Prince Qi returned to the palace and hugged and cried with his biological father whom he had never met, as if they had a deep father-son love.
Chunshen Jun and a group of ministers shed a few tears as they watched the touching reunion of the King of Chu and his son.
Someone asked Chunshen Jun in a low voice, with a mocking tone: "I didn't expect Chunshen Jun to come and greet us in person."
Chunshen Jun said: "I am different from you. I am just a poor scholar. My life's honor and disgrace are tied to the King of Chu and the State of Chu. So I will never do anything that is harmful to the King of Chu and the State of Chu."
The man said angrily: "Chun Shenjun, what do you mean? Are we going to do something harmful to the King of Chu and the State of Chu?!"
Chunshen Jun glanced at the man and said, "I just said that you are all nobles and are superior to others no matter where you are, unlike me. Please don't misunderstand me."
After Chunshen Jun explained this, everyone's expressions became complicated.
Xiang Yan, who had established his position through several great victories and had become the head of the Xiang family and a favorite of the King of Chu, glanced at his colleagues who had not yet successfully suppressed the rebellion but were already showing signs of internal strife, and said coldly: "Chun Shenjun is wrong. We are the feudal lords of Chu, so why shouldn't our honor and disgrace be tied to Chu? However, Chun Shenjun's loyalty to the King of Chu and Chu is indeed a role model for our generation, and there is no doubt about it."
Chunshen Jun looked at Xiang Yan. His honor and disgrace depended on the State of Chu, not the King of Chu? Xiang Yan was not only good at fighting, but also very thoughtful.
Chunshen Jun bowed to Xiang Yan, accepting Xiang Yan's proposal for peace, and did not continue to mock others.
Others were quite resentful.
Among the ministers present, most of them were nobles with the surname Mi. Among the nobles of Chu, even if they were not as noble as the Jing, Zhao, and Qu clans, they were still much more noble than the nobles with the surname Mi.
They were already dissatisfied because Chunshen Jun had suppressed them before, and now Xiang Shi was on top of them again.
But now Xiang is still needed to lead the troops to fight, so they can only endure temporarily.
The King of Chu then held a banquet.
Compared with other members of the Chu royal family of the same age, Prince Qi is indeed a perfect prince of Chu.
At the banquet, he was very enthusiastic towards Chunshen Jun. He toasted Chunshen Jun repeatedly and said that he had great respect for Chunshen Jun.
Chunshen Jun perked up and chatted enthusiastically with Gongzi Qi, as if the two of them had become friends at the banquet.
Halfway through the banquet, the King of Chu left due to being drunk, and handed over the leadership of the banquet to Prince Qi.
After the King of Chu left, some old ministers left one after another, and Chunshen Jun also found an excuse to leave.
When he left, the Queen of Chu sent someone to look for him.
Chunshen Jun sighed. There is no way to escape.
He sent two people, one to inform the King of Chu and the other to inform Prince Qi, and then went to the Queen of Chu's bedroom.
The Queen of Chu sat alone in the room, with the now young Crown Prince of Chu resting on her lap.
The Crown Prince of Chu has fallen asleep.
He looked very peaceful as he slept, and I wonder if he was aware that his position as crown prince was about to disappear.
Queen Li of Chu asked sadly, "Are you going to abandon me and my son?"
Chunshen Jun said: "It is up to the king to decide who will be the crown prince."
The Queen of Chu asked, "Can Lord Chunshen really not save my mother and me?"
Chunshen Jun said: "Prince Qi is much older than the Crown Prince. In order to show his generosity, he should treat you and your son well. Don't worry."
Queen Chu lowered her eyes: "Really?"
Chunshen Jun said: "That is the prince of Chu who was once highly valued in Qin. Don't underestimate him."
Queen Chu sighed: "Then I feel relieved."
Chunshen Jun said: "Persuade your brother to stop doing this."
Queen Chu shook her head: "I can't persuade her."
She lowered her head and said, "Chun Shenjun, please go back."
Chunshen Jun turned and left. At the moment he stepped out of the door, Chunshen Jun looked back and said: "Don't do anything, you and your son will be rich and prosperous for life."
Having said that, he strode through the door.
The Queen of Chu raised her head and looked at Chunshen Jun with eyes full of resentment.
She didn't believe that Chunshen Jun really had no way to deal with Prince Qi. If Chunshen Jun didn't want Prince Qi to succeed to the throne, he would definitely be able to persuade the King of Chu.
Even if he couldn't persuade the King of Chu, couldn't he send people to kill Prince Qi
He said it nicely, saying that Master Qi could treat his mother and son well. But who would be willing to depend on others for their safety
"Send the letter to my brother," said the Queen of Chu.
The attendants around her leaned forward and obeyed.
When Chunshen Jun left the Queen of Chu's palace, Prince Qi was waiting for him in the courtyard with a pot of wine.
The King of Chu did not show up, which made Chunshen Jun feel very depressed.
"As Chunshen Jun said, Chu needs me. I know Chu also needs Chunshen Jun." Gongzi Qi said, "I will not deal with Chunshen Jun."
Chunshen Jun shook his head: "My future is not determined by your will. Let's not talk about this. You are often in Xianyang. Have you met Zhu Xianggong?"
Gongzi Qi smiled bitterly: "I wonder how many people have asked me about Duke Xiang of Zhu."
Chunshen Jun said, "Duke Zhuxiang and I are friends. We've had drinks together a few times. How is he?"
Gongzi Qi shook his head: "I don't know. Except for the banquets hosted by the King of Qin, Duke Xiang of Zhu and I have never even drunk wine."
Chunshen Jun wondered: "Could it be that the people in Xianyang despise Duke Zhu Xiang's background and are unwilling to associate with him?"
Gongzi Qi sneered: "How is that possible?"
He shook the wine jug, motioning Chunshen Jun to sit with him in the small pavilion in the courtyard.
He knew that after returning to the State of Chu, if he did not want to become a puppet of others in their struggle for power, he would need the help of Chunshen Jun.
Chunshen Jun also showed goodwill to him, so he was willing to talk more with Chunshen Jun in private.
This is what the King of Chu meant.
Although the King of Chu was cowardly and somewhat mediocre in government affairs, he still had the ability to rule his people.
After all, he had been a hostage. If he was stupid enough, he would not be able to return to the State of Chu.
"Changping Jun seems to be enjoying great success in Qin, but I'm afraid that no minister would want this success." Gongzi Qi said, "When Changping Jun is in Qin, everyone he interacts with must get the nod from the King of Qin. How many times did the King of Qin nod?"
Gongzi Qi placed the wine jug on the stone table and began to count with his fingers.
"Besides the people Changping Jun had known in Zhao, such as Xun Kuang, Lian Po, Lin Zhi, Cai Ze, and Li Mu, there were only Wu'an Jun and Ying Jun who had passed away, as well as Meng Wu, who was the first to serve as Changping Jun's guard."
"After nearly ten years in Qin, who has Changping Jun communicated with? The only people he contacted were Li Bing and Zhang Ruo, the county governors, when he left Xianyang. No one in Xianyang can interact with Changping Jun. Even the families of Mengwu, Wu'an Jun, and Ying Jun are the same."
"In this world, is there any noble in such a high position who would do this?"
"Even the neglected nobles can freely associate with others. But not Lord Changping."
"I heard that Chunshen Jun once wanted to alienate Changping Jun and the King of Qin. I advise Chunshen Jun to give up. The King of Qin will never be afraid of Changping Jun."
Gongzi Qi shook the wine pot again, raised his head and took a sip. He put down the wine pot, stared at the shadow in the wine pot, not sure whether it was a lantern or the moon, and chuckled. There was mockery in that laughter, but also some sympathy that he himself could not detect.
"Even if it was a foolish monarch like Zhao Dan, if Changping Jun had already held a high position in Zhao State, and his only descendant was the future king of Zhao State, he would not be interested in power or money, but would be devoted to Zhao State and the King of Zhao. He would live in seclusion and everyone and everything around him would be controlled by the monarch. Who would be afraid of such a person?"
Gongzi Qi had thought about communicating with Zhu Xiang in private.
Even when King Zhaoxiang of Qin was in power, it was normal for nobles to host banquets for each other. So when Zhu Xiang first arrived in Qin, he naturally received many visiting cards.
Afterwards, all these visiting cards were sent back by the Qin King's envoys, and perhaps none of them appeared in front of Zhu Xiang.
Later, everyone in Xianyang City knew that Zhu Xiang was indeed a peerless talent in terms of both character and talent. He was also deeply trusted and loved by the King of Qin, and could be more comfortable in front of the King of Qin than his true juniors.
But what was the price for being supported by the King of Qin
It's freedom.
Although Zhu Xiang was able to leave Xianyang City, he and the King of Qin had already reached a deep understanding, which was not to have close relations with anyone the King of Qin did not allow, especially the ministers in the core positions of the Qin State.
Zhu Xiang could communicate with county magistrates such as Li Bing without any worries.
Prince Qi even suspected that the King of Qin would not cultivate his own power if he knew Zhu Xiang went to the local area, because the Crown Prince Zheng was right beside Zhu Xiang.
Chunshen Jun was silent for a long time, then took the wine pot from Gongzi Qi, took a sip and asked, "Why did you tell me this, sir?"
Gongzi Qi asked, "Didn't Chunshen Jun ask about his situation?"
Chunshen Jun said: "That's right. So he is not living well?"
Gongzi Qi shook his head: "He may not think that he is living a bad life. Because he may not care about the things that other people care about."
Make friends freely, communicate with more people, and have a place where you can breathe freely.
Zhu Xiang didn't seem to care about this kind of thing. He seemed to be living a happy life and was sincere in treating the King of Qin's family who had a strong desire for control.
Therefore, Prince Qi advised Chunshen Jun not to use the strategy of sowing discord against Zhu Xiang anymore.
It's useless.
If the King of Qin could not trust someone like Zhu Xiang, who was completely under his control, then he must have become completely confused.
The King of Qin was not only not confused, but by the time of King Prince Chu of Qin, he had been a shrewd man for three generations.
Prince Qi shuddered when he thought about the future of Qin State and the Crown Prince Zheng who had already made a name for himself.
Is there really hope for the State of Chu
Even if he returned to Chu, could Chu really survive the Qin army
Prince Qi is not stupid. The fact that he is highly valued in the Qin State proves that he is talented. The Qin State does not support idlers in the officialdom.
Therefore, Prince Qi knew very well that both his and the State of Chu’s hopes were slim.
But when he saw the people from Chu coming to ask him for help, and that the people who came were the disciples of Bai Tou Weng, who was known as the Changping Lord of Chu, he came back.
Come back and fight against the trend of the world.
"Lord Chunshen, I will do my best to protect you." Gongzi Qi said, "The Chu State is already in a difficult situation. Without a wise minister, it will be even more difficult. I don't see any hope. If you die in the power struggle, the future of the Chu State will be even more hopeless."
Chunshen Jun lowered his head and asked, "Why do you say that, sir? It's just a rebellion, and it will be quelled soon."
Gongzi Qi shook his head: "Rebellion is nothing. I am talking about Qin and the trend of Qin unifying the world."
He took the wine jug back from Chunshen Jun's hand and took another sip of wine.
Then he wiped his mouth and continued with a smile: "I was born the year before my father left Qin. I have lived in Qin for more than 20 years and am familiar with every tree and grass in Qin. If I were not Xiong Qi, I would already be a Qin person."
"Chun Shenjun went to Qin and saw some fragments of its prosperity. Now Qin is stronger and its people are more united. All this is due to Duke Xiang of Zhu. Only a saint who is not interested in fame and fortune, and even does not care about the dignity of the nobility, can help Qin build such a prosperous era."
"I studied in Xianyang Academy, and I know that the unification of the world is the general trend. The world has been in chaos for a long time, and it has long been in need of a hero to unify and end these hundreds of years of war."
"Originally, Chu had a chance, but now it has become like this. Unless Prince Chu and Crown Prince Zheng of Qin both die suddenly, and Qin suddenly falls into a struggle for the throne and splits, otherwise Chu or any other country will have no chance."
"I knew all this before I returned to Chu." Gongzi Qi said to Chunshen Jun, "Duke Zhu Xiang has a skill, which is that he can judge people very well. Those he treats as friends are all top talents in the world. In Chu, only Chunshen Jun can have a private drink with Duke Zhu Xiang, and only Chunshen Jun can get a plan from Duke Zhu Xiang and make his father ignore you."
"You are a friend of Duke Xiang of Zhu, so I am only telling you this." Gongzi Qi said, "Lord Chunshen, do your best to survive. Maybe we can become a pair of kings and ministers in exile."
He handed the wine jug to Chunshen Jun again.
Chunshen Jun held the wine jug for a long time, then raised his head and drank it all.
For some reason, his eyes were moist and his heart felt warm.
Even the Lord Father whom he rescued at great pains did not show him such warmth.
"good."
Chunshen Jun did not use gorgeous and sincere words to express his loyalty, but just said one word calmly and lightly.
Li Mu sat on the bow of the warship with a sword across his face, holding a letter sent from the capital of Chu.
The knife is so useful and he hasn't used a sword for a long time.
Now all his soldiers used knives instead of swords.
"Prince Qi has returned to the capital of Chu and had a very pleasant conversation with Chunshen Jun." Li Mu said, "Chu finally welcomed a wise ruler, but it's too late."
On Li Mu's letter paper were densely written what Chunshen Jun and Gongzi Qi said when they had a private meeting in the courtyard at night.
Prince Qi thought he and Chunshen Jun were having a secret chat in an open and deserted place, but he didn't know that the white-headed old man whose body was lost in the water was the Prime Minister of Qin, Lin Zhi. The followers of the white-headed old man were all spies of Qin.
The letter in Li Mu's hand will probably also be sent to Prince Chu of Qin.
Li Mu developed some affection for Master Qi.
Li Mu would have some good feelings towards anyone who could understand Zhu Xiang's situation and feel sorry for the injustice of the King of Qin towards Zhu Xiang.
Li Mu had discovered this a long time ago.
Zhu Xiang must have known this himself, and so he deliberately made himself a loner.
How is it possible that a prince who was a relative of the King of Qin and had been in Qin for nearly ten years had never attended any banquet hosted by any Qin nobles, nor held any banquets at home to entertain outsiders
How could someone endure not making any new friends for nearly ten years? And become a stranger to all the nobles of Qin
When Zhu Xiang was still a commoner and a retainer of Lin Xiangru, he was able to make many new friends.
He stayed with Lin Xiangru for a shorter time than he did in Qin, but he got to know the leaders of the Mohist and Agricultural schools, became a teacher and apprentice with Xunzi, "recruited" Zichu and Cai Ze, and also got to know himself through Lian Gong.
Is there no one in Qin State that Zhu Xiang is willing to get to know
Even Han Fei and Li Si, two people Zhu Xiang often praised for their talents, Zhu Xiang deliberately kept his distance from them and let Zheng'er make friends with them.
Because Zhu Xiang said that these two people would enter the Qin court sooner or later.
"So Zhu Xiang will indeed not be feared by any Qin king." Li Mu raised his hand, and the letter flew into the river, instantly disappearing among the waves. "I hope Zheng'er... When Zheng'er succeeds to the throne, Zhu Xiang will do the same. He chose to do so himself."
Zhu Xiang did not want the distinction between monarch and subject to damage his relationship with Zichu and Zheng'er, so he would try his best to avoid this possibility.
When the country is unified and Zhu Xiang is farming all over the country, things will probably be better, Li Mu thought.
It may take some years for the world to be unified, but if the affairs of Chu can be settled quickly and Zhu Xiang can leave Xianyang, Zhu Xiang's life will be better and he won't have to hang around three or two people all the time.
And Xue Ji also missed Zhu Xiang and wanted to reunite with him.
"General, we can see the other side. They don't seem to be on guard against us." The soldier at the helm came to report, "Should we just charge over there?"
Li Mu nodded.
In 250 BC, in the autumn of the year when Prince Chu of Qin ascended the throne, Qin general Li Mu landed on the north bank of the Yangtze River, occupied several cities, and completely took control of the Yangtze River Delta.
Because the State of Chu was in civil strife, no one could resist Li Mu's move.
Afterwards, Li Mu transported his troops to the north bank of the Yangtze River, used the north bank of the Yangtze River Delta as a base, and led a light cavalry to attack the city of Chu.
Li Mu's cavalry was very unique and completely different from the Qin army on other battlefields.
They captured a city at lightning speed, and did not defend it, but only exchanged horses and collected food, and then distributed the remaining food to everyone. When the Chu people wanted to recapture the city, they opened the gate and went to the next city.
Their marching route was extremely tortuous, as if they were constantly turning back and forth on the Jianghuai Plain.
Meng Wu and Zhang Ruo also crossed the Yangtze River and settled on the north bank.
Every time Li Mu turned back, he could find supplies on the north bank, and the State of Chu had no way of encircling and suppressing them.
After Li Mu returned to his base, the location of his next military campaign was difficult to predict.
He would always leave the place where his troops were sent by boat, then go ashore along the Yangtze River without knowing where he would land or where he would continue his journey.
The only way for the State of Chu to prevent Li Mu's surprise attack was to build a horizontal defense line along the north bank of the Yangtze River.
If the Chu State was still peaceful, several feudal lords might be able to send troops together to deal with Li Mu's surprise attack. At least they could find out where Li Mu landed, and then chase him with chariots and cavalry.
But now the State of Chu was in chaos, and the King of Chu could not command at least half of its feudal lords.
They could only watch Li Mu's light cavalry marching around the Jianghuai Plain as if there was no one there.
Not only Chu, but the other five countries originally wanted to get a piece of the pie in the civil strife in Chu, but now Li Mu's military action has also confused them.
No one could have imagined that this battle could be fought in this way and that cavalry could be used in this way.
It turns out that you don’t need a large army or siege equipment to capture a city, you just need to increase your speed
It turns out that you don't need to occupy a city, you only need to disrupt the other party's order to make them run around in a hurry
Not to mention the Five Kingdoms, the generals of Qin were also reviewing Li Mu's battle, hoping to learn something from it.
Then they study and study, but can only sigh and say, they don’t know how to do it.
"If you want the cavalry to display their speed, they must be in a place with less water and flat terrain. In this world, it seems that only the heartland of Chu is like this now."
"How do these cavalrymen know which city to go to? Does Li Mu have the entire map of Chu memorized? Is it impossible for him to get lost?"
"They exchanged horses for Chu people's horses in Chu territory, and they were able to show such superb riding skills? How were these cavalrymen trained?"
"Distribute the grain directly to the common people? What's the point? What is Li Mu thinking? If he wants to destroy the granary of Chu, why not burn it down? Wouldn't that save more effort?"
"I heard that Li Mu personally led the raid. He is extremely powerful, probably even more powerful than Bai Qi."
"Isn't Li Mu the general of the fleet? Why is he leading the cavalry?"
The person who said this was stared at by the others.
The man wondered, “Isn’t it?”
An older man took a deep breath and said, "Li Mu was once a Zhao general guarding Yanmen County. He became famous for repelling more than 100,000 cavalrymen from the Northern Hu. That was before he entered Qin."
Although the Qin State and the Rong and Di peoples lived together, the first organized cavalry unit was created by King Wuling of Zhao.
As the general guarding Yanmen, Li Mu was the best at using cavalry in the world.
To the west of Chu State, in the Han River Basin, there was a plain area in the triangle between the three cities of Jingmen, Jingzhou and Tianmen in later generations. Wang Jian annexed it here and had a covetous eye on Chu State.
When Li Mu sent out his troops, Wang Jian also got the news of Li Mu's "surprise force".
In the past, "strange troops" referred to troops that came unexpectedly. Li Mu's "strange troops" were "strange" and "peculiar" troops.
Wang Jian spread the map on the table in front of him and frowned in thought.
King Wei of Chu built the city of Jinling, and Li Mu first occupied Jinling.
Starting from Jinling, Li Mu's cavalry headed northward, across half of the Jianghuai Plain, conquering cities large and small along the way, and reaching Zhongli on the south bank of the Huai River. On the way, he captured several of Chunshen Jun's fiefdoms.
Chunshen Jun immediately returned to defend the city, and Li Mu turned back to the south and returned to Guangling. Guangling had been firmly controlled by the Qin army, and the Chu army could not conquer it. The civil strife in Chu was not over, so Chunshen Jun had to withdraw his troops and return to Chendu to protect the King of Chu.
The second time Li Mu led his army, he sailed to Chaohu Lake, then went ashore with his cavalry and attacked all the way to Shouchun. After encountering a large army, he returned to Chaohu Lake. The Chu army sighed as they looked at the lake.
The third time, Li Mu's cavalry set out from Guangling, but was intercepted by the armies of the Jing and Zhao clans. They retreated to the coastline and boarded the Qin ships that had been waiting for a long time. They retreated calmly under the cover of the Qin ships' crossbows, catapults, and thunder chariots.
Afterwards, Meng Wu and Zhang Ruo crossed the Yangtze River together, landed on the north bank, and went downstream, successively conquering large and small cities on the north bank of the Yangtze River in the State of Chu, responding to Li Mu from a distance and supporting Li Mu's cavalry.
The State of Chu was unable to take care of both ends and could not send a large army to stop Li Mu's cavalry, so it could only let Li Mu gallop on the Jianghuai Plain east of the State of Chu.
"The cities chosen by Li Mu always lean towards the Chu king's faction or the rebels' faction, so the Chu king and the rebels cannot work together. Instead, they wait for Li Mu to disrupt the other side so that they can attack them." Wang Jian shook his head and said depressedly, "I just trained my heavy cavalry. Is there no chance to use it?"
Wang Jian made a self-deprecating remark and ordered his soldiers to form up.
What a joke, now is the time for him to send troops.
He took a deep breath. The outcome of this battle would almost determine his future.
Being a general of the same era and country as Li Mu, the pressure was really great.
(End of this chapter)