Luo State, Zhaocheng.
This city, which has been established for five hundred years, is famous throughout the world of Zhuxia. The mottled spots on the city wall show its antiquity, and the gorgeous buildings show the heritage of the Luo Kingdom.
Even during the 120 years of Qi State's hegemony, no one could ignore this place. It was said that sacrifices were made to the emperor and government was governed by Fang Bo, and Luohou was the bridge of communication between the two.
Luo Ci and Luo Yan were sitting in a quiet room, reading the letter of credence sent by Uncle Qin.
After analyzing the situation in the world for Uncle Qin in Yili, this letter of credence traveled across thousands of mountains and rivers and came to the master of Luo Kingdom.
With a half-smile on his face, Luo Ci pushed the bamboo slip towards Luo Yan and said, "It's a very interesting letter of credence."
Luo Yan unfolded, "Five hundred years ago, King Zhou Chengtian of the state was appointed, and King Wu sealed your ancestor King Su in Luo, thus establishing the ancient state.
In the past five hundred years, there have been three regents of the country, and nine generations of Luohou have served as ministers of the emperor. What a glorious history is this?
Duke Huan of Qi unites the nine princes and controls the world. His prestige is higher than that of the emperor. He can also use the emperor's ritual music, cauldrons, chariots and horses, and clothes. Is there anyone in Zhou Dynasty who is more noble than him?
He was able to achieve such an achievement because your ancestor Ming Gong sent him back to his country and also gave him support.
Now that you have helped Prince Chong'er ascend the throne, it seems that the Jin Kingdom is going to dominate. He is a prince named Ji and a relative of the emperor. All countries will surely surrender. "
"this?"
After reading this, Luo Yan frowned deeply. It sounded like a compliment, but it was clearly an attempt to sow discord between the three parties.
If this letter spreads, the impact it will cause may not be too small. It will be a rift between the three.
The expression on Luo Ci's face remained unchanged, and he said calmly: "Qin has capable people, but the following is the focus."
"The Qin State has achieved its current status because of Duke Xuan's favor. If we don't repay it, it must be against the laws of nature.
Xirong conquered the city of Haojing and is now trying to reach the Central Plains.
In the past three hundred years, the Qin State has never dared to forget for a moment the promise it made to Duke Xuan to suppress Xirong for the royal family.
In the name of Shaohao, I hereby assure you that no Rong will ever cross the territory of Qin. "
Luo Yan's face showed the same look as his father's, he shook the bamboo slips in his hand playfully, and said: "Uncle Qin is showing his goodwill and saying that he is not willing to go east.
It was just a delaying tactic, as it was expected that the Luo Kingdom would not take action against the princes who had contributed to the fight against the foreigners. "
Of course, Luo Ci was clear about Qin's thoughts. He nodded and said with a smile: "Uncle Qin of this generation is a general who is good at fighting and killing. Judging from his support for the young master, he has always wanted to go east. Now, But something suddenly changed.
There must be a wise man who entered the Qin Dynasty and gave him this idea. He used the righteousness of resisting the barbarians to tie down Luo's hands and feet. It was really clever.
But this is a good thing. There is destined to be a bloodshed among the Xia, but now Yi Di is still very prosperous.
If the Yi and Di were allowed to take advantage of the situation due to civil strife, the ancestors would definitely blame it.
If the Qin State can really wipe out Xirong completely, maybe God will really favor the Qin people when the state's destiny is fulfilled. "
As they said this, both of them laughed. If the Qin State could really safely annihilate the Xirong in the west, it would not go eastward for at least a hundred years.
After putting Qin's credentials aside, Luo Ci began to ask Luo Yan in detail about the situation in Jin.
Luo Yan's face instantly became serious at this moment, and his thoughts returned to the time when he was in Jin.
Shortly after the Five Young Masters' Rebellion ended, Prince Chong'er ascended the throne as the king of Jin in the presence of a group of officials and Qi Luo.
The largest country in the Central Plains ushered in its new master.
For any ruler, if he wants to stabilize his rule, he must first place his own people.
Normally, a king would place his brothers, in-laws, and followers in key positions, but this time there was a very embarrassing thing.
Prince Chong'er's four brothers killed each other and no one was left. Qi State gave a noble family, and some nobles from Luo State also came to Jin State, plus those ministers and officials who had been following him.
At that time, Luo Yan saw that among the six ministers appointed by Prince Chong'er, there was no one from the public clan, and he couldn't help but asked: "Marquis of Jin, why didn't you appoint anyone from the public clan to be the six ministers?
Is there anyone in the world who is more trustworthy than relatives?
Just as Luo and Jin have a profound friendship for four hundred years, and Qi has a profound friendship for five hundred years, it is because they are related by blood, so they trust each other.
It is true that the six ministers you appointed are virtuous ministers who can prosper the country, but such harsh treatment of relatives may lead to disaster. "
But Prince Chong'er didn't listen at all, he said directly: "Prince, what you said makes sense, but the Jin Kingdom and the Luo Kingdom are different.
In the past five hundred years, there has never been a civil strife in the Luo Kingdom. Such loyal princes and clans are the envy of all the princes in the world.
Over the past five hundred years, countless princes and nobles have been in exile. Jin, Qi, Chu, Song, which country has not?
Not in Luo Kingdom!
How many things like Gongzi Dance have there been in the past five hundred years? I'm afraid no one can count them.
But what about you?
The stigmata between your eyebrows was born with you. Even if there are traitors and traitors, can they deprive you of your nobility?
It tells everyone that you are a descendant of King Su, so you have the confidence to face the royal family and the public family.
Gu also has this confidence, but what about Gu's descendants?
Let's start the change from Gu. Gu never wants Jin to miss the opportunity to dominate due to internal strife. "
At this point, Luo Yan already understood that Prince Chong'er did not trust the princes, because the Jin State had always had too many internal conflicts, and these princes and princes were always thinking about usurping power.
Chong'er, who ascended to the throne after experiencing such a brutal fight, could no longer give power to the public family. If he re-employed ministers and officials, they were only powerful ministers at best and were not qualified to ascend the throne of Jin.
Chong'er believed that only in this way could the throne of Jin be forever guaranteed to be in the hands of his lineage.
"Marquis of Jin, abandoning the prince because he might betray him, isn't it like not eating because he choked on his meal?"
Human limitations are everywhere, and it is inevitable for a wise monarch like Chong'er.
Chong'er waved his hands and said: "It was not just because of these reasons. The officials of Gu Qing were all wise ministers, capable of assisting the Holy King, and they were much more capable than those noble families who had no blood but were defeated.
With their help, the Jin Kingdom will definitely be able to prosper. If you respect the king and fight against the barbarians, the king will do the right thing, so the prince should not worry. "
Luo Yan told Luo Ci exactly what happened that day, and sighed: "The ministers of Jin are indeed good ministers. The system of worldly ministers and ministers and the policy of generous land granting are not the policies of Zhou Dynasty five hundred years ago." System?
Jin will soon prosper, but will eventually perish because of this system, just like the current royal family. "
The system of the Jin State is really too short-term. This system is naturally unfavorable to external expansion, but it requires a high level of power struggle and the ability to control people.
Otherwise, the outcome of the Zhou royal family will be the outcome of the Jin royal family.
Chong'er, the Marquis of Jin, could not think of that for the time being. Now that he was in great power and high-spirited, Jin really deserved to have the strongest foundation among all the countries.
Since Chong'er reformed the domestic military system and implemented the Liuqing system, the entire Jin Kingdom seemed to have turned into a war machine.
Moreover, after suppressing those princes who were only capable of doing bad things, all the ministers who assisted Chong'er were indeed virtuous ministers.
In just three years, huge wealth was accumulated in Yicheng, and the Jin State also had a strong army. The Qing clan of Shiqing Shilu gradually eroded the land that originally belonged to the Jin clan.
Chong'er had a laissez-faire attitude towards this matter. Most of the princes had followed Gongzi Wu at the beginning. After Jin Hou passed away in ignorance, they still wanted to follow Gongzi Wu and kill him.
Chong'er hated these people deeply. He once said to his left and right: "The public family is the guardian of the public house, but these people followed Gongzi Wu in an attempt to kill Jin Hou Wuzhi. When the king's position fell on Gu, they followed him again." I want to kill Gu Gongzi Wu.
It can be seen that there is no king in their hearts. Only when the blue sky is exhausted will they forgive these unfaithful and unjust people. "
Chong'er's actions once again intensified the conflict between the princes and the ministers in the Jin Kingdom. Some princes even openly said: "Chong'er treated the princes so harshly, which has never been seen in other countries.
The Chu State was founded by the Southern Barbarians. After learning etiquette, they even knew how to reuse the public clan. Could it be that Chong'er didn't know that?
The Jin State was a kingdom entrusted by King Su with the surname Ji, ranking first among all the Jis. If the Jin State did this, what else would be noble about the surname Ji? "
Chong'er was naturally furious when he heard this. He thought that these princes were testing his attitude. He wanted to kill this person to intimidate the princes and let them understand his power.
Under the persuasion from the left and right, he put away his thoughts, but still sent a notice to the entire Jin clan.
"As a minister, is it right to slander the king at will?
How can a person without virtue and ability hold a high position?
Jin's gold and jade are piled up like hills, and beautiful cloths can be seen everywhere. Is it possible that I will be stingy with rewards?
In fact, your virtue is like a rat in a stinking ditch, and your talent is even less than a beggar on the roadside. Jade is awarded to gentlemen, and cloth is given to wise men.
You are not worthy of these, so why not learn more from the sages. If you are willing, you can go to the academy in Luo Kingdom, where there are sages who will teach you.
When you come back, you will surely know how to respect your monarch. "
Chong'er's bitter sarcasm was like a letter of challenge, which shocked the entire Jin State and disgraced the entire Jin family.
Chong'er was a powerful king, and his strong will covered the entire Jin Kingdom, and the clamoring nobles instantly shut their mouths.
But contradictions will not disappear, they will only accumulate.
Four years after Chong'er came to the throne, Jin encountered a very critical war.
In order to ensure the safety of the Zhou royal family, the Yiluo soldiers who had previously been entrenched in Yiluo were driven upstream by Jin and Luo countries.
As a result, because the living conditions here were so poor, they wanted to take advantage of the fact that the Jin State was focusing on the Di people, and launched a plundering war against the Zhou royal family.
…
When Duke Wen came to the throne, he ridiculed the Duke's family for being disloyal, lacking in virtue, and showing poor talent, so they were not used.
Duke Luo Duan said: If you prosper like this, you will surely perish like this!
On the day of the fall of the Jin Dynasty, Duke Ai sighed and said: How could Duan Gong's views be so far away?
People at the time said: If I had known today, why bother at the beginning? ——"Guoyu·Jinyu"
(End of chapter)
