Pan Chong was pacing around his home, looking very anxious. When Shang Chen arrived, he immediately returned to his usual state of calm and unfazed. Shang Chen sat across from the teacher, his eyes bloodshot and his cheeks red; His teeth rattled, his body trembled, and he couldn't say a complete sentence.

Pan Chong asked, "Sure?" ”

Shang Chen nodded.

Pan Chong asked again: "Can you serve him (princely)?" ”

Shang Chen shook his head.

Pan Chong asked again: "Can you go into exile?" ”

Shang Chen said, "No. ”

Pan Chong finally asked, "Can you do great things?" ”

Shang Chen exhaled violently: "Yes!" ”

Jiang Mi planned to return to the palace immediately, but the effects of alcohol, anger, and the stimulation of the cold night wind in winter made her feel dizzy, and her body lost any strength in an instant. She decided to go back to her room for a while to rest, and then to rush back before the second watch anyway and leave this disgusting place.

But it was precisely because she delayed this short period of time that the Chu royal family had committed the most heinous crime in history.

King Chu Cheng didn't know until it was dark that the prince had invited Jiang Mi outside the city. Since the crown prince did not report to him beforehand, King Chu Cheng felt very annoyed, and decided to teach the boy who was good at asserting a lesson tomorrow. Until this time, King Chu Cheng still did not expect that the secret was about to be revealed, and he would soon be in a situation from which he could never recover.

Shang Chen and Pan Chong hurried to the palace. Shang Chen found the captain of the guard on duty that night and ordered him to immediately close the palace gate, while he broke into King Chu Cheng's room with a team of personal guards.

When King Chu Cheng saw the prince dressed in murderous uniform, he immediately realized the seriousness of the situation. He put on a kind expression and asked with concern, "Shangchen, are you happy to get together with your aunt?" Buya has already asked the imperial chef to cook the bear's paws, and I plan to send them to you when they are cooked. Even he didn't believe it.

Shang Chen didn't go around the bush with him, but said, "I already know my father's thoughts, don't pretend that there is nothing left!" ”

King Chu Cheng flatly denied it, but Shang Chen said: "I am standing here now, and it doesn't matter what the truth is. Father must die today. All that remains is the question of whether to look good or ugly, to look like a king or to be a prisoner. ”

King Chu Cheng still did not give up, he wanted to drag the time down, hoping that the situation would change: he asked to wait for the bear's paw to be steamed before dying.

Shang Chen said: "The decision should be carried out immediately, and it is because of your indecision that you have caused the current situation." I can't follow in my father's footsteps, so please stop quickly! Don't wait for someone else to do it. ”

King Chu Cheng said: "If I had listened to the advice of my son, I would never have come to this point. Then he took off his belt and hung it on the beams of the house. Shang Chen left Pan Chong and his two sons in prison and left the room on his own. He stared distractedly at the starry galaxy in the night sky - even the most brutal man did not dare to face the death of his father.

After a moment, Pan Chong opened the door and walked out, nodding to Shang Chen. The merchant turned hesitantly, and he sat down the moment he stepped on the threshold. The body of King Chu Cheng had been laid down and placed on the bed; His corpse was clenched into fists, his eyes wide open, and his face was resentful.

Shang Chen crawled to the side of his father's corpse with his hands and feet, hugged his thighs and wept bitterly, Pan Chong left Shang Chen alone in the room, closed the door and waited outside.

Shang Chen wiped away his tears and said, "Father wants to know the name to be able to look at it?" Just be spiritual! King Chu Cheng still didn't look at it, and the merchant said: "If my father thinks that the nickname is too fierce, then let's do it!" King Chu Cheng was probably satisfied with this high-sounding nickname, and then closed his eyes.

At this time, it was midnight, the palace people began to bathe the corpse of King Chu Cheng, Pan Chong went out of the palace to find Cheng Daxin and Doujiao, and Shang Chen locked himself in the scene of his father's suicide, sitting against the wall in the dark, not knowing whether he was dreaming or waking up; It wasn't until Pan Chong brought the two to the palace that the merchant came out with the support of the guards. Jiang Mi also committed suicide after learning of the ending of King Chu Cheng, and Wang Ziyi took advantage of the darkness to escape.

The merchant ministers announced to the public that King Chu Cheng died of a sudden illness, and the ministers really listened to it. Shang Chen held a coronation ceremony on the same day, for King Chumu. King Chu Mu then entrusted the defense of the palace to Pan Chong, and the defense of the capital to his most trusted brother, Wang Zixie.

The atrocities of Shang Chen's killing of his father and king did not cause much shock, because the Chu people felt that it was not surprising to Shang Chen, no matter what kind of atrocities he committed; Moreover, he seized the throne that should have belonged to him in the most concise way, and it cannot be regarded as a usurpation; Moreover, the way adopted by the Shang ministers avoided the immeasurable loss that was destined to occur in order to compete for the throne, and also maintained the stability of the royal family; In the end, the people were fed up with the greed and depravity of King Chu Cheng. Ruo Ao even secretly celebrated his death.

King Cheng of Chu reigned for forty-six years, which was the second longest reigning king in the history of Chu (the first was King Wu of Chu, who reigned for fifty-one years). When King Cheng of Chu ascended the throne, the state of Chu had basically completed the strategy of expanding northward, and land was no longer the most urgent thing for the country, but the hegemony was. The state of Chu pulled the countries of the Central Plains into its camp one by one, and used force to solve the problem for those who did not obey. The southern alliance expanded to the north and the northern Rongdi forces invaded the south, and for a time there was a dangerous situation in China in which "China is as endless as a line".

Just when the northern and southern forces were about to meet in the Yellow River, the Qi State rose rapidly, and the princes of Qi Huan and the whole world forced the Chu State to pay tribute to the Zhou royal family again.

After the death of Duke Huan of Qi, the princes of the Central Plains were left without owners; King Cheng of Chu easily captured Song Xianggong, who claimed to be the second-generation overlord, but did not force Song to submit.

Song Xianggong's incompetence and Qi Xiaogong's indiscriminate warfare caused the Huaxia alliance to fall apart, and Chu took the opportunity to draw Lu, Wei, and Cao into the southern camp. Just when the state of Chu was confidently intent on conquering the state of Song and pointing its sword against the state of Qi, Duke Wen of Jin was born, not only defeating the state of Chu back to its original form, but also taking away the allies of the Central Plains belonging to the state of Chu.

In short, King Chu Cheng must be said to be a monarch with achievements, but he was born at the wrong time. King Cheng of Chu twice ambitiously competed for the supremacy of the world, but was defeated by the Qi and Jin states respectively. His historical mission came to an end when he degenerated into a deaf and brutal monarch. Later generations of gentlemen commented on him: "Power is a treasure in the hands of the Ming monarch, and poison in the hands of the tyrant; This is true for both kings and ministers. ”