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

After a year of recuperation, Li Zhi emerged from the palace again and, in the name of the Emperor and Empress, recruited soldiers, expanding the Tang Dynasty's army to 800 million and opening the Tang Dynasty's treasury, which had been stored for decades.

Both Emperor Gaozong (Li Zhi) and Empress Wu Zetian took this opportunity to expand their military power and arranged for generals who were affiliated with them to participate in the campaign.

In the same year, a tsunami struck the southern coastal area of ​​the Tang Dynasty, destroying coastal cities and causing heavy losses. The imperial court had to allocate a large amount of funds for disaster relief.

A severe drought struck Hebei during the Tang Dynasty, resulting in crop failure and widespread famine. The imperial court once again allocated funds from the national treasury for disaster relief.

With war raging on five fronts and relief efforts for drought in the north and floods in the south, even the Tang Dynasty's treasury, which had been stored up for decades, was beginning to crumble under such strain.

Fortunately, during the Zhenguan era, Li Shimin had accumulated substantial wealth, which allowed him to barely withstand such expenditures.

However, even if this period is managed to pass, if the border war cannot be ended quickly, the Tang Dynasty may face an empty treasury, have to abandon that distant land, and preserve the mainland.

The anti-Empress Dowager camp, led by Hao Chujun, submitted a memorial to Emperor Gaozong (Li Zhi) stating that the yin (female) element was overpowering the yang (male), and that the Empress Dowager's control of the court was like a hen crowing at dawn, which was why calamities occurred and the Tang Dynasty attracted an attack from eighteen kingdoms.

If Emperor Gaozong (Li Zhi) had deposed Empress Wu Zetian and stripped her of her power to govern, the calamities would have naturally subsided, and the Tang Dynasty would have returned to a state of peace and prosperity.

Wu Zetian was furious. Hao Chujun had actually pinned all the disasters that had occurred in the Tang Dynasty on her head. This was outrageous!

Once he puts the cap on her today, all the calamities and disasters of the Tang Dynasty will be inseparable from her.

"Have the selection criteria for prime minister in the Tang Dynasty become so low that even those who are ignorant and incompetent can hold high positions?"

"The common understanding is that all disasters in the world are natural reactions; what does it have to do with humans?"

"If you've read books, you'll know that natural disasters are common phenomena, so why do they seem particularly prominent at the end of dynasties?"

"That means the government is corrupt, powerful families are seizing land and oppressing the people, leaving them with no way to resist disasters."

"During the prosperous times of a dynasty, the country has its own disaster relief system. Even if there is a disaster or epidemic, it can be quelled and aided in time. The people have fertile land and stored grain. The land has not been annexed, so even if there are some minor disasters, they can get through them."

"May I ask, Lord Cheng, how much land do you own? How many servants do you have? How much grain do you have stored?"

Hao Chujun was speechless after being spoken to by Wu Zetian. If he dared to give a false number, Wu Zetian would definitely have someone investigate thoroughly, and his lie would be exposed, which would be a crime of deceiving the emperor.

But if he were to reveal a real number, wouldn't that enormous number prove that everything Wu Zetian just said was true?

For over a thousand years, no one has ever dared to so openly reveal the truth of this issue in the imperial court, even if those officials from humble backgrounds who were subservient to Wu Zetian were clean!

If you want to flip the table, then flip it!

Cheng Chujun looked at Xu Jingzong, Wu Zetian's top lackey, and sneered, "My family's land is the result of hundreds of years of accumulation. I've heard that Lord Xu's ancestors only rose to prominence after relying on the Empress Dowager, which is only a little over a decade ago. May I ask, Lord Xu, how much land do you own? How many shops do you have? How much grain do you have stored?"

In the imperial court, Xu Jingzong's grandson, Xu Yanbo, looked pale.

His grandfather was a close confidant of the diva and made great contributions to her rise to power. He was known as the diva's number one lackey and wielded immense power.

Naturally, countless people offered him large sums of money, shops, and land in an attempt to curry favor with his grandfather.

Twenty years later, his family's assets are now astronomical.

The area surrounding Beijing alone has nearly 8000 acres of prime land, the most fertile land in the entire Beijing region.

In addition, there are tens of thousands of acres of fertile land scattered throughout the Central Plains, including Henan Province.

Originally from Jiangnan, the area also boasts tens of thousands of acres of fertile paddy fields, as well as over 30,000 acres of mountain forests and wetlands, several gold and silver mines, and more than a dozen copper and iron mines.

In addition, there were numerous shops, with over a dozen fine shops in Luoyang alone, and various handicraft workshops scattered throughout the country, involved in industries such as silk, horses, tea, porcelain, grain, medicinal herbs, and spices.

The family also possessed hundreds of thousands of taels of gold and silver, millions of strings of copper coins, countless antiques and paintings, hundreds of servants, and thousands of tenants.

All of this was earned by Xu Jingzong over the years.

But this can't be discussed in the imperial court. If it comes out, these things might not belong to the Xu family tomorrow.

"Lord Hao, the Empress Dowager is asking you a question. Answer quickly and don't waste time."

Xu Yanbo changed the subject.

Hao Chujun glanced at Xu Yanbo with disdain, then looked at Wu Zetian with a mocking expression.

It seems to be saying, "Are you going to protect the Xu family or not?"

If you want to investigate me, then he will perish along with the Xu family.

If you lose even your subordinates, how can you, Wu Zetian, maintain your authority? Why would anyone risk their lives for you?

"Please answer truthfully, Prime Minister."

Wu Zetian said coldly.

Hao Chujun's smug smile froze, and he looked at Wu Zetian in disbelief. Was Wu Zetian going to take him down with her?

Are you really not afraid of your subordinates falling apart?

What benefits would it bring to Wu Zetian if she did this?

Was it worth Wu Zetian using her power to compensate for the death of Hao Chujun and the entire Hao family?

Did he have such a deep hatred for Wu Zetian?

"What's wrong, Prime Minister? Is there something you're having trouble saying?"

Wu Zetian urged.

Hao Chujun's face twitched, caught in a dilemma.

Wu Zetian went mad, but he wasn't; he didn't want to perish together with her!

Hao Chujun didn't have the magnanimity to exchange his death for the lives of other powerful families.

He glanced at the officials from other powerful families in the court, but everyone avoided his eyes; not a single person was willing to lend him a helping hand.

Hao Chujun's eyes turned cold. Since you are heartless, then don't blame me for being ruthless.

Then let's make a big fuss about this, let's turn the world upside down, and see if you, Wu Zetian, dare to expose this hole.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I hereby impeach the following prominent families: Xu Yanbo, Li Yifu, the Cui family of Boling, the Cui family of Qinghe, the Yang family of Hongnong, the Zheng family of Xingyang, the Wang family of Taiyuan, the Wang family of Langya, the Li family of Zhaojun, the Wei family of Jingzhao, the Pei family of Hedong, and the Du family of Chang'an, for embezzling land, forming cliques, abusing their power, and accepting bribes!"

"Among them, the Xu family embezzled more than 20,000 mu of fertile land, tens of thousands of mu of mountains, forests and fishponds, dozens of shops and nearly a hundred workshops in just twenty years."

"The Li family is slightly inferior, but in the past twenty years, with the Empress's tacit approval, they have acquired more than 10,000 mu of fine farmland, tens of thousands of mu of mountains, forests and fishponds, more than a dozen shops in the capital, a mansion covering nearly 100 mu, and countless gold, silver and antique treasures in their home."