Noble son JiaoShi fled to the border city of Wei, thinking of rising again, he waited for Pang Juan''s army to return and practiced his army at the same time. One day, Noble son JiaoShi took some guards to the woods to practice archery, and the target was a straw man wearing the clothes of the King of Qi. The target of the arrows was a straw man dressed in the clothes of the King of Qi. The Duke said that the straw man was the King of Qi, and he fired several arrows, which hit the chest of the King of Qi. The guards shouted for help.
At this moment, a man with loose hair and a sword-like gaze came out from the woods and scoffed, “A bold man shoots tigers for a living, but a cowardly man shoots grass for fun.”
Noble son JiaoShi shot a glance at the han and asked, “Who are you?”
The hanyou walked straight to Noble son JiaoShi and said, “A man of great courage.”
“You know who I am?”
“Noble son JiaoShi of Qi.”
Noble son JiaoShi smiled faintly, pointed at the straw man and asked, “Do you know who I am shooting at?”
The hanyou said, “That''s not a person, it''s grass.”
Noble son JiaoShi laughed disdainfully and said, “An ignorant man in the wilderness is not to be blamed for not knowing, what I am shooting at is King Paijiang of Qi.”
The Hanzi laughed lightly and said, “Heh, King Pi Jiang of Qi is in Qi, this is just a pile of grass.”
Noble son JiaoShi division was a bit unhappy, coldly said, “Now I''m not in a bad mood, you quickly go away, otherwise, once I''m in a bad mood, you can''t leave even if you want to!”
The hanyou laughed and said, “Since I''m a bold man, I won''t be afraid of your intimidation.”
“Give him a sword.” Noble son JiaoShi said to the guards at the side.
The guard handed the sword to the hanyou.
“I don''t need it.” The hanyou didn''t even look at it and didn''t bother to pick it up.
Noble son JiaoShi drew his sword in his hand, “Don''t you regret it.”
The hanyou responded, “I''ve never known what regret is.”
Noble son JiaoShi swung his sword at the hanyou.
The hanyou did not dodge and looked at Noble son JiaoShi with a light smile.
Noble son JiaoShi''s sword stopped above the hanyou''s head.
“Why don''t you dodge?” Said Noble son JiaoShi, withdrawing his sword.
“Why should I dodge? A bold man is not afraid to die.”
“You think I don''t dare to kill you?”
“You dare to kill, but I am not afraid.”
“Don''t blame me for killing innocent people presumptuously, you forced me to kill you!” Gongzi Suburb Master said, swinging his sword at the hanyou once again.
The hanyou still looked at Noble son JiaoShi with a light smile.
As Noble son JiaoShi''s sword slashed down, the clothes on the hanyou''s chest were cut by the sword and blood flowed out.
“Good swordsmanship!” The hanyou shouted in praise, “Half an inch more, my life will be over; half an inch less, no blood in sight, good swordsmanship indeed!”
Duke Suburb Master once again scrutinized the Han''s candid face, clapped his hands and praised, “It''s a man! Strong man, are you willing to follow me?”
The hanyou laughed, “Follow you for what? Shoot grass for fun?”
Noble son JiaoShi tensed his face and said, “I''m talking about business.”
“Your proper business should be seizing the throne.”
“Shooting grass and practicing archery today is to seize the throne in the coming day.”
“Gongzi with one bow, can you defeat Sun Bin''s 100,000 strong army?”
“I have Pang Juan''s support, he has a 300,000 strong army.”
“Pang Juan is in the middle of a fierce battle with the Qin, it''s hard to say if he''ll be able to return. Furthermore, even if he comes back, he''ll have trouble defeating Sun Bin with a tired army.”
“According to you, I''m hopeless?”
“No, there is another person who can help you take the throne.”
“What person?” Noble son JiaoShi asked curiously.
“Cao Yang.” The hanyou calmly said.
“Who is Cao Yang?”
“That''s me.”
“You?” Noble son JiaoShiist looked at him suspiciously, “You''re able to defeat Sun Bin?”
Cao Yang said, “Although I can''t defeat Sun Bin, I can help you assassinate the King of Qi, and once the King of Qi is dead, the Duke can rightfully inherit the throne.”
Noble son JiaoShi asked, “The king''s palace has high walls and deep courtyards, the guards are tightly defended, how can you kill Pi Jiang?”
Cao Yang said confidently, “Crossing the high walls and deep courtyard is like walking on the ground; killing the palace guards is like slaughtering a lamb.”
Noble son JiaoShi found it funny, “Strong man, your ambition is honorable, but your words are too big.”
“If the Duke doesn''t believe me, please see ......” Before Cao Yang''s words left his mouth, he leaped and landed on a high tree branch.
“Good stance!” Noble son JiaoShi couldn''t help but marvel.
Cao Yang casually broke a section of the branch and landed back on the ground, saying to Jiao Shi, “Look again.” He said to the guards standing aside, “Draw your swords and go together.”
The guards looked at Noble son JiaoShi.
Noble son JiaoShi said, “Go on, let him know how powerful you are.”
The guards swung their swords at Cao Yang.
Cao Yang dodged lightly while using a branch instead of a sword to stab at one of the guards.
One of the guards was hit by the sword and fell to the ground.
Another guard was hit by his sword and fell to the ground.
Noble son JiaoShi watched in amazement.
The last guard was also stabbed by Cao Yang.
Noble son JiaoShi waved his fist excitedly and said, “Great, great! Getting a strong man is better than an army of 100,000 men. Strong man, please accept my obeisance!” Noble son JiaoShi said and saluted Cao Yang.
Cao Yang did not return the salute and said to Noble son JiaoShi, “Gongzi, we should leave.”
Noble son JiaoShi shouted to the guards lying on the ground, “Bunch of idiots! What are you still lying down for? Get up quickly and go back with me!”
Cao Yang faintly said to Suburban Master, “They will never be able to get up.”
Noble son JiaoShi was stunned and took a closer look at the guards on the ground, who were already dead. He angrily drew his sword and pointed at Cao Yang and said angrily, “You, how dare you kill my guards!”
Cao Yang said, “Assassinating the King of Qi should not be known to a third person other than you and I. If we reveal the wind, it will be difficult to get the job done.” Saying this, he casually threw the bloody branch.
The branch was deeply inserted into the chest of the distant grass man.
The Noble son JiaoShi was secretly happy in his heart, Cao Yang was exactly the person he was hoping to draw in, he said to Cao Yang, “Speak, your conditions.”
“After the Duke succeeds to the throne, carve my assassination of the King of Qi on the four city gates of Linzi in the east, west, south, and north, and let all the people of the world know that the Duke was able to succeed to the throne because of me, Cao Yang.”
“What you want is too little, I can still give you high officials, generous salaries, beautiful women, and cities.”
Cao Yang smiled and said, “Has the Duke heard of the names of Zhuanzhu and Yao Li?”
Gongzi Jiaoji nodded and said, “I have heard of them in my childhood, Zhuanzhu stabbed King Bureaucrat of Wu with a sword hidden in the belly of a fish, and Yao Li stabbed Qing Ji with a broken arm, those are heroes whose names will live on for a hundred generations.”
Cao Yang said, “What were they for? Isn''t it also a name? High officials, generous pay, beautiful women, and cities are all dung; only a name that shocks the world will last forever.”
Cao Yang''s words made the Noble son JiaoShi admire him even more.
Since the Qi army recovered the border city, the empress dowager threatened her death three times and insisted that King Xuan of Qi should invite back Noble son JiaoShi, and King Xuan of Qi was so obedient that he suffered from anger every time. This evening, King Xuan of Qi mentioned this matter to Zhong Li Chun, can not help but sigh.
Zhong Li Chun said, “Your Majesty, I don''t understand, the Empress Dowager is not your mother, why do you fear her so much?”
King Xuan of Qi said, “Although I am not the Empress Dowager''s biological mother, I was brought up by the Empress Dowager, and the Empress Dowager is like my biological mother.”
Zhong Li Chun shook her head and said, “I don''t think it is the same, the Empress Dowager cares for Noble son JiaoShi a hundred times more than the Great King, if Noble son JiaoShi kills the Great King, she will never say half a word of no.”
King Xuan of Qi sighed softly, “Regardless of how the Empress Dowager treats me, I have to be worthy of the Empress Dowager''s nurturing, otherwise, my father in the clan temple will accuse me of being ungrateful, and the world will argue that I am unfilial ......”
“I didn''t expect King Qi to be a stupid filial son.” Only to see a light-hearted man leisurely walk in.
Seeing that a stranger dared to intrude into the harem without authorization, King Xuan of Qi snapped, “Daring madman, how dare you intrude into my chambers without authorization!” King Xuan of Qi said and clapped his hands twice, shouting, “Someone come!”
“Your Majesty, the guards outside the door can''t come, they were all killed by me.”
King Qi Xuan could not help but be shocked and said, “Who are you ...... and what do you want?”
“My name is Cao Yang, entrusted by the Noble son JiaoShi, came to ask the king for something.”
“Want what thing?”
“The life of the Great King.”
“How dare you?!” King Xuan of Qi was shocked and afraid.
“Of course I dare, otherwise I wouldn''t have come.” Cao Yang smiled faintly as he drew his sword, “Will I do it, or will the Great King do it himself?”
King Xuan of Qi looked at Cao Yang in horror and trembled, “Do you ...... know that assassinating the king is a scourge for your entire family, for your entire clan!”
“My family is not in Qi.” Cao Yang laughed again.
“What you ...... you want, I can give you ...... anything.”
“I don''t want anything, I want your life.” Cao Yang threw his sword in front of King Xuan of Qi, “It''s better for you to do it yourself, or let me see the guts of Qi''s king.”
A hand picked up the sword on the ground, it was Zhong Li Chun who stood aside and had yet to speak.
Cao Yang''s gaze turned to Zhong Li Chun and said, “There is no woman''s business here, if you want to die, wait for the King of Qi to die before you are buried with him.”
Zhong Li Chun smiled faintly, “What if I don''t want to die?”
Cao Yang said, “Then go away.”
King Xuan of Qi pulled Zhong Li Chun by the hand, “Queen, you can''t go, you have to save me.”
Zhong Li Chun comforted him, “Don''t worry King, I won''t leave.”
Cao Yang watched the scene with interest and said, “I really didn''t expect that the Queen, a woman, would be so courageous.”
“There are many things you didn''t expect,” Zhong Li Chun sneered, ”You wouldn''t be surprised if I told you that you shouldn''t have let me get the sword, would you?”
“What good is it for a woman to get the sword? If you can''t hold it well, you''ll even hurt yourself.” Cao Yang smiled disdainfully.
“I am not an ordinary woman, before I entered the palace, I was also a sword player.” Zhong Li Chun said as she beautifully played a couple of sword hops.
“You know swordplay?” Cao Yang was stunned at this.
“Regret it, right?”
“No regrets, I would love to see a woman playing with a sword, what is it like ...... Come on, Queen.”
Zhong Li Chun swept a glance at Cao Yang and said, “Do you still have any weapons on you?”
“Of course I do.” Cao Yang said.
“Take it out.”
“I don''t need weapons when dealing with women.”
“Don''t be too cocky, you''ll suffer if you''re too cocky!”
Cao Yang smiled contemptuously, “I''m not arrogant, fighting a woman is already a disgrace to my face, if I use my weapon again, won''t I be shameless?”
Zhong Li Chun snorted, “You''re dead to the world and still want a man''s stinking face ...... Well, I''ll tell you to be faceless!”
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.Zhong Li Chun said as he struck out several swords in a row. Cao Yang never expected Zhong Li Chun''s sword technique to be so swift, he couldn''t dodge in time, and Zhong Li Chun''s sword cut a long bloody slit on Cao Yang''s face. Cao Yang hurriedly pulled out two daggers and fought with Zhong Li Chun.
King Xuan of Qi watched the dazzling sparring between the two men with rapt attention and was stunned.
Zhong Li Chun said as he fought, “Good hands, I haven''t been this hearty in a long time!”
Cao Yang responded in between, “Same to each other.”
The two of them went back and forth for a few more rounds. Zhong Li Chun launched a series of vicious moves. Cao Yang was unable to dodge and was stabbed in the abdomen by Zhong Li Chun. Cao Yang hurriedly leapt backward and threw out two daggers violently with his hands. The daggers went straight at King Xuan of Qi.
Seeing this, Zhong Li Chun suddenly leapt towards King Qi and casually swung his sword in mid-air, but only one of the daggers flew away, while the other stabbed King Qi in his right chest.
Zhong Li Chun embraced King Xuan of Qi and called out anxiously, “King, King .......”
Cao Yang took advantage of this to turn and escape.
Cao Yang staggered out of King Xuan''s chambers, endured the severe pain through several courtyards, and fell headfirst to the ground. Behind him came the sounds of disorganized footsteps, and shouts. Cao Yang struggled to get up, he couldn''t let the palace guards catch him, he hadn''t been able to kill the King of Qi yet. He had already mapped out the layout of the palace before entering the palace, he stumbled and turned through a courtyard and entered the Empress Dowager''s chamber.
The Empress Dowager was still awake at this time, and when she heard the shouts faintly coming from outside the palace, she was about to send her palace maid out to check, only to see Cao Yang, whose face and body were covered in blood, appear in front of her. The palace maid beside the empress dowager almost fainted in shock, the empress dowager wasn''t afraid, she looked at Cao Yang with a calm face and asked, “Who are you?”
Cao Yang strained to take out a jade pendant from his pocket, which was given to him by the Duke Suburb Master before his departure. He said to the Empress Dowager, “Do you recognize this?”
The Empress Dowager couldn''t see it clearly, and she asked the palace maid to bring the jade pendant over. The palace maid came forward warily, took the jade pendant in Cao Yang''s hand, and handed it to the Empress Dowager. The empress dowager took the jade pendant and glanced at it, she couldn''t help but be shocked, “This is the jade pendant of my son''s suburban master, how did it fall into your hands?”
Cao Yang replied, “Noble son JiaoShi asked me to give it to the Empress Dowager.”
“My son Jiao Shi, where is he now?”
“He is in ......” Cao Yang felt a sharp pain and hurriedly covered his abdomen, ‘Wei ......’ Before finishing a sentence , Cao Yang could no longer support, fell to the ground headlong.
The Empress Dowager immediately secretly summoned the state Dafu to their own chambers. Cao Yang came to his senses after some treatment by Dr. Guo. The Empress Dowager rewarded Dr. Guo and instructed him to treat Cao Yang three times a day, in the morning, in the middle of the day, and in the evening, and warned him that he should not say anything about this to anyone, or else he would be killed. Dr. Guo promised.
After Dr. Guo left, the Empress Dowager asked Cao Yang, “Is my son, Suburban Master, really still alive?”
Cao Yang said, “Not only alive, but also alive and well, he is recruiting the world''s aspirants to rise again, if not for his determination, I would never risk my life to assassinate the King of Qi.”
The empress dowager took out the jade pendant and asked again, “He asked you to give it to me?”
“Yes, he said that as long as I gave the jade pendant to the Empress Dowager, the Empress Dowager would help me.”
“You should have come to me earlier.”
“I don''t need anyone else''s help, with my skills, killing the King of Qi is like pinching an ant,” at this point, Cao Yang sighed, ”But I didn''t realize that the Queen Mother had such great swordsmanship.”
The Empress Dowager said gruffly, “If you had come to me earlier, you wouldn''t have never thought of it.”
“However, I still stabbed the King of Qi, I just don''t know if it''s fatal yet.”
“King Qi did not die.”
“This is the will of Heaven.” Cao Yang sighed again.
The Empress Dowager said, “Child, you recuperate well here in the old woman''s place, and when you have recovered, the old woman will pray to the heavens for you, so that the will of the heavens will be obedient to my son, Suburbia Master.”
The palace guards were busy all night in the palace and found nothing. Tian Ji''s soldiers were also busy all night inside and outside the city, again with no luck. Zhong Li Chun estimated that the assassin would not run out of the king''s palace compound with his serious injuries, and was probably hiding in the empress dowager''s palace. However, without King Xuan''s order, she can''t search the Empress Dowager''s chambers and King Xuan is unconscious, so she asked Sun Bin what to do. She asked Sun Bin what to do. Sun Bin told her to withdraw the palace guards and keep a loose exterior and a tight interior to secretly monitor the Queen Dowager''s residence.
Dr. Guo went to the Empress Dowager''s place three times a day in the morning, midday and evening, claiming that the Empress Dowager had hurt her foot, and because the Empress Dowager was old and not easy to heal, she went there more diligently. The State Dafu is a Dafu who specializes in treating traumatic injuries, Zhong Li Chun speculated that his frequent visits to the Empress Dowager''s palace are most likely to treat the assassin''s injuries. Sun Bin thought for a moment and said, “Arrest Imperial Dafu Guo immediately.”
Tian Ji hesitated, “This will alert the Empress Dowager, the King is still in a coma, if she intervenes, it won''t be easy to clean up.”
Sun Bin laughed, “I just want to alarm the Empress Dowager, if she intervenes, she can conclude that the assassin is in her palace, it''s called spooking the snake.”
Zhong Li Chun immediately ordered the palace guards to arrest Imperial Dafu Guo and interrogate him severely. When the Empress Dowager learned of this, she immediately rushed to Zhong Li Chun''s residence and said that Imperial Dafu Guo was frequenting her chambers because he had a crush on her palace maid. The Empress Dowager took Dr. Guo back to her own chambers and then ordered him to be struck to death with a messy cane.
The Empress Dowager kills the assassin and confirms that the assassin is in the Empress Dowager''s palace. Zhong Li Chun wanted to surround the Empress Dowager''s chambers immediately to capture the assassin. Tian Ji said, “Queen, don''t be in a hurry, the king is still unconscious, it''s better not to clash with the empress dowager head-on.”
Zhong Li Chun said, “There''s no rush, this assassin is a skilled swordsman, if we let him get away, he''ll still assassinate the Great King, and next time, I''m afraid he won''t miss.”
Sun Bin spoke up, “Miss Zhong Li, I have a way to make the assassin walk out of the Empress Dowager''s chambers and throw himself into the net.”
As night fell, Jiang Ji man led a group of palace guards into the Empress Dowager''s chambers, saying that he was ordered by the Queen to search for a suspicious looking person. The Empress Dowager was furious when she heard this, she pointed at Jiang Ji Ren''s nose and told him to get out.
Jiang Temple Man was not in a hurry and said to the Empress Dowager, “The Queen has orders, I dare not roll back.”
The empress dowager was so angry that she shivered, “You ...... well, if you don t go back, the old woman will die in front of you.” She said and slammed into the pillar, and the empress dowager s palace maids immediately came forward and pulled her.
Jiang Temple Man pretended to be afraid and told the palace guards to leave the Empress Dowager''s chambers immediately. After the palace guards left, Jiang Ji Ren whispered to the empress dowager, “Empress dowager, villain to be honest, villain didn''t want to search, it is the empress dowager he had to villain to search, the empress dowager suspected that the assassin who assassinated the great king was hiding in the empress dowager''s palace.”
The queen dowager sniffed and said with a stern face, “She is talking nonsense!”
“I know that the queen is talking nonsense, but the queen''s temperament the empress dowager also knows that the path she recognizes, she must go to the end. This afternoon, she called General Tian into the palace, saying that if I can''t search for the assassin tonight, she will let General Tian''s army surround the Empress Dowager''s chambers tomorrow, and she must catch the assassin.”
“Hmph, if she dares to let the army into the palace, the old woman will dare to die for her.”
“Empress Dowager, you can''t say it in front of the Queen, the Queen doesn''t believe in evil, if she really lets you die, you won''t be able to get down.”
“Do you think the old woman doesn''t dare to die?” The queen dowager said without good humor.
Jiang temple people busy snapped and said, “Dare to die, dare to die, the empress dares ...... anything However, the empress is also a person who dares to do anything ...... Empress Dowager, the villain should say all said, farewell.”
Jiang Temple people this mess, Cao Yang can no longer live, he said to the empress dowager, “Empress dowager, the palace I can not stay, if the army into the palace tomorrow, I want to go can not go.”
“How is your injury?” The Empress Dowager asked with concern.
“Can walk.”
“I''ll find a car and send you out of the city early tomorrow morning.”
“No, I''ll leave now.”
“Can it be done?” The Empress Dowager was still uneasy.
“I can''t cross the wall, but I can still climb the wall.”
“You can''t get out of the city even if you leave the palace, they are still catching you.”
“As long as there are ropes, the city walls can''t stop me.”
In the dead of night, Cao Yang took the rope and touched the courtyard wall of the harem, he skillfully pulled the rope and slid from the high palace wall to the outside of the palace, just as his feet landed on the ground, a familiar voice came from behind him, “Strong warrior Cao, we''ve been waiting for you for a long time.”
Cao Yang froze and looked back, Zhong Li Chun and a dozen soldiers armed with bows and arrows came out from the shadows. Cao Yang subconsciously drew his sword.
Zhong Li Chun said, “It''s useless, you can''t charge out, these archers are all a hundred shots, it''s better to put down your sword and tie your hands, in this way, you can still stay alive.”
Cao Yang looked at the soldiers holding bows and arrows aiming at him and smiled coldly, “Since I, Cao Yang, dared to assassinate the King of Qi, I have already seen death as a homecoming! Even if I can''t make a name for myself, I will never steal my life!”
As Cao Yang said, he violently raised his sword and stabbed himself in the abdomen.
Press: “Stir Up the Grass to Scare the Snake” is the thirteenth of the Thirty-six Stratagems, which has two meanings: first, when the enemy is not clear, use different means to “strike the grass” to scare the snake, and then eliminate it; second, it means that we should not act rashly against the hidden enemy, so as not to strike the grass to scare the snake, and let the enemy realize that the enemy is not aware of our intention, and put us in the position of the enemy. Sun Bin used the term “beat the grass” to scare the snake to move and then destroy it. Sun Bin used the plan of “Spooking the Snake” to find out where the assassin is and then startled him to move out and finally eliminated him. To know what happened next time, please read the next chapter: “Lure the Tiger Away from the Mountain”.