Chapter 182: The Omen of the Rise of the Chu Kingdom [Two in One]
Wei, Qin, Lu, Chu, and Qi were the first to learn about Wei's move of its capital to Luoyang, while Han and Yue were the last to learn about it.
In response to this matter, Qi Wangbai said when discussing with Right Prime Minister Tian Ba: "Wei State abandoned Daliang and moved to Luoyang. Does this mean that Wei State does not intend to expand?"
Tian Tao said: "Not necessarily."
In recent years, due to the rapid development momentum of Wei State, the pressure from various countries in the Central Plains has increased dramatically - even Wei's ally Chu State has been under pressure, not to mention Qi State, which originally had grievances with Wei State.
nation.
Now, the State of Wei moved its capital westward to Luoyang in Sanchuan County, which made Qi Wangbai breathe a sigh of relief.
However, Tian Tao believed that the move of Wei's capital to Luoyang was nothing more than temporarily locking a ferocious tiger in a cage, but it did not mean that the tiger itself had lost its threat.
Based on this point of view, Tian Tao gave detailed examples and introduced Sanchuan County to Qi Wangbai.
Although there is information about Sanchuan County, most of it is sent back by merchants who went to Wei State for business. Tian Bao himself has not personally confirmed it, but the intelligence points out that Sanchuan County has as much cultivable land as Yingshui County.
This deserves Tian Tao to be more vigilant about this.
You must know that about 50% or even 60% of Wei's current grain cultivation is still produced in Yingshui County, followed by Shangdang County, Hanoi County, Hedong County, etc. that Wei has vigorously constructed in recent years. Now Wei
If the country moves its capital to Luoyang, there is no doubt that the wasteland in Sanchuan County will be quickly reclaimed into fertile land, and the food output of this county will also quickly become closer to that of Yingshui County - this is for other Central Plains countries.
, is not a good thing.
In fact, the Wei State has always been a country that pays more attention to farming, and its annual grain output is very considerable. However, even so, it cannot support the foreign expeditions of more than 400,000 domestic troops for a long time. This is different from the "War between Chu and Qi".
The Chu State is somewhat similar, the only difference is that Wei's regular army is much stronger than the Chu State's army.
If such a country with strong military power were to be freed from the constraints of food, then Tian Tao could not imagine what the result would be - by then, would there be any country in the entire Central Plains that could restrict Wei?
Tian Tao believed that Qi State should not relax its vigilance because Wei State took the initiative to move the capital westward. On the contrary, it should deeply understand the potential threats of Wei State's move to the west, further accelerate domestic construction internally, and unite externally.
South Korea instigated rebellion against the Chu State and jointly suppressed the Wei State.
King Bai of Qi deeply agreed with Tian Tao's ideas.
The next day, he sent an envoy to the State of Wei. On the one hand, he congratulated King Zhao Run on the move of the capital, and on the other hand, he tried to find out the intentions of the State of Wei to see if the State of Wei was pursuing some purpose as Tian Tao thought.
And accumulate strength.
In addition, he also sent Feng Chen, a famous lobbyist in the country, to go to Chu State again.
The road from Linzi of Qi State to Shouying, the royal capital of Chu State, was relatively smooth. Within a month, Feng Xuan arrived at Shouying and was received by King Xiong Tuo of Chu State.
After some pleasantries, Feng Chen said to King Xiong Tuo of Chu: "Not long ago, I heard that Wei State moved its capital to Luoyang. What do you think of this?"
Perhaps because of the "Yitan" book some time ago, King Xiong Tuo of Chu felt that he had been deliberately smeared, so he seemed unhappy when he mentioned the Kingdom of Wei, and said lightly: "Whether the dwarf moves the capital to Luoyang or to Handan, it doesn't matter.
What does it have to do with me?"
Hearing this, Feng Chen frowned slightly and said, "Didn't your Majesty see the potential threat?" After that, he explained Tian Tao's concept to Chu King Xiong Tuo.
Unexpectedly, King Xiong Tuo of Chu disapproved after hearing this and said calmly: "Is the Sanchuan County of Wei State still as large as the territory of Chu on earth?"
Although Feng Xuan had long heard that Chu King Xiong Tuo was arrogant and arrogant, he never expected that he would be so arrogant. He was about to continue persuading him in a hurry when he saw Chu King Xiong Tuo wave his hand and said, "I'm tired, sir.
It turns out that the whole journey is tiring, so why not take a break at the city posthouse."
After that, he ignored Feng Xuan and left.
Feng Xuan had no choice but to go to the post house in the city to rest, carefully consider his words, and prepare to persuade the King of Chu tomorrow.
In fact, is King Xiong Tuo of Chu really arrogant? Not sure!
After dealing with Feng Xuan, King Xiong Tuo of Chu immediately summoned the prime minister, his younger brother Xiong Sheng, Lord of Liyang, to discuss the matter with the latter in detail.
Liyang Jun Xiong Sheng heard this and said with a smile: "It seems that there are many far-sighted people in Qi."
After that, he asked Xiong Tuodao with some surprise: "Why doesn't your Majesty let Feng Chen continue talking?"
Xiong Sheng, Lord of Liyang, did not think that the elder brother in front of him would be so ignorant that he could not see the potential threat of Wei. He must have made his own judgment.
Sure enough, Chu King Xiong Tuo snorted and chuckled: "Let him Feng Xuan continue talking? Hey! He is nothing more than the rhetoric of strengthening the alliance between Chu and Qi... Although I, the great Chu, cannot boast of a sure victory over Wei, but
It’s not that the Wei State can be manipulated arbitrarily. On the other hand, if the Wei State expands in the future, it may not be able to withstand it. In this case, it is better to leave the Qi State alone for a while to facilitate the future.”
"I see."
Xiong Sheng, Lord of Liyang, suddenly realized. Only then did he realize that Xiong Tuo had already guessed Feng Xuan's purpose of coming here, but he deliberately wanted to keep Feng Xuan in the dark and make Qi State panic because of this, so that he could make it easier for Chu State to propose to Qi State in the future.
various requirements.
After all, in the "Battle of Chu and Qi" a few years ago, although Chu State captured Qi State's Sishui County and Donghai County, it failed to improve economically. The gold and silver property that the Chu State army looted at that time,
In fact, it would be better to make up for the food and grass consumption of this troop dispatch. If it were not for the capture of Qi's land in those two counties, Chu State's troop dispatch would almost be considered a failure.
Now, the opportunity to rip off Qi State has come: Qi State is afraid of Wei State, but Chu State is not afraid. If Qi State hopes to further unite Chu State to suppress Wei State, then Xiong Tuo will naturally not let go of this opportunity. It will definitely be
We need to ask for a fortune from the State of Qi to make up for the national treasury's increasingly serious deficit due to internal construction.
All in all, what Xiong Tuo values is still the wealth of Qi, although Qi is actually far less wealthy than Yin in the era of Qi King Lu Xi.
"Good morning, Your Majesty!"
After learning Xiong Tuo's overall plan, Xiong Sheng, Lord of Liyang, praised him, and then he added: "Your Majesty, since the State of Qi has shown good intentions, your Majesty might as well consider things other than money."
"Huh?" Xiong Tuo was slightly startled.
At this time, Xiong Sheng, Lord of Liyang, said seriously: "I heard from people that the reason why Wei's craftsmanship has advanced by leaps and bounds is all thanks to Mr. Wei at that time... No, it was the "Secret Records of Lu Gong" printed by Wei King Zhao Run from Lu.
”, now Qi State has asked me for help from Chu, and Lu State is said to have fallen into a civil war between the royal family and Sanhuan. Why doesn’t your Majesty take this opportunity to get the Secret Record of Lu Gong?”
Xiong Tuo's eyes lit up slightly when he heard this, and he paced back and forth in the palace, frowning slightly and said, "I'm afraid that the State of Lu will remember what happened back then and may not be willing to hand over this thing."
Xiong Sheng, Lord of Liyang, said seriously: "In the name of great righteousness, your Majesty intervened in the civil strife of Lu and supported King Lu in expelling Sanhuan. The reward is the "Secret Records of Lu Gong", which King Lu may not be willing to accept."
Xiong Tuo squinted his eyes and stroked his beard, then nodded slowly: "Shan!... I'll leave this matter to you."
"Brother, I accept the order."
Liyang Lord Xiong Sheng cupped his hands and clasped his fists, and was about to say goodbye when he suddenly thought of something. He turned around again, and after looking around the palace, he whispered: "In addition, Your Majesty, as far as I know, Xiong Wu is the one before him.
Have you visited Mr. Chu Shui for a while?"
Hearing this, Xiong Tuo smiled inexplicably, nodded and said, "It is true."
Seeing this, Xiong Sheng, Lord of Liyang, lowered his voice and said: "Xiong Wu has great ambitions and little talent, so there is nothing to be afraid of, but Lord Chu Shui... I think this person is too treacherous, so I need to be careful."
In fact, Chu Shuijun is the younger brother of Xiong Xu, the old king of Chu State, and the uncle of Xiong Tuo and Xiong Sheng. However, this person is too mysterious, and it is said that he has a group of witches working for him, which makes Liyang Jun Xiong
Sheng was full of vigilance.
Xiong Tuo was silent for a moment after hearing this. In fact, his views were similar to those of Liyang Lord Xiong Sheng, and he also believed Lord Chu Shui was a threat. Unfortunately, Lord Chu Shui enjoyed high prestige among the Xiong family nobles in Eastern Chu, and
There is also a hidden secret force in his hand, which makes Xiong Tuo a little bit cautious.
In addition, since Xiong Tuo ascended the throne as the King of Chu, Chu Shuijun has always been law-abiding and even gave Xiong Tuo unexpected support many times, which made it difficult for Xiong Tuo to attack him.
Because of this, when Liyang Jun Xiong Sheng reminded him, he just nodded and said that he would be wary.
Before leaving, Xiong Sheng, Lord of Liyang, told Xiong Tuo that their father's health had been deteriorating recently and he was afraid that he might die soon. He hoped that Xiong Tuo would visit him, which made Xiong Tuo hesitate.
Xiong Tuo was full of hatred for his father Xiong Xu, not only because Xiong Xu ignored him as a concubine and left him to his younger brother Xiong Hao, Lord of Runan, to teach him on his behalf, but also because Xiong Xu later became a noble of Eastern Chu.
Under pressure, Xiong Tuo's most respected uncle, Runan Jun Xiong Hao, was forced to death.
But now, the hated father is old and may die soon, which makes Xiong Tuoyi feel a little soft-hearted.
"...I wrote it down."
After hesitating for a while, Xiong Tuo finally couldn't finish his words.
But after hearing this, Liyang Lord Xiong Tuo was very satisfied and left with a smile on his face.
The next day, Qi envoy Feng Chen once again asked to see King Xiong Tuo of Chu, but was told that Xiong Tuo was busy with government affairs and had no time to meet him.
After learning about this, Feng Chen frowned slightly and had already vaguely guessed it.
You must know that although King Xiong Tuo of Chu is also a wise monarch, he is not good at internal governance. The domestic construction of Chu State has always been handled by Prime Minister Liyang Jun Xiong Sheng. Under such circumstances, how could Xiong Tuo possibly
Too busy to take time to see him?
Obviously, this was done deliberately by Xiong Tuo.
"People work as swordsmen, and I work as fish and meat."
After sighing secretly, Feng Chen could only plead again and again to see Xiong Tuo. Finally, on the fourth day, King Xiong Tuo of Chu took the time to meet him.
During the negotiation that day, Xiong Tuo expressed that he could reach a further secret alliance with the Qi State, but he also implicitly mentioned that the Chu State had spent a lot of money in building domestic agriculture over the years.
Feng Chen was such a smart person. He understood right away: Xiong Tuo was asking for money from them!
After weighing the pros and cons, Feng Xuan agreed to Xiong Tuo's request on Linzi's behalf, and Qi would provide part of the money to help Chu develop domestically - in fact, both parties knew that most of the money would be used to strengthen Chu's army.
After all, in view of the growing threat from Wei, Chu needs to strengthen its domestic regular army. And Qi also needs Chu's army to attract Wei's attention.
Some people may say that when Chu attacked Qi, it once had the ambition to annex Qi. But now, Qi is funding Chu to expand its army and improve its military equipment. Isn't it afraid that Chu will retaliate in the future and take the opportunity to annex Qi?
?
In fact, Qi is not worried yet.
Because at this time, at that time, when Chu State attacked Qi State, Wei State was still so powerful that it frightened all the countries in the Central Plains - Wei State at that time also had a powerful opponent like South Korea. In fact, Chu State at that time had absolutely no
I thought that South Korea, which had almost the same national and military strength, would be defeated so miserably at the hands of Wei.
What's even more terrible is that after Wei defeated such a powerful South Korea, it did not suffer too serious losses.
The reason why Xiong Tuo refused to easily withdraw his troops from Qi at that time was also based on this point: only by annexing Qi could Chu State be able to return to the starting line and keep pace with Wei.
But unfortunately, Qi State returned to its former glory and defeated Chu State's strategy with the help of money and martial arts warriors. This made Chu State fail to achieve its original strategic prediction in that war.
Now, after several years of recuperation, the Wei State has gradually regained its strength. Under such circumstances, the Chu State naturally does not dare to have any wrong thoughts against Qi and Lu.
We must know that Wei State acquiesced to Chu State's annexation of Qilu and Qilu in order to defeat South Korea. Now, South Korea has been defeated by Wei State. How could Wei State continue to sit back and watch Chu State annex Qilu? - Xiong Tuo, King of Chu
I never believed that his scheming brother-in-law would be so generous.
Although Chu State is an ally of Wei State, under the current situation, if Chu State still wants to annex Qi and Lu, then Wei State will secretly hold back Chu State even if it is inconvenient to take action publicly.
- It's like the "War between Qin and Han". Hundreds of thousands of troops from Qin and South Korea fought at Yanmen Pass for several years. Each other suffered losses, but who gained? But it was Wei who sold the two countries openly and covertly.
Armed country.
When he learned about this incident, Xiong Tuo was stunned: How could he be so shameless?!
Since the opportunity to annex Qi has been missed, it is not a bad thing to try to obtain some of the property from Qi.
As for the State of Qi itself, to be honest, it is no longer a strong enemy in the hearts of Wei and Chu: the only strong enemies in the hearts of Wei and Chu are each other!
In addition to asking for property, Xiong Tuo also thought of Liyang Jun Xiong Sheng's suggestion and asked Qi for the "Secret Records of Lu Gong" - of course, Qi itself did not have such a thing. The reason why Xiong Tuo raised this matter to Qi was
Just to give Qi some face, after all, Qi is still the suzerain of Lu.
Therefore, he said to Feng Chen: "As long as your country agrees, as for the others, I will send someone to contact King Lu to obtain his approval."
Although Feng Xuan was unwilling to do so, he could only nod his head and accept the request of Chu King Xiong Tuo.
After returning to Linzi, the capital of the King of Qi, Feng Chen immediately reported the incident to King Lu Bai of Qi, who immediately summoned Zhao Zhao, the Prime Minister on the left, Tian Bao, the Prime Minister on the right, as well as Gao Xi, Guan Zhong, Uncle Bao, etc.
A wise minister.
When Feng Chen mentioned that King Xiong Tuo of Chu was asking for money and materials from Qi, Zhao Zhao and other important officials were not surprised.
After all, the Chu State was originally a very poor country - this 'poverty' does not mean that the Chu State is weak, but that most of the Chu State's wealth is concentrated in the hands of the royal family and the aristocratic class, even after King Xiong Tuo of Chu came to power.
Improving the status of civilians and giving them various preferential treatment cannot fundamentally change this situation.
Unless King Xiong Tuo of Chu, like King Zhao Run of Wei, has more than 400,000 troops and implements the "those who obey me will prosper, and those who go against me will perish" rule, he must take into account the attitude of the nobles of Eastern Chu and cannot be like Wei.
Wang Zhaorun is so arbitrary and independent.
"Money matters are acceptable."
In view of the fact that Zhao Zhao, the left prime minister, could not express his opinions on matters involving Wei, Tian Tao, the right prime minister, took the lead and said: "Now in the Central Plains, the only countries that can still fight with Wei are Qin, Han and Chu...
"
In Tian Tao's point of view, Qin is the most difficult to instigate rebellion, because Qin's current domestic economy is basically linked to Wei. To put it bluntly, as long as Wei cuts off trade with Qin, Qin's income will
I'm afraid it will be reduced by more than half. In addition, the Qin State is still obsessed with Yanmen County in South Korea, so the help from this country can almost be ignored.
Secondly, let’s talk about South Korea. In the war with Wei State in the past few years, South Korea suffered heavy losses, but even so it still retained a certain degree of powerful troops. For example, the Yanmen Army of Yanmen Guards Li Mu, even in front of Wei Gongzi Run
The "Daijun Iron Cavalry", which had lost more than half of its troops, actually still retained about 15,000 cavalry, and it was still a powerful force capable of turning the situation on the battlefield.
In addition, South Korea has been committed to restoring its military strength in recent years and invested the vast majority of tax revenue over the years into military expenditures, which has gradually restored South Korea to its pre-war level.
The problem is that Han Wangran is more difficult to deal with than Chu King Xiong Tuo, especially when it comes to patience. To be honest, it is difficult to persuade Han to take the initiative to attract Wei Guo's attention.
Unable to persuade South Korea, Chu State became Qi State's priority.
To be fair, Chu's soldiers are indeed very weak. Excluding Wei and Yue, Chu's army is not even as good as the current army under the general Huan Hu of Lu. It is almost at the bottom of the Central Plains. However, the Chu army's
The advantage is that this country's military has almost no so-called pensions. Even if a large number of soldiers are lost in a battle, the pensions will not drag down the entire country.
More importantly, Chu is the only country in the Central Plains that has the ability to mobilize four million troops. The absolute advantage in numbers can certainly make up for the disadvantage in the strength of a single soldier.
Therefore, it is not a bad thing to 'support' Chu's army to attract Wei's attention.
The problem lies in the "Secret Records of Lu Gong" requested by King Xiong Tuo of Chu.
To be honest, the rapid advancement of Wei's crafts and technology over the years is mainly due to the King of Wei Zhao Run. The "Secret Records of Lu Gong" printed by Zhao Run from the State of Lu cannot be said to have made no contribution to the State of Wei, but in fact it is not like other
The Central Plains country was as huge as imagined. Wei's process technology came from the Smelting Bureau, and the Smelting Bureau's technical concepts came from Zhao Run.
Things like tortoise-shell chariots, ballistae, repeating crossbows, etc. These were actually rough drawings drawn by King Zhao Run of Wei, and then handed over to the clerks of the Metallurgical Bureau to improve and improve them.
What I learned was mainly mechanical skills, including timeless gear sets, lever structures, seamless mortise and tenon technology, etc.
But other countries don't see it that way. They believe that Wei's craftsmanship has suddenly improved to a level that is almost catching up with Lu's. The key lies in the "Secret Records of Lu Gong".
Both the Chu State and the Qi State firmly believed in this point.
Therefore, King Lu Bai of Qi and other officials seemed a little hesitant about whether the "Secret Records of Lu Gong" should be handed over to Chu.
They are very worried that even if they unite Qi, Han, and Chu to suppress Wei and weaken Wei in the future, if a Chu State as powerful as Wei emerges as a result, wouldn't this violate their original intention?
However, the current situation does not allow them to think too long-term. After all, the power of Chu State is only in the future, but the power of Wei State is something that can be witnessed with their own eyes now.
In view of this, Qi finally acquiesced to this matter.
But in fact, whether Qi State acquiesces or not, this has nothing to do with Chu State - King Xiong Tuo of Chu informed Qi State, which is just to give Qi State some face. Even if Qi State objects to this matter, will Xiong Tuo let it go?
Have you passed this opportunity?
Absolutely impossible!
No, in fact, on the third day after Feng Chen returned to Qi, King Xiong Tuo of Chu sent people to the State of Lu to negotiate with Prince Shupan of Lu about the matter.
The essence of the negotiation was very simple. It was nothing more than the state of Chu helping King Lu defeat Sanhuan, and the state of Lu handing over the "Secret Records of Lu Gong" as reward.
After weighing the pros and cons, King Lu accepted the deal.
In July of the sixth year of Wei Xing'an, when the Wei State was busy with various matters related to moving the capital to Luoyang, the Chu State sent one of the Three Pillars, General Xiang Mo, with 200,000 troops to the Lu State to assist King Lu in pacifying the Three Kingdoms.
Huan's Rebellion.
As soon as he heard the news, Huan Hu, who was in Xuecheng, couldn't sit still. You must know that he originally planned to wait for the civil strife in the Lu country to get out of control, and then appear as a "hero of the Lu country" and take advantage of the situation.
benefit.
Unexpectedly, the Chu State did not know what he had eaten wrong and actually came to ruin his good deeds.
In desperation, Huan Hu had no choice but to send troops to respond to the royal family before the Chu army arrived in the Lu state, and assisted the royal family in attacking Sanhuan's rebel forces.
Under the joint attack of Huan Hu and the Chu general Xiang Mo, San Huan was defeated without any surprise and surrendered to the royal family.
Afterwards, Duke Shupan of Lu expelled the masterminds of the rebellion from the Meng and Shusun families, and passed the throne to his son, Gongzi Xing.
As a reward for sending troops to help the Chu State, the old prince of the Lu State, Shupan, once again printed the "Secret Records of Lu Gong" and gave it to the Chu general Xiang Mo, who took it back to the Chu State.
Chu general Xiang Mo sent troops to the Lu State and assisted the Lu royal family in suppressing the Sanhuan Rebellion. This was quickly spread back to the Wei State by the Qingya people on the border between Qi and Chu.
At that time, Wei King Zhao Run had moved to the palace in Luoyang. After learning about this incident, he could not help but frown.
He also did not expect that the Chu State, which sent troops to annex Qi and Lu in a failed attempt last time, would eventually obtain Qi State's wealth and Lu State's technology.
"The battle between Wei and Chu may be greatly advanced..."
With a worried sigh, Zhao Run stood in the brand new palace, stood at the window, and stared at the sky outside the window.
"Han, Chu... In order to ensure the advantage of our great Wei, it seems that one of them must be eliminated first."
Zhao Hongrun thought to himself with a solemn expression.