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

One of the main reasons why Li Linfu has been able to remain unscathed despite committing so many evil deeds is that he is extremely cautious.

He almost never shows up in person, and he delegates everything to his subordinates. If something goes wrong, it's because of his subordinates, not him. He's just not strict with his subordinates.

He would then push out his own subordinate, claiming to act on behalf of Heaven, and have him executed.

According to the investigations of these Imperial Academy scholars, it was only his steward who came forward to give the examiners this hint.

If the Prince of Yan were to be used as a trump card, Li Linfu would inevitably shift all the blame onto his steward in order to protect himself.

This is something that the doctors absolutely cannot accept.

They decided to jointly submit a petition, uniting the powerful families, high-ranking officials, and nobles of Luoyang to impeach Li Linfu.

The six charges, each word carrying immense weight:

First, the court blocked channels for criticism and arbitrarily exiled officials who dared to speak out, resulting in the court having no more ministers who dared to speak out.

Second, they deceived the emperor's ears, embellished the appearance of peace and prosperity, and misled their superiors and subordinates, reporting only peace and not the troubles.

Third, he suppressed loyal and virtuous officials. Officials in the court could only survive by attaching themselves to Li Linfu. Those who were unwilling to attach themselves to Li Linfu were expelled or exiled for various reasons.

Fourth, he sold official positions and accepted bribes to enrich himself. Even high-ranking officials, such as military governors, could be bought by Li Linfu with money.

Fifth, the military law was corrupted. Promotions in the army were no longer based on military merit, but only on bribes and money. This led to soldiers losing their will to fight the enemy, resulting in poor military discipline and low combat effectiveness.

Sixth, it cut off the path of the imperial examination, undermined the Tang Dynasty's system of selecting officials, cut off the Tang Dynasty's ability to absorb fresh blood, and left the people with no way to advance.

After everyone signed the indictment and drew their blood seals on it, the document was delivered directly to Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Li Longji, through the channels of the Imperial Academy.

To demonstrate the importance attached to the Imperial Academy, Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin, once granted the scholars of the Imperial Academy the right to directly offer advice to the emperor.

If three or more scholars jointly sign a memorial, it can bypass the prime minister, the Ministry of Personnel, the Secretariat, and other bureaucrats, and go directly to the emperor's desk.

That's the right they're using now.

These PhDs were also cunning. When they were giving the notification, they had already subtly revealed Li Bai's identity. So everyone knew that Li Linfu was destined to fall, and no one informed Li Linfu. They were all waiting to carve up this fat pig, Li Linfu.

Without the help of these people, even if the scholars wanted to use this power to directly submit the petition to Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Li Longji, although it was not impossible, it would certainly alarm Li Linfu, and might even be intercepted by Li Linfu.

However, with so many forces joining forces now, even Li Linfu is unable to intercept or stop them.

The petition was easily delivered to Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Li Longji.

At the same time, a large group of Imperial Academy professors, along with their students and many candidates for the imperial examinations, arrived in front of the palace gates.

They accused Li Linfu of cutting off the path to the imperial examinations, maliciously increasing the difficulty of the examinations, ordering examiners to suppress students, and prohibiting the admission of any student, thus blocking the upward mobility of people throughout the country and also blocking the court's channels for recruiting virtuous and talented individuals.

The Imperial Guards who rushed to the scene were somewhat terrified. This time was different from the last; it wasn't just some students, but also doctors from the Imperial Academy, elders from many of the students' families, and some of them were their superiors.

They hurriedly sent people to inform their generals and Li Linfu. Li Ruo had already received the notification. Back then, Li Linfu was very powerful, and he was ordered to join Li Linfu's ranks to show his sincerity in surrendering to Li Linfu.

But now Li Linfu is clearly finished, and the people behind him no longer care, since there is no need for them to stay under Li Linfu's command.

Li Linfu's reaction was completely different. His expression changed drastically. He hadn't expected that a mere imperial examination would cause such a huge uproar.

He felt that the bad things he had done were far more serious than what he was doing now, yet nothing happened to him.

It's just a small imperial examination, what's gotten into these people?!

It's one thing for the students from the Imperial Academy to participate, but some people from aristocratic families also participate in the imperial examinations. But without the imperial examinations, wouldn't it be even easier for you to buy official positions from me?

Isn't this a good thing for you?

And what do those prestigious imperial examinations have to do with you?

Really?!

You even got involved in this?!

Why?

Li Linfu racked his brains but couldn't figure it out.

But he also knew things were serious.

With so many people impeaching him, even he himself will suffer greatly.

If he can just get a skin peeled off, that would be the best outcome. Judging by the current situation, he probably won't be able to escape this calamity.

The Imperial Academy professors hadn't expected the results to be so good. So many people were willing to join them in impeaching Li Linfu. At this rate, Li Linfu would probably be doomed even without the Prince of Yan's intervention.

However, they still did not choose to reveal this card, but instead prepared to use it to decide the outcome of the game.

Even with so many of them, there was still one unstable factor: Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Li Longji.

If Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Li Longji, were determined to protect Li Linfu to the death, no matter how many of them there were, they would be helpless.

Given Emperor Xuanzong of Tang's current incompetence, they had no doubt that he would be persuaded by Li Linfu.

Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Li Longji, who had just seen the petition, soon received news at the palace gates. Since there weren't enough people willing to risk their lives for Li Linfu, the news could not be stopped from spreading.

"To the palace gate!"

Li Longji was furious.

When he arrived at the door and saw so many people standing there, his expression changed drastically.

Li Linfu also rushed over at this time, and to Li Longji's surprise, Wei Wen and Wei Mai also arrived at this place.

"Prince Yan, what brings you here?"

Li Longji quickly came to Wei Wen's side and asked with concern.

He secretly pondered why Wei Wen was here.

Could it be that the Wei family is behind this scene?

Just to bring down a mere Li Linfu?!

"Your Majesty need not worry. This old minister is merely here to watch the spectacle; such a spectacle is a rare sight indeed."

Wei Wen smiled slightly, his words carrying a hidden meaning.

Li Longji's smile froze. "Are they here to watch the show?"

Li Longji: ……

Li Longji glanced at everyone present and said, "Select three representatives from among the students to enter the Zichen Palace with the others."

The palace gates were a very important place, and Li Longji would naturally not allow this farce to unfold there.

Soon, three people were selected from among the students: Li Bai, the most outstanding student of the Imperial Academy, and an outstanding member of a prominent family.