Controlling mountains and rivers since the Warring States Period

Chapter 95 Monarch and Minister
Chu State,

Wu Qi arrived at the funeral place of King Chu Yi, and felt very complicated when he saw the King's body still lying there.

He was quite satisfied with the monarch Xiong Yi.

Although he is not as steady and experienced as Wenhou Wei Si, compared with Wei Ji, who is arrogant and hates the old ministers of the previous monarch, Xiong Yi is definitely a good lord!

Although the other party did not have great talent, he met Wu Qi's expectations when he crossed the river:
"As long as the monarch trusts his subjects and they support his reforms, that's all."

After spending a year proving his strength and being able to shut up the Chu officials with sufficient achievements, Xiong Yi quickly promoted him and entrusted him with all the affairs of the state.

Wu Qi demanded that the nobles and lords be "revoked after three generations" and that the lords occupying the rich lands be relocated to remote and desolate areas.

Xiong Yi fully supports it.

Wu Qi called for reforms in politics and customs, appointing people based on their merits, and cracking down on the hereditary nobility and hereditary salary system of the nobility.
Xiong Yi fully supports it.

Wu Qi demanded rewards for farming and warfare, and a crackdown on vagrants and strategists who used their tongues to gain official positions.
Xiong Yi fully supports it.

Wu Qi requested to spend money on military training, "cut the salaries of all officials, reduce unnecessary minor officials, and use them to train selected soldiers."
Xiong Yi fully supports it.

As a result, within just three years, the powerful Chu State was able to shake the world with its military might and have its horses drink from the Yellow River.

but now,
Wu Qi could not have imagined that just when there was a glimmer of hope for Chu's hegemony, King Xiong Yi of Chu died of excessive drinking.

Because he died suddenly before accomplishing his great cause, Xiong Yi was given the posthumous title of "Dao".

When Wu Qi thought of this, he couldn't help but feel angry towards Xiong Yi again:
At your age,
At such an important moment,

How could you die suddenly!

You are dead,
Who else can support my dream of reform?

Who else can help me become a famous official like Yi Yin and Zhou Gong!

Now I am sixty years old,
Can I still wait for a new monarch who is willing to support me?
Thinking like this,

Wu Qi knelt on the ground in front of the corpse of King Yi of Chu and finally cried bitterly for his monarch.

"king!"

"Why did you leave like that!"

As Wu Qi continued to cry, someone appeared next to him and slowly approached.

Many nobles and lords also came to attend the funeral of the King of Chu.

They rode in carriages and were accompanied by guards, and no matter how poor they were, they maintained the demeanor of nobles.

As soon as these people saw Wu Qi, they were eager to release the anger that they had been suppressing in their hearts for three years!
It's been three years!
Does Wu Qi know how they have been living in these three years?
Especially the feudal lords who were relocated to desolate places, when they saw Wu Qi, they wanted to pounce on him, bite his flesh and drink his blood!

There is no need to waste time communicating and planning.

Under the stimulation of boundless anger and the sudden death of the King of Chu who had been suppressing them, the feudal lords who came to the funeral simply exchanged glances, waved their hands tacitly, and summoned their guards over.

They approached quietly until they felt they were close enough. Then someone shouted, "The enemy is in the mourning hall!"

"Set me an arrow!"

So,

Countless arrows shot towards Wu Qi.

He was immediately hit in the thigh by an arrow and had no way to escape.

So Wu Qi could only move towards the body of King Xiong Yi of Chu not far away, hoping to use the last majesty of the King of Chu to stop the feudal lords who had long been resentful of him.

But Xiong Yi was dead after all.

There was no way to provide any support to Wu Qi anymore.

He just lay there, motionless.

Wu Qi had no choice but to crawl under the table where the coffin was placed and shouted loudly, "The ministers are rebelling and plotting to murder our king."

The attempt was to call for help and calm down the suddenly crazy feudal lords.

But he still couldn't stop the arrows from coming at him.

At last,
Wu Qi was killed by arrows piercing his heart, and King Xiong Yi of Chu was also shot, and his body was damaged badly before being buried.

This pair of monarch and minister, who were once praised by the world, died together in the same place at a similar time when they had just joined forces to revive the State of Chu.

Before his death, Wu Qi suddenly remembered the advice given to him by the boatman on the Sushui River.

He chuckled, "Ha, I never thought that a boatman's words would come true today!"

"I really don't want to be killed by such a group of guys!"

Thinking of this,

The scene in front of Wu Qi gradually darkened, and there was no light anymore.

Soon afterwards,

The feudal lords, who had rioted collectively upon seeing Wu Qi, were also punished by the succeeding King of Chu, Xiong Zang, for the crime of "placement of weapons beside the king's corpse."

The new king ordered that all those who shot the body of King Dao of Chu when he shot Wu Qi be executed, and their fiefdoms be taken back. More than 70 families were implicated and exterminated.

Most of the feudal lords and nobles who had suffered heavy losses because of Wu Qi's reforms disappeared after Wu Qi's death.

But in order to appease his restless ministers, the King of Chu finally chose to give in and abolished most of Wu Qi's reform measures.

Going around,

The State of Chu returned to its original starting point.
However, there was some more blood on the former king’s mourning hall, telling of the remaining resentment.

When the chaos spread to the Three Jins, north of the Yellow River, the ghosts and gods who received the news did not show much surprise.

He just said to Ximen Bao, "Reform has hurt the interests of too many people. It is not easy to succeed."

Ximen Bao thought of his experiences when he was young and nodded in agreement.

"Marquis Wen lived a long life and was determined to reform, so Li Kui could achieve results and make Wei a powerful country."

"But it took several decades for the Wei Kingdom to gradually and successfully implement its policies."

"Wu Qi was too hasty, and his reforms were even more radical than Li Kui's."

He Bo added, "More importantly, the monarch who supported the reform is dead!"

In such an era,

Without the support of the monarch,
What can the ministers do?

Ximen Bao therefore lamented, "But the world is becoming more and more chaotic. Without reform, the country cannot be strengthened, and without reform, the country cannot be protected. It will only be more difficult to achieve success in reform in the future, but the princes have no choice but to change."

"I wonder which country, which monarch and ministers' reforms, can completely change this world that has been torn apart by war for so long?"

After hearing this, the ghosts and gods just sat there smiling and said nothing.

……

Emperor Hill of Wei State,

The royal family of Wei also heard about the great changes in Chu and began to discuss it.

These few years,
Zhao and Wei successively fought because of Wei, and then Chu also joined in, making the war larger and more intense.

As the war broke out, Weiguo, the country watching from the sidelines, was terrified and even did not know which major country to turn to for help.

If we seek help from the neighboring Qi State,
Then the Wei State would have to summon out all the countries that had the power to compete for world hegemony at that time.

How could a small country like this accomplish such a great feat?

Moreover, if the war worsens further after Qi joins in, will Wei still be able to survive at that time?
So the Wei State could only endure it and pray to the ghosts, gods and ancestors every day, asking them to protect the Wei State's country and not let it be torn apart and devoured in this melee.

Fortunately in the end,
Wei was badly defeated, and although Zhao had a small victory, it was too exhausted to attack Wei again. As for Chu, it had just reaped the fruits of victory when its ruler and ministers died together, and the army retreated to the south of the Yellow River.

In the end, none of the three kingdoms that participated in the war had the ability to take action against Wei State.

The king of Wei was overjoyed, believing that he was indeed blessed by the gods and ancestors. He held banquets for several days in a row to celebrate the fact that Wei had safely survived this violent storm.

The nobles of Wei State also expressed their deep emotion about the thrilling events during this survival attempt.

A young prince heard his parents' conversation and suddenly said, "I heard that Chu was not strong before, so how come it was able to defeat Wei this time?"

Although the king and his ministers of Chu died,

But their achievements cannot be erased.

The State of Wei, which dominated the world at that time, was defeated, and the Duke of Wei was so angry that he fell seriously ill. This was a highlight moment that the State of Chu had never experienced in decades!

His father held the child on his lap and explained to him with a smile, "It's because Wu Qi of Chu State has made reforms!"

"Can a country become stronger by changing the existing laws?"

The child looked up and continued to ask his father.

My father couldn't explain the reason. After all, the Wei State had been passed down for so many years without any reform.

The people of Wei State only hope to preserve their country and enjoy their wealth.

They don't care about "losing their dignity to become dependent on a powerful country".

But the child still asked, "If reform can strengthen the country, why don't we reform the country?"

"Don't you want to become powerful and become the overlord of the world?"

The father was speechless, and finally, he let the child go, and said to him angrily, "You just ask questions all day long!"

"You should first read the classics handed down by the sages before considering such matters!"

The child's mother laughed and said, "Ying, you've made your father angry again!"

Gongsun Yang was just confused. "I just expressed my inner problem and wanted to seek answers from my father. Why is he angry?"

His father said, "It is normal for adults to be angry with children and for monarchs to be angry with their subjects!"

"Don't think too much, just listen to the adults!"

"Okay, go read to me!"

His father waved his hand and asked the servant to take Gongsun Yang away.

But Gongsun Yang was a stubborn man, and once he noticed something, he would not give up easily unless he got an answer.

The common servants did not know the principles of reform and could not understand the country's various policies, so Gongsun Yang pestered his father a lot, hoping that he could help him solve his doubts.

But his father actually didn't understand either.

When faced with his child's request for advice, the father was initially patient, but later became numb and annoyed. When he saw Gongsun Yang running over, he took up a stick and preemptively asked, "Have you read today?"

"Read."

“Can you recite it?”

"No."

"Then you are really disappointing, give me your hand!"

The father hit Gongsun Yang's palms several times with a stick, and the child pouted his lips in pain and dared not cry.

Seeing the boy's frustrated and patient expression, his father felt happy.

He put his hands behind his back, acted like an elder, and said to his son politely, "Reading books to comprehend the wisdom of the saints is something many people desire but cannot do."

"You are a member of the royal family of Wei State. You have such excellent conditions. Why don't you seize the time to study and recite, but think about strange things every day?"

"Go recite it to me!"

So Gongsun Yang left quietly.

Not long after, he returned to his old ways and came over to bother his father again.

The father started with a series of moves, "Have you read today? Can you recite it? Do you understand the principle?"

"No? You still have time to bother me? Do you want to be spanked again?"

So many times,

Gongsun Yang found his father one day. Before he could even take out his stick, he suddenly heard his son say, "I understand!"

The father was puzzled, "You bastard, what do you know?"

“I understand what to do to reform the law!”

"Ah?" Father frowned.

Gongsun Yang knelt down and explained to his ignorant father.

"I know my father urged me to study because it was for my own good."

The father stroked his beard and nodded, "Yes, yes!"

But although he said this, he couldn't help feeling a little uneasy in his heart.

In fact, he just thought his son was annoying and was looking for an excuse to get rid of him.

Then, Gongsun Yang said, "I don't study hard and think about other things every day. It's my fault!"

My father felt even more guilty, and he pulled his beard, but he still said stubbornly, "Yes, yes..."

Finally, Gongsun Yang concluded, "Because I am bad and my father is good, my father spanked my palm to make me good too!"

"So the principle of reform is similar to this matter!"

"Ordinary people cannot understand the profound principles behind the country's policies, and do not know the importance of reform and innovation. When they encounter changes in their lives, they will definitely think about it and do some strange things to try to resist the changes."

"As a leader, you have the best intentions for the country, so there is no need to waste time on this. Just whip them with a whip, hit them with a wooden board, and make them obey orders and do things. When the benefits of the reform are apparent, they will understand the leader's intentions, and thus accept and support the reform!"

"Just like now, I understand my father's true meaning, and I came here specially to thank him for his teachings!"

The father began to sweat and doubt himself, "Is this what I meant? Is it true..."

Feeling guilty, the father laughed and said, "Well, it's good that you can understand what your father means!"

"I won't urge you to study today. Let the servant take you out to play!"

Gongsun Yang smiled happily, then he pinched the soft flesh on his chin and started thinking again.

"Okay, father, but I just realized another key point of the reform!"

"what?"

What do you know?
Gongsun Yang said, "If you want the people to be more obedient and support the reform, you can give them some rewards!"

“Like me!”

"Father, you allow me to play, which shows that my thinking and learning are correct and in line with your wishes!"

"After receiving my father's reward, I became more positive and happy about the reform. I couldn't help but hope that through further study, my father would give me more rewards!"

The father finally couldn't help it!
He stood up suddenly, called the servant, and handed Gongsun Yang to him.

"Take him away quickly!"

"Let me go!"

(End of this chapter)