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

News has come from the palace that His Majesty is also nearing the end.

He summoned the Prince of Yan to the palace to discuss a ceasefire.

"Really?"

Is this really true?

"Haha, it's finally going to end."

Even with the composure these old men had cultivated over many years of managing their families, they were all overjoyed.

Heaven has mercy on them. Although their family wasn't wiped out like those unlucky bastards and fools, they were still severely weakened.

If this continues, the family's centuries-old legacy might be destroyed in our hands.

During this period, their pressure was no less than that of Li Longji, and perhaps even greater.

After their initial euphoria, they quickly regained their senses.

"Does Your Majesty have any conditions?"

One of the heads of the household asked.

They would agree to anything as long as Emperor Xuanzong needed it and could let the matter drop.

They were willing to pool their money to rebuild the palace for Emperor Xuanzong of Tang and to provide relief to people in various regions.

They are willing to pay a heavy price as long as Emperor Xuanzong of Tang and the Prince of Yan are lenient.

"No news has come from the palace. It seems His Majesty wants us to weigh the options ourselves."

Zheng Tai's expression was serious. If Li Longji gave specific conditions, they wouldn't be so conflicted. It was simply a matter of each family chipping in; anything that could be solved with money was no big deal for them.

"Those families were directly involved in the assassination of His Majesty, several princes and princesses, and the Prince of Yan. We are at most accomplices."

"With the wealth accumulated by these families over hundreds of years, if each of us contributes a little more, it will be enough to satisfy Li Longji's appetite."

The heads of several families whispered among themselves and went up on stage for a while, then nodded in agreement.

As news of Li Longji spread, powerful families from all over the country were willing to negotiate peace with him.

If this continues, there will be no winners.

The figures they presented made even Emperor Xuanzong of Tang envious; even as the Son of Heaven, he could not resist the temptation of so much money and grain.

Although he confiscated the property from so many aristocratic families this time, these families had already transferred all their wealth since the two sides officially broke off relations.

Furthermore, most of their resources were hidden away, known only to a handful of people, including the head of the family. These people were determined to die rather than submit to Li Longji.

Although there is still a considerable amount of income, it is still far from the true foundation of these aristocratic families.

The money and grain that these aristocratic families have contributed now even exceeds the accumulation of the national treasury over ten years during the Zhenguan era.

The price these aristocratic families paid was enough for him to renovate the entire palace ten times and support millions more soldiers.

Li Longji now has an urge to turn his back on people after receiving benefits.

These people are too fat; they're much richer than the emperor.

But the accidental actions of his own children stopped him; he didn't want his remaining children to suffer the same fate.

It should be noted that most of those directly involved were from middle-level aristocratic families, the truly top-tier clans, with only some collateral branches participating.

If he were truly insane and directly attacked these top-tier aristocratic families like the Five Clans and Seven Noble Families, he estimated that few of his many children would survive.

With the tacit agreement of Li Longji, Wei Mai, and the heads of several powerful clans, some of the most rebellious families were wiped out by the combined forces of both sides, ending this upheaval that had affected the entire country.

Yuan Jie, the instigator of this turmoil, also returned to Luoyang under the protection of the imperial guards.

"I never thought I would make it back to Luoyang alive."

Yuan Jie looked at the gates of Luoyang City, his voice filled with emotion.

He never expected that such a small person as himself would cause such a major event that would affect the entire world.

He has been targeted by assassination attempts in recent days. If he hadn't hidden in the military camp and dared not go out, and if Li Longji hadn't specially arranged for him to taste the food and not allowed any suspicious persons to approach within a radius of several miles, he would have died long ago in the assassination attempts by the aristocratic families.

Even with such tight defenses, and with him rarely leaving the military camp, he still narrowly escaped death.

If Li Bai hadn't sent him some life-saving pills, he would have died as well.

Li House.

Li Bai held a grand banquet to welcome Yuan Jie and wash away the dust of his journey.

"Brother Cishan, congratulations on your relief efforts for the disaster victims. Your merits are immeasurable."

Li Bai raised his cup in congratulations.

Yuan Jie raised his cup and drank it all in one gulp, then said with a wry smile, "I'm ashamed, I'm ashamed. After arriving in the disaster area, I found that there wasn't enough food and supplies for disaster relief, so I had to resort to this desperate measure."

"I have committed grave sins by forcing the people to eat bran and rice husks; how can I have any merit?"

Li Bai comforted him, saying, "At least Brother Cishan protected the lives of countless disaster victims. Without Brother Cishan, the consequences would have been unimaginable."

"I don't know how many people will have to exchange their own children to eat each other, and the ground will be littered with bones."

Yuan Jie fell silent after hearing Li Bai's words.

"I, Yuan Jie, have read extensively in history books, and words like Guanyin clay, gnawing on tree bark, exchanging children to eat each other, and white bones exposed in the wild can come out of my mouth without hesitation."

"But books are books, and reality is reality. Only by actually going to the disaster area can you know what hell on earth is like."

Yuan Jie recalled what he had seen and heard in the disaster area, and everyone else listened attentively.

"During this disaster relief effort, I personally witnessed people die from bloating after eating clay."

"I have also seen trees stripped bare on a vast plain, surrounded by starving people."

"The practice of exchanging children to eat is no longer just four words in history books; I have seen it with my own eyes. It was just a lump of rotten meat in a pot."

Yuan Jie's tears slid down her cheeks, her voice choked with sobs, and her whole body trembled.

"Why can those powerful families and clans turn a blind eye to this?!"

"Brother Taibai!"

"The Prince of Yan has always been an idol in our hearts, so why does the Wei family seem oblivious to this?"

"Those people, those people, they're even exchanging their own children to eat each other!"

"Waaaaaahhhhhh!"

Yuan Jie could no longer hold back and burst into tears.

"Brother Cishan, be careful what you say!"

Cen Shen quickly reminded him.

"No need."

Li Bai waved his hand and sighed, "No matter how powerful the Wei family is, it's still just a family."

"How can one possibly manage all the countless tragedies that occur in the world?"

"Especially regarding disaster relief, since the Han Dynasty, apart from King Zhongwu, have you ever heard of any member of the Wei family serving as a minister in charge of disaster relief?"

Du Fu and others were all top-notch talents in the world, and their extensive knowledge and strong memory were basic abilities. However, looking at the historical books they had read, apart from the King of Zhongwu who provided disaster relief, it seems that no direct descendant of the Wei family actually served as a minister in charge of disaster relief.

"Brother Taibai, why is this?"

Yuan Jie asked in shock.

"fear!"

Li Bai gave a wry smile. "I once asked my master, and he said frankly that the Wei family's reputation is already great enough. If countless more people are saved, and the Wei family and the royal family clash in full force, then the people of the whole world will suffer."

The group immediately understood; it was because the emperor refused.

The emperor would never allow a direct descendant of the Wei family to serve as a disaster relief minister.

"Just because of this ridiculous excuse?"

Yuan Jie's face was filled with bewilderment. "Then what about those disaster victims? What are they in His Majesty's eyes?"