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

Jiaofang Palace.

Empress Lü's expression turned somewhat grim as she looked at Han Xin, who had stormed into her palace.

"May I ask if the Empress Dowager intends to change the dynasty?"

Han Xin stared straight ahead.

"What does the General mean by this? This is the land of the Han Dynasty, the land of the Liu family! My son is the emperor, the ruler of the land!"

Lü Zhi said with dissatisfaction.

Although she wanted to seize power, she had no intention of becoming an empress, nor did she intend to let the Lü family replace the Liu family.

"Why did the Empress Dowager hand over all military power to the Lü family?"

"If the Lü clan intends to rebel, the Empress Dowager will regret it too late!"

Han Xin was indeed a political idiot; he had no idea that there were things one could do but not say, and things one should not do and even less say!

Once these unspoken rules are spoken, there's no going back.

Only one of Lady Lü and Han Xin can survive!

Empress Lü was so angry at Han Xin's words that her face turned ashen.

"Is General Han trying to make decisions for His Majesty?! Is he trying to bully me and the Emperor, a widow and orphan?!"

"Your Majesty understands my meaning. I have said all I need to say. My sword is still sharp; let me warn you not to speak without my knowledge!"

Han Xin answered coldly, showing no respect for Lü Hou, and turned to leave.

Zhou Bo and Wei Ping then arrived at Jiaofang Palace and overheard Han Xin and Empress Lü's conversation clearly.

The two men looked at each other, bowed to Empress Lü from a distance, and then left with Han Xin.

Empress Lü watched the three figures leave with deep eyes. "Go and invite the Emperor over."

As soon as Emperor Hui Liu Ying arrived, Empress Lü tearfully complained to him.

"Your Majesty, is this world still your world?"

"Late Emperor! Your spirit in heaven, please look upon us! Someone is bullying us, a widow and her orphans!"

"Waaaaah."

Empress Lü Zhi's eyes were brimming with tears, and she looked incredibly pitiful.

Liu Ying panicked. "Mother, what has happened?"

"Your Majesty, Han Xin just threatened me, saying that if I ask for rewards for my family again, he will kill them. I should warn you!"

"Han Xin is merely a subject, how dare he act like this, Your Majesty!"

"If he dared to draw his sword against me today, what might happen tomorrow if His Majesty displeases him? Will he also draw his sword against His Majesty?"

Empress Lü instigated this.

"Did the General really say that?"

"He merely told me he would discuss this matter with the Empress Dowager, and yet he acted in such a manner?"

"That can't be!"

Liu Ying asked in confusion, seemingly defending Han Xin.

"Does Your Majesty not trust me either?"

Empress Lü stared intently at Liu Ying, carefully observing the changes in his expression.

"I understand, Mother. Rest assured, I will issue an edict to reprimand the General."

"And the Southern Army is led by my elder brother Lü Chan."

Liu Ying agreed with a bitter face.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

After seeing Liu Ying off as he left the palace, Empress Lü's face darkened.

Something's wrong with Liu Ying.

Liu Ying's response, expression, and demeanor were all fine, but Liu Ying was still too inexperienced.

He has a huge weakness. If it were the previous Liu Ying, he would definitely have come with Han Xin to prevent Han Xin and Lü Zhi from clashing.

But Liu Ying did not.

This gave the two people time to clash.

Empress Lü had a bad feeling.

The next day in court, Han Xin was reprimanded for disrespecting the Empress Dowager.

At the same time, Lü Chan was appointed as a lieutenant and put in charge of the Northern Army.

In a short time, the Lü family's power and influence soared, and their residence was constantly bustling with visitors.

Several days later, Empress Lü approached Emperor Hui, Liu Ying, again.

Based on the fact that Liu Ying was of both Liu and Lü blood, it is unreasonable that sons of the Liu family could be granted titles of nobility and kingship.

They hoped to grant titles of nobility or increase the fiefs of Lü Chan, Lü Lu, and others.

This clearly violates the White Horse Alliance signed when Liu Bang was alive.

This was yet another test by the Lü family.

This time, Liu Ying knew that he could not satisfy his mother's appetite.

If he were to break Liu Bang's dying wish and the White Horse Alliance and grant the Lü family a title of nobility, none of the ministers would object, because they would also like to see the emperor break the alliance first.

In that case, the White Horse Alliance would become a worthless piece of paper, and their descendants could still easily be ennobled as marquises, or even kings.

This is also why many people in the original timeline tacitly approved of this event and why the Lü clan was later enfeoffed as kings; it wasn't entirely due to their fear of the power of the Lü clan.

More importantly, because it is advantageous to them.

The White Horse Alliance is a sharp sword that can restrain them, firmly controlling their path to advancement.

They also yearn to break this.

Naturally, they would tacitly approve of Lü's actions.

Later, they discovered that the Lü clan's power had grown too great, so they quickly united, eliminated the Lü clan, and invited the seemingly honest and easy-to-bully Emperor Taizong to ascend the throne.

As a result, they underestimated Liu Heng and were completely subdued by Liu Heng's use of power and manipulation.

However, the White Horse Alliance has already been broken, and it was broken by your Liu family yourself, which has dealt a huge blow to the authority of the White Horse Alliance.

Fortunately, Emperors Wen and Wu later re-established the authority of the Han Dynasty. However, due to the actions of later emperors, the two loopholes of granting titles to relatives of the empress and eunuchs were torn open.

Liu Ying had already sensed her mother's ambition.

If Empress Lü only wanted power, he would give it to her, because he needed her to check and balance the military groups led by Han Xin.

However, Empress Lü's demands for power were too high, to the point that he could not provide them, so this pawn could no longer be used.

This time, they want the same status as the Liu clan members; next time, will they be granted the title of king? And the time after that, will they have the right of succession?

Liu Ying decided to abandon the idea of ​​supporting the Lü family and instead support the emerging group of meritorious officials, such as Wei Ping, to compete with the established group of meritorious officials, such as Han Xin.

As Liu Ying pondered all this, a trickle of blood escaped from the corner of her mouth.

Liu Ying brushed it off carelessly, took the pills prescribed by the imperial physician, and her face flushed.

Since the last time he was turned into a human pig, his health has been deteriorating, and every night he dreams of Lady Qi and Liu Ruyi coming to take his life.

Nightmares plague me.

This left him exhausted and physically very weak.

To prevent the news from getting out, he secretly killed many eunuchs and placed all the key positions in the hands of people loyal to him.

Unfortunately, he did not live long enough.

Liu Ying regretfully flipped through the messages sent by the intelligence organization that Liu Bang had left him, which recorded the actions of the vassal kings.

Ultimately, Liu Ying focused his attention on the intelligence regarding the Prince of Dai.

......

"Teacher, you've arrived."

Liu Ying tidied up the intelligence on the table and looked at the newcomer.

It was Wei Ping and the Minister of Justice Xuan Yi.

After exchanging greetings, Liu Ying invited the two to sit down.

"Today, the Empress Dowager asked me to confer titles on the members of the Lü clan, which violates the White Horse Alliance that the late Emperor once made."

"Moreover, when I came in, I found that official positions were clearly defined in the court, but responsibilities were unclear in the palace."

"I would like to ask the two of you to define the scope of duties for the Empress and the Empress Dowager, to clarify the facts and prevent any confusion in their authority."

"Your Majesty is wise."

Wei Ping looked at Liu Ying in surprise.

Unexpectedly, Liu Ying was able to think of this.

"In the past, during the Qin Dynasty, there were two instances where empress dowagers controlled the government and treated the emperor as a puppet. Major affairs of the court were decided by them, so we must be wary of them."

Wei Pingdao believed that the fall of the Eastern Han Dynasty was closely related to the interference of the empress dowager in politics.

The empress's family, with the help of powerful relatives, interfered in politics, and the young emperor, with the help of eunuchs, seized power, constantly draining the Han Dynasty's national strength. In addition, powerful clans outside the Han Dynasty were also sucking its blood.

This led to the downfall of the Han Dynasty.