Guan Zhong was in power for two years, and Qi's national power became increasingly prosperous. The Marquis of Qi decided to attack Lu again, hoping to make Lu surrender. Bao Shuya led the Lu army to fight in Changshao.
From Bao Shuya onwards, the Qi army officers despised the Lu army, thinking it was vulnerable and looked down upon the Lu army. As a result, Duke Zhuang of Lu used Cao GUI's strategy to show the enemy that he was weak. Qi State declined after three drums. Lu State defended and counterattacked, defeating the powerful Qi State in one fell swoop.
Unwilling to be defeated, Qi State united with Song State to attack Lu, but was defeated by Lu State again. The prestige of the State of Lu increased day by day.
After two consecutive defeats, even if the Marquis of Qi felt unhappy, he had to temporarily stop fighting with Lu. Then he carried out reforms with the assistance of Guan Zhong.
In the fifth year of Guan Zhong's reign in Qi, a series of reforms he implemented in Qi began to bear fruit. The most obvious change is that the flow of people in Linzi has doubled. The living standards of Chinese people have improved.
The current state of Qi can be said to have a full treasury, well-equipped soldiers and sufficient food, the people are happy, and no one is picking up lost items on the road. Such a prosperous time made the people of Qi very convinced of him.
At the same time, not only the people of Qi State became rich, but even the tax revenue of Qi State was increasing day by day.
In the main hall of the Qi Palace, the Marquis of Qi was discussing state affairs with Guan Zhong. After the state affairs were settled, the Marquis of Qi said to Guan Zhong.
"Zhongxiang, three years ago, you persuaded Gu and Lu to stop fighting. Gu didn't listen at first and insisted on fighting with Lu, but was defeated. At this time, our Qi State has cultivated for three years, and it can be said that the army and horses are strong. Gu wants to fight again. Zhongxiang agrees. How about the next one?"
Guan Zhong cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty, the Qi State has accumulated strength for five years and is gradually gaining strength. It is indeed possible to send troops. However, if your Majesty wants to dominate the world, you should implement the method of respecting the king and repelling the barbarians."
"But now it is not appropriate to attack Lu."
"Then where should we send troops to attack? Huaiguo?" Qi Hou asked.
Guan Zhong glanced at the Marquis of Qi and said, "Your Majesty, the Huai State is so powerful that not even Qi State can rival it."
The Marquis of Qi was a little embarrassed and said: "Then the Huai State is entrenched in the south, how can it be governed?" Since the establishment of the Huai State, all the princes of Qi have regarded the Huai State as a serious problem. Especially after the Huai State prospered, the Qi State could only be passive. Defensive.
"Your Majesty, although the Huai State is prosperous, it is not invincible. It can defeat the Qi State, but can it defeat the states of Zhou and Zhou?"
"No!" The Marquis of Qi shook his head and said, "Although the Huai Kingdom is strong, if the eastern countries join forces, they cannot win!"
"So, if your Majesty wants to defeat the Huai Kingdom, you should order the princes to raise the troops of all countries to fight!" Guan Zhong said.
When the Marquis of Qi heard this, his eyes lit up and he asked, "How can we command the princes?"
Guan Zhong said: "Respect the king and fight against the barbarians!"
"Please ask Mr. Zhong to clear up my doubts."
"Your Majesty, respecting the king and resisting the barbarians can give you a high reputation. Now that the Emperor of Zhou is weak, the countries no longer take the Emperor into their eyes. If you can respect the Emperor and gain reputation, and cooperate with your own strength, you can command other villains. vassal state.”
"But just respecting the emperor is not enough to gain huge reputation. This requires you to get rid of the barbarians to accumulate reputation, and you can also increase your strength through this move."
"Now that the Qi State is reforming and becoming stronger, its strength has greatly increased, but the strength of the surrounding Yi people has not changed. Your Majesty can take this opportunity to defeat and annex the Yi and Di tribes, and at the same time show your force to the world!"
"As for the Huai State, when the Qi State respects its king and fights the barbarians, and allies with the princes, gathers the strength of the princes and countries, and then fights with them, how can the Huai State stop it?"
When the Marquis of Qi heard what Guan Zhong said, his eyes flashed with light, as if he couldn't wait to implement Guan Zhong's strategy.
"Please ask Mr. Zhong to teach me!" Qi Hou was so excited that he stopped talking.
"Your Majesty, our Qi State is strong and prosperous, surrounded by Huaiyi, Dongyi, Beidi, etc. You can send a large army to conquer it. At the same time, our Qi State is strong and prosperous, but some vassal states are in decline and are attacked by Yi and Di. At that time, your Majesty can Lead an army to help and show kindness.”
"If your Majesty, with the power of great victory, invites the princes to form an alliance, everything will surely go wrong."
"Xiang Zhong, what if someone is unwilling to obey?" Qi Hou asked.
"When the time comes, Your Majesty will lead an alliance to attack him in the name of disrespecting the Emperor and not paying tribute to the Emperor. When the time comes, he will naturally ask to join and regard Your Majesty as the leader of the alliance!"
"Then we will do as Zhong Xiang said, but I want to change the target of the army's conquest." Qi Hou said with a smile.
"Your Majesty, you want to attack the Kingdom of Ji?" Guan Zhong said with a smile.
"Exactly!" Qi Hou snorted coldly.
The State of Qi and the State of Ji are old enemies. Ji Houjin's slander led to Duke Ai of Qi being cooked and killed. Since then, the Duke of Qi has been fighting for hundreds of years, which can be said to have caused heavy losses. In addition, the location of Ji State happened to be in the path of Qi State's expansion.
If Ji State is not eliminated, how can Qi State expand?
"Then your Majesty, in the name of revenge, conquer the Kingdom of Ji!" Guan Zhong agreed.
The geographical location of Ji State is very important to Qi State. It is right on Qi State's throat. If Qi State conquers the Yi and Di, if Ji State has any bad intentions, it can directly send troops to cut off Qi State's retreat. How can this reassure Qi Guo?
After deciding to attack the State of Ji, the monarchs and ministers of the State of Qi began to formulate a war plan. At the same time, the entire Qi State was also mobilized to recruit soldiers according to the counties, townships, soldiers, and cities established by Guan Zhong.
Qi State implemented the integration of farmers and soldiers, as well as a partial semi-recruitment system. These semi-recruited compatriots have to train for ten days every month, and their combat effectiveness is much stronger than that of the temporarily recruited militiamen. At the same time, Qi's armor wearing rate has also increased a lot.
Qi has a large population. After Guan Zhong's restructuring, its mobilization capacity has increased several times, and the number of armies that can be mobilized is also very large.
It didn't take long for the Qi State to gather a full 100,000 troops. Moreover, among the 100,000 troops, the number of militiamen was much smaller than before, and the number of elites was greatly increased. It was no longer the army that collapsed at the first touch.
In order to lower Ji State's vigilance, Qi State specifically declared that these 100,000 troops were used to conquer Huaiyi and Dongyi. After the 100,000-strong army was assembled and the food and grass were ready, Qi State began to dispatch.
The State of Qi dispatched an army of 100,000 men and thousands of chariots, with Wang Chengfu as general, leading the army to the expedition. Wang Cheng's father, whose surname was Wang, was extremely brave and strategic. He was a general specially promoted by the Marquis of Qi to avenge his previous humiliation.
The Marquis of Qi handed over 100,000 troops to the command of Wang Chengfu. In name, it was to conquer Huaiyi and Dongyi, but in fact it was to destroy Ji State.
After learning the purpose of this battle, Wang Chengfu nodded to express his understanding, and then commanded the army to set off. When Ji Guo heard that Qi State was recruiting a large army, he was very nervous. Ji Hou also ordered an army to be gathered in the capital to guard against Qi State's attack. Later, after hearing that Qi was going to conquer the Yi and Di, he immediately felt relieved and returned the army to various places, leaving only a part to protect the capital.
Ji State is much weaker than Qi State. It relied on the power of Lu State and Wang Ji to compete with Qi State. Now without the support of Lu State and Wang Ji, Ji State's strength lags far behind.
General Ji Hou returned, and one of the ministers admonished him: "Qi's 100,000-strong army went out to attack the barbarians and Di. However, I, Ji, have a big enmity with Qi. We must take precautions. Please leave a large army to protect us."
