Great Zhou Empire: Kill Zhao Kuangyin at the beginning

Chapter 415: Thief of the Nation (Special thanks to book friend 2022…7873 for two monthly tickets!)
Since King Lu Sheng of Gaochang fell seriously ill in July of this year (the 31st year of Kaixi), he has been bedridden in the main hall of the royal harem, and the people serving him are all members of the royal concubine Mo Zang's party.

On September 10, the 31st year of Kaixi, Concubine Mo Zang once again entered the main hall of the harem and personally helped King Lu Sheng sit up and lean against the head of the bed to drink the medicine.

Mo Zang said softly:

"Your Majesty, today I have invited a Tibetan monk to treat Your Majesty and he has prescribed these three medicines.

As long as Your Majesty persists in taking two courses of treatment, you will be cured."

Lu Sheng drank the medicine mouthful by mouthful and sighed:
"My dear, you have worked so hard over the past year! You have served me diligently every day, and I can see that you have lost a lot of weight."

Mo Zang said:

"Your Majesty is the ruler of Gaochang. I, your concubine and my children all depend on you for everything.

What is the value of my little hard work? The health and well-being of the king is the blessing of me, the king's son, and all the people."

Lu Sheng was moved and reached out to hold Mo Zang's hand.

After a while, Mei Zang's eyes suddenly turned red and she cried:

"The king is now ill in bed, and I shouldn't bother him with unhappy things! But I am really afraid..."

When Lu Sheng saw Mo Zang's face that looked like a pear blossom in the rain, he felt distressed and said angrily:

"What is it that scares my beloved concubine? Tell me now, and I will take care of it for you!"

Mei Zang just cried, and Lu Sheng comforted her for a long time before she stopped crying.

When Lu Sheng asked her further, Mo Zang cried:

"Your Majesty, the people of the kingdom have slandered me for seducing Your Majesty and have unjustly imprisoned the Queen and the eldest prince.

There are rumors among the people that as soon as the king dies, they will break into the Gaochang prison, rescue the queen and the eldest prince, support the eldest prince to ascend the throne, and kill me, my son, and my Mo Zang family!

If anything happens to the king, I and your son will be in trouble!"

Lu Sheng said angrily:

"How dare you! My beloved concubine is virtuous and wise, and my son is kind, filial and intelligent. They were personally supported by me! Who in the country dares to rebel?

Don't worry, my beloved concubine. I have already imprisoned the queen and her son in the harem, and have eliminated all of their followers. There is nothing they can do.

The public criticism may seem fierce, but in reality it is just a dog barking at the sun and the moon. My beloved concubine, you don’t have to pay attention to it.”

Mei Zang said pitifully:

"Your Majesty, you are in good health and of course there is nothing to worry about. I am only afraid that if Your Majesty abandons me and my son, then I and my son will be in danger of being killed by the Queen and the Prince!

Can't the king order the two of them to be executed, so that my concubine and I can get rid of all the trouble?"

Lu Sheng turned over and sighed, saying:

"My dear, you don't know.

The Queen has been with me since she was young, for more than 30 years, and the eldest prince has always been kind and filial. Now that I have abolished the eldest prince's position as crown prince and imprisoned the mother and son in the cold palace, they will no longer pose any threat to my beloved concubine and her son, so why should I kill them all?"

Mo Zang cried:
“Your Majesty, if you don’t kill the queen and the eldest prince, the people in the country will have resentment in their hearts.

Only by killing them and eliminating future troubles, will the people in the country be content to be ruled by the king's son a hundred years after the great king's death!

Otherwise, my mother and I will be harmed by the queen and the eldest prince in the future!" Lu Sheng said angrily:

"My beloved, I have already deposed the queen and the eldest prince, why are you forcing me so much?!
It’s not that I am indecisive, but the queen and the eldest prince cannot be killed!

In the past, Emperor Chai Zongxun of Zhou sent a large army to attack the Hexi Corridor area and sent envoy Kou Zhun to form an alliance with this king.

This king saw that the Zhou army was too powerful to be defeated, so he requested to become a vassal state and offered his second princess, Jialuo, to be the consort of Emperor Chai Zongxun of Zhou. Only then was a friendly alliance concluded between the two countries.

I heard that Jialuo has been favored by Emperor Zhou over the years.

The Emperor of Zhou was an emperor who valued credibility. Later, Gaochang and Khotan followed the Great Zhou to attack the Karakhanid Khanate and destroy it.

The Emperor of Zhou did not regard our two countries as weak and kept his promise to hand over the five states to each of us.

Now that I have deposed the eldest prince and enthroned the younger prince, it can be said to be an internal affair of the country. I only need to pay tribute to the Great Zhou diligently to ensure that the Emperor of Zhou will not attack me because of this.

If I kill Princess Jialuo's mother and brother, will she let it go? She will definitely persuade Emperor Zhou to raise an army to attack me!

How can Gaochang, with its few soldiers and generals, resist the rising power of the Great Zhou? "

Mei Zang was speechless for a while. Although she knew that the second princess married into the Great Zhou as the Zhou emperor's concubine, she naturally did not know the details. She had never thought that her attempt to seize power in Gaochang might be strongly interfered with by the Zhou emperor.

Only now did he hear Lu Sheng explain the whole story. Mei Zang felt a little confused and could no longer continue with the excuse he had prepared.

Mei Zang chatted with Lu Sheng for a while, then took the black chicken and ginseng soup brought by the palace maid and fed it to Lu Sheng personally.

After Lu Sheng felt sleepy and lay down to fall asleep, Mei Zang got up and, surrounded by her personal maids and eunuchs, left the main hall of the palace. However, she did not go to her bedroom, but went straight to the "Vajra Hall" in the front yard of the palace.

The people of Gaochang were devout Buddhists, and the Council Hall was named "Vajra".

When Mo Zang stepped into the "Vajra Hall", three Tibetan men were already waiting there.

After greeting, the gloomy-faced man in his sixties said:

"My Lady, has the King agreed to get rid of the Queen and the eldest prince?"

This man was Mozang Xiongli, the former noble of Rokutani and the head of the Mozang family. The other two younger men were his two sons, Mozang Hutu and Mozang Baotu.

Mei Zang was his daughter.

In the past, when Chai Zongxun sent troops to conquer Liugufan, Mo Zang Xiong Liben led his entire family to surrender to the Great Zhou.

Unexpectedly, not long after, Chai Zongxun abolished the serfdom in the six states and wanted to liberate the people. How could the Mei Zang family, as the largest serf owner and noble in Liangzhou, second only to the royal family and Zhe Bu family, tolerate this?
At that time, almost all the serf owners in Liugufan surrendered and rebelled again. However, in just half a year, the rebellion that seemed to be so powerful and full of flames was quickly suppressed by the Longxiang Army.

Mei Zang Xiongli had no choice but to take the treasures that his family had collected for hundreds of years and flee westward to Gaochang Kingdom with his family in order to save his life.

After making friends with local dignitaries with money and property, he settled down there. When his daughter, who was famous for her beauty in Gaochang, was 17 years old, an important minister introduced her to King Lu Sheng, who took her into the palace as a concubine and gave birth to a prince. Step by step, he gained power in the Gaochang court.

Mo Zang sighed and told Lu Sheng everything that he had just said in the main hall. He said:
"Father, if what the king said is true, the queen and the eldest prince still have this kind of relationship with Emperor Zhou, if we kill the queen and the eldest prince, Princess Jialuo will hate us to the core!

How can we resist the Zhou Emperor's attack?"

Mei Zanghu suddenly said angrily:
"The Emperor of Zhou destroyed my Liugu tribe and destroyed my Mo Zang family's century-old foundation. This hatred is irreconcilable!
Now that my sister has finally seized control of the power of Gaochang Kingdom, all she needs to do is kill the queen, the eldest prince, and then kill Lu Sheng, and Gaochang Kingdom will be mine!

How can we stop now just because we are afraid of the Zhou Emperor's attack and destroy all the painstaking efforts of our Meizang family over the past ten years?!"

(End of this chapter)