It is not unreasonable for Cai Houshen to propose that the Wu army should be allowed to conquer Chu in the west, and then Chen troops will be on the border of Chen and Song.

This is selfishness!

The five countries of Tan, Ju, Xue, Di and Teng are small countries and widows, which are not worth mentioning.

The Chu land in the west is sandwiched between the seven countries of Wu, Cai, Chen, Song, Xue, Xu and Teng, and its geographical location is very important!

This land of Chu north of the great river is hundreds of miles in radius, and the land is rich, which is indeed good.

But what Cai Houshen really thought was that if the Wu army sent troops to destroy the five kingdoms of Tan, Ju, Xue, Di, and Teng, Cai Guo would not be able to reach it, would he want an enclave?

Apparently not!

Therefore, Cai Houshen proposed to let the Wu army capture the Chu land north of the Great River, so that the four kingdoms of Wu, Cai, Xu, and Zhongwu could be divided.

Because Qingji had promised them before that they would divide up the cities and lands they occupied, how could they go back?

Anyway, this time the princes joined forces to attack Wu, and the state of Chu also participated.

It's just that the Chu army attacked and harassed the state of Wu from the west.

"Oh no, my lord!"

Heifu followed in a deep voice: "Although whether it is the five kingdoms of Tan, Ju, Xue, Di, and Teng, or the land of Suishui in the Chu State, my Wu army can fight down. ”

"However, if the five small countries are destroyed, how can the Chu State be so easy to provoke?"

"The land of Suishui runs through the north and south, it is the place where soldiers must fight, and the Chu people go north to fight for hegemony mostly from the land of Suishui, if it is now annexed by my Wu country, I am afraid that the Chu people will pour the country's troops to come, and then there will be a big war, why should my Wu army fight again?"

Heff made a very simple truth.

In this era of the jungle, whoever has the big fist is the boss and the truth!

The five small countries of Tan, Ju, Xue, Di and Teng are not climate.

However, Chu is an old hegemonic power, the so-called hundred-legged insect, dead but not stiff.

If the Chu people launch a ruthless attack and once again fight to the death with the Wu country, what can they do?

"King, Chu Manzi is just a clown jumping off the beam, and he won't have much time to jump!"

Cai Houshen snorted and said: "This time, the princes joined forces to attack Wu, and the Chu people only attacked Wu in the west, and did not really participate in the war. It can be seen that years of war and reckless military force have already hollowed out the foundation of the Chu State. ”

"And the kingdom of the king, with hundreds of thousands of elite soldiers and thousands of chariots, if you can conquer Chu in the west, and Chen soldiers are on the border of Chen and Song and coerce the two countries to submit, why can't you hold an alliance on this, ask the Son of Heaven to give him, and make the princes respect the king as Uncle Fang?"

Uncle Fang?

Uncle Fang is the overlord!

Princes overlord!

At the beginning of the Zhou Dynasty, the Son of Heaven founded the country, and the princes established their families, that is, the Son of Heaven divided the vassal states, and the princes divided the homes of the princes.

In the vassal states that the Son of Heaven divided, he appointed the royal family meritorious and Yi relatives as the chiefs of the princes, and on behalf of the royal family to pacify one party, called "Fang Bo".

In this world of great contention, the Son of Heaven lost power, Wang Gang dismantled the button, and there was a vacuum in the supreme political power of the Zhou Dynasty.

The formation of a hegemonic politics that replaced the royal power, also known as Fang Bo politics!

Qingji is naturally excited about the title of overlord.

Exciting.

However, the momentary victory did not overwhelm Qingji's mind.

Qingji knew that with the national strength of Wu State, it was not enough to afford the name of "overlord"!

In the final analysis, the foundation of Wu is too thin, and it is not as good as the three kingdoms of Jin, Qi, and Chu.

Wu is only militarily strong, and it is inferior to the rest of the aspects.

Especially the Jin Kingdom!

If you want to be hegemonic, how can you be the hegemon without challenging the Jin Kingdom?

It's just in name only!

Moreover, such a hegemon is probably not recognized by the world.

"The king, the minister thinks that Cai Hou's words are wrong."

Heifu shook his head and said, "Husband, courage too." One blow, then decline, three and exhaustion! ”

"The State of Chu has been fighting for many years, and the army is reckless, so why shouldn't my Wu State be? Wu and Chu have been fighting for a long time, and now our Wu army is on a northern expedition, if we fight with the Chu people again, I am afraid that I will not be able to catch it, please think twice! ”

"General Heifu, not really!"

Cai Houshen squinted his eyes and said: "For the five countries of Tan, Ju, Xue, Di, and Teng, it is easy for our army to fight with a great victory. However, it is difficult for the state of Wu to guarantee that it will directly border the state of Qi. ”

"Qi is a big country, after so many years of governance by the Marquis of Qi, the national strength is thriving, second only to the Jin State."

"Although the Qi army was defeated this time, there is still still strength left, if the Marquis of Qi seeks revenge in the future, and Wu and Qi fight, there will be no buffer land, so what can I do?"

What Cai Houshen said is not unreasonable.

Between the big countries, there are often some small countries mixed in, as a buffer place.

For example, the five kingdoms of Tan, Ju, Xue, Di, and Teng are the vassal states of the Qi State, and the Qi State is respected as the suzerain.

"Hehehehe, Cai Hou, even if there is no buffer land, if Qi Hou wants to attack Wu in the future, it is not impossible to borrow the way. In this case, why can't our army cut off the wings of Qi people and strengthen itself? ”

"This ......"

Heifu's words made Cai Houshen difficult to refute.

Qi Hou Pestle's military achievements are also quite numerous.

In 526 BC, Kijiu chose the state of Xu as a target to show off his power.

The result of that attack made Kijiu overjoyed, and he wanted to get a cow and a horse.

As soon as the army of Qi arrived at Pu Tunnel, before entering the territory of Xu, Xu sent an envoy to sue for peace.

Gao and Ju, who were closer to Xu, were afraid that Xu would be subdued, and the Qi soldiers would turn to attack them, so they hurriedly sent envoys to express their submission.

The kings of the four kingdoms of Qi, Xu, Tan and Ju formed an alliance in Pu Tunnel.

In that Pu Tunnel Alliance, there was no reaction from the Jin side!

Kijiu accurately estimated the situation and grasped the timing appropriately, challenging the endurance of the Jin State and the authority of the overlord, indicating the initial victory of the Kijiu and the Jin State in the struggle for hegemony.

He is taking this opportunity to constantly challenge the bottom line of the Jin people.

In the same year, the Duke of Jin Zhao of the Jin State died young, and the young son Ji Wuli was established, and the centripetal force of the six secretaries of the Jin State was further weakened.

Since then, he has become more and more confident and bold in intervening in the affairs of other countries, truly exercising the power that can only be exercised by the leader of the alliance, and truly doing what the leader of the alliance can do.

After that, Kijiu sent an army to crusade against Ju again, forcing Ju Gonggong to flee twice, but the Jin people still did not react.

This made Kisuru overjoyed.

After attacking Xu Ju, Pestle and Mortar took advantage of the civil strife in Weiguo and when Wei Gong Ji Yuan fled to the outskirts of the national capital, he treated him with courtesy.

This made Ji Yuan (Wei Linggong) very moved!

In the most difficult time for Wei Gong Ji Yuan, the pestle still treated each other with courtesy, and although it was a diplomatic means, it had a good influence among the princes.

The princes believed that the Marquis of Qi was not only a great monarch, but also a lord who respected and loved others.

This greatly increased his strength against Jin Chu!

The year after this incident, the southern state of Wu sent troops to invade the Song state in the Central Plains.

After receiving the news, Kijiu thought that this was another good opportunity to expand his influence and expand his power, so he quickly sent troops to help the Song State.

The combined forces of Qi and Song quickly defeated the Wu army and won the victory.

As a result, the Song State was grateful to the pestle, and the pestle once again expanded his overlord power!