Zhao Hanqing stared blankly at Zhao Bairen. After a while, he realized that his father was not looking at him, but at the ancestral cages and tablets in front of him.
Zhao Hanqing felt even more guilty. He kowtowed and said, "I am useless, I have let down my ancestors!"
He was about to kowtow again, but Zhao Bairen took half a step forward and placed his hand on his shoulder, stopping him.
Zhao Bairen chuckled and said, "Third Brother, you have done a good job!"
Zhao Hanqing was stunned. He looked at Zhao Bairen with his mouth agape, not knowing how to answer.
Zhao Bairen said, "Third Brother, come here …"
Zhao Bairen slowly walked to the seat where Zhao Hanqing had copied the Book of Filial Piety. He flipped through a few pages of the Book of Filial Piety that Zhao Bairen had copied. He noticed that the handwriting was firm and powerful. Almost every word and line was neat and tidy, as if they had been carved by a knife or an axe.
Zhao Bairen couldn't help but sigh, not knowing if he was admiring or lamenting. He said, "Third Brother, do you know about the two rebellions in the Divine Capital during the reign of Emperor Gaowu and Emperor Taizong?"
Zhao Hanqing was stunned again. He stood respectfully at the side with his hands at his side and said, "I know."
Zhao Bairen knocked on the small table and said, "Sit down, sit down and talk."
Zhao Hanqing carefully knelt at the side, looking at his nose and his nose at his heart. His posture and etiquette were impeccable.
Zhao Bairen said, "Do you know what Emperor Gaowu and Emperor Taizong dreamt of doing?"
Zhao Hanqing's heart skipped a beat. He said in a very soft voice, "I … know."
Zhao Bairen looked up at the ancestral tablets and said in a low voice, "Daqi's danger is not external, but internal; the world's danger is not in the hands and feet, but in the heart!"
Zhao Bairen picked up a brush and wrote a bold and powerful character on the paper: Qian!
Zhao Hanqing only took one glance at it before his eyes widened in shock. He looked at Zhao Bairen, speechless.
He knew that the meaning of Zhao Bairen's character was: Cosmos God Cult!
Zhao Bairen sighed, "When I passed the throne to Emperor Xuanzong, he struggled to get up from his sickbed. Then, just like today, he took my hand and led me to look at the memorial tablets of my ancestors. He told me this in a heartfelt manner."
Zhao Hanqing was greatly shocked. It was like this was the first time he had met this father in front of him, the first time he truly understood this emperor!
This sentence naturally meant that the dangers of Da Qi were not external, but internal. The dangers of the world were not in the hands and feet, but in the heart!
What is this inside?
What was this confidant?
Cosmos God Cult!
The struggle between the imperial power and the religious power had lasted for five hundred years in the history of the Daqi Kingdom. The emperors of each dynasty had wanted to launch an attack on the religious power. They wanted to defeat the religious power and subdue these terrible cultivators into a cage.
However, the iron-clad law set by the Nine Heavens put the imperial power at a natural disadvantage in such a battle: Officials don't cultivate, and cultivators don't become officials!
Members of the royal family were not allowed to participate in cultivation!
Those who disobey will be punished by the heavens!
This was a chain that firmly locked the expansion and expansion of the imperial power.
Zhao Bairen said in a low voice, "The Nine Heavens set this iron-clad law in order to balance the development of the human world, and to cause internal strife between the royal family and the cultivators.
But, how can we allow others to sleep beside our bed! "
Zhao Bairen snorted coldly, his eyes gradually filled with anger and hatred. "Emperor Gao Wu wanted to take back part of the religious power, and wanted the people of the Divine Cult to take the lead in paying taxes and serving the military. In the end … Emperor Gao Wu died suddenly the next year!
The cause of his death is still unsolved!
After Emperor Taizong succeeded the throne, he inherited Emperor Gao Wu's last wish and learned from the emperor's experience. "
"But, he still underestimated the desire and ambition of the Divine Cult!
Emperor Gao Wu only ordered the reform minister, Wu Yucun, to take away part of the paddy fields under the jurisdiction of the Divine Cult, and it immediately led to numerous impeachments. In the end, he could only resign from his position and retire home. But, the next year, he also died suddenly! "
Zhao Bairen stared at Zhao Hanqing and said, "Do you think this was the doing of the Divine Cult?"
Zhao Hanqing lowered his head and said, "Everything depends on the heart, not the deeds …"
Whether or not it was really the doing of the Divine Cult was not important, because the irreconcilable contradiction was there. The royal family firmly believed that it was the doing of the Divine Cult, so it must be the doing of the Divine Cult, and it could only be the doing of the Divine Cult!
Zhao Bairen nodded, his face showing a look of admiration. He said, "When you were young, I did not think highly of you. You were upright and upright, and you had the demeanor of a gentleman. If you were to become a minister, you would definitely be a famous minister.
But if you were to become an emperor, the ruler of a country, you would definitely be the ruler of a subjugated country!
Do you know why? "
Zhao Hanqing's heart trembled, and he honestly said in a low voice, "As a minister, although a gentleman can be deceived, but if you abide by your heart and stick to the way of being a minister, you will only lose four or five people around you, and you will still be able to leave your name in history. But as a ruler, if you do not know how to be flexible, and do not know how to compromise, then it will be easy to break, and you can deceive, but the billions of people in the world will suffer."
Zhao Bairen kept nodding and said, "My son, you have really improved!
All these years of traveling to the north and south have not been in vain! "
By this time, Zhao Hanqing had understood most of it. His voice was slightly trembling as he said, "It's all thanks to Imperial Father's guidance!"
Zhao Bairen smiled and said, "I have chosen a good Master for you, and he did not let me down!"
After that, he looked at the memorial tablet again and said, "Emperor Xuanzong handed over the throne to me, and also handed over the last wishes of the ancestors to me!
I … tried, tried, but … I … was still afraid in the end! "
Zhao Bairen did not elaborate on the details, but Zhao Hanqing could roughly guess some of the hidden shadows of swords and blades, as well as the surging undercurrents.
Zhao Bairen looked at Zhao Hanqing and said, "Third Brother, your character is firm and unyielding, and indomitable. You are stronger than me, and you have more hope than me!"
Zhao Hanqing prostrated himself on the ground in fear, saying, "This son is afraid!"
Zhao Bairen patted Zhao Hanqing's shoulder, signaling him to get up. He said, "My son, do you know that although the Autumn Moon Valley Massacre is the worst tragedy in the Divine Capital in five hundred years, it is also the worst tragedy in the Cosmos God Cult in five hundred years?"
After saying that, Zhao Bairen stared at Zhao Han Qing, his pair of cloudy eyes filled with a piercing light!
Zhao Hanqing was dazed for a moment, then his body trembled uncontrollably!
He finally understood what Zhao Bairen meant by those words!
This was the period when the Cosmos God Cult was at its weakest, at its weakest, and this was a golden opportunity!
Zhao Hanqing immediately kowtowed without hesitation and said, "This son will definitely be Imperial Father's vanguard, carrying on the ancestors' wishes to eradicate the Cult's malignant tumor, restore our Great Qi Empire, and restore our Divine Prefecture!"
Zhao Bairen's spirits were lifted. He smiled and helped Zhao Hanqing up, gently smoothing the creases on his robe, and said, "Now, you still need an opportunity!"
Zhao Hanqing thought for a moment, then asked tentatively, "The war in the Southeast?"
Zhao Bairen nodded and said, "Although the Autumn Moon Valley Massacre has dealt a heavy blow to the Divine Prefecture Cult, the war has reached a critical juncture, and the arrow must be fired!
I will beg the Cult to dispatch troops, and together with other sects, we will send cultivators to support the war in the Southeast.
As long as the war in the Southeast is settled, I will immediately pass the throne to you. At that time, Third Brother, you can show your strength and wipe away the shame of our late Emperor! "
Zhao Hanqing said in fear, "Imperial Father, why do you have to do this?
How can your son be worthy of this … "
Without waiting for him to finish, Zhao Bairen stared at Zhao Hanqing sternly and said in a low and stern voice, "This is the heavy responsibility that the ancestors entrusted to you, are you going to shirk it?"
Zhao Hanqing did not say anything else. He took a step back, knelt down, and kowtowed nine times!