There is no need to ask questions at all. Mr. Pingyuan also knows what Lin Xiangru did last night. What else can be done? In today's Zhao State, who else is worthy of Lin Shangqing's absence all night - except Zhao Kuo.
Lin Xiangru nodded, saying nothing.
Upon seeing this, Mr. Pingyuan felt a sense of relief in his heart. He felt that he had waited here all night in vain. Then the two sat opposite each other and began to discuss in detail what to do in the court.
...
"The king ordered, "Zhao, the general. The man who obeyed the king Zhao Kuo on horseback was arrogant and acted arbitrarily. He overstepped the authority of the Wei State and changed the king's order. Tao Yang was replaced by Hanoi County behind. He also disobeyed the king's order and was forced to die. Lord Wu'an of the Qin State made Qin and Zhao almost in a situation of eternal death. Although he contributed to the battle of Shangdang, the merits are not worth his weight.
Because the ministers begged for mercy and thought of his own request to guard the border, they were given a lighter sentence.
Then, he killed his horse and subdued the king Zhao Kuo and granted him three hundred towns. He took away his position as general and was demoted to general. Within three days, he went to Daibei to take up his post.
In addition, death penalty can be avoided, but living crime cannot be avoided! As a warning, twenty people were given imperial staffs and tied outside the palace gate to execute the punishment. All the officials had to observe the execution. "The high-pitched voice of the eunuch's order echoed in the heavenly prison.
Zhao Kuo knew that this might be the best result achieved through the joint efforts of dozens of courtiers from Lin Xiangru and Pingyuan Jun, as well as almost all the generals in the court.
Zhao Kuo could think of everything else and understand it - whether it was cutting off fiefs, seizing titles, or even being demoted, as well as being sent to Daibei, almost all of them were within Zhao Kuo's expectations, and Ma Fujun's Zhao Kuo felt that he had earned the title since he was able to retain it.
But what Zhao Kuo never expected was that King Zhao would actually order the imperial staff to stick to him. What about the promise that "the courtesy should not be extended to common people, and the punishment should not be extended to officials"? Compared to the imperial staff, other punishments such as demotion are simply not worth mentioning. This is not a slap in the face, it is clearly a slap in Zhao Kuo's face. Well, maybe it’s in the face of all the scholar-bureaucrats.
In the early Spring and Autumn Period, fighting was still an activity that only nobles could participate in. Common people were not qualified to wear armor and go to the battlefield. Therefore, there were almost incredible "rules" such as the so-called "fifty steps to laugh at a hundred steps". The reason is very simple. Those who are fighting each other are nobles and decent people. Naturally, they cannot fight to the death. Even Song Xianggong's "benevolence and righteousness" was the main theme at that time.
But as the war expanded step by step, especially a grandson named "Sun Tzu" proposed the so-called concept of war that never tires of deceit, which completely changed the pattern of war.
Those who charged forward were no longer the nobles, but the naked slaves and common people who exchanged their lives for food, so fighting with their lives became the right track. The common people gradually made achievements through fighting on the battlefield, and the gap between the nobles and the common people also continued to decrease.
Nowadays, perhaps the only thing left is the so-called "courtesy cannot be extended to common people, and punishment cannot be extended to officials." It can be said that this is the only privilege of aristocrats, which they absolutely do not want to and cannot give up. The reason why the Qin State was spurned by other countries in Shandong was that its "law enforcement must be strict and violations must be corrected" is obviously an important factor.
Now, just to get rid of the suffocation in his chest, King Zhao had to strip off Zhao Kuo's shirt and punish him with a court staff. This is tantamount to telling all nobles: "The courtesy cannot be extended to common people, and the punishment cannot be extended to officials." I don't agree with this. Complied. It was so unwise to drive almost all the nobles to the opposite side of him.
The last one who did this so blatantly was already torn apart by a car, and the grass on his grave was no longer deep.
Of course, for Zhao Kuo, this was something he wished for. Although there were still arrow wounds on his body, the twenty imperial staffs were enough to add to Zhao Kuo's injuries.
But this is the real trick!
Not only that, King Zhao also demanded that the execution be carried out in front of the palace gate, and that hundreds of officials watch the execution. This was not "to serve as a warning", but to accumulate firewood to completely burn down the palace!
Just imagine, peeling off the coat, in front of everyone, the newly scabbed wound on the chest is clearly exposed, and when the stick is applied, there is a bloody patch of flesh and blood on the back, how much visual impact it must have. For the dissatisfied courtiers and nobles, seeing such a scene, would they feel a bit sad? And for the people of Handan, will it inspire sympathy?
It can be said that Zhao Kuo absolutely has these twenty imperial staffs.
Guaranteed profit without loss. But King Zhao gave up all the hearts of the people and ministers, just for the sake of a book of thoughts?
Zhao Kuo almost couldn't believe that King Zhao would do such a ridiculous move, and then he looked up at Lin Shangqing and Pingyuan Jun beside the eunuch, as if asking: Is King Zhao crazy? !
However, Zhao Kuo's eyes had different meanings in the eyes of Lin Shangqing and Pingyuan Jun: Is this how you two do things?
The reason why there was such a misunderstanding between the two parties was because of Zhao Kuo. Being born in the 21st century, he really doesn't have any sense of honor as a noble. For thousands of years, no one's ancestors have been wealthy. Talking about nobles is the business of those people in the west. It's just that Zhao Kuo forgot that today's Warring States Period does not have thousands of years of cultural accumulation.
It was completely unacceptable in the eyes of everyone for nobles to be tortured naked, and it was even more uncomfortable than killing them.
Fortunately, this can be regarded as a beautiful misunderstanding.
Looking at Zhao Kuo's questioning eyes, the two of them couldn't help but blush. It's not that they didn't fight, they almost started fighting with that idiot King Zhao. Even Lord Pingyang kept trying to dissuade him, and Lou Chang, who wanted to kill Zhao Kuo, also remained silent. This shows how serious this punishment is. Unpopular.
Even under such circumstances, King Zhao's idiot would not let go! I would rather lose some food and stick to Zhao Kuoting's stick. Without him, Li Wei!
But can this power really be established?
Although the royal power seemed to have won the final victory, the disaster was also laid.
The twenty sticks were already the result of strong opposition from the Manchu ministers, including Lord Pingyang.
Seeing the flushed faces of the two men, Zhao Kuo seemed to have thought of something. He immediately bowed to the leader without hesitation, as if he was afraid that King Zhao would take back his life.
"Thank you, my king!" Zhao Kuo took the king's order with both hands and replied loudly.
Lord Pingyuan who was standing aside hurriedly stepped forward to help Zhao Kuo up and whispered in his ear: "We are incompetent, hey..."
Before he finished speaking, Zhao Kuo stopped him and said calmly, "Thunder, rain, and dew are all your kindness."
The short eight characters were heard again among the officials who came to pick up Zhao Kuo.
"General Gaoyi!" Everyone suddenly fell down and bowed down one by one. Zhao Kuo knew that his image of serving the country and the people wholeheartedly was established among the ministers of the Zhao Kingdom.
The door to the sky prison opened immediately, and the blazing afternoon sunlight came into view.
Presumably, it will still be sunny tomorrow.
