As a prisoner, Xiong Zhen was originally not qualified to negotiate terms with Qing Ji.

However, at this time, King Xiong Zhen of Chu was still arguing with Qing Ji and refused to agree to the harsh conditions proposed by Qing Ji.

Qingji was not angry either.

Because he knew that even if he put a sword to Xiong Zhen's neck, he might not be able to make him do such a treasonous act against his ancestors.

Although, ceding territory to seek peace is in itself a loss of power, humiliation to the country, and a disgrace to our ancestors.

But Xiong Zhen must at least fight against Qing Ji to ensure the fundamental interests of Chu State to the greatest extent.

At least, let Chu State have the ability to protect itself!

As we all know, the most prosperous places in the Chu State, that is, the hinterland of the Chu State, are the Nanyang Basin and the Jianghan Plain.

This is the basic foundation of Chu State and cannot be lost.

If according to the conditions set by Qing Ji, the two Chu states were bounded by the Han River, then the original Nanyang Basin and Jianghan Plain of the Chu state would lose at least half of the Western Chu state led by Xiong Zhen.

Just this will make the Western Chu Kingdom no longer able to turn around!

This is what Qing Ji wants to achieve, but Xiong Zhen will never give in.

Qing Ji also saw Xiong Zhen's unyielding determination.

Even if he died, Xiong Zhen would not agree to such harsh conditions.

Just like King Qi Min during the Warring States Period.

The State of Qi reached its peak during the reign of King Qi Min, but was almost destroyed in his hands.

From prosperity to decline!

At that time, the state of Qi defeated Chu Prime Minister Tang Yao in Chongqiu in the south, and defeated the three Jins in Guanjin in the west. Then they attacked Qin with the three Jins, helped Zhao to destroy Zhongshan, and defeated the Song Dynasty, covering a vast area of ​​more than a thousand miles.

He competed with King Zhao of Qin to become the emperor, and then returned to him.

All the princes wanted to turn their backs on Qin and submit to Qi.

It can be seen that the only country that could compete with Qi at that time was Qin in the west.

And King Min of Qi has overshadowed King Zhaoxiang of Qin in the limelight.

However, King Qi Min's final fate was not as miserable as usual.

When the five kingdoms attacked Qi, the capital city of Linzi was destroyed. King Min of Qi had to flee and took refuge in the three kingdoms of Wei, Lu and Zou.

Wei Sijun, the king of Wei State, did not despise King Qi Min because King Qi Min was in such a miserable state. Instead, he accepted King Qi Min with great enthusiasm.

Wei Sijun even gave up his palace to King Qi Min to live in, and even called himself "Chen" in front of King Qi Min.

King Min of Qi is like a king who defends the country.

This made the always arrogant King Min of Qi even more arrogant. He often made things difficult for Wei's ministers and even cursed Wei Sijun. In the end, he was expelled from Wei.

When he arrived at the State of Lu, Duke Lu also wanted to entertain King Min of Qi, but the latter asked him to receive him with the etiquette of an emperor, and to summon the people who were in the Duke of Lu, otherwise he would send an army to destroy the State of Lu.

King Qi Min, who was in such a state of despair and spoke arrogant words, was expelled from the country of Lu again.

King Min of Qi could only flee to the state of Zou in disgrace. At that time, the king of Zou had just passed away and the new king was organizing the mourning of the people.

However, the arrogant and arrogant King Min of Qi not only failed to comfort the monarchs and ministers of Zou State, but instead asked to mourn him as the emperor.

Although his attitude was arrogant, he came here to mourn after all, so Lord Zou Guoxin couldn't bear to say anything.

But then King Min of Qi took it a step further and actually regarded himself as the emperor. He stood in the north and asked the new king of Zou to pay homage to King Qi.

The new king of Zou State was furious and expelled King Qi Min from the country.

Other countries heard about King Qi Min's experience in Wei, Lu, and Zou, and no country was willing to receive him anymore.

Finally, King Min of Qi fled back to the state of Qi. When passing through Judi, he met the Chu general Nao Chi who sent troops to rescue Qi.

King Min of Qi then appointed Nao Chi as Prime Minister of Qi and asked him to lead the Chu army to attack Le Yi.

It's a pity that King Qi Min didn't know that a phoenix that landed on the ground is not as good as a chicken.

King Qi Min was as arrogant as ever, thinking that he was still the arrogant overlord, the Eastern Emperor.

Although he clearly wanted something from Nao Chi, he was still arrogant and domineering, shouting and yelling at Nao Chi.

You must know that the Chu State was defeated by the Qi State in the Battle of Chuisha, and the Huaibei land of the Chu State was included in the territory of the Qi State.

This made Nao Chi feel resentful, so he asked King Min of Qi to cede the land of Huaibei and return it to Chu.

However, King Min of Qi cannot stand up to his strong character and would rather surrender than surrender.

So Nao Chi was so angry that he had King Min of Qi hanged from a beam and tortured to death!

It is extremely rare throughout the ages for a king of a country to die so tragically.

The King of Chu Xiong Zhen in front of him was not as arrogant and pedantic as King Min of Qi, and Qing Ji was naturally not a person like Nao Chi who easily lost his mind.

The so-called negotiation means bargaining until a condition is reached that is acceptable to both parties.

"What does King Chu mean?"

Qingji asked calmly.

"My intention is to use Qingfa Water as the boundary."

Xiong Zhen said slowly: "The land to the west of the Qingfa River belongs to our Chu State. The land to the east of the Qingfa River, including Fangcheng, Yeyi, Jiyi and other cities and towns in the north, can all belong to what King Wu called the Eastern Chu State.

country."

As soon as he finished speaking, Xiong Zhen drew a rough range with his fingers on the sheepskin map.

Qing Ji frowned, pretending to be dissatisfied, and said: "King Chu, your conditions are too much. Jianghan, Nanyang and the hinterland of the Chu Kingdom are all under the control of Western Chu. How can there be such a beautiful thing in the world?"

"

Hearing this, Xiong Zhen argued hard and replied: "If our hinterland of Jingchu cannot be transferred to Chu State, King Wu, there is no need to continue this peace negotiation!"

"Please King Wu, please give me three feet of white silk, or a crown of poisonous wine, so that I can die with dignity, so that my face can be restored, so that I will not have to endure the scorn of the people of Chu after my death."

"It won't make me see the ancestors of Chu State under the nine springs, and there will be no explanation!"

Seeing King Xiong Zhen of Chu being so insistent, Qingji squinted his eyes, as if after some ideological struggle, he nodded slightly and said, "Okay!"

"King Chu, I agree to your terms. The two Chu kingdoms are bounded by Qingfa River!"

"..."

Seeing Qing Ji agree so readily, Xiong Zhen always felt that he was at a disadvantage.

Qingji's bottom line seems to be that the two countries of Eastern Chu and Western Chu are bounded by the Qingfa River!

Qing Ji added: "In addition, the Chu State must become a vassal to our Wu State. Internally, it can retain the title of king. Externally, it must be called 'Western Chu Gong' and pay tribute to Wu every year."

Claiming vassal status and paying tribute is the inevitable end of a defeated country that is almost destroyed.

Xiong Zhen had no objection on this matter.

Although he was unwilling to do so, Xiong Zhen could only agree.

Now the Chu State is almost destroyed. Xiong Zhen, the king of Chu, has become a prisoner of the Wu people. His life is in danger. How can he bargain on this kind of thing?

Xiong Zhen nodded slightly in agreement, then gritted his teeth and said: "The State of Chu can pay tribute to the State of Wu. However, there can only be one State of Chu in the world, and there is no such thing as Eastern Chu or Western Chu!"

Xiong Zhen has no face and has lost his dignity, but in his opinion, the national character of Chu cannot be lost!
Chapter completed!