The seventh day after Xinling Jun's death passed quickly.
The ripples caused by Xinling Jun's suicide have subsided, and only a few people continue to mourn Xinling Jun in their hearts.
No matter how big a stone is thrown into a deep pool and how huge the waves are, it will always return to calm soon.
As long as the water is stagnant, ripples are just ripples and will not have much effect.
Even in the State of Wei, no one mentioned Xinling Jun anymore.
When Xinling Jun was forced to leave by the King of Wei, no one died to advise the King of Wei. On the last night of the seventh day, Zhu Xiang had another drink with the tombstone, laughing at the corrupt scholars in later generations who cheated to be punished by imperial caning, which was better than this era.
Although the civil officials of the Song, Ming and Qing dynasties were pedantic, they would dare to pull the emperor's sleeves and criticize him, and would even knock their heads against the pillars in the palace to death for the justice in their hearts.
During this era, most of the high-ranking officials in the six kingdoms were in collusion with the kings, and only cared about their own little power, which formed a sharp contrast with the generosity and tragedy of the knowledgeable people of this era.
"This kind of contradiction is probably the charm of this era." Zhu Xiang said to the tombstone, "But this kind of charm can only be seen by people who have nothing to do with this world. People who are in the story are still not sensitive to this charm."
Zhu Xiang poured the wine in front of the tombstone, stood up and left.
Do not look back.
Spring plowing has begun again in the new year.
Ying Xiaozheng was already very familiar with handling the government affairs of a county, so King Zichu of Qin sent someone to give him a boost, asking him to take charge of the affairs of the three southern Qin counties and coordinate the transportation of grain, garrisoning of troops and collection of taxes in the three counties.
Originally, Zhu Xiang was in charge of these matters.
Although Zhu Xiang mocked himself for being a farmer and not doing much in other government affairs, in fact, his power in the three counties of Southern Qin was comparable to that of the princes who ruled Southern Qin.
It was just that he reported government affairs to Xianyang too frequently, which made him, as a "prince", less prominent.
Now King Zichu of Qin has handed over this power to Ying Xiaozheng.
It is common to find people who govern a county, but it is rare to find people who govern a county, and it is difficult to find people who govern a country even among millions.
Since Ying Xiaozheng was already able to govern a county, King Chu of Qin asked him to govern a "country" - the area of Southern Qin was larger than that of Wei and Han. If Ying Xiaozheng could govern three counties well, he would almost have the talent to govern a country.
King Zichu of Qin originally wanted to let Ying Xiaozheng take charge of the areas along the Han River as well, but was persuaded by Xunzi.
It is not a good thing for the court if the crown prince has too much power. If this precedent is set, the relationship between the King of Qin and the crown prince will be difficult to handle in the future.
The ruler of the three counties is still nominally Changping Jun Zhu Xiang. This is a stopgap measure as Southern Qin is too far from Xianyang.
The Han River basin leads directly to the heart of Guanzhong and is the center of Qin's power. It must be in the hands of the King of Qin and cannot be given to anyone else, not even the crown prince.
King Zichu of Qin was persuaded by Xunzi and only gave the secret edict to Wang Jian alone.
Wang Jian learned from Li Mu. He now controls the three passes of Dabie Mountains and cultivates land in the Jianghan Plain. He has a permanent presence of 40,000 elite troops and is basically self-sufficient. He does not need support from Xianyang and can therefore be deployed at will.
Prince Chu of Qin secretly issued an edict that if Ying Xiaozheng needed anything, he did not need to ask for instructions from Xianyang, but could directly follow Ying Xiaozheng's command.
He also wrote to Ying Xiaozheng, asking him to keep an eye on the Southern Chu Kingdom at all times. Once an opportunity was found, the three counties of Southern Qin and Wang Jian's troops would be mobilized with Ying Xiaozheng.
Generals and troops are secondary to fighting a war; the most difficult thing is logistical coordination.
If Ying Xiaozheng wants to send troops, he must coordinate the logistics supply deployment of Southern Qin himself.
He did not have as many ministers and officials as the Qin court to help him, and he had to make almost all the decisions by himself, so this was a great challenge to his ability.
Ying Xiaozheng looked at Li Si, then at Han Fei, then at Meng Tian, and finally his gaze fell on his new subordinate Fuqiu.
Finally, he withdrew all his gaze and sighed to the sky.
These four people don't seem to be talented in internal affairs and logistics, so they are unreliable. Am I the only one who can be both the king and the prime minister
Oh, no, there's another person!
"Uncle!" Ying Xiaozheng shouted.
Zhu Xiang held a piece of dried sweet potato in his mouth: "Hmm?"
Ying Xiaozheng immediately forgot what he was going to say: "What? I asked you to come to a meeting, and you cheated!"
Little Cheng Jiao, who was sitting on Zhu Xiang's knees, swallowed hard, licked the icing on his mouth, and said, "I didn't eat it secretly!"
Ying Xiaozheng: “…”
He first walked up to Xiao Chengjiao, took the dried sweet potato from his hand and took a bite, then said to his brother with a resentful look in his eyes: "Uncle, if we want to go to war with the Southern Chu Kingdom, the logistics will be handed over to you."
Zhu Xiang wiped the corner of his mouth and said, "Okay. When will the fight start?"
Ying Xiaozheng said: "I think we can start fighting at any time, what do you think, uncle?"
Zhu Xiang thought for a moment and said, "Strike when there is a shortage of food."
Although there is no idiom like "the lack of successors" nowadays, this idiom was originally a figurative metaphor used by our ancestors and was later used as an allusion by later generations.
So when it was not an allusion, others could understand what Zhu Xiang said, but later generations took his words as the source of the allusion.
Of course, Ying Xiaozheng understood immediately: "In April? Doesn't that mean we have to send troops right away? Is it in time?!"
Zhu Xiang was helpless: "Of course it's too late in April this year. Zheng'er, whoever hears about the shortage of food will think it means April next year, right?"
Ying Xiaozheng frowned: "Next year? So late?"
Zhu Xiang said: "It's not too late. If you are really eager to try, you can first work with Wang Jian to complete the reconstruction of the cities on the north bank of the Yangtze River."
The Yangtze River is now called "Jiangshui". After Zhu Xiang accidentally called it the Yangtze River several times, everyone else followed him and called it the Yangtze River, so he didn't have to change his name.
Ying Xiaozheng said: "Okay, let's build the city on the north bank of the Yangtze River first this year and have a good harvest first!"
Ying Xiaozheng thought about it and raised two fingers: "Strive for two good harvests!"
Zhu Xiang looked at Ying Xiaozheng's excitement, smiled and sighed, and said, "It looks like we'll be busy."
Ying Xiaozheng said dissatisfiedly: "It's just a few more cities, how busy can it be? Uncle, you are just too lazy."
"Ah, right, right, right." Zhu Xiang complained in his heart, who can compare with you, the first emperor who broke his arm from reading bamboo slips and wooden tablets? Others are at most the king of scrolls, but you are the emperor of scrolls.
Seeing Zhu Xiang's perfunctory response, Ying Xiaozheng felt upset but helpless.
What could he do? His uncle was his elder, and he couldn't scold him like a subordinate.
Can't uncle try harder
Zhu Xiang felt that he had tried very hard. But he was determined not to change his habit of sleeping for four hours every night and taking a one-hour nap at noon. Not only did he not change, he also forced Ying Xiaozheng to sleep with him.
Ying Xiaozheng hated this, but unfortunately his uncle and aunt joined forces to suppress it, so he was forced to go to bed early, get up early and take a nap.
The Southern Chu State was already unstable at the beginning of its founding, and it experienced the defeat in Guangling City and several famines, and domestic chaos continued to occur.
The scholars in the country originally considered themselves to be Chu people and were unwilling to submit to the Southern Chu State. After the Southern Chu State implemented the internal migration order, which offended a large number of scholars, the domestic resentment was like a volcano surging undercurrent, which could erupt at any time.
When the six kingdoms were trying to alienate Chunshen Jun and the King of Chu, they pulled out Southern Chu as a cushion, saying that if the King of Chu had listened to Chunshen Jun, there would be no civil war in Chu.
Many people believed that Chunshen Jun's death was caused by the Jingzhao clan of Southern Chu, which deepened their resentment towards the upper class of Southern Chu.
Although the Jingzhao clan did make some moves.
The ultimate goal of the Southern Chu State was to become the Chu State. The weaker the power of the clan, the stronger they would be. Chunshen Jun was the left and right arm of the King of Chu, so they would certainly try every means to cut off the King of Chu's arms.
As for whether weakening Chu would attract Qin... Later generations always regarded the "Six Kingdoms" as one country, but ignored the fact that the Six Kingdoms were actually "other countries" to each other.
Qin was an enemy, and the other countries were also enemies of each other. Although they might unite, they all wanted to annex other countries. Qin was only one of the enemies of the six countries.
If we see this clearly, we can see the current situation of the six countries, and we can also know that every time the six countries united to attack Qin, they would retreat before Hangu Pass.
Attacking Hangu Pass would cost a lot of manpower and money, but the ones who benefited the most from conquering Qin were Wei and Han, which contributed the least, and the most powerful Chu.
Therefore, after the coalition forces of the six countries drove Qin back to Hangu Pass, their interests were no longer consistent and the alliance naturally disbanded.
The Southern Chu Kingdom is thinking the same now.
The Qin State was powerful, and it was impossible for the Southern Chu State to conquer more territory from Qin, so they naturally set their sights on the territory of the Chu State.
We all have the surname Mi, so why can't our Jing and Zhao clans produce a King of Chu
The State of Chu might still have some foresight and send troops to rescue the State of Southern Chu.
But the King of Chu was now devoted to cultivating immortality, and even the elder of the Qu family, who succeeded Chunshen Jun as Prime Minister, was removed from the position after he tried to persuade him a few more times.
Now the Prime Minister of Chu is Li Yuan, who only accompanies the King of Chu in eating, drinking and having fun.
All Qin needed to do was give Li Yuan more money and property, and Li Yuan would probably choose to stand idly by, or even join forces with Qin to attack Southern Chu.
Ying Xiaozheng clenched his fist.
After more than a decade of recuperation, the Qin State is now ready to embark on the journey of unifying the world again!
"I will be the commander this time! I will lead the army in person!"
"Don't even think about it. Follow me and be responsible for logistics deployment. The county governor will also go with us. Who will do all the work in the county? Do you want to tire me to death? You unfilial son."
“Oh.”
The young Qin Shi Huang was dispirited.
When Ying Xiaozheng was ambitiously clamoring to lead the army himself, Prince Chu of Qin was also thinking about leading the army himself.
Of course, he was immediately scolded by Cai Ze and gave up the idea.
Cai Ze said: "Sir, if you can defeat me, you can go."
Xunzi said sarcastically: "Although I am old and feeble, I can still compete with you, Your Majesty."
Lin Zhi said: "I won't compete with him. I'll let him use both hands, and he still can't beat me."
Qin Prince Chu was furious: "I am only going there to boost morale, not to go to the front in person!"
Lin Zhi said, "You should have said it earlier. When you surrounded the capital of Han, you went to the front line and shouted that Prince Chu of Qin was here, and the King of Han was ready to be killed."
Qin Wang Zichu hesitated and asked, "Are you serious, or are you mocking me?"
Lin Zhi said: "If Your Majesty wants to go, I am serious. As long as there is no danger and it does not interfere with the command of the generals, Your Majesty is the King of Qin and can do whatever he wants."
Qin Wangzichu was immediately satisfied: "Okay, let's do it!"
Xunzi glared at Lin Zhi: "Fake minister!"
Cai Ze's eyes were calm and composed: "The treacherous and evil ministers in the future should take Lin Zhi as an example."
Lin Zhi bowed and said, "Thank you, thank you for the compliment."
Xunzi rolled up his sleeves and was ready to beat someone up.
Qin Wang Zichu quickly tried to smooth things over: "Xun Qing, don't be angry. He is just that kind of person. Don't bother with him. You will get sick from anger."
Xunzi turned and glared at Qin Prince Chu: "He is such a person, what about you, Your Majesty?"
Prince Chu of Qin almost blurted out, "I am such a person too." Fortunately, I held back and didn't really make Xunzi sick with anger.
Xunzi worked tirelessly on the reform of the Xianyang Academy and had fallen ill several times. King Zichu of Qin did not dare to make Xunzi angry again.
He quickly changed the subject and discussed with the prime minister, two chancellors, and the general Meng Ao, who was sitting with his eyes closed like a statue, which country to destroy first.
Prince Chu of Qin said, "Given Zheng'er's impatience, he will attack Southern Chu next year at the latest. Should I attack Chu to echo Zheng'er? Or should I first attack Wei, which forced Lord Xinling to death and caused domestic instability? Or should I attack the weakest Han?"
Meng Ao thought for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, I suggest that we attack South Korea first."
He analyzed the disadvantages of attacking the states of Chu and Wei.
Wei's Xinling Jun has died, and the scholars in the country now hate the King of Wei. If Qin attacks Wei, it will make the King of Wei transfer the conflict to Qin.
The army that is in despair will surely win, and now the Wei State is the army that is in despair.
The Qin State may not necessarily be unable to defeat the Wei State's desperate army, but it will pay a higher price.
As for Chu, it was still too big, and Xiang Yan was indeed a powerful general. It would be better to wait until Prince Zheng conquered Southern Chu before taking his own actions.
Therefore, the clarion call to renew the destruction of the six nations should start from South Korea.
"The Qin State has been accumulating strength for a long time. Now is the time to wipe out the world in one fell swoop. Just like splitting a bamboo, the first cut must be swift, and then the bamboo joints will be easily cut!" Meng Ao said, "I am willing to be the vanguard!"
Prince Chu of Qin nodded: "What you said makes sense. Lord Xinping has been stationed at the border of Han. I will issue an edict immediately, telling Lord Xinping not to wait and to send troops immediately."
Meng Ao's high-spirited face suddenly collapsed.
He forgot that Xinping Jun Lian Po had already gone to the border of the Three Jins to station troops, so he had no right to send troops himself.
Now the young generals include Li Mu, Wang Jian and Zhu Xiang, the veteran generals include the world-famous Xinping Jun Lian Po, and Wu'an Jun Bai Qi is still alive. Is there any chance for a veteran like me to take action
The Qin general was too arrogant, and Meng Ao sighed.
(End of this chapter)