Chapter 29: Yue
Ji Zha is really a stubborn old man who won’t listen to anything!
No matter how hard Qingji tried to persuade him, or even beg him, Ji Zha remained unmoved and only wanted to retire to the mountains and forests, away from worldly troubles.
However, Qingji was determined to get a talented and famous person like Ji Zha!
Who is Ji Zha?
He was the youngest son of Shoumeng, the former king of Wu, the teacher of Confucius, a sage as famous as Confucius, and also the sage Confucius most admired.
Ji Zha and Confucius were later called "Ji in the South and Confucius in the North". Ji Zha was the first Confucian master in the south in history and was also known as the first sage in the south!
He was a great prophet, aesthetician, and art critic in the pre-Qin period, and a representative figure of etiquette and integrity in the history of Chinese civilization.
Ji Zha was not only a man of noble character, but also a politician and diplomat with foresight!
At present, Qingji urgently needs Ji Zha's talents and his unparalleled reputation in the State of Wu.
So, after being rejected by Ji Zha again, Qingji was not discouraged!
"If my uncle is unwilling to leave the mountain, I will stay here and not go anywhere. As long as my uncle is unwilling to leave the mountain, I will not eat or drink a drop of water!"
After saying these harsh words, Qingji sat upright on the edge of the bed, closed his eyes and rested.
No matter how Ji Zha and others tried to dissuade him, Qingji remained unmoved!
To deal with Ji Zha, since neither hard tactics nor soft tactics worked, Qingji could only settle for the next best thing and play the emotional card.
I believe that given Ji Zha's character, it is impossible for him to remain indifferent!
He couldn't just watch his nephew starve to death.
Furthermore, since he was related to the famous sage Ji Zha, and Qingji himself was the King of Wu, the ruler of a country, such deeds between the two should be written into the history books, left in the annals, and widely known to the world!
This was undoubtedly a loud advertisement for Qingji, which was eager to recruit talents.
And it’s the kind of advertisement that gets a warm response and great results!
Seeing Qingji acting like a rogue, crying, making a fuss, and even threatening to hang himself, Ji Zha was naturally helpless.
Until noon of the next day, Qingji had not eaten a single bite of food or drunk a sip of water!
He sat there motionless like a sculpture, with his eyes closed, his lips cracked, and even his ears ignoring the sounds of his own stomach.
Feiyan, who came to deliver the food, looked at the leftovers on the ground and couldn't help but sighed and said, "My king, you should eat something, right?"
"You haven't eaten or drunk anything for a whole day and night. Even a body made of bronze can't stand it!"
However, Qingji acted as if he didn't hear anything and said nothing.
If his heart wasn't still beating and his breathing wasn't still steady, he would have looked like a corpse to outsiders!
In the end, Ji Zha couldn't bear it. Looking at Qingji who was sitting opposite him like a statue, Ji Zha sighed and said, "Your Majesty, you shouldn't do this. You shouldn't do this."
"Even if you don't think about yourself, you should think about the ministers and officials, and the people of Wu!"
"Your Majesty is a person of ten thousand gold, in charge of the livelihoods of the people, with a heavy responsibility, how can you make such a mistake?"
Hearing this, Qingji finally opened his eyes, but still said stubbornly: "Uncle, I have said it before. As long as you are unwilling to leave the mountain, I will not eat or drink a drop of water!"
"I will keep my word, my lord!"
Qingji's tone was very firm and left no room for doubt.
After saying this, he closed his eyes again and sat upright like an old monk in meditation!
Isn’t Ji Zha stubborn?
Qingji is more stubborn than him!
Seeing this, Ji Zha could only sigh helplessly.
Until the sun set in the west, Feiyan hurried in to report that Sun Ping, Sun Wu, Beili, Bo Yan and other ministers wanted to see him!
Ji Zha could not refuse visitors with the door closed, so all the ministers entered Ji Zha's mansion and knelt outside the courtyard.
"Please ask Jizi to come out!"
"If Ji Zi is unwilling to leave the mountain, we will kneel here with the king!"
"As long as Ji Zi refuses to leave the mountain, we will follow the king and not eat or drink a drop of water for the day!"
The words of the ministers and officials were very decisive!
This made Ji Zha feel filled with emotion.
With the united will of the Wu State, why should we worry about its prosperity?
When the night fell, Ji Zha finally figured it out. He stood up tremblingly, looked at Qingji who was sitting beside the bed, and sighed: "My king, you have a group of good ministers!"
"I believe that under your leadership, the Great Wu will surely prosper and enjoy long-term peace and stability!"
"Well! I will let my old bones be tossed around by you for a few more years!"
Upon hearing this, Qingji immediately raised his hands solemnly, bowed to Ji Zha and said, "Thank you, uncle!"
"On behalf of the Wu Kingdom and all the people of Wu, I would like to thank my uncle!"
"Welcome Jizi!"
The ministers and officials who were kneeling outside the house couldn't help but secretly breathe a sigh of relief.
If Ji Zha really insisted on his own way and was unwilling to come out of seclusion, then this originally great show would have turned into a farce!
By then, King Qingji of Wu would be unable to step down and how could he save his face?
Fortunately, Ji Zha finally had an epiphany!
This is exactly what sincerity does, which can move mountains and break rocks.
…
The next day, Qingji appointed Ji Zha as the prime minister, the head of all officials in the court, and changed his fiefdom to Zhoulai, responsible for assisting the King of Wu in handling government affairs.
At the same time, Qingji sent Ji Zha as an envoy to Yingdu to persuade the Chu people to sign a letter of alliance, agreeing not to invade each other, and to let the Chu people release the two Wu princes Yan Yu and Zhu Yong, and their soldiers who were trapped in Xu and Zhongwu.
They are both brothers of King Liao of Wu and uncles of Qingji. It is reasonable and moral for Qingji to ask the State of Chu to release them!
Furthermore, there are many Wu soldiers trapped there, which is a vital force that cannot be ignored.
In order to promote the alliance between Wu and Chu and force Chu to release the prisoners, Qingji specifically instructed Ji Zha's deputy envoy to visit Nang Wa, the greedy and lustful prime minister of Chu, after entering Ying and present him with a large number of rare treasures.
Naturally, Queen Meng Ying of Chu, who was ruling the country from behind the scenes, also had to be bribed!
When it comes to money, Qingji is very generous!
When sending Ji Zha to Chu, Qingji also sent Shang Daifu Bei Li as an envoy to Wei, Lu, Qi, Jin, Song and other Central Plains countries to announce the upcoming ceremony of Wu's coronation and to establish mutual alliance.
There would not be too much pressure on Beili when he was sent as an envoy to the Central Plains countries. After all, the other countries were beyond the reach of Wu.
Qingji sent an envoy to inform and interact with him, which was just a matter of courtesy.
Next, it was the selection of the envoy to the Kingdom of Yue!
Qingji looked at the court of Wu State and found that there was no best candidate from top to bottom.
This shows how scarce the talent resources of the Wu State were!
There are very few people who are capable of maintaining basic diplomatic relations.
We can't send Sun Wu as an envoy, can we?
Furthermore, it took great courage for the people of Wu to go on a diplomatic mission to the State of Yue!
This is because conflicts often broke out on the border between Wu and Yue.
Although not as deep as the blood feud between Wu and Chu, there were constant frictions between Wu and Yue, and Wu did not know much about Yue, so it did not send envoys to visit Yue on a daily basis.
If the Yue people lose their martial ethics and kill the envoys sent by the Wu State, Qingji will probably have no place to cry!
This time, the mission to Yue can be considered a tough job!
Moreover, in order to avoid passing through the southern part of the Wu State controlled by Helu, the envoys might have to take a detour by sea.
Accidents are inevitable when the wind and waves are too strong at sea!
If we go directly south, once we are caught by Helu's soldiers, we will be skinned alive!
