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

Wei Pingming was clearly on the emperor's side, and even if he and Zhou Bo joined forces, they were far from being a match for him.

Zhou Bo was the prime minister, and the emperor needed a good reason to take action against him. But Zhou Bo was just one of the Nine Ministers, and it was only a matter of the emperor issuing an edict to deal with him.

Once Zhou Bo is deposed, he will also be deposed.

So Chen Ping replied:

"The duties of the prime minister are: to assist the emperor above, to resolve differing opinions, to follow the trend of the times, and to promote government decrees; to arrange personnel and regulate the operation of government below; to pacify the barbarian tribes and all vassal states outside the capital; and to be close to and appease the people inside the capital, so that officials at all levels of government can perform their duties competently."

Liu Heng turned to Wei Ping and asked, "Right Chancellor, you are in charge of the court's affairs. What is the court's annual expenditure?"

Wei Ping answered fluently.

"How many vassal states does the Han Dynasty currently have? How much tribute do they pay each year?"

Wei Ping blurted it out.

"That's exactly what a prime minister should do."

"Although there are designated personnel in charge, how can the Prime Minister assist the Emperor and support the court officials if he doesn't understand the matter?"

Liu Heng sighed.

Zhou Bo felt extremely ashamed upon hearing this.

While he was sleeping, Wei Ping was handling government affairs.

While he was drinking, Wei Ping was handling government affairs.

While he was eating, Wei Ping was handling government affairs.

While he was shopping, Wei Ping was handling government affairs.

While he was selecting concubines, Wei Ping was handling state affairs;

While he was..., Wei Ping was handling government affairs;

Zhou Bo couldn't help but recall the advice of his patrons.

It is said that he has overstepped his bounds in recent years, and his high position is more of a curse than a blessing.

Anyway, Wei Ping is above him, and Wei Ping is more diligent, more accomplished, stronger, and younger than him.

Since we can't compete no matter what, we might as well take a step back.

Thinking of this, Zhou Bo requested to return the official seal and resign to return to his hometown to retire.

Liu Heng agreed to his request and appointed Chen Ping as the Left Chancellor.

Chen Ping wanted to refuse, but after seeing Liu Heng's determined gaze, he accepted the position anyway.

Zhou Bo (X), the leader of the Gongchen Group

After forcing Zhou Bo to leave, Emperor Wen of Han clearly noticed that Zhou Bo's efficiency in handling government affairs had increased.

The court officials treated him with even greater respect.

I am very satisfied.

The incident of the emperor's ascension to the throne raised suspicions at 6%.

The following year, Liu Heng abolished the position of Grand Commandant, causing Guan Ying to lose his military power, and all military power and government affairs were concentrated in Liu Heng's hands.

Liu Heng was no longer hindered.

The incident of the emperor's ascension to the throne raised suspicions at 5%.

Because Liu Heng's throne was not inherited, but given to him by his elder brother.

He felt that this gave the other Liu clan princes the impression that if Liu Heng could be emperor, they all shared the same surname, so why couldn't they?

Therefore, Liu Heng's next step was to deal with the feudal lords.

On this day, Liu Heng was studying under Wei Ping at the Yanhou Mansion, followed by two children, who were Wei Ping's eldest son, Marquis Anguo Wei Qing, and Wei Ping's eldest daughter, Princess Caoxian Wei Wen.

"The teacher is truly blessed; his junior brothers and sisters are exceptionally talented, truly prodigies."

Liu Heng said enviously.

Wei Qing and Wei Wen were only 13 years old, but they had already thoroughly studied the classics of Confucianism, Taoism, and Mohism.

He has unique insights into many important matters.

Many of the ideas were eye-opening for Liu Heng.

"He's only capable of managing a hundred miles."

"His Highness the Crown Prince was able to recognize a thousand characters at a young age, his eyes were bright, he was well-mannered, he united with his brothers, and he was exceptionally kind and filial. He is a blessing to the Han Dynasty and a blessing to the nation."

Wei Ping chuckled and offered the same compliment.

You praise my child, and I'll praise your child.

"Teacher, you flatter me. The prince is unruly, ambitious, and clumsy. I don't know how much trouble he will cause me in the future."

Liu Heng never expected that his prediction would come true.

A few days later, I showed him what it meant to be the Great Han Chess Saint.

After ascending the throne, he acted impulsively and carelessly, failing to understand the principle of "boiling the frog in lukewarm water," which triggered the Rebellion of the Seven Princes.

"I would like to send the Crown Prince to study under you as well. I wonder what your opinion is?"

Liu Heng looked on with envy at the mature and steady young man and the elegant and graceful young woman, and he highly recognized Wei Ping's teaching ability.

"Your Majesty has given the order, and I will naturally obey."

Wei Ping nodded. His second son, Wei Yu, was about the same age as the Crown Prince. He was mischievous and a notorious little tyrant in the capital.

Wei Yu and Wei Qing inherited Wei Ping's talents in both literature and martial arts; one possessed a photographic memory, and the other was born with superhuman strength.

This would be a good opportunity for Wei Qing to get acquainted with the future Emperor Jing of Han, so that he could help him quell the Rebellion of the Seven States and consolidate the foundation of the Wei family.

"I will have the Crown Prince come over in a few days."

After Liu Heng finished speaking, he sat there and remained silent.

Wei Ping understood and chased his son and daughter out of the study.

Liu Heng then revealed his purpose.

"Since the Lü Clan Rebellion, the power of the feudal lords has increased dramatically, and now they are too powerful to be controlled."

"But now that the teacher's superior seeds are being promoted throughout the land, it is precisely the time for the people of the world to recuperate and thrive."

"I really don't want to start a war at this time."

"But I am also afraid that the longer the time drags on, the stronger the feudal lords will become, and if they fight, it will cause even greater disaster."

Cutting off vassalage? !

This is something that Emperors Wen, Jing, and Wu all did.

Emperor Wen subtly influenced him, using a gentle, persuasive approach.

Emperor Jing's forced reduction of the power of the princes triggered the Rebellion of the Seven States.

Emperor Wu followed Emperor Wen's example and forcefully implemented the Edict of Grace, thereby weakening the power of the vassal kings.

"It takes three steps to dismantle the feudal lords."

"The first step is to concede to superiority, outwardly complying while inwardly resisting."

"Abandon your dignity, show deference to the feudal lords, and let them overstep their bounds under your flattery, thereby numbing the feudal lords."

"In this way, when we deal with the vassal kings, we will not arouse the fear of the entire vassal king group. If Your Majesty can be lenient in dealing with them, even if you reduce their power, you can still gain a good reputation among the vassal kings."

"The second step is to weaken the powerful feudal lords."

"Your Majesty may divide the land of Qi into three parts on the grounds that the Prince of Qi is benevolent and filial and should be honored with sacrifices."

"The most powerful state of Qi was divided into three vassal states: Qi, Chengyang, and Jibei. Liu Zhang, the second son of the King of Qi, was enfeoffed as the King of Chengyang, and Liu Xingju, the third son, was enfeoffed as the King of Jibei."

"The Huainan Kingdom was divided into three kingdoms: Huainan, Hengshan, and Lujiang. Liu Chang's eldest son, Liu An, became the King of Huainan; his second son, Liu Bo, became the King of Hengshan; and his third son, Liu Ci, became the King of Lujiang."

"After the two most powerful vassal kings were divided up, there would be no clan forces that could directly threaten the court."

These two steps were also the methods used by Emperor Wen of Han in history, to ensure that the power of the vassal kings would not threaten the emperor.

The rebellion was easily quelled.

Unfortunately, Emperor Wen of Han relaxed the restrictions on coinage and salt and iron, allowing these vassal kings to develop their power.

Although they did not have as many expenditures as the imperial court, they had the profits from salt and iron and the wealth from minting coins, which gave the vassal kings the confidence and strength to threaten the emperor during the reign of Emperor Jing of Han.

"The third step is to issue the Edict of Grace."

"Once Your Majesty has accumulated enough grain and fodder using superior seeds, you can conscript soldiers to intimidate the world, issue the Edict of Grace, and completely dismantle the power of the feudal lords."

"A decree of grace?"

"Please enlighten me, teacher!"

Wei Ping's first two ideas hit Liu Heng right in the heart. He felt that his teacher was like a tapeworm in his stomach, accurately grasping his G-spot, and every word he said scratched his itch.