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

The Guanlong Group, which had vested interests in Empress Wang, would naturally not stand idly by and watch her position as empress be deposed. Under the instigation of Changsun Wuji, he led Chu Suiliang and a group of high-ranking officials from the Guanlong Group to openly refuse Li Zhi's demands in the court.

"The Empress has no son and cannot inherit the throne. Consort Wu gave birth to my eldest son, ensuring the succession of the dynasty. Her contribution is invaluable."

"I intend to depose Empress Wang and establish Consort Wu as Empress, and Prince Hong as Crown Prince, in order to rectify the foundation of the country and secure the nation."

Li Zhi spoke in front of all the court officials.

At Changsun Wuji's prompting, Chu Suiliang stepped forward, bowed to Li Shimin, and said, "Your Majesty, Empress Wang was chosen by the late Emperor. She comes from the prestigious Wang family, with an illustrious lineage, and is virtuous and capable. The late Emperor once said that she is a fine wife for the Crown Prince."

"The Empress has done nothing wrong and should not be deposed. I hope Your Majesty will reconsider and not offend the late Emperor."

"I have been on the throne for several years and am about to turn thirty, but I only have one son, Hong'er."

"Although the Empress is virtuous and without fault, she has no son. If she insists on occupying the position of Empress, it will shake the foundation of the country. The Tang Dynasty cannot be without an heir."

Li Zhi's biggest reason was that Empress Wang had no children, even though the Li family truly had a throne to inherit.

If there is no legitimate son, then only a son born out of wedlock can succeed to the throne. This is unacceptable even in ordinary wealthy families, let alone in the imperial family.

The right to claim the throne is something the royal family must obey. The crown prince's mother must be the empress. Even if she is not, the crown prince will elevate her to the empress's position and posthumously confer titles upon her when he ascends the throne.

Changsun Wuji slowly walked out of the queue, and the people in the court watched this minister entrusted with the care of the late emperor, the emperor's brother-in-law, the Grand Commandant, and the leader of the Guanlong Group.

Changsun Wuji's voice was full of authority, with a hint of an elder reprimanding a younger person.

"Your Majesty, what Lord Chu said makes perfect sense."

"Since the Empress has done nothing wrong, and His Majesty has only recently ascended the throne and is currently in the prime of his life, how can he so easily depose her?"

"Without evidence, it is difficult to convince the public."

"The Empress is the mother of the nation. If Your Majesty were to depose her without any fault on her part, it would likely cause unrest among the people and destabilize the state."

"Although Consort Wu gave birth to a son for His Majesty, he was ultimately just an illegitimate son. Moreover, Consort Wu's background is known to everyone in the world."

"She entered the palace during the Zhenguan era as a concubine of the late emperor. After the late emperor's death, she returned from Ganye Temple due to Your Majesty's favor and was granted the high rank of Zhaoyi, the head of the Nine Concubines."

"I believe this is the limit. If she is made empress, the whole world will focus on Consort Wu's past, and the royal family's reputation will be damaged, which will surely be ridiculed by the people and future generations."

"As a minister entrusted by the late emperor, I was ordered by him to safeguard the Tang Dynasty, uphold the late emperor's good name, and protect Your Majesty's reputation. Now, seeing Your Majesty's willful decision to depose the prince and install Wu, I dare not agree. I shall fulfill my duty as a minister entrusted by the late emperor and remonstrate with Your Majesty."

Changsun Wuji used the deceased Li Shimin to pressure Li Zhi, then brought up Wu Meiniang's background, and even used his status as a regent to warn Li Zhi, pressing him relentlessly and aggressively.

Li Zhi glared at Changsun Wuji. He could understand the meaning behind Changsun Wuji's words: if he insisted on this today, the news that Li Zhi had forcibly married his father's concubine as his principal wife would probably spread throughout Chang'an and even the whole country tomorrow.

They would also accuse him of defaming the late emperor's reputation and of being unfilial.

What angered Li Zhi even more was that after Changsun Wuji finished speaking, a large number of people stood up in the court to support him. These were the people Changsun Wuji had built up over the years.

"For the nation, the crown prince is of paramount importance and is the true foundation of the country."

Is there anything more important in this world than stabilizing the foundation of the nation?

"Grand Commandant, is there one?"

Li Zhi stared intently at Changsun Wuji and asked.

"No, but..."

Changsun Wuji replied.

"That's good."

Li Zhi interrupted Changsun Wuji, who was about to continue speaking, "My decision to depose the king and establish Wu was not for personal gain, but precisely for the stability of the nation."

"The foundation of the Tang Dynasty, the inheritance of its empire, and the continuation of its state are the Tang Dynasty's top priorities."

"Everything else must give way to this."

Chu Suiliang immediately stepped forward to confront him, declaring, "The Empress has not committed any misconduct; she cannot be deposed!"

"I have heard that Your Majesty favors Consort Wu and has neglected the Empress for many years. How could the Empress have a child?"

"Your Majesty, if the Empress is indeed unable to bear children, then abolishing her position will be understandable to the people."

"But now it is because His Majesty has not favored her that the Empress has no children. How can you blame the Empress for this?"

"If Your Majesty insists on deposing the Empress, I request to retire to my hometown!"

"Granted!"

Li Zhi said coldly.

Do you really think the court will stop functioning without you?

As long as the Prince of Yan is still alive, the court will not fall.

Chu Suiliang was taken aback. What had he just heard?

"Granted?!"

Who is he? He is the late emperor's appointed regent, a high-ranking official in the court, and above all others!

How dare Li Zhi just allow him to resign like that?!

Did he not know how much impact his departure would have on the imperial court?

Doesn't he know that the entire Guanlong Group is standing behind him?

Doesn't he know...?

He wanted to continue thinking, but was interrupted by Li Zhi's voice.

"Guards, escort Lord Chu—no, escort this old man home."

Li Zhi said coldly.

"Your Majesty, I..."

"Oh? What's wrong? Does Lord Chu regret his decision now that he's greedy for power and position, seeing that I've actually granted you permission to retire to your hometown?"

Li Zhi said in an icy tone.

Chu Suiliang's face stiffened. After Li Zhi's words, if he continued to make a fuss, his reputation would be ruined if he wanted to stay in the court.

Left with no other option, Chu Suiliang turned to Changsun Wuji for help.

Changsun Wuji also did not want to lose another ally at this time, thus weakening the power of the Guanlong Group.

So he stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I have a plan. We can have Prince Hong adopted into the Empress's family. Wouldn't that be the best of both worlds?"

Li Zhi's expression changed drastically; he had never expected Changsun Wuji to be so insidious.

Sending Wu Meiniang's son to Empress Wang's side would be unacceptable to both her and Wu Meiniang.

Wouldn't that make the Guanlong Group even more arrogant?

He absolutely will not allow it.

"Consort Wu carried the child for ten months and went through countless hardships to give birth to the prince. How could I bear to give him up for adoption to the Empress and separate the mother and child?"

"Don't mention this matter again!"

Li Zhi glanced at the group of Changsun's cronies who had stepped forward in the court. Excluding the Prince of Yan's faction, they occupied more than half of the remaining court, and most of the rest were military generals.

If we only consider civil officials, almost the entire majority of them follow the lead of Changsun Wuji.

Changsun Wuji's power has become too great, seriously threatening the dignity of his imperial authority.

The abolition of the emperor and the establishment of Wu is inevitable. If he fails, Changsun Wuji will only become more arrogant and his power will expand further, emboldened by his authority over the emperor.

Only by deposing the king and establishing Wu can we suppress Changsun Wuji's arrogance and make all the civil and military officials understand who truly rules this land!