Chapter 17: Zhao Kuo's Mother

  As soon as they left the small courtyard, the red-clothed swordsman led Qin Yiren and his party straight to the palace of the King of Zhao.

  The red-clothed swordsmen were the personal bodyguards of King Zhao, known as "the top-notch insiders". They came to escort someone, and their intention was clear to everyone - it must be that King Zhao wanted to take action against Qin Yiren. The enmity between Qin and Zhao had become a matter of life and death, with each side determined to destroy the other. What's more, the state of Zhao had suffered a disastrous defeat at Changping, losing nearly all of its 500,000 elite troops. King Zhao's anger would surely be directed at Qin Yiren, and it was hard to predict whether he would live or die.

  Meng Zhao, Ma Gai and Fan Tong sneered with a smile: "Zhao dog only thought of us now, how stupid."

  The way they talk, it's as if they're fed up with living and can't wait to die.

  "We have fought on the battlefield, beheading countless Zhao dogs, only to regret missing the Battle of Changping, otherwise we would have beheaded even more Zhao dog heads, and it would have been worth dying for." The three were elite Qin soldiers, accustomed to life and death, not putting their lives at stake, chatting and laughing with ease.

  "Don't spout nonsense." Hei Bo sternly rebuked, "The King of Zhao is just inviting the young master as a guest, that's all."

  This is just a comfort, fearing that Qin Yi will not be able to withstand the blow.

  "Hei Bo is right," said Meng Zhao, Ma Ge and Fan Tong in unison, "Zhao Wang fears the mighty Qin army, he wants to invite Gongzi for a chat."

  "Master, don't worry, it's all right." Mo Er hastily comforted Qin Yiren.

  Qin Yiren forced a smile, his heart racing like fifteen buckets of water being lifted up and down. Although he hadn't seen King Zhao yet, Qin Yiren could already guess the king's intention - to kill him! He had barely managed to come back to life once, only to live for a few days before facing execution again. Wasn't this unjust?

  "Must think of a way to escape this calamity." Qin Yiren muttered to himself, but in this situation, what could he do?

  They soon arrived at the palace of the King of Zhao. Qin Yiren took a glance and saw that the palace was very large, with a solemn atmosphere, thousands of rooms, each one extraordinary, with intricate carvings and paintings on the beams. Rows of red-clad swordsmen stood guard in front of the palace, standing upright like spears, giving off an unshakeable feeling.

  "No wonder Zhao Guo can become Qin Guo's only strong enemy, it's indeed extraordinary!" Qin Yiren couldn't help but secretly praise.

  "Go to the morning hall." A eunuch came quickly, his small feet pattering, and shouted in a shrill voice that was extremely piercing.

  The red-clothed swordsman escorted Qin Yiren and his party straight to the imperial court.

  The auditorium is on your left, we will arrive soon.

  Qin Yiren heard from afar a wounded beast-like roar coming from the imperial court: "You old witch, it's all because of you, you didn't give birth to a good seed, you gave birth to an idiot!"

  The red-clothed swordsman who was escorting Qin Yiren shuddered, his face changed color, and he glanced at Qin Yiren with a gaze that showed pity.

  "This must be King Zhao." Qin Yiren's thoughts turned, and he knew that only King Zhao could shout so loudly in the imperial court.

  "Who is he scolding? And who is this old hag?" Qin Yiren didn't know which woman had enraged King Zhao to such an extent.

  As soon as he entered the imperial court, he saw that there were many people in the court, all the ministers of Zhao were present, each wearing magnificent clothes and decorations, but they were silent like cicadas in winter, their heads bowed low, not even daring to breathe.

  A middle-aged man, wearing a crown and royal robes, with a fierce expression, his face ashen, his features twisted, his eyes bulging like copper bells, glared at an elderly woman with grey hair, pointing and scolding her in front of her nose, cursing with abandon, spitting saliva onto the woman's face like a waterfall.

  "Is this Zhao Wang? How can he be so shameless?" Qin Yiren was shocked by what he saw.

  There is a saying that a king must have majesty and dignity, cannot be angry at will, and cannot show his emotions on his face. He should hide them deep in his heart. Like Zhao Xiao Cheng Wang, who was furious and scolded an old woman with such relish, it's truly rarely seen throughout history.

  "Zhao Kuo is so stupid, it's all because of you, you stupid sow gave birth to him, if he wasn't stupid before, he would be now, and the more he talks, the stupider he gets!" King Zhao Xiang scolded with increasing ferocity, his words becoming more and more unreasonable.

  "Oh, she's Zhao Kuo's mother." Qin Yiren became interested and looked her up and down with wide eyes.

  Zhao Kuo's mother was a remarkable person in Chinese history, with insight and a deep understanding of righteousness. Qin Yiren had no shortage of admiration for her.

  The heart of loving one's child is something everyone has. As a mother, she should be overjoyed if Zhao Kuo's official position became greater and greater, so that she could bring glory to her ancestors and feel proud. But instead, she stepped forward to stop him from becoming a general, which was a sacrifice made for the sake of the overall situation and for the benefit of the Zhao state.

  A woman so bright and just is rarely seen in Chinese history; such a mother, there is only one.

  Zhao Kuang's mother had hair as white as flowers, a pale complexion, red and swollen eyes, with tear stains on her face. Despite this, she still couldn't hide her elegant appearance, and must have been a great beauty in her youth.

  Changping suffered a crushing defeat, but who was the most miserable?

  Not Zhao Xiao Cheng Wang, but Zhao Kuo's mother.

  One is the pain of losing a child, tormenting her. As a mother, who wouldn't want their son to be safe? Zhao Kuang died from an arrow wound, losing her son, which was already enough to cause her heartache.

  Secondly, although Zhao Kuo is dead, his crime cannot be expunged. The 500,000 elite troops of Zhao were buried and lost in vain. What a great sin is this? From then on, the strong wind of Zhao disappeared, and Zhao was no longer a powerful enemy of Qin. All these are the crimes of Zhao Kuo. As a mother, having given birth to such a son, can she bear it in her heart?

  Three is Zhao Kuo's mother had long known that Zhao Kuo would defeat the army and capsize, for this she made every effort to stop Zhao Kuo from leading the troops into battle, but it was unsuccessful. From her heart, she wished he was wrong, the more wrong the better, however, fate played tricks on people, she happened to be right, and was absolutely correct. The Battle of Changping proved that Zhao Kuo only knew how to talk about military strategy on paper, but did not have the talent for commanding troops in battle.

  For all sorts of reasons, Zhao Kuang's mother was the one who suffered the most in this world.

  It just so happened that Zhao Xiaocheng wanted to take her as a punching bag, wanting to vent his anger on her, scolding her in the most unbearable way. The more unbearable it was, the more he scolded her. She hated it so much that she wished the sky would thunder and crack open a seam on the ground, so she could crawl into it.

  "This King Zhao is incapable of distinguishing right from wrong. Clearly it was his own fault, yet he actually blamed it on the mother of Zhao Kuo. Is there such a king as you?" Qin Yi Ren was secretly indignant.

  Zhao Kuo was appointed as the general, but his mother came out to stop him. However, King Zhao Xiao Cheng not only didn't listen, but also became more arrogant and insisted on appointing Zhao Kuo as the general. In the end, the mistake was King Zhao Xiao Cheng's, what does it have to do with Zhao Kuo's mother?

  "Woe is me!" Zhao Kuo's mother was extremely wronged, yet she had grievances that could not be expressed and injustices that could not be redressed, and all she could do was weep silently.

  "You cry, you cry, you're just crying to death, I won't spare this old hag!" Zhao Xiangong's anger grew even greater, and with a swift kick, he viciously kicked the chest of Zhao Kuo's mother.

  "Boom!" Zhao Kuo's mother rolled out far away like a rolling winter melon, her forehead cracked open and blood flowed freely.

  "I'll have your head!" Zhao Xiao Cheng Wang's anger was unrelenting, he drew his sword from his waist and charged forward in a rage, intending to behead Zhao Kuo's mother on the spot.

  "I've seen shameless people, but I've never seen anyone as shameless as this!" This matter had nothing to do with Qin Yiren, yet it stirred up his sense of justice, and he decided to speak up for Zhao Kuo's mother.

  "Halt!" Just then, a thunder-like voice rang out, extremely authoritative. A young general with an air of vigor and vitality burst in like a whirlwind.