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

An Lushan and Shi Siming originally planned to defeat them one by one, starting by wiping out Zong Shen's imperial guards.

They never expected Zongshen's reinforcements to arrive so quickly.

Er hadn't expected Zong Shen to be so resilient, managing to withstand their attack and hold out until reinforcements arrived.

"A bunch of pampered young masters from Beijing, do they even dare to compare themselves to us?"

"Brothers, slaughter them! After we're done, the city of Luoyang will be shrouded in swords for three days!"

An Lushan promised.

Upon hearing this, all the rebels' eyes lit up. Luoyang was the capital of the Tang Dynasty, home to countless high-ranking officials, nobles, and wealthy merchants. If they could stay in Luoyang for three days without sheathing their weapons, how many treasures could they plunder?

The gold and silver treasures they plundered are probably enough for their descendants to spend for ten generations!

Thinking of this, the rebels charged fiercely at the imperial army. Zong Shen was almost breached, and only through the desperate resistance of the imperial guards was the line held up and prevented from collapsing.

Although the rebels were initially roused by An Lushan's promises, they gradually grew fearful as they failed to defeat their opponents and the imperial court's reinforcements increased.

If I win, I won't be able to stop using my sword for three days, and I'll naturally enjoy endless wealth and glory.

But if they lose, it will be treason! That's a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of their family. While these lowly underlings might not face the same fate as the extermination of nine generations of their family, they certainly wouldn't be able to save their own lives.

Thinking of this, the morale of the troops began to crumble and their spirits plummeted.

An Lushan keenly sensed this, his heart sank, and he shouted.

"We have committed the heinous crime of treason, and according to the laws of the court, we are certain to die!"

"If you don't want to die, then come and kill me!"

"After this battle, you are permitted to massacre the entire city!"

"As the Prime Minister of the Imperial Court, I promise that all soldiers below the rank of centurion will be spared the death penalty, but will not escape punishment. They will be demoted to the Imperial Court's corvée labor force, but their crimes will not warrant death."

"All officers of the rank of centurion and above shall die!"

Upon hearing An Lushan's words, Li Bai also shouted loudly.

If Li Bai had said he would pardon everyone, these soldiers probably wouldn't have believed him at all.

But now Li Bai is saying that all officers of the rank of centurion and above must die, but ordinary soldiers can live, but they must serve the court in corvée labor for life. It is only with such a heavy punishment that these soldiers can believe that Li Bai's words are true.

As the war progressed in an increasingly unfavorable direction, more and more rebel soldiers began to consider retreating.

One comrade after another fell, and finally some soldiers could no longer bear it, threw their weapons aside, and knelt down to surrender.

The imperial army bypassed him and attacked the rest of the people. Seeing this, the others couldn't help but kneel down and surrender.

Only the officers of the rebel army fought to the death, resisting desperately, for Li Bai had said that officers like them would all die.

Li Bai divided all the rebels into two parts: one part consisted of officers who were guilty of serious crimes, and the other part consisted of soldiers who were coerced into joining the rebellion and were guilty of less serious crimes.

These soldiers were naturally unwilling to fight to the death for the officers who usually bullied them; a few officers alone were no match for the imperial army.

The rebellion was quickly quelled after the soldiers surrendered.

An Lushan and Shi Siming were also brought before Li Bai.

Li Bai didn't even bother to look at them, and waved his hand to order his men to take them away.

"etc!"

An Lushan suddenly shouted at Li Bai.

The soldiers escorting An Lushan turned around and glanced at Li Bai, only to find that Li Bai ignored them. They then continued escorting An Lushan toward the prison.

"Hahahaha, Li Bai, you'll regret this."

"I'll be waiting for you in jail to beg me to come out!"

An Lushan laughed loudly, saying that no one but him could cure the poison in Li Longji's body.

When Li Bai meets Li Longji, he will know this, and then he can naturally start negotiating terms.

"Let's go see His Majesty."

Li Bai, accompanied by numerous court officials, headed towards the imperial palace.

Zong Shen also began to take over the defense of the palace again, and personally led men to protect Li Bai, preventing any remaining rebels in the palace from harming them.

They met Li Longji in the Zichen Palace. At this time, Li Longji had no imperial aura at all. He looked like a lonely old man with messy white hair and unfocused eyes. He gave people the feeling of the sun setting in the west.

"Your subject pays respects to Your Majesty."

Li Bai still bowed to Li Longji in the standard manner. At this moment, just as at that moment, though times have changed, Li Bai's attitude remains the same.

Many ministers also bowed to Li Longji. Upon seeing these people, Li Longji quickly stepped forward and took Li Bai's hand.

"Prime Minister Li, hurry! An Lushan and Shi Siming are really plotting a rebellion! Arrest them both immediately!"

"quick!"

"Prince An! Quickly, invite Prince An to the palace!"

Li Longji hurriedly made a request to Li Bai.

"Your Majesty, rest assured, An Lushan and Shi Siming have been executed."

Li Bai comforted him, "However, Your Majesty, Prince An is not in the capital at the moment. Why invite him to the palace?"

Li Bai asked in confusion.

"He's not in the capital! Where is Prince An? Invite him quickly!"

"Summon the imperial physician! Quickly, summon the imperial physician!"

Li Longji asked anxiously, "How could Prince An not be in the capital? How could he not be in the capital?!"

With Prince An not in the capital, can the imperial physician cure the poison in his body?

"Bring An Lushan to me!"

Li Longji said angrily.

Li Bai nodded slightly, and Zong Shen immediately sent someone to the imperial prison to bring An Lushan over.

During this process, the imperial physician also arrived at the Zichen Palace to take Li Longji's pulse.

After examining Li Longji's pulse, they carefully examined Li Bai's complexion and tongue coating, and even inserted silver needles into Li Longji's body for a thorough examination.

Finally, the imperial physician knelt down, horrified to discover that Emperor Li Longji of the Tang Dynasty had been poisoned.

Moreover, this poison is a rare and unusual one. As the imperial physician of the Tang Dynasty, he had read through countless medical books, yet he had never seen anything like it before!

"Do you have a cure for this poison?"

Li Longji asked in a deep voice, his eyes revealing a longing for life.

"Your Majesty, I have never seen this treacherous person before, and he is extremely secretive and well hidden."

"If I could obtain the prescription for the poison, I might be able to formulate a specific antidote."

Physician Liu knelt on the ground, trembling with fear.

"Where is An Lushan? Where is he?"

Li Longji asked Zong Shen.

"Your Majesty, based on the distance, we will arrive in about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea."

Zong Shen replied, but the respect he once had on his face was gone.

"Hurry, hurry, faster! I can't wait any longer! If you're too slow, I'll exterminate your entire family!"

Li Longji said anxiously, his face full of worry. He even felt that even though An Lushan and Shi Siming had been executed, he was still the high and mighty Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, holding great power.