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

The extremely poor relationship between Li Deyu and Niu Sengru was no secret in the imperial court.

The two had disliked each other since their early years, as they were fundamentally incompatible in terms of social class, political views, and conduct.

Later, with the outbreak of the Victorian incident, they completely broke off relations and became almost irreconcilable enemies.

Therefore, the officials in the hall were not surprised at all when Niu Sengru came out to speak out at this time; in fact, they felt that it would have been strange if he hadn't come out.

With Niu Sengru joining the fray, many officials in the court immediately perked up.

It should be noted that although they all criticized Li Xun for rising to power through luck, there is no doubt that since Li Xun's mad dog tactics drove both the Niu and Li factions out of the capital, such a scene has not appeared in the court for a long time.

Upon hearing Niu Sengru's words of adding insult to injury, a flash of disgust instinctively crossed Li Deyu's face, but he quickly concealed it.

Contrary to what many people might expect, he did not become angry at Niu Sengru's provocation; he simply turned around and said calmly.

"Governor Niu, you have just returned to the capital and are probably unaware of the affairs of the court. The Shence Military Command was established by imperial decree and after a resolution by the Council of State. The two governors are in charge of the Shence Army and hold positions equivalent to prime ministers."

"Therefore, what I am protecting today is not two eunuchs, but the court system and the dignity of ministers. Whether it is done out of public interest or not, Your Majesty and the officials of the court can make their own judgments."

Niu Sengru was somewhat surprised by Li Deyu's reaction.

The Li Deyu he remembered was not such a good-tempered person.

He frowned and then said.

"Lord Li has misunderstood. There have been rumors in the court that Lord Li and Governor Yang have a long-standing relationship. Today, Lord Li has defended the two governors in such a way. I am afraid that rumors will spread in the court and among the people. That is why I asked this question. I hope Lord Li will not take offense."

Although he said it with a smile, the provocation in his tone was not concealed.

This caused Li Deyu's expression to change.

Even so, he did not get angry, but acted as if he had not heard anything and said.

"Then thank you very much, Governor Niu."

Having said that, he completely ignored the other party's move and turned back to continue speaking towards the throne.

"Your Majesty, these censors have not only formed cliques and supported each other, but now they dare to make a ruckus in the palace. Such lawless individuals should be severely punished."

It is obvious that Niu Sengru and others are definitely involved in this incident involving the censors.

At this moment, Niu Sengru stepped forward, seemingly with the intention of muddying the waters.

However, Li Deyu deliberately didn't give him that chance and steered the conversation back on track.

This prevented Niu Sengru from taking advantage of the situation.

If he continues to stand up for these censors, he will undoubtedly move from behind the scenes to the forefront, completely clashing with Liu Hongyi and others, including Li Deyu, the reform faction.

However, if they were to give up now, it would be clear that these censors who had been constantly making a fuss would not be able to keep their positions.

However, Niu Sengru was not one to hesitate, and after a brief moment of hesitation, he made a decision immediately.

He bowed respectfully to the throne and said, "Your Majesty, I believe that since he is an imperial censor, the matter of how to handle him should not be left unresolved with the advice of the Censor-in-Chief."

Is this... an attempt to shift the blame eastward?

Li Deyu's gaze sharpened immediately, his eyes now showing a hint of scrutiny.

According to the system, the head of the Censorate should be the Grand Censor.

However, starting from the reign of Emperor Xuanzong, in order to win over local officials, the Imperial Censor was often given additional titles and was granted the title of Military Governor to demonstrate his constitutional power.

As for the central court, unless some senior ministers were in charge of the censorate and the officials needed to be of high rank, the Censor-in-Chief was generally the head of the censorate.

At this time, the Imperial Censor was unfortunately a member of Li Xun's faction, who was at the center of the recent turmoil, but was able to retain his official position because he had saved the emperor.

Lee Hyo-bon was completely bewildered by being called out like this.

It should be noted that he was originally promoted to the position of Censor-in-Chief by Li Xun in order to execute Qiu Shiliang.

The Censorate is an institution where the people are the most aloof, or at least they have to pretend to be.

Therefore, most people kept a considerable distance from him, Li Xun's henchman.

Putting everything else aside, just look at what happened today.

As the de facto head of the Censorate, he received absolutely no prior notice before attending court.

Now that things have gotten out of hand, the fire has turned against him.

Li Xiaoben inwardly groaned, but with all the ministers in the hall looking at him, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and step forward.

"Your Majesty, the Censorate is the eyes and ears of the Emperor. Although these censors just now behaved inappropriately, it was not, as Minister Li said, an unfounded impeachment."

"Moreover, the Censorate currently has only about twenty people, including myself and a few other censors. If the ministers were to dismiss six and punish one, it would be equivalent to removing one-third of the censorate's staff, which would inevitably affect the normal operations of the Censorate."

"Since ancient times, it has been the duty of censors to speak frankly. Perhaps sometimes their reports are wrong, but wise rulers throughout history have been lenient. This is because only when censors dare to speak frankly can the court be clear and just. If people are punished for speaking out, then censors will be too afraid to speak out."

"Therefore, I humbly request Your Majesty to be lenient and not to punish the Imperial Censor for his words."

Li Xiaoben only mentioned the Imperial Censor in the Palace, and he didn't bother to mention the Imperial Censor of the Waiting-for-Leaks Courtyard at all.

When these people did these things, they never thought it would cause him any trouble. Now that they've made a mess of things, he's the one who has to clean up their mess.

If it weren't for the fact that he held the title of Vice Censor-in-Chief and was obligated to protect these censors, Li Xiaoben would have genuinely wanted to follow Li Deyu's lead and impeach these people as well.

This time, Niu Sengru did not follow, but silently returned to his post as if the matter had nothing to do with him.

Seeing this, Li Deyu frowned, instinctively sensing that something was amiss.

But things had come to this point, and while Niu Sengru could yield, he could not.

So he stuck to his original opinion and turned to bow to the sage on the throne.

"Your Majesty, precisely because the Censorate is the eyes and ears of the Emperor, it is all the more important for them to maintain their integrity and exercise their power with caution. There are not too many officials in the court, nor too few, and a few censors can still be selected."

"If such reckless and arrogant people can continue to occupy the position of censor, not only will the dignity of the ministers be lost, but it will also make the censors arrogant and think that they can use rumors as a pretext to attack others at will, which will defeat the original purpose of the censorship."

"Therefore, I urge Your Majesty to severely punish the censors who caused trouble in the palace."

At this point, the situation is basically clear.

By having Niu Sengru and the others return to their original positions, it was as if they had already given up on these censors.

As for Li Xiaoben, the Imperial Censor who should have been the one to protect them, he didn't even have that idea.

The reason for speaking out is merely to symbolically express an attitude.

With Li Deyu's repeated insistence, the situation was almost a foregone conclusion.

Then, a moment later, a voice came from the throne.

"As proposed by Minister Li, the Imperial Censor of the Waiting Room shall be exiled to a distant place, and the other Imperial Censors shall be sent out of the capital. From now on, all officials in the court must carefully observe etiquette and must not arbitrarily offend the ministers of the court..."