The source of this friction was also something that the Emperor of Chu had long expected, but he had been dealing with grassland affairs recently. The Chu State even established a grassland protection office in the grassland to take charge of grassland affairs, and subsequent related matters were also
Quite a few.
For example, the composition of the personnel of the Protectorate, the rank of the chief officer, and who should be sent there are all his business.
After the emperor brother finished the battle, he threw away his pick and ran back to Prince Xian's Mansion to have fun with the princess. Have you ever considered his feelings?
Now that the matter on the grassland is almost settled, the problem that Emperor Chu has been worried about has now appeared.
That was the territorial dispute between Zhou and Chu.
This time, Chu and Zhou jointly sent troops to the grassland. Chu occupied most of the grassland. Although the territory occupied by Zhou could not be compared with Chu, the grassland was vast and their territory was considerable.
But the problem arises here. The two countries did not have strict discussions on the division of territory before and after the war, and there was no way to conduct strict and accurate discussions in the grassland.
Because the grasslands are nomadic and they live in pursuit of water and grass, the places with abundant water and grass vary from season to season. Moreover, if a large number of cattle and sheep graze in one place, they will eat up all the grass, so they have to go nomadic.
But there was a problem on this trip.
Grassland people are based on cattle and sheep, and have little sense of territoriality. They eat wherever they go.
As long as no one is occupying this land, I can occupy it.
But what about the people from the Central Plains?
Attaching great importance to territorial awareness, although the armies of Zhou and Chu withdrew, their basic garrison strength was still maintained, which led to a very serious problem.
Tribes under the rule of the Zhou State often went to the territory of the Chu State, because the Chu State occupied most of the grassland and had more abundant water and grass.
Not to be outdone, the Chu tribes also went to Zhou's territory to grab food.
They all have household registration now, how can they run around like before?
Do you still want to manage?
If it were the Central Plains, people wouldn't be able to run around, and they wouldn't be able to run very far through various city passes.
But the grassland, a place with good ventilation from all sides, has neither a city nor a pass, which is very annoying...
No one can stop the tribe from running away.
This is where the conflict comes from.
Now both Zhou and Chu need a reliable solution and a clear territorial division, and there is no need to delay.
If the friction continues like this, sooner or later there will be a war...
Nowadays, because the grassland occupied by the Zhou State is relatively small, there are many tribes in the Zhou State that are ignorant, and the tribes controlled by the Chu State are only vindictive at best.
But the chaos cannot continue like this, otherwise, sooner or later, the trivial matters between Chu and Zhou will become big.
The Emperor of Chu had already told the ministers about this matter at the court meeting today, but what the Emperor of Chu did not expect was that in addition to the Minister of Household Affairs, both the civil servants and the military generals at the court suggested directly sending troops to conquer the grasslands occupied by the Zhou Kingdom.
If the land is taken back, as long as the grasslands belong to the Chu State, there will be no territorial disputes!
Emperor Chu, of course, ruthlessly chose to reject this suggestion, and they were a group of people who were not rich enough to know how expensive firewood, rice, oil and salt were.
Look, the Minister of Household Affairs knows how much money there is in the treasury, and he doesn't join in with this group of people at all.
Being warlike is not such a tactic.
The reason why Chu State has strong military force is so that when Chu State wants to reason with neighboring countries, they can sit down and reason with Chu State in a calm mood, instead of just sending troops to fight without hesitation when Chu State is troubled.
past.
Why should we waste time and money on fighting a matter that can be settled through negotiation?
Does the State of Chu really have as much financial resources as the State of Zhao?
After comprehensive consideration, the Emperor of Chu decided to send an envoy to Zhou to completely resolve the territorial dispute in order to avoid long nights and dreams.
But there was another difficulty in choosing the Emperor of Chu. Chu State had not taken the initiative to send envoys to other countries for a long time.
Moreover, almost everyone in the Chu State's court is now a militant faction. There is nothing that cannot be solved in one battle. If there is any problem, then fight two battles.
If they were sent as envoys, they might not be able to negotiate even a few words. Look at the way these people in the court were rubbing shoulders. They were not there to negotiate. They were clearly looking for an excuse to start a war with the Kingdom of Zhou.
Zheng Yuan, the only person who knew how much the Chu State was currently worth, was still the head of the household department and could not be sent there as an envoy.
There was no suitable candidate among the civil and military officials in the dynasty, which gave Emperor Chu a headache.
After his choice was fruitless, Emperor Chu retired from the court and came to Prince Xian's Mansion to discuss countermeasures with Prince Xian.
…
Prince Xian's Mansion
In the study
"As an envoy to the State of Zhou?" After hearing what Emperor Chu said, King Xian said without thinking, "Of course, let Xu Qing go! Is there any need to think about it?",
Emperor Chu said with some regret, "Xu Qing has just brought twenty million taels of silver to the treasury for twenty years. Is it appropriate to let him go? Not to mention rewards, we haven't paid him a salary for a long time."
The wise king snorted coldly and said: "What kind of salary do you want if you don't go to court all day? You stay at home all day and have more leisure than I do. Are you okay with that?"
Emperor Chu said: "Although I am indeed a little jealous, but..."
The wise king waved his hand and interrupted Emperor Chu's words: "Jealousy is enough, no but. Think about it carefully, you get up before dawn every day, but he can hold his wife and sleep until midnight. Look, you are now
It's already down to the court, maybe he hasn't gotten up yet."
Emperor Chu waved his sleeves: "I will go back and order the Hanlin Academy to draw up an edict!"
…
half an hour
Andinghou Mansion
In the dining room
Xiao Ruxue was sitting at the table having breakfast with Xu Qing, while Su Qian went to the bedroom to feed Xiao Ning'er breakfast.
Xiao Ruxue sat in the yard, picked up a piece of cabbage, put it into her mouth, chewed it twice and said, "Xu Qing! I will eat Qianlong cabbage tomorrow!"
Xu Qing nodded in agreement and said, "Okay, Princess Yongle can eat whatever she wants."
At this moment, a high-pitched voice came from outside the house: "The imperial edict has arrived!"
Not long after, Wei Zhong walked in holding the imperial edict in his hand.
Wei Zhong looked at Xu Qing, then at Xiao Ruxue, with a flattering smile on his face and said to Xiao Ruxue: "Princess...Imperial decree..."
Xiao Ruxue said dissatisfied: "We are eating!"
Wei Zhong looked at Xu Qing and said: "Master Hou, why don't you give me some face...take it?"
Xiao Ruxue grabbed Xu Qing and said, "I don't want it! The emperor's uncle always comes with imperial edicts when we are eating! We have lost our appetite!"
Xu Qing looked at Wei Zhong, coughed and said, "Eunuch Wei, it's really not that I want to blaspheme the imperial edict. I really can't leave. How about having a meal with Eunuch Wei? It's not too late to read the imperial edict after dinner...
…”
Wei Zhong saw the dissatisfied look in Xiao Ruxue's eyes and quickly shook his head: "Old slave, I think that as long as the Marquis is respectful, the posture of receiving the order should not be so important, or just read it like this..."