On September 27, Meng Zhong led three new military commanders under the command of Meng Hu, Hua Hu, and Mu Wu, as well as more than 1,000 cavalrymen, with enough dry food for ten days, and immediately headed straight south.

From Fangcheng to the southwest, about dozens of miles away, you can reach "Wancheng".

It is a city occupied by Korea, and it is also the southernmost city in Korea.

It is worth mentioning that Fangcheng borders Wancheng, and there is no very clear demarcation line between the two cities, so that a few days ago, since Meng Zhong took over Fangcheng, Menghu, Huahu and others who were responsible for patrolling the surrounding areas also reported to him, and they had seen the patrol guards of the Korean army about ten miles away from Fangcheng.

And this time, when Meng Zhong went to the territory of Chu State, he also made a detour around Wancheng, because more than 1,000 of their cavalry carried the "Wei" military flag, so the Han army in Wancheng did not mistake them for the enemy.

Even, the Han army over there took the initiative to contact Meng Zhong and the others, asking why Meng Zhong and the others appeared in their Wancheng area.

In general, the relationship between the two sides is not close, but there is no hostility, and there is a tacit understanding that the well water does not interfere with the river water.

After realizing this, Meng Zhong had the intention of meeting with the Korean generals stationed in Wancheng and communicating with each other, after all, Wancheng and Fangcheng were too short, like grasshoppers on a rope, if one day the army of Qin or Chu attacked this area and captured Wancheng, then it would be difficult for Fangcheng to be alone.

However, considering that it was now close to October, Meng Zhong decided to go to Chu first.

After all, it would snowfall heavily in another month or so, and even if he wanted to use the speed of cavalry to travel through the northern region of Chu State, the weather might not make him as he wish.

In Meng Zhong's plan, he was ready to return to Fangcheng at the end of November, that is, before the heavy snow in Layue.

It has to be said that the time is very short.

"Please tell your city order, I am the new Fangcheng order Meng Zhong, there are still important things to do at the moment, it is inconvenient to visit in person, a month later, I should go to Wancheng in person, pay a visit to your city order."

After leaving these words to the Korean patrol guards who were in contact with them, Meng Zhong led more than 1,000 cavalry to continue southward.

Further south from Wancheng, you can reach the famous "Hanging Sand" in one day, that is, the battlefield where the Qi general Tian Zhang led the armies of Wei and Han to defeat the general Tang of Chu, and it is also the approximate border between Wei and Han and Chu today.

Further south, there is the current border city of Chu "Tangyi", as the name suggests, that is, the fiefdom where the late Tang Yu, the general of Chu, lived in this clan.

Considering that the relationship between Wei and Chu is not in a state of declaration of war now, Meng Zhong asked his soldiers to put away the Wei military flag - although even if the military flag is put away, a discerning person can see through their details at a glance, but it is better than raising the Wei military flag and breaking into the territory of Chu in a big way, isn't it?

After all, their purpose this time was to abduct civilians from the state of Chu to go to Yeyi, and they did not want to start a war with the state of Chu, if they made it clear that the carriages and horses would not be easy to deal with in the future, on the contrary, they could shirk the responsibility for the thieves on the border between Wei and Chu, although fools knew that it was impossible for the thieves to have a fully armed cavalry.

On September 29, Meng Zhong and others arrived in the vicinity of Tangyi.

In order to prevent unnecessary trouble, they did not approach Tangyi, but searched the surrounding villages of the Chu people.

I have to say that the arrival of their Wei cavalry really frightened the Chu people in the local villages.

No, on the same day, when Meng Zhong and Meng Hu found a village and were about to carry out the operation of "abducting people", they were stunned to see dozens of men rushing out of the village with wooden sticks and hoes.

"It's a lot of guts......"

Meng Hu muttered in astonishment.

I have to say that Meng Zhong and the others were stunned at that time, and said in their hearts that these Chu people were too bold, and their more than 1,000 cavalry did not show any hostility, but these people rushed out with wooden sticks and hoes, as if they wanted to fight them.

Where does the courage come from?

Before Meng Zhong and the others could react, they heard a scream from someone in the group of Chu people, and immediately, a large group of people fled back to the village.

“……”

At that time, Meng Zhong, Meng Hu and the more than 300 cavalry under their command looked at each other, and they couldn't understand what these Chu people were doing.

Later, after Meng Zhong talked to the old man of this village, probably the elder who managed this village, they suddenly realized: this group of Chu people actually mistook the war horses under their crotch for the beasts attacking the village, so they summoned the men in the village to go out of the village to drive away the beasts, but when they got closer, they found that they were soldiers who were heavily armed and riding on the backs of "terrible beasts", and they fled back to the village in fright.

Perhaps in this day and age, man may be more feared than the "terrible beast."

Oh, by the way, the "terrible beasts" in the mouths of these Chu people actually refer to the war horses under the crotches of the cavalry.

Don't look at the fact that since the Zhou State, war horses have been used as tools of war for hundreds of years, but the vast majority of civilians in the world may not have the opportunity to see war horses with their own eyes, especially in a country like Chu that is geographically far south.

In addition, horses are also large animals, and people who don't recognize them will naturally feel intimidated when they see such strange creatures.

What the?

Why did the Chu people in this village allow Meng Zhong and others to enter the village?

The reason is simple, because they are powerless to resist.

This is just a village with only more than 100 households, and it is full of hundreds of villagers, although if all the men in the village are gathered, there are more than 100 people, but how can they resist more than 300 soldiers?

Since he was powerless to resist, the elder in the village had no choice but to give in and ordered someone to open the gate of the village and invite Meng Zhong, Meng Hu and others to enter for hospitality.

He had made up his mind that whether the other party wanted the women in their village, or whether they kept food for the winter, he was satisfied, and only asked these soldiers who did not seem to be easy to mess with to leave as soon as possible, and not to harm anyone in the village.

For this reason, the elder not only ordered people to take out the wine that their village kept for next year's sacrifice, but also persuaded the villagers to "sacrifice" a few women who looked a little good, and accompanied Meng Zhong, Meng Hu and others to drink, hoping to send the charm of these women and send away this group of evil stars as soon as possible.

Seeing this scene, Meng Zhong didn't know that these people were misunderstood by the other party, and hurriedly explained: "Elder, don't panic, we are not thieves, but the army of Wei State......

However, it was okay not to say this, but as soon as he said it, the Chu people in the house were frightened like earth.

You must know that in the Battle of Chuisha only seven or eight years ago, it was the armies of Qi, Wei, and Han that invaded the Chu State, and completely crippled the Chu State, which originally had a bit of a strong heritage.

Seeing the young people in the village pouring wine on the side, one by one subconsciously held their breath, Meng Zhong secretly said that it was not good, only to see his left hand pressing the scabbard on his waist, and said in a deep voice: "Don't be impulsive, I came to your place today with good intentions, there is no malice, I don't want someone to be impulsive and die." ”

From the side, the elder apparently also noticed the attitude of the young people next to him, and immediately expelled the other party from the house, and immediately stabilized his mind and listened to Meng Zhong's explanation of the so-called "kindness".

Seeing this, Meng Zhong said: "I am the new Fangcheng Commander of the Wei State, and the King of Wei gave me Yeyi and Wuyang as food. …… If Guiyi is willing to move to Yeyi, I can exempt the land tax for the first two years of your village......"

Yes, the reclamation of wasteland for two years is exactly the killing weapon that Meng Zhong is preparing to use to "abduct" the Chu people.

Of course, this trick is not Meng Zhong's injury, after all, as early as one or two hundred years, Zheng State, Wei State and other countries have begun to use this trick to attract displaced people, but the extent of land tax reduction and exemption in these countries is not as thorough as Meng Zhong, and the first two years have not taken any money.

"You...... Are you the new Fang Cheng Ling? ”

The elder of Chu Di, of course, knew what Fang Cheng was, and it was hard for him to imagine that this young man in front of him, who seemed to be only about twenty years old, had not only become the city commander of Fang Cheng, but had even obtained two cities as food towns.

Seeing that the other party seemed to be a little unconvinced, Meng Zhong chuckled and said, "Old man doesn't have to be suspicious, no one will laugh at this kind of thing." …… If the old man doesn't believe it, he can send the young people in the village to Fangcheng and Yeyi, and he will know that what he said is not false. ”

After that, he pondered for a moment, got up and said, "In order to prevent unnecessary disputes, I will take my leave today." …… Thank you for your hospitality. ”

After speaking, he hugged his fists, pulled Meng Hu, who was still a little reluctant to leave, and left surrounded by several Wei pawns.

During this period, Meng Hu complained dissatisfiedly: "Ah Zhong, why don't you stay in the meeting anymore? I had a good chat with the girl with a mole on the corner of her mouth, and if I give me some time, I can even ask her nickname......"

"Come on! Her hair is coiled up! Meng Zhong rolled his eyes.

"Oh? Yes, yes? I didn't pay much attention to ......" Meng Hu glanced away with some weakness.

Seeing this, Meng Zhong rolled his eyes and immediately signaled the cavalry who had entered the village to immediately withdraw from the village.

There is no way, the local Chu people are afraid of them, maybe in the eyes of these Chu people, as the Wei army, they are even far more terrible than the local thieves.

In this regard, Meng Zhong has nothing to do, after all, trust is to be cultivated slowly, no matter how bad it is, it will be a trip in vain today.

He didn't know that after he led the cavalry away, in this village, the old man immediately invited several other old men in the village, and several old men talked about this matter in private.

The former Wei army, that is, the Wei army at the time of the Battle of Chuisha, was very vicious, broke through the Chu Fang City of his Chu State, killed his Chu general Tang Wu, and then killed and looted in the Tang Yi area, doing all kinds of evil, which made them hate them all kindly, but the Wei army that came today does not seem to have this vice.

In particular, the young man who commanded the Wei army, claiming to be Fang Chengling, also looked quite kind, which made the old man's impression of the Wei army change slightly.

"Why don't you send the young people in the village to Fangcheng and Yeyi to take a look? After all, the first two years can be exempted from taxes...... If this is true, we dare to move to Yeyi before April next year, and we can still catch up with spring ploughing......"

Perhaps even Meng Zhong did not imagine that the Chu people were actually quite concerned about his promise of "tax exemption for the first two years", and the reason for this was that the current taxes in the Chu State were too heavy.

Especially in the past few years, the famous general of the Qin State, Sima Coo, captured the "Hanzhong (Shangyong)" - that is, the Qin Prime Minister Zhang Yi once deceived the King of Chu Huai to break off diplomatic relations with the Qi State, but later the Empress Dowager Xuan of the Qin State admitted this matter and ceded the 600 li Shang Yu land to the Chu State.

The gains and losses of more than 600 Shang Yu land, coupled with the continuous use of troops by the Qin State against the Chu State, made the national strength of the Chu State weaker and weaker.

However, in this case, the current king of Chu, Xiong Heng, did not think about developing his national strength and resisting the Qin state, and still levied heavy taxes to satisfy his selfish desires, which caused the common people of Chu to become more and more desperate for this country.

I have to say that the current situation of the Chu State is completely different from that of the Song State.

The commoners of the Song State also lived in unrest, because the former Song Wang Yan was an almost reckless monarch, and since his reign, he attacked the Qi State, the Chu State, and the Wei State back and forth, and stubbornly blocked the coveting of the Song State by various countries.

But in the final analysis, Song Wangyan still has the ambition of reviving the Song State in his heart, and even hopes to govern the Song State as strong as Song Xianggong back then.

Therefore, for Song Wangyan, you can scold him for not being sympathetic to public opinion and being reckless in force, but you can't scold him for being ignorant, and he will use all the taxes he collects to expand the army and improve the strength of the army, not on his own selfish desires.

In recent years, the state of Chu has been continuously defeated by the state of Qin, so that he has completely lost 600 miles of land in business, he can still hide in the royal capital of the state of Chu "Chu Ying (Jiangling)", and be accompanied by wine all day long.

It is no exaggeration to say that looking at the monarchs of various countries today, Xiong Heng, the monarch of Chu State, must be the most ignorant among them.

It is precisely because Xiong Heng, the king of Chu, levied heavy taxes every year, which became heavier and heavier every year, but the country was repeatedly defeated by the Qin state, which brought uneasiness to more and more Chu people.

At this time, the Chu people in the area of Mengzhong and Tangyi released a message of goodwill and lured these Chu people to Yeyi with "tax exemption for the first two years", which did not fail to make these Chu people moved.

The only question is, is that Wei Jiang's promise trustworthy?

After discussing it, this village immediately sent a few young people to Fangcheng and Yeyi to inquire about the news to see if there was indeed such a thing.

As for the location of Fangcheng and Yeyi, of course they knew it as Chu people - those two cities were originally the cities of their Chu State.

But unfortunately, Meng Zhong, Meng Hu and the others didn't know that the village was actually excited, and they were on their way to the next village.

It turned out that during Meng Zhong and Meng Hu's stay in that village, Hua Hu and Mu Wu also found a village in other locations.

However, the results of lobbying those Chu people were actually not optimistic, after all, those Chu people were already half frightened to death as soon as they heard that they were Wei troops, and Meng Zhong was really not sure whether he could move them.

That night, more than 1,000 cavalry under the command of Meng Zhong spent the night under a hill.

During this period, Meng Hu made a suggestion to Meng Zhong: Anyway, those Chu people were afraid that they would die of fear, so it was better to forcibly abduct them to Fangcheng.

But Meng Zhong refused.

After all, such a move would leave a handle on the Chu State and would not be conducive to the diplomatic relations between the Wei State and the Chu State, and second, whether it was from the teachings of Zhuangzi or the guidance of Mencius, it would not be possible for Meng Zhong to do such a thing, even if it was actually not harmful to those Chu people.

To put it bluntly, he still hoped that those Chu people would willingly follow them to Fangcheng.

"Take your time."

Meng Zhong appeased Meng Hu, Hua Hu, and Mu Wu: "I treat people with integrity, and people will repay with integrity." If we can't move them this year, let's come back after the beginning of spring next year, and after a few times, we can always talk about these Chu people, after all, today's Chu State is not a country with light endowment and leniency? ”

"Hmm."

Hua Hu and Mu Wu nodded when they heard this, after all, they were both disciples of Zhuangzi, and they didn't want to do such a thing as persecuting civilians.

I have to say that what kind of person is the general who leads the troops, what kind of soldiers are the soldiers under him, maybe the Wei army in the past has also done things that hurt the heavens and reason in the Chu State, but now Meng Zhong, the Wei army, has really done nothing in the autumn.

From the beginning of October to the middle of October, Meng Zhong, Meng Hu, Hua Hu, and Mu Wu each led their cavalry around Tangyi, as well as the nearby "Chengyang", "Suiyi", "Xinshi", "Xiyang" and other places.

Some Chu people were terrified of them and had no trust in the news they brought, but after all, some people still had the idea of "let's give it a try" and sent young people in the village to Fangcheng and Yeyi to find out.

The results are self-evident, under the governance of Xiang Yi, Yeyi is now starting a hot land reclamation, in order to bring profits from the "tax reduction and exemption of the first two years of Xintian", whether it is the old Yiyi people of Yeyi, or the new Yiyi people who moved to Yeyi from Fangcheng and Wuyang, they are all actively cultivating wasteland at the moment.

There are even some people who blindly cultivate the wasteland, without considering whether they can afford to cultivate those hundreds of acres of land.

Is it true that Ye Yi was exempted from paying taxes for the first two years?!

After confirming this incident from the young people of the village who were sent out, the Chu people in the Chu area couldn't help but be moved.

At this time, it was already November, and Meng Zhong, who had traveled back and forth between Fangcheng and Chu several times, had temporarily stopped abducting the Chu people due to heavy snowfall, and only waited for the spring of next year to go to Chu again.

However, those Chu people in Chu Land, they can't wait for the next year, God knows if the wasteland around Yeyi will be robbed by others?

So, in November of that year, a large number of Chu people fled from Chu and fled to Fangcheng and Yeyi with their families.

With such a big movement, of course, it is impossible for the Chu State to be ignorant.

There are actually Wei troops roaming in their Chu territory? Is this still worth it?!

However, considering that the Wei monarch did not attack the cities of his Chu state, but only recruited some displaced people in their territory, the Chu court turned a blind eye - after all, this little thing was not enough to disturb the king of Chu, Xiong Heng.

But there is only one person who cares about this, and that is Qu Ping, who is about to be exiled again because he offended Xiong Heng, the king of Chu, and has served as a "Zuo disciple" and "Sanlu Doctor" in the Chu State.

Or rather, Qu Yuan.