Fei Wuchang suddenly broke into a cold sweat. I thought to myself: It seems that this boy Dou Yuqiang can’t move, so I’ll just keep him alive for a few more days... At this moment, I suddenly heard a voice: "The prince has arrived!"
In a blink of an eye, Xiong Zhen stepped in. After the ceremony, Fei Wuchang said: "It seems that the Dou brothers are not just a lamp that loses its oil!"
Xiong Yan said: "Who says it's not the case? However, no matter what they say, they are still grasshoppers after autumn, and they can only jump for a few days..."
Fei Wuchang said: "The monarch has been unable to go to court for several days, which shows that the dragon's body is declining. You should be prepared!"
Xiong Yan said: "Master Fei is overly concerned. Doubi is dead, and Xiong Tong has become a useless person. Who else should I be afraid of? Not to mention Huan Lie Yin (the chief official responsible for the palace's peripheral guards), Men Yin (guarding the palace) The chief official of the Gate) and Jiao Yin have been replaced by our people, it will be fine!"
Fei Wuchang said: "Of course it's better if nothing happens. What I'm worried about is not ten thousand, but what happens if..."
But Xiong Yan said confidently: "No matter what happens, no matter whether he is Xiong Tong or the Dou brothers, on the day he ascends the throne, I will use their heads to sacrifice to heaven!"
In the autumn of 741 BC, Chu Fu fell ill on the dragon couch. Prince Xiong Zhen knelt in front of the couch. Xiong Zhen said: "I know that I will not be alive for long, so I sent this message to you. After I pass away, you should get rid of the bad habits of the past. I think that since our ancestor Xiong Yi received the feudal state, the land is only a hundred miles long, and the people are no more than ten thousand households. Through the unremitting efforts of our ancestors, we have opened up the territory and expanded the territory, and now we have the land of thousands of miles. The northern countries are eyeing us with eager eyes, and they will not die in their desire to destroy us. A strong country is the foundation of our great Chu country. Remember, remember..." Then he will Fei Wuchang waited for a group of close officials to come in and gave instructions on what to do after his death... After saying that, he passed away.
When Xiong Zhen, Fei Wuchang and others came out of the inner room, Qu Naifu, Yan Ao, and Zhang Zhang all came to greet them. Qu Nai's father hurriedly asked: "How is the king now?"
Xiong Zhen said with a mournful face: "My father has passed away..." After that, he burst into tears.
When all the ministers saw this, they knelt on the ground together. Fei Wuchang immediately said: "The king has passed away. Please ask the prince to take the throne and lead all the officials to attend to the funeral of the late king!"
Chu Fu took the initiative to reign for seventeen years. He had a violent temper and was self-willed. During his reign, he instituted a series of tortures and was very strict with the people's expropriation. After his death, he was hanged and named King Li.
The new king is about to ascend the throne. The night before Xiong Tong was about to formally inherit the throne, a dark shadow flew over the walls of Xiong Tong's house and soon touched the backyard. It was already late at night, and everyone in the mansion, except for the watchman on patrol, had already fallen asleep. Seeing that the light was still on in the bedroom, the shadow quickly moved in. When the light shone on him, it turned out to be a masked man wearing green clothes and blue trousers. At this moment, a waiter suddenly came out with a tea tray, and the masked man quickly dodged into the darkness. After the boy left, the masked man jumped into the bedroom and stabbed the head of the bed, causing a head to roll onto the bed. The masked man took a closer look and saw that the head was a round piece of wood.
When the masked man was surprised, a big net fell from the sky and covered the masked man. Almost at the same time, countless spears came at him, pricking the masked man with holes. That night, at Gong Yin Doumin's house, the same assassin failed and was beheaded by the house servant who was ambushing him there.
On the morning of the enthronement ceremony, when the morning light was about to emerge from the clouds, all civil and military officials came to the court early as usual. At this moment, the dragon chair that has been empty for many days is still empty. The dragon heads on the armrests on both sides have been touched by the previous kings. They are like two tamed dragons. After completing the mission of the previous king, they begin to wait for the new owner. 's arrival.
At this time, Xiong Yan, who was wearing a beaded crown and a black royal robe, stepped in with high spirits and smugness. He proudly greeted the ministers, turned around and faced the long-admired dragon chair, and was about to sit down. Go up. At this moment, his feet suddenly slipped and he fell to the ground. He hurriedly held the chair support with both hands to sit on it again, but he slipped again... At this time, Fei Wuchang, who was waiting on the side, stepped forward and shouted loudly He shouted: "The enthronement ceremony begins and the edict is read out..."
At this time, Xiong Zhen's mind went blank. He sat on the throne twice and slid down twice. What was the reason? Xiong Yan was confused and couldn't figure it out. He didn't listen to a word of what the edict said. However, those two sittings and two fallings made him feel vaguely uneasy. It wasn't until Fei Wuchang finished reading the edict and announced that the new king had ascended the throne that he came back to his senses and stretched out his arms to the ministers, as if he wanted to embrace the whole palace and the whole world, with a look of uncontrollable relief and joy on his face. .
Under the jade steps, the two groups of civil and military ministers did not show the enthusiasm and excitement they should have for the new king's enthronement. They were obviously indifferent and dismissive of their new king. Seeing this, Xiong Yan's eyes dimmed unconsciously, so he waved his hand, and in a blink of an eye, a young general stepped in with a blood-stained white cloth bag, it was Yu Qi.
Yu Qi put the blood cloth bag on a table in front of the steps, cupped his hands towards Xiong Yan and said, "The general's affairs have been completed, so I'm here to pay the order!" After that, he stepped aside.
Xiong Yan pointed to the bloody cloth bag on the case and said proudly: "Ministers, do you know whose head this is?"
After he finished speaking, he stared at the bloody cloth bag fiercely and paced back and forth. The entire hall suddenly became silent, and the air in the courtroom seemed to have solidified. Xiong Tong paused and said, "It belongs to Xiong Tong. This man tried to usurp the throne and was treasonous. I have sent his confidant Yu Qi to suppress him!" As soon as he finished speaking, the whole hall was in an uproar.
Xiong Yan raised his hand to stop the commotion of the officials below, and then said: "Perhaps everyone doesn't understand, isn't Yu Qi a fighting slave in the widow's house? After escaping from the arena, the widow arrested him everywhere... I might as well tell you today that it was actually a pretense, to allow him to successfully break into Xiong Tong's house and act as eyes and ears. I was right, and Yu Qi lived up to his high expectations. After Xiong Tong led his army to the expedition, he opened up Baipu. , pacified Xingxi, their every move was under the control of the few, all were the news sent back by Xiao Yuqi. Now, Xiong Tong is plotting a rebellion, and he took advantage of the opportunity of getting close to the traitor Xiong Tong to take his head, and even more It is a great achievement. Now that I have ascended the throne, I hope that all the ministers can work with me to create a great cause for the prosperity of Chu. If you have different intentions, the head of Xiong Tong on the case is an example..."
Before Xiong Yan finished speaking, a thunderous voice suddenly sounded from the door of the hall: "Xiong Yan, open your dog eyes and see who this young master is!"
In the blink of an eye, a man strode in with a Chixiao sword on his waist. Everyone took a closer look, but it was Xiong Tong, and they were startled. Didn't Xiong Zhen point to the bloody cloth bag that Yu Qi brought up just now and say that it contained Xiong Tong's head? But now Xiong Tong appeared in the hall unscathed, so who could it be wrapped in the cloth bag? Where is the head? Xiong Tong was filled with suspicion, so he shook the cloth bag open with his own hands and took a closer look. He was shocked to see that the bloody cloth wrapped in it was the head of An Bao, the bandit sent by Fei Wuchang to assassinate Xiong Tong last night.
In the Chu State, Huan Liezhi Yin was the commander responsible for the defense of the palace. Xiong Yan never dreamed that just the night before he was going to ascend the throne, Huan Liezhiyin, who was wearing armor, was sitting in front of the case, fascinated by the palace defense map on the case. He may know that this is an extraordinary period and he has a heavy responsibility, and he is checking whether there are any omissions in the surrounding defenses. At this moment, Dou Min strode in with a group of soldiers. Huan Liezhi Yin was startled, and he casually grabbed the long sword placed by the table, but was held down by Xiong Min with the scabbard. Xiong Min said: "Well, why should you panic, sir? The general has been ordered to change defenses. Please go to the back and take a rest!"
At the same time, Dou Yuqiang, who was quietly released from the prison, took over the Menyin Mansion in the same way, while Yu Qi cut off the head of An Bao, the bandit who went to assassinate Xiong Tong, and brought it up to the main hall.
Xiong Tong stepped up the jade steps and said to the ministers: "Comrades, when I appear here, you may feel very strange. Yes, Xiong Tong and Fei Wuchang regard me as a thorn in their side and a thorn in their flesh, and they always want to remove him. Drop this nail. First, they sent me to the prison with a frame-up trick, and then poisoned the food. Back then, they also used the same method to kill Uncle Biwang, and then used the same method to plot against me. Fortunately, God has the eye to allow a group of my brothers and colleagues to see through this, and I survived the catastrophe."
