The state of Wu is experiencing a new death for its king, and the country's momentum is low. Therefore, now is indeed a good time to capture Zhongli.
If the Chu State did not take action at this time, it would be almost impossible for the Wu State to take action against Zhongli again after the Wu State had recovered.
But even so, once they choose to take action, the Chu State must spend more money.
Not only that, but they also run the risk of being "encircled Wei and rescued Zhao" by the Zhou states in the Central Plains.
So the reasons for whether to fight or not to fight now are actually very good.
And this naturally made King Chu a little difficult to make a choice.
What needs to be emphasized here again is that although King Chu appears to be domineering in some aspects, it can even be said to be a bit absurd. But when he faced certain major decisions, he still had a mind and courage that ordinary people could not match.
For example, attacking Zhongli and killing Qingfeng was really a dilemma. If it were anyone else, I'm afraid they would have given up long ago.
After all, the risk of doing this is too great. For ordinary people, the vast majority of people naturally "do not seek merit, but seek no faults." They may even choose to be extremely irresponsible and leave all problems directly to future generations to solve.
But who is the King of Chu?
Will King Xiong Wei of Chu be a king willing to give up strategic goals so easily?
Obviously not.
After Chu State has experienced such a long period of silence, now in this era of rapid changes and years of war, he has long seen a clear fact: that is, if he wants to dominate the world, he will definitely not be able to wait behind closed doors at home. , we must take the initiative and look for opportunities! Even if the chance is slim, you must be bold and try.
If he is really a person who is "destined to be", then he must have gotten there no matter what. What if it is a person "abandoned by destiny"? Then if you don't bother, you will only have less chance.
The so-called "destiny" will always favor those who love to make troubles.
Therefore, if he gave up this opportunity to capture Zhongli, then Chu State might be able to survive peacefully for decades.
But what about the future?
If the rise of Wu is still allowed, Wu will one day become a scourge for Chu and will definitely bring disaster to Chu's great cause.
Therefore, he could not wait, let alone give up this opportunity. He must take advantage of this opportunity to completely suppress the Wu Kingdom in the southeast corner and lay a solid foundation for the future destruction of Wu.
Only by completely defeating Wu and Yue can the Chu State really get involved in the Central Plains, and even the nine princes, and dominate the world!
So, after careful consideration by the King of Chu, he raised his head and looked at his followers with burning eyes.
"Zi Yu's words make sense. This battle must be fought!"
In fact, King Xiong Wei of Chu had the ambition to dominate the world before he came to the throne. Now that he has ascended the throne as the King of Chu, this ambition is always engraved in his heart.
And this battle may be the beginning of his King Chu's domination of the world! (After all, the Battle of Shujiu and the Battle of Chaoyi were passive defenses, not an active attack by Chu State, so they were not considered the beginning.)
"Brother Wang..."
"Oh? Brother Ji wants to persuade me to stop?"
As soon as Prince Qiji spoke, King Chu turned his gaze away and asked rhetorically.
Prince Qiji looked troubled and thought for a long time before speaking:
"What Guan Cong said just now is correct. This battle is indeed necessary for our country of Chu. However, I have thought about it again and again, and I still think that the chance of winning this battle is very slim. At the moment, it is by no means a perfect strategy. Please give me some advice. Brother Wang, think twice!”
Huh? The sun comes out in the west?
Some people may be wondering why Prince Qiji suddenly advised the King of Chu to "restrain himself" at this time?
Obviously, this was contrary to his previous plot to play tricks on the King of Chu and undermine his mass base.
Could it be that this prince Qiji suddenly discovered his conscience?
Of course, this is impossible.
"Haha, what a wolfish ambition, you Xiong family are really brothers and sisters..."
Li Ran saw clearly from the sidelines and couldn't help but curse in his heart.
Is Prince Qiji admonishing the King of Chu?
It seems that it is, and the words and sentences are very realistic. There is no nonsense, and it seems that there is no intention to provoke the King of Chu.
But in this hall, apart from King Chu himself, whether it is Li Ran, Guan Cong, or his good brother Wang Zi Qiji, who among these three people does not know that King Chu is a stubborn leader?
Thinking about it, if he hadn't been stubborn, how could he have dared to lead only two thousand warriors to "steal" Zheng Yi?
If he hadn't been stubborn, how could he have dared to go to Jin's doorstep to hold an alliance?
If he hadn't been stubborn, how could he have risked the disapproval of the world to usurp power and seize the throne, causing the current situation to be so turbulent?
If these are not enough to show that King Chu himself is stubborn, then the matter of recruiting Li Ran can be said to be a complete proof of this.
Since he decided to recruit Li Ran at the beginning, he would not care about the property. Zheng Bo felt dissatisfied and would not care about the military examination. He followed the advice given.
In this matter, he can be said to have done everything possible, even losing his face.
It can be seen that his stubbornness can be done at any cost.
Therefore, when King Xiong Wei of Chu decided on a general direction and made up his mind to do it, there was probably no one in the world who could stop him.
And as the person closest to him, how could Prince Qiji not know this?
But when he knew that Brother Wang would not listen to the advice, he still wanted to give some false advice. What was the point?
The answer is the four words Li Ran said just now: wolf ambition!
The more Prince Qiji tried to persuade the King of Chu, the less likely the King of Chu would listen, and the more vigorously this battle would proceed.
The Chu State had just ended its battle with the Wu State in Qunshu, and less than two months had passed, but the war was about to resume in Zhongli!
As a result, the suffering that the people of Chu State will face is imaginable. And who among the people in the world would like a tyrant who is so militaristic, murderous and warlike? This is probably the consensus throughout the ages.
Therefore, once the King of Chu decides to use troops against Zhongli, no matter whether he succeeds or fails, he will give up one more "mandate of destiny".
After all, as "Shangshu" says: "What the people want, God will follow." People who are rejected by the people will naturally lose their "destiny".
This was exactly what the prince had planned.
It's just that in this kind of thing, you should see through it but don't tell it. As the same saying goes, Li Ran doesn't have to "sow discord" and cause trouble for himself. He just wants to watch the excitement as a melon-eater.
As for whether King Chu himself could see through this, that was beyond Li Ran's control.
"Haha, Brother Ji is really worried too much. This battle is of great significance to our country of Chu! We must fight!"
"I don't want to wait until tomorrow and leave the Wu people's problems to future generations to solve. I can't afford to wait, and the Chu people can't afford to wait!"
At this point, King Chu's attitude has been very clear, and it seems meaningless to say more.
Guan Cong immediately bowed and said:
"Great King Shengming!"
At this moment, Guan Cong and Prince Qiji would not continue to persuade the King of Chu. So, the two of them also hurriedly stepped forward and performed the head-offering ceremony.
And this respectful greeting can be regarded as finalizing the matter.
Therefore, at the court meeting the next day, the King of Chu directly proposed the overall strategic resolution of "attack Zhongli and kill Qingfeng" without consulting the courtiers or even Ling Yin and Dazai. There is no doubt about it.
As a result, the entire Chu State once again fell into tense and strange pre-war mobilization.
