When Zhao Hou heard this, he said: "This is the truth of Zhao's strength." I'll keep it in mind. So, the strength of Zhao is actually in the Northeast? ”

Gong Zhonglian nodded and said, "Take advantage of the chaos in Sishang and take Zhongshan." Zhongshan has it, so Yan and Qi are all in Zhao Zu Jinge. ”

"Qi Yan is disobedient, if there is chaos, you can take advantage of the situation to the east."

"To the north of the high willows, there is no land. The righteousness of the Mohists regarded the politics of the Hu people as lagging behind the Central Plains, and believed that the Hu people did not farm, had no industry and commerce, and even if the Central Plains were divided into feudalism, they also advanced against the Hu people who plundered the settlements. ”

"The Mo family must abide by righteousness, they do not rely on the righteousness of the Son of Heaven to dominate the world, but rely on their own righteousness. Their righteousness tied their hands and feet, don't go to attack the land of the Hu people, and let the Mo family fight with the Hu people in the north. ”

Zhao Hou also has this intention.

In troubled times, each country has its own long-term strategy. For example, after Wei gave up Wu Qi's strategy of first going west and then east, the struggle between Wei and Qi, Chu and Mo was inevitable.

There are many strategies that Zhao can choose, but Gong Zhonglian did not choose the Hufu cavalry and archery strategy of King Wuling of Zhao in the original history for Zhao Hou.

This is determined by the times.

In the era of King Wuling of Zhao, there was no stirrup, which led to the advantage of the Hu people in raising troops over farming, and if the stirrup was used properly, the advantage of the farming nation was far better than that of the Hu people.

At that time, the reform of the Zhao State had not yet been completed, and after the Dai State was occupied by Zhao Xiangzi, the Hu people lived together among the people of Zhuxia, and there was a big gap between Zhao and the Dynasty.

In addition, the power of the nobles was still large at that time, and King Zhao Wuling needed an army that was controlled by him rather than the nobles, and because of some Hu courtiers, the Hu people became an important force introduced by King Zhao Wuling to fight against the nobles.

King Zhao Wuling's strategy was also to attack Zhongshan, and Hufu cavalry and Zhongshan were almost simultaneously attacked, so that King Zhao Wuling had a cavalry that did not belong to the nobles and obeyed his orders, and obtained Zhongshan as a county.

It can be said that Hufu cavalry is the foundation of Zhao's centralized power, there are too many things to guard against, and the nobles' fiefdom soldiers are basically obedient to the tune and do not listen to the announcement, and it is difficult to fully control it.

Now, the strategy proposed by the Gongzhong Company also revolves around Zhongshan Kingdom.

But there is not such an urgent need for Hufu cavalry shooting.

With the spread of the Mohist doctrine, with the spread of paper, printing and cheap characters, the scholar class rose rapidly, and the secrets of the original nobility began to spread on a large scale through paper.

The power of the scholars can already be used against the nobility.

In terms of military power, Gong Zhonglian persuaded the Marquis of Zhao to be the king of the Zhao people instead of the Marquis of the Zhao family, which was to maximize the use of the power of civilians.

The emergence of more horses and stirrups in Zhao Di has made it possible for farmers with more than 100 acres of land to raise horses, and they can also be familiar with stirrup riding, and they can pull up a stirrup cavalry that is not the custom of the Hu people, but is farming in Sishang.

Gunpowder and copper cannons also made it possible for a new army composed entirely of civilians, enough to crush the noble chariot soldiers, and directly obey the orders of Zhao Hou.

In this way, the matter of Hufu cavalry shooting is no longer in the consideration of the Gongzhong Company at all, and the focus of the strategy is also placed on Zhongshan State.

Gong Zhonglian's meaning is to keep Zhao State away from the disputes in Sishang in the Central Plains and wait for an opportunity, once the chaos in Sishang is an opportunity for Zhao to rise.

After destroying Zhongshan, the situation of Zhao State will be alive. It gained a huge territory and population, and at the same time opened the door to expand to the northeast.

Under these effects, it would be a little unrealistic to let Zhao Guo focus on the north. Especially after the appearance of firearms, stirrups, and iron tools, the population became an important military foundation, and the significance of Zhongshan was far greater than that of the Hu people in the north.

Not to mention the intricacies there, the Mo family is now in Gaoliu, and Gong Zhonglian has also discovered the weakness of the Mo family, that is, "righteousness", with the righteousness of the Mo family, the bottom line of some things is impossible to touch.

Gong Zhonglian pointed to Zhao Hou's previous letter that caused anger, and said, "Didn't the Mo family say it there?" In order to prevent iron, gunpowder, stirrups and other things from entering the Huren grassland, border passes should be built, and things leaving the customs should be strictly inspected and taxes should be collected. ”

"The Mo family's ability to accumulate wealth is rare in the world. They also said that these collected taxes will be handed over to your treasury, and what the Mo family wants is only the monopoly right to operate the grassland. ”

"Moreover, the merchants are also more willing to do this, with the large amount of money raised by the merchants of Handan for you, and use the interest as the equity capital to monopolize the grassland trade, so that only one Handan can raise hundreds of thousands of dollars in money and millions of grains."

"The Mo family is in Gaoliu, and the grassland can't go south. Moreover, the Hu people are greedy, they always want to loot and rob iron tools, grain, population, and slaves, and it is impossible for them to be compatible with the Mo family. ”

"The land of the north is full of bitter cold and intricacies. Unless it is a sage, it cannot be guarded. ”

"And after you put down the rebellion of the Gongzi Dynasty, those fiefs that you recovered also need sages. Do you want to use the wise men who are loyal to you to rule over the rich cities of Zhao? Or do you want to send them to the north of the border? ”

"It's not virtuous enough, and they can't defend themselves against the Hu people. If you are virtuous enough, how can you not keep them by your side, Handan, Zhongmu and other places where you have your roots? ”

This is indeed a problem, Zhao Hou thought for a moment and then said, "You are right. Then, the conditions of the Mo family can be agreed. In this way, it can not only curb the Hu people, but also collect 100,000 border taxes a year, and also raise hundreds of thousands of money from Handan merchants, and save the soldiers who defended the Hu people in the north. ”

"But you also said that the Mo family is afraid that it also has the intention of sweeping the sea. Even though there are long-range close attacks to choose from, there are also worries about the cold lips and teeth......"

Gong Zhong smiled and said, "If the three kingdoms of Qi, Wei, and Chu don't divide the victory and defeat in Si for one day, it is impossible for the Mo family to choose to oppose you." When the Mo family chooses to be your enemy, and you have Wei Han as your aid, can the main force of the Mo family bypass Wei Han and come directly to Zhao State? ”

"Besides, now is the time when you need the help of the Mo family."

"Hu Feizi can help defend Handan, and Qu Jiangzi has a strong army in Gaoliu, which can be borrowed when necessary. Don't forget, the matter of Que and Jun, but the people of the Mo family are holding on to it, even if the Mo family preaches morality, do you think they will not be disgusted with the Gongzi Dynasty? ”

"The matter of Que and Jun, the Mo family directly characterized it as harming the world. The three words harming the world are in the meaning of the Mo family, no less than not sharing the sky. ”

Zhao Hou also knew that he shouldn't consider turning his face with the Mo family at this time, and asked, "But the morality of the Mo family ...... It's really a bit of a rebellion. In Handan, many farmers do not look for officials but ink when they have something......"

"How do I do that?"

Gong Zhonglian said solemnly in a deep voice: "This is exactly what I want to persuade the king." ”

"Take the path of the Mo family, so that the Mo family has no way to go in Zhaodi!"

Zhao Hou was shocked and said, "According to the morality of the Mo family, that gentleman can be empty." It is only necessary to use reason to introduce what kind of decree is most suitable for governing the country, so how can the monarch be inferior to the decree? ”

Gong Zhong waved his hand and said, "What you said is what you care about. ”

"But most of the people, is this what they care about?"

Do they know what synonym is, equality, and love? Do they know what the False Monarch is? ”

"What they are concerned about is land, taxes, the integrity of officials, and the amount of income."

"The Mo family said that it is okay to divide the land and grant the land. You are the monarch, not the feudal king, and the taxes after the grant of the land still belong to you, and the nobles are exempt from those collected. The people are grateful for all this, life is rich, and the synonym, equality, and love mentioned by the Mohists, apart from those idlers, how many people care? ”

"What the people want, the Mo family knows what it is, so this time they are bewitching the people in Handan and lending you money."

"But you also know, and you are not a feudal monarch, you grant land to the people, what else can the Mo family do? How many people will listen to what they preach? ”

"The Mo family said that forced labor had to pay money corn, and it was okay. Once you grant land to the people and let the people pay taxes directly to you, then the increase in the income of the government treasury, plus the taxes of the merchants and the taxes of the border fortress, will be enough for you to practice the 'benevolent and righteous government' in Handan, Zhongmu and other places. ”

"Wait until the people of Handan, Zhongmu and other big cities are grateful for your kindness, shouting long live, even though the Mo family still has morality, but you give the benefits that the people want, the righteousness itself is valued by gentlemen, the world is one after another, how many gentlemen?"

In fact, the people prefer to have a monarch to punish the greedy officials and fight back against the nobles. You come to be the king of Zhao Min. ”

"Anyway, before the rebellion in Sishang, you have to calm the civil strife, cultivate politics diligently, centralize the monarchy, and select the Magi. The people fought less, or they were forced to defend because Wei Hanqi and others took the initiative to attack, and the Mo family had no excuse, and the people also said that you were benevolent and righteous. ”

"When the Sishang rebellion broke out, at that time, your new army was in hand, the people were prepared, the treasury was sufficient, there were many wise men, and people who wanted to become officials stood outside the palace, so how could Zhao not be strong? How could he not capture Zhongshan and interfere in the dispute between Sishang? ”

"In terms of profit, take the path of the Mo family, so that the Mo family has no way to go."

"The Mohists say that righteousness and benefit are unified, righteousness is profit, profit is righteousness, so the peasants have the righteousness of the peasants, the nobles have the righteousness of the nobles, and you, as the monarch, also have your righteousness and your interests."

"Your benefit, in the four realms of Zhao, in the people of Zhao, as the Mo family said, the glory of the monarch comes from the people, and the wealth of the monarch should be the sum of all the wealth of all Zhao people."

"And if you only see the money and food from the private treasury, it is the vision of the feudal monarch, not the vision of Zhao Hou."

Zhao Hou was overjoyed and said, "That's the case, I understand." ”

"So, that's all I have to do now."

"Send people to Handan at once, and agree to the people's requests for land and food, and say that the original purpose of granting land was so that the people could engage in production and become rich, but now the people's request is for better production, how can the monarch refuse?"

"And took the initiative to formulate a decree to recognize the private property of the people, and issued land vouchers, so that the people can effectively die, and the defense of Handan is also the defense of their own land."

"If it is rumored that the Wei people want to get Handan and seal it to Uncle Gong, the land coupons of these lands will be invalid at that time."

"Send someone to contact Hu Feizi with secret merchants, promise the monopoly operation of the Mojia grassland, and let the Mo family help collect tariffs at the border gates, and even buy a part of the shares to join the Mo family's grassland trade, so as to make a profit."

"To the letter, the secret is passed on to the Si Shang to hand over to the poultry slippery in the suitability of the tartle, saying that I want to change, the heart of the people, and the intention of not attacking."

"In the city of Handan, conscription of those who had become slaves because of debts or petty sins, with the promise of land and civilian status if they fought to the death."

"Contact with the people of Zhongshan State, promise Zhao and Zhongshan friendship, and fight against Wei State together with Zhongshan."

"Yu Zhongmu issued an order to seek talents, saying that Wei Jun was greedy and wanted to seize Zhao land, so that the sages who had the princes and princes of Zhao Land in their hearts could participate in it."

"Concentrate the forces on Zhongmu and let Handan besiege it, believing that the Mo family can defend Handan. Defeat the Gongzi Dynasty first, and then counterattack when the Wei people under Handan are exhausted. ”

"The money raised by the merchants of Handan was used to allow the merchants to buy grain, weapons, gunpowder, horses, etc...... This makes the merchants more willing to trade with me than with the moneyless prince. ”

"If the siege of Handan is lifted and the rebellion of the Gongzi Dynasty is settled, all the fiefs of the nobles who participated in the rebellion will be recovered, and the widows will be benefited by the collectors!"

"As for the rough idea, as you say. Sishang is not chaotic, and Zhongshan is not taken. Mo Wei competed, and the lips and teeth were cold, and the close attack was decided. ”

Gong Zhong Lian laughed when he heard this, "That's it, Zhao Wuwu. Hearing this, I can die at night. Zhao, the martyr, will be the hero of the world in the hands of the king. ”

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