"Hmph, you're audacious and presumptuous, trying to guess the Emperor's will. Either crime is enough to get you killed ten times over!"

Although Liu Hong still verbally blamed Zhao Hao, Zhao Hao knew that he was thinking about how to protect himself.

Zhao Hao obtained a lot of interesting information from Zhang Rang.

For example, Liu Tong's biological mother was not He Ling, nor Liu Xie's biological mother Wang Rong, but Empress Song, who was the first to be brought down by He Ling.

Empress Song was deposed and died in grief and indignation. Afterwards, Liu Hongcai investigated and found out what had happened. As a result, he often felt guilty towards Wannian and tried his best to make amends to his daughter.

However, it was all too late to undo the damage. How could Liu Tong possibly erase the resentment she felt towards Liu Hong just because of this bit of affection and compensation?

Fortunately, He Ling did not continue to harm Liu Hong's only daughter, otherwise Liu Tong's personality might have become extremely dark.

However, as Liu Tong grew older, a problem gradually became a major concern for Liu Hong.

That is Liu Tong's marital problem!

How many noble families would be willing to marry a princess who has lost power and whose family has no support?

Even if they were willing, they would probably only be ordinary families with little future prospects.

Finally, a promising young man has emerged who can both check and balance He Jin and intimidate powerful families, and is also a good match for Liu Tong in marriage.

How could Liu Hong give up so easily?

Not to mention, he had actually wanted to take action against the He family for a long time.

He personally helped them up. But what about them? Unable to quell the Yellow Turban Rebellion, countless Yellow Turbans continued to wreak havoc in the Taihang Mountains, the area around Runan, and various parts of Qingzhou.

Furthermore, they were unable to quell the rebellion in Liangzhou, which allowed Dong Zhuo to grow powerful and become uncontrollable; not to mention the barbarians in the south and the nomadic tribes in the north.

Aside from abusing their power as relatives of the emperor to seek personal gain and becoming a new generation of powerful families, they bring no benefit to the country or its people!

Now, the He family even wants to play both sides, making peace with powerful clans, cultivating relationships with eunuchs in private, and sending members of their clan to take over business and agriculture, thus strengthening themselves.

Liu Hong had long wanted to ruthlessly suppress the He family members he had promoted!

Zhao Hao did what he wanted to do but dared not do, but it also put him in a very difficult position.

"You...you...alas, what am I to do with you!"

Zhao Hao smiled, a barely perceptible curve appearing on his lips, and responded firmly.

"Your Majesty, since I have already done this, I will certainly bear all the responsibility!"

I humbly request Your Majesty to hold court tomorrow morning, so that I, in my criminal state, may attend court and have a proper debate with the officials.

"I do not seek to be absolved of my crimes, but only that I may eliminate as many pests as possible for Your Majesty!"

Liu Hong was taken aback. "Kid, you mean... you have a solution?"

"No, I have only a pure heart and dare not claim that I am innocent."

"You are still young, your life is far more precious than He Miao's! Could it be that you no longer want to protect the people of Bingzhou that you cherish so much?"

"If I am destined to die, I beg Your Majesty to reinstate Zhang Yi as the Governor of Bingzhou. With him here, my former subordinates will continue to defend the borders for the country. They will be the sharpest sword in Your Majesty's hand!"

Liu Hong fell silent. He had never seen a military general who could arrange things so meticulously and whose every word and action was a loyal minister serving the imperial family.

Liu Hong was in a difficult position, but he had no choice but to detain Zhao Hao first.

Otherwise, the world would think he was biased towards Zhao Hao, rather than a wise ruler.

"Fine, fine, boy, I will do my best to protect you, but what you said..."

"Your Majesty, please send someone to retrieve it tonight, for delay may lead to unforeseen circumstances! Once Your Majesty sees the numerous misdeeds of these aristocratic families recorded here, Your Majesty will understand my actions!"

"Very well, it seems you want to fly into the fire like a moth and leave a good name in history!"

"Do you perhaps think of me as such an incompetent and tyrannical ruler?"

Zhao Hao raised his head slightly and looked at Liu Hong.

Liu Hong, Emperor Ling of Han, was 31 years old.

Command: 54, Strength: 29, Intelligence: 83, Politics: 89, Charisma: 67

Personality traits: 1. Greed 2. Weakness 3. Taxation 4. Donation

Judging from his abilities, Liu Hong was definitely not the incompetent emperor who was merely mentioned briefly in history.

But his greed for money is indeed true.

However, considering the historical process, when Liu Hong succeeded to the throne, the entire Eastern Han Dynasty was already in a mess.

The agricultural and commercial economy declined continuously due to war, and coupled with years of disasters in various regions, the entire land of China entered the negative impact of the "Little Ice Age". Even if Li Shimin were to be reborn, he probably wouldn't be able to do much better than Liu Hong.

Therefore, Zhao Hao actually held him in high esteem.

"No, in my opinion, although Your Majesty is neither a great emperor of all time nor a ruler who maintained the status quo like Emperors Wen and Jing, your ability to stabilize the chaotic state of the world to its current state is already extraordinary, surpassing even the rulers of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods!"

Liu Hong was used to flattery, but he didn't expect that Zhao Hao's words today, although not to his liking, were very much in line with his own self-perception.

But no matter how much she likes Zhao Hao, she can't let this incident slide...

"Enough! Men, take General Zhao and his personal guards to the imperial prison and keep them under strict guard!"

"Boy, if you don't have a plan tomorrow, act according to my whims!"

"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. If Your Majesty finds yourself in a difficult position tomorrow, please punish me as you see fit! But I beg Your Majesty not to implicate those innocent people who obey my orders!"

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