Iron Dynasty

Lin'an.

Sima Hao ruthlessly overturned the table in front of him, his eyes were crimson red like a wild beast, the war in Suzhou City had already come, and his eldest son, Sima Lang, died at the hands of the royal army.

The mansion of the former King of Chu was full of nobles from all over the country of Chu. They looked at Sima Lang and waited for his decision, because Li Chuyuan's order had arrived in Lin'an.

He announced that he would give up the throne of the king of Chu and follow the mission of the royal unification.

Li Chuyuan betrayed the old king of Chu and all of us. Now they are just a puppet of Xiao Ming. Now we can no longer trust him, we can only rely on ourselves. Sima Hao said word by word. .

Then what should we do now? a wealthy family asked worriedly. Now that the royal army has occupied Suzhou, Songjiang River and Jiaxing, the land near the Yangtze River has fallen. After they rest, the next step is definitely Lin'an.

Yeah, all the 80,000 soldiers have been scattered, and the army we can mobilize is only 90,000 people. How can this resist Xiao Ming's army of 100,000 people? Besides, there are still some people who have obeyed Li Chuyuan's order and surrendered to Xiao Ming. already.

Hmph, those generals who surrendered are those who came from untouchables, so there is nothing to worry about. A wealthy family said with disdain, he said to Sima Hao: Lord Changshi, from beginning to end, this Xiao Ming has annihilated our Chu country. Now the only hope is that we all join the Merchant Council, so that we can still have the status of a member of parliament. If the Merchant Council establishes a country, we will still keep our wealth and status, but this Xiao Ming is different, you see Look at the north, now those wealthy families have all become ordinary people, at most they have kept some money, the imperial court is equivalent to uprooting the wealthy families that have been around for thousands of years.

When Sima Hao heard this, he lowered his head and remained silent.

The man continued: What's more, now Cao Kun is supported by Westerners, and there is also the Qinglong King to help. This Qinglong King is still a bit capable. Now he has gathered a large number of followers and has a great momentum. Now he promises that the people in the south will divide the land. If you don't pay food, you won a lot of people's hearts.

Hahaha... Sima Hao suddenly laughed a few times, and he suddenly said in a cold voice, Yao Bin, I have long suspected that you had a secret relationship with the Merchant Council, but I didn't expect it to be the case. What are you trying to deceive people now!

Yao Bin didn't panic, but looked indifferent. He said to Sima Hao, Speaker Cao Kun asked me to thank Changshi. If it wasn't for Changshi, the council would not have been able to withdraw from Suzhou City so smoothly.

As soon as these words came out, the wealthy people in the hall suddenly talked a lot, and the eyes they looked at Sima Hao changed.

Sima Hao's face sank. From the beginning, he didn't fully trust Xiao Ming. If it wasn't for Li Chuyuan's name as the king of Chu, he would not even allow the royal army to enter the territory of Chu.

He panicked when the royal army took Songjiang and Jiaxing, which they had not taken for months, in a few days, because he was worried that they would attack them after Xiao Ming's parliamentary army.

So he played a two-sided game and placed part of the bet on the Merchant Council. Now it seems that this decision is very correct.

Sima Hao's expression was caught in Yao Bin's eyes, and he said, Lord Changshi, Speaker Cao Kun also said that if Lord Changshi is willing to join the parliament, he will welcome him at any time, and he is willing to give him the seat of deputy speaker.

Then he turned to face the other aristocrats and said, Brothers, for now, we can only save our lives by relying on the Council. In fact, the Merchant Council is to safeguard the interests of the big businessmen and the wealthy, and we will not lose anything in the future. , and will gain more rights through legislation.”

The nobles were slightly moved, and Yao Bin's words went to their hearts.

Sima Hao's expression also softened at this time, he said to Yao Bin: Long live the Merchant Council, I represent Sima to join the Merchant Council.

Our Sun family also joined.

The Dong family also joined.

...

After Sima Hao, the wealthy families expressed their opinions one after another.

Yao Bin smiled, and he said loudly: It's not too late, now we have to gather all the minions and new troops, if nothing happens, the royal army will soon go south, and before they go south, we have to build around Lin'an The fortifications, dragging the royal army here, only then will the parliamentary army have a breather to gain a foothold in the south.

Sima Hao nodded and said, Our noble family has been inherited for thousands of years and has always been in peace with the imperial courts of all dynasties, but Xiao Ming wants to destroy our foundation and distribute our land and wealth to the common people. How can we bear it, everyone? If we fight with him, even if we can't win, we will drag him to exhaustion, and when the barbarians in the north recover, it will be time for us to attack from the north and south.

Yao Bin nodded with satisfaction. He had just returned from Europe for such a change in the state of Chu, which made him very excited and felt that what he had learned in Europe could finally be put to use.

In the past two years in Europe, his psychology has also undergone drastic changes. The prosperity and strength of Europe made him envious, which made him believe that the establishment of the Merchant Council was correct.

...

In Suzhou City, Xiao Mingzheng and Li San marked the current position of the parliamentary army on the map together. After the war began, a large number of secret guards poured into the south to collect intelligence.

Lying on the map, the strong ink smell came out. This is not a hand-painted map, but a mimeographed map.

For the convenience of fighting and exploration, Xiao Ming asked the printing house to engrave several versions of maps. These maps range from simple to complex, including simple world maps and partial state and county maps. Maps of minerals, water conservancy, oceans, and ocean currents are also included. in.

In addition to some of these maps for culture and education, most of them will be used for military and exploration.

Lin Youde is now retreating south with the parliamentary army. Before he left, he left the decision of the merchants' parliament, and they will stand here, here and here.

When talking, Li San pointed to the location on the map.

Xiao Ming nodded slightly. In modern terms, these places are Fujian, Hunan, Jiangxi, Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan and other regions, while Chu State includes a part of southern Jiangsu, Shanghai, Zhejiang, eastern Jiangxi and other regions.

Now that he has conquered Suzhou, Songjiang, and Jiaxing, he is equivalent to winning the areas of southern Jiangsu, Shanghai, and Jiaxing in Zhejiang. This is only a part of Chu State, and most of the land is under the control of Sima Hao.

Cao Kun, the old fox, is not an ordinary character, and there is probably someone behind him who is pointing him. All his actions now are carried out in an orderly manner. Xiao Ming pondered.

Indeed, we have found traces of the activities of British associations, and they are likely to be advising Cao Kun.