While Arun's immortal dynasty flourished in India, the mighty Tang dynasty to the east—under Emperor Li Shimin, known as Taizong—faced turmoil of its own. Though Li Shimin had secured vast victories and restored unity to a fractured China, his reign was marked by deep unrest beneath the surface.Within the imperial court, bitter rivalries brewed. Sons usurped fathers, brothers sought each other's thrones, and mistrust ailed the royal family. Li Shimin's path to power was stained by fratricide—he had famously eliminated his brothers to secure the throne—and his heirs danced on a perilous stage of ambition and deceit, threatening the empire's fragile stability.Simultaneously, devastating famines swept across the northern plains during his reign. Locust plagues devastated crops; floods drowned fertile fields; crops failed repeatedly, leaving tens of thousands starving. These natural disasters challenged the Tang's mandate of heaven—the divine right to rule—and stirred unease among officials and citizens alike.Li Shimin responded with striking humility, famously attempting to "swallow locusts" symbolically to take upon himself the people's suffering. He postponed royal ceremonies to not disrupt farming seasons, and extended granary protections and disaster relief, striving to balance duty to his people with the court's internal chaos.This volatile era shaped the world Arun's dynasty would have to diplomatically engage. While India's immortal emperor forged a lasting empire protected by walls and divine magic, Tang China grappled with volatile courts and the unyielding wrath of nature—a potent reminder that even the mightiest empires rested on fragile human foundations
