The Three Kingdoms: The Oath of the Peach Garden, the Rise of the Han Dynasty

Li Chang acted on his words without hesitation, and Liu Bei agreed without hesitation as well.

On the same day, he prepared a generous gift and sent a trusted confidant on a fast horse to deliver it to the Imperial Clan Court in Luoyang.

The gift list was unremarkable: a few pieces of gold, silver and jade artifacts confiscated from the fortified village of a prominent family in Taiyuan, some local specialties from Bingzhou, a letter, and... a replica of a Zhangba spear!

Liu Bei wrote in the letter

Blah blah blah...

My four brothers and I swore an oath of brotherhood in the Peach Garden... Fortunately, we were appreciated by our uncle... In our first battle against the Yellow Turbans, we were met with a hail of arrows... Now, barbarians frequently invade Bingzhou from the south, and I've heard that southern barbarians are also invading Yizhou...

at night.

Li Chang and Jia Xu reunite.

"The Imperial Clan Head will surely understand our meaning after reading this letter," Li Chang said.

"I saw it coming long ago; he had ulterior motives! This was my way of hinting to him to depose Shi Limu."

Jia Xu stroked his beard, deeply agreeing: "Liu Yan is of royal lineage and has long served in the court; he understands His Majesty's thoughts best. With him pushing things along, this matter is largely settled."

However, he didn't understand why Liu Yan would send a long spear. Did Liu Yan have such a hobby?

……

Half a month later, in Luoyang.

Liu Hong spent his days in various celestial paradises, neglecting state affairs.

That day, he was playing the game of "pitch-pot shooting" with the palace maids dressed in the Emperor's New Clothes in the Fruit and Entertainment Hall until he cooled down.

Liu Hong looked up at the sky; the sun was already setting!

"How could I, the Emperor, stoop so low!"

They saw themselves in the bronze mirror and realized they looked very haggard!

He shoved the beautiful woman beside him aside and shouted:

"I have been harmed by wine and women, and I am so haggard!"

"Guards! Summon the Imperial Physician!"

At the same time, he summoned Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong, as he had to deal with some important state affairs that he hadn't done in a long time.

Upon seeing the battle report from Bingzhou and the boxes of evidence that had been delivered a few days prior, his face instantly darkened.

"Great! Excellent!"

Liu Hong slammed his hand on the table, but the table didn't move; his hand hurt from hitting it!

"I thought it was a sudden attack by the Xiongnu, but it turns out these powerful families are betraying us and colluding with foreign enemies!"

The conversation suddenly took a 180-degree turn.

"How much did Liu Bei send?"

Zhang Rang lowered his head and estimated, "Your Majesty, it's enough to buy one of the Nine Ministers."

"Nine Ministers!"

Liu Hong nodded to himself, realizing that his initial investment had indeed been a good one!

Liu Bei and Li Chang have sent him so many wonderful things over the years! There's no end to how many there are!

Then he looked at the letters that had been searched out of the aristocratic fortresses, and the correspondence between Yufuluo and the Black Mountain bandits.

Immediately frowned:

"So realistic? It looks too fake!"

"No, these powerful families occupy Han territory and dare to collude with the enemy and betray the country! I shouldn't have spared them in the first place!"

Zhang Rang quickly stepped forward, patting Liu Hong's back to help him catch his breath, while saying in a sinister tone:

"Your Majesty, please calm down. These powerful families have always been arrogant and disdainful of the common people and those from humble backgrounds."

Now they've become incredibly audacious, even going so far as to collude with the enemy. In my humble opinion, they have no regard for His Majesty, no regard for the Han Dynasty!

Zhao Zhong chimed in, "Zhang Rang is right. Recently, General He Jin has been getting closer and closer to these powerful families, holding gatherings at his residence every day. Who knows what they're plotting? If this isn't stopped, something terrible will happen sooner or later!"

Liu Hong's eyes turned cold.

This is what he fears most!

The carefully maintained tripartite balance of power has been ruined when He Jinxian colluded with the powerful families!

He grew angrier the more he thought about it, and wanted to yell at He Jin: "You're just a pig butcher, what makes you think you can enter the circle of aristocratic families? Do you really think they're all flattering you?"

As a result, he now looks down on Empress He and Liu Bian.

This incident in Bingzhou is a perfect opportunity to give the powerful families a good talking-to and also to curb He Jin's arrogance.

"Issue my decree!" Liu Hong pointed to the evidence, "Proclaim to the world the crimes of the traitorous families of Taiyuan and Shangdang!!"

Furthermore, this evidence is not complete enough; something seems to be missing.

Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong nodded, "This old servant understands!"

It was also that same evening.

Liu Yan received a gift from Liu Bei, and he was stunned when he saw Liu Bei's name on the gift box.

"I didn't expect Xuande to still remember me."

Once I opened the gift, I couldn't take my eyes off it!

"The Eighteen-Foot Serpent Spear!"

He immediately reached out and grasped it, feeling from the beginning that this object was destined for him! It seemed as if there was some unseen connection between them!

But as soon as you grab it, you immediately realize something is wrong!

"This isn't the original Zhangba Serpent Spear!"

Shaking his head, he started reading the letter again. After reading it, he felt that Liu Bei was benevolent and grateful!

Place the letter and envelope down, so that one corner of the envelope covers the letter.

In the candlelight, the two characters on the lower left corner of the letter stood out prominently.

"Li...Mu?"

He looked at the words "Li Mu" for a while, and then at the eighteen-foot spear.

"Someone, quickly go and fetch Mr. Dong!"

Not long after, Dong, who was over seventy years old, was helped up.

After Liu Yan finished explaining his thoughts, he said he wanted to establish a herdsmanship!

Abolishing the historical system and establishing governors is in accordance with the will of Heaven. By implementing the principle of establishing governors, the foundation of the Han Dynasty will be secure!

But there are also some concerns:

"But I worry that His Majesty suspects me of harboring treacherous intentions!"

Both sides secretly began to discuss and wait for the right opportunity!

The next day, in the imperial court.

Holding the imperial edict, Zhang Rang publicly read aloud the evidence of the Taiyuan aristocratic families' treason.

The moment the words were spoken, the entire court erupted in chaos. The Minister of the Imperial Secretariat declared that he did not approve of the edict and was about to reject it on the spot!

As soon as someone starts a group buy, people immediately join!

"Nonsense!" Situ Cuilie roared, his beard bristling and eyes wide with rage. "This is all fabricated evidence by you people!"

"That's right!" Yuan Ji, the Imperial Servant, also stepped forward. "Liu Bei now commands a large army and occupies two counties in Bingzhou. His disloyalty is blatantly obvious! Your Majesty should immediately issue an edict to dismiss him from his post and bring him back to Luoyang for questioning!"

"You're spouting nonsense!" Zhang Rang retorted sharply. "The evidence is irrefutable, with witnesses and physical evidence to back it up. How dare you try to deny it? I think you're in cahoots with those traitorous families!"

"You eunuch! How dare you slander me!"

"Who are you calling a eunuch? You're an accomplice of a traitor!"

The two sides argued fiercely, spitting as they spoke.

Officials from aristocratic families and the eunuch faction got into a brawl on the spot!

Only the winners have the right to speak!

He Jin stood to the side, his face grim, and remained silent.

He felt that his status was different now; he was no longer the butcher he used to be! How could he do it himself?

Liu Hong sat on the dragon throne, coldly watching the farce below.

He wants them to bite each other.

The louder the argument, the more secure his throne will be!

This power struggle in the imperial court lasted for more than three months.

Every time officials went to court, they returned with bruises and swelling on their faces! After applying medicine, they had to prepare for the next brawl!

The eunuchs and powerful families engaged in a constant back-and-forth, attacking each other. Today you impeach me, tomorrow I report you.

Countless officials were implicated, imprisoned, had their homes confiscated, and were exiled.

The entire imperial court in Luoyang was in complete chaos.

As for the rewards and honors bestowed upon Liu Bei and others, as well as the appointments of the governors of Taiyuan and Shangdang, these were naturally put on hold indefinitely.

With the imperial court in such a state of chaos, who cares about these trivial matters in Bingzhou!

Now that things have come to this, it's no longer a matter of Hun invasion, and it has nothing to do with the governor!

Now the emperor is using the eunuchs to fight against the powerful scholar-officials!

Liu Hong is even considering reigniting the scourge of the partisan strife!

No one cared about Liu Bei, who was far away in Bingzhou, and no one cared about the people of Bingzhou either.