Chapter 54: The Master Humiliates the Servant and Dies
Qingji knew about this story.
This is because after King Shoumeng of Wu successively annexed Yi State and Nan'an State, he turned his attention to Han State, which was across the river from Wu State.
However, the Wu Kingdom suffered a setback that time and ultimately returned empty-handed!
It is worth mentioning that in history, the State of Han still could not escape the fate of being destroyed by the State of Wu.
In 486 BC, King Fuchai of Wu went north to compete for hegemony and destroyed the State of Han. He built a city in Han and dug the Han Canal to connect the Yangtze River and the Huai River!
As far as Qingji knew, although the current Han State was one of the princes enfeoffed by the Zhou Emperor, its living customs were still the same as those of the Huaiyi tribes, half fishing and half farming, and they ate raw meat and drank blood!
Moreover, the population of Han State was less than 50,000, with only a few thousand soldiers and horses and no more than a dozen chariots!
With such national strength, how dare Gan Dang challenge the State of Wu?
Are you tired of living?
"Since you are here to congratulate and watch the ceremony, you are the guest. King Han, please dismount and let me show you the hospitality of being a good host!"
Qingji seemed very polite.
In fact, Qingji had already remembered Gan Dang and Han State in his heart!
As the saying goes, if you don't seek death, you won't die!
Since Gan Dang was so rude, Qingji would just remember it for now and settle the old and new accounts together in the future.
At this moment, seeing Qingji being so "humble", Gan Dang seemed even more arrogant, with a smug look on his face .
He looked down on Qingji from the bottom of his heart!
Gan Dang immediately dismounted, handed the whip to an attendant on the side, grinned at Qingji, and said, "King Wu, to be honest, I came here not only to congratulate King Wu and watch the ceremony, but also to make an unwelcome request."
"King Han, please feel free to speak."
Qingji forced himself to hold back Gan Dang's arrogant attitude!
"We Han people are good at nomadic farming, mostly cattle, horses, and sheep. The livestock are all very strong. It's a pity that there are too many horses and sheep in Han now, and there is not enough water and grass to supply them!"
"I heard that the two places of Zhufang and Yunyang in your Wu State have lush grass and water, and are suitable for grazing."
Gan Dang glanced at the silent Qingji and said, "So, I plan to borrow the two places of Zhufang and Yunyang from Wu. What do you think, King Wu?"
"presumptuous!"
“Bold!”
Ji Zha, Sun Ping, Shen Xi and other ministers were immediately furious and pointed at Gan Dang and cursed him loudly.
"You are just the ruler of a small country, how dare you be so rude?"
"If you want Zhufang and Yunyang, you can just come with your soldiers and chariots. Why are you pretending to be so hypocritical?"
"My king, please kill this beast and respect the heaven and ancestors!"
All the ministers glared at Gan Dang, gritting their teeth in hatred.
Qingji was mentally prepared, so he was much calmer!
"King Han, your Han State has a surplus of horses and sheep, why don't you give them to my Wu State?"
Qingji glanced at Gan Dang calmly and said, "I, a Wu man, will raise horses and sheep for you, a Han man! I will return them in the future. How do you think?"
"you!"
Seeing Qingji say these words so calmly, Gandang's face looked unhappy.
"King Wu, so you are unwilling to lend Zhufang and Yunyang to my country for grazing?"
"King Han is joking."
Qingji shook his head and said, "If the people of Han come to Wu to graze, I will welcome them! I can allow you to graze, but I will never tolerate your insolence!"
"If you want Zhu Fang and Yun Yang, King Han doesn't need to talk, just rely on the Han sword!"
"King Han, I ask you two to remember that although the territory of our Great Wu is vast, not an inch of it is redundant!"
"good!"
"color!"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone present cheered and applauded.
The attitude that Qingji adopted and the words he uttered were truly impeccable!
Everyone in the Wu area at the meeting felt relieved.
Even the envoys from various countries, such as Shi Mimu, who were standing aside, could not help but feel admiration when they heard Qingji's heroic words.
If the State of Wu had a great ruler like Qingji, the national strength would surely be strong!
"You! Humph!"
Gan Dang was so angry that he couldn't argue with Qingji, so he could only snort coldly and said, "King Wu, I have only heard that King Wu is very brave, but I didn't expect that he can be so good at talking."
"King Han, you are overpraising me."
"Someone, bring the things up!"
As Gan Dang waved his hand, a soldier from the Han State came forward holding a box with an exquisite appearance.
The corners of his mouth showed a smile of success, and he looked at Qingji and said, "King Wu, this is just a small gift, not a respectful gesture, please accept it."
"You are too polite, Prince Han."
Qingji waved his hand and asked the guard general Xiong Zidan who was standing beside him to come forward and take the brocade box.
"Why don't you open it and take a look?"
It seems that Gan Dang is determined to go against the State of Wu and make Qingji look bad!
Qingji doesn't care.
Anyway, the box might contain at most a poisonous snake or something that would humiliate Qingji himself, so what should he be afraid of?
Following Qingji's eye instructions, Xiong Zidan slowly opened the brocade box.
"ah!"
"this……"
"How could it be something like this?"
"Disrespectful, so disrespectful!"
"Han State is going too far!"
When the ministers and officials nearby saw this, veins bulged on their foreheads and they were burning with anger.
Scold loudly for being a slut!
What was placed in this exquisite brocade box was not any rare treasures, or poisonous insects or scorpions, but a handful of... soil!
The dark mud of the swamp!
As the saying goes, a gift of goose feathers from a thousand miles away is worth more than the sentiment behind it!
But the State of Han and the State of Wu were just across the river from each other, and it was a state gift, so what was the point of sending a handful of soil?
"Lord Han is clearly humiliating the King of Wu!"
Outside the venue, many scholars watching have already realized this.
"The barbarians who came from the Dongyi tribe have never changed their nature! They don't obey the king and don't know etiquette!"
"How will the King of Wu deal with this rude and disrespectful Lord Han?"
"Perhaps the king will be so angry that he will cook or ."
"That's great! But, Gan Dang is the king of a country after all, and he is in the midst of a coronation ceremony. If Your Majesty kills him at will, it will have a very bad impact."
"So what? As the saying goes, if the master is humiliated, the minister dies ! How can we, the people of Wu, stand by and watch when the king is humiliated like this?"
The scholars and common people present were talking about it a lot. There were also many hot-blooded people of Wu who were so angry that Qingji was humiliated in this way that they beat their chests and stamped their feet, wanting to rush up to save face for their king.
Even the soldiers beside Qingji, such as Xiong Zidan and Meng Ben, could not help but put their hands on the hilt of the sword, waiting for Qingji's order to ensure that the Han Zigandang in front of them would be beheaded!
But Qingji didn't care!
After being stunned for a moment, Qingji immediately took the brocade box containing the soil and said to Gan Dang with a smile: "Thank you, King Han, for this generous gift!"
"Land means territory, which symbolizes the country. Since the King of Han has voluntarily offered the territory of Han to me as a gift!"
"If I do not accept such a gift, wouldn't it be a shame for your kindness, King Han?"
