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

Just after Ying Zheng made his decision, colorful rays of light began to shimmer in the sky.

When the scene reappeared, Li Er, transformed into Liu Bang, had already appeared in the sky.

Feeling his body suddenly weaken, Li Er found it hard to accept.

Back then, he was someone who could charge into battle and even loved to duel with others on the battlefield.

Even as he got older, his health remained robust.

But now that it's suddenly in this state of half its body buried in the ground, it's a bit hard to get used to.

"Third Brother, what are our plans for today? Shall we go to that restaurant again?"

Li Er was still adjusting to his physical condition when someone suddenly patted him on the shoulder from behind.

That slap almost knocked him over.

"You are... Fan Kuai?"

Although Li Er had never met Fan Kuai, it wasn't hard to guess his identity from the smell of meat sauce on his body and the immense strength in his hands.

"Why is Third Brother so confused today? It's already noon, could it be that he hasn't woken up yet?"

"Registrar Xiao invited us to drink today, we need to quickly decide on a place."

Registrar Xiao?

That must be Xiao He.

To be fair, Liu Bang's rise to power was truly smooth!

Top talents such as Fan Kuai, Xiao He, and Cao Can all gathered in Pei County.

Furthermore, the Qin Dynasty was about to come to an end under Hu Hai's rule.

With Chen Sheng and Wu Guang drawing fire from the front, and King Huai of Chu and Xiang Yu leading the main attack from behind.

Although he started from scratch, he should be able to handle this challenge if he operates properly!

What he needs to do now is to subtly convey his meaning to Xiao He and the others, making them understand that he harbors ambitions to conquer the world!

Leaving aside people like Fan Kuai whose brains are only filled with muscles, at least Xiao He and Cao Can need to understand.

Emperor Gaozu's original experience was that he had to wait until he was escorted to Mount Li and then release the laborers before he was forced to become an outlaw. It was only when Chen Sheng and others gathered to start an uprising that he dared to raise the banner of rebellion against Qin.

But Li Er wasn't prepared to wait that long!

He knew Liu Bang's original experiences, all the talent pool of that era, and also knew the military strength of the Qin Dynasty and Xiang Yu's trump cards.

In this situation, if it takes him another seven years to unify the world, he, the mighty Heavenly Khan, cannot afford to lose face!

Seeing that Li Er was silent and seemed to be thinking about something, Fan Kuai took it as his agreement to go to the familiar tavern and led the way.

A moment later, a reasonably sized tavern appeared before Li Er.

It was midday, and quite a few people had come to drink.

Fortunately, Fan Kuai was acquainted with the boss, who had already reserved a seat for him.

He easily settled Li Er into his seat, then got up to greet Xiao He and the others.

Seeing him busy with everything without a single complaint, Li Er couldn't help but chuckle.

It's no wonder that even on his deathbed, knowing that Fan Kuai was part of Empress Lü's faction, Emperor Gaozu of Han still hesitated about whether to really kill Fan Kuai, and in the end, Fan Kuai was able to die a peaceful death.

Regardless of his abilities, just looking at his hard work and dedication, he can at least be considered a reliable and easy-to-use general!

For him, this kind of person is the most useful.

Abilities can be cultivated later, but loyalty is something that some people naturally possess, while others are simply ungrateful wretches who cannot be tamed!

A moment later, while Li Er was still pondering, Xiao He and the others had already arrived.

After they sat down, Fan Kuai repeatedly gave him meaningful glances, but Li Er ignored them all.

He was now completely focused on figuring out how to subtly convey his thoughts to Xiao He.

Before he could come up with a solution, he saw Cao Can's head slowly emerge, his face full of shifty eyes and a guilty conscience.

"Brother Liu, you know, we're all getting on in years. If we keep drifting along like this, we're afraid we'll just fade into obscurity."

"I've been discussing this with Xiao He these past few days, and we have some ideas. Would you like to hear them?"

Oh?

You already have a great idea without me having to tell you?

Goodness, so sensible!

It's not hard to tell from Cao Shen's tone that what he was about to say was likely the same thing that Li Er wanted to imply to them.

However, just as he was about to speak, Xiao He pressed him down.

"This is a serious matter, and with so many people involved, let's drink first, and then we can talk about it at my place."

"it is good!"

Only Fan Kuai looked at the three of them with a completely bewildered expression. Their mysterious demeanor left him utterly confused.

but……

It didn't matter anymore; he was used to this feeling.

He always just did the actual work.

Their brains are definitely not as well developed as theirs.

After a hearty meal, Fan Kuai paid the bill and then followed the three men to Xiao He's residence.

A moment later, a gasp of surprise came from inside the house.

"Treason?! You actually want to..."

Fan Kuai had barely uttered half a shout when Cao Can immediately covered his mouth.

"What are you yelling for? You think you can just kill me?"

"Furthermore, this doesn't count as treason. At most, it's just helping our brothers in Pei County reduce taxes and corvée labor within reasonable limits!"

Cao Can growled.

Xiao He, standing to the side, remained calm, his gaze fixed on Li Er.

"Brother Liu, you have always been kind and righteous, and everyone in Pei County respects you."

"Now the imperial court's taxes are becoming increasingly heavy, and corvée labor is being levied year after year. If this continues, I'm afraid even we will die at Mount Li."

"Can you bear to see this happen?"

Li Er finally understood that these two had no intention of starting a rebellion, at least for now they dared not even think about it.

Their idea was to use becoming outlaws as a means to reasonably circumvent the corvée labor imposed by the imperial court.

The imperial court is currently beset by internal and external troubles, and it would be far too much to send troops to suppress a minor bandit problem in Pei County.

There are certain risks involved, but if it succeeds, it can help many people in Peixian County avoid corvée labor.

"Why are you telling me this? Shouldn't you be telling the magistrate?"

Li Er did not agree immediately, but instead asked a question.

“The magistrate would never agree to that. That corrupt official only cares about his own salary and benefits; he doesn’t care about the lives of his men.”

Anyone who isn't deaf can hear the dissatisfaction in Cao Shen's tone.

But Xiao He did not let him continue.

“Brother Liu, I know this matter will put you in a difficult position. If you are unwilling, then let’s pretend we never said anything today. I don’t think you are the kind of person who would betray a friend.”

Li Er did not agree immediately, which Xiao He considered as a rejection.

But to the surprise of the three, Li Er slowly shook his head.

A wicked smile suddenly appeared on that face that they were all so familiar with.

"Becoming an outlaw? Escaping corvée labor?"

"What's the big deal? If what you're saying makes sense, I can help you, which is also a way of helping myself."

"But before that, I have a better idea. Would you like to hear it?"