Jia Cha's death, like a little spark, completely ignited the pile of thatch in Jinyang. Inside and outside the city, the people and officials all judged this matter as a talking point, but no matter who it was, they all felt that it must have been the revenge of Zhao Xian and others that led to the self-hanging of Jia Cha's family. Since ancient times, the most sympathetic person is not the person who is burdened with grievances, no matter how Zhao Xian and others explain it, it can't be stopped. In fact, even within the Zhao family, they all suspected that it was really Zhao Yan who did it. Otherwise, how can you explain that Jia Cha's family will not die sooner or later, but after Zhao Yan arrived at his house, the whole family hanged themselves?

Intrigue and tragedy have always been very marketable in the eyes of the general public, and they never think about the truth behind it?

Of course, what is the truth, and what is the use?

Zhao Xian was angry and tried his best to keep himself calm, while Zhao Ran sat on the side, but he was restless, looking up from time to time at Zhao Yan who was kneeling in front of the two of them, and Zhao Xian, who was calm and relaxed. I don't know how Zhao Xian feels at the moment.

In fact, when Zhao Xian proposed to implement this plan, Zhao Ran did not support it, the main reason is that although Zhao has a great laissez-faire attitude towards the clan nobles, but for their control, it has never stopped, because in the history of Zhao State, there have been many rebellions of clan relatives and nobles.

In order to ensure the glory of the Zhao family, Zhao Jianzi gave up the tradition of "standing long and not young", abolished the inheritance of the eldest son Zhao Bolu, and set up Zhao Wuxian to inherit his position, which was for Zhao Xiangzi. After Zhao Xiangzi succeeded to the throne, he felt deeply guilty, so after attacking and destroying the Daidi, Zhao Bolu was divided into Dai Chengjun, and after Zhao Xiangzi died, he did not set up his own son, but set up Zhao Bolu's grandson Zhao Huan as the heir, which was a son for Zhao. For this matter, Zhao Xiangzi's son was very angry, so his son Zhao Jia expelled Zhao Huan and established himself as Zhao Hou, called Zhao Huanzi, and set up the capital Zhongmu.

But the day is not a holiday, Zhao Huanzi reigned for only one year, and then he died. The clan of Zhao joined forces with other forces, killed Zhao Huanzi's son, and elected Zhao Huan to inherit Zhao Hou's position again.

This tragedy did not end there, when Zhao Liehou died, the ministers because of the young son, Zhao Liehou's younger brother succeeded to the throne, which was for Zhao Wugong; After the death of Duke Wu of Zhao, the ministers reinstated Zhao Zhang, the son of Marquis Zhao Liehou, as the new Zhao Hou, and was the Marquis of Zhao Jinghou.

History is always so similar, after Zhao Jinghou succeeded to the throne, Zhao Wugong's son Zhao Chao was disgruntled with the inheritance rights, and also launched a rebellion, and fled to Wei after defeat, Wei Wuhou sent troops to help, the same failure, since then Zhao moved the capital from Zhongmu to Handan.

In these two rebellions, although they both exposed the failure of the Zhao monarch on the issue of inheritance, they also reflected the problems of the Zhao state itself. Zhao Huanzi moved the capital to Zhongmu, and Zhao Jinghou moved from Zhongmu to Handan, which not only changed the strategic decision of the entire country, but also avoided and feared the clan forces.

And it was precisely the clan forces that appeared from time to time in these rebellions, due to the lack of suppression of them by the rulers at the time, that these people repeatedly endangered the survival of the Zhao State. It's just that the problem of clan power is not only the problem of Zhao State, but also the problem of all vassal states, and even looking at the entire history, clan power has always been one of the most headaches for those in power.

So when Zhao Xian said that he wanted to force Zhao Yong to make concessions, Zhao Ran resolutely objected, but later Zhao Xian meant to put pressure on Zhao Yong, not to rebel. Besides, although he is older, his brain is still good, there are three forces around Jinyang, Li Yan and Lian Wu are both Zhao Yong's cronies, although Zhao Shan is a relative of the Zhao family, but in the final analysis, it is the Zhao branch of Handan, and he rarely moves around Jinyang.

Moreover, there are only about 3,000 soldiers in Jinyang, and Li Yan and the three of them have a total of nearly 10,000 soldiers and horses, and it is difficult to break through, and if you stick to Jinyang, with the grain and grass of Jinyang, although it can last for more than a year, when Zhao Yong's army returns to the south after the northern expedition, it is the time when everyone is destroyed.

Rebellion is not the same as rebellion. If it was just to put pressure on Zhao Yong, then at most he would be reprimanded and deprived of his property. But since ancient times, there have been few rebellions that have not been exterminated. Even if the family rebels, it will destroy at least one branch. This is what Zhao Ran is most afraid of.

"Zhao Yan, the old man asks you again, did you really not torture Jia Cha and the others?" After thinking for a long time, Zhao Xian asked slowly.

"Clan father, no matter how ignorant the kid is, he must not be the one who loses his senses." Zhao Yan was already six gods and no master at the moment, of course he knew what it meant for Jia Cha to die. When the kid entered the gate of Jiafu, Jiafu was scattered, and the kid was also puzzled, not knowing what happened. I didn't want to enter the hall, pushed open the door, and just saw that Master Jia had hanged himself for a long time, and he couldn't be rescued for a long time. Just when the boy wanted to ask someone, he was told that the Jia family was hanged except for the servant and a child, and even Mrs. Jia hanged herself in her room. ”

The kid knew that the matter was big, so he didn't dare to say anything, so he hurriedly asked people to lock up Jiafu, and hurriedly discussed with the second brother, but when he came out of the second brother, he knew that the matter was already boiling in Jinyang City. That's when I realized that I had stabbed the basket. "The second brother refers to Zhao Ran.

"Then why did you lock up Jiafu when you came out of Jiafu? Just send someone to notify everyone to investigate, isn't your locking the door just a thief? Zhao Xian stood up suddenly, pointed at Zhao Yan with one hand, kept pointing at the ground with a cane in one hand, and said sharply. He really didn't expect that Zhao Yan still had some little wisdom on weekdays, but when he came to this incident, his weakness in character was exposed.

"This..."Zhao Yan looked at the two of them in a panic, and said with a slight cry: "This... This..."He "this" for a long time, and there was no follow-up, so he quickly kept kowtowing to Zhao Xian, and kowtowed and said: "The clan lord save me!" Father-in-law save me! He also knew that if this matter was confirmed, his Zhao clan would be completely finished, and now only Zhao Xian could save him.

calmed Zhao Yan's emotions and told him to prepare at home first and not move around at will. Zhao Ran agreed, begged Zhao Xian and the others again to save his life, and then prepared to leave.

"Wait." Zhao Xian suddenly called out to him, and said unintentionally: "For the sake of safety, in order to do a good job in Jinyang's defense, you should hand over the tiger talisman first." ”

Zhao Ran raised his eyebrows, but Zhao Yan frowned, and then said: "The tiger talisman is still in the child's house, and it will be sent to the clan lord later." ”

Zhao Xian nodded and said, "Let your second brother go to your house to pick it up later." Zhao Xian glanced at Zhao Ran and muttered.

Zhao Yan said respectfully: "Yes." Then he left the hall in despair, leaving only Zhao Xian and Zhao Ran.

"Clan father, look at this..."Zhao Ran looked at Zhao Xian with an indifferent face, and couldn't help asking. He knew that Zhao Xian might have made up his mind in his heart.

"The old man miscalculated." Zhao Xian let out a sigh and said slowly, "I didn't expect Jia Cha to be so strong that he dared to sacrifice his life to go against the old man." The old man was going to have a good talk with him, but he didn't expect him to hang himself, could it be that the old man was a little aggressive yesterday? ”

"Clan father, Jia Cha's death, is there really someone else?"

Zhao Xian glanced at Zhao Ran, and a feeling of powerlessness rose in his heart, Jinyang is a comfortable nest, and the Zhao family in Jinyang are used to that kind of life of enjoying glory, and they have long lost their sensitivity and nature for this kind of political struggle. Look at the Zhao family in Handan, even if they are also dissatisfied with Zhao Yong, but under Zhao Cheng's flattery and arguments, although there are some losses, the overall is still very combative.

"What needs to be considered now is not the cause of Jia Cha's death! But after he dies, what do we do about it? Whether it's self-hanging or our persecution, as long as someone wants to deal with you, they will always make a fuss about it! ”

Zhao Ran shrank his head and didn't dare to speak anymore.

"Ask Zhao Yan's tiger talisman and persuade him." Zhao Xian said, got up, and prepared to go to the back hall.

"Hmm." Zhao Ran nodded reluctantly, then reacted, and asked at Zhao Xian's back, "Persuade what?" ”

Zhao Xian closed his eyes, didn't turn around, turned his back to him and said: "A minister is dead, and it is not clear whether he is still dead, whether it is Handan or the king, he will ask for an explanation." He paused and continued, "On the other side of Handan, it is the fat and righteous people who die, and he will not give up. We have fought against him too many times in the past few years, and this time he caught the handle, and he must not die. ”

"Your Majesty, after all, you have to be perfunctory. As long as someone is willing to carry this pot, we will be fine. ”

The more Zhao Ran listened, the more cold he became. Although Zhao Yan is not Zhao Xian's descendant, he calls him a clan prince more or less, and he welcomes Zhao Xian every day, but he didn't expect Zhao Xian to abandon him if he abandons him, and he doesn't show any mercy.

"Also, let those two people go to Handan immediately to deliver a letter and tell Zhao Cheng that as long as he can keep us, everything can be discussed." After that, it seemed that he had exhausted all his strength, and his body was a little stiffer, and he left slowly. Zhao Ran stood up, looked at the empty hall, didn't know what to do, put his hands behind his back, and walked out of the hall in a leisurely manner.

In the hall, watching Zhao Ran leave, Zhao Xian was completely relieved. He said to his youngest son, "Bring me a silk book." ”

Zhao Xian has three sons, but the three sons are not officials, but they are rich men in Jinyang. He never planned to let his children get involved in politics from the beginning, and with his experience of living for so long, he naturally knew what was most important in this troubled world. The youngest son respectfully put a silk book on the several cases in front of him, Zhao Xian put the cane away, took the pen handed over by the younger son, spread it evenly, took a breath, and slowly wrote a few words. The youngest son was very puzzled at first, but when he saw the words written by Zhao Xian, he was suddenly shocked, knelt down and said in pain: "Father, no!" ”

Zhao Xian burst into tears, looked at him, and said with a reluctant smile: "Idiot, only in this way can you save your lives!" ”

"Didn't you already plan to let Zhao Yan be a substitute for the dead ghost?"

"Our lord is a widowed man, and we have provoked him several times before, but he has not endured it. At this moment, he has a large army in his hands, and we have caused such a disaster, how can he tolerate us? One Zhao Yan is not enough, even if one Zhao Ran is added, it may not satisfy him. ”

"Father!" The youngest son knelt there, weeping silently. Zhao Xian held him in his arms, but he didn't know what to say.

When Zhao Ran led his own group of men and horses to Zhao Yan's mansion, this Jinyang guard was sitting there in the hall with a golden sword, wiping his bronze sword in his hand. When Zhao Ran entered, he happened to see the tiger talisman representing his identity on the several cases in front of Zhao Yan. Seeing Zhao Ran coming in, the cringe-catuding Zhao Yan seemed to be a different person.

(End of chapter)