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

"Eunuch Guo, you should report today's events truthfully."

"The Empress Dowager is also my mother. She can know everything I do."

"As for the Guo family members, there's no need for them to know so much. Do you understand?"

In the blink of an eye, Liu Bang reverted to his approachable demeanor.

It was as if the questioning had never happened.

Only then did Eunuch Guo dare to raise his head slightly.

Looking at Liu Bang's gentle and welcoming demeanor, it was as if his thunderous rage had never existed.

"Old servant, old servant understands."

"The Empress Dowager also instructed that everything that happened today should only be told to her, and not to anyone else!"

This includes, of course, her father and brothers!

"Then you may leave. I will have Jiao Bo serve me here. It's alright. I won't blame you, and the Empress Dowager probably won't blame you either."

Liu Bang waved his hand and said.

Eunuch Guo knew that this was a way of telling people to leave.

He was very sensible; after respectfully performing a deep kneeling bow, he called for the palace servants he had brought to leave.

Before long, only Jiao Bo remained in the hall.

"You may go down now. Tomorrow morning, Eunuch Guo should come looking for you with ten thousand taels of gold. He can show you around the place then."

"If the money is not enough, I will provide it; if the place is not big enough, we can replace it."

"I only want a result, Jiao Bo. You must not disappoint me."

"I am determined to serve Your Majesty to the death and will never let Your Majesty down!"

Everything that happened today gave Jiao Bo hope.

Eliminate the Sima clan and revive the hope of the Great Wei!

……

Chen Tai returned home in a hurry, and before he could even sit down, he sent someone to look for his cousin.

"His Majesty has given me an imperial edict today."

Chen Tan had barely arrived and hadn't even settled in when Chen Tai eagerly began to speak.

"Ah? Your Majesty?"

"that is not……"

Chen Tan wanted to say, "Isn't that just a puppet emperor?"

Seeing Chen Tai's solemn expression and the barely concealed excitement in his eyes, he immediately realized something.

"Does His Majesty intend to seize power?"

"Brother, you must not act rashly. The Grand General in the court has many supporters. Our Chen family must not try to stop him!"

Chen Zuo had just entered the room when he heard these words, and immediately ran over in three steps.

"What are you talking about? My brother wants to help His Majesty seize power?"

"I know that you have always wanted to support the Cao family, but can't you see the current situation clearly?"

"This world no longer belongs to the Cao family. The Sima family is all-powerful and is willing to share the spoils with us gentry. Why should we invite trouble upon ourselves?"

He didn't even have time to listen to what Chen Tai had to say before firmly standing on Chen Tan's side.

Faced with their firm opposition, Chen Tai remained silent, only taking out the imperial edict from his bosom.

"This is?"

At his prompting, Chen Zuo stepped forward and unfolded the imperial edict.

After understanding what was written there, his eyes widened as wide as saucers.

"To bestow upon him the title of King of Han? And to grant him the fief of Yongzhou?"

"Brother, what is this...?"

The two of them turned to look at Chen Tai at the same time, seemingly hoping he would give a reasonable explanation.

"His Majesty summoned me to the palace today to give me this imperial edict."

“He told me that if he won, he would be made the King of Han, and Yongzhou would become the fiefdom of my Chen family. If the Sima family won, he would burn the imperial edict, and then nothing would happen.”

Chen Zuo and Chen Tan: "!"

The two looked at each other, their eyes filled with immense shock.

Could such imperial tactics be conceived by a puppet?

"This is a matter of great importance, and I find it difficult to make a decision. What do you two think?"

After carefully rolling up the imperial edict and tucking it into his robes, Chen Tai asked quietly.

"Should we seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, or sit idly by?"

To fight, or to give up?

The imperial edict echoed in their minds like a spell.

If they win, they will be granted land and titles of kings, and the Chen clan of Yingchuan will flourish under their rule, benefiting their descendants immensely!

If they lose, the consequences will naturally be dire.

Given Sima Shi's vicious nature, he would surely try to wipe them out completely.

This wasn't the first time the Sima family had committed the crime of exterminating three generations of their families.

To be on the safe side, it would be best to take this imperial edict and do nothing.

In the worst-case scenario, if Sima Shi wins and successfully ascends the throne, they can pretend nothing happened.

But this also means watching this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity slip through our fingers.

"Since the founding of the Han Dynasty by Emperor Taizu, there have been very few kings of different surnames, and those who were willingly granted the title by the emperor are even more extremely rare!"

"And now, such an honor is in our hands. If we seize it, we will be remembered in history!"

Chen Zuo completely changed his demeanor from when he had painstakingly advised Chen Tai against making enemies of the Sima family.

After the initial shock, his ambition began to swell uncontrollably.

Once Chen Tai is granted the title of King of Han, the entire Yongzhou will belong to the Chen family!

At that time, the Chen family of Yingchuan that everyone talks about will become the Wang family of Yongzhou!

The difference between a top-tier aristocratic family and a king who owns a fiefdom is obvious to anyone who isn't a fool!

Chen Tan did not express any further objection to his statement.

"So you all think we should seize this opportunity?"

Chen Tai smiled.

He was also flustered when he first received the imperial edict.

But after figuring it out, he, like Chen Zuo, was left only with excitement.

First of all, if he had to choose between the Sima family and the Cao family, he would definitely choose the Cao family!

Secondly, does the emperor necessarily have no chance of winning at all?

That might have been the case before, but today, after witnessing the Emperor's skillful tactics, especially with the Empress Dowager now standing on the Emperor's side.

Who dares to say that such an emperor had no chance to eliminate the Sima clan?

“Brother, if this matter succeeds, it would not be an exaggeration to say that it is a meritorious service to the emperor.”

"I agree that we should seize this opportunity, but for our own safety, we still need to plan carefully."

Of the three, Chen Tan was the calmest.

He rose to the position of Minister of Justice, one of the Nine Ministers, and was well aware of just how immense the power of the Sima family was in the court.

Even with the emperor's authority supporting them, the mere Chen family of Yingchuan is like an ant trying to shake a tree.

“Of course, what His Majesty needs to win over is far more than just my Chen family.”

"Now that he has made up his mind to grant fiefdoms to princes, it will no longer be difficult to win over the gentry."

Chen Tai nodded.

"But what exactly is the Emperor's purpose in doing this?"

"If he were to divide up all the prefectures and counties of the Great Wei in order to win over the gentry, what would be left of him as emperor?"

Chen Tan still had some questions about this.

However, before Chen Tai could speak, Chen Zuo spoke first.

"Is that even a question? Do you want to abdicate and die an unjust death at the hands of Sima Shi, or do you want to be a Zhou emperor who enjoys wealth and honor and leaves behind a good reputation?"

"Young man, if you were in his shoes, what would you choose?"