A few months had passed since Bian Xiao retreated.
But the hinterland of Wu State was still in a state of devastation. Bian Xiao was too ruthless. More than fifteen counties were affected, and nearly a third of the country was destroyed.
Many people were killed, but that was not the main problem.
The main problem was the lack of food.
This was because when Bian Xiao was plundering, he had burned countless granaries. Even the crops that had yet to ripen in the fields had been burned.
So this year's autumn harvest reduced Wu State's grain output by a quarter.
And the failure of the expedition to Raging Tide City made things worse.
In the past few months, Wu State had been recuperating.
King Wu was young. In order to show his authority, he had grown a beard.
But after the defeat a few months ago, he shaved off his beard.
So what if he was called a yellow-mouthed child? A king's maturity was not determined by his beard.
Now, King Wu once again received the envoy of Chu State. It was still the assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites who had dealt with King Yue.
"The King of Yue is gravely ill. He wants to compromise with our King, but he also doesn't want to bear the sin of losing his sovereignty and humiliating his country. Therefore, he proposed this ridiculous border hunt." The assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites of Chu said, "Has the King of Wu heard of this matter?"
Of course King Wu had heard of it. In fact, it was hard not to.
This matter had already spread like wildfire.
"I've heard a thing or two."
The assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites of Chu State said, "What Ning Yuanxian did was very shameless. Obviously, he intentionally used Shen Lang and Ning Zheng as cannon fodder, ceding their interests to Chu State in exchange for peace at the border."
King Wu said, "Really?"
The assistant minister said, "I heard that Wu State is suffering from famine. Is that true?"
King Wu said, "It's true that there is a shortage of food, but not a famine."
The assistant minister said, "Chu State has a great harvest this year. We are brothers, so we are willing to lend you a million dans of grain."
Hearing this, King Wu was stunned. The officials around him were delighted.
A million dans of grain was more than a hundred million catties. It was an astronomical figure.
This batch of grain was enough to feed two million people for two to three months. Although there was still a shortfall, it would at least last through the winter.
Was the Chu Country going to spend so much money again?
King Wu said, "King Chu's benevolence has truly moved this Guaren. I'll write an IOU to your king right away."
The assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites of Chu said, "King Wu, not only are we willing to lend you this batch of grain, but there's also no interest."
King Wu walked down from his throne and cupped his hands towards the southwest. "King Chu is a true ruler."
The assistant minister of the Chu Ministry of Rites replied, "Of course, but our King has a small request."
King Wu asked, "What is it?"
The assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites of the Chu Kingdom said, "I heard that Your Majesty once signed a secret agreement with the King of Chu?"
King Wu replied, "I haven't. Where did you hear this from?"
The assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites of Chu State said, "That's good. But my king wants you to announce to the world that no matter what secret agreement you signed with Ning Yuanxian, the King of Yue, is invalid."
He wanted King Wu to tear up the secret agreement between Wu and Yue.
Of course, in this world, all secret agreements were meant to be broken.
But wasn't the speed at which they were being torn up a little too fast? It had only been a few months, and the ink was barely dry. Was it going to be used to wipe his ass?
The assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites of Chu State said, "Not only that, my king is willing to sign a secret agreement with Wu State. Our two states will be sworn brothers."
King Wu replied, "The Chu Country and I have always been brothers."
The assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites of Chu State said, "A sense of ceremony is still necessary. Besides, it's just a paper agreement."
Chu State's intentions were very clear.
As long as King Wu tore up the agreement with the King of Yue and signed a secret agreement with the King of Chu, he would be able to borrow one million dans of grain without any interest.
Actually, Wu State didn't need to pay any interest at all.
Wu State's Secret Envoy Wu Zhi suddenly said, "Esteemed envoy, it seems that the so-called border hunt is just Ning Yuanxian, the King of Yue, cutting off his flesh to give to Chu State, right?"
The assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites of Chu State said, "That's right. Ning Yuanxian is seriously ill, and the fight for the throne is getting more and more intense. The King of Yue is afraid that Chu State will send troops. He originally wanted to compromise, but he felt that it would be too humiliating. So he proposed the ridiculous border hunt. It's obvious that he wants to lose to us on purpose, sacrificing two nameless pawns, Ning Zheng and Shen Lang."
Wu Zhi said, "Then what will happen after this ridiculous border hunt?"
His meaning was very clear. Would Chu State's appetite stop here?
After winning the border hunt, they would get a border of 20 li and an indemnity of 800,000 gold coins. Would Chu State let go of the State of Yue?
Or would they push their luck? Or would they try to extort more?
The assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites of Chu State said, "Of course it will stop here. Our king is most concerned about credibility."
Wu Zhi smiled and said, "The King of Chu's credibility is indeed well-known."
The assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites of Chu State said, "His Majesty only needs to nullify the secret agreement with the State of Yue, and sign a secret agreement with Chu State. In that way, he can get a million dans of rations. Why not?"
As soon as he said this, the officials all nodded.
King Wu said, "Esteemed envoy, please take a rest. This is an important matter. We need to discuss it first."
The assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites of Chu State excused himself.
Then, there was a lot of discussion in the Wu Dynasty's court.
More than half of the officials agreed.
This was a transaction without any cost.
Tearing up an agreement and signing a new one would be able to get a million dans of rations.
Where else in the world could one find such a good deal?
If they didn't agree, they would be fools.
Therefore, the officials all knelt down and kowtowed, asking King Wu to agree.
"Your Majesty, millions of starving people are crying piteously for food. It's a terrible sight!"
"Your Majesty, the winter is getting colder and colder. If there's no food, people will really starve to death."
"Your Majesty, the people are like your sons, and they look up to you as if you were their parents."
The meaning behind their words was clear. They wanted King Wu to agree to get the rations first.
King Wu smiled. "I understand what you all mean. Let's adjourn for now."
The officials took the opportunity to kowtow once more, asking King Wu to take pity on the people.
… …
In the study, King Wu was furious.
He wasn't angry at Chu, but rather, he was angry at his subjects.
Was this King really so shameless and untrustworthy?
A newly signed agreement would be nullified in just a few months?
Throwing oneself into the arms of Chu State for a million dans of rations?
What was this King Wu to them? A prostitute in a brothel? Shameless!
Wu Zhi said, "Your Majesty, there's no need to be angry. The considerations of a subject are different from those of a ruler."
King Wu sneered. "That's right. In the eyes of these officials, my reputation as the King isn't that important. If they can use my reputation to exchange for rations, why not? But how many times can this King's reputation be sold? "
Wu Zhi said, "That's not all they're thinking about."
King Wu said, "My State of Wu lacks rations, but we don't lack them either. These officials are all rich and have mountains of rations. They're afraid that I'll beg for alms from them. In order not to bleed, they want me to sell my reputation in exchange for rations. That way, their rations will be preserved."
Wu Zhi said, "That's not important. What's important is how our State of Wu will deal with the upcoming situation. Our South is about to produce a shocking hero."
Prince Jin!
King Wu sighed in admiration at the mention of this name.
Prince Jin was several years younger than him, and when he inherited the throne, he had almost nothing. He was a puppet.
In just two or three years.
He was about to become the ruler of the entire Sand Barbaric Tribe.
During the Nan 'ou Kingdom's rebellion, everyone thought that Jin Jun would be crushed like an ant.
But who would have thought that in just a year, a new king would rise in the South.
They couldn't help but sigh.
This Prince Jin had really turned the tide and created miracles.
The State of Yue's army occupied most of Nan Ou's territory. Not only was Prince Jin not anxious, he even used this war to unify the Sand Barbaric Tribe.
What a great move.
A stroke of genius.
He, King Wu, had inherited the throne from his father's generation, but the result was still a mess. In comparison, it was truly embarrassing.
King Wu said, "The King of Chu must have signed a secret treaty with this Prince Jin. When Prince Jin takes back Nan Ou and sweeps over the South, it will be the time for the King of Chu's army to march east."
Wu Zhi said, "That's why the Border Hunt is not enough to satisfy the King of Chu. That sly old fox will definitely open his mouth and continue to extort Ning Yuanxian."
King Wu was silent for a moment, "Uncle, we can only stand on the side of the winner."
That's right!
That's the most important thing.
The State of Wu had suffered great losses in the last war. They needed at least half a year to recuperate.
The State of Wu didn't have many bargaining chips left.
They couldn't just throw them away casually, and they had to bet on the right thing.
Wu Zhi said, "The King of Chu used the Border Hunt as a delaying tactic, as bait. However, didn't the State of Chu use a million dans of grain as bait? Making us tear up the alliance with the State of Yue is only the first step. What he wants is to pull us onto the war chariot of Jin Jun. "
King Wu said, "That's right. Last time it was Su Nan's chariot, this time it's Prince Jin's chariot. This King of Chu is really cunning. He only wants to be a fisherman and never thinks of pulling chestnuts from the fire. "
Wu Zhi said, "But Prince Jin is completely different from Su Nan. Once he unifies the Sand Barbaric Tribe, he will have a hundred thousand strong army, the most barbaric and powerful in the world. Once the situation in the South of the State of Yue deteriorates, the State of Chu won't be like last time. That will be a real war that will topple the entire country. That's why the King of Chu can't wait to pull us into the war. "
King Wu could totally imagine.
The war that might erupt in the next war would be incomparably shocking.
It might be a real battle between three countries, or even four countries.
The total number of troops involved might exceed four to five hundred thousand, completely different from the war a few months ago.
This might be a super war that will decide the fate of the four countries.
Wu Zhi said, "So even if we want to break the treaty with the State of Yue and sign some secret treaty, we have to wait until Prince Jin's matter is done. Now the State of Chu wants to use a mere million dans of grain to exchange for His Majesty's fickleness? Isn't that too cheap? "
King Wu suddenly said, "What if the State of Yue wins the Border Hunt?"
Hearing this, Wu Zhi was stunned.
That can't be right.
The so-called Border Hunt was the most direct way of fighting.
There were no stratagems, just two armies fighting each other.
The elites of the State of Chu participated in the war all year round and were more elite than the State of Yue.
Five thousand versus two thousand for the State of Yue.
Rumor had it that Ning Zheng and Shen Lang had just recruited two thousand pieces of trash to train their troops.
It was obvious that they were using these two thousand pieces of trash as cannon fodder.
How could they win?
King Wu said, "If the State of Yue wins, wouldn't it be a huge blow to the State of Chu?"
Wu Zhi thought about it and still found it ridiculous.
King Wu smiled. "Then let's wait and see. Of course, the main character of this show is still Prince Jin. He is the one who can influence the situation of the four southern countries."
The next day.
King Wu officially rejected the State of Chu's request and stated that the treaty he signed with the State of Yue was a truce, not some secret treaty.
Moreover, he, King Wu, was a man of his word. He would never break an agreement for a small profit.
Immediately, the officials began to wail, lamenting that the starving people would not be able to survive the winter.
King Wu issued a decree.
From this day onwards, his palace would reduce its expenses by two-thirds. He would only eat two meals of porridge a day, and all the food the royal family had saved up would be given to the starving people.
Next, King Wu personally visited the families of some of the important officials, writing them IOUs to borrow food.
The officials and nobles of the State of Wu all generously donated 50,000 dans of food in half a month, which was more than enough to fill the gaps between their teeth.
Next, a major leak occurred in the upper echelons of the State of Yue. An important name list was revealed.
The names on this list were all high ranking officials of the State of Wu. All of them had been secretly bribed or coerced by the Blackwater Group of the State of Yue.
King Yue was enraged. He severely punished the Blackwater Group's leakers, killing three of them and imprisoning a dozen more.
King Wu was enraged. He executed the entire clan of a second-rank official on the list.
Immediately, the nobles of the State of Wu generously donated money to the victims. In just ten days, they had collected 800,000 dans of food.
King Wu was moved.
Then, in front of everyone in the imperial court, he declared that the so-called Yue Kingdom's leak was a conspiracy.
He didn't believe that the officials of the State of Wu would be bribed by the Blackwater Group of the State of Yue. He had absolute faith in the loyalty of his officials.
Then, in front of all the officials, he burned this so-called list of names to the ground.
It was at this time.
Wu Mu, who was defeated in the Raging Tide City, officially returned.
King Wu's purge of the court officially began. Many new officials gradually replaced the old ones.
Then, with the disaster relief and the leak, King Wu officially began his counterattack against the old officials.
… …
Each generation had its own talents, and each of them dominated for several years.
King Wu in the North was maturing. Prince Jin in the South was rising like a star. He was about to light up the sky of the entire Eastern world.
Today, the court of the State of Yue was also extremely turbulent.
With the illness of the King of Yue, Ning Yuanxian, the battle for the throne between the Crown Prince and the Third Prince, Ning Qi, gradually intensified.
The two sides had a good opportunity to compete for the position of the Governor of the Western Heaven Province.
Originally, Zhang Zixu, who was in the Crown Prince's faction, would definitely take the position.
However, a case of reselling military provisions was in full swing. Zhang Zixu, the favored one, was also involved.
Dozens of officials in the Crown Prince's faction were involved.
Then, an even more shocking case of embezzlement of military funds broke out. Dozens of military officials were involved.
The whole case was getting bigger and bigger.
The position of the Governor of the Western Heaven Province was once again put on hold.
In such a lively situation, the birth of a daughter in Shen Lang's family was, of course, a trivial matter.
However, there were still many people who paid special attention.
Shen Lang was so favored by the Monarch before. Now that he had a daughter, would the Monarch give him any gifts?
In the end!
Nothing at all.
Not only did the Monarch not give him any gifts, but even Concubine Bian seemed to be completely unaware of this matter.
It was said that Concubine Zhong wanted to send a gift, but was stopped by the Monarch.
The direction of the wind was very clear.
Shen Lang was out of favor.
The Monarch was determined to sacrifice Shen Lang and Ning Zheng.
As soon as the border hunting competition was over, these two people would be completely finished.
… …
Shen Lang's precious daughter was already twenty days old.
He couldn't bear to part with her.
However, it was a pity that such a big baby only ate and slept every day. Most of the day, she slept.
But when the baby was awake, she was basically held in Shen Lang's arms.
The little girl was so naughty in her mother's womb, but after she was born, she was very obedient and quiet.
Most of the time, she stared at Shen Lang with her big black eyes, and her delicate little face was very serious.
She didn't like to cry at all.
She would only whimper when she had a bad bowel movement.
Everyone realized that Shen Lang held his daughter at home every day. He didn't go to the Northern Hunting Ground at all, nor did he care about the training there.
Now, everyone could see it even more clearly.
For this border hunting competition, Shen Lang himself didn't have any hope. He had even given up.
After recruiting more than two thousand useless people, he threw them into the military camp at the Northern Hunting Ground and ignored them.
On this day, Shen Lang waited for a long time. Finally, the baby woke up, and he couldn't wait to take her out to show off.
Eunuch Li Sun came secretly like a thief.
Because the Monarch was "sacrificing" Shen Lang, as His Majesty's confidant, Li Sun naturally had to treat Shen Lang coldly.
"Oh, we adults are putting on a show, but the baby has been wronged."
Eunuch Li Sun carefully held the baby in his arms. His posture was even more accurate than Shen Lang's.
When the baby was held in Shen Lang's arms, her little face was very serious, as if she was facing a formidable enemy.
When she was held in Li Sun's arms, she actually felt a little sleepy, as if it was more comfortable in Li Sun's arms.
What a heartless little girl. Daddy dotes on you so much.
"His Majesty thought for a few hours and finally gave our baby a name. Shen Mi!"
Shen Lang was speechless.
Your Majesty, my daughter wants to name herself. Why are you joining in the fun? She's Xiao Bing's daughter, not Ning Yan's. She's not your granddaughter.
Do you have to read ancient books every day?
He knew that Ning Yuanxian didn't spend a few hours, but a few days.
He would flip through ancient books whenever he had time to think of a good name.
A name that put even Shen Lang to shame.
What did Ning Yuanxian say when he conferred the title of Viscount to Zhang Chong?
He told Li Sun to think of a good title, which meant that he didn't want to use his brain.
He didn't even want to think of a noble title, but he spent days thinking of the name of Shen Lang's daughter.
In the end, His Majesty came up with a good name.
But Shen Lang immediately thought of Zhen Mi. Of course, Ning Yuanxian didn't know about this character, so the name was his own creation.
Eunuch Li Sun said, "This Mi is good. It means peace and sweetness, but it also hides nobility. When it is pronounced Fu, it has the same meaning as the ancient Fuxi. Fuxi was one of the three ancient sovereigns, extremely noble. "
Shen Lang nodded perfunctorily and said, "Yes, not bad, not bad!"
Li Sun was speechless. Of course, when he reported to His Majesty, he wouldn't dare to say that Shen Lang's attitude was perfunctory. He would definitely say that Shen Lang was amazed after hearing the name and that he, Shen Lang, couldn't think of such a good name.
Then, Eunuch Li Sun took out a piece of jade and put it around the baby's neck.
"This is a gift from Consort Bian."
He didn't mention the origin of the jade.
On the surface, the jade looked very ordinary.
However, it was indeed an item from the ancient civilization. It was said that it was a royal pearl of an ancient king.
This was a dowry given to her by the Bian family. She always carried it with her and wanted to pass it on to her daughter.
However, Consort Bian was low-key and never showed it off to others, so almost no one knew how precious it was.
"His Majesty said that when the border hunting ends, our little baby will be three months old. It's the cutest time. At that time, we'll bring him into the palace and let Consort Bian cherish him."
Originally, Li Sun could only come for an hour, but he unknowingly stayed for more than a quarter of an hour while holding the baby. Then, he left reluctantly.
He also gave a gift, but he didn't specifically say it. It was just a small copper coin threaded with a red string that he wore on the baby's wrist.
He also didn't say that this copper coin was the only thing his birth mother left him.
Li Sun was an orphan. He grew up in the Great Grace Court and was later adopted by Eunuch Li Mu. He didn't know who his parents were since he was a child.
But for as long as he could remember, he had worn this copper coin on his wrist.
Later, as he grew older, his wrist became thicker, and he couldn't wear this copper coin anymore, so he kept it close to his body.
Now, he gave this copper coin to Shen Mi. Although it wasn't worth much, he poured all his love and blessings into it.
Jin Mucong envied the baby and couldn't help but say, "Brother-in-law, aren't you going to keep an eye on the soldiers training at the Northern Yuan Hunting Ground? This border hunting is very important. It's not only related to the fate of you and His Highness Ning Zheng, it's also related to His Majesty the Monarch. "
This was not wrong at all.
The Monarch had already recuperated, and his movements were no longer hindered.
But he still lay in bed every day.
The consequences of his illness this time were too serious. Everyone felt that the tiger had become weak, which was very dangerous.
So even though he was almost fully recovered, he still pretended to be weak and couldn't get out of bed.
When he pretended to be weak to the extreme.
The border hunting officially began!
He would appear in front of everyone in high spirits and full of heroism.
The border hunting shocked everyone.
Shenlang's two thousand new soldiers created a miracle, and the Monarch once again shocked everyone.
Once again, his reputation returned to its peak.
At that time, everyone in the world would guess that the Monarch Ning Yuanxian's illness was fake and everything was just an act.
At that time, the world would be even more in awe of him.
So now, the fates of the Monarch, Ning Zheng, and Shen Lang were already tied together.
The Monarch said that he didn't trust Ning Zheng, but he trusted Shen Lang.
And this time, he had practically gambled his own political reputation.
This kind of trust was really heavy.
… …
Even though everyone thought that Shen Lang and Ning Zheng would definitely lose in the border hunting, and there was no hope.
After all, even Shen Lang himself had given up. Ever since his daughter was born, he never went to the North Garden Hunting Ground.
Moreover, the entire North Garden Hunting Ground was surrounded by a plague.
Animal corpses were everywhere, and miasma was everywhere.
But it still couldn't stop many spies from spying.
There were spies from the Crown Prince's faction, the Third Prince's faction, the Zhong family, and Chu's spies.
And the entire North Garden Hunting Ground was too big, and couldn't stop the spies from infiltrating.
So these spies still managed to spy on Bitter Joy's training.
Then, these people laughed so hard that their intestines were about to break.
Oh my god.
This was too funny, too funny.
What bullsh * t were you guys practicing?
How could this be kept a secret?
What bullsh * t were you training!
Because the two thousand new recruits of Shen Lang only practiced one move every day.
Swing the knife!
Cut it in half, cut it in half!
Thousands of times, tens of thousands of times!
One day, two days, ten days, half a month, one month!
They were all practicing this move of the knife.
And they were using a wooden knife.
As an army, you guys didn't practice formations, nor did you practice strength and speed?
Just practicing the knife?
Even if you practiced the knife, you should at least change your posture, and always slash straight down.
You guys didn't practice, but I'm about to vomit.
How stupid are you guys, such a simple knife swing, and you need to practice for a month?
And it seems like you guys have to keep practicing like this?
And it seems like you haven't learned it yet?
Shen Lang, I know you've already given up on the border hunting this time.
But at least put on an act.
You should at least let your new recruits practice the knife technique, practice archery.
And you can't even bear to let them touch a real knife?
Oh right, this group of people are weak trash, they can't even hold a real knife.
Time passed day by day.
This group of spies really couldn't take it anymore.
Just watching these two thousand idiots practice every day, not only were they going to vomit, but they were also going to be dumbfounded.
Thus, these spies left one after another.
Spying my a * s.
Using such a pile of shit to spy on them was simply a waste of life.
The key was that this group of people, even if they held a wooden knife, swinging it was so strenuous, they were drenched in sweat, they didn't have any killing intent at all.
This kind of trash couldn't even be compared to a seven or eight year old soldier.
About a month later, all the spies disappeared without a trace.
So was Bitter Joy putting this group of people practice for a month an act?
Of course not!
First of all, the knife in their hands looked like a wooden knife, but in reality, it was lead inside, it was very, very heavy.
And it was getting heavier day by day, on the last day of this month, the knife in their hands was nearly 100 kilograms.
It would get heavier next.
On the real battlefield, they would be holding a 100 kilogram zhanmadao, a zhanmadao forged from first-class steel.
A Mo Saber of about 1.7 meters!
And every soldier would be wearing heavy steel armor.
That's right!
This was the trump card of the Tang Dynasty against the Turkic cavalry.
Mo Saber Squad!
For a long time in ancient China, cavalry was invincible against infantry. But the Mo Saber Squad was able to crush cavalry.
Fighting together, the power of a team.
Thousands of people as one.
Cutting them in half!
Even the elite cavalry was scared out of their wits.
This was simply the tank of the cold weapon era, a moving steel wall.
Moreover, the trump card troops under Shen Lang's command had all undergone a bloodline transformation.
Their strength and endurance were getting stronger and stronger.
And they had discipline and loyalty. Soul.
Compared to the Mo Saber Squad of the Tang Dynasty, they were much stronger.
Bitter Joy only let them practice one move.
However, this was how saber techniques worked. Mastering one technique allowed one to master all.
It allowed you to practice one move to the extreme, speed, strength, and angle of attack.
Then on the battlefield, it would be simplified.
One move was fatal, every move was fatal.
When this super heavy infantry of Shen Lang appeared on the battlefield, it was bound to shock the world!
… …
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