Chapter 1193: Carrying on the Past and Opening the Future (Eighty-Three) New Year’s Bell (Part 1)

The New Year's bell is the Han State's action plan to completely overthrow Western Zhao and then formally incorporate the entire Zhao State into the territory of the Han State. For this action plan, both the military and political systems of the Han State secretly acted. Jiang Jiaquan led People rushed to Handan, Cao Tianci led the National Security Bureau and the Military Intelligence Bureau to Dai County, and he himself went straight to Shanggu County. Ye Zhong took charge of the Ministry of War and began to dispatch troops and generals.

When the messenger sent back by Cao Tianci handed over the secret message for the New Year's bell to ring on time, the whole plan began to be officially launched.

On the tenth day of the twelfth lunar month, at the Royal Palace in Handan, Zhao Wuji, with a swollen face and extremely poor complexion, sat listlessly on the throne that symbolized the throne. He stared at the civil servants and generals of Zhao State who were bowing to him in the audience, feeling in his heart. Anger overflowed outwards in waves, and he wanted to roar at these people and ask: "Are you still the ministers of Zhao State, are you still Zhao people?"

But he didn't dare.

He didn't know how many of the people below still had ties to Zhao Guo in their hearts. He could only be sure of one thing. The one standing at the first place, looking at him with his head held high, was wearing armor and carrying a sling on his waist. The tall man with a sword would never agree with him like this. He was Zhou Changshou, the former general of the Zhao State and now the chief assistant of the Zhao State. He was also the minion of the Han State that directly controlled the Dong Zhao regime. At this moment, he was holding his hand. He was wearing a sword, and his hawk-like eyes stared at him.

Unlike usual, there were many more soldiers at today's court meeting. Although these soldiers were wearing Zhao's military uniforms, they definitely could not be Zhao's troops. They usually served as palace guards, and Zhao Wuji was more or less one of them. The faces were familiar, but today, none of these people he knew. Looking at the sharp swords and spears in the hands of these soldiers, Zhao Wuji shuddered. He remembered the hateful gray-haired old man in the harem, with an extremely confident smile on his face...

Everyone deserves to be killed! He roared in his mind.

pity. He could only roar in his heart. The history of Zhao Wuji will end today, which makes Zhao Wuji extremely heartbroken. Today is his last court meeting, after today's court meeting. He will set off for the Dayan Lake in Dayan County of Han Dynasty, where he will be with King Qi, Tian Dan, Zhou Yuan and others. We went fishing together to enjoy the scenery.

In the harem, his family members have packed their packages and loaded the carriage, and are gathering together to wait for him to go to court, waiting for him to get on the carriage, and leave his hometown together, never to return home again.

If I dare to make any mistakes, I'm afraid that not only will they not be able to wait for me, but they will be waiting for a sharp steel knife!

"Your Majesty, the court meeting has begun. Don't you want to announce something important?" Under the steps, Zhou Changshou took a step forward, bowed slightly to him, and urged, calling him "Your Majesty," but his attitude was extremely Arrogant.

Zhou Changshou's voice pulled Zhao Wuji out of his sad thoughts.

He glared at Zhou Changshou angrily, but the other party did not give in and stared back directly, and their eyes met in the air. After a moment of stalemate, Zhao Wuji was finally defeated. He withdrew his gaze with some fear and looked up at the beams. After a while, he finally stood up and looked at the nearly a hundred civil servants and generals, large and small, in the court hall.

"Dear ministers and ministers, today the State of Zhao is really lonely and incompetent. It is unable to straighten out the affairs of the country. It is unable to appease the people below. This is why Zhao Qi and other rebellious ministers and traitors are separatist, and millions of people are under the tyranny of the Qin people. He wailed and cried, and the lonely king felt so ashamed that in order to save all the people from the fire and water, he thought again and again and decided to abdicate." At this point, Zhao Wuji's face was full of tears, and he was almost choked with tears, and he could not make a sound. Above, there were hundreds of civil servants and generals, but almost no one said a word. Occasionally, a few people's eyes were full of anger, but they also suppressed themselves and did not dare to explode.

Everyone had expected this result a long time ago, and it has been beyond the expectations of many people that it has been delayed until today.

"At the end of the day when the solitary king of Zhao abdicates, the territory of Great Zhao will be merged into the Kingdom of Han. The solitary king has nothing to ask for. He only asks the king of Han to be kind to the people of our great Zhao and send troops as soon as possible to save our great Zhao from falling under the tyranny of Qin. All the people are in dire straits. Among them, the lonely king is extremely grateful." Zhao Wuji almost shouted these words.

As soon as these words came out, he seemed to have exhausted all his strength, and he collapsed, huddled in the large seat, covered his face with his hands, and cried bitterly.

Zhou Changshou cupped his fists with both hands and bowed his hands to the ground. "Your Majesty is wise! I obey your Majesty's orders."

"I accept the order!" More ministers bowed to accept the order.

Among the voices of obeying orders, a roaring voice suddenly appeared. "Zhou Changshou, you intimidated the king and acted as an aid to the tiger. You will not die a good death."

Zhou Changshou turned around coldly. It was a young official who he did not recognize standing at the edge of the gate. At this time, he had been grabbed by the two soldiers behind him and pushed to the ground. But he still managed to hold his head high, looked at Zhou Changshou, and cursed.

Zhou Changshou looked at the other party with contempt, "It's nothing, what do you know?" He raised his two fingers and flicked them outwards, as if flicking away a piece of dust.

The two soldiers dragged the young official away as if they were outside. The yelling and cursing continued. After a moment, the yelling and cursing that had just been full of energy suddenly stopped. Everyone in the hall shivered. , I knew in my heart that the bold young man was now dead.

"I respectfully invite the king to return to the palace." Zhou Zhishou turned around and said with a smile.

The two palace servants walked up to Zhao Wuji, lifted up the paralyzed Zhao Wuji, and walked into the harem while holding the support. After Zhou Changshou watched Zhao Wuji's back disappear, he strode up the steps and turned around. He came forward and faced the many civil servants and generals in the audience.

"Everyone, from this moment on, we are the subjects of the Han Dynasty. I have been entrusted by the King of Han to be fully responsible for the entire process of our country's surrender to the Han Dynasty. Here, I want to assure you that your Our rights and interests will not be infringed upon in any way. This is also the promise of the King of Han. Of course, the premise is that everyone must abide by all laws and regulations of the Han Dynasty and not do anything detrimental during this surrender process. "

"Yes, Mr. Chief Assistant." A voice like a yes-man came from the audience again, but his attitude was much more respectful than before. Zhao Wuji was already a thing of the past, but the person in front of him was a real celebrity. Fried chicken.

"During this period, no matter what you do or say, everyone must act and speak carefully to avoid unnecessary disasters. The army and the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry will strengthen the protection of your mansion. This is also the King of Han, and it is my love for you. Fist Fist Please understand that this is only temporary and everything will return to normal soon," Zhou Changshou said to everyone with a smile.

The entire city of Handan was under military control, and there were troops patrolling everywhere. The long-prepared edicts for Zhao Wuji's abdication were quickly posted on city walls all over Handan, and more notices were rushed to the place under the leadership of messengers. It took only a few days. , this news will spread throughout the world.

The reaction of the people in Handan was very dull. It was just a change of king. For them, their lives had not changed much. Over the past year or so, there had been frequent trade between Han and Zhao, and many people had been to Han. For them, the free life of the people there is a kind of real freedom.

Although the city is under martial law and under military control, life has to go on, and the things that need to be done cannot be delayed. For the common people of Shengdou, this is nothing. Compared with the bloody change of dynasties, this is the best kind. Way to go.

At the east gate of the palace, a row of dozens of carriages, escorted by fully armed soldiers, slowly drove out of the palace gate. Zhou Changshou stood in front of the palace gate, bowing slightly, and he was the only one who came to see Zhao Wuji off. Just one person.

A carriage stopped in front of him, and the curtains opened, revealing Zhao Wuji's pale and bloodless face. There was no hatred in his eyes, but only sadness.

"Zhou Changshou, you are a general of the Zhao State. You have been favored by the country in your life. You have followed General Zhao Mu in the east and west for many years. You are a minister of our great Zhao State. What you are doing now is worthy of Zhao Mu and Zhao Tai. Lieutenant?" His voice was extremely cold.

Zhou Changshou raised his head and looked at Zhao Wuji, "Your Majesty, now do you remember General Zhao? The initiator of Zhao Guo's current situation is you, Your Majesty. General Zhao is dedicated to the country and for the sake of Zhao Guo. It can be said that life and death are a matter of hard work, but have you really believed in him? Just because he has a very good personal relationship with Zilan, you have guessed at him. If you hadn't acted against him, how could the county have suffered such unreasonable disasters and how could Zilan have been let go? Mr. Lan Xianggong became disloyal, which then triggered the civil war in Zhao. If you hadn't favored Zhao Qi and deposed General Zhao, how could Zhao have been defeated again and again? General Zhao died, and Wu Zeng, who followed General Zhao at that time, suffered even more. I was unjustly accused of treason after my death. If I hadn't caught the opportunity early, I would have been like Wu Zeng, right? All those loyal ministers and righteous men were killed by Zhao Qi, so this At that time, no one stood up to speak for you. Zhao was once one of the most powerful countries in the world, but it fell to this point in a short period of time. Is it my fault, Zhou Changshou? You think you don’t have this ability yet, it’s all your own fault! Now you can still save your life and take your family to spend your old age in peace. You have to thank the King of Han for his magnanimity and broad-mindedness. In any era, this would have been impossible. It is impossible. The King of Han even allowed you to take all your belongings with you. What is there to be dissatisfied about? Think about King Han and King Yan. What happened to them in Qin? The ancestral temple is no longer there, and you cannot escape the steel sword. Compared with the gift of dove wine, your fate is considered good."

"You..." Zhao Wuji pointed at Zhou Changshou, his lips were trembling, but he couldn't say a word.

Zhou Changshou looked at him with disdain, "Your Majesty, from now on you will be a commoner of the Han Dynasty, and I, with the grace of the King of Han, will serve as the political affairs hall of the Han Dynasty. Don't worry, I will not forget you. After all, you are a monarch and a minister." I won't let you be wronged, please set off."

Zhou Changshou waved his hand and the motorcade started slowly. (To be continued.)