When Wu Zixu heard the name Fan Li, his heart was shocked and he said in shock: "Fan Zi wants to see me? Why? Did he say anything?"
The servant shook his head and said, "He just said he wanted to see you, but he didn't explain why."
Wu Zixu recalled that he had just introduced Zhuan Zhu to Gongzi Guang, and he couldn't help but frown and paced back and forth in the room.
He turned around and asked again: "Did you bring the soldiers?"
"There are no soldiers with us, only servants accompanying us," the servant replied.
"You didn't bring any soldiers with you... Why did you come to see me? Why did you come to see me at this time?"
Wu Zixu had a headache and didn't want to see Fan Zi at this time.
"This Fan Zi is a popular figure around King Liao of Wu, and one of the powerful people who have risen in power in Wu in a short period of time. He represents the will of King Liao of Wu. He came to see me at this time. He must have noticed something..." Wu Zixu made some guesses.
Su Che came to Wu State earlier than Wu Zixu.
Su Che was specially invited by King Liao of Wu.
However, Wu Zixu went through many twists and turns before he arrived in the State of Wu. Compared with the powerful Su Che, Wu Zixu had barely gained a foothold in the State of Wu.
Earlier days.
After Su Che arrived in Wu, he was worshipped by King Liao of Wu and was appointed as a senior official. He was given several villages as fiefs, which became his territory.
The feudal system was practiced in the Spring and Autumn Period, with the princes being "half emperors" and the ministers being "half princes".
The power of the emperor is feudal, and this is nation building.
The power of the princes is that of feudal officials, which is the establishment of a family.
But the doctor cannot divide his "home" among others.
In other words, the doctor did not have the power to re-enfeoff.
The homes of the ministers and the states of the princes are all self-governing.
The officials had the right to manage their own fiefs, which was called "Qijia", and the princes did not interfere.
The princes had the right to govern their own fiefdoms, which was called "governing the country", and the emperor did not interfere.
However, in addition to managing the family, the doctor also has the obligation to assist the princes in governing the country.
The princes also had the obligation to resolve problems under the orders of the emperor when unrest occurred, which was called "pacifying the world."
The three classes subcontracted land layer by layer in an orderly manner. This is the system of feudal fiefdom, or feudalism, that is, "establishing a country by enfeoffment."
As for the later princes, they gradually broke away from the control of the Zhou emperor and became kings and hegemons, such as the Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period.
They took the army to the outside of the emperor's city and conducted military exercises, which frightened the emperor so much that he trembled with fear and quickly sent people to express his condolences.
The class of nobles also began to rise, and many nobles controlled the politics of vassal states.
For example, the government of the State of Lu during the time of Confucius was controlled by the three noble families of the Ji family. Some nobles even killed their kings and established themselves as emperors, such as the famous Cui Zhu who killed his own king.
This is the uncontrollable development of the situation.
There is no eternal system in the world, and human greed can never be satisfied.
This is off topic.
When Su Che came to Wu and was appointed as a senior official, King Liao of Wu did not know Su Che's true abilities, so he only gave him some clerical work, which was auxiliary in nature. He had no real power and could not decide anything.
Those tedious official documents would have taken a month to process, but Su Che, who had just taken office, worked overtime and finished them in one day.
When no more official documents arrived the next day, Su Che left work early, traveled around, and observed the customs of the Wu people and their society and productivity.
Because he was away all day, his subordinates told King Liao of Wu about this.
King Liao of Wu asked Su Che, "I appointed you as the chief doctor to handle these tasks. Why did you leave your post after only one day?"
Su Che asked curiously, "I have already processed all the official documents. I have nothing to do for the time being, so I just check on the people's sentiments everywhere. Isn't that okay?"
King Liao of Wu was stunned: "I heard that those documents used to take at least a month to process. Why did you process them in just one day?"
Su Che smiled and said, "It takes different people different time to process official documents. Ordinary people need a month to process them, but for someone like me, only one day is enough."
After hearing this, King Liao of Wu was still a little unconvinced. He thought Su Che was bragging, so he ordered a careful check of the official documents handled by Su Che to see if there were any mistakes.
So, a large group of people came with the mountains of bamboo slips and abacus that Su Che had processed to see if there were any mistakes or omissions in Su Che's instructions.
King Liao of Wu looked at the mountain of bamboo slips and picked up one to read. The content of the slip involved military expenses. The people below calculated and reported a number. Su Che calculated it and sent it back with the instruction: the number is inaccurate, recalculate it.
"Let's check this first." King Liao of Wu handed the bamboo slips to the person next to him.
The man hurriedly fiddled with the counting sticks, and after counting for a while, he gradually realized that there were indeed mistakes.
The man in charge of counting the numbers stood up immediately and said respectfully, "Your Majesty, the number is indeed wrong. It is off by 3,786 coins."
Su Che, who was sitting nearby and reading the bamboo slips, said without even looking up, "You calculated wrong, you calculated wrong again, you are short of three thousand seven hundred and twenty-six yuan."
King Liao of Wu was stunned, then he shouted, "Calculate again! Calculate more carefully!"
"Yes..." The man hurriedly calculated again.
King Liao of Wu was worried, so he pulled up a man next to him and said, "You can also calculate this!"
Soon, both of them calculated the final result.
"It is indeed a shortfall of three thousand seven hundred and sixty-two."
"It is three thousand seven hundred and sixty-two coins."
Hearing this, King Liao of Wu widened his eyes in disbelief, turned around and came to Su Che, and asked respectfully: "How did you calculate it so quickly? And can you still remember this number?"
"It's just a simple calculation. It's a minor thing and not worth mentioning." Su Che shook his head and said.
"It is really a waste of your talent to do such a job. I would like to appoint you as the Grand Tutor. Are you willing?" King Liao of Wu said excitedly.
"I'd be happy to do that!" Su Che agreed happily.
The position of Grand Tutor is an official in charge of civil affairs, in charge of educating the people and administrative affairs. It can be said to be a real powerful position. Su Che has stepped into the core of power of the Wu State in one step.
King Liao of Wu gave this position to Su Che, and Su Che did not disappoint King Liao of Wu's expectations.
Under his governance, all affairs of the Wu State were in order and the national strength was growing.
Su Che did such a good job that King Liao of Wu was overjoyed and directly rewarded him with a small city as his fief, and also merged several previous villages into it.
Because he was too lazy to change his surname, Su Che changed the name of this city to Fancheng, and Su Che's Fan family originated from here.
In just a few days, Su Che was promoted from an ordinary citizen to a senior official by King Liao of Wu, and then to the Grand Tutor. It was like riding a rocket, and he became a rare legend in the State of Wu. Almost everyone in the State of Wu had heard of his name.
Wu Zixu was no exception. He knew how powerful this ruthless man was, so when he heard that Fan Zi was coming to see him, he was extremely nervous, fearing that his affairs would be exposed.
But, this side has to be seen even if we don’t want to. If we don’t see it, the problem will be even bigger.
Out of desperation, Wu Zixu and Su Che met.
Just met, before exchanging pleasantries, Su Che asked directly: "Do you still want revenge?"
Wu Zixu was stunned when he heard this, then he nodded without hesitation and said: "The hatred for killing my father is irreconcilable! Of course I must take revenge!"
"Then I'll help you. Are you willing to follow me?" Su Che asked directly.
"You...can help me?" Wu Zixu asked in disbelief.
"Why can't I help you?" Su Che asked back.
"Do you also advocate attacking the State of Chu?" Wu Zixu asked.
"Who in the entire Wu Kingdom does not advocate attacking the Chu Kingdom? The dispute between two mulberry pickers can cause a war between the two countries. How can such a conflict be resolved?" Su Che shook his head.
"But..." Wu Zixu hesitated.
"Come and assist me." Su Che waved his hand and said directly: "I will avenge you and kill King Chu Ping. Even if he is dead, I will dig out his body for you to whip!"
Not long ago, King Ping of Chu was in poor health and was already very old. It was for this reason that Wu Zixu was eager for revenge and frantically urged Prince Guang to continue attacking the State of Chu, and even introduced an assassin to Prince Guang for this purpose.
"I am willing to assist you!" After getting Su Che's promise, Wu Zixu no longer hesitated, but knelt down on the ground and bowed deeply.
In this era, the power of promise is very great, and many people are willing to die to express their determination.
Insulting a person is a more serious act than killing him.
They will use death to prove their ambition.
So Wu Zixu believed Su Che.
After Wu Zixu performed this great ceremony, he looked up at Su Che, and for a moment he seemed to want to say something.
Su Che naturally saw what he was thinking, shook his head and said, "You don't have to tell me, I already know some things."
As soon as these words were spoken, Wu Zixu felt a chill in his heart. He had never expected that the fact that he introduced the assassin to Gongzi Guang would actually be known?
Soon, Su Che brought Wu Zixu to meet King Liao of Wu.
When Wu Zixu met King Liao of Wu again, he was obviously feeling guilty. He lowered his head and dared not say much.
King Liao of Wu was very enthusiastic. Of course, most of this enthusiasm came from Su Che. In just a few months, under Su Che's governance, the State of Wu was completely renewed, and the scene was full of vitality.
King Liao of Wu naturally treated such a rare talent with great courtesy.
Su Che introduced Wu Wang Liao: "This is Wu Zixu. He has a good friend named Sun Wu, who is a rare military talent. I hope the king can recruit Sun Wu, grant him military power, and appoint him as a general."
When these words were spoken, King Liao of Wu frowned, and Wu Zixu looked at Su Che in surprise. How did he know that Sun Wu was his friend?
After a while, King Liao of Wu nodded and said, "If Sun Wu is a man of great talent, I am willing to make him a general!"
Su Che nodded and continued, "Your Majesty, please look at this."
Su Che took out a small bag from his sleeve and handed it to King Liao of Wu.
"Salt?" King Liao of Wu opened the bag and looked at the snow-white salt. He first smelled it, then tasted a little, and said with some surprise: "The quality of this salt is really good!"
"This is the method of obtaining salt that I invented," said Su Che.
When these words came out, King Liao of Wu's eyes lit up and he quickly asked, "How is the salt production?"
"The output is dozens or even hundreds of times higher than before, and not too much manpower is required." Su Che said with a smile.
"This..." Wu Wang Liao's eyes widened, somewhat incredulous: "Really?"
"Really?" Su Che said.
"It's a hundred times more than before. This is too incredible..." King Liao of Wu still couldn't believe it.
In the early years.
In the early Spring and Autumn Period, Guan Zhong, the prime minister of Qi, implemented the "official mountains and seas" policy.
He nationalized the iron in the mountains and the salt in the sea and put them into official operation.
From then on, Qi's economic strength grew, and Duke Huan of Qi, assisted by Guan Zhong, became the leader of the Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period.
Other countries followed Qi's example and implemented salt and iron monopolies.
But due to productivity issues, I have not been able to make any money.
At this moment, Su Che took out the snow-white salt and said that the output was a hundred times higher than before, which made King Liao of Wu see the possibility of the rise of the Wu State.
He asked excitedly, "How did you do that?"
In this era, there are roughly four sources of salt: sea salt, lake salt, well salt, and mineral salt.
Sea salt and lake salt are salt extracted from the sea and lakes, well salt is salt processed by digging wells to obtain groundwater, and mineral salt is processed by mining salt rock deposits.
The State of Wu was close to the sea, so the salt was naturally extracted from the sea.
In this era, sea salt is not extracted directly from seawater, but is extracted from underground brine.
Ground brine refers to concentrated seawater with a high salt content.
The underground brine resources in Qi were very rich, which made them the hegemony they once were. However, Wu did not have such rich brine resources.
But it doesn’t matter. Now Su Che has come up with a new method of obtaining salt - beach drying method.
The so-called beach drying method is to dredge ditches, absorb sea tides, and guide them into storage tanks, where the seawater is evaporated by sunlight and wind.
When it reaches a certain concentration, it is transferred to the evaporation pool for further evaporation.
When the brine concentration and impurities meet certain conditions, it is introduced into the crystallization pool to crystallize into salt.
Compared with the traditional method of mining brine and then boiling salt, the beach drying method is more convenient and has higher productivity. However, the initial layout is a bit troublesome and requires some manpower.
After Su Che took office as the Grand Tutor, in addition to his main job, he also built several salt fields using the beach drying method. After he achieved some results, he showed them to King Liao of Wu.
King Liao of Wu excitedly asked Su Che how he did it.
Su Che just smiled and said, "Why don't you see it with your own eyes, Your Majesty?"
King Liao of Wu nodded: "Then take me to see how you did it!"
Afterwards, King Liao of Wu led his guard troops and headed for the destination with a large force.
Soon, when King Liao of Wu arrived at the salt field and saw the crystallized salt in the crystallization pool, he couldn't help but widen his eyes, and said excitedly: "These, so many, are all salt?"
"Yes, this is the beach drying method I invented. The seawater comes to the reservoir, and the water evaporates through sunlight and wind, then passes through the evaporation pool, and then to the crystallization pool, and this scene appears." Su Che said slowly.
"This... this is too spectacular." Looking at the crystallized salt fields in front of him, King Liao of Wu could hardly contain his excitement. He reached out and took out some coarse salt crystals from the salt fields and tasted them: "It's really salt!"
He stood up and said to Su Che, "But there seems to be a difference between this salt and the salt you gave me?"
"Yes." Su Che nodded and said, "This is coarse salt, and that is the high-quality salt extracted through processing, so they are naturally different."
These coarse salts are actually edible. Nowadays, most ordinary people, and even some scholars, eat this kind of salt, which is even worse than this kind of salt. After all, there are still many poor people who cannot afford salt at all.
But if it is processed, you can get the refined salt in Su Che's hand. This kind of salt can be eaten for a long time, tastes better, and has no bitterness at all. Generally, only princes and ministers are qualified to eat this kind of salt for a long time.
Next to Su Che, Wu Zixu was also watching this scene in shock.
He never dreamed that Su Che was so capable. In addition to governing the country, he also invented a new method of extracting salt.
This is not just salt, but the wealth of the Wu State and the key to its rise!
"Your Majesty! This method of extracting salt must be strictly blocked and must not be spread out, at least not in the next few years!" Wu Zixu said hurriedly.
"That's right, that's right." Wu Wang Liao said with emotion: "With this salt extraction method, Wu will surely rise, and I will definitely become the overlord of the world!"
In this era, the dream of princes is to become a hegemon, not an emperor.
"Your Majesty, look at this again." Su Che brought over a piece of pure white salt brick.
Unlike mineral salt bricks, salt bricks made from sea salt are as white as snow and very beautiful.
"Is this a salt brick?" King Liao of Wu was stunned when he saw what was in front of him.
"After making the salt into salt bricks like this, it will be easier to transport and can be sold at a higher price. Even its commodity nature can be transformed into currency," said Su Che.
After hearing this, King Liao of Wu nodded as if he understood, but Wu Zixu next to him understood and knew what Su Che wanted to do.
On the way back.
Su Che and Wu Zixu were sitting in the carriage of King Liao of Wu.
Wu Zixu's mind was still on the large "salt field" he had just seen. He simply thought that Su Che brought King Liao of Wu out just to see that salt field.
After all, with so much salt, once it is mined on a large scale, the State of Wu will definitely become powerful!
Even King Liao of Wu was fascinated by the salt fields and was very excited.
At this moment, I can't help but imagine how much profit I can make by selling the salt on a large scale.
But Su Che didn't take the matter of the salt fields to heart at all.
Now that you've seen it, there's no need to mention it again.
The carriage was shaking and the sound was difficult to be heard outside, but the coachman was King Liao of Wu 's confidant, so it was most appropriate to talk about some topics at this time.
"Your Majesty, I have some ideas and suggestions, and I hope you can adopt them." Su Che said seriously.
After hearing this, King Liao of Wu looked at Su Che and was stunned.
He rarely saw Su Che with such a serious expression. Even when facing those salt fields before, he seemed nonchalant. What on earth could make him so serious?
Wu Zixu, who was standing by, heard this and looked over subconsciously. He looked at King Liao of Wu and then at Su Che.
The meaning of this expression is very clear. Will he be able to listen to the content of the conversation that follows?
Su Che didn't care that Wu Zixu was next to him.
Although Wu Zixu would do anything to get things done, he also had principles. Since they were loyal to him, he would naturally trust them and would not employ them if he did not trust them.
"Please speak." King Liao of Wu said seriously.
I only heard Su Che slowly say:
"Your Majesty, in this world, the princes are strong and the emperor is weak, the ministers are strong and the princes are weak."
"If Your Majesty wants Wu to become truly powerful and the hegemon that controls the world, then you must take back power and make drastic changes!"
"Otherwise, you will be replaced by the ministers sooner or later."
As soon as Su Che said this, King Liao of Wu's face changed immediately. Ever since he took the position of King of Wu, he knew his competitor - his cousin Prince Guang!
But the problem is, he has no idea how to deal with Gongzi Guang.
In this era, due to years of turmoil, the downward shift of power is inevitable.
Since the hereditary noble families have been in charge of state affairs for a long time, as their "merits" accumulate, their family territories will become larger and larger.
Over time, a situation was formed where the "ministers" were more powerful than the "king", and the king gradually became a puppet.
If this kind of problem were so easy to solve, then there wouldn't be the situation where the nobles usurp power!
Wu Zixu, who was standing by, looked even more complicated after hearing this, because not long ago, he had recommended an assassin to Prince Guang in order to assassinate King Liao of Wu!
And now, Su Che directly put this issue on the table.
The problem of the powerful ministers being unable to be eliminated is very difficult to deal with.
Can this be solved too?
At this moment, King Liao of Wu bowed quickly and said solemnly: "Please teach me, sir!!!"
Su Che smiled slightly and helped King Liao of Wu, who was bowing, up.
King Liao of Wu was definitely not a tyrant, but he was not a wise and ruthless monarch either. He was just ordinary.
If such a monarch were placed in a peaceful era, there would naturally be no problem. However, if he were placed in the chaotic late Spring and Autumn Period, then there would be big problems.
However, King Liao of Wu's greatest strength was that he was receptive to good advice, knew how to adopt other people's suggestions, and knew how to delegate power to capable people.
Su Che said slowly: "If you want to solve this situation, you must reform and change the law. Through some inevitable means, you must centralize power. Otherwise, even if you have tens of thousands of acres of salt fields, you will never be a hegemon."
Only by changing the rules and regulations can we make our country strong!
Su Che, who lived at the turning point between the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, put forward the theory of reform in advance.
During the Spring and Autumn Period, due to the feudal system, power inevitably shifted downwards gradually, which was a flaw of this system.
But the Warring States Period was different. The hallmark of the Warring States Period and the Spring and Autumn Period was that various vassal states implemented reforms in order to strengthen the power of the monarch.
Wei has Li Kui, Qi has Zou Ji, Chu has Wu Qi, Han has Shen Buhai, Qin has Shang Yang, Zhao has Fei Yi, and Yan has Yue Yi.
Although the reform measures are different, the core of the reform can be summed up in two words: centralization.
The essence of its means is to weaken the power of aristocratic nobles and abolish the system of "hereditary aristocracy and hereditary salary" in order to achieve the goal of strengthening the monarchy.
The most common way is to use foreign "guest officials" to suppress the country's "hereditary officials".
During this period of great change at the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, when the Warring States Period had not yet arrived, Su Che proposed his own reforms.
Change will naturally lead to bloodshed and bloodshed! Change without bloodshed is definitely not change, but peaceful evolution!
Therefore, Su Che asked King Liao of Wu to be mentally prepared. In order for the Wu State to become stronger, he must endure the situation of countless deaths!
King Liao of Wu could become a vassal lord, so he naturally had such courage and determination, and he would never stop the reform because of his kindness!
now.
King Liao of Wu widened his eyes. Every word Su Che said next was full of pearls, which shocked him to the extreme. In the past, he could not even imagine that he could do this... How blatantly against the world!
Over the past few months, Su Che, in addition to completing his job, has been conducting various investigations in Wu in order to formulate the content of his own reforms.
He gathered the strengths of the seven kingdoms' reforms and formulated reform measures suitable for the Kingdom of Wu.
This series of reforms was centered on the rule of law, governing the country according to law, while also carrying out large-scale rectification of official administration and strengthening the monarch's centralized rule.
The core of the reform is the need for "money" and "military power"!
Without these two things, the talk of reform would be nothing but a castle in the air!
And these two important things have been solved by Su Che.
The salt produced by the beach drying method he used could make a large amount of money, and Sun Wu, introduced by Wu Zixu, would train a strong army for King Liao of Wu!
As long as there is enough money and enough military force, there will be room for reform!
As for after the reform is successful, will Su Che's fate be the same as Shang Yang, becoming "Shang Yang divided into five parts"?
Su Che didn't care. It was just a simulation. As long as great things were accomplished and his theory was further improved, what would be the regret even if he died?
Just die!
Wu Zixu, who was originally eager for revenge, suddenly became less anxious after hearing about Su Che's reform.
He is a smart man, an extremely smart man.
After listening to Su Che's account of the reform, he deeply realized how great an impact this reform would have on the changes in the vassal states.
If the Wu State could really succeed in its reform, it would definitely become another overlord in the Spring and Autumn Period. There is no doubt about it.
The former overlord, the State of Chu, has now long since fallen on power and is in turmoil. It is no longer the same State of Chu.
As long as Wu's reforms are successful, then destroying Chu is only a matter of time!
Wu Zixu suddenly became very excited about what the Wu State would be like after the reform was successful.
After formulating the reform plan, King Liao of Wu was looking forward to it but not in a hurry, because he also understood that the time had not yet come!
When King Liao of Wu returned to the capital, he rewarded Su Che again and asked him to supervise all matters related to salt production and sales.
Su Che was parachuted in and became the boss of the Salt and Iron Department. The people in the original department were dissatisfied, but Su Che quickly used both kindness and force to subdue them.
at the same time.
Sun Wu finally arrived in the State of Wu.
Because it was Su Che who introduced him and Wu Zixu who recommended him.
So when Sun Wu came to the State of Wu, Su Che and Wu Zixu met Sun Wu together.
Sun Wu, one of the great men of the Spring and Autumn Period, wrote the masterpiece "The Art of War". He is known as the "Sage of Military Strategists", "Teacher of Military Strategists for All Ages" and "The Originator of Eastern Military Science".
Such a big man has not yet emerged at this point in time. He has a lot of ambitions waiting to be realized. Because of the civil strife in Qi, he came to the Wu State in the south and devoted himself to studying military tactics.
He was very happy to be recommended by Wu Zixu and Su Che, so he followed the two of them to meet King Liao of Wu.
King Liao of Wu met Sun Wu in person.
Sun Wu brought the Thirteen Chapters of the Art of War he had written and presented it to the King of Wu for his review.
King Liao of Wu read the Thirteen Chapters of the Art of War carefully and frowned. He instantly realized that this person was extraordinary, and then he asked a few more questions.
Sun Wu directly expressed his opinion: "Warfare is the art of deception!"
Wu Wang Liao's eyes widened and he continued to ask, "Why?"
Sun Wu then elaborated on his military views.
After hearing these words, King Liao of Wu couldn't help but widen his eyes, and his whole spirit was greatly shocked!
This impact is no less than Su Che's previous method of reform.
In this era, the idea of ​​"killing with courtesy" is the mainstream on the battlefield.
At this moment, Sun Wu's words "War is the art of deception!" can be regarded as an announcement of the demise of the concept of theocracy and ritual in the Chinese war!
During the Spring and Autumn Period, the old rituals and the "collapse of rituals and music" coexisted, and there were still many rituals on the battlefield.
This led to a very interesting situation: although it was a war of life and death, both sides seemed to be playing house.
For example, when an army was traveling and passing through famous mountains and rivers or the emperor's city, they had to perform etiquette, otherwise it would be considered "disrespectful", and "disrespect" was often considered a precursor to defeat.
Before the formal battle, the two warring parties will have to perform oath-taking and reward ceremonies.
During a war, the commander must also salute when meeting the monarch of the enemy country.
During the Battle of Yanling, Xi Zhi, one of the commanders of the State of Jin, saluted King Gong of Chu, and King Gong of Chu returned the salute.
On the battlefield, etiquette is the main theme. Disrespect will be despised. If you lose the battle, you will also be despised as a disrespectful person. Isn't it normal to lose the battle?
In such an environment, Sun Wu's words "Warfare is the art of deception!" directly changed the style of war in the entire Chinese land!
From then on, war was just war, nothing else was mixed in.
That is exactly the case.
King Liao of Wu was shocked after hearing Sun Wu's explanation.
But after the shock, he also keenly realized that only by doing this can he become stronger and win!
After a conversation, King Liao of Wu appointed Sun Wu as a general as a guest official.
After thanking Su Che and Wu Zixu, Sun Wu began to help King Liao of Wu train his troops.
At the same time, Su Che also began to make initial changes in the country.
It is naturally impossible to take action against the nobles right from the start.
Su Che first started with the economy and carried out land reforms.
Su Che first taught agriculture and put forward the idea of ​​"teaching to make full use of the land". The core idea was to strengthen agricultural regulation and improve farmers' production efficiency.
Su Che issued a decree to reward farming and ensure sufficient agricultural population.
Su Che also summoned the scholar-official class and invited farmers to give lectures on farming science to the common people.
For example, agricultural common sense such as how to manage farm tools, how to reclaim wasteland, how to choose seeds, and how to cultivate deeply and carefully.
These basic common sense are very lacking in this era.
Popularizing agricultural knowledge has fundamentally improved farmers' production efficiency, but this alone is not enough.
Farmers work hard for a year, and when the rice is ripe they take it to the market to sell. They want to get a good price, but they find that the price of grain is low and they can't get much.
When ordinary people went to the market to buy rice, they found that prices had skyrocketed and they could not afford it at all.
The grain merchants were the ones causing trouble here. Su Che asked King Liao of Wu to issue an order and promulgate relevant laws to prohibit these opportunistic behaviors.
As the lower-class farmers are able to have enough food and clothing and their lives gradually get better, the people's hearts will be won.
Sun Wu's military training progress also reached a certain level, and he successfully trained a strong army!
The people and the army can be used, and a lot of money has been made from selling sea salt. Now that the time is ripe, Su Che can take drastic measures to carry out the next round of reforms!
First, cancel the hereditary titles and salaries of some people, and reward all military and civilian personnel according to their merits. Only those who have made contributions will be rewarded, and those who are mediocre will all be dismissed.
Then, through special assessments, we can recruit people with real talents, rather than those mediocre people who inherited the positions through hereditary succession!
Such reforms are undoubtedly very bold in this era.
As soon as the reform was announced, the whole Wu State was in an uproar!
For a time, people were in turmoil. The ministers were very dissatisfied with the King of Wu's reforms, believing that this "violated the rites and laws and was an act of treason."
Countless opinions, like snowflakes, kept floating towards the capital. Everyone wanted King Liao of Wu to stop the reform and hand over the culprit of the reform - Fan Li!
In Gongzi Guang’s city.
As the reforms in Wu progressed, Prince Guang naturally received this news.
He sneered: "The ministers are doing evil things, and the whole country is boiling. In this way, the people will lean towards me, and everyone will support me to become the new King of Wu!"
"This is my chance! This is my perfect chance!"
"Haha, I originally wanted to assassinate him and then take his place, but I didn't expect to have such a good opportunity!"
"Liao, you are still so young. You actually believed Fan Li's slander and did such a foolish thing!"
“This is God helping me!!!”
As the most powerful minister in Wu, he has been coveting the position of King of Wu for a long time and can't wait to replace him!
"But... there's no rush now. It's not the right time yet. Wait a little longer!" Gongzi Guang sneered.
"Just wait a little longer. When everyone is fed up with it, that's when people's hearts will be used!!"
"By then, the Wu Kingdom will be mine!"
Gongzi Guang is not a short-sighted person. On the contrary, he is a wise leader with a sharp eye. He knows when to take action and when to be patient.
The time is not yet ripe, so he cannot take action. He must continue to wait. When public resentment is boiling, that will be the time for him to take over the State of Wu!
By then, Master Guang will be able to get hundreds of responses!
There is no doubt that Gongzi Guang's judgment is accurate.
Change without bloodshed is doomed to be uneasy, but once there is bloodshed, it will definitely cause a backlash!
but……
How could Su Che not understand this?
Early this morning.
It was daybreak.
Gongzi Guang was sleeping soundly on the soft couch with his beauty in his arms. He had been very excited recently as he was about to ascend the throne. When he thought of this, he could not calm down at all and it became increasingly difficult for him to fall asleep.
So basically I have to fight for a long time every day before I can fall asleep.
If you go to bed late, you will naturally get up early.
When the young master was still sleeping, a servant's panicked voice came from outside the door: "Oh no, something terrible has happened, young master, please get up quickly!!!"
"Hmm?" Gongzi Guang opened his eyes, listened to the panicked shouting, pushed the beauty aside, walked out the door, and asked, "What happened?"
"The King of Wu's men are attacking!" the servant said hurriedly.
When these words came out, Gongzi Guang was shocked: "How is it possible?!"
"They are about to come here, you should run quickly!" the servant said anxiously.
"This... this is impossible! Absolutely impossible!" Gongzi Guang couldn't believe it at all.
However, soon, as the city fell, all the troops fell into Su Che's hands, and it was useless for Gongzi Guang to disbelieve it.
"Young Master, long time no see." Su Che smiled and bowed to Young Master Guang.
"How dare you attack me! Do you know who I am? I am the most honorable minister in the State of Wu! How dare you, a guest official, attack me!!" Gongzi Guang saw that the situation was hopeless and shouted in exasperation for a while.
He naturally knew the person in front of him, Fan Li, who had recently caused chaos in the State of Wu! !
Su Che smiled slightly and said, "I am following the order of my king to carry out reforms."
After a pause, Su Che pointed at Gongzi Guang and said, "Since we are going to reform, we must naturally start with you, the head of the Wu Kingdom!"
"From today on, you will no longer have any special privileges, no more fiefdoms, no more treasuries, and you can only be a free young master."
"Please come back with me, sir."
As soon as these words came out, Gongzi Guang's face turned extremely ugly. He stared at Su Che and said viciously: "You have alienated the princes and ministers, and you have gone against the will of the world. You will not have a good death!"
"I'll go ahead and wait for you to come over!"
Having said this, Gongzi Guang drew the long sword from his waist and committed suicide.
Su Che couldn't help but frown when he saw this scene.
As soon as Gongzi Guang died, the servants around him committed suicide one after another.
Even Zhuan Zhu was like this.
Su Che wanted to persuade him: "You followed Gongzi Guang because of Wu Zixu's introduction. Now Gongzi Guang is dead. Why don't you join me..."
Zhuan Zhu refused directly: "Gong Ziguang is my lord. Since he is dead, if I, as a subject, defect to your sect, I will become a laughing stock in the world!"
Having said this, Zhuan Zhu drew his sword and committed suicide, facing death calmly!
"What a pity that one of the four great assassins died like this." Su Che shook his head, feeling a little regretful. He had expected such a situation. People of this era were so stubborn.
After Su Che raided and captured Prince Guang's city, on the other side, Wu Zixu and Sun Wu each led their troops to raid the cities of the other two princes.
King Liao of Wu had three brothers: Prince Guang, Yan Yu and Zhu Yong.
The three of them had their own fiefdoms and cities in the state of Wu, as well as their own armies and soldiers.
Because it was a surprise attack, it was easily taken down.
With the capture of these three princes, the entire Wu Kingdom was shocked!
Everyone saw King Liao of Wu’s determination to reform!
Things have changed in the Wu Kingdom!