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

"There are too many suspicious points in this matter, involving the crimes of the two Marquises of Guannei. It is necessary for the three judicial departments to conduct a joint trial to thoroughly investigate this matter."

Emperor Xuan of Han chose to stall, hoping that if he could delay and miss this peak time of public attention, he could save the lives of these two people.

"Your Majesty, both of them have confessed their crimes."

"Wang Wu and Shi Xuan have confessed to their crimes without reservation, and there is no need for further trial in this case."

"The matter of river management concerns the life and death of tens of millions of people on both banks. Such an evil deed is worse than that of Zhao Gao of Qin or Guo Kai of Zhao."

"We beg Your Majesty to issue a decree for his execution!"

Wei Du bowed again.

Zhao Gao needs no introduction. Guo Kai of Zhao was known as the number one general of Qin. He harmed Lian Po, killed Li Mu, and made indelible contributions to the unification of the world by the Qin Dynasty.

Wei Ming also bowed to Emperor Xuan of Han, saying, "Your Majesty, please issue an order to execute these two men."

The surrounding people also knelt down. Under Wei Du's arrangement, they had all understood the whole story and the amount of money the two had embezzled.

They also knew that if these two people survived, they would surely slaughter all the onlookers.

Therefore, these people also requested Emperor Xuan of Han to execute the two men.

Emperor Xuan of Han looked at Wei Du and Wei Ming expressionlessly.

"Shi Xuan and Wang Wu embezzled funds intended for river management; their crimes are unforgivable, and they shall be executed immediately."

"Are you two satisfied, my esteemed ministers?"

"Your Majesty is wise."

Wei Ming and Wei Du bowed in homage.

They knew they had thoroughly offended Emperor Xuan of Han, but they didn't care; they were ready to sever ties with the Han Dynasty.

Their family's power is too great; if it continues to grow, there will be no other option but to change the dynasty.

No emperor could allow a family whose power was greater than that of the royal family to exist.

Therefore, it doesn't matter whether or not you offend the emperor.

They adopted a strategy of encircling the cities from the countryside. After years of development, nearly half of the prefects and magistrates in various parts of the Han Dynasty are now protégés and former officials of the Wei family.

As long as they don't involve the core issues, even the emperor has to give way.

Otherwise, half the country would rebel, and given the Wei family's prestige in the military and among the people over the years, a change of dynasty could happen in an instant.

They also needed something to make the emperor realize this.

Therefore, turning against them was part of their plan.

The following day, Wei Du personally oversaw the executions. After the public execution, Wei Du returned to the front lines of river management with the heads of the main culprits.

Wei Ming replaced all the people in charge of purchasing and quality with trusted confidants of the Wei family.

Make sure this doesn't happen a second time.

The people on the front lines of the river management project were astonished to see that Wei Du had killed two marquises, who were also the emperor's uncle and great-uncle, for their sake.

The people were deeply grateful for Wei Du's sincerity.

With Wei Du's assurances, the people once again believed in the fairness of this river management project.

The project to clean up the Zhuohe River has been launched once again.

Starting from this year, Emperor Xuan of Han began to openly promote relatives and eunuchs, suppressing the Wei family in the open.

This is the first time in over 100 years, since the reign of Emperor Gaozu of Han (Liu Bang), that the Wei family has been openly suppressed.

Even the ruthless Emperor Wu of Han never did such a thing.

Emperor Xuan of Han first removed Wei Ming from his position as Grand Tutor, and then began to remove the Wei family members from their official positions in the court.

In the sixth year of Emperor Xuan of Han's reign, a solar eclipse occurred.

Emperor Xuan of Han dismissed Wei Ming from his position as Grand Tutor, citing a warning from Heaven.

This initiated the custom of dismissing the three highest officials to reconcile yin and yang and to pray to heaven.

They completely disregarded the painstaking efforts of Emperor Wu of Han to establish the human emperor as equal to the heavenly emperor.

This rendered all of Emperor Wu of Han's efforts futile.

The emperor once again submitted to Heaven, and although he was still nominally the Human Emperor, he had in reality demoted himself to the Son of Heaven.

This behavior also greatly disappointed Wei Ming with Emperor Xuan of Han. You can be power-hungry and tyrannical.

You strike at the Wei family to enhance your control over the Han Dynasty.

There's no problem with that.

But you have no self-respect at all, willingly submitting to the heavens, showing none of the backbone of our ancient ancestors who fought against the heavens and the earth.

This made Wei Ming look down on him.

Since that's the case, it's better not to take the position of Grand Tutor.

The main duties of the Grand Tutor were to instruct the monarch, establish rites and laws, and assist in governing the country.

The emperor's behavior made him, the Grand Tutor, lose face.

I won't be a bird, I won't be a bird.

Wei Ming readily relinquished his position as Grand Tutor. Emperor Xuan of Han believed it was due to the Wei family's fear and concession towards him, but in reality, it was simply because Wei Ming felt that Emperor Xuan was unworthy to be his disciple.

This misunderstanding led Emperor Xuan of Han to relentlessly pressure the Wei family.

The Wei family made no move whatsoever, as if they were simply waiting to die.

This emboldened Emperor Xuan of Han to take increasingly drastic measures, realizing that the Wei family was nothing special, and he began to take action against the army.

The last group to think the Wei family was nothing special was the Wei-Huo clique during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han. Not long after, the two families fought each other so badly they practically turned on each other.

The army was what Emperor Xuan of Han feared most about the Wei family; whoever controlled the army had the ability to rebel.

In addition, the Wei family had a high reputation in the army. For over a hundred years, the Wei family had produced famous generals and fierce men who were invincible.

Therefore, the Wei family's prestige in the army was unmatched by the emperor, the Wei family, and the Huo family combined.

When Emperor Xuan of Han first ascended the throne, in order to consolidate his power, he reinstated Marquis Wei Yun of Wu'an.

He appointed Wei Yun to command the Northern Army, and at the same time arranged for some of the illegitimate sons of the Marquis of Wu'an to enter the army and serve as generals at various levels.

Emperor Xuan of Han was very careful. He started by working on some of the collateral branches of the Wei family, gradually replacing them with lower-ranking generals who had little connection with the Wei family.

Wei Ming directly ordered Wei Yun not to stop Emperor Xuan of Han, and to let him do whatever he wanted.

Wei Ming wanted to bring Emperor Xuan of Han down from his pedestal when he was at his happiest, when he was at his highest point, and when he felt that everything was under his control.

With Wei Yun's tacit approval, Emperor Xuan of Han continued to eliminate the Wei family's influence in the army, encountering almost no resistance.

The lineage of Marquis Wu'an was sidelined, and many generals who were openly associated with the Wei family were dismissed from their posts.

Even Wei Qi, who was suppressing the Western Regions, was summoned back and replaced by a confidant of Emperor Xuan of Han.

The Wei family not only did not object, but also appeased these generals.

Even Emperor Xuan of Han began to feel that the Wei family seemed too weak. His father, Emperor Zhao of Han, was too cautious. Otherwise, how could the Wei family have been allowed to be so arrogant for so long? They were just a paper tiger.

It wasn't until Emperor Xuan of Han began to extend his influence over the Grand Minister of Agriculture, and even went so far as to try to remove the current Grand Minister of Agriculture, Wei Ming.

That step was too big, and it tore its own balls.

Wei Ming also felt that the time was right, and the Wei family's counterattack officially began.

He wanted to show Emperor Xuan of Han just how powerful the Wei family truly was!