As if he had a good understanding, after the court meeting to adjust the position of the county guard in Handan, even if Zhao Xie did not give an order or hint, several of his cronies coincidentally chose to stay, and after leaving the palace of King Zhao built by the Han court for Zhao Xie with the congregation officials, they ran to the apse together to meet Zhao Xie, and they were immediately summoned by Zhao Xie.

Zhao Xie's cronies, except for the eunuch Ling Xu Shen, the rest are all members of the Zhao clan, not outsiders, and it is very convenient to speak, so just after the salute, Zhao Han, who has been renamed the county guard of Handan, asked directly: "King, your subordinates have the courage to ask, you let your subordinates replace Li Yuan as the county guard of Handan, but what big things do you want to do?" ”

Although he had already struggled to make up his mind in his heart, when he was asked directly, Zhao Xie was obviously a little hesitant, hesitated for a moment before shaking his head, and said: "Don't get me wrong, the widow promoted Li Yuan to a fake appearance, and he really just wanted to reward him for his ability to govern the county and take care of the people, there is no special reason." As for letting you serve as the county guard of Handan, I also want you to have more experience, you can do a good job and govern Handan County well for the widows. ”

Zhao Han, Xu Shen and the others exchanged glances with each other, and they also hesitated, and then Zhao Han said again: "Your Majesty, forgive your Majesty, although the change of Handan County Guard is our own business, and it has nothing to do with the court and the emperor, but Li Yuan is a person appointed by the court after all, and he took away his real power for no reason, I am afraid that the emperor and the court will be suspicious of you if they know about it." ”

Zhao Xie fell silent, and only after a while did he suddenly say: "If the widow doesn't do this, won't the emperor and the court have any suspicions about the widow?" ”

Seeing that Zhao Xie said so explicitly, everyone present was suddenly shocked again, and Zhao and others, who were in charge of collecting taxes, asked directly: "King, have you heard any rumors?" ”

Zhao Xie didn't hesitate this time, shook his head directly, and then said: "You don't need to hear any rumors, can't you see the emperor's arrangement?" First of all, he deliberately let the widow return to Handan, leaving the only Julu County that the widow could directly control before leaving the widow, separating the widow from the king of Yan, and Jiao Wen, the shameless villain, tried his best to encourage the widow to let Li Yuan and Zhao Hui swap positions, and now the emperor is looking for an excuse to increase the army in Hengshan County, what is this trying to do? You really can't guess? ”

Zhao Han, Zhao and the others all gasped, and only then did they understand why Zhao Xie would rather cause the Han court to be suspicious and make such an important personnel adjustment, and then Zhao and the others hurriedly said: "King, although these signs are indeed a little suspicious, we can't rule out that this is just a coincidence, if the emperor and the court really don't have that kind of meaning, then the king, if you do this, I'm afraid it will really make the emperor and the court suspicious of us." ”

"The widow has thought it through." Zhao Xie said very frankly: "The widow hasn't slept well for several days, and he has been thinking about this problem, these things may really be just a coincidence, but if it is not a coincidence, if the widow does not prepare in advance, when the knife is on his neck, he can't escape if he wants to." ”

Zhao Han and the others nodded hesitantly, knowing that if Xiang Kang really planned to attack Zhao Xie, Zhao Xie would not make some precautions in advance, and it would be difficult to escape for his life at that time. Then after hesitating for a moment, Zhao Han simply asked directly: "King, then what do you want your subordinates to do?" After his subordinates took office, did they immediately gather troops and go straight to work? ”

"Of course it can't be so direct." Zhao Xie hurriedly shook his head and said: "Li Yuan has served as the county guard of Handan for several years, and the county must be full of his people, and if he does it so directly, not only will it be known by the emperor and the court immediately, but Li Yuan's puppet may also be able to do it directly, Xia Shuo and the widow are not completely of the same mind, when the time comes, as long as they join forces, there is no need for the court to send troops, and the army in the hands of the two of them alone can deal with us." ”

After rejecting Zhao Han's impulsive plan, Zhao Xie said again: "So after you take office, you can only find a way to remove the people left by Li Yuan one after another, and replace them with our people, and wait until you really grasp the real power of Handan County, and with certainty, we can discuss what to do next." ”

When Zhao Han nodded, the eunuch Xu Shen opened his mouth and said, "Your Majesty, if you let Zhao Junzun act like this, not only will you have no hope of success, but on the contrary, you will only bring about your own destruction." As for the reason, it's very simple, the court is not a fool, and our emperor is not a fool, seeing that you first removed Li Yuan, and then replaced the officials left by Li Yuan, how could you not understand what you want to do, the king? When the time comes, as long as the imperial court finds an excuse to strike first, and there are Xia Shuo, Li Yuan, and Yan Shao to respond, how can you resist it, king? ”

Zhao Xie and Zhao Han and the others were silent together, and after a while, Zhao Xie asked: "Then in Aiqing's opinion, how should the widow behave?" ”

"Either you don't do it, if you want to do it, you have to do it thunderingly, so that the court is caught off guard!" Xu Shen replied categorically, and said: "If you have really made up your mind, the king, now we have only one way, on the one hand, we will send someone to contact Yan Wang Zang Di to seek foreign aid, and on the other hand, find an excuse to gather the people of the court in Handan City, take them all down in the palace, seize their seals, and then immediately raise troops, seize Huguan Yinxu, block the river, and fight with the court to break the net!" ”

Zhao Xie's face turned a little pale, Zhao Han, Zhao and the others also had uncertain expressions, and then after a while, Zhao Xie said cautiously: "Is it sure to do this?" Handan County has been controlled by Li Yuan before, if the widow directly raises troops, what if the other counties in Handan County refuse to respond? ”

"Of course I'm not sure, but if you want to live, you can only gamble like this." Xu replied: "Fortunately, Handan is not very far from Julu, even if you can't succeed, you can immediately flee to Julu, Wang, you have been operating there for many years, and Zhao Junzun of Julu is loyal to you, as long as you get to Julu, we still have hope." ”

Zhao Xie pondered, and then asked Zhao Han and the others, "Ladies and gentlemen, what do you think?" ”

After all, they are all people with a net worth, not like Xu Shen, who has no children and no daughters, Zhao Han and the others did not dare to express their position easily on this matter, but exchanged glances with each other, and said one after another: "The matter is big, and the subordinates can only ask the king to make a decision in person." ”

Zhao Xie's temper was indeed a little indecisive, and he hesitated for a moment before saying, "Then let the widow think about it carefully, and then make a decision." ”

Zhao Han and the others hurriedly agreed, but Xu Shen did not relent, and hurriedly said: "King, the news of Handan is reported to Xianyang quickly, it only takes five days at most, and it only takes five days for the court to respond, and it only takes five days at most to send the order to Handan. ”

Of course, Zhao Xie also knew that time was precious, but this kind of thing related to the life of the family, Zhao Xie didn't dare to make a decision casually, and after hesitating for a while, Zhao Xie nodded and said: "The widow knows, and the widow will make up his mind as soon as possible." ”

Fortunately, in the afternoon of the same day, when Zhao Han came to the Handan County Shoufu to replace Li Yuan, Li Yuan not only did not hesitate to transfer the seal letter to Zhao Han at the first time, but also ordered the officials of the Handan County Shouguan Temple to obey Zhao Han's orders, and respect Zhao Han as much as they respected themselves.

This only made Zhao Xie and the others feel a little at ease, because everyone knew that although Li Yuan handed over the official position of Yin Shou, his influence in the Handan County Shouguan Temple was absolutely impossible to eliminate in a short period of time, as long as he squeaked casually, he could immediately completely empty Zhao Han, the new county guard, and if Zhao Han wanted to really grasp the power of the Handan County Guard, it would take countless hours and energy to do it.

It is precisely because of this, in the case of indecision, Zhao Xie had to spend another sleepless night, the next morning, in order to prevent the Han court officials in Handan City from being alerted too early, Zhao Xie, who still had not made up his mind, continued to hold a routine court meeting, but after going to the main hall, Zhao Xie's bloodshot eyes only took a cursory look at the palace, and immediately found that the situation was not good, and hurriedly asked the eunuch Ling Xu who was already in the palace: "Xu Eunuch Ling, where is Xia Xiangguo?" Why didn't you see him come to the court? ”

"Return to the King." Xu Xiangguo's tone of reply was full of helplessness, and said: "Xia Xiangguo just sent someone to take leave, saying that he is sick and cannot come to serve the king for the time being, and asks the king to allow him to rest at home for a while." ”

The hall once again became silent, many Zhao Court officials were looking at their noses and noses, and they didn't even dare to take a breath of the atmosphere, because everyone knew that Xia said that it was Zhao Xiang appointed by the Han Court, and he was also a person who was Chen Yu, a minister of Zhao Guoquan before taking refuge in the Han Court, and he had never really stood on Zhao Xie's side, and now at the critical moment when Zhao Xie started to take power, Xia Shuo suddenly said that he was sick and did not go to court, and the danger signals contained in it were naturally self-evident.

Of course, Zhao Xie also understood this truth, so after hearing Xu Xiang's helpless answer, Zhao Xie's head was still buzzing with dizziness, and after a while, he barely squeezed out a little extremely ugly smile, and said with a forced smile: "So that's the case, tell the person sent by Xia Xiang, just say that the widow knows, let Xia Xiang rest at home, if you need medical and medicinal materials, you can just open your mouth to the widow." ”

Xu Xianqiang agreed, and Zhao Xie also smiled and said: "Let's discuss it, everyone Aiqing, there is something to play early." ”

After hastily ending the courtly meeting, Zhao Xie of course rushed back to the apse to wait as soon as possible, and then it didn't take much time, Zhao and Zhao Han and other Zhao Xie's cronies also rushed to the apse to ask for a meeting, and then everyone just arrived, Zhao Xie immediately asked: "Xia said over there, what is the move?" ”

"The king forgives his sins, I don't know." Zhao and others, who were in charge of secretly staring at the hundred officials for Zhao Xie, shook his head helplessly, and said: "Your Majesty only knows that after Xia said that after the court dispersed yesterday, he immediately refused to see guests when he returned home, and only met with Li Yuan yesterday evening, and he also sent some people out of the city, but the people he sent from the city went there and what they did, but His Majesty had no way of knowing. ”

Hearing such an answer, Zhao Xie was of course even more frightened in his heart, but he had no choice but to sigh and say: "No wonder you, this is not a giant deer after all, and it is normal for you to stare at Xia Shuo." ”

"King, you can't hesitate any longer." Xu Shen hurriedly said: "If nothing else, Xia Shuo and Li Yuan will definitely send someone to report the situation in Handan to the imperial court, and Xia Shuo will send someone from the city to contact the garrison he has in charge of the local government for him. ”

Zhao Xie's face became extremely ugly again, and after hesitating for a long time, Zhao Xie asked, "You say, should we take the risk?" ”

Several cronies had different expressions, and they didn't dare to express their stance easily on this matter, Zhao Xie saw the disappointment, so he changed his words and said: "If you don't have the guts, then forget it, just assume that this incident has never happened, and after a while, the widow will find an excuse to let Li Yuan return to serve as the county guard of Handan." ”

"King, we haven't turned back!" Xu Shen was anxious when he heard this, and hurriedly reminded: "Things have come to this point, if we turn around and go back, it will be tantamount to tying up our hands and letting the court slaughter them, as long as the emperor and the court find an excuse casually, an edict will be sent to Handan, Xia Shuo and Li Yuan They will definitely take down the king and take you to Handan for punishment!" ”

After speaking, Xu Shen turned to Zhao Han and the others and said: "Ladies and gentlemen, you have no way out, the reason why you can enjoy the glory and wealth now, and the high-ranking officials are all because you are all brothers and sisters of the king, once the king has any accidents, you all have to end up with the king!" You don't want to think about it, once the king is taken down by the imperial court, how can the new king of Zhao reuse you like the king? How could the emperor and the imperial court let you go in order to cut down the grass and eradicate the roots? ”

Considering that he and Zhao Xie were indeed sharing weal and woe, Zhao Han was the first to make up his mind, raised his head and said: "King, you decide, as long as you make a decision, your subordinates will definitely give full support!" Swear to follow! ”

After gritting his teeth, several other Zhao Xie cronies also expressed their positions in the same way, and Zhao Xie, who refused to be captured, finally made up his mind, gritted his teeth and said: "Then use the method of Xu Eunuch to find an excuse to summon the people of the imperial court in Handan into the palace and take them all, and at the same time use the Imperial Forest Army to surround Xia Shuo's mansion and take him down, and then directly raise troops and fight with the imperial court to break the net!" ”

Seeing that Zhao Xie had made up his mind, although Zhao Han and the others were still up and down in their hearts, they still hugged their fists and sang a promise together, swearing to follow Zhao Xie to rebel against the Han, and then Zhao and the others hurriedly reminded: "King, our strength is insufficient, and I am afraid that it will be difficult to succeed if we start an incident alone." The best way is to quickly send someone to Zang Di, the king of Yan, to explain to him the truth that his lips are dead and his teeth are cold, and persuade him to also raise troops to respond to us and join forces to contend with the imperial court, so that he can be sure of success. ”

"You don't have to say so much, just send someone to say hello to Zang Di." Zhao Xie said coldly: "Let me tell you the truth, as early as when the widow returned to Handan, Zhang Sheng, the doctor of Yan sent by Zang Di, had already quietly persuaded the widow and Zang Di to join forces to raise troops, and now as long as we raise the banner of righteousness first, Zang Di's side will definitely respond immediately!" ”

"Is there such a thing? Yan Wang has already had this plan for a long time? ”

Zhao Han and others were overjoyed when they heard it, and hurriedly asked Zhao Xie for the specific details, Zhao Xie in order to boost morale, he sent Zang Di to send Zhang Sheng to test his own before and after carefully told a few cronies, Zhao Han and others saw that there was foreign aid to rely on, and sure enough, their confidence was greatly increased, in addition to clapping their hands, they quickly discussed the specific way to act, and soon decided to act at the court meeting the next day, and took down all the civil and military officials placed by the Han court in Handan, and at the same time in the name of Xia Shuo's rebellion, sent the Imperial Forest Army, including Xia Shuo's mansion, to take him down, Then use the influence of the Zhao clan in Zhao to organize the people to rebel, and fight with the tyrant Xiang Kang to break the net!

It was also a coincidence that this plan had just been discussed, and before Zhao Xie and others could decide on a specific candidate to lead the army, there was a yellow gate outside the apse that hurriedly came to report, saying that Shi Shaoping, the supervisor of Handan County, came to the palace gate to ask for a meeting, asking to meet Zhao Xie immediately, and also said that important matters should be interviewed with Zhao Xie.

As mentioned above, Shao Ping was personally arranged by Xiang Kang to supervise the reconstruction of King Zhao's palace for Zhao Xie, at that time, because there was no estrangement with Xiang Kang, Zhao Xie and Shao Ping's relationship was once very close, and later King Zhao's palace was completed, Shao Ping was renamed the imperial history of Handan County, responsible for supervising the government and military affairs of Handan County for the Han Dynasty, and continued to stay in Handan City, still meeting with Zhao Xie from time to time, and had a lot of contacts.

If it was in normal times, Zhao Xie, who had a good impression of Shao Ping, would certainly not refuse Shao Ping's request to see, but this would be different, Zhao Xie, who was about to start the army, immediately instructed Xiao Huangmen, who came to report, in order not to cause any trouble: "Go and tell Shao Yushi, just say that there is a lack of people, and I will talk about it another day." ”

To Zhao Xie's surprise, although Xiao Huangmen who came to report sang a promise, he said: "King, Wei Chen didn't say it carefully just now, Shao Yushi came to see the king this time, he was wearing plain clothes, stepping on white shoes, and it seemed that there was a funeral in his body. In addition, Shao Yushi also said, please king, you have to meet him no matter what. ”

"Plain clothes and white shoes? Something happened to Shao Ping's family? Zhao Xie was puzzled.

"Your Majesty, why don't you see you?" Zhao and others said: "You usually have a lot of dealings with Shao Ping, but now that he is here with filial piety, if you don't see it, it will inevitably arouse the suspicion of others, and it may even cause Xia Shuo and Li Yuan to be vigilant and strengthen their precautions in advance." ”

Thinking about it, Zhao Xie nodded and said, "Okay, it won't take much time anyway, let's see him." You go to the side hall first to discuss the rest of the things, and when the widow sends this Shao Ping away, I will arrange tomorrow's major events with you. ”