This day.
King Liao of Wu brought Prince Qingji to see Su Che.
Qingji was the eldest son of King Liao of Wu. He was born with supernatural powers and extraordinary bravery. Before he even reached adulthood, he was known as the bravest warrior of Wu.
In order to practice riding and archery, he often went out hunting, crossing mountains and valleys, passing through waterfalls and streams, beating bears and tigers, fighting leopards and foxes.
He once fought with a rhinoceros and captured it alive. Because of his bravery, he became a role model for many young hunters. Even many hunters and strongmen from neighboring countries were willing to join him.
Although such a tough guy, King Liao of Wu was very worried that he would become a brave but foolish man and ruin the hegemony of Wu. Therefore, he brought him here specifically, wanting him to follow Su Che, see more, learn more, and expand his brain, instead of just thinking about hunting all day long.
Qingji still had great respect for Su Che and saluted him respectfully because he had heard of Su Che's military achievements. When he was fighting against the ministers, Su Che was always the first to rush in and kill countless people. He could use his divine sword skills to kill people without shedding blood!
Qingji was looking forward to Su Che teaching him this divine sword technique...
"Although he is brave, he has no strategy. He does things on impulse without thinking it through. I am very worried about his future, so I asked the prime minister to help teach him. I hope the prime minister can accept this useless disciple." King Liao of Wu said seriously.
"No matter how brave a person is, he cannot accomplish great things. If Qingji can stay by your side and learn a little bit of your strategy, instead of just being brave and aggressive, then I will feel relieved."
Listening to King Liao of Wu's words, Su Che nodded and said, "Then leave him to me. I will teach him. Don't worry, Your Majesty."
As soon as these words were spoken, King Liao of Wu couldn't help but smile, and he patted Qingji on the head.
Qingji quickly gave out the gift he had prepared. This was "Shuxiu", a meeting gift from a student to a teacher, and was the basic etiquette of that era.
Qingji smiled flatteringly and said, "Teacher, these are all the wild animals I hunted, including bison, deer, bears, and tigers. They are small gifts, please accept them."
Su Che took the bundle of gifts and glanced at the various animal meats in the basket. A lot of the animal meats were rich in a faint spiritual energy and were not ordinary meat.
Su Che nodded, took out a sword and gave it to Master Qingji as a return gift.
When Qingji got the sword, he was inevitably delighted and quickly pulled it out. He saw a cold light flashing on the sword body and the blade was so sharp that it could cut a hair with a blow. This was a rare sword!
Having obtained such a precious treasure, Qingji was immediately overjoyed: "Thank you, teacher, for giving me the sword! Does this sword have a name?"
Su Che smiled and said, "This sword was made by digging out the iron from the Cishan Mountain and draining its stream. After repeated forging, it was finally forged into a precious sword. The sword is named Longquan."
"Longquan Sword?" Qingji couldn't help but sigh, "What a good name, what a good sword!"
Su Che smiled and asked, "Do you know about swords?"
"Of course. I am very proficient in how to use a sword, and I also know how to tell whether a sword is good or not!" Qingji nodded and said.
"Then let me test you. Do you know what is the essential difference between this sword and other swords?" Su Che asked.
"This sword is a treasured sword, and the other swords are very ordinary. Is this the difference?" Qingji was stunned for a moment and said subconsciously.
"No, I'm asking about the essential difference." Su Che shook his head.
"This... I really don't know, is there any difference?" Qingji asked.
"The difference is that this sword is made of iron, which is different from the material of the bronze sword. This is the essential difference." Su Che said slowly.
"Different materials?" Qingji's eyes widened: "Is this the reason why this sword is so sharp?"
"Yes." Su Che nodded.
"The key to bronze swords is how much tin is added to the copper during smelting. Too little tin makes the sword too soft; too much tin makes the sword too hard but easy to break. Therefore, bronze swords are mostly made of bronze with a higher tin content for the blade and bronze with a lower tin content for the spine, so as to make a sword with a hard blade and a flexible spine."
"The development trajectory of bronze swords is that they are getting longer and longer. At first, bronze swords were very short, only ten inches long. Now there are twenty-inch swords. This is the progress of smelting technology. One inch longer, one inch stronger. The bronze sword technology continues to improve, and the swords will continue to get longer. Maybe in the future they will become thirty-inch swords..."
"But the problem is that bronze swords will eventually have their limits due to the material they are made of."
"But if we use a sword made of steel, not only its hardness but also its flexibility is far superior to that of a bronze sword."
"Swords and long knives made of steel can not only take into account length, but also take into account various aspects of performance."
“That’s the power of innovation and change.”
“Old things are not necessarily all good. It is undeniable that the experience summarized in the past is indeed very useful, but if you always follow the advice of your predecessors, you will never be able to find your own way.”
"If we keep doing this, we will eventually be abandoned by the times..."
Qingji couldn't help but widen his eyes when he heard this, and nodded in confusion: "I understand, teacher."
"What do you understand?" Su Che was a little curious.
"We should focus on innovation." Qingji nodded.
Su Che was stunned and laughed: "You are right, you can also understand it this way..."
King Liao of Wu was listening to the conversation between the master and the disciple. He was originally worried that Qingji would disobey discipline and not listen to his teacher, thus making his teacher very angry - this kind of thing happened frequently before, but now, he finally didn't have to worry so much.
When King Liao of Wu was about to leave, Su Che asked him to wait a moment.
Su Che turned around, took out a scroll of bamboo slips and handed it to King Liao of Wu.
"The State of Wu is about to send troops to attack the State of Chu. This battle will surely be a great victory, but there is also a slight possibility of losing the war. After all, the army that is in despair will win."
"In order to completely put an end to this situation, this new military merit system will make our Wu army a powerful army that can conquer the entire world!"
"A brand new military merit system?" After hearing this, King Liao of Wu hurriedly took the bamboo slips from Su Che's hand, then spread it out and read it carefully.
Just one look and his eyes widened.
"This this!"
King Liao of Wu was stunned when he saw the contents on the bamboo slips.
Young Master Qingji, who was standing by, also came over to take a look.
What was written on the bamboo slips was the twenty-level military merit system. This was the Wu version of the military merit system compiled by Su Che, imitating the twenty-level military merit system of the Qin and Han dynasties.
The original twenty levels of military merit were as follows: first-level Gongshi, second-level Shangzao, third-level Zanniao, fourth-level Bugeng, fifth-level Daifu, sixth-level Guandaifu, seventh-level Gongdaifu, eighth-level Gongcheng, ninth-level Daifu, tenth-level Zuoshuzhang, eleventh-level Youshuzhang, twelfth-level Zuogeng, thirteenth-level Zhonggeng, fourteenth-level Yougeng, fifteenth-level Shaoshangzao, sixteenth-level Dashangzao, seventeenth-level Siche Shuzhang, eighteenth-level Shuzhang, nineteenth-level Guanneihou, and twenty-third-level Chehou.
After being transformed by Su Che, only the names were changed, but the overall situation is still basically the same.
In this military merit system.
As long as one kills an enemy "armored soldier", who is usually an elite vanguard in the army, he can obtain the first-level title of Gongshi, and at the same time obtain one hectare of land, a house and a servant.
In other words, as long as he kills a striker, an ordinary soldier, he can reach the peak of his life.
One hectare of land is fifty mu of land, and even working in the fields is beyond the imagination of ordinary farmers.
Having money, a title, and being able to pass it on, this is the core of the military merit system.
As the saying goes, where there is a big reward, there will always be brave men. Under this new military merit system, it is conceivable that those soldiers will rush towards the enemy like crazy and burst out with unprecedented combat effectiveness!
The title of Gongshi is only the lowest among the twenty ranks. The more heads one kills, the more military merits one gets, and the higher the title will be.
Under such a reward system, the Wu army will become the most ferocious army in the world...
In Su Che’s previous life.
The historical book "Strategies of the Warring States: Strategy of Han I" records: The soldiers from Shandong wore armor and helmets to fight, while the Qin people threw away their armor and rushed towards the enemy naked, carrying heads in their left hands and prisoners in their right hands.
This means that soldiers east of Mount Xiao must wear armor and helmets before they can fight.
But the Qin soldiers took them all off, and some even went into battle shirtless. On the battlefield, the Qin soldiers held heads in their left hands and prisoners in their right hands, and rushed forward desperately.
This gave the Qin army a terrifying title: the Tiger and Wolf Army!
Aren’t the Qin soldiers afraid of death?
Of course not.
This is the power of the twenty-level military merit system.
Driven by desire, every soldier who dreams of turning a bicycle into a motorcycle will burst out with unimaginable fighting ability.
After all, these are the people at the bottom of society, the vast majority of ordinary people. The only way they can achieve class transition is the only way for them, the lower class of society, to rise up, so naturally they will go crazy.
King Liao of Wu looked at it for a while, remained silent for a long time, and said hesitantly: "Isn't this a bit inappropriate?"
"What's wrong with that?" Su Che asked with a smile.
"The rewards are too much. If we keep waging wars, how can the country have so much land and servants to give them?" Wu Wang Liao frowned and said slowly:
"Moreover, if there are too many rewards, it will easily drive the soldiers completely crazy. It will be inevitable that they will kill innocent people to claim credit for their achievements. Innocent civilians at the bottom of society will also be regarded as military merits by them."
It has to be said that King Liao of Wu had some vision and foresight. He saw the flaws of the military merit system at a glance. The country had limited land and property. If it was continuously distributed, it would easily lead to a situation where there was nothing left to be awarded.
At the same time, situations where people kill innocent people and take credit for their achievements will inevitably occur.
This situation could not be resolved even in the Ming Dynasty several years later.
Even though the imperial court issued a clear order prohibiting the army from killing innocent people for credit, the number of civilians killed continued to increase.
Killing innocent people for credit is extremely cruel. It causes the death of innocent people and makes the army lose the support of the people.
Second, it has given rise to a culture of deception and fraud in the military.
The rise of the Jurchens was partly related to the Ming army's killing of innocent people for credit.
Human greed has no end.
Su Che smiled and said, "This is the problem with every system. Defects and advantages always coexist. It is impossible for a system to have no defects, only advantages. Where there are defects, you just need to know the defects and then try your best to avoid them."
"As for your concerns, I have naturally thought about it. Although these rewards seem tempting, it is not that easy to achieve them."
"First of all, the prerequisite for being awarded a title for military merit is that you must win a battle. If you lose a battle, you are not eligible for a title, no matter how many enemies you kill."
"Secondly, there are a series of regulations. If you fail to complete them, you will not be able to obtain the title... For example, an elite team of 18 people must behead five people before they are eligible to be awarded the title."
"And in a war, there are also decapitation requirements. For example, in a siege, you must kill 8,000 enemies before you can be awarded a title. For example, you must kill 3,000 enemies in a field battle before you can be awarded a title. This is called a hard indicator!"
"Of course, once this hard target is released, there will definitely be situations where people are borrowed for use. This requires that patrol officers be arranged to do their best to avoid this situation..."
"In addition, although the ownership of the rewarded land belongs to the soldiers, it is not owned by the soldiers in essence, but by the country. As long as they cultivate or rent it, they need to pay 10% of the land to the country as a tax. The property cannot be traded, and they can only hold it forever unless they give up the land."
"After the soldiers die, their sons can inherit the land. The country will not take it back. Their land will die with the country."
Under Su Che's introduction, this system has been gradually improved.
In Shang Yang's reforms, the rewarded land would be taken back after the death of the officer.
This undoubtedly directly offended the new noble group. His original reform had offended the old aristocratic group, and now he offended the new noble group again. This death was really not unjust at all.
This guy did things without leaving any way out. Except for the emperor, he offended all the vested interest groups. It was reasonable for him to become Shang Yang of the Five Equalities.
But Su Che was not so ruthless. He understood a principle called sustainable fishing.
Wouldn't it be stupid to cut leeks by pulling them up by the roots?
Leeks need to be harvested one after another. If the soldiers want to leave the land to their descendants, then let them leave it to their descendants. At least they can receive food or money.
Wu Wang Liao listened carefully to Su Che's explanation and couldn't help but sigh: "Sir, you are really resourceful."
Qingji, who was standing aside, was shocked when he heard these words and the reward system that was linked together. He could never have imagined that it could be played like this!
"With Taizai Gong's twenty-level military merit system, this battle will surely be a great victory!" King Liao of Wu exclaimed.
"We don't want a complete victory." Su Che shook his head slowly and said, "What we want is to annex Chu and become the world's largest country. This is the first step in the rise of our Wu... annex Chu!"
Upon hearing this, King Liao of Wu was shocked and said excitedly, "It should be so! It should be so!"
Since the reform of the Wu Kingdom, the country has become rich and strong. After such a long time of preparing for war, it is like an arrow on a fully drawn bowstring, about to be launched...
And now, at this moment, it is finally time to launch. How can we not be excited about it?
King Liao of Wu was extremely excited. He was particularly excited at the thought of becoming the overlord.
Prince Qingji standing by also said excitedly: "I want to follow the army and make achievements too!!"
King Liao of Wu glanced at him and scolded him in dissatisfaction: "Nonsense! How can you, a prince of Wu, go to the front line to fight!"
"Father, I am a prince of Wu State. I only have military power and know how to hunt. People who don't know me think I am just a hunter. I don't want to be said like that. I also want to follow the army to conquer Chu State, I also want to make achievements and make a name for myself!!" Prince Qingji said stubbornly.
King Liao of Wu looked at Su Che helplessly.
Su Che smiled and said, "Your Majesty, you don't have to worry so much. Since Prince Qingji has such an idea, it is naturally a good thing. How can a monarch who can't fight a war be considered a wise monarch?"
Since you are a king, you must be full of martial virtues!
"Then I'll trouble you, sir." King Liao of Wu could only say this, then he took the bamboo slips and left, leaving Prince Qingji to Su Che.
King Liao of Wu left the Prime Minister's residence. The wind was a little cold. He tightened his clothes and looked up at the dark sky.
"The storm is coming..."
"This world is the same."
…
Inside the mansion.
Su Che looked at Master Qingji.
Young Master Qingji was a strong and muscular man, tall and strong at only a teenager. At this moment, he was sitting obediently on the mat, waiting for Su Che to speak.
"Don't be so reserved. There's no one else here now." Su Che said with a smile, throwing a stool over.
This is a Hu stool. In this era, most people sit on the ground, and sitting upright for a long time is very uncomfortable.
When Qingji saw the stool, his eyes widened: "...A Hu people's stool?"
"Yes." Su Che nodded and sat directly on a small recliner.
"I don't have anything like this at home. My father hates these things. I bought one once before, and he threw it away the next day. He was even furious with me. This thing is obviously very useful." Qingji complained, and sat down on the stool, feeling much more comfortable immediately.
"Haha, the king wants to teach you etiquette, but you take these things back. Of course he will be angry." Su Che said with a smile.
"Etiquette should be in the heart, not in form!" Qingji said with a sneer.
"That's the truth." Su Che's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he nodded with a smile: "But some people don't understand this truth. They will criticize your behavior and point out your actions in a formal way."
"What should we do then?" Qingji asked.
"Then tell them to shut up!" Su Che said.
"Okay! I will make them shut up next time!!" Qingji nodded vigorously, as if to make them shut up physically if they didn't.
Su Che smiled and said:
"If you always stick to formal etiquette without paying attention to the true meaning, no matter how good the etiquette is, you are just a beast in human clothing."
"It's like some poor people who have nothing at home, but when their parents die, they have to borrow money from everywhere to hold a big funeral for them. Otherwise, they will be criticized and accused of being unfilial. What's the logic behind this?"
"What necessary connection does the size of a funeral have with filial piety?"
"Some people don't serve their parents well when they are alive, but wait until their parents die before they cry and hold a grand funeral to show their filial piety - who are they showing this to?"
Young Master Qingji listened to Su Che's teachings and nodded seriously. Su Che's ideas were very much to his liking.
Then.
Su Che took the opportunity to teach Master Qingji a lesson.
Qingji discovered that the principles taught by this teacher were basically those that went straight to the essence of things. His eyes seemed to be able to see through all the disguises in the world and see the truth behind all things.
This shocked Qingji so much that he couldn't help but study very seriously.
Su Che did not hold anything back when it came to his disciple Qingji. How much he could learn depended on his ability and understanding.
In the original history, after Prince Guang sent Zhuan Zhu to assassinate King Liao of Wu, he succeeded to the throne of Wu and was called King Helu of Wu. Because he was afraid of the brave Prince Qingji, he sent another assassin to assassinate Qingji.
This assassin was Yao Li, one of the four great assassins during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.
Legend has it that Yaoli was born with a thin body, only about five feet tall, with a waist circumference of a bundle and an ugly appearance, but he was extremely intelligent and brave, and was a famous fencing expert in the local area.
Yaoli Xian used a self-torture tactic to make King Helu of Wu kill his wife, and then used this as an excuse to surrender to Qingji.
Qingji believed that Yaoli's wife was killed by King Helu of Wu, so he did not suspect anything else and accepted Yaoli's surrender. He let Yaoli serve as a guide to march into Wu by water.
However, on the way, Yaoli took advantage of the strong wind on the river and suddenly drew his sword and stabbed Qingji. The sword went straight into his heart and out of his back.
But Qingji did not die. He held Yaoli upside down and drowned him three times. Then he held him up and laughed: "There are really warriors in the world who dare to assassinate me!"
The guards on both sides wanted to kill Yao Li immediately, but Qingji stopped them by shaking his hand: "This is a rare warrior in the world. One warrior is going to die today, how can another one die?"
"Let him go back to his country and fulfill his wish!"
Afterwards, Qingji instructed his men to release Yaoli, who had killed him, and let him return to the State of Wu.
After giving Qingji instructions, he fell to the ground and died.
When Yaoli returned to his country, he met the King of Wu.
King Helu of Wu celebrated the ceremony in the Golden Palace and conferred a title on Yaoli, but Yaoli refused to accept the title, saying, "I killed my own wife to serve my monarch, which is unkind. I killed the son of the old monarch for the sake of the new monarch, which is unjust!"
"Such an unkind and unjust act was not for the sake of being an official, but for the peace of Wu and to protect the people from the flames of war."
"Now that I have done it... but how can a person like me who is so unkind and unjust be qualified to accept the reward? What is the point of me living?"
After saying that, he committed suicide.
It's quite funny to say that among the four great assassins in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, two of them came to kill King Liao of Wu and his son. This was considered quite unlucky.
However, this time, with the appearance of Su Che, the tragic father and son did not die, but instead sat firmly on the throne of King of Wu.
time flies.
In the blink of an eye, it was time to send troops.
this day.
The Wu army that was about to go to war, all the soldiers were arranged in square formations on the training ground, with flags like a forest. At a glance, they were so densely packed that there was no end in sight.
All the soldiers stood meticulously, their eyes fixed straight ahead.
Directly in front, on the high platform of the martial arts arena, on the left and right sides, inside two large cauldrons, flames were burning.
King Liao of Wu, wearing the robes of the King of Wu, stood in the middle, Su Che stood on his left, Sun Wu stood on his right, and the ministers stood behind and on both sides.
With the announcement of the twenty-level military merit system, the fighting spirit of the lower-level soldiers of the Wu State could no longer be suppressed. All the soldiers were looking forward to the day when the war would begin. They hoped that they could make achievements on the battlefield and break away from their original class and identity.
The morale of the army is unprecedentedly cohesive. When everyone in an army is not afraid of death, this army will be extremely terrifying.
The old nobles of Wu State, the ministers who formerly held high positions, all looked terrified after seeing this scene.
Since Su Che's reforms, they have fallen into disgrace and gradually retreated to the second line, losing their previous influence and becoming old things that lag behind the times.
They were naturally unwilling to accept this, and they also wanted to see what the Wu Kingdom would become under this guy's hands after this damn reform...
Then, today, they saw it.
Standing on this high platform, looking over, you can see that every soldier is wearing armor and holding a long spear, standing in neat rows in a square formation, with no end in sight. At the same time, everyone has a different look in their eyes. The gazes of more than 100,000 people are gathered on the platform, and these gazes seem to have weight, making these ministers feel much heavier.
When people see such an army, regardless of whether they understand the army or not, their first thought is: This is a strong army! A strong army rarely seen in the world!
When did the Wu army become so strong? This is too much!
All the ministers were shocked!
On the high platform, King Liao of Wu looked at his army with an unprecedented sense of heroism in his chest. He loudly read out this pre-war mobilization manifesto.
"Since the beginning of the universe, when the first human beings were born, they were made emperors and made governors. After Xi, Nong, Xuan, and Xu, the rulers Yao, Shun, Yu, and Tang..."
King Liao of Wu spoke loudly, and the effect was quite good. All the soldiers waved their spears respectfully and made the same sound.
However, Su Che saw the perfunctory attitude of these soldiers. Most of them came from the lower class and could not listen to such empty words and flowery pre-war manifestos. Most of them even could not understand what their King Wu was saying.
Soon, after King Liao of Wu finished speaking, he handed the sword representing military power to Su Che, which meant that when the general was away from the king, he was not subject to the orders of the king.
Su Che took the sword of power, thanked King Liao of Wu, and turned to look at all the soldiers.
He was heard saying loudly: "A real man lives in the world, how can he be depressed and inferior to others for long!"
"This expedition to Chu is a great opportunity to make achievements!"
"Wu will win!!!"
As soon as these words came out, all the soldiers were instantly excited. More than 100,000 people shouted in unison, excitedly: "Wu will win!"
"Wu will win!"
"Wu will win!"
Unlike the pre-war manifesto of King Liao of Wu, Su Che's words were very simple. With only three sentences, he aroused the impulses and desires deep in everyone's heart. Morale was soaring, and it gathered into a powerful aura that made people change color when they saw it.
Beside Su Che, Prince Qingji was watching this scene, his face flushed with excitement. He raised the Longquan sword that Su Che had given him, and shouted with the soldiers below: "Wu will win!!!"
…
Following Su Che's suggestion, Wu's army of more than 100,000 was divided into four parts.
One part was led by Su Che, another part was led by Wu Zixu, and another part was led by Sun Wu. The three armies attacked the State of Chu from three directions, making it difficult for them to cope with the attack and unable to take care of both ends.
The largest part remained in Wu to deal with possible attacks from other countries.
For example, the Yue State in the south has always been eyeing the Wu area.
They have been accumulating strength in secret.
The new King Gou Jian of Yue has been preparing his army and may attack the State of Wu at any time.
If the Wu army launched an all-out attack on the Chu State, then King Gou Jian of Yue would definitely take the opportunity to attack the Wu State and gain benefits from it.
Although the hatred between Wu and Yue was not as deep as that between Wu and Chu, the two countries were adjacent to each other. When one side gradually rose and quickly became powerful, there would eventually be a war between the two sides!
King Gou Jian of Yue knew this clearly, and they had already made preparations to attack the State of Wu at any time.
So we really cannot help but be on guard against this.
Speaking of which.
The feud between the Wu and Yue countries is truly a classic.
Everyone knows the story of Gou Jian, King of Yue, sleeping on firewood and tasting gall.
In fact, long before this, King Helu of Wu had died on the way to conquer the Kingdom of Yue.
In the history of Su Che's previous life.
The armies of Wu and Yue fought.
When King Gou Jian of Yue saw that the Wu army was well-organized and difficult to break through, he found three men who had committed capital crimes and had them commit suicide in front of the two armies.
When the Wu soldiers were shocked by this scene and before they had time to recover, the Yue army launched a surprise attack and defeated the Wu army.
King Helü of Wu was also wounded in the battle and died in Xingdi, seven miles away from Suo Li.
After Fu Chai, the son of Helü, succeeded to the throne, he sent a man to stand at the gate of the palace. When Fu Chai left, he loudly asked Fu Chai: "King Fu Chai of Wu, have you forgotten that King Gou Jian of Yue killed your father?"
Fuchai replied: "I dare not forget."
He used this method to motivate himself, work hard and reorganize the government.
On the other hand, King Gou Jian of Yue was so proud of his victory that he became arrogant. He looked down on the State of Wu and prepared to send troops to attack it.
At this time, no matter how Gou Jian's minister Fan Li tried to persuade Gou Jian, it was useless.
In the end, he was defeated and surrounded by the Wu army.
Under Fan Li's advice, Gou Jian knelt down and begged for peace, willing to be Fu Chai's slave, let his queen be Fu Chai's slave, and offer the entire country to the State of Wu.
Fuchai believed that as long as he accepted Gou Jian's surrender, he could conquer the entire Yue Kingdom without losing a single soldier, so he agreed to surrender.
Then comes the story of Gou Jian, King of Yue, who slept on firewood and tasted gall.
After Gou Jian succeeded in his revenge, he did not kill Fu Chai, but let him be an ordinary person.
But Fuchai could not bear such humiliation and committed suicide.
In this world, Su Che, the Fan Li, did not go to the Kingdom of Yue, but came to the Kingdom of Wu to revitalize the already powerful Wu.
Although the State of Wu did not take action against the State of Yue for such a long time .
But poor King Gou Jian of Yue watched with his own eyes as the State of Wu grew increasingly powerful through reforms while his own side developed slowly, so he was naturally very anxious.
Su Che was not in a hurry to attack Yue State, but left troops to defend. If Gou Jian really dared to attack, he would surely be defeated and eaten alive by the Wu soldiers who were eager for military merit and heads...
soon.
The three armies of Wu set out and marched towards Chu.
Beside Su Che, Prince Qingji personally served as his coachman, driving the chariot for him. Su Che squinted his eyes and looked at the bamboo slips in the chariot, thinking about something.
Qingji saw Su Che deep in thought and asked curiously, "What book are you reading? Are you so engrossed?"
"A book about Chu." Su Che said slowly.
"Books from Chu?" Qingji was a little surprised and asked curiously, "Why do you read such books?"
"Study how to govern the State of Chu." Su Che said.
Qingji was stunned when he heard this: "Ah? Our army has just set out, and you have already started to study how to govern the State of Chu? Isn't this too early?"
"Early?" Su Che smiled and said, "Of course not. It is easy for us to conquer Chu, but it is not easy to govern Chu."
"If we only conquer Chu and seize its supplies and people, but fail to maintain long-term stability, this war will be meaningless."
"I will never fight a meaningless war."
"If you want to be a wise king, you must have a long-term vision."
"What we need to do is to help the world, not to fight or rob. If we do that, what's the difference between us and bandits?"
When Prince Qingji heard this, he immediately exclaimed: "Help the world?"
"What else?" Su Che asked back, "Haven't you ever thought about this?"
"This... I really haven't thought about it." Qingji said with some shame.
"In this world, hundreds of years of war have almost torn through the mountains and rivers. Countless people have been displaced by war, and the princes have continuously launched various wars due to their own desires." Su Che glanced into the distance and said slowly:
"If we don't stop this chaos, it will continue for many years."
"This war has lasted so long, and it's time to end it..."
"Since no one is here to stop it, I will end it all."
When Master Qingji heard this, his eyes widened.
He had many wild ideas and felt that they were unrealistic. But when compared with his master's ideas, how obvious was the gap?
He suddenly felt that he was so narrow-minded and short-sighted.
Help the world.
Qingji carefully kept these four words in mind.
After a while, he said without looking back: "Master, if you can't complete it, let me complete it. If I can't complete it, let my son and grandson continue to complete it."
"One day, this world, this chaotic world, will be ended by us!"
As the son of King Wu, Qingji was a very courageous guy, otherwise Su Che would not have accepted him as his disciple.
His words were quite domineering and in line with his status.
…
As the Wu army continued to advance, the Chu side inevitably received the news and began to organize an army to resist the Wu army.
soon.
The two armies faced each other head-on. Su Che stood up and looked at the opposing army, feeling very happy.
After the army moved forward, Su Che did not conceal the target of the Wu army's attack, in order to give the Chu army time to assemble and prepare.
What he wants is an upright war and an upright victory!
If the ultimate victory is achieved through despicable means, such as raids, conspiracies, and tricks, Su Che is unwilling to do it, even if it can easily lead to victory.
This was not for any "courtesy", but to defeat the opponent, the State of Chu, through a direct war, so that the other side would have no excuses or reasons to cover up its failure!
This is a battle of kings.
Su Che drew out the sword in his hand and shouted loudly: "All troops, follow me and charge!!"
Prince Qingji immediately whipped his warhorse and began a mad charge. All the chariots in the front row started moving.
On this row of chariots, all the men pointed their crossbows at the sky and fired at the sky.
Arrows flew like rain, densely packed towards the Chu army.
Although the Chu army carried shields and tried their best to resist the rain of arrows, many of them were still shot and turned into hedgehogs.
The two armies fired at the same time. The Wu army's powerful bows and crossbows were obviously superior, and the Chu army's arrows were far less powerful. The arrows fell from the sky like birds, pecking lightly, and Su Che did not feel any pain at all.
He was wearing heavy armor, which blocked the attack of arrows to a large extent. At this moment, the chariot was leading the way and had already rushed into the formation of the Chu army. He did not take the sword again. This thing was not practical at all in war and was not as useful as a long-handled weapon.
Su Che's weapon was a spear, a 10-foot-long spear.
The weapons of this era are always an inch longer and an inch stronger. Su Che's spear is more than seven meters long and rarely can be grabbed with one hand, but he is wielding it very skillfully at this moment.
As he continued to stab, just like threading lamb skewers, he directly pierced a dozen people on the spear. Then Su Che swung it, and these dozen people were thrown into the crowd of Chu army, and they were knocked down instantly.
When Qingji saw this scene, his eyes widened. He boasted that he was born with supernatural powers and was extremely brave, but compared to Su Che's operation, he was still far behind. This was too fierce! !
When the Chu army saw Su Che, who looked like a god descending from heaven, they were so scared that they pissed their pants.
With the attack of the Wu army, the Chu army only lost less than 10% of its men and found it difficult to maintain its formation.
The soldiers of the Chu army were extremely scared. They felt that the Wu soldiers were like evil spirits who were not afraid of death at all. The way they looked at their heads was extremely terrifying. Their only goal in rushing over was to cut off their heads! !
The soldiers of the Chu Army had never encountered such a strong army, and had never encountered such terrifying soldiers!
This battle.
The Wu army won easily, beheading over 5,000 people and capturing 19,000!
It can be said to be a great victory!
at the same time.
On the side of Wu Zixu and Sun Wu, the two armies also achieved decisive victories.
Afterwards, Wu's army continued to advance, winning battle after battle.
Su Che's performance along the way was the most exaggerated. He created a terrifying record of taking three cities in one day.
On only the fourteenth day, the Wu army reached Yingdu, the capital of Chu.
On the nineteenth day, the entire territory of Chu was captured by the Wu army.
The State of Chu, a powerful vassal state that once dominated the world, was completely conquered by the State of Wu in less than a month.
For a moment, the whole world was shocked!