The King of Qi understood.
Zhou State was like a luxurious great ship.
There were countless rooms aboard, some lavish, others shabby.
Because of its ties to the Royal House and Luo State, Qi State had always occupied the finest rooms.
As the ship grew ever more dilapidated, people were continually thrown overboard along the way.
Yet Qi State had always held on to one of its most luxurious rooms.
Now the ship had run completely aground, and someone wanted to refurbish it. All its former occupants would have to be cleared out.
The other occupants might still be able to bow and scrape.
But Qi State and the ship's previous owner were practically family. If it surrendered, no one knew what the final outcome would be.
The King of Qi sighed deeply. "You are right. Please return to Chu State and tell the King of Chu that I am willing to send troops.
"But Yan State must send troops as well.
"Yan State has picked up the ways of the Hu People-treachery and faithlessness.
"Once Qi State sends its troops out, it will surely launch a surprise attack on us."
After Wei State's hegemony declined, the Han and Wei States, together with Yan State, which had risen to strength only once before declining again, were all that remained of this grouping.
These three states of the Ji surname were mere makeweights among the States.
Zhao State, however, was strong.
It had begun with adopting Hu clothing and mounted archery, followed by another strengthening when Yue Yi entered Zhao State.
Zhao State could pin these three states down and hammer them.
But the strategy Zhao State had always pursued was to enclose its territory behind the natural defenses of great mountains.
Thus, it took only a taste of the