Chapter 77 The Righteous 3

In the early morning, the heavy gate slowly opened with the help of dozens of Zhongshan wrestlers.

When Zhongshan Henggong was in the middle of Zhongshan, in order to obtain the capital to compete with the State of Zhao for a long time, he built the Lingshou City on the bank of the Luan River and took it as the capital. The gate of Lingshou was carefully made by dozens of famous Zhongshan generals. The inside was hard iron wood and covered with thick layers of iron sheet. The gate was extremely hard, that is, Even if you are hit by a boulder, you can still move. It was also fortunate to rely on this. Zhao Guo attacked Zhongshan City twice, and all of them were defeated by soldiers and generals.

But now the extremely solid Lingshou City Gate has not been broken under the attack of Zhao Jun, but has been slowly opened in the hands of its own people.

Ji Shang stood in the long corridor with a pale face, looking up at the tall city gate slowly opening. The early morning sunlight shot in through the crack of the door, and the print on his face was a little dazzling. Ji Shang couldn't help narrowing his eyes, a dizziness in his mind, and his body couldn't help trembling slightly.

For some reason, he suddenly remembered his distant past when he was so young that he had no memories. At that time, the only thing I remembered was to follow my grandfather and father to the newly built Lingshou City for the first time.

It was the first time he had seen such a magnificent city and lived in such a gorgeous palace. All the way, he kept wide-eyed and looked at the things beside him curiously. He was reluctant to close his eyes for fear of missing something interesting. At that time, the prince's father hugged him with a smile and pointed to everything around him and said that it would be his in the future, and it would only be his.

Time really passed quickly, and fifty years passed quickly in a blink of an eye. His grandfather, Duke Huan, reigned for 38 years, and finally died in Changle Palace, leaving a back that his descendants could not surpass. He drove the Wei Dynasty, fought against the State of Zhao, defeated the two powerful countries one after another, and successfully restored the State of Zhongshan, which had been destroyed for 20 years. Not only that, Zhongshan gradually became stronger in his hands. After setting the longevity of the capital, repairing the Great Wall, and then encroaching on a large area of the territory of the State of Zhao, Zhongshan was able to be ranked in the seven kingdoms of Qi, Qin, Chu, Wei, Zhao, Han and Yan, becoming one of the powerful vassal states at that time.

After Duke Huan, the Duke Cheng, who ascended to the throne, seemed ordinary and there was no flamboyance. He was just a master of success and mediocre. The only thing worth mentioning was that he left a rich family business for their son. For the inner people, the people are rich and the country is strong. Most of the people of all ethnic groups led by the Baidi people support the King of Zhongshan. Externally, there are more wins and less losses. There are two powerful countries of Qi and Yan as the backer, known as the powerful country of 5,000 times.

Ji Shang was nearly thirty years old when he took over the mountain. He was as rich and powerful as his ancestors. The ambition inherited from the grassland people in his blood made him eager to make some achievements. He didn't want to be willing to be a mediocre master like his father. He wants Zhongshan to be strong enough to make Zhou Tianzi, who is far away in Luoyi, be forced to recognize his status as a prince.

In the final analysis, although Zhongshan is strong, it is indeed an authentic Rongdi origin, and its status cannot be recognized by the Central Plains countries. In the list of sacrifices that Zhou Tianzi is divided according to the example every year, Zhongshan is not qualified enough. The countries in the Central Plains regard them as aliens. Even Qi Yan, an ally, just takes advantage of them. The arrogance in the bones of the Chinese people is doomed not to accept a country of Di people. Even small countries like Lu, Wei and Wrinkle can call them barbarians contemptuously.

Ji Shang has liked Confucianism since he was a child, and he has great respect for the way of the previous king. All he dreams of his life is to achieve hegemony like Duke Huan of Qi, Duke Wen of Jin and King Chu Zhuang. And his poor background gave him a stronger sense of national inferiority in his heart. He was eager to get rid of this disgraceful identity, just like the barbarian state of Chu, which was also disdained by the Central Plains countries, after becoming strong, he won the respect of the countries of the Central Plains.

However, the development of Zhongshan has great innate shortcomings. It is completely surrounded by the two countries between the two major powers of Zhao Yan. In the past, the strategy was to unite the weaker State of Yan to attack the larger and stronger State of Zhao, so as to strengthen the country. However, Zhao Yong ascended the throne to the Queen of Zhao, suppressed the national government internally and externally, which made the State of Zhao stop the twilight of inheriting the old Jin Kingdom, and once again glowed with vitality. Ji Shang tried to fight with the State of Zhao four times. Although he was not defeated, he did not take any advantage, so he had to give up the idea of going south to attack the State of Zhao.

It is impossible to go south. It seems that the weaker Yan Kingdom in the north has become the first choice for the expansion of Zhongshan. It's just that Zhongshan and Yan have been allied for decades to fight against Zhao, and if they attack treachery, it will make it a little difficult for Ji Shang, who obeys etiquette. Moreover, although the State of Yan is weak, it is also a country of ten thousand times. The country is still above Zhongshan. Zhongshan is not its opponent alone, let alone a coveted State of Zhao behind it.

Ji Shang's distress did not last long, and soon a God-given opportunity suddenly appeared in front of him.

The State of Yan was in chaos, and the chaos was very thorough. The old and mediocre king of Yan Chong believed in the Confucianism. Under the advocacy of the party vassal Su Dai and Lu Maoshou, he actually engaged in a ridiculous Zen farce and passed the throne to Zizhi, and he was loyal to the north. The throne was taken for no reason. Prince Yan naturally refused to do it, so he joined forces with the generals and ministers who were still loyal to the royal family to attack Zizhi, but because of the hasty incident, he was defeated and killed by Zizhi, and the country was in chaos.

The news of the turmoil in the State of Yan came. At first, Ji Shang still held a wait-and-see attitude and did not want to easily interfere in the affairs of the alliance, so as not to give people truth. However, with the development of the situation, the State of Yan became more and more chaotic. The King of Qi, who had always been good to the State of Yan, wanted to take advantage of the fire and sent messengers to invite the State of Zhongshan to attack his son together and divide the State of Yan.

Ji Shang hesitated and asked the ministers for their opinions at the court meeting. Almost all the old ministers opposed the attack on the State of Yan, believing that this could only bring a momentary benefit to Zhongshan, but it would bring endless scourge. After all, after Zhao Gong of the clan was awarded the title of Yan Land by King Wu of Zhou, it has been more than 600 years since the State of Yan, and the family surnamed Ji, who was handed down to Zhao Gong, was also quite popular in the State of Yan. Although the country has not been strong, it has always been among the great powers. Even if there is civil strife, it is still too early to say that Qiangqi wants to swallow it.

Ji Shang is not a determined person. The minister's persuasion almost made him give up the idea of attacking the State of Yan. At this time, a small Jie man stood up. Sima Xi made an impassioned speech in the court, which made many people shake their hearts and persuaded Ji Shang to strengthen his heart to fight against Yan.

So Zhongshan sent 100,000 troops and joined the 200,000 troops of the State of Qi to attack the State of Yan. At that time, although the king's son put down the rebellion of Prince Ping, he provoked people's grievances because of his rebellion in China. Prince Ping's uprising caused "100,000 dead and the people's departure". When the State of Qi and Zhongshan invaded the State of Yan, the Yan people did not resist, but welcomed it. Soon, the State of Qi and the State of Zhongshan swept almost the whole territory of the State of Yan. The State of Qi occupied most of the territory of the State of Yan, and the State of Zhongshan was divided into a large area, and even the subordinates of the State of Yan were also captured by it.

Ji Shang was ecstatic about the great victory in the battle against Yan. The State of Zhongshan has more than doubled its territory in his hands and swallowed more than 20 cities in the State of Yan. The national momentum has increased greatly for a while, replacing the State of Yan, which has already faced the destruction of the country, as one of the seven heroes. After obtaining such achievements, Ji Shang became more and more arrogant. He acted recklessly in China and appointed Sima Xi, who won his heart, as the prime minister of the country, and all state affairs were entrusted to him.

Unfortunately, the good times did not last long. After annexing most of the territory of the State of Yan, the State of Qi became the head of the princes in the world and became the target of public criticism. The first to feel the pressure was the State of Zhao. After the State of Qi annexed Yan, the State of Zhao had become an encirclement, which made Zhao Yong, who was the king at that time, very afraid. Therefore, they decisively united with the State of Qin and South Korea, and supported the proton son of the State of Yan in South Korea as the new king of Yan. Each of the three countries sent a large army into Yan to escort the king of Yan.

Under the strong pressure of the Three Kingdoms, coupled with the fierce resistance of Yandi, the State of Qi had to spit out the fat meat already contained in its mouth, and retreated south after plundering. Since the Qi army has retreated, Zhongshan, which is difficult to hold alone, is not the opponent of the allied forces of Yan, Zhao, Qin and South Korea. After a big battle, it was defeated. It not only spit out all the territory that invaded and occupied Yan, but also lost tens of thousands of elites, and the national strength was greatly damaged.

In this battle, Zhongshan can be said to have suffered a great loss. Instead of occupying a piece of territory, it lost tens of thousands of elites. More importantly, it lost its important ally, the State of Yan, and formed a life-and-death enemy. The only thing that could benefit from Zhongshan was Sima Xi. Not only was he not punished for attacking Yan, but he took advantage of this opportunity to get the appreciation of Ji Shang, the king of Zhongshan. From then on, Qingyun went straight up and became a powerful minister in Zhongshan.

This has also become the reason why Ji Shang hates Sima Xi so much today. He trusts Sima Xi so much. For more than ten years, he has almost obeyed him and regarded him as a confidant. But what did Sima Xi do to him? He not only deceived him and kept betraying the interests of Zhongshan. What's more abominable is that he ran away without saying a word on the eve of the destruction of the country without leaving a word.