I am not a deposed emperor of Han Dynasty

Not long after the messenger arrived, he brought back Zhang Anshi's reply.

Liu Bing had ordered his soldiers to retreat fifty steps, and then led ten of his followers to the gate of the Gaomiao.

Now, the open space in front of the Gaomiao gate is full of arrow clusters and corpses.

Liu Bing had already looked at the soldiers who were scattered in various directions, and he was filled with emotions.

After a long time, he took his eyes away from the corpse and fell on the high temple again.

Gaomiao is in the middle, with Taejongmyo and Sejongmyo on both sides.

Any one of the three temples looks a bit dwarfed against the backdrop of Changle Palace and Mingguang Palace on both sides.

Liu Bing has discovered that this is his first time here.

When he lived in Chang'an City, Liu Bing was still young, so he would not take the initiative to come to this solemn and lifeless place.

Later, when he arrived at the Protectorate of the Western Regions, he wanted to pay homage to his ancestors, but the emperor did not give him this opportunity because of suspicion.

Liu Bing would never have thought that he would come to Gaomiao in this situation.

He stood quietly for a moment before the courtyard door slowly opened.

Zhang Anshi hurriedly walked out, escorted by Yang Yun and more than a dozen domestic slaves.

The former still maintained his composure, while the others were as frightened as if they were mourning their concubines.

"I would like to send my regards to you, Mr. Zhang Mansion." Liu Bing saluted respectfully and said.

"I cannot afford this great gift from the Protector of the Western Regions." Zhang Anshi said coldly.

"Mr. Zhang has committed evil deeds that cannot be tolerated by heaven and earth, and he has reached the point of desperation. Please consider the common people in the world and don't resist any longer."

Liu Bing had already said this and looked pointedly at the soldiers lying on the ground. It would be a good thing to save a few people from dying.

"You are a scoundrel who only seeks glory, but you are worthy of chatting with me. How ridiculous!" Zhang Anshi's beard and hair were messy, but he still looked like a prime minister.

Liu Bing was no longer ashamed because of Zhang Anshi's words. We were all heroes, so how could we be so easily convinced by words?

"Who is the master? What is the servant? Does Mr. Zhang regard me as the domestic slaves behind you?"

"I am the Protector of the Western Regions with two thousand stones personally appointed by the county magistrate. I am a Han nobleman who lives in a city with thousands of households. I am the emperor of Gao..."

"Descendants!" After Liu Bing finished speaking, he looked at the Gaomiao behind Zhang Anshi.

"Mr. Zhang can say that I am scheming, or that my city is deep, but he can never say that I am a traitor to others for glory."

Zhang Anshi was already a little sad and angry, and wanted to curse Liu Bing a few words to express the bad anger in his heart.

But now I was choked to the point that I couldn't say a word.

"Back then, Mr. Bing and my brother should not have saved you. It would have been better for you to die in prison..." Zhang Anshi squeezed out these words with some viciousness.

"Bing Gong and Zhang Gong saved me, I will never forget it, but I will not compromise justice just to repay personal favor." Liu Bing no longer felt ashamed.

"Justice? Is it your justice to destroy a great family? It's simply ridiculous!" Zhang Anshi stared at his cloudy eyes and cursed, looking like he was crazy.

"I am not a doctor, and I don't want to argue with you about such trivial matters. If you want to debate the scriptures and dismiss the slaves behind you, someone will naturally debate the scriptures with you."

Zhang Anshi understood who the person Liu Bing had been talking about was.

The person who is number one in debating scriptures in the world is of course the Emperor.

"What if I don't agree?" Zhang Anshi asked provocatively, and Yang Yun behind him also straightened his back.

"A big family will only shed more blood!" After Liu Bing finished speaking, he did not give Zhang Anshi a chance to fight back, but waved to his followers behind him.

More than a dozen personal followers came forward one by one and neatly arranged the wooden boxes in their hands between themselves and Zhang Anshi.

"Open the wooden box and let Mr. Zhang and Yang Gongren recognize it."

"only!"

The wooden boxes on the ground were opened one by one, and they were all full of human heads, and they were the heads of Zhang Anshi's acquaintances.

Wei Xian, Bingxian, Zhang Anshi's three sons, several of Wei Xian's grandchildren, and the rest of the aristocratic families...

Every "person" opened their eyes wide, looking at Zhang Anshi and Yang Yun in horror and surprise.

Zhang Anshi recognized the three sons at a glance. He felt a heavy blow on his chest, his blood was blocked, and his eyes went black.

If Yang Yun hadn't been holding him up behind him, Zhang Anshi would have fallen to the ground immediately.

"You are so clever!" Zhang Anshi raised his hand and pointed at Liu Bingji tremblingly.

"It's not my tricks, it's the county magistrate's foresight." Liu Bing already replied calmly.

"As expected, the county magistrate hid well and acted well, hahaha!" Zhang Anshi pushed Yang Yun away, bowed his hands to the west, and laughed desolately.

"If you accept surrender now, you can die a more pleasant death." Liu Bing already persuaded him to surrender again.

"Humph!" Zhang Anshi suddenly put away his smile and regained his composure, his eyes full of determination, "Surrender!? Dreaming! If you have the guts, just attack in!"

"Does Mr. Zhang want this high temple to be implicated in the fire of war? Wouldn't that be adding more mistakes to mistakes!?" Liu Bingjie's eyes were filled with murderous intent.

"The Gaomiao is the ancestral temple of the Liu family. Since I am already a traitor and traitor today, what does the Liu family's ancestral temple have to do with me? If you are brave enough, come and kill me!"

Looking at Zhang Anshi who was getting more and more crazy, Liu Bing already wanted to scold him again, but before he could speak, a high-pitched shout came from behind him.

"The Emperor has arrived!"

"The Emperor has arrived!"

"The Emperor has arrived!"

The shouts suddenly rang out, and Zhang Anshi and Liu Bingwei were stunned for a moment. Both of them swayed a little, but in the end they both stood firm and did not kneel down.

Soon, the patrolling pavilion not far away made way, and the emperor's tall carriage came slowly and stopped nearby.

Then, under the escort of Liang Shichang Yilang, the emperor and his attendant Fan Ke walked over resolutely.

Liu Bing hadn't seen his uncle for a long time, and thinking about the past, he felt a little overwhelmed.

When Liu He came to his side, Liu Bing could no longer hold back and knelt down.

"My nephew wishes the Emperor well." Liu Bing already said.

"Be flat."

"No!" Liu Bing stood up.

Liu He looked at Liu Bing's weather-beaten face and nodded with satisfaction.

"You and I haven't seen each other for many years, right?" Liu He said with a smile.

"Seventeen years."

"After this matter is over, come back to Chang'an City. Prime Minister Liu will take over as the Protector of the Western Regions, and you will come back as Da Honglu!"

"In addition, Haihun Kingdom is too far away, so I changed the title to Shanyang Marquis. It is just on the edge of Changyi Kingdom and closer to Chang'an."

"It will be much more convenient to move around the palace then."

"Also, in September this year, bring your son to worship at the three temples and donate gold."

Liu He's voice was calm, but Liu Bing's chest was already filled with ups and downs.

Liu Bing already understood what the emperor's words meant.

The circles under his eyes were a little hot, and everything he had done before was worth it.

Liu Bing already knew that the emperor had doubts about him, and this doubt could not be dispelled by confessing his doubts in a few memorials.

He had to prove his loyalty to the emperor himself in order to dispel the latter's concerns.

Liu Bing had personally led an army to Chang'an. He could have taken advantage of the chaos to raise prices, or he could have done evil things with Zhang Anshi.

But in the end, he gave up this opportunity in front of the people of Chang'an, in front of the court officials, and in front of the emperor.

He devoted himself wholeheartedly to countering the rebellion for the emperor, regardless of gains or losses.

This is the best way for Liu Bing to prove his loyalty. Liu Bing already wanted to tell the emperor: "I have the opportunity to get involved in the big position, but I won't do it."

At this time when he was most likely to get involved in the throne, Liu Bing had not done this, and he would not do it in the future.

The Liu family's children are related by blood, and the emperor saw his painstaking efforts.

Liu Bingji's eye circles turned red, and the grievances and hardships he had suffered for more than ten years disappeared at this moment.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Liu He didn't say much, just nodded, and then walked forward and came to Zhang Anshi.

He did not lean over rashly, but stopped more than ten steps away and looked at Zhang Anshi across the head.

Liu He looked at the heads on the ground, and after confirming the identities of everyone inside, he looked up at Zhang Anshi.

"Mr. Zhang, I haven't seen you for a few days. You have become much older." Liu He said lightly.

"Your Majesty looks better. Is the injury...healed?" Zhang Anshi asked calmly.

Liu He did not immediately answer Zhang Anshi's question, but took off the white bandage from his neck.

The scar under the bandage was fresh pink, but it had stopped bleeding and seemed to have healed long ago.

"Your Majesty is so good at tricking old ministers into running around." Zhang Anshi sighed, feeling helpless and self-deprecating.

"Mr. Zhang also hides a lot of things from me, right?"

"Your Majesty, I'm afraid you already understood it when you came here, so why bother asking more?" Zhang Anshi said with a smile.

"I want an answer so as not to kill the wrong person." Liu He asked again.

"Then ask, Your Majesty."

"Did you send someone to assassinate me?"

"Yes"

"Is it a witchcraft thing that you sent someone to plant?"

"Yes."

"Did you contact King Guangling to rebel?"

"Yes."

"Did you contact the noble families and the governors of the counties to cause the Huo bandit rebellion?"

"Yes."

"Did you order Zhang Pengzu to commit rebellion in the Western Region Protectorate and trick the emperor's eldest son Zhe into leaving Wulei City without permission?"

"Yes!"

"Did you...did you plan this chaos in Chang'an?"

"Yes!"

The monarch and his ministers asked and answered questions without any pause or interruption.

The emperor who asked the question did not show much anger, and Zhang Anshi who answered did not seem to be resentful.

In front of the high temple gate filled with dead bodies, amidst the pungent smell of gunpowder smoke, the two of them were very calm - just as calm as a monarch and his ministers usually playing each other.

Zhang Anshi shouldered all the charges without any evasion.

Finally, Liu He asked the last question.

"Why do this?"

"Mencius said that the people are the most valuable, the country is second, and the king is the least." Zhang Anshi remained calm.

"Can you, aristocratic and wealthy families, represent the people?" Liu He said with some disdain.

"Scholars, farmers, industry and commerce, scholars are the first among the four peoples. The hearts of the aristocratic families are of course the people's hearts." Zhang Anshi said without changing his expression.

"I should have explained this issue clearly in the front hall more than ten years ago when Old Woman Zhang and Liu De competed..."

"Many people understood it at that time, and Mr. Zhang cried bitterly, saying over and over again that he understood what I meant..."

"I also want to ask Mr. Zhang, was he trying to deal with me at the time? Or did he do this evil thing because he gained new insights later?"

Liu He's hands behind his back clenched into fists.

"At that time, the veteran naturally understood and understood His Majesty's painstaking efforts... But the veteran did not expect that His Majesty would insist on it for more than ten years, and would even make Liu Zhe the crown prince."

"Then I also understand. You have been waiting for me to make a big move soon, hoping that the new king will ascend the throne, and then change all the new policies and let the great man return to his past."

At this time, the wind happened to pick up.

The cold wind blew by, causing Zhang Anshi's messy hair and beard to fly up and down, like dead branches and grass in the wind, making him look even more haggard.

Then, this veteran who had been at the center for decades gave his answer in one sentence: "Yes, why doesn't Your Majesty die earlier?"

Liu He deliberately put on an expression of sudden enlightenment, as if he had fully understood the mystery at this moment.

"Fan Ke, have you written down all these words?"

"Write it down."

"When you write history books in the future, you must write down today's memorial between me and Duke Zhang, without changing a single word."

"I respect your orders."

After Liu He finished explaining to Fan Ke behind him, his eyes fell on Zhang Anshi again.

"Since ancient times, no one has died, and his loyal heart will be remembered in history. Don't worry, Mr. Zhang, I will not keep silent about today's chaos. Everyone in the world will know what happened today..."

"My merits and demerits will naturally be left to future generations to judge." Liu He said seriously.

"If Your Majesty can do this, I will be relieved to leave." Zhang Anshi said with a smile, as if the stone in his heart was finally put down.

"Is Mr. Zhang willing to surrender without mercy?" Liu He asked again.

"Your Majesty, I am afraid that today is the swansong of a large family. Since I am the leader of a large family, how can I be captured and humiliated in prison?"

For Zhang Anshi, surrendering at this moment is not the most honorable ending.

He wanted to use this high temple to fight to the death and leave a thought to the wealthy family.

Liu He only felt funny in his heart, and even more pathetic.

Zhang Anshi wanted to use a fierce fight to bring this conspiracy to a conclusion.

Once he died heroically in battle, Zhang Anshi would become a martyr of the noble family. From then on, he would be remembered for generations and become a model for the noble family to remember.

In this way, he can plant a spark for the remaining aristocratic families.

This little calculation is very loud.

But Liu He would not give him this opportunity.

"Although I despise Mr. Zhang's choice, I also admire it!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty." After Zhang Anshi said this, he turned around and prepared to return to Gaomiao.

Halfway through the journey, Zhang Anshi suddenly stopped again, turned around and saluted the emperor.

"Your Majesty, Zhang Jieyu and the two princes are not involved in this matter. Your Majesty, please check carefully."

"I know, you don't have to worry about this."

"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"

Zhang Anshi said no more and retreated into the Gaomiao with Yang Yun and others who wanted to die together.

The gate of the high temple slowly closed again, and the final fight seemed inevitable. (End of chapter)