The immortal of the Tang Dynasty, but the game starts at Xuanwu Gate?

Unlike Wang Gui and Chen Huai'an of the Taiyuan Wang family, who were mindful of privacy when meeting, Li Baiyao arrived openly and without any attempt to conceal his identity.

Therefore, after Li Baiyao went to the Duke of Anguo's mansion, the news was received by the forces that had been paying attention to Chen Huai'an.

However, Li Baiyao and Chen Huai'an didn't care about this at all.

Whether or not a group is formed, Li Baiyao no longer needs to hide anything.

The situation will stabilize once the two sides reach a new cooperation agreement.

Three were placed outside, while three were seated at the table, becoming the new rule-makers.

Those who are seated at the table naturally don't want those who aren't seated to cause trouble.

The following day, Li Shimin also received a message from Chen Huai'an.

Zhang Anan read the contents of the letter aloud to Li Shimin, who was resting with his eyes closed.

He was somewhat surprised when he heard about the plans of the Li family of Zhao County.

"The Li family of Zhao Commandery intends to unite everyone they can to attack the Zheng family?"

"Your Majesty..." Zhang Anan swallowed hard. "The Zhao County Li family's idea is probably to take action against the Zheng family's officials, kick them out, and let everyone fill the vacancies they leave behind..."

"Ha!" Li Shimin sneered, "They've certainly come up with a clever plan. No wonder Chen Huai'an didn't make a decision first, but instead sent a letter over."

As he spoke, he stood up, put his hands behind his back, and pondered, "The Li family of Zhao County... the Zheng family..."

Li Shimin's perspective differed from that of Chen Huai'an and others.

They were considering both the risks and benefits involved.

Li Shimin, however, was concerned that doing so might lead to one faction becoming too powerful, making it difficult to maintain a balance.

Secondly, he was thinking about the Li family of Zhao County. Could this proposal be a trap set up by the five surnames and seven powerful clans?

After considering for a long time, Li Shimin stopped and waved his hand, saying, "Go, summon Wei Zheng and the others. This matter must be discussed carefully."

"Perfect. These people all want their sons to marry daughters of noble families. I want to see if they still want to marry a noble family if it is about to collapse."

"Understood, Your Majesty." Zhang Anan bowed his head and slowly retreated.

He had been following Li Shimin for a long time. Although Li Shimin only mentioned Wei Zheng's name, he knew very well who the other party wanted to call.

Subsequently, Zhang Anan sent people to invite the ministers, and then personally visited Changsun Wuji and Chen Huai'an.

At noon, Li Shimin had already arranged for a meal to be prepared, and all the ministers arrived at Xiande Hall.

Chen Huai'an understood perfectly well why Li Shimin had summoned them, so he sat down and began to eat leisurely.

Li Shimin glanced at him but didn't say anything.

He never cared about such trivial matters, but he was somewhat surprised that the other party could still eat it.

"This is a conversation between Li Baiyao and Huai'an. Take a look."

Li Shimin instructed Zhang Anan to distribute the letter submitted by Chen Huai'an. Changsun Wuji was the first to read it, and his expression after reading it was quite interesting.

"What does it say?" Du Ruhui asked curiously, and took the letter to read it.

The others couldn't sit still any longer and crowded around.

Fang Xuanling asked incredulously, "To encircle the Zheng family? To eradicate all the roots they've planted in the court?"

Dai Zhou frowned and said, "The risk is too great. If it were two years later, I might have wholeheartedly supported this matter. But now, with the locust plague about to begin and preparations for war against the Eastern Turks already on the agenda, we are ready to fight."

"Doing so would be tantamount to a massive purge within the court, which could very likely lead to political instability. I believe it is not worth it."

"With the new imperial examination system in place, we can gradually select talented individuals and eliminate the influence of powerful families bit by bit. Why resort to such drastic measures?"

"No, no, no!" Wei Zheng, that old fellow, had a different opinion. "This matter is not as simple as just taking action against the Zheng family."

"The Wang family of Taiyuan, the Li family of Zhao County, and the Cui family of Boling all need a sense of security. Eliminating the Zheng family, taking over some of their positions, and expanding our influence over the court will make them feel more at ease."

"In addition, the Lu family and the Cui family of Qinghe also urgently need to expand their influence in the court; otherwise, they may decline if they are not allowed to participate in the court proceedings."

"Sacrificing one member of the Zheng family to save everyone else—that's a worthwhile trade!"

Du Ruhui, however, had a different opinion: "What sense of security? Xuancheng, what you're saying is rather contradictory."

"Even the Zheng family, once the most powerful of the five clans in the court and with the highest prestige among the people, could be reduced to fish on a chopping block, at the mercy of others. How could they feel at ease?"

"If we take action against the Zheng family now, who can guarantee that everyone will cooperate tacitly, instead of forcing them to band together?"

"If the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold!"

"That makes sense!" Fang Xuanling nodded in agreement.

Changsun Wuji then spoke up: "That's not how it works. It wasn't Duke Anguo or our side who suggested taking action against the Zheng family. It was the Li family of Zhao County who first proposed it, within the five families."

"From this perspective, the risk is already much smaller."

"If they were a group, why would they bring up something like this?"

"What if they're setting us up?" Dai Zhou said bluntly, "Who knows what they're up to?"

"Intermarriage within the five clans has a long history, and their relationships are complex. They may have disagreements due to interests, but when faced with a life-or-death situation, who can guarantee they won't unite?"

"The Cui family of Boling can betray powerful clans, and they can betray us too!"

The hall instantly erupted into a dispute, with both sides sticking to their own arguments and refusing to back down.

Li Shimin reviewed the information and summarized the opinions of both sides.

In other words, one side believed the risk was too great, since the imperial examination system was still in place, and they could gradually deal with the powerful families later, without having to rush things.

The other side saw this as a golden opportunity to take advantage of Li Shimin's army being in their grasp and Xue Wanche's imminent triumphant return to destroy the Zheng family.

In short, each has its own reasoning.

Li Shimin listened silently, while Chen Huai'an ate silently.

No one disturbed them.

After a long while, Wei Zheng said sternly, "Hesitating and fearing this and that, have you forgotten that on that day in the Taiji Hall, when we raised our hands to vote, we were not even as good as these aristocratic families?"

"I would like to ask you all, haven't you realized the seriousness of the problem yet?"

"They usually keep a low profile, but when it comes to crucial moments, someone seriously infringes upon their interests, and you'll see the consequences!"

"If it's like this even in the imperial court, can you imagine what local officials are like?"

"Are you going to wait?"

"Waiting for what? Are you suggesting we wait until they find a new loophole in the imperial examination system, then continue to control the path to advancement and monopolize officialdom?"

"Then what was the point of all our painstaking efforts to promote the imperial examination system and unify the interpretation of the classics?"

"Is it fun?"

"..."