Chapter 691 Suicide out of fear of crime

Chapter 691 Suicide out of fear of crime

"The Qiang slaves really have no faith at all, and they really go too far to deceive others!"

In the palace of King Xiangdong in Jiangling City, King Xiangdong held the letter tightly with one hand, and clenched his fist with the other hand and waved it angrily. His one eye was filled with anger, and he roared: "Today's family and country are in unrest. We have to deal with the civil strife first and then eliminate the trouble. We have always treated the Mianbei Qiang slaves with courtesy. They also accepted their wishes when they drove away from Shaoling. Now they have gained a stubborn man and sent them to me, putting me in a dilemma between love and justice! The wolfish ambition is hateful, hateful!”

Although the people in the mansion did not know exactly what happened, seeing the king being so angry, they all remained silent and did not dare to inquire at will.

After venting his anger, King Xiangdong's heart became less angry and more worried. He dismissed other personnel, leaving only a few confidants in the hall. He pondered for a while and then said in a deep voice: "The Qiang slaves want to force me to expose my shame. But if Shao Ling is allowed to enter Jiangling without any treatment, the harm will be particularly serious. Now that he is trying to fight the enemy with all his strength, it is even more unsuitable to let Shao Ling enter the house!"

After hearing this, several confidants exchanged looks and did not dare to say anything more. They just nodded and said: "Your Majesty is wise!"

The King of Xiangdong just turned a deaf ear to these flattery calls. His one eye was full of thoughtfulness. After a while, he sighed again: "Just wait and take the poison, go north to meet him and drink it." After taking the poison, there is no need to bury it, just throw it away. Don’t distract the people in Jiangling!”

After hearing this, several confidants hurriedly nodded in agreement, fearing that they would be punished by the king if they responded too late.

After deciding to poison his brother, King Shaoling, on the way, King Xiangdong felt a little more relaxed, and then began to think about whether there was room for beautification of the method, and not to be too direct and criticized by others.

After a while, he spoke again: "Go and summon some of Shao Ling's relatives from the mansion to come and see you."

Previously, King Xiangdong sent Wang Sengbian to Yingzhou to force King Shaoling, but King Shaoling was timid and forced him away. Then a group of subordinates came to join him.

After forcing King Shaoling away, King Xiangdong did not pursue these people seriously. Without fierce conflicts of interest and anger, King Xiangdong was relatively tolerant. This was also one of the reasons why many people from Jiangnan fled to Jiangling after the fall of Jiankang. Of course, they had no other better direction besides Jiangling.

Soon several former officials of King Shaoling were introduced into the mansion. After receiving their kneels and bows, King Xiangdong looked at a few people and said with a smile: "You are returning from Shaoling, maybe because I sent troops to attack you." And there is secret resentment in my heart..."

After hearing this, several people shook their heads and said no, and did not dare to show their resentment in front of King Xiangdong.

"Whether there is or not, you know my heart well! Shaoling is impatient and can't lead the army. If he hadn't made a fool of himself, why would Jiangnan have caused great disasters? Now my disciple Xu Wensheng and others are facing off against the thieves in Yingzhou. The thieves Although the situation is fierce, it is difficult to advance! Ask yourself, if Shao Ling is still here, can he control the thieves so tightly? "

Hearing the boasts of King Xiangdong, several former officials of King Shaoling felt quite unhappy, but they could only nod with smiling faces and said: "Your Majesty is wise and courageous. He is indeed the one who destroys thieves and revives the country and helps the country." The second choice!”

"For the former, I sent Wang Sengbian to spread the news that Xu Zhi had moved to Xiangzhou, but Shaoling refused to surrender to me. He wandered around Huaihe without any followers. However, he was defeated and captured by the Wei people, and was taken to Jiangling. He is now on the way."

The King of Xiangdong looked at the few people and said with a smile: "Now I return to my old master, and hurry north to greet me. You must firmly remember to assist carefully and follow the right path. If not, you will be punished and will not be disturbed!"

After several people heard this, they were surprised and confused for a while. Although King Shaoling is unbearable, he is still the head of the clan. If he can be sidelined, they will not be forced to rely on others and suffer oppression. But what King Xiangdong said was so kind and open-minded, but it made them a little surprised.

But no matter what they thought, the King of Xiangdong did not give them a choice. He even ordered several of his confidants who had been ordered before to pack their bags and prepare to leave the city.

When this group of people was walking out of the Palace of the Prince of Eastern Hunan, one of the former officials of King Shaoling suddenly shouted to a pedestrian on the street: "When did Master Wei come to Jiangling?"

That traveler was Wei Ding who was on an envoy to Mianbei before. Because his envoy had a poor negotiation with Li Tai, he knew that King Shaoling might not last long. After returning, he found an excuse to leave Qichang and went to Qichang. Come to Jiangling.

Hearing the shouts, Wei Ding turned his head and looked around. He immediately recognized several former officials of King Shaoling, so he walked up and said, "I didn't expect to see you all again. Xu Canjun and others entered Jiangling early and must have settled down." Come down, why are you all dressed up again and seem to be traveling far away?”

Among them was a scribe named Xu Heng, who was about the same age as Wei Ding. He was originally from Anlu. He fled Yingzhou last year and was summoned by King Shaoling to serve in the palace. At this time, when he heard Wei Ding's question, Xu Heng Heng then sighed and immediately recounted the instructions of King Xiangdong.

After hearing this, Wei Ding's expression changed slightly.

Xu Heng then spoke again: "Master Wei seems to have just arrived in Jiangling. If he still has nowhere to go, why not go out with others to meet the King of Shaoling? The King of Eastern Hunan has said that he will establish the king of Xiangzhou. At that time, talents will be needed to open the government and govern the people. Li, some of you are the king's old relatives, so it is the right thing to follow him when he goes..."

After Wei Ding heard the words, he pondered for a moment, then said apologetically: "I am coming to the city now because I have relatives to visit. I sent my slaves to tell you not to break the promise, so I can only honor my promise and join the army to invite you."

After Xu Heng and others heard this, they couldn't help but look disappointed, but they also knew that everyone had their own ambitions and it was inconvenient to force them. In addition, the subordinates of the King of Xiangdong who were traveling with him could not help but urge them, so they could only say goodbye with regret.

Wei Ding stood on the street and watched the group of people leaving. His expression changed several times. In the end, he couldn't hold it back. He took a few more steps to catch up. He motioned for Xu Heng to come closer to him and then whispered: "Dongdong Hunan has never been the best." In terms of virtue and righteousness, this trip may not yield good results. After joining the army and waiting for it, there is no need to think about it again. It is a good luck to go north!"

After Xu Heng heard this, he couldn't help but be stunned for a moment. Seeing Wei Ding's serious expression, he nodded heavily and went on his way again.

Because they did not receive clear instructions from the King of Eastern Hunan, the envoy Zong Mao and his party who went to Mianbei did not dare to return to Jiangling directly. When they arrived at Shicheng, the border between the two countries, they simply stopped and allowed the Wei people to urge them, but they did not Willing to leave the country.

After shamelessly delaying for several days, it was not until late February that the envoys sent by King Xiangdong to welcome him finally arrived in Shicheng.

After reuniting with each other, they finally took over King Shaoling from the Wei army who had escorted them here. Due to the instructions of King Xiangdong, several of his confidants did not dare to poison King Shaoling directly in Shicheng, so as not to give the Wei people the opportunity to intervene and publicize it.

Xu Heng and other former officials of King Shaoling naturally wanted to serve King Shaoling immediately, but their request was not granted. The guards of the Prince of Xiangdong from Jiangling protected King Shaoling in groups, completely preventing others from approaching and talking to King Shaoling.

After a day of traveling, the group arrived at Jingling County. It was obvious that they could stay in the city just a short distance away, but the confidants of King Xiangdong who arranged the trip insisted on sleeping in the wild.

Early the next morning, soldiers entered King Shaoling's camp and shouted loudly: "The king has committed suicide by taking poison!"

When everyone in the camp heard the news and rushed over, they saw King Shaoling lying in the tent, with black and red blood on his mouth and nose, and his face was ashen, as he had been dead for a long time.

"Your Majesty, how could your Majesty commit suicide?"

Xu Heng and other former officials were shocked when they saw this. They wanted to rush into the tent to investigate carefully, but they were blocked by the guards of the Xiangdong Palace with weapons.

A confidant of the King of Xiangdong said loudly: "Now that our country is in trouble, and there are many things happening at home and abroad, it is the time for the loyal and righteous people in the country to work together to revive the country! The King of Xiangdong takes command of the military government, gathers people to quell the chaos, and all loyal and righteous people All brave people will be put to important use!

The King of Shaoling was a man of wretched talent and bad deeds, and had no merit in the clan. Because he was a close relative of the clan, the King of Eastern Hunan repeatedly forgave him, and now he redeemed foreign countries and granted him state posts. However, after all, King Shaoling could not sympathize with the righteousness. , live up to the gift, commit suicide out of fear of sin, abandon oneself and others, death is not a pity!

Your Majesty has ordered that such a person who has such a disregard for the dangers of his family and country and is so evil-minded should be abandoned in the wilderness. How can he be buried at the expense of his family and country? "

Everyone present was not a fool. After hearing this, they didn't know what the real situation was. Xu Heng and other former officials of King Shaoling also understood at this moment that the King of Xiangdong sent them here just to let them witness with their own eyes the fate of King Shaoling being abandoned by everyone.

If there are any rumors about this matter in the future, they will naturally be the only ones to ask. And these old officials witnessed the death of King Shaoling with their own eyes without coffin, which naturally further confirmed that King Shaoling's death was not a pity!

After poisoning King Shaoling, the group packed up and continued on the road. King Shaoling's body was abandoned here without anyone taking it, and Xu Heng and other former officials took him back to Jiangling for questioning. .

Although Xu Heng was not an elder from the Southern Kingdom, he was also very talented and well-known. He was highly appreciated by Liu Zhilin and others from Nanyang, so he also had many old acquaintances among relatives and friends in Jiangling. Someone couldn't bear to see him being so wronged, so he quietly let him go while the guards were unprepared on the way.

Although he was free, Xu Heng didn't know where he was going for a while. Wei Ding's parting words came to mind again, so he walked back to the place where King Shaoling was poisoned and abandoned, and he made a felt with dry grass and wrapped it in it. The corpse of King Shaoling howled all the way north along the Han River, heading straight to Xiangyang where Liang Wang Xiao Jin was seated.

Liang Wang Xiao Jin had a strong sense of crisis. Although he had Li Tai from Mianbei as his backer, he was still afraid that the king of eastern Hunan would send troops to attack Xiangyang, so he deployed many city garrison eyes and ears south of Xiangyang as a warning.

After Xu Heng traveled north like this for two days, he was discovered by Xiangyang scouts. After entering and interrogating him, they quickly reported the news to Xiangyang. At the same time, they escorted the bodies of Xu Heng and King Shaoling back to Xiangyang.

Sorry, sorry, there are some human connections as the Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching, so I will update a chapter today. . .