Southern Qin began to mobilize its logistics, apparently in preparation for war. Southern Chu received the news but did not take it seriously.
Li Mu went south every year to train his troops. Zhang Ruo and Meng Wu were jealous and often went south in the name of hunting to find some Baiyue barbarians to practice with.
After Ying Xiaozheng became the Crown Prince of Qin, although he was only the prefect of Wu County, with Zhu Xiang's seal, he also had the power to mobilize the troops of the three counties.
He ordered the troops from the three counties to rotate and have Li Mu take them south for training in turn.
Wang Jian, upon seeing this, also got involved, leaving the three passes of Dabie Mountain from time to time to travel around the southern Chu State to train his troops.
Occupying the Jianghan Plain and the Dabie Mountains trade route, they are able to be self-sufficient.
Southern Chu and Chu were initially nervous when Southern Qin frequently mobilized its troops. After being on edge for too long, it was like they had cried "wolf" too many times, and now they could not help but relax.
Besides, Qin was already at war with Han and Zhao, so where would it get the troops and food to go to war with Chu
What they don't know is that after the continuous development of the Jianghan Plain, the Yunmeng Plain (the ancient name of the Two Lakes Plain, namely the Dongting Lake-Honghu Plain), the Pengze Plain (Poyang Lake Plain), the Yangtze River Delta Plain and other places, 30% of the swampy, weed-covered areas with miasma have been turned into rice fields.
Although it is only 30%, it is enough to make the three areas of Southern Qin self-sufficient and also give back to the Qin State.
The large number of Chu refugees from the civil strife and the Yue prisoners of war captured by Li Mu in the south replenished the young and strong people in the three places of Southern Qin, and Southern Qin had sufficient manpower.
Wang Jian and Li Mu, one heading east and the other heading west, had rebuilt the city on the north bank of the Yangtze River that was destroyed by Xiang Yan. A large number of Chu people who were forced to migrate north quietly returned to their hometown.
When Ying Xiaozheng was supporting Zhu Xiang in defending the city, he saw the former residence of scholars who had been wiped out by Xiang Yan, and collected many family heirlooms that had not been completely burned.
After Zhu Xiang drove away the armies of Xiang Yan and Southern Chu, Ying Xiaozheng ordered the Qin army to collect as many books as possible from the burned-down houses of the scholars and give generous rewards to those who handed them over.
After these books were copied by Zhu Xiang's students, they were classified and filed, and placed in the newly built city according to their original locations. Notices were posted inviting scholars returning south to come and collect them.
Ying Xiaozheng's move was extremely skillful. The Chu scholar families on the north bank of the Yangtze River who had originally hesitated would send people to see whether Qin had collected their family's letters even if they did not return.
Even if some families have been destroyed, there are always a few relatives and friends.
They went south to look for the relics of their old relatives and were shocked to see that the Qin people had preserved not only bamboo slips and wooden tablets, but even ancestral tablets. They burst into tears and kowtowed repeatedly in the direction of Qin Crown Prince Zheng and Changping Jun Zhu Xiang to the east.
The Southern Chu King and the Chu generals burned down their ancestral temple, but the Qin people helped them protect the last traces of their people's existence. Their respect for Chu was shaken.
The King of Chu was incompetent, and Southern Chu was a rebellious country. The knowledgeable people in Chu were already very disappointed with Chu, but they had always been bound by the word "Chu people".
The kindness and righteousness of Prince Zheng of Qin towards the scholars of Chu made them loyal to him and willing to go south to join him.
As for Zhu Xiang, he had already established military farms and divided up land on the north bank of the Yangtze River.
After the establishment of the Southern Chu State, it immediately distributed large amounts of land to its meritorious officials in order to stabilize this rebellious state that split from the Chu State.
After several man-made famines, the land of the self-cultivating farmers was swallowed up, and a large number of Chu people either became tenant farmers or fled south.
But the Yangtze River is a natural barrier and not everyone has the courage to cross it.
When Xiang Yan destroyed the original forces on the north bank of the Yangtze River, and the Qin State used Guangling City as its base to radiate and completely control the north bank of the Yangtze River, the Chu people no longer needed to cross the Yangtze River to escape famine to the south.
As a result, several cities on the north bank of the Yangtze River no longer lacked young and strong laborers.
The north bank of the Yangtze River had two crops a year. After a year or two, the cities on the north bank of the Yangtze River had stored a large amount of food and grass. Arms workshops and textile workshops were also opened, working in full swing every day.
The Qin soldiers quietly transported grain from various cities and gathered them together. Although they were not far away, the Southern Chu State was unaware of it.
Bai Qi has arrived at the north bank of the Yangtze River.
This time, Wang Jian led the army alone, while Meng Wu served as Bai Qi's deputy general.
Li Mu would train his troops in the Yangtze River Delta to attract the attention of Southern Chu and Chu.
When everything is ready, the autumn harvest begins.
In the north, Zhang Liang had already arrived in Chendu, but the King of Chu did not receive him.
Although Zhang Liang's father had not been dead for a few years, Li Yuan had already stopped giving face to the Zhang family.
What's more, Li Yuan was determined to take advantage of Han Guo's death to eat some of his corpse and expand the area of his fiefdom.
Zhang Liang was just a young boy, and he himself was not willing to meet the King of Chu, let alone receive him.
After waiting for a few days, Zhang Liang took the risk of bribing an alchemist from a Korean noble family who was making elixirs for the King of Chu, and disguised himself as the alchemist's boy to go to the palace of the King of Chu.
When Zhang Liang arrived at the palace of King Chu, the King was dancing with the witch in the palace.
He was said to be communicating with spirits.
The room was filled with smoke, which made Zhang Liang dizzy.
He covered his mouth and nose with his sleeves and looked at the crazy King of Chu, feeling sad.
Although the State of Qin took away a lot of land after the King of Chu ascended the throne, my father, who had been an envoy to the State of Chu, said that the King of Chu was still a good king.
The decline of the State of Chu was not the fault of the King of Chu, but because the King of Qin was a cruel and ruthless ruler.
The current King of Chu is completely different from the one his father described.
Is this just because Chunshen Jun was forced to death
Or was it the two events of Qin's seizure of Southern Qin and the split of Southern Chu that completely broke the mind of the King of Chu.
The King of Chu looked at a boy staring at him blankly and felt that something was wrong.
He shook his dizzy head and asked, "Who are you?"
Zhang Liang cupped his hands and said, "I am Zhang Liang, the son of Zhang Ping, the Prime Minister of Han."
The King of Chu sat down on the ground and asked, "Zhang Ping, the Prime Minister of Han?"
He thought for a long time and came up with this name.
He had no reaction when Zhang Liang came to see him disguised as a boy.
The King of Chu asked, "Why did Han send a boy?"
Zhang Liang said: "Because Han wants to surrender to Qin and become a vassal state of Qin."
The King of Chu sneered: "Since the King of Han wants to surrender, why did you come to me?"
Zhang Liang said: "The King of Han does not want to surrender, but the Han scholars do. For example, Ling Yin Li Yuan received benefits from Qin and wanted to make sure that Han was destroyed so that he could expand his fiefdom; just like the King of Southern Chu took advantage of Qin's oppression to establish himself, ignoring the interests of Chu and the King of Chu. The King of Han is now in such a desperate situation."
The King of Chu suddenly raised his head and stared at Zhang Liang.
Zhang Liang looked directly at the King of Chu without fear: "King of Chu, if Han were to be defeated, the teeth would be cold. If Han were to be defeated, the Qin army could station troops and cultivate land in Han and then attack Chu directly. Then Chu would be in danger!"
The King of Chu was silent for a long time, and then said, "Everyone says that I have been seized by the governor. Why don't you go find the governor instead of risking your life by entering the palace to look for me?"
Zhang Liang said, "Because I believe that Chunshen Jun would rather die than betray the king, he must be a capable king. Even if he was deceived by others, as long as the King of Chu is willing, he can immediately regain control of Chu."
The King of Chu sneered loudly, then lay on the floor with his face up.
Zhang Liang did not continue to urge the King of Chu, but just maintained a respectful posture, lowered his head and waited for the King of Chu to make a decision.
After a while, the King of Chu said, "Okay, I will send out the troops."
Zhang Liang's clenched palms loosened, and his palms were full of sweat.
The King of Chu stood up shakily and sent someone to summon Li Yuan.
"Zhang Ping will definitely be pleased to have a son like you. Who is your teacher?" asked the King of Chu.
Zhang Liang wanted to say that he was self-taught, but then he thought of Han Gongzi Fei, whom he had never met.
But when he opened his mouth, he lowered his head and said, "I don't have a master yet, I just received instruction from Lord Changping for a few months in Xianyang."
The King of Chu was slightly stunned: "Is it Lord Changping?"
Zhang Liang said, "Yes."
The King of Chu sighed deeply and said, "It's Lord Changping again. Lord Changping."
The King of Chu waved his hand and said, "You have achieved your goal, leave now. If you don't leave, Li Yuan will definitely not let you go."
Zhang Liang felt somewhat puzzled as he listened to the King of Chu's concerned words, whose eyes were sometimes clear and sometimes cloudy.
But what the King of Chu said made sense, so he immediately disguised himself and left Chendu.
Just as the King of Chu had said, as soon as Zhang Liang left Chendu, Li Yuan, who was furious, sent people to hunt him down.
Li Yuan sent people to block the main road to the north, hoping to keep the yellow-haired boy who had ruined his plan in the State of Chu, and then disguise himself as a robber to rob the road.
He had another reason to kill Zhang Liang.
If Zhang Liang died in Chu, Han would definitely blame Chu.
At this time, he said righteously that this had nothing to do with Chu State, and it was obviously your own carelessness. Chu State had sent troops to help Han State, and Han State still spoke rudely, so withdraw the troops!
Li Yuan had a good idea, but he did not expect that Zhang Liang did not go north, but south.
The King of Chu had expected this.
He also gave Zhang Liang a token that allowed him to disguise himself as an envoy of the State of Chu, successfully pass through the border of Southern Chu, and go to Southern Qin to pay a visit to Zhu Xiang.
The person who pretended to be the envoy of the King of Chu was not Zhang Liang, but a servant brought by Zhang Liang. Zhang Liang pretended to be the servant's book boy.
Sitting in the carriage, Zhang Liang played with the token given by the King of Chu, looking melancholy.
The King of Chu's current behavior does not seem like that of a despotic ruler.
But if the King of Chu was not incompetent, why would he force Chunshen Jun to death
Zhang Liang couldn't figure it out.
Zhang Liang still couldn't figure out why the King of Wei fell ill because of the death of Xinling Jun Wei Wuji and now seemed to be dying. Since the King of Wei had such deep feelings for Xinling Jun, why didn't he treat Xinling Jun well when he was alive
And there is the King of Han.
The King of Han listened to the advice of foreign ministers, and did not improve domestic politics or military affairs. The royal family of Han should be the people the King of Han trusted the most, but the King of Han did not listen to a word of the advice of Prince Fei of Han.
Why is this
Before his father passed away, Zhang Liang believed that he was naturally intelligent and his talents were no less than those of adult talents.
Now he has been forced to grow up and mature prematurely. He may really be considered a talented person, but he has more and more doubts in his mind and he is increasingly unsure about how to be a talented person.
"Sir, we are about to pass the border checkpoint of Southern Qin." The servant driving the car was a little worried, "What should we do if the Qin people stop us?"
Zhang Liang said, "I have the token from the prince of Qin, so you don't have to worry."
The servant responded and continued driving.
He touched the long sword lying across his legs and sighed, "If Crown Prince Zheng saw me coming to surrender, he would definitely laugh at me."
The hideous face of Crown Prince Zheng emerged in young Zhang Liang's mind, and he felt so angry that he wanted to turn around and go back to Korea immediately.
Damn it! Why didn't Prince Zheng stay in Xianyang? I really don't want to see this person. Just thinking about it, little Zhang Liang wanted to draw his sword and chop something!
"A-choo." Ying Xiaozheng rubbed his nose and said, "Uncle, I sneezed when I laughed at Zhang Liang. He must be cursing me."
Zhu Xiang was speechless.
When Ying Xiaozheng heard that the capital of Han was under siege, he laughed three times and said, "That bastard Zhang Liang must be trembling with fear."
What happened to Zhang Liang? Haven't you been bullying him
(End of this chapter)