Chapter 343 I have the heart to die

In the Spring and Autumn Period, most cities did not have urban planning, and the same was true for Yingdu City. The architectural layout in the city was basically built as they were at any time, with great arbitrary nature. Only a few Wucheng could design the drawings in advance and make layout arrangements. Of course, most of Wucheng were relatively small and had a relatively single function, and could be constructed according to the drawings, with little power intervention.

Duke Ling of Chu said this, he regarded Xinzhi as a large martial city - Xinzhi City is indeed the case.

Faced with the powerful Chu State, Zhiying spared no effort to build fortresses in the past three years with the support of the country. The Duncheng, Shencheng, and Yangcheng, where Xinzhi belongs, has been built into three large fortresses. Not only that, Zhiying also did his best to build the rural commune into a small fortress, thoroughly practicing Zhao Wu's original defensive idea of ​​"high towers".

Now Xinzhi has become a place where Zhiying settles down, and Zhiying himself is also very satisfied with Xinzhi's fertility. He is afraid of being too careful when facing the Chu people, how can he take out his defense drawings for people to see? Therefore, the King of Chu's inquiry just now seemed very irrational and stupid. Zhiying was about to refute it, but Zhao Wu took the words and fought back for Zhiying.

As a front-line lord, Zhiying’s main task is to prevent the Chu army, but if you directly conflict with Chu Jun, it’s better to avoid it. This is what Zhao Wu said to Zhiying on behalf of him.

Of course, Duke Ling of Chu could not take out the city map of Yingdu. In the blink of an eye, he also understood that even if he took out the drawings of Yingdu, Zhao Wu would not hand over the papers to himself. Duke Ling of Chu blinked and became competitive, and turned to belittled and said: "Xinzhi approached Yingshui, and ancient trees were in awe. If he used local materials, built pavilions with wood, and then carved beams and painted pillars, wouldn't it be much better than bare stones?"

Zhiying smiled, and Zhao Wu pointed out: "Please come on stage."

Only then did Duke Ling of Chu realize that he had just spoken and had been standing at the entrance of the steps. He hurriedly stepped forward and walked up the steps.

The eyes suddenly became clear.

This is a giant platform. According to the general practice of Spring and Autumn, with such a large platform, people have to build another layer of hills on it to make the top of the hill more majestic and tall, but Zhiying has vacated a huge site and paved a square with a colored bluestone slab, and only a small pavilion was built in the center of the site.

This pavilion is for entertaining guests at first glance. At this moment, the door of the pavilion is wide open, and there are only many tables in it. Standing at the entrance of the steps, the pavilion seems to be a gem, crystal clear. Its windows are inlaid with colored glass of various sizes and shapes. The colorful glass is assembled, making the attic look like a drop of dewdrops in the sun, flashing with all kinds of depicted colors.

Of course, this attic also has military effect. Duke Ling of Chu scanned the surroundings and built stone railings around the platform. Four dome pavilions were built on four corners. The attic in the center of the square is square. Try to choose light-colored glass on the four windows on the second floor. A row of colorful flags hung on the window, and a few lights hung on the eaves under the window. From the open windows, you can see the giant copper bell hanging in the house. I guess the top floor is the observation post of this city. The lights and colorful flags are signals to convey messages, and the copper bell is used as a warning.

Under the guidance of Zhao Wu, Duke Ling of Chu entered the loft hall. The floor of the hall was smooth, with shiny lacquered wooden floors. The furniture in the hall was also very unique, full of modern and simple style that Duke Ling of Chu could not understand. Among the princes of the various countries who followed the monarchs and ministers of Jin and Chu, Shusun Bao was more familiar with this style. He leaned into Duke Xiang of Lu's ear and explained in a low voice: "This room... looks very much like Zhao Wuzi's study."

The style of the short table in the house is very similar to that of a modern coffee table. It is made of high-quality mahogany, inlaid with polished shells, and has been brushed countless times to make the coffee table light visible. Several coffee tables are placed on the carpet, made of horse and donkey hair on the carpet, dyed in black and white, simple and bright.

Unlike the short tables commonly found in spring and autumn, the coffee table looks taller, with a few cushions thrown beside it. Chu Linggong sat cross-legged on the cushion, feeling his legs were very comfortable. He looked left and right and saw a staircase leading to the upper floor in the corner...

Alas, Duke Ling of Chu really had no intention of competing at this time, and his curiosity disappeared along with his winning mind. His eyes flashed across the stairs and finally landed on the table... Various catering items began to be arranged on the table. Duke Ling of Chu raised his glasses and raised his cakes as if he were walking corpse, chewing with Zhao Wu's invitation, chewing his food without knowing the taste, and felt bitter in his heart: Is there any reason? Where can our Chu State be better than Jin State? Even in terms of luxury enjoyment that I am most confident, the Jin State left us Chu people far away. Are we really barbarians?

At this time, Chu Linggong, like most ordinary people in history, forgot Zhao Wu's reminder: extravagance is not a sin, and disrespect for the people is a sin, and the cause of the destruction of the country.

At the banquet, Duke Ling of Chu was very silent, and along with the princes of the various countries and their followers were also very silent. During the next few days of the trip, Duke Ling of Chu remained silent until the swearing place.

Twenty miles away from the Punishi Platform, you can already feel the noise. Ten miles away, a team of officials from Lu and the female concubines of Jin were waiting on the roadside. The female concubine held a sign in her hand, which said the names of the countries of each country. First, officials from Lu came forward to greet and asked the countries to which the princes belonged, an official from Jin came forward to look at the documents in his hand. Then, a female concubine of Jin came forward, holding the sign of the country name, and guided the troops of the princes of various countries to their respective camps today. Everything was like the entry ceremony of the Olympic Games, but there were no female musicians jumping on the roadside and making a welcome statement.

Duke Ling of Chu no longer felt shocked. Along the way, Zhao Wu kept surprise him and surprised him. It was normal for him to take out strange things at any time and anywhere in the Jin people... It would be strange if these Jin people didn't surprise them.

Wu Ju, who was waiting on the swearing platform, welcomed Duke Ling of Chu. He came directly from the country and did not accept the torture of the Jin people. He still maintained his innocent interest. When he saw Duke Ling of Chu, he immediately replied: "King, the people of Jin are indeed 'free'! The ministers arrived here eight days ago. At that time, Yan Ying, the ruler of Qi, had arrived. I communicated with him. Yan Ying planned to visit the King later..."

Chu Linggong replied disheartenedly: "Don't mention the title of the king for the time being... It's time to make a contract, and the priest of the King of Zhou was also in the queue. When he heard this title, he might be in trouble again."

Wu Ju sneered: "The Emperor of Zhou is just..."

"Shh, silence." Zidang, who was also frightened along the way, quickly reminded: "Zhao Wuzi was aggressive all the way, just wanting to find fault and start the war again... Don't mess with Zhao Wuzi."

Wu Ju scratched his head: "Wuzi, you are quite gentle and speak in a gentle voice. How could he be so fierce? Did you make a mistake?"

Duke Ling of Chu and Zi Dang bowed their heads silently, Wu Ju turned his eyes to Bozhou Li, and Chu's entourage, Prince Chen of Chu, and Cai Guoguisheng. Bozhou Li coughed lightly and replied: "Doctor Wu doesn't know that there is still a concept of using power to suppress people in the world?"

"Isn't that another way to bully people with power?"

Bozhou Li nodded vigorously: "The gentle Wuzi is best at bullying others by virtue of his power - we are all bullied by him."

Wu Ju was furious: "I'm too bullying - I'll go to him to argue!"

"Don't!" Mr. Ling of Chu screamed.

"Don't--", Zidang was weak.

Bozhou Li remained silent, and Gui Sheng sighed: "Forget it, I can't say anything about this."

"No, we are here to vow, and I won't bully like this, I..." Wu Ju still refused to give up.

Seeing that it was not a problem, Zidang hurriedly bowed: "Your Majesty, please change your clothes."

This is to ask the King of Chu to avoid it. The King of Chu was so embarrassed that he could not wait. He immediately stood up and followed Zi and left. After a moment of silence, Wu Ju spoke carefully: "Wu Zi's level of bullying people has reached this level. He has received the bullying and dared not say anything?"

Guisheng hurriedly bowed and said goodbye with Gongzizhao. After waiting for the two to leave, it was a "urban management moment" where "no one around, no blood was seen when beating people". Bozhou Li sorted out his thoughts and said quietly: "It's embarrassing to say it - the king first confronted Zhiying, and the two sides were in a stalemate. The Jin army led the coalition forces to follow one after another, surrounding our army as a whole. Then, Zhao Wuzi took advantage of the conditions in the oath and said that our king's chariot and horses exceeded the rules and forced us to "tribute" the chariot and horses to the King of Zhou. At that time, the situation forced us to agree.

Next, the Lord wants to overwhelm the people of Jin in other aspects, but the etiquette of the world comes from Song and Lu. Now these two countries are wearing pairs of pants and comparing the aristocratic style with the two countries. We have no chance to compare the clothes with them, but they are not able to compete with them, but they are not able to compete with their clothing; they are not able to compare with the exquisite food; they are not able to enjoy the enjoyment of the utensils. Even the girl whom they used as entertainment made the temptation of the utensils, but the woman accepted the gifts of the utensils and ignored the invitation of the utensils to travel..."

Bozhou Li looked around and lowered his voice and continued, "Zhao Wuzi is already the 'No. 1 general' in the world. What are the strengths of the emperor? Comparing military merits with Wuzi or a means of governing the country?"

Wu Ju unconsciously lowered his voice and replied: "Zhao Wuzi has a reputation for luxury in Jin State. I heard that his Wuzi's 'Meilun Meiyang' is all made of bronze."

"Yes, the king is the first person in Chu State. He grew up in a honeypot. In terms of enjoyment, he is the first person in Chu State. However, the enjoyment he showed made the princes of the various countries look at as monkeys and as a country bumpkin... You said, can the king's outlook on life not collapse?"

"It's so miserable?" Wu Ju was frightened: "Tell me, what are Wu Zi's methods?"

"Let's not talk about the matter of the soldiers surround us. The princes of all countries are powerful. Wu Zi always vaguely provokes us to take action first. How can we let him do it? So the king is already living in fear and is always worried that his subordinates will get angry. Under this mentality, the king thinks that he is good at, and was proven by Wu Zi to be ignorant and backward. As a result, on the last journey, the king has the desire to die."

"It's actually..."

"The most annoying thing is: the method of Wu Zi over us is very simple and clear at a glance. For example, the emperor is wearing a green feathered dress..."

"I've seen that dress, it's so gorgeous that it makes people breathless."

Bozhou Li stared at Wu Ju with the eyes of the country bumpkin. This gaze was his new learning, imitating the gaze of the princes looking at Duke Ling of Chu: "Wuzi only wore a wool-wool military uniform along the way, but his female concubine was wearing a hand-painted silk shirt."

"Hand-painted silk shirt...it's really simple."

"That's right, on the plain silk shirt, the flowers of spring are drawn from colorful pigments. In the blink of an eye, the clothes on the girl's body became works of art. Each piece of clothes is different, and each piece is unique. In this regard, Wu Zi also specifically explained: Only by creativity can one have charm and conquer people's hearts... In contrast, the bird clothes of the king-"

Wu Qiao blurted out: "Like a native."

After saying that, Wu Ju quickly covered his mouth and peeked around.

Bozhou Li sighed: "Why don't you look like a native who eats raw meat and drinks blood? At that time, the princes looked at us and thought that this was the idea - especially the emperor actually opened a business to the State of Song to borrow the feathers from the 'Jingxia' - it was simply..."

Wu Ju covered his mouth and made a whimpering sound from his nose. Bozhou Li looked at him and said dullly: "I explained everything to the Lord on the road repeatedly, which made the Lord seem to hate talking to me. Later, I didn't dare to speak anymore. The Lord knew that he had made too many ugly things and was very sensitive to his mentality. Doctor Wu, don't mess with the Lord... Well, it's best not to ask about the situation on the way."

"Who am I offended?" Wu Ju was particularly depressed: "I came here in advance as the leader, and was planning to explain the situation here to you..."

"Don't, don't tell me, you can explain to the Lord yourself."

"Your Majesty has changed his clothes for a long time, who should I tell you?"

"Don't tell me anyone, the Lord seems unwilling to talk to me, so if you ask me to tell me, even if it is a good thing, the Lord will be bored."

Wu Ju thought about it and was helpless: "You dare not tell the Lord, how dare I... Wu Zi summoned me to Jin State, but I was blocked by Guisheng (phonon) of Cai State. The Lord has always been suspicious of my relationship with Wu Zi. How dare I face the Lord's statement at this sensitive moment."

Bozhou Li sighed to the sky: "I missed the past..."

Bozhou Li's words stopped abruptly, but Wu Ju couldn't help but blurted out: "Remember the beginning..."

After saying this, both of them felt uncautious, looked at each other and fell silently.

Soon, the host of Lu, the general assembly, came to arrange food and accommodation. Because Chu was one of the protagonists of the alliance, the ruling uncle of Lu, Sun Bao, came to deliver a speech. Zidang turned out from behind and welcomed the waiter Sun Bao, and replied: "The widow has been exhausted and has already rested. Thanks to the hospitality of Lu, the widow has promised to continue to entertain the nations for nine days. Now the doctor Wu Ju has arrived from the country with sufficient materials. The widow will fulfill his promise in the remaining few days."

Shu Sun Bao bowed: "I dare not do anything to do it. The Jin State government has been planning this matter three years ago and has specially set up a special... 'Project Group', yes, this is the word. Now all matters of the coalition forces have been taken over by the project team. If Chu State has any explanation, just give it."

Zidang replied: "Then, I will ask Dr. Wu Ju to hand over the ingredients to... the 'project team', and we follow the arrangements of the 'project team'."

Shusun Bao achieved his goal and stood up to say goodbye.

After Zidang bid farewell to his uncle Sun Bao, he returned to the hall and saw Wu Ju and Bozhou Li Dai sitting there, but still refused to leave, so he asked, "What else does Dr. Wu have to do?"

Wu Ju was overjoyed and could be considered as finding the person who was talking to him: "Ling Yin, I have already contacted the 'project team' I just mentioned. This group is led by the minor officials of Jin and Lu. It is divided into eight departments, which manage food supply, barracks, chariots, and sacrificial rituals, etc.

The people of Jin are really orderly in their work. Even the dishes and bowls in the kitchen are managed by dedicated people. It is so meticulous. I came with the things I asked for, but I couldn't get it..."

"Talk about the key points", Zidang said impatiently: "Don't always shoot horses from Jin people, you don't like to listen."

"Yes, yes, yes... Starting from five days ago, merchants from all over the world began to arrive here in a steady stream. The Jin people arranged a special mall to set up stalls and sell goods here. Even our Chu State has many merchants coming here to trade. If the king lacks anything, he doesn't have to go back to his country to pick it up, and just go to the mall to buy it."

Zidang thought for a while: "But what are the strange things?"

"There are the most rare things in Jin State. There are dragon meat (crocodile meat) sold in the market, Kun meat, leather jackets made of Kun leather, Kun wax, Kun bones..."

Zidang interrupted Wu Ju impatiently: "These strange things can only be bought later, and I have to take a look - what I want to know now is: What specialties in our Chu State are better than Jin State?"

Wu Ju thought for a while: "Laughware, the most famous lacquerware in the world, is the Chu lacquerware sold in the market, and the Chu lacquerware sold in the market is colorful and breathtaking."

Zidang's eyes lit up: "This thing may be comparable to porcelain."

"There are music..." Wu Ju continued to add: "There are many music and dance teams coming from the local area, ready to perform their skills to the princes. The music and dance teams from our Chu State can play "Xialibaren", "Yang Azalu", and even "Yangchun Baixue".

"Xialibaren" should be a popular song popular in the Chu people and Ba people living in mixed areas. When people sing it, they are singing and dancing, and the scene is very lively.

Zidang immediately said, "Wuzi is a good event. Merchants from all countries gathered together to solve all our problems - Doctor Wu, go and invite our Chu singing and dancing team to prepare to perform at a banquet that welcomes the princes... Well, secretly invite those merchants from Jin who sell strange things. Maybe the emperor wants to buy something to return to China."

Wu Ju was inspired and continued to add: "When it comes to silk fabrics, the silk in our Chu State is also very good, and bronze utensils are also used..."

"Needless to say, what are the trends in China?"

Wu Ju looked depressed: "It is said that Fan Yang has broken through Zhao Pass and is currently returning to this place... It seems that he is about five days away from this place. The places where the Jin people walked by were conventionally left without any grass. Our people disappeared afterwards, and the city was completely deserted."

Zidang had a blue face and asked again for a long time: "What else?"

Wu Ju thought about it and suddenly looked excited: "The State of Lu is in trouble. Not long ago, the monarch and ministers of Yun came here to complain, saying that Ji Wuzi, the first ruler of Lu, actually sent troops to conquer his neighbors at the moment when the alliances of various countries in the world reaffirmed the peace agreement and captured Yun (in the northeast of Yishui County, Shandong Province today)."
Chapter completed!