"Alas! I, Qin, will not send troops, so what's the use of begging?"
Yongcheng, Qin State.
At the gate of the palace, the officials filed in.
Every time I pass by, I can't help but glance at the palace wall.
Just because there was an unkempt man standing by the wall.
It has been fifteen days.
This person is Shen Baoxu.
Compared with Yingdu, where he was calm and commanding in the face of danger, Shen Baoxu's eyes were dim and his figure was shaky, and he was worse than a beggar on the street.
Naturally, beggars were not allowed to stand under the walls of Qinjun's palace, but he was different. What he was begging for was not rice, but political assistance.
Shen Baoxu came to Qin, hoping that Qin would help Chu and resist the invasion of small countries.
Three months ago, the Emperor of Zhou angrily rebuked the Chu State for being disobedient and called on all the princes in the world to fight against it.
Chu proclaimed himself king, and the relationship with Emperor Zhou has always been the most tense. This is something everyone knows, but this time when he announced it to the world, Emperor Zhou's words were unprecedentedly fierce.
Jin and Qi were experiencing internal and external troubles, but Jiang and Wu did not respond. Other countries saw good opportunities and prepared armies and sent troops.
Not only was there a high-sounding reason, but the alliance of small countries did not return after the war.
After the Jin Dynasty was completely destroyed, only Jiang State withdrew its troops and returned home. The kings of other small countries all became guests of the Prince of Chu and also watched the enthronement ceremony.
After all, their appearance saved the Chu State from destruction, and the Prince of Chu was the leader of the alliance, so he should stay here due to both emotion and reason.
After remaining, it is a matter of benefit distribution. The five vassal countries first proposed to expand the territory, and the remaining eight countries also wanted territory.
The Chu State has a vast territory and rich resources, and its borders are relatively desolate areas, so the King of Chu wanted to agree.
But after Confucius entered Chu, he strongly admonished the king of Chu, promising treasures and not to cede the territory.
From the perspective of later generations, this is undoubtedly correct, but in fact, in the Spring and Autumn Period, there was no concept that the territory was inseparable.
Because there have been wars for many years, it is quite common for them to annex other countries' lands after victory, and then spit out the captured cities after defeat.
However, the King of Chu was young and vigorous, and he was unwilling to give in, so he immediately obeyed Confucius' words.
The kings of the thirteen kingdoms were very dissatisfied.
If you exert your strength, the casualties will be heavy, and if you don’t get any benefits, you will be sent away?
If the Chu State was still at its peak, they would not dare to be presumptuous and would eventually retreat obediently. But now, Chu is no longer the so-called great Chu!
Seeing that the alliance refused to leave and stayed with the army, the King of Chu was furious and wanted to send troops to forcefully drive them away. However, Confucius stopped him and asked Confucian disciples to persuade him with their righteousness and "invite" all the allies out.
As a result, the Confucian disciples were completely defeated.
The virtue of a gentleman is like the grass of a villain, and the wind on the grass will destroy it.
The spread of the gentleman's style is enough to make the grass fall with the wind. This is the belief that Confucius taught the world. But this time, the king of a small country who came specifically for profit obviously did not accept his tactics.
In fact, Confucianism at this time was full of talents, and all its disciples were both civil and military. They were by no means the kind of rotten Confucian cynics in later generations who had unclear reasons when a scholar met a soldier. They governed various places and fought against small countries. They should not have suffered a disastrous defeat.
But it is a pity that Chu State itself has a huge chain of interests. If Confucianism wants to gain a firm foothold, it is too easy to rely solely on the King of Chu who has just ascended the throne.
Under the constraints of clans and aristocratic families, Confucian disciples struggled to move forward, and allies of small countries began to separate themselves. The Chu State, which was already suffering from catastrophe, became even more turbulent.
When other small countries saw the opportunity, they naturally flocked in and blossomed everywhere.
Seeing that the situation was not good, Shen Baoxu sent an envoy to Qin to plead with the Qin king to send troops to expel the small country, and he did not hesitate to cede all the northwest of Dongting Lake to Qin.
However, Shen Baoxu repeatedly begged, but the King of Qin was just prevaricating. Shen Baoxu was helpless and refused to go to Guanyi to stay. So he leaned against the palace wall outside the Qin Palace, neither drinking nor eating. He went on a hunger strike from morning to night to express his ambition.
Crying loudly, his perseverance and perseverance are touching.
When Shen Baoxu and Wu Zixu were both ministers of Chu, they were good friends. They were later known as the two Xus of the Spring and Autumn Period. They both had a tenacity that would never give up until they achieved their goals.
It's a pity that in this life, there is no good story about crying for Qin Ting, nor is there any handed down poem about being in the same robe as his son.
Shen Baoxu refused to drink or eat for half a month, and finally lost his breath.
Until his death, he was still looking in the distance in the direction of Yingdu, with deep despair in his eyes. Qin Jun respected his loyalty, collected his body, and sent it back to Chu.
Historically, when the Qin Dynasty saved the Chu State, it was not because he was moved by Shen Baoxu, let alone the so-called marriage relationship.
Qin and Jin are also as good as Qin and Jin. They are not just stabbing each other and saying a thousand things, but they are all decisions made after weighing the pros and cons.
The state of Wu is extremely aggressive and aggressive. Once it captures the state of Chu, it will inevitably send troops to attack other countries. By then, Qin will be in danger even in the western frontier.
Sending troops to aid Chu could, on the one hand, curb the development of Wu, and on the other hand, allow Chu to continue to confront Jin and Qi in the north, allowing Qin to retreat into seclusion, recuperate, and accumulate national strength.
But now the situation is completely different.
The state of Wu no longer has the power to make progress, and the country of Jin is in chaos and turmoil. The state of Qin is ready to take action, hoping to take advantage of this good opportunity to leave the Guan and march eastward to break through the blockade of the state of Jin.
In this case, the more chaotic Chu is, the better for Qin and Yue, otherwise there is a risk of being attacked from both sides.
However, Shen Baoxu's body has not yet been transported back, and the country of Chu has been occupied by thirty-two small countries, and wars are everywhere.
A splendid palace, no matter how strong and spacious it is, is full of termites and will inevitably collapse.
This is the case with Da Chu today.
However, the centipede insect did not die, and the King of Chu and the Confucian clan counterattacked extremely fiercely. The clan and family forces also realized that the situation was critical and fully cooperated.
The territory of thousands of miles is filled with wars.
Burn your enemies and burn yourself to the ground.
…
A few months later, in Shen Kingdom.
The officials were looking forward eagerly when they saw a team appear on the horizon in the distance, and they immediately let out uncontrollable cheers.
"The Jiang State grain transport team is here!"
"Fortunately, there is Jiang Guo, who has always upheld the principle of benevolence and rescued us. Otherwise, the king has not returned for a long time, and the people in this country are full of resentment, and they will no longer be able to support him!"
"Alas, Chu State has a vast territory and rich products. It is not comparable to small countries like us. Your Majesty has long been reluctant to come back!"
In the public hall, everyone was talking about it without any scruples.
In fact, King Shen left his own country behind, divided the counties within Da Chu, and lived a happy life by monopolizing one area.
Even if the territory is the same size, how can the spiritual power of a small country be compared to that of a large country with thousands of acres of spiritual land and treasures of heaven and earth?
The king was unwilling to return and continued to mobilize troops to consolidate his territory in Chu. The people in the country suffered greatly.
At this time, Jiang Guo's help arrived.
"I'm late, I hope you can forgive me!"
Wen Zhong personally led the team, stepped out of the carriage, and bowed to everyone and explained: "The mountain road is rugged and difficult to navigate. We have to lay a new grain road to facilitate future exchanges between the two countries, so it has been delayed!"
"Easy to say! Easy to say!"
This time there was not only miscellaneous grains, but also spiritual grains for the nobles. The smiles of those officials were even more enthusiastic. They turned a blind eye to the so-called laying of grain roads and the spread of divine patterns.
"Farewell!"
Wen Zhong acted vigorously and resolutely, sending food and grass everywhere, bowed his hands, and turned around to return to the team.