According to Zhao Xie's order, Zhao and Zhao Han and other cronies went to the side hall to continue to discuss how to raise troops to rebel the next day, and the apse only left the eunuch Ling Xu Shen alone to accompany Zhao Xie to meet Shao Ping, and then not long after, Shao Ping, the supervisor of Handan County directly appointed by the Han court, was led into the apse by the guards of the Zhao Palace and brought to Zhao Xie.

Like the little yellow door report, Shao Ping was indeed wearing plain clothes and white shoes and wearing filial piety, and as soon as he saw Zhao Xie, he bowed down, crawled in front of Zhao Xie and cried, Zhao Xie, who had a personal relationship with Shao Ping, did not dare to slack off, and hurriedly got up and came over to personally support Shao Ping, and said kindly: "Shao Yushi doesn't have to be so polite, please get up quickly, I don't know why Shao Yushi is dressed up like this, is it a relative who died in the family?" ”

"King Xie." Shao Ping, who had an elegant appearance, wiped a handful of tears and cried and said: "Thank you for your concern, but the king misunderstood, and there are no relatives in his family." ”

"Then why is Shao Yushi dressed up like this?" Zhao Xie was a little confused, and then misunderstood again, and said: "Could it be that some relatives and friends of Shao Yushi have died, so they are dressed like this?" ”

"It's not." Shao Ping shook his head again, crying and said: "The king still misunderstood, the minister did not have any relatives and friends and elders who died, but the minister had a close friend whose life would not last long and was about to pass away, and the minister was sad, so he dressed like this and prepared to mourn his friend in advance." ”

"Mourning a friend in advance?" Zhao Xie was dumbfounded when he heard this, and said in his heart It's good to have a friend like you, before the person died, you had already dressed like this in advance to mourn him, wishing that your friend would die early? Are you still planning to play a few small sums of money on your friend's funeral hall?

Out of etiquette and curiosity, Zhao Xie still asked Shao Ping again: "I didn't expect Shao Yushi to attach so much importance to friendship, I don't know what is the surname of your friend who is about to pass away?" Where do you live? Do you want to give Shao Yushi a few days off and let Shao Yushi visit him at home? ”

"Don't bother with the king's leave." Shao Ping cried even more sadly, and said with a wail: "Your Majesty has seen this friend who is about to pass away, please take care of yourself, the king, and soon you will be under the Jiuquan, and please be sure to bring a good one for the ancestors and ancestors of the Zhao Kingdom." Please also rest assured, the king, every year when your death day comes, your subordinates will definitely set up a spiritual seat at home, offer wine and meat to the king, and will never forget ....... ”

Before Shao Ping's words were finished, of course Zhao Xie had completely fainted, but Xu Shen next to him was furious when he heard it, and couldn't help but roar: "Shut up!" Shao Ping, you are so bold, you dare to curse our king is about to die? ”

"Xu Eun Ling, isn't that so?" Shao Ping cried and retorted, saying: "The king is now terminally ill, there is no cure, he will die in a few days, and he is destined to die without a place to be buried." Xiaguan Meng did not give up on the king, was treated as a friend by the king, his heart was sad, and he came to mourn for the king in advance, how can it be regarded as a curse? ”

I didn't expect Shao Ping to answer so directly and reasonably, Xu Shen couldn't help but be a little dumbfounded, and couldn't find anything to refute Shao Ping for a while, Zhao Xie, who had already come back to his senses, was angry and confused, and said angrily: "Shut up!" Don't think that you, Shao Ping, are an official appointed by the imperial court, so you can speak wildly in front of the widow! The widow asks you, what disease is the widow already terminally ill? And how is there no cure? ”

"My lord, it seems that your illness is more serious than your subordinates estimated!" Shao Ping cried even more when he heard this, beating his chest in an exaggerated way and saying, "Your lord, you are suffering from a foolish disease!" The king, you are confused, so confused that you are so confused that you will kill yourself, bring about your own destruction, and you will have to accompany your whole family to die with you, it is completely hopeless! ”

"Shut up!" Zhao Xie's anger could no longer endure it, and he pushed Shao Ping to a stumbling side, and roared: "Come on, take down this madman for the widow!" ”

The palace guards sang a promise and immediately rushed forward to get people, but Shao Ping was not afraid and said loudly: "Wait! Dare to ask the king, your subordinates are kind enough to mourn you, why do you want the guards to take down your subordinates? ”

"You curse the widow, why can't the widow take you?" Zhao Xie asked angrily.

"How did your majesty curse you, the king?" Shao Ping looked very strange and asked rhetorically: "Aren't you confused, king?" If you are not confused, why do you want to kill yourself for no reason and replace Li Junzun, the hard-working and hard-working commander of Handan County? And why do you hold meetings in the palace one after another, and gather your cronies to discuss important matters? ”

Before Shao Ping's words fell, Zhao Xie's face had already changed greatly, and he blurted out, "How do you know?" ”

"If you don't want people to know, you can't do it unless you do." Shao Ping replied very directly, and said: "The king, you have convened your cronies in the harem for two consecutive days to discuss important matters, which is not only known to your subordinates, but also to many people, including Xia Xiangguo and Li Junzun, who has just been taken away by the king. ”

Zhao Xie's face changed even more, and he couldn't help but quietly glance at Xu Shen on the other side, seeing that Xu Xie's face was also like earth, sweating like pulp, Zhao Xie was inevitably even more panicked in his heart, and hurriedly said: "So what?" The widow is the king of Zhao, and it is natural to convene his subordinates to discuss state affairs, what's wrong? Also, Handan County is the land of my Zhao country, who the widow is willing to let be the keeper of Handan County is the freedom of the widow, who can interfere? ”

"Aren't you afraid that there are not enough people who falsely accuse you of preparing to rebel?" Shao Ping asked calmly, and then asked: "Does the king know that in the past few years, how many people have secretly played the imperial court, falsely accusing the king of trying to rebel and preparing to rebel against the imperial court?" ”

"Is there such a thing? How can the widow not know? Why would they do it? Zhao Xie asked in surprise.

"You don't know, my lord, it's because they are indeed falsely accused, and our Emperor His Majesty is wise and wise, and he is not willing to add guilt to you for no reason, so he didn't make a noise and didn't let you know."

Shao Ping replied very directly, and said: "As for why those shameless villains do this, there are many reasons, some are speculating about the thoughts of the emperor and the court, thinking that His Majesty the emperor intends to cut off the king with a different surname, in order to invite merit and reward, and please the emperor to be promoted and make a fortune, so he deliberately fabricated charges to falsely accuse you, the king." There are also those who have a grudge against the king and want to take revenge for personal gain; There are also the remnants of the treacherous party, who want to kill people with a knife and avenge the treacherous minister; There are also those who are afraid that the world will not be chaotic, chasing after the wind and shadows, framing them out of thin air, harming others and themselves. In short, if it weren't for the benevolence and magnanimity of His Majesty the Emperor, the imperial court would have had countless excuses to take down you, the king. ”

Speaking of this, Shao Ping smiled bitterly again, and said: "It's ridiculous that the king not only knows nothing about these situations, doesn't know how to rein in the edge, and has already decided to get out, on the contrary, he also killed himself, replaced the imperial court and appointed the Handan County Guard to take charge of the real power, and even took the military power, gave people a handle, and took the initiative to provoke the suspicion of the emperor and the court, so the ministers said today that the king is already terminally ill and incurable, and he will not be in a different place in the future, repeating the mistakes of Linjiang Wang Yingbu." ”

Zhao Xie's face turned even paler, and he said after a while: "Just because the widow removed Li Yuan, Your Majesty is going to kill me?" ”

"Great King, if you are in the position of His Majesty the Emperor, do you think the Emperor will kill you?" Shao Ping asked rhetorically, and said: "Your throne was obtained by Zhang Er and Chen Yu, not by our Emperor His Majesty, and the relationship with the emperor is unfamiliar, and he has no merit during the Chu and Han Wars. Now you don't think about reciprocating, but instead remove the Handan county guard who His Majesty the Emperor indirectly holds the real power, take power, and at the same time convene his cronies one after another to discuss important matters, if the king is in the position of the emperor and hears these news, do you dare to sleep and close your eyes with confidence? Will you have the idea of making a first move and doing it once and for all? ”

Shao Ping asked, Zhao Xie's face was a little pale, and when Shao Ping finished asking, Zhao Xie's face was even more pale than white silk, Shao Ping observed his words, and saw that Zhao Xie was already terrified to the extreme, so he said: "King, don't think that the mountain is high and the emperor is far away, you can do whatever you want in Handan, you are the king of Zhao, and there are many Zhao clans to support it, but you don't forget, during the period when Zhang Er and Chen Yu were in power, you, the king of Zhao, were like a puppet, and almost had no real power." After the imperial army broke through the giant deer, it returned a lot of your power, but the military power has always been in the hands of Zhao Xiangxia, the upper and lower ranks of the Zhao army, either Xia Xiangguo's people, or the people of the imperial court, if you dare to make any moves, I am afraid that without the imperial court's action, the Zhao army can directly take you down! ”

Of course, what Shao Ping said was the truth, and it was precisely because of this that Zhao Xie was sweating and trembling when he heard it, and Xu Shen on the other side saw that something was wrong, so he hurriedly stepped forward and pulled Zhao Xie aside, attached it to Zhao Xie's ear and whispered: "King, don't listen to this puppet's nonsense, at least the palace guards are still in our hands, and if we suddenly make a move, we may not have no chance of winning!" Moreover, Julu is only more than a hundred miles away from Handan, you have been operating there for many years, it is really not good, we can also immediately withdraw to Julu and meet Zhao Junzun. ”

As if hearing Xu Shen's whisper, Shao Ping, who was in the distance, suddenly spoke again and said, "King, if you want to die and struggle, your subordinates can guarantee that it will have absolutely no effect." Xia Xiangguo deliberately took leave today and did not enter the palace to participate in the court meeting, which is already ironclad evidence, all the garrisons outside Handan City are controlled by him, as long as he gives an order, the troops outside the city can immediately enter the city and take over the city defense. ”

"And." Shao Ping added: "Even if the king has a good foundation in Julu and escapes from the city, it is destined to be difficult to rush to Julu and join Zhao Hui and Zhao Junzun. Because the king, don't forget, between Julu and Handan, there is also a Quliang army stationed, and the army there is also controlled by Xia Xiang, since Xia Xiangguo has already given birth to the mind of prevention, how could he forget not to say hello to Quliang's garrison? ”

At this moment, even the most stubborn Xu Shen had nothing to say, and Shao Ping said again: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty is bold, and I want to remind you again as a friend, although you are the patriarch of the Zhao clan, the Zhao royal family is not monolithic. After the ancestor of Zhao State, Zhao Wuling Wang, gave the throne to King Zhao Hui, because of the struggle for power between father and son, Gongzi Cheng beheaded his brother Gongzi Zhang, surrounded the Dune Palace, and starved King Zhao Wuling to death under the secret instruction of King Zhao Hui, father and son cannibalism, if you dare to make any changes, or greedy for glory and wealth, or for the sake of your life, there may not be anyone in the Zhao clan who will follow Gongzi Cheng and Zhao Hui's prince He Dayi to kill relatives, Yin Jian is not far away, and I hope that the king must not forget. ”

Recalling the hesitant attitude of several of his cronies when they decided to start an incident, as well as the beautiful things that their ancestors had done before, Zhao Xie, who had already made up his mind, was shaken again, and couldn't help but slowly walk back to his throne and sit down slowly, and only after a long time did he tremble and say: "In this way, the widow has to die?" At this time, even if the widow re-appointed Li Junzun as the county guard of Handan, the emperor and the court would not be able to tolerate the widow? ”

"Of course I can't." Shao Ping's words directly shattered Zhao Xie's last hope, and said: "Your lord, as long as you stand in the position of the emperor and think about it, will you still be able to tolerate yourself who has already given birth to signs of rebellion?" Also, there is no impermeable wall in the world, and the matter you have been discussing in the past few days, no matter how you kill people and destroy your mouth, I am afraid that sooner or later it will reach the ears of His Majesty the Emperor. ”

Zhao Xie's face was completely pale, and Xu Shen next to him hurriedly took two steps forward, wanting to take this opportunity to instigate Zhao Xie to fight to the death, but he didn't think that Shao Ping rushed to say: "However, if the king wants to live and keep his glory and wealth, of course there is no way." His Majesty is grateful for the king's kindness, and this time he entered the palace to mourn, and he brought you something that could save your life. ”

"What's that?" Zhao Xie subconsciously raised his head quickly.

Shao Ping didn't answer, just reached into his arms and took out a slip from his arms, Zhao Xie saw anxious, pushed away Xu Shen, who was about to step forward to take the slip for himself, and rushed directly to Shao Ping to take it personally, but when he unfolded the slip and took a closer look, Zhao Xie was dumbfounded, it turned out that this slip was a document from a family of Zhao that accused Zhao Xie's only son, Zhao Jia, of conniving at the doorman and killing their family.

"Shao Yushi, how can this thing save the lives of widows?" Zhao Xie asked strangely: "The widow's son connived at the doorman, killed the Si Kou Guan Temple who corrected their illegal behavior, and then relied on the widow's power to put pressure on the Si Kou and forced the Si Kou Guan Temple not to investigate this matter, this is to add to the crime of the widow, how can the widow's life be saved?" ”

"Don't worry, the king will definitely be able to save it." Shao Ping replied in a deep voice: "At tomorrow's court meeting, the king, you only need to make this simple slip public, first take down your crown prince and ask him for guilt, and then go to the court, and take the initiative to ask His Majesty the Emperor to punish your godson for the crime of laxity, and abolish your princehood, so that your subordinates can guarantee that you can escape for your life, and you can keep your glory and wealth, and enjoy it for generations!" ”

"What do you mean?" Zhao Xie finally understood what Shao Ping meant, and said: "Let the widow exchange the prince for the emperor and the imperial court in exchange for the extrajudicial mercy of the widow and not add capital crimes?" ”

Shao Ping nodded calmly, and Xu Shen, who had to rely on Zhao Xie to enjoy the glory and wealth, was anxious when he heard this, and hurriedly bowed to Zhao Xie, and said again and again: "King, you must not be like this!" You can't do that! The king, you are the royal family of the Zhao country, the ancestors of the country are not easy to come by, the king, you must not listen to the shameless words of this despicable villain, and give up the society of the Zhao country! ”

"My Majesty, with all due respect, the country of Zhao is indeed hard-won, but are you qualified to sit on this country?"

Shao Ping didn't bother to argue with Xu Shen, but said directly to Zhao Xie: "Presumably, the king yourself, you know very well that the reason why Zhang Er and Chen Yu supported you as the king of Zhao at the beginning was just to buy the hearts of the people of Zhao under your banner, and they didn't really respect you as a king at all." Later, the two traitors were captured, and it was the imperial army that contributed money and efforts, and the king not only did not build an inch during the period, but also sat back and watched Zhang Er and the traitor be capricious several times, betraying the emperor and falling to Western Chu, the people of Zhao State, how can you really support the king and you are king in Zhao State? Your merits and prestige, how can you be worthy of the title of King Zhao? Since virtue is not matched, it is better to hand it over by yourself. ”

"Shut up! You lackey sent by the imperial court! Shut your dog's mouth! Come! Come on! Take this puff down! Take! ”

Xu Shen couldn't bear it anymore at all, and shouted loudly to force the palace guards to take Shao Ping down, but because Zhao Xie didn't speak, the palace guards didn't dare to make a move, just looked at Zhao Xie who looked hesitant and waited for his order. Shao Ping also knew that Zhao Xie was at war with heaven and man at the moment, so he said again: "King, it's still too late to restrain the horse from the precipice, whether it is life or death, it is already in your thoughts, your majesty is all about it, please decide." If you are really determined to fight to the death, please take down your subordinates now and behead them, and your subordinates have long been determined that they will not be able to go back. If you are willing to restrain yourself from the precipice, at tomorrow's court meeting, please make this slip public, and then take the initiative to ask the court to abolish your princehood. Your Majesty estimates that with the generosity and kindness of His Majesty the Emperor, at least he will leave you a throne and a few counties of food and town, so that you can be free for life. ”

"Generosity and kindness?" Zhao Xie laughed directly and said, "It is indeed generous and benevolent, otherwise, how could His Majesty the Emperor find ways to place you next to the widow?" Waiting for this opportunity to say these things to the widow? ”

"If the emperor is not generous and benevolent, how can he let his ministers come to your side, the king?" Shao Ping replied more directly, and said: "This is the retreat path that His Majesty the Emperor kindly arranged for you, as for the king, whether you are willing to take this road depends on whether the king is willing to accept the kindness of His Majesty the Emperor." ”

Zhao Xie lowered his head with a dejected face, and said weakly after a while: "You go back first, let the widow think about it all night, and then make a decision tomorrow." ”

Shao Ping agreed, but Xu Shen next to him was anxious, and hurriedly said: "King, you can't let this puppet go, as long as he leaks what he just said when he leaves the palace, some people will prepare in advance!" ”

"If you don't let him go, some people won't be prepared in advance?" Zhao Xie's smile was extremely bitter, and then he waved his hand weakly to Shao Ping, and said, "Go, no matter what happens in the future, the widow will accept your favor and thank you for your kindness." ”

Shao saluted, and then walked out of the apse directly without looking back, leaving Zhao Xie in the apse with a pale face and silent, and Xu Xie crawling at Zhao Xie's feet and crying, desperately begging Zhao Xie not to take the initiative to hand over the throne. Then unconsciously, Zhao and Zhao Han and several other cronies also returned to the apse together, and they all hung their heads with different expressions, without saying a word.

"Did you hear that?"

Zhao Xie asked, seeing a few cronies nodding together, Zhao Xie asked again: "Then what do you think the widow should do?" ”

What answered Zhao Xie was the silence of several cronies for a long time, and Zhao Xie was even more desperate when he saw it, so he said: "Then you all go back to rest, let the widow think about it carefully, and the widow must also think about it carefully." ”