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

"The Tang Dynasty cannot afford to be thrown into chaos now."

Li Zhi looked at Wu Zetian earnestly and said.

"I know that their roots are here, that they are inextricably linked to the Tang Dynasty, and that they have always belonged to the Divine Empire."

"Unless absolutely necessary, they will never give up everything and start from scratch."

Wu Zetian's eyes flashed with allure as she spoke softly.

"I know, but I cannot gamble."

"When a powerful family is driven to the brink, like the Hao family, no one can predict what they might do."

"Therefore, before the Tang Dynasty stabilizes, I hope you will not push them to the brink."

"And they will definitely contact those people to put pressure on us."

Li Zhi said helplessly.

This war involves a struggle for supremacy between nations, and the Wei family will not get involved.

Otherwise, if we had simply sent the Wei family to the battlefield, we could have swept through all the other states, and there wouldn't have been this trouble!

Li Zhi couldn't help but think of the words his father, Emperor Taizong of Tang, had told him before his death.

The Wei family did not love the imperial family, but the nation and the Chinese world.

Therefore, they don't care which dynasty or family erected this monument; they only care about the people of the world.

This kind of aloofness once deeply pierced Li Shimin's heart.

However, the struggle between Li Chengqian and Li Tai later made Li Shimin realize that the greatest strength of the Wei family was that every generation of Wei family heirs was excellent, there was never a mediocre person who came to power, and there was never any internal strife.

This is simply incredible. Looking through historical records, from ancient times to the present Tang Dynasty, a history of more than 3000 years, there have been hundreds, if not thousands, of powerful families.

But among so many families, no family has ever been able to have outstanding successors for several generations or even dozens of generations.

Never before, the Wei family is the first and only one.

There was none before, and there will never be any in the future.

The Wei family is unique throughout history.

Although Li Shimin was also a great ruler who conquered the south and north to establish the Tang Dynasty, how could he compare to such a family?!

From that time on, he gave up competing with the Wei family and devoted himself to governing the Tang Dynasty and educating Li Zhi.

Coming to his senses, Li Zhi frowned in pain.

"Meiniang, I will entrust you with both military and political power. Remember, the nation must come first in everything."

Li Zhi waved his hand, closed his eyes, and said nothing more.

When he opened his eyes, he saw Wu Zetian's departing figure.

Li Zhi sighed deeply. Things had developed in a way he hadn't expected. His chess game was in complete disarray, and even he couldn't see how things would unfold in the future.

"Father, my life has been like walking on thin ice. Will I ever be able to reach the other side?"

Li Zhi murmured.

He sighed again. What could he do?

This is a path that can only be followed to the bitter end.

After Wu Zetian received Emperor Gaozong's decree and completely seized control of military and political power, her first priority was to take control of the military.

She purged a large number of generals from aristocratic families who lacked ability, replacing them with generals from humble backgrounds who possessed genuine knowledge and talent.

Although it caused some initial chaos, it was quickly quelled, and these generals gained the recognition of their subordinates through their abilities.

Then Wu Zetian came to the Imperial Academy and recruited a large number of students from the academy to serve as officers in the army.

Out of concern for these students, many teachers from various schools have also applied to join the military to protect their students.

Unexpectedly, there was an even greater surprise, and Wu Zetian naturally agreed with great joy.

After the supplies were replenished, Wu Zetian ordered these teachers to lead the army north to the northern grasslands to join Xue Rengui.

Of the current five fronts, one has been breached, the two naval fronts are still deadlocked, and the northwest Anxi front is unable to advance, but with its strong fortified city defenses, it will not allow the allied forces to advance any further.

The only possibility of breaking the deadlock is Xue Rengui's route in the northern desert.

Wu Zetian decided to fully support Xue Rengui in defeating the allied forces, and then set off from the northern grasslands to the northwest defense line to support Pei Xingjian and Lou Shide.

In the autumn of the thirtieth year of Yonghui, Xue Rengui, who had received support from the imperial court, ordered his son to lead the allied forces in his place, while he himself led an elite cavalry force on a nearly thousand-mile detour to the rear of the allied forces, launching a surprise attack on their supply lines and then storming into their rear, resulting in a major defeat for the allied forces.

Over several months, Xue Rengui annihilated the large enemy forces in the northern desert, and the remaining smaller enemy forces were wiped out by the troops he left behind.

After completing these tasks, in accordance with Wu Zetian's imperial decree, he led his army from the northern grasslands to the defense line to take over the defense of the Anxi front.

The court was greatly encouraged upon receiving the battle report of Xue Rengui's victory.

With Xue Rengui's support, even if we can't recover lost territory, there's absolutely no problem in protecting China.

Empress Wu Zetian issued an imperial edict appointing Xue Rengui as the Grand General of the Western Garrison, commanding all Tang troops in the Anxi region, with Pei Xingjian and Lou Shide as his deputies to assist him.

In the thirty-first year of the Yonghui era, Xue Rengui decisively defeated the allied forces of various states in a frontal battle, beheading over 100,000 and capturing countless prisoners. The allied forces retreated and garrisoned Anxi City, holding firm and refusing to engage.

Anxi City was once a fortress guarded by the Tang Dynasty, easy to defend and difficult to attack. Even if the Tang army wanted to break through, it would suffer heavy losses.

When the battle report reached Luoyang, Emperor Gaozong and Empress Wu Zetian were overjoyed, but the major aristocratic families did not like it.

Because Xue Rengui came from a humble background, although he had not explicitly pledged allegiance to Wu Zetian before, he only obeyed the orders of Emperor Li Zhi.

Su Dingfang, who promoted him, was a staunch supporter of Wu Zetian. Naturally, he was initially categorized as part of Wu Zetian's camp.

Later, due to his insistence, he was assigned to Li Zhi's camp.

But now Wu Zetian has given him the opportunity to lead troops and promoted him so highly, allowing him to make achievements, be appointed as a general and a marquis. Wu Zetian is also the empress who issued the imperial edict and has the legal right to rule the world. Now Li Zhi has entrusted him with military and political power.

They had a thousand reasons to believe that Xue Rengui could be the best weapon Wu Zetian could use against them.

Xue Rengui was already a highly decorated general. Now, he first defeated the allied forces of the northern desert kingdoms and then the allied forces of the western kingdoms, making his reputation awe-inspiring throughout the world.

With Xue Rengui's support, Wu Zetian could have gone so far as to want to massacre the entire country; she had the confidence and ability to do so.

Many powerful families persuaded Crown Prince Li Xian to launch a full-scale counterattack against Xue Rengui and Wu Zetian in the court.

On the other hand, just as Li Zhi had thought, they secretly contacted the allied forces of various countries, especially on the naval battlefield, to help them gain a foothold and win many battles in local engagements.

This was to increase his leverage and deter Wu Zetian and Li Zhi from making any rash moves.