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

The men behind Zhai Hong shrewdly pulled the young emperor's body off the dragon throne and then cleaned it up.

Zhai Hong walked up the steps one by one, not minding that the dragon throne was unlucky, and sat down on it.

"Father, no!"

"This is the dragon throne! This is utterly disrespectful!"

Zhai Zhi watched in utter panic as his father committed this outrageous act, his eyes wide with fury.

No! Absolutely not! This is disloyalty, utterly rebellious!

Zhai Hong looked at his son with disappointment, closed his eyes, waved his hand, and immediately someone dragged him out, found a palace, locked him inside, and waited for Zhai Hong's judgment.

"Zhai Hong, you traitor, how dare you sit on the dragon throne!"

"I knew long ago that you were ambitious and wanted to usurp the throne. Heaven is watching what you do, and you will surely die a horrible death."

"For four hundred years, the Great Xia Dynasty has nurtured scholars; today, those who uphold righteousness and die for their principles are shown. Zhai Hong, even your son opposes you; what else do you have to say?"

"Killing your lord and murdering your son, these are the infamous deeds recorded in history, all of which are the marks of your infamy, Zhai Hong."

One after another, "loyal ministers" of the Great Xia Dynasty jumped out. Some of them were truly loyal ministers of the Great Xia Dynasty, while others knew that Zhai Hong would not let them go, so they simply decided to throw caution to the wind and gain a reputation for loyalty.

"What a loyal subject! I will grant your wish."

Zhai Hong sneered, "Drag him out and kill him!"

"Lan Qing, you personally lead the men to ransack their homes, eradicate them completely, leave no one alive, even an earthworm, you must cut it vertically to death."

Betrayed by his own son, Zhai Hong no longer cares about anything.

All he wanted to do now was kill all these disgusting guys and then fight back.

If he wins, he will summon his eldest son back, change the dynasty, and rule as the sole ruler.

Even if he murdered his own ruler and was rebelled against by his own son, history books will still record that he was the founder of a dynasty.

If he fails, he should die a glorious death, giving his life a perfect ending.

"Oh!"

Looking at the crowd below, who were scrambling like quails, Zhai Hong sneered disdainfully.

However, he also knew that these opportunists were the leaders of various powerful families and nobles, and if he were to perish together with them, he really didn't have enough confidence to withstand it.

But if anyone dares to undermine him, then his knife won't be just for show.

"Next, in order to resist the Tang army and the false emperor, the court needs a sum of money and provisions. What are your thoughts, ministers?"

Zhai Hong's murderous voice echoed throughout the palace, and the imperial guards around him drew their longswords, as if their blades would fall on their necks the moment Zhai Hong opened his mouth.

Soon, some people couldn't bear the somber atmosphere any longer and knelt down, offering to donate three thousand shi of grain and ten thousand taels of silver to relieve the court's burdens.

Is that all?

Zhai Hong frowned and said that he recognized everyone in the court. The family in front of him was the Yu family, which had been in power for generations and had a salary of two thousand shi. Was this how they were giving away such a small amount of money and grain to beggars?

"It seems Lord Yu doesn't really want the court to win. Could it be that Lord Yu is on the side of the Tang army, or even the false emperor?"

Zhai Hong sneered twice, "Guards, drag him out and behead him, confiscate his property and exterminate his entire clan."

"Prime Minister, Prime Minister, spare my life! I misspoke. I meant 30,000 shi of grain and 100,000 taels of silver."

"Take him out, kill him, and confiscate his property. I want to see just how much he actually owns."

Zhai Hong fixed his gaze on the remaining people, the meaning was simple: what about you?

The crowd looked at each other in bewilderment. One minister gritted his teeth and said, "I am willing to offer 10,000 shi of grain, 1,000 taels of gold, and 20,000 taels of silver."

Zhai Hong glanced at him and realized that this person seemed to be a newly rich man who had only risen to prominence in recent years. His family wealth was not particularly abundant, and taking out these funds was a significant financial burden for him.

"Lord Zhang is indeed loyal to the court. His Majesty must be very pleased in the afterlife. Men, escort Lord Zhang home and send more men with him."

"Rest assured, Prime Minister, after I return, I will hand over these funds and provisions to these soldiers so that they can take them back to you."

Zhang Liang understood Zhai Hong's meaning: if these people sent him back with money and provisions, then they were there to transport money and provisions; if they didn't, then they were there to wipe out his entire family.

Zhai Hong nodded in satisfaction. Just this one business had yielded so much profit. With so many more businesses below, the funds and provisions for defending the capital would definitely be sufficient.

Besides Zhang Liang taking the lead, other families also made huge sacrifices, spewing out astonishing figures that represented hundreds of years of accumulation for their families.

If Zhang Liang hadn't been the first to defect, and if this group of people had united, even Zhai Hong wouldn't have dared to turn against them all at once.

But now, they are worried about being sold off.

There has never been any warmth or affection between powerful families.

If someone suddenly offers money and grain, Zhai Hong would not hesitate to ruthlessly kill those who did not offer it, confiscating all of their family's accumulated wealth over the years.

With a huge sum of money and grain in his hands, the first thing Zhai Hong did was to take out a portion to distribute as rewards.

Large sums of gold, silver, and provisions were distributed to every soldier, greatly boosting the morale of the imperial army.

For soldiers in the army, their thinking is very simple: whoever pays them money and food, they will fight for.

Not to mention how many Zhai Hongfas have.

It would be enough to buy several of their lives.

Zhai Hong used all the remaining money and grain to expand the army and strengthen the city's defenses without the slightest hesitation.

Just before the Tang army arrived in the capital, Zhai Hong suddenly dispatched troops to massacre the nobles and aristocratic families of the entire capital.

After handing over the money and supplies, according to the rules, everything that had happened before should have been wiped clean. Moreover, Zhai Hong had accepted their money and supplies, so they really thought that Zhai Hong had let the matter drop.

Especially now that the Tang army is so close, as long as Zhai Hong isn't insane, he definitely won't offend them at this time.

Therefore, these noble families relaxed their vigilance, and in that instant, Zhai Hong seized the opportunity to eliminate them completely.

Almost all the aristocratic families in the capital were wiped out, with only a small number surviving thanks to the various means left behind by their families.

Although they survived, they no longer had the strength to hinder Zhai Hong in the ensuing war.

They could only wait for the war to end and passively accept their fate.

Even the generals from aristocratic families were all removed from the army and replaced with generals from humble backgrounds and ordinary people.

After he completed the major reshuffle of the army, the Tang army finally besieged the city.

The military flags of both sides rustled in the cold wind, and the entire capital of the Great Xia was shrouded in a chilling atmosphere.