Wei and Jin did not submit to Zhou

Chapter 147 Destruction and Rebirth (5)

Inside the Taiji Hall, it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Zhong Hui's words were as powerful as a morning bell and evening drum, leaving everyone present dizzy and disoriented.

Those Wei generals are one thing; serving in the Wei army and working for the Cao family seems to be their right. Even Sima Zhao hasn't claimed to be the emperor yet.

Zhong Hui's statement about Empress Dowager Guo's will made some sense, even though Empress Dowager Guo had been dead for several years.

But what does Empress Dowager Guo's will have to do with Liu Shan and the other ministers of Shu?
But it doesn't seem appropriate to say that it's none of their business.

Since Liu Shan and his people had already surrendered to Wei, they were now Wei citizens! Shu had already fallen, so there were no longer any Shu rulers or ministers; they all had to be referred to as "former rulers"!

Therefore, Liu Shan and others could not voice their opposition, nor could they possibly agree; in short, their position was extremely awkward.

There's a sense of detachment, like an adopted son watching his adoptive father marry his mistress.

However, the first to speak was not one of the generals like Hu Lie, but an unknown person: Huangfu Kai, the military advisor.

"Zhong Hui forged an imperial edict! He used Empress Dowager Guo's name to usurp the throne!"

Gentlemen, do not listen to Zhong Hui's instigation. If we join the rebels, we may have some peace of mind for a while, but our parents and families are all in Luoyang, and we will surely die!

The Duke of Jin's troops are already waiting at Jiange. If they march on Chengdu, you and I will lose our lives.

Zhong Hui, you…

Huangfu Kai delivered a passionate speech, and before he could say more, Qiu Jian stepped forward and plunged a knife into his abdomen.

The white blade went in, the red blade came out! Blood splattered onto Qiu Jian's face, but the robust general remained unfazed.

Huangfu Kai was stabbed to death before he could finish saying "may he die a horrible death," a swift and decisive end.

The body lay on the ground, utterly dead.

Qiu Jian wiped the blood-stained knife on Huangfu Kai's corpse, then strode over to Zhong Hui, stood with the knife in hand, exuding a murderous aura!
Damn it, they kill people without warning!

Everyone inside the Taiji Hall was stunned by Qiu Jian's violence. That bastard Zhong Hui really dared to kill!
However, Huangfu Kai's opposition clearly set the tone for opposition.

This also served as a reminder to the Wei generals present: Your families are all under Sima Zhao's control. Why are you following Zhong Hui in this foolish way?

In terms of human relationships, when faced with major events like shipwrecks and deaths, most people would rather remain silent than take the initiative to express their opinions.

Some things are not said if they are not said, but if they are said, they will give others grounds for criticism. This is the principle behind the saying that illness enters through the mouth and disaster comes from the mouth.

Even if one doesn't openly oppose something, simply remaining silent is a way of expressing one's lack of support.

Seeing that no one spoke, Zhong Hui looked at Li Fu with a gloomy expression and asked, "General Li, what do you have to say?"

What else can I say? Of course, I have nothing to say.

Li Fu pretended to be mute. He looked at Zhong Hui, neither agreeing nor disagreeing, and just watched!

Zhong Hui then looked at Hu Lie and asked in the same way, "General Hu, what do you say?"

Hu Lie remained silent, just like Li Fu.

Zhong Hui was immediately extremely embarrassed. He was now in a dilemma, unable to advance or retreat!

Killing "one chicken" can certainly serve as a warning to others. However, that only makes the monkeys fear you.

If you want to get monkeys into the factory to tighten screws, then obviously you can't achieve that by killing a chicken.

The many Wei generals in the hall, though they did not have the same courage as Huangfu Kai, the military advisor, knew how to express their opposition through silence.

There will be no reckoning afterwards.

These people agreed to deal with Deng Ai because Deng Ai was blocking their way and preventing them from gaining military merits!
Sima Zhao would not punish them for this, much less deal with their families!

But now Zhong Rang is making these generals risk their lives and their families being punished by Sima Zhao, to follow him and cheer him on.

It has to be said that Zhong Hui's offer was not high enough!
"Qiu Jian, guard this place. No one is allowed to leave!"

Zhong Hui gave Qiu Jian some instructions, and then led Jiang Wei and Shi Shouxin to a side hall next to the Taiji Hall.

Cold sweat beaded on his face, and he was slightly flustered and unable to suppress it.

"Now that things have come to this, how can we get Li Fu and the others to obey?"

Zhong Hui looked at Shi Shouxin and Jiang Wei and asked, "This is not a test, but we really have no better solution."

"Grand Commander, even if Li Fu and the others agree now, once they return to their troops and have soldiers by their side, they will naturally be confident and may very well go back on their word."

Therefore, I believe that forcing them to agree, whether they succeed or not, is meaningless.

Such matters must be effective; one cannot deceive oneself, otherwise the consequences will be dire!

Shi Shouxin spoke, his words hitting the nail on the head and speaking frankly.

Zhong Hui's face darkened, but he understood that Shi Shouxin was telling the truth, even offering insightful observations.

Lies often don't hurt people; the truth is the sharpest knife.

He was displeased but couldn't show it, so he looked at Jiang Wei and asked, "Jiang Boyue, what do you say?"

"Grand Commander, Supervisor Shi is right. Even if Hu Lie and his ilk pretend to agree now, it's hard to guarantee their loyalty."

Their families were all in Luoyang or Chang'an; if Sima Zhao wanted to kill them, it would only take a word.

This humble general believes... it would be better to kill them to prevent future troubles! Without these generals in command, their troops are no longer a threat; they can be dispersed, reorganized, and a new army can be formed.”

Jiang Wei put forward a "bold" idea, which was simple and brutal: kill!

What do we do when those bastards like Li Fu and Hu Lie don't listen to us?
There's no other way; forced relationships won't be happy. The only option is to kill the goose that lays the golden egg!

What should I do if killing several people doesn't work?
Then kill them all, leave no one alive!
Hearing this, Zhong Hui frowned slightly, weighing the pros and cons in his mind. While he was still pondering, Shi Shouxin beside him said sarcastically:
"The Grand Commander should kill all the generals in the Wei army, then scatter the more than 100,000 Wei soldiers and turn them into slaves to farm the land. That way, there will be no future troubles. But if that's the case, the Grand Commander might as well support Liu Shan as the ruler and establish the Shu Kingdom again."

Empress Dowager Guo only asked you to restore the Wei Kingdom, not to kill everyone. If all these people die, who will fulfill Empress Dowager Guo's dying wish? You'd be better off as a general in Shu.

Shi Shouxin's words struck Zhong Hui like a bolt of lightning, instantly bringing him to his senses!
Yes, if he kills Hu Lie and his men, and turns those 100,000-plus Wei soldiers into farmers, what bargaining chips will he have left?

In that case, wouldn't I be left all alone?

At that time, the Shu Kingdom was indeed revived, Liu Shan became emperor again, and the Shu army was established by Jiang Wei.

But what was Zhong Hui gain from all this fuss? Liu Shan wasn't his father!

Zhong Hui looked at Jiang Wei, sighed, and shook his head, saying, "Brother Boyue, these people cannot be killed."

If we can neither command nor kill, what should we do?

Zhong Hui looked at Shi Shouxin and asked, "Do you have any good ideas?"

"Grand Commander, why not imprison Hu Lie and the others in the palace, and keep each of them in solitary confinement?"

Then they sent someone to the army to tell them that they would hold a grand banquet in the palace for three days and then return to the camp.

Three days should be enough for the Grand Commander to persuade them to submit.

If they remain obstinate after three days, it is not too late to kill them then.

Shi Shouxin bowed to Zhong Hui and said.

"Grand Commander, three days is too long. Let's wait until midnight tonight. Anyone who disobeys will be killed!"

We are now waiting inside the Taiji Hall!

Jiang Wei reiterated his suggestion, clearly indicating that he did not want to give Shi Shouxin three days.

"That's fine too."

Zhong Hui sighed and then walked towards the main hall of the Taiji Hall.

He sat back on the dragon throne, looked at the crowd sitting at the small table, each with an axeman behind them, and then coldly said, "On this table of mine is a proclamation to punish the Sima family. Those of you who are willing to support Empress Dowager Guo's edict, come and sign your names, and then you can leave the Taiji Hall and rest in the palace."

These words were like a bucket of cold water, waking up some of the more tactful generals.

Even if they signed their names, they couldn't leave. In other words, Zhong Hui was also wary of them agreeing on the surface but betraying him behind his back.

At this moment, Jiang Wei was sitting to Zhong Hui's left, and Shi Shouxin was sitting to Zhong Hui's right, which was a clear indication of favoritism.

Shi Shouxin looked at Jiang Wei and saw that the other man was also looking at him. Suddenly, a mysterious smile appeared on his face.

When Jiang Wei saw him smile, he couldn't help but feel something strange.

"Great Commander, today is New Year's Day. Why don't we let the musicians and dancers come in and continue playing music and dancing?"
The food and wine have gotten cold; let's bring out warm wine and hot food instead.

Shi Shouxin offered Zhong Hui a suggestion.

These words completely baffled the many Wei generals present.

At a time like this, how can you still have the appetite to eat? Did you never have a full meal in your past life?

But Zhong Hui clearly understood Shi Shouxin's unspoken meaning: there's no need to make the conversation awkward when persuading someone to surrender; since the person can't leave anyway, it's fine to eat while waiting.

Jiang Wei, however, had ulterior motives and echoed Shi Shouxin's words: "Grand Commander, Supervisor Shi is right."

Zhong Hui nodded. Indeed, as Shi Shouxin said, waiting like this would only create an awkward atmosphere.

"Serve wine and food, sing and dance to entertain, and the executioners will leave first."

The banquet will continue until midnight today; no one is allowed to leave before then!

Zhong Hui gave Qiu Jian an instruction.

Soon, dancers dressed in brightly colored skirts entered and began to dance, while the musicians continued to play.

Good wine and good food are served again, leftovers and cold dishes are replaced with hot rice and hot dishes!

However, the fresh food and wine had lost their flavor, and the sounds of string and wind instruments were even more mournful, as if they were sending everyone present off to their final moments.

Something just doesn't sound right!
And those dancers looked like ghosts, which was annoying.

The same event can have drastically different, even completely opposite, experiences depending on the person's mindset.

Hu Lie and the others exchanged glances, each seeing the helplessness in the other's eyes.

Zhong Hui has now made his intentions clear: he is ready to raise the banner of rebellion! The generals present either agree and follow Zhong Hui to the bitter end, or they oppose him, just like Huangfu Kai, who served as a military advisor.

If you neither agree nor disagree, then let's continue drinking, eating, listening to music, and watching dances here until midnight tonight.

What will happen then... Hu Lie and the others don't know, but it certainly won't be good!
Time ticked by, and none of the people, including Liu Shan, had ever felt the days so unbearable. Even when Deng Ai led his troops to attack, it hadn't been this difficult!

An hour passed, then two hours, and it was completely dark.

Jiang Wei, who had been calm, gradually became tense. Sweat began to appear on his palms and forehead, and the soft cushion under his buttocks felt like it was growing needles, making him very uncomfortable.

Suddenly, he noticed someone was watching him!
Jiang Wei turned his head and met Shi Shouxin's gaze.

The military supervisor, Shi, raised his wine cup and said, "I greatly admire Jiang Boyue, a renowned scholar from Sichuan, but I have never had the chance to toast you in person. This cup is to wish you a Happy New Year!"

He wore an innocent smile, but that smile was full of confidence and a sense of complete control over the situation!
"Have fun together, have fun together."

Jiang Wei picked up his wine cup and drank it all in one gulp, but his heart sank to the bottom.

Why hasn't the ship I ordered arrived yet?
Jiang Wei couldn't help but ask himself a question, but no one could answer.

(End of this chapter)