"Of these eight hundred princes, which one has not been enthroned by me, the great merchant, and which one has not been conquered by my merchant! And you, dare to be the enemy of my great merchant?"

"Your Majesty!" Ji Chang shouted in a trembling voice, "I have no intention of being an enemy of the great merchants! Please be careful, Your Majesty! I am loyal to your Majesty, and the Ji family has no qualms with the merchants!"

Di Xin frowned and looked at Ji Chang.

He suddenly kicked Mei Ji in front of him and cursed: "It's boring...kneel down here. I will send you to Youli for detention at dawn. You are not allowed to have any contact with anyone, especially Zhou people. If there is anyone who fails to supervise,

, pull it to the snake pond."

Several guards immediately stepped out and bowed their heads to take orders.

Di Xin turned around and left.

Ji Chang quickly shouted: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for not killing me!"

"You are a coward!"

Ji Chang shouted: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for not killing me!"

"coward!"

Di Xin's scolding sounded a bit unwilling, and the swordsman and axeman waiting outside the palace left quickly.

Ji Chang knelt there motionless, his long gray hair trembling continuously.

Li Ping'an looked at this scene and raised his eyebrows slightly.

He has no sympathy or sense of belonging to the camp. He is purely observing, feeling, and improving his understanding.

He, an outsider, can actually see it clearly.

It's not that Emperor Xin didn't want to kill Ji Chang, but he was forced by the situation and couldn't kill Ji Chang at all.

Keeping Ji Chang can temporarily stabilize the Zhou people, and you can also use Ji Kao to continue to divide Xiqi City and persuade the Zhou people not to take advantage of the situation to rebel. In this way, Emperor Xin can free up his hands to deal with Dong Bohou.

Now, Di Xin's overall plan has been successfully completed.

The vitality of the eight hundred princes has been greatly reduced, Dongbohou's family is leaderless, and Jiang Huanchu's eldest son now dares not to say a word and immediately attack the merchants.

The fundamental reason behind this is actually that after years of hard work by Emperor Xin, the Shang Kingdom's national strength has once again improved, its generals are good at fighting, and its soldiers are brave.

With the grain, grass, soldiers, and armor sent by the princes from all walks of life, Chaoge City arrived at Chaoge City. The troops and horses in Chaoge City were strong enough to support a two-front war.

After Jichang was taken to Youli City and imprisoned, Emperor Xin summoned his close ministers to discuss the Eastern Expedition, and there was one veteran minister missing - Shang Rong.

Shang Rong represents the old aristocratic power, which has been swept out by Emperor Xin.

In Chaoge City, businessmen were all saying that Emperor Xin was drunk and cruel, but only a few ministers such as Bigan knew that their king had almost played a dead game.

The next step is to conduct foreign campaigns, intimidate the princes, use force to establish the destiny of the country, and kill and sacrifice kings.

…

Li Pingan's gaze has moved from Xiqi City to Chaoge City.

Not to mention anything else, there are really too many stories here.

Ji Chang was imprisoned for only half a year. Su Hu of Jizhou was defeated and committed suicide. Before his death, he cursed Emperor Xin to wish him a happy death. Su Hu's wife and children were all reduced to slaves. His daughter Su Daji was beautiful, and was discovered by the prisoner You Hun. She was dedicated to Emperor Xin.

, and became one of the beauties of Emperor Xin.

After the soldiers and horses who attacked Su Hu returned to Chaoge City to garrison, Emperor Xin led the main force of the merchant army to march eastward again.

The Jiang family, whose parents were slaughtered, did not dare to let out a single fart. Instead, they dedicated a large amount of food and armor to Emperor Xin, and sent some elites to help the merchant army conquer Dongyi.

During this Eastern Expedition, Di Xin did not gain much benefit, he did not plunder many treasures, food and grass, and he did not capture enough prisoners.

——Because the Dongyi tribes had already migrated in advance under the instruction of the Jiang family, only a few small tribes were left to fill in the war merits for the merchants.

But Di Xin's goal has been achieved.

All the princes in the world were deeply disappointed with the Jiang family's silence, and the prestige of the Jiang family plummeted. When Emperor Xin withdrew his troops, he even beat the Jiang family, and ordered an army of merchants to defeat one or two small princes who followed the Jiang family, and then entered the city to burn, kill, and loot, wantonly.

And for.

The Jiang family was still very angry and did not dare to breathe.

Since then, the Jiang family has begun to decline. Emperor Xin has already taken direct action against the Jiang family when planning the fourth Eastern Expedition to support a new Dong Bohou to protect the east gate of the earth for merchants.

After Emperor Xin led his army back to Chaoge City, his prestige among merchants reached its peak, and his reputation also reached its peak.

Di Xin didn't care at all about the infamy. After the situation was under his control, Di Xin began to sing and sing every night.

It was at this time that the charming Su Daji received Emperor Xin's favor, and Su Daji's surviving family members were saved.

Su Daji, a beauty with no background in the court, was also selected by Emperor Xin to suppress Empress Jiang.

Through the "mouth of women", Emperor Xin accelerated the pace of promoting his own direct lineage. The power of the Shang king became increasingly powerful, the power of the merchant ministers gradually dispersed, and Shang Rong was forced to resign.

After cultivating in this way for several years, Emperor Xin began to plan the third Eastern Expedition and once again issued an order to collect grain from the princes.

Xiqi City.

In Li Ping'an's small courtyard.

The increasingly calm Ji Fa sat in front of Li Ping'an, his face a little haggard and his expression mostly tired.

'Ji Dan', who was still so young, smiled and poured a cup of tea for Ji Fa, and asked in a warm voice: "What's wrong with second brother? The war in the west is not going well?"

"It went well," Ji Fa sighed, "most of the Qiang tribes have been conquered. Thanks to your suggestions in the past few years, we have grasped the second sword."

"Then why is the second brother so frowning?"

"My father is old, but he is still trapped in prison."

Ji Fa whispered:

"How can I feel at ease about this?

"Now the king has once again ordered the princes to transport grain and grass. I have discussed with several adults and want to take this opportunity to bring more treasures and go to Chaoge City to intercede for my father and ask the king to let him go."

Li Ping'an thought for a while and said slowly: "In the current situation, the Jiang family has lost all its energy, the merchants are becoming more tyrannical, and the princes dare not make any moves. It is possible that Emperor Xin will let his father come back."

"Alas," Ji Fa whispered, "sometimes I can't tell whether the king is cruel and tyrannical or talented and strategic."

"Everyone has many sides," Li Ping'an smiled and shook his head. "His strategic vision is not inconsistent with his acting style, and the tradition of merchants is to use terror to make the princes fearful, thereby consolidating their own rule."

Ji Fa said: "Fourth brother, why don't you and I accompany my elder brother when we go to Chaoge City this time?"

Li Pingan touched his chin and asked, "Why should I go?"

"It's not that you have too many ideas," Ji Fa muttered, "I'm really worried about letting the eldest brother go by himself. What I'm most afraid of now is that the eldest brother will see the king, and then the king will kill his father and help the eldest brother take the throne... I'm not

I am nostalgic for power, but I am afraid that my eldest brother will destroy me and the people of Zhou."

Li Ping'an smiled and said: "Okay, I can go too, but I won't care about other things, I just want to watch the fun."

Ji Fa asked: "What's so exciting?"

"This," Li Ping'an pondered for a moment, thinking of the divination he saw Ji Chang made in the prison of Youli City yesterday.

[Loss hexagram sixty-three: If three people walk together, one person will be harmed.]
Chapter completed!