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

On the 6th day, another group of officials took sick leave.

Li Heng looked rather grim. Although he still had cards to play, none of them had yielded any results yet.

While there are still some capable people, it's unrealistic to expect them to rise to high positions overnight.

The imperial court has its own rules, and without special conditions, it is impossible to directly promote them from the ninth rank to the second or third rank.

"The scholars of the Imperial Academy were summoned to the capital to serve as officials."

Li Heng spoke up, then flipped over another card, summoning some of the Imperial Academy's scholars to the central government to serve as officials.

On the 7th day, more officials began to take leave, and officials in some areas surrounding Luoyang also began to take leave.

The sheer number of these items made Li Heng's face turn pale.

He mobilized all available personnel, including some retired officials, but even so, there were still many vacancies.

These officials finally realized that Li Heng was running out of options.

As Li Heng repeatedly filled the gaps they had left behind, these officials always felt a heavy weight on their shoulders.

If Li Heng manages to hold them off, then their efforts will be completely wasted, like throwing meat buns to a dog – a one-way trip.

They were even worried that the other person wouldn't have a good meal, so they packed themselves up and sent themselves over.

It now seems that Li Heng is finally about to give up, and they are about to reap the rewards of victory.

On the 8th day, more officials coughed and requested sick leave in the imperial court.

Some hot-tempered officials would directly hurl insults at them in the imperial court.

For seven days straight, is there anyone who can't see what's going on?

These people are going too far!

After the rant, the court fell silent. The members of the five powerful clans and seven prominent families looked at the high and mighty Li Heng with a mocking gaze.

Li Heng's expression remained calm, as if what had happened today was insignificant. "Are you sure?"

Li Heng said calmly.

"Your Majesty is unwell, but Your Majesty is of great virtue and benevolence. I fear that Your Majesty may infect my colleagues. I humbly request Your Majesty's permission."

"Please grant me permission, Your Majesty."

The officials knelt down and said in unison.

Li Heng nodded. "No regrets?"

"Your Majesty, I do not know what you are talking about."

This is what the official requesting sick leave said.

Li Heng smiled and said, "Granted."

"Which of you, my esteemed ministers, feel unwell and need to take leave?"

"Step forward, I grant your permission."

As soon as Li Heng finished speaking, at the prompting of some officials, several more officials stepped forward.

Lee Hyung directly agreed to their request.

After all the officials had left and other government affairs had been completed, the court session should now be over and everyone should return to their respective offices to work.

But Li Heng sat there quietly, neither adjourning the court nor continuing the discussion.

It was as if they were waiting for something to happen.

The officials in the court stood there in perfect unison, and the atmosphere in the court was extremely solemn.

The officials from the five clans and seven prominent families could hardly contain their smugness. In their eyes, Li Heng was about to bow down to them, but they still remained stubborn.

It's not a big deal if there's a vacancy in the government's official positions for a day or two, but if it goes on for too long, it will cause a lot of trouble.

They stared intently at Li Heng's face and finally noticed that Li Heng's mouth was slightly open, as if he wanted to say something.

It's coming, it's coming.

The group thought excitedly.

Li Heng is about to bow down to them.

"The court session is over."

Li Heng said calmly, then turned and left the main hall.

Many court officials left the main hall in order, and after leaving the hall, they gathered in groups of three or five to discuss what had just happened.

"What exactly do you think His Majesty means?"

Cui Hao asked the people around him.

Several people shook their heads. "Who knows?"

"Perhaps His Majesty is just putting on a brave face. These official positions will only be vacant for a few days, so it's not a big deal."

"Perhaps His Majesty is wondering if a miracle will occur in the next few days?"

Li Yuan glanced at the people around him and said in a low voice.

Everyone agreed that Li Heng was just putting on a brave face.

If Li Heng still has any trump cards up his sleeve, given his behavior in the past few days, he'll reveal them now.

But now, Li Heng has done nothing, leaving these official positions vacant.

What does this tell us?

This means Li Heng has run out of cards to play!

He no longer has enough manpower to fill the vacancies in the court.

If they just put in a little more effort, Li Heng will have no choice but to surrender.

To be continued tomorrow.

In the Zichen Palace, someone reported Li Yuan and the others' conversation to Li Heng.

Li Heng's expression remained unchanged after hearing this, and he said calmly, "Let's start making contact with those people."

"The Pei clan of Hedong, the Wang clan of Langya, the Xie clan of Chenjun, the Yang clan of Hongnong, the Yuan clan of Runan..."

"If they want to replace the status of the five surnames and seven prominent families, this is their best chance."

Almost simultaneously, the prominent families, second only to the Five Clans and Seven Noble Families, received the message from Li Heng.

The thought of replacing the five prominent families and seven powerful clans at the pinnacle of the Tang Dynasty ignited a fierce ambition in the eyes of every family head who heard this.

But ambition will not blind them, much less destroy their reason.

After joining forces with the royal family to eliminate the Five Clans and Seven Noble Families, wouldn't they be the ones to be eliminated next?

However, they did not want Li Heng to be defeated by the Five Clans and Seven Noble Families, as this would only make the Five Clans and Seven Noble Families more famous and harder to resist.

Even the heads of these powerful families began to struggle with their dilemmas.

One wrong step could lead to utter ruin for their entire family.

On the 9th day, another official took sick leave.

This time, Li Heng was demoted one rank again, seeking out a noble family below the Langya Wang clan and the Hedong Pei clan.

There were many prominent families of this rank, so they were nothing to Li Heng.

He doesn't need to reason with anyone; he can just use coercion.

I, Li Heng, may not be able to eliminate powerful clans like the Five Clans and Seven Families, but dealing with one or two prominent families like yours is no problem.

If you dare to refuse me, you should worry about how sharp my knife is.

Moreover, the most awkward position for aristocratic families is that they have almost no chance of moving up the social ladder.

Their upward mobility was completely blocked. Faced with the only possibility that would give them a chance to rise, some families would naturally take the risk and gamble that Li Heng would win.

On the 10th day, some of the powerful families that Li Heng had swayed began to turn against them. Seeing that these families, whom they had once looked down upon, dared to ruin their plans, the Five Surnames and Seven Noble Families felt that their authority had been challenged.

If we can't suppress them like this, who will listen to the five surnames and seven clans in the future?

If the hearts of the people are scattered, how can the powerful families lead their troops in the future?

They would never allow such a thing to happen, and they would join forces to suppress it as soon as it showed any signs of coming.

However, this trend is not just coming from within the aristocratic families; it is backed by Emperor Li Heng.

It's not an easy task for the five surnames and seven clans to simply suppress them.