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

"The matter of the crown prince concerns the very foundation of the nation; how could a military general like myself be involved? Your Majesty, you should consult Zhang Liang and Xiao He instead."

"No matter who becomes emperor, they will need a general who is skilled in battle, won't they?"

Yes, Wei Ping was just a general.

Liu Bang sighed; he was also confused.

If only Wei Ping were both a scholar and a warrior.

But how could that be? Wei Ping's martial prowess is unparalleled throughout history. How could Heaven possibly bestow all its favor upon one person?

No matter how capable Liu Bang was, he could never have imagined that Wei Ping was a time traveler. He couldn't match the wisdom of this era in micro-management, but his overall strategic vision surpassed everyone else.

"Fine, if Zi'an doesn't want to participate, then so be it."

"Just chat with me; I don't need your opinion."

No matter who becomes emperor, Wei Ping will be his sharp weapon to intimidate the founding ministers.

Liu Bang lay back down, squinted his eyes, and slowly said.

"The crown prince was established early, but he was weak-willed and unlike his father."

"I know my own body; I won't live for many more years. With the Crown Prince's personality, how could he possibly control the entire court?"

"The demise of the Han Dynasty after only two generations is insignificant. Didn't even a dynasty established by a figure like the First Emperor only last two generations?"

"I am only worried that war will break out again in this land, causing suffering to the common people. How long have they had peace and stability?"

Wei Ping looked at this emperor who had been underestimated by history.

The founding emperor of China, who came from the second lowest social class in the country's five thousand years of history, spent eight years leading up to the Qin Dynasty. In the first three years, he raised an army to destroy the Qin Dynasty. In the following five years, he successively defeated the King of Yong, the King of Qi, the King of Henan, and Xiang Yu, the Hegemon-King of Western Chu, and unified the country.

To understand how powerful Liu Bang was, just look at the emperors of the Han Dynasty.

Many of the emperors of the Han Dynasty were political beings.

Emperor Wen of Han, known as the teacher of all emperors, was regarded as an idol by emperors of later generations with even a little ambition, with Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin, being the most prominent among them.

During the reign of Emperor Wen of Han, the vassal kings and founding heroes were governed with great subservience and were wishing for death.

Even so, he was only praised for having the style of his ancestor, not for surpassing him.

Emperor Wu of Han was an emperor who upheld the backbone of the Han people, but what was even more terrifying was his political acumen.

What were you doing when you were four years old?

Emperor Wu of Han was already paving the way for his throne when he was only four years old.

In order to ascend the throne and gain the support of Princess Guantao and the Empress Dowager, he made a promise at the age of four to keep her in a golden house.

With the help of Princess Guantao and the Empress Dowager, he was able to seize the throne despite Liu Rong's suppression.

Surely no one really thinks a four-year-old child knows what love is.

It's worth noting that after Emperor Wu of Han came to power, Empress Chen's fate was not good.

The next Emperor Zhao of Han ascended the throne at the age of eight, and at the age of fifteen, he swept away all the old ministers who had assisted Emperor Wu, leaving only Huo Guang.

Emperor Xuan of Han ascended the throne at the age of seventeen. At that time, Huo Guang held great power and had deposed and installed emperors more than once.

However, Emperor Xuan of Han secretly developed his power under such circumstances, and after Huo Guang's death, he was able to immediately destroy the entire Huo family.

Emperor He of Han ascended the throne at the age of nine, with Empress Dowager Dou wielding power and controlling his every move. No one taught him the ways of the emperor, yet by the age of twelve, he had mastered them without instruction, managing to win over court officials and military generals even under surveillance. At thirteen, he annihilated the Dou clan. He then campaigned against the Xiongnu and decisively defeated the Kushans.

Emperor Shun ascended the throne at the age of ten, and similarly, he achieved a counterattack despite the fact that his maternal relatives controlled the palace, the army, and the outer court.

Both Emperor Huan and Emperor Ling achieved their victories when their maternal relatives held power and they had no control over the court officials or the army.

Emperor Ling, in particular, ascended the throne at the age of eleven. In the same year, with the help of eunuchs, he turned against Dou Wu, who had seized all military power. In a time when the Han Dynasty was rotten to the core and almost all official positions were monopolized by powerful families, he managed to seize the power of the emperor through his political skills and became the last emperor of the Eastern Han Dynasty to hold real power.

Liu Xie ascended the throne at a young age. After loyal ministers were purged time and again by Dong Zhuo, Li Jue, Guo Si, and Cao Cao, he was still able to gather a certain amount of power and issue the edict in the belt under the watchful eye of a powerful figure like Cao Cao.

That time they contacted Ma Teng almost brought Cao Cao to his knees.

Those of the Liu family lineage in the Han Dynasty are all political beings, automatically awakening upon reaching a certain age.

This is why the Han dynasty perished because of its strength!

Seeing that Wei Ping seemed somewhat hesitant, Liu Bang quickly continued, "King Liu Ruyi of Dai is quite like me. He is respectful to the virtuous and humble, brave and decisive. His ministers praise him as capable and able to safeguard the state."

"Your Majesty, who decides whether a prince is virtuous or not?"

Wei Ping shook his head and said calmly.

"Is it the emperor, his ministers, or perhaps a member of the imperial family, a nobleman, or a relative of the empress?"

"The primogeniture system has never been based on the patriarchal clan system. The patriarchal clan system is merely its outward manifestation. Its true significance lies in the stability of the country."

"Once a person is born, whether or not they can sit in this position is already determined, so they won't think about other things, and the country won't experience internal strife."

"If we're talking about meritocracy, going back to the previous question, who is more virtuous?"

"The emperor has his own preferences and favors a certain prince."

"The ministers have their own selfish motives and hope for a crown prince who will delegate power to them."

"The clan members want to find someone who values ​​blood ties and can turn a blind eye to clan members breaking the law."

"Kon-gwi wants to find someone who values ​​military commanders, and military commanders want someone who is tough on foreign powers."

"Every relative of the empress wants someone of the same bloodline to become emperor."

"Is the 'virtuous' person they speak of truly virtuous? Is he really suitable to be a crown prince?"

From the very beginning, the patriarchal clan system was created by the Duke of Zhou with the purpose of maintaining the rule of the Zhou Dynasty and ensuring national stability.

Liu Bang suddenly realized that he was not a talented person. He knew about the patriarchal clan system and the Zhou rites, but he did not understand the inner essence of it. This was knowledge that only the major noble families possessed.

"But there isn't even a second generation yet, isn't it a bit too early to consider the future?"

The Qin Dynasty perished after only two generations, which made Liu Bang very worried about his Han Dynasty.

That's why, even after the Qin Dynasty implemented the prefecture-county system, he still chose to have both the enfeoffment and prefecture-county systems coexist, despite knowing the dangers of the enfeoffment system.

The hope is that one day, when the world is in turmoil, the various kings will have enough power to save the Han Dynasty.

"He who does not plan for the long term is not fit to plan for the short term; he who does not plan for the whole is not fit to plan for a part."

"If Your Majesty only intends for the Han Dynasty to last for two or three generations, then of course you should enjoy life to the fullest and do whatever makes you happy."

"But if we want the Han Dynasty to last for hundreds of years, a reliable system is fundamental."

"system?"

Liu Bang instinctively straightened up and looked solemnly at Wei Ping.

"Yes, the system."

Wei Ping nodded, and said meaningfully, "The Qin Dynasty's system was based on law and tyranny. What about the Han Dynasty's?"

Liu Bang lowered his head and remained silent as he slowly left the Marquis's residence. Where was the future of the Han Dynasty?

After watching Liu Bang leave, Wei Ping waved for the steward to come over, "Go find someone to keep an eye on Liu Jing, and then get me a large sack."