Prince Ziqi was the son that King Zhu of Qin valued most before Zichu returned to Qin.
Qin Wangzhu had more than twenty sons, and his father's love was not spread out. Although each son received little fatherly love, there were always a few who ranked high in his heart.
Prince Ziqi is undoubtedly the one who ranks the highest.
When Qin Wangzhu was still the crown prince, Prince Ziqi was always considered by Qin to be the third generation heir to the Qin State, and countless Qin officials and Qin royal family members surrounded him.
Although King Zhaoxiang of Qin did not allow the emergence of a royal family with influence comparable to the four great princes of the Warring States Period in Qin, Prince Ziqi was considered the most glorious Qin prince in Xianyang City.
King Zhaoxiang of Qin allowed Prince Ziqi to make friends with ministers under his nose. Everyone knew that King Zhaoxiang of Qin probably tacitly approved Prince Ziqi to become the third-generation heir.
Although the birth mother of Prince Ziqi was not a noble, she was also a Chu person. When Lady Huayang had no children, the powerful Chu relatives in the Qin court also paid more attention to Prince Ziqi.
Even though the Chu State attached great importance to the difference in family background and looked down on the identity of Prince Ziqi's biological mother, so they did not support Prince Ziqi immediately. But if Prince Ziqi became the crown prince of Qin, they would still support Prince Ziqi.
This is also one of the reasons why Lady Huayang and her brother were immediately persuaded by Lu Buwei.
If the prince of Qin, whose biological mother was a noble from another country, succeeded to the throne, she, as the prince's principal wife, would become the queen or queen mother of Qin in the future. Her husband's concubines' sons would also respect her in order to gain the support of the Chu royal relatives.
But Prince Ziqi doesn't need it.
There were no useful talents among Lady Huayang's close relatives. Prince Ziqi was able to get support from the Chu imperial relatives in the court through his biological mother, so he did not need Lady Huayang. Later, when two queen mothers co-existed, Prince Ziqi's biological mother would definitely be superior to her.
As concubines sent by the State of Chu to King Zhu of Qin, Lady Huayang became his principal wife because of her great favor, while the mother of Prince Ziqi gave birth to a son but did not receive much favor from King Zhu of Qin. It is impossible for these two noble women who have been trapped in the backyard all their lives to have no conflicts.
Lü Buwei pointed out that if Prince Ziqi succeeded to the throne as King of Qin, Lady Huayang and her family would be miserable. If Lady Huayang wanted to compete with Prince Ziqi, she had to choose a relative who had no foundation in the Qin court and could only rely on her illegitimate son as her heir.
Zichu was chosen in this way.
Although the appearance of Zhu Xiang made Lady Huayang feel cheated and she discovered in advance that she could not control Zichu, her adopted son, Lady Huayang was now on good terms with Xue Ji and Zichu had given his youngest son to her to raise, so she was very satisfied with her current life.
For the sake of her precious grandson Cheng Jiao, even though Zichu no longer needed her help, Lady Huayang was willing to find ways to speak well of Zichu in Qin Wangzhu's ear every day to add icing on the cake for Zichu.
Whether rationally or emotionally, King Zhu of Qin now believes that Zichu is the most suitable candidate for successor.
But the fatherly love that King Qin Zhu had for his once beloved Prince Ziqi would not completely disappear.
He knew that Prince Ziqi must be very angry because he thought he would become the crown prince of Qin, but his position was taken away by Zichu.
In order to save his son, King Zhu of Qin had heart-to-heart talks with Prince Ziqi many times, asking him to see the reality and not make unnecessary struggles.
Given Zichu's character, as long as Prince Ziqi keeps a low profile from now on and ensures a life of wealth and prosperity, there shouldn't be any major problems.
Prince Ziqi was very low-key during the reign of King Zhaoxiang of Qin. King Zhu of Qin thought that he was a man who could bend and stretch, and had a very clear mind. As long as he gave him a few more pointers, Prince Ziqi would definitely not do anything stupid.
Zichu also expressed his friendship to Prince Ziqi many times, acting like a friendly and respectful brother.
But Zichu could keenly sense Prince Ziqi's hatred towards him.
He could also understand Prince Ziqi's hatred towards him.
If you were Prince Ziqi, who had enjoyed wealth and glory in the Qin State for twenty or thirty years and thought he had secured his position as the Crown Prince of Qin, but suddenly a hostage who had been unpopular since childhood secretly ran back to Xianyang and inexplicably took away everything from you, how could you not hate him
Zichu would be hateful, even crazier than Prince Ziqi is now.
If Zichu himself encountered such a thing, even if he had absolutely no hope of success, he would try his best to kill the person who stole his position as the Crown Prince and King of Qin.
It doesn't matter if the outcome is exile, execution or even torture and dismemberment. As long as he can cause the other party a little trouble, he will accept it with a smile.
Because he was such a person, Zichu was always on guard against Prince Ziqi.
Even though Ying Xiaozheng's affairs had nothing to do with Prince Ziqi on the surface, Zichu was only wary of Prince Ziqi.
Although Zichu was wary of Prince Ziqi, he actually looked down on him.
He had given way to Prince Ziqi for more than twenty years, but Prince Ziqi still had not been able to secure the position of heir with King Zhaoxiang of Qin and his father. As soon as he returned to Qin, before he revealed his identity with Zhu Xiang, King Zhaoxiang of Qin had chosen him, a hostage who suddenly appeared, as the heir to his father. This showed that King Zhaoxiang of Qin had never been satisfied with Prince Ziqi.
Isn't Prince Ziqi a waste
As for the other princes of Qin, they have allowed Prince Ziqi to steal the limelight for so many years, so they are of course even more useless.
However, Prince Ziqi had accumulated a lot of political capital in the years before he returned to Qin. After Li Mu seized a large area of land south of the Yangtze River in Chu, the Chu relatives in the court alienated him who was on good terms with Li Mu and secretly gathered around Prince Ziqi. Although Zichu was not afraid, he was also worried that these forces would cause him some trouble.
Zichu understood that King Zhu of Qin wanted the two brothers to live in harmony, but even if Prince Ziqi stopped now, he would still take action in the future.
It was just that Prince Ziqi was able to endure until he became the King of Qin without causing any major chaos, so he let Prince Ziqi live out his life doing nothing in Xianyang City as a sign of kindness.
When Zichu left Xianyang, King Zhu of Qin had been in poor health for a long time.
Prince Zhu was not in good health to begin with. During the reign of King Zhaoxiang of Qin, he fell ill more often than King Zhaoxiang of Qin. People once thought that Prince Zhu would not live longer than King Zhaoxiang of Qin.
After becoming the King of Qin, Wang Zhu worked diligently until three o'clock in the morning every day, hoping to live up to King Zhaoxiang of Qin's expectations of him and become a capable King of Qin who could pat his chest and boast about himself when he reunited with the previous kings.
The heavy workload of government affairs forced King Zhu of Qin to lie down for a while every now and then, and let Zichu and the prime minister jointly supervise the country.
King Qin Zhu's behavior let everyone know that Crown Prince Zichu would probably succeed to the throne in a few years.
As Prince Zheng gradually grew up, Prince Chengjiao also grew into a healthy and fat boy in the arms of Queen Huayang. With two heirs, the last weakness of Crown Prince Zichu disappeared, and there was no suspense about his succession to the throne of King Qin.
The people surrounding the other princes of Qin gradually retreated, and even those who supported Prince Ziqi began to back off.
Zichu left Xianyang at this moment to tour the world on behalf of the King of Qin. If Prince Ziqi did not take action now, he would have no chance.
So Zichu deliberately revealed his whereabouts to Prince Ziqi. When he found someone following him, he pretended to be sick and waited for two days in a post station on the mountain road just after entering Shu.
Zichu used his weak health as an excuse to walk slowly, and sent someone to contact Li Bing in advance to inform Li Bing that he might be attacked.
When the assassin arrived, Li Bing had already led the troops himself, disguised himself, and had been waiting for a long time.
This should have been a foolproof plan, but Zichu secretly kept an arrow of the same type made in the Xianyang Palace that was lost by the Qin State, and took advantage of the chaos to scratch his shoulder.
That’s right, even Zichu’s confidants didn’t know that he had scratched his shoulder himself.
He would not even tell Zhu Xiang, Lin Zhi, or Cai Ze about this matter. To hide it from the King of Qin, he had to hide it from everyone.
As a king, he was rather soft-hearted towards the people he valued. If he had not been injured but had only encountered an assassin, it would have been difficult for him to make up his mind to deal with Prince Ziqi.
If King Zhu of Qin dealt with Prince Ziqi, Zichu would not have to dirty his hands and could eliminate dissidents and clear obstacles more openly.
Before Zhu Xiang left Xianyang, he would always keep telling Zichu to be careful of being assassinated, acting like he was suffering from paranoia.
He told Zichu about the biological poisons that might be quenched on weapons, and that weapons that were rusted or coated with feces were more terrible than biological poisons. He also asked a few friends to practice first aid after being injured. He had also taught his friends how to prepare allicin a long time ago.
When Zichu was scratched on the shoulder by an arrow, he deliberately calcined and polished the arrowhead so that it was completely rust-free, and he even scalded it with boiling water the day before.
Allicin is really difficult to prepare, but Zichu had already prepared the medicine in advance and applied it immediately after getting injured.
So he can make sure that he is safe this time when he is injured.
If something really happened to him, all his calculations would be meaningless. Zichu understood this.
Zichu thought it was a good deal to exchange a shallow wound on his shoulder for Prince Ziqi's complete downfall.
Li Bing's face was dark. "Prince, I don't know you well. You've been talking to me so much, and I don't know if it's worthwhile or not. How about you write a letter to Zhu Xiang and ask him if it's worthwhile or not?"
Zichu pretended to be very angry: "Is this how you treat me, the prince?"
Li Bing said unhappily, "I used to respect the prince very much, but after hearing what you said, I can no longer respect him."
Originally, Li Bing really respected and feared the future King of Qin. Even though the Crown Prince and himself were both good friends of Zhu Xiang, Li Bing was not bold enough to think that he could become friends with the Crown Prince.
Zichu was attacked and injured, and Li Bing almost fainted from fright.
If the prince encounters danger in his place of office and Zhu Xiang cannot save him, his entire family will at least be exiled!
Li Bing bandaged Zichu's wound himself with trepidation, and he could tell at a glance that there was something wrong with Zichu's wound.
Now every county governor in Qin State is a combination of military and political officials. Li Bing not only has to manage Shu County and build dams, but he will also personally lead the troops in local military affairs such as suppressing bandits.
Which local official of the Qin State had not gained experience on the battlefield? Li Bing was not stupid. He could tell at a glance that the wound on Zichu's shoulder was caused by himself.
Li Bing's hand, which was applying medicine to Zichu, froze in mid-air, and Zichu gave Li Bing a look that said "keep it secret".
Li Bing took a deep breath, pretended he hadn't noticed anything, and bandaged Zichu's wound.
Seeing the blood seeping out of the cloth, Li Bing felt mixed emotions and wanted to write a letter to Zhu Xiang to complain immediately.
What kind of crappy best friend are you?! You are trying to trick me! !
Zichu knew that his little action could not be hidden from the person who treated his wound. He specifically asked Li Bing to treat his wound because he trusted Li Bing to keep it secret for him.
Li Bing was a friend whom Zhu Xiang could trust with his life, and he would never betray him. Li Bing was far away in Shu County, and it was difficult for the King of Qin to get any information from Li Bing. Zichu only wrote a letter, believing that Li Bing would know how to report to the King of Qin.
Now seeing Li Bing's desperate attitude and his desire to write a letter to Zhu Xiang to complain, Zichu breathed a sigh of relief.
He made the right bet.
"I will tell Zhu Xiang in person." Zichu lied, "It's true that I was assassinated, but it just aggravated the situation a little. This wound is not a big deal. You should understand that you treated my wound."
Li Bing said, "Yes, I understand. I hope Zhu Xiang will understand the prince's painstaking efforts after learning about this."
Zichu said: "Zhu Xiang will naturally support me."
Li Bing said, "Zhu Xiang and I have been together for several years. Every few days, he would look out at Xianyang from afar and mutter, 'I wonder if Xia Tong is committing suicide.' May I ask, Your Majesty, do you know who 'Xia Tong' is? What does 'committing suicide' mean by Zhu Xiang?"
Zichu: “…”
He coughed dryly, and the majestic expression of the prince on his face melted away, becoming a little embarrassed: "Zhu Xiang complained to me at most, nothing, nothing."
Li Bing sighed deeply. That is, besides blaming you, can Zhu Xiang beat you
He didn't know that Zhu Xiang might really chase Zichu and beat him up in anger, and this wouldn't be the first time this had happened.
"Prince, are you going back to Xianyang, or will you continue to Chengdu?" Li Bing complained a little, but after all, Zichu was the crown prince, and he was not very familiar with Zichu. Even with Zhu Xiang as a bond, he could not be too presumptuous, so he changed the subject and said, "Please allow me to go with you."
Faced with such a serious incident as the Crown Prince being attacked, the King of Qin would not blame him even if he left Shu County and returned to Xianyang without permission.
"It's just a small wound. It will heal in a few days. Let's continue to Chengdu." Zichu said, "Zhu Xiang rarely takes action personally. If I don't complete his request, he will blame me."
Li Bing really wanted to roll his eyes at the Prince of Qin.
If you are worried about being blamed by him, you should take care of yourself first! You know how much Zhu Xiang values his friends' lives!
When Li Bing himself was ill, Zhu Xiang had just made friends with Li Bing. Zhu Xiang took care of Li Bing in plain clothes, which moved Li Bing so much that he was shocked.
In the following years of getting along, Li Bing got to know Zhu Xiang's old mother's character better and realized that Zhu Xiang found it difficult to cope with the separation and death of someone close to her.
As the "sickly close friend Xia Tong" that Zhu Xiang always talked about and was the one he was most worried about, Li Bing believed that Crown Prince Zichu should also be very clear about Zhu Xiang's character.
"Prince, can I arrange the next trip?" Li Bing asked, "You got injured after coming to Shu County. I can't face Zhu Xiang."
Zichu sighed, "Okay."
It seems that Crown Prince Zichu is just as Zhu Xiang said, a person with a very gentle nature and is very obedient to advice... Li Bing's eyes swept over the bandage on Zichu's shoulder, and then his face sank again.
What the hell is being gentle? What the hell is listening to advice!
How could Zhu Xiang have such a troublesome friend? Isn't this causing trouble for Zhu Xiang
Li Bing, who often stayed at construction sites and was used to swearing, cursed in his heart.
The image of the Prince of Qin in his mind was completely shattered. All that remained in his mind were Zhu Xiang's complaints about "Xia Tong" in those years.
"Xia Tong" is indeed Zhu Xiang's most troublesome friend, no doubt about it!
With the support and help of Li Bing, Zichu was very efficient in collecting evidence of the assassination.
Li Bing used the military and political urgent report to report Zichu's assassination to Qin Wangzhu.
Li Bing described the truth of Zichu's assassination without emotion. Apart from concealing the fact that Zichu had scratched his shoulder, he also told the King of Qin everything, including that Zichu had discovered that someone was following him a long time ago, so he sent people to find him, and that they had agreed to counter-encircle the assassin.
The same goes for Zichu.
Zichu reported to King Zhu of Qin that he was safe, saying that his shoulder was scratched by an arrow, but it was only a minor wound and he would continue to head to Chengdu.
Zichu also specifically requested the King of Qin to keep the matter secret, especially not to tell Zhu Xiang.
"The wound is very shallow and will heal in a few days. Please rest assured, I will not joke with my life."
King Qin Zhu looked at Zichu's assurance and felt dizzy.
He understood that judging from the tone of the correspondence between Zichu and Li Bing, Zichu's wound was probably really fine.
But Zichu had already asked Li Bing to protect him, but he was still shot by a stray arrow. What does this indicate? It indicates that there may be spies from the other side in Zichu's team, or the assassin is very powerful!
Li Bing did not capture the assassin alive, so he did not dare to investigate the cause of death without authorization and quickly sent the assassin's body to Xianyang.
The assassin's body must have decayed after being transported to Xianyang, and even if it was dissected, not much evidence would be found. However, Qin Wangzhu knew that even if Li Bing examined the assassin's body immediately, it would be impossible to find much evidence.
These assassins must be dead men, how could they leave any evidence
But even without evidence, Qin Wangzhu knew who did it.
All we need to do is see who benefits the most after Zichu dies.
We just need to look around Xianyang City now to see who else can send out so many assassins!
Qin Wangzhu grabbed his chest with both hands and fell backwards.
Cai Ze's eyes widened and he said anxiously, "Your Majesty!"
Qin Wangzhu was supported by Cai Ze and drank a sip of water. He waved his hand and said, "Don't... make a fuss. Let the imperial physician come quietly."
Cai Ze gritted his teeth, glared at the letter in Qin Wangzhu's hand, handed Qin Wangzhu over to the care of the palace servants, and went to find the imperial physician himself.
The imperial physician diagnosed that Qin Wangzhu was suffering from anger and needed to rest.
Qin Wangzhu drank a bowl of bitter medicine, but it didn't help much. He developed a high fever that night and was in a daze for two days before the fever completely subsided.
After Qin Wang Zhu woke up, he did not arrest the murderer immediately, but issued an edict to let Fan Ju and Bai Qi, who had already retired, return to Xianyang.
Cai Ze and Xunzi knelt beside Qin Wangzhu's bed, both of them looking very unhappy.
"I can still live for a few more years." Qin Wangzhu had a turban tied on his head and his face was sallow. "Even if I can't live for a few more years, I will definitely survive this year. Don't worry. I asked them to come just in case."
Qin Wangzhu gritted his teeth and said: "Prime Minister, pass on my order to depose Prince Ziqi as a commoner and banish him abroad!"
Cai Ze kowtowed: "Yes, sir!"
Qin Wangzhu said to Xunzi, "Xunzi, when you write the edict for me, you must not mention that Prince Ziqi assassinated the crown prince!"
Xunzi sighed inwardly and kowtowed: "Yes."
After he kowtowed, he looked up at Qin Wangzhu and said, "Your Majesty, please relax and have a good rest. Given the prince's character, since Prince Ziqi has been expelled from Qin, he will not take action again."
Qin Wangzhu shook his head: "I am not worried about him. Although he is unfeeling and much more cruel than I am, with Zhu Xiang watching over him, he will try his best not to do anything too extreme."
Xunzi sighed again in his heart.
It turns out that the King of Qin knew Zichu very well. He thought that the King of Qin was really deceived by Zichu's filial piety.
No one knows a son better than his father.
Qin Wangzhu said: "I am just worried, worried..."
He closed his eyes.
After this high fever, he felt that his health was getting worse.
Did the emperor feel the same way when he returned to Xianyang from Southern Qin? He felt that his body was like a large cauldron with many holes in it. No matter how he patched it up, the water inside kept leaking out.
Non-vegetation, ruthless Practice makes perfect
Prince Ziqi was his son, and Crown Prince Zichu was his son. How could he not be sad to see his two favorite sons fighting with each other
No one knows a son better than his father. So King Zhu of Qin knew that Zichu probably knew that Ziqi wanted to kill him and deliberately exposed his flaws to let Ziqi kill him.
But the King of Qin also knew that this time it was really Ziqi who wanted to kill Zichu, and Zichu was just waiting for Ziqi to kill him.
So who should he blame? Can he only blame Ziqi
Did Ziqi know that Zichu was waiting for him to take action? Or did he still take action after knowing it? Because Zichu had taken away his position as crown prince
Yes, if Zichu had not returned to Qin, and if Zhu Xiang had not been there, the position of Crown Prince of Qin would definitely have been Ziqi's. How could Ziqi not be resentful
Wait, is Ziqi going to attack Zhu Xiang again
No, it won't. Zhu Xiang is far away in Wujun, and he is protected by Li Mu. Even if Ziqi is willing, he is not strong enough. Zhu Xiang will definitely be fine.
Qin Wangzhu was so weak that he could not even sit up, but his mind was clear and he immediately understood the current situation.
Ziqi took action. In order to save Ziqi's life, he thought that the only way was to demote Ziqi to a commoner and then exile him.
It is the only way to prevent Zichu and Ziqi from killing each other and having their hands stained with the blood of brothers.
but…
Qin Wangzhu closed his eyes.
He will definitely be able to hold on until Zichu comes back.
If he died before Zichu came back...
After receiving the imperial edict, Bai Qi and Fan Ju hurriedly rode back to Xianyang even though they were in poor health.
When they arrived at the Xianyang Palace, King Qin Zhu's health had improved a lot and he was able to walk.
King Qin Zhu's face also became much rosier, which made Bai Qi and Fan Ju breathe a sigh of relief.
Qin Wangzhu said calmly: "After that, Wu'an Jun and Ying Jun please stay in Xianyang Palace until the prince returns to the palace."
Although Bai Qi and Fan Ju didn't understand why, they still knelt down and said, "Yes!"
King Zhu of Qin asked Cai Ze to inform Bai Qi and Fan Ju about the assassination of the crown prince. Bai Qi and Fan Ju were shocked and angry.
Qin Wangzhu said: "My health has gradually improved, so I am just in case."
"Lord Wu'an and Lord Ying, please accept the imperial edict."
"If I die before the Crown Prince returns to Xianyang, follow my edict and arrest all the princes of Qin, and..."
Qin Wangzhu paused and closed his eyes.
"Kill Ziqi."
Bai Qi and Fan Ju were stunned.
Cai Ze knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, please think twice! Since Prince Ziqi has been demoted to a commoner, he is no longer a threat to the Crown Prince!"
Qin Wangzhu said calmly, "If I fail to wait for Zichu to come back, the six kingdoms will probably look for Ziqi and escort him back to Xianyang to be king. This is not the first time they have done this. I will leave Ziqi a life. Whether he can keep it depends on God's will."
Xunzi also knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, if this is the case, why don't you let the crown prince return to Xianyang immediately?"
Qin Wangzhu shook his head: "The great plan for Chu is more important than my sons. Even if Zichu cannot come back in time, with Wu'an Jun and Ying Jun in Xianyang, he can still succeed to the throne smoothly."
Zichu had been named the crown prince of Qin, and was the only legitimate heir to the Qin State. Even if others wanted to do anything, they could only "seize the throne" or "rebel".
King Zhu of Qin let Fan Ju control the guards of Xianyang Palace, and Bai Qi lead the guards of Xianyang City. With their abilities, reputations and status, no one in Xianyang City dared to rebel, and Zichu's path to succession was stable.
Besides, Qin Wangzhu had already survived, he was just making foolproof plans.
So if he died before Zichu returned, he would only imprison some of his sons and kill some of them.
Compared to the successful implementation of the plan to cause chaos in the State of Chu, this price is nothing.
"Spread the news that the crown prince was attacked." Qin Wangzhu said in a cold voice, "The crown prince was seriously injured and is recuperating in Chengdu. His life or death is unknown."
The four of them looked up in fear at the same time: "Your Majesty, think twice!"
Qin Wangzhu closed his eyes.
Seeing that the King of Qin had made up his mind, the four of them felt very complicated.
Xunzi clenched his hands in his sleeves.
The King of Qin was determined to take advantage of the attack on the Crown Prince to stir up a bloody storm in the Qin State.
King Zhu of Qin deliberately did not write in the edict that Ziqi was deposed for assassinating the crown prince, acting as if the murderer had not been found. This way he could use this crime to intimidate more people, or even kill more people.
As long as King Qin Zhu does not name the prince's assassin in the imperial edict, the case of the prince's assassination can continue to be investigated.
This was not only to pave the way for Zichu to succeed to the throne, but also to use the attack on the crown prince to distract the attention of the six countries and allow Zhu Xiang's plan to proceed smoothly.
Zhu Xiang's plan was a plan for the three families to divide Chu.
The four people looked at Qin Wangzhu and unexpectedly saw the cold figure of King Zhaoxiang of Qin in the usually gentle Qin Wangzhu.
Qin Wangzhu is also the King of Qin, how gentle can he be
He is also the King of Qin.
"In Chu, Qu, Jing, and Zhao were ministers for generations, just like in Jin, Han, Zhao, and Wei were ministers for generations." Zhu Xiang told Lin Zhi about his plan in detail. "In the past, three families divided Jin, so why can't there be three families dividing Chu now?"
Lin Zhi nodded: "Ah, yes, yes, yes, then how are you going to divide the three families?"
Zhu Xiang asked in a puzzled tone: "Lin Li, didn't you say that I only need to set the goal and you will achieve it? So how are you going to divide it among the three parties?"
Lin Zhi: “…” His fist hardened.
(End of this chapter)