Villain: After I died, all the heroines cried themselves to sleep.

Someone infiltrating the palace with malicious intent is a very serious matter.

Luo Zhengchao stopped attending court meetings and ordered Teng Mian to conduct a thorough investigation.

Zhao Wei caught his breath slightly at this moment.

He disregarded everything else and, drenched in cold sweat, begged Luo Zheng for forgiveness.

"I am guilty!"

"What crime has Zhao Xiang committed? Lai Ao is Zhao Xiang's retainer, but I trust Zhao Xiang's character and will certainly interrogate him thoroughly to clear your name."

Luo Zheng waved his hand magnanimously, telling Zhao Wei not to take it to heart.

This fully demonstrates the favor and trust shown to Zhao Wei.

The other ministers only thought that the king was so kind to Zhao Wei that he could even forgive such a thing.

Only Zhao Wei was secretly suffering.

This is a death sentence!

"Your Majesty, this matter concerns the palace. I believe we should proceed with caution. If information about the palace were to leak out, it would likely damage the dignity of the royal family..."

Marquis Xiang also hurriedly came over to offer his advice.

"Why should I fear rumors? I intend to conduct a public trial and get to the bottom of this."

Ignoring advice and remonstrance, Luo Zheng insisted on a thorough investigation.

Marquis Xiang immediately understood.

Your Majesty came prepared.

They're probably in deep trouble this time.

that's the truth.

Despite his name, Lai Ao was ultimately not resilient enough.

Two days later, he told everyone he knew.

This matter was actually related to Empress Dowager Xuan.

It turns out that Lai Ao, with his effeminate good looks and some special talent, was chosen by Empress Dowager Xuan, who was over fifty years old and had been widowed for many years, when he sneaked into the palace.

So, with Zhao Wei's arrangement and the help of Empress Dowager Xuan, he disguised himself as a eunuch and entered the palace to have an affair with Empress Dowager Xuan.

After all, it's not surprising that Empress Dowager Xuan had a dark history of having an affair with the King of Yiqu.

Why did Zhao Wei do this?

But he discovered that Luo Zheng was truly beyond his control.

He then thought of using Lai Ao to secretly form a political alliance with Empress Dowager Xuan and Marquis Xiang.

However, the purpose was not to bring down Luo Zheng, but to create a powerful enemy for him.

This forced Luo Zheng to rely on him in order to maintain the balance of power in the court.

Of course, Lai Ao was only acting as a liaison between the two secret alliances and didn't know that much.

The latter part was supplemented by Feng Lu and Li Tonggu.

all in all.

Once this matter was exposed, it caused a huge uproar in the imperial court.

Lai Ao was executed by being torn apart by chariots, and his body was displayed to the public as a warning to others.

Zhao Wei was dismissed from his post as prime minister due to his crimes. After dismissing his retainers, he felt hopeless about his future and chose to commit suicide by drinking poison.

Marquis Xiang was also implicated and dismissed, but he had made great contributions to the Liang state.

Luo Zheng gave the other party some face.

Let Marquis Xiang return to his fiefdom to live out his days.

Even Empress Dowager Xuan was deposed by Luo Zheng, driven out of Xianyang, and moved to another place.

In just a few months.

Luo Zheng then dismissed three of the four regents.

Only Fan Ze remained.

"Your Majesty's wisdom is beyond our comprehension!"

Feng Lu and Li Tonggu, two of Luo Zheng's trusted confidants, rushed over to offer their congratulations immediately.

The two of them began to sincerely praise each other.

"Your Majesty previously instructed us to keep an eye on Chancellor Zhao, and we knew that Your Majesty intended to dismiss him. However, we did not expect that Your Majesty had already made arrangements. We still wanted to do something, but we found that we only needed to stir things up a little."

"First, he used the alliance to belittle the Empress Dowager and the Marquis of Xiang, then he used words to provoke the Chancellor of Zhao, and used Lai Ao to entice the Empress Dowager, and finally expelled them all from the court."

"What I admire most is that Your Majesty also foresaw that Chancellor Fan would not sit idly by and watch Marquis Xiang and Chancellor Zhao join forces, and would definitely take action to break the alliance with Chu."

Luo Zheng was flattered by the two men.

Even the shamelessness I've cultivated over the years is almost giving way.

He waved his hand and explained truthfully.

"No need to be so surprised, I just did it on a whim..."

From beginning to end, all he did was force Xianghou and others to make mistakes.

As a result, Feng and Li overthought things and actively encouraged Zhao Wei.

Meanwhile, Fan Ze sensed the danger and devised a plan to have the hostage prince of Chu commit murder and escape, thus disrupting the alliance between Liang and Chu.

By chance.

In the end, all four regents were captured.

Zhao Wei committed suicide, the Marquis of Xiang was dismissed, the Empress Dowager was deposed, and Fan Ze submitted.

It's safe to say that this is indeed a script written by Zheng Ge'er.

Either way, you win.

"With just a few moves, Your Majesty has driven away all the powerful relatives and ministers. If Your Majesty were to exert your full strength, you would surely be able to subdue the entire world!"

Feng Lu and Li Tonggu were so excited that they bowed deeply to Luo Zheng.

Luo Zheng was truly convinced this time.

However, he soon realized that he seemed to have taken it too early...

……

While Luo Zheng was eliminating dissidents within the Liang Kingdom, the situation outside Hangu Pass was also rapidly changing.

The State of Chu accepted the alliance with the State of Liang, openly breaking its alliance with the State of Qi.

The two countries immediately became enemies, and relations plummeted to a freezing point.

Meanwhile, the Liang state allied with the Chu state and stationed troops on the border between Wei and Zheng, eyeing the Central Plains with covetous intent.

This also made the State of Qi feel a strong threat.

Thus, when the Liang Kingdom withdrew its troops, news spread that the alliance between the Liang and Chu states had broken down.

The State of Qi decided to strike first.

They formed a three-state alliance with Wei and Zheng and launched the first offensive against the State of Chu.

Meanwhile, the states of Chen and Wu to the east of Chu also took advantage of the chaos.

The State of Chu suddenly found itself in the awkward situation of being besieged by five states.

Despite being the largest state in the south, Chu fought with all its might against the allied forces and contained the offensive of Chen and Wu in the east.

But in the end, two fists can't fight four hands.

Facing the combined forces of Qi, Wei, and Zheng, the State of Chu held out for three months.

They suffered a crushing defeat.

……

Luo Zheng thoroughly enjoyed watching the play in Xianyang, the capital of Liang.

Liang Chu's chain broke.

The Liang Kingdom, possessing the natural barrier of Guanzhong and not bordering the Qi Kingdom, could protect itself without fear.

The State of Chu naturally became the target of attack.

Luo Zheng didn't think that much about it at the time.

After thinking about it carefully afterwards, I suddenly realized what had happened.

Fan Ze seemed to have discovered this earlier than Luo Zheng, but he thought that Luo Zheng had planned it all along.

"I initially thought Your Majesty's actions were aimed at consolidating power within the country and thus disrupting Chu's alliances. However, after much deliberation, I realized that Your Majesty's ambition lies in conquering the entire realm."

Fan Ze completely submitted to Luo Zheng.

"Your Majesty's strategy not only breaks the alliance between Qi and Chu, but also significantly weakens the power of Chu. This is something I did not expect."

"Now that the State of Chu has suffered a major defeat at Chuisha, it will surely seek help from our country."

"At that time, our country will be able to take the lead in the alliance and counter-alliance process."

"It's not bad that Prime Minister Fan could think of this..."

Luo Zheng feigned composure, a smile of appreciation playing on his lips.

He silently grumbled to himself.

Even Fan Ze, a veteran of three reigns, has started to fawn over them.

So, is wickedness contagious?

No matter what.

Fan Ze's prediction was correct.

In order to resist the allied forces of Qi, Wei and Zheng, the King of Chu hurriedly sent Lord Chunjiang, Shen Xie, to Liang to seek help.

"Shen Xie greets Your Majesty. It has been three years since we parted in Hanyang. Now that we meet again, Your Majesty's majesty is even more impressive than before."

Shen Xie, with an elegant demeanor, paid his respects to Luo Zheng.

The situation was urgent, so after a brief attempt to establish rapport, he went straight to the point and requested Liang's assistance to Chu.

Luo Zheng would naturally not agree easily, nor would he personally negotiate with Shen Xie.

He dispatched his trusted confidants Feng and Li, as well as his trusted advisor Fan Ze.

He represented himself in negotiations with Shenxie.

Shen Xie expressed his willingness to offer the daughter of the Chu state to Luo Zheng for marriage.

It's clear he did his homework and knows Luo Zheng is a womanizer.

Unfortunately, he got the question bank wrong.

Luo Zheng was only interested in Ji Mi, but not particularly interested.

If Ji Mi hadn't been one of the ten beauties required for the mission, he really wouldn't have wanted to engage in this underhanded, cuckolding behavior.

After all, Luo Zheng prefers a harem of pure love based on fundamentalism.

At the same time, he is never short of beautiful women around him.

At last.

The two sides reached an agreement.

The State of Chu ceded Shangyong to the State of Liang.

The State of Liang then besieged Zheng to relieve Chu's crisis, sending troops to attack Wei and Zheng in order to resolve the crisis for Chu.

……

Autumn of the 786th year of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Luo Zheng ordered Xuan Luo to lead 100,000 elite soldiers of Liang State out of Hangu Pass to attack Zheng State.

The aim was to render the Wei-Zheng allied forces incapable of attacking the State of Chu.

The reason for choosing Xuanluo to lead the troops was...

This was because this was Liang's first overseas expedition since Luo Zheng ascended the throne, and they needed to make a name for themselves.

Currently, Luo Zheng has available personnel under his command.

There were exactly four mediocre generals.

After much thought, Xuanluo is still the most suitable.

After all, Xuanluo was the most mediocre of the four generals, and his ability and loyalty had been proven by history.

The only drawback is that he is too bloodthirsty, which could easily tarnish Luo Zheng's reputation.

But this time it was a siege of Zheng to rescue Chu. Xuanluo only had 100,000 troops, while the Wei-Zheng allied forces had a total of 240,000.

There shouldn't be any major battles.

this time.

Luo Zheng waited for the battle report with a clear conscience.

However, the ministers worried every day whether an army of 100,000 was too few.

"This battle was entirely within my expectations, so there is no need for you gentlemen to be so worried."

Luo Zheng, on the contrary, comforted the ministers.

as predicted.

Battle reports continued to arrive.

Upon hearing of the Liang army's attack, the Wei-Zheng allied forces immediately returned to defend.

The crisis in the State of Chu was immediately resolved.

Xuan Luo led the elite Liang soldiers to a standoff with the Wei-Zheng allied forces at Yique.

then……

The last battle report from outside Hangu Pass arrived.

"Your Majesty, just as you predicted! General Xuanluo led his elite troops to a great victory over the Wei-Zheng allied forces at Yique, wiping out almost all of their 240,000 troops!"

The assembled officials were both surprised and delighted, and all expressed their admiration for the king's foresight.

The ministers carefully considered what was going on.

The king used the strategy of forming an alliance with the state of Chu.

It easily disrupted the alliance and triggered a major war between multiple countries outside the Great Wall.

After the two wars, the three kingdoms of Chu, Wei, and Zheng were severely weakened and might not be able to recover for at least ten years.

The states of Qi, Chen, and Wu were also severely damaged, and their relationship with the state of Chu became completely hostile.

Only the State of Liang obtained the land of Shangyong from the State of Chu.

At the same time, they annihilated the Wei-Zheng allied forces and seized the Yique region.

They avenged the Allied Forces' invasion of the pass.

They are the biggest winners in this battle.

"Your Majesty is wise!"

"..."

Luo Zheng listened to the praises of his ministers.

It was truly both laughable and frustrating.

Unbeknownst to him, he had returned to the atmosphere.

Are the sycophantic and incompetent officials under my command a little too capable?

This series of subtle maneuvers eliminated internal dissidents and severely damaged neighboring countries.

He, on the contrary, used his great victory over the Wei-Zheng allied forces to completely secure his throne.

He turned the imperial court into his own personal fiefdom.

Is this fate?

That's what I was thinking.

The system notification tone suddenly sounded.

With internal dissidents eliminated and external wars won, you have gained complete control of the entire Liang Kingdom.

Realizing you are now unstoppable, your ambition and greed swell to unprecedented heights.

Your personality is undergoing a rapid transformation...

You have acquired a new personality trait—ambition.

You have acquired a new trait—Insatiable Greed.

Your talent is undergoing a rapid transformation...