After Shi Zun ascended the throne, he killed Empress Dowager Liu, Shi Shi's mother and son soon after, and sent envoys to appease Li Nong, pardoned his crime, and restored his official position.
Li Nong then led tens of thousands of begging troops to join Hou Zhao again.
News of Shi Hu's death and Shi Zun's revolt spread to all parties.
Not to mention Huan Xi's Zhenglu shogunate, and even Huan Wen's Zhengxi general's palace, all the generals thought this was a God-given opportunity, and they were gearing up for the Northern Expedition.
However, news of Shi Zun proclaiming himself emperor in Yecheng came one after another, and everyone was disappointed.
Liangzhou, Hanzhong.
Shi Zhuxu, the chief of the conquest shogunate, was furious:
"Zhang Jackal has more than 100,000 troops and defends the fortified city. Not to mention being in a stalemate with the enemy, he fears the enemy like a tiger. He knows clearly that Shi Zun is questioning him and dares to go out of the city to meet him. How stupid! How stupid!"
It's no wonder that Zhu Xu was so angry that he jumped up and down. They had let go of the opportunity of Gaoli's rebellion before, hoping that Shi Hu's death would cause domestic turmoil in the later Zhao Dynasty, and various princes would fight for the throne, and then seize Guanzhong.
But now, Shi Zun has ascended to the throne of emperor in Yecheng, and the so-called rebellion to seize the direct descendants came to an end only twenty days after Shi Hu died of illness.
Zhu Xu and others thought that the chaos in Hou Zhao's country had been settled, and they thought they had missed the opportunity to take over Guanzhong, so they couldn't help but sigh.
They did not dare to accuse Huan Xi of being stubborn, not listening to others' advice, and missing good opportunities. They could only blame Zhang Jack for being useless and allowing Shi Zun to win so easily.
However, Huan Xi knew that the good show was yet to come. He glanced at all the generals. Everyone looked regretful, except for Wang Meng who looked calm.
Huan Xi asked:
"Sir, you don't get surprised at all changes. What's your advice?"
Everyone looked at Wang Meng and saw Wang Meng smiling easily:
"Shi Hu gave his orders and sent Shi Zun out of the town. I dare to ask you, who is guarding Chang'an now?"
Everyone was stunned, Huan Yi replied:
"Still King Shibao of Leping."
Previously, Shi Bao was defeated by Liang Du and fled in panic. After Liang Du died, Shi Bao returned to Guanzhong.
Before Shi Hu died, Shi Zun succeeded Shi Bao. Therefore, before Shi Zun attacked Yecheng, he sent his cronies into the pass with the intention of controlling Guanzhong, but they were expelled by Shi Bao.
Wang Meng continued to talk:
"Shi Shi was the crown prince selected by Shi Hu. He ascended the throne in accordance with the imperial edict and made no mistakes. However, he was deposed by Shi Zun. How could the vassal kings from all over the country be convinced and how could they bow their heads to Shi Zun.
"I predict that the vassal kings from all over the country will use their troops to fight for the world.
"Besides, I heard that when Shi Zun started his army, he promised Shi Min that when the matter was accomplished, Shi Min would be the crown prince.
"Now that he has broken his promise and appointed Shi Bin's son Shi Yan instead, how can Shi Min let it go?"
After saying that, Wang Meng asked:
"May I ask my lord, if you were Shi Zun, how would you deal with Shi Min?"
Huan Xi said without hesitation:
"If he cannot abide by his promise and make him the prince, he should be killed himself so that future troubles can be eliminated as soon as possible."
Wang Meng smiled and took out a letter from his sleeve and said:
"Xiaguan traveled in Yecheng in his early years and made some connections. This is a letter from a friend of mine informing him of the current situation.
"In order to appease the kings, Shi Zun appointed King Shi Jian of Yiyang as his attendant and Taifu, King Shi Chong of Pei as Taibao, King Shi Bao of Leping as Chief Sima, and King Shi Kun of Ruyin as General, in an attempt to appease everyone.
"But Shi Zun, perhaps feeling guilty about Shi Min, made Shi Min the commander-in-chief of the Chinese and foreign military affairs, the general of the auxiliary country, and the official secretary."
When Zhu Xu heard this, he was dumbfounded and said:
"Not taking Shi Min as the crown prince, but handing him all the military and political power. It is said that desires are hard to satisfy. Empress Dowager Liu's grace did not prevent Shi Zun from sending troops to Yecheng. How could Shi Min be satisfied with this? This is clearly a way to cause chaos. "
Everyone heard the words and agreed one after another. No one expected that Shi Zun would make such an arrangement.
Wang Meng handed the letter to Huan Xi and concluded:
"Reporting to my lord, I have determined that the Zhao Kingdom will be at war again soon.
"There are vassal kings outside Shi Zun who are separatist, and Shi Min is in charge of the military power inside. He is dissatisfied. The situation will not last long. Please make preparations in advance, my lord.
"When Shi Bao comes out to the east to fight for the Central Plains, my lord can send troops north to take Chang'an!"
Wang Meng woke everyone up with his words, and the generals turned from worry to joy. Huan Xi also cast a look of approval at Wang Meng.
As expected, things did not go as Wang Meng expected. Not long after Shi Zun came to the throne, Shi Zun, the third son of Shi Hu and King Pei who was guarding Youzhou, broke out. Shi Zun killed the emperor for no reason. He wanted to take the name of avenging his brother and spread the word to the land of Yan and Zhao. He led 50,000 Youzhou soldiers to the south.
Its power was so majestic that wherever it went, people who came to seek refuge gathered like clouds. Shi Chong marched to Changshan (Shijiazhuang, Hebei), and there were more than 100,000 people in the army.
Shi Zun was greatly frightened and hurriedly sent envoys to seek peace. Shi Chong summoned the generals and said hypocritically:
"Shi Zun and Shi Shi are both my brothers. People cannot be resurrected after death. How can I kill each other with Shi Zun in order to avenge Shi Shi? It's better to stop the war."
His general Chen Xian immediately stood up and dissuaded him:
"King Pengcheng committed a heinous crime by killing the king to seize the throne. Humans and gods are outraged. My lord, caring about brotherhood, wants to return to the north.
"But the last general insists on marching south. After the last general attacks Yecheng and captures the rebels alive, he will send an envoy to welcome the lord!"
Shi Chong sighed helplessly:
"General Chen is loyal to the emperor, so how can I stop the army due to personal feelings? I should go south with the general to avenge the emperor!"
When the generals heard the words, they all praised him for his kindness.
On the other hand, Shi Zun saw that Shi Chong refused to stop, so he had to send Shi Min and Li Nong to command 100,000 elite troops to go north to defend the enemy.
Shi Min and Li Nong are both Han Chinese. Shi Min's father came from the begging army, and Li Nong relied on the support of tens of thousands of begging soldiers to regain a foothold in the Later Zhao Chaotang. With these connections, the two are also very good. Get closer naturally.
When the army left the city, Shi Min and Li Nong rode side by side. Li Nong lowered his voice and said:
"Wu Xinggong is a Han Chinese and has overall military and political power. Many Jie people are wary of this. If this battle is defeated, the emperor may use the issue to accuse Wuxinggong."
Shi Min also knew that he was currently in an embarrassing situation in the court, but he always relied on his bravery and did not take Shi Chong's rebels seriously. Shi Min said disdainfully:
"Shi Chong is nothing more than a sack of wine and rice. I can destroy it like powder. It's nothing to worry about."
Li Nong worriedly said:
"The courage of Duke Wu Xing is well known to the world, but Li Nong is only worried that the enemy is not on the battlefield, but in the court."
Shi Min was speechless and could only remain silent.
After a long time, Shi Min said in a muffled voice:
"Let's wait until I break Shi Chong before we argue."
Shi and Li marched to Pingji (today's Zhao County, Shijiazhuang, Hebei) with an army of more than 100,000, and met Shi Chong's army of more than 100,000. After a fierce battle, Shi Chong was defeated and fled to Yuanshi County (today's Yuanshi, Shijiazhuang, Hebei). County), was still captured by Shi Min.
Shi Chong's soldiers surrendered as many as 30,000 people.
Shi Min escorted Shi Chong and surrendered his troops back to Yecheng, where he offered prisoners to Shi Zun.
Shi Zun resented Shi Chong's persecution and had no brotherhood. He immediately ordered Shi Chong to be put to death and the remaining 30,000 surrendered troops to be buried alive.
