Wei, Qin, Lu, Chu, and Qi were the first to learn about Wei's move of its capital to Luoyang, while Han and Yue were the last to learn about it.

In response to this matter, Qi Wangbai said when discussing with Right Prime Minister Tian Ba: "Wei State abandoned Daliang and moved to Luoyang. Does this mean that Wei State does not intend to expand?"

Tian Tao said: "Not necessarily."

In recent years, due to the rapid development momentum of Wei State, the pressure from various countries in the Central Plains has increased dramatically - even Wei's ally Chu State has been under pressure, not to mention Qi State, which originally had grievances with Wei State.

nation.

Now, the State of Wei moved its capital westward to Luoyang in Sanchuan County, which made Qi Wangbai breathe a sigh of relief.

However, Tian Tao believed that the move of Wei's capital to Luoyang was nothing more than temporarily locking a ferocious tiger in a cage, but it did not mean that the tiger itself had lost its threat.

Based on this point of view, Tian Tao gave detailed examples and introduced Sanchuan County to Qi Wangbai.

Although there is information about Sanchuan County, most of it is sent back by merchants who went to Wei State for business. Tian Bao himself has not personally confirmed it, but the intelligence points out that Sanchuan County has as much cultivable land as Yingshui County.

This deserves Tian Tao to be more vigilant about this.

You must know that about 50% or even 60% of Wei's current grain cultivation is still produced in Yingshui County, followed by Shangdang County, Hanoi County, Hedong County, etc. that Wei has vigorously constructed in recent years. Now Wei

If the country moves its capital to Luoyang, there is no doubt that the wasteland in Sanchuan County will be quickly reclaimed into fertile land, and the food output of this county will also quickly become closer to that of Yingshui County - this is for other Central Plains countries.

, is not a good thing.

In fact, the Wei State has always been a country that pays more attention to farming, and its annual grain output is very considerable. However, even so, it cannot support the foreign expeditions of more than 400,000 domestic troops for a long time. This is different from the "War between Chu and Qi".

The Chu State is somewhat similar, the only difference is that Wei's regular army is much stronger than the Chu State's army.

If such a country with strong military power were to be freed from the constraints of food, then Tian Tao could not imagine what the result would be - by then, would there be any country in the entire Central Plains that could restrict Wei?

Tian Tao believed that Qi State should not relax its vigilance because Wei State took the initiative to move the capital westward. On the contrary, it should deeply understand the potential threats of Wei State's move to the west, further accelerate domestic construction internally, and unite externally.

South Korea instigated rebellion against the Chu State and jointly suppressed the Wei State.

King Bai of Qi deeply agreed with Tian Tao's ideas.

The next day, he sent an envoy to the State of Wei. On the one hand, he congratulated King Zhao Run on the move of the capital, and on the other hand, he tried to find out the intentions of the State of Wei to see if the State of Wei was pursuing some purpose as Tian Tao thought.

And accumulate strength.

In addition, he also sent Feng Chen, a famous lobbyist in the country, to go to Chu State again.

The road from Linzi of Qi State to Shouying, the royal capital of Chu State, was relatively smooth. Within a month, Feng Xuan arrived at Shouying and was received by King Xiong Tuo of Chu State.

After some pleasantries, Feng Chen said to King Xiong Tuo of Chu: "Not long ago, I heard that Wei State moved its capital to Luoyang. What do you think of this?"

Perhaps because of the "Yitan" book some time ago, King Xiong Tuo of Chu felt that he had been deliberately smeared, so he seemed unhappy when he mentioned the Kingdom of Wei, and said lightly: "Whether the dwarf moves the capital to Luoyang or to Handan, it doesn't matter.

What does it have to do with me?"

Hearing this, Feng Chen frowned slightly and said, "Didn't your Majesty see the potential threat?" After that, he explained Tian Tao's concept to Chu King Xiong Tuo.

Unexpectedly, King Xiong Tuo of Chu disapproved after hearing this and said calmly: "Is the Sanchuan County of Wei State still as large as the territory of Chu on earth?"

Although Feng Xuan had long heard that Chu King Xiong Tuo was arrogant and arrogant, he never expected that he would be so arrogant. He was about to continue persuading him in a hurry when he saw Chu King Xiong Tuo wave his hand and said, "I'm tired, sir.

It turns out that the whole journey is tiring, so why not take a break at the city posthouse."

After that, he ignored Feng Xuan and left.

Feng Xuan had no choice but to go to the post house in the city to rest, carefully consider his words, and prepare to persuade the King of Chu tomorrow.

In fact, is King Xiong Tuo of Chu really arrogant? Not sure!

After dealing with Feng Xuan, King Xiong Tuo of Chu immediately summoned the prime minister, his younger brother Xiong Sheng, Lord of Liyang, to discuss the matter with the latter in detail.

Liyang Jun Xiong Sheng heard this and said with a smile: "It seems that there are many far-sighted people in Qi."

After that, he asked Xiong Tuodao with some surprise: "Why doesn't your Majesty let Feng Chen continue talking?"

Xiong Sheng, Lord of Liyang, did not think that the elder brother in front of him would be so ignorant that he could not see the potential threat of Wei. He must have made his own judgment.

Sure enough, Chu King Xiong Tuo snorted and chuckled: "Let him Feng Xuan continue talking? Hey! He is nothing more than the rhetoric of strengthening the alliance between Chu and Qi... Although I, the great Chu, cannot boast of a sure victory over Wei, but

It’s not that the Wei State can be manipulated arbitrarily. On the other hand, if the Wei State expands in the future, it may not be able to withstand it. In this case, it is better to leave the Qi State alone for a while to facilitate the future.”

"I see."

Xiong Sheng, Lord of Liyang, suddenly realized. Only then did he realize that Xiong Tuo had already guessed Feng Xuan's purpose of coming here, but he deliberately wanted to keep Feng Xuan in the dark and make Qi State panic because of this, so that he could make it easier for Chu State to propose to Qi State in the future.

various requirements.

After all, in the "Battle of Chu and Qi" a few years ago, although Chu State captured Qi State's Sishui County and Donghai County, it failed to improve economically. The gold and silver property that the Chu State army looted at that time,

In fact, it would be better to make up for the food and grass consumption of this troop dispatch. If it were not for the capture of Qi's land in those two counties, Chu State's troop dispatch would almost be considered a failure.

Now, the opportunity to rip off Qi State has come: Qi State is afraid of Wei State, but Chu State is not afraid. If Qi State hopes to further unite Chu State to suppress Wei State, then Xiong Tuo will naturally not let go of this opportunity. It will definitely be

We need to ask for a fortune from the State of Qi to make up for the national treasury's increasingly serious deficit due to internal construction.

All in all, what Xiong Tuo values ​​​​is still the wealth of Qi, although Qi is actually far less wealthy than Yin in the era of Qi King Lu Xi.

"Good morning, Your Majesty!"

After learning Xiong Tuo's overall plan, Xiong Sheng, Lord of Liyang, praised him, and then he added: "Your Majesty, since the State of Qi has shown good intentions, your Majesty might as well consider things other than money."

"Huh?" Xiong Tuo was slightly startled.

At this time, Xiong Sheng, Lord of Liyang, said seriously: "I heard from people that the reason why Wei's craftsmanship has advanced by leaps and bounds is all thanks to Mr. Wei at that time... No, it was the "Secret Records of Lu Gong" printed by Wei King Zhao Run from Lu.

”, now Qi State has asked me for help from Chu, and Lu State is said to have fallen into a civil war between the royal family and Sanhuan. Why doesn’t your Majesty take this opportunity to get the Secret Record of Lu Gong?”

Xiong Tuo's eyes lit up slightly when he heard this, and he paced back and forth in the palace, frowning slightly and said, "I'm afraid that the State of Lu will remember what happened back then and may not be willing to hand over this thing."

Xiong Sheng, Lord of Liyang, said seriously: "In the name of great righteousness, your Majesty intervened in the civil strife of Lu and supported King Lu in expelling Sanhuan. The reward is the "Secret Records of Lu Gong", which King Lu may not be willing to accept."

Xiong Tuo squinted his eyes and stroked his beard, then nodded slowly: "Shan!... I'll leave this matter to you."

"Brother, I accept the order."

Liyang Lord Xiong Sheng cupped his hands and clasped his fists, and was about to say goodbye when he suddenly thought of something. He turned around again, and after looking around the palace, he whispered: "In addition, Your Majesty, as far as I know, Xiong Wu is the one before him.

Have you visited Mr. Chu Shui for a while?"

Hearing this, Xiong Tuo smiled inexplicably, nodded and said, "It is true."

Seeing this, Xiong Sheng, Lord of Liyang, lowered his voice and said: "Xiong Wu has great ambitions and little talent, so there is nothing to be afraid of, but Lord Chu Shui... I think this person is too treacherous, so I need to be careful."

In fact, Chu Shuijun is the younger brother of Xiong Xu, the old king of Chu State, and the uncle of Xiong Tuo and Xiong Sheng. However, this person is too mysterious, and it is said that he has a group of witches working for him, which makes Liyang Jun Xiong

Sheng was full of vigilance.

Xiong Tuo was silent for a moment after hearing this. In fact, his views were similar to those of Liyang Lord Xiong Sheng, and he also believed Lord Chu Shui was a threat. Unfortunately, Lord Chu Shui enjoyed high prestige among the Xiong family nobles in Eastern Chu, and

There is also a hidden secret force in his hand, which makes Xiong Tuo a little bit cautious.

In addition, since Xiong Tuo ascended the throne as the King of Chu, Chu Shuijun has always been law-abiding and even gave Xiong Tuo unexpected support many times, which made it difficult for Xiong Tuo to attack him.

Because of this, when Liyang Jun Xiong Sheng reminded him, he just nodded and said that he would be wary.

Before leaving, Xiong Sheng, Lord of Liyang, told Xiong Tuo that their father's health had been deteriorating recently and he was afraid that he might die soon. He hoped that Xiong Tuo would visit him, which made Xiong Tuo hesitate.

Xiong Tuo was full of hatred for his father Xiong Xu, not only because Xiong Xu ignored him as a concubine and left him to his younger brother Xiong Hao, Lord of Runan, to teach him on his behalf, but also because Xiong Xu later became a noble of Eastern Chu.

Under pressure, Xiong Tuo's most respected uncle, Runan Jun Xiong Hao, was forced to death.

But now, the hated father is old and may die soon, which makes Xiong Tuoyi feel a little soft-hearted.

"...I wrote it down."

After hesitating for a while, Xiong Tuo finally couldn't finish his words.

But after hearing this, Liyang Lord Xiong Tuo was very satisfied and left with a smile on his face.

The next day, Qi envoy Feng Chen once again asked to see King Xiong Tuo of Chu, but was told that Xiong Tuo was busy with government affairs and had no time to meet him.

After learning about this, Feng Chen frowned slightly and had already vaguely guessed it.

You must know that although King Xiong Tuo of Chu is also a wise monarch, he is not good at internal governance. The domestic construction of Chu State has always been handled by Prime Minister Liyang Jun Xiong Sheng. Under such circumstances, how could Xiong Tuo possibly

Too busy to take time to see him?

Obviously, this was done deliberately by Xiong Tuo.

"People work as swordsmen, and I work as fish and meat."

After sighing secretly, Feng Chen could only plead again and again to see Xiong Tuo. Finally, on the fourth day, King Xiong Tuo of Chu took the time to meet him.

During the negotiation that day, Xiong Tuo expressed that he could reach a further secret alliance with the Qi State, but he also implicitly mentioned that the Chu State had spent a lot of money in building domestic agriculture over the years.

Feng Chen was such a smart person. He understood right away: Xiong Tuo was asking for money from them!

After weighing the pros and cons, Feng Xuan agreed to Xiong Tuo's request on Linzi's behalf, and Qi would provide part of the money to help Chu develop domestically - in fact, both parties knew that most of the money would be used to strengthen Chu's army.

After all, in view of the growing threat from Wei, Chu needs to strengthen its domestic regular army. And Qi also needs Chu's army to attract Wei's attention.

Some people may say that when Chu attacked Qi, it once had the ambition to annex Qi. But now, Qi is funding Chu to expand its army and improve its military equipment. Isn't it afraid that Chu will retaliate in the future and take the opportunity to annex Qi?

?

In fact, Qi is not worried yet.

Because at this time, at that time, when Chu State attacked Qi State, Wei State was still so powerful that it frightened all the countries in the Central Plains - Wei State at that time also had a powerful opponent like South Korea. In fact, Chu State at that time had absolutely no
To be continued...