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

In the depths of winter, the fire in the Zichen Hall burns continuously, warming the entire hall.

With Li Xun and Shu Yuanyu being demoted, Zheng Zhu and his core cronies also found a place to go. As expected, a wave of counterattacks and retribution swept through the court once again.

Officials who had been suppressed and sidelined by Li Xun, as well as those who wanted to take advantage of the situation, submitted memorials one after another, impeaching the so-called "Li Xun faction".

Setting down the new memorial in his hand, Li Ang frowned as he looked at the thick stack of memorials beside him and couldn't help but sigh.

Although in officialdom, there are often just as many people who kick someone when they're down as there are those who add to their glory, there are simply too many of them.

This shows that the reason why Li Xun and others were promoted so swiftly was because of long-standing resentment within the court.

However, these are all minor matters.

Most officials in the court were simply following the crowd, mainly to build up their reputation and seniority, and incidentally to express their own stance.

After all, how can they demonstrate their loyalty if they don't impeach villains?

Therefore, these are basically things you don't need to worry about too much.

What really bothered Li Ang was that, in addition to impeaching Li Xun's faction, there were inexplicably more impeachments against Jia Su in the recent memorials.

"Have you received any useful information from the two commanders of the Eastern Depot lately?"

Leaning back slightly, Li Ang asked casually.

As soon as he finished speaking, a plainly dressed eunuch in his early thirties stepped forward and said, "Yes, Your Majesty."

Immediately, he walked to the table next to him, took out a stack of documents, and respectfully handed them over.

This man's name is Qi Baozhen, and he is the latest eunuch promoted by Li Ang.

However, even if it was called a promotion, it was merely a promotion from a sixth-rank palace attendant to a fifth-rank palace attendant.

Unlike other eunuchs, Qi Baozhen did not have a distinguished family background, nor was he a senior eunuch.

He was a eunuch who served Li Ang daily before Li Ang ascended the throne.

Yes, they were the kind of low-ranking eunuchs who would actually serve Li Ang by dressing him and feeding him.

Li Ang only realized after receiving the original owner's memories that the original owner's gaze was always focused on the high-ranking eunuchs in the palace. He often couldn't even remember the faces of the eunuchs who actually served people.

Perhaps in the eyes of feudal emperors who were used to being served, these palace servants who did odd jobs were no different from cups and chairs.

But Li Ang was different. After the initial emergency measures, he had been considering how to deal with the eunuch problem.

One option is to start from scratch.

The problem is that the existing powerful eunuchs have already formed their own system. If we simply support a new group of eunuchs to compete with them for power, then once they have enough power, they will inevitably return to their old ways.

Therefore, the best solution is actually to rebuild a new system.

The establishment of the Eastern Depot was Li Ang's attempt to achieve this.

It was isolated from the old Inner Palace Service system and could be defined by Li Ang to some extent.

However, in Zheng Zhu's case, Ximen Jixuan's "acting on his own initiative" made Li Ang realize that simply copying and pasting was not feasible.

Therefore, he introduced two commanders specifically responsible for investigation and espionage, who, together with the supervising eunuch, were each independently responsible for the palace.

In this way, the two sides can check and balance each other, which can, to some extent, prevent the same problem from happening again.

Previously, Ximen Jixuan was flogged, ostensibly for trespassing into the Hall of State Affairs, but in reality, it was a punishment for acting on his own initiative.

This was something that not only Ximen Jixuan himself, but also the other two commanders were well aware of.

With two parties, or more accurately, three parties, checking and balancing each other, a delicate balance can be barely achieved. Everyone is worried that they will be caught by the other party, so they will naturally be more cautious when doing things.

But this is clearly not enough. The Eastern Depot is a new institution, but Ximen Jixuan and others are not.

The reason Li Ang entrusted the Eastern Depot to Ximen Jixuan was because Ximen Jixuan was one of the few upright and reserved eunuchs in the late Tang Dynasty.

Even so, he was still inevitably influenced by the old system.

Therefore, Li Ang could only continue patching the problem.

Qi Baozhen is this patch; his status is low enough, so his background is clean enough, and he is also loyal enough.

He was a junior eunuch who was always responsible for serving the emperor personally, so naturally he did not have the arrogance of a high-ranking eunuch. In a sense, he was closer to the image of a servant like a eunuch.

Li Ang promoted him to Inner Attendant, a low-ranking official position where one was basically always in front of the emperor, responsible for handling various trivial matters while staying by the emperor's side.

But in reality, Li Ang also gave him another important authority: to receive and process classified intelligence sent from the Eastern Depot.

It should be said that this was a very heavy power, and in a sense, it could be considered that he was half the head of the Eastern Depot.

However, he was merely an inner eunuch, so all his power over the Eastern Depot came from Li Ang's grant, and it was a temporary grant.

This structure is quite similar to the eunuch structure of the Ming and Qing dynasties, where the emperor could make decisions at any time.

If things go smoothly, Li Ang will then have a clear idea of ​​how to deal with the eunuch problem...

Of course, Qi Baozhen himself was unaware of these things.

All he knows now is that he has been suddenly promoted and given an important position, so he has to work diligently to do his job well.

"Your Excellency, this is a secret report sent by Commander Wang Wengan the day before yesterday. It says that there has been a rumor circulating in the court recently, which is that the prime ministers held an audience in Yan Ying Hall to discuss the selection of a new prime minister. The Eastern Depot investigated the source of the news and found that the person who spread the news was Zheng Tan, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel."

The Eastern Depot was responsible for investigation and espionage, so in addition to special assignments, it collected a lot of information on a daily basis.

This was also something Li Ang did intentionally, to prevent his subordinates from guessing the emperor's intentions based on his specific instructions.

At times like these, Qi Baozhen proves his worth.

Looking at the secret report that had been unearthed in his hand, Li Ang tapped his fingers lightly, and soon he had an answer in his mind.

The news came from Zheng Qin's side, so it can be basically concluded that it was Li Deyu who leaked it.

With this in mind, he continued, "Is there any news related to Li Deyu?"

Upon hearing this, Qi Baozhen pulled out another secret report, handed it over, and said.

"In response to everyone, these days, Minister Li has met with many people, including some censors, as well as some officials in the fields of criminal justice and military administration. According to the news reported by the Eastern Depot, there is one person who is particularly noteworthy."

"Xue Yuanshang, the Vice Minister of Agriculture?"

Li Ang flipped through the documents, and a name caught his eye.

Qi Baozhen lowered his head and said, "It is indeed this person. These days, the person who has been coming and going from Prime Minister Li’s residence the most is this Junior Minister Qi. Moreover, he stays for quite a while almost every time, as if he has been talking in detail before leaving."

Xue Yuanshang...

Li Ang murmured the name softly.

Just then, another batch of memorials arrived.

Li Ang opened it and saw that the one placed on top was that of Prime Minister Li Deyu.

Its contents were shockingly... a recommendation for Xue Yuanshang, the Vice Minister of Agriculture, to succeed as the Prefect of Jingzhao!

He picked up the secret report about Li Deyu again and looked at it.

Li Ang couldn't help but shake his head and mutter, "That old fox."

After a moment's thought, he marked the word "approved" on the letter of recommendation and gave the instructions.

"Send this memorial to the Council of State Affairs."