In the spring of the next year, it rained continuously for a whole month, moistening the long-dried land. The new shoots that had been too cold to sprout in winter were breaking out of the ground, marking a new beginning.
Yingdu, the capital of the Chu State, is in the west of the Chu State. In the Battle of Sanxian Lake last year, the Shang State defeated the Chu State, causing the Chu State to lose three states in half a year.
Heavy rains for a whole month caused the Jiuqu River to surge. In the Sanxian Lake section, the war destroyed the river dams to pieces. The merchant army had no intention of repairing the river dams because they wanted to pursue victory.
The Shang army reached the place one state away from the capital of Chu State. Just when the Shang army was preparing to attack the city, the river dam behind the army burst and Sanxian Lake began to pour back. The nearby states and counties, whether they were Shang State or Chu State,
All were affected.
This natural disaster temporarily interrupted the supply of food and grass for the Shang army. Without the support of food and grass, the Shang army did not dare to advance rashly and retreated to the captured three continents to defend themselves against the Chu army's counterattack.
As for the Chu State, because of this natural disaster, they were just lucky, thinking that God was helping them hold back the merchant army. After intense discussions about the opportunity for this counterattack, the court decided to abandon the Three Continents and consolidate the front.
At that time, the prince was in power and wanted to recapture the Three Continents. However, most of the officials in the court opposed it, saying that the prince was too aggressive. This was because the prince was determined to regain the sovereignty of Sanxian Lake and launched a war against the Shang Kingdom. Not only did he fail to regain the sovereignty of Sanxian Lake, but he also
Let other countries counterattack and lose the land of three continents.
This single battle made the emperor who was in charge of the government very dissatisfied and dismissed the prince.
When winter came, envoys from the Shang State came. In view of the fact that the Chu State launched a war against the Shang State and caused the Shang Emperor to lose a large number of his subjects, this behavior made His Majesty the Emperor very angry and demanded compensation from the Chu State, otherwise the Shang State army would directly go south.
.
At the end of winter, in order to calm the anger of the Shang State, the imperial court not only made various compensations, but also promised the other party to let Princess Anhe marry to the Shang State.
The first court meeting after the new year.
On the dragon chair, which is the main seat of the main hall, the Emperor of Chu was leaning on the dragon pillow, holding his chin with one hand, his eyes dull, and he yawned from time to time.
On the steps under the dragon chair, the newly appointed prince and the former second prince stood in the middle of the steps, looking at the civil and military officials with excitement, as well as the place where he used to stand at that time. The person standing there now was not himself, but the former prince.
Things are changing now.
After talking about government affairs, the eldest prince, who had become a prince again, had something to say.
The eldest prince directly passed over his younger brother, now the prince, and reported to his father: "Father, Monk An is still young and has not yet reached the age of marriage. I hope my father will find another candidate."
"Brother Emperor, this matter has been settled a long time ago, and the documents have been submitted to the Shang Palace. Now, the mission may have left the capital. Are you going to regret it now?"
The prince looked displeased on the steps. He didn't like that his eldest brother, who was once the prince, went beyond him and reported directly to his father. Now that he was the ruling prince, he was so blatantly denying face. This was a slap in the face in front of the ministers.
The emperor of Chu State did not govern, but only listened in. After he sat in, the emperor began to act as a hands-off boss, leaving everything to the ruling prince to handle, and basically did not express any opinions.
"Your Highness, An He is also your sister. Your Highness letting the current An He marry is tantamount to letting her fall into the tiger's den. Your Highness, the Crown Prince of Shang Kingdom, has also heard that before she even reaches the crown, she is already arrogant and lustful, and she is male.
Cruel, Your Highness cannot bear it..."
"Brother Emperor." The prince interrupted his brother and said, "The reputation of the prince of Shang State is indeed not very good now, but brother, please don't forget that the emperor of Shang State was also like this before. When he took the throne, he
After working hard to govern, surrounded by various countries, the Shang Kingdom developed in an orderly manner. I believe that marrying An He is the best choice. Becoming the queen in the future will be of great benefit to our Chu Kingdom."
The word "Prince" is extremely loud, reminding him of his royal brother's identity.
"My son..."
The eldest prince still ignored the prince's eyes, but looked at his father, wanting to refute, but was interrupted by the prince again.
"The emperor of Shang State also married a virtuous woman, made her abandon evil and do good, and made him a good emperor, and the woman also became the respected queen of Shang State. Our peace and harmony are no better than that of that virtuous woman.
The woman is poor, well-educated, gentle and virtuous, and is also involved in music, chess, calligraphy and painting. When she goes to the Shang Kingdom, she will be able to assist the Shang Crown Prince very well."
"Can...."
"Brother Emperor, now is not the time for you to think about peace and harmony. Don't your father and mother think about your children? You should reflect on it most now, because your insistence has caused the Chu State to lose three states, because
You insisted on going your own way and made the Chu State sign a treaty that was humiliating and humiliating the country. Because of you, An He had to marry into the Shang State at such a young age to take care of the funeral affairs of your brother."
"You should not be worried about a sister here now, but worry about the people who have been displaced because of you, and those people who have been taxed more heavily because of you. They are the emperor's people, and they are also your and my people. He has not been able to win consecutive elections this year.
You can't live a good New Year, you are still worried about An He's grievances, as a prince, you are not qualified, and as a prince, you are not qualified!"
The new prince's passionate words and precise words made the civil and military officials re-recognize this second prince, who was usually not well-known.
Looking at everyone's reaction, the prince felt happy. Looking at his brother's liver-colored cheeks, he was even more excited. This was the pleasure that one person could feel better than ten thousand people.
The prince softened his tone and continued: "A delegation will arrive in Yingdu next month. The Ministry of Rites must prepare a good reception etiquette. I don't want the delegation to encounter anything unhappy in Yingdu."
The prince said, looking at his brother with hidden eyes. He knew his brother's temperament. He was fond of martial arts since he was a child, had good skills, and was extremely defensive. He and An He were brothers and sisters, so they would definitely cause some trouble. He was afraid that it would happen when the time came.
Go find trouble with the mission.
"Okay, let's retreat."
All the officials knelt down and worshiped. The emperor stretched himself and left the hall accompanied by his father-in-law. He did not say a word during the entire court meeting and remained in a sleepy state. He did not think about the king of a country at all.
After a while, there were only a few people left in the main hall.
"Brother, don't look at me like that." The prince walked down the steps and stood beside his brother who refused to leave in the main hall. He said, "Anhe is also my sister. If there is any other way, I will not let Anhe.
We went to the Shang Kingdom, but the Shang Emperor asked for peace. For the sake of peace, they lowered the terms of compensation. Otherwise, how could we have collected so much real money?"
"None of those Beijing officials and businessmen are extremely rich. Asking them to vomit out all the corruption and bribery they usually do is enough..."
"Brother Emperor, forget about telling me what you said. Do you dare to say it in front of them? Do you have evidence of corruption and bribery? It is not easy for them to come up with something this time. Do you still want them to do more?
Duo, aren't you afraid of our Jiang family's transposition?"
"Also, I don't know why you insisted on attacking the Shang Kingdom in the first place. I don't know how you convinced those who supported you to send troops, and how you obtained the funding. These are all important."
"Now, one thing you must know is that those people are waiting for you to give them an answer."
After the prince finished speaking, he smiled and was about to leave.
"What on earth did you do?!" the eldest prince said in a deep voice.
"What have I done? What can I do? I'm wiping your butt, my good brother. I'm gone. There are still many things waiting for me to deal with. The self-respecting soldiers in the west are also a little restless.
I still have to discuss countermeasures with all the adults."
"If you have time to feel sorry for yourself, you might as well go and see Anhe. For your sake, she has lost too much weight. Please advise her not to lose weight and lose face. Then the Shang Kingdom will turn their backs on each other."
, the State of Chu..."
The eldest prince punched the stone pillar of the main hall hard, and a stream of blood flowed out from the fist and slowly flowed down the thick lacquered red stone pillar.
At this moment, a father-in-law ran over in a panic from outside and reported in a stammering voice: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, something happened to Princess Anhe."
"What?!"
The two princes were surprised at the same time.
...
The ever-changing and intrigues in the court are not known to the people at all. They only know that their taxes have increased, their food payments have been reduced, and they will have to cultivate more acres of land this year, otherwise they will be hungry by then. Taxes
If you can't hand it in, that's a big deal. I pray that this year will be smooth and free from illness and disaster.
But there is one thing they know. This thing is like a spring breeze, blowing to every corner of the Chu Kingdom. This thing makes the entire Guo family despise that person. Even if he was once the prince, it doesn't matter, it is him who makes them
They almost froze to death in winter, but it was him who made them wake up even more late and go to bed later. Anyway, he and they would never see each other again. He spit out a few mouthfuls of thick phlegm, and with such a good spring rain, he quickly planted more food.
...
Spring rain is as expensive as oil, but it doesn't rain like copper coins. It's not heavy, but it can easily make people seriously ill.
In the school ground of the cottage, Chen Mo, who was soaked all over, was kneeling on one knee, leaning on the ground with a broken blade. Thrilling knife marks and gullies were drawn on the ground of the school ground, indicating that a fierce battle had just occurred here.
The village was a bit quiet. The spectators hiding under the eaves held their breaths and looked at the two people on the field, fearing that making the slightest sound would interrupt the atmosphere.
"I didn't expect you to be able to do dual-sword style."
Thirteenth Niang looked at the knife stuck on the ground in front of her. This was the knife she had shot down Chen Mo before.
Not everyone who wields two swords is a double-sword style, but Chen Mo used the two swords like two people who had a perfect understanding of each other, making Thirteenth Niang feel a little bit of trouble for the first time.
"Three realms!?"
"Oh~? Did you find it? Is it surprising? Is it exciting? Is it exciting? Are you happy?"
Thirteenth Niang wiped the spring rain from her face and said with a smile.
People in the third realm are not as easy to distinguish as those in the second realm. After the battle just now, Chen Mo discovered that Thirteenth Niang can predict her own sword. This is the special thing about people in the third realm. This is what he heard when he was at the border of Xia Kingdom.
What others have said, of course, is not absolute. He can predict if his habits are seen through by others, but Chen Mo does not think that Shisanniang understands his habits, and he thinks that there are no rules for his sword attacks.
.
"I didn't expect that."
The corners of Chen Mo's mouth curved slightly, as if he was excited or grinning ferociously.
"I'll stop you from laughing later!"
There was a "buzz" sound, and the sound of the sword pierced the air.