Even though Huan Xi was the son of a powerful official, if Huan Wen could not lead his troops to Jiankang, control the court, and obtain the imperial edict, he would not have the power to amend the law on his own.
At the same time, after Liang Du's death, Guanzhong changed its flag and returned to Zhao's rule, but there were still remnants of rebels causing trouble.
Shi Bin wanted to use this great achievement to persuade his father Shi Hu to depose the crown prince, but news came from Yecheng that Shi Hu's condition had worsened. Shi Bin was worried, lest his plan was not realized, and Shi Hu would pass away. He only wanted to think about it. Go back to Yecheng quickly and convince your father.
After much deliberation, Shi Bin finally made up his mind. He summoned the generals and said:
"Now that Liang Du has been crowned the leader, the serious trouble has been eliminated. I want to go to the court to ask for merit for you. As for the few rebel armies, it is of no concern. You can conquer on your own."
As soon as these words came out, the generals were caught off guard, but many of them had their own evil intentions, so they did not dissuade them and allowed Shi Bin to take Liang Du's head and abandon the army under the escort of his personal guards. .
Although Shi Bin's move was driven by power and position, Shi Hu, who was bedridden, maintained a rare sobriety.
Seeing Shi Bin happily holding the head in front of him to ask for credit, Shi Hu became furious:
"The Xia people have a saying that names and weapons cannot be faked.
"As a father, I know that my fate will soon be over. I asked you to take charge of an army of one hundred thousand just in case.
"If something unexpected happens, you hold the military power and can lead the army to conquer and help the country.
"I didn't know you were so stupid that you actually left the army and came to Yecheng alone!"
In the early years, Shi Hu was able to depose Emperor Zhao and use a side branch to succeed him by relying on his control of military power. Now Shi Bin actually abandoned the army and returned to Yecheng alone. How could he not make Shi Hu angry?
Perhaps because he was too angry, Shi Hu's pale and haggard face turned red.
Shi Bin was horrified. He knew what would happen if his father got angry, so he quickly explained:
"My father is ill, and the child is very worried. The reason why he returned to Beijing first is to personally serve the decoction in front of his father's bed, and to ask for his forgiveness. The child will set off now to regain military power."
When Shi Hu heard this, he felt much better. He had always thought that he did not practice virtue, so he committed evil.
The deposed prince Shi Sui planned to murder Shi Xuan, then entered the palace, killed his father and usurped the throne.
Later, the deposed prince Shi Xuan committed fratricide and planned to attack and kill Shi Hu at Shi Tao's funeral.
Now, although Shi Bin committed a stupid thing, because of his meritorious service in suppressing the rebellion and his filial piety, Shi Hu was unwilling to pursue the case any further.
"No need, you will stay in Yecheng for now."
With that said, Shi Hu dictated the canonization edict to his attendants. Shi Bin had made great achievements in suppressing the rebellion and was worshiped as the prime minister.
The leader of the Qiang people, Yao Yizhong, was appointed as the envoy to hold the festival, serve in the middle, and conquer the west. He was specially given swords and shoes to go to the palace. He did not follow the imperial court and was granted the title of Duke of Xiping County.
Fu Hong, the leader of the Di people, was appointed as a servant, general of chariots and cavalry, Kaifu Yitong three divisions, governor of Yong, Qinzhou military affairs, Yongzhou assassination history, and was granted the title of Duke of Lueyang County.
The remaining generals were each given a reward and ordered to return to the court quickly.
When Shi Bin left the palace, he seemed lost. What he was seeking was not the position of prime minister, but the position of prince. If he had known that his father had no intention of abolishing the throne, why should he rush back to the capital? It would be better to stay in Henan and control the military power.
When there is a change in Yecheng, we can lead the army to march eastward.
Shi Bin was naturally unhappy, but there was one person who was also dissatisfied with Shi Hu's arrangements, and it was Empress Liu of Later Zhao.
Queen Liu was originally the daughter of the former Zhao Emperor Liu Yao, and was Princess An Ding.
Liu Yao was attacked and killed by his general Shi Le. Later Zhao general Zhang Jack captured Princess Anding and sacrificed her to Shihu.
Shi Hu was greedy for her beauty and took the twelve-year-old Princess Anding as his concubine.
After that, Shi Hu ascended the throne and experienced the murder of two princes. According to Shi Hu's original intention, he wanted to choose the prince from the king of Yan Shi Bin and the king of Pengcheng Shi Zun.
However, Rongzhao General Zhang Jie suggested that Shi Bin's mother was of low status, and that Shi Zun was born to the mother of Shi Sui, the deposed prince who intended to kill his father. Perhaps because of Shi Sui's death, his mother and son harbored resentment.
After two princes successively wanted to kill their fathers and become independent, even Shi Hu couldn't help but feel lingering fear.
In the end, Shi Hu listened to Zhang Jack's persuasion, believing that Shi Shi was young and that by the time he came of age, he would have died of old age and there would be no chance of patricide happening again.
So Liu was made the queen and her son Shi Shi was made the prince.
Empress Liu was originally dedicated to Shi Hu by Zhang Zhen, and now it is Zhang Zhen's help that enables mother and son to take the positions of queen and crown prince.
The relationship between the two is quite similar to Zhao Ji and Lu Buwei of Qin State.
Empress Liu knew Shi Bin's ambitions, and how could he be willing to assist his son? She immediately summoned Zhang Jack, and the two discussed it and decided to strike first.
The next day, Shi Bin came to the palace to visit Shi Hu. On the way, he met Queen Liu. Queen Liu stopped Shi Bin from paying a visit to Shi Hu. She said:
"His Majesty's condition has improved, but the imperial doctor has told him that he needs to rest and not be disturbed by others. Therefore, he issued an order so that the kings do not need to visit the palace."
Shi Bin did not expect that Queen Liu would dare to falsely pass on Shi Hu's life, so she actually believed it and went to accompany the capital Xiangguo (today's Xiangdu District, Xingtai, Hebei) to drink and hunt all day long and no longer care about Shi Hu's condition.
Queen Liu couldn't help but be overjoyed when she saw that Shi Bin had fallen into the trap.
In the summer and early April of the fifth year of Yonghe (AD 349), Shi Hu's condition further worsened and he was no longer able to govern.
Upon seeing this, Empress Liu issued another edict and ordered Zhang Xiong, Zhang Jack's younger brother, to lead five hundred imperial guards to Xiangguo to capture Shi Bin. She listed Shi Bin's crimes and said that when his father was seriously ill, he drank and hunted all day long, showing no loyalty or filial piety. heart of.
It was only then that Shi Bin realized that he had fallen into Empress Liu's trick. He angrily shouted that he wanted to meet his father, but he was placed under house arrest in his palace and cut off from the outside world.
At this time, Shi Hu was completely unaware of this. When he was seriously ill, he issued an edict to Prime Minister Shi Bin, added the minister's affairs, and ordered him to take charge of the government affairs.
He also urgently summoned Shi Zun, the king of Pengcheng who was guarding Youzhou, as a general to go out of Guanzhong.
Zhang Jack is the general of the Zhenwei, the leading general, and the minister of the Ministry of official affairs.
The three of them received imperial edicts and jointly assisted in the administration.
However, Shi Bin was trapped in a prison, not to mention assisting the government, and he was no longer free.
Shi Zun hurried south and came to Yecheng, requesting an audience with his father, but Empress Liu refused. She only allocated 30,000 imperial troops to Shi Zun and ordered him to go to Chang'an immediately.
Shi Zun cried and left, but Shi Hu was still on the hospital bed, eagerly looking forward to meeting Shi Zun and his son.
Shi Zun couldn't wait for him, so Shi Hu asked weakly:
"Is Zuner here?"
The ministers on the left and right replied:
"The general has come forward and has been away for some time."
Shi Hu said with regret:
"I just wish I couldn't see Zun'er again."
A few days later, Shi Hu's condition improved slightly, but everyone knew that this was just a comeback.
When he arrived at the West Pavilion, 200 soldiers of the imperial army came to worship you. Shi Hu asked them what they wanted, and everyone said:
"If the Holy Gongs are at odds with each other, please order King Yan (Shi Bin) to enter the palace to guard the palace and prepare troops and horses."
Some people even asked Shi Bin to be crown prince.
Shi Hu was shocked. He looked to the left and right and said angrily:
"Why isn't King Yan in the palace? Call him quickly!"
However, Shi Bin has been imprisoned by Zhang Jackal for a long time, so how can he enter the palace to face the saint.
The close minister lied:
"King Yan is drunk, I'm afraid he won't be able to come."
Shi Hu was furious:
"Even if we use a carriage, we have to pull him here!"
However, none of the ministers responded. Seeing this scene, Shi Hu finally realized what had happened.
After serving in the army for a lifetime, he was so powerful that no one in the country dared to stroke his beard. Today, he was bullied by his close ministers. Shihu's energy and blood surged. He felt faint and fell to the ground in public, unconscious.
When Empress Liu heard about this, she immediately ordered people to arrest and kill the two hundred Forbidden Army soldiers who had previously petitioned for Shi Bin.
She was also worried that Shi Bin's death would be a disaster after all, so Empress Liu once again issued an edict and ordered Zhang Jack to execute Shi Bin.
Poor Shi Bin, he gave up the army and hurried back to Yecheng, but was played by a woman in the middle of applause. Before he died, he loudly cursed Empress Liu and Zhang Jackal, but he could not change his ending after all, and was ordered to die in King Yan's house. .
On April 22, Empress Liu issued her third imperial edict, appointing Zhang Jack as the Taibao, the commander-in-chief of all military affairs at home and abroad, the recorder of ministerial affairs, and the assistant government, as in the story of Huo Guang in the Western Han Dynasty.
When Wang Meng was ridiculed by the powerful people in Yecheng, he saw that he had the talent to manage the world and tried to conquer Wang Meng. Xu Tong, the servant who saw the chaos in the court, lamented with his colleagues:
"Disaster is coming. I am already old, so why should I participate in it anymore? It is better to die and preserve my reputation."
After returning home, Xu Tong committed suicide by taking poison.
On April 23, the cruel and unkind Shi Hu died of illness in Yecheng, full of regret and unwillingness.
When Prince Shi Shi ascended the throne, he respected his mother, Empress Liu, as the Queen Mother, and took the title of Queen Mother.
Empress Dowager Liu appointed Zhang Jack as prime minister.
Zhang Jack refused and requested that Shi Zun, king of Pengcheng, and Shijian, king of Yiyang, be appointed as the left and right prime ministers to appease their hearts.
Empress Dowager Liu promised that now Shi Bin is dead, but there is still one person in the court who is Zhang Jack's confidant. It is Li Nong who was recalled to Yecheng after repeated defeats when suppressing Gaoli's rebellion.
Li Nong was Shi Hu's trusted minister. When Shi Hu proclaimed himself emperor for the first time in 335 AD, he was worshiped as Sikong, one of the three princes.
Although this man suffered a defeat on the front line, his popularity in the court was not comparable to that of Zhang Jack.
Zhang Jack was afraid, so he plotted to kill Li Nong.
However, Zhang Ju had a close personal relationship with Li Nong and secretly informed Li Nong. Li Nong learned the news and immediately escaped from Yecheng and went to Guangzong (now Guangzong County, Xingtai, Hebei Province). He obtained tens of thousands of begging troops and occupied Guangzong City.
The so-called begging army, as the name suggests, is a group of Han armed refugees active on both sides of the Yellow River during the Five Hus and Sixteen Kingdoms period.
Li Nong was originally a Han and had always had a high reputation. When he came to Guangzong, he was immediately elected as the leader by tens of thousands of local beggars.
Then Zhao General Shi Min also came from the Begging Department.
Zhang Jack was shocked when he heard the news, and immediately sent sergeants from Yecheng to Guangzong to besiege Li Nong.
Little did they know that the so-called Prime Minister Zuo could not appease Pengcheng King Shi Zun at all, and a great chaos far greater than that of the Gaoli rebels was about to occur.
