When news of the great victory reached Qi State, Lü Xiao Bai actually danced barefoot in the palace.
When Guan Zhong and Zhang Qi returned with the army, Lü Xiao Bai rushed straight up to them. Just as he had back in Luo State, he clasped Guan Zhong's arm and laughed. "Ah Zhong! Ah Zhong! We won!"
His voice brimmed with pride. Guan Zhong did not point out his breach of etiquette, merely smiled indulgently. By now, Qi State's ascendancy was assured, and there was no need to tread quite so cautiously.
"My lord, your ambition can now be realized."
What ambition? To become hegemon over All Xia and command all under heaven, of course!
Not a day had passed when Lü Xiao Bai and Guan Zhong forgot the oath they had once sworn in Luo State.
News of Qi State's great victory spread to the lords in every direction, along with the call for them to assemble and swear an alliance. This was destined to be an extraordinary moment, and no one could imagine the upheaval it would cause.
Luo State.
Ever since sending Prince Xiaobai home, Luo Xiu had kept a close eye on Qi State and was well aware of its changes.
Through merchants traveling across the realm, as well as the Luo Clan members who continually left to serve in other states throughout the year, Luo State's intelligence network had long since spread across all under heaven.
This vast intelligence network had always been entrusted to the heir. The main reason they could operate this way was Ancestors' Blessing: under normal circumstances, Luo State's direct-line descendants would not die young.
"Father, the Qi army attacked the Lai Yi in the tenth month and routed them. They attacked again in the middle of the month and won another victory.
"Then they crushed the Lai Yi's main army at Laiyang. The Lai Yi suffered over a hundred thousand casualties. Qi State stormed their capital, captured nearly all their nobles, and more than doubled its territory!"
Luo Xi spoke with some excitement. The states of All Xia had not achieved such a glorious military record in years.
Indeed, there had been no victories this glorious since King Xi took the throne.
Now the entire world of All Xia had been turned upside down. Every feudal state was discussing the matter.
No one would have imagined that Qi State, which had been beaten back by the Lai Yi just a few years earlier and had even lost a war against Qu State, would suddenly become this powerful.
Absurd!
Why were we all taking a beating while you alone, Qi State, stood like a single blossom above the rest?
None of the feudal states had enjoyed smooth sailing over these past years.
At present, only Qin State and Chu State possessed the martial vigor to keep expanding outward.
The lords of the Central Plains were trading blows with the barbarians, and even Jin State could only hold its ground. This was also why Luo Xiu's foreign policy was so aggressive.
If the lords of the Central Plains did not rouse themselves soon, Qin State and Chu State would reach into the Central Plains once they completed their internal consolidation.
If Qin State and Chu State remained quietly in the west and south, Luo State would not only refrain from interfering but even offer them assistance.
But once they tried to enter the Central Plains, Luo State would strike them hard. Their ruling houses bore different surnames, and marriage ties were few. They simply could not be trusted.
"Guan Zhong truly is an extraordinary talent under heaven. I knew he was gifted back when he was among the Ducal Clan, but I still underestimated him.
"To think he could achieve all this after just five years as Qi's chief minister.
"When I implemented the policies he introduced in Qi State here at home, their effects were not as immediate as in Qi, but they were still quite useful.
"Even if our ancestors Duke Wen and Duke Xuan were alive, I doubt they could do better."
Luo Xiu marveled at Guan Zhong's great talent, and Luo Xi agreed. Guan Zhong's name now rang far and wide. All the lords knew that Qi State's Chief Steward had the ability to set all under heaven to rights.
Luo Xi asked, "Father, Xiao Bai sent an invitation to the alliance assembly. In the Son of Heaven's name, he invites you to Cangyi to discuss a grand plan to revitalize All Xia and drive out the barbarians."
Luo Xiu took the document and smiled. "He wants to begin establishing his hegemony among the lords. An alliance assembly is an excellent approach.
"He even knows to summon the lords in the Son of Heaven's name. Guan Zhong must have suggested that. Venerate the King and repel the barbarians-what a fine open stratagem.
"As expected of a son of the Ducal Clan. He can apply the Sage King's Way to this extent, so there is no need for me to teach him specially.
"Unfortunately, I cannot attend this assembly. I am his maternal uncle, and Luo State's prestige is too great.
"If I went, I fear he would lose his position as leader of the alliance.
"Moreover, whatever a hegemon may do, he honors the Son of Heaven on the surface, but his actual position must stand above the Son of Heaven's.
"That is a role the Luo Clan cannot assume. Otherwise, when Zhou State's Mandate of Heaven falls to the ground, the new dynasty will not tolerate us."
Luo Xi nodded in understanding. Luo State did not refrain from seeking hegemony because it lacked the ability. In fact, the ministerial clans and the Ducal Clan within the state hoped the ruling house would cast off its restraints and pursue expansion.
The ruling house had kept its hands and feet bound all these years, and many people were already dissatisfied. The growing number of Ducal Clan members leaving to serve other states was clear proof.
But as a direct-line descendant of the Luo Clan, Luo Xi understood very well that Luo State's interests and the Luo Clan's did not entirely coincide. Luo State was destined to perish, while the Luo Clan had to endure for a thousand autumns and ten thousand generations.
"Father, Xiao Bai wants to become hegemon, but if Luo State does not attend, I fear the lords will not recognize his hegemony."
To venerate the king and repel the barbarians, honoring the Zhou Royal House alone was not enough. Zhou State's kingship had always been a union of the Zhou Royal House and the Sage King's divine authority.
The prestige the Luo Clan had cultivated over nearly four hundred years made its stance crucial to Lü Xiao Bai's bid for hegemony.
Naturally, however, Luo Xiu would not refuse his support.
Supporting Qi State in taking up the great banner of All Xia had been Luo Xiu's policy from the outset, and Luo Xi was the one carrying out that plan.
Now that it was about to bear fruit, they certainly would not tear down their own stage.
"Although I cannot go, that does not mean Luo State cannot attend. This time, you will go in my place.
"You are Luo State's Crown Prince and can represent its stance. Yet you are not a ruling lord, so you cannot rank above the assembled lords.
"That way, Xiao Bai can secure the position of alliance leader."
A crown prince could essentially represent a state's position. In particular, throughout Luo State's three-hundred-year history, there had never been a designated heir or crown prince who failed to succeed to the throne. Thus, Luo Xi's stance was the stance of the next Marquis of Luo, twenty years hence.
Hearing that this matched her own thoughts exactly, Luo Xi smiled. "Father, if Xiao Bai later wishes to go to Luoyi to pay homage to the Son of Heaven, what should Luo State do?"
"Simply say that Luo State's ancestors left instructions forbidding us from going to pay homage. The alliance leader will take our tribute."
After all these years, Luo State had effectively abandoned its efforts to support the Royal House. The Royal House was like a puddle of rotten mud: every time they revived it, it would promptly rot again in some utterly unimaginable way.
But their forefather had said that Zhou and Luo would endure together. When Zhou State's Mandate of Heaven fell to the ground, Luo State's crown would fall as well.
What Luo Xiu was doing now was trying a new approach, which he called hegemonic politics. By enshrining the Son of Heaven upon a divine pedestal and having a powerful lord serve as hegemon, order could be maintained throughout the realm.
The advantage of this system was that there would always be a powerful lord somewhere under heaven.
Of course, that lord would ideally belong to Qi State or Jin State. These two states were most deeply entwined with the Royal House, and Luo State could effectively keep them in check.
Fourteen thousand words done. Once I get the ten-thousand-words-a-day badge, I'm never writing these short chapters again. Without a wrap-up at the end, it always feels like something is missing. I just can't suppress this urge to comment on historical figures.
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