Dou Bobi said: "Shen's country is surrounded by mountains, which is where the Chu army's specialties are brought into play. It is reasonable to win the first battle. Entering Pingchuan, the battle situation will soon reverse. What is even more worrying is that when the king is first established, the surrounding people The Lord has some doubts about our new king of Chu. After the defeat, if the enemy country takes advantage of the situation and lays out an ambush in the middle of the road to kill him, wouldn't it be in danger for the king?"
Dou Min finally woke up from a dream and asked quickly: "How can we save him now?"
Dou Bobi said: "Send a team of troops quickly to meet the king..." So regardless of the fatigue of the journey, he and Dou Min immediately came with a team of troops. When they encountered the Yong general Gu Xuli who was chasing the king of Chu, he quickly threw his whip to save him. , kill the mediocre army...
Dou Min came to Xiong Tong, knelt down on the ground and said repeatedly: "Dou Min came too late to save me. His crime deserves death. Please punish him!"
Xiong Tong sighed: "It's all my fault to go north to attack Shen. What's your fault? I just defeated one of General Qu's tiger generals, which makes me sad..."
While he was talking, suddenly a group of Chu soldiers tied up a man who looked like a soldier and pushed him in front of Xiong Tong. Xiong Tong took a closer look and saw that it was the soldier who had sneaked out of the camp the night before to visit his mother. Someone saw him with the Yong soldiers led by Gu Xuli. When the Yong soldiers were defeated, he was unable to escape and was captured by the Chu soldiers who pursued them. Xiong Tong shouted: "Are you going to visit my mother again this time?"
The soldier lowered his head and said nothing. Xiong Tong ordered his men to cut off one of his ears first, and then said: "Who are you? Come and call him truthfully. If you don't tell me, then cut off the other ear!"
The soldier couldn't bear the pain of having his ears cut off, so he had to confess truthfully. It turned out that he was a spy sent by the State of Shen to infiltrate the Chu camp. Whether Peng Zhongshuang surrendered to Chu or Yong General Gu Xuli intercepted the Chu army halfway, these were all messages he reported secretly through Feige... Xiong Tong said angrily: "If you hadn't reported the news to Shen and Yong, General Peng's family would not have been killed, and General Qu would not have died... You have committed a heinous crime and deserved to die. How can I tolerate you? Come here, cut this guy into five pieces and kill him. Condolences to the deceased souls of General Qu and General Peng’s family!"
After returning to the court, Xiong Tong buried Qu Nai's father as a superior minister. His son Qu Nai attacked Qu Nai's father's noble title and made Dou Bobi a senior official, taking charge of the post of Sima and commanding the three armies.
One morning at court, Xiong Tong asked his ministers for advice on how to rejuvenate Chu. Doubi came out and said: "To rejuvenate Chu and strengthen the country, we must first ensure that the country is peaceful and the people are safe. Jingchu is located in a barbarian land with many ethnic groups. Only if all ethnic groups are equal, Living in harmony, living and working in peace and contentment, and sharing peace, can be considered a peaceful country and a peaceful people; secondly, strengthening the country and creating wealth, the essence of which is to abandon well fields and open roads to inspire the enthusiasm of cultivators to harvest more grain. Only when there is grain in the treasury can one feel at ease; The third is to strengthen the army and rejuvenate the country. The army is the backbone of the country. To rejuvenate the country, the army must be strong. To build a strong army, it is not enough to have high fighting spirit. It must also have excellent equipment. The pain of defeating Shen Lessons have proved this. Therefore, we must not only have brave and capable infantry, but also build a strong chariot army like the Central Plains, so that we can compete with the Central Plains. If we achieve these three things, we will not worry about the enemy!"
Dou Bobi's words made Xiong Tongxin burst into laughter and all the ministers were sincerely convinced. Xiong Tong couldn't help but praise: "I won Bobi, just like Shang Tang got Yi Yin, and King Wen got Ziya!"
Subsequently, Xiong Tong formulated a series of strategies to govern the country according to Dou Bobi's suggestions, and with a broad mind, he united the different tribes scattered on the land of Jingchu into the big family of Chu. At the same time, a team of chariots and soldiers capable of galloping in the Suizao Corridor were formed, as well as an engineering corps that smoothed roads and built bridges for the chariots, thus opening the historical curtain of the Chu State's prosperity and military strength, and the pursuit of victory in the Central Plains.
One morning at court, the doctor Zhang Zhang said: "After several years of renovation, our Chu State has sufficient treasury and the country is rich and the people are strong. It is the best time to expand the territory. The Jianghan area is a plain. Not only the geographical environment is the same as that of the Central Plains, but the climate conditions are also the same as those of the Central Plains. Even better than the Central Plains, with rich products, it is known as the granary of the world. If it can be annexed, it will be like adding a cornucopia to our great Chu. This opportunity cannot be missed, please send troops to the east immediately!"
Zhang Zhang's proposal was unanimously supported by all ministers. Xiong Tongtong: "The Qing family proposes the Eastern Expedition. I wonder how it compares to Uncle Wang's opinion?"
When all the ministers were approving the benefits of the Eastern Expedition, Dou Bobi kept smiling and said nothing. It wasn't until Xiong Tong asked him that he said: "My idea is exactly opposite to everyone's opinion, that is, we should first go west and then east!"
When everyone saw this, they couldn't help but be stunned. Xiong Channel: "Everyone says we should put east before west, but you say we should put west before east. Please tell us your reasons for putting west before east!"
Dou Bobi was confident and said calmly: "You are right. The Jianghan area is all plains. It has a superior geographical environment, suitable climate conditions, and rich products. It is known as a land of plenty. If we conquer it, it is like holding a golden baby. But, everyone Have you ever thought about it, if you push eastward and the west is unstable, you will be trapped in the dilemma of being attacked from both sides. If you fail to push eastward, you will be confused. Therefore, I advocate that the northwest should be pacified first, and after the rear is stabilized, it will not be too late to push eastward. In addition, I There is another important reason for advocating the pacification of the northwest. This is because there is a father named Guan Ding in the state of Fo. He is both civilized and military, and has great ambitions. He has always warned the marquis of Fo to cultivate politics internally, consolidate the foundation and strengthen the country, and actively prepare for war. However, the marquis of Fo does not take it seriously. Although the marquis of Fo is mediocre and incompetent. The monarch of Guan Ding, and does not trust Guan Ding's father, but if we expand eastward or conquer other countries westward, it will also give Guan Ding's father an excuse to persuade the Marquis of Bo. At that time, the state of Bo will take advantage of my eastward expedition to copy The consequences of my retreat will be disastrous. Therefore, I advocate a western expedition, and the country of Bo will bear the brunt. If we can take the opportunity to subdue Guan Ding's father, it will not only clear the way for the pacification of the northwest, but also add a tiger general to the Chu country. It can be said to kill two birds with one stone..."
Zhang Zhang said: "Doctor Dou is exaggerating. What is Ding's father's ability? Otherwise, why is he not reused by Marquis Hou? What ability can a man who can't even convince his own monarch have? Yichen should immediately expand eastward. This opportunity cannot be missed!" Seeing that one of the two wanted to expand eastward and the other wanted to conquer the west, Xiong Tong couldn't make up his mind for a while.
After retreating from the court, Xiong Tong walked into the imperial garden behind the main hall. In the past few days, Xiong Tong was busy with government affairs, and had almost no time to spare. He even had to approve memorials during meals. The blooming camellias and dancing white butterflies in the imperial garden made him feel happy. He stretched his arms, trying to take this opportunity to calm down his tired mind and body, when suddenly the sound of reading sounded loudly in his ears. Xiong Tong looked up and saw that the Imperial Academy was nearby, and Mr. Baoshen was urging his second son Xiong Geng to endorse. What Xiong Geng memorized was the section "Local Officials and Situ" in "The Rites of Zhou": "Only the king builds the country, distinguishes the right position, organizes the country and the country, sets up officials and assigns duties, and thinks of the people. It is the local officials... Only the king builds the country, distinguishes The Founder's position is to organize the country and the country, set up officials and separate duties, and consider the people to be at the forefront..."
After Xiong Yun memorized it, Baoshen asked again: "Do you understand the meaning of this verse?" Xiong Yun shook his head, and Baoshen explained it word by word.
Baoshen was from the State of Shen, very knowledgeable, and very strict with his students. Xiong Tong specially sent someone to invite him from the State of Shen to teach his sons. Through the window lattice, Xiong Tong only saw his second son Xiong Geng and his third son Xiong Shan, but his eldest son Xiong Xia was not inside. When Xiong Tong was confused, something suddenly fell in front of him. Xiong Tong took a closer look and saw that it was a little bird with an arrow stuck in its body. Following the sound of "tapping" footsteps, the eldest son Xiong Xia was seen running over with a carved bow in hand. Seeing that it was Xiong Tong, Xiong Xia hurriedly knelt down and saluted: "My dear father, I bow to you!"
Xiong Tong couldn't help scolding him in a reproachful tone: "If you don't study in the school and go out to play, what kind of behavior will you have?"
Xiong Xia said: "I don't want to learn those nonsense things..."
Xiong Tong said angrily: "You actually say that the way of governing a country is a mess. Don't you want to become a useful member of the country and end up degenerating and living in a daze all your life?"
Xiong Xia said: "My father's lesson is true...but I don't mean it this way. I think that the way to serve the country today is to conquer people with force, and the so-called conquering people with virtue is all lies. King Zhao of Zhou attacked Chu three times, Is he trying to conquer others with virtue? Is the current war between Zhou and Zheng using virtue to conquer others? It's all for his own selfish purposes and uses the guise of conquering others with virtue to make excuses for conquering others with force. If you want to learn, please learn and lead. The ability of soldiers to fight. The bird shooting just now was not for fun, but to practice riding and archery..."
