The younger brother of the First Emperor

Chapter 143: The King and Ministers of Chu, the Young Man Discusses Chu, and the Girl's Thoughts
If that young man had not spoken before, or if his words were not so accurate, even the fiefdom that Huang Xie asked for would have been correct.

Even though King Yuan of Chu felt uncomfortable, he would still agree after a few persuasion and would not think too much about it afterwards, just like the matter of destroying Lu.

Something very out of the ordinary.

The feeling of being told it was going to happen three months in advance and having it happen suddenly is completely different.

The words of a certain young man made King Chu Yuan extremely disgusted with the behavior of his confidant.

So he frowned and said a firm "no" to his confidant for the first time in many years.

"No."

Huang Xie did not realize that there was anything wrong.

Changing fiefdoms was already an extraordinary matter, especially changing Jiangdong, the richest land in Chu State. It was normal for the king to be unhappy and disapprove.

But since he dared to bring it up, he had already made sufficient preparations and had a full draft in mind.

Chunshen Jun bowed slightly:
"The fiefdom was granted by the king, and I have never heard of anyone daring to ask the king for an exchange.

"If I were to trade the barren borderland for the rich land of Jiangdong, anyone would think that I was seeking personal gain.

"I do not want to argue, I just want to tell you some of the past events, please allow me to do so."

Usually, King Chu Yuan would just say "hmm" lightly. Huang Xie was the person he trusted the most, no one else.

But now he was angry, so he looked gloomy and did not respond.

Huang Xie waited quietly, but there was no response.

He thought that this must have irritated the king, and that keeping a record of the fiefdom would make the king particularly unhappy.

He felt a little regretful. He shouldn't have been so rash while taking advantage of his hard work in recent days. He should have laid some groundwork.

But the arrow is on the string and must be fired.

“Back then, when Your Majesty was still the Crown Prince, I went to Qin with Your Majesty as hostages.

"The late king is seriously ill and about to die, but the Qin State has no intention of letting us leave.

"If Your Majesty was not in Chu when the previous king died, then one of Lord Yang Wen's two sons would have inherited the throne."

When King Yuan of Chu heard this, he waved his hand in anger and interrupted Huang Xie.

"Don't say any more. I know what you are going to say. I am not old enough to forget things.

"At that time, you first persuaded Fan Ju to persuade King Zhaoxiang of Qin to release me to Chu. King Zhaoxiang of Qin was suspicious and wanted to send you to Chu to find out whether the late king was really dying and make plans after you returned.

“You said that the life of a minister is not as important as the life of the king. Please let me pretend to be you and return to Chu, and you pretend to be me and stay in Qin.

"I escaped safely, and King Zhaoxiang of Qin was furious when he found out, and wanted to kill you.

"Thanks to Fan Ju who spoke up for you and persuaded King Zhaoxiang of Qin to release you, you were able to return to Chu.

"You saved my life, I know that!
"If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be in this position!"

King Chu Yuan patted the chair under him, the invention of a certain boy had been magnified.

"You don't need to remind me of these things! I can remember them!

"You are good to me, but how have I ever treated you unfairly?"

King Chu Yuan pointed at the palace gate:
"Go out and ask around to see whose fiefdom has twelve cities!
"Take a good look at the history of Chu! See if there is anyone in history who, except Wu Qi and you, is not surnamed Mi and is not from a great Chu family!
"But who is Wu Qi? He is a fierce man who made Wei the world's hegemon with his own strength! He is both civil and military!

"The Wei Wuzu he trained almost destroyed the Qin State! He managed the officials with the same strict discipline as the army, and he managed the finances so that the financial resources of the Wei State were extremely abundant!"

King Chu Yuan stood up angrily and pointed his finger at his confidant's face:

"Tell me yourself! Could you compare with Wu Qi back then?"

"Don't even mention myself back then. Even today, I am not as good as Wu Zi." Huang Xie sighed to himself.

Chu Wangyuan snorted, his anger subsided a little:

"As long as you know!

“You were far inferior to Wu Qi back then, but I still went against all odds and made you the prime minister, enfeoffed you as the lord, and granted you the twelve cities in Huaibei as fiefdom.

"Without you, I would not be the King of Chu.

"You don't have me, you can't be the prime minister, you can't be the king, you don't have a fief, do you recognize it?"

Huang Xie bowed respectfully:

"Everything I have is a gift from the king, and I am grateful from the bottom of my heart."

"Then why are you still trying to win my credit?" Chu Wangyuan asked, "Isn't my reward to you enough?"

Huang Xie looked helpless:
"How could I seek credit? I have no credit.

"I am a Chu citizen. It is my duty to work for the great Chu, and it is my great honor to serve the king.

"Your Majesty has misunderstood me."

King Chu Yuan stared at his confidant and slowly sat down:

"What do you want to say?"

Huang Xie said slowly:
"I want to talk about the Battle of Handan. I led the Chu army to Handan to save Zhao and defeat Qin.

“I want to say that I led the army to defeat Lu several years ago, and destroyed Lu’s country several months ago, and protected the stability of the Great Chu.

"I want to say that three months ago, in order to recruit talented people, I offered the position of Ling Yin to a seven-year-old child, but he was thrown away like a worn-out shoe and thrown outside Ying, and was accused of being a traitor pretending to be loyal.

"I want to say that since I have been the Prime Minister for many years, I have done so many things, all for the prosperity of the Great Chu.

"I want to say that I want to exchange the land of Jiangdong for the twelve cities of Huaibei. Although I have selfish motives, my public motives outweigh my selfish motives!
“Your Majesty!
“Believe it or not!”

Huang Xie's self-reported battle achievements were all facts, which were much more convincing than empty talk without any basis.

King Yuan of Chu hesitated.

Huang Xie's contributions to the State of Chu are tangible and visible, and are recorded in the history books of Chu.

The State of Chu had originally been weak, but it became strong again under the governance of Chunshen Jun Huang Xie.

The Battle of Handan made three people successful.

In addition to Pingyuan Jun Zhao Sheng and Xinling Jun Wei Wuji, there is also Chunshen Jun Huang Xie.

After the Battle of Handan, Huang Xie became famous among the princes.

The war against Lu greatly increased the prestige of the State of Chu.

When King Yuan of Chu compared Huang Xie with Wu Qi, the reason why he added the word "back then" was because Huang Xie today was no less capable than Wu Qi.

Wu Qi became famous in Wei State.
How could such a person who is willing to sacrifice his life for himself and devote all his energy to the State of Chu be the selfish person in the eyes of that boy?

Maybe there is some misunderstanding...

"Then tell me." Although Chu Wangyuan's attitude softened, his mouth was still very hard: "What do you want the land of Jiangdong for?"

"The prosperity of Jiangdong lies in the three rivers - Dongjiang, Loujiang and Wusongjiang. In recent years, the three rivers have accumulated silt, exposing the river channels during droughts and flooding the fertile fields during floods, turning many fertile fields into wastelands. I want to build water conservancy projects, improve the soil, and turn the wastelands into fertile fields again."

"If I don't give you the land of Jiangdong as a fief, then you can't govern it? Can you only govern the land that belongs to you?"

"If Jiangdong is not given to me, I can still govern it, but the effect will be very slow." Huang Xie raised his head: "The aristocratic families headed by the Qu, Jing and Zhao clans have put too many obstacles on me. There are so many wise men coming to Chu State, and they are obviously more capable than the sons of the aristocratic families, but they cannot win the official positions. Most of them are just guests under my command. If I want to use these wise men, I can only do it in my own fiefdom."

King Chu Yuan was a little embarrassed, he understood.

If the confidants want to govern Jiangdong, this process will require a large number of truly talented and wise men.

But the State of Chu was xenophobic, and official positions were basically only given to Chu nobles.

The confidant had no choice but to come up with a roundabout plan.

country China.

He wanted to make Jiangdong a fiefdom under Huang Xie's name.

Huang Xie had full authority over his fiefdom. He could appoint anyone he wanted and employ anyone he wanted.

The Chu nobles had no say and could not intervene.

King Chu Yuan thought about it.

Dredging the three rivers and building water conservancy projects is a huge project. It is indeed a move to strengthen the country and it does require a lot of people.

The only question is, which is stronger, Huang Xie's country or the Chu State.

"I understand what you mean." Chu Wangyuan said calmly, "I want to know if Ling Yin will change his fiefdom in the future."

"Yes." Huang Xie did not hesitate and immediately replied: "After the three rivers are dredged, I will change my fiefdom."

Chu Wangyuan covered his face with his hands, and his subordinates were smiling:
"You are such a noble man, I am so ashamed that I cannot face you..."

At the court meeting the next day, King Yuan of Chu took back the fief of Chunshen Jun Huang Xie - the twelve cities in Huaibei.

Before some people who had been jealous for a long time could get excited, King Yuan of Chu granted the land of Jiangdong to Huang Xie. Changing the fiefdom was an unprecedented move for the Chu State.

This incident further enhanced Huang Xie's already great reputation.

All affairs of Chu were reported to Chunshen Jun, and Huang Xie could make the decisions on them all.

Suppose Ling Yin was originally a minister assisting in the administration of the country.

But suppose that what Yin Huangxie did was the job of the ruler.

This is something for later, let’s not mention it for now.

But Ying Chengjiao left Ying and headed for the State of Wei in a hurry.

He actually had no intention of going to Wei State. His destination was Han State. His mother Ji Yaoyao wrote to him asking him to go there.

Even if his mother didn't write to him, he would go to Korea.

Apart from anything else, Han Fei and Zhang Liang are two people worth his visit.

But to enter Han from Chu, one must pass through Wei.

Ten years ago, South Korea and Chu were still bordering each other.

After ten years of hard work, South Korea successfully transformed from being neighboring four powerful countries, Qin, Zhao, Wei and Chu, to being neighboring three powerful countries, Qin, Zhao and Wei.

By only paying part of the land, he got rid of the threat from the State of Chu and no longer had to act according to the will of the State of Chu.

During the Warring States Period, Ying Chengjiao was very smart and only recognized the Kingdom of Han.

"Why are you in such a hurry to leave Chu? Don't you want to consider the local customs and practices?" Bai Wuxia was very surprised.

Before in Zhao and Yan, the young apprentices had to observe the local customs and experience them personally, and the journey was extremely slow.

Why is it not used in Chu State?
Ying Chengjiao stretched and picked up the little black tiger that was one foot long.

While rubbing the little black tiger, he explained:

"Chu is different, this country has faith.

“A country with faith is difficult to change from within, and can only be broken down and reorganized by external forces.

"This country is extremely hostile to outsiders. Wu Qi's tragic end has already explained everything. He still wants to strengthen Chu.

“I am far inferior to Wu Qi.

"He is too strong to be good, let alone me who is weak.

“There are precedents of counter-espionage tactics in other countries.

"For example, in the Battle of Changping, Zhao fell into Qin's trap and replaced Lian Po with Zhao Kuo, and 450,000 Zhao soldiers were buried alive.

"When the five states of Yan attacked Qi, Zhongtian devised a plan to exchange Qi Jie for Yue Yi, and all the territory they had gained was returned.

"Except for Chu, there is no such thing. The people of Chu simply don't believe it.

"This place is a self-contained place, located in the Central Plains but also independent of the Central Plains, and has its own rules.

"I am powerless to add to the chaos in Chu. I can only accelerate the chaos that was about to happen in Chu."

The girl reached out and touched the little black tiger's head.

The little black tiger was dissatisfied and opened his mouth to threaten the girl:
"what!"

That look is exactly like a cat breathing out.

Ying Chengjiao slapped the tiger on the head:
"What's wrong with touching it?"

The little tiger's ears stood up like airplane ears, he buried his head and said "eh eh eh" in grievance.

The young man had a heart of stone and was unmoved. He grabbed the girl's hand and pressed it on the tiger's head.

Holding the girl's slippery little hand, he rubbed her smooth tiger hair vigorously, muttering:
"Just touch it, just touch it! You drank so much of my goat milk, and you won't let me touch you! Just touch it!"

The girl stared at the paw of a certain brat and said "hmm" heavily in a puzzled tone.

The boy pretended not to hear it. He didn't care about it at all. He had no shame.

The girl sighed inwardly, but did not pull her hand back, and made small talk:
"What disturbance?"

The girl didn't say anything, so the boy certainly wouldn't say anything either. He smiled and said:
"Lord Chunshen, Huang Xie.

“Although he is a Chu person, he is not a Chu noble.

"To the great families of the Chu State, such as Qu, Jing, and Zhao, Huang Xie was also an outsider. How could the nobles regard the citizens as one of their own?

"Meng Gong came to Qin from Qi and held a high position. The Meng family is the top military family in Qin. There is no such precedent in Chu. Outsiders cannot climb up in Chu.

"Huang Xie's tall building is bound to fall.

"Huang Xie is now very powerful. Not only does he have overwhelming strength, he also has the support of the King of Chu. It is difficult for the Chu nobles to take action.

“But as soon as the King of Chu dies, or as soon as the King of Chu no longer supports Huang Xie, there will be a great turmoil in the State of Chu.

“I put a thorn in the heart of the King of Chu to see if I could destroy the relationship between the monarch and his subjects.

“I know the past between the King of Chu and Huang Xie. They are friends of life and death.

“This thorn should not be effective immediately, and may not even be effective.

“But I’m just sitting there doing nothing anyway, so it would be best if I could be useful, but it doesn’t matter if I’m not.

“The country of Chu.

“It’s hard to play, and it’s hard to play out.

“Talent comes from all generations, but there is only so much talent in each generation.

“It can develop, but it can’t develop fast enough.

"Success is due to family, failure is also due to family.

"When Qin unified the world, we should save Chu for last. Now we just need to avoid provoking it and treat it like we treated Qi.

“Until death is inevitable, the Chu family will not wake up and indulge in sensual pleasures.

"There are only a few people in Chu like Qu Yuan who are concerned about the country and the people and are always prepared for danger in times of peace..."

The boy deliberately talked more so that the girl had no time to pay attention to other things.

The little black tiger let out two "eh eh" sounds of grievance.

My head is about to be bald from being rubbed, can you please rub somewhere else?
The little boy glanced at his owner and saw that his owner's attention was completely not on him, so he decided to run away.

It stretched out its front paws, exerted a little force, hooked the animal hide, and slowly crawled forward.

He squatted on his hind legs, exerted a little force on the soles of his feet, and moved forward little by little.

Its ears swung once, twice, three times and four times, and its eyes were watching its owner out of the corner of its eyes, always paying attention to its owner's movements.

Tiger and sneaky.

The young man spoke eloquently and incessantly, and had a strong desire to express himself.

Just focus on the slipperiness in your palm, regardless of whether the palm is the head or the body of a tiger.

The girl had something on her mind and was distracted. She also relaxed her vigilance towards her surroundings in the safety of the car.

Then the little black tiger rushed out with a "whoosh".

After breaking free from the cage, it chirped happily in the carriage and found a corner to lie down.

He shook his body, tilted his head and licked his fur.

It seems like he doesn't care about the boy or girl.

But its two erect, moving ears revealed that it was collecting information about the two people and was ready to escape at any time.

The boy paused, then quickly continued talking, and the content of his speech was no longer related to the girl's question.

The girl felt amused.

[Holding hands makes you happy? Little kid.]
[We are about to part, let him be happier...]
A faint sadness floats like waves, and a girl's feelings are always poetic.

Eight days later, the convoy entered Wei.

I found a county town and exchanged it for a Wei carriage at the Lu Chamber of Commerce in the city.

The spacing between the ruts on the roads of different countries was different. The vehicles of Chu could not travel on the roads of Wei, so they had to change carriages every time they arrived in a new country.

Before the carriage was changed, someone came to visit.

"Kong Bin, the sixth-generation grandson of Confucius, wishes to see Lord Chang'an."

(End of this chapter)