Although Qingfeng took a bite from Chu King Xiong Wei before he died. However, this is just a small episode after all. In this era where talking is mainly done with fists, this level of backlash for the King of Chu is at best like a knife on a towering tree, although it can be seen and touched. But after all, its foundation cannot be shaken.
Now that Zhongli's realm has been conquered, and the State of Chu has completely cut off the contact between the State of Wu and the other countries in the Central Plains, the confrontation between these two feuds is about to break out.
However, the King of Chu was not in a hurry for success, but once again allied with nearby princes, and directly launched a war of annihilation against Lai State.
This Lai country was originally a country with the surname Ji. Although it was only a viscount, the surname was there, so no one could shake its status.
Because of this, Lai Guo relied on his status as a country with the surname Ji and its remote location, so he could turn a blind eye to the behemoth Chu State. He often did not listen to the Chu State, and even directly opposed the Chu State.
In fact, everyone in the Chu State has been dissatisfied with Lai Guo for a long time. After finally coming out this time, it is definitely not possible to attack the Wu State rashly. But if you want to pick up a soft persimmon and squeeze it to boost your morale, and at the same time increase your popularity with the King of Chu, Lai Guo is a good choice.
In addition, Lai State is located in the northeast of Chu State, which is the first important place for the northern countries to go south to reinforce Wu State. Now that Chu State is going to attack Wu State, in order to better guard against the different directions of the northern countries, This Laiguo must also be won.
So, outside Zhufang City, the King of Chu killed Qingfeng and swore an oath as his master. He immediately raised 100,000 troops and rushed toward Laiguo.
As for Lai Guo's bigger slap, he has been relying on his identity as Ji to survive until now. Now when he suddenly heard that the King of Chu personally led an army of 100,000 to attack, King Lai was frightened to death. While cursing the old man, the King of Chu, he ordered his people to think of ways to deal with it quickly.
But the group of ministers under Laizi never knew how to be prepared for danger in times of peace. Therefore, if they were asked to find a way to deal with Chu's 100,000 troops in a short period of time, what could they do?
Cry!
Each one of them cried directly to the monarch on the spot!
When Lai Zi saw the situation, he realized that it was better to rely on others than to rely on oneself, so he immediately ordered others to tie him up directly.
Yes, he really relies on himself.
He chose to vote directly, and his vote was not sloppy at all.
Faced with the two choices of ruining his country and his family or losing his life, Laizi directly chose the first one.
In the capital of Lai State, the King of Chu personally led a hundred thousand elite soldiers and generals to form an array here.
The city wall less than three feet high, the dilapidated urn city and the shabby defense all show that Lai State's national power is weak. It does not look like a vassal state at all. If it were placed in the Chu State, it would probably not even have a county. It doesn’t even count.
Laizi ordered his hands to be tied behind his back, and he held a jade in his mouth. He also ordered the guards to bare their chests and backs, and walked out of the city carrying the coffin behind them.
But this was the first time King Chu had seen such a surrender method.
When I first saw Laizi like this, I couldn't help laughing, and thought to myself:
Are people so aware now?
It’s no wonder that the King of Chu had little knowledge. After all, he had never participated in the process of large-scale annihilation of the Chu State before, let alone seen any method of surrender.
In the several battles since he took the throne, the opponent has never surrendered directly. So, how could he have seen such a "sincere" way of surrender?
When Lai Zi was tied behind his back and came to the center of the Chu army, the King of Chu immediately turned his attention to Wu Ju beside him and asked what to do now.
This was probably the first time King Chu had seen others surrender, but he didn't know what to do for a while.
But what surprised him even more was that Wu Ju didn't know what to do...
The main reason is that the speed at which the other side surrendered was so fast that they didn't even have time to prepare!
This is like when you are in the jungle in LOL and the Four Hegemons start. When you are about to catch people online, the opponent directly shoots in three minutes. What can you do?
Wu Ju never expected that this laizi would be so direct and cast the ball without even thinking. The speed was simply astonishing.
When the King of Chu saw Wu Ju, he didn't know what to do. He suddenly felt bad. He couldn't help but cursed in his heart: What use do you need? !
So, he could only turn his head and look at Li Ran.
During this period, the relationship between the two became tense for a while because Li Ran persuaded him to save Qingfeng's life, but he insisted on cutting off Qingfeng's head to sacrifice the flag.
The reason why the King of Chu did not ask Li Ran for his opinion immediately was precisely because of this.
But now he has completely lost his idea, and he doesn't want to lose his dignity in this matter and cause himself to be laughed at. So he had no choice but to ask the knowledgeable Li Ran.
When Li Ran faced the King of Chu's inquiry, he seemed very generous and explained to him regardless of past suspicions:
"When your ancestor King Cheng conquered the State of Xu, Duke Xu Xi did the same thing. King Cheng of Chu personally untied Duke Xu Xi, accepted his jade, burned his coffin, and did no harm to the people of Xu State. , to show sincerity in accepting the surrender.”
Li Ran emphasized one point - "King Cheng did nothing wrong to the people of Xu State back then."
He actually didn't know whether King Chu would accept this advice, but he still spoke out as always.
He was unable to stop Chu from attacking Lai. This was the only thing he could do for the people of Lai.
As soon as he finished speaking, Lai Zi cast a very grateful look at Li Ran.
Did Lai Zi, whose surname is Ji, surrender voluntarily just to save his life?
Obviously not.
In addition to being greedy for life and fearing death, his surrender can actually be regarded as for the sake of Laiguo's people.
The Chu State's troops were overwhelming, and their futile struggle would only bring disaster to Lai State's people. Lai Zi naturally knew this, so he didn't have other ideas like Qing Feng. He only used the simplest and most direct way to bring the war to an abrupt end before it even started. .
Of course, if he does this, he will inevitably be scolded by the princes of the world and even the people of Zhou.
But these are no longer important to him.
At this moment, he only hoped that the King of Chu would accept Li Ran's advice, comfort himself and the people of Lai State, and not treat him harshly.
When the King of Chu heard this, he couldn't help but touch his beard. Seeing that Li Ran could explain it to him regardless of previous suspicions, he immediately chose to accept it happily.
On the one hand, what Li Ran said makes sense. Since this is what his ancestors did, there is no reason for him to slap his ancestors in the face.
On the other hand, his acceptance of Li Ran's advice can also ease the rift with Li Ran, allowing Li Ran to continue to be used by the Chu State.
So he stepped forward in person, untied Laizi from his bonds, and accepted the jade he held in his mouth. He also ordered people to burn the coffin brought by Lai Zi. He even held Lai Zi's hand and asked him to stand on the high platform of the Chinese army to show his military posture.
The next thing was very simple. After taking over the household register and geographical records of Lai State, the King of Chu was indeed very trustworthy and did not do anything to the people of Lai State. On the contrary, I ordered people to go around and comfort me, so the whole reception process seemed to be extremely smooth.
And this was also the first time that the King of Chu made a real contribution, and he destroyed a country without spending a single soldier.
(End of chapter)
