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

"?"

"Bring him in, what nonsense is he spouting?!"

Zheng Chong couldn't sit still any longer.

The spies sent out by the aristocratic families all had one thing in common.

Their hands never once tried to reach Chang'an.

In their minds, Chang'an should right now be occupied by the Han army.

Even in the planning for a long time to come, no one mentioned taking back Chang'an.

Perhaps in their hearts, Chang'an is far less important than securing benefits for their own families.

Moreover, when it comes to dividing up the spoils, it's not about so-called merits, but about the power and influence of one's own family!

Even if we focus our efforts on attacking Chang'an and manage to drive Jiang Wei back to Shu, what difference will it make?

Others will not recognize your merits; on the contrary, your family's strength will be weakened due to the war with the Han army, and you will receive less benefit.

Who would do something so thankless and exhausting?

At least until the existing interests of the Great Wei have been divided up, no one will mention this matter.

That's why no one even thought to investigate the situation in Chang'an.

Now, upon learning that the former emperor had led his troops from Chang'an straight to the capital, he was even more shocked!

After the spy was brought in, Zheng Chong couldn't wait to ask.

"Explain clearly, what do you mean by 'the former emperor leading the army'? How many troops are there? Who is the commander-in-chief?"

"The commander-in-chief, the commander-in-chief seems to be the deposed former emperor, with about ten thousand troops, and they are heading towards the capital."

The spy hurriedly revealed all the information he knew.

However, these words left everyone present stunned for a long time.

The old emperor, leading his troops, headed towards the capital.

Individually, they recognize each word, but when put together, they become somewhat difficult to understand.

What does it mean for a former emperor to lead an army?

What gave the former emperor the right to lead the army?

He's a puppet, where did he get his soldiers?

"Are you sure you're not seeing things? The commander-in-chief really is the former emperor?"

"It's true, I confirmed it several times before sending the message back!"

The scout made a solemn vow.

Such certainty left everyone present looking at each other in bewilderment.

"What's going on? It's not surprising that the old emperor has reappeared, but the problem is, if he has joined the Han army, why didn't Jiang Wei tell anyone about it?"

"Could it be that Jiang Wei is just being kind and doesn't want to cause too much trouble for our Great Wei?"

"Furthermore, if it really is the Han army, then Jiang Wei must have lost his mind to dare to let the former emperor lead the troops?"

No matter how you look at it, this news sounds fake.

But the scout's unwavering certainty confirmed that it was true.

Under what circumstances would the Han army allow the former emperor to lead the troops?

The answer they received was that unless Jiang Wei had gone mad.

"There must be a mistake. It can't be that the old emperor took Chang'an back from the Han army, haha."

Some people are trying to ease the current tension.

But his words only made most of the people present look even uglier.

The former emperor reclaimed Chang'an from Jiang Wei.

That does sound a bit unbelievable.

However, compared to Jiang Wei letting the old emperor lead the army, this situation is more reasonable.

"Could it be that Guanqiu Jian and the others were cooperating with the old emperor from the very beginning?"

Zheng Chong's face was extremely ugly.

He always believed that Guanqiu Jian raised an army because he disapproved of the Sima family's ways.

On its own, there's nothing wrong with this matter.

After all, Guanqiu Jian's loyalty to Cao Wei was known to almost everyone in the world.

But if you connect everything together...

After Guanqiu Jian raised an army and Sima Shi left the capital to quell the rebellion, turmoil broke out in the capital due to the death of Wang Xiang, and the Sima family was wiped out of the capital with lightning speed.

When Sima Shi returned to quell the rebellion in the capital, the Han army appeared.

With the defeat and death of Sima Shi, the Han army departed, and the old emperor also disappeared.

Now, a single clue has completely connected the whole story.

Nothing happens by chance!

Everything that happened was orchestrated by a hidden hand behind the scenes.

If the intelligence brought back by the spies is accurate, then it can only mean that the person who orchestrated these events was the former emperor!

No matter how much Zheng Chong didn't want to admit it, it was the truth.

From beginning to end, they were like puppets, manipulated at will by the old emperor.

He even suspected that their actions at this moment might have been within the old emperor's expectations.

"It seems we underestimated that person from the very beginning."

Zheng Chong took a deep breath and looked at the people in front of him.

"Gentlemen, since the old emperor has taken the initiative to show himself, we have no reason to back down. We all have a part to support the new emperor's ascension to the throne. If he really returns to the capital, none of us will escape."

"Moreover, the Empress Dowager has already issued an edict to depose the Emperor. Now that the former Emperor has raised an army to rebel, it is only right for us to dispatch troops to suppress him!"

"Stop holding back, it's time to make your move. A mere ten thousand soldiers? I don't care what you do, as long as the result is achieved. As long as you can suppress the old emperor, His Majesty will naturally reward you accordingly!"

In an instant, the expressions of most people in the room gradually calmed down.

Yes, even if everything was orchestrated by the old emperor, so what?

Regardless of how the old emperor accomplished all this, regardless of how he repelled the Han army and occupied Chang'an.

None of that matters. What matters is that he only has a little over ten thousand soldiers!

With this small force, let alone the combined might of the major clans and powerful families, even picking just two of them would be enough to subdue them!

After calming down, excitement returned to everyone's faces.

Rewards were given based on merit. In other words, as long as one made military achievements in the process of suppressing the rebellion, even a slightly weaker clan would have the opportunity to be enfeoffed as a king!

That wasn't the old emperor; it was just a stepping stone for them to become kings!

Although they did not privately raise assassins like Sima Shi, most of the powerful clans had members serving as officers in the border armies.

When there is no war, the border troops are naturally not allowed to move without authorization.

But now that Zheng Chong has given the order, it's equivalent to the emperor issuing an edict, so there's nothing to worry about!

"My Yang family can mobilize 5,000 border troops, who can arrive in the capital within a month!"

"My Guo family has hundreds of servants!"

"My Zhen family also has hundreds of guards!"

"The Cui family will also send troops!"

The scene became quite chaotic for a moment.

Seeing that things were not going well, Jia Yan quietly shrank behind the crowd.

Seeing the others' excited expressions, he was grinning from ear to ear.

Compared to these people, he was only one step ahead.

By quickly making contact with the former emperor, the stakes have already been placed.

As for whether the old emperor can win in the end?

In his view, this was inevitable!

If even a cunning and shrewd strategist like Sima Shi could be brought down, what are the remaining people in the court compared to him?

In particular, they were led by a terrible teammate like Zheng Chong.

Are we to let the gentry find their own way to quell the rebellion? And then reward them according to their merits at the end?

Isn't this equivalent to breaking a pile of loose sand into even smaller pieces?

Any member of the aristocratic class with even a little ability would want to claim the credit for themselves, in order to later be granted a kingship and a fiefdom.

This is tantamount to handing over the opportunity to defeat the enemy piecemeal to the old emperor.

No, that's not the old emperor, it's my great Majesty!

Once Your Majesty attacks the city, my Jia family will surely break through the city gates and welcome Your Majesty back to your loyal capital!