A thousand-year-old family begins with one fighting against ten thousand.

Anyone with eyes can see that the Fifth Prince has no chance at all.

If Emperor Wu of Han truly wanted his fifth son to become the crown prince, with the Wei family now hidden behind the scenes, there was no force in the court capable of stopping him.

The power of the Wei-Huo clique was simply insufficient. This was Emperor Wu of Han, whose control over the court and prestige over the people were enough for him to wield absolute authority and easily depose the crown prince.

He didn't do that; he simply maintained the Fifth Prince's faction's strength at a level similar to that of the Crown Prince's faction, indicating that the Fifth Prince's faction was merely a tool in his arsenal.

This continued until the 42nd year of Emperor Wu of Han's reign.

A concubine named Gouge in Emperor Wu of Han's harem gave birth to a son for the 60-year-old emperor after a 14-month pregnancy.

He was named Liu Fuling.

The last person to be pregnant for 14 months was Emperor Yao in ancient times.

Emperor Wu of Han was overjoyed to have a son late in life.

In addition, the child was born after a full 14 months of pregnancy and had the appearance of an ancient sage king, so Emperor Wu of Han named the palace gate of Lady Gouyi the Yaomu Gate.

This drew the attention of the Crown Prince's faction, who viewed the child as a great threat, even greater than that posed by the Fifth Prince.

Who was Emperor Yao? He was a sage king from ancient times.

What did Emperor Wu of Han mean by this? Did he hope that his youngest son could become such a sage king?

The Fifth Prince's faction was also unhappy. They had persisted for so long, how could they let a newborn child steal the limelight?

However, due to Li Guangli's insistence, they still chose to cooperate with Lady Gouge's forces.

Only in this way can we counter the princelings.

In particular, this was an important symbol of the crown prince falling out of favor, indicating Emperor Wu of Han's intention to change the heir apparent.

Emperor Wu of Han did indeed have this idea, for the same old reason: he felt that the crown prince was not like him.

Somewhat weak and lacking in decisiveness.

When the signal that the crown prince had fallen out of favor was sent out, some people who were dissatisfied with the crown prince but dared not express their dissatisfaction due to the power of the crown prince's faction became excited.

They began to collude with the Fifth Prince's faction, forming a new anti-Crown Prince faction.

The core figures were Chancellor Liu Qumao, Li Guangli, Jiang Chong, and Su Wen.

Jiang Chong and Su Wen were the forces behind Lady Gouge. Jiang Chong represented the forces of the sorcerers, and Su Wen represented the forces of the eunuchs.

It was precisely because the forces of sorcerers and eunuchs joined forces to imbue Lady Gouge and Liu Fuling with various mystical auras that Liu Fuling was given the title of "Little Yao Sage King".

Liu Qumao and Li Guangli represent the Fifth Prince's faction.

This is the core of the anti-princeling movement.

And all of this is being watched by one force, observing with indifference.

This force is the Wei family's force.

No matter who becomes emperor, it will have no impact on the Wei family.

As long as the emperor is not a tyrant and can be accepted by the people so that they can live a good life, the Wei family is willing to support him.

Unfortunately, although the Wei family was unwilling to get involved, there were always some people who wanted to drag them down with them.

In the forty-fourth year of Emperor Wu of Han's reign, the witchcraft scandal, meticulously planned by the anti-crown prince forces, officially began.

On this day, Emperor Wu of Han saw a man carrying a sword enter the Zhonghua Gate of Jianzhang Palace. Emperor Wu felt that this man looked unfamiliar and did not seem to be a palace guard.

So they ordered someone to capture the man.

The man abandoned his sword and fled, and even the elite guards around Emperor Wu of Han could not capture him.

Emperor Wu of Han was furious and ordered an investigation into the matter, but the investigation failed to uncover who the person was or how he entered the palace.

This made Emperor Wu of Han even angrier. If someone could enter the palace today, wouldn't someone else be able to assassinate him with a sword tomorrow?!

So he executed the general in charge of the palace gates and replaced him with another trusted confidant.

In November of the 44th year of Emperor Wu of Han's reign, Emperor Wu mobilized the Northern Army to search the Shanglin Garden and closed the gates of Chang'an, imposing a martial law search on the entire city.

The search lasted for 11 days, but the man was still not caught.

Because the martial law had caused great damage to Chang'an, Emperor Wu of Han lifted it after being persuaded by his ministers.

A few days later, Emperor Wu of Han stood on the city wall and saw several hooligans loitering on the street, and he thought of that man again.

He thought that person might be a so-called martial arts hero in the folk. After investigation, he identified one person as Zhu Anshi, who was known as the Yangling Hero.

Therefore, he ordered the arrest of Zhu Anshi in various places.

At the Marquis of Yan's residence, the three Wei brothers gathered together once again.

Should we get involved in this?

Wei Zhen asked.

Because this incident had already affected the lives of the people of Chang'an, the Wei family also put in a lot of effort to investigate.

Even the Wei family couldn't find that person; they only had some clues.

It is clear that the secret behind this matter is absolutely earth-shattering.

"There's no need to get involved. I have a feeling this incident isn't as simple as it seems."

Wei Zhong frowned; he had a bad feeling about this.

This matter seems to be aimed at the Wei family.

"Although His Majesty is somewhat suspicious, he is not so incompetent as to take action against our Wei family."

"Unless this matter causes His Majesty to lose his mind and engage in rampant killing."

Wei Sheng analyzed.

"What could have made His Majesty so angry?"

The three of them simultaneously thought of that incident from years ago: witchcraft.

That time, Emperor Wu of Han almost lost his mind and launched a massive massacre. This was the only time Emperor Wu of Han lost his mind.

"They want to use witchcraft and sorcerers; it seems they are involved in this matter."

Wei Zhong said.

The alchemists and Taoists of the Han Dynasty were not the same people.

Taoism is one of the legitimate schools of thought among the Hundred Schools of Thought, with its own principles and ideals.

The sorcerers were charlatans who used a mix of Taoist, Yin-Yang, and Mohist methods to deceive emperors.

"It's not just the sorcerers; there are also close ministers who have access to His Majesty. It seems that eunuchs are also involved in this matter."

Wei Sheng added.

"Little Prince!"

If one were to connect alchemists and eunuchs, the first person Wei Sheng would think of is the newborn prince.

Those methods were far too crude for the Wei family; it was obvious at a glance that the sorcerers and the eunuch faction were working together to create a stir.

They had long ago discovered that the young prince had the support of these two forces.

They even have their eyes on the more deeply hidden forces; the city of Chang'an is now rife with undercurrents.

These aren't the only forces clashing.

"Crown Prince."

"The Fifth Prince."

"What an appetite! They want to use the power of witchcraft to eliminate the Crown Prince and our Wei family in one fell swoop."

"Once the emperor regains his senses and feels remorse, the Fifth Prince's faction will be thrown out to take the blame, thus appeasing the emperor's anger and causing the Fifth Prince to lose his right to inherit the throne."

"In this way, the most likely candidate to ascend the throne is the Little Yao Sage King they support, Prince Liu Fuling."

"A brilliant plan, a truly brilliant plan."

Wei Sheng calculated all the possible locations, and historically they succeeded.

He successfully overthrew the Crown Prince and the Fifth Prince, allowing Liu Fuling to ascend the throne smoothly.

However, they did not expect that Emperor Wu of Han was not so foolish as to capture them all, and even Lady Gouyi was ordered to commit suicide by Emperor Wu of Han as a result.

Ultimately, their goal enabled Liu Fuling to ascend the throne, but they did not get to enjoy the fruits of victory.