Going to Beijing to save his father, all the powerful officials in the city are vying to be his fath

The ministers present also discussed Zhao Liangchen's choice.

If they didn't know what Zhao Liangchen had done in the case of Prince Liang's rebellion, it would be understandable that Zhao Liangchen proposed to use the battle with Prince Liang outside the city yesterday to exchange for the Zhao family's innocence.

But I just heard about Zhao Liangchen's contribution. It can be said that his contribution is the greatest. If it weren't for Zhao Liangchen, King Liang might have succeeded. How could he just give up such a great contribution?

It would be understandable if he had a good relationship with his family, but I heard that his situation at home was not good. So he wanted to use his own merits to exchange for the Zhao family's innocence?

Besides, they are being exiled, not sentenced to death. If you really want to care about them, you should take good care of them on the way to exile so that they don't suffer too much. It would be great if you give them more silver so that they can live a good life in exile.

But he wants to use such a great contribution to exchange for the Zhao family's innocence. Isn't this really stupid?

Not only did others not understand, even the Marquis of Wuning looked at him in shock and asked Qi Jingde, "Is he stupid? None of the Zhao family members treat him well."

Because Qi Lusheng had a good relationship with Zhao Liangchen since childhood and often mentioned Zhao Liangchen in front of Qi Jingde, Qi Jingde knew Zhao Liangchen's affairs very well. He sighed, "Lusheng always said that Liangchen was very kind. I thought he was exaggerating. Now it seems that he is really kind. Most people can't be as kind as him."

The emperor was also very shocked. He asked in surprise: "What did you say? I will give you another chance. Say it again. I said, I will agree to anything you want."

Zhao Liangchen raised his head and looked at the emperor with clear eyes: "Your Majesty, I said that I wanted to use my merits to exchange for the innocence of the Zhao family. I know that what my father did is a serious crime punishable by the death of nine generations of the family. It cannot be written off just because he is dead.

However, many members of the Zhao family are unaware of what my father has done. They are innocent and have no second thoughts about the emperor. So I beg the emperor to spare them for the sake of my loyalty to you.

If my contributions are not enough, I can add my second brother's contributions, and I believe my second brother would be willing to do so."

Now everyone looked at Zhao Liangsi. Yes, they were all sons of the Zhao family, and Zhao Liangsi was the legitimate son. He was treated very well at home. Zhao Liangchen was willing to save the Zhao family, but he didn't know whether he was willing or not.

It was the first time that Zhao Liangsi was stared at by so many people. He didn't even have time to get angry. He was so panicked that he broke out in a sweat.

The emperor could see that Zhao Liangchen was sincere. He also looked at Zhao Liangsi and asked in a cold voice, "Your elder brother wants to use his merits to exchange for the Zhao family's innocence. What about you? Are you willing?"

The emperor was already dissatisfied with him, and now that Zhao Liangchen's great contribution was about to be lost, the emperor was even less willing to give Zhao Liangsi the credit.

Zhao Liangsi was furious and almost hated Zhao Liangchen. He had earned all his achievements by himself, and even sacrificed his parents' lives for it. Why should Zhao Liangchen's words be ignored? Then what was the point of him going through all this trouble? But Zhao Liangchen had already put him there. If he didn't agree, he would be heartless and ungrateful, and everyone would agree with him, so he had no choice but to agree.

He gritted his teeth and replied, "Your Majesty, I am willing."

The emperor nodded in satisfaction. "Alright, since you two brothers have made your decision, then I agree. My dear Minister Tong, once we have verified that no one else in the Zhao family is involved in Prince Liang's rebellion, we will release them all."

Tong Zhongqian: "Yes."

The emperor then said to Zhao Liangchen, "Since you are all innocent, I will not confiscate the Zhao family's property. In addition, since you have made such great contributions, I will not reward you at all, so as not to discourage other meritorious officials. I will reward you with a house and a thousand taels of gold."

Zhao Liangchen refused: "Your Majesty, the Zhao family is no less than the relatives of the guilty minister. You have been so merciful and magnanimous that you have already forgiven them. There is no need to confiscate their property. This will serve as a warning to the Zhao family and will also be fair to the families of other guilty ministers.

Besides, I have no shortage of money or a house to live in, so I don't need these."

The emperor was so angry that he slammed the table. "What's wrong with you? I want to reward you, but you refuse. Why do you think I don't deserve it?"

Zhao Liangchen kowtowed in fear: "No, Your Majesty, that's not what I meant. I just don't need these."

The emperor said angrily, "Then what do you lack? You have made contributions, but I don't reward you. How will others see me? Who will work hard for me in the future?"

Zhao Liangchen thought for a moment and said, "Then can I ask the emperor for a favor?"

The emperor asked curiously, "What grace?"

Zhao Liangchen shook his head: "I haven't thought about it yet, I just want a promise from the emperor. When I think it through, I will mention it to the emperor again."

There was a sound of gasps at the scene. My goodness! Just now they thought Zhao Liangchen was really stupid. They had made great contributions but got nothing in return. But now it seems that what he did just now was a retreat in order to advance.

The Emperor's promise meant that he would have to agree to whatever conditions he proposed in the future. This was better than any reward. It was almost like a golden medal of immunity from death.

The emperor's expression was not very good either. Although he wanted to reward Zhao Liangchen, he couldn't agree to everything. What if he agreed today and Zhao Liangchen made some excessive demands in the future? What should he do?

Zhao Liangsi was staring at Zhao Liangchen fiercely from behind. Zhao Liangchen had caused him to gain nothing, but he made such an excessive demand. He felt that Zhao Liangchen had just done that to target him and didn't want him to get any benefits. If they were not in the court now, he would have wanted to rush up and kill Zhao Liangchen.

Seeing everyone's different expressions, Zhao Liangchen explained, "Your Majesty, rest assured. I won't make excessive demands. They won't involve matters related to the country or the court. These are just some of my personal matters, such as a marriage proposal."

The emperor breathed a sigh of relief, and the expressions of those present returned to normal. If it did not involve the court, then this promise would not have much value.

The emperor laughed heartily: "It seems that you, my dear, want to get married. You are also old enough, but which girl do you like? I can grant you a marriage right now."

Many people present looked at Zhao Liangchen with burning eyes. Although the Zhao family had fallen, anyone with a discerning eye could see that Zhao Liangchen was a favorite of the emperor and would achieve great things in the future.

Moreover, from what he did just now to plead for the Zhao family, it can be seen that Zhao Liangchen is a kind person with good character. Once Zhao Jian dies, he will be left without a home. If he marries his daughter to such a man, wouldn't it be like having an extra son?

What's more, Zhao Liangchen's teacher is a great scholar of the time. Having such a son-in-law is beneficial to the whole family, so everyone is considering which daughter in the family is suitable for Zhao Liangchen.

Zhao Liangchen shook his head: "Your Majesty, not yet. I will tell you when we meet."

The emperor agreed very generously: "Okay, I promise you, from now on, as long as it does not involve the court and the country, I will agree to anything you ask."

Zhao Liangchen kowtowed and thanked the emperor: "I thank the emperor."

His problem has been solved, and the next step is to reward others.

The second greatest contributor was the Marquis of Wuning. Marquis of Wuning did not ask for anything else but only asked for a military general position for Qi Jingde.

"Your Majesty, I don't have any requests. It's just that my two sons are not very talented. I won't talk about the second son, but this eldest son will inherit our ancestors' legacy and should have a serious job. I beg Your Majesty to find him a position in the army so that he can gain some experience."

The emperor readily agreed. He had originally thought so. Qi Jingde raised private soldiers for him, and he originally wanted to officially hand over these soldiers to Qi Jingde.

However, whether this army should be incorporated into a certain military camp or established as an independent new organization, and what official rank Qi Jingde should be given, all need to be decided after consultation between the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Personnel, and other departments.

With Zhao Liangchen and Wuning Hou in front, they did not ask for much reward for their great contributions. How could others dare to make excessive demands? Even if they had decided what they wanted, they would not dare to say it.

So this rewarding process went very smoothly. No one asked for much. Those who held official positions were promoted, and those who did not were rewarded with some gold and silver.

As the Duke of Lu, he could no longer be given any more titles, so he promoted his son, the Queen's father.