat him up, but he was forced into hiding by his own vassal states.
I also have to pray that people don't think of him.
Chu Yian blinked his clear eyes and nodded like a chick pecking at rice: "You can understand it that way."
"It's just that during the Zhou Dynasty, the feudal system was implemented, and the princes had great power, which gradually weakened the power of the emperor."
Looking at Chu Yian like that, Qin Huaishu knew that there were some things she didn't really want to say, so he didn't ask any further questions.
He picked up his pen and continued writing.
After the death of the King of Qi, the people of Qi were in a panic and began to flee.
The border, other countries, and all places not occupied by the Yan army were their escape destinations.
But there were also people who vowed to defend Qi to the death.
However, under such an offensive by the coalition forces, even if they tried their best, they were doomed to fail.
Tian Dan, a branch of the royal family of Qi, retreated with his men to Jimo, a large city in the east of Qi.
Le Yi led an army of 60,000 to attack Jimo, but suffered more than 10,000 casualties and still failed to capture Jimo.
Therefore, they decided to adopt a gentle policy of "transforming Qi into Yan" and gradually nibble away at Qi's territory.
The first thing Le Yi did was to invite an old celebrity from Qi to come out of retirement and use his wisdom to promote the new laws of Yan.
But when he went to invite him in person, the old scholar had integrity and committed suicide after Yue Yi left.
Le Yi could only issue other decrees to stabilize the situation in Qi and reduce unrest.
He also allowed former officials of Qi to return and continue to serve.
After a series of policies were implemented, the effects were immediate.
The fleeing people returned home, but this trend did not last long.
When the news of the old celebrity's suicide spread, those celebrities who had come out of retirement to serve as officials felt that a commoner like him could have such integrity.
They used to be officials in Qi State, why don’t they have the same integrity as others?
So they all handed in their resignation letters and left.
When the chaos was in full swing, a shocking news came from outside: the old ministers of Qi supported Tian Fazhang as the new king of Qi.
As long as a country has a king, it will not perish and its people will flock to him.
When the news spread, the people of Qi were shocked and tried to escape to Jucheng and join the new king.
However, Le Yi did not panic, as the appeal of royal power was far less than before.
After all, the people are more practical.
So Yue Yi only besieged Jucheng and did not attack it.
He firmly believed that once the old ministers of Qi arrived in Jucheng, Qi would once again fall into a power struggle.
If we fight now, it will be easy for everyone to gang up on us, so it is better to slow down and give them a chance to fight among themselves.
Le Yi's attention was still on Jimo. His intuition told him that Jimo was the real threat and Tian Dan was the real threat.
However, Yan had been attacking Qi for so long. If it swallowed up Qi's land, it would suddenly become a powerful country like Qin and compete with Qin.
The situation in the Warring States Period changed dramatically. Could other countries really sit idly by?
King Min of Qi, the most threatening and ambitious king of Qi, died, and all the money in the treasury was looted.
Even if Qi was restored, it would no longer be the 'Eastern Emperor'.
Everyone knows which situation is more beneficial to the six countries.
Moreover, the besieged Jimo suddenly had food and supplies. Although it was not known which country provided them, they had already made a move.
It means they won't just sit there and watch.
More importantly, Yan and Qi had already fought to this point, but Qin had not made any move, which made Le Yi very uneasy.
The Qin State has not yet surrendered, either because the political situation in Yan State has changed, or they believe that Le Yi may not be able to hold on for that long.
Either Qi has a chance of resisting Yan, or the Yan army may not be able to capture the two cities.
If Yue Yi insisted on attacking the city at all costs, those countries that were waiting and watching would surely suffer the consequences.
By then, the target will no longer be Qi, but him.
After much deliberation, Yue Yi adhered to the previous policy of besieging but not attacking, and integrating Qi into Yan.
So they surrounded them for five years, and when the sun came out they would even call them out of the city to farm.
The whole day is spent shouting.
At first, the people did not dare to go out. Later, they carefully left the city in groups of three or two. They found that the Yan soldiers would not do anything to them, and even retreated dozens of miles on their own.
The atrium slowly dropped.
Tian Dan watched helplessly and could only continue to engage in a psychological battle of offense and defense with Yue Yi.
During the spring plowing season, when the Yan soldiers were helping with farming, some of them would go to the fields to mourn for their dead sons.
Every time this happened, the people would drive away the Yan soldiers with red eyes.
When it was harvest time, the Yan soldiers left their ox carts in the fields. The farmers were delighted that the Yan people were so kind as to return their ox carts to them.
It happened that the wizard passed by here and shouted to the sky, "The Yan people looted tens of millions of my carts, but gave me only one empty cart. This is simply intolerable."
The happy farmers blushed and cursed the Yan people for being shameless, then overturned the ox cart they had sent into the ditch.
Qin Huaishu was once a general, so how could he not see Yue Yi's intentions?
It can be said that Tian Dan put in a lot of effort to keep the people of Jimo united.
But continuing like this is not a solution. Tian Dan's method is effective in the short term, but as time goes by, the effect will become worse and worse.
If Qi does not come up with an effective solution, the annexation of Yan will become a reality sooner or later.
Not long after, the King of Yan appointed Le Yi as the King of Qi.
This news was like a bolt from the blue for Tian Dan.
After struggling for so long, I finally got to this point.
If Le Yi really became king and ruled Qi, Jimo and Jucheng would no longer be able to hold on.
But Le Yi refused. He knew very well that someone must have been sowing discord in the court, which was why the King of Yan issued this order.
If he really becomes king, he would be truly disloyal and unjust.
Although Le Yi did not become king, the crisis in Jimo was not resolved.
Just when Tian Dan encouraged everyone to hold on for a few more years, those who had left the city to farm were suddenly driven back.
Tian Dan keenly noticed the abnormality and immediately sent people to investigate.
Yue Yi was urgently recalled, and Jucheng was besieged again.
That night, Lu Zhonglian brought news that the old King of Yan was dead!
This gave Tian Dan hope.
So they immediately started spreading rumors about Yue Yi and sowing discord.
The old King of Yan trusted Le Yi, but the new king did not have the old King of Yan's foresight, nor did he trust Le Yi enough.
It has to be said that the new King of Yan had already made plans when he ascended the throne.
He planned to conquer Qi within half a year, annex Zhao within three years, and claim the title of Northern Emperor.
Within ten years, he marched south to destroy Qin and unify China.
In fifteen years at most, he would be the Emperor of China.
Qin Huaishu: ...
Qin Huaishu finished writing the last word and looked up from the desk: "This sounds familiar."
I seem to have heard many people say this.
After so long, nothing has been implemented.
Chu Yian was amused by his words: "It's normal for a new official to make three changes upon taking office. I understand."
The new King of Yan had just come to power and was full of ambition. In his opinion, Le Yi's tactic of besieging the enemy for several years without taking any action was clearly a trick.
It’s a pity that his father believed it.
It happened that the rumors spread by Tian Dan about Yue Yi reached the ears of King Yan, so he did not hesitate to depose Yue Yi from the title of general and appointed another person as general.
He also ordered that Qi be destroyed within a month.
Le Yi had no choice but to hand over the military seal, but when he left, he reminded them not to kill common people indiscriminately, otherwise there would be endless troubles.
Chu Yian paused for a moment and couldn't help feeling a little emotional when talking about Yue Yi.
"Le Yi... in the thousands of years of Chinese history, there are really few who can compare to him."
"This book doesn't describe him very much, but he was a man of both civil and military talents. He reformed laws and implemented benevolent policies, trained the army, and made the State of Yan rich and strong."
"If he had not advocated benevolent warfare and enlightened the people during the attack on Qi, Qi would have perished long ago, and Yan would have been plunged into turmoil."
“We don’t know how many people will die.”
Qin Huaishu actually agreed with this statement.
Although he was also a general, unlike Yue Yi, Confucianism had long been prevalent in this world.
But during the Warring States Period, there were not many people who had that kind of thinking.
Yue Yi was indeed a rare Confucian general.
After Le Yi left, Tian Dan came in person to see him off.
Although the two have been enemies for many years, they admire each other.
Le Yi, the most feared general, is gone, but over the years the people in Jimo City have been worn down and have lost the sharpness and temperament they should have had during wartime.
Tian Dan saw this and became very anxious.
Once the fighting starts, how many rounds will this morale last?
So, at Lu Zhonglian's suggestion, Tian Dan hesitated for a moment and then ordered someone to go out of the city to give advice to the new general of Yan State on how to quickly capture Jimo.
The general was overjoyed after hearing this and immediately ordered the people's ancestral graves to be dug up and the ancestors' bones to be ground into ashes.
Qin Huaishu: ...
It has been mentioned many times in the article that the people of Qi respect their ancestors very much.
Every ancestor worship is very grand.
One can imagine what kind of trouble this will cause.
The people in the city had no desire to fight in the first place, and after what you did, I would not be able to swallow the anger even if I killed you.
But Lu Zhonglian is a strategist after all. Although this approach may have miraculous effects, it is ultimately unkind and immoral.
But at this moment of life and death, I'm afraid I can't care so much.
Seeing their ancestral graves being dug up and bones being burned with their own eyes, the hatred of the people of Jimo City was completely ignited.
Not only men, but also the elderly, the weak, women and children all picked up sickles and went to fight them.
Under the influence of such hatred and anger, the army of Yan State became extremely vulnerable.
More than 60,000 Yan soldiers were killed, including several important generals, and the rest were only concerned with escaping.
Tian Dan pursued the victory, and many people joined after hearing the news of the great victory in Jimo.
In just over a month, they recovered all the more than 70 cities that Yue Yi had conquered.
Two months later, Tian Dan welcomed the King of Qi back to Linzi, and the State of Qi was miraculously restored.
Tian Dan was granted the title of Lord Anguo and appointed as Prime Minister.
But at this moment, chaos broke out outside again.
The State of Zhao sent an army of 100,000 to attack the State of Zhongshan, while the State of Qin launched an attack on the State of Zhao.
This was the decision made by Yingji, Queen Dowager Xuan, Wei Ran and others.
They didn't listen to Bai Qi's advice.
After reading the feather letter presented by Bai Qi, everyone felt that Bai Qi was being too cautious.
Being cautious is a good thing, but being too cautious can also lead to missed opportunities.
Bai Qi was the general and he led the war.
There's no need to fight a small war like attacking Zhao. Why use a butcher knife to kill a chicken? Just change someone else.
But who would have thought that in such a small battle, the Qin State would be defeated.
It was still a crushing defeat, the main general was killed, and the entire 80,000 cavalry was wiped out.
Since Shang Yang's reforms, the Qin State has been strong in both men and horses, and the Qin army has always been known for its elite soldiers.
Moreover, the Qin army was at the peak of its power, yet they were defeated by the Zhao State? And in such a tragic way.
What does it mean?
The army of Zhao State had become very strong at some point, and they had to re-evaluate Zhao State.
What was even more unexpected was that a new situation was formed in the Warring States Period, triggered by a small battle in which Zhao attacked Zhongshan.
Han, Wei, Zhao and Chu formed an alliance, and Yan and Qin formed an alliance. The two major alliances began to fight more fiercely than the early battles.
When the news of the Qin army's annihilation reached Qin, Queen Dowager Xuan fainted on the spot, and Ying Ji and Wei Ran also looked grim.
In this battle, everyone once again saw Bai Qi's abilities.
He had already advised that this war should not be fought, but no one listened. Someone had to take responsibility for this matter.
Finally, Queen Dowager Xuan stepped forward to take full responsibility for the crime and died to atone for it.
Qin Huai Shu: ...
Qin Huaishu looked at Chu Yian with a speechless look. If he hadn't heard her talk about Queen Dowager Xuan's deeds before, he would have really believed it... then there would be a ghost.
This book over-glorifies many people, and each of them is written as if they were a saint.
However, human nature's emphasis on power, fame and fortune is more objective and in line with reality.
Saints are a minority. Even when justice is done, it is a critical moment when the heroes are enraged and the country is destroyed and the family is ruined, and life and death are at stake. No one can care about anything else and can only risk their lives and fight for a way to survive.
At other times, people's instincts will drive them to make choices that are more beneficial to themselves.
Moreover, Yingji's throne was won by Queen Dowager Xuan, so how could she commit suicide?
But Qin Huaishu couldn't say anything and could only look at Chu Yian and sigh.
Chu Yian: ...
That's not necessary.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
