As early as with the support of King Liao of Wu, Su Che was promoted from Grand Tutor to Grand Prime Minister.
Taizai, the celestial official, is the chief of the six ministers and is in charge of national affairs.
This is truly a situation where one is second to none and is above ten thousand people. The right to speak is not comparable to that of the Great Situ.
The first step of the reform led by Prime Minister Su Che was to take action against the three cousins ​​of King Liao of Wu.
The three princes had their privileges, cities, and all the wealth in the treasury taken away.
The raid went so smoothly.
One reason is that the princes rarely took action against the ministers, and there was no precedent before this.
The second reason is that this was a surprise attack and an act without "etiquette". Few people in this era would mobilize troops like this.
It is quite ridiculous. Although etiquette and music have obviously collapsed, in this era, many people still observe etiquette on the battlefield.
no doubt.
This sudden attack stunned the three young masters.
They never thought that there would be such an unethical person who would attack them!
On Su Che's side, Gongzi Guang was the most unacceptable. He had always been looking forward to sitting on the throne of King of Wu. In order to achieve this goal, he constantly increased his prestige and made various efforts, just to be able to ascend the throne of King of Wu one day.
However, with this surprise attack, all these beautiful fantasies were shattered, and it was doomed that he would never be able to ascend to the throne of King of Wu again. In this case, what was the point of continuing to live?
Prince Guang faced death calmly, but the other two princes did not have such ambition. Although they lost everything, as cousins ​​of the King of Wu, they could still live a leisurely life as princes, at least they would not have to worry about food and clothing.
Even in this day and age, most ordinary people still believe that being alive is better than being dead.
The military power of the three princes was taken back, and all the financial resources in the government treasury were deposited into the national treasury, which directly enriched the national treasury. At the same time, the military force controlled by King Liao of Wu was further expanded.
With the military force under his control greatly increased, King Liao of Wu felt more confident in speaking.
He directly issued an order to all the ministers of Wu State:
"Reform is imperative. Wu must undergo reform to become strong! Anyone who blocks the reform is a sinner for Wu!"
If Gongzi Guang were still alive.
As soon as these words were spoken, Gongzi Guang would most likely stand up.
Because the time is ripe, he must stand up and set an example for all the ministers of Wu.
He would say to King Liao of Wu with righteousness:
"The emperor has no right to interfere with the princes, and the princes have no right to interfere with the ministers. This is the common sense of the world. What you are doing now is a great act of treason and perverseness!"
It’s a pity that the deceased young master couldn’t see such a good opportunity.
Su Che took the initiative and took him down. He couldn't accept it and committed suicide by touching his neck.
The three princes had nothing, which was undoubtedly a warning to all. All the ministers and officials of Wu State were trembling with fear and did not dare to say anything more.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Su Che wrote a letter directly.
He said to King Liao of Wu: "The time is ripe. Since all the nobles and ministers in Wu dare not disobey, let's take this opportunity to take back all their military power!"
King Liao of Wu subconsciously asked, "What if there are people who don't obey?"
Su Che said calmly: "Those who disobey will be killed !"
Wu Wang Liao narrowed his eyes, nodded and said, "That's it!"
Originally, King Liao of Wu was worried that the reform would fail and the situation would become very bad. Now that things are going so smoothly, he naturally has to take drastic measures and continue the reform!
As long as all the military power of Wu is taken back, his power will be concentrated again and he will become the real decision-maker of Wu.
Originally, Su Che simply abolished the hereditary titles and salaries of some people, and rewarded all military and civilian personnel according to their merits, which caused an uproar and triggered countless protests.
When the order to take back the military power was issued, the whole Wu State was in an uproar. Some ministers refused to obey and directly rebelled.
In their opinion , if they lost their military power, they would be lambs to be slaughtered in the State of Wu!
There are also some people who adhere to ancient rituals and believe that being deprived of military power is more serious than being killed, so they will not obey even if they die.
Faced with this situation, Su Che naturally would not show mercy.
Since you want to die, then let you die!
Start killing immediately!
If we don't kill people in large numbers and make rivers of blood, this reform will never be carried out perfectly.
A temporary compromise will always result in the other party's further demands.
Only by fighting our way out and making them dare not speak anymore can we implement the reform smoothly.
How can we call it reform if there is no bloodshed ?
At this moment, Wu had famous generals like Sun Wu, Wu Zixu, and Su Che. This group of resisting ministers was simply like a mantis trying to stop a chariot and an egg trying to hit a rock.
There is a way to die!
A few days later.
In a small city.
Su Che had just broken through here. The moment he attacked, the official Ji committed suicide, and his retainers also committed suicide.
After Su Che entered the small town, almost everyone looked at him with hatred, as if they wanted to eat him.
As the reform progressed, Fan Zi, which once had a good reputation, deteriorated rapidly, almost visibly, during this period.
Fan Li became a synonym for treacherous and corrupt officials, and his reputation was so bad that even the states of Yue and Chu could hear about him.
The essence of the reforms proposed by Su Che was centralization of power.
But this undoubtedly offended the nobles and officials so much that they wanted to eat Su Che alive.
It is precisely this group of people who often have the right to speak.
What do the lower-class people know?
The policies proposed by Su Che were very good to the lower-class people, allowing them to have enough food to eat, warm clothes to wear, and even occasionally eat meat.
All the common people were grateful to Fan Zi and regarded him as a saint, but the problem was that they could not even read and had no say at all.
In ancient times, the "people's will" often referred to the powerful class, those who had been educated, because they could make their own voices heard.
As for the people at the bottom of society, what can these common people understand?
They are at the bottom of society and the exploited class. Why should we be nice to them?
Instead, it brought disaster to the aristocratic class including ministers and literati?
What's the reason for this?
This group of vested interests doesn't think they have done anything wrong.
Their existence has been a rule since the establishment of the Zhou Dynasty.
Every minister had a royal family for generations - the emperor's relatives were given titles of princes, and the princes' relatives were given titles of ministers.
They are of noble descent, and their ancestors have done all the work for them. They just need to sit back and enjoy the fruits of their labor. This has been a tradition that has continued for so many years, and the status quo has not changed for many years.
Why are they losing it all now? Why?!
To these ministers and nobles, isn't Fan Li, who took away everything from them, the epitome of treachery?
From their point of view, there is really nothing wrong with it!
Fan Li, a commoner from Chu, was of humble origin. Relying on his reputation, he was valued by the King of Wu, but he did not repay the favor. Instead, he instigated the King of Wu to attack the nobles in the country. He led the king to kill his brothers and persecute other nobles. How evil was this?
It is normal for such an evil being to be stared at by this group of people with such eyes.
Su Che didn't care. He glanced at the group of people, sneered and said, "The affairs of Wu are in my hands. I am in charge now. Who dares not to follow me?"
As soon as these words came out.
Someone immediately stood up and said, "The affairs of Wu are in the hands of the King of Wu and the ministers. You? You are just a treacherous person, what can you do to me?"
Su Che drew out his sword and said indifferently: "Do you want to test whether my sword is sharp?"
This man also cooperated, drew out his sword, and said coldly: "My sword is not bad either!"
"well said!"
Su Che laughed loudly and swung his sword directly!
He is not Dong Zhuo, and you are not worthy of being Yuan Shao! !
Su Che moved quickly and pressed forward in an instant. The man had no time to react and his head was chopped off by the sword. He didn't even have a chance to block the sword.
The head rolled on the ground and kept rolling. Everyone looked at Su Che with fear in their eyes.
Su Che has always been known for winning people over with virtue in the Wu State, but this sudden attack was so sudden that they didn't even see the movements clearly, and the man next to him was killed!
Such quick movements, such agility, such strong swordsmanship!!
"This sword is my 'Virtue' sword. I am good at winning people over with virtue. If you are still dissatisfied, then ask the 'Virtue' sword in my hand!" Su Che said with a faint smile, holding the sword in his hand.
Although this sharp sword had clearly killed a person, there was not a trace of blood, and it was still as smooth as new. This scene made people feel cold - killing people without leaving any blood, such swordsmanship is almost divine!
In this era, those great sages and saints are not weaklings. Each of them is incredibly fierce and has extraordinary martial arts skills!
Of the six arts of a gentleman, martial arts account for one third.
Each of them is a ruthless person who enjoys taking revenge.
For example, Confucius was said to be able to lift a city gate, a strength equivalent to Overlord lifting a tripod.
Confucius' disciple Ran You once helped Ji Shi lead his troops to fight and achieved final victory.
Ji was very puzzled. Aren't you Confucians about benevolence, righteousness, morality, and reasoning? How could you lead troops to fight?
So he asked Ran You where he learned the strategic knowledge, and Ran You replied: "I learned it from Confucius."
It is recorded in "The Book of Rites: Tan Gong Shang" that Zixia asked Confucius one day: What should I do if my parents are killed?
Confucius replied: Whenever I meet an enemy, no matter where he is, I will kill him on the spot!
This is an era when big men have abundant military power.
It would be really shameful for a ruthless person like Su Che, who is respected by the world as a model, to lose face in terms of martial arts!
Speaking of which, Su Che's "Virtue" sword also has a story.
Originally, Su Che wanted to use a gun as a weapon, but for a big shot like him, holding a gun all day long would look like a soldier, which was really not a good look.
In this era, it is more stylish to carry a sword.
But those ordinary swords are not easy to use at all, they are too ordinary.
So Su Che spent a lot of money to invite a famous craftsman from the State of Yue to forge a sword specifically for him.
This master was a craftsman of the Min ethnic group who lived in the Oujiang River Basin. His name was Ou Ye.
Of course, some people also call him "Ou Yezi".
In this era, those who are respectfully called "Zi" after their names are all big shots in some field.
This Ou Ye was a big shot in the foundry field, so he was respectfully called Ou Yezi.
His name may not be so impressive, but his daughter and son-in-law have impressed many people.
His daughter was named Moye and his son-in-law was named Gan Jiang.
And the works he forged are also famous!
The works he smelted include: Zhanlu, Chunjun, Shengxie, Yuchang and Juque.
Later, at the invitation of Feng Huzi, he went to Chu with Gan Jiang and his wife to forge three swords for the King of Chu: Longyuan, Tai'a and Gongbu.
Ou Yezi was asked by Fan Zi of Wu State to forge a sword. He readily agreed and specially made a "Virtue" sword for Su Che.
To be honest, considering Ou Yezi's high standards in naming, he really couldn't bear to look at a name like "De".
Who would name their sword "Virtue"? This is really strange!
Zhanlu, Chunjun, Shengxie, Yuchang, Juque… How nice are these names?
But he had no choice but to let Su Che go since he was his number one financial sponsor and had spent a huge sum of money on it.
With this sword of virtue in hand, Su Che now has room to display his many sword techniques.
now……
Everyone looked at the sword of virtue in amazement. When Fan Zi talked about winning people over with virtue, he was using... this sword of virtue?
This seems to be different from what they imagined!
Fan Zi is too cruel. Not only is he ruthless, but his swordsmanship is also amazing!
No one spoke.
After all, those tough guys had long died with the suicide of Minister Ji, and those who are still alive today are basically spineless people.
The only one who could still talk tough was also killed by Su Che.
After this man died, this group of people no longer dared to look at Su Che with rebellious eyes.
Seeing that this group of people no longer dared to look him in the eye, Su Che no longer cared about what they thought.
Su Che said calmly: "I don't care what you are thinking. As long as you can cooperate with the reform, it doesn't matter what you think."
"I need you to know that your ideas are not important. Reform is the top priority for the Wu Kingdom. You just need to cooperate!"
"Now, in the entire Wu Kingdom, there is no longer any power held by the nobles, only the King of Wu!"
"Reform, change, this is a torrent, anyone who stands in the way must die!"
"You should have seen the consequences of not cooperating!"
"Did you hear it?"
"Do you understand?"
After these words came out, the group of people could only give in and responded one after another: "Understood."
Su Che turned around and left gracefully.
This period of time.
The unrest in the State of Wu was a good opportunity for the neighboring State of Chu.
Logically speaking, they should take advantage of the civil unrest in Wu to attack Wu, cooperate with the rebellion of the ministers, and deal a heavy blow to Wu!
If that happens, the reform in Wu will definitely not proceed so smoothly and will definitely be very difficult.
Unfortunately, however...
At this time, the King of Chu was terminally ill and was about to die. The Chu State was in chaos and had no time to care about the civil strife in Wu. This gave Wu State an excellent opportunity to carry out reforms!
Of course.
This was exactly the opportunity that Su Che seized upon and the reform he had just carried out.
The State of Wu now has only one rival, the State of Chu. Now the State of Chu is unable to take care of itself. The State of Yue has not yet made enemies with it, nor has it taken any action, but has instead issued a voice of condemnation.
Not only the Yue State, but other major countries in the Central Plains, when they saw the reforms of the Wu State, their first thought was not to follow suit, but to condemn the ignorance and brutality of the Wu State and morally denounce the unjust behavior of King Liao of Wu.
This is probably just like in the previous life, when a country did something outrageous and was wildly condemned by international public opinion.
This kind of condemnation was actually very useful in the Warring States Period. After all, people were not that thick-skinned and it was easy to cause a bad influence.
Even King Liao of Wu was a little confused for a moment when facing the condemnations from various countries that came like snowflakes.
He was very worried. If he did not give a reasonable explanation, Wu would undoubtedly become the target of public criticism among other countries, and other countries might even use this as an excuse to attack Wu!
The clever King Liao of Wu realized the seriousness of the matter, but he didn't know how to solve it for a while, which made him very distressed. He couldn't eat meat and had no interest in beauties. He was worried for a while.
When Su Che returned to the capital with a large army, King Liao of Wu hurried to the gate of the capital to greet him.
The King of Wu personally welcomed the return of the Prime Minister. This scene stunned Su Che. When did he become so prestigious?
Generally speaking, he should have gone to pay a visit to King Liao of Wu, rather than King Liao of Wu personally coming to the city gate to greet him!
Is this what happened?
Su Che still knew King Liao of Wu very well.
As expected, when King Liao of Wu got on Su Che's carriage, he could not wait to bring up the problem: "We are carrying out reforms in Wu. Although the domestic protests have been suppressed by you, Sun Wu, and Wu Zixu, how should we deal with the voices from abroad?"
"Voices from abroad? Did the news of our reform spread so quickly?" Su Che said with some surprise.
"Of course. After Prince Guang committed suicide and the other two princes lost all their power, the news could no longer be stopped and inevitably spread." King Liao of Wu said slowly, "Now our country of Wu is in turmoil, and you are suppressing it everywhere. The commotion has become even greater, and all countries are condemning us..."
"Let them condemn it." Su Che didn't care. It was just a condemnation. What was that?
"They will not only condemn us, but if we do not respond and give them a reasonable explanation, they will even use this as an excuse to attack us, cut off our trade routes, and sever all ties with us." King Liao of Wu said seriously.
"Is that so..." Su Che was slightly stunned after hearing this, then nodded and said, "Then give them a response."
"But how should we respond? We must continue our reforms... Things have come to this point, and there is no turning back." Wu Wang Liao said with a headache: "How can we give an explanation to the other countries and give them a satisfactory answer?"
"Sir, do you have any ideas?" King Liao of Wu glanced at Su Che and asked expectantly.
In his opinion, if it was Su Che, there must be a way, right?
Don't say.
It really does exist.
Su Che nodded and whispered a few words into King Liao of Wu's ear.
After hearing this, King Liao of Wu's eyes widened... Is this even possible? Is there such an operation? !
Think about it carefully.
It’s really amazing!
A few days later.
As the reforms in Wu State were in full swing.
The protests from the vassal states were in full swing and growing louder and louder.
Just when everyone was spitting and was about to drown King Liao of Wu.
King Liao of Wu finally responded to the vassal states.
King Liao of Wu said: "I am a barbarian!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the monarchs of the vassal states were speechless.
These four simple words directly silenced all the voices of condemnation.
I am a barbarian and do not know etiquette, so I have carried out these reforms. Why do you still blame me?
This sentence was actually said by the king of Chu a long time ago.
At that time, the vassal states of the Ji clan in the Central Plains believed that they had noble bloodlines and looked down on the Qin and Chu states that were not located in the Central Plains, regarding them as barbarians.
The resentment of the Chu State against this unfair treatment can be seen throughout history books.
However, Xiong Qu, the king of Chu, turned this discrimination into an advantage for Chu. He gained greater benefits by relying on his own strength and became the most successful country in annexing territory during the Spring and Autumn Period.
And now, King Liao of Wu actually learned from the king of Chu and said something like this, which left the kings of the vassal states speechless.
The reason is very simple. Although the Chu State was a barbarian country, the Wu State, like the Chu State, was located in a remote area and was the territory of the southern barbarians. However, the bloodline of the king of the Wu State was of legitimate descent!
Long before the establishment of the Zhou Dynasty, King Tai of Zhou, who was only a vassal king, faced a headache over the selection of a crown prince before his death.
His youngest son was very wise, and his youngest son's son, Ji Chang, was even smarter and he looked like a powerful leader.
Compared with his two stupid sons, he would rather give the throne to his youngest son.
But the problem is, although these two sons are incompetent, they are honest and kind. If you depose the eldest and enthronize the youngest without any reason, it will be a way to death.
When the two men learned of King Tai of Zhou's idea, they did not fight for the throne, but left on their own initiative.
The two went to the south and settled down in a small town by the sea. When King Tai of Zhou and his younger brother died, they did not stand up to fight for the throne.
The throne smoothly fell to Ji Chang's head. Through Ji Chang's efforts and the governance of his son Ji Fa, the country became increasingly powerful. Finally, it directly attacked the Shang Dynasty ruled by the tyrant King Zhou. After the Battle of Muye, the Shang Dynasty was defeated, King Zhou burned himself to death in Lu Tai, and the Zhou Dynasty was established.
After the establishment of the Zhou Dynasty, Ji Fa looked for his great-grandfather's two descendants and finally found them in Wu. They had already taken root in Wu and became local leaders.
Therefore, King Wu of Zhou, Ji Fa, took advantage of the situation and granted them the land of Wu, making them princes of the Ji clan.
Of course.
This forgotten piece of history was most likely fabricated by the king of Wu in order to prove that his bloodline was pure Ji bloodline and that he was not the king of barbarians.
But no matter whether it was fabricated or true, this statement did help the former Wu State gain a firm foothold among the vassal states in the Central Plains.
However, now that the time has come for reform, the King of Wu, who has always called himself a vassal king of the Ji clan, simply tore off the mask: I won’t pretend anymore, I’m going to reveal my cards, I’m a barbarian!
This simply left the other princes speechless.
Look at what they have done to the child... Even the dignified princes of the Ji clan were forced into a corner and directly called themselves barbarians!
At this point, what else can we blame the King of Wu for?
This feeling is like when you are playing a game and your teammate performs poorly and his operation is terrible, and just when you are about to scold him, he takes the initiative to say: I am so bad, I am rubbish!
At this time, do you still have the nerve to criticize him again?
Of course it’s not good to spray.
At this moment, the King of Wu said: "I am a barbarian."
It has the same effect.
This directly shut Youyou up.
The rulers of the vassal states had nothing to say.
In the state of Chu next to Wu, the seriously ill King Ping of Chu laughed happily after hearing the news: "Sure enough, you are a barbarian like me. Why do you pretend to be so high and mighty? Hahaha... cough cough!"
At this moment, the rulers of the vassal states obviously have not yet realized the seriousness of the problem...
After all, the reform of the Wu State was the first in history. Although the monarchs of other countries were curious, they had no intention of following suit.
After all, not every country has the conditions for reform like the Wu State.
This is not only a question of courage, but also a question of strength.
Without this strength, daring to reform and innovate will most likely not make the country strong, but will instead lead to nationwide boycott and ultimately the loss of the throne.
Wu State.
King Liao of Wu called Su Che and said with great joy, "Grandmaster, the advice you gave me was indeed good. After I said that, no one dared to scold me anymore."
"I am a barbarian!"
“That’s a really good reason!”
"When you told me this, I was a little hesitant and embarrassed to say this..."
"But think about it, even though our Wu Kingdom has always claimed to be a vassal state of the Ji clan, those dogs still treat us as barbarians! It really makes me so angry!"
"Now I use this excuse to shut them up. I am a barbarian, so leave me alone!!"
King Liao of Wu was very happy. In recent days, with the continuous reforms in the country, all the armies of the ministers had come into the hands of the monarch.
If you don’t change the law, you won’t know. Once you change the law, you will be shocked!
Originally, King Liao of Wu's army had a maximum of 20,000 troops - this was the norm for the princes, and their armies would basically have this number and would not exceed it by much.
After all, most of the princes' lands had been divided up by the nobles, and the princes simply did not have that many troops to fight, nor could they afford to support too many troops.
Even the Spring and Autumn Period hegemon, Duke Huan of Qi, had no more than 40,000 troops. When Duke Wen of Jin was the hegemon, he had no more than 70,000 troops. Other medium-sized princes had only a few thousand to 10,000 or 20,000 troops.
But now, when the power of the entire Wu Kingdom fell into the hands of King Liao of Wu, the number of soldiers directly exceeded 150,000!
Even if Su Che and Sun Wu suggested that the national army and the armies of the nobles be mixed, and then undergo rigorous military training to eliminate unqualified soldiers and keep soldiers who can obey orders, the army that Wu State possessed was still as many as 120,000 to 130,000!
A strong army, absolute power, and increasingly powerful national strength, this is the essence of reform!
This is also a landmark transition from the Spring and Autumn Period to the Warring States Period - reform!
Those who refuse to reform in any country have all become the tears of the times!
And this was just the beginning of the reform, the State of Wu could continue to grow stronger.
This greatly encouraged King Liao of Wu. He believed that if this continued, Wu would soon become the overlord of the vassal states, and then he would be able to review the troops at the feet of the emperor!
In fact, Su Che could probably guess King Liao of Wu's hopeless idea. After all, this was the limitation of the times, and it was normal to think that there was no one to replace him.
Being able to become an overlord is the lifelong dream of many princes. After all, even Xiang Yu, who said this, only wanted to become an overlord.
Su Che did not say anything about this. Times are advancing, and what is supposed to come will eventually come.
As Wu's army was being reorganized, Su Che also began his own administration.
First, we need to rectify the ranks of officials, strengthen their assessment and supervision, and at the same time discover talented people to improve the administrative efficiency of the entire country.
Many incompetent ministers were eliminated and ruthlessly swept into the dust of history!
And talented people continue to emerge like a swarm of fish.
Not only did Wu continue to produce talented people, but talented people from other vassal states also came to Wu to show their talents.
In this era, due to identity issues, many countries still have the problem of not being able to enter officialdom.
For example, the Chu State, which was already on the decline.
Talents from the grassroots are more pragmatic and their solutions to problems are simpler, which is exactly what Su Che needs.
As the reform progressed, the grassroots officials of the entire Wu State were completely renewed, the whole country was full of vitality and developed extremely rapidly.
The original Wu State had many problems due to its remote location.
For example, the country is often invaded by rivers and sea water, the land is frequently flooded, and every year there are people displaced by floods.
For example, the military defense facilities in various places are not perfect and are often vulnerable to invasions by other countries.
In addition, there are no national granaries in various places. Once a natural disaster occurs, famine will occur. It is also common for land to be abandoned. People's lives are not guaranteed at all.
During the time when Su Che served as the Grand Tutor and the Prime Minister, although he had been constantly improving these problems, his power alone was limited.
Moreover, the policies he implemented to benefit the people were often obstructed by the ministers.
It was difficult for him to implement his policies perfectly because they could not be conveyed to all parts of the Wu State.
But even so, the situation in Wu State was still getting better and better - this shows how bad the situation was before.
Now, with the officials thoroughly governed by Su Che, the implementation of government orders will no longer be hindered, which has led to a rapid change in the situation in various parts of the Wu State.
The property and food obtained from the officials of Wu were used to improve the living environment of the people of Wu and attract talents from various countries. It was a win-win situation - only the officials lost.
However, even though the former ministers complained and almost cursed Fan Li, Sun Wu, Wu Zixu and others, they still could not stop the Wu State from becoming stronger rapidly.
The lower-class people of the Wu State were very cooperative with Su Che's various policies. In their opinion, there was no better prime minister in the world than Fan Zi.
Dazai actually cared about them instead of treating them like pariahs.
In addition to the administration of officials and the people, Su Che also attached importance to and encouraged the development of the weapons industry. He spent a huge sum of money to invite Ou Yezi to serve as the iron smelting commander of the Wu State.
This is a new position created by Su Che. It is the head of a specialized weapons manufacturing company and has a lot of say.
Ou Yezi did not disappoint Su Che's expectations. He successfully transformed the Wu State, which had a backward smelting industry, into a powerful country in the smelting industry. Each of his swords received numerous praises from abroad.
In addition to smelting weapons on a large scale, Su Che also encouraged the manufacture of strong bows and crossbows, and the manufacture of armor, which was a huge expense. Only Su Che used the beach drying method to produce a large amount of salt, otherwise the remote Wu State would not be able to afford this expense.
Massively produce armor, bows and arrows, powerful crossbows, and a large number of spears.
What this is about... is naturally self-evident.
Now that the State of Chu is in decline, when King Ping of Chu dies, it will be the best opportunity for the State of Wu to annex the State of Chu!
The clever Wu Zixu naturally saw this.
He came to Dazai's house very excitedly and asked Su Che: "Mr. Dazai, when will we start?"
"Don't be anxious. As the Art of War says: Know yourself and your enemy, and you will never be in danger in a hundred battles." Su Che said slowly: "When the time is right, everything will fall into place naturally."
At this moment he was playing chess with Sun Wu. Su Che played with white pieces and Sun Wu played with black pieces. Both of them were good at chess and the game was difficult to determine the winner for a while.
When Sun Wu heard Su Che's words, his eyes suddenly lit up: "Know yourself and your enemy, and you will never be defeated in a hundred battles. This sentence really sums it up well. I wonder what the name of this military book that Taizai Gong is reading is? I have never seen it!"
As a master of military strategy, Sun Wu has read almost all the military strategies in the world. However, he has never heard of the origin of Su Che's saying "Know thy enemy and know thyself, and you can fight a hundred battles without danger". For a moment, he was very curious, because this sentence was very consistent with his military strategy concept and very much to his liking!
Su Che glanced at Sun Wu and was suddenly speechless. This... this was embarrassing.
"Know thy enemy and know thyself, and you can fight a hundred battles with no danger of defeat" comes from The Art of War, and this book evolved from Sun Wu's "Thirteen Chapters of the Art of War". Although Sun Wu has written the theme outline of "Thirteen Chapters of the Art of War", it has not yet been completely completed.
Su Che said casually: "This is just a fragment I came across from an ancient book that has been lost."
"A fragment of an ancient book that has been lost?" Sun Wu said with some regret, "That's such a pity."
"I have some knowledge of military strategy, perhaps we can discuss a little bit." Su Che looked at Sun Wu and said with a smile.
"Tai Zai Gong actually also understands the art of war?" Sun Wu was a little surprised.
"Of course!" Su Che smiled.
Since ancient times, truly awesome people are all-rounders, and Su Che is no exception. When it comes to the art of war, he has summed up all the wisdom of his predecessors and successors, so naturally he cannot be too bad. Perhaps he is much worse than Han Xin, who believes that the more he knows, the better. But if he only uses theories to talk nonsense, he may not necessarily lose!
"I would like to ask you a question or two, is that okay?" Sun Wu bowed quickly and asked respectfully.
Su Che nodded and said only one word: "Yes!"
During this period, Su Che's reform had entered a stable stage. The restrictions on the aristocratic privileges of the ministers were also written into the law. He no longer needed to personally handle the subsequent matters. Everything was on the right track, and he had more time to rest.
Discussing the art of war with Sun Wu is naturally not a problem.
Afterwards, Su Che and Sun Wu started a heated discussion, and they conducted in-depth discussions on various areas of war.
Strategies, military forces, backup, reality, terrain, spies...there are so many aspects involved in war.
Su Che's understanding of war was definitely not as profound as Sun Wu's, but his vision was very broad and he had seen so many things, which was something Sun Wu could not compare to.
Therefore, some of Su Che's ideas and some of his fantastic opinions were like treasures to Sun Wu.
Su Che also benefited greatly from Sun Wu's understanding of war and his explanation of the art of military operation.
The two of them discussed this for a whole day and night, and Wu Zixu on the side also listened carefully for a whole day and night.
Not only did Sun Wu and Su Che benefit greatly, but Wu Zixu, who had been listening nearby, also gained a lot.
Although there were some things that he could not understand when the two of them were discussing intensely and deeply, this did not prevent Wu Zixu from remembering them and slowly understanding the content of the conversation later.
After the discussion ended, the three of them had a big meal.
At this time, someone from the intelligence department brought the latest news from the State of Chu.
Under Su Che's organization, the salt vendors of Wu State were not just simple merchants, they also worked part-time as spies. They were all carefully selected by Su Che.
As merchants from the State of Wu were selling sea salt and salt bricks, news of all kinds also spread to the State of Wu along with the vendors selling sea salt.
This is a mature intelligence system network. Although it is difficult to find out the in-depth information, even so, this information is still useful!
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, there was no separate intelligence agency.
The role of this task is mostly performed by strategists, spies in the army, and retainers of various princes.
At this time, there were already diplomats, but their reputation was average. They could be considered the prototype of the famous diplomats in later generations.
And now, Su Che has created the first intelligence department among all countries, which is in line with his words.
“Know thy enemy and know thyself, and a hundred battles will be won!”
Sun Wu and Su Che looked at the contents of the intelligence carefully.
This piece of information was urgent information, and it was rushed back day and night. It was very critical information.
The information read:
Just yesterday.
King Ping of Chu passed away...
The time has come!
Su Che smiled slightly and threw the information to Wu Zixu.
When Wu Zixu saw this, his eyes widened and he said angrily, "This bastard died just like that! It was too easy for him!"
"Destroy Chu..."
Su Che casually flipped over the Yu Shang double-handled jade cup from Chu on the table, and the remaining wine slowly flowed onto the table.
"At this moment, the Chu State is already in a state of decay, desolation and poverty, and people's livelihood is in decline. It can be destroyed in the blink of an eye!"
When Wu Zixu heard this, his eyes lit up and he was very much looking forward to it.
Sun Wu's expression did not change much, his emotions were very reserved. Although he looked forward to making a big splash in the upcoming war, he did not show his emotions.