In order to be able to defeat Zhongli this time, Chu State spent a lot of money to cut off Wu State's assistance.
First, he made a marriage alliance with the Jin State and called for an alliance with Shendi. Then he raised 50,000 Chu troops just to conquer this small city - Zhu Fang City.
And all the operations behind it were actually within Li Ran's expectation.
However, there was one more thing that Li Ran had not considered.
That is the ambition of King Xiong Wei of Chu to capture Zhongli and then destroy Wu to achieve full success!
Nowadays, although the Song and Xu states have basically cut off their support for Zhongli, Zhongli has become his thorn in the urn. But the Wu Kingdom has always been a worry for the King of Chu.
Therefore, he personally led another 50,000 troops and stationed them in Qianxi.
Although it was nominally a backup force internally, it was actually the first-hand preparation to destroy Wu.
Qianxi is not far from Chen and Cai. It is the place that must be passed by to take Wu in the future. Two hundred miles east of this place is Zhongli.
Obviously, this place is not far from the hinterland of Chu State. Therefore, the meaning of this move by the King of Chu is also very clear: it is to lay a base for the future destruction of Wu.
Therefore, Li Ran was strongly opposed to this matter from the beginning.
It's not just because of the Jin-Wu Alliance. Mainly according to his plan, this time a multi-national coalition forces jointly attacked Zhongli, and with the blessing of famous generals such as Sun Wu, Zhu Fangcheng would not be able to escape the fate of being broken even if it was an iron wall. There was no need to raise three additional armies to respond. ?
Originally, the entire Chu State was wasting its people and money in order to conquer Zhongli, but now it has raised an army of 50,000. As the saying goes, "A soldier wastes a thousand pieces of gold every day." How can the entire Chu State cope with this?
In the end, doesn’t this debt have to be settled on the people of Chu State? It is always the people at the bottom who suffer.
"Love the people" and "cherish the people" are what Li Ran has always advocated. Therefore, how could he watch the people of Chu suffer such deaths?
Li Ran naturally advised the King of Chu and asked him to think twice for the people of Chu and not to act like this.
But at this time, the King of Chu was determined to conquer it himself. He couldn't listen to Li Ran's advice.
In desperation, Li Ran had no choice but to follow him, and he followed the army to Qianxi.
Qianxi is really a good place. It's late summer, the mountains and forests are lush, the flowers are surrounded by grass, the water is trickling, and the summer heat is gone. If a summer resort were built here, business would be particularly booming.
The person who came to greet the King of Chu and his entourage was none other than Wu Ju's son, Wu She.
Qianxi is where the Wu family has lived for generations.
Therefore, the reason why Chu King Xiong Wei chose Qianxi may... also have another level of consideration.
Fortunately, not long after they were stationed in Qianxi, good news came from the front line.
The speed of this victory was something that no one expected.
Zhu Fangcheng was broken, Qingfeng was captured, and the front line won a complete victory in one go. From this, Chu State finally completely cleared away the obstacles to destroying Wu in the future.
When the news came, Qianxi boiled instantly.
There is no doubt that for this reason, the King of Chu immediately had a banquet with all the ministers in the big tent. …
Qianxi, which was originally peaceful, suddenly became lively with music, music, and flutes, singing and dancing.
"Hahaha, Zhu Fang's city was destroyed and Qingfeng was captured. This is really a blessing for me, a blessing for the Chu country, and a blessing for the world!"
"Your Majesty, please drink deeply today! Drink deeply for this great cause of me!"
Since the King of Chu came to the throne, the Chu State has won great victories in the Battle of Qunshu, the Battle of Chaoyi, and now the Battle of Zhongli.
While he was happy, King Chu's vanity also swelled.
Thinking about Chu State, it seems that it has not had such brilliant results in decades.
It has been less than two years since King Xiong Wei of Chu came to the throne, and his military exploits are already shining brightly. If he can give time, he can catch up with King Zhuang, become king, and regain their former hegemony in Chu Kingdom, it can be said that it is just around the corner!
King Chu's face was filled with pride at this time.
The reason why Chu State was able to win consecutive battles was that in just one year, it had accomplished something that had not been accomplished in the previous decades!
Isn't this the result of the destiny blessing from King Xiong Wei of Chu?
Drink hard, drink hard!
The officials who came with the King of Chu were also very excited at this time. They raised their cups and congratulated their king.
"King Kamui!"
Then, drink it all in one gulp.
When the King of Chu saw this scene, he became even more heroic.
"Pass this order to reward the three frontline armies and generals!"
"Those who go out with me this time will also be rewarded and cannot be postponed!"
It is reasonable to reward an army of 100,000 people at once, and in fact this is what should be done.
But the King of Chu didn't seem to think about what to do in the future if he rewarded so many people at once with the current national strength of Chu.
How could such a desperate military campaign be sustained with only the little savings of the Chu State?
However, the King of Chu was in high spirits at this time, and it was a military system to reward the three armies. What's more, "the whole world is nothing but the land of the king." How does the king of Chu reward his soldiers, and how can the ministers and officials present dare to say anything?
Furthermore, after all, the money and silk used to reward the soldiers did not need to be paid by their ministers, so they would not feel distressed.
"The great king has made great achievements for a long time!"
"Your Majesty is wise, I am looking forward to the revival of Chu!"
Li Ran looked at the scene in front of him, with a faint hint of worry on his forehead.
Now that Zhu Fangcheng has been destroyed, Li Ran's mission has been completed. As for the large reward to the three armies, as a guest minister, there is no need for him to point fingers.
Li Ran knew very well that these rewards of wealth and silk would not fall from the sky or come out of the earth, but would be imposed on every citizen of Chu State.
By then, Chu State became increasingly weak, although this was a good thing for the countries in the Central Plains.
But if you look at it from Li Ran's God's perspective, can it be considered just to sacrifice the lives of the Chu people in exchange for stability in the Central Plains?
The people of the Central Plains are human beings. Aren’t the people of Chu State not human beings?
This is just like the famous moral choice dilemma of "train crushing people". Li Ran is also facing the same choice today:
His advice may be able to change the mind of the King of Chu and save the people of Chu from suffering. But the good fortune of Chu State may be the misfortune of the Central Plains in the future. …
But if he does not dissuade him, then the King of Chu will not change, and the Chu State will definitely go further and further down the road of militarism. The misfortune of the people of Chu may be exchanged for peace in the Central Plains.
How to choose?
Li Ran had no idea for a moment.
After thinking about it, Li Ran finally didn't say a word to remind him.
First of all, this is not his responsibility after all.
Secondly, he also knew that the King of Chu at this time would never listen to Jin's advice.
So, after the banquet was over, Li Ran returned to his tent, with a gloomy look on his face.
He didn't know whether the choices he made today would be passed down to future generations. I don't know how future generations will comment on his inaction.
But one thing he knew, no matter how hard he racked his brains and strategized. And nothing he did seemed to bring any change to the world.
More often than not, he is just a bystander.
It's like a stone thrown into a river or sea, but it didn't cause waves. There were only a few ripples that spread slowly, and were eventually smoothed out by the water surface.
But is this what he wants to achieve?
Obviously not.
Li Ran knew very well that when he plucked the strings of history, from that moment on, he would be responsible for this historical movement.
Even if what he plays may be just a chord, even so, he should try his best until the final chapter.
And this is the belief he should uphold as a latecomer.
