warring states careerist

Chapter 291 Thirst is extremely thirsty and wine contains poison ([-])
It seems that when the state of Chu was extremely thirsty, the Mo family gave him a cup of sweet wine.

In fact, this sweet wine is poisonous, and once drunk, there is no cure for it.

It's just that at this moment in the world, the poisoners and the few "doctors" who have seen through the poison are all on the side of the Mohist family. Zhao Zhi'ai, as an old nobleman, can't understand the danger.

Mozi said to Zhao Zhiai again: "It is already July, and the soldiers of Wei and Han will not be able to go out this year. The Luguan area is still safe."

"Since you can't agree to these things, the Mo family will send people to Chu to discuss this matter with the King of Chu in person. During the period, the Mo family will also speed up the production of the city defense weapons promised by the Mo family, and strive to have enough quantities to be shipped to Luguan next year."

"There is only one thing...the Mohist guards Shangqiu and kills the Sima of Chu and the nobles of Chu. I am afraid that the nobles of Chu will be dissatisfied with my Mohist."

Zhao Zhi'ai knew that he could not decide this matter, and also knew the attitude of some nobles in Chu State towards the Mohists, so he could only say: "Public affairs, public wars, private enmity and personal grudges are not the same thing. Mr. Mo Di is old, and this time he will enter Chu on his way. Lawton, I wonder who the Mo family will send to Chu this time?"

Zhao Zhi'ai hoped that this matter would be done, but the Mo family must also send enough people to follow him to meet the king of Chu, otherwise it would be a shame.

The current status of the Mohists is somewhat special. They are not vassals, but they participate in the alliance of various countries to eliminate soldiers.

At this time, if ordinary people were sent there, it would be unreasonable in terms of etiquette.

Mozi said: "The specifics of sending people to go will be discussed after the Moh family gathers at the end of the month. You can rest in Pei County during the period, and you can return together at that time."

"Alternatively, you can send someone to Yingdu right now to inform King Chu of this matter, and ask him to make arrangements in advance to consider whether to agree."

…………

In mid-August, the weather in the north gradually became cooler, but in Yingcheng, Chudu near Dajiang, it was still sweltering.

This city, which can be called Jingzhou in later generations, was built not too long ago. Chu State moved its capital several times. Ying is just a synonym for the capital city, which can be regarded as the capital in the Chu dialect.

From Danyang in Xiong'er Mountain, to Xiangyang under Nanyang, and then to Jinan in Jingzhou along the Yangtze River, this migration is not only the way Chu people pioneered, but also the way Chu people were defeated.

After the Battle of Baiju, the original capital of Chu was burned down, and the king of Chu could only build Yingdu by the Yangtze River.

Ten miles north of the city, there is a famous mountain.

According to the sacrificial knowledge of the Zhou Rites, the north is where the ghosts live. Just like the burial of those scholars who died in the coup d'état in the Song Dynasty last year, Confucian priests had to climb to the roof and shout the names of the dead three times to the north.

Jishan in the north of Yingdu is the burial place of Chu nobles and commoners.

From here, you can see the capital of Chu State from a distance. Even if "Chu refuses to accept Zhou", the planning of the city is still in line with Zhou etiquette.

Just as the construction of the capital city of the Song Dynasty played a borderline without overstepping, the construction of the capital of the Chu State also played a borderline overstepping, nine miles from east to west and seven miles from north to south.

In order to prevent the flooding of the Yangtze River, Yingdu is more than ten miles away from the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, but the nearby lakes are rich in water systems, and the state of Chu is good at boating, so the transportation is convenient.

As the feudal state of Duke Zhou's descendants, the State of Lu had various privileges in the etiquette system, so Qufu City had three gates on three sides and two gates on one side, making a total of eleven gates.

Ying Du was confused. There were only eight normal city gates, two in the east, two in the east, two in the north, and two in the south. However, water gates were opened on three sides, so there were also eleven gates.

It is said that he presumptuously, but Minato does not count.He said that he did not overstep, but in order to prevent being accused of repairing one water gate, it was exactly less than twelve.

After the Battle of Baiju, the capital was moved here, and a large number of people and nobles followed and moved the capital together. This new city has developed over the past few decades.

To the north is the affluent Nanyang Basin, guarded by the Luguan defense line, with Xiangyang as the final support, and the nearby land is fertile and has the benefit of water transportation.

Salt from Bashu, food from Nanyang and Jianghan, and waterfowl feathers from Yunmengze all flow here.

Relying on the river water and the terrain of high west and low east, Chu State controls the vast eastern territory that was impossible to control originally.

It's just that the level of city wall construction is too poor. Compared with the war-torn Central Plains, especially Shangqiu City, the city defense is too far behind.

The people of Chu knew that if they really captured Yingdu, even if they broke through the defense line of the Luguan Great Wall in the Nanyang Basin, with Chu's monarchy system, they could directly wait for the restoration of the country without fighting to defend the capital.

The rammed earth city wall is not considered tall, but the city gate can accommodate three carriages in parallel according to the etiquette system, with a width of nearly two and a half feet, and businessmen coming and going keep coming and going.

The palace of the king of Chu is in the northeast corner of the capital city, which is not in line with Zhou etiquette. It is a little willful, but the construction of the inner city is still in line with etiquette.

There are five gates in the inner city of the Son of Heaven: Gao Gate, Ku Gate, Di Gate, Ying Gate and Lu Gate.

Except for the special state of Lu, the other princes can only have Kumen, Dimen and Lumen.The state of Chu abides by this etiquette and promulgates many laws and regulations in addition to the etiquette.

During the brief time when Zhuang Wangxiong rose to centralize the royal power, he stipulated many laws and regulations that did not exist for the important ministers of the upper court. Even the prince was not allowed to drive through his younger brother's house, and those who violated it would be beheaded.

It's just that this is a decree from the time of King Zhuang, and it's just because the inertia is still maintained. Regardless of prestige or control, it is difficult for the subsequent kings of Chu to issue such a decree.

Back then, in order to trample on this law, Wu Zixu even drew his bow and shot Kumen angrily.

The existence of this decree now can only prove that the King of Chu once had great power, but compared to the present, Xiong Yi, who has just ascended the throne for a year, can only sigh.

His father died suddenly, and he was defeated in Shangqiu before his death. After the assassination by the nobles, even the behind-the-scenes instigators couldn't be found.

The younger brother fled, and Zheng Guo temporarily gave up his blood feud with South Korea.

Chen Cai and other county officials who followed the former kings, because of the conflicts between the royal power and the nobles that the Mohists had clearly stated, were extremely unsupportive of themselves who had the possibility of reform. .

Even the nobles who support him are still bargaining, hoping that he will give him greater privileges and fiefdoms after he secures the throne.

Now Lord Yangcheng was defeated by Yuguan and betrayed by the Zheng people, and the former Chu Sima was dissatisfied with being beheaded by the Mohists. In foreign wars, he still needs to argue with the nobles to clarify his interests first.

One after another, they are all relatives of their own, and the power of the royal family branch is getting bigger and bigger.

Duke Luyang, who guards the north, is a descendant of Sima Ziqi who was separated from the grandson of King Ping.Originally enfeoffed in Daliang, but Daliang was too dangerous and was on the only way to the south of the Three Jin Dynasty. Gongsun Kuan refused, and the king of Chu had to transfer the entrustment to another land.

The first Lord Pingye was the son of King Zhao, the first Lord Yangcheng was the grandson of King Ping, the first Lord Ye was the great-grandson of King Zhuang, and the clan of Youyin Zhaozhiai originated from the Zhao family, the son of King Pingye, and the Jing family originated from Prince Ping's heirs are due to the double posthumous posthumous posthumous status of King Ping of King Jingping of Chu, and Qu's family has always been Mo Ao even if his power is cut, he is still the Duke of the northern county...

Since the family has multiplied so far, the various big clans have already posed a great threat to the royal power.

Under foreign aggression, the sense of crisis brought about by this instability is even deeper.

But Xiong Yi was helpless, not because he didn't want to reform, nor because he didn't know how to reform, but because he didn't dare to reform.

The former king's father wanted to reform and was assassinated.

My current situation is even worse than when my father came to the throne. Not to mention reform now, it is unknown whether I can keep my throne.

The dead father, King Shenghuan, didn't expect to die at all, so he didn't tell too many future generations.

Fighting between brothers is a tradition of the Chu Kingdom since the co-kings. Xiong Yi won the throne by relying on the business he stayed in Yingdu during the Battle of Shangqiu.

For some of his father's decisions, he also gradually understood the intentions.

Five hundred craftsmen were sent to Pei County to congratulate and participate in the alliance with the Mohists. Everything made Xiong Yi understand some of his father's thoughts: his father wanted to rely on the power of the Mohism to fight against the domestic aristocrats .

Xiong Yi remembered that before his father died, he and his father swam on the banks of the great river, and when they saw the reeds on the bank, his father once said with emotion: "Li Er once said, the roots are deep-rooted. How can these reeds be removed?"

"If you plant cattail grass, when the reeds are gone, the cattail rush will be covered, and the roots will still be deep-rooted."

"The only thing we can rely on is the fishermen and woodcutters by the river, who can be cut with a knife to remove them."

"Soldiers on the ground cannot cut these reeds, but they can cut them when they are held in human hands. Moreover, the knife will not grow roots, and the roots will not be deeply entrenched."

"Is there such a sharp knife in the world?"

If it was just talking about this, it would be just a metaphor, but Xiong Yi remembered that after his father sighed with emotion, he seemed to mention it inadvertently: "The iron sickle made by the Mohist family is sharp and durable, and it is cheaper than copper. If Chu All farmers have this, which is very good..."

At that time, Xiong Yi thought it was his father lamenting the iron gifts brought back from Shangqiu by the Mo family, but now that he has become the king of Chu, some words that he didn't understand at the time gradually became clear.

My father loves fish, especially Yusheng, and once came back from the Battle of Shangqiu with emotion: The Mo family is a delicious fish, but unfortunately there are too many thorns.Who in the world can have the art of Taihe Gong? "

Taihe Gong is very famous in Chu, because Zhuan Zhu studied cooking with Taihe Gong in order to assassinate him, and a series of incidents later led to major events such as the burning of Yingdu in Chu State.

At this time, Xiong Dang lamented Taihe Gong, and what he was talking about was only Taihe Gong's superb skills in cutting fish fillets: as he expected, he ate the fish meat of the Mo family and spit it out to be assassinated.

It is also like what the later Han Feizi said that the king wanted to "buy the basket and return the pearl" to the Mohist.

Xiong Yi remembered that after his father finished expressing his emotions, he also read a few lines of "June" while he was in the mood.

Xiong Yi thought of this, not because he thought of it suddenly, but because the people Zhao Zhiai sent back from Pei County wrote down some conditions of the Mo family on paper, and Chen presented them to him.

He muttered about the detailed and complicated content, and murmured: "Inside... I only see the fat fish meat, where are the fish bones?"

(End of this chapter)