Fish swimming around the world

When Jiang Fan, led by Wang Shu, visited the palace that was about to be completed, he was also shocked.

It’s not that it’s luxurious here, but it’s special. From Jiang Fan's point of view, this is not a palace at all. It is said that the palace is too big after all. It is said that it is a city, but it is a bit small. It is essentially a fortress.

It is a fortress like a copper wall and an iron wall. The person who presides over this city is Jincheng himself, and the participants include Jiang Fan's disciples, so Lidu elements can be seen everywhere in it. Of course, some of the talented people who were recruited by Jiang Fan also contributed a lot.

Anyway, Jiang Fan sighed after visiting this place, as long as there are three thousand troops like the Killing God Army and sufficient supplies of food and grass, it will be difficult for anyone to conquer this place.

"The city lord has put a lot of thought into it." Wang Shu sighed.

"This place is bordered by Mangshan Mountain to the north and Canglan to the south. The foundation is ten feet of green hillock, and the wall is thirty feet high. There is a fort every ten steps. It is commanding and overlooks ten miles. The internal layout was designed by Lishan students. The walls are high, the roads are narrow, and the roads are twists and turns. , there are many mechanisms, and it’s better if outsiders don’t come in. Once you enter, you will not only be unable to find the way, but also more likely to be caught in the trap. In addition, there are five secret passages, which are difficult to guard between advance and retreat. It is very suitable for small and medium-sized city defense operations. However, in order not to attract attention, the city lord. Still haven’t blindly expanded the scale…”

Listening to his explanation, Jiang Fan was moved and at the same time deeply understood Jincheng's intentions. Obviously, in her eyes, this place would be used as a war fortress sooner or later. Once the Qin and Wei Dynasties went to war, it would inevitably become a solid and terrifying fortress. The rivet was firmly nailed to the most important water transportation line at the junction of Qin and Wei, and could even look at the vast territory south of Yuzhou.

But even Jincheng didn't know that the palace that Jiang Fan wanted was actually just an inner city in the majestic pass that he wanted to build. When the outer city was completed, it would become a city with Mangshan Mountain to the north and Canglan Mountain to the south. , a strategic fortress similar to Hangu Pass.

If it is connected vertically with the fortified city built by his disciples, it can echo each other and form a solid defense line running from the north to the south of Yuzhou.

But he doesn't dare to carry out large-scale construction projects now, as it can easily arouse suspicion. But that doesn't mean he's not making preparations. The biggest purpose of coming here this time is to hear the survey results.

The person responsible for this matter is Gongshu Yu's eldest son, Xiao Beibei's biological father, Gongshu He.

Wang Shu had seen Gong Shuhe at a banquet at a mortal's home, but he didn't know he was carrying such a huge plan.

Wang Shu's trip was mainly to convey some important matters on behalf of Princess Jincheng and bring back Jiang Fan's opinions on how to deal with it.

But more importantly, it was to report to him the news in the imperial court.

A very important news: His Royal Highness Prince Ji Zongyi, who was depressed due to poor health and the death of his wife and son, unexpectedly left the mountain and began to attend the court.

His Majesty Ping Huang seems to be willing to delegate power, and many important matters in the imperial court are left to him to handle.

This was an extremely important signal, especially for Jiang Fan. He understood Qianlong's plan and knew that Cheap Daddy was going to step onto the public political stage to attract attention and start paving the way for himself. The reason why Jincheng didn't come was because he was paying close attention to this matter.

What surprised Jiang Fan the most was that as soon as the sick prince came out of the mountain, he signed a strange decree - enfeoffment.

Enfeoffment is nothing new to the Great Zhou Dynasty. It can even be said that enfeoffment in the past was a basic national policy.

At that time, Taizu of Zhou Dynasty conquered all directions with the assistance of countless capable ministers and generals. In order to stabilize his rule and appease these princes with heavy troops, Taizu divided 300 princely states, and these princes had great territorial autonomy rights, and even the laws The laws are all made by oneself. This is the true origin of the word "feudal" in history, which means to establish a king and a country.

The Emperor of Zhou sat in the center, receiving worship from all the vassal states, becoming the central royal family with great totem significance.

This approach greatly stabilized the princes and stabilized the country. But it also leaves numerous hidden dangers. As some vassal states became stronger and stronger in the later period, their ambitions began to expand. War began to break out.

Many of the three hundred princes originally wanted stability, but just like in a dark forest, if you don't move me, it doesn't mean I won't touch you. So for the first time in the history of the Great Zhou Dynasty, war broke out among the princes, and almost no one in the three hundred princes countries As soon as they were spared, they all joined in this unprecedented struggle for hegemony among a hundred kings. This historical period lasted for a full one hundred and fifty years.

The later emperors of the Zhou Dynasty tried to learn lessons, but in the face of the remaining vassal states with strong troops and horses, they were actually powerless, and it was impossible to change the system and trigger collective opposition from all the vassal states, so later the human emperors could only continue the feudal system, but they Use various means to reduce it, and even encourage wars between princes to achieve their goals.

This approach produced a certain effect. Eventually, after a long historical period, the three hundred princes gradually became eighteen powerful forces, known in history as the Age of Eighteen Kings.

With only eighteen vassal states, the Great Zhou Dynasty saved a lot of energy. As long as there were conflicts and fights, the Zhou Dynasty could still maintain its supreme dominance.

But there were still too many, and the eighteen kings still refused to submit to anyone. After a short period of calm, the war reignited throughout the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Therefore, Emperor Zhou felt that it was best to reduce it to the range of one hand, and then achieve a simpler balance through support and pressure. It can even gather the imperial power to the greatest extent.

Unfortunately, after experiencing the Rebellion of the Eighteen Kings and the invasion of northern Xinjiang, the Great Zhou Dynasty has already declined. The serious lack of prestige and force has made the Great Zhou Dynasty unable to recover, and it is powerless to take on the world.

But history has its own evolution. The eighteen kings eventually survived the endless wars and eventually became the situation of the five heroes competing for hegemony today.

At this time, the Great Zhou also realized its historical mistakes. There were fewer vassal states, but things became more complicated, because these five countries were too powerful, so powerful that they regarded the Great Zhou as just a symbol. If it were not for the balance between each other, the Great Zhou would have perished long ago. Even so, the imperial court was forced to climb Mount Tai to protect itself.

But how could the Great Zhou be willing? For several years, it has been trying to save the building from collapse, but it is a pity that it has always been powerless.

And this prince, who was in charge of politics, actually re-enacted the enfeoffment, which seemed to be a historical regression, but only Jiang Fan knew that it was not the case.

Because when he left the imperial court, he gave the prince a gift, which actually contained a strategy - extension of favor.

Speaking of extension of favor, it must be said that the enfeoffment before the Great Zhou, the vassal states have always adhered to the tradition of the eldest son succeeding to the throne according to the Zhou rituals, so it was really stable for a long time in the early days of the founding of the country.

However, this decree went against the grain, suggesting that since they were all heirs, there was no need to favor some over others. It stated that the second son and concubine's sons could all inherit the title, and suggested that each vassal state divide the fiefdom and grant it to each heir so that they could all enjoy the emperor's grace. This was called "enfeoffment."