After pacifying Sima Jian and the others, Xiong Huai continued: "Zhuqing, now that the Qin and Han coalition forces have begun to storm Luyang, although there is no sign of increasing troops between Qi and Wei at present, the widows are not willing to sit idly by.

The widow planned to go to the north to contact Yan and Zhao, and asked the two countries to send troops to contain Qi and Wei, but I don't know which virtuous Qing went to the north. ”

The ministers listened to the words of the king of Chu and did not speak rashly.

Zhao State has just annexed Zhongshan State, and is seizing the time to recuperate, at this moment, Lord Zhao is eager to fight the war between the Five Kingdoms and Chu State for as long as possible, how can he be willing to send troops to rescue Chu State.

There is also Yan State, although everyone does not doubt the hatred of Qi State from top to bottom of Yan State, but not long after the main force of Yan State was surrounded and annihilated by Qi State, Yan State's vitality has not yet recovered, in this case, Yan State may be powerless.

It was precisely because of these two concerns that no one took the initiative to speak after the words of the king of Chu fell.

Then, Xiong Huai saw that all the ministers were silent and no one answered, and his face sank: "Zhuqing, is this unwilling to go, or do you think that you can't convince Yan and Zhao?"

Since the secretaries of the Qing Dynasty expressed to the widow just now that they were willing to destroy their families and relieve the difficulties, the widow thought that since the secretaries were even willing to sacrifice their lives for the country, they would not shirk their resignation to lobby Yan and Zhao when they heard it.

Therefore, Zhu Qing thought that it was impossible for Yan and Zhao to succeed in lobbying now. ”

They were not only worried about the failure of lobbying Yan and Zhao, but also worried that after the lobbying failed, Qi and Wei would take the opportunity to attack, and at that time, the king of Chu would do something out of the ordinary in a hurry.

At that time, even if they wanted to stop it, they couldn't stop the King of Chu because they were far away in Yan and Zhao.

Thinking about it, Zhao Chang and other important ministers lowered their heads in unison.

Seeing this, Xiong Huai sighed: "The widow also knows that the possibility of persuading Yan and Zhao to send troops is extremely low, but what the widow wants is not to let Yan and Zhao send troops, but to let the two countries create some movements, so that Qi and Wei will not dare to ignore Yan and Zhao easily, so that Qi and Wei cannot attack with all their might."

Could it be that it is such a small request, and Zhu Qing can't meet the widow. ”

Saying that, Xiong Huai saw that the ministers still did not take the initiative to ask for their lives, and then said: "As the saying goes, it is in the people to achieve things, as long as there is half a chance for a thing, then you can do it, and if there is a thirty percent chance, then you can go all out."

Now that my Chu State is facing life and death, at this moment, as long as there is a little hope, shouldn't we make all the efforts for this?

Even though they tried in the end, they didn't succeed. ”

At this time, Xianyin Fan Huan saw that the King of Chu had said this, so he took the initiative to ask for his life: "King, the minister is willing to go to Yan Kingdom." ”

"Okay, Xianyin is really dedicated to the country." Xiong Huai praised Fan Huan with great joy, then looked at Zuo Yin Zhaochang, and took the initiative to name him: "Zuo Yin, Qing has visited Zhao State many times, and has a lot of friendship with Zhao Guojun and ministers. ”

Zhao Chang didn't want to go, but after being named by the king of Chu, he could only helplessly respond: "I am willing to share my worries for the king." ”

Xiong Huai smiled and nodded, and then ordered: "That's it, then Zhuqing will disperse." In addition, please also ask Zuo Yin Xianyin to go to Yan and Zhao as soon as possible, and the widow will wait for the good news of the two virtuous kings in Yingdu. ”

"Yui."

Soon, Xiong Huai came to the side hall seat, and after waiting for a while, Qu Yuan and Chen Zhen walked in from outside.

"Meet the King."

"No courtesy."

After the two of them sat down below, Xiong Huai first looked at Chen Zhen and said, "Chen Qing, the widow came here this time for the sake of the court."

Just now at the court meeting, the ministers said that they wanted to destroy their families and relieve the difficulties, and the widow was deeply moved. Therefore, in order to commend the character of the ministers, in order to encourage other ministers and the people to learn from the ministers, in order to express to the five countries the determination of our Chu State to fight to the death and never compromise...

The widow hopes that Xianqing can spread the matter in the court just now to all parts of the Chu State, so that the fathers and elders of the country and all countries will know the patriotic heart of the ministers of the Chu State. ”

Chen Zhen was stunned, and then looked at King Chu in surprise.

The king of Chu is trying to force his ministers to destroy their families and relieve their difficulties! Taking the initiative to destroy the family and being forced to destroy the family to relieve the hardship are two completely different situations, one is not good, which may cause the courtiers to resent the king in their hearts.

After all, it was nothing for the ministers to show their loyalty in front of the King of Chu just now, even if they didn't take action afterwards, but once the news spread and everyone knew about it, the ministers who were just talking about it had to take action. Otherwise, no matter how high their status and how powerful they are, they will not be able to gain a foothold in the Chu State.

Thinking about it, Chen Zhen looked at Qu Yuan opposite, saw that he looked expressionless and unmoved, frowned, and then arched his hand to the King of Chu and asked, "King, has the matter really come to this point?" ”

Xiong Huai nodded: "The country is at a critical juncture of life and death, how can they just talk." ”

As he spoke, Xiong Huai added: "Not only should this matter be disseminated, but also the decision of the widow and the princes of the court and the central government to refuse to check the population, and the news of the widow's decision to go to the front line in person at a critical moment and live and die with the country should also be spread." ”

When Chen Zhen heard that even the King of Chu was ready to go into battle in person, he couldn't help but let out a long sigh and nodded in response: "King, the minister understands." ”

After Chen Zhen left, Xiong Huai turned his head to look at Qu Yuan, muttered for a while, and then slowly spoke: "Xianqing, after ten days of fermentation, now the people of the country have almost all known the cruel danger faced by my Chu State, and at the same time, they almost all know the more real and cruel reality of my Chu State.

Moreover, it will not be long before the people of the country will know that under all kinds of difficulties, the widow is facing internal and external troubles, and at the critical moment of life and death, even the widow and the princes of the court and the central government are ready to go into battle shirtless. But in the face of the cruel reality, he still had to compromise with the nobles of the country, and was unwilling to check the population of the nobles of the country.

Qing thought that when the nobles and feudal lords everywhere knew the news, how would they respond. ”

Qu Yuan smiled coldly when he heard this: "Back to the king, the ministers thought that when the nobles and feudal lords everywhere heard the news, they would definitely think that it was just the king forcing them to continue to transfer troops from home, forcing them to follow the example of the princes of the court and the central government to destroy their families and relieve the difficulties." And I would never have thought that at such a critical juncture, the king would have begun to lay out a nationwide reform, and would carry out a change that would lead to civil strife in Chu.

Therefore, the ministers thought that the feudal lords and nobles in various places would inevitably only think that the king was just trying to persecute them, and in the face of this persecution, they had nothing more than three reactions: scolding and slandering the king; Pretending not to know and not responding; Perhaps some people will follow in the footsteps of the king when they see the country in danger, and follow the example of the princes of the court and the central government to destroy their families and relieve the difficulties. ”

Saying that, Qu Yuan looked straight and arched his hand: "King, this action is not only to lay out the reform in advance, isolate the nobles in the country, win the support of public opinion in the country, and obtain the support of people of insight for the change as much as possible, and even just let many nobles recognize the facts, and do not comment and oppose our next changes, but let them wait and see, so that they will neither support nor oppose them, so as to reduce the resistance to the change as much as possible."

Moreover, in addition to this, this operation has a more important purpose, that is, to further divide the feudal nobles in various places.

The first two reactions of the nobles and feudal monarchs are indifferent and insensitive, in the life and death of the country, do not think of loyalty to the country, such a person is the moth of the country, the higher the status, the greater the power, the bigger the moth, these people must be vigilant, to be combated.

The nobles and feudal lords of the latter reaction, whether they are true or false, are the targets that need to be encircled. ”

"As for the attitude of the noble lord, the widow will wait and see." Saying that, Xiong Huai looked at Qu Yuan with a heavy face and said, "The widow is more concerned about what you are preparing now, Xianqing." ”

When Qu Yuan heard this, he immediately responded solemnly: "Back to the king, the minister has already communicated with the four major schools of Daomo and Runong of Chu State, and in the next half a year, all the university factions of Chu State will discuss the issue of whether Chu State should change the law now, and after debating for more than half a year, all the nobles who oppose the change will be denounced as rebellious ministers and thieves who bring disaster to the country and the people."

In this way, when the time comes to change the law, even if the feudal lords and nobles who want to come from all over the country want to oppose the change, they can't blatantly oppose it in the face of the surging crowd. ”

"Okay." Xiong Huai nodded and said with a smile: "Xianqing can tell the people of the various university factions that the widow personally promised that as long as the reform begins, in the future, the county captains from all over my Chu State, and even individual county Yin, will be selected from the assessment, not by the nobles."

Just like the widow did in Yingdu a few years ago. ”

Qu Yuan replied with a smile: "King, they will be looking forward to it." ”

Xiong Huai bowed slightly, and then said with a heavy face: "Also, in order to ensure that Ling Yin can break the alliance of Qi, Wei and Song in Huaibei, we must prevent the possible reinforcements of Qi and Wei from going to Huaibei to support, and we need to lead the reinforcements of the two countries to other places."

The widows on the Huainan side are not worried, even if Huainan is lost, and the Qi State gains one or two strongholds from Huainan, the widows can also recapture it with all their strength afterwards.

The places that the widows are most worried about are still Ye County and Hanbei County, especially Hanbei County, once it is lost, it will be difficult to regain it from Qin and Han, especially Qin State. ”

When Qu Yuan heard this, he immediately said: "Please rest assured, the commander of Hanbei County and Chen Xiang of Xiangyang County are all ready, and when necessary, the people of the two counties can fight to the death for the king." ”

Xiong Huai nodded slightly, and was about to speak, when a voice came from outside the hall:

"The king, the assassin asks to see you."

Assassination?

Xiong Huai was stunned, Chen Zhen had only been away for a long time, why did he suddenly come back?

Could it be that something has changed?