This is the third year since the "Tan" land fell under the control of the Zhi family.
"Linzi", the capital of Qi State, is in the east. If someone leaves "Linzi" and goes to the west, they will not choose the route on the north bank of Jishui River. They must either go south and enter the territory of Lu State first, or go to "Tan" area.
Because there are too few cities and towns in "Tan", there are few safe places to stay and rest, and because supplies are not easy to come by, the Qi people actually rarely pass through "Tan" if they want to go west, and most of them will take a detour.
In fact, it is like that. The wilderness in the current era is not safe. While wild beasts are roaming around, there are also a lot of savages. The nobles also carry a large number of guards. Ordinary people can only travel together. If you think of a certain place, you would rather take more detours and walk through multiple cities.
We will not choose the route that has no cities in a hundred miles.
Another point is, even if you bring enough dry food, who wants to be without civilization for a long time?
After all, humans are social animals, and most people still like to hang out in crowded places.
After the "Tan" land fell into the hands of the Zhi family, due to the dispute over sovereignty, the Zhi family did not immigrate to build it.
As for what changes have occurred in "Tan", Tian Qi saw many checkpoints on the way here, and Zhishi also widened the road.
That kind of widening means cutting down trees and clearing away weeds, bushes and other vegetation.
The current roads are basically like this. Don't expect to have anything paved on the road. At most, there will be a stream or something to build a bridge.
But what? Building bridges is a luxury these days. Unless it is in a particularly important location, it is better not to think about it.
Zhiyao really didn't expect Tian Qi to come, and he only brought a hundred guards with him when he came.
"What's he doing here at this time?" Zhiyao was quite confused in her heart.
Of course, Zhiyao did not go to the city gate to greet him, but he would still treat Tian Qi as he should.
After all, aristocrats are aristocrats. Even if it is a hostile relationship, how can we not maintain some facets? To put it bluntly, we are not only maintaining face, we are also maintaining the dignity of the aristocracy.
The greatest courtesy that Zhiyao can give Tian Qi is to go out to greet him before entering the door. If the two parties don't have a cold face when they meet, basically forget about the rest.
"Why are Qi Qing here?" Zhiyao asked without any unnecessary politeness after both parties sat down.
The rulers of various countries under the Zhou royal system were called Zhengqing, and outsiders would prefix them with the country's name.
"I'm here to stop the enemy." Tian Qi replied.
Zhiyao made a stunned move, and then said in astonishment: "Tian's regicide."
Just a Tian family regicide immediately made Tian Qi's face change greatly.
There is no way, this matter is really too big.
The problem now is that various countries have determined that Qi Junren was killed by the Tian family, and it was unanimously confirmed by the fleeing Duke of Qi. No explanation by the Tian family will have any refutation effect.
"The traitor harmed me." Tian Qi pretended to be ignorant.
Zhiyao immediately smiled, a little deep.
You can do some things, and others can scold you, but you must insist on not admitting it, because once you admit it, not only will you be ruined, but the entire family may also be wiped out...
Next, Tian Qi began to talk about him, talking about the ownership of the "Tan" land and the ownership of the upper reaches of the Jishui River. In short, the signal sent was that if Zhiyao was willing to talk, Tian would be very willing to betray the Qi State.
sovereignty.
In fact, there is nothing to talk about those things. The Zhi family is strong enough and can be defeated by force. The reason why it has not been defeated is simply that the Zhi family uses troops on multiple fronts.
"If you only want to say this when you come here this time, please leave." Zhiyao had no extra time to talk about such an impossible thing.
It's not that the Tian family can't hand it over, the king of Qi has passed away, and the only remaining clan has no say. The nobles with different surnames are like grasshoppers on the same rope as the Tian family. What they are afraid of now is that the Zhi family will not put forward conditions.
This time they asked for the "Tan" land and the upper reaches of Jishui River, even more excessive demands, but they would agree to it if they could survive.
The most important point is that before Qi Jun Ren passed away, he had sent people to invite the princes. Jin, Lu, Chu, and Wu responded one after another. It seemed that the Tian family and some of his party members were doomed.
That was the big hole Qi Junren dug for the Tian family before he died. Especially when the Dukes of Qi were not completely extinct, the princes were like smelling flies flying. How could they not move after hearing the wind?
It was only the news received by the Zhi family that Wu and Lu had sent envoys to Jin's "Xintian". The other countries must be conducting urgent discussions and would soon join in.
In this way, no matter which direction you look at it, Tian has fallen into a certain death spot, with almost no possibility of escape.
So, can you understand why Tian Qi risked his life to build Zhiyao?
To put it simply, the Tian family has reached a dead end, and what leaves them with a glimmer of hope is the Zhi family's acceptance. In order to achieve their goal, they are willing to give up everything in exchange for Tian's continued survival, just because they can continue to survive.
There is still hope.
This is also the reason why Tian Qi is willing to offer the Qi State with both hands, because they really have no choice other than this option.
The reason why Tian Qi's heart couldn't stop sinking when he knew that Zhishi was gathering a legion in "Tan" was because he had planned to use force before seeing this?
Now, no matter how slim the hope is, Tian Qi will strive for it 100% hard. What he is afraid of is that there will be no glimmer of hope. And judging from Zhiyao's reaction, it seems that there is no hope at all.
Since interests alone cannot move the Zhi family, what Tian Qi needs to think about now is whether to implement Tian Heng's suggestion, that is, to indiscriminately attack the Chu State, the Zhao family, the Wei family, and even the Chu State without evidence.
, providing the assassins of Zhi's father and son to disrupt the situation.
Don't doubt anything a person will do for the survival of his family, but when Tian Qi saw Zhiyao smiling the whole time, and based on Zhiyao's behavior all along, he suddenly found that he seemed to be taking things too naturally.
"He used the excuse of assassinating the murderer to kill Weiguo. It shows that he doesn't care who is behind the scenes. What he wants is an excuse to do it. I don't have real evidence. Even if I come up with real evidence, I'm afraid I will get silenced. No
There will be another harvest." Tian Qi thought as he broke into cold sweat on the other side, especially the sweat on his forehead that flowed down his cheeks...
A person who thinks too much will become more and more afraid based on his own conjectures.
Logically speaking, Tian Qi is not a person who cannot withstand strong winds and waves. He has seen the incompetence of the Qi monarch, and has also seen the complete collapse of the Qi princes. He has the courage to repeatedly scheme against two generations of monarchs. How can he make such a fuss now?
He was at the end of his rope and didn't have enough time to think about it.
Fortunately, Zhiyao did not chase him away immediately. After the brief meeting, he arranged for Tian Qi to rest, which meant that there would be a chance to discuss things later, and did not extinguish all Tian Qi's hopes.
Tian Qi just left.
Sun Wu and Sima Ranju walked out from behind the screen. Their faces were as dark as water, and it seemed that they were extremely disappointed with something, and they were also very angry.
"Zongzi, this Zhuzi is so shameless as a human being." Sima Rangju said.
To be fair, although Sima Ranju came from Qi to serve the Zhi family, he only followed him after he was captured because the Qi monarchs and ministers ignored him. After four years of struggle and waiting, he learned that his family had also given up.
Zhiyao had some contact with him. On the premise that he had been abandoned by the monarchs and ministers of Qi and his family, Sima Ranju's service to the Zhi family could not be regarded as a betrayal.
Similar things happened to many nobles. They turned to serve their captors, and no one was defined as a traitor. Once these people became famous, they would even curry favor with the country and family that had given up on them.
Take Sima Ranju as an example. Some of the princes of Qi State regarded Sima Ranju as the key figure in rescuing Qi State when they came to "Tan". They tried their best to flatter and even begged, hoping that Sima Ranju could persuade Zhi to help them regain the land.
control of the country.
This group of Qi princes also gave examples of the benefits they were willing to pay, including handing over the sovereignty of the "Tan" land and the upper reaches of the Jishui River to the Zhi family. Other greater prices were not out of the question.
Sun Wu said: "The Tian family is really useful, why is it that the eldest son is not willing to make a fuss with him?"
Again, Zhiyao didn't want what happened to Jiang Lu to happen to her family.
Of course, Zhiyao couldn't tell it in that case and could only explain it in terms of reputation.
Only Zhiyao felt that she was perfunctory, while Sima Ranju and Sun Wu didn't think there was anything out of the ordinary.
Zhiyao said: "Let's stay in the fields to beg for a while, don't despair, and wait for spring to come."
Sun Wu smiled and said: "Why did Tian just sit there and wait for death? He must have done something extraordinary. Wu Guantian begged to come here to die."
This was not only evident at noon, but also Zhiyao and Sima Ranju.
The season has entered the snowy climate, and it is a consensus not to fight in winter. The Tian family and his party members do not care about the ice and snow. There are not many people who choose to fight to the end. They need to seize the time to find a way out.
About a month later, envoys from Chu, Wu, Lu, Song and some small vassal states came to "Tan" one after another.
Tian Qi, who had been hanged for more than a month, firstly did not leave, and secondly, he still asked to see Zhiyao every day, which gave people a strange feeling.
Envoys from various countries gathered in "Tan" to respond to Qi's invitation. After they arrived in "Tan", they immediately went to the Zi Palace where Qi Junren was placed to conduct a formal process.
When everyone is waiting to gather together, it is time to discuss how to deal with Qi State.
Of course, Zhiyao will not allow anyone to take a piece of the already familiar Qi Kingdom, but what if he can gain greater fame and participate in a big show?
During this period, something unexpected and unexpected happened, that is, the past events of the assassination of Zhi's father and son were brought out again and discussed again.
"Interesting..." Zhiyao was of course on guard, and thought that even if Tian Qi was put under house arrest to some extent, some troubles would still arise.
