Fan Huan first belittled Sima Qian, and then bowed down to the king of Chu in pain:

"Great King, the five countries are attacking with all their might, and there is a great intention to not defeat my Chu State and not give up, at this time, we should work together to resist the five countries. At this moment, the nobles of all sizes in the country, whether they are feudal monarchs or nobles from all over the country, all obeyed the edict of the king, did their best to fight with the five countries on the front line.

It is precisely because the king and the nobles and common people in the country are of the same heart that they were able to resist the crazy attack of the five countries for several months with the power of one country.

Now the king listened to the rumors, and thought that the nobles of the kingdom had betrayed the king, and secretly concealed the population of the people, and sent people to investigate the nobles of the kingdom and punish them.

As soon as this news came out, what did the nobles from all over the country think, and what did this make the generals who were fighting with the Five Nations on the front line think. ”

Speaking of this, Fan Huan grabbed the ground three times with his head in succession, and said with tears streaming down his face: "King, if things are not in harmony, Qi and Wei will send troops again, but my Chu State has no troops available."

At that time, although the minister was not talented, he was willing to lead the men, women and children of the clan to the front line together, even if the whole clan died in battle, the body was killed and the clan was destroyed.

The minister only begged the king not to be suspicious of the nobles who were fighting for the king and the state of Chu on the front line. ”

When Zhao Chang heard this, he also bowed and said: "The king, not only the nobles of the country, but also the people of the country.

In order to resist the Five Kingdoms, the king had ordered the conscription of one soldier from every household in the kingdom. When the people in the country heard the attack of the five kingdoms and heard the king's call, even the people who had just been requisitioned and returned to their hometowns obeyed the king's edict, obeyed the king's call, and were willing to fight for the country.

Now the king suspects that the people are deliberately concealing the population in order to avoid paying taxes, and decides to check the hidden population in the kingdom.

When the news reached the front, the ministers were worried that both the generals and the soldiers on the front line would worry about the old and young in their families and had no intention of fighting.

In this way, for the sake of some unknown hidden population, and ignoring hundreds of thousands of troops on the front line, isn't this exactly the act of destroying the country? ”

As soon as Zhao Chang finished speaking, all the ministers reacted.

Yes, it is not only the nobles who hide the population in the country to evade taxes, even ordinary people will deliberately hide the population of their families in order to avoid the poll tax and avoid the military levy.

Although ordinary people can only hide one or two men at most in their homes, there is no doubt that the stubborn problem of concealing the population is universal, not only affecting the aristocracy, but also affecting the common people.

If the king of Chu really conducts a census at this time as Sima Jian said, once the front line... There is no need for a mutiny on the front line, as long as the front line passively avoids the war, then the state of Chu may really die.

At this time, before the ministers could speak, Zhao Chang only paused slightly, bowed twice to the king of Chu and said: "If the king is really worried about the lack of troops on the front line, then the minister is also willing to be like Xianyin, and is willing to lead the whole clan, men, women and children to the front line to fight for the king and the state of Chu." ”

As soon as these words fell, the ministers who had already reacted bowed down one after another and said: "King, the ministers are willing to be like Zuo Yin Xianyin, leading the men, women and children of the whole clan to the front line, to die for the king and the state of Chu, and ask the king not to listen to Zuo Sima's words about the death of the country." ”

The words of the ministers in unison instantly converged into a torrent, rushing straight to Xiong Huai's heart, and then scattered in the main hall, as if the echo was circling and not dispersing for a long time.

At this time, Xiong Huai looked at the ministers in the hall who had been worshipping for a long time, his eyes were slightly wet, and he sighed: "The widow used to say that if you unite as a city and take people as a city, then the city wall will not be destroyed, then the war will not fail, and then the country will not decline."

In the past, every time the widow heard this, he laughed it off, and he never believed it in his heart.

But now, when the widow heard the words of Zhu Qing, now the widow believed, not only believed, but also convinced. There are all the secretaries, there are soldiers in front, there are fathers and brothers in the country, not to mention that the five countries are coming, it is the siege of the world, and the widows have the confidence to win the battle. ”

At this time, the ministers listened to the passionate words of the King of Chu, and suddenly their blood surged, and they said in unison: "If you are united, this battle will be won." ”

Of course, unlike other people's blood boiling, Yin Jin Juntong, Sima Jian of the left Sima Qian, and Deng Lingguang of the right Sima who had just played the request of the king of Chu to check the population, the three of them listened to the chanting of the king of Chu and the ministers at this time, not only did they not feel the blood boiling, on the contrary, the three of them felt a deep chill from the depths of their souls at this time.

Especially Sima Qian, he had repeatedly spoken before, but the King of Chu did not listen, and he was still wondering why the King of Chu did not listen to his opinion.

Until he heard the rumors in Yingdu, until the king of Chu did not react to the letters of many ministers, and neither supported nor reprimanded, until the ministers and people in Yingdu gradually boiled, until he was lobbied by the ministers and nobles of Chu from morning to night.

And then... He thought that he already knew the needs of the king of Chu, and he thought that the lobbying of many ministers was already regarded as the king of Chu making him clear, and he thought that it was time for him to serve the king of Chu with all his loyalty to the country.

Then he pulled Taifu Yin and Right Sima to come and speak.

As a result, now he found that the King of Chu did not mean what he thought at all.

What should I do, the king is virtuous, and the nobles and people are all loyal, but he, the person who speaks, has become a villain who flatters the king and brings disaster to the country and the people.

He can die for the king of Chu, or he can sacrifice his life for the country on the battlefield, but he can't bear to die with such grievances.

What to do?

Sima Jian thought about it for a long time, but he didn't think of a way to get out.

It wasn't until the ministers calmed down from their blood, until the hall was quiet, and until Sima Jian couldn't bear the strong pressure in the hall, that he bowed and pleaded for a long time:

"The king, the minister's words are not good, and he almost made a big mistake, the minister is guilty, please give the king guilt."

As soon as Sima Qian's voice fell, Jin Juntong and Deng Lingguang pleaded guilty at the same time: "The king, the ministers are guilty, please give the king." ”

As soon as the voices of the two fell, Jing Shao, the senior doctor who had long seen them unpleasantly, immediately spoke: "King, Zuo Sima was slightly miscalculated, and almost put the Chu State in the situation of ruin. ”

Xiong Huai was stunned, raised his hand to stop the other ministers' advances, and then smiled and said: "Doctor's words are wrong, the minister's comments are precisely out of loyalty to the country and love for the widow, how can the widow kill people with words."

Besides, if the minister's advice is wrong, the decision on whether to implement it or not lies with the widow, and even if the final action fails, it is because the widow is unwise, and the blame lies with the minister who made the advice. ”

Saying that, Xiong Huai looked at Sima Jian and the three of them: "The three virtuous gentlemen are also invited to return to their positions, although the widow will not adopt the suggestion just now, but the three virtuous gentlemen are loyal to the widow, and the widow still knows." ”

The three of them all breathed a sigh of relief when they heard this, and then bowed at the same time, "King Xie." ”