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

The court, which Emperor Xuan of Han had purged and which he considered to be almost cleaned up except for the Grand Minister of Agriculture, saw more than 30 officials other than the Grand Minister of Agriculture submit memorials in opposition.

It should be understood that Emperor Xuan of Han's political stance is now clear, and anyone who dares to submit a memorial opposing him at this time is definitely a staunch supporter of the Wei family.

However, apart from the officials of the Ministry of Agriculture, there were only about 90 people who were qualified to attend court.

This was after he had purged them. Among these 30-plus people, there were more than a dozen who were personally promoted by him after the purging, and they had no apparent connection with the Wei family.

Emperor Xuan of Han felt fear, he thought to himself.

These officials, whom he confirmed had no connection with the Wei family, were actually part of the Wei family's influence.

How many of those officials who weren't purged by him were actually within the Wei family's influence, yet remained hidden in the shadows?

Emperor Xuan of Han sat high on the dragon throne, looking down over the entire court.

He suddenly felt that the court was so unfamiliar, and everyone seemed to be wearing a mask, concealing their true faces so that he could not see them clearly.

"Dismiss the court! Dismiss the court!"

The next day, Emperor Xuan of Han received memorials from the governors of various prefectures.

At that time, the Han Dynasty had a total of 149 commanderies and kingdoms, and the governors and prime ministers of 88 of these commanderies and kingdoms submitted memorials to the imperial court.

In other words, two-thirds of the entire Han Dynasty's territory was within the sphere of influence of the Wei family.

How horrifying is this?

Emperor Xuan of Han was terrified. Fortunately, he took action against the army in advance, otherwise the situation would have been even more out of control.

We still have the army at our disposal, so we're not afraid.

But before he could be happy for two days, on the third day he received letters and petitions from the military all over the country.

Today, the Han Dynasty has over a million troops: 20 central troops, 10 troops in the Western Regions, 40 border troops, and 40 local troops.

A large army also means a large military administration.

In the Western Han Dynasty, a colonel typically commanded 700 to 1200 soldiers. Of the 110 million troops in the entire Han Dynasty, there were nearly 1100 colonels or local commandery commanders.

Compared to the number of prefects, only 60% of the military generals and captains submitted memorials to Emperor Xuan of Han.

Emperor Xuan of Han laughed heartily, "So that's how it is. No wonder the Wei family didn't do anything or react at all when I tried to purge them."

"So they didn't care at all. In their eyes, am I just a clown?"

"A clown doing useless work, just to make a fool of himself!"

"Hahahahaha!"

"No wonder emperors throughout history have been so wary of them. Only I thought the Wei family was cowardly and brazenly dealt with them."

"As a result, after I purged the Wei family, the people who came in to replace them were still from the Wei family."

"Does this empire truly belong to me, or to the Wei family?"

"Naturally, it belongs to His Majesty."

Wei Ming walked in without any permission.

The eunuch at the door kept his head down, as if he couldn't see anything.

That's right, they are also members of the Wei family.

After this, they will change their names and be sent away by the Wei family to live a wealthy life with their families.

Emperor Xuan of Han realized this when he saw Wei Ming enter so easily.

"Has the Grand Minister of Agriculture come to see me off?"

"Your Majesty has a deep misunderstanding about our Wei family. We have never intended to seize power."

Wei Mingwen said gently.

"Is there no intention to seize power?"

Emperor Xuan of Han's lips curled into a sneer. "What the Wei family has revealed so far is probably not all of the Wei family's power, is it?"

"Nearly half of those in the imperial court are protégés of the Wei family, and in the provinces, a full two-thirds of the local officials belong to the Wei family. Even the army is 60% controlled by the Wei family!"

"And that's not all the Wei family has to offer."

"The entire world is about to fall under the Wei family's control."

"Now tell me, your Wei family has no intention of plotting to usurp the throne."

"Do you think I'm a fool?!"

Wei Ming still looked at Emperor Xuan of Han with a gentle expression.

"The interests and visions of the Wei and Liu families have never been in conflict."

"We only want to protect all people under heaven and help the Chinese nation grow stronger. We have never intended to establish a new dynasty."

"After all, if we wanted to, we would have done it already."

"Hahahaha, even if you think that way, and even if all the past heads of the Wei family have thought that way, can you guarantee that all future heads of the Wei family will think that way?"

"If any generation of the Wei family head chooses to establish a new dynasty, shouldn't we be ready to be slaughtered?"

Faced with irrefutable facts, Emperor Xuan of Han had no choice but to believe that the Wei family truly thought this way.

But what's the use of that?

It is impossible for every generation of the Wei family head to adhere to this concept.

The Liu family will not give up easily; the two families will eventually clash.

Wei Ming felt somewhat helpless. He could guarantee that every generation of the Wei family head thought this way, but he couldn't possibly explain the reasons behind it.

A world where people can live forever would absolutely drive anyone crazy.

"Impossible. I can only tell Your Majesty that it is impossible for the head of the Wei family to have such thoughts. Moreover, if someone wants to replace the Liu family, the other branches will work together to expel that branch."

"This is a rule that was established since the time of the first Marquis of Yan, and the Wei family has strictly adhered to it for so many years."

Wei Ming explained to Emperor Xuan of Han.

He knew that Emperor Xuan of Han would not accept such an explanation, so he had no choice but to give up.

"In any case, His Majesty has no other choice, has he?"

"Your Majesty has no choice but to believe."

Emperor Xuan of Han clenched his fists weakly and turned his gaze toward the location of the ancestral temple of the Han Dynasty.

As the emperor, he was so powerless in front of his subjects.

Why is the Wei family so powerful?!

After a long silence, Emperor Xuan of Han finally said, "You are right, I indeed had no other choice."

Could he really just throw caution to the wind and turn against us without the Wei family rebelling?

Isn't this forcing Wei Ming to kill it?

At least during his reign, the Wei family will not rebel, and he will still be the emperor of this world.

"Does my dear minister have anything else to say? I am a little tired."

"Your Majesty, please rest well. I shall take my leave."

Wei Ming breathed a sigh of relief; they didn't want to directly fall out with the emperor.

This is not conducive to the Wei family's plans.

He was relieved to see that Emperor Xuan of Han had finally accepted it.

After this war without gunfire, the Wei family will be able to do whatever they want smoothly from now on.

The Han Dynasty is now at its peak, a time when they are making great strides and leading the entire Chinese nation to prosperity.

Incidentally, it also marked the rise and prosperity of the Wei family.

The following morning at court, Emperor Xuan of Han announced the reinstatement of Wei Ming as Grand Tutor.

Wei Yun was promoted to General of the Cavalry, and many members of the Wei family's faction were reinstated to their original positions.

Wei Qi was also reinstated as the head of the Protectorate of the Western Regions.

Here, Emperor Xuan of Han also played a trick.

Those who have already taken office may not be willing to reinstate these elderly people to their original positions.

Therefore, it's natural that they would harbor resentment towards the Wei family.

Even if it doesn't cause any real damage to the Wei family, it can still annoy them.

Wei Ming felt that Emperor Xuan of Han was being a bit petty.

"I have something to report."

Wei Ming stepped forward and produced a memorial to the throne.

"What is it?"

Emperor Xuan of Han wondered if the Wei family would expand their gains after this political victory.

"Your Majesty, I humbly request that Your Majesty establish prefectures and counties in the Western Regions, and appoint prefects and magistrates to govern them, since the Western Regions have submitted to you for more than ten years."

"allow."

"What do you think, my esteemed minister? Given the division of the prefectures and counties, who should be appointed as prefect?"

Emperor Xuan of Han wanted to send his own people there, but the place was too far away. Sending his own people would be like exiling them, resulting in the loss of his own manpower.

But sending people from the Wei family would only strengthen the Wei family's power.