Li Ran's proposal to make peace with the Jin State was the first step that the Chu State needed to take.
After hearing this, neither King Chu nor Wu Ju had any objections to this.
After all, for the Chu State, this was just a courtesy exchange between vassal states. In fact, this was not a sign of weakness.
"Sir, this is a great plan!"
"Since this is the first step, what about the second step? Come to think of it, I can't wait to do it."
King Chu smiled and said.
When Li Ran heard this, he was not in a hurry and just bowed to the King of Chu again.
"As for the second step, that will happen after Chu and Jin get married."
"After the Chu and Jin Dynasties got married, they became one family. Although this was of great benefit to the Chu State's military deployment of Zhongli, this alone was not enough."
"The king can take this opportunity to summon the princes from all over the world to come to the Chu State for an alliance again. After all, the king's status is different from that of the past. It is also a reasonable and reasonable move to summon the princes to hold an alliance."
"And this alliance meeting is still based on the excuse of seeking an alliance with the Song Dynasty. We will use this as an excuse to publish a proclamation against Yu Qingfeng at the alliance meeting."
"At that time, other princes will no longer dare to have any open contacts with Zhongli. This will be equivalent to cutting off Qingfeng's foreign aid. Moreover, it will also strengthen our momentum, and the soldiers in front of the Chu army will also have their morale improved.
Big shake!"
That's right, according to Li Ran's plan, if you want to defeat Zhongli, you must first cut off his support from all the countries in the Central Plains. And to achieve this, you must let the Chu State stand on the moral high ground and force other princes to do so.
Give up support for Zhongli Guo.
Therefore, the significance of this alliance is naturally not as simple as window-dressing. Instead, it has very important strategic significance.
"color!"
"Haha, what you said is really enlightening! Yes, yes, why didn't I think of this trick?!"
While the King of Chu was amazed at Li Ran's resourcefulness, he glanced at Wu Ju intentionally or unintentionally, as if he was complaining about Wu Ju's shallow intelligence: Look at this person, why is there such a big gap?
But how could Wu Ju have the right to speak at this time? Li Ran's suggestions were all reasonable and would be of great benefit to Chu State, so he could not help but secretly nod in agreement.
But when he saw the King of Chu's eyes, his old face suddenly turned red, feeling extremely embarrassed.
After all, he had followed the King of Chu for many years, and he was always scheming, but he couldn't compare to Li Ran's half a finger in this matter.
This gap is really alarming.
But Wu Ju couldn't think of this, which was actually understandable.
After all, as a Chu native, how could he have imagined that the "League" could have such a wonderful effect? After all, they had never paid attention to these "righteous ways" in the past. In the past, conspiracy like this would not have been possible.
That was even more disdainful to them.
"Sir, continue."
King Chu continued to raise his hand to signal.
Li Ran nodded, said "Promise" and then said calmly:
"Since we have convened an alliance, we still need to disclose the reasons for the attack on Zhongli in front of the princes, gain the approval of the princes in the world, and have no choice but to let this matter go."
"So, please keep this in mind, Your Majesty! This matter cannot be said to be Zhongli's fault, nor can it be said to be an attack on Wu. After all, Jin State and Wu State are now closely related, so the reason for the attack on Zhongli can only be said to be for Qi.
The country revolted and captured Qingfeng! Qingfeng was originally a traitor to the Qi State. He was previously canonized in Zhongli by the King of Wu. From then on, he became the king of the Zhongli State inexplicably. And this was undoubtedly an obvious act of trespass.
Disgusting."
"What's more, the Wu State proclaimed itself king, and its strength is not recognized by the other countries in the Central Plains. Therefore, it is best for the Chu State to attack Zhongli on the pretext of capturing traitors for the Qi State."
Dear readers, please note that Li Ran actually deliberately set a trap for the King of Chu at this moment. The previously planned "killing Qingfeng" was quietly turned into "capturing Qingfeng".
Yes, of course what he wanted was to capture Qingfeng alive, not to let them bring back a corpse.
The reason for arresting traitors for Qi is obviously appropriate. However, for the Chu State, if the Chu people killed Qingfeng without authorization, then this matter would not be so justifiable.
At least from a moral point of view, Qingfeng is a criminal official of Qi State, and it is most appropriate to send him to Qi State for punishment.
Therefore, it is obvious that Li Ran is here to take an extra opportunity to save himself in case the dilemma similar to that of King Wu and Zhu Fan happens again in the future.
"Sir's plan is really astonishing! I am very lucky to have your help, and the country of Chu is very lucky!"
After listening to these three steps, King Chu's face immediately burst into laughter.
Although according to what Li Ran said, this process is indeed more tortuous and takes longer. But doing it this way is indeed foolproof for the Chu State.
It can not only block the public opinion of the people in the world, but also prevent the Jin State from taking the opportunity to go south. Finally, it can legitimately force the Central Plains countries to give up their aid to Qingfeng. It also has the effect of boosting morale, so that the Chu army can be confident and bold.
Fighting at Zhongli.
So with just one move, you can gain four benefits. Why not?
"As long as your Majesty follows the above three steps step by step, the battle of Zhongli will go smoothly, and when Qingfeng is captured alive, there will be no obstacles."
And this was the first plan Li Ran offered to the King of Chu.
When the King of Chu heard this, he was overjoyed. He knew that if Li Ran followed this series of schemes, he would be able to "defeat" all the countries in the Central Plains. He was confused and immediately summoned his brother Wang Ziqiji without even thinking about it.
Obviously, it would be most appropriate for his most trusted brother to send someone to Jin to propose a marriage.
"First Evolution"
Li Ran couldn't help but frown slightly when he saw this.
He knew very well that Prince Qiji seemed to be loyal to the King of Chu, but his plans behind his back must have already been made. The King of Chu sent him to the Jin Kingdom to discuss the marriage. Wouldn't this be digging a hole for himself?
pit?
"Hey, that's fine. I'm just a foreign minister now, why do I have such leisure?"
After some thought, Li Ran remained silent.
"Brother Ji, this matter is of great importance to our country of Chu. Brother Ji must handle it properly without making any mistakes..."
The King of Chu warned him again and again and looked very cautious.
After all, this was his first formal diplomacy with the Jin State as the King of Chu, and this matter was directly related to the national destiny of their Chu State, so he could not afford to be careless.
And how could Prince Qiji not know about it?
Hearing the sound, he immediately bowed and bowed:
"Brother, I will do my best!"
After saying this, Wang Ziqiji was ready to retreat and make preparations.
But when he turned to leave the hall, he turned his head and gave Li Ran a meaningful look.
When Li Ran saw this, of course he bowed his head politely in return.
But he still found something unusual in Wang Zi Qiji's eyes.
It's like complaining, it's like warning, it's very complicated, and it's very secretive.