Chapter 288: Rebellion in the Heart, Waiting for the Opportunity

Liu Xinwu was really angry.

He never expected that such treasonous words would come from the mouth of Liu Xinwu, his adopted son who had high hopes for him.

If these words were heard by someone with ulterior motives and he went to the emperor to report Liu Ziyu, Liu Ziyu's image of "evil deeds" in the emperor's mind would probably fall even further.

What's more, Liu Ziyu was a general who held the military power of the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun and guarded a border for the Tang Dynasty. This treasonous words could easily be interpreted as Liu Ziyu's disloyalty to the emperor and suspected of treason.

Liu Xinwu angrily shouted, "Liu Ziyu, do you know what you are talking about?"

"Or do you think you are better than the previous martial arts champion Wu Sanjia, and more cunning than the treacherous prime minister Qin Ruhui who played with the previous dynasty's government affairs?"

"I tell you, if it weren't for the emperor's persistence, you and I, father and son, would have been an unknown withered grave outside the mass graves of Wuzhou City and Changshan County!"

"If you don't repent and dare to speak out against the emperor again, I will sever the father-son relationship with you. I will treat the adopted son Liu Ziyu who blocked the arrow for me on the battlefield as if he had died on the battlefield long ago!"

Hmph!

Liu Xinwu looked at Liu Ziyu, who was kneeling on the ground, with cold and ruthless eyes.

He tried to awaken Liu Ziyu's conscience in this way.

Sure enough, after being slapped in the face and then threatened by his adoptive father to sever the father-son relationship, Liu Ziyu finally "woke up" and immediately knelt beside Liu Xinwu and kowtowed to admit his mistake.

"Father, I know I was wrong!"

"My son, I was confused for a moment, and I said such treasonous words when I was hot-headed. I will never dare to do it again;"

"I hope that father, I hope that father will forgive me this time because this is my first offense. I would rather not have any title and stay with you as a commoner to take care of you in your old age and see you to the end of your life!"

Liu Ziyu said this sincerely, and started to slap himself in the mouth, admitting his mistake while hitting: "Father, I know I was wrong, I slap myself in the mouth--"

Snap!

Snap!

Snap!

Liu Ziyu was also cruel to himself. The slaps on his face were louder and louder, and Liu Xinwu, who was standing aside, felt a little bit sorry.

"Alright!"

Finally, Liu Xinwu couldn't stand it anymore and stopped Liu Ziyu from continuing his "self-harming" behavior.

Seeing that his goal was achieved, Liu Ziyu stopped slapping him, but he still knelt in front of Liu Xinwu with a look of repentance.

However, the fierceness that flashed in his eyes was so out of place with the repentant Liu Ziyu.

On the other side, Liu Xinwu, who paced back and forth in the room with his back to Liu Ziyu, said earnestly: "Ziyu, your father really hopes that you can grow up!"

"You are almost forty years old. You must be careful in what you say and do. Do you still need your father to teach you such a simple truth that disaster comes from the mouth?"

"I originally planned to come to you after the court was dismissed yesterday, eh——"

After a long sigh, Liu Xinwu continued: "It's also my fault. If I had come to you after the court was dismissed yesterday, it probably wouldn't have caused such a tragedy, and Hu Dalin and others might not have ended up like this;"

"You rough guys are good at charging and killing enemies and seizing flags on the battlefield, but you are stubborn and straight-forward, and your brains can't bend;"

"If you had listened to my words in the past asking you to read more and cultivate your mind, even if it was just one sentence, why would you have come to this point today?"

Liu Xinwu said: "Anyone with a heart can see the matter of the conferment ceremony yesterday. , the emperor deliberately conferred you the title of earl, and ranked you last among the thirty-six earls of the founding of the Tang Dynasty;"

"Obviously, the emperor is taking this opportunity to warn you, the arrogant soldiers and brave generals of the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun!"

"Otherwise, with your military exploits, my position in the court, and your sister Shujun's status as the queen, how could he only confer you the title of earl?"

As he said this, Liu Xinwu suddenly turned around, and his two sharp eyes like eagle eyes stared straight at the kneeling in front of him Liu Ziyu, who was looking at him, asked word by word: "Ziyu, tell me honestly, what did you do and who did you contact during your stay in Jinling City?"

After a pause, Liu Xinwu added: "It's already this time, I don't want you to hide anything from me!"

Faced with the aggressive questioning of his adoptive father Liu Xinwu, Liu Ziyu immediately reported to Liu Xinwu the news that he had been drinking and having fun with the governors of Liangjiang and Lianghu on the banks of the Qinhuai River during his stay in Jinling City.

However, he only said that he was invited to drink, and never mentioned that the two sides had concluded an offensive and defensive alliance and were preparing for "smuggling".

Of course, in order to win Liu Xinwu's trust, Liu Ziyu also told Liu Xinwu the flattering words of a group of southern frontier officials at the wine table.

Liu Ziyu said: "Father, the rumor that I would be conferred the title of Duke of Tang and be ranked first among the six dukes before the conferment ceremony was not my original intention;"

"It was completely at the wine table, and those civil officials and generals from the south were making trouble to liven up the atmosphere;"

"For the sake of face, I had to contact them!"

Liu Ziyu continued with a look of grievance: "These civil officials and generals from the south saw that my father was in power in the new dynasty and wanted to curry favor with him, but because of the difference in status, they did not dare to directly invite my father to a banquet;"

"So, they shifted their target to Erchen;"

"My son, my son also had good intentions. He thought that my father would be able to gain support from the southern civil servants and generals in the court in the future, so he had a brief contact with them;"

"I never thought that Emperor Long Yan would be so angry because of this incident!"

Listening to Liu Ziyu's answer, Liu Xinwu nodded frequently with a solemn expression.

now it's right!

Liu Xinwu was also wondering at the time why Emperor Zhaowu Chen Huaian only made Liu Ziyu an earl. Now thinking about it, it was because Liu Ziyu, as a representative of the northern military generals group, had private contact with the southern civil servants group, which was a taboo of the emperor. !

Liu Xinwu said: "I am just saying that this emperor cannot beat you for no reason. It turns out that you had private contacts with the governors of Liangjiang and Lianghu;"

"Throughout the dynasties, private collusion between civil servants and military generals has been a taboo for the royal family. What's more, Jinling City must be full of the emperor's spies;"

"It must be because of this incident that the emperor deliberately lowered your title during the conferment ceremony, in order to warn you!"

With that said, Liu Xinwu turned around and scolded Liu Ziyu: "You too, didn't your father tell you to keep a low profile while you are in the capital?"

"It's a good thing that you dare to go to the Qinhuai River to drink wine with people like Su Chen and Jiang Ning openly. Aren't you just hitting the emperor's knife edge?"

Liu Ziyu defended: "Father, son and minister, son and minister also want to share the worries of the father -"

"never mind!"

Liu Xinwu waved his hand, rudely interrupted Liu Ziyu's defense, and said: "The matter is now over, it's a done deal, it doesn't matter who's fault it is anymore!"

After thinking about it, Liu Xinwu said: "Ziyu, after you leave Beijing, you can't act as you please. When you return to Wuzhou, you can lead your troops well and guard the border for the emperor."

"As a father, I will also find an opportunity to go to the emperor to find out what's going on. When the time is right, I will naturally put in a few nice words for you and clear up the misunderstanding!"

"Stop teasing my father!"

"As long as you work for the emperor in a down-to-earth manner, this title cannot be changed in the future!"

After speaking, Liu Xinwu waved his hand and said: "Okay, according to the regulations of the Ministry of Rites, you must leave Beijing today, and being a father will not delay you!"

"The king is leaving, remember every word I said to you today!"

"Father, I remember this!"

While talking, Liu Ziyu personally sent away his adoptive father, King Zhao Liu Xinwu.

Standing at the door of the inn, looking at the back of King Zhao's carriage as he drove away, Liu Ziyu's face finally regained its stern look, muttering to herself: "Humph, the adopted son is not his biological son after all!"

"What are you waiting for? I, Liu Ziyu, don't have that much time to wait!"

"He is unkind, don't blame me for being unjust!"