Chapter 144: Responses from various countries [two in one]
Around September of the second year of Wei Xing'an, while Tang Ju and Fan Ying were on an envoy to Korea, Wei also sent envoys to Qi and Lu.
The two Wei envoys were served by Li Xing and Yu An, officials of the Ministry of Rites of the Wei State. The former was sent to Qi and the latter was sent to Lu. In terms of qualifications, these two were still above Tang Ju and Fan Ying.
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It is naturally easier to travel from Wei to Lu and Qi than to Jicheng, the current new capital of South Korea: after starting from Daliang, you only need to take a boat at Bolangsha River Port or Xiangfu Port and follow the "Lianglu Canal"
By going down the river, you can reach Qufu, the capital of the Lu State, and Linzi, the capital of the Qi State. There is no need to travel for more than two months like Tang Ju and Fan Ying did when they went to Korea as envoys.
It is worth mentioning that since we take the Lianglu Canal waterway, we will naturally pass through the war zone of the Lu and Chu armies - the "Ning (Ningyang) Qu (Qufu) battlefield".
However, because the flag of "Wei" was hoisted on the ship, not only did the Chu army do nothing to attack the fleet, but even the Lu army did not dare to stop it. They could only pretend not to see it and let the Wei fleet pass by.
The waters of his own royal capital.
Of course, the more important reason is that this fleet carrying the Wei envoys once anchored in Qufu. The Wei envoy "Yu An" who was on an envoy to the Lu State disembarked here and went straight to visit the King of Lu.
Explain your intention.
Similar to the situation when Han Wangran learned that the envoy from Wei had arrived, Prince Shupan of Lu was inevitably a little panicked after learning that the envoy from Wei had arrived in Qufu.
This is not surprising, after all, the entire Central Plains is still in chaos, but Wei is the only one who is detached and watching the fire from the other side.
To be honest, this situation is indeed very rare. After all, in the history of the Central Plains, countries rarely and rarely acquiesce that a certain country is far away from war, while other countries are fighting for life and death. Logically speaking, no matter it is the "Five-Nation Alliance"
The Qilu State and the Chu State of the "Four Kingdoms Alliance" would never want the Wei State to escape the war and take advantage of this period to focus on domestic construction.
But in fact, Chu State does not want Wei State to intervene in the war in the eastern part of the Central Plains. In the eyes of Chu State, Qi and Lu are the fat meat that is about to be caught in their mouths. Of course, they do not want Wei State to suddenly appear at this time and seize the opportunity.
They can take part of their interests; as for Qi and Lu, how dare they take the initiative to provoke Wei when Wei defeated South Korea with a huge advantage?
All this has created a rare situation where Wei, the most powerful country in the Central Plains, has the opportunity to escape from the war.
But today, the State of Wei, which had been stationary for almost a year, suddenly sent an envoy. This made Duke Shupan of Lu feel a little panicked. He mistakenly thought that after nearly a year of rest, the State of Wei was preparing to once again raise troops to intervene in the eastern part of the Central Plains.
War——This is very unfavorable to the "Five-Nation Alliance" on Chilu's side.
But even though he was panicking, Duke Shupan of Lu still received Yu An, the envoy of Wei State. After all, behind Yu An was the State of Wei, and it was the Prince Run of Wei who had ascended the throne as the king. Prince Lu did not dare not give this face.
However, to Prince Lu's surprise, the purpose of Wei's envoy Yu An's visit this time was not to persuade him to surrender or surrender, nor to extort money by relying on the powerful national power. Wei's envoy Yu An only proposed a proposal.
There is a pile of matters related to the "Alliance".
Although Lu Wanggong Shupan was far less talented than Han Wangran, he had been the monarch of Lu for decades. Of course, he also wanted to get what Han Wangran wanted.
No, he immediately guessed Wei's intention: to show off force and intimidate other countries.
Compared with the worst outcome, this outcome is not unacceptable.
After sending Wei envoy Yu An to the post house in the city to rest, Prince Shupan of Lu immediately sent for his son "Gongzi Xing" and his very trusted veteran "Uncle Ji".
After the prince Xing and his veteran uncle Ji arrived, Duke Shupan of Lu told them the purpose of Wei's envoy Yu An's arrival.
Uncle Ji was not surprised at all by this. On the contrary, he thought Wei Guo's move was very wise.
He said with some melancholy and emotion: "This is a soldier who conquers the enemy without fighting!"
Isn't that right? After the Wei State defeated South Korea, but the Lu State has not repelled the Chu army so far, the Lu State did not dare to go against the will of the Wei State and could only surrender to the Wei State. In other words, Wei Wang Zhao Run did not waste any time.
With one soldier and one soldier, and without consuming any rice or grain, he surrendered to the state of Lu. There is no better way to conquer an enemy without fighting than to do so.
However, what about sending him to Daliang, the state of Wei, as a representative of his state of Lu?
Duke Shupan of Lu originally wanted to go there in person. After all, he still had some friendship with the young monarch of Wei State. But before he could speak, Prince Xing said: "Father, please let me go to Daliang this time."
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Duke Shupan of Lu was startled and was about to refuse when he saw Young Master Xing saying: "As my father said just now, the State of Wei just wants to use this matter to intimidate other countries, show off its martial arts, and achieve the goal of dominating the Central Plains. Therefore,
There is no danger for my son to go to Daliang." At this point, he said sincerely: "My son believes that as the prince, I should shoulder the heavy burden of the country."
Hearing this, Uncle Ji was full of praise for the young master. Then he turned to Prince Lu and said to Duke Shupan: "Your Majesty, why don't you let me accompany the young master to Daliang? As for the country, my son Ji Wen and Ji Wu are incompetent.
But as far as the current Chu army's offensive is concerned, it can be sustained, not to mention that Huan Hu is still there..."
"Well——"
Lu Wanggong Shupan pondered for a moment, and finally nodded and agreed to the matter.
Not to mention, the recent war situation of the Lu State is much more optimistic than before. On the one hand, this is because the traitor general Huan Hu who defected to the Lu State is indeed not an ordinary person. He was actually able to defeat the general of the Chu State, Xinyang Jun Xiang Pei.
Then he united with Qufu to launch a two-sided attack on the Chu State General Xiang Mo's army, using nearly 200,000 troops to attack Xiang Mo's 700,000 to 80,000 troops.
The latter was once frustrated by Qushui; on the other hand, in May of this year, the Qi State launched the most massive counterattack in the history of this war against the Chu Army in Langya County, although it did not defeat Chu Gongzi Yang in one fell swoop.
The hundreds of thousands of troops under the command of the city king Xiong Tuo also succeeded in causing the Chu army to suffer several defeats. This incident gave the Lu State more confidence.
As long as Qi does not fall, Lu still has hope of preserving the country and expelling the Chu army.
Of course, the premise is that the Wei State in the western part of the Central Plains does not intervene in the battlefield here, otherwise, Qi and Lu may have little chance of surviving the offensive of the Wei and Chu coalition forces.
Therefore, this time, the Lu State not only sent people to Daliang, the capital of King Wei, to participate in the so-called alliance, but also had to be prepared to compromise - only to please the Wei State so that the Wei State would not interfere with matters in the eastern part of the Central Plains.
, only then would Lu and even Qi have a chance to continue to exist.
About two days later, another Wei envoy, Li Xing, also arrived at Linzi, the capital of Qi.
Similar to the reactions of the two monarchs Han Wangran and Lu Wangpan, Qi Wang Lu Bai also felt inexplicably frightened when he learned that Wei envoy Li Xing came to visit him, and hurriedly sent someone to bring his brother-in-law Zhao Zhao who had just returned to Linzi.
Please come and accompany him to meet Wei envoy Li Xing.
"Prime Minister Zuo, did you hear anything when you were in Wei?"
When he saw his brother-in-law Zhao Zhao, King Lu Bai of Qi couldn't wait to ask.
Zhao Zhao was also very puzzled by this. After all, when he was in Wei State, he had never heard of Wei State's intention to intervene in the war in the eastern part of the Central Plains.
After thinking for a while, he said: "Your Majesty, please be patient for now. What is going on? Invite the envoy to the palace and we will find out once you ask."
After a while, Wei envoy Li Xing came to the palace.
When Li Xing saw Zhao Zhao, the young master of their Wei Kingdom, he was a little surprised. He subconsciously cupped his hands, but he didn't know what to call him - Prince Rui? Or Prime Minister Qi?
Seemingly sensing Li Xing's concerns, Zhao Zhao took the lead and said in greeting: "I'm the Prime Minister of Qi, Zhao Zhao, and I have met Mr. Li Xing."
Li Xing understood, but after all, he still did not dare to address Zhao Zhao directly. He could only address him as "Guo Xiang", and his words and deeds were quite respectful.
During the conversation between the two parties, Qi Wang Lu Bai and Zuo Xiang Zhao Zhao finally learned about Li Xing's purpose of visiting. Qi Wang Bai secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Compared with Qi Wangbai, Zhao Zhao thought more. After a moment of hesitation, he said to Li Xing: "Can our country consider this matter?"
Fortunately, it was Zhao Zhao who said this, and Li Xing did not dare to make a mistake. If it were Qi Ren, I believe Li Xing would not be so polite: "Yes, yes, I will be waiting for a reply at the post in the city. I hope Rui
...Well, I hope the Prime Minister will give you a reply as soon as possible."
"Thank you."
After both parties saluted, Wei envoy Li Xing took the lead in saying goodbye and leaving.
At this time, Qi Wangbai asked Zhao Zhaodao: "Brother-in-law, what is the purpose of Wei Guo's move? It shouldn't be to harm me, Da Qi, right?"
Zhao Zhao shook his head and explained: "The purpose of the alliance is not to harm Da Qi, but to show off martial arts, intimidate other countries, and force Da Qi to surrender to Wei..."
Having said this, he couldn't help but glance at Qi Wangbai secretly, wanting to see the young king's face.
What made Zhao Zhao more gratified was that Qi Wangbai was not angry at all after hearing this. Instead, he was a little happy. He patted his chest and said with a smile: "It turns out that it was just like this... I was so panicked when I mobilized the troops.
"
Seeing that Qi Wangbai actually said "just that", Zhao Zhao couldn't help but remind him: "Your Majesty, this is definitely not just "just that". This alliance is equivalent to Wei Guo declaring its name as the overlord of the Central Plains to the world.
and status, if I, Da Qi, send envoys, it means that I have recognized its status as an overlord. If Wei calls in the name of overlord in the future, I, Da Qi, will have to obey..."
However, Qi Wangbai interrupted Zhao Zhao's words, blinked and said: "But now, I, Da Qi, can only admit it, right? Otherwise, if I anger the Wei State, I, Da Qi, may be about to perish.
Already."
Zhao Zhao was very pleased that Qi Wangbai was still very rational, and did not have the inexplicable arrogance of ordinary Qi people who thought they were invincible and invincible in the world.
"This matter still needs to be discussed with the adults in the palace." Zhao Zhao reminded.
King Bai of Qi nodded and immediately summoned his minister Gao Xi, scholar-bureaucrat Guan Zhong, Uncle Bao, Lian Chen and others. Unfortunately, right prime minister Tian Tao was in Langya County at the moment, so he was not summoned.
After all the officials arrived, Qi Wangbai told them the purpose of Wei envoy Li Xing's arrival.
It has to be said that Gao Xi, Guan Zhong, Uncle Bao and other officials are not ignorant people. As soon as they heard this, they understood Wei Guo's intention - it was nothing more than forcing him to express Qi Guo's position! After all, were they willing to show him
The Wei State surrendered in exchange for a chance to survive, but they still resisted until the end, waiting for the new overlord to turn around and exercise his rights as the overlord of the Central Plains after gaining the recognition of the people of the world, and use the Qi State as the chicken to scare the monkeys.
For a moment, the hall became quiet. Whether it was Qi Wangbai, Zuo Xiang Zhao Zhao, Guan Zhong, or Uncle Bao, they all turned their eyes to Gao Xi, waiting for Gao Xi's reply.
After a while, Shangqing Gao Xi sighed longly, with a sad look on his face, and murmured: "Shame! It's such a shame and a great disgrace... that the inheritance of our ancestors has been reduced to this in my generation... This means that when Xi passes away in the future, there will be no
How can we face our ancestors and previous monarchs under the Nine Springs?"
Hearing this, everyone in the palace felt a little uncomfortable.
Zhao Zhao, the left prime minister, was okay. After all, he was a prince of Wei State, so his feelings were not that deep. However, Qi Wangbai, Guan Zhong, Uncle Bao, Lian Chen and others felt the same after hearing these words:
The majestic overlord of the Central Plains in the previous era has now been reduced to bowing to the new overlord. This has to be said to be a very sad thing.
Perhaps seeing that the atmosphere in the palace was too solemn, King Qi Bai coughed and asked, "Which of your beloved ministers is willing to go on an envoy to Wei State on my behalf?"
After hearing this, Guan Zhong and Uncle Bao looked at each other.
Originally, the most suitable candidate was the Left Chancellor Zhao Zhao. He was a powerful figure in the Qi State, a native of Wei, and the young brother of the King of Wei. No one was more suitable than the Left Chancellor.
But a few days ago, when Zhao Zhao returned to Linzi, Guan Zhong and Uncle Bao happily invited the former to have a drink to cleanse him from the dust. At that time, Zhao Zhao accidentally revealed that he was going to Wei State this time to meet with him.
That brother, Zhao Run, the current monarch of Wei State, was not very happy. As for the reason, even if Zhao Zhao didn't say it, Uncle Bao and Uncle Bao could guess it.
Therefore, Guan Zhong and Uncle Bao considered Zhao Zhao as their close friend and believed that the latter was not suitable to be sent to Wei State for the time being. They had just been unhappy with Zhao Run, the king of Wei, because of some things, so they turned around and used the title of Zuo Xiang of Qi State.
Isn't it embarrassing to be sent as an envoy to Wei?
So, after looking at each other, Guan Zhong and Uncle Bao hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, Mr. Zuo Xiang has just returned to Linzi. The boat is very tiring and it is very hard. Please be sure to send me and I as envoys to Wei..."
When Qi Wangbai heard this, he glanced at Zhao Zhao, who smiled helplessly with a hint of bitterness on his face. He suddenly understood in his heart, nodded and said, "In that case..."
As soon as he said this, he heard Gao Xi, the senior minister, interjecting: "Your Majesty, please be sure to send an old minister to Wei as an envoy this time!"
Hearing this, King Qi Bai was stunned, and the palace suddenly became silent. Everyone in the palace looked at Gao Xi.
"Lord Gaoxi, you...are you going to the Kingdom of Wei?" Qi Wangbai asked with some stuttering.
I saw Shang Qing Gao Xi saying firmly: "I want to see with my own eyes how big the gap is between our Da Qi and the Wei State now..." After saying that, he looked around the people in the palace and added seriously: "Know yourself and your enemy.
, so that you can fight a hundred battles without danger!"
Hearing Gao Xi's words, especially his last sentence, everyone in the palace smiled: This veteran minister of Qi State has not been knocked down yet.
"In that case..." Qi Wangbai thought for a moment and said, "Then Sir Gao Xi, Guan, and Bao, my dear friends, will go to the Kingdom of Wei on behalf of Da Qi."
"Your Majesty is wise." Everyone in the palace bowed their hands and bowed.
When leaving the palace, Guan Zhong and Uncle Bao stopped Zhao Zhao, looked at the departing figure of Shang Qing Gao Xi, and whispered: "Have you ever noticed that Lord Gao Xi has changed a lot?"
Zhao Zhao showed an awkward smile again.
The reason is very simple. The reason that forced Gao Xi to make changes and finally recognize the reality is that the current strength of Wei State - after the outbreak of this war, Shang Qing Gao Xi's attitude did change a lot, and he gradually no longer
Being as stubborn as before, especially when it comes to matters involving the Wei State, he remained silent and never raised any objections to Zhao Zhao's suggestions. This was not for Gao Xi, a noble king of Qi who was full of patriotism and honor.
To put it bluntly, it is truly commendable.
After thinking about it, Zhao Zhao paid close attention to Guan Zhong, and Uncle Bao warned him: "The two of you are going to Wei with Master Gao Xi, and you may encounter various things during the process... Well, although Zhao's brother is not like that, but
I can't guarantee that the people below won't be... rude to you, and I hope you will forgive me when the time comes."
Although Zhao Zhao spoke very implicitly, Uncle Bao and Uncle Bao could still understand the meaning: the Wei court did not want to see Qi people!
The reason is very simple. When Tian Hu, the envoy of the State of Qi, was sent to the State of Wei, he dismissed everything in the State of Wei, made judgments about it, and even arrogantly demanded that the State of Wei surrender to the State of Qi. As a result, not only did the officials of the Wei State and the central government quarrel
field
Hu, along with the Qi people's impression plummeted, also caused Tian Hu himself to be killed. He was eventually ordered to be executed by Zhao Run, who was still the crown prince of Wei at the time - to execute an envoy from another country in a formal occasion, this is really
Very rare thing.
However, regarding Tian Hu's death, Uncle Bao once explained to Zhao Zhao: "Tian Hu brought his own destruction."
As Tian Hu's deputy envoy at the time, Uncle Bao clearly saw all of Tian Hu's attempts to commit suicide. It was really his own fault and he would not survive.
At the same time, in Shouying of Chu State, another envoy of Wei State, "Zheng Xi", also came to the capital of Chu State by boat and met the King of Yangcheng who had just ascended the throne as King of Chu.
Xiong Tuo—now it should be changed to Xiong Tuo, King of Chu.
Compared with the monarchs of other countries in the Central Plains, Xiong Tuo did not have too much suspicion when he learned about the arrival of Wei envoy Zheng Xi. After all, Wei and Chu were in the honeymoon period in recent years, and Xiong Tuo regarded him as a relative.
My sister's cousin Mi Jiang is now the Queen of Wei. This makes the two countries of Wei and Chu tightly tied together in terms of interests and marriage, so naturally there is no contradiction.
Thinking about it, the only fundamental conflict between the two countries that cannot be resolved is to wait for more than ten or twenty years, when Chu State gradually becomes prosperous. By then, Wei State and Chu State may terminate their current friendly relations. For the sake of the interests of the Central Plains overlord,
They gradually became alienated due to their status, and even turned against each other because of it.
But this is a long-term matter, and it is too early to consider this now.
Because of this, when Xiong Tuo met Wei envoy Zheng Xi, the atmosphere was quite relaxed and harmonious. He even asked for a congratulatory gift as a joke: "I have become the king of Chu, and my good brother-in-law has nothing to do with it.
Does it mean?"
Hearing this, Zheng Xi said with a smile: "Our Majesty said, 'congratulations'."
Xiong Tuo became angry, and after a while he shook his head and said, "That's all, I've known Zhao Run for ten years. I've long been used to his generous temper towards Wei people and stingy attitude towards outsiders. I'm not used to it in the first place."
I hope he can give me some kind of gift... This bastard, when he got married, I gave him a pretty generous gift!"
After cursing a few words with a glum look on his face, Xiong Tuo seemed to have calmed down, and said to Zheng Xi with a smile again: "So... what is the purpose of your visit this time? Don't tell me what Wei Guo wants to do with you.
I, the great Chu, will rob Qilu!"
Zheng Xi smiled slightly and expressed his intention: "Our Majesty intends to hold an alliance in Daliang and invites all countries to send representatives to participate..."
After hearing this, Xiong Tuo teased: "Well, your country has won the chair with the title "Overlord of the Central Plains" engraved on it. My good brother-in-law can't wait to sit on it in a grand manner in front of our countries.
That chair...I understand."
Seeing that Xiong Tuo explained this matter so straightforwardly and vulgarly, Zheng Xi felt a little embarrassed and quickly explained: "His Majesty the King of Chu has misunderstood. His Majesty's original intention is just to stop the current war in the Central Plains..."
It would have been better if he didn't say this. As soon as he said this, the smile on Xiong Tuo's face dropped, and he frowned and asked: "In order to stop the war? Could it be that the war between Chu and Qi was what I was referring to?"
?...Zhao Run, what does this mean?!"
It's no wonder that Xiong Tuo looked unhappy. You must know that the cause of this war that affected the entire Central Plains was actually the "war between Wei and Han", but Zhao Run escalated this war to the point of chaos in the world. Now, Wei
After the country achieved his strategic goal, he turned around and sold his ally Chu State. What is this? - You can't be so shameless as a human being, right? Thanks to me, Xiong Tuo will still regard her as a biological sister.
My cousin Mi Jiang will marry you!
Seeing Xiong Tuo's angry expression, Zheng Xi quickly explained: "It's not to stop the war, but to appeal, to appeal..."
"call?"
Xiong Tuo's face turned pale. After all, he also understood that most of the time, the so-called appeal was just to deceive oneself and deceive others. Obviously, the Wei State just wanted to use this 'appeal' to cover up its true intention to intimidate other countries and force them to surrender to it.
intention.
For Xiong Tuo, if Wei just 'appeals', he can still accept it: Wei talks about Wei's, Chu fights Chu's, there is no conflict.
Although the current war situation between Chu State and Qi State is indeed getting more and more difficult - mainly because this battle has lasted for two full years, Chu State's food and grass cannot keep up, which has led to the frontline army becoming increasingly weak - but even so
, Xiong Tuo will never give up attacking Qi.
Anyway, use it up.
If Wei forced Chu to stop the war with Qi, then the relationship between Wei and Chu would probably be greatly compromised.
Fortunately, King Zhao Run of Wei and the Ministry of Rites of the State of Wei also understood the reason and specifically asked Zheng Xi to make his purpose clear, so as not to arouse Xiong Tuo's suspicion and persistence.
After reaching an agreement, Xiong Tuo nodded and said: "I have agreed to this matter. At the beginning of the next spring, Xiong Hu, the Pingyu Lord of Da Chu, will go to Daliang on behalf of Da Chu to prepare for the alliance."
"Thank you, His Majesty the King of Chu."
Zheng Xi bowed his hands and bowed.
One after another, Wei State sent envoys to all the countries in the Central Plains, and the monarchs of each country also agreed to this matter one after another.
This means that Wei has become a veritable overlord of the Central Plains and has the power to command other countries.