Two days later, Tian Bao, the right prime minister of Qi State, arrived in Shoying, the capital of Chu State, and started negotiations with King Xiong Tuo of Chu State on the matter of "union against Wei State".
The arrival of Tian Tao can be said to have boosted Chu Shuijun's confidence, because the "troop training" strategy he proposed had a weak link and required the support of Qi State.
That is, food, grass and armaments.
If we can get the support of Qi State, then the weakest link of Chu State can be made up for.
So on the day of the meeting with Qi State's Right Prime Minister Tian Bao, Chu Shuijun, accompanied by Chu King Xiong Tuo, met the Qi Prime Minister and told Tian Bao his strategy of "troop training". Tian Bao was dumbfounded.
The soldiers were sent to Song County to fight the Wei State in units of "millions" in order to finally harvest usable elites in units of "one hundred thousand". Chu Shuijun's suggestion made Tian Bao see what true ruthlessness is.
"This guy completely regards the civilians of his Chu country as sacrifices..."
Tian Bao was secretly shocked.
"Does the King of Chu also support this...this military training strategy?" Tian Tao asked Chu King Xiong Tuo in surprise. At the same time, he looked at another person who accompanied Chu King Xiong Tuo to receive him, namely the Prime Minister of Chu State, Liyang.
Jun Xiongsheng.
After hearing Tian Bao's inquiry, Chu King Xiong Tuo was silent for a long time, and then nodded silently.
Next to him, Prime Minister Liyang Jun Xiong Sheng sighed deeply, but did not say anything about it.
To be fair, Xiong Sheng, Lord of Liyang, was opposed to the military training method proposed by Lord Chu Shui. He thought it was too cruel, but what was embarrassing was that he could not think of any other way.
After all, he also understood that the Wei State had no intention of making peace with the Chu State so far. It was obvious that it wanted to take revenge on the Chu State after regaining its strength. In other words, the Chu State was on the verge of life and death.
For the sake of the overall situation, and for the country to survive Wei's next revenge attack, Liyang Lord Xiong Sheng had no choice but to acquiesce to Chu Shui Lord's suggestion against his will.
Seeing the reactions of Chu King Xiong Tuo and Chu Prime Minister Liyang Jun Xiong Sheng, Tian Tao immediately weighed the pros and cons in his mind.
To be honest, Tian Tao had never thought that the Chu State was willing to make such a big sacrifice - although the reason why the Chu State decided to do this was only for the benefit of its own country, not for the sake of his country, Qi.
But generally speaking, Tian Tao believed that Chu State's move was beneficial to Qi State.
Thinking of this, he immediately said: "I wonder what I, Da Qi, can do for the alliance between the two countries?"
Seeing Tian Bao's cooperation, Chu Shuijun was also happy. Hearing this, he said: "Grain, grass, and military equipment... I hope your country can provide sufficient food, grass, and military equipment for our soldiers."
"this……"
There was a hint of hesitation on Tian Bao's face.
Seeing this, King Xiong Tuo of Chu was very unhappy and said with a steady face: "Master Tian Tao, do you want Chu to face Wei alone?"
Seeing that Chu King Xiong Tuo was a little angry, Tian Bao quickly explained: "King Chu, calm down, please listen to my explanation... Your country is willing to bear the threat from Wei, and I, the Qi Dynasty, will fully support it, but King Chu
Your Majesty, the current national strength of Da Qi can no longer afford such a huge consumption..."
This is not Tian Ba's shirk. It is true that Qi State is very wealthy, but it also has its own period. For example, in the era of Qi King Lu Xi, Qi State was definitely the richest country in the entire Central Plains. But the problem is that Qi King Lu Xi
It has been nearly thirty years since Xidu passed away. The Qi State has almost lost all the wealth accumulated by our ancestors over the years.
Such as the "civil war between the princes to seize the throne", the recruitment of martial arts warriors during the "Qi-Chu War", the support of more than a million coalition troops during the "Seven Kingdoms Conquer Wei", etc. These costly wars caused Qi to almost waste all its previous resources.
The wealth and food accumulated by generations of monarchs.
It’s no wonder that although Qi State was once the economic center of the Central Plains, it is not a place rich in grain and grass. How much grain can a large area like Qi State produce throughout the year?
At least the grain production is far less than that of the Wei State, especially the huge Wei State after controlling the three kingdoms of Han, Wei and Lu.
Nowadays, the only product of Qi that can surpass Wei in terms of output is probably "salt".
After listening to Tian Tao's explanation, Chu King Xiong Tuo's face brightened slightly and he glanced at Tian Tao with a complicated expression.
Once upon a time, many Chu people, including him, regarded Qi as an invincible country because Qi was so rich that they could use money to make Chu seek peace. But now he knows
, It turns out that the wealth of Qi State has its limit - and it was suddenly exposed when Chu State was in great need of Qi State's support.
Perhaps because he was worried that Chu State would give up its plan to compete with Wei State alone because of the relationship between grain, grass and armaments, Qi State's Right Prime Minister Tian Tao immediately said: "In terms of grain and grass, I, Da Qi, can use the rest to meet our country's needs."
All food is supplied to your soldiers, and the same is true for armaments... But if the King of Chu asks me, Da Qi, to bear all the burden, I, Da Qi, will never be able to do it. Unless I refuse, there is really nothing I can do."
After hearing this, King Chu Xiong Tuo's face looked much better.
Although the goal was not completely achieved, the Qi State was still willing to provide part of the food, grass and military equipment to the Chu State.
Thinking of this, King Xiong Tuo of Chu asked Tian Tao to return to Qi immediately and report the matter to King Lu Bai of Qi, and then Chu and Qi would discuss it again.
After waiting for Tian Bao, the right minister of Qi State, to leave, King Xiong Tuo of Chu discussed with Prime Minister Xiong Sheng, Lord of Liyang, and Lord Shui of Chu.
There is no need to guess the attitude of King Lu Bai of Qi. As long as he is unwilling to surrender to the State of Wei and lose his status as a monarch like Duke Shu Xing of Lu, then the State of Qi can only fully support him, the State of Chu, to resist the State of Wei.
But the problem is that the support from Qi is much less than expected, which makes Chu King Xiong Tuo feel a little troubled.
At this time, Liyang Jun Xiong Sheng, the Prime Minister of Chu, who had been silent for a long time, said: "Your Majesty, regarding the matter of food, I have two strategies."
"Where did the plan come from?" Xiong Tuo asked quickly.
"First, it is to imitate the "military farming" of Wei and South Korea. As far as I know, South Korea was the first to use soldiers to farm on the border to accumulate grain and grass. Later, Wei also followed suit. I think this is a good idea...
It can also avoid the reduction of domestic grain production after large-scale conscription."
"Army?" King Xiong Tuo of Chu nodded thoughtfully: "What about the second one?"
"Bashu!" Xiong Sheng, Lord of Liyang, said in a deep voice.
Hearing this, King Xiong Tuo of Chu was refreshed.
Everyone present, I believe no one knows Bashu better than him, because as early as twenty years ago, he had contacted the Ba people, and the two sides started a "Chuxi-Bashu" transaction. Even in recent years, Pingyu has
Jun Xionghu still has business dealings with Bashu.
Of course, when Liyang Lord Xiong Sheng mentioned Bashu this time, I believe it was not as simple as starting a deal with Bashu.
Sure enough, after a short pause, Liyang Lord Xiong Sheng said in a deep voice: "I do not support Lord Chu Shui's strategy of training troops, but considering that this may be the only strategy that Chu can use to reverse the situation and defeat Wei, I suggest
The king sent troops to capture Bashu first... The land in Bashu is fertile. I have heard that in the spring, the people of Bashu dropped a bag of seeds on the ground, and in the autumn, food will grow all over the mountains and fields. It is truly a land given by God. If I, the great Chu, can seize it
If we gain the land of Bashu, we will have enough food and grass to fight Wei for a long time."
"Capture Bashu..."
King Xiong Tuo of Chu thought for a moment, frowned and said: "However, although there are many small countries in Bashu, if they are invaded by outsiders, the countries of Bashu are quite united. If you want to attack Bashu by force, it may not be easy..." said
At this point, he seemed to have thought of the current situation, nodded and said: "However, it is indeed as you said, if we want to resist the Wei State, our Chu army has no choice but to capture Bashu."
With that said, he told Liyang Lord Xiong Sheng: "Xiong Sheng, you immediately send someone to inform Xiong Hu and ask him to lead his army to capture Bashu."
The Xiong Hu in his mouth refers to Xiong Hu, Lord Pingyu.
"yes!"
Xiong Sheng, Lord of Liyang, raised his hand, and immediately after glancing at Lord Chu Shui, who was kneeling next to him, he said: "Your Majesty, I think that it may not be advisable to attack Bashu by force. It is best to use stratagems to create divisions and defeat them one by one...
… Lord Chu Shui is proficient in this way, so why not send Lord Chu Shui to assist Master Xiong Hu.”
"Well..."
King Chu Xiong Tuo thought for a moment, turned to look at Chu Shuijun, and said calmly: "Chu Shuijun, what do you think?"
Looking at the cold gaze of Chu King Xiong Tuo, Chu Shuijun realized that he had to go to Bashu this time, and quickly said: "I sincerely assist Lord Pingyu in conquering Bashu to atone for my sins."
After hearing this, Chu King Xiong Tuo's tense face relaxed a little.
Beside, Liyang Jun Xiong Sheng also breathed a sigh of relief.
Although he failed to persuade Chu King Xiong Tuo to kill Chu Shuijun to avoid future troubles, it was a good thing to send Chu Shuijun to Bashu - at least in the land of Bashu, Chu Shuijun was playing tricks
After all, there is room for him to show off his deceitful skills.
Of course, Liyang Lord Xiong Sheng will eventually find a way to eradicate such a ruthless villain.
He had already made up his mind to write a secret letter and send it to Lord Pingyu Xiong Hu, instructing the latter to find an opportunity to kill Lord Chu Shui after capturing Bashu to avoid future troubles.
Around November, King Xiong Tuo of Chu summoned Lord Jingyun of Shouling, Lord Xiong Li of Diyang, and Lord Xiangpei of Xinyang to Shoying.
It is worth mentioning that because one of the Three Pillars, "Xiang Mo", died in the war against Wei, King Xiong Tuo of Chu selected one of the descendants of the Xiang family to inherit the title of the Three Pillars, Xiang Jun Xiang of Xinyang.
training.
In this regard, even Xinyang Lord Xiang Pei himself was a little scared. Although he was also the leader of the Xiang clan, he was not as good as Xiang Mo in commanding troops, and was not as good as Xiang Kuan in terms of bravery, so he did not expect to be the representative of the "Xiang clan"
He became one of the Three Pillars of Chu State.
Unexpectedly, God played a joke on the Xiang clan. His two cousins, Xiang Mo and Xiang Kuan, the leaders of the Xiang clan, were actually killed in the attack on the Wei Kingdom. So that Xiang Pei, the Lord of Xinyang, actually won the victory.
Received the honor of the Three Pillars.
To be honest, Xinyang Lord Xiang Pei is not happy about this, because it means that his Xiang clan is rapidly declining, which is not a good omen.
During the interview that day, Chu King Xiong Tuo informed Chu Shuijun's strategy to Shouling Lord Jingyun, Diyang Lord Xiong Li, and Xinyang Lord Xiang Pei, and asked them for their opinions.
At this time, Shouling Lord Jingyun, under the guidance of his father, Jingshe's lieutenant general Yangyou, had gradually assumed the posture of a commander-in-chief. He was no longer the "Jingyun Master" who had been protected by his father. After learning about Chu Shuijun's suggestion, he firmly opposed it.
He said to King Xiong Tuo of Chu: "Your Majesty, although the coalition forces were defeated this time, due to the sacrifice of General Xiang Mo, at least 300,000 regular troops of our country were able to return to the country..."
"An army of more than three hundred thousand cannot stop Wei." King Xiong Tuo of Chu interrupted Shouling Lord Jingyun's words.
Lord Shouling Jingyun's face froze when he heard this.
He insisted that Chu Shuijun's despicable suggestions would definitely lead his country of Chu into the abyss.
But unfortunately, just like Liyang Jun Xiong Sheng, the prime minister of Chu, he also had no effective strategy on "how to resist Wei's revenge."
The same is true for the newly promoted Three Heavenly Pillars, Xinyang Lord Xiang Pei.
In the end, Lord Shouling Jingyun, Lord Diyang Xiong Li, and Lord Xinyang Xiang Pei agreed to the matter.
However, Xinyang Lord Xiang Pei and Shouling Lord Jingyun put forward a condition, that is, this so-called "Song County Army Training" must be given to them, not Chu Shui Lord or someone similar to Chu Shui Lord. He is the kind of layman who knows little about military affairs.
It is worth mentioning that during the discussion on this matter, Xiang Pei, Lord of Xinyang, once asked King Xiong Tuo of Chu why he did not punish Lord Shui of Chu.
Because in the view of Xinyang Lord Xiang Pei, Chu Shui Lord is simply an "unforgivable sin". After all, it is because of this person that the coalition forces of all countries were defeated by Wei State, and Xiang Mo and Xiang Juan were killed. The best of his descendants died in battle.
Regarding this matter, Shouling Lord Jingyun also agreed. He believed that Chu Shui Lord should bear the responsibility for this defeat, just like his father, Shouling Lord Jingshe did at that time.
It has to be said that Shouling Lord Jingyun looked down upon Chu Shui Lord's shameless behavior of abandoning his soldiers and escaping alone when he saw that the situation was not good.
In order to appease the two commanders, King Xiong Tuo of Chu had no choice but to explain that he had sent Lord Chu Shui to Western Chu to assist Lord Pingyu Xiong Hu in attacking Bashu, as atonement for his general's merits.
After hearing this, the resentment in Xinyang Lord Xiang Pei's heart subsided slightly.
In the autumn and winter of the third year of Wei Zhaowu, the countries in the Central Plains gradually returned to peace, although this peace was only temporary.
Around November, Wei general Sima Shang and his family arrived at Song County "Changyi" from Luoyang, the capital of Wei.
Looking at the city from a distance, Sima Shang felt quite emotional in his heart. He felt that the legend of King Zhao Run of Wei that "you don't doubt the people you employ and those you don't use" was not an empty talk. No, after he was appointed as the "Song Governor" and stationed in Changyi. , actually allowed him to bring his family to Changyi, and had no intention of using his family to threaten him.
But think about it, how could a hero like King Zhao Run of Wei bother to use such a trick?
"What's wrong, brother?"
Next to him, Sima Shang's cousin Sima Tao asked in confusion when he saw his brother shaking his head and laughing.
Sima Tao did not come to Changyi with his brother Sima Shang. After all, he was now the favorite general of King Yan Zhao Jiang. He just accompanied his brother to Changyi so that he could reunite the two brothers during this period.
Sima Shang did not elaborate on his feelings. He shook his head and said, "It's nothing, I'm just a little emotional... Let's go to the city first."
Sima Tao nodded.
At this time, most of the soldiers and horses stationed in Changyi were the Weiguo army. To be precise, they were soldiers under the command of Wei Yun, the Marquis of Juancheng.
Among the three of Wei Shao, Wei Yun and Wei Zhen, Wei Yun is now the most respected by Wei King Zhao Run. The reason is very simple, because Wei Yun is the eldest son of the Wei family in Juancheng and one of the six garrison battalions of Wei State. , Wei Mu, the general of the Southern Yan Army, was the second uncle of Wei Yun, the Marquis of Juancheng.
In those days, Zhao Run and Wei Mu resisted the Korean army together. Although they didn't get along much, because Zhao Run also had half of the guards' blood, the generals of the Southern Yan Army, Wei Mu, were quite close to Zhao Run.
Taking into account this friendship, Wei King Zhao Run reused Juancheng Hou Weiyun, and let the latter replace Wei Shao, who was still somewhat biased towards Wei Wangfei, and became the commander-in-chief of the Wei army. This flattered Juancheng Hou Weiyun, who once expressed his disdain for Wei. Any trace of dissatisfaction disappeared immediately.
After showing the tokens from the Tiance Mansion, brothers Sima Shang and Sima Tao successfully arrived at the City Guards Mansion in the city, handed over military power from the defending army, and temporarily took control of the defending army.
The reason why it is said to be temporary is because this Weiguo army will be transferred back to the Weiguo in the future, not as an army directly under Sima Shang, and what Sima Shang has to do is to form an army directly under him during this period, for Prepare to conquer Qi and Chu in the future.
In the same way, there is also the general who was appointed as "Ren Cheng Shou" by King Zhao Run of Wei, Xu Li, the former Shanggu Shou of South Korea.
"I heard that Your Majesty intends to divide Shangshui Youma into three parts, and give two parts to my brother and General Xu Li?"
When Sima Shang's family members were busy cleaning the city guard's mansion and preparing to move in, Sima Tao asked curiously.
Sima Shang smiled slightly when he heard this and asked, "Where did you hear that? Did King Yan tell you?"
"Haha." Sima Tao said with a smile: "Brother, I don't know, King Yan is quite jealous of this."
Sima Shang smiled and said nothing.
To be fair, there are many cavalry in the Wei Kingdom today, such as the Jiejiao cavalry of Wei general Boxi Le, the Nanyan cavalry of Yan King Zhao Jiang, the Hexi cavalry of Hexi guard Sima An, etc., but in terms of the most famous ones, He is still the "Shangshui Yuma" of the Shangshui Army.
Now, King Zhao Run of Wei is planning to divide the "Youma Heavy Cavalry" of the Shangshui Youma Army, together with the "Daijun Heavy Cavalry" that was left in Korea in the last Wei-Korean war, into three. The old soldiers in the army were used as the backbone, and the army was reorganized and expanded, and was handed over to Ma You, Sima Shang, and Xu Li respectively.
After all, the land of Qi and Lu, where there are many plains and hills, is a very suitable battlefield for cavalry.
"Right."
As if he thought of something, Sima Tao took out a book from his arms and threw it to his brother with a smirk on his face.
""Anecdote"?"
Sima Shang glanced at his younger brother in confusion.
"The Imperial Court's Ministry of Rites urgently ordered someone to publish it." Sima Tao said with a smirk: "Foolish brother never thought that my brother turned out to be a spy sent to South Korea by His Majesty a few years ago!"
"Ah?" Sima Shang looked puzzled.
"You will know after you look through this anecdote in your hand." Sima Tao said while holding back a smile.
Sima Shang opened the book of anecdotes in his hand with doubts. When he turned to the article that recorded his own anecdote, he was stunned.
It turns out that he, who was once smeared by the Wei State in this book, has now transformed into a spy planted in South Korea by the 'far-sighted King Wei' in the early years.
"This is simply..."
Sima Shang didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He felt that the writing in this "Anecdote" was too ridiculous.
"Brother, just be content." Sima Tao suppressed a smile and said: "Master Yan Kuai was written in the most bizarre way. He said that when he was fighting against the Wei army in Beihai, he met the immortal on the fairy island, was enlightened by the immortal, and obeyed God's will. As for Mr. Jin Mao of the Great Wei Dynasty, maybe those people really couldn't make it up, so they simply said that there was a printing error at that time, and they mistakenly wrote "Bao Yuan" as "Jin Mao"... But I privately feel that this Mostly in revenge for General Baoyuan's unwillingness to surrender to Wei."
After hearing this, Sima Shang looked at the "Anecdotes" in his hand with an expression on his face, and secretly murmured in his heart: I don't know what General Baoyuan's expression will be after reading this book.
At the same time, in the Jicheng area of South Korea, in Han Wangran's mausoleum, Han general Baoyuan, who would rather guard Han Ran's tomb than surrender to Wei, was holding this "Yitan" in his hand and was very angry. The whole person was shaking.
The reason is very simple. In this "Yitan" urgently published by the Wei State, the novelists recorded all the actions of Jin Pao, Feng Ting, Gong Zhongpeng, Tian Ling and others on his head. .
The terrible thing is that it is not a glorious thing, as if he is trying to be molded into a fool who will be chased around by the Wei generals.