In the 36th year of Jianyan, King of Qin Han Shizhong passed away.

It was the 21st day of the first lunar month. Two days ago, on the 19th day of the first lunar month, this meritorious official also accompanied the emperor on activities. In the morning, he went to the Royal Society of Atomic Energy and watched the latest experiment on the "ratio of yang and yin". In the afternoon, he went to the stables in the north of the city and saw the "Giant Xia Horse" breed that was said to have been brought from England... It is said that the King of Qin even joked at the time that although this kind of horse was not suitable for fighting on the battlefield, it at least let people know how majestic the iron elephant was back then.

As a result, at night, the King of Qin, who had drunk some wine, felt a little drunk and had difficulty getting up. By the daytime of the 21st, it was obvious that he was dying.

When the news came out, the official was so shocked that he came to investigate in person.

To be fair, everyone from the government to the relatives in the Qin Palace and the common people watching the excitement outside, although they all took this matter seriously and were a little surprised, no one was panicking... After all, the Qin King was already 75 years old, and he joined the army when he was young, and had been on horseback for decades, suffering dozens of injuries. The reason he could get to this day was the result of the past 20 years of leisurely living in the woods, a calm mentality, and proper recuperation.

In the folk, it is considered a happy funeral.

Moreover, the heroes of Jianyan have been dying out for a long time. The older famous ministers and generals have already passed away. Starting three years ago, Zhang Jun, Wang Yan, Zhao Ding, Qu Duan, Wanqi Xie and several people of similar age have also died one after another. It seems that the time of death has come for a large number of people.

When Zhao Jiu arrived at the big kang in Han Shizhong's bedroom, he saw that the other party was almost talking nonsense. After waiting for a while, he saw that he was slightly refreshed and conscious, and tried to sit up. However, he knew that this good minister of his was just having a last burst of energy and he was ultimately powerless to do anything.

"Does Liangchen have anything else to say?" Zhao Jiu sat on the edge of the kang, looking at the other person's white hair. He sighed in his heart, but he suppressed it in the end and just acted as if it was normal and asked routinely.

"What do you want to tell me? Should I cry and beg His Majesty to promote my children?" Han Shizhong shook his head slowly. He was usually very energetic, but today he was actually tired and dazed. "The emperor's kindness to the Han family is unprecedented in history. Moreover, there have been nearly forty years of good relations between the emperor and his subjects. If I am still greedy, wouldn't it be a joke if it gets out?"

Zhao Jiu nodded without commenting.

The attendants inside and outside the house, from Yang Yi Zhong on down, could be roughly divided into two categories. One category was those brought by Zhao Jiu, who were either sons of nobles or princes of subordinate countries, or young talents from the Imperial Academy or the martial arts academy. They could not help but marvel at what he said and admired him in their hearts. The other category was the relatives and descendants headed by the children of the Han family, who were too sentimental to contain themselves and could not help but burst into tears on the spot.

The eldest and second sons of the emperor were both present, and they also stood with their heads bowed as juniors. Han Yanzhi, the eldest son of the Prince of Qin, was on a business trip to Japan, and his wife Princess Yiyou was also present, so she was on the same list as the Han family members.

However, after a pause, Han Shizhong still remembered something: "My lord, do you still remember the old things at the Sansheng Temple?"

"I remember." Zhao Jiu thought for a moment and nodded immediately. "There was a lot of noise about the Three Saints Temple in Fengtai Camp. The soldiers selected from the Western Army wanted to build it, but the Secret Council did not allow it, saying it was an obscene worship. Finally, you, a good minister, went to the Secret Council and said that it was built by three heroes who had made contributions to Pingxia... What's the story?"

"Yes." Han Shizhong said reluctantly. "That thing is indeed an obscene sacrifice... The three saints being worshipped are actually three Guanxi earth lizards."

The whole room was visibly stunned... Several scholars who were smart and indifferent to the matter even wanted to complain, saying that he was worthy of being the King of Qin, who could even do something lively before his death!

However, Emperor Zhao looked calm: "I know. Yang Yizhong told me at that time that there were three lizards in Pingxia City. When the soldiers were besieged by the Western Xia army and had no other options, they went to them to pray for rain. It actually rained. From then on, the Western Army remembered these three saints and offered sacrifices to them whenever they marched or set up camp."

"The emperor is so magnanimous even though he knows the truth." Han Shizhong couldn't help but smile bitterly.

"The soldiers from Guanxi came to Yanjing, thousands of miles away from home, and they must have a place to rely on to live in peace." Zhao Jiu said with a sigh. "I can't even pretend to be confused. I have been the emperor for decades in vain."

The bedroom was naturally quiet, but in the outer room, several servants and scholars could not help but look around, as if they were touched.

"That's right." Han Shizhong nodded his head. "That's exactly what I meant... I've thought about it for a long time. The three lizards are of course an allusion to the Western Army, but I still feel ashamed to compare them with the many soldiers and heroes who died in the Jianyan period... I would like to ask Your Majesty to make the best of a bad situation and change the three saints in the Sansheng Temple to Wu Jie, Qu Duan, and Wang Shu, who died early, to forgive me some of my guilt."

"Okay." Zhao Jiu nodded immediately. "We can also take this opportunity to bring in Zhang Yongzhen, Hou Dan, Li Yongqi and others who died earlier."

"That's good, that's good." Han Shizhong nodded, but reminded, "I don't need it... I have enjoyed all the wealth and honor in the world, so I don't need it."

"Okay." Zhao Jiu agreed immediately. "Anything else?"

Han Shizhong leaned against the wall, his gray hair was a little messy. After thinking for a while, he finally shook his head.

The king and his minister sat in silence.

After a while, Han Shizhong laughed first: "I am dying, and I am leaving the government to wait?"

Zhao Jiu was about to speak.

Unexpectedly, Han Shizhong made a joking request: "The emperor gave Zong Zhongwu the 'Qingyu Case' that day. I wonder if you can give me another poem today to write 'Wanshikong'?"

Emperor Zhao smiled bitterly and refused on the spot: "Others may not know, but don't your good ministers know? I have already been 'scared of Zhongyong', and now I have no ability in writing."

"It's okay, it's okay, it doesn't matter what you write." Han Shizhong stretched out his hand and actually grabbed the emperor's arm. "Bring the board, I will write one, and you will write one. What else can we do at this time? Do you really want a group of people to stand and wait for me to die?"

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