I am a nobleman in Spring and Autumn

Chapter 472 This is embarrassing the widow!

The blaze burned for four days, from its inception to sporadic fires remaining.

Of course, it is impossible for all the Chu soldiers to be buried in the sea of ​​flames. Less than [-]% were actually scorched, and the vast majority of them died under the thick smoke; about [-]% survived, most of them were wounded.

Among the [-]% of the survivors, about half of them fled into the "Xinzheng" city, and the rest became prisoners of the original army, including Chu Junzhong.

Originally, Chu Junzhong had a special status and would receive the best care. Some of them were Chu people who were willing to die for him, and the chance of surviving must be the greatest.

"I don't see Mr. Chu for the time being." Zhiyao learned that Mr. Chu was blind, and she didn't know whether it was permanent or temporary.

Being in the thick smoke, the eyes are indeed prone to problems. Most of the surviving soldiers of the Chu army have big or small eyes problems.

These survivors are also facing other sufferings, breathing too much smoke and ashes, respiratory tract and even lung problems may appear, cough symptoms at the same time, what to eat and drink will cause vomiting symptoms.

Chu Junzhong and other Chu nobles with special identities are also supported by millet porridge. The rest of the Chu army is not treated so well. How many people can survive in the end can only depend on the recovery speed brought by their physical fitness.

In fact, Zhiyao still hopes that more captives will survive.

Casualties are unavoidable in the conflict between the two countries, and no one can be blamed for death on the battlefield.

There is no serious food crisis in the original country, so there is no need to kill the captives to prevent the captives from rioting due to lack of food.

Sima Rangju recorded Zhiyao's instructions one by one, and then said: "In this battle, more than 20 Chu troops were destroyed, and the Chu king became a prisoner; if we annihilate Zhaogu's troops, it will be difficult for Chu to recover its strength in [-] years."

"How could I give Chu State 20 years?" Zhiyao thought.

Within two years, the state of Chu lost about 8 to [-] people, and most of them were men in their prime.

What is the total population of Chu State?It is estimated that even the monarchs and ministers of the Chu Kingdom in the past dynasties did not know it themselves. It is estimated that there are about 380 million in the generation of Chu Junzhong, right?

With the total population guessed, it is definitely necessary to distinguish between age groups and genders. Even if Chu State has a total population of 380 million, losing 18 adult men would be a major blow.

It is not to say that all the 18 Chu people died, and more than 11 of them became prisoners of the original country, so they could no longer be regarded as the available population of the Chu country.

Therefore, the so-called being wiped out does not really mean that all people are dead. Being captured or missing, and no longer becoming an effective combat force, will be counted within the scope of elimination.

Zhiyao asked: "If the widow persuades Mr. Zheng to surrender at this time, will it succeed?"

Sima Rangju asked back, "How does Your Majesty persuade you to surrender?"

If the king and ministers of the state of Zheng were to give up resistance, the whole state of Zheng would become a part of the original state. Presumably, the king and ministers of the state of Zheng would choose to resist to the end.

If Zheng Guo still exists, they can retain the "Xin Zheng", while the original country only asks Zheng Guo to cede land, and then Zheng Guo becomes the younger brother of the original country, and the chances of Zheng Guo's monarch and ministers choosing to surrender will be infinite.

In addition to "Xinzheng", the current Zheng State also has territories in the south and east. In fact, it is not an excellent time for Zhiyao to persuade them to surrender.

Sima Rangju speculated privately: "Could it be that the emperor is tired and plans to give up the battle temporarily?"

All in all, Yuanguo has fought every year since its establishment, and most of the time Zhiyao led the army to fight. It is quite normal to be tired, especially Zhiyao not only has to take care of herself, but also needs to consider the various conditions of the whole country.

So, is Zhiyao feeling tired?not at all.

It's just that it's really not a good thing for the country if the king of a country leads his troops abroad for a long time.

In other aspects, the people's livelihood in the original country is good and bad, and generally speaking, it can continue to survive.

From the perspective of the wishes of the military and civilians, the whole country of Yuanguo fell into a frenzied enthusiasm for war.

There are not too many complicated reasons. Currently, there are not many ways to change your own destiny. Enlisting in the army is the only way for most people to change their destiny. Being able to participate in the war will only feel joyful and full of expectations. Those who have not been recruited for the time being are looking forward to their own One day I will be able to set foot on the battlefield.

From a certain point of view, Zhiyao is more worried than happy in the face of the frenzied enthusiasm of the whole country, and is deeply afraid that after a setback, things will turn against each other.

In fact, there is another reason. Fanatical belligerence is fine, but belligerence without military skills is quite inappropriate.

It has only been six or seven years since Zhiyao’s two-year training for Zhishi started, and it is a slow-rolling method. Some places may have been training for seven years, and others have only started for one year.

The places where the one-year training camp started were originally fiefdoms belonging to the Wei family.

The counties and counties directly under the Zhi family are like that, and the fiefdoms of the Han family, the Fox family, the Zhong family and other families simply do not have training camps.

Under such circumstances, people who do not have military skills go to the battlefield, and one can draw a conclusion from the performance of Chu State's repeated mobilization of 30 to [-] people to the battlefield. The army does not depend on the number of people.

Zhiyao still decided to try to persuade her to surrender.

The condition that Yuan State offered to Zheng State was based on the current status quo, that is to say, the two countries ceased fighting, and Zheng State accepted that the land occupied by the original army should be returned to Yuan State.

At the same time, Zheng State needs to pay economic compensation to the original country before becoming a vassal state dispatched by the original country.

There will inevitably be other more detailed terms, such as the original country can send ministers to the center or place of the Zheng State to concurrently hold a certain position, how the Zheng State will pay tribute every year when it becomes a vassal state of the original country, and so on.

After hearing this, Sima Rangju said: "If Zheng Guo is willing, it will be no different from the subjugation of the country."

That set was not created by Zhiyao, Chu State used that method to destroy one country after another.

Because there are precedents to learn from, when Zheng Guojun and his ministers learned of the conditions offered by Yuan Guo, they would definitely find that it was a trick that Chu Guo was used to.

In view of the current situation in Zheng State, they will be very entangled in their hearts. If they don’t accept the conditions of the original country, the country will probably be destroyed immediately. If they accept it, the country will be destroyed in a more humiliating way one day, but if they accept it, at least there is still room for struggle. .

Let's see how Zheng Guojun and his ministers will choose.

At the same time, the envoys of the original country who were sent to "Xinzheng" had another task to spread the news of Chu Junzhong's capture.This intention is to let the Chu army who fled into the city of "Xinzheng" know the current situation of Chu Junzhong.

why?As long as the Chu army in the "Xinzheng" city knows the current situation in the Chu army, they will not desperately help Zheng Guo defend the city, and even Zheng Guojun and his ministers will have to guard against the Chu army in the "Xinzheng" city.

Later, the envoys sent to "Xinzheng" came back and reported: "Your Majesty, Zheng Jun refused to surrender."

Sima Rangju asked on his behalf: "Can you tell Zheng Guo temple that most of Zheng land is occupied by me?"

Youhu is an old retainer of the Zhi clan, and he can guess Zhiyao's current mood, and said with a wry smile: "Because of this, Mr. Zheng will not surrender."

The north and west of Zheng State fell completely, and more than half of the territory was lost. To surrender, one must admit the sovereignty and change hands, not to mention that the original country still has so many conditions.

What they can know is that the main force of the Chu army has been wiped out, and they know too well that no Chu army will go north again in the next few years.

The state of Chu was temporarily reduced to a supporting position, and the countries responsible for confronting the country became Zheng and Song.

Zheng Guo and Song Guo have often fought in recent decades. Apart from being able to form an alliance, in addition to the strength of the original country, the Chu country has contributed a lot.

Once the state of Chu is not doing well, the bridge of friendship between the state of Zheng and the state of Song is almost drawn, and the king and ministers of the state of Zheng will not have such high expectations for the state of Song to continue to treat the state of Antigen.

As for Vietnam?Before Wu State fell, Yue State was not such a conspicuous country.

The State of Yue has just eaten most of the territory of the State of Wu, and it is impossible to completely digest it in a short period of time. Even if the State of Yuan is willing to support it, it is possible for the State of Wu to stage a return of the king.

Therefore, before the Yue State did not support the "Xinzheng" battlefield, although the Chu State, Song State, and Zheng State had opinions, they could understand it in a certain way.

After thinking about it, Zheng Guojun and his ministers knew what danger they were facing. They didn't want to be humiliated by those vassal states that were destroyed by Chu State.

"The old surrendering country won't surrender anymore..." Zhiyao was somewhat angry.

With "Xinzheng" standing there for a day, tens of thousands of troops in the Yuan Kingdom would be unable to move for a long time. Even if the Yuan Army could occupy the southern part of the Zheng Kingdom, maintaining supply lines and extra costs would be a big trouble.

More realistically, if the Yuan State does not completely annex the Zheng State, the people of Zheng will not give up resistance for a day, which will cause more difficulties for the Yuan army to rule the northern and western parts of the Zheng State, and the risk of expansion or harassment to the Chu State. The coefficient multiplies dramatically.

"Wait, wait!" Although Zhiyao was so angry that she wanted to attack 'Xinzheng' immediately, she did not completely lose her mind.

Outside the city of "Xinzheng" after the fire, the ground became pitch black, and the wind would blow ashes and float everywhere.

The clearing of the ruins after the war by the former army is still going on.

The charred corpses were loaded onto bullock carts and taken to the dug huge pit, where hundreds of thousands of people were buried together.

If the location of the cover is revealed in later generations, archaeologists will definitely think that there was a mass killing of prisoners. Further research can get the correct answer from the ashes on the corpses. There is no large-scale execution of prisoners of war. It is purely a post-war burial. .

If they are curious to look up the historical materials, there will be a great war in "Xinzheng" in 460 BC, and the chapters of the original country using fire attack against the Chu army will be unfolded one by one.

"How will General Jun deal with Chu Jun?" Han Geng asked during a meeting with Sima Rangju.

Sima Rangju wondered who is the person with high position and weight.

At present, the Zhi family and the Han family are wary of each other. Zhi Yao should show Han Geng a little bit of respect, so as not to cause more conflicts on this kind of matter, so that the trivial matter becomes a big one, and then becomes out of control.

However, it is a fact that Zhiyao trusts Sima Rangju more. She will ask Sima Rangju about many things, but will not ask Han Geng and others.

Sima Rangju pretended to think for a while before replying: "Your Majesty, you may release him to Chu Jun."

Han Geng was inexplicably relieved.

It wasn't because of anything else, the main reason was that even if the Yuan country had the ability to destroy the Chu country now, it really shouldn't.

Kill Chu Junzhong?This is completely out of the range of options for the former monarch and his ministers.

Even if the Yuan Kingdom destroys the Chu Kingdom one day, treating the last Chu monarch will be a way of confinement somewhere, so that it is possible to maintain its wealth.

Whoever cut the weeds and wiped out the roots will not stay?It's not that it can't be done, but if it is done, it will set off a wave of riots in Chudi.This is also the reason why the first emperor did not exterminate the families of the six kings. It is nothing more than that each era has its own characteristics.

So, what about detaining Chu Junzhong?Sima Rangju felt that Zhiyao would not detain Chu Junzhong.

Han Geng said: "It is difficult for the state of Chu to have the strength to fight again. It is a proper strategy to make the king of Chu fearful and then release him."

Say so!

Under the leadership of Chu Junzhong, the Chu State failed to defeat the original army in two large-scale battles. On the contrary, they repeatedly lost their masters and humiliated their power.

According to the understanding of Chu Junzhong by the original monarch and ministers, seeing that Chu Junzhong is not a person like Yuejun Goujian, and there is already Yuejun Goujian in front, it will be easier to observe Chu Junzhong's aspirations in the future.

Chu State is different from Yue State. The defeat of Yue State to Wu State has aroused the unity of Yue people. Not long ago, civil strife broke out in Chu State.

The original army not only captured Chu Junzhong, but also captured a lot of Chu nobles. There is really too much room for the Yuan monarch and ministers to manipulate.

At present, Cheng Shuo, Fan Li, and Zhiying are frequently entertaining the nobles of the Chu Kingdom. Needless to say, what will they do?
Coercion and lure are the lowest level of practice. Giving some promises to the nobles of Chu State, and even giving actual benefits to fuel the ambitions of the nobles of Chu State is the high-end way.

The original country will vary from person to person, and all the methods that can be played will be displayed.

What surprised Sima Rangju was why Han Geng asked this question.

Han Geng said: "Earlier, the defeated Chu army entered Zhou, and Geng heard that [-] remnants of the Chu army in Zhou's house committed tyranny."

It was the defeated Chu army on the front line of "Hulao" who fled to the area under the jurisdiction of the Zhou royal family.

The state of Chu asked the emperor of Zhou to increase his title a long time ago, but he was rejected and simply ceased to be one of the enfeoffed states of the Zhou royal family.

After that, Chu State was one country, and Ji Zhou was another country. No matter how strong the country that continued to recognize Ji Zhou's dominance was, it was only at the level of a feudal state.

What is the current situation of the Zhou royal family?Not to mention other things, it was difficult for Zhou Tianzi to recruit an army of 1 people.

The so-called difficulty is related to the financial resources of the Zhou royal family, and then the "Chinese" no longer take the emperor of Zhou seriously, anyway, there is no sentiment to work hard to die.

Zhiyao suddenly mentioned it to Han Geng, and said with a surprised face: "The Son of Heaven didn't ask for help."

In other words, did Zhiyao know that the Chu army was raging in the Zhou royal family's territory?That must be known.

A new question arises, did the current emperor of Zhou send someone to ask for help from Yuanguo?Maybe, maybe not, Zhiyao didn't meet the angel formally, so it's nothing like that.

Han Geng was silent for a while, and said, "The Son of Heaven has come to my house."

Did Zhou Tianzi send envoys to ask the original country for help?
If so, why didn't the angel appear in front of Zhiyao?
If not, what does it mean for the angel to go to the Han family for help instead of looking for Zhiyao, the ruler of the original country!
(End of this chapter)