Controlling mountains and rivers since the Warring States Period

Chapter 180 Five Kingdoms Attack Qin (End)

When the morale of the coalition forces was low and the army was in disarray, Zhang Yi went on a diplomatic mission to the State of Chu.

The King of Chu believed that this was someone sent by Qin to beg for mercy, so he met Zhang Yi with a smug attitude.

When I saw Zhang Yi for the first time,
The King of Chu could not help but feel a little happy and approached this person, thinking that this person was very much to his liking.

"Prime Minister Zhang of Qin, you have come here at this time. What do you want to say to me?"

King Xiong Xin of Chu leaned on the armrest and spoke to Zhang Yi with a teasing look.

Zhang Yi kowtowed to him with a look of panic.

"Qin was attacked by five countries at Hangu Pass and was very afraid!"

"And Chu, as the elder of the coalition, makes Qin feel even more powerful. Even if they try their best, they can't defeat it!"

"So, the King of Qin sent me here to express his sincerity and to return the land that he had previously obtained due to his offense against the State of Chu. I hope to ask for your forgiveness."

The King of Chu laughed and was very satisfied with Zhang Yi's attitude.

Zhang Yi then continued to praise the strength of the State of Chu and the wisdom and bravery of the King of Chu.

When the King of Chu was so flattered by his praise that he forgot that Qin and Chu were at war and treated Zhang Yi as a VIP, Zhang Yi suddenly put down his wine glass, stopped eating, and let out a heavy sigh.

The King of Chu looked at him with concern.

Zhang Yi just bowed and said, "I don't understand."

After hearing this, King Chu began to have doubts in his eyes.

So Zhang Yi continued, "I don't understand. With the strength of Chu, why should we work so hard for other princes?"

"Zhao, Wei, Han and Yan nominated you as the leader. This is naturally because Chu is powerful and I cannot compare with it."

"But is it really necessary for Chu to form an alliance with other countries?"

Zhang Yi raised his head and looked directly at the King of Chu with his clear eyes.

He says:
"The territory of Chu is the most extensive among all the princes."

"The population of Chu is the largest among all the princes."

"The power of Chu is enough to annex Yue and intimidate Qin!"

"Now Chu has sent a large army north to attack Qin's Hangu Pass. How much will it cost on the way? Which country will gain the most in the end?"

Zhang Yi clapped his hands and frowned in thought.

"The Three Jins share the most land with Qin, so they are the most afraid of Qin!"

"Once Qin is defeated and its territory shrinks, who will occupy the vacated land?"

Zhang Yi told the King of Chu the story of how Zhuge Ziyu repelled the Qin army and asked him to think about it himself.

The King of Chu thought about it and felt that it was indeed the case!
Because Qin and Chu had long been despised by the princes of the Central Plains, they often huddled together for warmth, intermarried with each other, and had a deep relationship.

Although the territories of both sides are adjacent to each other, they are ultimately not as large as the Three Jins.

If the Qin State retreated back to the land west of the Yellow River and the Three Jins grew stronger again, wouldn't that mean we would be returning to the situation of Wei Wenhou a hundred years ago?

"What's more, Chu is the leader of a family, just like the eldest brother. If another country is in trouble, can the elder brother just ignore his younger brother?"

Zhang Yi added another sentence.

The King of Chu felt that this made more sense:
After I became the leader, I was respected on the surface, but in fact I suffered a lot of losses!

If the other four countries lacked food, fodder and weapons, they would ask Chu for them!

Consume so much,

But in the end, it was not me who ate the meat!
Zhang Yi continued to fan the flames, "So it was the Wei State that was pushing for the coalition, but they didn't make it themselves, but nominated you to take the position. This is really..."

“It’s really shameless!”

The King of Chu was furious and slammed the table.

He quickly stood up, walked to Zhang Yi, took his hand and said affectionately, "If you hadn't awakened me, I would have been harmed by the State of Wei again!"

then,

The King of Chu then ordered:

Withdraw!

What are you fighting for?

How can we, the great Chu, be a tool for others?
Inside Hangu Pass, the pressure on Qin's defense suddenly eased.

Gongzi Ji said, "The Chu State retreated, this is Zhang Yi's credit!" "Now follow his plan and send someone to contact the Yan State!"

then,

When the night is thick,

An envoy from the Qin State descended from the city wall in a bamboo basket using a rope, secretly ran into the camp of the Yan army, and gave the other side sincere advice using the rhetoric taught by Zhang Yi.

After hearing this, the generals of Yan State also agreed greatly.

He said, "Yan is adjacent to Qi and Zhongshan, but it is unwise to cross them to attack Qin!"

The State of Yan then also withdrew its troops!
As a result, only three countries remained from the five-nation coalition.

Taking advantage of the fact that its allies suddenly announced their withdrawal and the enemy was in chaos, the Qin State brazenly marched eastward through Hangu Pass and dealt a heavy blow to the Three Jin States.

The Three Jins fought and retreated all the way to Xiu Yu.

South Korea, whose national strength was already weakened, could no longer hold on and spoke first, "Chu Yan has left, so I have to leave too!"

After all,

Just like when they besieged King Hui of Wei at Zhuoze, but parted ways due to disagreements, the Han army broke away from the team overnight and returned on their own.

Zhao Wei was helpless.

We had no choice but to disband as well.

So far,

The Battle of Hangu Pass ended.
The alliance of Shandong princes also began to loosen after this failure.

The dead ghosts who watched all this in the underworld also expressed their opinions on this matter.

Shang Yang said, "If we can't work together, how can we accomplish great things?"

He put aside his conclusion and turned around to continue arguing and fighting with the people from the Yang Zhu School.

Ximen Bao sighed, "Back then, the Three Jins couldn't even unite their forces, let alone the Five Kingdoms?"

"The princes only consider their own selfish interests and forget the importance of the overall situation. With such short-sightedness, they will surely perish at the hands of Qin in the future!"

Gan De Shishen, who was a historian, wrote down the details of this great battle.

The two old men were too lazy to care about the dirty tricks among the princes.

They just sighed, "The way of the strategist is to disrupt the situation in the world with just the tongue, making the advancers suddenly retreat and the winners suddenly lose. It's really amazing!"

"This world of great contention is the stage for these people who stir up trouble!"

In addition to the diplomats active in the courts of the princes, there are other philosophers who are constantly spreading their own ideas.

Gan and Shi couldn't help but feel lucky:
Fortunately, after death, they still have the support of the Ghost Kingdom, allowing them to continue to watch such wonderful history.

It would be a great pity if historians could not personally experience such a turbulent era!
Someone beside him said, "Zongheng is a derivative of the chaotic times."

"The world is in turmoil, so we need these lobbyists to persuade the monarch."

"If the world is stable, they will be useless!"

"If the Qin State really unified the world, the doctrine of vertical and horizontal should be cut off, right?"

Gan and Shi laughed and said, "You can say such a thing, obviously you haven't read enough history books."

"The situation in the world is originally from chaos to peace, and from peace to chaos."

“The human heart cannot always be obsessed with fighting, nor can it always be at peace with normality.”

“It’s just too complicated!”

"So if the world is unified for a long time, there will definitely be chaos. If the chaos lasts for a long time, someone will come out to restore peace!"

"The rotation of the four seasons is the way of heaven; the rise and fall, order and chaos, are the way of man."

So someone asked the two historians, "So, it is impossible for the world to have permanent peace?"

"Humph!"

"That's not necessarily the case!"

The two historians said, with their hands behind their backs, "When people's hearts are free of selfish desires and can feel satisfied anytime and anywhere, then the world may be peaceful forever!"

"It's just that days like this are too far away from you and me!"

It is better to write down the story first so that future generations can watch and learn from it!
(End of this chapter)