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

When he slowly regained consciousness, he already sensed that his days were numbered.

His body had just been treated by Marquis Anshou, so it was absolutely impossible for him to be in this state now.

Someone poisoned his food!

Damn!

In the 400 years since the founding of the Han Dynasty, this was the first time someone had dared to poison the emperor's food, and even succeeded.

He's just experiencing a brief resurgence before his death.

Emperor Ling of Han recalled that when he first ascended the throne, powerful ministers held sway, and he was nothing more than a puppet in the hands of the Dou family.

They fought tooth and nail to wrest power back from the Dou family.

He didn't want his children to experience something like that in the future.

Therefore, he was constantly fighting against the powerful families, wanting to help Prince Liu Xie ascend the throne while not wanting the Wei family to get involved and become the new powerful ministers.

Moreover, his keen political sense told him that the powerful families had grand ambitions.

Even he couldn't find out.

Therefore, we must not let that fool He Jin support Liu Bian to ascend the throne. Who will be in charge of the whole country then?

We must get Liu Xie on the throne as soon as possible. There is only one person who can do this now: Yan Gong, the Grand Minister of Agriculture, Wei Cheng.

We can't worry about that now. At least having the Wei family in control provides sufficient assurance.

Once Liu Xie has grown up, there will be a day when he can reclaim power.

At this point, he stopped cursing his ancestors for leaving behind such a powerful family to undermine him, and began to feel fortunate to still have such a large family to rely on.

At the same time, he began to regret why he had let Wei Ku take a bath. Otherwise, with Wei Ku by his side, it would have been much more difficult for the other party to poison him. Moreover, Wei Ku could have represented the Wei family and given him an imperial edict to support Liu Xie's ascension to the throne.

"Zhang Rang, summon the Duke of Yan to the palace, quickly!"

Even though a direct road had been built between the imperial palace and the Yan family mansion, the medicine administered by the aristocratic families was no ordinary medicine, and Emperor Ling of Han ultimately could not hold on until Wei Cheng entered the palace.

Or perhaps he simply couldn't wait any longer.

Before his death, he had no choice but to leave an imperial edict, which he handed to Jian Shuo, ordering Prince Xie to ascend the throne.

As he was about to pass away, the Ten Attendants, who had been loyal to him, began to have different thoughts.

They started looking for other ways to make a living.

Seeing Emperor Ling of Han clinging to life, these servants began to have the idea of ​​taking charge.

It is true that they want to support Liu Xie, but the person they support must be themselves. They must have the merit of supporting Liu Xie, thus sidelining him and seizing power in the Han Dynasty.

If only He Jin and Prince Liu Bian are removed, and the emperor's edict is presented, then Prince Xie can be invited to ascend the throne.

They are the masters of the world.

They concealed the news of Emperor Ling's death and summoned He Jin to the palace in the name of Empress He.

Late at night, He Jin wondered why his sister had summoned him to the palace at this hour, but he recognized the maid who delivered the imperial edict; she was the one Empress He had brought from Nanyang.

Trusting Empress He, He Jin entered the palace without any precautions.

At this time, Pan Yin, a close friend of He Jin among the eunuchs, sent a secret letter.

"After the emperor's death, Jian Shuo and the Ten Attendants conspired to keep the death a secret, forged an imperial edict to summon He Guojiu to the palace, intending to eliminate any future troubles, and then installed Prince Xie as emperor."

He Jin was greatly alarmed and hurriedly returned to his residence, ordering his loyal troops to surround his General of Chariots and Cavalry's mansion.

His commotion alarmed many powerful forces, and the Ten Attendants naturally received the news as well.

They knew instantly that they had been exposed.

Since their original plan couldn't proceed, they began to devise another way to survive, prepared to compromise and make do.

Since I'm going to be a slave anyway, it doesn't matter who I serve.

They were preparing to find Empress He.

The Ten Attendants played a crucial role in Empress Dowager He's entry into the palace and her gaining the favor of Emperor Ling of Han.

Guo Sheng and Empress He were from the same hometown and had a very close relationship.

After discussing the matter, the Ten Attendants sent Guo Sheng to seek help from Empress He.

Although Empress He was experienced in palace intrigues, she was a novice in political struggles compared to the Ten Attendants.

He was easily persuaded by Guo Sheng's sweet talk and agreed to protect the Ten Attendants, on the condition that Liu Bian be supported to ascend the throne.

The Ten Attendants agreed and pledged to support Liu Bian's ascension to the throne.

Because of his loyalty to Emperor Ling of Han, Jian Shuo was determined to have Prince Xie ascend the throne. He secretly left the palace, intending to join forces with the Wei family.

"Jian Shuo, where do you want to go?"

He was stopped at the palace gate by Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong.

Behind them were several lithe young eunuchs.

Jian Shuo drew his Han sword. "Zhang Rang, Zhao Zhong, we were both here before His Majesty passed away. His Majesty wanted Prince Xie to ascend the throne!"

"We have gained our current power because of His Majesty's favor; how can we not do our utmost to fulfill His Majesty's dying wish!"

"You two have actually betrayed His Majesty! Do you even know the meaning of loyalty and righteousness?!"

Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong couldn't help but sneer when they heard Jian Shuo's words.

"We're all worthless bastards, not even men, so what right do we have to be loyal, filial, respectful, and shameful!"

"All we want is money and power. Right now, all we want is to survive. What's wrong with that?!"

"Ah! Tell me, what have we done wrong?"

"Do we want to kneel at Empress He's feet? Don't we want Prince Xie to ascend the throne? But we can't!"

Hahahahaha.

Jian Shuo was so angry he laughed.

"As long as we take His Majesty's decree to the Duke of Yan's residence, this matter can be accomplished."

"What did you do? Instead of informing Duke Yan, you were thinking of your own interests!"

"Now that you've realized you can't get rid of He Jin, you've turned around and are supporting the First Prince. I'm ashamed to be associated with you!"

Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong sneered, "That sounds nice, but when we plotted to eliminate He Jin without informing the Duke of Yan, didn't you tacitly agree to it?"

Jian Shuo remained silent, placing the sword against his neck. "You are right, I have failed His Majesty."

"Your Majesty, this old servant has come to keep you company!"

After saying this, Jian Shuo drew his sword and committed suicide.

Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong spat, "Trying to be a prostitute while pretending to be virtuous."

They found Emperor Ling's edict and the tiger tally of the Western Garden Army on Jian Shuo's body, and began to plant people in the Western Garden Army.

After sending his own people to take control of the military, he replaced the palace guards with these troops and announced the death of Emperor Ling of Han to the public.

On that day, Wei Ku committed suicide at home due to his failure to protect her.

Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong dictated His Majesty's last will and testament, ordering Prince Bian to ascend the throne.

According to the custom of the Han Dynasty, He Jin, the emperor's brother-in-law, was appointed as the Grand General, and Empress He was appointed as the Empress Dowager, ruling from behind a screen.

At the same time, they presented Jian Shuo's body to He Jin as a gift. He Jin then took out Jian Shuo's body to demonstrate his merit in killing the eunuchs, a merit worthy of the position of Grand General.

On that day, He Jin's advisor Yuan Shao advised He Jin to take advantage of the situation and kill all the Ten Attendants.

He Jin began to hesitate. This time, he was able to become the Grand General entirely because of the Ten Attendants.

He knew that Emperor Ling of Han died suddenly and did not leave any will.

This is a forged imperial edict issued by the Ten Attendants.

Chen Lin also stepped forward to persuade him, "General, have you perhaps forgotten what Commander Pan said a few days ago?"