warring states careerist

Chapter 771: Strategic Contraction

Uncle Cuo knows the current situation of Wei State better than Wei Ji. As the prime minister, he can start a mansion and have his own talent system. After discussing with them, he concluded that Wei State has to shrink strategically to be able to do so. Survive in this troubled world.

The spread of the Wei State was too big, from south to north, it interfered everywhere, and it was strong for a while, but it also left a heavy burden.

In Gong Shucuo's view, Zhongshan was lost, Chu State recaptured Chencaiyu Pass, and Sishang rose up. This is what Sishang said.

Or say: Misfortune is where blessings lie, and blessings are where misfortune lies.

Now Wei Guo can put down the heavy burden, let go of the heavy burden of the hegemony shell, focus on the inside and give up those indifferent faces.

It is impossible to take back the Zhongshan Kingdom, the strength does not allow it, and it is impossible for Qin and Sishang to have such an opportunity to use their troops under the attack.

Giving the atlas of Zhongshan's passes to the Zhao State can ease the tension with the Zhao State, and lure the Zhao State to destroy Zhongshan.

As long as the State of Zhao is working hard towards the State of Zhongshan, it is necessary to reach a friendly alliance with the State of Wei on the southern front, otherwise it is impossible and dare not use a large army to attack Zhongshan.

Zhao Guo had to make a choice.

Going south?

Or go east?

The monarch of Zhao State is not stupid, it is impossible to go south and east at the same time, as long as he goes east, he will be in alliance with Wei.

Similarly, if Zhongshan is acquired by Zhao, then Zhao will have the same room for expansion as Wei and Han.

Yan and Qi are considered big countries now, and not one country can completely confront them, and they need allies even more.

The original alliance of the Three Jins originated from the strength of the Chu State, and now there is another Sishang outside the Chu State, which is a common threat.

If the integration of the three Jins can be achieved and the unanimous development to the west and east, then the contradictions between the three Jins can be eased a lot.

The internal and external mountains and rivers of the Three Jin Dynasties are inconsistent with the outside world, and there is no way out at all.

If the infighting continues, Chu, Qin, and Sishang must benefit.

Since the Zhongshan Kingdom can no longer be taken back, it is better to use Zhongshan to consume Zhao's power, ease the relationship between Wei and Zhao, and reorganize the Sanjin Alliance.

In fact, in Gong Shucuo’s view, abandoning Zhongshan in legal terms is only part of the strategic contraction, and the rest of the direction also needs to continue to strategically contract in order to recuperate.

Wei Jian is not a dull person, he understood the meaning of Gong Shucuo, after thinking about it, he even understood the deeper content, and asked: "The intention of Xiangbang is to use Zhao to control Han?"

Unless the Three-Jin Alliance is one large and two small, otherwise it can only be two systems and one. Wei and Han have been cooperating because of Chu State, and exclude Zhao State.

Now Gong Shucuo means to change Wei's diplomatic thinking.

Uncle Gong smiled and said: "Your Majesty is intelligent, and that is exactly what he meant. If Wei and Zhao are in an alliance, the Koreans must follow. If Zhao wins Zhongshan, Qi and Yan are all within reach of the soldiers of the Three Jin Dynasties."

"Besides, Sishang is arrogant and has done many injustices, which will cause great trouble in the future. If we can reunite the three Jins today, we can suppress the eastern countries and threaten the people of Qin not to dare to go east."

"A land with mountains and rivers inside and outside, without the joint efforts of the three Jin Dynasties, it is impossible to dominate the world."

There are some things that Uncle Gong doesn't want to say too clearly.

The Heze League four years ago declared the bankruptcy of Wei Guo's four-sided attack strategy in the era of Marquis Wen of Wei, the fall of Wei's hegemony, and the imminent catastrophe of Wei's diplomatic thinking if he did not change his diplomatic thinking as soon as possible.

Interfering in the succession war of the Chu State failed, and the agent Prince Ding was killed.

Interfering with Zhao Guo's succession war failed, and the son committed suicide.

He failed to intervene in the riots of Sishangfei people, and he had the reputation of betraying the alliance during the war.

The policy of weakening Qin failed, and Qin took advantage of the chaos of the First Central Plains War to start a change.

Attacking on all sides and failing on all sides, Wei Guo could no longer stand the toss.

If all these battles were won, the overlord of the Warring States Period would have to be Wei, but he was defeated. As the Prime Minister, Gong Shucuo could only take the blame for the continuation policy of the Wenhou era and find a way out.

The previous strategy relied on power, using power to overwhelm Han and Zhao, and formed the Three-Jin Alliance. The consequence is that once Wei loses power, the backlash from all countries will be extremely serious.

After thinking about it, Wei Jian asked again: "Then, what about Zheng Guo?"

Uncle Cuo asked back: "Your Majesty, do you think that Koreans can be dissuaded from swallowing Zheng's heart?"

Wei Jian shook his head, thinking that this is naturally impossible to be dissuaded, and South Korea has a legitimate excuse.

At that time, Han Hou's army killed Zheng Bo, and Zheng Guo then besieged Handu just in time for Han Hou's illness and death. The two sides had a blood feud, and South Korea had a reason to go to war against Zheng.

Of course, the reason is only to borrow the bones of the predecessors, but it is actually for the current interests of South Korea.

Uncle Zuo saw that Wei Jian recognized his judgment on the situation of Han Zheng, waved his hand and slashed down lightly, and said, "Since it is inevitable for the Koreans to swallow Zheng, then... why don't your lord carve up the country of Zheng with the Koreans?"

The term "carve up" has existed for a long time, and the melons to be divided are not courgettes and watermelons, but local melons.There is a saying in the Warring States policy that the world will be divided up because of Qin's anger and taking advantage of Zhao's weakness.

The existence of the State of Zheng, if it was in the Spring and Autumn Period, could indeed serve as a buffer between Han and Wei. Because of the political system at that time, even if the State of Zheng was annexed, the monarch would not get much benefit. At most, there would be more feudal lords. allegiance.

However, Uncle Gong believed that after the reforms of Li Kui and Marquis Wen, Wei Guoxin's political system could already directly govern more land.

More land directly under the royal power means that the power of the Wei State is stronger. This Zheng State, which was independent in the Spring and Autumn Period and buffered the surplus for the Wei State, is now more beneficial to the Wei State.

Uncle Cuo understands Wei Jian's temperament, and also understands that Wei Jian has not kept up with this era at all.

From what Tian Zifang told Wei Jian back then, it can be seen that Wei Jian's mind still survived in the Spring and Autumn Period, especially after he forced Wu Qi away, forced Le Yang to death, appointed Tian Wen as prime minister, and valued nobles over scholars. These actions made Uncle Zuo feel uneasy.

Annexation of Zheng State is the most beneficial approach for Wei State in the world of great controversy in the new era and under the centralized power system after the reform.

Instead of letting South Korea swallow it, it is better to share it with South Korea. This can not only achieve a short-term Wei-Han alliance, but also expand its power, and can also suppress South Korea's development in the long run.

At the same time, Zheng State's western border and southern border are close to Chu State, which can bind South Korea more to the chariots of resisting Chu and Fangsi.

It's not that Wei State has never eaten Zheng State's land. Half of the land lost by Zheng State in the past 20 years is in the hands of Wei State, and South Korea has the other half.

The policy of Marquis Wen himself was to support Wei and Zheng as buffers and vassals, to plan Sishang hegemony, and to abandon the strategy of first west and then east.

But the current situation is very different from that of Marquis Wen.

Wei Jian frowned and said: "Xiangbang also said before that if the Korean people are strong, they will be a big trouble in the future, and they will not accept Wei Zun. This... this is divided with South Korea, I am afraid it is... raising tigers to cause trouble?"

Uncle Gong said solemnly: "Tiger breeding is a problem, and the problem will be many years later."

"Your Majesty, think about it, if we share Zheng with the Han people, what will the Zhao people think?"

Wei Chi said: "The Zhao people must think that the blood alliance between Wei and Han is closer."

Uncle Gong asked again: "Surrounded by mountains and rivers in the Three Jin Dynasties, the land is intertwined. If Wei and Han blood alliance, Zhao people will feel that they are being excluded, and they have to worry about Wei and Han going to the north to invade Zhao. They will definitely seek reconciliation with us."

"At this time, we presented the Zhongshan Pass Atlas as a token of sincerity. The people of Zhao thought we were close with the Koreans, and they were already panicked. Besides, the aggressive people on Sishang were probably already worried. At this time, we will restore the alliance of the Jin Dynasty. , the possibility is much greater."

"Three-Jin Alliance, because of the relationship between Chu State and Sishang, Wei and Han are more likely to become allies. The real key to the Three-Jin Alliance is Zhao State."

"We divide Zheng Guo, which can not only increase the national strength, but also make Zhao people think that the Wei-Han alliance is going further, so that they also seek to reconcile with us, which is a strategy that kills two birds with one stone."

"Conversely, if there is a conflict between us and South Korea because of Zheng Guo, Zhao Guo may turn to form an alliance with Han and threaten Wei Guo."

"Now that Wei and Han are in an alliance, Zhao Guo dares not go south, and is worried that we will go north, so he can let go of the grievances of supporting the son's dynasty and take the initiative to repair it with us."

Wei Jian seemed to understand that this was a move to divide Zheng, making Zhao Guo mistakenly believe that Wei and Han had reached a deeper covenant relationship, which made Zhao Guo nervous about Wei Han's hostile exclusion.

Zhao's way out is not in the Central Plains, it can only go east or north.

Regardless of whether it is going east or north, Wei and Han are the vests of Zhao's future strategic development. If the diplomatic relations here are not good, it is impossible to fully complete Zhao's strategy.

Developing to the south... Only the state of Wei can do it, but the state of Wei is under the control of the state of Wei, and attacking the state of Wei is equivalent to declaring war on Wei.Under the background of Wei Han's division of Zheng Guo, Zhao Guo dared not make such a decision.

The method of dividing Zheng from Wei and Han prompted Zhao Guo to give up the strategy of going south and go eastward to seek Zhongshan with all his strength. In this way, the three Jins can be united, and they have common interests and common enemies in the four directions of east, west, north, south, and make this alliance even stronger. for stability.

The affairs of Song State were originally very important to Wei State, especially under the strategy of attacking from all sides in the Wenhou era, it was a must for Wei State to seek the advantages of Chu State and Sishang hegemony.

But with the weakening of Wei State's national power, the meaning of Song State is no longer the core interest. On the contrary, recuperating, accelerating reform and uniting the three Jins in diplomacy are the top priorities.

Wei Jian himself was worried about going to war in Song Dynasty.

Especially after Sishang made a general mobilization, this worry was even greater.

With the determination shown by Sishang now, and the direction of public opinion in Sishang newspapers, it can be determined that once a war starts in the Song Dynasty, it will never end.

Even if the countries send troops at that time, the three countries of Wei, Chu and South Korea will be the main force, and South Korea will have another heart. If this battle is to maintain a balance, Wei will at least send soldiers, supplies, and civilians to [-]. It will take a long time, and Wei may not be able to support it.

On the contrary, Gong Shucuo's strategy is to take this opportunity, while the eyes of all the princes are on Sishang and Song, to join forces with South Korea to attack Zheng, with the least loss and the most benefit.

The era of hegemony is over. In the world of great strife, Sishang has been integrated. Except for the major powers, only Wei and Zheng are left. At this time, the set of hegemony comes out of famous and other submissive strategies. It's useless.

Because even if you do what the overlord should do, who will recognize you as the overlord?

In the Kuiqiu League, fourteen or five princes above the earl gathered.

Now, even if there is a hegemon again, if you add those small countries together, you can say whether you can make up five of them.

The meaning of Gongshucuo is to change the mind, from the Spring and Autumn Period to the Warring States Period, and stop thinking about being the overlord.

The overlord, the uncle, and the chief of the princes.There are not many princes left, so what do you want to dominate?To be a show of benevolence and righteousness, but no audience watched it.

(End of this chapter)