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

Although in the eyes of later generations, Wang Xiang's act of lying on ice to catch carp seemed more like a show put on for his own career advancement.

But in the eyes of people of that time, this was the epitome of utmost sincerity and filial piety!

Not to mention that after becoming famous, he chose to retire gracefully and did not rush to enter officialdom.

This move further elevated his status in the eyes of countless gentry.

Anyone with eyes can see that he is paving the way for himself, but how many people in the world have eyes?

Sima Shi might be considered one.

Sima Zhao might not have been able to see it, but he never took that old man seriously from beginning to end.

However, neither of the brothers clearly realized the true significance of the "old man" they were referring to in Liu Bang's scheme.

"That's right. After Sima Shi demonstrated his power, the various powerful clans will be intimidated, but they will also secretly band together for mutual support."

"In this purge, Wang Xiang did not die, and he will rightfully become the true leader of the powerful clans."

“His prestige among the gentry will continue to rise, but once he dies at the hands of the Sima family, all the backlash, including this purge, will follow.”

"So this is the opportunity that Emperor Gaozu was waiting for!?"

Yang Jian exclaimed in amazement.

If it were him in this challenge, he probably wouldn't be able to resist jumping out when the Sima family started purging the gentry.

After all, as Cao Cao said, in the eyes of most people, this was a perfect opportunity to raise a voice and take advantage of the emperor's power.

But Li Er was right; the premise for doing so was that Sima Shi was not in the capital.

Once he realizes that chaos has broken out in the capital, he can temporarily ignore both Guanqiu Jian and Jiang Wei.

Even if he were to relinquish one or two states to feed those two factions, as long as he could resolve the troubles behind him, it would still be a win for the Sima family.

By then, no matter how anxious Guanqiu Jian was, he wouldn't have time to get to the capital to protect the emperor.

Unless Liu Bang transforms into Xiang Yu and leads thousands of men to fight his way through and successfully reunite with Guanqiu Jian, he is doomed!

So, although the situation seemed to have improved, in reality, for Liu Bang, there was still only one safe way to survive.

We'll start with the aristocratic clans again!

……

For the next ten days or so, there was no further movement in the palace.

Chen Tai did not come again. He obediently listened to Liu Bang and did what he was supposed to do.

He did whatever Sima Zhao told him to do, appearing to be a loyal dog.

Even Chen Tan couldn't help but question him, asking which side he truly cared about.

Chen Tai had no choice but to suffer in silence, for he was naturally loyal to the emperor.

Putting aside the title of King of Han and the fiefdom of Yongzhou, his own heart was undoubtedly biased towards the Great Wei.

But the emperor only told him to do his job and gave him no other instructions. What could he do?

Are you suggesting I make this decision on my own?

If things go wrong, not only will he lose his own life, but he may also ruin the emperor's plans, a result he would find even harder to bear.

As for Jiao Bo, after several encouragements, he spent most of his time outside of his duties in the palace at the place arranged for him by Empress Dowager Guo.

He seemed to sense it too, knowing that the current situation was becoming increasingly tense and that things could break down at any moment.

At that time, the hundreds of elite warriors he trained and adopted would be Liu Bang's last hope for a comeback.

On the contrary, Empress Dowager Guo was somewhat unaccustomed to the sudden calm, and repeatedly sent Eunuch Guo to inquire about the situation in a veiled manner.

But every time, the answer I got was, "Wait a little longer."

She didn't know what Liu Bang was waiting for, but she could only suppress her unease and wait with him.

These days, Liu Bang's behavior is also very consistent with his public persona.

Besides reading books, he spent his days debating classic texts with great Confucian scholars.

Seeing his performance, Sima Zhao was completely relieved.

Another person who felt reassured was Wang Xiang.

A month after Sima Shi led his troops to quell the rebellion, his deterrent power had largely dissipated.

Some restless ambitions have begun to sprout again.

That night, after seeing off the great Confucian scholar, Liu Bang was about to return to the palace to rest when the person he was waiting for finally arrived uninvited.

Seeing Wang Xiang waiting quietly outside the palace gate, he frowned and prepared to walk around him with a look of disdain.

"Your Majesty, please wait."

Wang Xiang became anxious.

Liu Bang's behavior was completely unexpected.

what happened?

Didn't we have a very pleasant conversation last time?

Why did they perform like this this time?!

He quickly took two steps to meet him.

"Your Majesty, why is this?"

"Why is this so? Grand Commandant, how dare you ask me why I am like this?"

Liu Bang looked furious and embarrassed.

"Last time I told you that I wanted to confer titles upon the princes to repay you, my important ministers, for your great contributions to our Wei Dynasty. But how have you treated me?"

“You turn around and tell the General that everything was my own doing, and push all the blame onto me.”

"Grand Commandant, you can't act like this, can you?"

These words left Wang Xiang speechless and unable to lift his head.

It seems that this is indeed the case.

After witnessing his nephews and nieces being slaughtered, he was genuinely terrified for a moment.

So at that time, he revealed all of their previous conversations, just to save himself.

Although the final result was that the young emperor was only subtly criticized by Sima Zhao, ultimately, it was his fault.

"I was negligent for a moment, and I beg Your Majesty to punish me."

He had no room for excuses regarding this matter.

In order to ensure that the following conversation could proceed smoothly, Wang Xiang had no choice but to obediently lower his head and admit his mistake.

"Punish me? Hmph, I dare not. I am nothing but a mere puppet now. The Grand Commandant is probably already preparing to pledge allegiance to the new emperor, isn't he?"

"Having entered the palace today, you must already be preparing the ceremony for my abdication?"

"Speak, when and where, and I will comply!"

With that, Liu Bang turned to leave.

Wang Xiang panicked completely. In his desperation, he disregarded all formalities and grabbed a corner of Liu Bang's robe.

"Your Majesty, please wait. I have never harbored any disloyal thoughts. From beginning to end, you have been the only emperor in my heart!"

“When Sima Zhao questioned me, he directly led his troops to surround my residence. If I had not cooperated at that time, I would probably be beheaded by now. How could I then assist Your Majesty?”

"In order to preserve my useful life, this old minister thought it over and over again and determined that Sima Zhao would not threaten Your Majesty. Only then did I reveal the details of our conversation that day, which is why I have the opportunity to see Your Majesty again today!"

"This old minister is absolutely loyal to Your Majesty and has no other intentions whatsoever!"

Regardless of how much of what he said was true, judging from the old man's expression, there was nothing wrong with it.

Liu Bang knew the time was almost right, and immediately showed some hesitation.

"The General of the Household led troops to surround the Grand Commandant's residence? How could he do such a treasonous thing?"