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

Hahahahahahaha.

Li Longji's aged voice echoed through the palace, sounding particularly desolate.

"Li Bai, you orchestrated all of this, didn't you?"

"Whether you impeach Guo Zhong or Gao Lishi, your target has always been me, hasn't it?"

"Isn't your goal to trample on me to gain a good reputation?"

"Aren't you also after all this for the sake of seizing absolute power in the court?"

"I'm telling you, you're delusional!"

Li Longji's furious roar echoed throughout the court, as if the brave and decisive Emperor Xuanzong of Tang had returned.

"This empire was reclaimed by me, all power belongs to me, and you can forget about touching it!"

"I am the ruler, you are the subject!"

"That's right, Guozhong was promoted by me, Gao Lishi was promoted by me, and I broke Emperor Taizong's rules, so what?!"

"If the ruler commands the subject to die, the subject has no choice but to die!"

"Thunder and rain, all are the Emperor's grace!"

"Li Bai, this world belongs to me. The vast land and countless people are not yours!"

"Those lowly people, they're dead, so what?!"

"This is my realm, and I call the shots!"

Li Longji's cold gaze fell upon Li Bai, and he wanted Li Bai to know who the true master of this world was!

"Your Majesty, you are wrong."

Li Bai, with his innate pride, stood there upright, his spine like a mountain peak piercing the clouds, looking down upon the world.

"The world belongs to all people, not just Your Majesty."

"Your Majesty says that both thunder and rain are acts of imperial favor, but what does it mean that both thunder and rain are acts of imperial favor?"

Thunder is used to punish the wicked and deter corrupt officials; rain and dew are used to reduce taxes and provide nourishment for the people.

Whether it is thunder or rain, both are for the benefit of the people; this is what is meant by "thunder and rain are both the emperor's grace."

It was by no means based on the monarch's personal likes and dislikes that he arbitrarily conscripted laborers, allowed the relatives of the empress and eunuchs to exploit the prefectures and counties, and watched helplessly as more than 2,917,400 households were displaced and suffered from hunger and cold!

The power of a monarch is not a power bestowed by Heaven to indulge in wantonness, but a responsibility entrusted by Heaven to protect all living beings.

What is a Human Emperor? The emperor of the human race, who protects all human beings, and is revered by the people as an emperor.

If the world belonged solely to Your Majesty, why did Emperor Taizong need to reflect on himself day and night and broaden the channels for advice? Why did he need to impose the ancestral rules of tribute and eunuchs, and restrain himself?

If the emperor's words are the law of heaven, and even if he is wrong, no one is allowed to offer advice, then where is the world's people? Where is the law of the court?

"Is Your Majesty truly not mistaken?"

"If emperors were infallible, then why have there been so many dynastic changes from the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties to the present day?"

"Your Majesty is also human, and humans make mistakes."

"To know one's mistakes and correct them is the greatest virtue. To know one's mistakes and not correct them is the greatest vice."

"Today, I am not forcing Your Majesty, but on behalf of the millions of displaced people in the world, I implore Your Majesty to uphold the true heart that a monarch should have."

"If Your Majesty can disregard the suffering of the people and the laws of our ancestors simply because you say that the world is under your control, how can you protect this beautiful land, even if you are the emperor, if the people of the prefectures and counties are left with no hope and the hearts of the people are scattered?!"

"Oh? Li Bai, then what do you want me to do?"

Li Longji sneered, his tone slightly playful.

"Your Majesty, I humbly request two things."

"First, an edict was issued to deal with Yang Guozhong, Gao Lishi and their cronies, reduce the number of eunuchs, and reiterate the ancestral rule that eunuchs are never allowed to interfere in court affairs or transmit imperial edicts and government affairs; relatives of the empress are not allowed to hold official positions above the third rank, unless they are ennobled for military merit, in which case this rule can be broken."

"Second, he issued an edict of self-reproach to the world, reflecting on his four major faults of indulging his relatives, favoring eunuchs, neglecting to protect the people, and indulging in extravagance. He also reduced the taxes of five prefectures and counties that had displaced people for three years and comforted a million displaced people."

"Only by Your Majesty publicly admitting your mistakes and demonstrating your divine conscience to the world can the resentment of the people be dispelled and the foundation of the Kaiyuan era's prosperity be restored!"

"Ha, Li Bai, you've finally revealed your true colors."

"After pretending for over a decade, you finally couldn't keep up the act anymore."

"You want to be a saint? You want to use my head as a stepping stone on your path to sainthood?"

"I will grant your wish."

Li Longji was so angry that he laughed instead, not taking Li Bai's words to heart at all, and only thinking that Li Bai wanted to usurp his power.

"Guards! Li Bai has formed a faction to coerce the emperor and shows no respect for the emperor! Remove Li Bai from his post as Minister of Personnel and demote him to a commoner! Du Fu, Gao Shi, Wang Wei, and Cen Shen are also dismissed from their current posts, expelled from the court, and never to be employed again! Eunuchs! Draft the decree immediately!"

Beside Li Longji, Gao Lishi trembled, his face lighting up with joy as he was about to accept the order.

Li Bai stepped forward, his hands hanging at his sides, his gaze calm as he looked directly at Emperor Xuanzong on the throne, his voice loud and clear, echoing throughout the hall.

"Your subject dares not obey the imperial edict."

The moment those five words were spoken, the entire palace fell into a silence so profound you could hear a pin drop.

Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Li Longji, stared wide-eyed. "Li Bai, how dare you defy an imperial edict in court?!"

"Are you trying to rebel?"

"Your Majesty, there are established procedures for dismissing high-ranking officials. The appointment and removal of officials of the third rank must be drafted by the Secretariat, reviewed by the Chancellery, jointly signed by the three ministries, and then promulgated by imperial edict to the whole country."

"It is against the law of the court to dismiss a group of court officials arbitrarily on a whim in a fit of anger."

"What happened today is not just my personal opinion, but the common sentiment of all the civil and military officials and the people of the world."

"Therefore, Your Majesty, please forgive me for being unable to obey the imperial edict."

Li Bai's words were powerful and resounding, his confidence stemming from the people he represented.

Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Li Longji, was so angry that his face turned red and his chest heaved violently.

Du Fu, Gao Shi, Cen Shen, Wang Wei, and others also stepped forward, standing behind Li Bai, and said in unison, "We dare not obey the imperial edict."

The Secretariat, the Chancellery, the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Rites, and other relevant departments, along with the dismissed officials, all had high-ranking officials step forward and stand behind Du Fu and the others, all saying in unison, "Your Majesty, we dare not obey the imperial edict!"

Even those who were loyal to Yang Guozhong dared not speak, keeping their heads down and remaining silent, waiting for the final verdict.

Those officials from prominent families stood with their hands at their sides, not uttering a word.

They just stood there watching the show, watching Li Bai and the emperor fight like dogs, getting all worked up.

However, there were some upright people who still held a sense of justice and had promised Li Bai that they had stood up together with those officials.

Li Longji's hands, which were supporting him on the dragon throne, trembled slightly. His gaze swept over the officials in front of him who refused to obey the imperial edict. He had never imagined that no one in the court would follow his decrees.

"Help! Help!"

Li Longji roared towards the outside of the palace, and immediately the Imperial Guards who were guarding outside came in.

"Arrest these traitors! Seize them all and throw them into the imperial prison!"