The former is not mentioned, it is just a personal habit. If we observe it from the perspective of a national hero, he is naturally outspoken and has a heroic character. The key is the latter.

When Zong Ze took the imperial examination, he started by speaking up for the treacherous official Cai Que. In the end, he got the lowest rank and his career was ruined. The reason why he was able to become a judge later was because of the promotion and care of another treacherous official Lu Huiqing...

Therefore, if he really succeeded in retiring at the age of sixty, and then died of illness in the martial arts world or lived a leisurely life in the countryside, he would just be a remnant of a traitor in the corner of a history book. Even if he was allowed to appear in a time-travel novel and be fantasized about, he would probably be portrayed as a villain, and might even be exiled to Lingnan to satisfy the readers.

However, after all the hardships, who could have imagined that when faced with the destruction of his country, it would be such an old man with a very bad image who would stand up, save the country from ruin, and devote his life to the cause until his death?

"Then this old minister won't be shy about anything..." Zong Ze continued to talk slowly.

"That's why I came here." Zhao Jiu said seriously. "If you have any request, I will definitely agree to it."

"Just three things." Zong Ze sighed slightly.

Everyone held their breath.

“My son does not have any talent, but he is my son after all, so he always has selfish motives. The reason why I have not appointed him to an official position is not because I want to show off, but because I have controlled all the people in the Tokyo Garrison. If I appoint him to an official position early and give him a status, I am afraid he will have other thoughts... I hope the emperor will deal with it properly after my death.” Zong Rulin pointed at his son beside him and said, the latter could not hold back and burst into tears on the spot when he heard it.

This wasn't a threat, but rather a standard entrustment of the orphan to one's care. After hearing this, most of the people who were a little nervous before felt relieved, and as Zong Ying shed tears, they seemed a little sad... After all, it was an old minister who was entrusting the orphan to one's care.

However, Zhao Jiu was obviously stunned. It was not only because he did not receive the expected challenge, but also because he heard some other meanings in Zong Ze's words.

"Your Majesty, please don't disbelieve me." Seeing this, Zong Ze raised his hand and pointed at a person at the opposite table. "Wang Shan, come out and tell the emperor about your favorite saying when you were drunk, 'The rich and the poor, the noble and the humble'..."

Upon hearing this, Wang Shan hurriedly stood up and kowtowed to Zhao Jiu and Zong Ze. It was unknown whether he was frightened or sad after seeing Zong Ze's attitude today, but when he raised his head again, he was crying and said nothing.

"I have heard what Lord Wang said before, and I quite agree with it." Zhao Jiu came to his senses, but he sat upright and responded with a serious face. "In this chaotic world, it is indeed time to redefine the rich and the poor, the noble and the humble... But Lord Wang, there are two ways to redefine the noble and the poor. One is to rebel against loyalty and righteousness, to fall into depravity, to create chaos, to demand without limit, and then to cause trouble in vain; the other is to follow the general trend, like Lord Zong, who is determined to rule the country with one heart, which is the way to settle the chaos and bring peace to the people, and to gain fame... Lord Zong specifically pointed you out today, not to flatter you, but to let me take care of you in the future. It is for your own good, you must understand."

Wang Shan walked in directly from outside the city without taking off his armor. He could only kowtow to the two men repeatedly in the hall.

Zong Ze, however, became a little impatient when he saw this. He just waved his hand and continued to speak to the emperor: "You are smart, just wake up... Then the second thing is about the Tokyo garrison. I hope that the emperor will properly place them in consideration of their contributions to the country."

"This is inevitable." Zhao Jiu responded immediately.

In fact, Zhao Jiu came to his senses at the beginning. Zong Ze was not concerned about his son's official position at all. The first thing that this Prime Minister Zong mentioned was to use his son's affairs to remind Zhao Jiu that the people in the Tokyo Liaison Office were all from military and bandit backgrounds, and the Zhao family had lost the hearts of the people in the two rivers before. The identity of an official family did not have as strong a cohesive force on these people as the rest of the official army, so a certain level of high pressure and majesty must be maintained, and even a certain purge must be carried out, otherwise they could really cause trouble!

But even with Zong Ze's identity, he couldn't say such words. He could only point at his son and Wang Shan who was in front of him and make a hint.

The second thing was to remind Emperor Zhao that although pressure was pressure, it was ultimately an important force in the fight against the Jin army. It could be restrained, adjusted, gathered, and cleansed, but it could never be abandoned.

Back to the present, he explained the matter so straightforwardly, Zong Ze laughed: "Today, you said that you are taking advantage of your age and being aggressive, but it seems that you and the emperor are in tune with each other."

Zhao Jiu finally tried to smile again, but then became solemn again. He had a vague premonition of something.

"But I still have to be a bad guy!" Zong Rulin put away his smile and sighed again. "The emperor promised me one last thing, and today I can fulfill my wish... I, your old minister, would like to ask the emperor to swear an oath in public to recover the two rivers!"

Everyone in the hall fell into complete silence; even Wanqi Xie felt that Zong Ze had gone too far.

"How do you swear?" Zhao Jiu was stunned by the unexpected answer, but he still responded smoothly.

"You are the emperor, and I can only swear by heaven."

"Since you are the Son of Heaven, and you swear by heaven, will heaven's will be biased? What's more, heaven's will is uncertain. I am the master of all people, so why not swear by the people?" Without waiting for others to interrupt, Zhao Jiu cooperated properly.

"Okay." This time it was Mr. Zong's turn to be a little stunned.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Jiu immediately sat still and raised his hand to the sky: "If I cannot restore the two rivers, annihilate the Jin Kingdom, plow up all its fields, sweep away all its caves, and unify all the rivers and mountains in the world, then I will have no desire to live and no intact body when I die."

"The official's words are too serious!"

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