"Lack of food? There are all kinds of miscellaneous grains everywhere in the mountains and plains. How can there be such a shortage?"
King Chen looked at the six ministers in the palace and asked in confusion.
Liu Qing, you look at me and I look at you. They are already frowning with worry. They can only say bitterly: "Your Majesty, we have been fighting for many years and have no production, especially the war with Cai Guo. We have been fighting since last winter."
Until now, we have missed farming and suffered natural disasters, and we really can’t sustain it anymore!”
They complained blindly, but they never said that some time ago, due to the rich merchants charging high prices for grains, their servants sold a large amount of grains, and now they suddenly ran out of grains, so they panicked.
"What should we do?"
King Chen spread his hands and said, "How about borrowing grain from the State of Chu?"
"Absolutely not!"
The six ministers said in unison: "Your Majesty, the State of Chu lent us miscellaneous grains, but what we are asking for is spiritual grains!"
The state of Chen and the state of Chu have been entangled with each other for a long time.
The Chen State experienced two subjugations and two restorations. The second time was closely related to the Chu State, and even the current King Ping of Chu served as the king of the Chen State for five years.
Yes, King Ping of Chu served as the king of the Chen State for five years. Later, he returned to the country to take the throne and gave up his position. Only then did the Chen State recover and become attached to the Chu State and rely on it.
After that battle, Chen Guo's vitality was severely damaged, and he launched wars against the surrounding countries, including Jiang Guo, in order to plunder wealth and recover losses.
But now, the loss has not been recovered, and there is no food at home. Chu State is willing to borrow food, but the lion is asking for it.
Miscellaneous grains are for the common people, while spiritual grains are for the nobles. If the Chu State takes the opportunity to exploit them, it will affect the interests of the upper class. How can they be willing?
King Chen could see the selfishness of these ministers, and his face darkened: "Since you are unwilling to provide spiritual food, which country has food, why don't you hurry up and borrow it?"
"Your Majesty, in addition to the three great kingdoms of Jin, Qi and Chu, all the princes and states are more or less in danger of being short of food, especially Yang and Xu!"
Liu Qing first suppressed and then raised his voice: "But from the two countries, we have also found a solution!"
King Chen quickly asked: "What can we do?"
Liuqing said: "Drive the refugees to Jiang State!"
King Chen was startled: "Jiang Country? That small country that fights fiercely?"
"Your Majesty, just because the Jiang Kingdom won the war a few years ago, Prince Long Yang seemed to think that a small country could rise. He actually invited Confucius from the Lu Kingdom to return to his country, preached the Confucian benevolence, and took advantage of the famine in various countries to recruit all the people from all over the world.
Refugees, many people in the Yang and Xu Kingdoms were originally going to starve to death, but now they are pouring into the Jiang Kingdom!"
King Chen had a sense of crisis and frowned: "But if this happens, wouldn't the population of Jiang State increase greatly? If they take this opportunity to increase their troops, wouldn't it be a threat to Chen State?"
"Your Majesty, please rest assured. The refugees are suffering from hunger and cold. They are not as good as ordinary people. We need to take good care of our bodies first and then train them. Isn't it something that can be accomplished overnight?"
Liuqing smiled confidently and said: "Jiang State will not refuse anyone who comes, and a large number of refugees will pour in. How long can their food and grass last? I'm afraid that within a year or two, the food and grass will be exhausted. At that time, we will directly send our troops to attack. Internal and external troubles will cause
The country is in danger of subjugation! When the Jiang Kingdom is destroyed and the refugees return, it is equivalent to them raising the people for us and getting through the difficulties!"
"It makes sense! It makes sense!"
King Chen thought carefully and felt that this was the best way. He nodded and said: "Just do it this way. Confucianism and Taoism will harm the country. From now on, none of Confucius and his disciples will be allowed to enter my country of Chen!"
"yes!"
…
…
"stop!"
The long convoy transporting grain slowly stopped in front of King Jiang's capital gate.
"Verify!"
Wen Zhong gave the order, and the officials under his command immediately came forward to inspect the grain. They were all smart, capable, and attentive.
Now Jiang State is divided into four counties with the capital as the center, southeast, southeast and northwest. Each county has an influx of hundreds of thousands of refugees.
These grains are for disaster relief.
"Tell Dr. Kong that the labor quota in Dongjun has not reached the standard. If the farmland is not cultivated within ten days, the next batch of grain and grass will be given priority to those who need it more."
After the grain inspection was completed, it was handed over to Zilu.
"yes!"
Zi Lu bowed his hands and accepted, feeling refreshed.
When Confucius first went to Jiang State to give lectures and was appointed as a doctor, he was not optimistic about it.
The Jiang Kingdom is too small and its national power is too weak. Even if the prince has intentions, the superiors and subordinates will oppose it.
However, Confucius and his disciples soon discovered that Jiang State was far from being as weak as the outside world mistakenly thought. It was full of talented people and united. Apart from being limited by land and population and unable to develop vigorously, it actually had all the conditions for its rise.
Therefore, when the prince was facing famine and dire straits in various countries and the people were in dire straits, he implemented Confucian moral principles, acted as a sage and benevolent king, and accepted refugees from all directions. It can be said that the two sides hit it off.
Of course, refugees will not be fed in vain, but will be given work tasks.
Although the population of the Immortal Martial World is dozens of times that of the mortal world, it still seems vast and sparsely populated on such a vast land.
The Jiang State is a small country, just like other countries. In fact, there is a large area of wasteland in the country. These refugees reclaimed the wasteland, built towns, and finally settled down.
Confucius actually did not agree with this model at first, because work was compulsory, and he hoped that the people would feel the benevolence of the sage and work voluntarily.
However, after the officials under Wen Zhong singled out many refugees who were indolent and even troublesome, he had nothing to say and made certain changes.
Just as Sun Wu had not yet written Sun Tzu's Art of War, Confucius' Confucianism and Taoism were constantly improving.
With Dr. Kong working from dawn to dusk and the major disciples under his sect busy, Wen Zhong's internal affairs abilities were fully brought into play.
The refugees gradually ceased to be refugees and became citizens of Jiang State. They developed a strong sense of identity and began to take root, get married and have children.
Those with good foundation and strong health were selected to join the army.
Jiang State is rapidly expanding its army.
fifty thousand!
Seventy thousand!
One hundred thousand!
In just a few years, Jiang's population tripled, and its standing army reached 200,000.
On the other hand, the populations of the four surrounding countries have shrunk significantly, and their military strength has also declined rapidly.
The kings of the four kingdoms could not sit still.
Day and night, they hoped that Jiang State's food would be exhausted and the Rende Shengzhi would collapse. However, the news came back that Jiang State's army was marching to the border.
King Chen's Palace.
Bang!
With the sound of heavy objects falling to the ground, King Chen shrugged his shoulders and roared hysterically: "Before March, the kings of Yang and Xu took their seals and ribbons, took off their clothes, and surrendered in Kaicheng. Now the Jiang army has also come, and there has been no battle.
A battle has not been fought, do you also want our country, Chen, to perish without a fight?"
The Six Ministers knelt on the ground, trembling with fear, not daring to move. However, they heard loud noises outside. Some people directly rebelled and spread the news everywhere: "The army of benevolence and righteousness, surrender without killing, surrender without killing!"
King Chen's body swayed and he suddenly fell backward: