Chu and Han contend for the throne

Chapter 463 Combine Vertical and Horizontal ([-])

Zhou Guanfu called a few of the accompanying soldiers to him, and told him solemnly: "We are about to enter the Huguan Canyon, you must search the cliffs and dense forests on both sides of the canyon closely, and don't let any clues be missed. Safety and danger are very important, and we must not take it lightly, do you understand?"

Several soldiers agreed and took orders.

Bai Mo, who was sitting on the carriage, smiled and shook his head, "Shengzhi, with you by my side, what else can happen?"

Zhou Guanfu shook his head, and said disapprovingly: "Although I have some martial arts skills, after all, there is only one person. If you are attacked by assassins, you may not be able to protect the prime minister."

Bai Mo smiled and said, "Shengzhi, you are worrying too much. How could there be assassins here?"

"That's not certain." Zhou Guanfu said, "The people of Wumuya are all-pervasive. Your whereabouts may be kept secret, Prime Minister, but once you enter South Korea, I'm afraid they will know about it. Old Xiangzhuang regards the Prime Minister How can you turn a blind eye after knowing the whereabouts of the prime minister because of the serious troubles of your confidant? Sending assassins to assassinate is inevitable."

"That's not necessarily the case." Bai Mo waved his hand, and said calmly, "Although Xiang Zhuang regards me as a thorn in his side, he may not act rashly. Although Wumuya is good at spying on news, he is alone in the end. Maybe it's just a few dozen people What can a dead man really do to win you, the big man Hussar General and the three hundred elites?"

Zhou Guanfu said: "How do you know that Wumuya won't move an army from Zhao?"

Speaking of this, Zhou Guanfu suddenly became worried again, and persuaded Bai Mo: "Prime Minister, I think it is too dangerous to go to Handan like this. No matter what, Zhao is still an ally of Chu!"

"Don't worry, Zhao Guojun and his ministers won't be so unwise!" Bai Mo waved his hand, and said calmly, "What's more, if the two countries are fighting each other without killing each other, why would Zhao Guo want to be unfavorable to the truth? It doesn't make sense."

"But..." When Zhou Guanfu wanted to argue, Bai Mo stopped him.

Bai Mo stopped Zhou Guanfu with a smile, and said in a low voice: "Shengzhi, I might as well tell you, in fact, the truth has already been fully arranged, and there is absolutely no danger in going to Handan."

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Xiang Zhuang sent Bi Shu to the ferry along the Kaixuan Avenue, and sent Bi Shu to the ferry.

Standing behind Bi Shu with the dumb moon sword in his hand, Hu Yan said in a low voice, "Your Majesty, don't worry, as long as the last general is alive, the general will never lose a hair!"

"What do you call that?" Xiang Zhuang stared, and reprimanded sharply, "You are alive, the general cannot lose a hair, and you are dead, the general still can't lose a hair!"

"Here!" Hu Yan responded abruptly, clapping his hands together.

Xiang Zhuang urged Bi Shu again and again: "Learn swords, and you must be careful when you go to Linzi. Although we have made perfect arrangements, we dare not say that Han He's children will be restrained. Let's take a step back. Even if Han He If the child is restrained out of consideration of interests, that does not guarantee that civil servants and generals of Qi will have scruples."

Bi Shu cupped his hands again and again and said: "Your Majesty, don't worry, a gentleman should not stand under a dangerous wall, I still understand this truth."

Xiang Zhuang was still worried, and told him for the last time: "Learning swords, you must not enter Linzi City until you are very sure. Three hundred iron cavalry can completely protect you and escape calmly, and I will let Jiang Ji lead a navy to meet you by sea."

Bi Shudao: "Your Majesty, don't worry, Qi's monarchs and ministers want their lives, but it is not so easy."

"Very good." Xiang Zhuang finally let go, and waved his hand to signal the boatman to start the boat, then he bowed to Bi Shu and said, "Learning swords, I am waiting for the good news in Ziling."

"Your Majesty, please go back." Bi Shu bowed back and smiled, "I...will not disgrace my life!"

But Xiang Zhuang didn't return just then, he stood at the ferry and watched Bi Shu's figure disappear into the vast river in the distance, and then he returned to Ziling City with a heavy heart.

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Zhao Wang Zhang Ao summoned Guoxiang Guangao, Yaxiang Zhang Jing, General Zhao Wu, and Second General Bai Xuan into the palace overnight, and then conveyed a rather shocking news to the four chief ministers: Bai Mo, the prime minister of the Han Dynasty, has arrived in Yuci , I will soon enter the territory of Zhao State via Jingxing!
Zhang Jing was very surprised when he heard the words, and said in a puzzled way: "Your Majesty, Bai Mo is Liu Bang's entrusted minister. At this time, he is not in Xianyang to assist Liu Heng, so what is he doing in Zhao State?"

"Why do you care?" Zhao Wu said with a grim face, "Back then on the Golden Bull Road, Bai Mo set up an ambush and almost killed the King of Chu. I heard people say that the King of Chu wanted to eat his flesh alive. Why don't we take the white ink?" , Send him to Ziling? In this way, wouldn’t the covenant between our Great Zhao and Chu be strengthened?”

"I'm afraid this is inappropriate?" Bai Xuan frowned, "It's said that the two countries will not kill the envoy when they fight. This time, Bai Mo came to Handan as an envoy. If I, Da Zhao, can't help but say that I will capture him, wouldn't it be dishonest to the people of the world?"

"What's the matter if you lose your trust in the world?" Zhao Wu snorted, disapprovingly said, "Now that Chu is powerful and prosperous, my Dazhao relies on the strong Chu and looks down on the princes, who dares to gossip? Hmph!"

"Back to Qiang Chu?" Bai Xuan said coldly, "How do you know that Qiang Chu won't covet me, Da Zhao?"

"You..." Zhao Wu was at a loss for words at once, and then he said forcefully, "Bai Xuan, what is your intention to oppose this general everywhere? You have repeatedly destroyed the Chu-Zhao alliance, intending to put our great Zhao in danger no?"

However, Bai Xuan ignored Zhao Wu, and said to Zhang Ao, "Your Majesty, the state of Chu has swept across the world. At this time, maintaining the alliance with the state of Chu is tantamount to seeking skins from a tiger. I fear death forever. I think that my great Zhao You should resolutely abandon the covenant with Chu, and instead form an alliance with Han, Han, and Qi to fight against Chu, or you may still have a chance of survival!"

"Bai Xuan!" Zhao Wu yelled loudly, "Don't make such bad words for the country again!"

Seeing that Zhao Wu and Bai Xuan were quarreling again, Zhang Ao repeatedly waved his hands and said, "Okay, okay, stop arguing, you two lovers, stop arguing, talk it out if you have something to say..."

After finally suppressing the quarrel between Zhao Wu and Bai Xuan, Zhang Ao asked Guan Gao again: "Old Prime Minister, what do you think?"

Guan Gao Xuebai's eyebrows twitched, Gu Zuo said to him: "Your Majesty, I think this matter should be discussed in the long term."

Zhang Ao smiled wryly, and then turned his inquiring gaze to the sub-prime Zhang Jing, Zhang Jing's eyes flickered, and said: "I think that what the two generals said is reasonable, but the old minister is the old man who seeks the country. This matter should be discussed in the long term. "Zhao Wu and Bai Xuan are already on fire, Guan Gao and Zhang Jing don't want to get involved easily.

"Forget it." Zhang Ao was full of annoyance, and said dejectedly, "Let's not talk about this matter for now, let's wait until Prime Minister Bai arrives in Handan. Please come back, all lovers."

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Since Xiang Zhuang implemented reforms in Chu State, especially the implementation of the national examination system, the power structure of the entire country has undergone earth-shaking changes!The original aristocratic family system was suppressed to pieces, and it was replaced by a brand new system of honors and scholars.

Today, the officials of Chu State are divided into two systems: Wen and Wu.

Military officers are mainly honored and honored, and they rely on military exploits to reward them for promotion. Civil servants are all from Taixue, and they rely on performance assessment for promotion. After more than ten years, these two systems have been gradually standardized and relatively complete. For example, With the inclusion of the six counties of Liangdi, the Yin Mansion has promoted six county guards and more than 70 county magistrates in a short period of time. This is the power of the system.

This is also due to the help of Xiangzhuang's papermaking and printing techniques. If Xiangzhuang hadn't invented papermaking and printing techniques, it would have made it possible to spread a large number of books. Even if Xiangzhuang implemented the national examination system, it would still not change the scarcity of scholars. In the current situation, the so-called national examination can only be used as a decoration. Imagine that if only a few hundred people take the exam every year, what is the exam?
But now, the state of Chu has no worries in this regard at all. The entire state of Chu has a population of 800 million, and there are at least [-] scholars, and the younger the age, the higher the proportion of students. All the young people in the society have chosen to go to school, so who else can they rely on to serve as soldiers and go to war?

However, the formation of the civil service system is still short after all, at least it has not yet formed a climate above the court.

In the current court of the Chu State, those who occupy the core position are the relatives who were born as generals, and the nobles who came from the descendants of the clan. For example, Ling Yin Xiangta, who is the head of civil servants, is the most important person in the Xiang clan. Nobility!There is also the Taiwei Xiang Tuo, who is the head of the generals, and is also the Xiang clan.

In other words, in today's court, nobles and nobles have a great say!

Most of these nobles and nobles came here from the mountains of corpses and the sea of ​​blood. They are not like the civil servants trained by the Taixue. The power of the civil servants comes from the royal power. Without the support of the royal power, they are nothing. The power of honored relatives and nobles comes from their own military exploits, and even the king of Chu cannot easily deprive them of their military exploits.

This will inevitably lead to a situation where civil servants are more loyal to the monarch, because the monarch can give them more power, while military officials are more loyal to their families, because only when the family is prosperous can they obtain more resources and have more resources. , in order to gain more military exploits, and then in turn consolidate the power and status of the family.

In other words, military officers care more about the interests of their respective families!

And the highest embodiment of the military officer family's interest demands is enfeoffment.

In fact, those honored relatives and nobles in Chu State have long clamored for enfeoffment in private. Most of them are not young anymore, and they don’t see a few years to live well. Xiang Zhuang's prestige was too high, and he used the excuse of not avenging the previous king as an excuse, otherwise, they would have gathered together to invite him.

Therefore, when the news spread that Queen Wei Yue had a nephew who had come to defect to him, it was like a stone thrown into a pool, and there were layers of ripples in an instant. King Wei, and the memorial to the re-establishment of the Wei State flew into the Chu Palace like snowflakes, and piled up Xiangzhuang's desk.

(End of this chapter)