The revitalization of the Tang Dynasty began with the Ganlu Incident.

In the late Tang Dynasty, in addition to the eunuchs' monopoly of power, another important characteristic was the factional infighting.

The original owner of this body naturally noticed this as well.

Therefore, in his political plan, eliminating eunuchs and eliminating factions were carried out simultaneously.

To achieve these two goals, the original owner promoted two "prodigies" to central government positions: one was Li Xun, and the other was Zheng Zhu.

But just as the original owner ultimately chose to use eunuchs to eliminate other eunuchs, his so-called elimination of factions was actually achieved by using new factions.

After Li Xun and Zheng Zhu came to power, they used various means to exile the original Niu and Li factions in the court, while also gathering and promoting their cronies to form a new faction.

People like Shu Yuanyu, Han Yue, and Wang Fan, who had previously participated in the Ganlu Incident, were key figures among them.

Looking at the testimony in front of him, Li Ang narrowed his eyes and quickly understood why Liu Hongyi had chosen Zheng Zhu as the breakthrough point.

As one of the two important officials promoted by the original owner, Zheng Zhu was implicated in many of Li Xun's faction's affairs. By starting with him and following the clues, it would be possible to completely eradicate Li Xun's faction.

More importantly, in order to plan the Ganlu Incident, Li Xun had specifically appointed Zheng Zhuchu as the military governor of Fengxiang, as a backup plan should the plan fail.

In this way, Zheng Zhu's absence from the capital actually made it easier for Liu Hongyi to fabricate his arguments.

"What do you want to do?"

After a moment's hesitation, Li Ang turned his head to look at Liu Hongyi.

Now that the other party has produced this testimony, they must already have a plan for the next step.

As expected, Liu Hongyi bowed slightly and then said.

"Your Excellency, this case involves a great deal of information. Therefore, this old servant dares not act on my own initiative. I must listen to your instructions on how to handle it."

"At present, no one other than this old servant and everyone else has seen this testimony. If everyone feels that the case is too old and it is not appropriate to disturb the court again, this old servant will send Wang Yuanyou to a remote place and seal the testimony."

"If everyone wants to investigate, then this old servant will continue the interrogation and thoroughly uncover the truth of the case from back then, and present it to everyone. However, in this way, Wang Yuanyou alone will not be enough, and other relevant ministers will inevitably be involved."

"Please advise whether or not to investigate."

Upon hearing this, Li Ang's face broke into a rare smile.

Although he knew that Liu Hongyi's submission of this testimony meant he was determined to use this case to take action against Li Xun's faction.

But the fact that the other party was willing to do this face-saving thing at least shows that Liu Hongyi knows how to act with discretion and understands propriety.

This is a good thing; at least it shows that his authority has been partially established within a limited scope.

Li Ang tapped lightly on the table with his right hand.

"Yesterday, the Secretariat reported that Zheng Zhu, leading several hundred soldiers from Fengxiang, had arrived in Fufeng County and would reach the capital in three days at most."

"The military governor's entry into the capital without imperial edict is a grave offense. You may lead two thousand Shence Army soldiers to arrest Zheng Zhu on the day he arrives in the capital, carrying my imperial edict, and imprison him for questioning."

"As for what happens next, we will decide after Zheng Zhu gives his confession."

The Inner Palace Department had its own prison, called the Inner Prison.

Its original function was to interrogate palace servants who had made mistakes, but with the rise of the eunuchs' power, the inner prison was gradually improved and could be used to interrogate some important cases in the court.

Wang Shoucheng interrogated Song Shenxi in the inner prison.

Now that Li Ang has allowed Liu Hongyi to arrest Zheng Zhu and imprison him in the inner prison, his intentions are self-evident.

"This old servant understands. Please rest assured, everyone. Once we're in the inner prison, this old servant will find a way to make Zheng Zhu tell the truth."

Li Ang nodded and added, "We must not alert the enemy."

"Yes..." Liu Hongyi responded and quickly went down to prepare.

Watching his departing figure, Li Ang finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The exchange of words just now, though seemingly simple, was actually a test between the two sides, and the pressure they felt was immense.

Fortunately, the final result was not bad.

Judging from Liu Hongyi's performance just now, his previous guidance was effective. At this moment, the other party has completely turned its attention to Li Xun's group in its plot to seize the Shence Army.

As long as there is no fundamental conflict on this point, then my safety within the palace should be guaranteed in the short term.

Of course, it's only temporary.

Although Li Ang, Liu Hongyi, and others have managed to achieve a balance, the eunuchs who control the Shence Army still pose a significant threat to imperial power.

If one day in the future this balance is broken by some factor, Li Ang still will not have enough strength to protect himself.

From this perspective, Li Ang still has a long way to go if he wants to truly gain a foothold in this era...

After seeing Liu Hongyi off, Xuanhui Envoy Yang Qinyi quickly entered and bowed.

"I would like to inform everyone that someone from Xingqing Palace just came to say that the Empress Dowager is very worried about what happened the other day. She requests that you all go and see her as soon as you have time."

Grand Empress Dowager?

Li Ang was taken aback at first, but then he remembered.

This Empress Dowager was the original owner's grandmother and a concubine of Emperor Xianzong of Tang, Li Chun.

Her maternal grandfather was the famous Guo Ziyi, her mother was Princess Shengping, the second daughter of Emperor Daizong Li Yu, and her father was Guo Ai.

The famous opera "Drunkenly Beating the Golden Branch" from later generations tells the story of these two people.

As their daughter, Empress Dowager Guo was indeed born into a prestigious family.

Previously, the original owner was able to ascend the throne mainly because of the support of powerful eunuchs such as Wang Shouchang, but the support of Empress Dowager Guo behind the scenes also played a role.

From this perspective, the fact that Empress Dowager Guo could wait until the third day to send someone to summon her, knowing that such a major incident had occurred in the palace, shows that she had considerable self-control.

"Since it is the Empress Dowager's decree, I shall proceed immediately and prepare the carriage."

Li Ang was also somewhat curious about this historical figure who served five dynasties and was respected seven times. Without delay, he quickly set off for Xingqing Palace.

Unlike other dynasties, Chang'an in the Tang Dynasty had three palace areas: Taiji Palace in the center, Daming Palace in the northeast corner, and Xingqing Palace on the east side.

Among them, Taiji Palace was the largest, but because of its low-lying and damp location, most emperors after Emperor Gaozong moved to the newly built Daming Palace.

Of the three palace complexes, Xingqing Palace is the smallest. It was originally the prince's residence before Emperor Xuanzong (Li Longji) ascended the throne. After his ascension, Emperor Xuanzong expanded it into an imperial palace, where he often held court.

After the An Lushan Rebellion, Emperor Suzong ascended the throne, honored Emperor Xuanzong as the Retired Emperor, and relocated him to Xingqing Palace.

From this point on, the function of Xingqing Palace became firmly established, serving as the residence of the Tang Dynasty's empress dowagers and retired emperors.

Exit from the left Yintai Gate, walk along the covered walkway between the city walls, pass the residences of the Sixteen Princes and the Xingning and Yongjia wards, and enter Xingqing Palace through the Tonghua Gate.

Even sitting in a sedan chair, it took almost half an hour to travel this distance.

Li Ang did a rough calculation and found that the straight-line distance between the two palaces was at least four or five kilometers, which was hardly close.

When Xingqing Palace was first expanded, it was used for holding court. Therefore, in addition to the numerous sleeping quarters, its main hall, Xingqing Hall, was similar in style to Zichen Hall. The front hall was used by the emperor to lead his officials to pay homage to the empress dowager, while the rear hall was used for daily rest.

Li Ang usually paid his respects to Empress Dowager Guo in this rear hall.

At this time, eunuchs were already waiting at the palace gate.

"This old servant, Liang Chengmin, the Imperial Censor, pays his respects to everyone."

"Your Excellency, the Empress Dowager is already waiting in the hall. Please follow this old servant to see her."