In winter 188 BCE, Empress Dowager Lü wanted to make her brothers princes despite her husband Emperor Gaozu's ruling that only members of the imperial Liu clan could be made princes – a ruling that Empress Dowager Lü had a hand in creating. She was opposed by Right Minister Wang Ling (王陵) but was supported by Left Minister Chen Ping and the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, Zhou Bo. When Wang rebuked Chen and Zhou in private for going against Gaozu's ruling, they explained that their compliance with Empress Dowager Lü's position was necessary to protect the empire and the Liu family.