Zhao Kuangyin watched as the stone table was carried indoors, the strange phenomenon still clearly visible upon it, and finally let out a breath of relief.
Outside, the weather was bitterly cold. Though his body was strong and he was not especially afraid of winter, it was still far more comfortable to sit indoors, warming himself by the brazier while observing the spectacle.
Compared to Zhao Kuangyin's leisurely mood, Zhao Pu at his side was genuinely astonished.
That said, this chief minister had already weathered the rises and falls of officialdom. His temperament was far steadier than in his youth. After the initial shock, he could not help repeatedly reaching out with his hand, testing and touching the phenomenon with great interest.
Zhao Kuangyin glanced at Zhao Pu once more, his expression gentle and amiable, and said,
"This immortal mechanism concerns matters of great importance. Guangyi, you may as well record it all in writing."
Zhao Guangyi looked toward the low table placed beside the stone table. Writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone were already prepared in full.
He then cast a resentful glance at Zhao Pu, who was still absorbed by the stone table, and could only respond with an unwilling "Yes" before lowering his head to begin copying.
Outside the room, the wind and snow grew ever fiercer. Zhao Pu, head lowered as well, had eyes filled with an unreadable expression.
…
On the light screen, Li Shimin's question made Liu Bei's expression stiffen for a moment. Soon after, a trace of grievance crept in.
"From the fourteenth year of Jian'an until now, the eighteenth year of Jian'an, it has only been four years," Liu Bei said. "Does this Tang emperor think we are all immortals?"
The slip of paper already written in his hand was folded back up and placed once more on the table.
The fourteenth year of Jian'an had been the first time the light screen appeared. At that time, he had been in Gong'an. Though he claimed to control the four southern commanderies of Jing Province, he knew his own situation well. Aside from the title, there had been no surplus of troops, grain, or wealth to speak of.
And yet, four years later, he was now able to reside in Chang'an and report good news.
Liu Bei thought about it and then shook his head inwardly.
Forget it. It must be that this Tang emperor's standards were simply too high.
No, that was not quite right either.
Perhaps it was that this Tang emperor assumed everyone was like himself.
No, still not right.
Rather, it seemed this Tang emperor believed that Kongming should naturally possess such capabilities.
Liu Bei fell into a strange spiral of inner conflict.
Beside him, Kongming was not bothered at all. He only felt some confusion upon seeing the later descendant on the light screen vaguely refer to "that stuff".
Why speak so unclearly?
At the same time, Kongming faintly realized that the once-flourishing Han Chang'an might have had a side he had never truly understood before.
To those present in the hall, the prosperous old Chang'an was actually quite unfamiliar. Before the chaos of the age, none of them had been successful. Who would have deliberately come to Chang'an in those days?
Even Fa Zheng, who had lived the closest, had already seen his family decline long before then.
…
In Ganlu Hall, Li Shimin had lost the excitement he previously felt.
The four words "Wu Zhou replaces Tang" struck him like a heavy blow. The phrase "dirty Tang, stinky Han" left him completely dumbfounded.
Wu Zetian replacing Tang with Zhou was easy enough to interpret. There was little room for ambiguity.
Even though Li Shimin felt that his ability to endure had improved greatly, he still felt so stifled that he nearly spat blood.
His own talented lady. His son's empress. The ruler who replaced Tang.
The tangled relationships within made it impossible for Li Shimin to even know where to begin cursing. In the end, he could only stare blankly at the four words "dirty Tang, stinky Han".
Then, thinking back to the extraordinary behaviors of Tang princesses he had seen earlier, Li Shimin found himself, disturbingly, agreeing with the phrase just a little.
And yet, he often heard later generations lament how dynasties after Tang oppressed women.
Could it be that Tang itself had become the standard for comparison?
With his mood fully dampened, Li Shimin returned to his couch and stared at the light screen in silence. He had a faint sense that something like this had happened before.
He did not want to hear this topic.
What he wanted to know was how Wu Zhou replaced Tang, and how Tang was eventually restored.
But later generations would not proceed according to his wishes. They continued speaking at their own pace.
[Light Screen]
["Now, we all know that ancient eras of chaos usually ran on multiple tracks at once.
Natural disasters and human calamities occurred simultaneously. The Three Kingdoms period was a major age of turmoil, and naturally could not escape this rule.
In the year 217, Boss Cao, having just secured the title of King of Wei, launched a southern campaign against Sun Quan. He received a surrender letter from a hundred thousand men, returned triumphantly to present his achievements to the Han emperor, and successfully unlocked golden equipment like the Twelve-Stringed Crown, the Six-Horse Golden Chariot, and the Five-Time Auxiliary Car.
In both form and reality, he had basically completed the usurpation.
Then, on the return journey, a small incident occurred.
Wang Can, one of the Seven Masters of Jian'an, died of illness.
At Wang Can's funeral, Cao Pi said that Wang Can had loved donkey braying in life, so they might as well each bray once to see him off. He then took the lead in braying like a donkey.
This incident became one of the most famous examples of Cao Pi's personality. We have already briefly discussed this Emperor Wen of Wei before. If we were to summarize his life using Li Bai's most famous line, it would be:
'When life is triumphant, indulge to the fullest. Do not let your golden goblet face the moon empty.'
Cao Pi's hedonistic mindset greatly shaped the extravagant and decadent habits of the aristocracy, which extended into the Jin dynasty and ultimately pushed the great clans toward ruin.
But when placed in the context of his era, Cao Pi's reckless behavior becomes much easier to understand.
In the same year Cao Pi brayed like a donkey, the following also died alongside Wang Can: Chen Lin, Xu Gan, Ying Yang, and Liu Zhen. These four, together with Wang Can, were all members of the Seven Masters of Jian'an.
As for the remaining two, Kong Rong had been executed by Cao Cao before the Battle of Red Cliffs, and Ruan Yu had died young.
Thus, in 217, the Seven Masters of Jian'an were completely wiped out.
The cause of their simultaneous deaths was plague.
And in fact, this was not the first outbreak.
According to historical records, from Emperor Ling's accession to the Cao family's usurpation of Han, major epidemics broke out in the years 171, 173, 179, 182, 185, and 217. History records them simply as 'great plagues'.
Among them, the epidemic of 217, which annihilated the Seven Masters of Jian'an, was the most severe.
Many years later, Cao Zhi still shuddered at the memory of that year and wrote 'On Epidemic Qi' to record what he witnessed.
'Every household bears the pain of corpses. Every room echoes with cries of grief. Some families perish behind closed doors. Some clans are wiped out entirely.'
Looking back through history, plagues often reshape events from every angle. The year 217 was no exception.
This epidemic began at the Ruxukou battlefield. When Sun Quan submitted his surrender, Cao's returning army became the perfect carriers.
As a result, the affected area stretched from south to north and erupted on a massive scale in Ye City, wiping out all Seven Masters of Jian'an.
Sima Yi's elder brother, Sima Lang, also died after contracting the disease while delivering medicine to soldiers.
On Sun Quan's side, both Lu Su, aged forty-five, and Ling Tong, aged twenty-eight, died suddenly that same year. It is hard not to suspect that their deaths were also related to the plague.
After Lu Su's death, Lü Meng, who advocated striking allies from behind, rose to prominence and two years later orchestrated the White-Clad Crossing of the River, allowing Cao Cao to reap the benefits without lifting a finger.
Yet in chaotic times, warfare and plague always marched together.
After Lü Meng ambushed and killed Guan Yu, a plague broke out in Jing Province, which Jiangdong had just taken control of. Lü Meng, Jiang Qin, and Sun Jiao, all in their prime, died suddenly. There is a high probability that they, too, fell victim to the epidemic.
No wonder the Ming dynasty later created the tale of Lü Meng being claimed by Guan Yu's vengeful spirit. If you only look at the plague, there really is a faint sense of cause and effect."]