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

"The only reward I can think of is granting land and making a king."

"After all, when I first entered the palace, all the officials told me that the Great Wei was in dire need of rebuilding and that there were many places where money was needed, so I must be frugal."

"General, look around my palace, is there anywhere that looks like I could offer a reward?"

"But since I am the last emperor of the Great Wei, I should naturally make proper arrangements for the loyal ministers and generals of the Great Wei in the court for my ancestors."

"How could I have imagined that Grand Commandant Gao would act in such a way after learning of my thoughts..."

At this point, Liu Bang's expression showed not only fear but also a hint of self-reproach.

The purpose of inviting Gao Rou to the palace was to discuss the abdication of the throne to the Sima family, and the promise of being made a king was to arrange for meritorious officials of the Great Wei by their ancestors.

Listening to his explanation, Sima Zhao couldn't find a single fault with him.

From this perspective, it really was Gao Rou who brought this upon herself!

If he hadn't been so eager to jump out, and had instead been more patient and waited until he had settled the distribution of benefits with Wang Xiang and the others before showing his face, the Gao family probably wouldn't have suffered such a terrible fate.

With Gao Rou in the middle, Wang Xiang wouldn't make such an outrageous demand, and there might still be room for maneuver.

Furthermore, the emperor himself intended to abdicate in favor of the Sima family.

Thinking of this, Sima Zhao suddenly felt a pang of regret.

If Gao Rou hadn't been killed, if that "killing the chicken to scare the monkey" incident hadn't made the situation so tense, perhaps everything would have been different.

Perhaps at that time they would all be willing to accept the plan he had discussed with his brother, which was to only grant him the title of king but not the land. After the two sides compromised, Sima Zhao would then ascend the throne.

At this point, he only had one last question left.

"Then Your Majesty, why did Li Zhao escape secretly using a fake identity token? Do you know what he went to do?"

Liu Bang pretended to be deep in thought, and after a moment shook his head in distress.

"General, you know that since I came to this palace, I have been engrossed in studying the writings of great Confucian scholars and have rarely been involved in official business."

“If I hadn’t thought it was time to abdicate in favor of the Grand General, I wouldn’t have pulled these stunts.”

That's true.

Sima Zhao nodded in agreement.

He knew perfectly well that, based on the information reported by the palace servants, every word Liu Bang said was the truth.

"So his secret departure was not at Your Majesty's behest?"

"How could it be my order? I don't have many people serving me anyway, why would I let him leave?"

Liu Bang looked completely innocent.

"It seems I was overthinking things. Your Majesty, please rest well. I shall take my leave."

Sima Zhao had no more doubts, and without bowing, he turned and left.

"By the way, General, I overheard Li Zhao talking to someone in secret not long ago. I wonder if this will be of any use."

"Oh? What did you say?"

Sima Zhao turned his head instantly.

"I didn't hear the specifics very clearly, I only vaguely seemed to hear Zhuge... Zhuge..."

"Yes, it sounds like Zhuge Liang's name!"

Sima Zhao: "?"

"Your Majesty, what are you saying? The Prime Minister Zhuge of Shu has been dead for many years. Why is Li Zhao bringing up this person for no reason?"

At this point, he thought of his unfilial son, Sima Yan.

It seems there are actually people who inexplicably bring it up and express great admiration for that Prime Minister Zhuge!

However, the reason why Sima Yan was able to know Zhuge Liang's past deeds was because he came from the Sima family and had a very detailed record of Zhuge Liang's six expeditions to Qishan.

But what gives Li Zhao the right to do so?

No, it's not Zhuge Liang!

Besides Zhuge Liang, who else could it be?

Whose surname is Zhuge?

"Zhuge Dan!"

"Your Majesty, did you hear Zhuge Dan?"

"It seems to be true!"

"How did you know, General? It seems you possess the same wisdom as the Great General!"

Upon receiving Liu Bang's sudden, enlightened affirmation, Sima Zhao felt as if a lightning bolt had struck his mind.

Everything that was previously incomprehensible has now been cleared up!

If there really was an unseen hand behind the events in the capital, then compared to the cowardly yet cooperative young emperor before him, he was more inclined to believe it was Zhuge Dan!

Born into the Zhuge clan of Nanyang, he now holds the official position of Governor of Yangzhou, wielding military power over the entire province. At the same time, he forms a triangular relationship with Guanqiu Jian, his elder brother's greatest threat, and the Eastern Wu.

If this person is secretly causing trouble, even if the aristocratic families in the capital fail, they can turn around and turn to him.

With the support of numerous powerful clans and the backing of Guanqiu Jian and the Eastern Wu, Zhuge Dan definitely had a chance to contend with the Great Wei!

He has the confidence to cause trouble, and the foundation to gain the trust of various powerful families!

Therefore, Li Zhao was never one of the young emperor's men, but rather one of Zhuge Dan's men!

As a close attendant, he probably often heard the young emperor talking about wanting to abdicate and granting titles of kings to many of Cao Wei's meritorious officials.

Li Zhao overheard these words and passed the message on to Zhuge Dan, thus giving birth to the plan to disrupt the entire capital!

The more Sima Zhao thought about it, the more convinced he became that this was the truth!

"Thank you, Your Majesty. I have finally figured out who is behind this chaos in the capital!"

"I resign!"

Watching him leave, Liu Bang raised his hand and rubbed his face vigorously.

I got so into acting just now that my face almost froze.

"Your Majesty, you have been wronged."

Uncle Jiao, who was standing nearby, lay on the ground, sobbing, and refused to get up.

"Feeling wronged? What am I wronged about?"

Liu Bang smiled.

"When you're under someone's roof, it's only right to suffer this little grievance. Back in the day, after Emperor Gaozu of Han was defeated at Pengcheng, he abandoned his wife and children and fled alone by carriage. What are my little grievances compared to his?"

"Jiao Bo, you must know that those who achieve great things must endure what ordinary people cannot."

Upon hearing this, Uncle Jiao remained silent.

He hadn't read many books and didn't know anything about Emperor Gaozu of Han abandoning his wife and children. All he knew was that the emperor he served had suffered a great humiliation, and he was powerless to do anything about it!

Tears of resentment fell to the ground.

Seeing his appearance, Liu Bang sighed inwardly.

On the eve of his ascension to the throne as a puppet emperor, he was fortunate to encounter such a loyal subject.

This was probably Cao Mao's luckiest aspect.

If it weren't for Jiao Bo, he probably wouldn't even have had the chance to break out of the palace gates.

"Uncle Jiao, if you really want to help me, then don't kneel here crying like a woman."

"Go and train the elite soldiers for me. Go and see what else they need, and have Eunuch Guo prepare it."

"When I truly turn against the Sima family in the future, those assassins you trained will be my only guarantee of safety!"

Upon hearing this, Uncle Jiao suddenly realized what was happening and kowtowed three times.

"Yes, Your Majesty! This servant obeys! This servant will certainly not disappoint Your Majesty!"

"Alright, you may leave. Let me be alone for a while."

"If those two Sima brothers come again next time, you don't need to stop them. They won't touch me."