I am a nobleman in Spring and Autumn

Chapter 457

The wars that took place around "Xinzheng" attracted much attention, and even the weaker princes were always paying attention to changes in the battle situation.

A large number of spies they sent to spy on were killed by the Yuan army or the Chu army. As envoys of the "observation team", their safety was guaranteed.

This is a kind of etiquette that has been passed down from ancient times. The princes can send envoys to a certain warring place to observe and observe. The two warring parties will not deliberately embarrass each other when they know that the other party is an envoy. Instead, they will treat each other with courtesy.

This etiquette has not been abolished now, but envoys are subject to much more constraints, and it is no longer possible to wander around safely and worry-free by relying on festivals.

Since all the princes are paying attention to the battle between the Yuan army and the Chu army near "Xinzheng", even if they don't know all the details of the battle, they can more or less draw their own guesses from the changes in the battle situation.

At the beginning, the princes thought that the original army was small, but the Chu army was really large and mighty, and the situation of the battle might be that the original army was at a disadvantage.

Later, Chu State repeatedly divided its forces and threatened Yuan State from many places. In particular, it also made a move to liberate Ludi, thinking that Yuan State might be difficult to parry.

What happened again and again was not what the princes imagined. The original army fought more and more bravely in the battle with five times less troops than the Chu army, and the main battlefield was actually dominated by the original army.

The battle that took place around the "Hulao" was in an unknown state, and to some extent the weakness of the original country's insufficient military strength was revealed.

The State of Chu organized an allied force to march towards Lu, and then the State of Yuan began to withdraw its troops from the State of Lu. It seemed that the State of Yuan had lost a round in a local battlefield.

So, the current situation is that the original army in the main battlefield has the upper hand, and the Chu army seems to be in a stalemate with the original army in the "Hulao", but the coalition army is expected to win in Ludi?
In this way, how should the contest between Yuan State and Chu State be calculated?
Of course, Chu State has more troops dispatched, showing the background that an old and powerful country should have.

Looking at the fighting power that erupted during the battle, there is no doubt that the Yuan country is relatively strong, and with a disadvantage of less than five times that of the Chu army, it has achieved a very beautiful exchange ratio.

"Zuyuan? Or Mengchu? What do you guys think?" Song Junluan asked.

Regarding which side to choose, the king and ministers of the Song Dynasty had hesitated for two months.

Just two months?That's because they were firmly on the side of the original country before.

There will be hesitation because the monarch and ministers of the Song Dynasty discovered that the Yue State sent troops to the north, but the Yuan State did not respond, guessing that the Yuan State had no spare power to prevent the Yue State from going north.

Change to before?That is, during the period of the Jin State, no matter how weak the Jin State was, it was absolutely impossible to sit back and watch the Yue State expand to the north.

Then, once it was done, the king and ministers of the Song Dynasty should doubt the strength of the Yuan country, and think about whether they should firmly stand on the side of the Yuan country.

so?They will still compare the current Yuan country with the previous Jin country, and then use their inherent thinking to make a distinction. They will be shaken when they see the weakness of the Yuan country.

"Recently, the Yuan Kingdom has destroyed many countries, and it was kind when it was no longer the Jin Kingdom." Young Master Te expressed his point of view.

Xiang Chao said: "Now I have a border with the original country, so I really have to guard against it."

Ever since the Zhi family destroyed Weidi, the Song State had indeed bordered on the Zhi family. Later, the Zhi family transformed the family into a state, which made the situation even more complicated.

Jin Guorenhou?Although Jin State repeatedly sent troops to beat a certain prince, but after becoming the overlord, Jin State did not destroy a prince entrusted by the Zhou royal family. On the contrary, it repeatedly guaranteed that even the weak princes could maintain the state.

Before, Song State did not border Jin State, and the most threatening Song State was of course Chu State.And Chu State’s repeated invasion of Song State for hundreds of years proved this point. Don’t say that Chu State was the country that destroyed the most countries during the Spring and Autumn Period. Could Song State not be afraid?

Under the fear of Song State, he served Jin State far more sincerely than other princes, and he was regarded as Jin State's staunchest ally.

Even if there is still inertia, for example, the Song Kingdom is naturally more inclined to the new Yuan Kingdom, it is still a fact that the situation has changed, and they have to re-evaluate the situation.

Today, Song Guojun and his ministers are discussing how to deal with the changing situation, hoping to come up with a plan as soon as possible.

The background is that the Song Dynasty issued a mobilization order, and the first batch of troops recruited reached 12, and new troops are being assembled in the future, with the plan that an army of about [-] will be recruited eventually.

In other words, what does Song Guo want to do by gathering such a large army?In fact, they don't have to do anything after gathering a large army. It is also an option to show their muscles purely.

However, gathering the army means consuming the tax quota, and it would be too bad to do nothing.

An army of 12?Purely in terms of scale, there are not many countries that can currently assemble an army of 12, and Song Guo happens to be one of them.

A long time ago, the Song State had a history of gathering about [-] troops to fight against the Chu State's invasion several times. Without this strength, they might have been wiped out by the Chu State long ago, right?
This time, in addition to showing off the muscles to the princes, the main purpose is to let the Yuan State, Chu State, and Yue State see the strength of the Song State. How to choose a side, or not to choose a side at all.

After all, the situation in the world has changed a lot, and the problem of Song's roots seems to be no longer important. The next thing to look at is the overall strength of the country.

Song State is located in a transportation hub. In the past, the economy was only lost to Qi State. It is indeed the second richest country in the world.

Who has the best economy right now?In terms of trade volume, the country of Song is the best one.They wantonly sold food and other resources to the princes, and relied on successive wars to make more than one sum.

In terms of the overall economic volume, there is no doubt that the original country is the largest. If there is any problem, the original country's export quota is a bit small.

The original country's trade is mainly concentrated in military equipment, and another type of business transaction is grain.Generally, the Zhi family sells weapons and equipment in large quantities to families or individuals in the country, and then uses any channels to purchase large quantities of food. The country's import and export trade appears to be relatively unhealthy.

Song State sold the most grain to Yuan State, and to some extent, Song State's monarchs and ministers guessed that Yuan State's agricultural situation did not seem so good.

So, is the original country short of food?Generally speaking, the original country was not short of food.

The original country purchased a large amount of food and other materials from abroad, and basically used Zhiyao to store materials for sweeping the world.

"How about destroying the country of Zhu first?" Master Chu Zifei said.

Song Junluan frowned, looking very moved.

There were many accidents in the process of Cao's demise, but it was Song who discovered that the situation in the world had changed.

With the roots of the Song Kingdom, when is it their turn to expand?However, the state of Song was not punished by the state of Jin for destroying the state of Cao, and the rest of the countries only said a few "beeps" verbally, without any real punishment.

After that time, the monarchs and ministers of the Song Dynasty began to lose courage.

Xiang Chao said: "If I gather a large army, Yuan, Chu, and Yue will definitely find out. Maybe we can wait for the envoys of the Three Kingdoms before making further plans?"

There is a map that shows that Song Guocheng is restricted by geographical location. They are now bordered by the three major powers in the world, and don’t forget that Zheng Guo, a small power, means that countries with the ability to invade foreign countries are with him. Song Guo became a neighbor.

Precisely because a country with a little strength can threaten the actual security of the Song State, it really makes the Song State monarchs and ministers feel a greater sense of crisis and urgency.

What did Mr. Chu Zifei propose just now? Simply send troops to destroy the country of Zhu, right?
In the past, Song Guo had the strength but did not have the courage. What he was afraid of was that other countries would send troops to interfere, and once again staged the scene of besieging and beating the remnants of the Yin and Shang Dynasties.

It's different now!

Yuan State and Chu State, two of the world's top three powerhouses, are fighting for life and death. Zheng State, one of the lesser powers, is like a small boat in the waves of the sea in the huge Yuan-Chu War. The other powerful state will only come to provoke Song State , It is indeed an excellent opportunity for Song State to carry out a new round of expansion, and it seems that Zhu State is really a good target to attack and destroy.

After the slave uprising broke out in the State of Lu, Bandit Zhi led his team to wander around, and finally arrived at a place full of small countries, and the State of Lu was one of the biggest victims.

Master Chu Zifei said: "The princes suffered greatly from the riots, and our army marched there to eliminate harm for the people."

By the way, this "people" must at least start as a "scholar", but not everyone can become a member of the "people" class.

Song Junluan smiled and rolled up his beard, apparently approving.

Seeing Song Junluan's statement, all the ministers began to join the discussion. Ninety-nine out of ten people thought that the time to attack and destroy the State of Zhu was indeed very suitable. The actual situation.

"If I get all the lands, there will be more room for me to get along with Yuan Guo." Xiang Chao said.

In that area where there are many small countries, there is not much advantage in the terrain of mountains and rivers, that is, there are no natural dangers.

The biggest significance for the Song State is that once the Song State occupies that piece of land, it will be like a sharp sword piercing the land of Lu, which can be used as a prop to test the Yuan State's attitude towards the Song State.

To put it simply, Yuan Guo wanted to win over Song Guohui and chose to be patient. Once Yuan Guo wanted to attack Song State, it depended on which area could really threaten Lu. Time to prepare for the defense of the homeland.

They were having a meeting, and news about the progress of the war between Yuan State and Chu State was sent over.

"Mr. Chu retreated to the 'Xinzheng', the mainland of Chu was attacked by the original army, and the original country withdrew its troops from Lu."

The new progress seems simple, but it is actually very surprising that the progress of the battle situation has changed so much.

Why did Chu Junzhong lead his ministers into the "Xinzheng" city?It must be that they felt a great threat, and the overall situation made it impossible for them to retreat from the main battlefield, so that they had to hide in the tortoise shell of "Xinzheng".

If it weren't for Yuan Guo's move to withdraw troops from Lu, the kings and ministers of the Song Dynasty could be sure that this battle would be the result of Yuan Guo's complete victory.

"Chu's homeland was attacked, will the Chu army withdraw when going north?" Huang Yuan hadn't said much before, and asked the key point as soon as he opened his mouth.

Xiang Chao squinted his eyes and said, "There are so many cavalry in the Yuan country, how could it be that the Chu army retreated whenever they wanted?"

Looking at Chu Junzhong leading all his ministers into the "Xinzheng" city in this way, it seems a bit like a cocoon.

They have more security when they go in, but the problem is that it is very difficult to come out again.

Now that the land of Chu is being attacked by the original army, once the original army can cut off the connection between the monarchs and ministers of Chu who are going abroad, it will be difficult for the local nobles of Chu to resist and cooperate, right?
Huang Yuan thought for a while and then said: "The decisive battle between Yuan and Chu may be in the near future."

Seeing that the situation is already unfavorable enough for the Chu State, it will only get worse and worse for the Chu State if it continues to drag on. As long as the Chu State’s monarchs and ministers remain rational, they should not continue to hide in the city of "Xinzheng". Try to fight the original army head-on.

Song Junluan said with great emotion: "In this way, the Chu army's invasion of Ludi was a fool's move?"

Is it a trick, or is it to see the result?

If the state of Chu can revive the state of Lu, at least the state of Lu can become a good pawn of the state of Chu in the future. If it is used well, it can contain more troops of the state of Yuan. country has a greater negative impact.

The kings and ministers of the Song Dynasty believed that the kings and ministers of the Chu State had used a stupid move. It was nothing more than the failure of the Chu army on the main battlefield, and the invasion of the Chu State itself.

Judging decisions made under the fog of war based on the results that have already appeared is called hindsight.

"Regardless of whether the original country's military strength is insufficient, invading the Chu country is a coup!" Song Junluan envied the original country's monarchs and ministers from the bottom of their hearts without worrying too much about things.

Afterwards, Song Junluan asked all the ministers, "From this point of view, Chu State is definitely not the opponent of Yuan State. What will happen to me? What will happen to Yue State?"

Should Song Guo continue to hang out with Yuan Guo? If so, should he do something to Chu Guo next?

Chu State laborers mobilized all the people to go north in exchange for that kind of situation. Chu State will definitely not be in danger of subjugation for a while. Will Yue State see the strength of Yuan State and continue to ally with Chu State? Playing an operation to take advantage of his illness to kill him?

However, the officials of Song State understood what Song Junluan meant. No matter how bad Chu State was, Song State should take it easy and not target Chu State for the time being.

This is because Song people understand Chu people too well.

Of course, Chu State will be resentful when it loses to Yuan State. Whoever dares to take the opportunity to make trouble for Chu State, it’s fine if Chu State doesn’t recover from it. Vigorous revenge.

It was Master Chu Zifei who gave a different point of view, saying: "If the original country is the Jin country, it would be a good thing to be stronger than me, but the original country is not the Jin country."

right?The Jin State will not destroy the princes at will. Before turning the family into a country, the Zhi family has already destroyed several countries, especially the Qi State. It is hard to say that the Song State is not the next Qi State.

Everyone was taken aback for a moment, and had to admit that Master Chu's words made sense.

Master Chu Zifei said again: "If I send troops to the state of Zhu, I can also send troops to the territory of Zheng. When the soldiers arrive at the state of Zheng, whoever comes as an envoy will say that they will avenge the repeated invasions of the state of Zheng, and the army will not act rashly."

Anyway, it is impossible to let the state of Chu really end like that.

If Chu State falls, who else in the world can stop Yuan State from expanding?

Therefore, Master Chu Zifei believes that the situation has changed so much that Song does not necessarily have to be an enemy of Chu.

Song Junluan fell into a long silence after hearing this...

(End of this chapter)