I will not be king in the Spring and Autumn Period

Chapter 235 Chapter 266 Chapter 267

Li Ran heard Chu Dang's yelling outside, and when he went out, he saw that it was Chu Dang who accidentally collapsed the mouth of the well in the garden.

At this moment, Zhang Huatai's guards were surrounding him, demanding that he "confess" and claim compensation. Chu Dang refused to accept it, and he was very stubborn.

Li Ran was watching from a distance, not feeling a smile for a moment.

After all, Chu Dang is a rough person, and it is understandable for him to be sloppy when doing things.

And if these guards wanted to make things difficult for Chu Dang, then Li Ran would naturally not agree.

However, seeing Chu Dang's stubbornness, it is certain that the mouth of the well will be repaired stronger than a copper wall and an iron wall in his hands in the future.

Seeing that there was nothing serious, Li Ran took a deep breath, forcibly pulled himself together, and was about to turn around and leave.

However, the moment he turned around, a light flashed in his mind!

"Water wells are dug for people's use, and if they are broken, they need to be repaired."

"Yup!"

"Why didn't I think of it!"

Just now Chu Dang's words lingered in his ears for a while, and it actually made him realize suddenly.

Isn't this the same reason as his current situation?
Qing Feng is now the "water" he wants to salvage, and his reputation is this "well".

The well is broken, and it can be repaired slowly in the future.

But what if the water flows away?Where else can I find it?
As the saying goes, "the future will last forever", Li Ran's reputation in the Central Plains countries, as long as he doesn't make too many mistakes.You can always find an opportunity to slowly repair it in the future.

What's more, if you want to say that the most notable feature of this era is really nothing more than the generosity of "recruiting surrender and accepting rebellion".

In the Spring and Autumn Period, if people like Li Ran were not talking about the moral aspect, if they just talked about people like him returning to the state of Zhou, what would be the result?

In fact, apart from a bad reputation, there is no need to have any political burdens at all, because such things were too commonplace in that era.

Therefore, for Li Ran, the big deal is that the "well" has collapsed, and it will be rebuilt when the time comes.

But once Qing Feng escapes, or once Li Ran loses the opportunity to know all the truth, it may not be easy to find a good opportunity in the future.

After all, for people like Feng Duan and Ji Sun Yiru, if he is not relying on a more powerful force to pry them, he will have no chance by relying on his own strength alone.

Li Ran can clearly distinguish the priorities of the matter.At this moment, his own reputation does not seem to be that important, but how to untangle the layers of fog behind it seems to be the most important thing for him at this moment!

Just do it!

Li Ran cleared his mind, and suddenly became free and easy again.

He hurriedly went to see the King of Chu again. When the King of Chu heard that Li Ran had gone and returned, he immediately thought that Li Ran had thought of some good idea, and hurriedly called him into the palace.

This time, Li Ran did not disappoint the King of Chu, he did have a solution.

"Mr. went and came back again. Presumably, he must have a good opinion. Let me tell the widow to hear it!"

The King of Chu couldn't wait any longer. After all, the battle to attack Zhufang City was very urgent, which also made him feel pressured.

Hearing the sound, Li Ran bowed immediately, and then said slowly:
"Nowadays, the Qing Feng in Zhufang City has the help of foreign countries. I am afraid that it will be difficult for the king to take it down in a short period of time only by force. If this is the case, the king might as well prepare for a long-term siege of Zhufang City and mobilize from all over the city. Elite soldiers and good generals, as well as a supply of food and grass, replaced the exhausted army in front, and put on a posture of confronting them for a long time, so as to frighten Qingfeng."

"Ah? Sir, are you joking? With such a movement, how can the state of Jin just watch and remain indifferent?"

Li Ran had just finished speaking, but Wu Ju interrupted with a sarcasm.

According to Li Ran, if the preparations for long-term combat are sufficient, it will inevitably mobilize the defensive forces from all over the place.

Other places are easy to say, but the north side, if Jin is alarmed, then it will use Zheng to attack the hinterland of Chu, then Chu will not suffer from the enemy?

"Hehe, it's not wise for the doctor to jump to a conclusion after only listening to it halfway? Please ask Doctor Wu Ju to listen."

Since the first battle in Chaoyi, Li Ran has never had a good look towards Wu Ju.Therefore, at this time, Wu Ju choked on purpose, shouldn't this give you a hard rebuttal?
Seeing this, the King of Chu immediately waved his hand at Wu Ju and said:
"Wu Qing doesn't need to say too much, let's discuss after listening."

At this time, he could only place his hopes on Li Ran, so he didn't want Li Ran to delay his proposal because of Wu Ju.

Wu Ju blushed, and immediately stepped aside.

"My lord, if we want to confront each other for a long time, we must first stabilize the north."

"The troops deployed by Your Majesty in the north are not much at present, so if the Jin State will ally with the princes and go south at that time, it may be more or less auspicious."

This is indeed a fact, and now the Chu State is gradually showing signs of fatigue due to the expedition against Zhongli.If the most elite defense in the north is exchanged for Zhongli.For Chu State, this is tantamount to picking chestnuts out of the fire.

"Since this is the case, why don't your majesty change your mind? Think of another way to completely cut off the possibility of Jin's going south?"

There was a faint smile on Li Ran's face, which seemed quite mysterious.

Hearing this, the King of Chu couldn't help being taken aback. He couldn't figure out what Li Ran meant by these words for a long time.I saw him frowning for a while, thinking for a long time.

And Wu Ju on the side was also very puzzled, he only sneered to himself, but stopped talking.

"Please tell me, sir."

The king of Chu seemed very humble, at least in this matter, his appearance of "begging for enlightenment" was quite in place.

That's right, when people ask for something, even the most arrogant and domineering people will humble themselves.

Hearing the sound, Li Ran immediately cupped his hands and said:

"If you want to conquer Zhufang City and hold Qingfeng, but also want to avoid the direct intervention of Jin State, the first step is to ask Chu State to correct its attitude first, and first show that it has no intention of competing with the Central Plains countries. The situation is coming."

"What? What is this called!"

"All the kings of the Chu Kingdom have been striving for hegemony in the north, but at this time, the master wants me to show that Chu is weaker than Zhou? Doesn't that mean that the king should abandon his family and abandon his ancestors?!"

Upon hearing this, Wu Ju couldn't sit still, and immediately took a step forward to refute.

And King Chu's face was also very embarrassing, his throat was knotted for a while, and he stopped talking.

Will Chu people show weakness to Zhou people?
"In the 16th year of the total king, in the battle of Yanling, our Chu army killed and injured [-] people! In the third year of King Kang, in the battle of Zhanban, our Chu army was defeated by the Jin people again, and the Jin people drove straight all the way to the foot of our city!"

"However, even so, when did our country of Chu show weakness to the country of Jin? When did our Chu people bow their heads to the people of the Central Plains?!"

"Sir, what you said is really insulting me! Please respect yourself, sir!"

Yes, with the toughness and stubbornness of the Chu people, how could they show weakness to others?
Here again, Xiang Yu, the overlord of Western Chu, needs to be brought out to talk about.

The people of Chu have the arrogance of "the world is the only one, no one else" in their bones. From King Wu of Chu to Xiang Yu, from the Western Zhou Dynasty to the Qin and Han Dynasties, the Chu people of all dynasties have a lot of arrogance.

Even King Huai of Chu, who was hijacked by the Qin State and imprisoned in Xianyang until his death, always carried this domineering spirit in his bones, preferring to die rather than surrender.

And this kind of arrogance became the origin of the later so-called "Although Chu has three households, if Qin dies, Chu must die".

In short, Chu people have never been submissive to others since ancient times!

I think that King Wu of Chu dared to respect himself as a king and refused to show weakness when facing the powerful alliance of the country surnamed Ji in the Central Plains.

Can his descendants do such a thing?

King Cheng of Chu had never done such a thing, and neither had King Zhuang of Chu. Could it be that King Xiongwei of Chu, who was dedicated to making great achievements, would do such a thing?
Since Wu Ju is from Chu, he still has the blood of Chu people in his bones.So after he finished speaking, even King Xiongwei of Chu couldn't help nodding his head in agreement, thinking that Li Ran's words were indeed inappropriate.

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Chapter 267_ To do big things, learn to endure first

The battle of Zhufang City was not favorable.

However, the first step of Li Ran's strategy was refuted by Wu Ju on the spot.He thinks that Li Ran's remarks are to make Chu people bow their heads and show weakness.

Such humiliation to Chu people is really unbearable for them.

However, facing Wu Ju's fierce refutation, Li Ran seemed extremely relaxed, as if he had expected such a reaction from them.

Not only was Li Ran not angry, but he listened to all Wu Ju's words in a leisurely manner, and then nodded in agreement.

It's just that when he nodded, an expression of "doesn't matter" appeared on his face for no reason.

"Since the doctor wants to feel this way, then it's time to invite the doctor to come."

Li Ran raised his hand slightly, and just put on a gesture of invitation.

Then, Wu Ju was stunned.

"I...you!"

Wu Ju was so angry that his old face flushed for a moment, no, no, no, he was so embarrassed that even the king of Chu was worried for him.

Seeing this, Li Ran immediately gave him another look.

"What the hell? That's it?"

"Cupping? With such a high standard, why don't you come by yourself? You are the king with a strong mouth, right? You can do it by making irresponsible remarks? When you do it with real knives and guns, you can run faster than anyone else?"

"If you want to be so awesome, why are you coming back? You want to take Zhu Fangcheng?!"

Wu Ju was the overseer of King Chu's attack on Zhongli this time. He ran back and said he was reporting the military situation, but in reality?

Didn't he come back early to sue because he was afraid of being punished by the supervising army?

Li Ran was naturally disdainful of this, and couldn't help but slander him for a while.

"Please don't blame me, sir. It's just that what you said just now is really shocking. It is indeed a bit... a bit embarrassing for me to make such a gesture to the countries of the Central Plains..."

The king of Chu had to admit that asking him to do this really made him a little embarrassed.

After all, he was the one who dared to rush to Zheng Yi with two thousand guards. After all, he was the fierce man who dared to summon all the countries in the world to come to the alliance at the gate of Jin State.

Now you want him to bow his head to show weakness or even goodwill to the countries of the Central Plains, isn't that more uncomfortable than giving him a sword?

"Your Majesty thinks that the honor and disgrace of Your Majesty is more important, or the safety of the entire Chu State?"

Li Ran didn't tell him the truth, but made it clear directly.

If Zhu Fangcheng can't stand in a stalemate for a day, everyone in the Chu country needs to be worried about it. Moreover, the Chu country has tens of thousands of troops, which can be said to be a waste of money. Can the Chu country afford it?

And once the national strength of Chu State is dragged down due to this kind of consumption, when Jin State sends its troops south again, what should Chu State use to resist?
Compared with the honor and disgrace of your King Chu alone, shouldn't the family fortune accumulated by the Chu kings of the Chu Kingdom be more important?
"The widow..."

"Of course, the safety of the Chu Kingdom is important! I ascended the throne as the king, in order to allow my Chu Kingdom to dominate the world and restore the prestige of my former king Zhuangwang!"

King Zhuang of Chu, one of the Five Overlords in the Spring and Autumn Period, as mentioned above, drinking horses in the Yellow River and aspiring to win the Central Plains, is the hero of this generation.

Of course the king of Chu, Xiongwei, is also a monarch with ambitions for the world, and Li Ran is very clear about this.

Otherwise, Xiongwei, king of Chu, would not have humbly asked him about Duke Huan of Qi's hegemony when he was at the meeting in Guodi.

In fact, since King Zhuang of Chu, almost every generation of kings of Chu has taken the task of recovering the hegemony of King Zhuang of Chu as their mission.

It's just that here in Xiongwei, the king of Chu, the prospect is still obvious.

"Since that's the case, what's the harm in showing your weakness to the countries of the Central Plains?"

"Those who have achieved great things since ancient times are able to endure and make decisions. Only then can they be a man. The first king of Jin Dynasty, Wen Gong, was exiled to Cao State. Advise him to "eat soil". But in the end? After returning to China, he will be able to dominate the world. Could it be that the humiliation that Jin Wengong has suffered in the past 20 years is not as good as that of the king?"

"Since your majesty wants to achieve great success, you might as well think about Cheng Wang and Zhuang Wang back then. As the saying goes, 'Small intolerance leads to great conspiracy'!"

In the last sentence, Li Ran emphasized his tone, and said it in a decisive tone, and the whole hall was suddenly silent.

Of course Wu Ju wanted to refute.

But when Li Ran threw out such a heavyweight example as Jin Wengong, the words he wanted to use to refute Li Ran only seemed extremely weak for a while.

The Chu people are indeed competitive, but of all the great achievements in this world, which one has not survived step by step, bit by bit?
Not to mention anything else, just the two former monarchs of Chu State?

If King Chu Cheng hadn't been humiliated by the "Zhaoling Alliance", how could he be ashamed and dominate the Central Plains after the subsequent "Battle of Hongshui"?

If the King of Chu Zhuang hadn't had the mind of "If you don't make a sound, you will be a blockbuster", how could you defeat the Ruo Ao family, and finally be able to aspire to the Central Plains and drink horses in the Yellow River?

As the saying goes, "receive the dirt of the country, and then become the master of the country".The first king became a king, and the king of Zhuang could bear it. Could it be that you, the king of Chu, Xiongwei, can't bear it?
"The widow..."

The king of Chu was at a loss for words for a moment, but he didn't know how to respond.

"If Your Majesty refuses to bear this bit of humiliation, then I'm afraid it will be difficult to serve His Majesty again. If that's the case, the agreement between Your Majesty and Ran will be void."

Li Ran flicked his sleeves and turned around to leave.

"slow!"

The King of Chu was taken aback, and hurriedly spoke to stop him.

"Sir, what are you talking about? Is the widow a person who does not know how to bear, Xu Tu looks forward to?"

"Please also speak to your heart's content, sir, and I will definitely listen to it!"

Up to now, he has no way to save the battle of Zhufang City, which is mired in the mud. Now that Li Ran has mentioned it, even if he is asked to bow his head to show weakness to the Central Plains countries, he can only obey at this moment.

Of course, the process of condescending may really be more tortuous, and he, King Chu Xiongwei, is definitely not happy about it.

However, due to the difficulties in reality, his dissatisfaction may only be buried in his heart.

Seeing that the King of Chu has made such a statement, what else can Wu Ju say?I had no choice but to continue to stand aside and listen.

Li Ran heard the words, but immediately turned around again, as if he had expected everything.He bowed to the King of Chu again, and then continued:

"Since the king of Chu wants to show that he has no intention of competing for supremacy, the best way is to get married!"

"The king has been on the throne for half a year now, so he should be a queen. The daughter of the Feng family of Zheng Yi, whom the king married before, is obviously not worthy of motherhood. Although her daughter has the surname of Ji, the Feng family is nothing more than a senior official in the country of Zheng. If this woman is established as the royal family, I am afraid that people in the world will laugh at me."

"However, I heard that the Marquis of Jin has a daughter who is in her young age, and she is a good match with the king. Why don't you send a confidant to the Jin country to express his wish for marriage. The Jin country is now suffering from internal troubles, and the entire Jin country does not want to cause trouble. So there is absolutely no grounds for refusal.”

"And if Your Majesty is able to marry the daughter of Marquis of Jin, wouldn't the whole world know about His Majesty's sincerity to live in peace with the Central Plains countries? At that time, even if Chu State continues to send troops under Zhu Fang's city, it will not be possible to come to Jin State Self-destructing the agreement, tearing up the face and sending troops south."

"And without the help of the Jin State, how would the princes of the Central Plains dare to lead their troops south without authorization? In this way, wouldn't the threat from the north of Chu State be solved directly?"

Getting married is obviously only the first step.

When Li Ran finished speaking, King Chu's complexion immediately improved.

Because if what Li Ran said was true, in fact, their Chu country was not "bowing their heads to show weakness".

It's just to marry a wife again. What kind of hindrance can this have on him, the King of Chu?
What's more, this itself is a very normal exchange of courtesy between the various princes and states.And the daughter of the Marquis of Jin, is it true that she has dishonored her fame?

So, he immediately nodded in agreement, and signaled Li Ran to continue talking with great interest.

(End of this chapter)