Chapter 35: The vassal states with their own hidden agendas
Originally, this meeting in Pingqiu was only initiated because of the ulterior motives of Zuo Hanqi, the central army officer of the Jin Dynasty. It suddenly became a competition between Li Ran and the Ji family.
Both sides are betting on this game, and the outcome is unknown. But for Li Ran and Ji Sunsu, no matter whether they win or lose, this game will have a profound impact on the future of Lu.
The only plan for now is to give it a try, and there is nothing to worry about anymore.
Ji Sunsu revealed his last trump card and pushed Zifujiao onto the stage of history.
Zifujiao, Zifu's clan, named Jiao, Ji's party. Later generations called Zifu Huibo.
Although this person is not as ruthless and old-fashioned as Ji Sunsu, he is also a knowledgeable and knowledgeable person, good at lobbying, and is by no means a generalist.
This night of waiting was definitely a torture for Ji Sunsu.
Xiyi is being besieged, and he is in the Jin Kingdom and cannot intervene. He can only wait for the news from Ji Sun Yiru and the results of Zi Fujiao's lobbying. He, who was originally all-powerful, is now unable to do anything in the face of such a situation. It is extremely uncomfortable.
.
Fortunately, Zifujiao did not disappoint him.
Just five days before the meeting in Pingqiu, Zifujiao came back.
He looked at Ji Sunsu and nodded slightly, indicating that the matter was done.
Seeing this, Ji Sunsu dropped his worries to the ground and let out a sigh of relief.
"As long as Han Qi is on our side, everything will be fine."
Han Qi played such a huge role in the previous civil war between Lu that Ji Sunsu still has lingering fears.
Now Han Qi at least feels that he is on their side. No matter what plans Li Ran and Yang Yangui have, I am afraid that they will be difficult to realize at the Pingqiu meeting this time.
Five days to go.
"Uncle Sunbao, Li Ran, just wait... When you go back this time, I will definitely make you miserable!"
Ji Sunsu's eyes were full of stern gaze.
"How is the situation over there in Yiyi?"
Ji Sunsu turned around and looked at Ji Sunhai.
Although they won over Han Qi, the war between Ju and Zhu could not be relaxed at all. Once the fall of Yiyi, it would be an extremely heavy blow to the entire Ji family.
At this time, he was still a little worried, because this time the offensive momentum and tactics of Ju and Zhu were also very different from usual. It was said that the tactics this time were very organized and completely different from the typical barbarian tactics before.
"Don't worry, father. Yi Ru has gone to Xi'an in person. With him in charge, there is no chance that Ju and Zhu will attack Xi'an in a short period of time."
Ji Sunhai seemed to have great trust in his nephew, and his face was full of determination, as if telling Ji Sunsu that there was no need to doubt Ji Sun Yiru's ability.
Hearing this, Ji Sunsu also nodded slightly and said happily:
"Well, Yiru has been in the war for a long time and knows the art of war. I expect he will definitely not disappoint me."
"What my father said is absolutely true."
Ji Sunhai bowed again, a stern look flashed between his eyebrows.
.......
Everything is ready, and now all the princes, ministers and officials who participated in this meeting in Pingqiu set off for Pingqiu with their own purposes in mind.
First of all, there were the two countries Ju and Zhu. They were eager to take back the territory that originally belonged to them from the Ji family. Therefore, they naturally came non-stop and did not dare to neglect at all.
As for the small countries such as Song, Wei, Cao, and Teng, they were originally following the Jin State. When the boss asked for a meeting, how could they dare to have an excuse not to come? Of course they ran around frequently.
Therefore, these small countries arrived at Pingqiu early and have been waiting there for a long time.
As for Qi State, that is quite interesting.
As a big country, the Marquis of Qi was originally unwilling to participate in this alliance. This is easy to understand. After all, Qi and Jin have been competing in secret. If you participate in the alliance hosted by the Jin State, it is equivalent to recognizing the overlord of the Jin State.
status.
So where should Qi State put its face?
Therefore, the Marquis of Qi sent someone to reply:
"The alliance is only needed when the country is in a period of rebellion and separation. Now that everyone is getting along well, what kind of alliance is needed?"
Although it is said very modestly and harmoniously, the real meaning is very clear: that is, if the Jin State wants to form an alliance, it is just to demonstrate the dominance of the Jin State, and I will not go away.
If you just refuse to admit it, what can your Jin country do?!
Therefore, after receiving instructions from the Marquis of Jin, Yang Tongue personally went on a mission to the State of Qi.
It stands to reason that facing such a powerful monarch, if it were any other envoy, he probably wouldn't be able to handle it.
But the sheep tongue is a sheep tongue after all. How can you, Qi Hou, be so arrogant?
So, he gave Qi Hou a vivid and detailed lesson:
(The following content is a literal translation of ancient Chinese, so it is inevitably a bit difficult to pronounce. In order to truly restore the debating skills of the Spring and Autumn Period, the author only attempts a literal translation without making too many changes. Please forgive me if you feel uncomfortable)
"In other words, if you become capable and forget your responsibilities due to slacking off, then you will not be able to work normally. And if you know your responsibilities but lose respect, then although you can work normally, you will also lose the order of the top and bottom due to too much resentment.
.If there is etiquette and respect but lacks prestige, then even though there is a clear order of honor and inferiority, things cannot be pushed forward smoothly. If there is prestige but it cannot be made known to everyone, then even though it can be enforced, there is nothing that can be done.
To make people understand and convince. Once you cannot make people understand and convince and lose the support of those doing things, then all kinds of things will have no results. These are the reasons why the country will overthrow."
"Besides, the laws of the Zhou Dynasty stipulate that each prince must send an envoy to the suzerain country once a year. The princes should come to the court once every three years, gather once every six years, and have an alliance meeting once every twelve years. The purpose of this is,
In order to make each prince understand his own responsibilities, he needs to establish etiquette according to his rank, and then show his dignity to other princes and declare his faith to the gods. This has been the case since ancient times."
"Now our country, Jin, has presided over the alliance meeting according to etiquette, and everything is ready. Just waiting for the prince to come to attend the meeting, but the prince insists on saying such nonsense as 'What is the use of forming an alliance?' I would like to ask you to be more careful."
Think carefully and think clearly before you speak..."
Wei Guangzheng's sheep tongue can be regarded as a model of diplomatic rhetoric. Even Lin Xiangru later probably only carried his shoes in front of him.
However, the words of Sheep Tongujie sounded like they were talking about truth. In fact, they were full of threats.
The subtext of these words is: Our Jin State is the current suzerain state. If you, the Qi State, do not come, you are not abiding by the rules. Regarding the unruly vassal states, the attitude of the Zhou royal family back then is the same as our attitude now.
You must know that today's Jin State has long lost the strength of the hegemon in the past, and Qi State was also a patriarch at least back then! In terms of foundation and strength, if you are really tough with you, your Jin State may not be able to get an advantage.
But Sheeptongue still dared to "threaten" the Marquis of Qi with such sharp words without any room for maneuver. One can imagine the courage and courage of this man. At the same time, this was the confidence given to him by Zhou Li.
When the Marquis of Qi heard that Yang Tonguei spoke so harshly and had no room for maneuver, he immediately became frightened.
As the saying goes, more is worse than less. Although Jin is no longer the hegemonic power it once was, it is not something that Qi can underestimate. If there is a big fight because of this, why bother? Moreover, said After all, it was his own fault.
Regarding this point, the Marquis of Qi naturally understood in his heart. Therefore, faced with Sheeptongue's aggressive approach, the Marquis of Qi finally gave in and sent someone to reply:
"Small countries have the right to express their opinions, and big countries have the right to make decisions. How dare they disobey them? I know this and promise to go there respectfully and obey the orders of the Marquis of Jin."
Therefore, in the end, among the princes in the world, except for Qin, Chu, and Wu, almost all other princes have arrived.
Chu State, this Pingqiu meeting is nominally to discuss how to punish Chu State. It is natural that Chu State will not come.
The reason why Qin didn't want to come was because Qin had been pursuing the strategy of "alliance with Chu to control Jin" since Duke Mu. The minor frictions with Jin had never stopped, and the relationship was naturally not close.
.
As for the Kingdom of Wu, at this time, the king of Wu Kingdom, Zhu Fan, had just ascended the throne, and his position as king was not yet secure, so he immediately declined due to the impassable waterway.
Therefore, the meeting in Pingqiu was about to begin under this background.
Pingqiu is actually not a big place. Compared with Qufu and Jiangcheng, it is not an exaggeration to say that this is a small town.
It has been three days since Li Ran came here, and there are still two days before the conference. Looking at the deserted mountain villages and plains in front of him, Li Ran couldn't help but sigh, and thought to himself:
"Such a fertile land, such a strategic location, will surely become the key to the struggle for hegemony in the Central Plains in the future. However, it is really strange that it is in such a state of decline now."
It’s no wonder that Li Ran views the value of a place with modern thinking. In the near future, the value of the Great Plains will be absolutely No. 1.
But this is not the case in the Spring and Autumn Period. In the long years, the vassal states often faced the surrounding barbarians. Therefore, building cities and towns on the plains was completely asking for death.
Moreover, the stone materials are also inconvenient to transport, and the construction cost has also increased significantly. What's more, the irrigation water conservancy in the plains also requires corresponding supporting facilities.
To say that this is empty talk, are there any examples to prove it? There are indeed.
As early as when Duke Huan of Qi was hegemonic, Weiguo was once a "plain" country. Because the entire territory was undefendable, it was once destroyed by the Yi and Di. The degree of cruelty was unprecedented. After the Di people were swept away, the whole country was completely destroyed.
There were only 730 people left, and even Wei Yigong himself was eaten by the barbarians with only his liver left.
Therefore, during the Spring and Autumn Period, a truly good place was located close to mountains and rivers. And most cities were built close to mountains and rivers, which was safer and more economical.
After chatting for a while, let’s get back to business.
Hearing that other princes also complained about the location here, Li Ran couldn't help but think about the significance of Han Qi choosing this location.
"Is this done on purpose? To show the power of Jin?"
Ji Le followed him, shaking his little head and thinking seriously.
Unexpectedly, Li Ran shook his head and said:
"How can such a place demonstrate the prestige of the Jin Dynasty? What if..."
Just as Li Ran was preparing to analyze, a burst of earth-shaking shouts suddenly sounded outside the alliance place.
"Shout!"
"Shout!"
"ha!"
The shouts of the advancing army were deafening, and the entire ground seemed to be shaking.
All those who came to attend the meeting, whether the monarch or the powerful ministers, and their entourage ran out of the station, and everyone looked in the direction of the sound.
Then, more than 4,000 military chariots charged from the distant hills. The dust was flying, covering the sky and the sun, like a torrent, overwhelming and unstoppable!
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
The bright red flag fluttered under the scorching sun, and hundreds of thousands of troops emerged with swords, spears, spears and halberds in the cold light.
Zuo Han, the central army officer, was standing on the chariot at the front. His armor was bright and eye-catching, his spirit was flying, and he had the potential to scold Fang Qiu and sweep away the princes.
The power of the Jin Kingdom was most perfectly demonstrated at this moment.
This is the strength of the overlord!
The kings and officials who came to attend the meeting were all shocked and trembling when they saw this scene.
This is not an alliance, this is clearly a grand military parade!
Indeed, the Marquis of Jin followed Han Qi's suggestion, and the main purpose of initiating this alliance was to conduct a military parade and demonstrate his power as the overlord of the Jin Kingdom.
Han Qi just accurately grasped the psychology of the Marquis of Jin and encouraged the Marquis of Jin to initiate an alliance, so that he could truly enjoy the pleasure of sitting in charge of the central army. Of course, it was also to keep the Han family in the minds of the vassal states.
A powerful and unshakable impression.
You know, at this moment he is the backbone of Jin State!
"That's it! This is the reason why I dare to love..."
In this situation, Li Ran suddenly realized that this was the reason!