As long as it didn't involve his friends and the State of Qin, Yu Xin was a wise man most of the time.
He looked at King Zhao's expression and realized that he might be being used as a sword.
As a subject, he didn't mind being used as a sword by the king, but he wanted to be a clear sword.
Was Zhu Xiang really a spy for the Qin State? Was Zhu Xiang's reputation real or just for show? Were those who died for Zhu Xiang deceived by him
Yu Xin finally decided to put aside his prejudice and investigate the matter himself.
While the King of Zhao was still sighing, Yu Xin calmly found an excuse to leave, then immediately drove to Lin Xiangru's fiefdom and began searching for clues from the place where Zhu Xiang first became famous.
Zhu Xiang sat in the cell that Zhao Bao had hired someone to clean for him and began his prison life.
The cell he lived in was cleaned very well, with seats and bedding covered with thick bedding, and a stove and charcoal were also available.
But the cell was dark and damp, and the high skylight on the wall was more of a ventilation slit than a window, with some hay stuffed in the middle to block out the wind; the toilet was placed in the small cell, and the smell was not negligible; there were not enough vents to release the smoke from the burning charcoal fire, and even if it did not cause carbon monoxide poisoning, the smell was quite choking.
Zhu Xiang was born into a commoner family and had suffered a lot, but he could still endure all of this. What he could not endure was the darkness.
When prison cells are shot in film and television dramas, even if a layer of dark filter is deliberately added to the screen, it can be seen that the cell is very bright, or at least every detail in the cell can be captured clearly.
In reality, there were no electric lights in ancient times, and there was almost no light in the prison cells. It was dim even during the day, and you could hardly see your fingers when you stretched out your hand.
Zhao Bao moved all the other prisoners in the prison to another place to avoid disturbing Zhu Xiang and polluting the air in the prison. He also ordered the jailer to give Zhu Xiang enough oil lamps and charcoal. Zhu Xiang could barely feel the light with the dim light of charcoal and oil lamps.
But he could not see the sunlight and had nothing to do every day. He could only huddle beside the dim light. After only one day in prison, Zhu Xiang's mental state deteriorated a lot.
Worried that the charcoal fire would not burn enough and cause poisoning, Zhu Xiang warmed the quilt and clothes, then extinguished the charcoal fire, wrapped himself in the quilt, and stared at the oil lamp in a daze.
Hearing that the King of Zhao was very angry about the commotion he had caused, the elders and friends left the prison and did not dare to visit him in order not to further irritate the young King of Zhao. They ran around hoping to rescue him as soon as possible.
Every day, the jailer would respectfully place the best meals at the prison door and kowtow to the ground before leaving.
Zhu Xiang wanted to talk to the jailer, but the jailer didn't dare to speak for fear of being punished. Zhu Xiang wanted the jailer to stop kowtowing, but the jailer remained silent and ignored him and continued to kowtow.
Zhu Xiang could only sigh, wrap himself tightly in his little quilt, and replay his modern life in his mind, replay the anime novels, movies and TV dramas he had watched, and replay the faces of the people he cared about in this world, one by one, resisting the pain brought by the darkness and cold.
Another day passed, and Zhu Xiang met Xue and Zheng'er.
Xue came to visit Zhu Xiang, carrying a food box and holding Zheng'er in one hand with difficulty.
In order not to provoke King Zhao, other people cannot come. Xue and Zheng'er are Zhu Xiang's relatives, so they can come.
"Let Zheng'er walk by himself. You'll be so tired carrying him." Zhu Xiang learned from the jailer one day in advance that Xue and Zheng'er would come the next day. He wiped his body and hair with the hot water brought by the jailer, picked out a piece of clean clothes, and waited for them with a smile.
Xue shook her head: "Holding Zheng'er, I feel more at ease."
She put Ying Xiaozheng on the ground. Ying Xiaozheng immediately rushed to the prison door, pressed against the railing, and stretched his short, chubby arms inward: "Uncle, uncle... woo woo..."
"My uncle is very good. He has a quilt, charcoal fire, and oil lamp. My days in prison are not bad." Zhu Xiang smiled and held Ying Xiaozheng's hand. "Don't be afraid, Zheng'er, your uncle will be out soon."
Ying Xiaozheng sniffed: "How fast is fast?"
Zhu Xiang pretended to be in deep thought for a while, and said, "It depends on how efficient Pingyuan Jun and Pingyang Jun are in investigating the case. But it should be no more than half a month at the latest, right?"
"Ah? Half a month? That means there's at least another ten days." Ying Xiaozheng was about to drop gold beans again.
Zhu Xiang wiped away Ying Xiaozheng's tears and pinched his nephew's soft cheeks: "Only ten days at most. Before that, Zheng'er must protect your aunt. Zheng'er is so smart, he will definitely help your uncle protect your aunt."
Ying Xiaozheng took his hand back and nodded vigorously: "Yes, Zheng'er will protect your aunt."
He hugged Xue's legs and repeated: "Zheng'er, protect your aunt."
Zhu Xiang asked, "Xue, why don't you speak? Don't you want to talk to me?"
He pretended to be aggrieved to make Xue happy.
Xue touched Ying Xiaozheng's little head with a fluffy hat on it, knelt on the ground, opened the food box, and took out the dishes one by one.
There was charcoal at the bottom of the food box, and the dishes were still steaming.
"My cooking skills are not as good as mine, please don't look down on me." Xue said in a low voice.
"How could that be?" Zhu Xiang took the chopsticks and sat opposite Xue across the gap in the prison door. He tasted the dishes made by Xue herself and praised Xue with different words.
Ying Xiaozheng was amused, but Xue still didn't laugh.
Zhu Xiang finished his meal. After Xue packed up the food box, she continued to sit quietly in front of Zhu Xiang without saying a word.
Zhu Xiang couldn't laugh anymore.
He pleaded, "Xue, can you talk to me?"
Xue raised her head and asked, "My dear, can you not abandon me and Zheng'er for other people?"
Zhu Xiang felt a pain in his heart, and guilt was like a huge rock, weighing heavily on his heart.
Zhu Xiang didn't know how to answer, but Xue finally smiled.
She said with the same gentle smile as before: "I'm sorry, my dear, I shouldn't have said abandonment. You didn't abandon me and Zheng'er. You prepared a perfect escape route for both of us. You just gave up on yourself."
“Aunt…” Ying Xiaozheng lay on Xue’s legs, looking up at his aunt.
Xue hugged Ying Xiaozheng and said, "My dear has been talented and ambitious since he was young. Although I don't know much, I understand that my dear will not be satisfied with wealth and peace. My dear pursues things that I don't understand. Xun Gong said that it is a very noble ideal."
Xue hugged Ying Xiaozheng tightly and said, "Before, no matter what happened inside or outside the house, my lover took care of everything by himself. I relied on him too much. When my lover left, I was so flustered that I didn't know what to do."
Zhu Xiang said: "Xue! I will be released from prison soon, and then..."
Xue shook her head, interrupting Zhu Xiang and said, "That was in the past. I also want to be your support. So, you don't have to worry. If you stay in prison, I will raise Zheng'er while waiting for you to come back; if you want to be like the one in the story who sacrificed his life for justice, I will also raise Zheng'er and keep him alive until he has many sons and grandchildren, and then I will reunite with you."
As Xue spoke, her voice gradually choked up, tears dripping down her cheeks: "When I meet my beloved, I will tell him that I am doing well, and Zheng'er is doing well too. This is what my beloved wants, right?"
Zhu Xiang's hand reached through the railing to wipe Xue's tears without answering.
Ying Xiaozheng also tried hard to reach out and wipe away his aunt's tears.
Xue smiled with tears in her eyes and said, "My dear, I will try my best to do what you want. So my dear, don't worry about me and Zheng'er, do what you want to do. No matter what you want to do, I will support you."
Zhu Xiang thought that since so many people were trying to save him, he might really be fine.
But looking at Xue's determination, he couldn't say anything.
"Well." Zhu Xiang finally said, "Take care. No matter what happens in the future, we can meet again."
Xue let go of Zheng'er in her arms, held Zhu Xiang's hands with both hands, lowered her head and put her face on Zhu Xiang's hands, and closed her eyes: "Yeah."
Ying Xiaozheng stood up and looked at his uncle and aunt without blinking.
After a while, he said, "Uncle, if anything happens to you, the next government will definitely exterminate your clan and end your lineage."
Zhu Xiang asked, "Zheng'er, the Qi you are talking about is the King of Zhao?"
Ying Xiaozheng nodded with a stern face.
Zhu Xiang burst out laughing and said, "Zheng'er, the King of Zhao is from the same clan as you, why are you exterminating the whole clan and making them heirs? Come on, come on, don't say such terrible things. Every wrong has its perpetrator, don't implicate innocent people. Don't you think Pingyuan Jun and Pingyang Jun are very nice to me?"
Ying Xiaozheng's stern face fell: "Uncle!"
Zhu Xiang said, "Revenge is necessary. When you become the King of Qin in the future, have someone study papermaking and write a book about my uncle being persecuted by the King of Zhao. Distribute it throughout the world and let everyone despise the King of Zhao. How do you do that? That will make you feel better."
Ying Xiaozheng frowned, feeling that his uncle was lying to him: "Really?"
Zhu Xiang nodded seriously: "Really. You see, many people are not afraid of death, but only afraid of having their reputation ruined."
"Okay, I'll think about it." Ying Xiaozheng crossed his arms and wrinkled his chubby little face into a round one.
Xue wiped away her tears and finally couldn't help laughing: "My dear, don't teach Zheng'er bad things."
"I didn't, I didn't, I'm serious!" Zhu Xiang raised three fingers and swore to the sky.
"Okay, Zheng'er, let's go and ignore your uncle." Xue picked up the empty food box and picked up Ying Xiaozheng, who was still folding his arms and thinking hard. "My dear, Lord Lin, Lord Lian, and Lord Xun are all fine, but Lord Lin is coughing badly again. My dear, please go home as soon as possible and take good care of Lord Lin."
Zhu Xiang stood up and watched Xue and Ying Xiaozheng leave: "Okay."
After the door connecting the prison corridor to the outside world was closed again and the surrounding light dimmed again, Zhu Xiang returned to his small quilt, let down his hair, and lay there in a daze.
Xue is indeed the person who knows herself best.
She knew that once she left home, once she opened the door to sacrifice her life for justice, even if she survived this disaster, she would probably continue to "seek death" in the future.
I am such a scumbag.
Zhu Xiang turned over and buried his face in the quilt.
Yu Xin investigated for several days and became more and more frightened.
Therefore, it is impossible that Zhu Xiang was a spy planted by the Qin people in Zhao.
I was wrong.
Yu Xin sat on the edge of the field, supporting his forehead with one hand, feeling extremely painful.
In fact, if he had checked it himself, he would have known how wrong he was, but his heart was filled with hatred for the Qin State, which made him lose his normal judgment.
No, more than that.
He was blinded not only by his hatred for the Qin State, but also by Zhu Xiang's commoner background.
How could a child from a farmer's family, who doesn't even have the chance to read and write, become a great sage
If it is said that Lin Xiangru picked up a poor commoner child and taught him to become a talent, it would make sense. But the rumor about Zhu Xiang is that he was smart since childhood and impressed Lin Xiangru with his talent, and became Lin Xiangru's retainer, and became famous at a very young age.
Yu Xin didn't believe in innate knowledge, so he guessed that Zhu Xiang was a spy trained by the Qin State.
But the facts told him that when Zhu Xiang went to Lin Xiangru, he was indeed not very literate and had not read many books, but he was very smart. From farming to business to manual work, Zhu Xiang knew almost everything.
If an illiterate warrior can become a formidable general, why can't an illiterate farmer's son be talented in farming, business and manual work
Zhu Xiang's other knowledge was indeed gradually enriched under Lin Xiangru's teaching. Later, Lian Po and Xun Kuang also began to teach Zhu Xiang, and Zhu Xiang became the great sage he is today.
Even though Zhu Xiang was still very young, what he did was indeed worthy of being called a great sage.
"It turns out that Zhu Xiang was initially hated because he increased the yield of common people's farmland, which aroused the anger of some nobles in the court who were waiting for the common people to starve to death so that they could seize the good farmland."
"It turns out that Zhu Xiang was dismissed because he tried to get common people to grow potatoes for famine relief in addition to fertile land."
"It turns out that Zhu Xiang had long ago advised Zhao Kuo not to go to Changping, and as soon as Zhao Kuo arrived in Changping, he immediately prepared to go to Changping..."
Yu Xin held his forehead and sobbed and then burst into tears.
"I was wrong! I almost harmed the great sage of Zhao!"
While crying, he stood up and walked towards Handan city.
He mounted his horse and galloped towards the palace, crying.
"Zhu Xiang is innocent!" Yu Xin cried as he walked through the streets and alleys, "Please release Zhu Xiang, King Zhao. I have wronged Zhu Xiang. I am willing to pay with my head. Please release Zhu Xiang, King Zhao!"
Passersby on both sides looked at Yu Xin in horror as he rode away on his horse, and then whispered to each other.
The King of Zhao looked at Yu Xin crying as he walked into the palace in horror, and fell to the ground. "Please release Zhu Xiang, it's all my fault. I killed a loyal and good man. Please put all the blame on me! Please let me take all the blame and chop off my head!"
King Zhao helped Yu Xin up and said to him, "Yu Qing, why are you doing this? Zhu Xiang's identity is already questionable, and you are just a reasonable suspect. When the evidence is clear, I will personally go and ask Zhu Xiang to come out. What does this have to do with you?"
Yu Xin looked directly at the King of Zhao and said, "Your Majesty, please release Zhu Xiang immediately and kill me to appease the people. Your Majesty, please don't make the same mistake over and over again! Zhu Xiang is truly a talented person who can help you become the overlord, and he really has nothing to do with the Qin State!"
When King Zhao saw that Yu Xin actually forced him, he felt displeased.
But he continued to comfort him, "Okay, Lord Pingyuan and Lord Pingyang are not in Handan right now because they are searching for evidence. I will discuss how to release Zhu Xiang as soon as Lord Pingyuan and Lord Pingyang come back. We can't just lock Zhu Xiang up and then release him without any reason. What will happen to my prestige then?"
Yu Xin sighed in his heart and said, "Yes, Your Majesty."
He knew that King Zhao still refused to give in, so he could only retreat and go find Lou Chang.
Although Lou Chang was stupid, he was loyal to King Zhao. As long as Lou Chang was persuaded, King Zhao might change his mind.
He also immediately sent someone to deliver a letter to Pingyuan Jun and Pingyang Jun, asking them to come back immediately and help him persuade King Zhao to release Zhu Xiang.
As soon as Yu Xin left, King Zhao knocked over the utensils on the table and his face turned purple with anger.
"How could this Zhu Xiang even bewitched Yu Xin!" King Zhao gritted his teeth, extremely angry.
Zhu Xiang's existence seemed to always slap him in the face.
Lin Xiangru had always recommended Zhu Xiang, but the King of Zhao never employed him; Zhu Xiang became more and more powerful and famous, but the King of Zhao still only gave him an empty courtesy and refused to trust him; the King of Zhao did not believe that Zhu Xiang could convince the Qin State in Changping, but Zhu Xiang not only succeeded, but also gained great reputation.
Even though the King of Zhao did not leave the palace, he learned from his attendants that many people in Handan City said that he was incompetent and did not know what a truly talented person was, so he abandoned Zhu Xiang and appointed Zhao Kuo.
"Your Majesty, Zhu Xiang is indeed infuriating." After seeing the King of Zhao vent his anger, the attendant followed his thoughts and said, "He has such a great reputation in Zhao that even the people in Handan are willing to die for him. If this continues, Your Majesty will be in danger."
King Zhao frowned: "It is indeed dangerous."
He thought about King Li of Zhou and wanted to leave Handan temporarily to avoid the limelight.
But he thought about leaving Handan City and didn't want to release Zhu Xiang.
King Zhao was unwilling to bow his head for a commoner and admit that he had been doing things that a tyrant would do since he took power.
"Your Majesty, Zhu Xiang cannot stay." The attendant came up and whispered, "Zhu Xiang has such a high reputation and is related to the Qin State. If the Qin army attacks Handan one day, what should Zhu Xiang do if he cooperates with the Qin army?"
King Zhao sighed. The attendant's words touched his heart.
He finally found an excuse to explain his dislike for Zhu Xiang: "Yes, what should I do. But now Zhu Xiang can no longer be killed."
The attendant said: "Zhao cannot kill Zhu Xiang, but Qin can."
King Zhao became excited: "Oh? Tell me quickly."
The attendant whispered, "Qin must be worried that Zhu Xiang would help Zhao and make Zhao stronger than Qin. And since they know that killing Zhu Xiang would displease the people of Zhao, then the king must not want to kill Zhu Xiang, but Qin must want to kill Zhu Xiang."
King Zhao stroked his beard and nodded, "Indeed."
The attendant said, "The Qin people are so cruel and cunning. Isn't it natural for them to sneak into the prison and kill Zhu Xiang and put the blame on Zhao?"
The King of Zhao took a few deep breaths, his eyes lit up: "In this way, I can use Zhu Xiang's death to boost the morale of the people of Zhao! After that, I will use people who are close to Zhu Xiang, such as Lian Po, Li Mu, and Lin Xiangru, and Zhao will definitely become powerful!"
The attendant bowed and said, "That's true. Zhu Xiang cannot live. If he lives, how will Your Majesty deal with it? But Zhu Xiang cannot die at Your Majesty's hands either. He can only die at the hands of the Qin people."
King Zhao looked at the attendant and asked, "Can you do this?"
The attendant smiled bitterly, "I am willing to die for you, Your Majesty. But, Your Majesty, I cannot pretend to be a Qin person."
King Zhao stroked his beard again, nodded, and said nothing more.
He rewarded his attendants with many things and then used the secret guards in the palace to do this.
King Zhao also has his own secret guards, otherwise how can he protect the safety of the palace? The Lou family is just King Zhao's knife, and Zhao Dan himself has his own death warriors inherited from his father and mother.
The attendant left with a smile on his face. Previously, a attendant had proposed to put Zhu Xiang in prison and was rewarded by King Zhao. He saw the trick and King Zhao wanted to kill Zhu Xiang. Sure enough, as long as he followed King Zhao's wishes, he could also become King Zhao's favorite!
The attendant who had proposed to put Zhu Xiang in prison had been sending spies to keep an eye on the king of Zhao, constantly informing the Qin people of the king's attitude towards Zhu Xiang in order to gain more bribes. When he learned of this, he was so frightened that he dropped the wine cup in his hand.
"Stupid! If Zhu Xiang dies, maybe the blame can be put on Qin, and the reputation of King Zhao will not be affected, but I, who proposed to King Zhao to put Zhu Xiang in prison, and the idiot who wanted to kill Zhu Xiang will both die!" The attendant who accepted the bribe from Qin paced back and forth, gritting his teeth and said, "We must notify the Qin people quickly!"
He decided to send the city defense map of Handan directly to the Qin people. If Zhu Xiang died, he would flee to Qin immediately!
"I'll remember you!" The attendant who was close to Qin gritted his teeth.
At this time, Bai Qi had led an army of 80,000 and approached the city of Handan.
Among these 80,000 troops, 20,000 were once Zhao troops. Now they were incorporated into the Qin army, and led by the Qin army, bypassed the empty defense line of the Zhao army, and helped the Qin people rescue Zhu Xiang.
Bai Qi marched quickly for eight days and quickly arrived near Handan City, where he found a deserted mountain to camp.
Because of the continuous wars and chaos, there were many deserted mountains and hills nearby. The people of Zhao had no idea that the Qin army was approaching, and the Qin army had not fought a single battle so far.
Bai Qi was somewhat speechless. Could it be that Lian Po had not yet been reinstated
According to the current situation, he felt that he could imitate the battle against the State of Chu, capture the city of Handan of Zhao, and set fire to the ancestral tomb of the King of Zhao.
However, Bai Qi just thought about it and would not really attack Handan City.
Firstly, he couldn't hold Handan City after he conquered it, so the attack was in vain; secondly, he had just made a great contribution and now he needed to take a break.
Bai Qi sighed in his heart. Ever since he knew that the King of Qin wanted to kill him, he could no longer remain loyal to the King of Qin as before and began to think about his own affairs after his death.
"General! Someone reported what happened in Handan City." The guard said, "He said that the King of Zhao wanted to kill Duke Zhu Xiang! Let's quickly attack Handan City and rescue Duke Zhu Xiang!"
Bai Qi pulled his beard off.
"Why did the King of Zhao want to kill Zhu Xiang?" Bai Qi didn't understand. "He put Zhu Xiang in jail to please other nobles who disliked Zhu Xiang, which was already enough. Why did he want to kill Zhu Xiang? Didn't Handan City cause a commotion once when Zhu Xiang was arrested? Does he want to be the King of Zhao Li?"
The guard said, "That person said that the King of Zhao wanted to put the blame on Qin."
Bai Qi was even more confused. "Even if that's the case, there will definitely be rumors that he killed Zhu Xiang, and Qin was just framed. After all, he was the one who wanted to kill Zhu Xiang, and Qin only needed to bring back the hostage. Lin Xiangru and Lian Po, who were close to Zhu Xiang, were not stupid people either. They must know the truth."
The guard said: "This... I don't know either. This is how they spread the news."
Bai Qi stroked his beard vigorously.
This King of Zhao... is obviously not Zhao Kuo's brother, so why is he just as incomprehensible as Zhao Kuo?
Bai Qi sighed and gritted his teeth, "All troops, attack! Attack Handan!"
(End of this chapter)