What is the most wonderful thing in life?
Spend endless amounts of money, enjoy delicacies from the mountains and seas every day, fine wines and delicacies, and you don’t have to work. You can have a group of people holding you at the wine table all day long, and there are countless beauties waiting on you in the room. Isn’t this wonderful?
At least in Mengchang's view, Chong Yingbiao's good days have finally come. He can live a good life ahead of schedule that others can only dream of. This is the blessing he has cultivated for several lifetimes. The only bad thing is that he often has to Take supplements, such as ginseng, deer antler, and Ganoderma lucidum. If you don't take them for a day, your whole body will feel as if it has been hollowed out.
This is a good day that Meng Chang could not even imagine. Even an unknown street writer is envious of it! ! !
Baoping was still walking up and down, constantly managing the relationship, trying to gather a group of princes to stand up and denounce Uncle Meng Ji's tyranny.
"Everyone, we are all Tianhuang nobles who have been passed down since ancient times. We have gone through countless years and accumulation to reach our current position. But Mengchang is just a kid with a muddy background. It is a blessing to become an earl. Now the king's royal chariot is on the way, and with the degree of favor he receives in front of the king, the situation is very unfavorable for us."
The princes gathered at Chong Yingbiao's mansion all looked at each other. They actually wanted to support Chong Yingbiao. As Baoping said, some people looked up to Uncle Meng Ji, while others disliked the nouveau riche Meng Ji from the bottom of their hearts. Uncle Ji also didn't like Meng Ji who was now able to dominate them.
As long as Chong Yingbiao works hard, even if he is just a mediocre leader, they will be willing to follow the bloodline of Chonghou all the way to the end, but Chong Yingbiao does not have it, and his performance is extremely poor. How can such a stubborn leader compete with the one who is on the rise? Comparable to the swift and fierce Meng Jibo?
Not to mention, at this time, the eldest son was still in Chongcheng, the place where he was born. Meng Chang was placed under house arrest in his mansion. Even speaking and moving had to rely on praising this person from the Zhou Kingdom.
A native of Zhou, one of the biggest sufferers of the major princes in northern Xinjiang.
Uncle Bang immediately raised a question: "Are you helping our northern Xinjiang? How can a Zhou people be so kind? I think you are just for the consideration of your Zhou country, replacing yourself with a stupid...innocent young master. You will be able to better control Northern Xinjiang and slowly invade us."
"I am from the Zhou State, and I must think about the Zhou State. Isn't this normal? On the contrary, everyone, why do you resist me, the Zhou State? Look at Hexi. Even though our Zhou State has occupied the land, it has not treated the local people. The princes who have done nothing wrong with Bang Boqiu have joined the embrace of the Zhou Kingdom. You are still Bang Bo, and you are already the king. You just changed to another suzerain. With a more powerful suzerain, you will no longer have to live in such a miserable life. Yes, isn't it?"
"In terms of etiquette and law, it is legal to support the eldest son in inheriting the title. Whether or not I will come from the Kingdom of Zhou in the future is something that the king and the future Chonghou should consider. What does it have to do with you? The sky is still blue, spring The colors are still gorgeous, and our Zhou Kingdom will not change the law, making you no different from the head of Guizhou."
The uncles below were talking a lot, and their hearts were quite moved. What's more, looking at the broken ship in Northern Xinjiang that was about to sink, their thoughts were floating, and their hearts were moved. It seemed that it would be easier to surrender directly to the Zhou Kingdom?
Things in Hexi haven't been fully spread yet, and they know little about it. Judging from the current trend, it seems that it really has little to do with them.
During a banquet, the princes were divided into three factions. Bang Bo, who was near the Daizong Mountains inside and outside, was sweating on his forehead. He wanted to say something, but he didn't know how to refute.
"I heard a story in Chaoge. If you throw a frog directly into boiling water, the frog will hurt, struggle, and splash water all over you. If you throw a frog into normal water and slowly heat it, , so the frog will not react until it is cooked."
There was a voice outside the door, and everyone looked around. It was Uncle Meng Ji who had been invited over after being exposed by Uncle Tantai.
During the private discussion, everyone could speak freely, but when the rightful owner arrived, everyone seemed to have lost the ability to speak. They looked at the wine and meat on the table in silence and remained silent.
"Two hundred years ago, when the Zhou Kingdom had not moved its capital to Xiqi, it was just a small land. After two hundred years of vicissitudes, it developed into the largest Xibohou in the Western Frontier after destroying more than twenty countries. Everyone, this is Is it like the story about General Baoping boiling frogs in warm water? Does the Western Frontier of the past look like the Northern Frontier of today as he said?"
To be honest, the prosperity of a country, if it does not expand, will only be short-lived after all. Whether it is Baoping or Mengchang, it is a matter of stance and has nothing to do with right or wrong.
Everyone looked at each other in confusion, wondering whether they had listened to Uncle Meng Ji's story. Some people were immersed in chewing meat and seemed not to hear anything, but most of them still drank the fine wine, said goodbye to Baoping, and left. Had a banquet.
"Why did Uncle Meng Ji pick this fight? Do you have ambitions to seize the throne? Do you want to be the new master of Northern Xinjiang?"
Meng Chang looked playful. He was not the little soldier in the past who could be easily prevaricated and put in a dilemma. Meng Ji played an important role in the entire Northern Xinjiang. In terms of strength, he might not be able to swallow up the entire Northern Xinjiang, but fighting There is no big problem in defeating these hamstrung princes and uncles, that is, the logistics and talents cannot keep up, and even if they win, they will not be able to effectively occupy it. It will inevitably lead to the exhaustion of repeated counterinsurgency campaigns.
Mengchang didn't want to have too many verbal arguments with this person. Debate could not convince anyone. All the results ultimately depended on strength and swords and guns.
"Wei Hu, send him out of Chongcheng and let him go back and forth wherever he goes."
"Uncle Meng Ji, I am the eldest son's guest and the general of the Zhou Kingdom. How dare you insult me?"
Mengchang ignored Baoping's roar, looked sideways at Tantai Yu, and asked gently: "How many soldiers did Brother Yu bring here this time?"
"It's not too much. Three thousand soldiers are accompanying us."
"Well, it's pretty good. It's basically enough. Do you think it's inappropriate for us in Northern Xinjiang to have an outsider making noises when we are discussing things among ourselves in Northern Xinjiang?"
Tantai Yu stroked his beard and smiled, looking quite moved. He pretended to be relaxed and said: "Others are afraid of him, but I am not afraid of him. The Kingdom of Zhou is in the far west, and my Tantai Port is close to the Beihai. The Kingdom of Zhou wants to take revenge. I, am I not the best thing in the world? If a fly is ignorant and wants to fish in troubled waters, what the soldiers of the Tantai family like most is to support justice!"
"Very good. Then please ask Mr. Tan Taibo to stab me with your sword. Just do it accurately and just hit it on the arm."
"???"
Tantai Yu and the princes and uncles were stunned. They all looked at the earl who had drawn Tantai Yu's sword in disbelief. They could not quite understand his crazy words.
"Stab me, I won't blame you. After stabbing, we will kill Baoping to sacrifice to heaven, and then send the Zhou warriors he brought to Liaodong to grow bitter herbs. We can also hold Xibohou to account. Why do you want to send assassins to poison first and then assassinate, to embarrass Uncle Ben?"
Baoping blushed, pointed at Meng Chang with shame and anger and shouted angrily: "Why are you so vicious? When have I ever poisoned or assassinated you?"
"No? Stop pretending. The eldest son has already been recruited. What's the use of talking about this here? Besides, didn't your eldest son Boyi Kao die? I admit that what Biao did was wrong, but It was your Marquis who personally sent Biao back, and now it’s your Marquis who wants to take advantage of it, so what? You can use the same method, but I can’t?"
"Don't think that because of the continuous wars in Northern Xinjiang, you are really afraid of Zhou!"
After saying that, Mengchang opened the door. Standing outside the door were the black-armored elites from Chongcheng and the soldiers from the princes who were close to Meng Ji. Mengchang pointed at the soldiers outside the house and shouted loudly.
"The Kingdom of Zhou has gone too far to bully others. Taking advantage of the loss of its hero in the northern frontier, it has stirred up troubles and troubled our northern frontier again and again, disrupting the unity of our northern frontier. All brave warriors, do you dare to level the Hexi River with me and take back our territory? Home, then Chen Bing Xiqi, ask Xibohou, why do you want to bully our northern border and take advantage of others' danger?"
"Everyone, how many soldiers can each city-state produce?"
The crowd in the audience was boiling, and Mei Wu was the first to come out and shout: "Chongguo can mobilize the power of an entire country, and there are 150,000 soldiers wearing armor."
"Tantai can produce fifty thousand soldiers!"
"Order the country to pay thirty thousand!"
"Tao Guo sent out 10,000 armors!"
"..."
Baoping felt chilled in his heart. He didn't understand why such a person with a mud-legged background could get the support of so many nobles, but he probably understood something from Tantai Yu's words.
Zhou State was far away and could not give these people any benefits, but Meng Ji State was in the northern border, right in the hinterland. Anyone who dared to disobey him could use this as an excuse to come and cause trouble the next day.
"General Baoping, our country, Mengji, can also raise an army of 150,000. I can represent Mengji and Chongguo. What about you? Can you accept the letter of challenge for your Xibohou? Chaoge has a good harvest this year. I will be coy again. If you have the nerve to ask the king to borrow some food and grass, can you send all the nearly 400,000 troops to Xiqi City?"
"Do you know how Dongyi lost?"
Baoping opened his mouth wide. He wanted to refute but didn't know how to speak, so he could only show a flattering smile: "Just kidding, I'm just a passerby. Since Young Master Biao has been safely sent to Chongcheng and my mission has been successfully completed, I will go back right now." Xiqi, I won’t disturb everyone’s conversation and take my leave!”
Seeing that the princes around him who had decided to join him were trying to persuade him to stay, Baoping immediately quickened his pace and kept shouting as he walked: "Oh, my beloved wife at home is about to give birth. Don't stay, don't stay, I have to hurry up. Go back to Xiqi."
Looking at Baoping running away, Meng Chang sneered in his heart. He was a reasonable person. If others hadn't been unreasonable first, he wouldn't have resorted to cheating tactics. Then Meng Chang bowed and thanked those who were pulled over to help him. The princes and uncles.
It's just a scare, how can it really be impossible to fight? His base camp was in Daizong. He mobilized his troops and ran over to fight with the Zhou Kingdom. The money he had accumulated for four years was probably going to be wiped out. He would have to continue to owe foreign debts, and he would not be able to eat the territory he conquered. .
Just like how Zhou Guo won't attack Taiwan and Hong Kong, an enclave, no matter how delicious it is, is useless, and rash war will only interrupt the rhythm of self-cultivation.
Without the interference of outsiders, Mengchang also began to prepare for the funeral, preparing to send Chonghou on his last journey.
Just as the princes were preparing to bury Chonghou, the king, who had been hurrying all the way, finally arrived at Chongcheng, which he had not visited for a long time.
When Mengchang saw the big business leader again, the tall and tall man looked tired and tired, and his whole person was indescribably depressed, as if he had just suffered a defeat and had to pay compensation by ceding land. , exuding an aura that does not allow strangers to approach.
Emperor Xin ignored the princes of Northern Xinjiang who came to greet him, nor did he look at Mengchang. He just walked slowly to Chonghou Hu's coffin with heavy steps.
Smelling the faint rotten smell at the tip of his nose, Di Xin's eyes were filled with fire, but he didn't know who to direct his anger at, so he could only kick him on the beam, causing dust to fall all over the room, making it look a bit smoky. .
"Where did Ying Biao go?"
Only then did Meng Chang step forward and tell Di Xin everything that happened when he came to Chongchenghou.
Di Xin frowned, looked at Meng Chang gloomily, and asked in a low voice: "Are you sure you just want to preserve the bloodline of Chonghou, rather than taking the opportunity to win over Northern Xinjiang and find a way to advance to the next level for yourself?"
"Why did your Majesty say this? Marquis Chong treats me like his own son. Meng Chang only has admiration for Marquis Chong. I really want to kill this bastard with one knife, but Chong Yingbiao carries the blood of the Chong family. I would rather hold back the nausea in my heart and let him continue to have children and carry on the family line for Marquis Chong. I have never thought of harming him. If I want to get involved in Chongguo, why bother? I can just kill Chongying. Biao, Chongguo will naturally collapse like gravel, and northern Xinjiang will be in chaos. Isn’t it better for me to fish in troubled waters?"
Di Xin nodded, and then asked: "Since you have no intention, why do you want to mobilize the princes of Northern Xinjiang without authorization and sow discord between them and the Zhou Kingdom?"
Mengchang took a deep breath and looked at the princes and uncles behind him with a stern look, feeling depressed in his heart.
It's not surprising that the king knows this, but I don't know which brother was so impatient to report it and give him eye drops.
"Your Majesty, there are many people here and it is not a place for heart-to-heart talks. It is better to bury Chonghou first. When the matter here is over, Meng Changzi will personally give you a reasonable explanation!"
At this point, Di Xin stopped talking. He already trusted Meng Chang enough, and asking too much was just someone talking nonsense. He naturally had his own understanding of the distance of the relationship.
Di Xin looked at his good brother lying peacefully in the coffin. He closed his eyes for a long time and couldn't calm down. The king was silent, and the others naturally couldn't say anything.
After a long time passed, Di Xin seemed a little annoyed and impatient. He waved his hand irritably, signaling to wake up.
"You go and send it off. I won't go. I'll just sit here for a while."
"King!!"
"Go, don't worry about Gu, Gu is afraid that he can't control the anger in his heart, so he can't help but drag the tiger out and whip him out to vent his anger. Let Gu take some rest, just be quiet."
(End of chapter)
