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

In order to maintain their status, powerful families gathered under the command of Crown Prince Li Xian and constantly launched various actions to suppress the power of those from humble backgrounds.

In an effort to win over Li Xian, they even spread rumors that Li Xian was not Wu Zetian's biological son.

What angered Wu Zetian was that Li Xian actually believed it wholeheartedly.

He even wrote "Ode to the Yellow Melon," which alludes to the fratricide between mother and son.

Li Xian constantly colluded with those powerful families to oppose Wu Zetian, which greatly displeased Wu Zetian.

She felt that her son was too rebellious and could not understand her and Li Zhi's good intentions at all, and even helped those noble families to deal with them.

Sometimes Wu Zetian also felt that it wasn't necessarily better for her sons to be more outstanding.

It's better for a son to be obedient.

Even the best son is useless if he doesn't listen.

At this time, the fortune teller Ming Chongyan kept telling Wu Zetian that the crown prince was unfit to succeed, that Prince Ying, Li Xian, resembled Emperor Taizong, and that Prince Xiang, Li Dan, had the most noble appearance.

Ming Chongyan had spoken to Emperor Gaozong and Empress Wu Zetian on several occasions, earning their deep trust.

In addition, Li Xian's performance during this period convinced Wu Zetian.

Li Xian learned that Ming Chongyan had been advocating for the Prince of Ying and the Prince of Xiang, and had always wanted to get rid of him.

On one occasion when Ming Chongyan was away from home, he seized the opportunity and sent someone to kill Ming Chongyan.

When Wu Zetian learned of this, she was furious. Then someone reported that the Crown Prince had secretly hidden weapons in the Eastern Palace.

Wu Zetian ordered a thorough investigation into the matter, which revealed that the Eastern Palace had secretly kept hundreds of fine suits of armor.

Thanks to a certain unknown Emperor Taizong who set a good example, a law was established in the Tang Dynasty specifically for the crown prince.

The Crown Prince's possession of a large quantity of armor and weapons is tantamount to treason. As the heir apparent, the Crown Prince is only permitted to be equipped with a small number of guards and ceremonial regalia according to regulations. Privately hoarding military equipment is a grave taboo, and it would make the Emperor wonder if he harbored some dissatisfaction towards the Crown Prince.

Are you planning to emulate Emperor Taizong and stage a coup at Xuanwu Gate? Otherwise, why are you hoarding so much weaponry and armor?

In this important capital city of Luoyang, could there possibly be any armed force that could threaten the Crown Prince?

If we really have to say, then it would probably only be the emperor.

So no matter how you look at it, your armed forces exist solely to deal with the emperor.

How can this be allowed?

No emperor would want his son to launch the Xuanwu Gate Incident and overthrow him.

Therefore, during the Tang Dynasty, privately possessing armor and training assassins were serious crimes.

Wu Zetian seized this opportunity and wanted to depose Li Xian from his position as crown prince.

Li Xian argued with Emperor Gaozong and Empress Wu Zetian that the armor was standard equipment for the guards of the Eastern Palace, used for recreational archery practice, and was not intended as a premeditated rebellion.

Li Zhi, out of maternal love, wanted to give the punishment leniently, but this was strongly opposed by Wu Zetian.

"For a son to harbor rebellious intentions is intolerable to Heaven and Earth; to sacrifice one's own family for the greater good is unforgivable!"

Wu Zetian spoke to Li Zhi.

Now, most of those in the court are Wu Zetian's cronies, and they are all speaking out in agreement.

Li Zhi had no choice but to agree to abolish Li Xian's position as crown prince and exile him three thousand miles away.

After this incident, Li Zhi's illness worsened, and he could barely see or even sit up.

With the emperor's health so poor and the crown prince deposed, the government had no choice but to hand over all power to Wu Zetian.

The power firmly held by Li Zhi, due to the lack of a leader, quickly became corrupt and collapsed under Wu Zetian's attempts to divide and win over the faction.

Then, Wu Zetian used Li Xian's rebellion as an excuse to implicate and wipe out all the forces gathered under Li Xian's command.

After the thirty-third year of the Yonghui era, the entire court was completely under Wu Zetian's control.

At this point, Wu Zetian decided to re-select a crown prince. After discussing with Li Zhi, she appointed Li Xian as the crown prince.

However, at this time, all the power of the court was in the hands of Wu Zetian. Li Xian, the crown prince, was just a crown prince in name only, without any real power.

In the forty-fourth year of the Yonghui era, Emperor Gaozong (Li Zhi) summoned Wang Xuance and Xue Rengui to the palace.

Both men came from humble backgrounds and achieved great military exploits through their own efforts. Although they were involved with Wu Zetian, their connection was not close.

Li Zhi never expected his condition to deteriorate to this extent. He originally planned to use Wu Zetian as a knife and destroy it after he finished using it.

The matter is not yet finished, but it is he, the one who wielded the knife, who is about to die first.

Although Wu Zetian held the reins of power during his reign, he maintained control over the entire palace and could summon the Prince of Yan to quell the rebellion and send Wu Zetian back to the palace at any time.

Therefore, he was never worried about Wu Zetian becoming too powerful; if he wanted, he could take everything back at any time through the Prince of Yan.

But now he is about to die. Crown Prince Li Xian is weak, and he is worried about whether Li Xian can withstand Wu Zetian.

Xue Rengui and Wang Xuance were the pillars he found for Li Xian. With these two people, he could at least deal with Wu Zetian.

"Minister Xue, I know that you are loyal and brave, and that you dare to die in times of danger and be the first to face the enemy. Now I am suffering from dizziness and illness, the Crown Prince is young and weak, the court is dominated by a woman, and foreign countries are eyeing our borders."

"I entrust the Tang imperial guards, the safety of the northern border, and the protection of the Eastern Palace to you. You are responsible for protecting the Li family bloodline, stabilizing the four directions of the territory, and suppressing the rebellious ministers."

"As long as you are here, the Tang Dynasty will stand."

Li Zhi grasped Xue Rengui's hand, his eyes filled with tears, his gaze filled with worry for the Tang Dynasty and for the Crown Prince.

Xue Rengui was torn between two conflicting emotions: on one hand, the Tang emperor entrusted the nation to him; on the other hand, the empress dowager who had raised him from humble beginnings and supported him all the way to his current position as a marquis and general.

Both sides are loyal to the emperor, and both sides are loyal to the emperor. This put Xue Rengui, who has always been known for his loyalty and courage, in an unprecedented dilemma.

"Does Lord Xue intend to stand by and watch the Tang Dynasty fall into the hands of a woman?"

"I beg you, Minister Xue!"

Li Zhi's eyes showed a pleading look, and Xue Rengui knelt down with a thud, tears streaming down his face, and said, "Your Majesty, this humble subject obeys the decree."

"As long as I am alive, I will surely protect Your Majesty and the Crown Prince!"

"I am very pleased to hear your words, my dear minister."

Li Zhi smiled and said, "My dear minister, you should go back first. Tomorrow I will have the Crown Prince take you as his teacher. When the Crown Prince ascends the throne, you will be his Grand Tutor."

"Your Majesty, you mustn't! I am but a military officer; how could I possibly serve as the Crown Prince's tutor?"

Xue Rengui was somewhat apprehensive. He was of humble origin, only skilled in fighting and knowledgeable in military strategy. What merit or ability did he possess to serve as the Crown Prince's teacher?

Those who can serve as the Crown Prince's tutors are all renowned scholars of the land; he is merely a military commander and is not qualified.

"What's wrong with that? When it comes to leading troops into battle, no one in the world can surpass you. You can teach the Crown Prince how to lead troops into battle. The Crown Prince is weak, and I hope that by following you, he can become stronger and have some masculine vigor."

Li Zhi sighed. The Crown Prince's weak character was not a blessing for the country.

"That's settled then, my subject, you may leave. I'm feeling a bit tired."