When Zhu Xiang got the news, the scholars in Guangling City also got the news through various channels.
They were somewhat excited and somewhat confused.
The Chu army was coming to recapture Guangling City, but they became a fiefdom of the hated rebels.
Southern Chu? How can this be possible
Zhu Xiang felt much more relaxed.
Now Xiang Yan is already at war with Zhang Ruo, probably intending to attack from west to east to put pressure on the Qin army.
Xiang Yan was not a reckless man. He knew that the Qin army's fleet was stationed near the Yangtze River Delta and had the strongest force. If he attacked Guangling City directly, he would suffer heavy losses, so he gave the Qin army in the east enough time to retreat.
As long as he could capture several cities west of the north bank of the Yangtze River, the Qin army would leave when they saw that the Chu army was unstoppable.
The boat stopped at the ferry crossing of Guangling City. Zhu Xiang wanted to leave, but by the time he got the news that Xiang Yan had moved his camp to Guangling City, he would still have time to leave, so there was no rush for Zhu Xiang.
While evacuating the families of Qin officials, he arranged the summer harvest and farming in an orderly manner. At the same time, he selected a group of local Chu scholars to take over in a friendly manner.
Chen Qi was elected as the new magistrate of Guangling County by the scholars in Guangling City. Zhu Xiang took him with him and taught him how to continue the work that Guangling had already started, including farming, water conservancy, city repairs, and taxation...
"Southern Chu may have its own ideas about taxation. But I hope Mr. Chen can persuade the King of Southern Chu not to make major changes to the taxation policy at least this year, which will help production recovery." Zhu Xiang said, "Zheng State has almost prepared the next engineering proposal for the water conservancy channel. You may not trust the Qin people, so please ask the King of Southern Chu to send craftsmen to take a look before rebuilding. It's best not to abandon it."
Chen Qi said respectfully, "Yes, Lord Changping."
Zhu Xiang said: "If the King of Nanchu didn't send anyone, you can pool your money together and repair the canals marked in red. If these canals are well maintained, the basic irrigation needs around Guangling City will be met."
Chen Qi said: "Don't worry, Lord Changping, I will definitely be able to convince the people in the city."
Zhu Xiang smiled and said, "Then I'm relieved. Although we will be enemies next time we meet, but... well, not necessarily. I don't fight. I always wait for the city to be conquered and then help rebuild it."
Chen Qi couldn't help but laugh: "I am old now, I am afraid I may not be able to wait until the day when I can meet Changping Jun again."
Zhu Xiang said: "That's good."
He lowered his head and continued to repeatedly instruct Chen Qi on the handover documents that had been prepared one by one.
Chen Qi and the newly selected Chu officials around him had mixed feelings.
They were very repulsive to the State of Qin and their attitude towards Lord Changping was not very good.
However, Changping Jun never cared about their attitude. As long as they could do their jobs well, he would praise and reward them.
Now that Changping Jun was about to leave Guangling, he was like an ordinary county magistrate who was about to step down. He arranged the unfinished matters and arranged each task carefully so that the newcomer could take over immediately.
According to common sense, when the Qin State abandoned the city and retreated, it would create trouble for the next person to take over the city.
Looting and burning granaries were common, and some people even destroyed city walls and houses before retreating.
If Changping Jun retreated directly without causing any damage, he would be a rare benevolent gentleman in this era. He actually hoped that Guangling City would continue to prosper after he left
They looked at the top of Changping Jun's head and it seemed as if there was a word "stupid" on it.
Stupid, so stupid.
After Zhu Xiang had arranged things for this group of Chu officials, a hot-tempered official finally couldn't help but ask, "Duke Zhu Xiang, you are the Lord of Changping of Qin. What you are doing for Guangling now is not helping the enemy?"
Chen Qi coughed hard to stop the hot-tempered burly official.
What are you talking about! You just took the benefits that Lord Changping gave to Guangling, why are you exposing it
Zhu Xiang smiled helplessly: "I'm not aiding the enemy. You can see that Qin has the potential to unify the world again, and the Chu people will also be Qin people in the future. Let's lay a good foundation first, so that I can be more relaxed when I come back in the future."
All the Chu officials present turned pale.
Zhu Xiang sighed and said, "Guangling is far away from the Central Plains. You may not be particularly clear about the general situation in the world."
He bowed to the west and said, "Since the reign of King Zhaoxiang of Qin, Qin has had the momentum to annex the world. Now that Qin has temporarily slowed down its military advance, it is only because Qin is not sending troops to capture cities and territories, but to unify the world. Every place we conquer must be won over by the people before we conquer the next place."
Zhu Xiang glanced at the Chu officials present and said, "Although you may not be particularly familiar with the situation in the Central Plains, the three counties of Southern Qin are only a river away from you. In the past, this was the land of Wu and Yue, but later it was conquered by Chu and now belongs to Qin. This is how the world changes."
Jiao Yun held his sword and glanced at the Chu officials who wanted to argue with Zhu Xiang, and those who wanted to speak immediately fell silent.
Although Lord Changping was a benevolent gentleman, the Qin army was not.
When Li Mu captured Guangling, he killed a lot of people.
The strong man hesitated and said, "But if you give the food to General Xiang, isn't that aiding the enemy?"
Chen Qi quickly grabbed the strong man and apologized, "Mr. Changping, this is a rough man, don't listen to his nonsense!"
Zhu Xiang waved his hand and said, "What if we give him the grain of a county? He won't be able to eat it for a few days. But you should still find a way to save some of the grain. Guangling City's granary is already empty, waiting for this batch of rice to mature. If the Chu army takes all the grain, you will have a hard time."
After Zhu Xiang finished speaking, he didn't wait for these people to speak and asked them to leave.
Jiao Yun sent Chen Qi and the others to the door, and when he came back he asked, "Are you really going to give them the food?"
Zhu Xiang said calmly, "People are all made of flesh and blood, and they know who is good to them. After the Qin people came to Guangling City, they distributed land to the common people and taught them how to grow crops. Now that the harvest is almost here, the Chu army has seized the food. Do you think they will still be loyal to Chu?"
Jiao Yun said: "Duke Zhu Xiang saw the hearts of the common people, not the hearts of the scholars."
Zhu Xiang shook his head: "The scholars are also kind-hearted. Even if they don't see the common people at ordinary times, they will be heartbroken when the prosperity around them suddenly turns into hell. Moreover, Qin has not yet distributed the land around Guangling City. The most fertile land belongs to the scholars. If the food is stolen, they will suffer the most serious losses."
Jiao Yun asked, "Duke Zhu Xiang is sure that Xiang Yan will rob?"
Zhu Xiang said calmly: "What country's army would not plunder after attacking a city? Not to mention the Chu army, the Qin army is no exception. The soldiers passed by like a comb."
Looting after a siege is a common practice to boost morale and reward soldiers. Not only are there very few generals who can discipline their soldiers, but even if they are willing to discipline their soldiers, they must provide them with enough rewards that can be obtained without looting. Otherwise, if the generals discipline their soldiers to loot, it will cause a mutiny in the army.
Even Li Shimin, who was later recognized as being more people-loving, always "obtained food locally" when he went on campaigns.
The logistics of the early Tang Dynasty were a mess. The Battle of Wulongban took place only a hundred miles away from the capital. Li Shimin's soldiers had no food to eat, and "the whole army was in disgrace." Li Shimin, a famous crybaby, cried loudly out of anger and hunger.
With such logistics, the generals of the early Tang Dynasty could not fight without getting food locally.
The early years of the Tang Dynasty were not truly chaotic, as the achievements of Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty were still there. During the reign of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, the granaries of the Sui Dynasty were full. Under such conditions, wars had to be plundered to ensure logistics. With such food productivity and transportation capabilities in the Warring States Period, there was no need to think about military discipline.
The army led by Li Mu is not looting now, it is just that they look down on those things, so they deliberately take a high profile to reduce the resistance of the Chu people.
Therefore, Zhu Xiang had no expectations for the Chu army led by Xiang Yan.
Just look at Xiang Yu and you will know what the old aristocrats of the Chu State were like.
Jiao Yun said: "Even without these benefits, Duke Zhu Xiang would not destroy the grain fields."
Zhu Xiang glanced at Jiao Yun and said, "You are the only one who talks too much. But I will make arrangements and will not aid the enemy."
Jiao Yun thought to himself that it seemed that Duke Zhu Xiang was very dissatisfied with the Chu people's accusation that he was "aiding the enemy."
Jiao Yun followed Zhu Xiang for a long time and stayed in the kitchen where Zhu Xiang often stayed. Zhu Xiang knew that Jiao Yun knew him very well. When he saw Jiao Yun's expression, he knew that Jiao Yun was teasing him in his heart.
Although Jiao Yun usually looks expressionless, he is actually very mentally active.
Zhu Xiang changed the subject: "Fuqiu followed Meng Tian to find out about Xiang Yan, why hasn't he returned yet? This guy, what is he doing with Meng Tian?"
Jiao Yun said: "He knows many Wu and Yue languages, so it is easier for him to get information than Meng Tian."
Zhu Xiang sighed: "He is a good scholar, but he doesn't stay with me to help me with paperwork, and always likes to run away."
Jiao Yun thought to himself that there was no necessary connection between Confucian scholars and handling paperwork, and that Confucian scholars who followed the teachings of Mencius and Xunzi all liked to travel around.
Zhu Xiang complained a few words and called in another group of Chu scholars to continue the handover work.
The next day, Fuqiu came back with a gloomy face and brought with him a few scholars who were dressed in rags but still had neat crowns.
Fuqiu got straight to the point and said, "Duke Zhu Xiang, Xiang Yan massacred the city."
Zhu Xiang's hands trembled: "What?!"
The people brought by Fuqiu knelt on the ground and told the story while crying.
At first Xiang Yan encountered resistance. After entering the city, he said that the citizens were helping Qin and betraying Chu. So he allowed the entire army to plunder and massacre for a day as a warning to others, and set fire to the city.
After this action, the cities that Qin had captured immediately mutinied. The residents in the cities were already dissatisfied with Qin, and they were worried that Xiang Yan would massacre them, so they wanted to drive away the Qin army before Xiang Yan arrived.
The Qin army may have received Li Mu's orders long ago and behaved very restrainedly.
They quickly evacuated their personnel, took away half of the food, then opened the warehouse to release the remaining half of the food and retreated to the south bank of the Yangtze River.
The people of Chu thought that the Qin people had withdrawn and they would be safe, but Xiang Yan still allowed looting when he entered the city.
"If it was just looting, it would be fine, but he also ordered us to move our families thirty miles inland!" The Chu scholar cried bitterly, "If we don't obey, we will be sentenced to surrender to the Qin people and either be executed or enslaved! Duke Zhu Xiang, moving thirty miles inland, how can we survive? We can't survive!"
Zhu Xiang clenched his hands in his sleeves.
Relocation order!
I didn’t expect Xiang Yan to make such a cruel decision!
No, this is not something Xiang Yan can decide alone. It must be a joint decision made by the King of Chu and the Lord of Southern Chu, and a joint decision made by the senior officials of the Chu State!
The relocation order... Zhu Xiang closed his eyes.
Xiang Yan's move was strategically correct.
The most famous migration order was the coastal migration order during the Shunzhi period.
At that time, the Qing Dynasty had no navy. In order to prevent Zheng Chenggong in Taiwan from colluding with coastal subjects, and to leave enough depth for the Qing army to fight against Zheng Chenggong, Shunzhi ordered that the coastal people of Shandong, Jiangsu, Fujian, Zhejiang, Guangdong and other provinces move thirty to fifty miles inland, "no sail is allowed to go to the sea, and violators will be severely punished."
The Southern Chu State’s order to relocate was similar.
The State of Chu saw the advantage of the Qin State's navy and knew that even if the Qin State withdrew its troops now, it would only be doing so after weighing the pros and cons, and it was not that there was really no chance of winning.
Chu had little chance of winning the battle with Qin's fleet on the river. Rather than leaving several cities on the north bank of the Yangtze River to Qin, which would return sooner or later and become a blood bag for Qin's fleet to plunder, it was better to destroy the cities and move them inland, and on land, fortify the city and clear the fields, and set up checkpoints layer by layer.
If the Qin State wanted to attack the Southern Chu State, it could only go ashore first and then march a long distance. Not only could the Qin Army's movements be clearly seen from the layers of fortresses, but it could not get any supplies along the way, and the supply line would also be stretched.
There is nothing wrong with this strategically, nothing wrong with it.
During the Warring States Period, the various countries often adopted the strategy of clearing the fields and fortifying their cities, driving out common people between fiercely contested cities, burning farmland and villages, and prohibiting land reclamation and cultivation in order to increase the supply pressure on the enemy during the attack.
The Southern Chu State's order to relocate was nothing more than an enhanced version of the policy of scorching the walls and clearing the countryside.
"Take them to rest first, and inform Chen Qi and others about this matter in advance." Zhu Xiang took a deep breath and regained his composure.
Fuqiu said with a sad face: "Yes, Duke Zhu Xiang."
The Chu scholar who was kneeling on the ground and crying did not beg Zhu Xiang for anything, but just left with Fuqiu crying.
What could they ask Zhu Xiang for? Could they ask him to follow them to the south
After everyone left, Zhu Xiang, who had stood up in surprise, fell back into his chair, holding his forehead with one hand.
Jiao Yun sighed and said, "As expected of Xiang Yan, this is really cruel."
General Li Mu's strategy for annexing Chu was not to focus on one city or one place, but to rely on the gradually recovering economy of Southern Qin and the reputation of Duke Xiang of Zhu to continuously radiate influence to the north bank of the Yangtze River.
Sun Tzu said, "The best military operation is to attack the enemy's plans; the next best is to attack their alliances; the next best is to attack their troops; and the worst is to attack their cities." General Li Mu adopted the strategy of "attacking the enemy's plans."
Although Xiang Yan's move was crude, it was also the best strategy to crack General Li Mu's strategy of "attacking the enemy's plan with the best tactics".
The dock city on the north bank of the Yangtze River was burned down, the Chu people were relocated thirty miles inland, and the influence of Southern Qin on Chu was cut off. All the previous arrangements made by General Li Mu were invalidated.
The relocation of Chu people would cause many disasters. After Xiang Yan finished this battle, he would return to the King of Chu. The King of Southern Chu could not push him out to resist the anger of the relocated Chu people. So Xiang Yan himself would be safe.
The Southern Chu King would certainly direct his anger towards the Qin State. It was precisely because of the danger from the Qin State that the Chu people along the Yangtze River had to move inland. The Chu people did not dare to hate the Southern Chu King who could kill them, nor could they hate Xiang Yan who had already left. They could only hate the Qin State doubly.
All the efforts Qin had made to win the hearts and minds of the people through the trade war, Li Mu's release of grain, and Zhu Xiang's reputation were in vain.
It’s cruel, really cruel.
Not only was this strategy cruel and devastating to the people of Chu, it also hit the Qin State's plan ruthlessly and accurately, dealing a heavy blow to Qin's strategy of destroying Chu.
"I want to be alone for a while." Zhu Xiang said, holding his forehead.
Jiao Yun nodded and left.
As he stepped out the door, he looked back.
Zhu Xiang's body trembled slightly, as if he was trying hard to endure something.
Jiao Yun looked up at the sky.
The Chu people along the river moved thirty miles inland, and all the houses and farmlands were burned down. What did they eat and where did they live
The land thirty miles inland is not ownerless.
Even if the Chu people did not resist the order to relocate and followed the Southern Chu army obediently, how many of them could survive
Research on the coastal migration order during the Shunzhi period more than a thousand years later can give Jiao Yun the answer to this question.
The coastal migration order was abolished after the Taiwan War in the reign of Emperor Kangxi. According to the population comparison between the "Taiping County Chronicles of Jiajing" in the Ming Dynasty and the "Taiping County Chronicles of Jiaqing" in the Qing Dynasty, Taiping County, which was within the migration range, had ended the migration order for more than 100 years. It experienced a stable population growth during the reigns of Emperor Kangxi, Emperor Yongzheng, and Emperor Qianlong, and the population was only half of that during the reign of Emperor Jiajing. This shows how much the coastal migration order destroyed the people.
During this period, many Qing Dynasty officials wrote poems expressing their sympathy for the people, describing the tragic scenes of the coastal people migrating inland.
The property that ordinary people depend on for survival is houses, land and food. Even if the landlords can take some gold and silver jewelry, the property they leave behind is the bulk, while ordinary people have no gold and silver jewelry at all.
Their houses and farmlands were burned down, and when they set out on the road to inland migration, it was no different from exile. Countless elderly and weak people died and were injured along the way.
The situation during the Shunzhi period was actually better than that in Southern Chu.
Shunzhi had already taken control of the Central Plains, which had a vast territory, so he demarcated migration areas when he moved inland. If the coastal residents who moved inland could survive to the migration area, have fields and land, and wait until the crops matured, then they would always have a way to survive.
But the Southern Chu State had such a small area, where could the Chu people who migrated inward go
Zhu Xiang put down his hand that was supporting his forehead, spread out the paper, ground the ink and wrote the letter.
This letter was not written to Ying Xiaozheng, nor to Li Mu, but to Xiang Yan and Nan Chujun.
In the letter, he asked what measures would be taken after the Chu people moved inland and whether arrangements had been made for their survival.
If not... If not, please ask Xiang Yan and Lord Nanchu to let the Chu people go south to save their lives!
Zhu Xiang wrote with great force, his strokes appearing through the paper.
Li Mu has not yet returned to Wucheng from Nanyue.
Information was not flowing smoothly at that time. When Li Mu received the news that Yan State had dispatched troops, Xiang Yan had already dispatched troops.
Although Li Mu knew that Chu would definitely send troops, so he turned back immediately, it still took time.
Ying Xiaozheng was so anxious that he would walk around the ferry with his hands behind his back every day. When he saw Qin officials coming back, he would go up to them and ask, "How are uncle and aunt?"
Upon learning that his uncle and aunt insisted on settling the affairs of Guangling City before returning, Ying Xiaozheng was so angry that he wanted to row to the other side and tie his uncle and aunt back.
Li Si and Han Fei held Ying Xiaozheng down on the left and right.
A gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall. If something really happened and the people of Chu killed Duke Xiang of Zhu and the crown prince, what would they do
Han Fei made a startling statement: "Duke Zhu Xiang has a great reputation. Even if he is captured, the people of Chu will treat him with courtesy."
Li Si cursed: "Han Fei, you better shut up!"
Han Fei was puzzled: "I was right."
Li Si cursed, "Shut up!"
Han Fei looked at Ying Xiaozheng's bloodshot eyes, his emotional intelligence came online, and he shut up obediently.
Although he still felt aggrieved.
He was right. Duke Zhu Xiang and his wife would not be in danger. At most, they would be invited to visit Chendu. He was trying to comfort the prince.
Ying Xiaozheng pushed away Li Si and Han Fei who were holding him down and said, "Go and ask the teacher where he is. Ask the teacher to tie up my uncle and aunt and bring them back personally!"
Han Fei took a step forward and turned back: "Really tied up?"
Ying Xiaozheng roared, "Bring my uncle back! Bring my aunt back! Just tie up my uncle!"
Han Fei picked up his skirt and trotted away, deciding to go find General Li Mu in person, so as not to convey the wrong message.
Ying Xiaozheng was so angry that he sat down on the chair and slammed the table with his right fist.
Li Si quickly calmed the prince down, "Prince, the lady is in Guangling with Duke Zhu Xiang. Even if Duke Zhu Xiang wanted to take the risk, he would send the lady back first. If the lady did not return to Wujun alone, it proves that Guangling is not dangerous, and Duke Zhu Xiang did not want to take the risk."
Ying Xiaozheng said in a rough voice: "I hope my uncle can know himself. What will happen if he stays in Guangling? Can he still defend the city? He can't even beat my father!"
Li Si: “…” These were not words he should hear or answer.
He pretended not to hear anything.
Ying Xiaozheng knew that Li Si was right.
My uncle loves my aunt very much. Even if he gets crazy and wants to take a risk, he will trick my aunt back first.
Even if my aunt knew that my uncle had lied to her, she would definitely pretend to be deceived and come back. Because my aunt knew that my uncle would have the highest chance of success if he took the risk alone. Even if she didn't want to, she would not drag my uncle down.
My aunt always listened to my uncle and stayed in a safe place waiting for him to come back.
Ying Xiaozheng rubbed his right hand and regained his composure: "Send someone to Guangling to ask what my uncle wants to do!"
Li Si said: "Yes! I will deliver the letter myself!"
Ying Xiaozheng said in a muffled voice: "If uncle and aunt don't come back, you shouldn't come back either."
Li Si smiled bitterly and said, "Yes! Prince!"
He knew it would be like this.
Duke Zhu Xiang, please don't do anything rash.
Zhu Xiang didn't want to do anything rash at this time.
Even if he wanted to do something wrong, he didn't know what he could do.
The opponent was Xiang Yan. Could he use the few defenders in Guangling City to repel Xiang Yan? Impossible. So he could do nothing.
He could only write letters in vain asking Xiang Yan and the King of Southern Chu to spare the Chu people and agree to let the Chu people flee south, and then inform the people of Guangling City of this matter and ask them to be prepared.
Chen Qi grabbed Zhu Xiang's sleeves and said with lifeless eyes: "Lord Changping, is this true? How can it be true? How can General Xiang Yan do this to us?"
Zhu Xiang said calmly, "There is no time to panic now. Hurry up and harvest the food. Even if the rice is not yet mature, it is still edible. It is better than nothing. If you want to go south, follow the garrison south. There are still many fields to be cultivated in the south. Although it is a bit hard, there is always a way to survive. The scholars who have connections in the north should prepare their luggage in advance and open the gates to welcome Xiang Yan as soon as he arrives, and move north obediently."
Chen Qi shed tears, still unable to believe it: "This is not true, it's not true..."
Some Chu scholars could not bear the bad news and shouted angrily: "It's all your fault! It's because of you Qin people that we have suffered this misfortune!"
The guards behind Zhu Xiang frowned and drew their swords.
Zhu Xiang waved his hand and said coldly: "Do you want to continue to feel sorry for yourself, or take action quickly to find a way out for yourself and your fellow villagers? Or do you want to scold me and leave now, refuse all help from the Qin people, and face the butcher knife of the Chu army yourself?"
Chen Qi wiped his tears, turned around and slapped the scholar who cursed Zhu Xiang: "Enough! The Qin army didn't kill us when they occupied Guangling, but the Chu army wanted to kill us when they came back! In this world of war, how many cities have changed hands? Who has ever seen a city being recaptured, killing its own people and destroying its own city! The Chu people don't regard us Wu Yue people as their own family at all!"
His old hands trembled violently. He turned around, knelt down and kowtowed to Zhu Xiang.
"Please, Duke Zhu Xiang, save the people of Guangling!"
(End of this chapter)