Chapter 124: Stab the King, Not the Country
The envoys of Luo State have not been traveling outside for many years, and they don't pay much attention to the wars among the various countries. The royal family of Luo State does not go to the royal capital, and the annual tribute is sent by envoys.
Now he has suddenly arrived in the State of Yan, just like in the fairy tale novels, where the world's number one sect that has been secluded from the world suddenly sends its own wanderers to the whole world, which naturally makes the nobles of the entire State of Yan look at him sideways.
They were discussing privately what could have happened that could have caused the current Luo State to come forward.
After the envoys from Luo State arrived in Yan State, they were naturally received with great courtesy and went directly to the Yan State palace.
He said to the Marquis of Yan: "Marquis of Yan, I have come to the State of Yan in compliance with the order of the monarch.
You have a vast land, but the population of Yan State is not large.
In the thousands of miles of forests and plains north of Jicheng, there live countless Rong and Hu people.
Eight hundred years ago, your ancestors accepted the fiefdom from King Su in the city of Haojing. All the countries in the world swore an oath in front of King Kang and King Su to wipe out the barbarians.
If you send troops to attack Qi now, Yan will certainly be left empty-handed. I am afraid that Rong people and Hu people will invade Yan.
The people of Yan were a noble race among the Xia people, yet they were invaded by the barbarians. This was something King Su would not allow.
The wars among the various states ultimately benefited the barbarians. This will be a punishment from heaven. Your Majesty, I hope you can consider this carefully.
Have you forgotten the oath of your ancestors? "
The more Envoy Luo spoke, the colder the expression on Marquis Yan's face became. "Empress, although not as noble as the Luo family, the Yan family is also a noble family of the Ji surname. You should not speak so rudely to a vassal.
For eight hundred years, the Rong and Hu peoples have not been able to break through the State of Yan. This is because the State of Yan is strong, and my ministers and army are able to maintain victory over the Rong and Hu peoples while attacking the State of Qi.
I think Lord Luo is worrying too much. Please return to Zhaocheng and tell Lord Luo that after Luo and Jin, Yan will take on the responsibility of carrying the Zhou Dynasty's throne."
The envoy from Luo State did not expect that the Marquis of Yan would say such a righteous statement. The State of Yan has not been destroyed for so many years. Isn't it because of the support of Qi State and Luo State?
Yan State had 2,000 miles of territory, 1,000 miles of which were given by Qi State. How could that be Yan State's credit?
Among the major powers today, Qin, Chu, and Zhao have barbarians on their borders, but only Yan is still on a strategic defensive against the barbarians. Haven't you ever thought about the reason?
How was the education of the monarch of Yan State carried out?
There were so many flaws in the Marquis of Yan's words that the envoy from Luo State opened his mouth but didn't know what to say.
Finally, he could only stand up and bow, saying: "You are a vassal. No one in Yan can go against your will. I will return to my country now."
The conversation quickly spread and caused some commotion.
There were also various forces within the State of Yan. The Marquis of Yan could kill the Prime Minister, but he could not stop these people's ideas.
These people opposed Yan's expedition against Qi. The prime minister was only a representative. Now seeing that even Luo State could not be persuaded, these people have become desperate.
Someone lamented: "A foolish monarch will lead the country to the path of overthrow. Is the country of Yan going to perish like this?"
In this era, the nobles have a strong sense of ownership. The monarch and the nobles share the world. This is not a declaration, but a truth.
Soon someone came up with a radical approach and said harshly: “Yan State does not belong to him alone.
The royal family, clan relatives and so many nobles, too many people are dissatisfied with him. He wants to destroy the State of Yan. We will never agree to it and must kill him!
I believe our ancestors will also congratulate us."
Kill the king!
Faced with his radical idea, everyone was shocked at first, and then their eyes began to light up.
Regicide is a good way to break the political deadlock. After hundreds of years of chaos, regicide is not a big deal. As long as it is done secretly enough and the responsibility is put on the riot, no one will be held responsible for it.
These ministers and officials soon began to look for suitable warriors and take careful action. Regicide is not such a simple matter, especially after experiencing so many regicides, the means of preventing assassination are now more abundant.
Many times, ministers even had to take off their swords when entering the palace, and the seats between the ministers and the monarch had to leave enough time for the guards to react.
The person who previously proposed to kill the king quietly concealed his merits and fame, and stirred up conflicts within the State of Yan. It would be best to create a chaos so that all his tricks could be cleaned up.
Luo State did not want its actions to be discovered, and the Yan State nobles did not want to be charged with regicide. This was understandable. After all, when Luo State killed Emperor Ji Bai, it was done in secret and finally the emperor was said to have died suddenly from illness.
The Marquis of Yan rejected Luo Guo's request, so the plan to kill him was officially put on the agenda. At the same time, he had to contact the nobles in the north of Yan State to prevent the invasion of the Hu people.
Thirty miles outside Zhaocheng, there is a hill. This hill and the surrounding areas of dozens of miles are all hunting grounds of the government. There is a bamboo forest in the hunting ground, which is surrounded by mountains and water. The scenery is very beautiful and outsiders are never allowed to enter.
This is one of the training grounds for the secretive personnel of the Luo Kingdom's royal office.
"drink!"
The sun shone on the earth, and loud shouts rang out in the forest. There was an open space in the bamboo forest, where many strong men with bare upper bodies were practicing swordsmanship.
Sweat flowed down their muscles and dripped onto the ground. One could even hear the sound of swords breaking through the air as they were swung.
Anyone can see that this is a group of people with extremely high personal combat power.
These are part of the dark warriors of the Luo Kingdom. Most of them are the descendants of the Luo family who have been trained since childhood. Among them there are even children of the royal family of the Luo Kingdom.
Luo Lianshe, who shot and killed Duke Lu Wujiu of Qi with a single arrow in the past, is one of the best on the dark side.
These people played a huge role in the royal family of Luo State. Although assassination was a horrific political action, it had to be said that it was very effective in a weird political atmosphere.
Especially when dealing with people like Lu Wujiu, Wei Houqing and Yan Hou, there are already countless people who want to kill him. At this time, the dark side can directly solve them, and there is no need to pay the price of blood on the bodies of trash.
A letter was sent here, "The master's mission has arrived. The Marquis of Yan attacked Qi, which led to the invasion of Linhu. For the sake of ambition, he forgot about the defense against the barbarians. The master needs us to go to Yan and kill the Marquis of Yan."
Instantly, many people's eyes lit up. The dark side of Luo State was mainly engaged in intelligence and protecting public offices. There had not been many real assassinations. After all, if you walk by the river often, you will get your feet wet.
Even assassinations against ministers were rare, let alone against a monarch. Now that they had this opportunity, everyone was eager to make a move.
In the end, four people who were best at assassination were selected. Among these four people, one was good at using poison. Ji Bai died at his hands. He was responsible for poisoning weapons.
All four of them are proficient in lurking and hiding, and they are all sharpshooters. After all, compared to assassins who need to get close to the enemy, using bows and crossbows to kill with one strike from a distance is an assassination method with a high success rate and a high survival rate.
The four were sent to the State of Yan. There would be people to pick them up along the way. Before they left, the leader warned them: "Killing a prince is not a simple matter.
If you fail, come back and wait for the next opportunity. Don't waste your life in Yan State in vain. It's not worth it.
But the good news is that there are also undercurrents in the State of Yan. The nobles of Yan are also dissatisfied with the Marquis of Yan. It is very likely that a riot will break out in Jicheng. This is a good opportunity for you to take action.
The strong bow will be disassembled and brought to the State of Yan for you, so don't worry.
The Su Wang will protect you!"
After saying goodbye to their brothers, the four men followed a caravan from Luo State to Yan State and arrived in Yan State.
At this time, the Yan army had already started fighting with the Qi state. The main force of Qi was outside and was no match for Yan. In addition, the Yan army launched a surprise attack and the Qi army had no time to react. In just one month, they lost ten cities.
As the Yan army advanced deeper into Qi, and Qi gradually came to its senses and began to recruit farmers to defend the city, this greatly slowed down the Yan's advance, and the demand for food in Yan suddenly increased.
In Jicheng, the Marquis of Yan was very excited when he heard the Yan army marching forward. He laughed loudly and said, "I knew that Qi was weak and Yan was fighting against the Rong and Hu all the year round, so its soldiers were strong.
As long as we attack Qi, it will certainly not be able to stop us. Once we conquer half of Qi’s territory, Yan will become one of the most powerful countries in the world.”
After killing the prime minister and demoting a group of ministers, the only people left around the Marquis of Yan were some flatterers who wanted to fawn on him. Upon hearing what the Marquis of Yan said, they began to flatter him.
The Marquis of Yan was so excited that he wanted to have some entertainment. It was really boring to stay in the palace all the time. However, he didn't expect that when he heard the news, one of his close guards had a flash of surprise in his eyes.
The Yan nobles soon received the news that the Marquis of Yan was leaving the palace, and the few who made plans said excitedly: "The opportunity has come, drive out the people and create chaos.
Then they disguised themselves as thugs, killed the tyrant and left immediately, welcomed the new king, withdrew the army, and threw the blame on the tyrant.
Qi and Chu will certainly suffer losses in a war and will not fight us head-on.
Then, we can marry a noblewoman from Qi to the new king, repair the relationship between the two countries, and Yan can rest easy."
It has to be said that these nobles dare to think and act, and have the means to deal with the aftermath, which are really beyond the reach of the Marquis of Yan. The intelligence of the Luo State is also extremely fast, and the network of contacts in the Yan State is very strong.
The four of them occupied the advantageous terrain early on, and from their high ground, they were able to overlook the entire street. With the powerful bows in their hands, the Marquis of Yan had no chance of survival.
When the Marquis of Yan appeared and just walked to the middle of the street, someone suddenly shouted "fire". Then flames and thick smoke were seen coming out of the roadside stalls at the same time. The horses were instantly frightened by the stimulation of the thick smoke.
The streets became slightly chaotic, followed by loud shouts of "Stupid king, you will be killed today!" Many figures appeared from all directions, and even among the guards of the Marquis of Yan there were those who drew their swords.
There was a wave of bow and crossbow shooting at each other, and several people fell down one after another. The Marquis of Yan was already dumbfounded, and was pulled out of the car by his favorite minister. He was about to escape under the protection of the guards.
When the four men from Luo State saw the situation on the scene, they understood that the opportunity had come, and they immediately bent their bows and drew their arrows, using the standard arrows of the Yan State army. The four of them shot arrows together, one arrow hit the leg of the Marquis of Yan, and the other arrow went straight through his abdomen, leaving a bloody hole.
Blood kept gushing out of the Marquis of Yan's mouth, and it was obvious that he was dying.
"Walk!"
The four people who knew that the Marquis of Yan was bound to die immediately left the scene, hiding their achievements and fame, and let everyone present believe that the Marquis of Yan died at the hands of the Yan nobles.
"monarch!"
Following a shrill wail, everyone turned their eyes over and saw that the Marquis of Yan had fallen in a pool of blood!
————
In the 23rd year of Duke Li's reign, he attacked Qi, and the Rong and Hu tribes invaded.
The envoy from Luo said: The various Chinese are fighting against each other, the barbarians are gaining, and King Su is unhappy.
The Duke said: Yan is strong, and it is enough to attack Qi and resist the Hu.
When the Rong and Hu invaded, they lost 300 miles of mountains and rivers and abandoned 200,000 people, which caused the people to resent them.
In the autumn, the Duke was murdered in Ji.
(End of this chapter)
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