Chapter 26: Make friends with distant people and attack nearby ones
"Changqing, please continue."
Qingji encouraged Sun Wu to continue speaking without any worries.
Sun Wu heaved a sigh of relief and said, "Your Majesty, the loss of Wuyuan, Yu'er, Xing and other southern cities and towns is only temporary. Your army will be able to recover the lost land sooner or later."
"The most urgent task, Your Majesty, is not to worry about the gains and losses of a city or a place, but to intensify the training of soldiers, restore national strength, gather talents, and provide peace and prosperity for the people!"
"For this reason, Your Majesty should also make friends with neighboring countries, making friends with those far away and attacking those near!"
Make friends far away and attack nearby?
Qingji thought that the national policy proposed by Sun Wu was very pertinent, but he still had doubts in his heart.
"I can temporarily stop the fighting. However, I wonder when I can destroy Ji Guang and unify the Wu Kingdom?"
"It could be three to five years at the longest, or one year at the shortest."
Qingji is not unacceptable to this period of time.
"How exactly?"
"Your Majesty's first priority is to accumulate national strength, ally with Yue to control Ji Guang, and ally with Chu to avoid external wars."
Sun Wu spoke eloquently, saying: "If Your Majesty wants to dominate the world, you must first stabilize the country before fighting against foreign enemies. Suppress Ji Guang, unite Wu, and destroy Man Yue. Only then will you have the national strength to compete with the powerful Chu!"
"At that time, the king should lead his army to weaken Chu, unite or annex Chen, Cai, Wei, Zhongwu, Song, Lu and other countries, go north to compete, and subdue Qi and Jin. Only then can you enter Luoyi to ask about the weight of the Nine Cauldrons, unite the nine princes, and bring peace to the world!"
"color!"
Qingji's idea coincided with Sun Wu's.
How did the State of Wu dominate the other states in history?
During the Spring and Autumn Period, the states of Jin and Chu were competing for supremacy, and the number of chariots they possessed reached over 4,000!
The State of Wu was located in the south of the Yangtze River, where there were many water systems. Its culture and technology were backward compared to those of the Central Plains, and it did not even have a single chariot.
Around 584 BC, the Central Plains overlord Jin State gave the Wu State 15 chariots in order to balance the increasingly powerful Chu State.
At the same time, Jin sent archers and charioteers to Wu, taught them how to drive, how to shoot arrows, and also taught them battle formations.
With the help of Jin State, Wu State began to interact with various countries in the Central Plains and embarked on the road to becoming a strong military!
Through the unremitting efforts of the successive kings of the Wu State, they worked hard to govern the country and expanded outward, and finally laid a solid foundation for hegemony.
The State of Wu successively destroyed a number of vassal states including Huaiyi, Xuyi, Zhoulai, Chao, Zhongli, Zhongwu, and Han.
Corresponding to the State of Wu, the rise of the States of Jin and Chu was also due to the continuous annexation of the surrounding vassal states!
Of course, the Wu State’s ability to dominate the Central Plains was also inseparable from many factors such as the right time, place, and people.
The war for hegemony between Jin and Chu in the past was protracted and resulted in a clear decline in national strength. Therefore, Jin and Chu had already signed an alliance and stopped attacking each other.
But the decline of the two hegemonic powers is inevitable!
Especially in the case of the State of Jin, not only did its own strength decline significantly, but the rise of the noble families also led to more serious internal friction in the State of Jin.
The successive decline of the two hegemonic countries undoubtedly provided a favorable external environment for the rise of the Wu State.
Moreover, the Qi State at that time had never stopped its internal strife, and the king was just a puppet, so why should he be mentioned?
In addition, King Helü of Wu and his son Fuchai also made use of talents such as Sun Wu and Wu Zixu to cultivate moral governance at home, expand the territory, and govern the country and strengthen the military.
Finally, in 506 BC, Wu Zixu and Sun Wu led troops to attack the capital of Chu, Ying, and almost destroyed the Chu State!
The State of Wu relied on the advice of Wu Zixu and others, defeated the powerful Chu in the west, defeated Xu, Lu and Qi in the north, and became the most powerful among the princes.
As for Sun Wu, he presented his Thirteen Chapters of the Art of War to King Helu of Wu and was appointed as a general.
He once led the Wu army to defeat the Chu army with a smaller force, occupied the Chu capital Yingcheng, and almost destroyed the Chu state.
Therefore, under the influence of the above factors, the State of Wu rose in the late Spring and Autumn Period, and during the reigns of King Helu of Wu and King Fuchai, it defeated powerful countries such as the State of Chu and the State of Qi, and thus dominated the world!
Moreover, what makes Qingji worthy of attention is that, starting from Helu, it took the State of Wu nine years to rise (defeating Chu) and only thirty-two years to dominate the world (Battle of Ai Ling)!
In just a few decades, the once unknown Wu State was able to become the dominant power in the world.
This shows how powerful the Wu State was!
Of course, Wu’s hegemony was short-lived; it came and went just as quickly!
The State of Yue to the south of the State of Wu was like a poisonous snake, always waiting for the opportunity to bite the "wolf" of the State of Wu to death in one fell swoop.
Therefore, Qingji believed that he needed to take precautions before it happened!
Before his hegemony was achieved, he took the initiative to destroy Yue in order to lay the foundation for his own kingship.
"Changqing, I want to swallow up Ji Guang and the Kingdom of Yue together. How should I do it?"
Qingji asked Sun Wu for advice.
It should be noted that the dukes and ministers of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period were not as clearly divided into civil officials and military generals as the ministers of later dynasties!
The prime minister of a country can still lead troops to fight in battle.
The king of a country can do the same!
While they are studying various classical books and enriching their knowledge, their own martial arts skills are also not low.
The most typical ones are rites, music, archery, charioteering, calligraphy and mathematics, the six arts of a gentleman, which are the six essential skills for a scholar.
For example, Confucius, the founder of Confucianism, was not the powerless scholar of later generations.
At least Confucius was both civil and military, and was very proficient in the six arts of a gentleman.
The same is true for great talents such as Sun Wu and Wu Zixu!
When you go outside, you can make plans and win battles thousands of miles away. Even with a million troops, you will surely conquer every city and win every battle!
Once you enter the palace, you can make plans and strategies, govern a big country like cooking a small fish, and rule the world with virtue.
Being a diplomatic envoy and being good at speaking are basic skills.
Sun Wu was not only a master of military strategy, but also far beyond the reach of ordinary people in terms of strategy, politics, and diplomatic relations.
People like Sun Wu are both generals and prime ministers!
Sun Wu only hesitated for a moment, then said, "Your Majesty, it is just as I just said."
"If you want to destroy Ji Guang and annex Yue, Your Majesty must also make peace with Chu and Yue, and at the same time send envoys north to make friends with Jin, Wei, Lu, Zheng, Qi and other countries, so that Wu can reform and become rich and strong."
Hearing this, Qingji nodded and said, "Wei, Lu, Zheng, Qi and other Central Plains countries do not border Wu and have no conflicts of interest with Wu."
"When I was on the run, I was fortunate to be accepted by the State of Wei and supported by the Central Plains countries. That's why I was able to defeat Wu and rule the State of Wu."
"It is only right that I send envoys to thank Wei, Lu and other countries."
"As for Chu, Wu and Chu are enemies for generations, so it's inevitable that the people of Chu will take advantage of the turmoil in Wu when the new king is newly appointed."
This is exactly what Qingji is worried about.
The Central Plains countries are too far away from Wu, and Qingji has already made friends with them, so there is no need to worry.
But the State of Chu was a country that had a blood feud with the State of Wu for generations!
Moreover, the two countries are neighbors, Chu is strong and Wu is weak, so it is inevitable that the people of Chu will take advantage of the change of royal power in Wu to attack Wu!
After all, the State of Wu was right under the nose of the State of Chu. How could the people of Chu tolerate the State of Wu becoming bigger and stronger?
