The Moon in the Qin Dynasty

Chapter 586: The People Have Mouths

Afterwards, Fu Chu and Changping Jun had a limited heart-to-heart talk, and each revealed their current cards and the key people in control.

After all, it was a life-threatening matter, and the two of them were determined to do it, so naturally they dared not hide it from each other. In case they ended up making things worse, that would be something no one wanted to see.

Even though the two of them were wary of each other and were thinking about settling accounts with each other later, for now, they still had to work together to fight against King You of Chu.

The two of them discovered that the other had quietly become powerful and had the support of many people, especially many key figures.

Apart from anything else, Changping Jun could never have imagined that Fu Chu had actually obtained the support of Sima Jingjie, the left Sima who was in charge of the defense of Shouchun City in Yingdu. You know, this position is fatal.

This means that Fu Chu received support from the Jing family among the three families of Zhao, Qu and Jing.

What's more, no one would have expected that Xiang Yan, the patriarch of the Xiang clan, who had been generals for generations in the State of Chu and had great power in the army, actually had a close personal relationship with Fu Chu. Although it was unlikely that he would directly raise an army to help at the moment, Xiang Yan also had many dissatisfactions with King You of Chu and had complained to Fu Chu in private.

This is also the key force that can be strived for. At the critical moment, even a slight hesitation, especially the support after gaining the advantage, is enough to play a huge role.

As for the Zhao and Qu families, although they have not yet openly shown their intention to rebel, they are at least relatively acquiescing.

Because these two families are quite close to Changping Jun.

As for Changping Jun, Fu Chu was also quite surprised. Although Changping Jun did not have strong power in the capital court, he actually had many supporters in the northwestern counties. Apart from anything else, just letting the Qu and Jing families sit back and do nothing was already a great help.

This briefing made the two men more confident in resisting King You of Chu, but at the same time, they were also more wary of each other.

But no matter what, we are still cooperating wholeheartedly at the moment.

After all, King You of Chu had been the King of Chu for several years, and when it came to rebellion, no matter how cautious one was, it would not be excessive. King You of Chu was just bad, but not a complete fool.

He has always attached great importance to military power. The city defense imperial guards, the king's personal guards, and most of the city defense troops have always been in the hands of King You of Chu. This is also the fundamental reason why he can kill so many people.

After all, King You of Chu directly used his own army to kill Chunshen Jun. In this chaotic era, he never relaxed his control over military power.

Even with the support of the city defense commander Jing Jie, the army does not belong to him alone. The soldiers would not dare to attack the palace without Jing Jie's order.

The two men agreed that for the time being they should force King You of Chu to go crazy again. Only by scaring everyone into feeling insecure and making King You of Chu even more alienated from the civil and military officials, would they be able to raise an army.

The story told by Fu Chu is the best introduction.

No king can tolerate the spread of rumors that directly attack the legitimacy of his regime.

Moreover, at such a special time, given King You of Chu's character, he would inevitably go on a killing spree and strike hard.

This will only make everyone terrified. King You of Chu is already unpopular, and the ministers who are pushed to the limit will not work for him.

The two of them spread this rumor secretly, and with the help of Ying Zheng, this bizarre story soon became a hot topic in the city, and spread rapidly to the entire Chu State and even the world at an unimaginable speed.

There is no way. Ordinary people have no channels to obtain specific information, and it is even more difficult for them to distinguish between truth and falsehood. When they are guided with a purpose, they are naturally prone to follow the crowd.

What's more, these palace secrets are what the people love to hear and talk about most.

This kind of gossip involves so many big figures, and contains intriguing factors such as ethics, eroticism, secrets, life experience, royal inheritance, kings and powerful ministers, conspiracy and assassination, etc., so naturally everyone is very interested.

I have to say that although the story written by Fu Chu is full of loopholes, if we put aside the facts, it is indeed a good story. It is an extremely wonderful story, a story that can catch everyone's attention and make everyone want to know and discuss it.

In addition, many subjects who were dissatisfied with King You of Chu, even those who knew that it was a rumor, were willing to spread it, and they would add fuel to the fire, improve the rumor in various ways and spread it widely, in order to humiliate King You of Chu and vent their dissatisfaction.

When it comes to bad rumors, no one dares to explain them to the people involved, especially those who are in high positions of power.

For example, King You of Chu and Li Yuan.

If they were not the most trusted among the trusted, and their status and position had not reached a certain level, no one would dare to tell them.

The two of them just felt that the atmosphere was getting weirder and weirder. Some people looked at them in weirder ways, but there was no news.

By the time the two of them got the news, almost the entire Chu State knew about it.

This was told to Li Yuan by Li Yuan's confidant at the risk of his life. When Li Yuan heard the rumor, he was instantly shocked and angry. Cold sweat soaked the back of his clothes and his veins were exposed due to anger.

His heart is damnable, his heart is damnable!
Li Yuan went to the palace overnight and told King You of Chu, who was so angry that his nose almost became crooked on the spot.

Throw down everything that can be thrown around you, smash everything that can be smashed.

Such a rumor full of loopholes and nonsense was actually spreading like wildfire! And I was the last one to know about it! Now the whole Chu State is almost aware of it!
The furious King You of Chu immediately ordered that whoever spread the rumor must be found out and his entire clan must be executed!

At the same time, an order was issued prohibiting anyone from discussing this matter or spreading such malicious rumors!

Violators will be killed without mercy!

Anyone who dares to discuss this rumor again will be killed! After anger comes fear.

When a middle-aged childless king heard such rumors, he was filled with infinite fear.

King You of Chu and Li Yuan thought the same thing. Such a deadly rumor would never come out of nowhere. To make up such a thing would risk the death of the entire family. It must have been spread by someone with ulterior motives!

Moreover, this rumor involves so many people and it sounds plausible. Although the story is false, the relationship is real.

This shows that the person who made up this story must have been of a very low status, otherwise he would not have dared to do so and it would have been impossible for him to know so many things in the middle. More than 30 years have passed, and many of the real relationships in between are not something ordinary people can know.

King You of Chu quickly thought of the previous incident of capturing Yan Dan's family, and it was hard not to connect the two events together.

It is now certain that there must be at least one, or even multiple, conspiracy and rebellion forces! And these traitors have already begun to act!

King You of Chu and Li Yuan discussed it and reached a consensus that they should still kill him, no matter who the potential suspect was. Whoever was found would be killed, and it would be better to kill the wrong person than to let him go.

He immediately sent his trusted aides to set up an inspection office to investigate the matter, and encouraged people to report on others, offering rewards and reductions in punishment.

It's not that the two of them didn't think of Fu Chu, but they had killed too many people over the years, and there were countless people who secretly harbored resentment and hatred in their hearts, and they couldn't be sure who they were.

For example, Chunshen Jun's former subordinates and retainers have always wanted to avenge Chunshen Jun. In recent years, assassinations and revenges against King You of Chu and Li Yuan have never stopped.

You should know that Chunshen Jun has always treated his retainers well, and he has as many as 3,000 retainers. Among these retainers, there are many who are loyal, brave and resourceful.

Chunshen Jun's death was so inexplicable and his entire family was killed, it was so tragic.

As a result, the retainers who once lived in luxury, had luxurious houses and traveled in luxury cars, now have to sleep in the open air and are even being hunted down and slaughtered. How can such a deep hatred not be avenged?

If I don't avenge Chunshen Jun, I won't have the face to surrender to others!
If you avenge Chunshen Jun, your fame will spread throughout the world in an instant and your name will be recorded in history.

Although this matter involved Chunshen Jun ruining his reputation, it is hard to say whether there were other calculations involved. It is not impossible to explain the matter later.

What's more, apart from Chunshen Jun's men, there were countless others. It's no wonder that King You of Chu and Li Yuan couldn't be sure.

In this situation, killing one's own brother was not a decision that could be made lightly. After all, on the surface, Fu Chu had always been aloof from power and indulged in alcohol and sex.

As for Changping Jun, this younger brother who had lived in Qin since childhood and had only returned to Chu in recent years, had a weak foundation in Chu and had always been content with poverty. King You of Chu and Li Yuan really did not take him into account.

After all, no matter how you think about it, Changping Jun has no chance. He has no power, has always been treated well, and is usually humble and inactive. There is no reason for him to get involved and do something that would seek death.

Although King You of Chu did not kill Fu Chu immediately, he instinctively sent people to keep a close eye on Fu Chu. In any case, the threat posed by Fu Chu's identity was real.

Fu Chu had been mentally prepared for this. As long as he didn't really take action, he would just let people stare at him. There was no rush anyway. Who knows what would happen if the news got around.

It is better to prevent people from speaking than to prevent the river from flooding. Killing people will not stop rumors.

If discontent can be suppressed by force, then let alone the end of the Zhou Dynasty, it should still be Daxia now, and even slavery should be the most advanced.

Even if people dare not speak out for a while, or even can only look on the road in the face, the repression will only make the anger more and more intense, making people more resentful until it completely explodes.

The people have mouths, just as the land has mountains and rivers, and wealth comes from them; just as the land has plains and marshes, and food and clothing grow from them. The mouth speaks, and good and bad come from them. Do good and prepare for bad, so as to enrich wealth and food and clothing. The people think about it in their hearts, and speak it out, and when it is accomplished, how can it be blocked?

If you block their mouths, what can they accomplish?

The king did not listen, and no one in the country dared to speak.

Three years later, the king was exiled to Zhui.

Therefore, when digging a river, one should open it up to allow the water to flow. It can be dredged but not blocked.

So what about those who serve the people?

As a people's servant, you can only make it known.

It’s a pity that the dictatorial kings always turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to this truth.

Just like King You of Chu, who was killing people indiscriminately.

When faced with a butcher's knife, few people are willing to test it with their teeth.

But ideas will not be wiped out by the butcher's knife.

Thoughts can be brainwashed and manipulated, but they can never be directly changed by a butcher's knife.

(End of this chapter)