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

"So, Minister Zheng, you mean that from beginning to end, you've been thinking of my Great Wei?"

"Including when I personally led troops to seize Chang'an from Jiang Wei of the Han army, you threatened the Empress Dowager to issue an edict to depose me from the throne, and supported Prince Qi Cao Fang to ascend the throne. Were all of these for the sake of my Great Wei?"

"When I was about to return to the capital, you ordered the gentry to mobilize the rebel army to suppress me. Even when I was at the gates of the city, you remained obstinate and tried to launch a full-scale attack to kill me. Is this for the sake of my Great Wei?"

Zheng Chong: "..."

"Your Majesty, I was completely misled by them!"

"Your subject swears that he is utterly loyal to the Great Wei and has no other intentions whatsoever. He would never have such a treacherous thought as that of the traitor Sima Shi!"

After the matter was brought to this point, the former's claim of considering the future of the Great Wei dynasty was completely discredited.

Next, Zheng Chong could only cling to the hope that the law would not punish everyone and try his best to shift the blame onto other aristocratic families.

Liu Bang glanced behind him, and all those guys who had just claimed to have arrived late to save him and begged His Majesty for forgiveness were now silent.

They seemed to know that Zheng Chong would smear them, and were not surprised at all, accepting it calmly.

"So, my dear ministers, are you just going to stand by and watch him frame you? Aren't you going to say anything to clarify things?"

"Or perhaps, what he said is all true?"

Still, no one spoke.

His expression seemed to indicate that he had tacitly agreed.

"I understand. Zheng Chong, you may come with me."

In response to this, Liu Bang simply smiled and said...

Seeing this, the various clans following behind him secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and their expressions relaxed.

In their view, the most difficult hurdle is the one right now.

As long as the emperor can let Zheng Chong go under the premise that the law does not punish the masses, then none of them will be punished too much.

At most, it's just giving up some immediate benefits.

In any case, their respective families control countless forces both openly and secretly, to the point that in many prefectures and counties, the imperial court's words are not necessarily more effective than theirs.

They have indeed lost this battle, but they are not completely defeated!

As long as they can get through this hurdle, the future will still be decided by these powerful clans!

Further on, Liu Bang saw Wang Zhao hurriedly escorting Cao Fang.

"Your subject, Wang Zhao, pays his respects to Your Majesty."

“Welcome Your Majesty back to the capital. When I went to the palace to clean up, I happened to see this false emperor still sitting on the throne in a blatant manner. So I took him down and brought him to Your Majesty for punishment.”

How dare he sit on the throne?

Liu Bang glanced at Cao Fang's timid appearance; he didn't seem like the kind of person who would dare to be arrogant even knowing he was going to lose.

Most likely, it was a reason fabricated by Wang Zhao to make his actions more legitimate and to avoid him finding an excuse to abandon his supporters after using them.

but……

No problem!

"Minister Wang, you have worked hard. I promised your father that I would treat your Wang family well, and I will certainly not break my promise."

"In fact, you don't need to be so careful at all. I am not the kind of person who would abandon someone after they've served their purpose."

"What we promised your Wang family will not be less than what we promised. Moreover, my dear minister, your Wang family's contributions are yet to come."

As he spoke, Liu Bang glanced back at the crowd behind him, seemingly unintentionally.

Wang Zhao instantly understood.

He forcibly suppressed his overjoyed expression, waved his hand to have Cao Fang escorted aside, and then followed behind Liu Bang.

His choice of location was also quite clever.

He was walking right behind Chen Tai and the others, alongside Jia Yan, Chen Tan and the others.

Jia Yan had no complaints about this.

Judging from the outcome and the Wang family's actions, in any case, the Wang family must have submitted to the emperor earlier than he did.

If he hadn't changed his strategy ahead of time, he would probably be siding with that group of aristocratic families now.

Although he didn't know how the emperor would deal with it, his intuition told him that an emperor with such skill, capable of overthrowing the Sima family as a puppet, would never let these people off easily.

Things that are raised high and then gently put down are unlikely to happen.

The only suspense lies in how far the emperor will go.

Throughout the journey, Chen Tai and the others remained silent, while the various aristocratic families following at the rear became increasingly active.

Seeing that the emperor was not in a hurry to punish Cao Fang, they became even more certain that Liu Bang would choose to lightly forgive them.

At most, it's just for show, a little scolding.

Even if they argue their case rationally, they may not face any real punishment.

Once the storm passes, things will remain the same.

Clinging to this fantasy, they followed Liu Bang with glee, not even noticing that their soldiers were gradually being stopped.

Or rather, even if they notice it, they won't care too much.

After all, they were their private soldiers, and they certainly couldn't enter the palace.

As they walked away, the screams and curses gradually began to rise.

If someone were to walk back now, they would most likely be able to smell the overwhelming stench of blood.

……

"They were really decisive in killing him."

Li Er clicked his tongue.

It can be clearly seen in the scene outside the canopy.

The rebels who surrendered following behind the gentry were secretly taken away in batches every so often.

Most of the rebels thought they were going to be taken away for resettlement, but they didn't expect that they would be taken away for execution.

They went on a killing spree.

When Liu Bang led all the gentry into the palace, their private soldiers and assassins were all killed.

"But Father, why did Emperor Gaozu, when he first raised his army, offer surrender to the rebels who came to ambush him, but order the execution of those who were guarding the city?"

Beside Li Er, Li Zhi asked with some confusion.

In his view, there shouldn't be much difference between the two.

After all, they were all rebels, and their troops were mobilized by the aristocratic families.

Li Er glanced at him.

"You think there's no difference between the two?"

"Perhaps there are, but it shouldn't be that big. After all, they are Wei's troops, and they will be useful in the future. We haven't even pacified Shu and Eastern Wu yet. If we slaughter them directly, wouldn't that weaken our own strength?"

Li Zhi, however, sensed the dissatisfaction in Li Er's words.

But since I've already asked the question, I have no choice but to bite the bullet and finish asking.

"You're wrong. The difference between them is not only significant, but drastically different."

"When Emperor Gaozu set out from Chang'an, the army that went to intercept him was mostly composed of soldiers mobilized from the border by aristocratic families using their own sons. Those were the real elite troops and soldiers who were truly loyal to the Great Wei. The reason they went to ambush him was because they were deceived by the aristocratic families."

“Those soldiers can naturally be persuaded to surrender, and if they suffer heavy losses, it will indeed be a loss for the Wei Kingdom.”

"But what about these people guarding the city? Where did they come from?"