A thousand-year-old family that began with the Battle of Makino

Chapter 159 Conspiracy, eight kings go to five

March 2
The army arrived in Handan.

March 5
The army marched to Julu. Zhao Wang Zhang Ao rushed to Julu from Xiang State and held a banquet in Julu City to entertain the Han Emperor and other meritorious princes. He also provided the army with fine wine and mutton to reward the army.

The banquet was very lively, and Emperor Han was very drunk. When King Zhao saw this, he knew that he had landed safely.

March 7
When the army arrived at Bairen, Zhao Xiangguan followed the order of King Zhao and came with grain and grass, and expressed his willingness to bear half of the grain and grass supplies for the army.

The Emperor of the Han Dynasty was very happy and rewarded Guan Gao and gave him fine wine. The two drank together in the military tent and Guan Gao got drunk.

Second day

Guangao woke up from the drunkenness and saw that he was tied up with five flowers. He was at a loss. The Han generals around him looked at him coldly.

Guan Gao was puzzled. When he saw the Han Emperor sitting on the throne, his left hand was tied with a cloth with blood stains on it, he quickly knelt down and said, "I don't know why your Majesty tied up this minister. I didn't do anything wrong?"

Fan Kuai came out of the queue, raised his eyebrows and coldly said loudly: "You are a bold traitor and dare to assassinate Your Majesty. How many comrades do you have?"

Guan Gao said in horror: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I have been wronged! There is absolutely no disrespect to Your Majesty at all. There must be a villain who has framed me. Your Majesty, please take a closer look!"

Emperor Han covered his left arm and snorted coldly: "Well, you are a tall man. I thought you came to provide military supplies for the army out of good intentions, but I didn't expect that you actually had the intention of betrayal. Fortunately, I kept an eye on it, otherwise Can I still live till now?

The assassination failed, but you still pretended to be drunk. Do you think I am a fool? Say, what other accomplices are there? Does this matter have anything to do with King Zhao? If you tell the truth, I may be able to save you from death! "

Guan Gao knew that there was no way to save him. This was a trap, a trap aimed at King Zhao, so Guan Gao remained silent.

Seeing that Guangao changed his previous anxiety and became silent, a general next to him threw a bronze dagger on the ground, and there was still blood on it and said:

"Stop making excuses. The witnesses and material evidence are all there. If you tell me, you can protect your family."

Guan Gao suddenly raised his head and stared at Han Emperor. Han Emperor did not dodge and just looked at him. After a while, Han Emperor said: "Bring the people up!"

A dying middle-aged man with scars all over his body and both legs broken was dragged up to the palace and thrown next to Guan Gao. Guan Gao looked carefully and it took him a while to realize that this was his own butler.

Fan Kuai stepped forward from the side, lifted the head of the family's hair so that he could see the situation in the main hall clearly, and scolded: "Tell me, who is the mastermind behind the assassination of the emperor?"

Jia Zai looked at Guan Gao with some hesitation, but he suddenly saw a pair of cold eyes standing behind the generals.

The family leader immediately pointed at Guangao and said anxiously: "It's him. He is the mastermind behind the assassination of the emperor. I was instructed by him to assassinate the emperor. I didn't know that the assassin was the emperor. I thought he was just a noble. Please let him go." My family is small!" After saying that, he kowtowed on the ground.

The Emperor of Han waved his right hand, and the family leader was dragged out. During this period, he kept begging to be bypassed.

Emperor Han looked at Guan Gao and said, "What, why don't you tell me?"

Guan Gao knew that he could not escape today, but Zhang Ao must not be involved. This was his promise to his predecessor Zhang Er.

Guan Gao sneered and said: "No wonder everyone in the world says that you, Liu Bang, are unkind and ungrateful. You can even frame the son of an old friend. How different are you from an animal? Needless to say, it was me, Guan Gao, who killed you. Why didn't I kill you?" he~tui~”

Then he spat in the direction of Emperor Han.

"Unbridled!" "Bold!" "Arrogant~"

All the generals were ready to step forward and beat Guan Gao to death.

"Slow down! Go back!" Emperor Han ordered, and the generals could only return to their original positions, but the murderous intent in Guangao's eyes was no longer concealed.

Emperor Han said indifferently: "Say it! I will give you one last chance. Does this matter have anything to do with King Zhao?"

Guan Gao straightened up, held his head high and said, "This matter has nothing to do with King Zhao. I am the only one responsible for all the crimes. It's a pity that I didn't succeed in killing you."

Emperor Han sighed and said: "In that case, drag him down and kill him, but I remember my old feelings, so I will give him a happy life! In addition, I have sent word to the world that Guan Gao failed to assassinate the emperor, intended to rebel, and wiped out his clan for three years. clan, to serve as a warning to others, and to spread the message from head to county to all the counties in the world.”

As he was being dragged out, Guan Gao cursed loudly: "Young Liu Bang, you are extremely shameless. Even if I am under the influence of Jiuquan, I will not let you go!"

The Han Emperor listened to Guan Gao's scolding and disagreed, "I have killed many people, and there are thousands of people ahead of you. I wasn't afraid of you when you were alive, so why should I be afraid of you when you are dead?"

After beheading Wan Guangao's fellow party members, the Han Emperor issued an order: King Zhao Zhang Ao was not strict with his subordinates, which led to the emergence of treasonous people. He should have been beheaded in public and the three clans should be exterminated.

However, his father, Zhang Er, King of Zhao, was a great benefactor to the country and had great affection for the emperor. With Zhang Ao's appointment, the Zhao country was in great rule. Not rewarding him would not be enough to motivate the people, so he was exempted from the death penalty.
However, death penalty can be avoided, living crime cannot be escaped, and impunity is not enough to demonstrate the national prestige. The emperor was so gracious and powerful that he decided to remove the king of Zhao from his position, remove the title of king, demote him to Xuanpinghou, and enshrine Zhang Er.

So Zhang Ao, who was about to return to Xiangguo from Julu, was stopped halfway by Xia Houying and his cavalry, who read out the Han Emperor's decree. Zhang Ao was not as excited as he imagined. Instead, he accepted the decree very calmly. However, when Xia Houying was about to return, he grabbed him and begged:
"For my father's sake, please tell me how Guan Gao is doing?"

Xia Houying avoided Zhang Ao's eyes and said: "Zhao Xiangguangao is the mastermind of the rebellion. He has been beheaded by His Majesty's decree, and all three of his clans have been exterminated."

Zhang Ao let go of Xia Houying and just said he knew. Xia Houying quickly led his troops and ran away as if fleeing.

Zhang Ao looked at the clouds and clouds on the horizon. He was silent for a long time and said to the guard beside him: "Hurry up to Chaoge and meet Mr. Bai. Mr. Bai has extraordinary abilities in Hebei. Please ask him to help save Guan Gao's heir. , place them in Chaoge, even if only one can be left, my whole Zhang family will remember this great kindness."

The guard captain accepted the promise and galloped south to Hanoi with more than a dozen guard cavalry.

Then he ordered another bodyguard: "Immediately rush back to Xiangguo and fight to the death to rescue Guanxiang's heir. Then rush towards Chaoge. When the Bai family responds, you will be safe."

"Obey the order!" This personal guard took a dozen people and headed north to Xiangguo.

Zhang Ao said to the remaining hundreds of guards: "Let's go! Let's go to our fiefdom!" After saying that, he got into the carriage and the convoy headed towards Xuanping County.

After solving the "rebellion" in Guangao, the Han Emperor ordered the army to be divided into two. Fan Kuai led an army of 150,000 to Dongyuan to wipe out the rebels. He himself took an army of 100,000 to take over Zhao.

May
The rebels were easily wiped out by Fan Kuai. The remaining ones either scattered or fled to the Huns and went to join Han Xin and others.

Although the rebels were wiped out, the Han Emperor encountered something very angry. In April, Liu Zhong, the acting king, actually abandoned the capital and fled under the threat of the rebels, causing the rebels to become more powerful.

The rebels that could have been wiped out in one month took two months. The Han emperor was furious and removed Liu Zhong from his position as king of Dai and demoted him to the title of Marquis of Heyang.

In order to succeed Liu Zhong in guarding against the Huns, the Han Emperor appointed Chen Xi, Marquis of Yangxia, as the Prime Minister of the Dai State, commanding elite troops to guard the borders and guard against Xiongnu attacks.

Because Chen Xi and the Marquis of Huaiyin, Han Xin, had an old relationship. They had jointly attacked Shidi and Zhaodi under the orders of the Han Emperor. Therefore, before setting off from Chang'an, Chen Xi made a special trip to visit Han Xin and bid farewell to him.

Out of resentment towards the Han Emperor, Han Xin took his hand and walked in the courtyard avoiding the attendants. He looked up at the sky and sighed and said, "Can you listen to what I have to say? I want to talk to you about something that is on my mind."

Chen Xi was convinced and asked Han Xin to speak. Han Xin said: "The area under your jurisdiction is where the best soldiers from all over the world gather; and you are His Majesty's trusted and favored minister. If someone reports that you are rebelling, His Majesty will not believe it; If you report again, your majesty will become suspicious; if you report three times, your majesty will be furious and personally lead his troops to encircle and suppress you.

At that time, I can serve as your internal correspondent in Chang'an, so that the world can gain it. "

Although Chen Xi did not want to rebel at this time, he had always known Han Xin's talents and strategies, so he did not reject him directly, but was vague.

The ninth year of Han Dynasty

In order to prevent the old aristocrats of the Six Kingdoms from remaining in power in the local area, the Han Emperor ordered the migration of the nobles Zhao, Qu, Jing, and Huai of the Chu State, and the Tian family of the Qi State to Guanzhong to fill Chang'an and its surrounding areas.

August
When the Han Emperor returned to Chang'an, it coincided with the longevity of the Supreme Emperor. The Han Emperor held a banquet to celebrate his birthday in Weiyang Palace. Except for the Marquis of Huaiyin and the princes and kings who were not in Chang'an, almost all the princes from Chang'an came.

At the banquet, Emperor Han held a jade cup, stood up and wished the Supreme Emperor longevity, and said: "At first, my father always thought that I was worthless and could not run the industry, so I was not as good as my second brother. Now when I compare my career with my second brother's, who's better?" How much?"

The Supreme Emperor just smiled and did not speak. The ministers and nobles all shouted long live the Han Emperor. The Han Emperor laughed confidently, and the whole hall echoed with the Han Emperor's laughter.

In order to appease the remnants of Zhao, Emperor Han appointed his third son Liu Ruyi as King of Zhao. However, he also ordered that because Liu Ruyi was young, as the king of Zhao, he often stayed in Chang'an and held the nobility far away.

Ten years of Han Dynasty

July
The Supreme Emperor passed away in Yueyang Palace. The Emperor of the Han Dynasty summoned the princes to Chang'an to pay homage.

King Tingbu of Huainan, King Peng Yue of Liang, King Lu Wan of Yan, King Liu Jia of Jing, King Liu Jiao of Chu, King Liu Fei of Qi, King Wu Rui of Changsha, and Prince Bai Jun all came to Changle Palace to pay homage to the Great Ancestor and attended the ceremony of the Supreme Emperor. of funeral.

Bai Jun was followed by a large team of lieutenants, including Xiuwuhou Crown Prince Bai Yu, as well as Gaopinghou, other lieutenants, and Guanneihou himself.

After the Emperor Taishang was buried, the Han Emperor pardoned the prisoners in Yueyang and renamed Liyi Xinfeng.

On the third day after the funeral of the Supreme Emperor, Bai Jun, the crown prince of Bai Gong, left Bai Gong's Mansion again and waited at the east gate of Chang'an after bidding farewell to various meritorious princes and ministers who had good relations with the Bai family.

Soon, Bai Yu, the prince of Xiuwu Hou, Gaoping Hou and other lieutenants and Guanneihou arrived one after another and merged into Bai Gong's motorcade. Seeing that everyone had arrived, Bai Jun decisively led the huge team of lieutenants and left Chang'an again. , go back to Chaoge or to the fiefdom.

The nobles in Chang'an looked at the Bai Kingdom fleet going away, wondering what they were thinking in their hearts, but the common people in the east gate seemed a little unhappy, because in the past few days, because of the arrival of the Bai Kingdom people, the people of Dongcheng had all made money. There were a lot of people, and these princes all seemed very kind and polite, not at all like the princes in Xicheng and Nancheng, who were arrogant and irritable.

But in Weiyang Palace, someone was very unhappy.

(End of this chapter)