A son who doesn't resemble his father? Love you, old man, see you at Xuanwu Gate!

Chapter 251 Hidden Calamity
Young Lord, you are mighty!

It stirs the heart.

With tears welling up in his eyes, Gongsun Hong choked out, "Your Majesty, I have always believed that you are a model of a wise and virtuous ruler, and I have never doubted it, never doubted it!"

It comes from the heart, without a trace of falsehood.

Liu Ju's eyes also reddened. Throughout the entire Han Dynasty, only two people had never doubted him: his elder brother Huo Qubing and the prime minister Gongsun Hong.

Even his mother, Empress Wei, and his uncle, Grand Marshal Wei Qing, had doubts and suspicions about him. Liu Ju cherished this pure trust.

"Please believe me, Prime Minister, I have the determination and the ability to solve all problems," Liu Ju said earnestly, grasping the withered, branch-like hands.

Gongsun Hong nodded, then shook his head, his voice heavy and slow, “I have been cautious and prudent my whole life, as if walking on thin ice. At the end of my life, I wish to indulge myself a little. I hope Your Majesty will grant my request.”

A model of wise and virtuous rulers.

This is not just a matter for the ruler alone.

Rather, it concerns all matters concerning the Crown Prince's palace officials. The Qilin Pavilion and Lingyan Pavilion stand there, and the people inside will all be subject to the test of history.

But the ones who have withstood the test of history the most are not the "cabinet ministers," but the emperors who established the cabinet of merit!

The more sagacious and virtuous the ruler, the more eternally renowned the two Halls of Meritorious Officials will be, and the more outstanding the merits of the officials in the two halls will be.

For both public and private reasons, the schemes of Chen, Zhou, Xiao, and Zhang could not be known to the emperor.

Even if it means deceiving the emperor to his face.

"Old Prime Minister..."

Gongsun Hong interrupted Liu Ju for the first time, grasping Shaolong's hand in return. His skull-like eyes were deeply sunken, as if veiled by a thin mist, gray and cloudy. Tears welled up and slid down the deep wrinkles of his face. He said emotionally, "Your Majesty, I can no longer see you clearly, but I always remember your face. My periods of unconsciousness are getting longer and longer, and my periods of lucidity are getting shorter and shorter. I want to do more for the Han Dynasty and for Your Majesty while I am lucid. Your Majesty treats me as a national hero, and I should repay you as a national hero. In this way, I will have no regrets in the next life. If the world is guilty, I will bear the blame alone. Your Majesty, I beg you!"

"I agree! I agree!" Liu Ju said repeatedly.

A drop of dragon's tear fell onto the back of his hand, which was covered in goosebumps. It had no legendary healing effect, but rather reflected the mutual understanding between the ruler and his subject.

Regardless of Zhang Tang's true feelings, he was moved to tears at this moment. Perhaps this is the model of a wise ruler and his minister who have been friends for thousands of years, a model that will be admired and envied by the world and future generations.

"Your subject will do his utmost to repay the Emperor's kindness," Gongsun Hong promised.

Zhang Tang was startled.

The old prime minister is about to make his move. The imperial system that the various schools of thought had tailored for him will be torn to pieces by the old prime minister on the spot. The old prime minister is also going to dismantle the Chen family's scheme.

The policy of eliminating the restoration army and rendering His Majesty's rebellion a mere fabrication will remain unchanged. What might be altered is reducing the number of restoration troops and minimizing the harm done to Heaven and the people.

We'll get to witness the old prime minister's methods again.

I wonder if the officials, powerful clans, wealthy merchants, and wandering thieves of the Han Dynasty are ready?

"Old Prime Minister, you've worked hard!" Liu Ju said, unable to bear it.

The war waged by my uncle and elder brother involved mobilizing and commanding thousands of troops over several months or even longer, finding a path to victory amidst blood and fire.

It was a large-scale military operation in reality. However, the uncle, who was in his prime, and his elder brother, who was in his youth, were completely different in their post-war fatigue. The elder brother, who had fought across thousands of miles in half a month and swept across the Hexi Corridor, recovered his strength after a good night's sleep. But the uncle, who presided over the Battle of Dai, slept for three days and three nights after the complete defeat of the elite forces of the Xiongnu Great Chanyu's tribe and the Left Wise King's tribe, before he fully recovered his strength.

The old prime minister was even older, yet he had to eliminate the restoration army invisibly in the arena of power. The difficulty of this task was no less than that of his uncle's battle of Dai and his elder brother's battle of Hexi.

"The duty of a minister."

Gongsun Hong's voice was not relaxed as he looked at Liu Shuo and said, "However, I want someone to secretly enter the Prime Minister's residence to cooperate with me."

"Who?"

"Chen Mo."

Gongsun Hong said solemnly.

The Chen family is now integrated with the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and Chen Mo, who has mastered the family's "poisonous arts," is a young man. If Gongsun Hong doesn't keep a close eye on him, he worries that while the restoration army is being reduced on one side, Chen Mo is forcing the emperor, officials, wealthy merchants, and wandering bandits to increase the restoration army on the other. With one side gaining and the other losing, no one will be able to see it, and in the end, all his efforts will be in vain.

There's only so much "oil" left in your lamp; don't let it dry out completely afterward.

He wanted to witness His Majesty's abdication.

Zhang Tang's heart stirred.

If Chen Mo enters the Prime Minister's residence, will he later be tempted by the power of the Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty and stop keeping an eye on the Embroidered Uniform Guard?
Compared to the power of the Chancellor of the Han Dynasty, what are the Imperial Archives and the Imperial Prison?

If Chen Mo stayed in the Prime Minister's residence and could become the old Prime Minister's apprentice, then the future of the Han Dynasty would be quite interesting.

Although Mozi and Huo Guang were young, it was clear that they would become extraordinary talents in the future. In addition, one was a Mohist and the other a Confucian, so the two brothers were naturally at odds and were bound to have a fight.

If another "poisonous master" from Huangdi's Taoist school were to infiltrate the ranks, Zhang Tang couldn't even imagine how far the three brothers would fight.
"allow."

Liu Ju agreed without hesitation and asked curiously, "When the old prime minister spoke of the Chen family, he seemed somewhat wary. What kind of person was Chen Ping, the ancestor of the Chen family?"

Liu Ju had visited Tianlu Pavilion and Shiqu Pavilion, and had perused the Han Dynasty's secret archives. He had also read many scrolls about the founding heroes and knew that the meritorious officials were not as glorious and righteous as legend had it. However, among the many secret scrolls, Chen Ping's records were pitifully few.

There are even issues with subsequent editing.

According to the old ministers of Tianlu Pavilion and Shiqu Pavilion, after Chen Ping and Zhou Bo jointly executed the Lü clan, Chen Ping took advantage of the chaos in Chang'an to enter the two pavilions and take away secret scrolls related to himself. In addition, after welcoming Liu Heng, the Prince of Dai, who became Emperor Xiaowen, Chen Ping claimed to be ill and gave the position of Right Chancellor to Zhou Bo, becoming Left Chancellor himself. He ranked second in merit and, wielding power, deleted and modified the records of himself in the two pavilions.

This resulted in Chen Ping's life story being mostly found in the records of Emperor Gao and other meritorious officials, and being less detailed and less authentic.

The old prime minister was born during the reign of Emperor Gao and served as a minister for four emperors, holding positions in both the central and outer courts. He must know more about the mysterious founding hero Chen Ping than most people do.

Gongsun Hong paused for a moment, then gave a definite answer, "Despicable! He's a despicable person!"

Liu Ju and Zhang Tang, the emperor and his minister, were both taken aback.

The old prime minister has always held meritorious officials in high esteem, but it is rare for him to make such an insulting assessment of a meritorious official.

Gongsun Hong thought of the memories he had heard in his childhood but which were different from his own as an adult, and said that they had been altered. He sighed and said, “My lord, the life of Marquis Xian is well-documented. Marquis Xian himself said, ‘I have many schemes, which are forbidden by Taoism. My family has fallen from grace, and that is that. I can never rise again because of my many sinister misdeeds.’ That is enough.”

(End of this chapter)