Conferred God: Started from Swallowing the Heaven-Repairing Stone

Chapter 410: The Sick Xibohou
"Everything is according to what the Prime Minister said!"

Emperor Xin was stunned for a moment, and waited for a long time before nodding. He thought that as the nine-tailed fox was pregnant with a prince, she would be safe.

Unexpectedly, the idea of ​​a mother being honored by her son is totally useless to Ao Bing. She's pregnant, right? Then kill her after she gives birth.

Emperor Xin wanted to object. He really liked the nine-tailed fox, otherwise he would not have decided to take the huge risk of bringing her into the palace and even letting her get pregnant even though he knew she was a demon.

But Ao Bing's attitude was extremely firm, so firm that he could not object at all. No matter how beautiful a beauty was, she was not as important as the country. Even he himself was not as important as the country.

Therefore, Ao Bing and the other officials of the Shang Dynasty would never allow him to destroy the Shang Dynasty for the sake of a woman.

The nine-tailed fox must die, and if he does it, it can still be done with dignity. If he objects and forces Ao Bing to do it himself, then even the last bit of dignity will be gone.

"Your Majesty, the Shang Dynasty has been passed down from your hands for thirty generations. It was not easy for our ancestors to build the country, and it is even more difficult for our descendants to maintain it. Therefore, I hope that Your Majesty will always put the country first and not be blinded by love."

"Otherwise, how will Your Majesty face your ancestors in the future?"

Ao Bing couldn't help but say in a deep voice that there is a great advantage in a world where Taoism is manifested, that is, all the ancestors are still alive and well, and are even extremely powerful.

Acting in their names has a strong deterrent effect on future generations, unlike in later generations, where all the ancestors are dead and have no deterrent effect at all.

Sure enough, as soon as he heard the name of his ancestors, the last bit of resentment in Emperor Xin’s heart disappeared instantly.

Sooner or later he will have to meet his ancestors. If he goes there as the king of a fallen country, his life will be miserable.

The more carefree you are when you are alive, the more painful you will be after you die. This is no joke.

"Your Majesty, let's not talk about this anymore. I have something to ask you. How is the preparation for the academy going? Have the princes from all directions sent their legitimate sons to Chaoge?"

Thinking of his other plan, Ao Bing couldn't help but ask. Let the princes of the four directions send their eldest sons to Chaoge as hostages. This is the fundamental way to ensure that the Shang Dynasty will remain unchanged forever.

As long as it controlled the eldest sons of these princes, the Shang Dynasty would have a reason to interfere in the internal affairs of the major princes at any time.

If the throne is not passed to the eldest son but to another son, then what else can be said? The Shang Dynasty can use this as an excuse to send troops to help the eldest son regain the position of prince.

At the same time, the eldest son had to return from Chaoge to succeed to the throne, which was equivalent to the Shang Dynasty controlling the inheritance rights of the princes from all directions.

If you want to pass on the throne, you can, but you must first get the consent of the Shang Dynasty.

If the Shang Dynasty agrees, the successor will be the new prince. If the Shang Dynasty disagrees, the successor will be a traitor and anyone can kill him.

Being able to interfere in the internal affairs of the four vassal states at any time and controlling their inheritance rights, the Shang Dynasty was able to lose the world under such circumstances, which was a good thing. Trash was not qualified to rule the world and deserved to be usurped.

"The matter of summoning the eldest sons of the princes from all directions to Chaoge was accomplished long ago thanks to the efforts of Xibo Hou. The academy was also built a long time ago under the auspices of Wang Shu."

"The heirs who came from the four vassal states were also arranged to study in the academy, together with the prince, and were taught by famous teachers how to govern the country."

Speaking of business, Emperor Xin's face couldn't help but become a little serious. The affairs of the academy and the hostages were both of great importance to the Shang Dynasty, and they couldn't be sloppy at all.

Therefore, Emperor Xin specially found two capable ministers, Xibo Hou and Wang Shu Bigan, to be responsible for these two matters. With their abilities, they naturally did a great job.

It's a pity that after finishing the tasks assigned by Emperor Xin, the health of King Xibo became worse and worse. He wrote to the emperor several times to request to retire and return home, but was rejected every time on the grounds that Emperor Xin was busy with state affairs and could not do without him for the time being.

It would be strange if the King of Xibo was in good health, because according to Ao Bing's instructions, the task assigned to Emperor Xin was an offensive job.

What was the purpose of summoning the eldest son to Chaoge? Did he really think that the princes were fools who could not see it? It was undeniable that a small number of princes who were loyal to the Shang Dynasty were happy to see this happen, but most of the princes were definitely not happy.

Sending his own son, who was the heir, to Chaoge as a hostage, so that the Shang Dynasty could have the means to threaten them. No one could accept such a thing, no matter who it was, let alone the princes who dominated one side.

But even if they couldn't accept it anymore, they had to grit their teeth and accept it, because it was the Shang Dynasty that wanted them to hand over their eldest son as a hostage, and it was the Xibohou who asked them to hand over the person.

The Great Shang was the common ruler of the world. The Duke of Xibo was the second-ranked prince in the world. With these two giants joining forces, who would dare to refuse their demands?

Therefore, facing the King of Xibo who came to demand the person, the other princes could only send their eldest sons to Chaoge with a smile on their faces.

Along with these eldest sons, tributes from the princes of all directions to the Shang Dynasty also entered Chaoge.

In the past, the princes of the four directions might have had various reasons to refuse to pay tribute to the Shang Dynasty. But now it is no longer possible. If you do not pay tribute, your eldest son in Chaoge will be in danger.

Therefore, even if it was just to make their eldest sons live a better life and not be troubled by others, the princes from all directions had to prepare the annual tribute as soon as possible.

Xibo Hou made these things happen, which can be said to be a great contribution to the Shang Dynasty. In response, Emperor Xin was not stingy with his rewards. He not only made him one of the Three Dukes, but also gave his second son Ji Fa a title.

Although he was only an earl, the title system of the Shang Dynasty was different from that of later generations. There was no difference in status between earls and marquises, only in distance.

Those who were close to the Great Merchants were called Marquises, and those who were far from the Great Merchants were called Earls.

As the second legitimate son of King Xibo, Ji Fa had no hope of inheriting the title in the future. At most, he would be given a piece of land and become a subject of his elder brother.

However, the merits of Xibo Hou were so great that Emperor Xin had no reward to offer him, so he simply allocated a piece of land on the border and gave it to Ji Fa, allowing him to split the land and establish a kingdom. This was also a reward for Xibo Hou's merits.

Two princes from one family, this gift is indeed a great honor. But unfortunately, the Duke of Xibo was not happy with such a generous reward, and he just wanted to retire and return home.

In order to accomplish this, Xibo Hou offended almost all the princes with names. Those princes did not dare to hate the Shang Dynasty, so they could only blame everything on him as the executor.

It would be strange for Xibohou to be happy that he suddenly became the public enemy of all the princes. No matter how big the reward was, it would not be enough to offset his losses.

He didn't even need to deduce to be sure that the Zhou Kingdom would have a hard time in the future. Being jointly excluded by other princes would be the lightest threat. He was most afraid that they would unite and isolate the Zhou Kingdom.

This was the most fatal thing for Xibo Hou, because in the grand plan of the Zhou Dynasty to replace the Shang Dynasty, one of the most important things was to isolate the Shang Dynasty so that the princes of the world would no longer pay tribute to it.

The most powerful thing about Da Shang as the ruler of the world is that he can order the princes of the world to unite and fight against powerful enemies together.

Therefore, if one wanted to replace the Shang Dynasty, the first thing to do was to make the Shang Dynasty lose the support of the people.

In this way, when the Shang Dynasty encountered danger, no more princes would come to its aid, and its strength would suddenly fall to the bottom. Without the help of the princes, the Shang Dynasty was, after all, just a powerful prince, and it was not impossible to defeat it.

King Xibo had a good idea and the plan was executed smoothly. After Emperor Xin's chaos, the Shang Dynasty was indeed gradually losing the support of the people.

But what people didn't expect was that the situation was completely reversed by the sudden appearance of Ao Bing. The Shang Dynasty, which was originally on the decline, was now gradually showing signs of revival.

The Zhou State, which had been growing and developing, was showing signs of being isolated by the princes in all directions.

If the current situation continues to develop, even if the Shang Dynasty really loses the support of the people, the princes from all directions will not stand on the side of the Zhou Dynasty. They would rather hope that the Zhou Dynasty will perish with the Shang Dynasty.

Whenever he thought of this, Xibohou was extremely depressed, and it became a mental illness. His health was not good to begin with, and now he was overly worried, so his health was getting worse and worse, and he had to stay in bed.

Fortunately, Bo Yikao, the hostage, arrived in time to take care of him, otherwise, Emperor Xin might have been forced to send King Xibo back to the Zhou Kingdom under pressure.

Yes, Bo Yikao is also in Chaoge now. There is nothing to say about this. As a hostage, as the eldest son of Xibohou, he has to come.

Of course, Emperor Xin gave the Duke of Xibo a special privilege, allowing the Zhou Kingdom not to send its eldest son to the capital. Unfortunately, the Duke of Xibo refused.

Because Emperor Xin's evil intentions were so obvious, he did not try to conceal them at all.

Originally, by forcing the princes from all directions to send their eldest sons to Chaoge, King Xibo had offended the princes of the world.

If the news got out again, he wouldn't have to send his eldest son to Chaoge, because all the princes in the world would hate him to death.

No wonder King Xibo worked so hard. It turned out that he relied on betraying them to protect himself.

Once the princes of the world came to this understanding, the Zhou Kingdom would be completely finished. Xibo Hou knew the danger very well, so when faced with the privileges given by Emperor Xin, he would never dare to accept it, as it would put him in an unjust position.

……

"Your Majesty should issue an order to summon famous doctors from all over the world to the capital to treat the illness of the Marquis Xibo, or even issue an order to pray for him to keep him safe."

After learning about Xibohou's recent situation, Ao Bing sincerely suggested that it would be too simple to deal with a morally perfect person like Xibohou.

Just do your best to be nice to him, because his character does not allow him to repay kindness with hatred. The better you treat him, the harder he will try to repay you, and he will never rebel. Because only in this way can you maintain your character.

Otherwise, if the moral perfect persona collapses, the backlash will be no joke. Who will dare to believe in him in the future? He will be socially dead.

According to the original history, the reason why Xibohou rebelled was because he was forced by Emperor Xin. If you are unkind in the beginning, don't blame others for being unjust later.

But now, under the instigation of Ao Bing, Emperor Xin only felt gratitude towards King Xibo and had no hatred for him, so he could not find any reason to rebel.

Everything requires a legitimate reason, especially rebellion. Without a valid reason, no one would dare to fight with you.

Therefore, the prerequisite for Xibo Hou to rebel must be that the previous dynasty was unjust and the people were living in misery. Unfortunately, these conditions are not present now, and there are no conditions for rebellion at all.

"It's fitting that this should be so. Duke Xibo has exhausted himself for the king's affairs, and I cannot fail to express my gratitude." Emperor Xin nodded, indicating that he had taken note of the matter.

"There is one more thing. The rebellion in the North Sea has dragged on for too long. I plan to unite the forces of the Dragon Clan and the Immortal Alliance to fight and put an end to it. What do you think, Your Majesty?"

After talking for a long time, Ao Bing finally talked about the purpose of rushing back to Chaoge.

"The Prime Minister can discuss this matter with the Grand Tutor. As long as the Grand Tutor has no objection, I will fully support it."

Emperor Xin replied that Wen Zhong had always been in charge of the affairs of the North Sea, and he did not have a deep understanding of them, so Wen Zhong had more say than him in the specific decisions.

"As long as the king has no objection, I will go to Beihai Kingdom to discuss this matter with Master Wen. In addition, conquering Beihai is no small matter, I need to borrow a few people from the king."

Ao Bing suddenly thought of someone and couldn't help but say it to Emperor Xin.

"What's the matter with borrowing or not? Under the Nine Ministers, the Prime Minister can call on them. There's no need to ask me." Emperor Xin smiled and said very generously.

In fact, even if he didn't say it, Ao Bing, as the prime minister, also had this power. The gap between the top ministers and ordinary ministers is reflected here.

Being able to arrange the Nine Ministers at will, this power can be said to be boundless. Deposing and enthroning the emperor is just a matter of a word.

If one is unable to do this, he can only be regarded as an ordinary powerful minister. At most, he can compete with the monarch, but he cannot depose or enthrone the monarch.

"Then I have nothing to do, so I'll take my leave. But please don't forget the matter of the nine-tailed fox. The union of humans and monsters is doomed to be unacceptable to the world, so I hope you will think twice."

After mentioning the nine-tailed fox again, Ao Bing said goodbye and left.

He was not exaggerating on purpose, but it was true. If Emperor Xin insisted on marrying the nine-tailed fox, then in the end, the destiny of the human race would definitely abandon him.

The blood feud between the human race and the demon race was too deep to be resolved. Of course, this was not the most important thing. The most important thing was that the real names of all the demons were engraved on the demon-summoning banner.

This means that the life and death of the demon clan is not in their own hands, but are controlled by the master of the demon-summoning flag, and they are slaves and puppets.

To put it more vividly, the demon race is full of time bombs. If a human marries a demon, even if they are truly in love with each other, it will not work because no one knows when they will explode.

With the Demon-summoning Banner in hand, you have to do whatever you are told to do and there is no way to refuse.

In this situation, they still allow the tribesmen to marry the demon tribesmen. Do they think that their lives are too good and are deliberately setting traps for themselves?
Therefore, those who marry a demon are destined to be unacceptable to the human race, and will never be recognized by the human race's fortune in this lifetime.

For high-ranking officials, they must not marry demons. If a high-ranking official has an affair with a demon, he or she can basically be labeled a traitor.

The union of Emperor Xin and the nine-tailed fox was like dancing on the crater of a volcano, and they could be burned to ashes at any time. This was why Ao Bing had to kill the nine-tailed fox.

If the nine-tailed fox is not killed, Emperor Xin will be the one in trouble.

……

After leaving the palace, Ao Bing went straight to the academy. He wanted to find someone in the academy, a man named Jiang Ziya!
(End of this chapter)