The video takes us to ancient times; Li Er transforms into the Tongtian Emperor of Shu Han.

“I can certainly guarantee that the water will be kept fair, but your Guo family is an in-law, and in any case, the matter of being granted a prince has nothing to do with your Guo family.”

"Or are you, Zhen De, speaking on behalf of the Zhen family?"

Zheng Chong's words immediately dashed Guo's hopes.

Because everyone had once been a lackey of the Sima family, he knew very well the nature of the Guo brothers.

Those who aspire to great things should cherish their lives, while those who are blinded by petty gains should not be greedy.

They'll get a share of the spoils from the bestowal of titles, but they won't contribute much in the subsequent process.

Even if they aren't given to them, they won't resist much, at least they won't dare to be the first to stand up and resist.

Since that's the case, Zheng Chong naturally wouldn't waste a spot on them.

Regardless of whether Zhen De represents the Guo family or the Zhen family, he is not worthy of such a quota.

In his mind, only those of the Xie family's caliber were worth winning over.

"Whether it's His Majesty's opinion, my opinion, or even the Empress Dowager's opinion, your Guo family is not among the candidates for the title of Prince."

Zhen De: "..."

That old bastard is trying to kick away the bridge after he's used it!

Why make things difficult for another lackey?

Besides, you old fool, all you do is spout nonsense.

They still don't have any respect for the Empress Dowager about the Guo family.

Did you ask? Or didn't you?

After the Empress Dowager issued the imperial edict to depose the emperor and establish the Prince of Qi, Guo always had someone by her side.

From beginning to end, Zheng Chong, you never saw the Empress Dowager alone, not even for a moment!

As for the matter of bestowing titles upon ten princes, that was also something you and Fu Gu fabricated yourselves!

"If there are no other opinions, then you may leave. I imagine that the other gentlemen still have some questions. If you speak now, I will answer them one by one."

Zheng Chong ignored Zhen De's complaints.

The remaining people are a hundred times more important than Zhen De, who has no ability whatsoever and is only a relative of the emperor!

"Regarding the matter of the Ten Kings, I presume no one has any objections, since those who are standing here all understand their own identities."

"But the problem now is that the old emperor has not yet shown himself. If he raises an army outside the capital, how should we deal with it?"

"Lord Zheng, the city's garrison can intimidate us, but they may not be able to stop the border troops, right?"

Someone from the Jia family stepped forward.

With a little calm reflection, one can realize this.

At this time, there are not only opportunities, but also crises.

Once the border troops support the old emperor, the massive army's advance will only last for a little over a month.

When the border troops are at the city gates, are we going to make them do everything in their power to hold them off again?

They were able to hold off the Han army.

That was purely because the Han army was deep in enemy territory and even if they occupied Chang'an to solve their logistical problems, they still faced the constant danger of border troops entering the heartland to defend the emperor.

If they can hold them off for a short while, the Han army will naturally have to retreat.

But if the old emperor were to return with the border troops, who would dare say that they would definitely win?

"Then we just need to prevent the old emperor from stepping forward."

"This is what I am about to tell you all."

"Among the various border armies, there should be members of your clans, right? If the former emperor goes to any border army, can the news be sent back immediately?"

Zheng Chong asked with a smile.

"Of course, if the old emperor really shows up, the news will definitely not be kept secret, but so what?"

"So what? Hasn't the problem already been solved?"

Zheng Chong's smile suddenly turned cold.

“The old emperor can die of illness, drown, or fall to his death while walking. If all else fails, he can be poisoned. In any case, death is the end of everything, and someone will take care of his affairs.”

"We have already enthroned the new emperor. The best outcome for the old emperor is to let him die obediently."

"Don't you all understand?"

Normally, such words should be said in private.

If it were the former Sima Shi, he would most likely have made the old emperor die silently, without causing the slightest ripple.

But Zheng Chong couldn't do it.

He didn't have such a deep foundation; the Zheng family's resources were far inferior.

If it weren't for his years of hard work and the rapid integration of the city's defense forces, he wouldn't have achieved his current position.

Therefore, he needs to drag all the powerful families into this mess.

If someone does this, history books will record it as regicide.

When the entire aristocratic clans joined forces to do this, and no one was clean, what would the history books record?

Everyone finally understood the ultimate purpose of Zheng Chong's gathering them all today.

Everyone knows that the old emperor's continued existence is a threat.

So he has to die.

"If you eliminate the old emperor's powerful clans, I can grant you the title of king and the fiefdom on behalf of His Majesty."

The true intentions of Zheng Chong have been revealed to everyone.

The head of the former emperor is now worth a throne and a fiefdom of a province.

Such a reward also silenced the vast majority of people.

Only the Jia clan members who had just asked those questions remained silent.

It seems that the overall situation in the capital is developing in a positive direction for the aristocratic families.

But for some reason, he always felt that the hidden dangers involved were far more than Zheng Chong had mentioned.

If it were that simple, Sima Shi would have had countless opportunities to directly become emperor.

But why didn't he?

Why did Sima Shi go to such lengths to support Cao Mao after deposing Cao Fang as emperor?

Even so, he didn't dare let anything happen to Cao Fang.

Isn't this all to silence public opinion?

What the powerful Sima family dared not do back then, you've put it out in the open like this?

Do you really think that if there are no tigers in the mountains, the monkeys can safely rule as kings?

But he dared not say these words.

In such a turbulent atmosphere, no one would listen; speaking out would only increase others' hostility towards you.

The bait thrown out by the old emperor—the conferment of titles upon kings—is still working!

Zheng Chong, of course, had no idea what he was thinking. Seeing that most of the people present looked excited, he simply waved his hand.

"His Majesty is unwell today and will not be attending court. If you have nothing else to do, please go and make your preparations."

"Remember, make sure that the border troops are notified immediately whenever the old emperor appears anywhere. If you dare not take action, come and inform me, and I will take care of it."

"The opportunity to be crowned a king is in your hands; seize it yourselves."

……

"Brother Chen, do you really not know where His Majesty has gone?"

After the court assembly ended, Jia Yan, who came from the Jia family, secretly approached Chen Tan.

When Chen Tai left, he only gave his two cousins ​​some instructions, telling them not to act rashly or get involved in anything the gentry were planning.

Therefore, during these past few days, Chen Tan watched Zheng Chong and the others' plans without saying a word.

He was somewhat surprised to see Jia Yan suddenly come to him.

"Your Majesty? Isn't His Majesty in the palace? Could it be that Brother Jia has become confused?"

"Brother Chen, why pretend to be confused? You should know that I'm not talking about that one in the palace."