Johime Three Kingdoms

Chapter 538
Wei, Qi, and Yan, the three families in the Bohai Sea, "rolled" in Chu's face from time to time. Naturally, Chu would not have noticed.

But for the Chu State, the later the war started, the better, especially when the sixth year of Chu Li was almost over, Gan Ning had not yet returned, and there was no news coming back, so the morale of the Chu Navy was not high.

Mutual concerns led to the current scene - the State of Wei did not admit that the pirates were related to him, the Marquis of Yan did not admit that he was the one who ordered the seizure of minerals, and the feudal princes of the Han Dynasty did not really send troops. It was more " Posturing”.

As for the State of Chu... Since you don't admit it, I won't give you a hard blow first. Important transactions will be blocked, and I will vent my anger on the Marquis of Shu to prevent the people from being too aggrieved and maintain the strong "personality" of Chu. "That's all.

During the Liaodong New Year Festival, Gongsun Kang was also in the Yanhou Mansion, hosting a banquet for all the ministers. Originally, the "New Year" in the late Eastern Han Dynasty was not so popular. However, under the leadership of the General Mansion, Yangzhou began to "celebrate the New Year". On the first day of the first month of the first lunar month, princes from all over the world have important events to "know about", which makes "New Year" more and more ritualistic among the people.

Although most of the people under the rule of the other princes, except the Chu State, had little surplus food, after all, with the Chu State as the "engine", after the commodity economy recovered, a large amount of food was exported from the Chu State, which alleviated the needs of other princes, so that The life of the people under the rule will not be too miserable.

Maybe you can't eat a lot of fish and meat, but you can still do a small meat dish during the New Year and buy a few taels of meat fillings.

"Although Chu State's 'Chu Learning' is quite biased in terms of moral governance, it does have something commendable in terms of pragmatic production..." Liu Yi looked at the lively streets of Xiangping and seemed to be talking to himself. The language seemed to be speaking to Liang Mao beside him.

At this time, Marquis Yan's banquet was over. When he went out, Liu Yi specifically grabbed Liang Mao and did not let him get into the carriage. Instead, he walked with him. He even asked the servants and guards to step back a few steps while he walked in front holding a lantern.

Regardless of whether Liu Yi asked himself or not, Liang Mao just thought he was talking to himself and didn't answer.

"Bo Fang's two sons are at Jinling University, right?" Liu Yi asked after a moment of silence.

"There is another daughter who is also studying in Chu State." Liang Mao responded indirectly and added.

Liu Yi choked for a moment, and then said with emotion: "It seems... Bo Fang likes Chu Xue very much."

Indeed, Liang Mao deliberately mentioned his daughter, who was subconsciously ignored by Liu Yi, obviously wanting to remind him of something, that is, to indirectly refute Liu Yi's criticism of Chu Xue just now.

"But this time Bo Fang actually admonished the lord and joined forces with King Wei and Qi Hou to attack Qiang Chu. This is really beyond my expectation. Brother Bo Fang is willing to clear up my doubts?" Liu Yi said without stopping, as if Just small talk really.

"First of all, I don't have the strength to remonstrate. Secondly, I just said something that you didn't notice." Liang Mao spoke concisely, as if he wanted to say that the decision to jointly attack the Chu Kingdom had nothing to do with him.

And... I, Liang Mao, am not from the Chu camp, so don’t talk nonsense!

However, this statement obviously did not satisfy Liu Yi.

Liu Yi gradually slowed down, and finally stood by an alley not far from his home. The guards behind him also tacitly stayed twenty steps away, and Liang Mao's followers...naturally did not dare to cross.

Unlike Liu Yi, Liang Mao was famous but not powerful in Xiangping, and there were no personal guards in the mansion, only ordinary servants.

"With Brother Bo Fang's talents, if he is truly dedicated to advising the lord, I can guarantee that the lord and brother Bo Fang will make peace and put an end to their past feud. From now on, brother Bo Fang will also do a lot in the Yan Kingdom." Liu Yi turned to Liang seriously. Mao said.

In response to this, Liang Mao still looked ahead and said with an expression of no emotion: "Master Liu is joking. The Marquis of Yan is in charge of Youzhou and I am his vassal. What's the past suspicion? Or maybe... Master Liu thinks, When did someone frame someone or mislead someone with bad intentions?" After speaking, Liang Mao turned to look at Liu Yi.

When Liu Yi heard this, his expression softened again, and he even said kindly: "I didn't mean that, Bo Fang was overly worried."

"Master Liu is home." Liang Mao reminded.

"Well, if you have time tomorrow, I'll ask Brother Bo Fang to come to the house to talk to you." After Liu Yi finished speaking, he took the people home directly.

Liang Mao was finally able to get in the car and relax...

Xiangping was still very cold during the Chinese New Year, and now there are no cotton-padded clothes.

Liu Yi didn't mention anything about Liang Mao's two sons and one daughter. After all, they were officially studying in Chu State - among the people, this was not prohibited and was even encouraged.

The State of Yan also sent some young students to study, including a concubine of Liu Yi.

Although the three families of Wei, Qi, and Yan are in a secret alliance, they are still in the stage of gradually clearing Chu's influence in the Bohai Sea and continuing to expand their strength.

If the war really starts, at least it will be at the end of this year, or even next year!

Given the climate in the Bohai Sea, if a war breaks out at the end of the year, it will definitely focus on land warfare to clean up Chu's ports.

After all, based on the annual weather at this time, the only ice-free port in the north is the Liaodong Port established by the Chu State at the original Dajin location in Liaodong.

Only Liaodong Port can still enter and exit large warships in the middle of winter without being affected.

This is also the key to Chu's ability to dominate the Bohai Sea!

Fighting in winter is not cost-effective in itself, but if you just clean up the Chu port, you can "work hard"...

After all, the Chu State is around the Bohai Sea. These hated ports are all under the noses of the three Wei Qiyan families. On the contrary, they are enclaves for the Chu State and there is no "transportation cost" for each family. This This also solves the problem of enlarging winter operations.

At most, it will only be a month or two when it is too cold to hold weapons, and it will definitely be impossible to launch an offensive.

And when it comes to the impact of weather on combat effectiveness, Chu’s army is very resistant to freezing...

Even though the Chu State had done special training for this, and tried to use migrating northerners as a separate source of troops for training, it did play a compensating role. However... the Chu army's land warfare capabilities in the cold season in the north are definitely among the best. One of the biggest shortcomings!

If there is a land battle to compete for the port in winter, it should be the right time and the right place for the three families.

As for the direct and comprehensive competition with Chu for the Bohai Sea in the middle of the year?
Not to mention whether we can win the battle, at least... it would be more advantageous to first remove several ports around the Bohai Sea in Chu State, right?
And you must know that in the trade with Chu State, they are also suffering and happy - while being taken advantage of by Chu State, there are also many Chu goods that they long for, not to mention Chu State University...

Now it is just a "contradiction". If the enemy and the enemy are really separated, even if the Chu State respects its status and will not do evil things, it will definitely expel the students they send.

You must know that judging from the returns of these students, they have made important gains every moment in Jinling.

Of course, when it comes to Chu State University, everyone also has alternative plans.

Although the later the better, we will not be completely "kidnapped" by this matter and dare not start a war.

For example... the students from all over the country who went to Chu were actually either openly or secretly, and the latter were mixed with private students. Unless Chu State completely adhered to the principle of "territoriality", it would only expel those with official status. For students who represent titles, there will still be some “fish that slip through the net.”

And if it is true that the Chu State takes territoriality as its criterion, such as "all students born in the Wei State will be expelled at once," then it will also be a blow to the reputation of the Chu State. After all, many students who spontaneously go to the Chu State among the people are genuine. Some of them recognized and admired Chu State and Chu Studies.

If these people are also expelled, it is actually the state of Chu that is expelling its own potential talents, and if the state of Chu expels those children from poor families or noble families who were not dispatched by the princes, it will definitely lose some people's hearts.

There is even a situation like Liangmao in Youzhou...

You can't expel the others, but leave only the descendants of noble clans like Liang Mao who secretly "cooperate" with the Chu State, right?

Then it’s not considered secretly!
Therefore, the judgments of Wei, Qi, and Yan were that the Chu State expelled those sent by the official government, and also intensified scrutiny of private students and isolated core subjects, without making a one-size-fits-all approach.

After all, Chu State’s popularity among “enemy countries” is also one of Chu State’s greatest advantages…

At this time, in Pengcheng, Xuzhou, Liu Bei, who had not been announced to Chang'an this year, was also discussing with a young man wearing a feather fan and silk scarf...or feeling emotional about the Chu Kingdom.

It is more obvious than in Xiangping. From the towering towers in Pengcheng, you can even see the liveliness of the streets this year.

After all, if "conditions permit", Liu Bei is not willing to treat the people too harshly.

Looking at this scene, Liu Bei felt a little ashamed. After all, he knew in his heart that the "splendid scene" in front of him was not created by him, but only borrowed the light of Bai Tu.

"My lord, are you sighing at the Chu Kingdom?" The young man... Zhuge Liang, who missed Bai Tu, asked as he gently shook his feather fan.

Although Liu Bei specially lit the stove just for Zhuge Liang, he still had to shake the feather fan when it was time to shake it!
"Yes, I think I had a very happy conversation with Duke Bai back then. Today, eight percent of the well-being of the Han people can be attributed to Duke Bai. No matter what, no matter what." Liu Bei said, shaking his head helplessly.

"Since my lord has this intention, instead of sighing, it is better to prepare and wait until the world is unified to make nine points, ten points, or even more to serve the world." Zhuge Liang said from the side, half explaining and half encouraging.

Zhuge Liang recognized Chu's technology, and at least [-] percent respect for Bai Tu himself. The other [-] percent was not contempt, but simply disapproval.

Mainly for Chu Xue... Zhuge Liang felt that it needed to be dialectical and very critical!

Neither Liu Bei nor Zhuge Liang thought that they could directly kill Bai Tu. Instead, they wanted to do their best to bring the world back to the main theme - the orthodox main theme of the Han Dynasty.

On this basis, creating more welfare is also their expectation and vision.

For them, what they have to do now is more like the several vassal reductions during the Han Dynasty...

Liu Bei did not go too deep into this lament. After all, he was now also a powerful leader. He was not someone who easily lost his way and needed help from others. Instead, he asked instead: "How does Chu view the various disputes in the Bohai Sea?" Wei and Yan, and even some of the second brother's actions, all behaved in a "modesty" manner. The Battle of Bohai...is it really unavoidable?"

"If you only take back a few ports, as long as you give Chu State enough 'steps' and deterrence, you may be able to suspend the state of full-scale war, but at most it will be a delay. And no matter what, the goal of us and King Wei is not mere. Several ports..."

(End of this chapter)