A light snowfall last night lasted all night. At this time, the sun was rising, and the mottled rays of light illuminated the sky and the earth.
The envoys from the five countries accepted the conditions proposed by the State of Zhao. After the army retreated, the envoys from each country carried the tribute objects and headed for Handan City according to the route planned by the State of Zhao.
Along the way, there were Zhao soldiers wearing armor accompanying them.
Zhongmou is three hundred miles away from Handan, and the envoys from various countries traveled for several days before they could reach the outside of Handan city.
At this time, Zhao Yongzheng was standing on the city wall, with his hands on the crenellations of the city wall, staring at the luxury motorcade slowly approaching in the distance. When he saw that there was no army following the condolence envoy, he let out a long sigh of relief. tone.
He knew he won the bet! At this time, the princes did not want to face a Zhao State that was fighting against the odds.
"Remember Li Dui's meritorious service." Zhao Yong turned around and said to Fei Yi behind him with a relaxed expression.
Fei Yi also noticed the situation outside the city at this time and echoed: "Li Dui is a really good general, but..."
"Oh?" Zhao Yong seemed to have something to say when he saw Fei Yi.
"The king cannot take it lightly. Although the armies of various countries have retreated, if the envoys from various countries see the emptiness inside and outside my Handan City at this time, I am afraid they will become wolves again." Fei Yi explained.
"The doctor has a corresponding plan." Zhao Yong stood up and patted the snow foam in his hand, looking at Fei Yidao with a smile on his lips.
"As the saying goes, it is disrespectful to come back without reciprocating. Since the other party is unkind and first raises troops to threaten me, Zhao, then don't blame me, Zhao, for being unjust and repaying him." Fei Yi replied with a smile.
As the saying goes, war never tires of deceit, and the promises made by various countries are like a blank piece of paper at this time and can be reneged on at any time. Now they will choose to suspend their troops, because they see that Zhao Guo is well prepared and cannot take advantage. Once we see that Zhao is weak and strong on the outside but weak on the inside, we are afraid that he will attack immediately.
"Da Shan, then let the doctor arrange to welcome the envoys." Zhao Yong said.
…
When the envoys from the five countries came to Handan City, they saw the banners on the top of Handan City blocking the sun, and two rows of soldiers standing neatly at the city gate, all waiting with guns in hand.
When the envoy reached the city entrance, he was suddenly asked by the gatekeeper to dismount and walk.
Although everyone was angry, they did not dare to say anything.
When everyone took the first step into Handan City, the Zhao soldiers suddenly raised their long swords high, and the murderous aura bursting out of their bodies made all the envoys tremble.
Every time the messenger takes a step, two long swords will rise above his head.
At this time, the envoys did not understand that this was a warning from the Zhao people. It seemed that the Zhao State was ready to go to war with other countries.
Although everyone was dissatisfied, they had no choice but to go on without turning back.
It was clearly the twelfth month of winter, but when the envoys walked out of the city gate, they were already dripping with sweat.
When everyone entered the city, they were greeted by Fei Yi's iconic smiling face.
"Envoys have worked hard for coming all the way. Please come to the post house to have some wine and food to relieve the fatigue of the boats and cars on the road." Fei Yi said with a smile and cupped his hands.
...Handan Dabeicheng, inside the post house.
The envoy from Wei State, Prince Xin, couldn't help but pace back and forth in the room.
This time the plan of the Five Nations to bury Zhao was initiated by him who advised the king of Wei and united the princes.
When he came to the State of Zhao, King Wei (ying) told him to "do everything expediently".
In his plan, even if the Zhao State cannot be destroyed, it can still be divided into pieces.
"Hey!" Wei Xin sighed heavily. Outside Zhongmou City, he saw that the envoys of Qi, Chu, Qin, and Yan all wanted to retreat, so he had no choice but to disperse the army. Later, he wanted to use the act of condolences to observe Zhao's military and people's morale in order to plot against Zhao again, but now it seems that it was self-defeating.
He was originally a descendant of the Wei clan, the grandson of Wei Wuhou, and the nephew of Wei Wang Quan.
Now that he is watching his country weaken step by step, and his former position is being replaced by other countries, how can he not feel pain in his heart.
"Hey..." He sighed again, seeming to accept his fate.
"Someone is coming."
"Sir, what are your orders?" The guard outside the door heard his master's summons and hurriedly entered the room and asked.
I saw Wei Xin picking up the bamboo slips that had been prepared from the desk, and then told his entourage: "Send an order for me, I have a letter of credence to be delivered to the Marquis of Zhao."
Wei Xin made the final plan, although in order to plot against Zhao, Wei spent a lot of manpower, material and financial resources.
But where there is success there is failure. Now while Wei still has some capital, he should make peace and form an alliance with Zhao as soon as possible. If he waits for Zhao to recover and then turns around to attack Wei, that will be his biggest sin.
..."What? Did the envoy of Wei submit the letter of restoration to the Marquis of Zhao?" When the envoys of Qi, Chu, Qin, and Yan learned about Wei Xin's behavior, they cursed Wei for being unjust, because it was clearly Wei who initiated the alliance. , and now he is the first one to give in.
But now that the matter was over, everyone hurriedly handed over the credentials they had prepared to Zhao Yong.
As each country submits its credentials one by one, the dark cloud hanging over Zhao's head will eventually dissipate.
…
Handan, the capital of Zhao, consists of two parts: Zhao Wangcheng and Dabeicheng.
Dabeicheng is the Guocheng (outer city) of Handan and is also the place where the subjects of the capital live. There are many shops in the north city, and guesthouses and stores can be seen everywhere. Envoys from various countries who came along all lamented the development of Zhao's handicraft industry and commerce.
Zhaowang City is composed of three small cities: Dongcheng, Xicheng and Beicheng. When viewed from a high altitude, it looks like a "pin" shape. Among the three small towns in the royal city, the North City occupies the largest area and is the place where Zhao kings and ministers meet for court. The East City is rectangular and smaller than the North City. It is the place where the Zhao princes of the past dynasties reviewed their troops and paid homage to their generals.
The west city is the palace city where the Marquis of Zhao lives, namely Longtai Palace. Longtai Palace is the highest place in the entire Handan City. It is surrounded by corridors and lined with palaces. Standing at Longtai Palace, you can overlook the entire Handan City.
At this time, a figure was standing on the dragon platform, wearing complicated mourning clothes, with a solemn expression, because there was a huge coffin standing in the main hall behind him.
The nanmu longevity materials for three coffins and two coffins were prepared by Zhao Suhou for himself before his death. According to the Zhou system: the emperor's coffin has seven layers, the princes have five layers, the officials have three layers, and the scholars have the third layer.
"The spirit period is over, let's get up." Zong Zheng of the Zhao family finished his condolences. The men of the Zhao family who were guarding both sides of the coffin slowly lifted the coffin and walked out of the Zhao Palace step by step, heading towards the Shouling Mausoleum that Zhao Suhou had built for him early. .
Zhao Suhou ordered the construction of Shouling for himself ten years ago. Its scale was unmatched by previous kings. The manpower and material resources consumed during this period were unimaginable, and the people of Handan were miserable. In his later years, Suhou caused a huge deficit in the treasury due to the construction of Shouling, which made the already weak Zhao economy even worse. Even the weak Wei State dared to bully the state. The State of Zhao even took away the cocoon land of the State of Zhao.
The weakness of Zhao State at this time is not unrelated to the construction of Shouling by Suhou in his later years!
After leaving the Zhao Palace, the people of Handan knelt on both sides of the street early to bid farewell to the coffin of their late emperor with tears in their eyes.
Zhao Yong walked at the front of the team with a solemn expression. Behind him were the descendants of the Zhao family and the Qing clan of the Zhao state, and behind him were the envoys from various countries with ulterior motives.
The Shouling of Zhao Suhou was built in Dabei City of Handan City. The wide tomb passage was paved with bluestones, and trees were planted on both sides of the tomb, just like guards guarding it. There is a huge stone tablet erected in front of the tomb, which records various achievements of Suhou during his reign. (During the Warring States Period, princes had the custom of building royal tombs in the city.)
Although some of Suhou's foolish decisions in his later years almost plunged Zhao into a situation that was beyond redemption, at the beginning of his reign, he attacked the Hu captives in the north, cowardly and powerful Wei in the south, and continuously attacked Qin, all showing his immortal achievements.
No one is perfect, success and failure are mixed!
Suddenly, light snow fell from the sky, and the snowflakes merged with the white paper in the sky, seeming to mourn the passing of this generation of heroes.
"Go well, father." Zhao Yong muttered silently.
This highest-level monarch's funeral in the Warring States Period came to a perfect and dramatic conclusion.
