Chapter 67 Chapter 66: Duke Zhao and Zhang Shi

One day in May of the second year of Jin Jianxing (314 A.D.), Zhang Gui, the governor of Liangzhou, died. After taking care of his father's funeral, Zhang Gui's son, Zhang Shi, formally sent someone to report to Emperor Jin Min in accordance with the etiquette.Due to its distance from the Central Plains and the rebellion of the Eight Kings in the Western Jin Dynasty, Liangzhou had already become an independent kingdom, but it was still subordinate to the Jin Dynasty in name. As the governor of Liangzhou, Zhang Shi was still a local official in the Western Jin Dynasty in name, but in fact he had become the lord of a country in Liangzhou.He not only likes to be arbitrary like other monarchs, but also has a different side, that is, he can correct his mistakes. He once ordered people to point out his mistakes frankly, and said that he would reward critics with varying amounts of cloth, silk and sheep.Because the politics of Qianliang is relatively enlightened, and the society is relatively stable compared with the Western Jin Dynasty, which was undergoing the Eight Kings Rebellion, and it was far away from the flames of war, so it accommodated a large number of people who had fled and gathered all kinds of people.

Liu Hong, a native of Jingzhao, also fled to Liangzhou.Liu Hong is an ambitious man who likes to play tricks on right and wrong. Yan Sha and Zhao Yin, Zhang Shi's subordinates, are Liu Hong's fellow villagers, and they were easily bribed by Liu Hong.In June of the third year of Jin Daxing (320 A.D.), Yan Sha and Zhao Yin, under Liu Hong's instigation, planned to murder Zhang Shi to usurp power.Zhang Shi's younger brother Zhang Mao told Zhang Shi the news, and Zhang Shi hurriedly sent Shi Chu, the gatekeeper of Yamen, to arrest Yan Sha and others.As soon as Shi Chu left Zhang Shi, Yan Sha entered the palace with a sharp sword in his arms, and stabbed Zhang Shi's heart with a knife. After a while, Zhang Shi stopped breathing.After his death, he was posthumously named "Gong Zhao".