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

Summer of the thirteenth year of the Han Dynasty.

In Chang Le Palace.

Liu Bang was emaciated, and Liu Ying knelt before him.

"Your Highness, you must remember that among the court officials, your master Wei Ping is pursuing the establishment of a thousand-year-old family. He can be used, but you must also be wary of him."

"Han Xin is a political idiot, naturally arrogant. You can't tame him, but you can use him. However, you need to use Wei Ping to suppress him."

"The only thing you need to be careful about is your mother. I have been married to her for many years and know that she has a deep desire for power. In addition, the Han Dynasty governs the country with filial piety, which makes things difficult for you. Use Wei Ping and Han Xin to suppress her."

"In this matter, Xiao He and Zhou Bo are not trustworthy."

"Remember, the Lü family's methods can be used, but not for those in the inner circle."

"If one day the people resent it, we can offer the head of the Lü family to settle the country."

"Do you remember these words?"

"Your subject remembers."

Liu Ying nodded through her tears.

"After my death, you may appoint Zhou Bo as Grand Commandant, promote Wei Ping to Grand Tutor, keep Han Xin as General-in-Chief, and promote Lü Tai to Lieutenant."

"Xiao He is old. After he dies, you can let Cao Shen take his place."

After Liu Ying responded and noted it down, Liu Bang recalled his turbulent life.

He spent the first half of his life idly, but in his middle and old age, he started an army in Pei County as a village head, entered the pass and was enfeoffed as a king. He fought in the Hongmen Incident, the arrow rain at Xingyang, and the Chu songs at Haixia, sweeping away the feudal lords and establishing the empire of the Han Dynasty.

Looking through the history books, my legendary experiences are certainly among the most remarkable!

"Let them in."

With Liu Ying's help, Liu Bang drank the ginseng soup, and a blush appeared on his face.

The court officials and members of the imperial family in the capital entered Changle Palace, led by Empress Lü, Xiao He, and Wei Ping.

"After my death, the throne will pass to my son, Crown Prince Liu Ying."

"Now that the world has just been settled, the people are poor and it is not advisable to wage a large-scale war. All funeral arrangements should be kept simple."

"Concubines in the harem are not required to be buried alive with their husbands; all concubines with children are allowed to go to the fiefdoms of their children."

After speaking, Liu Bang closed his already cloudy eyes.

In the summer of the thirteenth year of the Han Dynasty, Liu Bang, the founding emperor of the Han Dynasty, died in Changle Palace.

He was Emperor Gaozu of Han.

Crown Prince Liu Ying ascended the throne before the coffin, granted a general amnesty, and, in accordance with Liu Bang's last wishes, appointed Zhou Bo as Grand Commandant, Wei Ping as Grand Tutor, Han Xin as General-in-Chief, Lü Tai as Commandant, and honored Lü Zhi as Empress Dowager.

......

In the first year of Emperor Hui's reign, at Lü Zhi's request, Emperor Hui granted official positions to all members of the Lü clan, with those within two generations receiving a salary of two thousand shi (a unit of grain).

In an instant, the Lü family's prestige soared.

Empress Lü's ambitions gradually swelled.

She began to test the attitude of the outer court towards her.

After Liu Bang's funeral, in accordance with his last wishes, all his concubines who had children were allowed to go to their children's fiefdoms without being buried alive with them.

Almost all the concubines went to search for their children, but one was stopped by Empress Lü.

This person was Lady Qi, the birth mother of Prince Liu Ruyi of Zhao.

Liu Bang lived a life of poverty in the first half of his life, and Empress Lü Zhi also didn't have many peaceful days with him.

After much hardship, Liu Bang raised an army and was enfeoffed as a king because he was the first to enter Guanzhong. Lü Zhi was captured because of the Chu-Han Contention. After going through many hardships, she grew old and lost her beauty. Liu Bang's love was taken away by the young and beautiful Lady Qi.

However, as the Black Phoenix, Lü Zhi had her own methods. During Liu Bang's reign as emperor, she assisted him in suppressing rebellions and cracking down on separatist forces, playing an important role in consolidating the unified Han Dynasty.

Many people in the outer court had benefited from her favors, so her influence was not limited to the inner palace.

Therefore, although she was jealous of Lady Qi for taking away Liu Bang's favor, that was all.

What made her deeply resent Lady Qi was that Lady Qi, relying on Liu Bang's favor towards her, allowed Liu Ruyi to seize the position of crown prince.

This is Empress Lü's bottom line.

Liu Ying's position as crown prince was the guarantee of her power. Only when Liu Ying ascended the throne and became emperor could she control the world by manipulating this son!

Ever since Lady Qi revealed her ambition for the position of Crown Prince, the two were destined to be bitter enemies.

Now that Liu Ying has won, Empress Lü will naturally not let Lady Qi off the hook.

This was also a test of the court; simply killing Lady Qi was nothing.

She was the Empress before, and now she is the Empress Dowager. This falls within the scope of the harem's authority.

But this particular time is unusual.

After Liu Bang's death, these women no longer held the status of imperial concubines, and Liu Bang's will allowed them to reunite with their children.

According to etiquette, Lady Qi's current status is that of the mother of a prince, which does not fall within the scope of the harem but belongs to state affairs, or at the very least, matters of the royal family.

In later generations, according to etiquette and law, the empress was the one who managed the inner palace, while the empress dowager had no power in the inner palace.

They all used their status as the emperor's mother to seize power that did not belong to them.

However, the Han Dynasty was the second unified dynasty, and the empresses of the Qin Dynasty had no real presence and there were no precedents to follow.

It can be said that the greater Lü Zhi's current power, the greater her legitimate authority.

Because someone stipulated the duties of every official in the court, but no one stipulated the duties of the Empress Dowager.

A powerful emperor can render the empress dowager's status worthless.

However, the current emperor Liu Ying is a weak mama's boy, and he has only made some progress under Wei Ping's tutelage.

After Liu Ying ascended the throne, Empress Lü Zhi finally realized her plan, using her son, the emperor, to command the world.

Now she wants to go further and personally intervene in the power of the court.

By the time Liu Ying learned the news, Lady Qi had already been turned into a human pig.

Liu Ruyi was also poisoned to death by Empress Lü while under Liu Ying's protection.

Liu Ying couldn't bear to see his mother convicted, and the imperial relatives were influenced by Liu Ying. In addition, Empress Lü already held considerable power within the Liu family, so the court officials all felt that this was a family matter of the Liu family and did not express any opinion on it.

Thus, Empress Lü Zhi, as the Empress Dowager, gained the power to dispose of her relatives.

This power is not strong, even somewhat weak, but it is no longer 0, but 1.

Empress Lü then had plenty of ways to expand her power.

In the second year of Emperor Hui of Han's reign, Liu Bang's eldest son by a concubine, Liu Fei, went to the capital to pay homage to Emperor Hui.

Emperor Hui and Liu Fei held a banquet in Empress Lü's palace. Because Liu Fei was his elder brother, Emperor Hui, following family etiquette, let him sit at the head of the table.

Empress Lü was furious and wanted to poison Liu Fei, but Liu Ying secretly stopped her.

To save his life, Liu Fei, on the advice of someone secretly arranged by Empress Lü, honored his sister Princess Lu Yuan as Empress Dowager and gave her a prefecture as her fief.

This is such a humiliating thing.

A feudal lord was forced to recognize his sister as his mother and give up a prefecture to save his life.

From then on, Empress Lü officially confirmed her rule over the Liu clan.

The next step is the imperial court, or more accurately, the military.

Having emerged from the chaos of war, Empress Lü clearly understood one thing during her time as a prisoner of Xiang Yu: only with a strong military can one have a strong backbone.

Therefore, how to overthrow the two major obstacles in the army, Han Xin and Wei Ping, was her urgent task.