The people of the Shang Kingdom could watch the fire from the other side of the river, but the people of Zheng State could not.
The war came so suddenly that the people of Zheng State were unable to react! Who could have thought that the State of Cai would suddenly "retaliate"? Who could have thought that the State of Chen and the State of Cai, who had been fighting to the death, would suddenly join forces to attack the State of Zheng
When Li Xian first received the secret report, he did not believe the information. His first reaction was that the intelligence personnel had confused the State of Chen with the State of Zheng.
It is said that a bystander sees more clearly. When even the bystanders are confused, it is not difficult to imagine what the parties involved will do!
By the time Zheng finally reacted and began to mobilize its troops and defend along the way, the coalition forces of Chen and Cai had advanced thousands of miles, and Zheng had lost nearly a quarter of its territory.
Influenced by the Shang Kingdom, the coalition forces of Chen and Cai also adopted the idea of "blitzkrieg". They used artillery, bombs, and machine guns to clear the way. In addition, they also expelled the people and blocked the city, making Zheng's response even slower.
"This is too much!" The Emperor of Zheng roared and roared again, but none of his ministers dared to speak loudly.
Was it too much? Perhaps it was his own fault! The prime minister, the general, and the grand master, who were still somewhat sober, looked at each other and saw the helplessness in each other's eyes.
It was the State of Zheng that supported the State of Cai, but now the State of Cai turned around and attacked the State of Zheng.
Yes, from a moral point of view, Cai's actions were somewhat ungrateful; but from a political point of view, Zheng was entirely to blame for its own mistakes and its cleverness backfired!
There was also the State of Chen. Because of the support of the State of Zheng, the State of Cai occupied half of Chen's territory and half of its population. The imperial capital became the front line. Naturally, the people of Chen hated the State of Zheng with a vengeance, and the hatred was even greater than that of the State of Cai.
The current situation of the State of Chen is a little special. What is special about it? The special thing is that the crown prince of the State of Chen ascended the throne in the chaos and became the fourteenth emperor of the State of Chen.
Unlike the old emperor, the new emperor of Chen Guo has been influenced by the thoughts of the Shang Dynasty in recent years. He has witnessed the changes of the Shang Dynasty and the rapid rise of the Tang Dynasty. Therefore, the new emperor of Chen Guo is more radical!
This radicalism mainly focuses on two aspects:
First, it is the emphasis on industry, commerce, technology, handicrafts, etc., especially armaments.
Second, the vision is more open and broad; the thinking is more focused on "commercial profits".
The old emperor of Chen decided to pass on the throne, not a decision made in a fit of rage, but a well-thought-out decision. Therefore, as soon as the new emperor of Chen came to power, he made a surprising decision:
He secretly made peace with the State of Cai and jointly attacked the State of Zheng in the north.
All of this was planned in secret; when the Shang Dynasty's spies obtained the intelligence, an agreement had already been signed between the Chen and Cai states.
"Chen and Cai are now equally matched, and neither can do anything to the other. It is futile to persist, and it may even allow others to gain advantage. Now, the aura of the great catastrophe has been revealed, and the Shang Kingdom and the Tang Kingdom are rising rapidly. We can no longer remain rigid and wait; otherwise, what awaits us will only be destruction! Instead of doing this, it is better to expand outward and actively look for opportunities!"
This is what the new emperor of Chen said to the emperor of Cai, and also what he said to his subjects. And this is the information that the Shang Kingdom did not get.