Why did King Chu not flee to Lingguo for refuge? It was because King Jin had learned from his mistakes.
From the performance of the Spirit Army, he already understood that the Spirit King was not sincere in helping him. If he went there, he would probably be under house arrest, so he might as well go south.
And if you go all the way south, you will reach the land of the Southern Barbarians after leaving the Chu Kingdom.
Nanman is the collective name given to the foreign peoples in the south by the Central Plains Dynasty. At that time, the Central Plains was the center of the world, surrounded by the four surrounding areas, namely Nanman, Beidi, Xirong, and Dongyi.
"Kingdom" records: The people of the five directions all have their own nature. The people in the south are called "barbarians", and there are those who eat without fire.
A hundred years ago, the surrounding ethnic groups of the Chu State took advantage of the great famine in Chu and gathered together barbarians to invade Chu. Duke Jian of Chu led an army to personally conquer the south, and then merged with the barbarians and Yue, including Dongting and Cangwu.
Historically known as Daqi Qunman.
Since then, the southern barbarians have not dared to invade the north for more than a hundred years. They have paid tribute every year and become ministers year after year.
The current King of Chu not only plans to flee south, but also wants to restore his country.
In the palace study, he was summoning Du Cheng, an official of Chu State.
After analyzing the current situation in detail, he sighed and said: "The Qin army is now overwhelmingly powerful and cannot hold on for long. The only way to reverse the situation is to go south and ask the Barbarian King to help us."
Du Qian was a diplomatic official of Chu State. After hearing this, his heart suddenly tightened: "What? Your Majesty, I have the courage to ask whether this matter is discussed by the imperial court."
"This matter cannot be brought to light and can only be carried out secretly. Otherwise, the Prime Minister and others will not agree." King Chu also understood very well.
"This, this." Du Qian was worried: "Your Majesty, the South Barbarians are not of my race. If we ask them for help, it is easier to ask the gods than to give them away. Once we enter the border, the consequences are unpredictable."
"I know what you want to say." The King of Chu said: "Although the Southern Barbarians are outsiders, this is the only way at present. For Chu, Qin is a pain in the internal organs, and the Southern Barbarians are only a skin disease, not to mention it is a dispelling disease. The tiger chases the wolf and invites the southern barbarians to come in and fight the Qin army. We will take this opportunity to recruit strong men and strengthen our troops. When the army recovers a little, they will be almost done fighting. If we come out to clean up the mess, there will be hope for the restoration of the country."
His thoughts were too natural.
After Du Qian heard this, he said again: "But Your Majesty, if you invite the barbarian king, you will also invite foreign enemies to come in. If something happens, the world will blame you..."
"What accident could happen!" King Chu frowned and said, "As long as we can defeat the Qin army and restore Chu, I will do whatever it takes!"
After that, he added: "My ancestor, Duke Jian, was able to suppress the barbarians at the beginning, and I can do the same afterwards."
But how could his ability be compared with Duke Jiang of Chu a hundred years ago.
You must know that at that time, the world had more princes and dozens or hundreds of small principalities. Chu was able to dominate the south and pacify the barbarians, which shows the talent of Duke Jian.
Seeing what the King of Chu said, Du Qian didn't know how to refute it for a while. He could only say: "I would like to ask your Majesty to think twice about this matter..."
"No need, you will leave tomorrow and go to the Southern Barbarians to contact the Barbarian King on my behalf." King Chu said directly.
"This, this, yes, I obey your orders." Under the emperor's order, Du Zheng had no choice.
The King of Chu is planning to secretly invite the Southern Barbarians to enter the Pass. This matter will be done without any publicity, because if the Prime Minister of Chu knows about it, he will probably not agree.
Du Shi received the king's order and quietly set out from Chudu. After more than ten days, he finally arrived in the southern barbarian land.
Since Duke Jian, the Southern Barbarians have always been in a state of submission. For many years, they have sent envoys to Chu to pay tribute, but few envoys from Chu came here.
Therefore, the Nanman King was extremely polite to Du Shi's arrival, at least on the surface.
In the chief tribe, there are things like bull heads and horns hanging on the walls. The appearance of the Nanman King is not very ferocious. He is slightly fat and wears a leader's hat. There are some precious bird feathers on the hat, and there are also hangings around his neck. A necklace of wolf teeth.
From his clothing, it means that he is the most noble person in the Nanman tribe.
In fact, before this, the Southern Barbarians had discussed an invasion, taking advantage of the Qin army's southern expedition to advance into Chu from the south, but due to various reasons, it was not implemented in the end.
Now, the Chu envoy came. At the banquet, the Nanman King served a lot of game. He was the first to hold up the wine glass on the big animal skin chair directly above him and said with a smile: "We always serve distinguished guests. The best thing to entertain me, come and ask your envoy to drink this cup to the full."
"Ah, please." Du Qian held the cup and covered his mouth with his sleeve.
After the Nanman King drank the wine in one gulp, he wiped the corners of his mouth carelessly and said: "We have always respected Chu, and this year's tribute has been sent there a long time ago. I don't know what your envoy is doing here today. ah."
"Ah, that's it." Du Qian put down his wine glass. After thinking about it, he decided to get straight to the point: "Our country has always had a good relationship with you. To be honest, my king has encountered some difficulties now and needs your help. Of course, if possible, I, Da Chu, will never treat you badly."
Hearing this, the Nanman King rolled his eyes and still smiled and said: "We have some understanding of the situation in Chu State. Please speak frankly."
Du Zhao didn't mince words: "Please send troops to help us defeat the Qin army together."
"Sending troops is no small matter, and the Qin army is said to be very good at fighting. Once it enters the Central Plains, we don't know how many warriors will have to sacrifice..." The Southern Barbarian King showed a look of embarrassment on his face.
These words are nothing more than a routine on the negotiation table. How could diplomat Du Zheng not understand the meaning of the Barbarian King? He immediately said: "The people of the great leader are all warriors who dare to fight. When your friends need help, you can help them." How can we stand idly by? And don't worry, if we work together, as long as we defeat the Qin army, our king promises to separate several southern cities such as Jiaoyang and Cangwu, as well as gold, silver, silk and satin, fine wine and meat, to comfort the great leader. Warriors.”
This was an extremely tempting offer for the Nanman king. The Nanman King's eyes suddenly lit up, and he immediately changed the topic and said, "Your envoy is too polite. Just like you said, when a friend is in trouble, he should do everything he can to help him." I can help, but I still need to discuss this matter with the other leaders."
Du Qian understood what he meant and directly raised his hand and said, "Then I'll just wait for the good news from the great leader."
"Ah, please give me another drink..."
After the banquet, Du Zhao resigned and went down to rest first. The Nanman King glanced at the other tribal leaders sitting below and said with a smile: "Did you see that? I said there is no need for us to attack Nanping Pass. The Chu Kingdom They will invite us to the Central Plains, and now their envoys have come and offered such generous terms, what do you think? What do you think?"
