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

The eunuch faction and Yang Guozhong's faction were dealt with in one fell swoop, leaving a large number of vacancies in the court. During this period, Li Bai and others were extremely busy.

They wish they could split a person in two.

Li Bai would return home in the early hours of the morning, feeling completely dizzy.

At this time, Li Bai finally received the news that Gao Lishi had died after drinking poison.

Li Bai remained silent for a moment, sighed, and then ignored it.

This situation lasted for a month, during which many talented officials were promoted, which finally stabilized the entire court.

However, by this time Li Bai had become the leader of the court, serving as the Left Chancellor. He had to personally review almost all important matters, and he was still extremely busy, facing countless official documents as soon as he opened his eyes every day.

Even with his eyes closed, Li Bai was still faced with countless unread official documents, so many that they gave him an urge to retreat to the deep mountains.

"Report!"

Li Bai finally finished reviewing the official documents in front of him and was waiting for his subordinates to send over new documents, which allowed him to catch his breath during this time.

Before he could even stretch his back and loosen his muscles, he heard someone run in from outside.

"I inform the Prime Minister that An Lushan, the military governor of Pinglu, and Shi Siming, the military governor of Fanyang, are leading a large army straight to Luoyang."

"They said they came to Luoyang on His Majesty's orders to allow His Majesty to review the troops."

"They also have an imperial edict personally signed by His Majesty, but it is not the Imperial Seal of the State that is stamped on it, but His Majesty's private seal."

"At their current speed, they are less than ten days away from Luoyang!"

The messenger immediately reported that An Lushan and Shi Siming had brought only cavalry, abandoning their baggage train and galloping all the way. Their speed was slower than the messenger's, but not by much.

"What did you say?!"

Li Bai's mind went blank with shock. An Lushan and Shi Siming were leading troops into the capital?!

And it was all done on His Majesty's orders?!

Your Majesty is confused!

How could you summon generals from other regions to the palace?!

Isn't Your Majesty afraid they might harbor some inappropriate thoughts?!

Li Bai quickly summoned several minor officials and ordered them to bring over the heads of the other three provinces and the ministers of the six ministries.

He personally took charge of the Ministry of Personnel, handed over the Ministry of State Affairs to Du Fu, the Ministry of War to Gao Shi, the Ministry of Rites to Wang Wei, and the Ministry of Personnel to Cen Shen, thus controlling nearly half of the central government.

Upon hearing Li Bai's urgent summons, the group rushed to the Ministry of Personnel and found Li Bai.

When Li Bai told them what had happened, their expressions changed drastically.

Historical records provide numerous examples of what might happen when foreign officials lead troops into the capital.

Almost no minister could resist, and they would all launch a massive rebellion.

"Let's go immediately to the palace to see His Majesty and ask him to rescind his decree."

"At the same time, the Imperial Guards were ordered to prepare for any unforeseen circumstances."

Once everyone had arrived, Li Bai immediately led a group of people to the palace to pay homage to Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Li Longji.

Li Longji sat on the dragon throne, watching Yang Guifei and many palace maids dance. In front of him were fruits and wines from all over the country, and he looked dejected.

"Isn't this Li Bai, the Left Chancellor of the Imperial Court? What brings you to my palace?"

Li Longji said sarcastically, "We've already torn off all pretense of civility, there's no need to maintain a facade of peace with Li Bai anymore."

"His Majesty!"

Li Bai led his many loyal ministers in bowing, then hurriedly asked, "Your Majesty, were An Lushan, the military governor of Pinglu, and Shi Siming, the military governor of Fanyang, summoned to the capital by you?"

Li Longji suddenly realized why Li Bai had rushed to find him with these loyal ministers; it turned out that news of An Lushan and Shi Siming's southward advance had reached the capital.

The mobilization of a large army is not a simple matter, and Li Longji did not expect to be able to keep it a secret from Li Bai forever.

"I merely wish to inspect the border troops; am I not even granted such a right?"

"Prime Minister Li, how about I offer you my throne, and you sit there?"

Li Longji retorted.

"Your Majesty, I am terrified!"

Li Bai quickly replied.

"But foreign officials bringing troops into the capital has always been a path to chaos."

"Since His Majesty appointed the military governors, the generals in various regions only know the military governors and not the imperial court."

"Once the border troops enter the capital, if the military governor harbors any reckless thoughts and has a large army nearby, the consequences will be unimaginable."

"Your Majesty, please reconsider!"

"Delusive thoughts?"

"Can he compare to Prime Minister Li?"

Li Longji scoffed dismissively. An Lushan and Shi Siming were both promoted by him and were loyal to him. How could they betray him?

It is likely that Li Bai sensed the threat posed by An Lushan and Shi Siming, which is why he strongly opposed their entry into the capital, in order to prevent them from threatening his position.

Perhaps Li Bai sensed his thoughts and wanted to stop him from controlling an army that only obeyed his orders.

However, he would never give up so easily. An Lushan and Shi Siming had entered the capital and were determined to succeed; whatever he said, no one could object.

"Your Majesty, An Lushan and Shi Siming have always been arrogant and domineering in Pinglu and Fanyang. I am worried..."

Li Bai wanted to continue trying to dissuade him, but Li Longji stopped him with a gesture.

"If Prime Minister Li is also here to enjoy the song and dance, then I welcome him. If you wish to discuss other matters, then please leave."

Those around Li Bai also tried to dissuade him, but Li Longji turned a deaf ear, his eyes fixed only on the song and dance in front of him.

Li Bai and his companions lingered there for a while, but seeing that Li Longji still ignored them, they had no choice but to leave.

After Li Bai and the others left, Li Longji finally looked away from the song and dance performance.

His eyes no longer held any fascination with the song and dance; instead, they shone with the light of ambition.

In 10 days, he will take back everything he has lost.

Just wait, Li Bai.

Your good days are numbered.

He then looked in the direction of the Prince of Yan's residence, a hint of apprehension flashing in his eyes.

"I hope you won't put me in a difficult position. Otherwise, it wouldn't be impossible for the Wei family to have another branch take over as the head family."

After losing his imperial power, Li Longji was close to madness.

The beast of power within him has been unleashed.

His reason had long been extinguished; he was now fearless. Even the Wei family—he now only felt apprehensive, not terrified.

If the Wei family dares to block his path, Li Longji will definitely not hesitate to take action against them as well.

After leaving the palace, Du Fu and others reunited with Li Bai at his residence.

"Taibai, what should we do?"

"An Lushan and Shi Siming both got to where they are today because of Yang Guozhong; they are also Yang Guozhong's remnants."

"If only we had taken advantage of the time when we were purging Yang Guozhong's remaining followers, we could have eliminated An Lushan and Shi Siming as well."

"At the time, I thought that since they held the official positions of military governors and had military power, it would be difficult to take action against them. So I thought that after the situation in the court stabilized, I would find a pretext to transfer them to the capital."

"It seems better to cut to the chase and send someone directly to deliver an imperial edict ordering them to come to the capital alone to plead guilty."

Du Fu regretted it somewhat; if he had known this would happen, he wouldn't have let them go in the first place.