The Moon in the Qin Dynasty

Chapter 504: Death of King Zhao Daoxiang

However, if this were to happen, most of the important civil and military officials in the court would be killed. The court was in such turmoil, and facing the Qin State, which was eyeing it covetously and did not even try to hide its intentions, the Zhao State would probably perish immediately.

And after the crown prince ascends the throne, will he let the queen and his brother go? Definitely not. Brothers killing each other is definitely not what he wants to see.

But if he deposed Crown Prince Jia and replaced him with Prince Qian, he would not be able to cope with such a situation. Could he handle handing over the State of Zhao to his eleven or twelve-year-old son?

King Zhao Daoxiang is now truly desperate and regretful.

If I had known that I would not be able to hold on in my thirties, I would have started training a successor a long time ago.

It is really unexpected that misfortunes may happen at any time and the body may collapse at any time.

But there is no use regretting. There is no such thing as regret medicine in the world. He still has to face the cruel reality and make a painful decision.

Recently, the atmosphere in the entire Zhao court has become tense and everyone is watching their king's final decision.

If the king wants to do something stupid, no one will sit there and wait for him to die.

King Zhao Daoxiang, who had become extremely thin, was lying on the hospital bed. The hall was filled with smoke and the smell of medicine permeated the entire bedroom.

He stared out the window blankly, unable to make up his mind about his successor.

In fact, he knew very well that he had no choice.

At this moment, a beautiful woman in simple and elegant clothes walked into the hall. She was graceful and beautiful. Even without any makeup, she was as beautiful as the morning glow and the moon lotus.

She has a fair face, rosy cheeks, willow-shaped eyebrows, almond-shaped eyes, bright eyes, white teeth, and skin as transparent as ice. Her waist is graceful, her hair is combed like clouds and the moon is shining. She is truly as beautiful as a jade, with an unparalleled beauty.

The person who came was the current Queen of Great Zhao.

With such a look, it is no wonder that the fascinated King Zhao Daoxiang did not despise her humble status or the fact that she was married for the second time. Despite tremendous pressure, he made her the queen and even thought of deposing his original wife's eldest son and making his son the queen.

He is only in his thirties but his health is already weak. He has to rely on drugs to regain his strength. Now he is on his deathbed.

As soon as Queen Zhao entered the palace, she burst into tears without saying a word, which made people feel very pitiful. After a few steps, she swayed in the wind like a willow, and came to the bed in front of King Zhao Daoxiang, where she knelt down softly.

Queen Zhao's eyes were red, and it was obvious that she had been working hard for many days and looked a little haggard. During these days, Queen Zhao personally served at the sickbed for at least three or four hours every day.

The Queen of Zhao gently held the thin hand of King Zhao Daoxiang and sobbed, "Your Majesty, I am feeling better now. How can I live without you?"

King Zhao Daoxiang's heart softened, and he forced a smile: "Xue'er, don't worry. I feel much better these days."

(Zhao Daochang did not leave his name, so the title of this article, "First Snow", is fabricated.)
Queen Zhao nodded gently, and a smile forced itself on her tearful face. She did not rush to wipe away her tears, but took out a silk handkerchief and wiped the face and hands of King Zhao Daoxiang carefully, saying softly, "As long as Your Majesty's health improves, I am willing to die."

"Qian'er and I cannot leave the king for even a moment."

As she spoke, she was filled with sorrow, both real and fake, and cried out loudly: "Your Majesty, Qian'er is still so young, how can you let him be without a father? Qian'er cannot leave you. These days, Qian'er has been clamoring for a father. He cries every day, and I dare not let him come to see you, Your Majesty."

"The situation is complicated. How can Qian'er and I stabilize it? My king, you must get better, otherwise I will have to follow you."

King Zhao Daoxiang felt even more distressed when he saw his beloved beauty Qiu Tang hanging in water and weeping bitterly.

You know your own body. It seems that you can’t hold on any longer and time is running out.

Thinking that she had been bedridden for some time and the prince had not visited her many times, she became even more dissatisfied.

What the queen said was true. If the situation was not settled completely, and she really passed away, the two factions of Crown Prince Jia and Prince Qian would start fighting each other. No matter what, the fratricide would be a tragedy in human relations, and it would not be the result she wanted to see.

King Zhao Daoxiang looked at the lover in front of him again, and his heart softened. For Xue'er's sake and Qian'er's sake, he decided to make up his mind early.

King Zhao Daoxiang had no idea that Prince Jia wanted to come but couldn't. Queen Zhao had people stop Prince Jia and forbid him to come, saying that the king was recuperating and needed to rest and could not be disturbed.

Prince Jia was old and had moved out of the palace long ago. Queen Zhao deliberately stopped him from entering the palace, and he had no way out.

King Zhao Daoxiang made up his mind and no longer hesitated.

"Xue'er, Jia'er is not virtuous enough to be the ruler of Great Zhao. Qian'er is smart and should be the crown prince."

The Queen of Zhao looked sad, but he breathed a sigh of relief in his heart. The king had finally made up his mind.

King Zhao Daoxiang continued, "But Jia'er is my eldest son after all. He has been with you for more than ten years. He has a kind personality. Treat him well in the future."

The Queen of Zhao said with a sad face: "Your Majesty, please think twice. Qian'er is still young, how can he take on such a big responsibility? I don't want to think about that. I just want your Majesty to recover and for our family to be together forever. As for Jia'er, your Majesty, rest assured. I will definitely treat him well. Jia'er has grown up under my lap since he was a child. In my heart, he is the same as Qian'er."

As she was about to cry again, King Zhao Daoxiang quickly comforted her: "I didn't say I would do anything, I was just making preparations. Qian'er is indeed more suitable to be the crown prince, and I will make arrangements for Qian'er."

Although Queen Zhao still had tears in her eyes and a sad brow, she said nothing more to avoid unnecessary trouble.

King Daoxiang of Zhao summoned the civil and military officials of Zhao State, and also summoned Crown Prince Jia and Prince Qian.

He announced that Crown Prince Jia was abolished and Prince Qian was made Crown Prince.

Prince Jia never expected that after finally meeting his father, his father summoned him for this matter. Although he was prepared for this, he still found it hard to accept. But in the end, there was no choice but to accept it.

Many important officials also breathed a sigh of relief. This was good enough.

Prince Jia has never been favored by the king. The current queen is the only one who enjoys the king's favor and has a legitimate son. Many ministers naturally tend to lean towards the queen's legitimate son, especially Guo Kai and Jian Xinjun, who are the queen's staunch allies. Now this is a result that most ministers can accept.

As for the minority who feel that it is inappropriate, there is no possibility for them to object.

King Zhao Daoxiang then left behind several clan members including Lord Jianxin, Guo Kai, Le Cheng, and Zhao Cong to have private conversations. He was already preparing to entrust his son to someone else's care, and he also made some position adjustments to ensure the safety of the royal power.

Finally, he told the queen what to do after Crown Prince Qian ascended the throne. Queen Zhao listened carefully while choking up.

King Zhao Daoxiang comforted himself in his heart that after Crown Prince Qian ascended the throne, the Queen Mother would have to act as regent before he could rule the country. Fortunately, he had a group of ministers to assist him, and Guo Qing was there. With Guo Qing around, no matter what happened, there would always be someone to give advice.

King Zhao Daoxiang specifically instructed Queen Zhao to consult Guo Kai on all matters of doubt, and not to easily go to war with other countries in the coming years, especially not to go to war with the State of Qin, otherwise it would be disastrous.

Queen Zhao took King Zhao Daoxiang's earnest advice to heart.

King Zhao Daoxiang finally sighed and asked the queen to leave for the time being. He stared out the window in a daze.

In the end, all that was left was a long sigh.

In the tenth year of King Zheng of Qin, at the beginning of April, King Daoxiang of Zhao passed away.

The crown prince Qian succeeded to the throne and became King Qian of Zhao, also known as King Youmiu of Zhao.

This year, he was only twelve years old.

The State of Zhao was ruled by a young ruler and the country was in doubt.

King Qian of Zhao had just ascended the throne, and the Queen Mother of Zhao, now Queen Mother Chuxue of Zhao, served as regent.

King Qian of Zhao announced that Lord Xin would be appointed as the right prime minister and Guo Kai as the left prime minister, to jointly assist in governing the country.

Li Mu was originally the left prime minister, and was now promoted to the title of Wu'an Jun, with a fief of 3,000 households.

Wuxiang Jun Le Cheng was appointed as the general and was granted an additional fief of 1,000 households. Originally, Le Cheng's fief was 1,000 households, but now it was 2,000 households.

Lord Jianxin’s fief was increased to 5,000 households.

This was what the Queen Mother of Zhao heard King Zhao Daoxiang's dying wish, in order to win the hearts of the people. As long as the military and political affairs were stabilized, there would be no major chaos.

Lord Jianxin, Guo Kai, and Le Cheng had been in the court all year round and were familiar with the situation. Queen Dowager Zhao was relieved to leave the matter to them.

However, the only person they were not very familiar with was Li Mu, and Li Mu and Guo Kaile had always been at odds with them.

However, Queen Dowager Zhao still listened to King Zhao Daoxiang's last words. Li Mu had made great military achievements and was the pillar of the State of Zhao. The northern border areas of Yan and Dai could not do without him.

To confer the title of Marquis of Wu'an upon him without any merit at this time was a great favor, and Li Mu had no choice but to die in sacrifice, otherwise the saliva of the whole world would have drowned him.

As for Prince Jia, he was named Lord Anyang and sent to Dai, far away from Handan, where he was kept under the watchful eye of Li Mu.

Li Mu was not familiar with Prince Jia to begin with, and he had received great favor from King Zhao Qian, so it was impossible for him to get involved with Prince Jia, and it was impossible for Prince Jia to offer a higher price.

As for the only hidden danger, Chunping Hou, no, he had long been demoted to Chunping Jun.

King Zhao Daoxiang's brother was once the crown prince of Zhao State. After all, he had a high reputation and we had to be on guard against him. However, we had to be on guard against outsiders even more. We also needed our own people to protect our own kingdom.

King Zhao Daoxiang had already come up with an idea.

As soon as King Qian of Zhao ascended the throne, he appointed him as the Chief of the Imperial Clan. This position was high but had no military or political power, but it could be used at critical moments.

Chunping Jun had been idle for many years. When his nephew first succeeded to the throne, he was asked to serve as the royal clan leader. He had nothing to say and it was impossible for him not to do his best.

King Zhao Daoxiang had thought of all this very well, balancing power, winning over people's hearts, and securing protection from the royal family.

There is only one big problem, Guo Kai.

He is not a truly loyal minister.

But now, there is no big problem.

At least there will be no problem within one or two years.

In addition, as soon as King Qian of Zhao ascended the throne, he immediately sent envoys to request friendship with the Qin Dynasty, and his attitude was very humble.

He even sent a personal letter to Ying Xin with the gift of a nephew, and was extremely humble. He appealed to Ying Xin's emotions and explained the reasons to him, asking Ying Xin to tell Ying Zheng that Zhao was willing to have friendly relations with Qin.

Ying Xin was heartbroken when his brother passed away, and his nephew succeeded to the throne at a young age. The State of Zhao was in a precarious situation. The problem was that this situation was brought about by the Qin Dynasty.

(End of this chapter)