"PS: I'm sorry for the wrong chapter name. In addition, the "fantasy" element of this book is limited to the extent of obscurity, so there is nothing to worry about turning the alternate history into fantasy. As for the cameo in the previous chapter, he is the protagonist of the previous book, and only makes a cameo this time. Well, I'm just a bit reluctant to portray certain characters.'"

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『Ginger ......』

Zhao Hongrun sat in the carriage, thinking about the meaning of the name.

At first, he thought it was "ginger", which was composed of the words "sheep" and "female", and "sheep" also means "docile" in the ancient meaning, so "ginger" can be understood as "docile woman" in the ancient meaning.

But when Zhao Hongrun inquired, he knew that the "ginger" in the mouth of the cold witch was actually "ginger".

"Note: Why is it written as "ginger", which has been explained in the previous chapter.』

"My sister is a young grass, and my sister is a bitter ginger...... Is it? ”

Zhao Hongrun turned his head and glanced at the cold witch, no, it should be called Mi Jiang.

"This doesn't look like the name that the nobles of the Xiong clan of the Chu State would give it......" Zhao Hongrun shook his head and added.

Mi Jiang glanced at Zhao Hongrun with a little surprise, and did not hide it, and said lightly: "It is the name given by an old woman who taught my sister witchcraft." ”

"What about your sister's parents?"

"It's gone." Mi Jiang said lightly.

Zhao Hongrun thought for a while, and suddenly asked, "What is the relationship between Xiong Tuo, the king of Xuancheng, and your sister?" ”

"......" Mi Jiang glanced at Zhao Hongrun deeply, but she didn't pretend not to hear it this time, but told Zhao Hongrun a story in a calm tone: "Runanjun Xiong Hao was the original Yijun of this land, and he was also the father of my sister. ”

"Runan-kun?"

Zhao Hongrun was stunned, because he felt that this Runanjun's land. There is a mutual coverage with the fiefdom range of the current Xuancheng Jun Xiong Tuo, and then he thinks that Mi Jiang once said "are gone" when he mentioned her parents, he already has some clarity in his heart.

"Xiong Tuo, the king of Xuancheng, has you taken away your father's fiefdom? …… That's not right, if Xiong Tuo took away your father's fiefdom. Why do you still call him Xiong Tuo? ”

Mi Jiang sighed slightly when he heard this: "Because, it's not Lord Xiong Tuo who wants to harm his deceased father, it's the nobles of the entire Great Chu who want his deceased father to die, and Lord Xiong Tuo can only save my sister and send her to Ba to hide." ”

Hearing this, Zhao Hongrun was surprised in his heart, and couldn't help asking, "What did your father do?" caused the nobles of the entire Chu State to want him to die? ”

"Reform." Qi Jiang said expressionlessly: "My father thinks that there are serious drawbacks in my Great Chu's statecraft, causing the great nobles and nobles to be high and have little benefit to the country, but enjoy all the luxury; And the civilians of Dachu work hard, but most of them have no clothes to cover and no food to eat. …… Therefore, my father gave advice to the king. to weaken the rights of the nobility and return them to the commoners......"

"Hiss...... Boy! No wonder the nobles of the entire Chu State wanted to kill him.'

Zhao Hongrun heard this. I can't admire the noble character of that Ru Nanjun, but he secretly shook his head at his behavior.

Weaken the rights of the old aristocratic forces of the entire Chu State?

This means that it is to confront the old aristocratic forces of the entire Chu State!

It's strange that the old aristocratic forces of the Chu State can tolerate him!

"Considered a traitor...... Killed? Zhao Hongrun asked tentatively.

"Traitor?" Mi Jiang was slightly stunned, and then laughed at himself: "Almost, my father's last crime is treason." ”

"Good death!" Zhao Hongrun's words made Mi Jiang's eyes cold.

But just when Mi Jiang was about to speak. But I heard Zhao Hongrun say with emotion: "If such a sage does not die, it will become a problem in my Great Wei's heart!" ”

"......" Mi Jiang opened his mouth, and immediately showed a faint smile of relief: "I forgot, you are from Wei." ”

"Impression points earned!"

Zhao Hongrun raised the corners of his mouth quietly.

Mi Jiang didn't notice the smugness in Zhao Hongrun's eyes, and still said to himself: "At that time, my father felt it. There are huge drawbacks in the operation of the whole country of our Great Chu, the great nobles and aristocratic forces are getting richer and richer, while the common people are getting poorer and poorer, and in the long run, the whole country will inevitably fall into civil strife...... It must be known that the number of commoners far exceeds that of the great nobles and aristocratic forces. …… Unfortunately, the king did not take his father's advice. ”

"It's not going to take it." Zhao Hongrun said categorically.

"......" Mi Jiang looked at Zhao Hongrun suspiciously when he heard this, but saw the latter and said lightly: "My father is the Son of Heaven of Wei, that is, the King of Wei in your mouth, and he also wants to change some ...... in my Great Wei Inappropriate distribution of benefits. For example, the magnates in our Great Wei Dynasty control eighty percent of the commercial profits of the entire country, and do not allow civilians to intervene. However, when I proposed this reform proposal to Lord Yu Ziqi of Zhongshu Zuo, my father rejected it, because it would cause the powerful forces of the entire Great Wei to resist it, and even openly oppose my father......"

Hearing this, the expression in Mi Jiang's eyes warmed a little more, nodded and said, "That's the truth." …… Master Xiong Tuo also persuaded my father at that time, but unfortunately my father did not listen, and my father at that time still had trust in the king and the nobles in the country, and he felt that there would be people who would support him. ”

"Support him?" Zhao Hongrun laughed: "It didn't turn out, right?" ”

"Yes, but very few, only a few, persuaded my father in private letters." Mi Jiang sighed and said, "However, my father did not regret it until he died...... He thinks that he has done nothing wrong, if I want to be strong, I must weaken the rights of the old nobles, and I must not abandon the commoners, according to the current policy of governing the country of the Xiong clan, it will only lead the entire Chu State to destruction......"

『……』

Zhao Hongrun was silent. As a Wei man, to be honest, he didn't want to see the hostile countries gradually become stronger.

Even out of selfishness, he felt that it was better for that Runan Jun Xiong Hao to die, otherwise, the situation of their Wei State would become very difficult.

However, seeing that he was silent, Mi Jiang asked very indifferently, "Do you think your father's idea is wrong?" ”

Looking at the vaguely visible expectation in Qi Jiang's eyes, Zhao Hongrun didn't know what to think, and at that moment he said what he thought in his heart: "If you want to restrain the rights of the aristocratic class of the entire country, you must be prepared to be the enemy of the entire aristocratic forces...... This, must be supported by a strong army. …… Your father must have been right, but he would be naïve to expect the aristocracy to willingly hand over his power. ”

The look in Qi Jiang's eyes warmed up a little more, and it could be seen that she was very satisfied with Zhao Hongrun's answer.

"You are wrong about this, my father was in charge of the whole of Chuxi, and there were not many troops under his command...... It's just that he didn't want to go to war with the nobles of Chudong, so he chose to make peace. At that time, he had a private discussion with Xiong Sheng Gongzi, the envoy sent by the nobles of the Xiong clan in Chudong to persuade him to surrender, and after he came out, he said, "It seems that I am too anxious, and my Great Chu is not ready to innovate." Subsequently, my father chose to surrender. ”

"Xiong Sheng? Liyang Jun Xiong Sheng? Zhao Hongrun asked in surprise.

"Do you know Xiong Sheng Gongzi?" Mi Jiang asked in surprise.

"I've heard of it." Zhao Hongrun replied expressionlessly.

Mi Jiang glanced at Zhao Hongrun, didn't care, and continued: "After the defeat, my father calmly went to his death and asked Master Xiong Tuo to cut off his head with his own hands and take it to Shouying...... He pinned all his unpaid ambitions on Lord Xiong Tuo, and he hoped that Lord Xiong Tuo could become the king in the future and guide me to innovate. After that, Mi Jiang turned his head and glanced at Zhao Hongrun, and his eyes seemed to be silently telling the latter that this was the relationship between Xiong Tuo and their sisters.

It's a pity that Zhao Hongrun didn't have time to pay attention to Qi Jiang's eyes, and he asked in a solemn tone: "You mean, Xiong Tuo is the successor who inherited your father's innovative ideas?" ”

"Hmm." Mi Jiang nodded, and did not hide it: "And my father sacrificed himself to make Master Xiong Tuo become the current Emperor of Xuancheng, because Lord Xiong Tuo was one of the people who secretly supported my father. ”

"......" Zhao Hongrun's face changed slightly when he heard this.

You know, he originally felt that there was something wrong with Xiong Tuo, the monarch of Xuancheng, and he was not like those Chu nobles who only knew how to enjoy luxury, and the other party did not use the taxes collected in the fiefdom for luxury and enjoyment, but used that money to constantly attack the Wei State, as well as prepare armaments, and even buy war horses from the Ba State.

This is not like an upstart who is in the same league as those old nobles in Chu.

"What do you want to do?!"

Mi Jiang's eyes showed a little vigilance, because she suddenly felt that the King of Wei Guosu, who was a few years younger than her, suddenly became a little terrifying.

"......" Zhao Hongrun glanced at Mi Jiang and was silent.

"Misstep...... Now it's really a tiger returning to the mountain!'

Zhao Hongrun secretly regretted in his heart, although he was originally complacent about slaughtering Xiong Tuo, the monarch of Xuancheng, but if he had known in advance that this person actually had the ambition to change the current state of the entire Chu State, then he would rather give up that indemnity, and would rather risk a war with the Chu State at this moment, but also get rid of this potential hidden danger.

How could he sit back and watch Xiong Tuo, who had such ambitions, change the current national conditions of the entire Chu State?

He knows very well that today's Chu State still hides a strength beyond that of Wei, but it is a pity that Chu's statecraft restricts the development of this country, and it is no exaggeration to say that the great nobles and aristocratic forces in Chu are the tumors that bind the entire Chu State to develop stronger.

And if Xiong Tuo, the king of Xuancheng, became the future king of Chu, if he really began to gradually restrict the rights of the old nobles and improve the status of commoners in Chu, this would not be a good thing for Wei and Qi.

What's worse is that Xiong Tuo, the king of Xuancheng, is much more ruthless than Xiong Hao, the king of Runan, for his own ambitions, he gradually expands the territory under his rule, and for the monarch of Yi who does not support him, such as Xiong Ling, the king of Xiangcheng, Xiong Tuo will not have any friendship for his compatriots like his uncle Xiong Hao, the king of Runan.

This was originally a rather dangerous guy, but now after listening to Mi Jiang's story, Zhao Hongrun felt that the threat of that guy to his Wei State was far greater and bigger than he imagined.

It seems that this kind of hidden danger in the future is best to be stifled in time, so as not to become a big problem for his Wei State in the future! (To be continued.) )