Zhi Xuan

The Marquis of Dongliang took poison, and before his death, all the people betrayed their relatives.In either case, it's not a glorious thing to do.

The princes must write a letter to Zhongdu City.Regarding the cause of Dongliang Hou's death, it is impossible to tell the whole truth and it is not good to be full of lies, so I can only make a compromise and replace it with the word "violent illness".

The historian has gone through the whole process, so naturally he will not lie, the truth is recorded, and sooner or later it will be known to all countries.

Shi Ziba and the Dongliang clan knew that they were deceiving their ears and stealing the bell, but they still insisted on going on.It is ridiculous to try to cover up, but the remaining face must be maintained.

The same is true for Zhongducheng and the vassal states, even if they know the truth, they will not expose it face to face.

Dirty buried in the ground, the surface is always bright.The monarch and his ministers are in harmony, and the hegemony is expected by all.The dead Marquis Dongliang couldn't close his eyes, but he couldn't jump out of the coffin. He could only sink into the darkness, turning into a few lines written by the historian, and remaining in the stacked bamboo slips.

During the funeral of the monarch, all princes and high officials must wear mourning.

Zhongdu sent envoys to read out the king's will in public, and canonize the next Marquis of Dongliang, and the prince will do his part.

After the funeral, he will inherit the throne and his family will move into the monarch's mansion.

According to the rules, the wives and concubines of Marquis Dongliang will leave the mansion to live separately.Clan girls from Dongliang can return home and be supported by the family.The rest will also send letters to the family, some will be taken back to the country, and some will have to stay in the Eastern Capital, wasting the rest of their lives.

Shi Ziba was very generous. All concubines who wanted to leave were returned their dowry, and they also presented an additional batch of gold silk as a gift, thereby gaining a lot of good reputation.

On the contrary, he is not so tolerant towards the children left behind by Marquis Dongliang, especially the brothers who once opposed him and even contradicted him face to face.

Those who are obedient can get a fief, and they can seal it with their family members.

All the disobedient ones were put under house arrest, and the two who yelled the loudest were sent to prison directly, charged with crimes, and their families were expelled.From a noble son to a person without a clan and title, he will be imprisoned for several years and tortured in prison. It is unknown whether he will survive.Even if they can get through the prison and regain their freedom, things have changed, and their wives and children have been separated.

Shi Ziba didn't kill them, but the method was more terrifying than killing them.He was punishing his heart, and he really turned his brothers who opposed him into cripples and lunatics.

The female sons and daughters are treated better, and those who have made a marriage plan wait to be married in the monarch's mansion, and the eldest son orders the clan to prepare the dowry, and no mistakes are allowed.Those who are still young stay with their mothers, those who lose their biological mothers can choose their adoptive mothers, and those who have no adoptive mothers have to stay in the monarch's mansion and be taken care of by Shi Ziba's wives and concubines.

Settling down the family members of the first emperor and eliminating potential competitors, Shi Ziba wore mourning clothes every day and participated in one sacrifice after another.No matter what he thinks in his heart, on the surface he is indeed a filial son, his every move is flawless, his words and deeds are impeccable, and no one can find any excuses.

The mourners gathered in the monarch's mansion, waiting for the envoys from various countries to express their condolences.

What is embarrassing is that from the announcement of the funeral to the end of the funeral, there were only a handful of people who came to express their condolences, which was not at all like a funeral for a great prince.

Faced with this situation, Dongliang Kingdom was very embarrassed, but there was nothing they could do.

Fortunately, Zhixuan mourned the Marquis of Dongliang as a relative, and appeared at the ceremony, saving Dongliang a little face.Even though the army of Xiyuan Kingdom stopped outside the city, there were still traces of war on the top of the city. Because of Zhixuan's actions, the people of Dongliang Kingdom had a good impression of him.

National war is one thing, condolences to the late king is another.

The Dongliang people were very clear, so clear that Zhi Xuan was surprised.

Facing Zhi Xuan's doubts, Su Hu and others couldn't understand.In their view, there was a reason for the Xiyuan Kingdom to attack Dongliang Kingdom, and it relied on strength to reach the Eastern Capital.On the contrary, Zhixuan was willing to personally mourn the Marquis of Dongliang under the circumstances that other countries pushed three obstacles and kept a respectful distance from Dongliang country. This kind of reaction from Dongliang people is really reasonable.

"This matter..." Zhi Xuan shook his head, not knowing what to say.

There are various reasons why the vassal states did not come to offer their condolences, one of which was absolutely inseparable from the army of the Xiyuan Kingdom.It's just that everyone ignored this point, perhaps intentionally or unintentionally.Things have developed like this, and as a person with vested interests, Zhi Xuan has no reason to expose it.

During the funeral of Marquis of Dongliang, Zhixuan stayed in the city for a short time, and the Dongliang clan came to visit one after another.Xi's and He's are the most special, walking around most frequently.The two families decided to relocate with their families, leaving the Eastern Capital City and heading to Xiyuan Country.

"Not in a hurry for now."

Zhixuan accepted the surrender of the two families, but did not let them leave as planned, but made other arrangements.

"Don't be impatient."

In Zhixuan's plan, the land won in this battle would not be returned.If you don't want to create side effects, you must find ways to digest them in the short term.Planting sugar beets is a good way. Giving sugar as a tribute and distributing great profits can indeed stop Zhongducheng's mouth.

But this is far from enough.

What he won was not a few cities, but half of Dongliang.If you want to digest it thoroughly, it is necessary to appoint officials, formulate laws and regulations, and strengthen the garrison, and it needs assistance from many aspects.

Xi's and He's whole families surrendered, almost sleepy and giving pillows, Zhixuan immediately had an idea.

Xihe's fief is close to the five cities, and Zhixuan intends to return them all, and grant him two more cities, and the Xi family will appease and manage the subjects, so that this land can be integrated into the Xiyuan Kingdom as soon as possible.

The He clan's fiefdom was originally small, but with a stroke of Zhixuan's pen, it tripled in size.This move is not only to reassure people's hearts, but also to let the Dongliang clan see the benefits, maybe it can bring a few more families to the bowl.

In addition, I still give Mrs. Ji an explanation.

At the beginning, Mrs. Ji sent the list through Yuantao, and offered to send an olive branch to Zhixuan.Now that the national war is over, several families represented by the He family have helped Zhixuan a lot and played a role in the process of attacking the Eastern Capital.It is reasonable for Zhi Xuan to reciprocate and expand his fiefdom.

The key to cooperation is that you come and go, and benefit together.

Mrs. Ji's sincerity can be seen by Zhi Xuan, and now that she is generous in return, the other party must be very satisfied.Correspondingly, Yuantao will stand firmer in Zhongdu and live a better life.

"Thank you sir!"

After receiving Zhixuan's order, Xihe and the Patriarch of the He family were overjoyed.They thought they would be lucky to be able to protect their family property and to be protected by Zhixuan, but they never thought that there would be such an unexpected joy.

Neither of them is stupid, on the contrary they are very smart.Especially Xihe, who has experienced ups and downs in politics, can better see the deep meaning of Zhixuan's move.

"Grace is also a test."

The expansion of the fiefdom is a good thing, but one must also see the hidden dangers behind it.

Xihe decided to firmly seize this opportunity.

If Zhi Xuan can be helped to digest this land thoroughly, he will be reused, and the Xi family will be able to rise to a higher level, and the glory will be even greater than before.

He's even more so.

After returning home, the Patriarch of the He family immediately wrote a letter and sent his confidants to send it to Zhongdu City.

"Everyone will benefit when things are done."

The two have a lot of resources in their hands. To stabilize and manage the newly added fief, manpower and supplies are somewhat stretched.After some deliberation, the two made the same decision, writing letters to their close relatives and in-laws, inviting them to send their family members, or simply move the whole family to the Xiyuan Kingdom together.

Zhixuan said that he would send officials and garrison the army, but the two had no position to refuse, nor did they intend to refuse, and frankly said that they would cooperate with all actions of Zhixuan.The reason they invited Bie Zhi was not to fight for power, but to stabilize the fiefdom as soon as possible, put all affairs on the right track, and live up to Zhi Xuan's trust and reuse.

After getting Zhi Xuan's affirmation, the Xi family and the He family acted with great fanfare and did not shy away from others, attracting everyone's attention.

Regarding the transfer of the two families to the Xiyuan Kingdom, there are mixed opinions in the Eastern Capital. Some people say that the former emperor committed crimes and chilled the hearts of the courtiers, while others said that the two families are just trying to gain power and climb higher.

In the court, another matter that the officials paid attention to.

Through Zhixuan's rewards to the two families, the Qing doctors saw the clues and worried that Zhixuan would break the rules and return the land not in accordance with the usual practice.

A few cities are all that matters, half a country is not a trivial matter.

No matter how good Zhi Xuan's appetite was, he couldn't swallow it all. This was against the rules!

If half of the land is really divided, how can the Dongliang Kingdom be called a big country, and how can it keep the glory of its ancestors and guard the east for Wang Mu.

Shi Ziba also broke out in a cold sweat.

He stayed in the western capital for a long time and had a deeper understanding of Zhi Xuan.The officials were just worried, but he was certain in his heart that Zhi Xuan might really be able to do things that broke the rules.

With all kinds of thoughts in mind, Shi Ziba went out of the city to visit, and then entered Zhixuan's camp, feeling uneasy in his heart, which inevitably showed on his face.

Zhi Xuan was not polite to him, and when he was seated, a paper of alliance was directly placed in front of him.

"The letter of alliance?" Shi Ziba read the content, and his face was full of wry smiles.

It is called an alliance, but it is actually a division of land.

He should thank Zhi Xuan and be willing to save him some face.His father was carried out of the city with his hair crown removed, and the majesty of the monarch was gone.Comparing the two, at least he still has a fig leaf, so he won't be too ugly.

"Your Majesty, this matter is non-negotiable?" Shi Ziba raised his head and looked at Zhi Xuan with a wry smile.

"What do you think?" Zhi Xuan didn't answer directly, but he had already given the answer.

"Your Majesty, our country guards the east, and half of the land and population are really too large." Shi Ziba knew that there was nothing he could do, so he still wanted to fight for it.

Zhi Xuan shook his head, there was no room for discussion.

Anything that is swallowed is his, and it is absolutely impossible to return it.But what Shi Ziba said was also the truth. Dongliang Kingdom shouldered a heavy responsibility, and its vitality was too severely damaged, which would indeed destabilize the surrounding area.

"Dongyi occupies fertile land, so we should take it. There are many barbarians, so we can arrest them." Zhixuan pointed out the cases on the table and made suggestions to Shi Ziba.

Zhi Xuanfei was aimless.

As far as he knew, Dongyi had a huge number, no less than Di Rong in the grassland.

The barbarians are ruthless, they occupy a large area of ​​land but they don't engage in production, they like to fight and plunder, which caused a lot of trouble to other countries.

When Dongyi invaded, the Dongliang Kingdom's approach was to massacre and expel them, just like the Xiyuan Kingdom and Bei'an Kingdom before, sending troops to destroy the tribe, and retreating after victory.This would easily cause the Dongyi tribe to revive, and weeds would regenerate like the wind.

Zhi Xuan gave Shi Ziba another idea.

It doesn't matter if you lose the land, you can fight Dongyi and grab it from them.Don't use all the captured captives as sacrifices, leaving a part to supplement the missing labor force.

Dongyi doesn't know how to farm, but he still lives well.

Prove what?

It proves that what they occupy is a good place, rich in resources, not taking it is a waste!

Zhixuan's tongue was full of lotus flowers, and he painted a magnificent picture for Shi Ziba, making him immersed in it and unable to extricate himself, his eyes became brighter and brighter.

Those who know current affairs are heroes, not to mention Shiziba.

Judging from Zhi Xuan's attitude, it can be concluded that the lost land cannot be brought back, and it is useless to go to Zhongdu City.Rather than expending energy, it is better to find another way and send troops to Dongyi according to Zhixuan's words.

In a national war, the Dongliang clan was beaten by Zhi Xuan to the point of doubting their lives, the morale of the army plummeted, and the autumn harvest was also delayed.

Dongliang State urgently needs a victory to stabilize people's hearts.It is not advisable to attack neighboring countries, Dongyi is the best target.

It can not only divert the attention of the people of the country, but also give an explanation to the clan in the court.

Weighing the pros and cons, Shi Ziba quickly made up his mind.

He knew Zhi Xuan's intentions clearly, and understood that the other party said so much to let him sign the alliance honestly, so don't take chances.

Thinking of this, Shi Ziba's mouth became bitter.

However, the strength is not as good as others, no matter how hard it is, you have to swallow it.

Taking a deep breath, Shi Ziba picked up the knife and pen, and drew stroke by stroke on the alliance letter.Then he took out the seal, paused for a moment, clenched his teeth, and stamped it down.