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

"What's done is done, there's no point in trying to fix it."

"There is more than one path to power in the world than that of aristocratic families. Thanks to the efforts of several wise rulers, those from humble backgrounds have become a force to be reckoned with."

"With His Majesty's support, we are already capable of fighting against these powerful clans."

"Now that His Majesty has made his intentions clear, it may not be a bad thing. At least it can gain the support of these humble forces."

"And that one too."

Li Bi looked at the mansion not far from the palace, and Li Heng suddenly realized.

In politics, you'll always be matched with a corresponding opponent.

He made it clear that he wanted to deal with the powerful families, so naturally, the families' enemies would come to help him.

In particular, the secret assistance provided by the Wei family was enough to help Li Heng avoid many troubles and pitfalls.

"Li Bi, I need you to go to Yanzhou and to Yanzhou Academy."

Li Heng suddenly said to Li Bi.

Li Bi was taken aback, then nodded. Yes, compared to the Imperial Academy, the students at Yanzhou Academy were more pure and reliable.

That's where the most talented people from humble backgrounds are, and it's also the place least influenced by aristocratic families, and the place most influenced by the Wei family.

According to official statistics from various dynasties, students from poor families were easily corrupted after becoming officials due to their background.

However, among all students from impoverished backgrounds, those who graduated from Yanzhou Academy were the least likely to become corrupt and degenerate.

People from that place have a lofty belief and are often better able to uphold their bottom line.

Previously, people from this region mostly went to impoverished border areas and rarely entered the central government.

Officials from prominent families in various regions rarely regarded them as part of the commoner faction. Instead, they generally categorized officials from Yanzhou Academy as a neutral faction that focused solely on improving people's livelihoods and did not participate in the struggles between the commoners and the prominent families. This faction was known as the Yanzhou Academy faction.

With the Wei family behind them, they won't provoke anyone, nor will they actively cause trouble. Of course, if they encounter any illegal or criminal activity, they certainly won't hesitate to take action.

Li Heng wanted Li Bi to go so that he could persuade some scholars to enter the central government as officials and become the backbone of the resistance against powerful families.

Li Heng and Li Bi were plotting something. As the capital of the country, the capital city had many key figures from powerful families.

In secret, these same people also gathered together.

"Given His Majesty's current behavior, I fear the visitors are not well-intentioned."

A kind-faced old man, with a slight upturn at the corners of his mouth as he spoke, looked incredibly benevolent.

This person is Zheng Hong, the head of the Zheng family of Xingyang, one of the seven powerful clans and seven prominent families in the world.

"snort!"

"He's just a greenhorn, his hair hasn't even fully grown yet, and he's already thinking about flipping the table."

"Even his father doesn't have this ability, let alone this wet-behind child?"

Beside him, Wang Chong, the head of the Taiyuan Wang family, sneered and said disdainfully.

They had already seen Li Heng's shortcomings: shallow-mindedness and eagerness for quick success.

"Don't underestimate this group of people."

The head of the Cui family in Qinghe stepped forward and said, "Du Fu, Wang Wei, and their ilk are not to be trifled with."

A hint of apprehension flashed in the eyes of the others as well. The Cui family of Qinghe had been dealt a severe blow back then. If it weren't for the Cui family of Boling providing financial support to the Cui family of Qinghe, the Cui family of Qinghe would probably have a hard time sitting in the front row now.

"It's alright. We've been fighting for so many years, we know what those people are capable of."

"It's just a fight, who's afraid of who?"

Lu Jin, the head of the Lu family of Fanyang, also had a cold smile on his lips. Anyway, they were always fighting against the imperial party, the eunuchs, the maternal relatives, or other powerful families. They had been fighting for hundreds or thousands of years and were used to it.

The forces of the world can never coexist peacefully; struggle is an eternal topic.

Unless they can become transcendent beings like the Wei family, they will inevitably engage in various struggles throughout their lives.

Even within their family, while they may appear united to the outside world, internal struggles continue unabated.

"Let's give His Majesty a taste of our power first, and let him know how formidable we are."

"So that His Majesty, being young and impetuous, will not listen to the advice of his old ministers and will insist on being a hothead."

Li Yuan, the head of the Zhao County Li Clan, spoke, and everyone nodded in agreement.

They were not afraid of capable emperors, even if it was Li Shimin or Li Longji in his youth.

Your Majesty is truly formidable. We are somewhat impressed, but ten years later, the situation will be entirely different.

What they fear most are hotheads, those who, when their temper flares, disregard personal gain or loss and are ready to fight you to the death, the kind who'd risk everything.

Who wouldn't be afraid of someone like that?

They were also afraid of suffering too much loss; there were quite a few people eyeing their position.

With five prominent families and seven prestigious clans, how could others not be envious?

Why should it be your Zhao County Li clan and Fanyang Lu clan, but not my Runan Yuan clan and Hongnong Yang clan?

Back in the Han Dynasty, we were the most powerful people in the world.

"What does Brother Li mean?"

Cui Hao, the head of the Qinghe Cui clan, immediately asked, as he was extremely interested in this.

"Your Majesty now holds military power, and with so many soldiers, the expenses for their food and supplies are enormous."

"In a few days, it will be time for taxes from all over the country to be transported to the capital, most of which will be transported by rail. If something goes wrong, I'm afraid His Majesty will not be able to maintain such a large army."

Li Yuan stroked his beard and laughed, "I never even considered how much of these taxes were used by the court to relieve disaster victims in various places, and how much was to be distributed by the court to various places to maintain local infrastructure."

He never thought about it, nor did he care.

In his eyes, what did those disaster victims who died because of this, those people who starved to death because they had no jobs, have to do with him?

How dare a bunch of lowly people compare themselves to him?

"This plan is brilliant."

Cui Hao exclaimed that he was very happy to be able to make the emperor suffer a loss and make him laugh, which allowed him to vent some of his hatred.

"We are all related by marriage. After one of us fell ill, he infected many others. He is now unwell and unable to handle affairs. I'm sure His Majesty understands this, doesn't he?"

Cui Hao also devised a clever plan. They were all central government officials, and some of their positions could not be easily replaced.

If they really don't do anything, even if Li Heng has such a good opportunity to promote a son from a poor family, he can't do it.

Sending these students from impoverished backgrounds to the top, without sufficient time to accumulate the necessary skills and knowledge, will only make things worse.

Therefore, Cui Hao was not worried at all that their actions would allow Li Heng to follow suit and promote students from humble backgrounds.

"Perfect, we can also see if anyone is betraying us."

A cold glint flashed in Cui Hao's narrowed eyes. Ever since the Cui family suffered heavy losses, some powerful families had been jumping around quite excitedly.

This is a good opportunity to see if we can lure some powerful families out and use the power among the five clans to give them a good beating, so they know that the status of the five clans and seven noble families is not something they can covet.