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

Li Ang did not respond to Li Deyu's "advice".

Although he knew in his heart that Li Deyu's proposition was actually correct.

No matter how talented an emperor is, he can never defeat a group of cunning old foxes who have been fighting in the officialdom for two or three decades.

Some people consider seniority to be feudal dross, but in this feudal era, it was precisely something that could be very useful.

In an era of highly opaque information, qualifications are something that cannot be faked.

For an emperor, a minister's seniority means that he has seen more things, handled more government affairs, and has more samples that can be traced and analyzed in detail, thus making it more accurate to judge the person's qualities in all aspects.

However, on the other hand, individual interests and collective interests are not always completely overlapping.

Li Deyu's plan was correct in general and relatively beneficial to the country, but its drawback was that it limited the emperor's power.

Although from a long-term perspective, the more prosperous a dynasty is, the more secure the emperor's position is, that applies to the position of emperor, not to the current emperor himself.

For institutional improvements to be effective, it often takes decades or even generations. Not everyone is willing to sacrifice their immediate interests for the sake of benefits decades later.

At least for Li Ang at the moment, he actually felt that Li Deyu's description contained a certain ideal state.

For example...

"In recent years, I have heard that there are private terms such as 'Niu Party' and 'Li Party' among people in and out of the court."

"It is said that the two parties alternate in appointing prime ministers, and when one party is in power, it excludes the other party. Party members collude and attack each other, and the affairs of the court are mutually antagonistic. They are driven by personal feelings and disregard the country. Anyone who is labeled as a member of the opposing party is framed and slandered, promoted in the morning and demoted in the evening, using public resources for private gain."

"Has Lady Li heard of this matter?"

Li Ang tapped his fingers lightly, ceasing his discussion of major policies and instead posing an extremely pointed question.

Factional strife, along with eunuch dictatorship and regional separatism, was one of the three major intractable problems of the late Tang Dynasty. Its main content refers to the struggle between the Niu faction and the Li faction.

However, no one in the imperial court ever openly revealed it.

Now, Li Ang is directly questioning Li Deyu, the leader of the "Li Party," which is quite a direct and forceful move.

Snowflakes fell softly outside the window, while the charcoal fire crackled inside.

Unlike his previous aggressive demeanor, Li Deyu was unusually silent this time, his expression somewhat somber.

"Your Majesty, Wenrao..."

Zheng Qin, who was standing to the side, felt uneasy and tried to speak up to defend Li Deyu.

But this time Li Ang didn't give him the chance. Instead, he adopted the airs of an emperor for the first time and said solemnly.

"I am asking Minister Li..."

His authoritative tone immediately silenced Zheng Qin, who was about to say something.

...Didn't we agree to disregard the proper etiquette between ruler and subject...?

Zheng Pu She reluctantly shut his mouth, and Li Deyu had finally managed to sort out his thoughts.

He responded to the question with a solemn expression.

"Your Majesty, I dare not deceive you. The so-called factionalism is indeed not unfounded."

"Oh? So you're admitting to forming a faction?"

Li Ang's eyes narrowed slightly, and his tone became more dangerous.

However, Li Deyu couldn't help but sigh and said, "Your Majesty, I have never had any intention of forming a faction."

Li Ang frowned, remained silent, and simply looked at Li Deyu quietly.

Therefore, Li Deyu explained: "Your Majesty just said that the so-called two factions in the court are 'opposing each other in court affairs, fighting for personal feelings and disregarding the country.' The first half of this statement is true, but I can only agree with half of the second half."

"Why?" Li Ang asked calmly, without a trace of emotion, but Li Deyu seemed unconcerned and asked slowly.

"Your Majesty has been on the throne for many years and has a deep understanding of the political situation in the court. So-called factions do exist in the court, but I would like to correct one point: the process by which these factions are formed is different from what most people believe."

"Many in the court believe that the formation of factions is due to the political differences between me and Niu Sengru, Li Zongmin and others, which led to the formation of cliques and mutual struggles. But at least on my side, I have never had such a thought."

"What I am saying may sound like an attack, but I still have to say that the first to form a faction were Niu Sengru and others, or to be more precise, the first to form a faction was the former Minister Li Fengji."

"As early as the reign of Emperor Muzong, I had many political disagreements with Minister Li, so he brought Niu Sengru and Li Zongmin to court to confront me. Later, due to the matter of Weizhou's surrender, I disagreed with Niu Sengru, and our relationship became even more tense."

"From then on, whatever I advocated, Niu and Li opposed. In order to curry favor with the powerful and to oppose me, the two colluded with ministers to form a faction. In this process, anyone who was unwilling to align with them or who shared the same political views as me was suppressed by the other party and thus associated with me, which led to the so-called 'Li Party' in the court."

"That is why Your Majesty sees that the two parties have almost completely different political views. This is not intentional, but rather a result of the times."

"I am aware of the harm of factions, so I would never have the thought of forming a faction. But the most dangerous thing about factions is that if one side forms a faction, the other side, whether willing or not, will inevitably eventually converge into another faction. This is something that I alone cannot control. I humbly beseech Your Majesty to see this clearly."

This long string of words could be seen as an explanation, or it could be seen as an attempt to shift blame.

In short, Li Deyu himself did not want to form a faction, but the other side wanted to. So even if he did not want to form a faction, those who were ostracized and suppressed by the other side would spontaneously gather around him.

Li Ang tapped his fingers lightly, remained silent for a moment, then a smile suddenly appeared on his face as he spoke.

"Your words sound like a deliberate attack on Niu Sengru and the others!"

His tone was light, but it suddenly chilled the atmosphere in the room.

Li Deyu felt a pang of sadness.

He knew, of course, that it would be difficult to convince people with these words, but the truth is often just that absurd.

Just as he was pondering how to corroborate his words, Li Ang spoke up again.

"However, I believe what you say!"

"Your Majesty..." Li Deyu suddenly looked up, his eyes filled with disbelief.

Seeing this, Li Ang smiled again and said, "However, we can only believe half of it."

The second half of the sentence calmed Li Deyu down, who was already feeling quite excited, and a look of doubt appeared on his face.

Li Ang shook his head and said solemnly, "I believe your words because I believe in your character. Over the years, you have devoted yourself to the country and have repeatedly spoken frankly against my will. I know all of this. Therefore, I believe that you have no intention of forming a faction."

"But as you said, once a faction is formed, many things cannot be changed by one person alone. You have your own difficulties, and Niu and Li may also have theirs. Everyone has their own interests. Those around you may mostly be people with different political views from Niu's faction, but there may also be those who want to take the opportunity to climb the ranks and form cliques against those who disagree with them."

"The reasons are quite complex, and it's probably impossible for anyone to explain them clearly in detail."

"What I wish to ask is, since Minister Li is aware of and acknowledges the existence of factions, is there any way to eradicate them?"