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

"Your Majesty, all the students of the Imperial Academy are kneeling outside the palace gates, begging Your Majesty to severely punish the treacherous minister Yang Guozhong and the adulterous eunuch Gao Lishi."

Just as the situation was at a stalemate, more Imperial Guards rushed in and reported to Li Longji.

Upon hearing this, Li Longji's face turned cold. This must be Li Bai's work, without even a doubt.

But Li Bai was too naive. Did he really think that some students from the Imperial Academy could change his mind?

He would never change his mind because of these imperial students. They were just a bunch of students with no power whatsoever; if I didn't allow it, they wouldn't be able to voice a single word.

When I offer out more official positions, won't these people obediently serve me again?

Before Li Longji could gloat for long, another messenger arrived: "Your Majesty, the Prince of Yue, the Prince of Liang, the Prince of Lu, and the Prince of Zhao, along with some other princes, wish to pay their respects."

What are they here for?

Li Longji was somewhat puzzled, then thought of the Imperial Academy students kneeling there, as reported by the messenger.

Could it be that these people have also been persuaded by Li Bai? But they are members of the royal family, how could they possibly help outsiders to deal with him, the clan leader?

At this point, Li Longji had clearly forgotten that when he allowed Yang Guozhong and Gao Lishi's forces to act recklessly, he was not only harming other forces, but also damaging the interests of a large number of his own clansmen.

After the King of Yue, the King of Liang, the King of Lu, and the King of Zhao knelt in the court with a group of descendants of the Li family of Longxi, they began to cry and vehemently denounce the evil deeds committed by the clans of Yang Guozhong and Gao Lishi, recounting how they, as members of the royal family, had been bullied by those surnamed Yang and Gao.

Even Li Longji hadn't expected that even the royal family would be forced to this extent.

What angered him even more was that behind the King of Liang, the King of Yue, and others were several of his sons, who also stood up and spoke of the persecution they had suffered. He never expected that even his sons would be harmed.

After so many things happened, Li Longji finally realized that what he had done might be inappropriate.

However, now he is in a difficult position. As an emperor, if he admits his mistake, his imperial dignity will be completely destroyed.

Being forced to admit mistakes by numerous ministers is something that, once it happens, will happen again and again.

Once the emperor's sacredness is completely shattered, his compromises will only happen once and countless times.

At the same time, he was also a little annoyed. If you have so much resentment, why don't you just tell me directly?

You can see me anytime, whether it's submitting a memorial or anything else, right? Why do you have to embarrass me in court and collude with that traitor Li Bai?

At this moment, Li Longji had obviously forgotten how much he had previously favored Yang Guozhong and Gao Lishi. How could those memorials impeaching them possibly have reached his hands?

Even though some people have the right to have an audience with him directly.

However, all of these people met tragic ends, and their families were also retaliated against by Yang Guozhong and Gao Lishi.

So many people have broken the law, showing them the consequences of reporting Yang Guozhong and Gao Lishi. How could they dare to follow in their footsteps?

It can only be said that Li Longji himself bears the vast majority of the responsibility for today's situation.

Throughout the entire court, neither royal relatives nor noble families, nor even those from humble backgrounds, stood on his side.

The eunuch faction and the imperial relatives' faction trembled in fear and dared not speak.

A bunch of good-for-nothings who can't be helped, he's practically at odds with the entire court now.

Even his personal guards are no longer on his side.

If he were younger, he probably would have had the confidence to wield his sword again and start all over again.

He no longer possesses that kind of courage.

Without such courage, he would have no choice but to compromise.

There's still a way to back down now. It's not because of Li Bai's coercion, but because of the memorials submitted by these members of the royal family, and even by many princes.

He finally discovered the true colors of Gao Lishi and Yang Guozhong. He had been deceived by them all along, which led him to make many mistakes. Now that he had come to his senses, it was not too late.

"I never imagined that I would be deceived by Yang Guozhong and Gao Lishi, allowing them to commit such a heinous crime."

"It is I who have failed you and the people of the world. Issue my decree to arrest Yang Guozhong and Gao Lishi. They shall be jointly tried by the Minister of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review. All those involved shall be arrested and severely punished, regardless of rank."

"Furthermore, the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review are ordered to thoroughly investigate corruption and bribery cases throughout the country and to severely punish offenders."

"In addition, counties and prefectures that suffered heavy losses due to Yang Guozhong and Gao Lishi should have their taxes reduced or exempted as appropriate to appease the people."

Soon, Li Longji realized that after he finished speaking, no one stood up to respond.

The Minister of Justice, Li Shizhi, and the Chief Justice of the Court of Judicial Review, Zhang Jun, both looked at Li Bai.

This nearly infuriated Li Longji. He was the emperor, and his orders required Li Bai to nod first.

Isn't this a form of face-to-face NTR?

"What are you looking at me for? Accept the imperial decree."

Li Bai said helplessly that he only hoped to eliminate the treacherous officials in the court so that Li Longji could find his original intention and restore his wise and powerful appearance.

Instead of being ambitious and wanting to seize power and sideline the emperor.

Li Bai sighed inwardly. He was indeed a rare genius. He was well-read and could speak eloquently. The number of poems he left behind that have been passed down through the ages is countless.

But he had never been an emperor, and no one had taught him how to be one, so he didn't understand what it meant to be an emperor.

Although Li Longji was forced to abandon Yang Guozhong and Gao Lishi and publicly admitted his mistake, Li Bai could still sense the raging anger surging within him.

It seems that this approach could not help Li Longji rediscover his original intentions, and his plan ultimately failed.

Li Longji had already compromised, and there was no need for the court meeting to remain deadlocked any longer, so they slowly dispersed and went home.

Li Longji's declining figure resembled that of an old man nearing the end of his life.

Is it pitiful? A once-great emperor has fallen so low that not a single official in the court is on his side.

He's not pitiful; he brought it all on himself.

After the court session, Li Bai did not return to his residence or his office at the Ministry of Personnel. Instead, he went to the Prince of Yan's residence to find his senior fellow apprentice.

"Senior brother, is there really no way to help His Majesty rediscover his original intentions?"

"How wise and powerful His Majesty was back then! Even Emperor Taizong of this dynasty and Emperor Xiaowen of the Han dynasty were not as good as him."

"If Your Majesty could rediscover your original aspirations, how wonderful it would be to serve under such a ruler!"

Li Bai sighed.

"It's not that simple to get someone to rediscover their original aspirations. A person's experiences shape their character."

"His Majesty's changed personality is like spilled water, impossible to recover. The same goes for personality; once it changes, it can never be the same again."

Wei Mai smiled, looking at Li Bai's innocent appearance, and felt a little dazed.

Unexpectedly, after so many years of ups and downs in officialdom, Li Bai was able to always stick to his original intentions and never forget his original aspirations.