Chu State, Shouchun, Chu Palace.
Xiong Han, the king of Chu, was sitting on the throne. Below him were the ministers of Chu State. Xiong Han, who was only six years old, was sitting on the throne. Although he was young, he had been on the throne for some years and gradually became the leader of the country. He looks like a king, at least able to sit safely on the throne.
The courtiers of the Chu State were also divided into factions. People led by Ling Yin and Li Yuan occupied the middle of the civil servants. Ling Yin was the highest official position in the Chu State, integrating political and military power.
Lord Changping, who is in the right Yin position, is not in the court at this time. He used the unrest of the people in the Yingdu area as a reason to go to Yingdu to cooperate with Xiang Yan's entry into Shu. Youyin and Zuo Yin were the subordinates of Yin. The purpose of establishing official positions is to assist Ling Yin in handling the affairs of the entire Chu State, and to contain Ling Yin. If it is broken down, the right Yin is responsible for decentralized government affairs, and the left Yin is responsible for military power.
The person standing behind Li Yuan is Zuo Yin. Zuo Yin is the head of the Zhao family of Qu Jingzhao's three families. Behind him is the head of the Qu family. The head of the Qu family is Zuo Tu. The position of Zuo Tu was specially established for Qu Yuan by King Huai of Chu. He was in charge of diplomacy and could discuss state affairs, which was equivalent to being a close associate of the King of Chu. Zuo Tu's power came from the King of Chu, and was equivalent to a eunuch in later generations.
Only Qu Yuan and Chun Shenjun have held the position of Zuotu in Chu State. Generally, it was set up by the King of Chu by promoting his cronies to curb Ling Yin's power. In order to win over the three Qu Jingzhao families to fight against Changping Lord, Li Yuan exchanged the position of Zuotu for the friendship of the head of the Qu family.
For Li Yuan, Zuo Tu could not restrain him without the support of the King of Chu. For the Qu family, Zuo Tu was more like an honor, an honor that could stand shoulder to shoulder with Qu Yuan. Therefore, the three families of Qu Jingzhao and Li Yuan joins forces to fight against Chang Pingjun.
The head of the Jing family is in the ranks of military attaches. The Jing family has always been the family that controls the army among the three Qu Jingzhao families. Although no one in the Jing family holds positions such as Sima or general, the Jing family has deep prestige in the military. In many places The defenders were said to be Chu's army, but in fact they were all the Jing family's private army.
"Your Majesty, I want to report someone who is planning to rebel!" The Minister of Chu came out and saluted the King of Chu and said.
Hearing what Shang Qing said, a trace of panic and fear flashed in Chu King Xiong Han's eyes. Although he could act like King Chu, he was still a child after all. When faced with such things as rebellion, he didn't know what to do for a moment. He did it and looked at Li Yuan with help-seeking eyes.
After feeling the look in King Chu's eyes, Li Yuan immediately stood up and said
"Please stop talking nonsense, Sir Zhao. The people of Chu State are loyal to the King of Chu, and the ministers are loyal to the King. Who dares to rebel?"
Zhao Shangqing is a member of the Zhao family, the cousin of the head of the Zhao family, and ranks as the top minister of Chu State.
"Everything I say is true. My younger brother is the guard of Pingxing City. A few days ago, my younger brother sent someone back a letter saying that there was a large-scale mobilization of troops in the military camp. He asked me if I want to fight with the Qin State. War? My subordinates were shocked when they first received the letter. I thought it was my brother's nonsense, so I sent someone to investigate and found that General Xiang Yan, who was supposed to be in Pingxing, led the Longteng Legion and more than a dozen Thousands of soldiers who fought in the war left the military camp without authorization and their whereabouts are unknown." Zhao Shangqing took out a memorial and raised it above his head.
After Zhao Shangqing finished speaking, the entire court began to discuss. Among them, people from the Changping Lord and Xiang Yan factions looked at Zhao Shangqing angrily.
"Shangqing, don't frame a good person. General Xiang Yan is loyal to the Chu State. How can he mobilize troops without authorization?" Xiang Ming glared at Zhao Shangqing and said. Xiang Ming is the person left by the Xiang family in the Chu State's court and serves as a worker. The position is responsible for the daily management of the Chu State handicraft workshop.
"Is it true or false? Let the king see the results of the investigation. If the king doesn't believe it, you can send someone to Pingxing Camp to check and see how many troops are left?" Zhao Shangqing was not afraid of Xiang Yang and directly challenged him.
Without waiting for the order from King Xiong Han of Chu, Li Yuan directly picked up the investigation results and looked at it. Li Yuan looked at the memorial with a heavy face. The courtiers all turned their attention to Li Yuan and saw that Li Yuan's face changed from calm to calm. Turned into anger.
"Isn't Yan Yan planning to rebel!?" Li Yuan cursed loudly in court.
"Lord Ling Yin, please don't be angry. Whether this matter is true or false should be decided by your Majesty." Another official came out and said, and the person came face to face with Li Yuan.
When Li Yuan saw the person standing up, he suppressed his anger and handed the memorial to the King of Chu's attendant. The person who spoke out was Si Bei, Mi Yan, of the Chu royal family. The surname Mi is from the Chu royal family. The Chu king of Chu State is Mi Xiong. Only the previous Chu kings and their talents can use the Xiong family. The Chu royal family is Mi. , that is, a member of the clan, and Mi Yan is the patriarch of the clan with the surname Mi, that is, the great Zongzheng of the clan.
Although Li Yuan was arrogant and domineering, and did not give up when facing the three families of Qu Jingzhao, he was still at a disadvantage when facing Mi Yan, a member of the royal family. Li Yuan's power came from the King of Chu, Xiong Han, and a large part of the power of the King of Chu came from Chu. With the support of the royal family, Li Yuan did not dare to offend Mi Yan.
The attendant handed the memorial to Chu King Xiong Han, but what could a child under ten years old understand? Xiong Han couldn't even recognize the words on it, but Chu King Xiong Han still pretended to look at the memorial seriously and said
"Is what Zhao Shangqing said true?"
"Of course, if your Majesty doesn't believe it, you can send someone to investigate. I'm afraid Xiang Yan will lead the army to cause chaos." Zhao Shang said in a deep voice, with panic and impatience in his words. It sounded like things were getting too urgent.
"Your Majesty, please don't listen to traitors. General Xiang Yan is loyal to the Chu State and your Majesty. How could he lead his army to cause chaos? This must be some unscrupulous people taking advantage of the General's absence to attack and frame him." Mi Fan stood up and said.
Mi Fan was also a member of the Chu royal family. Unlike Mi Yan who was neutral, he took refuge with Lord Changping. Mi Fan believed that the court of Chu was dominated by treacherous ministers, and that the King of Chu still had problems with his identity at a young age. Now he needed someone with the means and prestige to revive the court. Lord Changping was also a member of the royal family, and his identity was innocent, so after Lord Changping entered Chu, Mi Fan decisively led some people to join Lord Changping. This was one of the reasons why Lord Changping was able to quickly establish himself in Chu.
Seeing Mi Fan start to speak for Xiang Yan, Lord Changping and Xiang Yan's people all stood up to complain and demanded severe punishment for Zhao Shangqing. Seeing Zhao Shangqing being besieged, the head of the Zhao family of Qu Jingzhao's family stood up and said
"What Xinzao Yin said is different. Since Zhao Shangqing dared to say this, it must be well-founded. How dare you frame the general for nothing? Why are you so excited?" After the head of the Zhao family said this.
Everyone in the court understood that this was a joint attack by the three families of Li Yuan and Qu Jingzhao on Changping Jun and Xiang Yan. Qu Jingzhao and Li Yuan's people also began to stand up and quarrel with Changping Jun and Xiang Yan's people. Facing the increasingly noisy court, Chu King Xiong Han seemed particularly helpless. In the years since he came to power, Li Yuan has always been in charge of government affairs, and Queen Mother Li Huan listens behind the curtain. He only needs to sleep on the throne or sit in a daze.
Today, Li Huan did not come to court because of the cold. Xiong Han, who was alone, was immediately at a loss. Looking at the noisy minister below, who was blushing and thick-necked, Xiong Han immediately burst into tears.
King Chu Xiong Han's cry immediately attracted the attention of the entire court, and the ministers did not dare to argue anymore. They returned to their positions one by one and saluted King Chu and said
"I am guilty!"
"Wow~ Let this matter be handled by Ling Yin!!" Chu King Xiong Han said while crying.
Li Yuan looked at the attendant of Chu King Xiong Han. The attendant immediately understood, picked up Xiong Han and left the throne, walking towards the harem. As the attendant left, he said
"The king has an order to let Lord Ling Yin handle this matter. After making a decision, he will leave the court!"
After King Chu Xiong Han left, the entire court fell into a strange calm again. Li Yuan stepped forward and looked at the courtiers and said
"The king has handed over this matter to me, so everyone should stop arguing like this. This is the result of Zhao Shangqing's investigation. You all should listen to it."
After Li Yuan finished speaking, he motioned to the waiter next to the throne to read out the content of the memorial. After the waiter read out, the entire court continued to remain silent. Mi Fan and Xiang Ming lowered their heads and thought about something.
"This matter is just what Zhao Shangqing said. I will send someone to investigate the specific matter. Before the results come out, it is best for Gong Yin to stay at home and let the entire Xiang family calm down and not move around at will. That's right." Li Yuan looked at Xiang Ming and said.
"The general is loyal to the Chu State, and our Xiang family has a clear conscience." Xiang Ming said. He did not believe that Xiang Yan would really mobilize the army without authorization with the intention of treason, and even if he did, he would send someone to notify Xiang Yan. family, thereby mobilizing the power of the Xiang family across the country, so that the probability of success in rebellion will be greatest.
The moment Xiang Yang recognized him, the door of Chu Palace was pushed open, and a soldier ran desperately, shouting as he ran
"Urgent military situation! Urgent military situation!"
Hearing that it was an urgent military situation, the gates of the palace were opened one after another along the way, allowing the soldiers to enter the palace directly.
"Lord Ling Yin, there is an urgent military situation from the front!!" A guard walked into the hall and said.
"Bring them up." Li Yuan glanced at Xiang Yang and Mi Fan with a pitiful look.
Seeing the look in Li Yuan's eyes, Xiang Yan and Mi Fan immediately felt that something was wrong. The ministers who didn't know the internal information also started talking in low voices. As the soldier went up to the palace, everyone's eyes were on the soldier. .
"Greetings to Lord Ling Yin, there is an urgent military situation from the front." The soldier said with heavy breath.
"What military information, just read it out directly!" Li Yuan said.
The soldier hesitated a little, but looking at Li Yuan's expression, he opened the box, opened the scroll inside and said
"General Xiang Yan joined forces with Lord Changping to mobilize an army of 170,000 soldiers from Pingxing. They secretly mobilized troops to attack the Qin State. The entire army of 170,000 soldiers was annihilated. General Xiang Yan and General Long Qi of the Longteng Army were not known to be alive or dead. The Qin army sent Cai to defend the state. General Yang Duanhe attacked Pingxing, and Pingxing defender asked for help!"
As soon as the soldier finished speaking, the whole court was shocked. They didn't expect that Xiang Yan really led an army of 170,000 to leave without permission. They didn't expect that Xiang Yan actually led his troops to attack Qin and wiped out the entire army. This was Chu. Nearly half of the country's army was said to be elite. For a moment, everyone looked at Xiang Ming and Mi Fan angrily.
Brothers, it turns out it’s not a power outage, it’s my electric switch that’s not working. The power is intermittent. I just replaced it at night and the remaining two chapters will be updated during the day.
(End of chapter)
