In Chang'an, Hu Hai summoned Chen Ping at the Yangxin Hall and told him all of Lin Ze's autographed letter and Lin Ze's words to the Jin Yiwei.
After saying this, Hu Hai couldn't wait to ask: "The death of Xiong Xin is believed by the champion to be the fault of Xiang Ji, the great master of the Chu state. The reason is that Xiang Ji wanted to kill the king and establish himself on his own. I wonder what the prime minister thinks of this?"
Chen Ping thought for a while and replied: "With the wisdom of the champion Hou Zhi, this matter must be taken seriously."
"Since the Champion Marquis believes that an imperial edict can plunge the Chu State into civil strife, he must have considered it. Therefore, the top priority is to immediately send dead soldiers to deliver His Majesty's imperial edict to the Chu State."
"Besides, the champion said in his secret letter that the more publicity about this matter, the better. When a dead soldier enters the Chu Territory, he must publicize his intention and even arrange for people to spread rumors."
Hu Hai was silent for a while, nodded slightly and said: "Since the Prime Minister also thinks that this matter is feasible, I will order Huang Banban to handle this matter, and we must not miss the champion's plan."
"Your Majesty is wise," Chen Ping bowed and saluted.
Hu Hai then explained the matter to Huang Banban in front of Chen Ping.
After Huang Banban left, Hu Hai suddenly said quietly: "I wonder how the prime minister would evaluate Xiang Ji's act of regicide and self-reliance?"
Chen Ping replied without thinking: "Rebellious ministers and traitors will be punished by everyone."
Hu Hai said disapprovingly: "I feel that Xiang Ji did not do anything wrong in this move. How can a great master submit to others?"
Chen Ping said righteously: "How can your Majesty excuse the rebellious ministers and traitors? No matter what, the emperor is the emperor, and the ministers are ministers. There is a difference between the emperor and the ministers. Those who are ministers should assist the emperor to become a wise king, rather than plan for self-reliance."
Hu Hai chuckled and said meaningfully: "Really? If there are rebellious officials and traitors like Xiang Ji in Qin, I wonder what the Prime Minister will do?"
Chen Ping immediately expressed his loyalty and said: "If the Qin State really rebels and wants to plot rebellion, I am willing to risk my life to eliminate the rebellion for your majesty."
"But according to my opinion, the champion has eliminated rebellion twice, so the Qin State should no longer jump out to seek death."
An inexplicable smile appeared on Hu Hai's face: "That's not necessarily true. Maybe the rebels are people who are familiar with the Prime Minister? Is the Prime Minister still willing to slander me?"
Chen Ping said with a matter-of-fact expression: "No matter who it is, those who betray the master should die, not to mention someone who is acquainted with me, even if they are my parents."
Hu Hai laughed and said: "The Prime Minister is serious. I am just asking casually. As you said, is there any rebellion in Qin?"
"The Prime Minister is busy with his affairs, so I won't keep him here."
Chen Ping bowed and said: "Wei Chen, please retire."
Hu Hai looked at Chen Ping's leaving figure and smiled self-deprecatingly: "Are you really a loyal minister?"
Chen Ping stepped out of Xianyang Palace and sighed: "Uncle Master, you often say that people in the world share hardships and blessings. But this is still sharing hardships. It is already so difficult. If we really want to share blessings, it should be
What scene?”
Hu Hai may not know that in Chen Ping's eyes, his temptation is as childish as a child's tricks.
…
In the palace of the King of Chu in Kuaiji City, wearing plain clothes, he rushed all the way to the main hall where Xiong Xin's coffin was stored. When he saw the coffin, he looked up to the sky and said sadly: "Your Majesty, I'm late."
"The Qin State is a despicable villain who only knows how to assassinate. I, Xiang Ji, swear that one day I will invade Chang'an and massacre the city for three days to pay homage to the king."
Then there was a burst of wailing and crying. The powerful master-level man cried like a child, causing countless people in Chu to shed tears secretly.
Until someone came to dissuade him: "Please, Mr. Wu Xin, express your condolences. The king was assassinated by Qin's assassins for no reason. Next, we have to rely on Mr. Wu Xin to avenge the king. Mr. Wu Xin, please cheer up for the sake of the tens of millions of Chu people."
Xiang Ji admired the person Fan Zeng arranged to dissuade him very much, and his righteousness spoke out loudly, making it difficult to refute.
So Xiang Ji immediately took advantage of the situation and stepped down, saying with a firm face: "I will never let Qin's conspiracy succeed."
At this time, another person hurriedly ran over and shouted: "It's not good, it's not good, something happened."
Xiang Ji opened his eyes and shouted: "If you have something to explain clearly, how is it appropriate to act in a panic?"
The man quickly knelt on the ground and said, "Please forgive me Lord Wu Xin. Something has really happened. Headed by the three families of Zhaojing and Qu, dozens of meritorious noble families gathered in the Chaohui Hall and announced that they would send troops to attack Qin and avenge the king."
"There was a fierce quarrel over the position of the head coach. No one was convinced by anyone and they were about to start a fight. Mr. Wu Xin, please go and have a look."
Xiang Ji deliberately snorted: "A group of meritorious nobles are making as much noise as ordinary people in the market. How unbecoming are they? I will leave immediately."
After saying that, he strode towards the court hall.
Before he entered, Xiang Yu could hear the noise inside, which was like a group of chirping sparrows.
Xiang Ji stepped heavily into the main hall, and saw that the main hall was shaking several times at a speed visible to the naked eye. Everyone in the hall suddenly fell into silence, not daring to speak louder, and fell into a deathly silence for a while.
"Why are there no more noises?" Xiang Ji glanced at everyone with cold eyes and asked in a cold voice.
Someone swallowed and said: "In my opinion, let's stop fighting. The position of coach belongs to none other than Mr. Wu Xin."
Immediately, there was a chorus of agreement, and not even a single person objected.
Following Fan Zeng's suggestion, Xiang Ji snorted coldly and said: "Qin, I will lead the troops to destroy it, but not now. Now that the king has just died, he should be buried in peace first, and everything else can be done.
Postponed, do you have any comments?"
The head of the third family of the Zhaojing Qu family immediately agreed: "What Mr. Wu Xin said makes sense, and we are willing to obey Mr. Wu Xin's orders."
The other families who were summoned urgently to discuss the matter could only follow suit.
Xiang Ji said without hesitation: "In this case, I will start arranging things for you. If you don't want to participate, you can voluntarily withdraw."
Xiang Ji's words were like poking a hornet's nest, and someone immediately shouted loudly: "This is a life-or-death situation for the Chu State. Whoever dares to withdraw is committing treason?"
"We are willing to be driven by Lord Wu Xin, but those who are dissatisfied will be willing to be punished as spies of the Qin State."
The atmosphere at the scene suddenly became very intense, but some people still felt that something was wrong and muttered secretly: "Didn't we come here to discuss how to deal with it next? Why are you so confused? It's like you have recognized a master."
Xiang Ji looked at the people who expressed their surrender, and his heart was filled with a great sense of satisfaction. Yafu's plan was really extraordinary, and he easily made these people confused and willing to be driven by him. According to his plan, Chu State will soon be mine.
Then Xiang Ji gave the order and Xiong Xin's funeral was carried out with great splendor.
Just when Xiang Ji was planning to be crowned the overlord of Western Chu, the envoys sent by the State of Qin to convey the imperial edict had already entered the Chu land.
The envoy held the scepter representing the imperial envoy of the Qin State. Whenever he arrived at a place, he explained his intention to the local Chu people and said that Qin and Chu would be one family. From now on, everyone would be citizens of the same country. There would be no more wars and they would live in peace.
To the surprise of the envoy, these Chu people actually believed it and spread the news one after another, fearing that others would not know the same thing.
The envoy probably forgot that before these people regained their status as Chu people, they had been citizens of the Qin State for many years. Even though their customs and habits had not changed much, they were gradually branded with the Qin State in their bones.
Just wait until all the older generation pass away and no one misses Chu anymore, and there will be no more Chu people to speak of.
…
In the Chu Palace, all the officials and dignitaries of Chu State gathered together to discuss the future of Chu State.
One of them said loudly: "The country cannot be left without a master for a day. The most urgent task is to establish a new king of Chu to lead the Chu country and move towards the road of rejuvenation."
No one objected: "That makes sense."
Some people raised objections: "But there are not many bloodlines left in the royal family. King Huai is newly deceased, where can we find another royal bloodline?"
Zhao Yang, the head of the Zhao family, suddenly said: "It is difficult to find royal blood. Maybe we can temporarily support someone else, and then return the power to him after we find the royal blood."
Someone sneered: "The head of the Zhao family doesn't want to recommend himself, does he? Although Zhao Jingqu was once an official of the Chu Kingdom, it is far from enough to inherit the throne of the King of Chu."
Zhaoyang replied without changing his expression: "Who told you that I am going to recommend myself? The person I am recommending is Your Excellency Wu Xinjun."
"Your Excellency, Mr. Wu Xin, has unparalleled military power and is also a member of the nobility of the Chu Kingdom. What is rare and valuable is that he is loyal to the Chu Kingdom. You don't have to worry about him being attached to the throne."
Jing Tian, the head of the Jing family, stood up and said: "Brother Zhao's words are reasonable, and I am also willing to support Lord Wu Xin."
Xiang Ji was about to refuse, when a guard hurried over and said, "Something bad has happened. Rumors suddenly spread outside that Lord Wu Xin was assassinating the king on the orders of Emperor Qin. Emperor Qin decreed that Lord Wu Xin should be granted the title."
As the overlord of Western Chu, the imperial edict will arrive in Kuaiji soon."
Xiang Ji's face darkened when he heard this, and he was extremely embarrassed.