The Three Great Han Dynasties: Awaken Liu Bei with a scolding; you weave mats and sell sandals.

"The General has arrived."

Empress He sat upright in the hall, her expression tense, a hint of fear hidden in her eyes, yet she forced herself to remain composed and went straight to the point, "I wonder if the General still remembers who the Crown Prince of our Great Han Dynasty is?"

Currently, within the palace, the Imperial Guards and Colonels are all Liu Hong's men. In Empress He's eyes, even though she has her brother He Miao's branch of the Western Garden Colonels, it is nothing more than a drop in the ocean.

How could one person's strength compare to that of Liu Hong, who held immense power in the court?

The two sides are worlds apart in strength. If they were to actually clash, the He family would be like a mantis trying to stop a chariot, overestimating their own abilities and having absolutely no chance of winning.

Therefore, at this moment, she can only maneuver in a roundabout way, clinging tightly to the "Crown Prince" card.

Liu Hong glanced at her, a faint smile playing on his lips: "Your Majesty is joking."

"I entered the palace today solely to protect Your Majesty. Once Your Majesty is well, I will lead my troops out of the palace. I have absolutely no intention of overstepping my bounds."

Empress He was inherently shallow and easily trusting of others. Liu Hong's casual remark reassured her, and she actually lowered her guard a bit, with the fear in her eyes fading considerably.

"Please rest assured, Your Majesty, I will certainly protect the Crown Prince and Your Majesty."

Liu Hong added one more sentence, then bowed and took his leave, turning and leaving Kunning Palace.

The moment Liu Hong stepped out of the palace gate, he felt a pang of sorrow.

This Empress He, who held the power of an empress and was backed by the He family, was short-sighted and lacked intelligence.

It's no wonder that in history, after Emperor Liu Hong died...

She became a puppet of various forces: Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong in the palace used her, Yuan Shao and Cao Cao in the outer court plotted against her, and then Dong Zhuo entered Luoyang.

As empress, she completely lost all power, and her cooperation with the aristocratic families became a mirage, ultimately leading to her tragic death.

Looking at all the empresses of unified dynasties throughout history, very few could have reached her level. It's laughable, truly laughable. Before long, the news of Liu Hong taking over the palace and ruling the Northern Palace spread like wildfire throughout Luoyang.

When the powerful clans heard about this, they were all shocked and in uproar, unable to believe that Liu Hong would do such a "treasonous" thing.

In the Grand Tutor's residence, Yuan Wei slammed his fist on the table, his face grim, and shouted sternly, "There must be something fishy going on here."

He absolutely refused to believe that Liu Hong and the Liu family of Youzhou would be so foolish as to put themselves in a position that defied the world.

Wouldn't this be to make an enemy of the greater good of the world and the Han gentry?

Even if the Liu family of Youzhou had a strong and powerful army, they would never make such a foolish decision. "Liu Hong has always been cautious and methodical; why would he suddenly take such a risky move?"

Yuan Kui stroked his long beard, his brows furrowed, his eyes full of doubt. "It's true that he entered the palace to protect the emperor, but his control over the palace could not possibly be just for the sake of protecting the emperor."

"Issue my order: immediately summon all members of our family to the manor for a meeting. Also, send someone to sound out the other prominent families and see what their plans are."

Yuan Kuite.

Don't be so sure.

He had met Liu Hong and naturally understood what kind of person Liu Hong was. Although he couldn't discern Liu Hong's true character, he knew that Liu Hong was definitely not a fool, and that was enough.

He glanced at Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu, whose eyes were shining brightly, and then directly suppressed their thoughts: "Don't keep thinking nonsense here. Just know in your hearts that the current situation in the world, especially the Luoyang Dynasty, is not as simple as you think."

If whoever strikes first falls into a disadvantageous position, I fear that all of us, including the entire Yuan family, will be doomed.

Even if you seize the initiative when a huge wave crashes in, you may not necessarily be safe.

Yuan Wei spoke slowly, and after a few words, he was able to calm the minds of these family members. It was only because he, the head of the Yuan family, spoke that the situation became more difficult, if it had been someone else, and the situation would have become even more serious. These were all matters that were unequivocally certain and set in stone.

"Yes, Uncle."

With this in mind, Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu held their breath, calmed their minds, and quickly stopped short of making a move.

Faced with the current situation, Yang Biao, a member of the Yang family of Hongnong, was also astonished: "Impossible, absolutely impossible."

Yang Biao's reaction was much stronger than Yuan Wei's.

He shouted, "How could the mighty Weining Palace and the mighty General do such a thing?"

There must be something fishy going on here.

Where is Liu Yan, the Director of the Imperial Clan?

Nowadays, the emperor neither attends court nor is able to fulfill his duties.

As the head of the Liu family's clan, he wouldn't just stand by and watch.

Yang Biao stared intently at his son, Yang Xiu. In a flash, as if he had realized something, he immediately spoke up: "Could it be that he's going to be accompanying this great general?"

"Father was wise."

Yang Xiu's lips curled up slightly as he discussed the current affairs in Luoyang.

His acceptance level is the highest.

Yang Xiu had always only cared about his family, not the Han Dynasty. Now, seeing the General do such a thing, he was deeply moved.

He's too happy to have any worries.

"Father, now that the General has done this, doesn't it prove that our Yang family's previous choice was correct?"

Whether His Majesty's health can withstand this hurdle is unknown, but given that His Majesty has spent so many years in the Northern Palace neglecting state affairs, the outcome is unlikely to be good.

"How dare you say such a thing?"

Yang Xiu had just opened his mouth.

The next moment, he was reprimanded by his father on the spot: "The ruler is the father, and the subject is the son. Without a ruler, there is no father."

These words apply only between you and me, father and son. If they were spoken in the outer court, do you know how much your reputation would be affected?

You need to be more careful about these things in the future. You're not a child anymore; how can you still say such childish things?

Yang Biao spoke up, extremely dissatisfied.

"Oh, right."

Suddenly, he thought of a familiar figure. "Go and inform the Sima family. The Sima family and my Yang family have been friends for generations. Although they are not as powerful as my Yang family, we still have some connection. In particular, the Sima family has produced a few talented people in this generation. Although they are not as good as my son, we should still help them out."

"Yes, Father."

Yang Xiu was reprimanded, but he didn't care at all. People like him who are proud and arrogant would never bow down and admit defeat unless they were really in big trouble. Even if the person in front of him was his father, he would not change in the slightest. This was a common problem for people like him.

Geniuses are rarely known for their good tempers.

After leaving the Yang residence, Yang Xiu suddenly thought of one person.

His name was Sima Yi, and he was highly regarded by Mr. Shui Jing. However, compared to Yang Xiu, he still had a long way to go.