Chapter 451: Jin Yang Conspires to Chu

In May of the 23rd year of Qianyuan, Deng State held the first imperial examination and selected 300 Jinshi to enrich the officials at all levels of the eight counties. He also designated the top three, Cheng Xu, the second-place pick Cui An, and Tanhua Wang Tong. These three people will directly serve as the prefect of a county, but the specific county to go to remains to be arranged.

Just when Deng State was conducting the imperial examination in a vigorous manner, there had just been a fierce debate in Chengqian Palace in Jinyang City, the capital of Zhao State thousands of miles away.

The cause of the incident is this: in recent years, Zhao State has been defeated repeatedly and lost its city and territory. Both the morale in the army and the strong beliefs in the hearts of the people have fallen to the bottom. As the current general of Zhao State, Li Rubing advised King Zhang Xian of Zhao to go south to attack Chu State in order to reverse the decline.

Li Rubing's proposal suddenly exploded in the entire Zhao court. The military generals supported Li Rubing's decision, but the civil officials strongly opposed it. The reason why civil officials opposed it was very simple, that is, Zhao State suffered heavy damage within two years, and internal chaos was a while, and countless good ministers and generals were killed, which weakened the strength of Zhao State to the bottom of the past twenty years. Civil officials believed that it was better to rest and restore their strength at the moment.

And there is another more important problem, the State of Chu is the younger brother of Deng. If the State of Zhao runs to fight against Chu and the younger brother is bullied, the eldest brother will jump out and fight against Deng again. Zhao has no confidence at all, so a group of civil servants are vigorously opposing the attack on Chu.

In the side hall of Chengqian Palace, Zhao King Zhang Xian had just finished the chaotic court meeting and came here. Prime Minister Zhuang Ping was also here. Zhang Xian said to Zhuang Ping: "Prime Minister Zhuang, you didn't say a word just now. I wonder how you view the attack on Chu?"

Zhuang Ping said: "Return to the king, the attack on Chu State at the court meeting was a matter of being held on their own terms, and they all made sense. But what I want to say is that the Great Zhao is no longer the Great Zhao of the past. The Central Plains was defeated and my Great Zhao was greatly reduced. Not only did Qin and Zhao occupy a large territory of our Great Zhao, but even the small Chu State dared to seize our Great Zhao County. The people are becoming increasingly disappointed with the court. At present, the most important thing for our Great Zhao State is to regain prestige, especially the government and the opposition has been discussed in the throne. The king should establish his own prestige!"

The government and the country of Zhao have always had different voices about Zhang Xian's replacement of Zhang Lin ascending the throne. They believe that there are many people who have been wronged in Zhang Xian, so what Zhang Xian needs most is to establish his own prestige and firmly sit in the country. Zhao State established his country with martial arts. All the famous kings in history have made great achievements in military achievements. For example, King Wei of Zhao. Although the defeat in the Central Plains has hit the reputation of King Wei of Zhao, King Wei of Zhao successively destroyed Zhongshan during his reign.

Yan, Qi, and Wei made Zhao dominate the northern border and become the world's largest country, which was enough to make King Wei of Zhao famous in history. If Zhang Xian wanted to hold the throne as fast as possible, the most direct way was to win a big victory. Today, only the four kingdoms of Deng, Zhao, Qin and Chu are left. Deng and Qin are strong and are the victims of Zhao's battle in the Central Plains. Although Zhang Xian really wanted to defeat Deng Qin, his strength was not allowed. In comparison, it seemed easier to attack Chu.

"But Deng and Chu have a close relationship. If Deng sends troops to rescue Chu, or Qin takes advantage of our Great Zhao to attack Chu, what should we do?" Although Zhang Xian was a little moved, he was still afraid of Deng. Since Chu restored the country, Deng has always been a protector of Chu. Chu can successfully recover half of the territory of the former strong Chu from a county when it was restored. Deng's support behind it was of great help, so Zhang Xian was afraid that he would attack Chu and lead Deng out. Although Deng is now equal in strength, Zhang Xian and Deng are really not brave enough to make Zhang Xian and Deng fight. After all, the lesson of the defeat in the Central Plains is too painful, not to mention that there is a powerful Qin next to him who is eyeing him.

Zhuang Ping replied: "Don't worry, the Great Zhao of the Central Plains was defeated, but Qin was not easy. The battle of the Central Plains consumed almost all the money and grain accumulated in Qin. Although it captured Henan County and Henei County, these losses were not recovered overnight. Therefore, I decided that Qin would not send troops, nor did it have the strength to send troops!" In the Battle of the Central Plains, Qin lost tens of thousands of elite troops and a large amount of money and grain. With the situation of Qin's land, it was difficult for it to recover for a while. Although it captured the two wealthy places, Henan County and Henei County, it was not possible to provide assistance to Qin overnight, so Qin was unable to send troops at this time.

"As for Deng State!" After talking about Qin State, Zhuang Ping talked about Deng State again and said: "Although Deng State is strong, it is not endless. It conquered the southern state at the end of last year and at the beginning of this year. The southern state is barren. I believe that all Deng State can gain is war damage, and it has taken a large area of ​​territory at once. Deng State also needs time to digest it. What's more, I heard that Deng State is holding an imperial examination now. The aristocrats of aristocrats in China are discussing it. The domestic conflicts are sharp. Even if they can send troops to rescue Chu State, they are probably just off-limits, and there is no need to worry about it!"

After hearing this, Zhang Xian nodded repeatedly. Zhuang Ping had already made it clear that now is the best time for Zhao to attack Chu. Once he missed it, when Deng Qin recovered, it might not be Zhao's attacking Chu, but Deng Qin's attacking Zhao. Therefore, the opportunity was fleeting, and Zhang Xian did not want to miss it.

Zhang Xian, who had made a decision in his heart, immediately asked someone to invite General Li Rubing. Originally, Li Rubing was still sulking about the affairs in the court. When he heard Zhang Xian summoning and Zhuang Ping was there, Li Rubing couldn't help but feel happy, because until Zhuang Ping had successfully persuaded Zhang Xian, the matter of sending troops to attack Chu might have been decided.

Thinking of this, Li Rubing came to the side hall of Chengqian Palace without stopping. As soon as he walked into the side hall, Li Rubing saw Zhang Xian with a serious expression and Zhuang Ping with a blank expression. Li Rubing first gave Zhuang Ping a look. After Zhuang Ping understood, he nodded to Li Rubing. Li Rubing knew that the attack on Chu had been done, so he came to Zhang Xian and saluted: "My minister Li Rubing pays homage to the king!"

"The general doesn't have to be too polite!" Zhang Xian nodded, signaled Li Rubing to get up, and then said, "After discussing the general's proposal to attack Chu State at the court meeting, I unanimously felt that it was the time. I wonder what the general thinks of winning the attack on Chu State?"

After hearing this, Li Rubing was overjoyed and said, "Your Majesty, the only person in Chu who can be taken seriously by me is Zhang Di, and the rest are not worth worrying about. Zhang Di is old and cannot bear great use. I am 90% sure of attacking Chu!"

Ninety percent sure, that is, it is almost certain to win. Zhang Xian breathed a sigh of relief and said to Li Rubing: "Very good. Since the general is confident, I will take the general as the main general and lead the army to attack Chu. My Da Zhao hasn't heard the voice of victory for a long time. I hope the general can bring back a victory for Da Zhao and for me this time!"

Li Rubing nodded solemnly and said, "Please rest assured, I will do my best to defeat Chu State, regain the lost land for my Great Zhao, and promote my Great Zhao's reputation!"

Zhang Xian nodded and said, "I am certainly relieved to the general. I don't know how many soldiers and horses are needed for the general to attack Chu State? The general needs to know that there is only one opportunity like this, and once you miss it, there will be no more. What I need is that the general is absolutely sure of!"

Li Rubing thought for a while and said, "By the king, according to my understanding of Chu, the Chu country has 100,000 troops, all of whom are elite soldiers who Zhang Di has trained for many years and are of great strength. If you want to take down the entire Chu country in one fell swoop, you need 300,000 troops, at least not less than 250,000 troops!"
Chapter completed!