Chapter 266: The Song State is in power without giving face

Amid the sound of singing, the left commander of Song State, Xiang Rong, who was falling at the end of the team, looked at each other in front of each other, and stopped for a long time. Xiang Rong sighed: "Just like this, a person who spoke softly, made the whole world hold his breath and listen... Liangxiao, could you think of this before?"

Liang Xiao replied without hesitation: "Before, no matter how boldly I predicted, I would never have thought of such a 'weak' person, such a gentle tone, but the century-old overlord Chu State had to lower his head, which was a hundred years old. This is probably the so-called 'reason is not loud'."

Xiang Rong sighed: "This is a chaotic world! Everyone says this is a slaughter of the world. In such a slaughter of sunshine pierces the endless darkness.

Originally, the world was convinced by strength. Those with great power and those with loud voices had to listen to him. But Wu Zi used his behavior to tell us: If what he did was based on rules (etiquette), even if he spoke softly, others would obey his words, because his words represented rules (etiquette)—so, it was not him who was speaking, but the rules were speaking."

Xiang Rong's meaning was: the Central Plains fought for hegemony with the Chu State in the south for a long time. Although Duke Wen of Jin also raised the banner of "respecting the king and expelling the barbarians", he never raised the war for hegemony to the height of national wars between countries and to the orthodox struggle between China and barbarians like Zhao Wu.

Earlier, when Duke Huan of Qi was dominant, he also attacked Chu and blamed Chu for "not entering the tribute of the primordial tribute" - Duke Huan of Qi was condemning Chu for not paying tribute to the King of Zhou, but due to the implicit and tactfulness of the nobles in the Central Plains, Duke Huan of Qi did not bluntly say that the King of Chu was called "king" and did not regard himself as a minister; and his war demands were not to ask the King of Chu to remove the title of King of Kings.

Only Zhao Wu tore open the veil of warmth and implicitness and yelled directly: How to pay tribute if you don’t pay tribute? In this battle, the State of Chu must be the purpose of paying tribute. As for paying tribute, it is just a natural thing to pay tribute after paying tribute.

Duke Huan of Qi blamed the King of Chu for "not paying tribute", but in the end he did not ask the King of Chu to remove the title of "king". This time in Zhao Wu's southern expedition, the orphan of the Zhao clan abandoned the implicitness of the Spring and Autumn nobles for the first time. He pointed out that the King of Chu was an opposing group of China. He not only asked the King of Chu to remove the title of King of King of Chu, but also made it clear for the first time that the King of Chu must "supreme" to the Huaxia group.

The war between the Spring and Autumn Period emphasizes a "simplification". Zhao Wu this time occupied the commanding heights of morality. He softly inspired the coalition forces to fight to the death, until the King of Chu had to lower his arrogant head.

In fact, Xiang Rong was wrong. He said that Zhao Wu subdued Chu with a soft voice and morality. This was not true. The battle between countries ultimately depends on strength to speak. If Zhao Wu does not have enough strength, no matter how fierce he speaks, it will be useless. If his strength is enough, even if his attitude is gentle, it will be vicious enough in the eyes of the people of Chu.

In the final analysis, this world depends on strength to speak.

However, Xiang Rong did not realize this. He attributed Zhao Wu's achievements in subduing Chu State with whispering to Zhao Wu's standing on the commanding heights of etiquette and law. This view comes from the education he received since childhood. For a person in the Spring and Autumn Period, this view is correct. Liang Xiao nodded frequently for this, and both of them forgot that if the coalition forces were not strong enough and did not have an overwhelming advantage in the war, it would be useless even if Zhao Wu occupied the commanding heights of etiquette and law.

This is the end of the world after all, an era where everything is spoken by strength, and a jungle world.

...

Xiang Rong and Liangxiao sighed at Zhao Wu's achievements all the way. When Xiao Yu of Song State arrived, Xiang Rong decided to grandly entertain Zhao Wu. At the banquet, the king of Song State personally held a wine lord and chanted the "Muye" chapter of the Book of Songs, praising Zhao Wu for his achievements that King Wu of Zhou had achieved as much as King Wu of Zhou's attack on the merchants.

In terms of this, the State of Chu has been rebellious since the Shang Dynasty and has been fighting with the State of Shang. Subsequently, the righteous war between the north and the south ran through the entire Zhou Kingdom's existence. In the original time and space, this battle will continue until the end of the Warring States Period, the establishment of the Qin Kingdom (dynasty), and the destruction of the Chu Kingdom, and then the end.

But in the current time and space, the history of Chu's distant state of China ended by Zhao Wu. The administrative jurisdiction expanded by the Zhou Kingdom was even larger than the original territory of the Zhou royal family. It stretched south to Vietnam and north to Yue China in Japan (the Yue Kingdom was a vassal of Chu at this time, and the Yue people had crossed the sea to reach the Yuezhong, Etsu-forward and Etsu-back regions in Japan).

However, the Spring and Autumn Period is a world with distinctive ranks and inferiority. The king of Song held his title and sang "Muye" in his hand, and could not bear it. He quickly avoided the seat and humbly gave up on the toast of the king of Song. In the original time and space, Zhao Wu made great concessions to the Chu State during the second stopping meeting, and even though the peace agreement was concluded, the dignity of China was lost. Therefore, Zhao Wu developed a disgust towards himself. His answer was: I was worried every day, worried day and night, and I was already relieved that I could protect my body and buried it in Jiuyuan Cemetery. How could I dare to take such a solemn prayer from Song Jun.

The word "the morning is not safe" comes from Zhao Wu's answer.

In the current time and space, Zhao Wu raised his glass and thanked him: "How dare I, Zhao Wu, enjoy the king's prayer? Song Jun is too polite, which makes me, Zhao Wu, panic. Please stop this prayer."

In the original time and space, Zhao Wu said something unpredictable. Zihan, the governor of the Song State, immediately sighed to the followers and said, "The Marshal is going to die. He is young and actually said such depressed words, like an old man in the evening. How could he not die?"

The word "drift" comes from Zihan's whisper.

In the current time and space, Zihan sighed: "Is it great? Is it great? (they are magnificent and the advance and retreat are in harmony. Zhao Wuzi is a big man). He won and won without being arrogant or discouraged. It may be difficult for Jin State to not prosper in the future."

Xiang Rong answered from the side: "I think it's hard for the Zhao family to not be prosperous. However, isn't it a blessing for the Zhao family to rise and the Jin State to rise?

Zihan bowed - he originally made a gesture of leaving the seat to avoid the seat, but because Zhao Wu was away from the audience, as the master, Zihan could no longer stand in the center of the field and tied with Zhao Wu, so he just bowed and made a move to avoid the seat, and then replied seriously: "Where is any blessing in my Song Kingdom? This can only be said to be our luck."

In fact, Zhao Wu has been in the Spring and Autumn Period for so long, but he still has not adapted to the thinking patterns of people in the Spring and Autumn Period.

In the Spring and Autumn Period, although the order of hierarchy was particularly emphasized, the people of the Spring and Autumn Period never regarded transcending their predecessors as a taboo. After the Spring and Autumn Period, or after the Song Dynasty, Chinese people began to draw yards as prisons, imitating the past everywhere and repeating the past. For example, calligraphers took the repetition of their predecessors as the highest standard, and poets were complacent for writing like the Tang Dynasty or the Song Dynasty...

Zhao Wu avoided the prayer of the king of Song State because he respected the sages, but in the eyes of the people of the Spring and Autumn Period, surpassing the sages was what their generation should do. To put it in detail, Zhao Wu's contribution to expanding territory for the Zhou Kingdom did surpass all the sages of the Zhou royal family. Moreover, Zhao Wu oppressed Chu State this time, but in fact he broke the bad habit that was born in China later - the habit of weakening words.

In the early Spring and Autumn Period, until the era when Zhao Wu was in today, the word "king" was sacred and a symbol of the common rule of the world. In real history, a bad example caused by the Second Military Conference was that "king" was worthless. Zhao Wu acquiesced to the King of Chu to dominate the world with the qualification of another "king" besides the King of Zhou, which made the sacredness of the word "king" trampled on. Therefore, people later thought that their country was strong, they wanted to be king one after another.

In the Warring States Period, the first thing that broke out was the "Five Kingdoms Prime Minister King" incident. Even a small country like Zhongshan felt that the title of "Zhengshan" was really not compatible with its national strength, and it was necessary to be king to show its national status.

As a result, in the Warring States Period, countries became kings one after another, and the title of "king" became an ordinary honorific title. In the end, the title of "king" was flooded, so that in modern society, no one dared to provoke a little hooligan on a street, so he dared to call himself "overlord".

Zhao Wu made Chu state surrender this time, which was only one of the achievements. He oppressed the King of Chu to remove the title of King and regarded himself as a king since then. This move safeguarded the sacredness of "king", and delayed the evil example of weakening the words for many years.

Therefore, his "Uncoming Alliance" this time has far more significance to cultural contribution than to expanding territory.

While the two important officials of the Song State spoke, their monarch had already bowed and attracted Zhao Wu to return to his seat. As the "nemesis (ruling) of the "nemesis (ruling)" of the "nemesis (hegemon) of all countries", Zhao Wu's administrative rank was equal to that of the monarch of the small country. In formal occasions, the work of entertaining Zhao Wu must be the monarch, and the two rulings of the Song State seemed to be insufficient.

Under the guidance of the king of Song, Zhao Wu returned to his seat. Xiang Rong licked his face and went out to toast the king of his country. He first discussed his hard work and made great contributions... Yes, he did make great contributions. In real history, Xiang Rong's diplomatic mediation led to the second military suspension meeting, which allowed Song to escape from the threat of Chu's aggression. In the current history, Xiang Rong's achievements were even greater. He doubled the territory of Song, and followed Zhao Wu in unison, forcing Chu to remove the title of king and completely surrender to the King of Zhou. Therefore, Song not only achieved long-term peace, but also obtained rich spoils.

Relying on Zhao Wu's side, Xiang Rong talked about his contributions over the past two years, and then begged the king of Song to give the "city of death exemption" - this "city of death exemption", which is probably similar to the "gold medal of death exemption" in later generations. But in fact, the "gold medal of death exemption" in later generations are all fictions of novelists, and their meaning is extended from "city of death exemption". In normal history, after the Spring and Autumn Period, the existence of "gold medal of death exemption" has never been recorded in the official history of all dynasties.

The "city of death exemption" in the Spring and Autumn Period means a fiefdom that will never be deprived. Even if descendants commit serious crimes of treason, this "city of death exemption" cannot be taken away by the king.

At this time, Zhao Wu was still present.

Who is Zhao Wu? The second person in the world!

He has now conquered Chu and asked Chu to remove the title of king, which is to submit to the King of Zhou, so he is the veritable "second person in the world"... Well, if you include his own king and the King of Zhou above the king, Zhao Wu can only be regarded as the "third person in the world". But now that the Zhou royal family is in decline, the kings of all countries recognize that the world's boss is the overlord, so it is not an exaggeration to call Zhao Wu the "second person in the world".

The second person in the world was present to prove the achievements of Zuo Shi Xiangrong, and the king of Song State seemed very happy. He took a bamboo slip and recorded his order on it: to reward Xiang Rong for 63 counties that were exempted from death.

In the Spring and Autumn Period, counties were larger than counties. The meaning of counties was equivalent to one village in the Spring and Autumn Period. However, rewarding Xiang Rong to 63 villages was considered a big deal. Xiang Rong happily took the reward book and handed it to Zihan, seeking his confirmation.

Zihan is in power. Once he confirms the reward of the king, then the reward of Xiang Rong will be implemented.

At that time, Zhao Wu sat beside the king of Song State and looked at Zihan with a smile. He rushed to Rong and nodded frequently, expressing his affirmation of Xiang Rong's achievements. Zihan took the slate of the monarch's reward and greeted the waiter beside him with a blank expression: "Chi, what is the purpose of the town of vain? I am still safe after the rebellion? I am in power in the state of Song State and will never allow such rebellious actions in the country. Come, bring me a knife and scrape off all the monarch's rewards. This bamboo slip is of good quality. After scraping off the monarch's handwriting, it can also be used to write other proclamations."

Xiang Rong was stunned. Xiang Rong left and right, his relatives looked angry, patted their knees and roared, and glanced at Zhao Wu while roaring: "Is the ruler bullying us? The king has already given me a reward, but you deny the king's reward. Do you still have a monarch in your eyes?"

Zihan said lightly: "I have a monarch in my eyes, so I don't allow this rebellious reward to be passed on - all the princes and small countries, Jin and Chu are powerful in their troops. They are afraid and then be kind and harmonious, and then they can calm their country and serve the great country, so they survive.

If you have no power, you will be arrogant, and if you are arrogant, you will be in chaos, and you will be destroyed. The five materials are born in nature (Five materials: "The Five Materials: "The Book of Zhou Li. Kaogong Ji. General Catalogue" Note: "Five materials, gold, wood, skin, jade, and earth"; "Six Rice. Long Tao. On General" Note: (Jiang) Taigong said: "The so-called five materials are brave, wisdom, benevolence, trust, and loyalty."), and the people use them together, and they cannot be abolished. Who can get rid of the army?

The military has been established for a long time, so it is not good at its power and virtue. The sages use their prosperity, chaos and abolish people, and the art of abolishing the rise, survival and destruction are all the reasons for the military..."

What Zihan said is: For us small and medium-sized countries, if there is a powerful military threat like Jin and Chu outside, we will be afraid. If we are afraid, we will be united internally. Unity can stabilize the country. At the same time, we will find ways to please big countries and rely on big countries, so that our country can survive.

If there is no threat outside of us, we will be proud and indulge. Pride and indulge will be unrest, and the unrest will perish. We must use the five kinds of courage, wisdom, benevolence, trust and loyalty. We must use them all, and we must all be indispensable. Among them, force is also a means of social communication given to us by God. Who can abandon it?

War has been around for a long time, and it is used to warn all kinds of deviant behaviors and promote various civil and moral governance. The rise and fall of the saints, the death of the country, and the wise and incompetent monarchs are all determined by war. But you want to eliminate the war and conclude permanent peace. Isn’t you deceive yourself? Do you use deceiving the princes to deceive the princes, and there are any more sins than you? If you don’t punish such sins, you are lucky, and you are still embarrassed to reward them?"

Zihan scolded Xiang Xu so much that he screamed. Then he took out a knife, cut the bamboo slip into several pieces, and threw it on the ground.

Zhao Wu concluded the agreement. Zihan said this in disguise to warn Zhao Wu: Be vigilant about Chu State, and even more so on the inside - the war has subsided, and the internal strife is about to begin. You, Zhao Wu, have tried your best to eliminate the threat from Chu State. Then, the people who threaten you in the future will be your own country.

Zihan said very harshly. He said these words in front of Zhao Wu - what he said was actually "Monroeism" - which made people unable to get out of the stage. Suddenly, the crowd of emotions under the stage were all about Jin generals who wanted to vent their anger for the marshal.

Zhao Wu smiled but said nothing. Xiang Rong, the left-handed teacher of the Song State, quickly reached out to stop the roar from the left and right, and smoothed out the situation and said, "It was because I drank too much, and I actually made such an inappropriate move. The ancients said that we should prevent minor mistakes to avoid causing big disasters (preventing the problem of problems). Governing this is to remind me that Xiang Rong's family should always be cautious in their attitude to serve the country and avoid the disaster of the destruction of my family. This is to protect me Xiang Rong (why do I care about me, I will take it away). How can you not understand the behavior of governing? Come and thank the governing."

Zhao Wu left his seat and congratulated the king of Song: "I returned victoriously. I am most worried about Song and Zheng. Now I am deeply pleased to see the harmony between the civil and military affairs of Song. The southern line of our Jin State is peaceful, and Song State can thus get the opportunity to develop. Here, Zhao Wu congratulates Song and the people of Song State. May Song State always maintain this fairness and justice."

The king of Song State was overjoyed and raised his glass to invite the ministers of Song State to thank Zhao Wu for their prayers...

Zhao Wu stayed in Song State for five days. When the army was rested, he stopped moving north and moved horizontally eastward, entering Zhiying's territory - Xinzhi.

The so-called Zhiying's territory is the land of the three counties of Dun, Yang and Xiang that were newly enfeoffed by the Zhi family. This territory is fertile, with Zhao Wu leading the coalition forces to fight in the front, Zhiying gained a chance to breathe in the rear.

It has to be said that Xiao Zhiying is also a talent, a rare talent in the Spring and Autumn Period. Zhao Wu regards his territory as a material transfer station for the Jin army's southern expedition. Zhiying makes full use of this. After a year of breathing, with the support of the whole country of Jin, Zhiying has built his new territory into a qualified Jin Southbound base and material transfer center.

At this time, on the map, the new territory of Song and Zheng State seemed to be two sheep horns protruding forward, and Zhiying's territory was a triangle between two sheep horns. Because of the dominant position of Jin State, Zhiying's triangle area was more like a sheep's head. Under its leadership, the two sheep horns became a weapon to invade Chu State southward.

When Zhao Wu arrived, a batch of Zhao's military supplies were transporting to the south. Many of these supplies were given to Zhao Wu for enjoyment, including many daily necessities. Zhao Wu, the official Zhao Wu arrived, and the supplies did not need to continue moving south. Unpacking the luggage, Zhao Wu held a "Thousand Lamps Meeting" in Zhiying's territory.
Chapter completed!