Chapter 39: Wu Guoli
After waving goodbye to all the generals and soldiers, Qingji boarded his own royal chariot and drove six horses (Liu Yu), which were six black horses with mottled colors.
After all, the Wu State was not rich in horses, and basically all of its war horses were imported from Yan, Jin, Zhongshan and other countries.
When ordinary scholars traveled, they would more often ride in ox carts rather than horse carriages!
It was not easy for Qingji to gather these six imperial horses that looked similar.
Ji Zha, at this moment, was sitting in the royal carriage, feeling honored to have King Qingji of Wu driving for him.
In this era, it is already a great honor for the monarch and his ministers to ride in the same carriage, let alone the monarch himself driving for his ministers?
Soon, Qingji followed Jizha into the mansion and took seats on the side of the hall.
"Uncle, is this mission to Chu going smoothly?"
"It went smoothly. The Chu people did not make things difficult for me. Whether it was signing the alliance or persuading the Chu people to release Yan Yu, Zhu Yong and their followers, it went surprisingly smoothly."
Surprisingly smooth?
This made Qingji feel suspicious.
He knew that Ji Zha had great fame and was highly respected in the world at that time. Even many people in Chu admired Ji Zha's virtue and talent and were willing to treat him as a disciple!
However, this does not mean that Ji Zha, who is respected by the world, will have smooth diplomatic relations.
Fame is fame, state affairs are state affairs, sometimes they cannot be confused!
As far as Qingji knows, the current King of Chu is still young, but all the ministers and officials of Chu are not good people.
Even if Wu State bribed Prime Minister Nang Wa and Lady Meng Ying of Chu State at all costs, it would be extremely difficult to achieve such an effect!
However, things have come to this point, and Qingji is naturally happy to see the alliance between Wu and Chu and the non-aggression policy.
Ji Zha suddenly said, "Your Majesty, there is one thing I don't understand. Could you explain it to me?"
"Uncle, please feel free to speak."
"Your Majesty, when I was on my way back and entered Wu, I saw your orders to recruit talented people posted in all the cities. Your earnest words in the orders show how eager Wu is to recruit talented people!"
After a pause, Ji Zha continued, "But, Your Majesty, do you know that Wu is recruiting talents from all over the world in an attempt to enrich the country and strengthen the army? This move will definitely cause fear among other countries?"
"What do I have to fear?"
Qingji chuckled and said, "Uncle, to be honest, I want to implement a new policy in Wu and practice benevolent governance. Without the assistance of talented people, it will be difficult to succeed."
"The Great Wu has a strong military and simple government. The only people it fears are Chu and Yue!"
"Exactly."
Ji Zha nodded slightly to show his agreement.
He originally thought that the order to recruit talents issued by Qingji was just a whim, but he didn't expect that Qingji was already clearly aware of this!
"I wonder how the king plans to implement the new policy?"
As the prime minister of Wu, Ji Zha naturally had to understand Qingji's ideas about the new policy.
But Qingji was well prepared. He took out a bamboo slip from his arms and handed it to Ji Zha to read!
Ji Zha opened the bamboo slips and read it carefully. He couldn't help but frown and look worried.
“Your Majesty…”
As soon as Ji Zha opened his mouth, he was interrupted by Qingji's words.
"Uncle, I know what worries you have. But please trust me and the Wu Kingdom!"
Qingji suddenly said seriously: "The world today is a time of great contention. Big countries want hegemony, small countries want survival, and they attack each other. In the increasingly frequent wars, big countries become bigger, small countries become smaller, and eventually disappear!"
"The Wu Kingdom is located in a remote southeastern corner of the Nine Provinces, but the kings of all dynasties have the ambition to defend the territory and expand the borders."
"I am not a talented person, but I wish to inherit the will of the kings of the Great Wu, defend the land, expand the borders, and reform to strengthen the country!"
"Uncle, are you willing to lend a helping hand to me?"
Hearing this, Ji Zha looked at Qingji, then at the bamboo slips in his hand, and all his worries turned into a long sigh.
"Your Majesty, since I am the Prime Minister of Wu, I will do my best to help Wu rise. I will not slack off!"
Ji Zha has already agreed.
…
The next day, Qingji held a court meeting in the main hall. After accepting the kneeling greetings of all the ministers and officials, he sat high on the steps with a serious expression.
Qingji looked around at the ministers sitting on his left and right. He did not immediately bring out the new policy, but said slowly: "My friends, yesterday, the junior official Bo Yu, who was far away in Kuaiji, sent someone to report to me."
"The memorial said that the King of Yue wanted to form an alliance with me to make Wu and Yue friendly. I wonder what you think of this, my friends? Is it feasible?"
Upon hearing this, the ministers and officials could not help but whisper to each other.
Logically speaking, a marriage between two countries is indeed a national event!
As a monarch, he can make decisions on his own or consult with his ministers.
However, why did Qingji take the initiative to bring up the matter of marriage?
Ji Zha, who was sitting at the front, pondered for a moment, then stood up and asked, "Your Majesty, I wonder if the daughter the King of Yue married is a concubine or a queen?"
This is a very important question!
Qingji immediately said slowly: "It's for the queen."
"this……"
Ji Zha was stunned for a moment.
Afterwards, all the ministers and officials could not help but look at each other in surprise!
Senior official Shen Xi stepped out holding a ivory tablet and said, "Your Majesty, I think the marriage between Wu and Yue is acceptable. But it is not appropriate for a Yue woman to marry into the Great Wu and become the queen!"
"The one who can be the queen of the King of Wu must be a woman of noble birth, beautiful and intelligent, one in a thousand."
"Can a mere princess of Yue be worthy of the title of Empress of Wu?"
As soon as Shen Xi took the lead, all the ministers immediately followed suit.
"Your Majesty, what the senior doctor said is absolutely right!"
"The Yue people are barbarians."
"The State of Wu married a Yue woman as its queen, but was afraid that her behavior was vulgar and not very pretty, and could not be accepted by the elegant halls!"
"If the king wants to establish a queen, why not marry Qi Jiang ? Qin Ying? Chu Mi? If that doesn't work, then Xu Ying is also acceptable!"
Obviously, the ministers did not agree with the plan of Wu to marry a princess from Yue as its queen.
What's worse, some people even thought that a princess of the Kingdom of Yue was not as good as a princess of the weak Kingdom of Xu!
Qingji's three views were completely destroyed.
You must know that although the State of Wu was located in a remote area, its royal family and the Zhou emperor were of the same clan and had the same surname, so the people of Wu considered themselves noble!
In this era, bloodline inheritance is very important.
Haven't you seen that when King Wu of Zhou divided the states into many vassal states, in addition to enfeoffing the sons of his own meritorious officials, he also found descendants of ancient emperors and celebrities such as Huangdi, Dashun, Dayao, Bo Yi, Xia Qi, etc. and enfeoffed them lavishly?
Of course, it is not ruled out that they themselves have certain strengths.
The founding monarch of the State of Xu was Ruomu, the son of Bo Yi, whose surname was Ying and whose clan name was Xu. Throughout the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, the State of Xu was one of the vassal states!
But the Yue State is no worse than the Xu State in terms of bloodline, and is even better.
At least the Xia Dynasty, the ancestor of the Yue State, was once the common ruler of the world!
Even if the State of Yue was weak, its overall strength must be much stronger than that of the State of Xu, which had become a vassal of the State of Chu.
Why was he belittled to this extent by the ministers of Wu?
