A thousand-year-old family begins with one fighting against ten thousand.

Yang Guozhong and Gao Lishi were his right-hand men, and it was through these two that he controlled the court.

Now Du Fu is impeaching Yang Guozhong first, and then the eunuchs, trying to cut off his arms and sever his control over the court.

After dealing with Yang Guozhong and Gao Lishi, shouldn't the next step be to deal with him?

Who gave him that confidence?!

Li Longji looked at Wei Mai at the very front of the group. Wei Mai was sore, his eyes were downcast, and his eyelids were slightly drooping, as if he had fallen asleep.

"They're just a bunch of eunuchs, what harm could they possibly cause?"

"Isn't Dr. Du exaggerating a bit?"

"What power do mere eunuchs have? How can they embezzle so much? Isn't it because they want to use this opportunity to curry favor with me through the eunuchs?"

"This is clearly the fault of the local officials. What does it have to do with these eunuchs? The eunuchs have no responsibility to punish the local officials except to follow orders."

"Dr. Du, please don't talk nonsense."

Du Fu's eyes narrowed slightly, knowing that he had aroused Li Longji's vigilance.

He glanced almost imperceptibly at Li Bai, who nodded slightly. Du Fu then continued, "Has Your Majesty forgotten Zhao Gao of Qin and the Ten Attendants of Han?"

"Zhao Gao held the reins of the court, called a deer a horse, and wielded immense power."

"By abusing their power, they plundered the people in various places, causing them unbearable suffering and making it impossible for them to survive. As a result, they followed Chen Sheng and Wu Guang in rising up in rebellion."

"The Ten Attendants sold official positions and titles, and oppressed the people, which eventually aroused great resentment among the people, leading to uprisings in various places and setting the stage for the demise of the Han Dynasty."

"Learning from the mistakes of the past and serving as a guide for future generations, I, as the Grand Counselor, oversee all the remonstrance officials. I dare not fail to remonstrate against any evil policies of the court."

"Are you saying His Majesty is like Qin Er Shi? Or like Emperor Ling of Han?"

Gao Lishi was furious. Du Fu had already impeached him, so naturally he wouldn't just stand by and watch.

"Du Fu, how dare you!"

"Your Majesty, this Du Fu has no respect for rank and has slandered Your Majesty. I urge Your Majesty to imprison him in the Imperial Prison and execute him on a chosen day."

"Who are you? What is your official rank?"

Du Fu's gaze was sharp as lightning as he stared directly at Gao Lishi.

Gao Lishi felt a chill run down his spine under Du Fu's sharp gaze.

"The Miscellaneous Scholar is the Director of the Inner Palace, a third-rank official, with the authority to open his own office and be equivalent to the Three Excellencies, in charge of the affairs of the Inner Palace and the transmission of imperial edicts!"

Gao Lishi spoke loudly, seemingly trying to overwhelm Du Fu with his imposing manner.

"He's just a court official; who gave him the right to speak in court?"

Du Fu sneered, "According to the old system of the Zhenguan era, eunuchs could only serve in the palace and convey imperial edicts, and were not allowed to participate in court affairs."

"These are the words of Emperor Taizong himself. Who do you think you are, daring to speak so recklessly in court!"

Upon hearing Du Fu's words, Gao Lishi's face turned red with anger.

Emperor Taizong, as a wise ruler, still wields immense influence even today. Although Gao Lishi was favored by Li Longji, he dared not openly disrespect Emperor Taizong.

"alright."

Li Longji quickly stopped him.

Gao Lishi was just a eunuch; how could he possibly match Du Fu, a scholar who had passed the imperial examination, in eloquence?

He had no choice but to step forward and take sides again.

"The eunuchs are all my household slaves, so the laws of the court cannot be blamed on them."

"I hereby punish him by confiscating his family wealth and stripping him of his position as Grand Master of the Three Departments. This matter is settled."

Li Longji made the decision immediately.

Theoretically speaking, Li Longji's statement is actually correct.

Eunuchs were the emperor's household servants and were not considered part of the court's political system. Their officials were not formal court officials either.

It was only during the Ming Dynasty that official positions such as the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs were established, allowing officials to formally intervene in government affairs.

Before the Ming and Qing dynasties, although there were instances of eunuchs interfering in politics, they relied more on their own power and influence, and were not supported by official positions in terms of law.

The emperor alone decides on the rewards and punishments of all eunuchs.

Du Fu bowed to Li Longji and returned to the ranks.

Li Longji has already stepped forward, and now it's time for him to step down. The rest is up to Li Bai.

Li Bai first affirmed Li Longji's statement.

"Eunuchs are indeed Your Majesty's household servants, and all rewards and punishments should be decided by Your Majesty's word."

"Then, Your Majesty, what are the crimes committed by these eunuchs?"

"What will happen to the people they have exploited to the bone, those whose families have been destroyed and lives ruined by them?"

"Who should be held responsible for this?"

Li Bai had endured more than a decade of compromise in the court, but now he was no longer willing to tolerate it.

There are some truths I'm too lazy to explain, and you're not worthy to hear them.

Therefore, his words were directed at Li Longji.

Li Longji was furious. He hadn't heard such words for nearly 30 years since he quelled the rebellion in the court.

"Are you trying to say that all of this is my fault?"

Li Longji was like a furious lion, and the atmosphere in the entire court suddenly became extremely oppressive, as if a storm was about to break.

"Your Majesty, eunuchs have no power. The confidence that all eunuchs have to abuse their power and disrupt the government comes from Your Majesty."

"It is His Majesty's leniency and indulgence that has led them to become increasingly unruly."

"In the past, Emperor Taizong issued a special law to prevent eunuchs from interfering in politics. The highest rank of eunuchs was no higher than the fourth rank, and they were not allowed to serve in front of the emperor to participate in the discussion of affairs."

"Your Majesty, which of these rules do you adhere to?"

"Gao Lishi held the position of Director of the Inner Palace Attendants, a third-rank official, and was granted the privilege of opening his own office with the same authority as the Three Excellencies. His favor was even greater than that of the Ministers of the Six Ministries, and was almost no less than that of the Prime Minister of the court."

"He also had the right to enter and leave the Zichen Palace to listen to court discussions, and all memorials, both internal and external, passed through his hands, giving him the opportunity to deceive the emperor and block the path of loyal advice."

"Isn't this His Majesty's fault?"

"And then there's Yang Guozhong. If we're talking about talent, who in this court can he compare to?"

"If he truly possesses the talents of Wei Qing and Huo Qubing, then so be it."

"But I've heard that he's an uneducated and incompetent person. Although he's not completely illiterate, he's still a hawk-walking and dog-fighting scoundrel."

"Before the imperial concubine entered the palace, he was just a person who frequented brothels and was proficient in all kinds of entertainment."

"Such a person could actually become the Right Chancellor and control the court. Even an illiterate ordinary branch of the Yang family would have a chance to enter officialdom."

"The reason is simply because a beautiful woman from the Yang family entered His Majesty's harem and gained His Majesty's favor."

"Even if we take a step back, if he can be impartial and upright after becoming an official, promote virtuous and capable people, and humbly accept advice, then so be it."

"But for what he did, he deserved to be beheaded ten times over!"

"Isn't this also due to His Majesty's favor?"

"His Majesty favors two people, and these two people in turn favor those around them, and so on, endlessly."

"Who suffers? It is the more than 2,917,400 households who are forced to leave their homes, those who work hard to earn a little money, only to have it taken away, and those whose family members starve to death."

"They are the people in the disaster area who exchange children for food, eat tree bark, and eat clay without having a single grain of rice."

"Behind the red gates, meat and wine go to waste; on the streets, the bones of those frozen to death lie!"