In the county magistrate's house in Yangxia, Zhao Hongrun secretly met with Xiong Hu, Pingyu Lord of Chu State.
When he learned from Lord Pingyu Xiong Hu that Lord Shouling committed suicide by the Chushui River in late April, Zhao Hongrun couldn't help but sigh with emotion.
From the perspective of the interests of the Wei State, it would be better if all the outstanding Chu nobles like Shouling Jun Jingshe died, but from a selfish point of view, in fact Zhao Hongrun is also very willing to make friends with such outstanding nobles as Shouling Jun Jingshe
A nobleman of Chu State with both talent and talent.
This is not because Shoulingjun Jingshe is one of the "Three Pillars" of the Chu Kingdom, but because of this person's character. At least Xiong Shang, Lord Diyang, is one of the "Three Pillars" of the Chu Kingdom. When he learns that this person
After being killed by Shi Jin, a hundred-man general of the Youma Army, Zhao Hongrun had no trouble in his heart. After all, Diyang Lord Xiong Shang was the same as the Korean general Ju Xin. During the war, he connived with his soldiers to loot and massacre the people of Wei many times during the war. This
It was destined that Zhao Hongrun would not have a good impression of them.
"Shouling Lord...does he have any heirs?" Zhao Hongrun asked Pingyu Lord Xiong Hu.
Hearing this, Xiong Hu said: "Master Jingshe has three sons. The eldest son is called Jingyun. He is twenty-three years old this year. If nothing unexpected happens, this man will inherit the title of 'Shouling Lord' in the future."
Zhao Hongrun nodded, and then said to Xiong Hu: "Although Mr. Shouling has met me twice on the battlefield, I sincerely admire him... Unfortunately, it is not appropriate for me to come forward, otherwise it would be necessary to go to mourn."
"You don't want me to come forward on your behalf, do you?" Pingyu Lord Xiong Hu said with an embarrassed expression after hearing this: "If I go, I will probably be driven out by the Jing family..."
He did not say these words out of hand. After all, some time ago, when Lord Shouling Jingshe and General Xiang Mo were defeated, Lord Pingyu Xiong Hu stationed his troops in Chen County. The area around Xiangcheng was only a short distance away from the defeated army of Eastern Chu.
Dozens of miles away.
But in the end, Pingyu Jun Xiong Hu turned a blind eye to the difficult situation of Shouling Jun Jingshe and General Xiang Mo at that time, and allowed the Wei armies to pursue the defeated armies led by the former two, causing the Chu Eastern army to be defeated again and again, so that by the time
When Shouling Jun Jingshe withdrew to the Chu State, only ten thousand men were left in the army that was said to be one million.
Therefore, Shouling Jun Jingshe finally committed suicide in shame on the banks of the Chushui River, and Pingyu Jun Xiong Hu has to bear a great responsibility.
Of course, this incident does not mean that Pingyu Jun Xiong Hu has any personal conflict with Shouling Jun Jingshe. It is just that in order to help Xiong Tuo, the king of Yangcheng, fight for the throne of Chu King, Xiong Hu had no choice but to ignore the defeated Chudong army.
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After all, Shouling Jun Jingshe can be regarded as a noble from the "Chu East" side. If this person leads hundreds of thousands or more than 200,000 troops to retreat to the Chu Kingdom, just rely on the "Chu West Army" under Yangcheng Lord Xiong Tuo.
, how to threaten the Chudong nobles and compete for the throne?
Therefore, Pingyu Lord Xiong Hu used the sword to kill people and used the Wei army to further weaken Shouling Lord Jingshe's troops, just to pave the way for Yangcheng Lord Xiong Tuo. However, he did not expect that Shouling Lord Jingshe, who was usually gentle and elegant, would
He was so strong in his heart that he committed suicide in shame on the banks of the Chushui River. This was something Pingyu Lord Xiong Hu never expected. He forced Shouling Lord Jingshe to death and made the Jing clan regard him as an enemy.
As far as expansion is concerned, there are hundreds of harms and no benefits.
As if he had read through Pingyu Lord Xiong Hu's thoughts, Zhao Hongrun said lightly: "Are you worried about being hated by the Jing family?"
To be fair, although I can understand the reason why Pingyu Lord Xiong Hu did what he did at that time, from the bottom of his heart, Zhao Hongrun didn't like this behavior very much because it reminded him of some of the behaviors of Zhao Yuanzuo, the king of Nanliang.
However, since Lord Pingyu Xiong Hu was his "secret ally" and Lord Shouling Jingshe was from Chu, even though Zhao Hongrun was unhappy in his heart, he couldn't say much.
After listening to Zhao Hongrun's words, Pingyu Lord Xiong Hu shook his head and said: "I'm not worried about this. Master Jingyun is not as good as Master Jingshe after all..." At this point, he said with emotion: "When Master Jingshe dies, the Jing family
It will most likely end here. With Yi Jingyun’s ability, I am afraid that he cannot bear the responsibility of the ‘Three Pillars’.”
"Three Pillars?" Zhao Hongrun was slightly startled. Of course he knew what the "Three Pillars" were like in Chu State.
After thinking about it, he couldn't help but ask: "Isn't this title highly praised by the Chu people in your country? Can it also be inherited?"
Pingyu Lord Xiong Hu Xiong Hu glanced at Zhao Hongrun and said with a half-smile, "Praised by all the people? It just so happens that the three branch families with the surname "Xiong", "Jing" and "Qu" each have one quota?"
After hearing this, Zhao Hongrun suddenly became enlightened, but his expression became even weirder.
Indeed, as Pingyu Jun Xiong Hu said, among the royal family with the Mi surname in Chu State, among its branches, the Xiong family, Jing family, Qu family, Xiang family and other branches are the most powerful.
Zhao Hongrun originally thought that Chu's "Three-Day Pillars" were just like South Korea's "Bukwon Ten Heroes", which were passed down by word of mouth among the country's citizens. Unexpectedly, Chu's "Three-Day Pillars" were actually operated in secret.
Seeing the strange expression on Zhao Hongrun's face, Pingyu Lord Xiong Hu disagreed and continued to explain: "Actually, you have misunderstood. The "Three Pillars" of Da Chu did not actually refer to individuals at the earliest, but to
"Xiong", "Jing", "Qu"
Among the three original clans with the surname Wang, when my cousin Xiong Hao, Lord of Runan, died, why was Lord Xiong Shang of Diyang replaced him, and not someone else? For example, Xiang Mo and Xiang Juan, the Xiang clan were also famous generals in the past dynasties.
There are so many people out there, why can’t they be destined for the ‘Three Pillars’?”
These words made Zhao Hongrun speechless.
It has to be said that Zhao Hongrun was puzzled about this matter at first.
He once mistakenly believed that the contemporary "Three Pillars" of Chu State refer to individuals, namely the original Runan Lord Xiong Hao, Shouling Lord Jingshe, and Xiling Lord Qu Ping.
It must be admitted that these three "Three Heavenly Pillars" are all the leading nobles of the Chu State, with both political integrity and talent, so much so that Zhao Hongrun mistakenly believed that only outstanding nobles could obtain this honor.
But then, when he learned that Xiong Hao, Lord of Runan, who died more than ten years ago, and that his Three-Day Pillar status was inherited by Lord Xiong Shang of Diyang, Zhao Hongrun was a little confused.
In terms of military commanding ability, Diyang Jun Xiong Shang is logically inferior to Xiang Mo and Xiang Kuan brothers, so much so that he was beaten by Tian Dan, a famous Qi general, during the "Battle of Qi, Lu, Wei and Yue Four Kingdoms against Chu";
In terms of virtue, Di Yangjun Xiong Shang and Korea's powerful general Ju Xin are the same species, greedy and violent.
Therefore, the fact that Diyang Jun Xiong Shang inherited Runan Jun Xiong Hao's title of Three Pillars always made Zhao Hongrun feel that he was out of place: compared to Shouling Jun Jingshe and Xiling Jun Qu Ping, Diyang Jun Xiong Shang's style was obviously a bit lower.
It lowered the reputation of Chu State as the "Three Pillars".
I never thought that the Three Heavenly Pillars of Chu State were actually operated in secret, which makes sense.
Thinking of this, Zhao Hongrun shook his head and said with emotion: "Diyang Lord Xiong Shang died in Yongqiu, Shouling Lord Jingshe committed suicide in Chushui, and Xiling Lord Qu Ping was deposed for life... The Three Pillars have already existed in name only, right?
?”
Pingyu Lord Xiong Hu nodded, and then added: "In fact, Lord Qu Ping of Xiling has also passed away... The Qu family has never been able to forgive Lord Qu Ping for being surrendered by Xiang Mo at the end of the rebellion, and
Those guys in Chudong also strongly opposed the king's appointment of Lord Qu Ping. Lord Qu Ping was talented but useless. He angrily threw himself into the river the year before last. However, due to the influence, he did not announce it to the outside world."
After hearing this, Zhao Hongrun couldn't help but sigh and sigh again.
Although he had never fought against Qu Ping, Lord of Xiling, nor had any personal relationship with him, he knew that when Wu Qi, the general of Wu State, led the Dongou Army to attack Chu from the east, it was Qu Ping, Lord of Xiling, who planned the strategy and commanded several armies.
The Chu army blocked
The attack of the Yue army caused all three armies of the "Qi, Lu, Wei, and Wei" forces to approach the city of Shouying, the capital of the King of Chu. Only the Dongou Army of East Vietnam was blocked from the road to Shouying, making the "Qi, Lu, Wei, and Yue Allied Forces"
At that time, it was impossible to completely surround Shouying.
Secretly sighing, Zhao Hongrun asked Xiong Hu: "If your country elects the Three Pillars to stabilize the situation this time, I'm afraid there won't be any Qu family, right?"
Xiong Hu, Lord of Pingyu, did not hide anything and said truthfully: "The Xiang family should replace the Qu family, either the general Xiang Mo or his younger brother Xiang Kuan... In comparison, I care more about who the "Xiong family" will recommend.
?”
Hearing the obvious irony in the second half of Xiong Hu's sentence, Zhao Hongrun was slightly startled, and then he realized that the "Xiong family" in Xiong Hu's mouth refers to the "Chudong Xiong family".
According to Xiong Hu's explanation, the Chu Kingdom has always had the king of Chu manage the eastern part of Chu, while the "Xiong clan" headed by the "Three Heavenly Pillars" managed the land in the western part of Chu. This is commonly known as the "Xiong clan of western Chu".
Xiong Hao, the former Lord of Runan, was an outstanding representative of the Xiong clan in Western Chu.
But more than ten years ago, the Xiong clan of Chudong violated this rule. On the pretext that Xiong Tuo, the Lord of Yangcheng who inherited the mantle of Runan Lord Xiong Hao, was too young to shoulder the heavy responsibility, he forcibly placed the head of the Three Heavenly Pillars in Chu.
Xiong Shang, the Diyang Lord of the East Xiong clan, took this opportunity to suppress the Xiong clan of Western Chu.
Since this incident, the relationship between the Xiong family in the east of Chu and the Xiong family in the west of Chu has been extremely bad. They have always known each other but never had any contact with each other. Even Xiong Tuo, the king of Yangcheng, who is the biological son of King Xiong Xu of Chu,
From then on, he also called his father "that guy" and Chu Dong's uncle and uncle as "those guys". You can imagine the contradiction between the two parties.
Zhao Hongrun was also a little curious about this and couldn't help but ask: "After Xiong Shang, are there any outstanding heroes in the Xiong family of Chudong?"
Pingyu Lord Xiong Hu sneered at first, but then seemed to think of something, frowned and said: "Those worms in Chu Dong, there should be no one who can do anything...except "Chu Shui Lord"."
Zhao Hongrun was slightly stunned. He had heard of "Chu Shuijun". He was said to be the younger brother of King Xiong Xu of Chu, but he was mysterious and even his name was not revealed to the public.
It is said that the enemies of Mi Jiang and Mi Rui sisters - to be precise, they are the common enemies of the "Zhurong lineage" witches. The Gonggong lineage witches are loyal to Chu Shuijun. Zhao Hongrun was assassinated by those witches back then.
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Suddenly, Zhao Hongrun seemed to have thought of something, and said with a strange expression: "Xiong Hu, you don't have any thoughts about the three pillars, do you?"
As if he had been exposed, Pingyu Lord Xiong Hu was a little embarrassed when he heard this sentence. After a while, he hesitated and said: "Ahem, in fact, I, the Xiong family of Chuxi, are also capable of shouldering this responsibility. Those with important responsibilities...the head of the Three Heavenly Pillars originally belonged to me, the Xiong clan of Chuxi."
His words actually confirmed Zhao Hongrun's guess in disguise.
However, Zhao Hongrun did not delve into this. After all, it was an internal matter of Chu State. He thought about it and asked, "Has Xiong Tuo already set off?"
Seeing that Zhao Hongrun finally got down to business, Pingyu Lord Xiong Hu suddenly turned serious, nodded and said, "Master Xiong Tuo has led an army of 150,000 to assist Chu Dong."
"To protect Chu Dong? Are you taking the opportunity to exert pressure and seize the throne of Chu King?"
Zhao Hongrun glanced at Pingyu Jun Xiong Hu.
Obviously, Xiong Tuo, Lord of Yangcheng, led his troops to force the palace to seize power.
Chu State may be about to usher in a new round of civil war.