Qi State destroyed Ji State in one battle, and then Lai State. When the news came back to Linzi, the Marquis of Qi directly ordered the whole city to celebrate. The whole Linzi became joyful and lively.
The Marquis of Qi even held a grand banquet and invited officials of all sizes from Qi State to celebrate. All kinds of fine wine and food were served, and there was endless singing and dancing. The Marquis of Qi did not care about etiquette and got very drunk.
Guan Zhong did not dissuade the Marquis of Qi from his dissolute behavior, and continuously annexed Ji State and Lai State, directly increasing the population of Qi State by one-third.
It was later in the evening when Wang Sheng got the news. When Qi State annexed Lai State, although Wang Sheng wanted to hinder Qi State and even considered sending troops to help, he gave up after careful consideration. Because there are two large countries, Tan and Ju, between Huai and Lai, as well as a number of small countries such as Zhou, Chunyu and Xiang.
The Huai Kingdom is thousands of miles away from the Lai Kingdom, and if you want to support it, you must pass through these vassal states. Not only that, but also transporting grain and fodder, and leaving a large army to defend the retreat, which even with the national strength of Huai State could not do. The art of war left by King Wen goes like this: If you run thousands of miles to attack, you will definitely defeat the general.
If the Huai State really sent troops to help the Lai State, the Marquis of Qi and Guan Zhong would probably be extremely happy. In a thousand-mile raid, there are too many places where the food routes can be cut off. As long as the food routes are cut off, the Huai army can only be completely annihilated.
After Guan Zhong's governance, the strength of Qi State has increased a lot. As long as the Lai Yi are digested, Qi State can implement the method of respecting the king and repelling the barbarians to dominate the world.
The next day, the Marquis of Qi ordered envoys to deliver the news to the princes in all directions, and the Qi State attacked Lai Yi. At the same time, it was also stated that Qi would hold an alliance next year and invite these princely states to participate.
When the princes from all directions learned that Qi had completely defeated Lai and annexed Lai's land, they were shocked.
You must know that Lai State is not comparable to those Yi and Di tribes. It is a Fang State with a vast land and a population of hundreds of thousands. It is stronger than many vassal states.
The annexation of such a big country can be imagined as a shock to those vassal states. If Qi can annex Lai, it can naturally annex these vassal states whose strength is not as strong as Lai. No one expected that Qi, which had been defeated by Lu several times before, could suddenly become so powerful.
This caused the vassal states that originally didn't care much about Qi's unwillingness to participate in the alliance to directly change their attitudes.
Wang Sheng was also surprised by the power of Qi State. He did not expect that Qi State could actually annex Lai State in one battle. Then he felt a sense of urgency.
He was very aware of the relationship between Qi and Huai. Even though Qi and Huai seem to be in peace now, Qi will definitely attack Huai as long as there is a chance.
Of course, the same is true for the Huai State. The reason why the Huai State did not develop to the north before was because there was another Wu State in the south. Now that the Wu State has been annexed and the Yue State is still very weak, the Huai State can naturally concentrate on dealing with the Qi State.
Wang Sheng knew very well that from the beginning to the end, the princes of Bangzhou did not regard him as a prince of Bangzhou. Even if he was canonized by the Emperor of Zhou, there was no change. After all, these princes knew it. What was the situation like when Emperor Zhou enthroned the Huai Kingdom as a duchy?
These vassal states have always regarded them as survivors of the Yin Shang Dynasty, but the Huai Kingdom has always been strong and powerful, so they have to hold their noses and admit it.
After feeling the pressure from Qi, Wang Sheng began to speed up the digestion of Wu and at the same time stepped up the training of his soldiers. And the outstanding ones were rewarded. These soldiers are encouraged to train hard.
After Qi State annexed Lai State, it paid tribute to Emperor Zhou to show its respect for the Emperor. Since the Emperor of Zhou moved eastward, the royal family's reputation has been increasingly weakened, and it needs the support of powerful vassal states, so he treats Qi very politely.
He also supported Qi's alliance with the princes, allowing Qi to summon the princes in the name of the emperor. It can be said that the two sides hit it off.
The Marquis of Qi was very happy after gaining the trust of Emperor Zhou. Under Guan Zhong's suggestion, he officially took the title of respecting the king and resisting the barbarians.
The Marquis of Qi decided to meet with the princes in Yunyuan, where the terrain was flat and connected in all directions. After deciding the location of the alliance, the Marquis of Qi ordered people to build a loess high platform in Yunyuan, and the high platform built was second only to the Emperor's alliance.
Because this was the first alliance meeting, the Marquis of Qi was not sure how many vassal states would come. However, all preparations must be based on the highest standards.
Time passed quickly, and in a blink of an eye it was time for the alliance meeting. The Marquis of Qi led the army to Yunyuan with Guan Zhong and began to wait for the other princes to arrive.
"Zhongqing, how many princes do you think will come to this alliance meeting?" Qi Hou was a little worried.
"Your Majesty, you are summoning the princes to come to make an alliance in the name of the emperor. In addition, Qi State has destroyed Lai State, and you have gathered the alliance with the power of destroying the country. I believe that the vast majority of the princes will respond." Guan Zhong said with a smile.
"After you have made an alliance with the princes, you can also attack those princes in the name of disrespecting the Zhou Dynasty. Not only will you maintain the majesty of the Zhou Dynasty and you, but it will also make your position more stable."
When the Marquis of Qi heard what Guan Zhong said, he immediately felt that it made sense, and immediately no longer worried about the princes not coming. If I can't make it now, I'll see what you guys say when Daogu comes to visit.
"Your Majesty, if you summon the princes and punish those who do not respect the royal family, you will not only enhance your majesty, but also attack other princely countries, and even annex some small countries that are disobedient."
The Marquis of Qi was determined. In his opinion, at least Ju, Tan, and Cao would definitely come. As for the states of Lu, Song, and Wei, it doesn't matter if they don't come. They just use it to scare the monkeys.
Soon, not long after the Marquis of Qi came to Yunyuan, the first prince to come arrived, and it was Ju State. The relationship between the State of Ju and the State of Qi is very good. The Marquis of Qi took refuge in the State of Ju at the beginning. The Marquis of Ju was very kind to the young prince Qi Hou at that time.
At the same time, in the past hundreds of years, Ju and Qi often worked together to deal with Lai and Dongyi Huaiyi. So when Juhou came here, Qihou went to greet him personally.
When Juhou entered Yunyuan, he immediately saw Qi State sending two teams of military vehicles to protect him. This gave Juhou enough face, and the roads were also cleaned, with loess paving the road and clear water splashing on the street. When they arrived at the place where the alliance would be held, the Marquis of Qi was waiting here in person.
Seeing Qihou, Juhou immediately got out of the chariot and greeted him. Qi Hou and Guan Zhong smiled at each other and walked forward.
"Marquis of Qi!" Marquis Ju saluted first, and Marquis Qi and Guan Zhong quickly returned the salute, and then personally welcomed him into the alliance place.
"Juhou can come to participate in the alliance. I am very happy. With Juhou's support, this alliance will definitely succeed!" Qihou said happily.
"You're welcome, Marquis of Qi. The state of Qi merged with the state of Ji, destroyed the state of Lai, and became the largest country in the east. In the past few decades, which of the princes in the Xia countries has made such great achievements? Shouldn't the princes come here? Do you want to congratulate the state of Qi? If there are princes who dare not come, they must be disrespecting the emperor and the rites of Zhou, and they must be punished!" Juhou said respectfully.
The State of Ju is close to the State of Qi, and is very aware of the changes in the State of Qi, so it keeps its posture very low.
Along with the arrival of Ju State, Tan State also came soon, followed by Cao State, Chen State, Xing State, and Zhu State also came to form an alliance. Although many vassal states came, Tan and Sui both rejected the alliance.
This made the Marquis of Qi very unhappy. Among them, when the Marquis of Qi was in trouble, Tan Guo was very negligent to the Marquis of Qi. This time he did not come to the alliance, which had angered the Marquis of Qi. He had already thought about it. After the alliance was over, Go and destroy the country of Tan.
PS: There are always people who think they are very smart and allow Huaiguo to rescue Laiguo. How can they rescue Laiguo when they are thousands of miles away? Will the army fly over? You don’t even look at the map, just open your mouth and come, right? Do you think there are airplanes and high-speed rail in Spring and Autumn? How many hours will it take?
The Huai Kingdom is a remnant of the Yin Shang Dynasty. It is a natural enemy in Zhou Dynasty. Attacking the Huai Kingdom is politically correct. When Qi State attacked Huaihe, the vassal states on the way prepared their own dry food to help him. They didn't have to worry about logistics for hundreds of miles. Can Huai State compare?
What was the treatment of Chu State in its history? Once they entered the Central Plains, they were besieged. The Jin State even brought more than eighteen vassal states to attack the Chu State. The treatment of the Huai State would only be worse than that of the Chu State. As for stationing troops on the border to attack Qi, how many countries are there between Huai and Qi? Not to mention the threat of garrisoning troops, by the time your army reaches Qi State, Qi State will have already prepared its formation and is waiting for work.
