The ministers begged me to ascend the throne

"Uncle, you should think about it carefully." The King of Dai had never thought of rebellion, which was a heinous act. No matter how arrogant and domineering he was, he would not be so bold as to think of rebellion. "Uncle, don't be impulsive. After all, this is a matter of exterminating the entire clan."

Xuanping Hou looked at the King of Dai and asked, "Your Highness, are you afraid?"

"Uncle, aren't you afraid?" He was brave, but not so bold as to rebel.

Xuanping Hou suddenly smiled and said, "Don't be afraid. If you don't succeed, you will die. Sometimes you have to push yourself."

"Uncle, we are not so desperate that we have to rebel." The King of Dai usually acted impulsively, but he would never be impulsive in this matter.

"Your Highness, once the King of Yue's collusion with the King of Han in rebellion is exposed, you will be eliminated by the Emperor, and you will always be suspected by the Emperor. You should be able to imagine what kind of life you will live in the future." Xuanping Hou's expression became very calm. "In the end, you will still take the path of rebellion. If so, why don't you rebel now?"

King Dai felt that what Marquis Xuanping said made some sense, but he did not agree immediately.

"Uncle, this matter is of great importance. You and I both need to consider it carefully."

"Your Highness, three days at most." Xuanping Hou said in a serious tone, "Time waits for no one."

"I understand." King Dai saw that Xuanping Hou was determined to rebel at this time, and persuaded him, "Uncle, go back and think about it carefully."

Marquis Xuanping said nothing more, turned around and left.

After Marquis Xuanping left, King Dai's face became very ugly.

"Is uncle crazy?"

Fu Zhong, who was standing aside, was also frightened by Marquis Xuanping's words of rebellion. "Your Highness, it seems like the Marquis really wants to..." Fu Zhong didn't dare to say the word "rebellion".

"It seems that my uncle has had this idea in his mind for a long time."

Fu Zhong was surprised and said, "Didn't the Marquis want to cooperate with the King of Yue because he heard that His Royal Highness the King of Han was colluding with him..."

"No, my brother's cooperation with the fifth brother finally gave my uncle a legitimate excuse." If my uncle had not been thinking about rebellion for a long time, it would be impossible for him to think of rebellion after hearing that my brother and the fifth brother were working together. "What I don't understand is why my uncle wants to rebel. My father has been very kind to him."

"Your Highness, I think the Marquis did this for you."

King Dai was very clear-headed: "Not only for me, but also for myself, and more importantly for the Yu family."

"Isn't it for the Yu family, and not for you?" The Yu family is the maternal family of King Dai. Marquis Xuanping is doing it for the Yu family, and it is also for Your Highness.

“It’s different. Although the Yu family is my mother’s family, I am a member of the Zhao family.”

"Your Highness, the Yu family is your backer."

King Dai waved his hand and asked Fu Zhong to leave. He needed to be alone and quiet.

Fu Zhong withdrew respectfully and told others not to disturb King Dai.

At this time, in the Palace of the King of Han, Zhao Yao had already learned that the King of Yue had colluded with the King of Han to rebel, and he also knew that the Marquis of Xuanping had instigated the King of Dai to take the opportunity to rebel.

"Your Highness, do you want to persuade the King of Dai?"

Zhao Yao waved his hands and said, "Why bother trying to persuade him? If he doesn't want to rebel, he will firmly oppose it. If he wants to rebel, no one can persuade him."

Tongxi asked curiously, "Your Highness, do you think the King of Dai will rebel?"

"I don't think so now. He should be very scared and a little excited at the same time. If he really rebels at this time, there is a 50% chance of success. If he doesn't rebel, he doesn't know how likely he is to sit on the throne."

"So, the King of Dai finally decided to give it a try?"

"That depends on how tempting the throne is to him." Zhao Yao raised a playful smile, "How many people in this world can resist the temptation of the throne?"

"Your Highness, can you resist it?" The Emperor offered the throne to Your Highness, but Your Highness was unwilling to sit on it.

"There are not many smart people like me in this world." Zhao Yao ordered, "Tell them to prepare for the King's rebellion."

"Your Highness, do you think the King of Dai will still rebel?"

Zhao Yao said firmly: "Even if he is hesitant now, the people around him will keep persuading him to rebel, and he will rebel in three days." Besides, Myna would not allow the King of Dai not to rebel.

Tongxi suddenly thought of something and said in astonishment, "Your Highness, if the King of Dai rebels, then the three of you will be in trouble this time." He held up three fingers, "The King of Dai, the King of Yue, and the King of Han."

"Originally there was only the King of Han, but now there are indeed three." Zhao Yao said nonchalantly, "The King of Dai and the King of Yue are seeking their own death, what can we do?" Myna has a really good plan, taking advantage of this rebellion to get rid of three people at once.

"Then that leaves King Jing, His Royal Highness the King of Chu, and His Royal Highness the King of Wei."

"After King Han and his men are done with their suicidal deeds, King Jing will be next." Zhao Yao guessed that something would happen to King Jing before he got married. After he got married and left the capital, Eighth Brother would focus on dealing with Fourth Brother. Fourth Brother was no match for Eighth Brother, who was shrewd and calculating. Fortunately, Eighth Brother promised him that he would not kill Fourth Brother.

"Is it so exciting?" Tongxi said this, but his face showed anticipation. "Is it His Royal Highness the King of Chu or His Royal Highness the King of Wei who will deal with King Jing?"

"Myna."

"By the way, Your Highness, should we tell the Emperor about the King of Yue and the King of Dai?"

"I received the news, which means that the emperor has already learned about it." The Dragon Guards spread the news very quickly. Besides, he didn't believe that the emperor didn't arrange spies around the second and ninth brothers.

"The emperor should be very angry." In Tongxi's opinion, the emperor has always loved Prince Dai the most, but he did not expect that Prince Dai wanted to rebel.

"Who knows?" Maybe all this was expected by the emperor. Sometimes, the emperor was really kind, but sometimes, he was really cruel. "Your Highness, do you want to go to the palace to accompany the emperor?"

Zhao Yao rolled his eyes at Tong Xi, and then said unhappily, "Why should I go to the palace to accompany him?"

"The Emperor might be sad."

"Tongxi, are you crazy?" Zhao Yao pointed at the door and said bluntly, "Go out and hit your head against it to get the water out of your brain."

Tongxi didn't dare to say anything, so he retreated obediently, then obediently banged his head against the pillar.

The emperor, who was thought by Tongxi to be sad and angry, played chess with He Xiang calmly. As for the fact that the King of Yue colluded with the King of Han to rebel, he had already known about it. He also knew that the Marquis of Xuanping persuaded the King of Dai to rebel.

"Your Majesty, the Yu family is your maternal family." Prime Minister He reminded the emperor.

The emperor played with the chess piece in his hand and said with a smile: "So?"

"Your Majesty, are you sure you want to deal with Marquis Xuanping?"

"I didn't want to deal with him, but he wanted to rebel against me. He wanted to die, how can you blame me?" The emperor said, "Even if he is from my mother's family, if he threatens the country of the Great Zhou, even if my mother is still alive, I will not show mercy."

He Xiang was not surprised to hear what the emperor said.

The emperor is sober and cold.

"Your Majesty, you will be accused of being heartless if you do this."

The emperor sneered and said, "Do I care? If I cared, I wouldn't have let my sons fight each other all these years." The emperor knew that many ministers thought he was too cruel because of this incident. "What I care about is the people of this world."

"To the people of the world, Your Majesty is a wise ruler." It is precisely because of this that He Xiang and his people follow the emperor wholeheartedly. Even if the emperor is willful and comes back again, they are willing to help him. "But to the princes, you are a cold-blooded and ruthless father."

The emperor also knew that he was not a good father, and said helplessly: "I am the emperor of the Great Zhou first, and then their father. I can only be a good emperor, and I don't have the energy to be a good father."

"Your Majesty, if His Royal Highness the Prince of Han's mother's family is also a noble family, will you still pass the throne to him?" Only Prime Minister He dared to ask the emperor so directly.

"I will still pass the throne to him, but before that, I will let him deal with his mother's family first." The emperor narrowed his eyes slightly, with a cold light flashing in his eyes. "I promised the late emperor that I would never allow the aristocratic families to disrupt the court and harm the people again. I will never let the aristocratic families dominate the court again. Before I die, I will deal with all the aristocratic families and make them disappear forever." This is why the emperor let his sons fight each other.

Whether it was the former crown prince, the King of Dai, or the King of Chu, they were all from aristocratic families or noble families. The emperor let his sons fight each other, but in fact, he wanted to let the maternal families behind his sons fight each other, so that they would both suffer losses, and then he would catch them all in one fell swoop.

"You also know that the reason why the late emperor and I established the Great Zhou was not for ourselves, but for the people of the world." The emperor was serious for the first time. "Back then, we were bullied by the aristocratic families and nobles, and lived a life worse than death. After that, the world was in chaos, and we had to rise up in rebellion in order to survive. Over the years, the only people who really helped us were the poor people, and the aristocratic families helped us only because it was profitable."

The emperor continued, "I still remember those people saying that they hope that ordinary people can become emperors in the future. Only such emperors can help the people and the people can live a good life. I don't know what my descendants will be like in the future, but I have to fulfill my promise to those who helped us."

He Xiang also thought of those righteous men back then, "Your Majesty, you have never broken your promise to them."

"I chose Xiao Shi because, first, his mother's family is not from an aristocratic family, second, he always cares about the people, third, he is capable, and fourth, he will teach his son well and will not let the Great Zhou be destroyed in his son's hands. By this calculation, the Great Zhou will not be in chaos within a hundred years."

He Xiang didn't expect that the emperor would think so far ahead, even thinking within a hundred years.

"Only His Royal Highness the Prince of Han can fulfill your expectations, Your Majesty."

"I have never thought of letting the Great Zhou Dynasty last for a thousand years. I only hope that we, the Zhao family, can let the people of the world live a peaceful life for a hundred years or more." The emperor didn't even think about two hundred years.

"I believe that His Royal Highness the King of Han can do it."

"I believe it too." The emperor said with a smile, "Before I hand over the country to him, I will first deal with all the aristocratic families and nobles, so that after he ascends the throne, he can concentrate on benefiting the people and creating a prosperous Zhou Dynasty."

"Your Majesty, you are reluctant to let His Royal Highness the Prince of Han offend the aristocratic families and nobles." He Xiang said, "Your Majesty, have you ever thought that if you do this, you will leave a reputation of being mean and ungrateful in the history books? You will also be scolded by people in the future."

"Do I care?" The emperor didn't care about his reputation at all. "I don't have a good reputation now. As for being scolded by people in the future, I can't hear it. Let them scold me as much as they want."

He Xiang also knew that the emperor didn't care about these things, and neither did they.

"I only want to have a clear conscience when doing things. As for the rest, I don't care." If an emperor cares too much about his reputation, he is doomed to not be a good emperor. Even if he leaves a reputation of a tyrant or a fool in history books in the future, he doesn't care, because he knows that he has not let the people down.

"The emperor is open-minded."

"I have always been open-minded."

Prime Minister He brought the topic back and continued to talk about how to deal with the King of Dai's impending rebellion.

"Your Majesty, His Royal Highness the Prince of Wei is behind all this. How do you plan to deal with him?"

"He is a good sword, and I will use him." The emperor's tone was emotionless, as if His Royal Highness the Prince of Wei was not his biological son, but an insignificant person. "Don't worry, he won't cause any trouble."

"Your Majesty, His Royal Highness the Prince of Wei is very cunning and has very powerful means. Do you think His Royal Highness the Prince of Han can be his opponent?" Prime Minister He said with a worried look on his face. "His Royal Highness the Prince of Wei is too sinister. Are you sure he won't stir up trouble?"

The emperor smiled at Prime Minister He in a consoling manner: "He won't live for many years."

When Prime Minister He heard this, his eyes widened in surprise, and then he understood the profound meaning of the emperor's words.

"In that case, I am relieved."

"He also knew that he would not live for many more years, so he planned this rebellion." (End of this chapter)