Chapter 80: War or Peace
Wudu, at the city gate.
At this time, under the leadership of Taizai Ji Zha, tens of thousands of Wu people lined the streets to welcome the triumphant soldiers returning.
Everyone's face was filled with a bright smile, and whenever they saw a familiar soldier, they would step forward and say hello.
"Cai Jiao, is my son here?"
"He is still guarding Zhenzi. Uncle, I killed three Chu soldiers this time!"
"Captain Xin, have you seen my beloved? Didn't he go to the battle with you?"
"Alas! Your beloved...died in the battle of Zhenzi. Even his body could not be brought back."
"What?"
"My son is ugly, who sees him?"
"Xu, Xu where are you?"
As the saying goes, some are happy while others are sad!
Seeing the Wu army soldiers returning victoriously, the people of Wu were naturally happy.
However, one general's success is the result of the sacrifice of thousands of soldiers!
There are survivors and there are also those who died in the battle.
Many civilians looked around in the team, scanning the passing soldiers, hoping to see the familiar faces of their families, or to learn news about their husbands and sons - news that they were alive.
While standing on the chariot, Qingji often saw women looking for their husbands everywhere, or old men calling for their sons!
When they learn that their loved ones are still alive, they will naturally hug and cry with others.
However, if they encountered the misfortune of having their relatives killed in battle, they would inevitably feel like being struck by lightning and almost faint!
After all, people are all made of flesh and blood.
The people's actions more or less affected the order of the triumphal procession, but Qingji did not curb their behavior.
"Your Majesty , long live the king!"
The ministers and officials, headed by Taizai Ji Zha, immediately knelt down and kowtowed to Qingji who was sitting on the chariot, and cheered like thunder.
"My friends, please stand up!"
Qingji just gave them a false support and asked the ministers to stand up. Then he specially invited Sun Wu to get on his chariot and ride with him.
This is a great honor for Sun Wu!
I’m flattered!
But Sun Wu deserves it.
In the Battle of Li Ze, Sun Wu defeated the Yue army with a smaller force and saved the capital of Wu, which was in a precarious situation. His contribution was outstanding. How could Qingji not reward Sun Wu?
"Long live the king! Long live the Great Wu!"
When the people along the way saw Qingji, they all cheered and shouted "Long live the king".
This comes from their support for Qingji, which is almost worshipful!
Thanks to the wars fought over the past year, Qingji has already established a very high prestige in the hearts of the people of Wu.
After returning to the palace, Qingji did not immediately take off his armor and wash himself, or find a bedroom to lie down. Instead, he summoned three ministers, Sun Ping, Sun Wu, and Ji Zha, to Zide Hall to discuss important matters.
"My friends, our Wu Kingdom has defeated the Chu Army and the Yue Army successively and won a great victory. The Han Army that invaded the northern border also retreated on its own. Now there is no war in Wu Kingdom."
Qingji said slowly: "Of course, many post-war problems still need to be solved!"
"Let me summarize. First, how should we place the 60,000 surrendered soldiers from the Chu and Yue armies?"
"Secondly, the Yue army is still entrenched in Wuyuan, Lili, and Yuer in the south of Wu. Should Wu attack Yue to recover the lost territory?"
"Third, I want to take advantage of the great victory to lead my army to attack Chu and capture Zhaoguan and Shudi of Chu. What do you think?"
These are the three most pressing issues for the State of Wu.
The surrendered soldiers must be properly resettled. As for attacking Chu and attacking Yue, it seems that the State of Wu can only choose one of the two.
Because Wu's national strength no longer allows for fighting on two fronts, otherwise if it were defeated, the consequences would be disastrous!
Of course, Qingji could also choose not to expand outward and allow the State of Wu to recuperate.
However, this could not satisfy Qingji's ambition, nor could it allow the State of Wu to further expand its victory!
It is better to use the remaining courage to pursue the enemy!
Qingji is not willing to let go of this great opportunity.
"Your Majesty, do you wish to fight again?"
Ji Zha was shocked and could not help but persuade him earnestly: "Your Majesty, please think twice! Although Wu still has the strength to fight, war is dangerous!"
"Wu has been in battle for a long time, and its soldiers are already exhausted, and the treasury is not full. In this case, why don't you stop fighting for a while, concentrate on governing the country, resting with the people, and recuperating with the country?"
"What do you think, Dazai?"
Qingji asked indifferently, obviously disagreeing with Jizha's opinion.
However, Ji Zha seemed unaware of this and continued to speak out stubbornly, "Your Majesty, it is better to resolve a feud than to create one ."
"Wu, Chu, and Wu and Yue are all countries of eternal hatred. It is impossible to turn hostility into friendship. However, if the king wants to implement a new policy in Wu, enrich the country and strengthen the army, and share the likes and dislikes of the people, then the war must be stopped. That is, diplomatic relations are the most important, and war must not be used rashly!"
"For this reason, I, an old minister, advise you to return all the surrendered soldiers of the Yue army to the Kingdom of Yue in exchange for the Yue people withdrawing from Wuyuan and Li, so that our Kingdom of Wu can recover the lost territory."
"At the same time, Your Majesty should also release the captured Chu generals, or release some of the surrendered soldiers, and make peace with Chu, so that Wu and Chu can live in peace!"
Obviously, Ji Zha was an out-and-out peace advocate, but that doesn't mean his views were wrong.
After all, everyone looks at things from a different perspective and has a different starting point.
Ji Zha sympathizes with his people and hopes that Qingji can treat the people of Wu well and not engage in war and aggression, which will only bring harm to himself and the country!
Qingji's idea was to take the opportunity to expand and lay a good foundation for the State of Wu.
"Da Sima, what do you think?"
Qingji immediately turned his gaze to Sun Ping.
Sun Ping hesitated for a moment, then replied, "Your Majesty, I think what the Prime Minister said makes sense."
"Although Wu's army is strong, we cannot fight for a long time. Although Chu has been defeated and lost 80,000 soldiers, it still has some strength left. If Your Majesty leads his army to attack Chu, I 'm afraid Chu will mobilize more soldiers to fight with our Wu army. How will Wu cope with it then?"
"Let's talk about Yue. The Yue army was badly defeated at Lisze, but its power has not weakened. Wu attacked Chu and Yue at the same time. I am afraid that the army is not strong enough and there is a danger of failure at the last moment!"
Sun Ping's proposition is obvious.
It's not that he didn't support Qingji to continue fighting, but he thought that Wu couldn't fight on two fronts.
Either attack Chu or attack Yue, choose one!
"If I insist on attacking Chu, what should I do?"
"Then, Your Majesty should release the surrendered soldiers of the Yue army and force the Yue people to withdraw from Wu territory, so as to recover the lost territory and renew the alliance."
"That may not be easy."
Before Qingji could say anything, Sun Wu on the side shook his head and said, "The Yue people are greedy by nature, like gluttons. Once they have eaten the food in their stomachs, how could they easily spit it out?"
"The four cities of Wuyuan, Lili, Yuer and Xing are still under the jurisdiction of Yue State. In exchange for this 200-li territory with several thousand surrendered soldiers, Yunchang may agree."
"But if we surrender like this, I'm afraid the Yue people will become even more aggressive and take advantage of our army's attack on Chu to invade our borders again!"
