His words immediately caused an uproar among the royal family members.
Holy crap! Zhao Zhongcong, you're ruthless!
We privately criticized the tyrant Zhao Huan, but you're saying it out loud in this kind of setting—aren't you trying to kill us?
The members of the imperial family immediately stood up, then knelt on the ground again, crying out, "We are innocent! We beg Your Majesty to investigate!"
Zhao Zhongcong was also lamenting in his heart: "Sigh, who told me to be this damn Grand Secretary? If I don't deal with you, the Emperor will deal with me!"
Zhao Huan stood up and personally helped Zhao Shuxiang to his feet: "Please rise, everyone."
The emperor's amiable expression eased the tension in everyone's hearts.
Seeing this, Zhao Zhongcong continued, "Your Majesty! Please grant me death!"
The members of the imperial clan wished they could skin Zhao Zhongcong alive. Even the emperor hadn't said anything, so why were they still going on and on?
They began to worry again. Although the emperor was being kind to them now, what would happen once they returned?
Zhao Zhongcong has always been by the emperor's side, and judging from this situation, he will continue to offer advice to the emperor.
Thinking about this, everyone felt a chill run down their spines.
They suddenly realized how terrifying it was to serve a ruler like a tiger.
What if the emperor brings up old grievances one day and kills them all?
On second thought, they really did want to escape overseas.
The emperor asked Zhao Zhongcong to sit down, but Zhao Zhongcong refused. The emperor persuaded him repeatedly before Zhao Zhongcong finally sat down, but he seemed unwilling to let the members of the imperial clan present off the hook.
The emperor finally spoke: "Gentlemen, you..."
"Your Majesty, we are guilty! We are willing to accept punishment!"
"I have summoned you not to punish you, but to show you the right path."
Zhao Shuxiang said, "I am willing to follow Your Majesty's arrangements."
These people secretly wished they could fly to the place furthest away from the emperor immediately.
Zhao Huan hesitated for a moment, then said to Zhao Zhongcong, "Zhao Zongzheng, you may step down."
"His Majesty……"
"Step back!"
Zhao Zhongcong reluctantly took his leave.
After Zhao Zhongcong left, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. He could feel that those members of the imperial clan wished they could eat his flesh and drink his blood.
Damn! This emperor is too cunning.
Those members of the royal family were completely manipulated by him, and even though they were about to be exiled to a godforsaken place like Zhenla, they still had to be grateful to him.
He was cunning, ruthless, and capricious. Most importantly, no one could grasp the emperor's mind; he had too many wildly imaginative ideas.
The thought of working under such an emperor made Zhao Zhongcong feel exhausted.
He finally understood the misery of Xu Churen and others.
After Zhao Zhongcong left, the atmosphere immediately eased considerably.
"You are all my relatives. I had no choice but to kill Duke Lu and the others!"
"Your Majesty has gone to such trouble for us; we are guilty!"
Zhao Huan continued, "As you have all seen, Zhao Zhongcong has been putting constant pressure on me these past few days, and the court officials have been constantly seeking my help..."
The emperor stopped mid-sentence.
The members of the imperial clan immediately guessed what the emperor wanted to say, and the court officials were also unwilling to let them off the hook.
No wonder the emperor wanted to kill Duke Lu; it turns out the emperor was under so much pressure!
Zhao Huan's face was filled with helplessness, his acting skills were superb.
"What path has Your Majesty pointed out for us?"
"You can no longer stay in the Song Dynasty."
Zhao Huan wore an expression that said, "I'm doing this all for your own good."
Everyone was slightly taken aback, then they thought of Zhao Zhongcong's expression just now, and also of how the court officials must have said a lot to the emperor.
My heart tightened slightly. Some of them had considered escaping overseas, but it was just a thought.
The Great Song Dynasty was a celestial empire, with abundant resources and treasures in the Central Plains, while the overseas regions were barbarian lands teeming with miasma and poisonous insects. These pampered members of the imperial family would certainly not survive there.
But then I thought, can I really survive in the Song Dynasty now?
Even if the emperor ultimately spares their lives out of kinship, under pressure from court officials and Zhao Zhongcong, he will inevitably demote them to commoners.
What's the difference between that and killing them?
The emperor continued, "I will give you a group of people and reward you with some money. You will take your men and head south to Zhenla and Champa, where you will establish your own kingdoms. What do you say?"
Uncle Zhao was slightly taken aback, and Zhao Zisong was also somewhat surprised.
Isn't this the treatment afforded to a military governor?
Zhao Shuxiang and Zhao Zisong both held official positions in the Song Dynasty, but now that the imperial family was in trouble, they had no choice but to step forward.
After all, they held official positions and enjoyed high prestige within the clan.
Now they face two paths. One is that the court officials keep pressuring the emperor, and in the end the emperor will demote them to commoners, leaving them to wander the streets, starve and freeze to death. They certainly have no way to survive.
The other road is the one the emperor pointed out.
From any perspective, the path the emperor pointed out was a path to survival.
Although Zhenla and Champa were not as good as the Central Plains, at least they were able to establish their own kingdoms there and stay away from the court's intrigues.
In the past, these nobles would have been extremely unwilling, but things are different now.
This is their best option.
The emperor was indeed very thoughtful!
Everyone immediately knelt down and bowed, saying, "Thank you, Your Majesty!"
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