At the end of the Han Dynasty: a stingy husband from his hometown

Chapter 406: Death and Forged Imperial Edict

Yecheng, the imperial palace of Zhao State.

Yuan Shao kept coughing and his condition became increasingly serious. It was obvious that he was seriously ill.

The reason why he had held on until now was that he was reluctant to give up the family business he had built and was worried that after his death, the State of Zhao would be annexed by the State of Chu.

In addition, he was still hesitating about who to make the crown prince.

Among the several sons, the eldest son Yuan Tan is the most suitable in terms of talent and prestige in the army.

Yuan Tan was the oldest. Since Yuan Shao occupied Jizhou, he had followed him in his campaigns and made many military achievements during Yuan Shao's pacification of Hebei.

In addition, Yuan Tan was the eldest son, so many civil and military officials of Zhao State believed that Yuan Tan should be made the crown prince.

However, the third son, Yuan Shang, was very handsome, quite similar to Yuan Shao when he was young, and was Yuan Shao's favorite. Therefore, in Yuan Shao's heart, he still hoped to make Yuan Shang the crown prince.

However, since ancient times, there has been an order of seniority and distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children. If Yuan Shang were made the crown prince, there would inevitably be great resistance.

Especially Yuan Shao, who came from a noble family, did not dare to violate this tradition at will.

It was for this reason that Yuan Shao was hesitant and delayed in appointing a crown prince in order to reassure the people.

He delayed as much as possible, and when he could no longer delay, he appointed Yuan Shang as the crown prince. By then, Yuan Tan was far away in Qingzhou and was out of reach, so he had no choice but to accept the fact.

"Your Majesty, the King of Chu sent someone to deliver something!"

At this moment, the eunuch walked in respectfully holding an exquisite gift box.

Yuan Shao, with a haggard face, raised his eyelids slightly and asked in confusion, "Do you know what Zhou Ziyi sent?"

The eunuch said, "The messenger did not tell us."

Yuan Shao became interested upon hearing this and said, "Open the brocade box."

The eunuch took the order, and when he opened the gift box and saw the blood writing inside, his expression changed slightly.

Yuan Shao felt something was wrong and asked, "What's inside?"

The eunuch said tremblingly, "It looks like a letter written in blood!"

Yuan Shao frowned and ordered the eunuch to deliver the blood letter. After reading the contents, he felt Ju Su's tearful confession and accusation, and he couldn't help feeling guilty.

How could he not know Ju Su's loyalty?

However, given Ju Su's influence in Hebei, no one except Yuan Shao himself could suppress it. If he had any second thoughts in the future, the consequences would be disastrous.

Most importantly, Ju Su also believed that Yuan Shao should make Yuan Tan, his eldest son, the crown prince, which made Yuan Shao decide to send him away.

Even so, Yuan Shao couldn't help feeling a little regretful after learning that Ju Su would rather cut his wrists and write a blood oath to prove his innocence.

"Ok?"

Yuan Shao, who was feeling guilty and regretful, suddenly turned over the blood letter. After seeing the fourteen words written on it and the seal on it, he suddenly felt his blood rushing and had difficulty breathing.

He coughed violently several times, suddenly spat out a large mouthful of blood, and then his eyes turned black and he fell to the ground with a bang.

"His Majesty!"

"His Majesty!"

"His Majesty!"

The eunuch was horrified upon seeing this, and while shouting for help, he stepped forward to help Yuan Shao up.

Soon, the imperial doctors came in a hurry. However, after they checked Yuan Shao's breathing, their faces changed drastically, and then they said with some fear: "Your Majesty, he has passed away!"

Because Yuan Shao was in poor health, the imperial physician lived very close to Yuan Shao, so he arrived the fastest.

As soon as the news of Yuan Shao's death spread, Yuan Shang, fully armed, rushed in with his personal guards and Shen Pei.

He held the hilt of the sword, looked around at the imperial doctors in the room, and shouted: "Why did my father die for no reason?"

An elderly imperial physician said tremblingly, "Your Majesty was already in poor health, and the stimulation caused him to vomit blood and die. When we got the news and came here, Your Majesty had already passed away!"

Yuan Shang immediately set his sights on the eunuch and asked in a stern voice, "Why would the emperor be upset for no reason?" The eunuch trembled as he handed over the blood letter and pointed to the words on the back, saying, "It was after reading this sentence that your majesty vomited blood and died."

Yuan Shang took the blood letter and after reading the words "I have served my king with utmost loyalty, but now I have left the group and become a burden", he was completely confused.

Shen Pei, who was standing behind Yuan Shang, saw this and said to Yuan Shang, "Sir, can you let me take a look?"

Yuan Shang naturally did not dare to offend this powerful official, so he immediately held the blood letter in both hands and handed it over, saying, "Zhengnan, please read it!"

Shen Pei was a native of Hebei. Although his fame was not as great as that of Tian Feng and Ju Shou, it was not much different.

Most importantly, he had some disagreements with Ju Shou on the issue of appointing a crown prince. He believed that the eldest son Yuan Tan was arrogant and licentious and had no qualities of a ruler. Instead, he hoped that Yuan Shao could appoint Yuan Shang as the crown prince.

It was for this reason that after Ju Su was exiled to Xiangyang, Shen Pei was highly valued by Yuan Shao and became the mainstay of the Hebei faction.

Now that Yuan Shao had passed away and the position of crown prince had not yet been decided, Yuan Shang naturally did not dare to offend Shen Pei.

Shen Pei first looked at the words Zhou Qi had written and the seal on it, then turned the blood letter over and read every word in it carefully.

As he watched, Shen Pei couldn't help feeling distressed, even a bit sad for the other party.

Although he and Ju Shou had some differences on who should be the crown prince, they belonged to the same Hebei faction after all, so he naturally felt indignant about Ju Shou's unfair treatment.

However, he was ultimately a vested interest. If Ju Shou had not left, Shen Pei would not have been qualified to replace Ju Shou in Hebei.

"Did Zhengnan see anything?"

Just as Shen Pei was feeling mixed emotions, he heard Yuan Shang's question. He looked up and sighed, "This blood letter is not only Ju Gongyu's expression of loyalty, but also a warning to Your Majesty not to listen to slander. It can be said to be a tearful plea, which is very touching."

"If my guess is correct, the thing that really caused your Majesty's blood to flow and cause him to die on the spot should be the words written by the King of Chu on the back of the blood letter?"

Yuan Shang asked in confusion, "Why does Zhengnan say that?"

Shen Pei secretly sighed at Yuan Shao's ignorance, but on the surface he still said respectfully: "This sentence comes from Qu Yuan's "Xi Song", which is a letter written by Qu Yuan to King Huai of Chu to defend himself. The whole text roughly says that King Huai of Chu listened to the words of treacherous flatterers, but treated loyal ministers as scabies and cancers and did not use them."

"Your Majesty often compares himself to Mengchangjun, but now I have written a letter in blood to defend myself. If that were all, it would not make Your Majesty so angry."

"However, the King of Chu quoted this sentence, comparing Ju Gongyu to Qu Yuan, and comparing Your Majesty to King Huai of Chu, which made Your Majesty so angry that he vomited blood and died."

In this era, for many people, reputation is often more important than life.

There is no need to say much about the character of King Huai of Chu. From the Warring States Period to the present, countless people have sighed and lamented for Qu Yuan.

However, Zhou Qi now compares Shen Pei to Qu Yuan and Yuan Shao to King Huai of Chu. This is truly a murderous act, even more vicious than cursing Yuan Shao's ancestors to their face.

How could Yuan Shao, who was very careful about his reputation, accept this?

Upon hearing this, Yuan Shang flew into a rage and said angrily, "Zhou Qi has gone too far. I will send troops to attack him and avenge my father!"

"Sir, you must not do that!"

Shen Pei hurriedly stopped Yuan Shang and advised, "Your Majesty has just passed away, and the court is unstable. It is not appropriate to create trouble."

"Moreover, Chu is very powerful. We can only provide assistance, not an enemy. If we rashly raise an army to attack it, it will only lead to disaster."

"Moreover, the country cannot be without a ruler for a day. Now the people of Hebei are in a panic. Only when a new ruler inherits the throne can people's hearts be stabilized."

Yuan Shang finally came to his senses, and then said in some embarrassment: "But my father passed away too hastily, and has not yet issued an edict of succession. What can I do?"

Shen Pei looked around at the eunuchs and imperial doctors in the room, his eyes flashing with sternness, and said, "These people failed to take care of your majesty properly, causing your majesty's death. Their crimes are unforgivable, and they should all be killed!"

The eunuchs and the imperial doctors were all horrified when they heard this. They quickly knelt on the ground and begged for mercy, "Master, spare my life!"

Although Yuan Shang had no idea what Shen Pei was up to, he did not hesitate at all. He ignored everyone's pleas for mercy and directly ordered his personal soldiers to kill all these people.

Seeing that only Yuan Shang's confidants were left in the room, Shen Pei calmly wrote an edict of succession, and then found the imperial seal and stamped it heavily.

He held the imperial edict in both hands, walked respectfully to Yuan Shang's side, and said: "Here is the imperial edict. You should obey the will of heaven and the people and inherit the throne!"

"Anyone who dares to disobey the late emperor's will shall be killed for treason!"

(End of this chapter)