When Pang Yu, Bi Shu and Baili Xian Yuguan walked into the upper study, Xiang Zhuang had just received a message from Linzi.

After the relocation of the capital, the original power structure of the Chu State was broken, and a large group of nobles led by Huan Chu and Ji Bu lost the foundation and connections of Jiangdong, and were completely marginalized, and the power of the children of the Xiang clan was also greatly weakened.

Xiang Zhuang is not superstitious about the children of the clan, as long as he imitates Lao Zhu to weave a perfect bureaucratic checks and balances, the official rebellion is simply wishful thinking, so there is no need to raise a huge clan group to consolidate the rule of the Xiang clan.

The civil and military forces led by Bi Shu and Bai Lixian began to enter the center, and Xiang Zhuang was basically only looking for two people now.

As for the general Pang Yu, it was just a coincidence, because he would soon go to Qi with Tian Heng.

"Ziang, Xuejian, Ziliang, you are here, you don't have to be polite, come to the table." Xiang Zhuang kept his hands shut again and again, and waited for Pang Yu and the three of them to sit down before he continued, "I just received a flying pigeon from Linzi, and the Han general Zhou Yafu tried to sneak attack Linzi, but the prince saw through it, and he captured more than 2,000 coalition troops under the plan, and Zhao general Bai Yan and Han general Han Ju were also captured. ”

"Oh?" Bai Lixian said happily, "King, this is really an unexpected joy. ”

"Exactly." Bi Shu also chimed in, "In this way, in the next negotiations, our Chu State will be in an extremely advantageous position, hehe." ”

Bai Lixian said again: "Especially the performance of the prince, it is really amazing. ”

Xiang Zhuang smiled slightly, and said: "Learn the sword, Ziliang, the widow still has to thank you, if it weren't for your dedicated professor, how could there be a prince today?" ”

Bai Lixian and Bi Shu hurriedly said: "This is what the ministers should do." ”

"Okay, let's not talk about that." Xiang Zhuang waved his hand and said, "Let's talk about another big thing first, the summer grain will be harvested in more than a month." According to the reports from various counties and counties, this year's Bashu, Jiangdong, Jingxiang and even the newly restored Wei land will usher in a bumper harvest, which is really beautiful. ”

After several years of expansion and merger, now the state of Chu has possessed Bashu, Jingxiang, Jiangdong, Huaisi, Wei Di eighteen counties plus Sanchuan County, just according to the latest statistics of the Yellow Book of Yin Mansion, the total number of Ding Kou in Chu has exceeded 10 million, and the total cultivated land area of each county has exceeded 400,000 hectares (100 mu per hectare).

If calculated according to the yield of two stones per mu, 400,000 hectares is 80 million stones. Even if calculated according to the yield of one stone per mu, there are 40 million stones, which is more than enough to feed 10 million people, take a compromise, assuming that the income becomes 60 million stones, and then remove the Wei land that does not collect taxes, the tax source is about 50 million stones, according to the tax rate of ten taxes and one, that is 5 million stones.

In order to reduce the burden on the people. The payment of land taxes in the state of Chu was quite free, and farmers could pay grain directly, or they could pay money after selling grain. In addition, the transportation of grain and money are handled by the government, and the farmers only need to send the land tax to the local pavilion chief, so the land tax that is eventually handed over to the state treasury will definitely be lost.

In this way, the final grain in Aocang will not exceed two million stones.

This is two million stones, if you count the surplus grain that the red-top merchants can buy from the people, the actual military rations that the Chu State can call are at least five million stones, which is enough to support the Chu State to launch a large-scale foreign war, Xiang Zhuang originally thought that it would take three to five years of recuperation after moving the capital. Now, due to the beauty of the heavens, it can be greatly advanced.

Pang Yu, Bi Shu, and Bai Lixian quickly calculated this number in their hearts, and they were also excited.

Pang Yu struck the festival and said: "King, so you can use troops against Han, Han, and Zhao to advance to this year?" ..., Xiang Zhuang nodded and said: "After the summer harvest, the widow plans to use troops abroad. However, it is probably too powerful to use troops against Han, Han, and Zhao at the same time, and the risk is too great. ”

"The minister fully agrees with the king's point of view." Bai Lixian shook the feather fan lightly and said thoughtfully, "The pressure of waging war against Han, Han, and Zhao at the same time is indeed too great. The minister suggested that the elite soldiers should block the Jinniu Pass, Hangu Pass and Wuguan, take a defensive position against the Han State, and then send lobbyists to Korea to persuade Korea to remain neutral, and then concentrate all efforts to destroy the Zhao State! ”

Pang Yu frowned and said: "The question is, South Korea is also a member of the Lianheng Alliance, will it choose neutrality?" ”

"It depends on when." Bi Shu lightly tapped the table in front of him and said in a deep voice, "If it was last year, South Korea would definitely not sit idly by and watch the Zhao State be destroyed, but this year, the situation is very different." ”

"That's true, the king's re-canonization of Tian Heng as the king of Qi will surely shake the world, and it will also greatly shake the foundation of the existence of the Lianheng Alliance." Bai Lixian pointed to the northwest with the feather fan in his hand, and then said, "King Han is a stubborn and indecisive person, if the king promises to take heavy profits, he will definitely be at both ends of the rat and hold back." ”

Xiang Zhuang said again: "It's not a problem to break up the Lianheng Alliance, the question is what kind of excuse to find?" ”

Han and Zhao Guoming knew that the Chu State was dominant, and their national strength and military strength were far superior to the rest of the countries, but they were still determined to join the Lianheng Alliance led by the Han State, weren't they afraid that they would be destroyed by the Chu State one day?

But now Xiang Zhuang has been divided into the King of Wei, the King of Bei Mink and the King of Qi, and they are not Xiang Zhuang's cronies, but the descendants of the royal families of various countries, which is enough to show Xiang Zhuang's goodwill, even if Bai Mo and Bai Xuan do not believe that Xiang Zhuang will only be another king Xiang Yu, but Han Xin, the king of Han, will definitely hesitate.

Therefore, the disintegration of the alliance is by no means a problem.

But what kind of excuse to find is really worth scrutinizing, Xiang Zhuang successively divided the King of Wei, the King of Beimink and the King of Qi, and finally created a harmless "hypocritical" image of the king, if you can't find a good excuse in the battle of Zhao, and show too much fangs, this hypocritical image will collapse.

Pang Yu, Bi Shu, and Bai Lixian all fell into silence, and it was really difficult to find such an excuse.

Send troops to create trouble on the border, and then frame the Zhao army for provocation, and then take the opportunity to invade the Zhao state? This must not be believed, in the current situation, no fool will believe that Zhao Jun dares to take the initiative to provoke the Chu army.

So, instigating Zhao Guo to fight Yan Guo? Although Zhang Ao, the king of Zhao, has little knowledge, Bai Xuan, the general of Zhao State, is also a powerful character, how can he be easily fooled?

Instigating Zhang Ao to be the emperor? Then it's even more unlikely.

Seeing that Pang Yu, Bi Shu, and Bai Lixian, the three major ministers, were all silent, Xiang Zhuang could only smile bitterly, he knew that this excuse was indeed difficult to find, and said immediately: "Okay, fortunately, it's only April at this time, and there is still a month before the summer harvest, the excuse can be thought about slowly, but the armament needs to be stepped up." ”

Bai Lixian and Bi Shu hurriedly knelt down and stood up, and responded respectfully.

The army went out, all things were complicated, the allocation of grain and grass, the dispatch of baggage, the convening of government soldiers and the raising of bounties, a big mess of bad things, Xiang Zhuang would never care about these things, these things were operated by Xiang Tuo and Xiang He in the past, but now they have fallen on the heads of Bi Shu and Bai Li Xian, especially Bai Li Xian, I am afraid that he will be too busy to touch the ground.

After finishing preparing for the war, the topic turned to the Qi State, and then Xiang Zhuang said: "The widow proposed to re-establish Tian Heng as the king of Qi, although it occupies the moral high ground, Han, Han, and Zhao may not buy it, and the widow estimates that the final result of the negotiation is still limited to the actual occupation of the region, what do you say?" ”

Now the situation of Qi is very delicate, with the surrender of Han Qi's abdication, Han Qi has officially declared its demise, but the teams that entered Qi did not intend to act according to the previous agreement, first the Chu army surprised the army to occupy Linzi first, and then Shen Tujia, who had already surrendered to the Han State, blocked Gao Lang's army in the south of Lixia. ..., Xiang Zhuang just received the flying pigeon biography even said that Zhou Yafu led the Han and Zhao armies to surround Linzi, but the 20,000 Han army rushed to the east day and night, and ambushed the Yan army near Weishui, the Yan army was defeated, and had retreated towards Langxi County, it seems that the Yan prince Zangyan has recognized the cruel reality and just wants to keep Langxi County.

The actual situation now is like this, the Han, Han, and Zhao armies actually control most of Jibei County, Linzi County, and Jiaodong County, the Yan army can only barely control Langxie, and the Chu army controls Xue County, plus Linzi City, however, such a situation may repeat at any time, Shen Tujia's 30,000 Qi army is a variable, and Linzi City is also an unstable factor.

Baili Xian said: "If the final result of the negotiation is to take the actual occupation of the area as the boundary, then Linzi City will become an isolated city within the territory of the Han State, and it can only be abandoned." ”

Pang Yu quickly entered the role of the general of the Qi State, and said at the moment: "Linzi is the capital of the Qi State, and the powerful and powerful lords of Qi have been operating there for hundreds of years, will they be willing to give up?" ”

"It's a definite thing to be reconciled, but it's a good thing for us." Bai Lixian smiled, "We can just exaggerate the greed of Han, Han, and Zhao, and attract all the hatred of the powerful and powerful nobles of Qi Di to them, so that the control of Qi Di will become easier." ”

"But we can't give up Linzi for nothing." Xiang Zhuang stroked the beard on his lips and said in a deep voice, "Especially the more than 2,000 Han troops and Zhao troops captured by the prince, this is a big bargaining chip, the opinion of the widow, Linzi can give it out, but the people in Linzi City and nearby Dingkou must move to Lu County." ”

Linzi County and Lu County of Xue County are the two most densely populated counties in Qidi, especially Linzi County, with a population of more than 300,000 in one county, almost more than the population of Jiaodong and Langxie Counties combined.

In this day and age, what resources are most scarce and what are the most important? Undoubtedly, the population!

Only with the population can there be soldiers, taxes, and money and food, so it is possible to continue to fight abroad, so Xiang Zhuang does not care about the success of one pool at a time, even if Linzi is the capital of Qi for hundreds of years, he doesn't care at all, but for the hundreds of thousands of Dingkou in Linzi County, he is extremely concerned.

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PS: I recommend a book to everyone, this time it is a boutique recommendation, not a friendly recommendation, the swordsman guarantees with the eyesight of a bookworm for more than ten years, it is definitely a masterpiece that cannot be missed, written in the Ming Dynasty, but also for hegemony, the name of the book is "Late Ming". (Your support on this site is my biggest motivation.) )