The cold wind at night whistled through the cracks in the bedroom door. Zhao Yong, who was lying on the bed, tossed and turned and couldn't fall asleep. The conversation he had with Fei Yi just now made him think twice.
Snare! Isn't this famous assassin organization a fabrication of later generations?
According to Fei Yi's explanation, this is an employment organization that has been lingering in Zhuxia for many years. There are different opinions as to who founded it, when it was established, and where it serves.
Zhao Yong also had a general understanding of the major events of this period in his previous life. In his memory, there should not have been any large-scale private armed groups or assassin organizations in this era.
In this era of constant fighting, whether it is Confucianism, Mohism, Legalism, Taoism, Zongheng, etc., or some unknown small schools, they all rely on various vassal states to display their talents and academic ambitions.
Zhao Yong sneered disdainfully when he thought of this.
Assassination is just a small way, you can only do one of them but not the other.
The next step is to strictly defend, but one thing Zhao Yong can be sure of is that since the assassin can bypass all the palace restrictions and attack Zhaohou's palace, there must be an internal response.
Could it be that the clan members were dissatisfied with his decision and took revenge?
Immediately, Zhao Yong overturned this idea. Zhao Huai and others should not be stupid enough. Now that Zhao is facing enemies outside the country, as members of the Zhao clan, they should share weal and woe. Zhao still has their status in them. After Zhao is over, will they become slaves? Assassinate your own monarch and cause turmoil in the country so that the princes can take advantage of it?
"Is the monarch worried about the assassination just now?" Xiao Yue mumbled when he saw Zhao Yong curling up in Zhao Yong's arms with his brows furrowed.
"Um?"
Zhao Yong glanced down at the petite figure in his arms and hummed subconsciously.
"Your Majesty, please sleep peacefully. I will keep vigil for your Majesty. General Pang Nuan is guarding you outside the palace." The little girl said innocently.
Zhao Yong chuckled and didn't reply, just patted her little head.
…
…
The border between Zhao and Wei, along the Qishui River.
The warm morning light swayed down from the sky, reflecting the sparkling water.
On the wide straight road on one side of the river bank, the green trees were covered with white snow that had not yet dissipated. A military army like a long dragon appeared at the end of the horizon without any warning, marching toward Zhongmou City, the important town of Zhao State.
Zhongmou City is one of the auxiliary capitals of Zhao State. It should be said that Zhongmou City was originally built by Duke Huan of Qi to resist the Hu people, and later returned to Wei State. However, the state of Wei weakened, and Zhongmou returned to Jin. After the three families were divided into Jin, Zhongmu finally belonged to Zhao.
A hundred years ago, Zhao Huanzi, the first king of Zhao State, deposed Zhao Xianzi and moved the capital from Jinyang to Zhongmou. This represented the strategic direction of Zhao State from inside to outside and began to develop towards the Central Plains, which meant the beginning of Zhao State's struggle for hegemony.
However, the Wei State, which also came from the Three Jin Dynasties, did not want to see the rise of Zhao State, so it stationed heavy troops in Yecheng to prevent Zhao State from going south again and again. Secondly, as time went by, the wars between the countries intensified. For Zhao State, Zhongmou City was not geographically suitable for Zhao State's development. Firstly, Zhongmou is too far away from the hinterland and border areas of Zhao State, making it difficult to see from beginning to end. Secondly, the roads are narrow and transportation is really inconvenient.
The new capital, Handan, is different. Handan City is located on the North-South Avenue at the eastern foot of Taihang Mountain. You can reach Yan State to the north, and Zheng State, Wei State, Wei State and other places to the south.
On this basis, the superior geographical location and transportation advantages around Handan far exceeded those of Zhongmu, so the Zhao State moved its capital to Handan sixty years ago. This was exactly the strategy that served the Zhao State's competition in the Central Plains.
The troops of the five congressmen marched aggressively to a few miles outside Zhongmou City. Suddenly, they saw streaks of dust and smoke rising on the broad avenue. When the dust and smoke dissipated, several tall and tall figures appeared in front of the coalition formation.
At first, a young general from Zhao State, fully clothed in armor, stepped forward and shouted: "Lian Cheng, the captain of Zhongmou, has come to greet the envoys from all countries on the orders of our king."
The young general spoke with a straight tone and a tone that was neither humble nor arrogant, and looked directly at the envoys from the five countries.
When the Wei envoy saw this, he immediately rode out and pointed behind the young general and said, "We have been ordered by the King of Wei to express our condolences to your late king. Why are you getting ready for war?"
Hearing what the envoy from Wei said, Lian Cheng replied without changing his expression: "Since the envoy came to express condolences to my late king, why didn't he see any offerings? Instead, he came with tens of thousands of soldiers and horses in an aggressive manner?"
The envoy of Wei turned red when he was told the truth and retorted: "I have come all the way from here. Is this how you treat guests?"
"If you are friends, I, the State of Zhao, will obey the Zhou etiquette and welcome all the envoys." Lian Cheng paused for a moment before saying, then holding the hilt of the sword at his waist: "If you are enemies, I, the Zhao people, are not easy to mess with. of."
"You!" Wei Shi was furious when he heard Lai Yan. He didn't expect that Zhao Ren would directly break his face. The polite words he had prepared in his heart were retorted by the other party before he could even leave his mouth.
"Sharp-tongued kid with a sharp mouth, we have to enter Zhongmou City today even if we can't!" A strong man covered in armor behind the Wei ambassador stepped forward and shouted loudly.
Lian Cheng glanced at the person who came, and judging from his appearance and the style of his armor, he should be from the Chu state.
"Hmph! Does the State of Chu want to start a war with our State of Zhao? I am not afraid to tell you that our State of Zhao has formed an alliance with South Korea and the State of Song. A slaughterer?" Lian Cheng replied without fear.
Hearing this, the envoys of Qin and Qi in the army were all shocked. Unexpectedly, as soon as they left, before they could benefit, a fire broke out in the backyard.
The Chu envoy was waiting to retort, but before he could say anything, Lian Cheng continued: "In addition, the State of Yue also condemned its envoys to come to our State of Zhao. The King of Yue deeply felt the importance of establishing diplomatic relations with our country. The two countries have agreed that Yue and Zhao The two countries will fight against the enemy together!"
As soon as Lian Cheng said this, the Chu envoy had no choice but to swallow the words he was about to spit out. He was panic-stricken in his heart. Did Yue really dare to attack Chu?
"The Kingdom of Loufan has always been on good terms with our Kingdom of Zhao. Our king has sent an envoy to meet with King Loufan and agreed to share weal and woe with him!"
Now the envoy of Yan State finally couldn't sit still.
Seeing that none of the envoys from the five countries responded, Lian Cheng read out the instructions conveyed by Zhao Yong: "The order of the Marquis of Zhao, anyone who enters our territory of Zhao must abide by the laws of the State of Zhao. Those who violate the laws of the State of Zhao must follow the laws of Zhao! The envoys of the princes will punish at most ten followers." , I, the envoy of the State of Zhao, will accompany me all the way to Handan carrying the memorial offerings to express my condolences to the late emperor!"
The envoys from the five countries saw that Zhao State was heavily armed to entertain guests, and the borders were heavily guarded. The most important thing was that the alliance of Zhao, Han, and Song Dynasty had been formed. If they went to war with Zhao State at this time, once the situation fell into a state of anxiety, people with ulterior motives would inevitably take advantage of it. And enter.
The Wei envoy thought of what King Wei had told him when he came, "In the name of the funeral, we are waiting for an opportunity to attack Zhao." Now that waiting for an opportunity to attack Zhao failed, they had to attack by force. But if we attack by force at this time, we may not gain any advantage.
At this point, the envoys from the five countries dismissed all the generals under their accounts, carried condolences and offerings alone, and followed Lian Cheng into Zhongmou City!
...On the upper floor of Zhongmou City, Li Dui looked at the slowly retreating armies of various countries, and his anxious heart finally relaxed.
He recalled the conversation he had with Zhao Yong on the way from Handan. Before leaving, he asked: "Your Majesty, what should I do if the coalition of princes insists on going their own way and leads troops to invade our Zhao territory?"
Zhao Yong looked up at the sky and replied leisurely: "If nothing can be done, then we will start a war, but I predict that the countries will not do such stupid things as injuring the enemy by one thousand and damaging themselves by eight hundred. Their enemy is not only me, Zhao." countries, their enemies have always been each other."
Li Dui looked at the envoys from various countries filing in under the city gate. He felt that he was becoming more and more confused about his own monarch. He was really looking forward to where this young monarch could lead the Zhao Kingdom.
