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

As it turned out, Liu Bang's worries, as well as Zhang Liang's pre-planned escape route, were unfounded.

Not to mention the garrison left by Jiang Wei that blocked Wen Yang, even the army he personally led could only sigh helplessly when they saw Chang'an change hands.

After his conversation with Sima Shi and his meeting with Liu Bang that night, he had a complete understanding of the situation within the Wei Kingdom.

It appeared chaotic, but in reality, it was firmly controlled from beginning to end.

Who rebelled, who mobilized troops to suppress it, what the gentry thought and did, and even every step taken by the Han army he led, all seemed to be planned out.

As for when it began to be controlled?

It roughly started from the time this young emperor ascended the throne.

To be honest, the fact that Wei's army took Chang'an first, forcing him to detour through Tianshui and retreat from Qishan back to Shu, was exactly what he had expected.

However, the young emperor of Wei anticipated everything and was able to make arrangements and countermeasures in advance.

But when it came to Jiang Wei, even if he anticipated the Wei army's prediction, there was nothing he could do.

The young emperor had already calculated the maximum extent of the forces he could mobilize.

This left him powerless to stop the Wei army from attacking Chang'an, even though he anticipated it.

A lead at one step means a lead at every step.

"General, what should we do? Attack the city?"

Thirty miles outside Chang'an, looking at the Wei army flags flying on the city walls, the adjutant beside him couldn't help but ask.

Before this, he couldn't quite understand why the general would suddenly choose to withdraw his troops.

But I understand it now.

It turned out that their retreat route had been cut off by the Wei army.

"Attack the city?"

"If nothing unexpected happens, the young emperor is on his way with his troops. If he really attacks the city, and his advance is slowed down by the city's defenders, wouldn't he become like Sima Shi, the mantis that tries to catch a cicada?"

Jiang Wei knew perfectly well how easily he could win while Sima Shi was attacking the capital and attacking him from behind.

The easier his victory was then, the more exhilarating his defeat would be.

The kind that leaves you completely defenseless.

"Oh? What should we do now?"

The deputy general was stunned, clearly not understanding Jiang Wei's meaning.

In his view, most of the supplies were left in Chang'an City, and before they could advance directly to the capital of Wei, they could not afford to be too stingy with provisions.

Even if they managed to plunder a considerable amount of grain from Sima Shi's camp, it might not be enough for them to cross the Ziwu Valley back to Shu.

After all, everyone had witnessed the dangers and hardships they faced on their journey.

If given a choice, they would certainly not want to go back the way they came.

"No, we will take Tianshui and join up with the army over there from Qishan!"

"We will definitely be unable to leave this Meridian Valley in the future, but as long as we can take Tianshui, we will still have a chance!"

Jiang Wei decided to follow the example of the former prime minister.

After capturing Tianshui, we established military farms in the war zone, completely resolving the problem of transporting grain from Sichuan!

"I will obey your orders!"

……

"That's just the way it is."

Several days later, when Liu Bang arrived in Chang'an with his men, Wen Yang truthfully reported what had happened outside the city and the movements of the Han army.

Upon hearing that Jiang Wei had decisively abandoned Chang'an, along with a large amount of supplies and prisoners, Liu Bang's eyes were filled with admiration.

If it were him, he would have made the same choice.

When it is interrupted, it will suffer from chaos!

For Shu, being trapped in Chang'an was not as important as taking Tianshui and opening up the Qishan Road.

After all, the Ziwu Valley plank road has been abandoned for many years. Using the strategy of "openly repairing the plank road while secretly crossing the Chencang pass" once would be a brilliant tactic, but using it a second time would be tantamount to courting disaster.

Qishan is the only option for the Northern Expedition from Shu!

"This General Jiang Wei of the Han Dynasty is indeed a remarkable talent."

Zhang Liang also expressed his admiration.

He believed that if it were him, or even Han Xin, he could make the same accurate judgment in the shortest amount of time.

But both he and Han Xin had years of battlefield experience that allowed them to develop such intuition...

Perhaps Han Xin possessed pure, top-tier talent.

But this also shows that Jiang Wei's abilities were not bad.

Wen Yang was unconvinced by their praise.

"Your Majesty, I request permission to fight. With just two thousand soldiers, I am confident I can retrieve Jiang Wei's head!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Bang couldn't help but laugh.

"Chang'an is not yet stable. Soon, the treacherous officials in the capital will force the Empress Dowager to issue an edict to establish a new emperor. If you are not in the army at that time, I fear that the morale of the army will waver."

"I know of your bravery, but right now, the most urgent task is to stabilize the morale of the army and prevent the rebellion from causing trouble in the future. As for Shu, they are not even considered enemies."

"I promise you, if there is ever a war to destroy Shu, I will certainly appoint you as a general!"

"what!?"

Wen Yang paid no attention to what came after that; he only heard what came before.

How dare these treacherous officials in the capital force the Empress Dowager to issue an edict to establish a new emperor?

The emperor is not dead yet!

And judging from the time we've spent together, the emperor, though young, is absolutely a master strategist!

If nothing unexpected happens, the Great Wei will very likely achieve true unification under his rule!

What exactly are those treacherous officials trying to do?!

"Your Majesty, I am willing to lead five thousand soldiers and charge into the capital, drag out all those treacherous officials, and execute them all!"

"They actually committed such an act of treason, they deserve to be exterminated along with their entire clan!"

Wen Yang grew increasingly shocked and furious as she thought about it.

At the same time, there was a slight sense of secret joy in my heart.

If he can suppress those rebellious officials and help His Majesty regain his throne, then he can be considered to have rendered meritorious service in supporting the emperor!

Rise to prominence in one step, and be granted titles and honors!

That was a position his father had dreamed of his whole life but could never reach!

"I feel that exterminating the entire clan is not enough. At least three generations should be wiped out, and those within the nine generations should be dismissed from their posts or exiled."

"It's time to reshuffle the deck from top to bottom in this court, among these treacherous officials."

"But for now, we'll wait for your father's good news. Only when they have firmly established themselves in Xuchang and eliminated the Sima family's last hope can we turn our swords toward the capital."

At least until Sima Zhao dies, the Sima family will remain the primary enemy.

Before disbanding the army, Sima Shi handed over military power to Sima Zhao in the name of Grand General. Even if only a portion of the generals who were originally loyal to the Sima family obeyed his orders, they would still be a force that had the potential to overthrow the Great Wei.

Perhaps if the powerful clans and aristocratic families in the capital joined forces, their strength would be no less than, if not greater than, that of the Sima family.

However, their biggest weakness is that if the external pressure is not great enough, they will have major internal problems.

Liu Bang was well aware that human nature is inherently selfish.

Those born into aristocratic families amplified the word "selfishness" countless times.

Unless someone forces them to unite against a common enemy, they will immediately turn against each other due to unequal distribution of benefits.

This is Liu Bang's understanding of the powerful clans during this period!