I Won’t Be a King in the Spring and Autumn Period Chapter 296 The Last Test
The reason why Li Ran wanted Ji Le to return to Zheng Yi first was understandable. After all, it was too dangerous to stay in Chu State.
He was in danger because he couldn't help it. But he couldn't let Ji Le take this risk with him.
Furthermore, the whole family still needs to be managed internally and externally by Ji Le. If Ji Le does not return for a long time, this may not be what Ji Xian and the whole family want to see.
Therefore, whether it was for the sake of Ji Le's personal interests or for the sake of Ji's family, Li Ran believed that his own idea was definitely correct.
However, his mistake was that he underestimated Ji Le's determination to share the joys and sorrows with him.
For Ji Le, since she came to Chu State, she has no intention of going back alone. No matter what happens to Li Ran in Chu State, she will always be by Li Ran's side.
Love is stronger than gold, nothing more than that.
Cars and horses are indeed very slow these days, and if two people are in love, they can live a complete life.
At this time, the servant outside came to tell him that King Chu had entered the Xiang Garden.
After hearing the news, Li Ran hurriedly stood up and went to greet him. However, the King of Chu took three steps and two steps at a time, and in a blink of an eye, he came directly to Li Ran and grabbed Li Ran's arm, with a look of worry on his face.
"Oh my god, luckily my husband is fine!"
"God has mercy on me, God has mercy on me!"
The King of Chu burst into tears and began his performance. His originally heroic face looked particularly guilty at this time. His hand holding Li Ran couldn't help but tremble, and his tall body looked hunched for a moment.
When Li Ran saw this, he had no choice but to bow and salute:
"Your Majesty, your words are serious."
"I am no more than a mere guest, so why should I make the king so worried about you?"
Even Chu Dang, who entered the garden with King Chu, could hear the irony in these words.
Today in Prince Qiji's mansion, if King Chu really wanted to save him, I'm afraid Prince Qiji would never have the chance to draw his sword and force him.
Therefore, it would be too hypocritical for the King of Chu to perform such a performance only now.
"Alas! What you said, sir, is wrong! You, sir, are the great weapon of my country of Chu, and my right-hand man. How can I let you suffer such injustice? Well... I only have Brother Ji to blame for this matter! It's all my fault.
I have not been well-disciplined, and I never thought that he would be so presumptuous and dare to do harm to my husband!"
"Sir, don't be anxious. I have sent people to get him now. I will definitely seek justice for you!"
According to the criminal law of Chu State, if a prince wants to kill someone, it is not actually a crime.
However, the importance of Li Ran as a guest guest was so important that the King of Chu actually wanted to personally accuse Prince Qiji.
This made Li Ran slightly startled and said quickly:
"My lord, are you trying to harm me? Or are you seeking justice for me?"
As soon as this statement came out, King Chu was stunned when he heard it, and asked hurriedly:
"Why did you say this, sir? Why do you mean that a few people want to harm you?"
Obviously, King Chu Xiong Wei had a guilty conscience. Li Ran's words clearly meant that he should not go to war over this matter, but at this time King Chu thought that Li Ran was alluding to what happened today.
tacitly allowed.
Obviously, what Li Ran meant was completely different from what King Chu thought.
"Your Majesty, not to mention that I was unscathed today, but that I was injured or even died tragically in the Fourth Prince's Mansion today. Your Majesty should not punish the Fourth Prince!"
"If this is really the case, how will the people of Chu view their ministers in the future? Could it be that I, a mere foreign minister, can compare to the four dignified princes?"
"Therefore, please, Your Majesty, please refrain from punishing the Fourth Prince. What's more, the Fourth Prince's actions are out of concern for the country, and that is also a blessing to the King of Chu!"
What Li Ran said is true.
The identity of Prince Qiji is there. In this era where everything depends on status first, a person without a title, no matter how famous he is, will always be inferior to others.
"Sir, you are so righteous, I feel inferior to you!...Well, since you have said this, I will not pursue it any further."
With a sigh from the King of Chu, the matter was hastily settled. The two then came to the garden and sat down. At this time, Guan Cong was also standing beside the King of Chu, with his eyebrows lowered and his expression expressionless.
After chatting for a while, the topic finally came to the upcoming battle in Zhu Fangcheng.
"Sir, this time you can solve the problem of our Zhu Fang City, which can be said to be another great achievement for our country of Chu."
"But if Zhu Fang City is breached this time, the countries in the Central Plains will surely be even more wary of our Chu State."
"At that time, if our Chu country wants to advance northward, I'm afraid it will be even more difficult."
In fact, whether Zhu Fang City is destroyed or not is now a difficult problem for Chu State.
If it is not broken, Chu will suffer from the scabies of Qingfeng and Wu. Although it is not painful or itchy, it is enough to make it difficult for Chu to move northward.
But if luck breaks through, the countries in the Central Plains will become more and more wary of Chu.
Especially for the Jin State. Although the Jin State currently has six ministers who are at odds with each other and are independent in their own affairs, when they face the challenge of foreign aggression, who can guarantee that they will not unite to deal with the outside world?
Now that Chu State is trying to frighten the enemy, it is tantamount to exposing all its ambitions.
Therefore, if they want to easily drink from the Yellow River and conquer the Central Plains in the future, it will not be that simple.
"Haha, if your Majesty finds it difficult, there is no need to insist on marching north."
Hearing this, King Chu immediately frowned, and seeing Li Ran looking calm and composed, he couldn't help but look surprised.
"Sir, what do you mean by this? All the ancestors of our Chu Kingdom had their ambitions to go north. Your Majesty also advised me to stabilize the country first, and then move northward. But now, why do you want me to give up the northward march?"
?”
In fact, Chu's northward advance and Qin's eastward march are the same. In terms of expansion, expansion is secondary. The key is to show strength.
For them, no matter how well developed and powerful a country is, if it cannot practice and show off on the touchstone of the Central Plains, everything will be meaningless.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! This is like "Night Walk in Jinyi". You are a very capable person, but you hang out with barbarians every day. What kind of motivation can you get from this?
Therefore, if there is no complete reason behind Li Ran's advice, it would be absolutely unacceptable to the people of Chu.
"What I mean is that at least when the king is on the throne, Chu State does not need to advance northward."
"Nowadays, although the Jin State is weak, it still has the ability to be a hegemon. The Marquis of Qi now also has the aspirations of the world, and he has Yan Ying to assist him. Although the country's strength is not as strong as before, it should not be underestimated."
"These are two tigers. If two tigers live in the same place, one of them will be injured. Why don't you, your Majesty, prepare for it? This is the plan of 'two tigers competing for food'!"
"On the other hand, if the king insists on fighting for hegemony in the north, wouldn't the Chu State directly become the food of the two tigers? Although the king can not be afraid of Jin and Qi, but he rushes northward, this is definitely not the best choice for the Chu State.
ah!"
After Li Ran finished speaking, his eyes stayed on the face of King Chu.
In fact, even though what Li Ran said sounds like it is meant to persuade. However, in reality, it may not be unrealistic.
Just like more than fifty years ago, when King Zhuang of Chu died, the country of Chu was in turmoil. However, the Qi and Jin Dynasties in the north were not idle either.
The two countries took advantage of the decline of the Chu State to compete for hegemony in the Central Plains, and the "Battle of Saddle" was the best proof of this statement.
However, such a conspiracy is too far-reaching for the current King of Chu.
silent
Therefore, the King of Chu obviously did not fully understand Li Ran's "conspiracy". He even still felt that Li Ran's words were just another excuse to persuade him to "restrain himself and return to etiquette."
In the final analysis, it is still for the sake of the peace of the Central Plains countries.
I saw King Chu looking thoughtful, and after a long time he said:
"If you say so, wouldn't the revival of our Chu country be far away?"
Think about how powerful, domineering, and majestic the Chu State was during the period of King Chuzhuang!
Dominating the Central Plains and drinking from the Yellow River, the Chu State at that time was as dazzling as it wanted to be.
But if according to what Li Ran said now, if the current Chu State wants to regain the glory of the Chuzhuang King period, it will only take another hundred years.
How could the King of Chu endure this?
"By the way, there is something I have always wanted to ask sir."
Before Li Ran could respond, King Chu turned his eyes and looked at Li Ran.
"Please give me your Majesty's instructions."
"Why are you so determined to help the Central Plains, sir?"
Prince Qiji also asked this question today.
I have to say that they are really two brothers, even the doubts in their hearts are the same.
Hearing the sound, Li Ran couldn't help but laugh in surprise.
"What are you laughing at, sir?"
"Why would your Majesty, Chenxiao, ask such a question?"
"I was born in Luoyi, and I have been friends with Prince Jin of Zhou since childhood, and I also served as the guardian of the Zhou royal family. Zhou's rituals to me are what heaven is to earth, spring rain is to spring seeds, and autumn wind is to gravel."
"My heart is for the Zhou royal family and my heart is for the country with the surname Ji in the Central Plains. Is there any special reason needed?"
Li Ran used a very simple reason to answer King Chu's question.
And this reason was something that the King of Chu could not refute.
After hearing this, King Chu was surprised for a moment and looked at Li Ran blankly for a long time. Finally, he had to smile bitterly to hide his unwillingness.
Because he found that no matter what he did, it seemed that he could not change Li Ran's original intention.