Daming Super Dimension Company, President Zhu Yuanzhang!

The first year of Yanxi
Luoyang
North palace
After meeting Xiao Ran, Liu Zhi felt a little uneasy and could not help walking back and forth in the hall.

He suddenly stopped and called Tang Heng.

Tang Heng walked into the hall quickly and asked respectfully, "Your Majesty, what do you want?"

"You watch outside the hall later and don't let anyone disturb me while I'm reviewing the memorials." Liu Zhi instructed in a serious tone.

"Yes." Tang Heng was confused, but didn't say anything more.

After Tang Heng went out, he found a reason to arrange for the palace servants guarding outside the palace to do something.

Not long after, two figures appeared in the hall.

Liu Zhi was about to speak when Liu Bang gave him a look that frightened him to the spot. After a moment, he stepped forward with a little trepidation, "Greetings, ancestor!"

"If you want to kill Liang Ji, then cut the Gordian knot. Hold a banquet tonight and invite all the Liang family members to the palace." After looking at him coldly, Liu Bang said in a deep voice.

"That's great!" Liu Zhi was immediately surprised, his eyes full of excitement.

Since ascending the throne, Liu Zhi often dreamed of killing Liang Ji. He thought it would take some time for the ancestor to come, but he didn't expect it to happen so quickly.

Liu Bang waved his hand and said, "Go down and arrange the banquet."

"I'll go right away." Liu Zhi said seriously, suppressing his emotions.

Then, Liu Bang looked at Xiao Ran, "The Liang family occupies many official positions in the court. If we kill them, will there be any ministers that can be used temporarily?"

"Of course there are."

"But the palace is full of Liang Ji's people. It's a bit difficult to arrange manpower without alerting him."

Xiao Ran was a little curious about how Liu Bang wanted to solve this problem.

"I'm sorry to trouble you for this. I plan to let Liu Ying try to take care of this matter," said Liu Bang.

Xiao Ran raised his eyebrows and didn't refuse to help. After all, he had to be paid.

"No problem, how can I cooperate?"

"Don't rush to talk about it. Wait until Liu Zhi comes back."

Liu Bang continued, "First, tell me about the ministers who can be used."

After thinking for a while, Xiao Ran first named one person, "Emperor Huang Qiong."

"Huang Qiong's father was the famous official Huang Xiang. Huang Qiong was initially appointed as the Prince's attendant because of his father's relationship, but he refused to take the position due to illness. Even after Huang Xiang passed away, Huang Qiong still refused to take the position for several years. It was not until the second year of Yongjian that someone reported that he was disrespectful to the emperor, and Huang Qiong had to respond to the call."

"Huang Qiong was appointed as a counselor and soon promoted to Shangshu Pushe. When disasters occurred in the country, Huang Qiong wrote a letter to remind Emperor Shun of Han to inspect officials, select good policies, and advocate frugality. He was then given an important position."

"In the first year of Heping, Huang Qiong gave lectures to Emperor Huan of Han, Liu Zhi. After Liu Zhi ascended the throne, Huang Qiong was promoted to Sikong. Liu Zhi wanted to favor General Liang Ji, but Huang Qiong advised him not to reward him more than Liang Ji's virtues. Liu Zhi accepted his advice. Liang Ji therefore bore a grudge and dismissed him from his post because of an earthquake. Later, he was reinstated."

"At this time, Huang Qiong should be dismissed again due to the solar eclipse."

Although he was the emperor's teacher, he was dismissed several times in a row.

Xiao Ran shook his head, feeling somewhat sympathetic towards Huang Qiong.

"In the second year of Yanxi, Liang Ji was executed. Huang Qiong was appointed as the Grand Commandant again and was granted the title of Marquis of Xiang, with a fief of 1,000 households. Soon, he declined the position six or seven times due to illness, and finally got Liu Zhi's approval."

"But in the fourth year of Yanxi, Huang Qiong was dismissed again because of harassment by bandits. He was soon appointed as Sikong again, but then an earthquake occurred and he was dismissed again."

"..."

Liu Bang was speechless.

“Why are there so many dismissals?”

Xiao Ran said subconsciously, "He is sick!"

"He himself was a good-for-nothing, and he would not listen to other people's advice. He would be dismissed from office after writing a letter of advice, and would be recalled to work when something happened." "During Liu Zhi's reign, dismissal from office was as common as eating and drinking."

His face instantly turned dark. At this moment, Liu Bang didn't want to admit that it was his descendants who were being scolded.

"What happened to Huang Qiong in the end?"

"In the seventh year of Yan Xi, Huang Qiong was seriously ill. Before his death, he gave advice and stated the grievances of Li Gu, Du Qiao, Li Yun, Du Zhong and others. He also impeached Shangshu Zhou Yong for being a member of Liang Ji's party when Liang Ji was in power, but for leaving him and defecting to the court when Liang Ji lost power." Xiao Ran said.

Huang Qiong was dismissed from office many times, but he was still thinking about the court until his death, which can be said to be a very dedicated and responsible person.

This is also the reason why Xiao Ran took the initiative to mention him.

Liu Bang frowned. "Except for Li Gu and Du Qiao, what injustices did the people he mentioned have?"

Xiao Ran sighed and spoke slowly, "At that time, the Five Marquises were in power, and Liu Zhi was publicly rewarding the then Queen's mother's family. There were frequent disasters in the country. Li Yun was worried about the people, so he wrote a letter to persuade them, saying that the Five Marquises were not worthy of their positions and that direct criticism of the Emperor was not good enough. Liu Zhi was furious and ordered him to be killed. Du Zhong and others submitted a memorial, thinking that honest advice was unpleasant to the ear, and wanted to plead for mercy, but Liu Zhi simply killed them all."

Liu Zhi happened to return to the hall, a smile appeared on his face, "The banquet is already being prepared."

"Kneel down!" Anger surged in his heart and Liu Bang shouted harshly.

"Ancestor, what's wrong?" Liu Zhi was at a loss and didn't react, and asked in confusion.

Liu Bang raised his hand and slapped Liu Zhi on the head, cursing, "Idiot!"

"You don't listen to my advice! You treat the court as a joke. How can I have descendants like you in my future generations?"

He lost his balance and fell to the ground. Liu Zhi's mind was blank for a long time before he came to his senses.

"Grandfather, why do you say that?!"

"Li Gu and Du Qiao are being slandered, don't you know?" Xiao Ran mocked.

"Even if you don't know, you've dismissed people from office many times just because they wrote letters to you to advise you. You can't deny this, right?"

Liu Zhi was angry. "Mr. Xiao, don't talk nonsense. Those ministers don't understand my difficulties. They are only good at talking on paper. I am merciful by not chopping off their heads!"

"What is the relationship between Solar Eclipse and Imperial Preceptor Huang Qiong?" Xiao Ran asked with a sneer.

Liu Zhi said in a deep voice, "This matter has nothing to do with me. It was all done by Liang Ji."

"It turns out that it's because Huang Qiong often advises you that you're unhappy and just go with the flow." Xiao Ran exposed Liu Zhi's lie with just one sentence.

Huang Qiong was able to compete with Liang Ji in the court for a long time. If Liu Zhi had supported him, he would not have been dismissed so many times.

Liu Zhi looked grim and a little guilty, but he still gritted his teeth and refused to admit it.

"This matter has nothing to do with me."

Xiao Ran looked at him with a half-smile, "I know the past and the future. After Liang Ji died, you did the same thing several times, causing many celebrities to be unwilling to work for the court."

"It's stupid of them to not want to be officials," Liu Zhi said with disdain.

Liu Bang could no longer bear it and beat Liu Zhi immediately.

"It is a disgrace to the Han Dynasty that the world's famous scholars are unwilling to serve you!"

As an emperor who was despised like this, Xiao Ran didn't understand how Liu Zhi had the nerve to be so arrogant.

Liu Bang's attack was extremely severe, and he blocked Liu Zhi's mouth, leaving him no chance to make a sound.

Xiao Ran, who was watching the show on the spot, did not feel the slightest sympathy, and a look of gloating flashed in his eyes.

After beating Liu Zhi so hard that he couldn't get up, Liu Bang finally stopped and said coldly, "Prepare the banquet well and wait for me to come back."

Liu Zhi gasped in pain and nodded hurriedly, "I will definitely prepare well!" (End of this chapter)