For four hundred years, whenever Luo State sent envoys to the southern states, it meant that Chu State was once again threatening the Royal House and the Central Plains.
Among the All Xia states, the strongest—Jin, Luo, Qi, Wei, and Song—were all great states enfeoffed by King Wu and the Sage King. They were either Ji clansmen, Jiang relatives by marriage, or nobles of the previous dynasty, and had held the lofty ranks of duke or marquis from the moment their states were founded.
It was only natural that others could not compare with them. After all, their starting resources and closeness to the Royal House were different.
Yet Chu State had emerged against all expectations!
When its founding ruler received his fief, he had been no more than a viscount.
The land granted to him had spanned a mere fifty li, and lay along the Han River, where wild tribesmen were everywhere. In their destitute days, they had even had to steal sacrificial supplies from neighboring states.
Yet they had fought their way out of such desperate circumstances and become a great state whose weight could tip the scales. How worthy of admiration that was.
Since Luo Su's time, successive rulers of Luo State had all attached great importance to Chu State, and Luo Xiu was naturally no exception.
Thus, although Chu State had yet to reveal any intention of marching into the Central Plains, Luo Xiu had already begun laying plans to dig a pit for it.
Luo Xiu dispatched three groups of envoys in all, sending them to Chu State, Ying State of Ying, and Wu State respectively.
The delegations to Ying State of Ying and Wu State were official missions, while the delegation to Chu State was sent in Luo Xiu's private capacity. It was not