The Great Wei Empire in the Warring States Period

Chu State Court

Crown Prince Xiong Shang succeeded to the throne. He sat on the throne in royal clothes. He looked at the ministers below and had some thoughts in his mind.

"Greetings, Your Majesty!"

"Please stand up! The prosperity of Chu still needs your assistance!"

Xiong Shang also started his first day in charge of government affairs. He said proudly: "Everyone, I want to restore the ambition of King Zhuang! I still need your assistance! Back then, my Chu State also dominated the world, and all countries in the world respected Chu as a prefect! But now, I and my subordinate countries respect the King of Wei as a prefect! This is a shame for Chu! Chu should Strong! Chu will prosper!"

The ministers shouted: "Your Majesty is wise! We will serve you till death!"

Xiong Shang ordered: "Ling Yin Zhao Xixu is old and should stay at home to enjoy his old age. I will appoint Duo Jiao Taifu as Ling Yin and concurrently Xian Yin!"

When the ministers heard this, they were confused. Originally, the Ling Yin position was held by their three major families in turn. How could it be handed over to an outsider?

Zhao Tong, the senior official, stood up and objected: "Your Majesty! The position of the prime minister of Chu is held by people from the three major families of Zhao, Jing, and Qu. Why do you want to use an outsider? Is there no wise person in the three major families?"

Xiong Shang snorted and scolded: "Is it me, the king, or are you the king? Someone, drag this man who dares to contradict the king out and behead him!"

"Your Majesty, please spare my life! Please spare my life!"

The ministers saw it with their eyes and remembered it in their hearts. None of them dared to stand up and beg for Zhao Tong's mercy. Xiong Shang used the blood of this little senior official to suppress the ministers in the court, and also used it to warn that the majesty of the king cannot be offended by anyone.

Duo Jiao was originally Xiong Shang's teacher. When Xiong Shang was the prince, Duo Jiao taught him the most about Wu Qi's reforms, and told him the heroic story of Wu Qi defeating Wei and letting horses drink from the Yellow River for Chu. Xiong Shang can be said to be the person who admired Wu Qi the most. Every time he heard this story, he always sighed, how great it would be if Wu Qi was born in his time. As long as he became the king and used Wu Qi, the world would sooner or later belong to Chu.

Xiong Shang ordered again: "Ling Yin, I have decided to carry out reforms in Chu, and Ling Yin will be responsible for this matter!"

The new Ling Yin Duo Jiao stood up and took out the decree that had been prepared long ago and read: "Since King Zhuang, Chu has dominated one side, and horses drink from the Yellow River! Since the time of King Ping and King Zhao, the kings were incompetent, and the position of Fangbo was taken away by Jin! This is a shame for Chu! But since King Dao, Wu Qi, a man from Wei, was appointed Ling Yin to carry out reforms, which changed the decadent trend of Chu and defeated the Wei army in one battle. The cause of King Zhuang was just around the corner, but the rebels took advantage of the king's collapse to shoot Wu Qi with arrows, and the Chu State declined again! Now that my king has just been established, in order to promote King Zhuang's cause, I have decided to implement reforms in the Chu State! The first is the equal distribution order, the people in the royal land will be divided equally, 100 acres per household. The second is the equal purchase law, the surplus grain of the people and nobles can be sold to the state, and the state will buy it back at a price higher than the market price, so as to ensure the benefit of the people. The third is the feudal lord order, the feudal lords in various places must hand over to the state one-tenth of the grain tax in their fiefdoms. The fourth isHorse-raising order: those who raise more horses can be exempted from taxes. Those who raise more than 100 horses can have their taxes reduced by half, and those who raise more than 500 horses can be exempted from taxes for one year. "

After hearing this, the ministers were relieved. It seemed that this reform had no impact on them. It was only done within the royal territory and had nothing to do with them, the nobles and feudal lords. Qu Boyong, the patriarch of the Qu family, took the opportunity to flatter him: "Your Majesty, these four policies are much better than the policies of the former prime minister! Ling Yin of Duo Jiao is really a wise man!"

Xiong Shang chuckled. It was because the power in his hands was not enough, otherwise he would have dealt with you all long ago. On the surface, everyone was like a gentleman, but behind the scenes, everyone was a sinister villain, occupying the royal territory, and using tricks to bankrupt some people and turn them into their own slaves, raising private soldiers, and even refusing to obey the king's orders.

Xiong Shang asked: "Everyone, is Ling Yin's reform method good?"

"Good! Very good! ”

“Yes! Better than Wu Qi’s reform!”

“Your Majesty is really good at identifying talents. Is Duojiao Lingyin as talented as Guan Zhong and Zichan!”

Xiong Shang looked at the group of clowns in the court, Zhao, Jing, Qu! Don’t worry! It will be your turn soon.

“Doctor Qu, I heard that you have an extremely smart child in your family with high moral character. Is it called Qu Yuan? How about asking your son Qu Yuan to study with the prince?” Xiong Shang asked with a smile.

Qu Boyong was stunned for a moment. How did the king know his family affairs? But then he agreed: “It is my son’s honor to study with the prince.”

Xiong Shang nodded and said: “Qu Boyong’s title is promoted from Zhong Daifu to Shang Daifu, and Doctor Qu Boyong is appointed as Zuo Yin.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty. I swear to serve you till death! "Happiness came too suddenly. Qu Boyong never thought that he could become Zuo Yin.

Xiong Shang looked at Jing Cui who was unknown in the corner. Because of the previous defeat by Wei State, the Jing family had been neglected by the previous monarch. The family power was not as strong as before. The Zhao family and the Qu family were competing against each other in the court.

Xiong Shang ordered again: "General Jing Cui!"

"I am here!"

"Jing Cui's title was promoted from lower doctor to middle doctor. Appoint Jing Cui as the right Sima and the prince's tutor!"

Jing Cui was also confused for a moment. How could she be promoted to the right Sima and the prince's tutor? She swore: "I am willing to go through fire and water for the king!"

A feudal lord stood up and objected: "Your Majesty! Jing Cui is a defeated general. How can he be qualified as the right Sima!"

"Yes! Don't let Jing Cui be the right Sima!"

"Enough! I don't need you to teach me what to do! I heard that General Jing Cui is the leader of the Jing family! Besides, victory and defeat are common in the military, and a failure is nothing. As long as we can defeat Wei in the future and wash away the shame, we can be fine! Why worry about the defeat!" Xiong Shang said majestically.

"Yes! Your Majesty! I will definitely wash away the shame of the previous defeat!" Jing Cui said gratefully.

Xiong Shang looked at the row of military generals, almost all of whom were good-for-nothings, and looked at those who showedGenerals who talk big but only mess around with women. He also ordered: "I have decided to appoint Tang Mei, Zhuang Qiao, Zhao Yu, Zhao Ju, Zhao Shu, and Feng Hou Chou as generals, and to remove Peng Chengjun from the position of general. Qu Gai will be the general and commander! I have decided to train a new army. The new army will be divided into six armies, with 12,500 people in each army. Tang Mei, Zhuang Qiao, Zhao Yu, Zhao Ju, Zhao Shu, and Feng Hou Chou will be in charge of one army respectively, and general Qu Gai will be responsible for training the soldiers."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Tang Mei and others bowed.

The feudal lords and generals did not dare to hate the Zhao family, but why did they let Tang Mei, Zhuang Qiao, and Feng Hou Chou, three declining nobles, serve as generals? They could not be on an equal footing with these noble people.

A feudal lord stood up and objected: "Your Majesty! Tang Mei, Zhuang Qiao, and Feng Houchou are coarse people, a group of declining families, how can they be appointed as generals of an army! I beg your Majesty to withdraw your order!"

"You are jealous of me. I do what I say. There is no need to talk too much! You can give your opinions before, but I have given an order and you have to execute it!" Xiong Shang scolded.

"Yes." The feudal lord could only retreat with regret.

Xiong Shang said again: "Everyone, I plan to let my retainer Zihua take the position of Mo Ao and concurrently serve as the position of Zuo Sima. What do you think?"

"Your Majesty, I heard that Zihua seems to be a deserter. He seemed to be afraid of fleeing in the battle of Shangyu! How can we let this person take such an important position." Sima Zhaoyang objected.

Xiong Shang also had some good feelings towards Zhao Yang. After all, this guy was really good at fighting. He explained: "Grand Marshal, Zi Hua was ordered by the garrison commander of Shang County to take him away. He is not a deserter. Zi Hua is familiar with the art of war and can certainly take on this important position."

"Since the king has said so, then I can no longer object." Zhao Yang bowed his hands and said.

The usher Jing Li stood up and said: "Your Majesty! The envoys from Zhao, Wei, Han, and Qi have arrived. Should we invite them in?"

"Oh! Wei has also sent people. Let the envoys from Wei come in first. I will meet the envoys from the world's most powerful country and see what they look like!"

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