Spring and Autumn I Am King

Another winter solstice.

According to the tradition of Lu State, during the winter solstice, the monarchs and officials do not ask about national affairs, but listen to music for five days. In times of peace, congratulatory ceremonies were also held at the Haoshe and Zhougong's Temple. During the peak period, the imperial court was on vacation for three days, the minister did not listen to the government, the people stopped for three days, and the merchants returned to their hometowns for reunion.

But I don't know since when, every winter solstice in Lu country, they only care about paying homage to their deceased relatives.

The year before the previous year was a fierce battle with Qi, Wei, and Zheng, the Yanghu rebellion the year before, Qi invaded Lu last year, and this year is the chaos caused by Confucius, Sanhuan and Sidu...

Now, more than half a month has passed since the war in Qufu City, and the bodies in the Sishui River in Zhushui have been cleaned up, but there are many more graves on the shore.

After the doctor died, the coffin was double, and the tomb was tall, surrounded by pine and cypress that were evergreen in autumn and winter. After the soldier died, the coffin was heavy, and the earth was only a few feet high, and there was a tree. After the common people died, there was no coffin, and they were buried with grass wrapped in a mat, only a small grave with a few weeds stuck on it.

The dead are long gone, and the living should be like this. On this day, the people of the country, who were dressed in plain clothes and linen, after paying tribute to their relatives and friends, began to return, but they encountered a convoy of cars coming from the west.

There are banners, flags, guards, and horses and chariots. This is a group of envoys hired by the state of Lu.

The leader is a young gentleman with phoenix eyes, white dark clothes, a jade-like appearance, and an elegant and gentle manner. The young women passing by rarely saw such a handsome gentleman, and couldn't help but stare blankly, and then frowned when they took a closer look.

It turned out that the gentleman was in the same car as a man with a short stature like a dwarf, with an ugly appearance like a ghost, with black spots on his nose and a sharp, unpleasant voice.

It's like a black and ugly stone next to a flawless jade, and it feels awkward no matter how you look at it.

The appearance of the short man was disliked by passers-by, but the gentleman with the crown on the car did not dislike it. Instead, he was kind and polite to him.

"Ziju, the winter solstice in Japan should be at home. It's a shame to ask you to accompany me to envoy to Lu in this cold winter."

The short and ugly person hurriedly bowed: "What kind of words are you talking about, gentleman. Duan Gui, as a retainer of the Han family, it is his duty to go with the gentleman."

It turned out that the dwarf was named Duan Gui, the word Ziju, and the "gentleman" in his mouth was exactly the grandson of the Jin Qing Han family. Han Hu!

While chatting in the car, the two of them did not forget to look at the outskirts of the capital of the state of Lu. The first snow fell a few days ago. The scorched earth and flesh and blood were buried in the soil and melted into the snow, and there were no traces of war. Only the broken arrows that occasionally got off the car and picked up indicate that there was a tragic battle here.

"Gentleman, I think the chaos in the country of Lu has been settled, and people feel at ease." Duan Gui has been observing silently since he entered Lu. Said to Han Hu.

"Where can you see Zi Mo?"

Duan Gui said: "Let's not talk about Xilu's Hexi, it seems that it is not threatened by war. Let's just say that Qufu, the center of the chaos, if the war persists and people's hearts are uncertain, I am afraid that there is no time to properly bury the corpses and pay homage to the dead. These things can only survive. They will only do it when they are no longer worried about their own safety.”

Han Hu pondered: "So, Zhao Zitai has already taken control of the situation in Qufu? If this is the case, we didn't send charcoal during the heavy snow, but just added a fire to the boiling oil."

...

Han Hu recalled the past. This is the same crisis as the crisis on the eve of the Winter Solstice three years ago. At that time, Zhao Yang had a stroke, and his life and death were unknown. At that time, the Han family did not support Zhao Wuxi, but wanted to support his nephew Zhao Bolu to ascend to the throne. In the end, the Zhao family turned the corner, but the Han family was not a human being.

After the winter solstice, Zhao Wuxi became a pedestrian and sent an envoy to the Song Kingdom, but he was plotted against by Fan, and Song Qingleqi was assassinated. Zhao Wuxi, on impulse, also drowned Fan's grandson in the river, which resulted in him being expelled from the country.

However, the elders of the Han family thought that since Zhao Wuxi was expelled, his life was over, and he would not be able to return until Zhao Yang became a general in the middle of the army in terms of seniority. That would be ten or twenty years later. Don't worry about this child.

Fortunately, during the crisis, Han Hu happened to be in the prefecture and county. Under Zigong's persuasion, he gave Zhao Wuxie 200 crossbows as a favor, which was a big help to him.

Who would have expected that only three years later, he would be able to lay such a large foundation between Lu and Song, which is truly jaw-dropping.

After all, after sweeping through Xilu and capturing Punan, the state of Wei, Zhao Wuxi's power has been on a par with the Handan clan of Zhao's small sect, almost half of the Han clan... If Fan Yang knew about it in Huangquan, he would definitely be angry. come alive?

Compared with Zhao Wuxi's rapid progress abroad in the past three years, the state of Jin has been sinking day by day.

After the incident of Zhao Wuxi's expulsion, the split between the six ministers intensified, and sometimes Han Hu felt that he was actually in six states. The ruling zhibo was only interested in making profits for his own family. The Zhao family and Fan and Zhongxing were like water and fire, while Han Wei was slightly weaker and could only protect himself. Under such circumstances, Jin's administration and diplomacy could not be carried out smoothly.

The bad result is that, in the face of the strong pressure of Qi, Wei and Xianyu rebelled against Jin one after another, Yiyi fell, and the people of Qi were about to seize the hegemony.

At this time, it was the wandering son of the Zhao family of Jin who saved the situation.

Last year, the Zhao clan fought against the state of Qi, which can be said to have turned the tide. The Zhao clan, who was originally only considered a mid-level strength in the country, was so popular that scholars rushed to join.

However, the state of Jin still couldn't keep up with Zhao Wuxi's rhythm. The defeat of the state of Qi was a great opportunity to regain its dominance, but the state of Jin was in a state of wrangling and sluggishness. This made Qi State slow down and began to exert force in diplomacy. In May, Lu State and Qi State met in Jiagu, and Jin people did not get the news until July. Before he could react, was he punishing Lu Guo? Or call Lu Qing to question? The news of the civil unrest in Song Dynasty came again.

Song Guole's family was Zhao's in-laws, so Zhao Wuxi went non-stop.

At this time, it happened to be a critical moment when the Zhao family of Jin State moved their main town to Jinyang, and they could not send troops to the south to help. Han Wei's ability is limited, and he has no idea of ​​expedition at all. The rest of the three ministers had a deep gap with Zhao Wuxi, and they were not even willing to do the hard work of restraining Zheng and Wei.

Zheng Guo Yousu was a good soldier, a famous general that even Han and Zhi did not dare to underestimate. They don't believe it, Zhao Wuxi can really win every battle?

He really won. In October, when the civil war in Song was settled, the people of Wu who came to look for the gap did not get much benefit, leaving a few soldiers to help Xiang Clan stabilize a few cities and then hurriedly evacuated. The Sicheng Le family and the daughter-in-law Nanzi became the biggest winners. They were all Zhao Wuxi's in-laws and allies.

But Jin State was embarrassed. As the nominal hegemonic state, he was absent from this big event that shocked Zhongxia from beginning to end. This is something that has never happened since Duke Wen of Jin!

The Marquis of Jin, who had always "governed by the six ministers, sacrificed by the widow," couldn't bear it any longer.

At that time, Han Hu had just been crowned, and he was in the hall to listen to the whole process.

The Marquis of Jin said sadly: "When the first monarch Wen Gong, the Chu State was besieging the Song Dynasty, and the first Zhen said, to report to rescue the troubled, and to gain power and dominance, so what does it matter? So the three armies of the Jin State have been raised. Chengpu defeated the Chu general Ziyu in the first battle. , and then the alliance of the earth was practiced, the emperor sent Bo, and Jin was dominated by it. Since then, for more than a hundred years, whenever the feudal lords are in trouble, the Jin state is no different to take care of the danger and prepare for the rescue. Not to mention, the chaos of the prince's dynasty. , the Huaxiang Rebellion, and the expulsion of Duke Zhao of Lu, all these matters, the Jin State will be the master of the emperor and allies every time, and the generals of the Chinese army have personally participated in it.

Zhao Yang had just fought a small battle with Dai Rong in the north, and had just returned not long ago when he said coldly: "Twenty years ago, there was a civil strife in Beiyan, and the Marquis of Qi asked Jin to send troops to pacify the chaos in Yan. This time, the state of Qi was doing the work, which led to the state of Jin losing Beiyan forever. Now the princes have betrayed Jin, and only Song and Lu are in charge of Jin. If it wasn't for my son Wuxi, who still thought of Jin state, he resolutely sent troops. Song state is now Qi Allies!"

Zhisong knew that he was wrong and could only admit to the monarch. It is not too late. Although the situation in Song is safe, Zheng, Wei, and Qi have not given up. Jin must take action!

"Handan guards, it is better for Handan Wushuai to attack Wei and contain Wei and Qi people from the north. Also, take revenge on Wei for betraying Jin."

Handan was originally the small clan of the Zhao clan, and although five suits had already been released, the last time Zhao Yang won a big victory, the Marquis of Jin, in order to encourage him, specially announced that Handan would always be a branch of the Zhao clan, and would no longer be executed according to the fifth generation of the gentleman. the rules come.

Zhao Yang asked Handan to attack Wei, but the Marquis of Jin did not suffer any losses, so he allowed it.

After Han Hu returned to the Han family's palace, he told his grandfather Han Buxin, who was sick in bed, and Han Buxin, Daqi, of what he saw today.

"No, this doesn't look like Zhao Meng's method."

...

Han Buxin has aged a lot in the past two years. He is over sixty years old. The Han clan has always been a weak physique of elegant gentlemen. Unlike the well-developed warriors of the Wei family, their legs and feet start to fall ill as soon as they enter the winter.

When his son was in Pingyang, the head of the family, he could only have his grandson come back to assist him.

He said on the couch: "To drive away the unfaithful dog of Handan and swallow the cunning rabbit of Wei, both Handan and Wei will suffer, but Zhao's ability to benefit later is really a good chess move. However, this is not Zhao. Meng's style, there must be a high-level person behind him, and I don't know whether it is Dong Anyu, Fu Sou, or a newly acquired retainer?"

Han Hu said: "I heard that among the senior retainers of the Zhao family, there has been a 'Mr. Wuyou' wearing a mask and black recently. It is said that he is from Qi, but it was actually brought back from Lu by Zhao Qing last time..."

"Mr. Wuyou, I guess it's Yanghu!"

Han did not believe that he was scheming. He had long suspected Yang Hu's death. He knew Zhao Yang just like he knew his own nephew and younger brother. This stubborn Hu Qing has been full of ruthless tactics recently, and this may have been suggested by this person.

Han Buxin said: "Zhao Meng is at its peak in spring and autumn~www.wuxiahere.com~ His son has no shirts and is brave, and now there are more Yang goods to help, it's like a tiger with wings! When Ji Zha visited Jin, he met Zhao Wenzi, Han Xuanzi and Wei Xianzi were amazed afterward, saying that the government of Jin will be divided into three families... But 40 years later, his prophecy is still far away, and the only thing that has been fulfilled is that the Zhao clan is getting stronger and stronger..."

It is said that the population and cities controlled by Zhao Wuxi in the State of Lu are almost half of the Han family. Can you not be amazed? Now, with the help of Song Guo's ally, Zhao's future, I really can't imagine...

Fortunately, fortunately, the Han family is not Fan or Bank of China. They can choose whether to be friends with them or enemies with them.

He sighed: "I can't revitalize the Han family, I'm ashamed of my ancestors, but luckily, the Zhao and Han families have been friends for more than a hundred years, and now it can be said that both prosperity and loss are all lost. The stronger they are, the more Han family will be. The safer it is. Therefore, there must be no gaps. From now on, the Han family will never intervene in the position of the Zhao family's heir!"

Han Hu was silent, although he agreed with his grandfather's decision, but...

"Grandfather, what about the elder sister? What about Berlu?"

PS: There is another chapter in the afternoon (to be continued.)