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

"As you command."

Xue Rengui bowed and retreated, but as he left, Li Zhi seemed to remember something and suddenly instructed him, "Minister Xue, remember, the palace guards are related to the Crown Prince's life. No matter the reason, they must never be handed over to anyone else. They must be under your control, understand?"

Xue Rengui nodded emphatically.

After he left the palace, Wang Xuance was also summoned to the palace.

"Wang Qing, you've arrived."

"How could I possibly trust you?!"

Li Zhi looked at Wang Xuance, who had always remained aloof from the court and unwilling to get involved in its struggles.

However, this great achievement also brought Wang Xuance into the sights of various factions within the imperial court.

It was no longer possible for Wang Xuance to remain uninvolved.

Even Emperor Gaozong (Li Zhi) wanted to win Wang Xuance over to his side. Such a bold, meticulous, and talented individual was truly rare.

"Your Majesty, I am willing to devote myself to your service until my dying breath!"

Wang Xuance immediately knelt down and said.

He had no right to refuse Li Zhi; he could only choose sides.

Either support Li Zhi or support Wu Zetian.

However, if he dares to side with Wu Zetian now, Li Zhi probably won't let him see the sun rise tomorrow.

Li Zhi was also very satisfied with Wang Xuance's pragmatism, saying, "My dear minister, you are full of courage. You single-handedly destroyed a country and captured the generals of the allied forces of various countries. Your ability and courage are both top-notch."

"What is even more commendable is that you, my dear minister, remain impartial and unbiased in the court, without forming factions or engaging in self-serving activities, which is truly rare and precious."

At this point, Wu Zetian's voice began to lower.

"I know... that the Empress Dowager wields immense power, and no one in the court dares to defy her. Rengui commands the military, and Xuanze commands the external affairs; one is a civil official, the other a military commander; one is in the inner court, the other in the outer court. I need the two of you to: jointly support the young emperor, jointly protect the Li Tang dynasty, prevent the empress from usurping the throne, and restrain the Wu clan from disrupting the government. In this matter, I can entrust no one but the two of you."

Li Zhi spoke very formally, his gaze earnest, making it difficult for Wang Xuance to refuse.

"Your Majesty's entrustment is my duty, even if it costs me my life!"

Wang Xuance prostrated himself on the ground and kowtowed heavily.

After Wang Xuance left, his expression turned somewhat gloomy.

Although he had anticipated getting involved in the court's power struggles, he never expected to find himself on such a thrilling battlefield.

This directly involves the struggle between the Emperor and the Empress!

This is practically the heart of the battlefield, the eye of a tornado, the center of a vortex; getting caught up in it means almost certain death.

Either you rise step by step to power and a high position, or your family is destroyed and your entire clan is wiped out!

The risks involved far exceeded his expectations.

And which side will he choose, the Emperor or the Empress?

Choosing sides with Li Zhi just now was merely a temporary measure; not siding with him then would have meant certain death.

He now faces two paths. The first is the path of becoming Emperor, a path he will take to the bitter end.

Another option is to find a secluded opportunity to surrender to the Empress.

Which path should he choose?

This path determined his life or death; even someone as decisive as Wang Xuance would find it difficult to make up his mind.

After hesitating for a moment, Wang Xuance seemed to have figured something out, and his eyes revealed a determined look.

After Wang Xuance left, Li Zhi finally showed his tired face.

"What does the Prince of Yan think of these two men?"

Wei Ye stepped out from behind the curtain, looking at his fishing buddy with a complicated expression.

"Xue Rengui was loyal but not foolish, brave but not impetuous. Although he was a military general, he knew when to advance and when to retreat; he commanded a large army but did not form factions; his fame shook the world but he was not arrogant. Such a person was commendable for his loyalty and bravery and was worthy of great responsibility."

"Wang Xuance is unparalleled in wisdom and courage, but he is not as loyal and brave as Xue Rengui. We must win his heart, move him with emotion, and persuade him with righteousness before we can use him."

Wei Ye commented.

Li Zhi nodded slightly, which was similar to his assessment.

However, he currently has no one at his disposal. Although he has loyal people, their abilities are average. They might be adequate in normal times, but they are far from sufficient to confront Wu Zetian.

Very few people were capable of playing a role in the struggle between the Crown Prince and Wu Zetian.

Li Zhi now regrets that he allowed Wu Zetian to expand her power so freely.

Although he can still use the Wei family to destroy Wu Zetian, the crown prince is weak and mediocre, and after Wu Zetian's downfall, he is unable to control the court.

In that time, there will be even more powerful ministers who will rise above the imperial power. As long as the bottom line is not crossed, the Wei family will not participate in such political struggles.

It would be better to keep power in Wu Zetian's hands; at least the crown prince is Wu Zetian's son.

With the Wei family around, Wu Zetian could still be somewhat wary.

However, he was also afraid that Wu Zetian wanted the Wu family to replace the Li family, which would be troublesome.

"Senior brother, if the Tang Dynasty were to fall one day, I beg the Wei family to intervene and preserve a trace of the Tang bloodline."

Li Zhi made the request.

"Your Majesty, rest assured, Your Majesty's bloodline will never be severed."

Wei Ye assured that the founders of each dynasty made great contributions to the entire Chinese civilization, and that the bloodlines of each previous dynasty have been preserved.

Today, many rulers of foreign dynasties are descendants of the Qianlong and Han dynasties.

In the autumn of the thirty-third year of the Yonghui era, Li Zhi died in the palace and was posthumously honored as Emperor Gaozong of Tang.

After Emperor Gaozong's death, Emperor Gaozong ascended the throne and honored Empress Wu Zetian as Empress Dowager, ruling as regent.

After Wu Zetian ascended the throne and became empress, the entire city of Luoyang was almost under her control.

Only the imperial guards were handed over to Xue Rengui by Li Zhi, preventing her from interfering.

She felt extremely dissatisfied that the vast city of Luoyang was only free from the control of the imperial palace.

She didn't expect Xue Rengui to choose to side with Li Zhi, which made her feel betrayed.

It was his trusted confidant Su Dingfang who promoted Xue Rengui from humble beginnings, thus giving Xue Rengui the opportunity to distinguish himself in the process of suppressing the rebellion.

Later, when the allied forces of various countries invaded the Tang Dynasty, it was he who recommended Xue Rengui to be the commander of the army in the northern desert. After he had fully grasped military power, he recommended Xue Rengui to command the entire land force, which led to Xue Rengui's defeat of the eighteen-nation alliance and his awe-inspiring reputation throughout the world.

But after Xue Rengui rose to the highest position in the court, he actually chose to betray her! He actually stood on the opposite side of her!

Wu Zetian decided to personally destroy the war god of the Tang Dynasty that she had supported!

However, Xue Rengui now holds military power in the country and commands the Imperial Guard, making him unparalleled in prestige within the military.

If she were to execute Xue Rengui like this, it would certainly cause turmoil in the military.

Moreover, the invasions from various countries have only just been quelled by Xue Rengui. If Xue Rengui were eliminated at this time, it might invite another attack from these countries. If the morale of the army were to collapse and the Tang Dynasty were to face attacks from all sides, it might be in danger of falling apart.

Xue Rengui's defection to the emperor was indeed a very troublesome matter for Wu Zetian.

After much deliberation, Wu Zetian decided to let Xue Rengui off the hook for the time being, but she needed to lay the groundwork and gradually push him into the abyss.

It just so happens that Xue Rengui was loyal to the Tang Dynasty his whole life. Through her schemes, she was able to get the emperor to whom Xue Rengui served to personally order his execution.

Only this kind of revenge could make Wu Zetian feel satisfied!

At that time, they could also use the matter of ordering Wu Zetian to commit suicide to greatly damage the emperor's prestige.

Then let him better execute her next plan: depose the emperor!