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

Inside the Zichen Hall, Emperor Li Longji, court officials, and student representatives gathered together.

Prince Yan, Wei Wen, and his heir, Wei Mai, stood aside watching the spectacle, ready to step in and support Li Bai at the crucial moment.

"I have received a memorial jointly submitted by the scholars of the Imperial Academy, impeaching Prime Minister Li Linfu for seven major crimes."

"The imperial examination is also among them. Today I will see whether these six crimes are truly deserving of their names."

Li Longji was also extremely angry. He knew perfectly well who Li Linfu was.

However, he now only cares about whether Li Linfu can be used by him and controlled by him.

He didn't care about Li Linfu's little tricks.

But now these people are bringing these things out into the open, forcing him to make a choice—it's incredibly audacious!

And what are these people trying to do, gathering so much power? Are they trying to force a resignation?

If he backs down this time, won't these people think that the emperor's authority is nothing special, and that they'll dare to threaten him, the emperor, in the future?

Today, Li Longji is prepared to convict Li Linfu, just as these people have suggested.

He couldn't afford to openly confront these people; that wouldn't benefit him.

But he would protect Li Linfu to prove to them that the emperor is still the emperor, and even if Li Linfu has done all sorts of bad things, even if they have conclusive evidence, he can still protect Li Linfu.

The emperor's majesty must not be desecrated.

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.

Is this true?

Li Longji asked.

"Your Majesty is wronged! I have only ever demoted one remonstrating official, namely Du Jin, a censor."

"This person disobeyed the imperial decree, so I demoted him. This is the same procedure as all others. Apart from that, although there have been some changes in the court's remonstrance officials, none of them are my concern."

Li Linfu cried out!

"How dare you! Even now, Li Linfu, you are still lying through your teeth."

"Do I need to recount the entire story of the matter concerning the ceremonial horse?!"

The court's remonstrating officials had been suppressed for a long time, and when they finally saw hope of overthrowing Li Linfu, they naturally bravely and loyally remonstrated, fulfilling their duties as remonstrating officials.

Then, in front of Li Longji, he explained in detail the matter of the standing horse.

Li Longji glared at Li Linfu with displeasure, but not because of Li Linfu's behavior.

Li Linfu's behavior actually suited his taste, and he was somewhat annoyed by the constant nagging of these remonstrating officials.

With his wisdom and might, how could his decrees be wrong? How could these remonstrating officials and censors be allowed to grumble and oppose him?

His dissatisfaction stemmed from Li Linfu's incompetence; he couldn't even handle such a small matter, and he even managed to give others a clue—he was utterly useless!

Officials in the imperial court who belonged to Li Linfu's faction began to attack each other and refute each other in the court with all sorts of arguments.

"alright!"

"What kind of decorum is this, with all this noise and commotion in the imperial court?!"

Li Longji roared angrily.

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.

"And what should we say about this?"

Li Longji asked.

"Your Majesty, last year there were floods in Jiangdong and droughts in Hebei, leaving millions of people displaced, with corpses of the starving and cries of the dying everywhere."

"But all the news was suppressed by Li Linfu. What was reported to His Majesty was that the world was at peace, the weather was favorable, and the people were living in peace and contentment."

"Furthermore, Li Linfu never reports the hardships faced by the people in various regions, only reporting good news and not bad. Isn't this deceiving the Emperor?"

Another official stepped forward and loudly accused Li Linfu.

Li Linfu knelt on the ground and said, "Your Majesty, it is the duty of the prime minister to relieve Your Majesty's worries and provide relief to the disaster victims. The reason why I did not report to Your Majesty was only because I was afraid that Your Majesty would be distracted by it. I can handle the disaster relief work myself. I have no intention of deceiving Your Majesty."

"Even so, a proper explanation should have been provided afterward; the truth should not have been concealed."

Li Longji was slightly displeased. You can do it this way, but you can't not say it.

"I know I was wrong."

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.

"I have demoted those officials entirely because they violated the laws of the Tang Dynasty; I have no selfish motives whatsoever."

Li Linfu cried out that he was innocent.

But there's no denying it. Throughout history, which ruler hasn't carried out a purge? It's been the norm, and Li Linfu didn't try to hide it much.

Court officials presented substantial evidence proving that Li Linfu had eliminated his political opponents.

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.

The phrase "selling official positions and titles" only appeared in the late stages of a dynasty when the emperor was incompetent and corrupt.

With the help of many forces, even though Li Linfu acted relatively discreetly, a great deal of evidence was still found and presented to Li Longji.

After Li Linfu became prime minister, he held absolute power until three years ago.

In just three years, he sold hundreds of officials, ranging from local magistrates and county lieutenants to high-ranking regional officials like military governors.

Li Linfu never expected that his supposedly concealed various routes and reasons would not have much effect, and that these people would actually be able to produce evidence.

His face was pale, knowing that his only chance of survival lay with Li Longji.

"Your Majesty, I am willing to donate all my money and grain."

Li Longji was initially angry and wanted to punish Li Linfu severely. However, upon hearing that Li Linfu was willing to donate all his money to him, he was somewhat tempted.

He decided to accept the money and provisions as a final reward for saving Li Linfu.

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.

Li Longji frowned. He could turn a blind eye to other things, but military law and discipline could not be violated. This was the foundation of the Tang Dynasty's dominance over foreign countries. As an emperor who had led troops before, he knew what would happen if military discipline was compromised.

Even when he needed to repair the palace, he never misappropriated a single penny of military funds.

This shows how much he valued the military.

"I will arrange for someone to verify this matter. If military law has indeed been violated and it is indeed related to the Prime Minister, he will be severely punished."

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.

Everyone could hear Li Longji's protectiveness towards Li Linfu, and several Imperial Academy professors stepped forward at the same time, playing their biggest card.

"Your Majesty, I am innocent! I had no such intention."

Li Linfu protested his innocence.

"Then why was no one admitted in this imperial examination?"

An elderly doctor with white hair was so angry that his beard trembled. He pointed at Li Linfu's nose and shouted.

"Your Majesty, I also have my own speculations about this matter."

"It is not that I have blocked the path to talent; rather, it is that in recent years, the writing style of scholars throughout the land has become superficial, their knowledge shallow, and their policy proposals impractical. In this re-examination, out of a thousand candidates, not a single one passed. This shows that there is no worthy person to be overlooked, not that I have deliberately rejected them!"