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

Hao Chujun: "The Cui family of Qinghe..."

"The Bolingcui clan..."

"The Zheng family of Xingyang..."

"The Wang family of Taiyuan..."

"The Yang family of Hongnong..."

"..."

Hao Chujun directly exposed the family backgrounds of several top clans in the imperial court, as well as several important officials under Wu Zetian.

He only has this one chance. After today, he will be forced to shut up in order to stop him from making accusations.

Only now, in the imperial court, by directly revealing all the secrets, can he muddy the waters and drag all the forces into the mess, thus giving himself and his Hao family a glimmer of hope.

"Insolence! Nonsense!"

A large number of ministers in the court stood up and angrily denounced Hao Chujun.

After working so hard to become an official, who wouldn't think about their family?

Even officials from humble backgrounds could greatly improve their family conditions after entering the imperial court through the contributions, bribes, and gifts from numerous people.

They studied so hard and finally passed the imperial examinations, shouldn't they be allowed to enjoy themselves?

However, besides these officials, there are also some who have always adhered to their bottom line and remained true to their original aspirations.

Li Zhi and Wu Zetian watched this dramatic scene with cold eyes, their gazes flashing with a hint of icy in almost simultaneous moments.

Now that the Eighteen-Nation Alliance has invaded and the Tang Dynasty is suffering from frequent disasters, these parasites are not thinking about how to quell the rebellion and provide relief to the victims, but are actually engaging in political infighting here!

Didn't they consider that if the court were thrown into chaos, it would inevitably affect disaster relief and border wars?

Li Zhi was somewhat annoyed that Hao Chujun would do this at this time, and also somewhat dissatisfied with Wu Zetian. He took the opportunity to expand the scope and uncover this huge bombshell.

One wrong move and the entire Tang Dynasty would be shaken, directly jeopardizing the nation's stability.

Local powerful families would inevitably fight to the death, severing the connection between the imperial court and the border troops, secretly contacting the eighteen-nation coalition, inciting the disaster victims to revolt, and preparing to overthrow the Tang Dynasty in one fell swoop.

Li Zhi wanted to boil the frog in lukewarm water, precisely to prevent the current situation from happening.

As long as he doesn't show up directly, there's still room for reconciliation.

The imperial court must not be thrown into chaos now.

"The prime minister was punished for disrespect in the palace and was demoted to a commoner."

Li Zhi forcibly took down Hao Chujun's charges, accusing him of disrespect in front of the palace.

However, it cannot be said that he was wronged. After all, in terms of legal principles, the Emperor and Empress are of the same level. Hao Chujun's denunciation of Wu Zetian is no different from cursing the Emperor.

Hao Chujun's face turned pale. He tried to struggle, but the Imperial Guards pulled him down.

In this court session, he offended everyone, whether they were neutral, loyal to Emperor Li Zhi, loyal to Empress Wu Zetian, or opposed to Empress Wu.

Now that he has lost his position, he absolutely cannot withstand the retaliation from so many forces.

He suddenly realized that he and Wu Zetian were fundamentally unequal in status.

His death was sealed the moment Wu Zetian uttered those words.

This was Wu Zetian's revenge against him.

Hao Chujun turned his pleading gaze to Crown Prince Li Xian, who was his last hope.

Li Xian also slightly avoided Hao Chujun's pleading gaze. Hao Chujun had offended so many powerful forces, and there was nothing he could do about it.

Offering help might actually get him into trouble, making it a losing proposition.

Hao Chujun smiled bitterly, realizing that his fate was sealed and there was nothing he could do to change it.

He sighed and cried out, "A wicked empress has wreaked havoc on the country, and the court is filled with treacherous and despicable people! Emperor Taizong, can you rest in peace in heaven?!"

"Ughhhhh!"

The two imperial guards beside Hao Chujun changed their expressions drastically. No longer caring about Hao Chujun's former status as prime minister, they covered Hao Chujun's mouth, making him only able to make muffled sounds.

Li Zhi's expression was also somewhat unpleasant, but there was no need to make a fuss about a dead man.

"What the Great Tang needs now is stability, not turmoil. Everything should be focused on quelling rebellions in all directions."

Li Zhi's sharp gaze swept over the court officials, his tone authoritative and carrying an unquestionable air.

Some court officials followed Emperor Gaozong's orders and bowed in respect.

Many court officials still looked at Wu Zetian, and only after she nodded slightly did they bow in agreement.

Li Zhi's expression remained unchanged, but his apprehension towards Wu Zetian grew even stronger. Once Wu Zetian eliminated the powerful officials gathered under the Crown Prince's command, he would begin to take action to remove this threat.

Imperial power must not be tainted.

……

In the twenty-ninth year of the Yonghui era, the war, which had been deadlocked for a year, had not yet ended in victory, and more and more countries were getting involved, wanting to jointly divide the Tang Dynasty.

Blessings are unparalleled, and misfortunes do not come singly.

That year, the largest grain-producing areas of the imperial court, including Henan, Hebei, Guanzhong, and Huainan, suffered a severe drought, the worst in decades, leaving the people with no harvest.

While providing disaster relief, the imperial court also recruited a large number of disaster victims into the army to replenish the troops needed for the border wars.

This severely impacted the military system established during the founding of the Tang Dynasty, leading to its decline and ultimately triggering its downfall.

With the Tang Dynasty facing setbacks in its foreign wars, Emperor Gaozong (Li Zhi) and Empress Wu Zetian had no choice but to appease the powerful families of officials to prevent them from colluding with the enemy and betraying the Tang Dynasty.

The powerful clans in the court began to seize the opportunity to fight back, and Empress Wu's power was forced to shrink. Crown Prince Li Xian's power gradually grew, and his relationship with Empress Wu began to deteriorate.

In the thirtieth year of the Yonghui era, the border war continued. In the northern desert, although Xue Rengui was incredibly brave, the enemy army, taking advantage of the vast grasslands, kept roaming and attacking.

After two years of fighting, the Tang Dynasty gradually shifted from defense to offense. Just when victory seemed within reach, bad news came from the western defense line: Pei Xingjian was defeated and led his troops to withdraw to the Anxi defense line to join forces with Lou Shide.

The land route from the imperial court to the former Great Xia territory was cut off, and rebellions broke out everywhere in the Great Xia territory. Many forces, under the guise of reviving Great Xia, launched an uprising against the Tang Dynasty.

The Tang Dynasty was now powerless to launch a counterattack and could only watch helplessly as the land conquered by Li Shimin was once again taken away.

Upon receiving the battle report, Li Zhi screamed in agony, his head throbbing with pain, and he collapsed in the court.

After being rescued by the imperial physician, Li Zhi slowly regained consciousness and stared blankly at the roof. The land that his father had painstakingly acquired and invested a great deal of resources in had been lost by him!

After he passes away, how will he face Li Shimin?!

Thinking of this, Li Zhi's headache returned, and the imperial physician quickly administered acupuncture, which relieved his headache.

Acupuncture only provides temporary relief; his head aches whenever he uses his brain, making it impossible for him to think about or handle state affairs.

"Your Majesty must not overthink things. You must take care of your health and absolutely must not get agitated."

The imperial physician gave his instructions.

Li Zhi sighed helplessly. The country was in turmoil, the borders unstable, and there was a drought within the country. How could he not be overwhelmed with worry? How could he not be agitated?

"Queen, please stay. Everyone else, step down."

Li Zhi knew that he now had to discuss with Wu Zetian and persuade her to slow down her dealings with the aristocratic families.

No matter what, the Tang Dynasty's territory cannot be lost!