The fairy father

Li Ping'an was the first to get the news of Ji Chang's accident.

Because he can always pay attention to the drama of "Assassinating the Princes" in Chaoge City.

But the direction of development of this matter... just highlights a magic.

After Emperor Xin prepared and planned for several years, he took the initiative to launch an attack. Nanbohou E Chongyu became the lamb to be slaughtered by Emperor Xin. He also used a little moral kidnapping to roast other great princes on the fire.

[Whoever intercedes for Marquis Nan Bo will be praised as a sage by the world. 】

Li Ping'an originally thought Di Xin's move was childish. Who could be fooled by such a shallow trick?

But he didn't expect it...

All the princes can be fooled;

Many veterans can also be fooled;

Shang Rong, the Prime Minister of Shang State, is even more likely to be fooled.

Nan Bohou had only been imprisoned for four or five days, but already dozens of important princes and merchants entered the palace to plead with Emperor Xin to save Nan Bohou from death.

Shang Rong was scolded by Emperor Xin and shed tears in the palace.

A large number of merchant officials were punished with fifty rods and fined three years' salary.

A group of minor princes were tortured, but the punishments were not fatal and could not be called torture among the punishments of the Shang Dynasty.

For a time, there were cries of mourning in front of the gate of the Chaoge City Palace. The merchants were saying that Emperor Xin was too cruel and shouldn't fight so many ministers, and that everything could be discussed.

As time progressed and things continued to ferment, two voices emerged in Chaoge City.

Those who went to intercede for Marquis Nanbo were all loyal ministers of Dashang; those who were able to receive the punishment of Emperor Xin were all good ministers whose reputation would be passed down to future generations.

Emperor Xin's butcher knife to kill Nan Bohou has been hanging in the balance.

At this time, a more abstract scene appeared.

When Dong Bohou entered Chaoge City, he still led a small team of people and rode the fastest exotic beasts. They ran wildly for more than half a month, and his old frame was almost broken.

Di Xin's father-in-law, Dongbohou Jiang Huanchu, is here to gain prestige!

As soon as this Jiang Huanchu appeared, Emperor Xin was so excited that he almost overturned the table. He immediately sent people to secretly block the gate of Chaoge City. One grand plan after another flashed through his mind, and even Queen Jiang, who had not favored him for a long time, They were all summoned by Di Xin overnight.

Jiang Huanchu rested all night.

Early on the next morning, the elderly leader of the eight hundred princes led dozens of princes stationed in Chaoge City into the palace and went straight to Emperor Xin's main hall to plead for Nan Bohou's life.

Ji Chang, who had already seen the problem at this time, wisely chose to protect himself wisely and did not participate in this wave of linkage between princes.

As a result, Ji Chang was accused by several friends, saying that he was cowardly and afraid of getting into trouble.

As the princes entered the hall to worship, the palace gate slowly closed.

Ji Chang clasped his hands behind his back and sighed softly. His body, which had been hunched over subconsciously, slowly stood up straighter.

Boom——

There was a muffled thunder in the sky, and at some point, the sky was filled with dark clouds, and heavy rain continued to fall.

On that day, Nanbohou E Chongyu attempted to unite with the Southern Barbarians to rebel, but was executed by the emperor.

Dongbohou Jiang Huanchu and dozens of other princes interceded for Nanbohou. The emperor was furious and Jiang Huanchu was burned to death. Dozens of princes were severely tortured and half of them died.

There was silence in Chaoge City, and troops and horses were arranged outside Chaoge City, ready to start the Eastern Expedition at any time.

An old official from the Shang Dynasty entered the palace and reprimanded Emperor Xin for his cruelty. He was tortured and his body was found outside the palace gate.

On the same day, Emperor Xin announced the appointment of a group of merchants and ministers, and a group of talented and capable people from minor aristocrats to common people entered the court.

Emperor Xin also announced that the Eastern Expedition would be postponed, and that all princes should contribute food, grass, soldiers, armor, and slaves. Anyone who failed to arrive at Chaoge City in another two months would be punished for treason.

Half of the princes rushed to pay tribute.

Half a month later, Jihou Su Huzhao told all the princes in the world, denounced Emperor Xin's cruelty, and shouted that he would never go to Shang Dynasty.

Emperor Xin immediately ordered to suspend the Eastern Expedition and mobilize an army of 500,000 to attack the country of Ji personally.

That is to say, on the eve of Emperor Xin's personal attack on Su Hu, Emperor Xin held a banquet in the palace, and only one person was entertained by Emperor Xin.

Xibohou, Ji Chang.

…

A shadow of Li Ping'an appeared in the corner of the side hall. He crossed his arms and leaned against the wooden pillar, looking at the somewhat depressing scene at this moment.

Di Xintan's chest was exposed, and she was wearing a long coat made of gold silk. She was leaning on a low couch. In front of her were two kneeling beauties. There was a table on their backs, and several kinds of delicacies were placed on the table. .

Ten feet away, Ji Chang, who was already looking very old, was sitting on his knees with his head lowered. There was a low table in front of him, and beside him were two guards with swords.

Several side dishes were placed in front of Ji Chang.

"Eat, my love."

Emperor Xin's eyes were full of smiles.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Ji Chang stretched out his hand with some fear, grabbed a piece of animal leg meat, brought it to his mouth and chewed it.

Di Xin said warmly: "You don't have to look like this. You are a sage and a born god. Who can you show yourself to in such a miserable state?"

He sneered, his face with beard full of mockery.

Di Xin's voice became lighter and lighter:

"In this Chaoge City, the person who understands people best is probably you, Ji Chang.

"My father, I killed your father. Do you have any grudge?"

Ji Chang quickly lowered his head and knelt down, ignoring the oil stains, and shouted vaguely: "Your Majesty Mingjian! Old minister! My only loyalty is to the late king and your Majesty!"

"Okay, stop shouting."

Di Xin waved his hand:

"Sit down, I have no suitable reason to kill you now. There should be rumors outside that as long as I am drunk, I will easily become furious and kill innocent people indiscriminately.

"In exchange for my reputation as an alcoholic and violent person, I, the great merchant, can live longer for a thousand years. What does Xibohou think?"

Ji Chang slowly raised his head, and after just a glance at Emperor Xin, he quickly lowered his head, resting his forehead on the carpet, and shouted: "My king! You should put the country first! Take care of yourself! Don't drink too much!"

"You old thing, there are no outsiders here."

Emperor Xin sighed softly, looked at the bell in front of him, and thought about Fei Zhong and the fifty swordsmen outside the hall.

He said leisurely:

"I have been waiting for this day, do you know how long I have waited?

"That Jiang Huanchu, known as the leader of the eight hundred princes, wants to share the world with Chaoge City, but he forgot that this world belongs to my merchants! Not to mention that he is just a daughter marrying me, even if he recognizes me as his father, I can't let him be so reckless and forget his ancestors!

"If his Jiang family hadn't been rewarded by the Shang Dynasty, how could they be here today, how could they be here at this time!"

Ji Chang lowered his head and dared not say much.

Emperor Xin seemed to be venting, and also seemed to want to irritate Ji Chang, and continued:

"Do you think I don't want to kill you directly?

"You and Jiang Huanchu, in fact, can only die one at a time. If you die two, it will force both sides to rebel at the same time. That little Su Hu is just a jumping clown. He can't see the situation clearly, and he really thinks there is so-called righteousness in this world.

"I will kill him first to sacrifice the flag, and then send troops to the east to cut off the foundation of the Jiang family and destroy the Dongyi tribes supported by the Jiang family.

"With two more expeditions to the east, I can re-establish the rich land in the east of the Shang Dynasty and show the glory of Tang Zu again!"

Emperor Xin raised his arms and shook them vigorously.

"Then look at who is the real sage now!"

Ji Chang said anxiously: "The king is a sage!"

"I have said it, you can relax, why do I want to kill you now? To make you Zhou people rebel? "

Emperor Xin sneered:

"Ji Chang, I have investigated your sons thoroughly.

"The eldest son is cowardly, the second son is a common man, the third son is mediocre, and the fourth son is missing. You claim to have a hundred sons, but most of them are adopted sons who are just for show, winning people's hearts and controlling military affairs. The only ones who can be of great use are your two sons.

"But unfortunately, he met me.

"When I pacify the Jiang family, what can your Zhou Kingdom do?

"In fact, I have another reason not to kill you... You guard the west gate of Chaoge City. Those Qiang people are brave and cruel. Before your Zhou Kingdom existed, they threatened the heartland of our Shang Kingdom several times, and our ancestors had to move the capital to avoid them.

"Therefore, our ancestors used a clever trick to introduce a Qiang tribe to the border of the Shang Dynasty, taught them the methods of casting and forging armor, and treated them as subjects of our Shang Dynasty.

"This is how your Zhou Kingdom is today.

"Which of these eight hundred princes was not enfeoffed by the Shang Dynasty? Which one has not been conquered by the Shang people? And you dare to be an enemy of the Shang Dynasty?"

"Your Majesty!" Ji Chang shouted in a trembling voice, "Your Majesty, I have no intention of being an enemy of the Shang Dynasty! Please be clear, Your Majesty! Your Majesty, I am loyal to you, and the Ji family has no second thoughts about the Shang people!"

Emperor Xin frowned and looked at Ji Chang.

He suddenly kicked the beautiful girl in front of him and cursed, "Boring... Kneel here. When the sun rises, you will be sent to Youli for detention. You are not allowed to have any contact with anyone, especially the Zhou people. If there are any dereliction of duty, they will be taken to the snake pool."

Several guards immediately flashed out and bowed their heads to accept the order.

Emperor Xin turned and left.

Ji Chang shouted: "Thank you for not killing me!"

"You are a coward!"

Ji Chang shouted again: "Thank you for not killing me!"

"Coward!"

Emperor Xin cursed with some reluctance, and the swordsmen waiting outside the hall left quickly.

Ji Chang knelt there motionless, his gray hair trembling constantly.

Li Pingan looked at this scene and raised his eyebrows slightly.

He didn't have any sympathy or sense of belonging to the camp, he was just observing, feeling, and improving his understanding.

He, an outsider, actually saw it clearly.

Emperor Xin didn't want to kill Ji Chang, but he was forced by the situation and couldn't kill Ji Chang at all.

Keeping Ji Chang could temporarily stabilize the Zhou people, and he could also use Ji Kao to continue to divide the Zhou people in Xiqi City and persuade the Zhou people not to take advantage of the situation to revolt. In this way, Emperor Xin could free up his hands to deal with Dong Bohou.

Now, Emperor Xin's overall plan has been successfully completed.

The vitality of the eight hundred princes was greatly damaged, the Dongbo family was leaderless, and Jiang Huanchu's eldest son did not dare to shout an immediate attack on Shang.

The fundamental reason behind this was that after the years of Emperor Xin's tossing, the national strength of Shang was improved again, and the generals were good at fighting and the soldiers were brave.

As the food, soldiers and armor sent by various princes arrived in Chaoge City, Chaoge City was strong and could even support a two-front war.

After Ji Chang was taken to Youli City for imprisonment, Emperor Xin summoned his trusted ministers to discuss the eastward expedition, and there was an old minister standing here - Shang Rong.

Shang Rong represented the old aristocratic forces and had been swept out by Emperor Xin.

In Chaoge City, merchants were saying that Emperor Xin was drunk and cruel, and only a few ministers such as Bigan knew that their king had almost revived a dead chess game.

Next, it was to fight against foreign countries, intimidate the princes, establish the country's destiny with military force, and sacrifice the kings with killing.

…

Li Ping'an's sight had already moved from Xiqi City to Chaoge City.

It was not because of other things, but there were too many stories here.

Ji Chang was imprisoned for only half a year. Su Hu of Jizhou was defeated and committed suicide. Before his death, he cursed Emperor Xin to die a bad death. Su Hu's wife and children were all reduced to slaves. His daughter Su Daji was beautiful. She was discovered by the military supervisor You Hun and presented to Emperor Xin, becoming one of Emperor Xin's many beauties.

When the troops who had conquered Su Hu returned to Chaoge City for garrison, Emperor Xin led the main force of the Shang army to march east again.

The Jiang family, whose parents were slaughtered, did not dare to let out a single fart. Instead, they dedicated a large amount of food, grass, and armor to Emperor Xin, and sent some elites to help the merchant army conquer Dongyi.

Di Xin did not gain much benefit from this Eastern Expedition. He did not plunder many treasures, food and grass, and did not capture enough prisoners.

——Because the Dongyi tribes had already migrated in advance under the instruction of the Jiang family, only a few small tribes were left to fill in the war merits for the merchants.

But Di Xin's goal has been achieved.

All the princes in the world were deeply disappointed with the Jiang family's silence. The prestige of the Jiang family plummeted. When Emperor Xin withdrew his troops, he even beat the Jiang family. He ordered an army of merchants to defeat one or two small princes who followed the Jiang family, and entered the city to burn, kill, and loot. And for.

The Jiang family still didn't dare to breathe.

Since then, the Jiang family has begun to decline. Emperor Xin has already taken direct action against the Jiang family when planning the fourth Eastern Expedition to support a new Dong Bohou to protect the east gate of the earth for merchants.

After Emperor Xin led his army back to Chaoge City, his prestige among merchants reached its peak, and his reputation also reached its peak.

Di Xin didn't care at all about the infamy. After the situation was under his control, Di Xin began to sing and sing every night.

It was at this time that the charming Su Daji received Emperor Xin's favor, and Su Daji's surviving family members were saved.

And Su Daji, a beauty with no background in the court, was also selected by Emperor Xin to suppress Empress Jiang.

Through the "mouth of women", Emperor Xin accelerated the pace of promoting his direct lineage. The power of the Shang king became increasingly powerful, the power of the merchant ministers gradually dispersed, and Shang Rong was forced to resign.

After cultivating in this way for several years, Emperor Xin had begun planning the third Eastern Expedition and once again issued an order to collect grain from the princes.

Xiqi City.

In Li Pingan's small courtyard.

The increasingly calm Ji Fa sat in front of Li Ping'an, his face a little haggard and his expression mostly tired.

'Ji Dan', who was still so young, smiled and poured a cup of tea for Ji Fa, and asked in a warm voice: "Second brother, what's wrong? The war in the west is not going well?"

"It went well," Ji Fa sighed. "Most of the Qiang tribes have been conquered. Thanks to your suggestions in the past few years, we have grasped the second sword."

"Then why is the second brother so frowning?"

"My father is old, but he is still trapped in prison."

Ji Fa whispered:

"How can I feel at ease about this?

"Now the king has once again ordered the princes to transport grain and grass. I have discussed with several adults and want to take this opportunity to bring more treasures and go to Chaoge City to intercede for my father and ask the king to let him go."

Li Ping'an thought for a while and said slowly: "In the current situation, the Jiang family has lost all its energy, the merchants are becoming more tyrannical, and the princes dare not make any moves. It is possible that Di Xin will let his father come back."

"Alas," Ji Fa whispered, "sometimes I can't tell whether the king is cruel and tyrannical or talented and strategic."

"Everyone has many sides," Li Ping'an smiled and shook his head. "His strategic vision is not inconsistent with his acting style, and the tradition of merchants is to use terror to make the princes fearful, thereby consolidating their own rule."

Ji Fa said: "Fourth brother, why don't you and I accompany my eldest brother when we go to Chaoge City this time?"

Li Pingan touched his chin and asked, "Why should I go?"

"It's not that you have too many ideas," Ji Fa muttered, "I'm really worried about letting the eldest brother go by himself. What I'm most afraid of now is that the eldest brother will see the king, and then the king will kill his father and help the eldest brother take the throne... I'm not I am nostalgic for power, but I am afraid that my eldest brother will destroy me, Zhou Renzhi.”

Li Ping'an smiled and said: "Okay, I can go too, but I won't care about other things, I just want to watch the fun."

Ji Fa asked: "What's so exciting?"

"This," Li Ping'an pondered for a moment, thinking of the divination he saw Ji Chang made in the prison in Youli City yesterday.

[Loss hexagram sixty-three: If three people travel together, one person will be harmed. 】