Chapter 62 In the first quarter, the mysterious celestial phenomena forced out the ingenious strategy of King Xuan of Chu

Chuxuan King Mi Liangfu was very bored, and asked his courtiers several times a day, "Has Doctor Jiang Yi come back yet?" Jiang Yi, a Chinese doctor, went to the state of Wei and the state of Qi.He is the secret envoy of King Chuxuan. He has been sent out for three months and there is still no response. Why is King Chuxuan not in a hurry?After the meeting of the Six Nations in Fengze, the solemn oaths and covenants were inexplicably disintegrated. Not only did the combined forces attack Qin and turned into mud, but even the division of small countries could not be fulfilled.According to Mi Liangfu's original calculation, the desire to destroy Qin is more urgent than that of Chu, except for Qi.So when he returned to Yingdu, he was as stable as Mount Tai. He neither trained troops nor actively communicated. He just sent three trusted warriors to infiltrate Wuguan to listen to Qin's news, preparing to reap the benefits.

Mi Liangfu has always been conceited, thinking that he is the wisest king of Chu in all dynasties, far better than his ancestors.They have been fighting and killing for hundreds of years. Chu State is still Chu State, the Central Plains is still Central Plains, and Chu State cannot even cross the Huai River.Only he can strategize and join the Six Nations Alliance as the second most powerful country in the world without bloodshed, and he will easily get hundreds of miles of land, and push Chu State to the north and south of the river in one fell swoop.Who can compare to this achievement?King Zhuang of Chu became a blockbuster, and what he exchanged for hundreds of thousands of corpses was nothing more than a three-year overlord and a hundred miles of land.The grandfather, King Chu Mourning, made great efforts to appoint Wu Qi to reform and sacrifice the stability of the government in exchange for a strong army and a prosperous country.Mi Liangfu often felt ridiculous for the stupidity of the ancestors, and felt that they really missed many good opportunities in Chu State, and they were not worthy of the demeanor of a great king.Mi Liangfu's strategy to deal with the world is: don't be the boss, just be the second son; don't seek fame, only seek practical benefits!Whoever is the leader of the Warring States Period will be the target of public criticism, and whoever has to devote ten times and a hundred times the energy and national power to face all the princes of the world who want to plot you, eat you, weaken you, and eat you is like sitting on a brazier.Such a stupid thing, how can Chu State do it?If you sit on the second child, you can have both sides.If the boss has the advantages, the second child must not be less, and the second child has no risks, but the second child has none at all. When necessary, he can use the power of the world to blackmail the boss and get more benefits than the boss!

The world is in dispute, and there is no one to go.Those mediocre kings only focus on the fat deer and can't take care of the left and right. How can they see so deeply like Mi Liangfu? Mi Liangfu was very proud of himself for a while.He said to his ministers that his great strategy came from Lao Tzu, "Lao Tzu, do you know me? I am a great sage of Chu! You all read "Lao Tzu" to me, each one a hundred times. Read it You are qualified to discuss state affairs when you are finished. Do you understand?" From then on, the melodious voice of reciting "Lao Tzu" permeated the court inside and outside the court, and the monarchs and ministers discussed matters, and Lao Tzu's classics appeared frequently. "Don't honor the virtuous, do nothing", "A husband is the only one who doesn't fight, so the world can't compete with him", "Trembling like walking on thin ice", "Governing a big country is like cooking a small fish" and so on, etc. The humming chapel movement.

One day, Mi Liangfu was playing with three court ladies when he was bumped into by an old official, who recited to him a terrific passage: "Returning to the root means tranquility, which means returning to life. Returning to life is a daily routine, knowing the daily life Yue Ming. I don’t know the permanence, but I act recklessly. Knowing the permanence, tolerance is the public. The public is the whole, the whole is the sky, the sky is the way, and the way is long. If you are gone, you will not be perilous.” Mi Liangfu heard the clouds and mist, “You? What do you read? Something? Chirping birds!" The old official said angrily, "My king, this is the teaching of "Lao Tzu", how can it be chirping birds? Don't pollute the saint!" Mi Liangfu was very embarrassed. He has never read "Lao Tzu" carefully, how does he know that this is Lao Tzu?I couldn't help becoming angry from embarrassment, and shouted, "You read it in a wrong place! In front of women, reading the holy scriptures of "Lao Tzu" is dishonoring the saint!"

From then on, the humming humming of "Lao Tzu" in the court stopped abruptly.There are always two beautiful maids curled up next to the fat body of King Xuan of Chu. Who dares to defile the saint? Ten years later, King Xuan of Chu felt more and more useless.Sit back and reap the profits but failed. He wanted to swallow a few small shrimp countries, but was threatened by Wei Guo and Qi Guo, so he reluctantly withdrew his hands and feet. "No. 2 in the world" did so that no one paid attention to it, and even I felt that it was very boring.I have been king for more than 20 years, but the strategy of "Laozi" has not been implemented for a long time.All the ambitions, originally poured into the strength and fame that the Six Nations Alliance can obtain, are now turned into fetching water from a bamboo basket, so what's the face?Although he is still so open-minded, his mind is getting heavier and heavier, and his fat body is getting fatter, like an old buffalo in the paddy field of Chu State, panting heavily all day long, unable to tell whether it is hot or tired .

One day a few months ago, Mi Liangfu fell asleep on top of a maid who was playing a fan because he couldn't think of anything to do.In the haze, my heart suddenly moved, and suddenly I felt a flash of inspiration, and a wonderful idea came to my mind.After thinking about it carefully, he was actually very proud, and felt more and more that this was God's will, and it was a wonderful strategy to revitalize the prestige of "the second child in the world"!Can't help but patted the maid's soft waist and laughed, and ordered the servant to announce the Chinese doctor Jiang Yi immediately, and secretly negotiated for a whole day.The next day, Jiang Yi went northward.

Jiang Yi's secret mission is to find two world-renowned astrologers-Gande and Shi Shen. Gan De and Shi Shen are two mysterious spiritual hermits, but they have nothing to do with mysterious schools such as wizard divination, Yin-Yang and Five Elements, and geomancy.They are the abyssal school of "studying the gap between heaven and man", they are the eyes of heaven hidden in the world, and they are also people with supernatural powers who understand the secrets of heaven in the world.In the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, there were two schools of thought with "Heaven" as their direct object, one was called "Zhanhou Family" and the other was called "Astrology Family".Zhanhou is to predict the misfortune and fortune of the world based on the changes in the weather of heaven and earth. Clouds, wind, sun, rainbow, fog, lightning, thunder, sea tide, moon halo, dust, haze, etc., are all Zhanhou's family. The object of observation mystery.Astrologers, also called astrologers, are scholars who predict the fortunes of people, affairs, and countries based on changes in the stars in the sky.Since the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, the king usually has two fixed official forecasters, one is a divination wizard, and the other is a horoscope astrologer.The rest, such as the Yinyang family and Kanyu family, are all about one trick for one thing, and very few have the qualifications of courtiers.Compared with the two, divination is more popular and easy to understand, especially after King Wen of Zhou deduced gossip and Confucius wrote line speeches, ordinary scholars also knew about divination, and the results of divination had no psychological deterrent and influence on Chinese people. gradually weakened.On the contrary, astrologers have always maintained their high-level mystery, which is beyond the reach of ordinary scholars, let alone common people.

This state has been maintained for more than four thousand years.Later, in the Wei and Jin Dynasties, there was a most famous genius astrologer named Guan Ren. He only lived to be forty-eight years old, and his official position was at least Fucheng.When he was young, he studied under the famous Yi family Guo En, first studied "Book of Changes", and then studied astrology.When watching the sky, Guan Ren often stayed up all night and made amazing conclusions, which even the teacher could not understand.A year later, the teacher Guo En often asked Guan Ren for advice, and sighed, "When you hear about the king's theory, forget yourself and be sick! Why did you come here?" Guan Ren replied with a free and easy smile: "This is not the result of practice, but my heaven. Fen Ye." At the age of forty, his younger brother Guan Chen asked Guan Ren to study astrology.Guan Ren Zhengse replied: "This way, you can't see its number unless it's the most refined, and you can't see its way unless it's the most wonderful. It's all because you don't have talent, and it's not because you don't have books. The theory of filial piety and poetry is enough for the three men. It's useless to know it!"

Just because it is so profound and difficult for ordinary people to grasp, the predictions of astrologers have always maintained a lofty deterrent to the world.It can be turned into a nursery rhyme, a prophecy, various mysterious prophecies, or even a storm sweeping the world.Throughout the classical age, no one dared to challenge the authority of astrological predictions. This is exactly the secret why King Xuan of Chu wanted to find the two astrologers Gan De and Shi Shen.He wants to know the general trend of the rise and fall of the world, and decides his own strategy according to the secrets of heaven, so he can't wait any longer!Mi Liangfu wanted to designate these two masters as "Doctors of Heaven" and stay by his side forever, telling them the secrets of heaven at any time, so that they could act in accordance with the sky and greatly shake the country's prestige.

Since ancient times, there have been astrologers assisting the royal family in successive dynasties.Xia had Kunwu, Shang had Wu Xian, and Zhou had Shi Yi and Chang Hong.In the four hundred years of the Spring and Autumn Period, there were more astrologers.Famous ones include Pizao of Zheng State, Zishen of Lu State, Shi Zhao and Shi Mo of Jin State, and Zimei of Tang State.In the Warring States Period, Gand of Qi State (known as Duke Gan), Shi Shen of Wei State, and Yin Gao of Zhao State were among the most famous.However, Gan De and Shi Shen are the two masters who are most impressed by the world.Mi Liangfu believes that the Warring States, such as the Three Jin, Wei, Zhao and Han, the Tian family Qi, and the Qin State in the west, are all reckless and savage people, who are not worthy of understanding the mysteries of heaven, and ruined the astrologers born in their country !Only senior and old princes like Chu State and Yan State can know the destiny and fear it, and act in accordance with it.Mi Liangfu believes that believing in heaven has the same benefit. When the monarch commits state affairs and the common people cannot forgive him, as long as the monarch expresses sincere repentance, God will still give you a good news.This is the best part!If you act in accordance with the sky, you will always be wise, and if you make a mistake, God will help you recover.The familiar story of Mi Liangfu happened in Song Dynasty.

During Song Jinggong's time, for a year he kept his heart to himself, and Song Jinggong was shocked.Ziwei, the senior official of Si Xing, suggested: "You can blame the prime minister." Song Jinggong shook his head, "The prime minister is a minister of the shoulders, no." Ziwei said again: "You can blame the people." Song Jinggong shook his head even more, "The king should love the people How can we blame it?" Ziwei said three times: "This can be transferred to the age, and the disaster will disappear when the age is reduced." Song Jinggong said anxiously: "The people are hungry and poor when the age is reduced. Why is there such a monarch?" Ziwei said solemnly He said: "The sky is high and the ears are low. There are three people who are so humane in the monarchy. Yinghuo should move." Song Jinggong was dubious.Unexpectedly, after three hours, Yinghuo really left Xinsu three times, and unexpectedly left the "Heaven Realm" of Song Kingdom! Heaven is so kind to you, is there any reason not to believe it? When Chuxuan King Mi Liangfu was restless, Feiqi came to report: Doctor Jiang Yi has arrived at the north gate of Yingdu, and two masters arrived in the same car!Mi Liangfu was so happy that he almost jumped up, and immediately ordered the car to be prepared, greeted him out of the north gate in person, and sent the two nobles respectfully to the secret mansion that had already been prepared, and sent two hundred warriors to guard it closely. From the next day, Mi Liangfu made an exception and left the maid, and lived alone in the Taimiao, where he fasted and bathed for three days to show his reverence for heaven.After three days out, his mouth was dull and his stomach was empty, he ate a big meal of elk and fat fish, and then ordered to rush to Jingshan Observatory just out of breath. When we arrived at the foot of Jingshan Mountain, it was already sunset.Although it is summer, the mountain breeze is quite cool.Jingshan is verdant and shrouded in clouds and mists. Looking up, the tall and isolated peaks seem to be in the sky. Six strong men took turns to carry the fat Chuxuan King up the mountain ladder path with thick and strong bamboo chairs with long poles.Gan De and Shi Shen are both tall and thin, with white hair and childlike looks, and they don't sit on bamboo chairs anyway.Jiang Yi, the Chinese doctor, naturally had to accompany the two masters on foot to climb the mountain.Although he was born lean and tanned, he seemed to be light and healthy.But in less than half, Jiang Yi, who was lean and dark, was panting and sweating, his waist was sore and his legs were weak.He had never climbed such a long mountain road before, and only now did he realize that this mountain climbing was not an easy task!I wanted to sit in a bamboo chair, but I was just a Chinese doctor, and I didn't dare to enjoy the same enjoyment as the king when the celestial guest was walking.I had no choice but to walk around and take a rest, but I fell far behind.Looking at the two old people, they are at ease, and their steps are still calm.Dozens of servants behind Jiang Yi were carrying all kinds of cold-proof objects and sacrificial supplies, sweating profusely and panting like cows, forming a scattered team that was one or two miles long.After walking and resting for about an hour and a half, the long line finally reached the crenel of the Gufeng Observatory. This observatory is located at the top of the main peak of Jingshan Mountain. It is shaped like a cut-off city wall, square, surrounded by female walls as high as the city wall, and the crenels are filled with five-color flags.To the north of the observatory are three stone houses, which are strong enough to withstand any mountain storm.In the center is the actual observatory, a bluestone high platform with a height of three feet and six feet, like a long sword piercing the sky in the twilight.Around the high platform, there are twelve stone slab incense tables built according to the positions of the stars.At that time, the astrologers made a corresponding determination of each princely country and the position of the stars in the sky. There is a generally recognized division of what country is under which star. The so-called "Zhou Li" "distinguishes the land of Kyushu by the stars and soil, and all the sealed domains have weight, so as to observe the auspiciousness of monsters", which is a specific explanation of this kind of division of astrology.According to later classics of astrologers, the initial division of astrology during the Xia Dynasty only corresponded to Kyushu and rivers and lakes in the world, which are: Jiao, Kang, Di Sanxing——Yanzhou Room and Heart Two Stars——Yuzhou Tail and Kei Two Stars——Youzhou Morning Glory and Wu Nu - Yangzhou False and Dangerous Two Stars——Qingzhou Barracks, East Wall - Bingzhou Kui, Lou, Wei Samsung - Xuzhou Pleiades and Bi Erxing - Jizhou Dongjing, Yugui Two Stars——Yongzhou Beidou - the rivers, lakes and seas of the world Entering the Spring and Autumn and Warring States period, this kind of division became rough and unclear, and astrologers made a new detailed division, mainly using the twenty-eight mansions to correspond to the division, and using twelve times to correspond to the division. The latter is mainly for the division of great powers, specifically: Yinghuo——The subfields are Chu, Wu, Yue, and Song Taibai——The subdivisions are Qin State and Zheng State Chenxing——The subfields are Yan Guo and Zhao Guo Fang Xing——The subfields are Wei Guo and South Korea Xuanzang——The subfields are Qi State and Lu State Filling the stars - the next division is Luoyang Zhou royal family According to this division, the direction of the state of Chu to the south of the star observatory, that is, the stone case under Yinghuo, became the main case for offering sacrifices to heaven.There are sacrifices prepared for the main case. Three heads of cattle, sheep and pigs, washed and shaved brightly and tied with thick red silk, stand proudly on the big copper plate, and the smoke from the incense sticks fills the small city.The actual observatory in the center has been surrounded by yellow curtains, and only the sound of the flag shaking from the top reminds people of its mysterious mission. "You two masters have worked hard." King Xuan of Chu came over panting. Gan De and Shi Shen arched solemnly, and Gan De, who was a little taller, said: "King Chu, the two of us will go to the star room to adjust our breathing and soul, and watch the stars when the neutron is in the night. If there are signs, we will discuss it with the King of Chu." King Xuan of Chu bowed his hands devoutly, "This king should also sincerely respect the sky, bathe and purify himself in the east room, and ask for advice when he is born." It was a moonless night on the third day of June, the sky was blue and the galaxy was brilliant.In the middle of the night, there was a strong wind from the valley, and it was so cold that it was a bit chilly.Although Mi Liangfu was fat, he couldn't stand the summer cold, so he wrapped a jacket and walked out of the east room to wander on the observatory.Looking up at the stars in the sky, I just feel that they are flickering in chaos, and I can't figure out any mystery.At this time, Gao Xuan, the minister of ceremonies who stood silently under the high platform, said: "The time has come, I invite a nobleman—!" The thick curtain of the star room was raised, Gan De and Shi Shen came out wearing black robes embroidered with the divisions of the stars, and knelt down in front of the south altar and prayed: "Hao Tian is above, there are two disciples Gan De and Shi Shen praying to the Emperor of Heaven I sincerely hope to reveal the secret of heaven, so as to warn the monarch to work hard and save the common people from the fire and water." After worshiping, he stood up and solemnly boarded the observatory.King Xuan of Chu quickly knelt in front of the sacrificial altar where the two had knelt, and prayed again, "God, God, Mi Liangfu spent money and sincerely worshiped the sky, it should be better than Song Jinggong's empty words, you should have a good omen." On the top of the observatory, Gan De and Shi Shen each bowed solemnly to the deep sky, closed their eyes to concentrate, then suddenly opened them, and slowly swept across the vast and boundless galaxy.The brilliant night sky is surprisingly quiet and serene, glittering and translucent, as if mocking the simplicity and stupidity of the world.About an hour later, the two of them gave a soft "heh—" at the same time, and their bodies quickly turned from facing south to facing west!Their supernatural ears have already heard the faint "voice of the sky" in the depths of the distant galaxy, and with their innate talents, they have already predicted that there will be an astonishing and unrivaled spectacle tonight. In a moment, a strong light in the western night sky crossed the sky, and a huge comet dragged its long tail across the western sky from north to south!Its strong light and the huge momentum that swept across the Milky Way even overshadowed the galaxy of stars.When the strong light shines, the faint sound of thunder lingers for a long time. Gan De and Shi Shen were deeply shocked, standing on the stargazing platform, they were silent for a long time. At the end of Yin hour, the two masters finally stepped down from the observatory.The minister of rites and doctor Jiang Yi respectfully welcomed the two masters into the king's special east chamber.King Xuan of Chu withdrew his attendants on the left and right, let the two high-ranking scholars sit down on the honored seats, and bowed deeply in fear and fear, "May I ask you, sir, how does the sky honor an image?" Shi Shen: "Tonight's celestial phenomenon is extraordinary, and the world will undergo tremendous changes." King Chuxuan's eyes lit up suddenly, with a look of surprise on his face, "Sir, it's okay to say it." Gan De: "The king of Chu respected the sky and dared not hide it. Halfway through the ugliness, a comet suddenly appeared in the western sky, as long as it could reach the sky, and the blue color flickered. After that, there was the faint sound of wind and thunder, which crossed the sky for more than an hour. Mountain people watch stars In the past few decades, the vicissitudes and vicissitudes of the hidden house have changed, but it is really difficult to describe it.” King Xuan of Chu has a high admiration for Gande Shishen, and he has heard quite a lot about their temperament-indifferent and reserved, outspoken, and never calmly deal with disasters and star changes.Why are the two of them so frightened and moved by the sky tonight?I couldn't help feeling anxious, but also a little excited, "Could it be that the comet you mentioned is the broom star? This is the star of the catastrophe. Mi Liangfu knows a thing or two, but I don't know which country will have a catastrophe? To destroy it on behalf of the heavens, so as to extend the righteous way of the heavens and the earth?" Shi Shen's eyes glanced at Mi Liangfu's fat face inadvertently, the corners of his mouth twitched, but he lowered his eyebrows and lowered his eyes and said: "The King of Chu only knows one thing, but not the other. Ordinary people think that the comet is the head of the demon star, which foretells Great disasters and great evils in the world. However, the sky is perpetual, and there are changes in the permanence, which are far beyond what people can peep. This comet, which appeared in an extraordinary color in an extraordinary period, has extremely mysterious and far-reaching meanings, and is not an ordinary catastrophe. Great When the evil is great, the comet will show up, which is an omen to get rid of the old and bring out the new. Wu Xian said that the comet will come out, and the Lord will destroy injustice. When King Wu of Zhou defeated Zhou, the comet will show up, which is exactly the omen. Yan Zi said, the sky appears Comets are used to get rid of the filth in the world. Comets come out of peaceful and prosperous times, and they herald disasters. However, if comets come out of evil times, there will be a new life in the catastrophe, and new policies will come out of the world, and the world will undergo vicissitudes.” Mi Liangfu was greatly disturbed. Isn't Wu Qi's reform in Chu the new policy?Can't help nodding repeatedly, "Sir, what you said is very true, please explain it in detail." Gand, however, had been thinking deeply. At this moment, he sighed leisurely, "Tonight, the comet of the sky is shining under Taibai in the west. In the west, there is a wise king and strong ministers to rule the country. The new policy has become the foundation. From then on, the world will have an incomparably huge The riots and turmoil of the army, and then wiped out the disasters in the world, and the world returned to a unified and prosperous age." King Xuan of Chu was astonished, "Under Taibai"!Isn't that the state of Qin?Unbelievable!He believed in any country, but he couldn't believe that Qin was going to become a great weapon.Qin State, a barbarian in the west that the world despises, and Mi Liangfu doesn't even bother to look at it, how can he go out of his way in accordance with the righteous way of heaven?For a moment, he became confused, suspecting that the two old astrologers misread the stars, "Dare to ask, sir, did you see them wrongly? Really, under Taibai?" Gan De Shishen opened his eyes in surprise, looked at each other for a while, and laughed at the same time. King Xuan of Chu stood up agitatedly, "My Great Chu Kingdom is still regarded as a barbarian by the Central Plains. The Qin Kingdom is clearly far behind the Chu Kingdom! This heaven is so mysterious, how can I believe it? La?" "Heaven authorized, only virtue is relative." Gan De smiled indifferently. Shi Shen frowned slightly, "The king of Chu still doesn't know, Yinghuo is dim and unclear, impetuous and ill, and always hangs above the sky. In a divided country, you should be vigilant and self-reflect." "How?" King Xuan of Chu was surprised again, "Has the shadow dimmed? Above the sky? Then you will soon guard your heart? God, God, Mrs. Mi Liang respects you so much, why are you so ruthless!" Shi Shen: "Yinghuo has been dim for a long time, it's not like tonight. If it wasn't for the King of Chu's respect for heaven, it wouldn't be right to talk about it." "The mysteries of heaven are too far away to be fully observed. Maybe we can't fully see the mystery, and we don't know. The words are all here, and I hope the king will figure it out." Gander stood up as he spoke, and cupped his hands, "I will take my leave." Shi Shen laughed loudly, "Of course, I may not be able to see the whole story. Let me go." King Xuan of Chu was so upset that he waved his hands and said, "Doctor Jiang Yi, send the two gentlemen on behalf of the king. I will reward you with a thousand pieces of gold." When the two came out of Shimen, Mi Liangfu's mountain-like body could no longer support the irritability, fatigue and disappointment. Hollow, panting, spread himself out on the cold stone floor. When Jingshan Observatory came down, King Xuan of Chu was like a frost-beaten autumn vegetable, so wilted that he didn't bother to say a word.Jiang Yi came back and reported that the two masters, Gan De and Shi Shen, had already left, and King Xuan of Chu pushed away the maid who played the fan in surprise, "Why did you leave? Didn't you promise to be a doctor?" Jiang Yi With a wry smile, he said: "The two masters disdain to be an official, and I really can't keep it. Your Majesty, you have to find another good plan." "The heavens have already planned it. Can I succeed?" Chuxuan Wang looked sad. He waved his hand, "Jiang Yi, you said it's not a good thing to go to heaven, how can the king of Qin trust him?" Jiang Yi looked at King Chuxuan, but didn't speak. "Tell me, do you believe it?" "Your Majesty, let me speak bluntly." Jiang Yi, who was short and black, did not falter in front of the fat, white and huge King Xuan of Chu. A pair of radiant eyes were particularly lively on his dark and thin face. , the theory of celestial phenomena has always been believed, and there is no belief. If the celestial phenomena are beneficial to me, I can use them to inspire the hearts of the people. If the celestial phenomena are not good for me, I can ignore them. Confucian Confucius never involved strange forces to mess with the gods , just do your best. If Your Majesty is so convinced, wouldn’t it be a big disappointment to Mi’s ancestors?” King Xuan of Chu squinted his eyes, looked at Jiang Yi for a long time and didn't speak.He really didn't want to believe the "secret" revealed by these two bad old men, but he always felt that the boss was frustrated.Jiang Yi's words really appealed to him, but he felt that there was something wrong with it, so he thought about it and asked: "As you said, the ancestors did something unnatural?" "Exactly." Jiang Yi looked thoughtful, "The ancestor, King Zhuang, aspired to the Central Plains, challenged the destiny, and turned into a generation of hegemony. Let's go forward, when King Wu defeated Zhou, Old Jiang Shang smashed the fortune-telling tortoise shell in the Taimiao, and the sky made thunder, lightning and wind and rain. However, Old Jiang Shang yelled at King Wu, molesting the people and punishing crimes. Why do you need to ask about such rotten things? King Wu followed him, sent troops on a large scale, and wiped out the merchants in one fell swoop. More recently, Duke Zheng Zhuang shot the sky and became the number one overlord in the Spring and Autumn Period. A few days ago when I was in the State of Qi, I heard that Xun Kuang, a famous scholar after Jixia Academy, shouted in the debate, "The way of heaven is permanent, it does not exist for Jie, and does not perish for Zhou!" It has already caused a sensation in Qi State. Why should my king be a mere comet? Destroyed ambition? It is time to devise good strategies and do our best to revitalize the state of Chu." "Ahahahahahahaha! Well said!" King Chuxuan burst into laughter, but he was greatly cheered up, "That's right, if you want to talk about the reform, it's also me who knows Chu Zao. At that time, Qin Guo was still sleeping. La!" "What my king said is true. The ancestor mourned the king's use of Wu Qi's reform, which shocked the Central Plains, and no one dared to violate Chu. My king should regain his glory!" "Okay!" King Chuxuan pushed away the two fan-playing maids, and stood up with his fat body swaying, as if looking down on Jiang Yi's head, "Jiang Yi, this king canonized you as Shangqing. Go back to the mansion immediately to prepare , to deal with the official seal documents. I will enter the palace tonight, and this king will entrust you with important state affairs to revitalize Dachu!" Jiang Yi was cheered up, and bowed deeply excitedly, "The minister is so heartbroken that he should also serve the state of Chu!" According to the tradition, the Shangqing of Chu State is the assistant minister of Ling Yin (Prime Minister), with a prominent position.The state of Chu does not have Ling Yin at present, and Zhigui Jingshou is acting as the agent.If Jiang Yi is Shangqing, he must be the minister in charge.For many years, Jiang Yi has been on missions in the Central Plains and is familiar with the reform momentum of the Warring States Period in the Central Plains. He has always wanted to write to the King of Chu to carry out the second reform when he goes abroad to truly revitalize the Chu State.It's a pity that Jiang Yi has been submerged in the busyness of making one wonderful plan after another for the King of Chu, and has no time to seriously discuss state affairs with the King of Chu.This time, when the king of Chu was in a state of confusion about the sky, Jiang Yi spoke frankly. Before the grand plan of the second reform was involved, the king of Chu promoted him to Shangqing. Isn't it a good sign?Once appointed as Shangqing, Jiang Yi decided to immediately implement the idea of ​​the second reform to make the state of Chu strong, and he himself became a famous official of the reform.Jiang Yi was very excited along the way, thinking about how to present his long-thought-out reform plan to the King of Chu at night, but he couldn't help himself.Suddenly thinking that the king of Chu asked him to handle the official seal of documents, he hurried to the mansion of the minister in charge, Jing Shou, announced the king's order, received the seal, and handled a guard of honor and other matters, then hurried back to the mansion.There are four great families in Chu, Qu, Jing, Zhao and Xiang.This Jingshou is the leader of the Jing family and the minister in charge of the state of Chu. He is as thin as Jiang Yi, but he is an old man with frosty hair and snow.Seeing Jiang Yi's spirited and hastily walking, it was actually very funny, and he teased leisurely: "Shangqing, walk steadily, the mountains of Chu State are so rugged, be careful to slip your waist." Jiang Yi remembered that he seemed to smile , and the answer was decent, "Don't bother Zhigui, Jiang Yi knows whether it is a mountain or a river." Who would have thought that Jing Shou would shake his head and laugh, "Really? Then Wu Qi said the same back then, but what happened later? Ah ha ha ha ha ha……" Jiang Yi's heart suddenly sank. More than 30 years ago, Wu Qi escaped from the state of Wei. King Mourning of Chu was struggling to find a great talent, so he immediately took Wu Qi to the state of Chu, worshiped him as Ling Yin, took over the military and political power, and planned to implement reforms.With the full support of King Mourning of Chu, Wu Qi began to vigorously carry out reforms in the Chu State, and implemented four new laws: First, those whose hereditary ancestors have been feuded for three generations will take back their fiefs and depose their titles.The implementation of this decree alone has increased the cultivated land directly under the state of Chu by several million mu, and increased the number of taxpaying farmers by one hundred thousand.This decree did not involve the direct families of Qu, Jing, Zhao, and Xiang, nor did it involve the royal tribes, so the progress was relatively smooth. Second, eliminate redundant officials.The aristocratic families in Chu State are intertwined, all the children of the nobles have titles, and there are six out of ten officials in the government who are too busy to do things.These "adults" have nothing to do, except for hunting, drinking, gambling, and sex hunting every day, they just gather together to criticize the right and wrong in the country. gossip.In a few days, this talented person will definitely die, otherwise he will lose his Juelu.When Wu Qi came to power, he severely reduced these redundant officials and almost drove most of the noble children back to their manors, making them "white nobles".This savings alone makes the salaries of all remaining officials more than enough!More importantly, the bad habit of causing trouble in the officialdom was eliminated to a large extent, and the government and the public in Chu State immediately purged. Third, clarify the law and order, and rectify the rule of the people.At that time, the governance of the Chu State was extremely chaotic. There were few counties directly under the government, and most of the land was hereditary fiefdoms of the nobility.There is also a large part of the mountain basin, which belongs to the "self-domination" of the more wild mountain tribes.The laws and decrees of the Chu state have almost no effect on fiefdoms and "self-dominated" lands.Chu State is actually an allied state of "vassal princes". It looks very big, but in fact the power it can accumulate is very small.In the face of such chaos, Wu Qi's major action was to implement the decree of separating governance from taxation for the retained fiefdoms of the noble lineage. The governance of the people and a small amount of taxes belonged to the government, and most of the taxes went to the noble lords.This is the so-called clear law, the government governs the people, and the nobles receive taxes.As for the self-governing mountain tribes, instead of the separation of powers-half of all military power and taxes belong to the royal government, half of the governance power and taxes belong to the tribe, and the decrees of tribal governance must be reviewed and approved by the royal government.This is called a trial order.Another important decree is that the nobles must reclaim uninhabited land and must attract immigrants to cultivate it!This is the so-called "place that makes noble people feel empty".Once the above-mentioned decrees were strongly implemented, the power of the royal family of Chu increased greatly, taxes increased greatly, and private households directly under the Central Government increased greatly.During those six years or so, Chu State was indeed full of vitality. Fourth, rectify the military system and train new troops.At that time, the military system of the Chu State was almost the same as that of the Qin State. They both stayed in the tradition of veterans in the Spring and Autumn Period, and their combat power was extremely weak.Wu Qi was originally an invincible and outstanding commander, and he was an expert in the whole army and military affairs.He will take back the taxes from the fief and the surplus from the reduction of redundant personnel, and use all of it to fund the new army, recruit a large number of "combatants", and train an elite new army of 80,000 people within one year! In the third year, the new army was trained and the national strength increased greatly. Wu Qi began to fight abroad.Like in Wei State, Wu Qi adopted the strategy of "first inside and then outside".In the first step, Wu Qi personally led 30,000 capable light infantry soldiers into Lingnan and started a mountain battle with the Baiyue tribe. Within a year, ten battles were fought, all victorious, the Baiyue tribe was pacified, and the confidantes who had been endangering the Chu State for a long time were eliminated. Big trouble.In the second step, Wu Qi personally led 40,000 elites who were mixed with cavalry to launch an attack on the Miaoman tribe that had not yet surrendered in Cangwu Mountain (now Guangxi, Hunan). Within half a year, they all subdued the Miaoman tribe.In the third step, Wu Qi commanded all the elite 80,000 new troops, crossed the Huai River in the north, annexed the Cai State in the first battle, and annexed the Chen State in the second battle, so that the power of the Chu State suddenly expanded to the north of the Huai River, and it was far away from the Wei State of South Korea. Look at each other!Prior to this, Chu's territorial power had been rising and shrinking south of the Huai River, and the north of the rich and civilized Huai River had always been the traditional sphere of influence in the Central Plains.Wu Qi wiped out the two countries of Chen and Cai in one fell swoop, causing the tentacles of Chu to suddenly penetrate into the heart of the Central Plains. The three Jins-Wei, Zhao and Han were the most threatened.Thus, the Jin allied forces fought fiercely with Wu Qi's army in Huaibei. In the two battles, Wu Qi completely defeated the three Jin allied forces, and Chu State won a big victory!Since then, Chu State has gained a firm foothold in Huaibei. However, at such a juncture, King Chu Mourning, who had been the monarch for 21 years, died! Jiang Yi remembered very clearly that at that time Wu Qi was appeasing the local people in Huaibei and had not yet returned to Yingdu.He knew nothing about the conspiracy of the noble forces in Yingdu.When Wu Qi received the bad news, he hurried back to Yingdu alone for the funeral, the conspiracy had already covered Wu Qi like a net.At that time, Hou Jiangyi was just a young scholar who had been deprived of his title, and he could only pay homage outside the palace. When he saw the noble family soldiers rushing over one after another, his eyes widened in horror, and he suddenly shuddered. On a whim, he quietly squeezed into the ranks of the nobles' sacrifice... After entering the main hall, he found that there were rows of archers standing behind the heavy curtain!The aristocratic ministers dressed in sackcloth and filial piety also hide the curved Wu hook dagger!The corpse of King Mourning of Chu was placed on the long wooden platform in the center of the hall, and it was about to be buried and returned to the coffin after the sacrifice.According to the funeral etiquette of the state of Chu, Prince Mi Zang had already released the state to guard the spirit on the day of his father's death, and no longer foresaw state affairs.At this moment, the prince was dressed in sackcloth and filial piety, kneeling in front of the body stage and weeping. The two young royal children stood behind the prince to protect him, but their eyes kept glancing back and forth. The funeral mourning and mourning were played, and the elders and ministers of the royal family first paid their respects one by one, and then they all knelt neatly behind the prince to watch the coffin.According to the order of titles, the grand general of Ling Yin, Wu Qi, followed by the elders and ministers of the four families of Qu, Jing, Zhao, and Xiang.Just as Wu Qi was walking heavily and slowly towards King Chu Mourning's body, Jiang Yi heard an old and sharp cry from among the nobles—"Where is the king going—!" With the sharp cry, the two behind the prince The noble guard suddenly helped the prince up, turned around and got behind the curtain!At this moment, the curtain swished open, and the archer's long arrows flew towards Wu like a rainstorm! Wu Qi was in grief, his eyes were only looking at the body of King Chu Mourning moving forward, how could he have expected such a drastic change?Hearing the sudden change, he turned around and had already hit three arrows in a row!At that time, Jiang Yi clearly saw Wu Qi shouting loudly, "King of Chu—! The reform is over—!" He staggered and rushed to the body of King Chu Mourning, hugged the body of King Chu Mourning tightly and let out a loud voice Crying... The nobles who were terrified of Wu Qi were completely crazy at this moment, shouting: "Shoot Wu Qi! Shoot Wu Qi——!" In the panic, there was a burst of frenzied shots, which shot Wu Qi and the remains of King Chu Mourning into hedgehogs. The long arrows were entangled, and they couldn't be separated! After the chaos, the funeral of King Mourning of Chu could not be carried out for a long time.The imperial doctors tossed and tossed for three days with sad faces, but they still couldn't separate the corpses of King Chu Mourning and Wu Qi. If they wanted to separate, they would have to cut them piecemeal!The crown prince, Mi Zang, felt that this was a great disgrace to Chu.In anger, Mi Zang ordered Wu Qi to be crowned Lord An, and buried his father and Wu Qi together.After three months, the prince ascended the throne and became king, and this was King Chusu.一即位楚肃王便秘密筹划，将吴起训练的八万精锐新军调回郢都，一举捕获参与叛乱的七十三家贵族大臣的家族两千余口，以“毁灭王尸，叛逆作乱”的罪名，竟将两千余口贵族一次全部斩首！ 那是楚国历史上最大规模的一次屠杀，江乙记得自己从刑场回来，呕吐得三天都没能吃饭。他对吴起佩服景仰极了！一个人能在那么紧急的时候想出那么高妙的主意，竟在死后使仇敌全数覆没，这种智慧当真是难以企及。是啊，吴起毕竟是身经百战的大将，生具应对仓促巨变的天赋。仓促之间便立即清楚，自己手无寸铁，纵逃出箭雨，也逃不出殿外伏兵追杀，当是必死无疑，能做的也只有将阴谋家卷进来，使他们与自己同归于尽，自己便也得以复仇。 吴起的复仇愿望实现了。可是，楚国的变法却夭折了。从那以后，谁也没觉得有什么急风暴雨，楚国就渐渐的不知不觉的回到老路上去了。江乙始终没有想明白，楚国究竟是如何退回去的？性格阴沉的楚肃王，郁郁寡欢的做了十一年国王，便又死了，连儿子都没有。贵族们便力保他的小弟弟芈良夫做了国王，便是目下的这个楚王。这位楚王倒是心思聪敏，即位快二十年了，肥硕的头脑里奇思妙想不断，可就是国势一无进展，也实在令人摸不着头脑。就说三个月前吧，突然要江乙不惜重金，寻觅甘德石申两位星象高士。好容易找来了，说好的要册封人家为“天大夫”辅政，可一观星象不合胃口，竟然又不理睬两位高士了。让江乙好生斡旋，才保住了楚国的体面。 今日，楚王又突现振作，册封自己为上卿辅政，而且要自己晚上进宫议事！江乙总觉得楚王要做的是一件大事，该当是让自己主政变法。可是，以往的曲曲折折反反复复又使他心里很不塌实，很怕楚王又想出一个什么“奇计妙策”，让他去做徒劳的奔波驰驱。 忐忑不安的忙到暮色降临，江乙匆匆安排了几件事，便匆匆的进宫了。 楚宣王正在皱着眉头眯着眼睛，挺着肥大的身躯躺卧在特制的一张落地大木榻上，听几个舞女在扭着混混沌沌不知名的舞曲。听得江乙参见的报号，竟霍然坐起，将两个打扇侍女吓得竟尖叫一声丢了大扇。楚宣王生气的呵斥道：“蠢啦！下去！”两个侍女一叩头便连忙碎步疾行去了。楚宣王破例的向江乙招手，呵呵笑着拍拍木榻道：“上卿，过来，这里坐啦。”江乙走过去坐在了楚宣王旁边。纵是这木榻长大，江乙离楚宣王还有两三尺距离，也立即感到了一股热烘烘的汗味儿弥漫扑来，若非心中兴奋紧张，还真难以忍受。 “哎呀上卿，再过来啦，这是大计密谈。哎，是啦是啦，听我说……”楚宣王的声音突然低了。听着听着，江乙的心却是越来越凉，一句话也说不出来，只觉得胸口一阵憋闷，便软软的倒在了楚宣王肥大的脚上…… 三天之后，一队甲士簇拥着一辆青铜轺车驶出郢都，六尺车盖下的玉冠使者却正是江乙。这次特使他实在不想做，却又不能不做。 楚宣王芈良夫又有了一个天赐奇策！