Chapter 13 Noble Integrity
Two sons and one grandson all died tragically, and the old man sent the young off!
How tragic and how cruel!
How could Ji Zha not feel sad and indignant?
At this moment, looking at Ji Zha, whose eyes were deep and who stood still like a mountain, Qingji couldn't help but stand in awe!
This is the sage who carries on the ancient legacy!
"Uncle, please forgive Qingji for what he did just now. I didn't expect that you would encounter such a thing in the city!"
There is no greater virtue than correcting one's mistakes as soon as one realizes them.
Qingji immediately bowed to Jizha and apologized sincerely!
"It doesn't matter. You didn't know about it, so how can I blame you?"
Ji Zha laughed bitterly.
After encountering such a tragic thing, Ji Zha really didn't know how to tell Qingji!
As the saying goes, ignorance is not blame, so how could Ji Zha blame Qingji?
This made Qingji feel filled with emotion.
Helu is indeed a hero of his time. What he did was truly cruel and ruthless!
Not a son, not a king!
After all, Helu forced to death his own cousins and nephews!
Aren’t you afraid of being cursed for eternity?
Ji Zha was really strong enough to endure such heart-wrenching pain and run errands.
"Please rest assured, uncle. I will avenge my uncle and cousin who died tragically. I will use Ji Guang's head to pay tribute to their graves!"
Qingji immediately assured.
The horrific incident that happened to Ji Zha's family reminded Qingji of a famous idiom in history:
Write the truth!
This incident happened not long ago, about thirty years ago, Duke Zhuang of Qi had a minister named Cui Zhu.
Cui Zhu's wife Tang Jiang was very beautiful, and Duke Zhuang of Qi had coveted her for a long time.
One day, Duke Zhuang of Qi, Lü Guang, sent Cui Zhu out on an official business, and took the opportunity to go to Cui's house to have fun with Tang Jiang!
When Cui Zhu found out about this, he was furious, and after careful planning, he lured Duke Zhuang of Qi to his home in May 548 BC and assassinated him. He then enthroned Duke Zhuang of Qi's half-brother, now Duke of Qi Chujiu, who was known in history as Duke Jing of Qi.
Cui Zhu served as Chuju's right prime minister and held the power of life and death in Qi!
Although Cui Zhu was arrogant and dictatorial, he was still afraid that his crime of regicide would be recorded in the books by historians, which would bring him eternal infamy, so he bluntly forbade historians to record the truth.
Tai Shi Bo of Qi State was not afraid of Cui Zhu's power and intimidation, and recorded the incident truthfully!
When Cui Zhu learned about this, he led his troops into the Taishi Mansion, put a sword to Taishi Bo's neck, and forced him to falsify the history.
But Tai Shi Bo Ning refused to yield and was eventually stabbed to death by Cui Zhu!
The inheritance of the position of Tai Shi was familial. After Tai Shi Bo died, his younger brother Tai Shi Zhong took over his position.
The first thing Tai Shi Zhong did after taking office was to write down the same sentence: On the 19th day of the fifth month of summer, Cui Zhu killed Jun Guang!
Cui Zhu became even angrier and killed Tai Shi Zhong.
When it was the third brother Tai Shi Shu's turn to take over the position, he wrote the same sentence!
Cui Zhu was furious and forced Taishi Shu to write down that the king died of a sudden illness.
But Tai Shi Shu remained unyielding and was killed again!
The fourth brother, Tai Shi Ji, has the same personality and still sticks to his pen.
In the end, Cui Zhu's nameless anger turned into deep fear, and he could only abandon his sword and leave!
Tai Shi Ji survived, and the historical record of Cui Zhu's murder of Duke Zhuang of Qi was also fully recorded.
At this time, a historian from a branch of the southern government rushed to Linzi, only to find that this period of history in May was not recorded!
When I opened the bamboo slip, it still read: On the Yi-Hai day of the fifth month of summer, Cui Zhu killed Jun Guang.
Just as Wen Tianxiang said in "Song of Righteousness": When times are tough, one's loyalty is revealed and one by one is recorded in history .
In the records of Tai Shi of Qi, in the writings of Dong Hu of Jin!
The brothers Taishi of Qi State were ready to face death one after another and wrote truthfully because they had awe for their work and were willing to use their lives to defend the truth of history and the dignity of history books.
It is because they adhere to the truth, uphold their duties and conscience that history books have real value and warmth!
The deaths of Ji Zha's two sons and one grandson are enough to be remembered through the ages.
Their noble character and determination to not fear the axe or sword are truly rare in the world!
"Qingji, I believe that with your ability, you are more suitable to be the king than Ji Guang and rule the Wu Kingdom."
"Well! I, with my old bones, will accompany you through some more troubles!"
Ji Zha sighed and said, "Tomorrow morning, if I am still safe, I will call together the nobles and officials in the city to lead the people, use torches as a signal, and welcome the army into the city from the second east gate of Wudu."
"Thank you, uncle!"
Qingji secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
With Ji Zha's reputation, if he could help and lead the ministers in the city to cooperate inside and outside, it would not be difficult for Qingji's army to capture the capital of Wu in one battle!
Immediately, Qingji sent someone to prepare a carriage to escort Ji Zha into the capital of Wu.
The defenders on the city wall knew it was Ji Zha and did not dare to neglect him. They immediately opened the city gate to welcome him in!
Ji Zha was highly respected and was a household name in the State of Wu. Who would dare to offend him easily?
After knowing that Ji Zha was captured and sent back to Wudu by Qingji, Helu did not have any suspicion in his heart.
Because even Helu did not dare to treat Ji Zha with disrespect, let alone Qingji, who was his grandson?
However, upon learning the news, Wu Zixu hurried to meet Helu.
"Your Majesty, I heard that Ji Zi has returned to Wudu City?"
"good."
Helu said worriedly: "I didn't expect Qingji to become so cunning and treacherous, and his mind is so meticulous."
"If the envoy we sent this time was not Ji Zha, I'm afraid the others would never come back!"
"Now Ji Zha has returned without success. Zixu, in your opinion, should we send another envoy to persuade Chu?"
Wu Zixu shook his head and said, "Your Majesty, please put aside the matter of sending an envoy. Now that Ji Zha has returned, I am afraid that there will be unrest in the city!"
"This...you mean, Ji Zha might side with Qingji? "
"Exactly!"
Wu Zixu groaned for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, we must be on guard."
"Now, although the ministers and officials in the city are under house arrest, once Ji Zha comes forward, given his popularity, I'm afraid that he will be responded to by hundreds of people. The soldiers responsible for monitoring and guarding the ministers and officials will not dare to make things difficult for Ji Zha."
Upon hearing this, Helu couldn't help but frown.
"Zi Xu, do you want me to put Ji Zha in prison and keep him under strict guard?"
This was the only solution Helu could think of.
The current Wu capital city may seem peaceful, but in fact, undercurrents have already begun to surge!
Not to mention the ministers and officials who have been placed under house arrest, even the soldiers and civilians in the city are afraid that many of them have already begun to turn against the party.
For Helu, the situation is extremely critical!
Once Ji Zha came forward and led the private soldiers of the ministers and officials to join forces with Qingji's army, how could such a huge city of Wu be defended?
"No!"
Wu Zixu narrowed his eyes and said, "Your Majesty should not only not throw Ji Zha into prison, but also withdraw the soldiers guarding Ji Zha and the other ministers."
"If Ji Zha really had a secret relationship with Qingji and was waiting for an opportunity to cooperate with him, then Ji Zha would have been running around to win over people!"
"Then the king only needs to send someone to secretly follow Ji Zha to observe the changes in the situation."
"good!"
Having said that, how could Helu not know Wu Zixu's plan?
If Ji Zha really has secret contact with Qingji, be prepared to cooperate from inside and outside.
Helü should have deployed his troops first to surround and kill Qingji's army that entered the city.
It would be better if Qingji led the troops personally. Once he entered, the Helu army would be able to close the city gates and fight the enemy.
Even if he could not kill Qingji, Helu could take this opportunity to annihilate the invading enemy and regain the city!
