Rebirth of Wu Ba Spring and Autumn

Chapter 935 Adding the Three Counties of Hebei
The time has entered the 30th year of Wu Wang Qingji, that is, 484 BC, the ninth month of the lunar calendar.

After the Battle of Huanshui, Wu Jun made a gesture of going eastward in a big way, which frightened the ruling and opposition parties of the four kingdoms of Qi, Song, Lu, and Wei.

However, in the end, Qingji still did not issue an order for a further eastward expedition.

Qingji sent envoys to the four states of Qi, Song, Lu, and Wei, and forced their monarchs and officials to cede the land of the city and compensate Wu for all losses in the war.

The captured kings of Song, Lu, and Wei and their ministers were forced to bleed profusely, and they could only return to their hometowns after paying a huge ransom.

Due to the tense situation of the Wu army, Qi State was forced to cede fifteen cities including Chongqiu, Yiyi, Huang, Liao, Tang, and Qing to the west of Jishui.

The State of Lu was forced to cede seven cities including Xuju, Xianqiu, and Taoqiu from the vicinity of Onozawa to Jishui.

The state of Wei was forced to cede seven cities including Chaoge, Wulu, Tong, and Maoqiu from Dahe to Jishui. Its capital, Diqiu, was directly surrounded by Wu on three sides.

The worst was Song State. Including Pengcheng, an important commercial city, Xiao, Lu, Youqiu, and ten cities including Chen County and Ku County, which were previously annexed by Song State, were all ceded to Wu State.

This caused Qi, Song, Lu, and Wei to be weakened to varying degrees.

Not only is it as simple as ceding the land of the city, but the Four Kingdoms were also extorted by Wu Guo for gold ranging from [-] to [-] yi, which can be described as difficult brothers.

As for the country of Yan, because it was beyond the reach of the whip, it did not border on the country of Wu, but it was not blackmailed by Wu's military.

During this year, except for the two countries of Han and Wei who kept their own place and were not attacked by Wu Guo's soldiers, the rest of the countries were all rubbed on the ground by Wu Guo and basically crippled.

If it weren't for the consideration of the weak national strength and the serious loss of Wu's own country, Qingji might consider taking advantage of this opportunity to launch the Great Unification War in one go.

……

The western capital of Wu State, Xianyang.

When Qingji returned to the capital, according to the usual practice, the Great Court Meeting was held immediately. All officials with a rank of more than [-] shi in the court must attend the Chongzheng Palace to discuss the state affairs.

At the Great Court Meeting, Qingji discussed with the ministers and rewarded the meritorious ministers. The rewards and pensions for the rest of the officers and men will be delayed a little bit, but they must be discussed first.

"Second and third sons, this Great War in the Central Plains has opened up thousands of miles of territory for our Great Wu."

Qing Ji said loudly: "As I wish, set up counties to govern."

"In the old land of Zhao, three counties in Hebei were added, namely: Taiyuan County, Hengshan County, and Qinghe County."

"Calculate."

"Chen is here!"

"It is up to you to select capable ministers and officials to take office in the three counties of Hebei. After the officials take office, they must restore people's livelihood as soon as possible without delay."

"promise!"

Ji Ran agreed immediately.

"Your Majesty, I have something to say. I don't know if I should say it or not?"

"But it doesn't matter."

Ji Ran frowned, and said slowly: "The battle to destroy Zhao has sharply reduced the number of men in Zhao, and almost killed most of the young people. Our army has captured as many as 36 enemy soldiers in the previous wars this year. , has not been properly settled so far.”

"I think that these hundreds of thousands of soldiers can be resettled in the three counties of Hebei, Shangjun, and Longxi counties, so that they can cultivate and guard the frontier, and at the same time restore people's livelihood. After marrying with local widows and widows, they can reproduce and settle down."

"My minister agrees!"

Ji Ran's proposal won the unanimous approval of Confucius, Zeng Dian, Yan Hui and other ministers, and they all stood up to second the proposal.

This is understandable.

After all, Wu Guo currently does not lack labor, especially free labor.

With 36 soldiers, Qingji can be used to reclaim the border and restore the population.

In the previous wars, not only Wu, but also the elite troops of all countries in the world were basically wiped out, and even the number of men dropped sharply.

It will take a long time to restore the population and wait for them to grow up.

However, if Qingji ignored this and insisted on sending hundreds of thousands of soldiers to the frontiers instead of wives, there might be some troubles, and it was not in line with Wu's long-standing national policy of encouraging births.

The three counties in Hebei are now regarded as the "inland" of Wu.

Because, the monarchs and ministers of the state of Wu did not think that the nomads in the north or the Zhongshan people could threaten the safety of the three counties in Hebei.

Furthermore, there are so many men who have gone through bloody battles, they can be armed at any time to defend their home and country.

"The widow agrees."

Qingji nodded slightly.

"20 soldiers will be placed in the three counties of Hebei, and the remaining 16 soldiers will be placed in Longxi County and Shang County. They will be colonized and guarded at the frontier. It is also necessary to ensure that everyone can marry a woman, whether they are widows or unmarried Yunying. Any young girl can do it."

"Marriage by the local government. The marriage age is lowered again. Any woman over the age of 13 can marry. If the woman is not married after the age of 15, the family's tax will be doubled, and her parents will be guilty."

"Your Majesty Shengming!"

The officials shouted.

When it comes to population reproduction, the state of Wu has always been clear about rewards and punishments.

Before the age of 17, the woman was fined before she was married, and her parents were guilty.

Now the threshold is lowered by two years.

If it's a wealthy family, you don't have to worry too much about it.

Parents are guilty, and this "crime" is just fined cloth, fined food, or fined hard labor, which can be converted.

If ordinary people want to avoid punishment, they need to marry their daughters at the age specified by the family.

Such a policy may cause dissatisfaction among some common people.

However, it is impossible for Qingji to do something that is beneficial to everyone.

What he has to consider now is how to restore Wu's national strength and develop people's livelihood as soon as possible.

At this time, Yushi Zhongcheng Boshen stood up, bowed to Qingji and said: "Your Majesty, I think that the three counties in Hebei, Taiyuan, Qinghe, and Hengshan, are important border defenses for our Great Wu, and there should be no loss."

"If possible, Your Majesty should send troops to seize the replacement land, or destroy the Zhongshan Kingdom, so as to avoid future troubles!"

"Now, I, Wu Guo, should station heavy troops in the three counties of Hebei, and at the same time select people with both civil and military skills to sit in the town."

"good."

Qingji paused for a moment, then said, "Let Wu Xi be re-appointed as governor of Qinghe County, increase the rank of governor, command [-] troops, and sit in Handan."

"Order, Wu Zhang will serve as the governor of Taiyuan County, increase the title of governor, command [-] troops, and sit in Jinyang."

"The governors of the three counties of Taiyuan, Qinghe, and Hengshan are responsible for the arrangement of the soldiers."

Your Majesty is wise! "

All the officials worship Taoism.

The current geographical location of the three counties in Hebei is very critical. They have become the outposts of Wu's eastward expedition, and also the frontier defense of Wu's defense against the aggression of other countries.

Qingji sent two capable sons and one hundred thousand soldiers to the three counties of Hebei to prepare for unexpected events.

(End of this chapter)