A thousand-year-old family begins with one fighting against ten thousand.

Seeing that nearly half of the court was gone, the young emperor felt much more at ease.

He began to place his own people in important positions, especially in the military power in the capital, which he had to firmly grasp.

"From this day forward, the world will revert to the Xia dynasty. Who agrees? Who disagrees?"

Xia Fan stood up and stood on the high platform. His short stature inspired awe in those who looked upon him.

Meng Zhi and many of the young emperor's confidants knelt down first, followed by some opportunists.

Among the crowd were some of Zhai Hong's former subordinates, who knew that there would be no place for them in the new dynasty, and even if they were not removed from power, their fate would not be much better.

He remained upright, cursing at the young emperor and Zhai Zhi.

"For decades, the Prime Minister has governed, pacifying both internal and external affairs, securing the nation, and maintaining order in the court. He has devoted himself wholeheartedly to the cause and has never failed the country!"

"You are his son, raised with his father's grace, and all your rank, wealth, and honor come from him. Yet you do not think of loyalty and filial piety, but betray your father, murder your parents, and sell him out for personal gain. You have the ambition of a wolf, and are worse than a beast!"

The military officers' insults were more direct.

"Zhai Zhi, you ungrateful wretch! The Prime Minister has held power for decades, working tirelessly to uphold the court and bestow wealth and honor upon you! And what do you do? You betray your own people, helping the young emperor kill your own father! Have you no conscience at all!"

"You, as a son, ate your father's food, used your father's things, and enjoyed all the riches and honors, yet you turned around and helped outsiders kill your own father! Your conscience has been eaten clean by dogs! You're not even human! You're worse than an animal! The biggest ingrate in history!"

Zhai Zhi's face turned pale and then purple as he was scolded, but deep down, the loyalty that had been ingrained in him since childhood still prevailed. He gritted his teeth, closed his eyes, and forced himself to ignore everything.

The young emperor watched coldly. Even though Zhai Zhi was loyal to him and had even betrayed her father for her sake, he still found it difficult to develop any goodwill towards her.

No matter what, Zhai Zhi was a patricide.

It's hard for anyone to have a good impression of this kind of person.

But he couldn't just watch Zhai Zhi get scolded, so he had all the people taken away and dealt with.

Looking at the figure kneeling before him, the young emperor Xia Fan felt a surge of pride.

This should be the emperor's authority, the authority to rule the world.

"Now that traitor Xia Jie is still attacking the court, and the Tang Dynasty is eyeing us covetously from the east, what do you, my esteemed ministers, think?"

The young emperor asked the crowd a question, and interestingly, he did not ask the officials to stand up.

"Why doesn't Your Majesty consult your minister, the Prime Minister, on such an important matter?"

Suddenly, a voice that instilled fear in the young emperor to the very core once again echoed through the palace.

The young emperor suddenly looked up at the doorway, and all the ministers turned around to look in the same direction.

Then they saw a familiar figure leading the people who had just been taken away, walking in from outside the hall.

"Zhai Hong! Weren't you dead?!"

"Zhai Zhi, you actually betrayed me?!"

The young emperor looked at Zhai Hong in horror. If Zhai Zhi hadn't repeatedly assured him that Zhai Hong was dead, he would never have jumped out.

But now, Zhai Hong is standing alive and well in front of him, which must mean that Zhai Zhi has betrayed him.

But when he looked over, he found that Zhai Hong's expression was no less shocked than his own.

"father?!"

"Weren't you dead?!"

"Impossible! I saw Xia Feng stab your throat with my own eyes, how could you still be alive?!"

"Are you a human or a ghost?"

"Of course, it's people."

Zhai Hong looked at his son with disappointment. He never expected that the person he caught while fishing would be his own son.

The person who betrayed him was his most trusted biological son.

Why?

Zhai Hong asked his son, "If he succeeds, the one who will benefit the most is my son. Even if Zhai Zhi is not the eldest son, he can still be made a king and enjoy a lifetime of wealth and honor."

What could the young emperor possibly offer Zhai Zhi? A patricide—did he really expect to gain his trust? That would be incredibly naive.

"loyalty!"

"Your Majesty is the ruler of the world, and His Majesty's decree is the will of Heaven. How can we, as his subjects, rebel against it?"

Zhai Zhi spoke loudly to Zhai Hong.

Zhai Hong was taken aback, not for any other reason than loyalty.

"Hahahahahahaha!"

It was for such a ridiculous reason that his own son betrayed him.

It's really a big joke in the world.

How could he not know that his son was so loyal?

"Father, don't make the same mistake again."

"Just imagine how future history books will record you? They'll record you as a regicide, forever infamous!"

Zhai Zhi advised against it.

"King regicide? According to you, how many of the founding monarchs of all dynasties were king regicides? How are they recorded in the historical records?"

"The victor is king, the loser is villain!"

"I'm so disappointed in you!"

"Your Majesty, this may be the last time I call you Your Majesty. I'm very curious, how exactly did you persuade Meng Zhi?"

The young emperor sighed, knowing he was powerless to change the situation; Zhai Hong would never let him go today.

"I can tell you, but can you tell me how you survived?"

"Can."

Zhai Hong nodded.

"The Great Xia royal family has an organization that is absolutely loyal to the royal family. They select qualified people from all over the world and instill in them from a young age the idea that the imperial power is greater than heaven and that they must be loyal to the royal family, so that they can be trained to be absolutely loyal to the royal family."

"Zhai Zhi was the chosen one. From the age of one, people have been instilling this idea in him, day after day, month after month, year after year, without end."

The young emperor revealed the truth; he only learned about it when the organization contacted him.

"I see."

Zhai Hong was filled with regret. If he had discovered this sooner, could he have made amends?

Even now, he still doesn't hate Zhai Zhi that much; after all, he's his son, and blood is thicker than water.

"Now can you tell me why you're still alive?"

The young emperor asked curiously.

"Can."

"It's very simple. Just like His Majesty, prepare a substitute in advance."

Zhai Hong said with some pain.

"You don't even know your own son?"

The young emperor asked curiously.

"Success is achieved through secrecy, and failure through leaks!"

Zhai Hongdao, despite his astonishing strategies and his rise from humble beginnings to wield immense power, nearly changing the dynasty, ultimately lost to his own son.

"So that's how it is. My loss wasn't unjust; I wasn't careful enough after all."

The young emperor shook his head. He had been suppressed since childhood. Even though he was born with great cunning, he couldn't keep hiding forever. When he was closest to success, he fought back and failed.

"However, Prime Minister, you have won, but only this one game. In the grand game of the world, the outcome remains to be seen."

"At least you were the first to be eliminated."

"I'll be waiting for you underground."

The young emperor smiled with relief, took out a pill from his person, and swallowed it.

Moments later, the young emperor began to convulse, bleeding from all seven orifices, and died on the dragon throne.