Chapter 58 Qin and Chu's short honeymoon period

When King Huai of Chu heard the news of Qin sending troops, he immediately made a correct decision-to withdraw the troops. He attacked the Yong family just to test the bottom line of the Empress Dowager Xuan.Now it seems that the Empress Dowager Xuan really cared about her family, otherwise she would not have resisted not sending troops for five full months.As long as this is confirmed, he is satisfied. Soon after, King Qin Zhao appointed Xiang Shou as the prefect of Yiyang. As mentioned earlier, Yiyang is a large county, the size of which is equivalent to a county. In addition to its special geographical location, it can be used not only as a forward base for Qin to attack the Central Plains, but also as a base for controlling the Zhou royal family. Therefore, the choice of Yiyang prefect is very important.

Many people find it hard to understand that Xiang Shou, who has always been incapable of thinking, was given this important task. However, if you know that Xiang Shou was originally a relative of the Empress Dowager Xuan's mother's family, and grew up with King Qin Zhao since childhood, and even ate and lived together when they were young, it is not difficult to understand. When Xiang Shou took up his post in Yiyang, the first thing he did was to visit the state of Chu to condolences to the relatives of her natal family on behalf of the Empress Dowager Xuan. King Huai of Chu naturally knew the importance of this person, so he personally led his ministers to the outskirts of Yingdu to welcome Xiang Shou, gave him the highest standard of reception, and tried every means to win him over.Xiang Shou was originally just a concubine in the time of King Wu of Qin.In the twenty-level bureaucratic system formulated by Shang Yang, Zuo Shuzhang ranked tenth, and You Shuzhang ranked eleventh, neither of whom was a high-ranking official.As soon as King Qin Zhao came to power, he became the sole governor of Yiyang, and receiving such preferential treatment from King Huai of Chu, it was inevitable that he would feel a little flustered.

"So the prefect is so honorable!" He thought happily. When King Huai of Chu proposed that Qin and Chu should be peaceful and friendly, and rule the world together, he nodded repeatedly to Shou to express his approval.He lingered in Yingdu for many days, and returned to Yiyang proudly with a large amount of gifts from King Huai of Chu to him and Queen Mother Xuan. Since then, the exchanges between Yiyang and Yingdu have become increasingly close.This phenomenon aroused Gong Zhongpeng's vigilance. For South Korea, the way of life is to use the contradiction between Qin and Chu to gain living space.When the Qin State came, they took refuge in the Chu State; when the Chu State came, they took refuge in the Qin State.If Qin and Chu both call, it is basically hopeless.

The current situation is the third situation.Moreover, there is reliable information that Xiang Shou is planning a war against South Korea, and King Huai of Chu is also actively responding and preparing to send troops to cooperate. In desperation, Gong Zhongpeng found Su Qin's younger brother Su Dai and asked him to find a way to avoid this war from happening. It is necessary to explain that since Su Qin came to Qi State from Yan State, he didn't care much about the matter of alliance. Instead, he and his two younger brothers, Su Dai and Su Li (one said that Su Dai was Su Qin's elder brother, This book has reservations) together, traveled around the Central Plains countries, and became an international broker specializing in giving advice and drawing charms to eliminate disasters.

During the second battle of Yongshi, South Korea once borrowed food from borrowers from the Zhou Dynasty-it was said to be borrowed, but in fact it was forcibly apportioned.King Zhou Nan was very worried about this, so someone recommended Su Dai to King Zhou Nan.Su Dai benefited from the Zhou Dynasty and came to South Korea to see Gong Zhongpeng. He said: "Before setting out, Zhao Ying, the commander of the Chu army, once boasted to the king of Chu that he went to Haikou, saying that he could capture the Yong family in a month. Now it has been five years. It’s been a month, and the Yong family is still in the hands of South Korea. Zhaoying’s situation is very embarrassing, and the king of Chu has lost confidence in him. Now you ask the Zhou royal family to borrow money from others, don’t you tell the people of Chu that South Korea is about to support it? Can’t you go on? If the King of Chu knows this, he will definitely change his attitude towards Zhaoying and continue to send more troops to him, and the Yong family will definitely overcome it.”

Just these words made Gong Zhongpeng dispel the idea of ​​borrowing food from the Zhou Dynasty, and also made him realize the power of Su Dai. He was convinced that as long as Su Dai stepped in, it would not be a problem to convince mere Xiang Shou. When Su Dai came to Yiyang, he said to Xiang Shou straight to the point: "Beasts are in a hurry, and they can overturn the hunter's car. Now you have Qin and Chu united to deal with South Korea. If South Korea perishes If you do, Gong Zhongpeng will lead the dead soldiers he raised to sneak into Qin State and take your life at all costs. Out of admiration for you, I ask you to seriously consider whether it is necessary to drive South Korea to a dead end?"

Xiang Shou was taken aback, and quickly said: "I didn't mean that! Qin and Chu are good-neighborly and friendly, and it is definitely not for dealing with South Korea. Please go back and tell Gong Zhongpeng that the relationship between Qin and South Korea is also friendly. Yes, there are no hostile thoughts." Su Dai said: "That would be great! I have one more sentence, I don't know if I should say it or not?" Xiang Shou said, "Speak." Su Dai said: "I heard that respect can only be obtained by respecting others. Now that the King of Qin is close to you, it is better to be close to Gongsun Yan; the King of Qin appreciates your talents than Gan Mao. But the King of Qin entrusted Yiyang to you to guard, let you Participating in state affairs alone is something that neither Gongsun Yan nor Gan Mao can get, do you know why?"

Xiang Shou said foolishly, "Because...the Queen Mother?" "Don't dare to say it, dare not say it!" Su Dai hurriedly sealed his mouth, "That's because they have their own thoughts. Gongsun Yan is close to the state of Wei, and Mr. Gan Mao is hooking up with South Korea. King Qin feels very worried about this .” Xiang Shou opened his mouth wide and said, "So that's how it is!" Su Dai said: "The most powerful countries in the world are not Qin or Chu, and those who are not Chu are Qin. Although Qin and Chu are peaceful on the surface, they will always meet each other with swords. Now you are fighting fiercely with the king of Chu. This is the old road of Gongsun Yan and Gan Mao, the King of Qin already has a lot of opinions on this, you are very dangerous!"

Xiang Shou said, "Then what should I do?" Su Dai said: "In my opinion, you'd better stop your contact with the King of Chu now, strengthen your contacts with South Korea, and at the same time put forward some suggestions to the King of Qin to deal with the State of Chu. The King of Qin knows that you have a close relationship with the State of Chu, so you do this , he will think that you are not playing favoritism and serving the public wholeheartedly, and he will trust you even more." Xiang Shou said happily, "That's great, I'll listen to you." Su Dai said: "Wait a minute, there is one more thing. I heard that in order to reconcile with South Korea, Gan Mao is preparing to persuade the King of Qin to return Wusui, which was occupied by South Korea, and return the Korean residents in Yiyang to South Korea. This is tantamount to stealing merit from you, but it is not beneficial to you!"

Xiang Shou fell into a trough all of a sudden, and said repeatedly: "What should I do?" Su Dai smiled secretly: This fool is so easy to deal with. No wonder Gan Mao asked him to be Wei's deputy when he was appointed by name. He turned out to be a pawn at the mercy of others.Su Dai said: "I have a plan. Isn't Chu State still occupying Yingchuan in South Korea? You can take advantage of the good relationship with the King of Chu and ask the King of Chu to return Yingchuan to South Korea. If this can be done, South Korea will thank you. You; if you can’t do it, South Korea will move closer to Qin, and the credit is still yours.”

Xiang Shou fully accepted Su Dai's opinion, and he really proposed to King Huai of Chu to return Yingchuan to South Korea.Whether King Huai of Chu agreed or not is not recorded in historical materials.What is certain is that the matter of Qin and Chu's joint attack on South Korea fell through like this. Later, Gan Mao proposed to King Qin Zhao to return Wu Sui to South Korea.Gan Mao's original intention, of course, is not to please South Korea, but to use this to buy South Korea so that South Korea will follow Qin with all his heart.However, Xiang Shou, after being instructed by Su Dai, an expert, has already determined that Gan Mao did this for personal purposes, so he joined forces with Gongsun Yan to oppose Gan Mao. King Qin Zhao finally adopted Gan Mao's opinion. Xiang Shou was extremely annoyed, and ran to Queen Mother Xuan to speak ill of Gan Mao. Once the Empress Dowager Xuan suspects someone, that person will definitely not be able to stay in Qin.Gan Mao, like Zhang Yi, is the kind of person who sees that the situation is not going well. He quietly left Qin State and went to Qi State without waiting for the Empress Dowager Xuan to instruct her teacher to inquire about the crime. Coincidentally, as soon as Gan Mao left Hangu Pass, he met Su Dai's brother Su Qin. After the two exchanged pleasantries for a while, Gan Mao asked Su Qin: "Have you heard the story of the woman on the river?" Of course Su Qin had never heard of it. Gan Mao told him the story of the woman on the river.Among the women who sewed fishing nets on the river, there was one who was so poor that she couldn't afford candles, so she was always in the light of others.The other women discussed together and wanted to drive her away. She said: "I can't afford candles, so I often arrive first, and when I arrive, I clean the house and lay out the mats. I will borrow your candlelight, and the candlelight will not be reduced. But I am still useful to you, why do you have to drive me away?" The other women thought that what she said made sense, so they let her stay. "Now, I have no talent, and I was driven away by the state of Qin. I am about to defect to the state of Qi. I am willing to sweep the house and spread the mats for you. Please don't drive me away." Gan Mao said, tears were about to fall How could it be seen that it was the prime minister of Qin who conquered Yiyang and beheaded 60,000 people? Su Qin sighed and said to him: "You can go to Qi State at ease, I will find a way to make King Qi respect you." Su Qin came to Xianyang and said to Qin Zhaowang: "I heard that Gan Mao has gone to Qi State, so hurry up and enter the pass to see you. Gan Mao is not an ordinary person. He has been reused by several generations of kings in Qin State. He knows the terrain very well. If he is used by Qi State, unites Wei, Han and other countries to attack Qin State in turn, it will not be easy to handle." King Qin Zhao was also very nervous when he heard that: "Then what should we do?" Su Qin said: "Hurry up and send someone to the state of Qi to visit him with a lot of gifts, and promise him a high official and rich salary to trick him back. As soon as he comes back, put him under house arrest and imprison him for the rest of his life." King Qin Zhao said: "Okay." Immediately issued an order, Gan Mao was appointed as Xiangguo, and the envoys went to Qi to fetch Gan Mao with the seal and gifts. Gan Mao refused. When Su Qin returned to Qi State, he said to King Xuan, "Gan Mao is a virtuous man. Now the King of Qin sent someone with a seal to welcome him back. What kind of treatment will you give him?" King Xuan of Qi said: "That's useless? Whatever the state of Qin treats him, the widow will treat him." In this way, Gan Mao settled down in Qi State and became a senior counselor of King Xuan of Qi. In 304 BC, the relationship between Qin and Chu was further strengthened. This year, under the auspices of Queen Mother Xuan, King Qin Zhao married the daughter of King Huai of Chu.At that time, King Xuan of Qi happened to send Gan Mao as an envoy to the state of Chu.King Qin Zhao learned that Gan Mao was in Chu State, so he quickly sent someone to tell King Chu Huai that he hoped to send Gan Mao to Qin State. King Huai of Chu was ready to agree to King Qin Zhao's request.At this time, a doctor named Fan Yuan (yuan) said to King Huai of Chu, "Do you know Shi Ju?" King Huai of Chu said, "I don't know." Fan Xun said: "Shi Ju is the gatekeeper of Xiacai. He is famous for his misbehavior and lack of shame. When Gan Mao was in Xiacai, he followed Shi Ju to learn the skills of various schools of thought. I heard people say that Gan Mao was right. Shi Ju, that’s called respect. Later, Gan Mao went to Qin State and became an official under the recommendation of Zhang Yi. He was able to cooperate with them because of the wisdom of King Hui of Qin, the sensitivity of King Wu of Qin, and the cunning of Zhang Yi. Later, Zhang Yi fell out of favor with King Wu of Qin, and Wei Zhang was implicated, but Gan Mao did not have any influence. What are you thinking about?" King Huai of Chu slapped his head violently: "You are right, I almost lost my mind." Fan Xun said: "If you are thinking about the state of Chu, you'd better find a way to sponsor Xiang Shou. Xiang Shou is a relative of the Queen Mother of Qin. He ate and lived with the King of Qin since he was a child. Therefore, he can gain the trust of the King of Qin and participate in state affairs. The most important thing is that his brain is not very good. If he becomes the Prime Minister of Qin State, it will be of great benefit to Chu State and will not cause any harm." Because of Fan Shu's words, Gan Mao was cut off from Qin.Later, King Huai of Chu worked in many ways, and as expected, he made Xiang Shou the prime minister of Qin. According to the records of "Historical Records", Gan Mao's final outcome was to die as a guest in the State of Wei, but his family members stayed in the State of Qin, and received preferential treatment such as tax reduction and exemption for Yao slaves. Gan Mao should have lived a very long life, because when he died, his grandson Gan Luo was already twelve years old, and he worked under the door of Lu Buwei, the prime minister of Qin State, which was in the reign of King Qin Yingzheng.