"This Empress really had it rough, having a son like that," Liu Bei sighed, full of complicated emotions.
Thinking back to that situation, the Grand Empress Dowager was still ruling from behind the curtain, yet the son already dared to shout that he would hand the entire realm to his father-in-law.
Strictly speaking, it was completely improper.
But Liu Bei felt he could… kind of understand it.
After the sighing came relief. Deep, genuine relief.
Zhang Fei saw it instantly.
"Heh. Another emperor not as good as Ah Dou."
The words were a little harsh, but unfortunately, not wrong.
Lu Su was full of questions, but he knew better than to ask them now. Tonight, he would seek out Kongming and pry everything loose properly.
From Pang Tong's brief explanation and what he had seen with his own eyes on the light screen, Lu Su vaguely sensed that the future was far more tangled than he had imagined, and the direction of China even more unpredictable.
Judging only from what he saw now, he offered a fair assessment.
"For an emperor to stir such resentment across the realm, righteous armies will inevitably rise with blades drawn, following the will of the people."
He paused.
"But…"
Lu Su frowned. The Tang dynasty's control over the Imperial Guards felt far too loose.
"From the Shenlong Coup to Li Longji's rise, it was only five years. Every success and failure hinged on the Imperial Guards."
"If they are not restrained, disaster will surely follow."
This, in Lu Su's eyes, was Tang Zhongzong's greatest failing.
The Imperial Guards protected the palace. They guarded the lifeline of the state itself.
If rewards and punishments were unclear and resentment grew, then the moment they turned their blades, the dynasty would end and power would change hands.
Lu Su smelled danger in it, and it made him uneasy.
Pang Tong and Zhuge Liang exchanged a glance. This kind of insight was exactly what they expected from Lu Zijing.
They were also secretly grateful to Shiwan-ge and Gan Ning. If not for the former losing his ambition through cleverness, Lu Su would not have been sidelined. If not for the latter acting decisively, Lu Su would not be standing here now.
Their attitude toward Lu Su became noticeably warmer, and they simply followed his lead, chatting about the regional military disasters they had vaguely glimpsed on the light screen.
Jian Yong listened intently for a while. When he snapped back to reality, he saw their lord chasing the Third General around the table in circles again.
Ma Chao, watching with great interest, kindly explained.
"General Yide just said that only he, our lord, and General Yunchang truly count as brothers who respect and love each other."
Jian Yong did not know whether to laugh or cry.
"Ah… later generations really did those beautiful words dirty."
[Lightscreen]
[After the Shenlong Coup forced Wu Zetian from power, Li Xian's indulgence quickly inspired other women to try copying the path of the Great Sage Emperor Zetian.
Empress Wei and Princess Anle, riding Li Xian's influence, charged forward at full speed and reached the stage of ruling from behind the curtain.
Princess Taiping, however, played dirty. She joined forces with Li Longji and launched a direct strike, physically eliminating Empress Wei's faction.
In truth, although the Tanglong Coup barely kept the Li-Tang dynasty breathing, anyone with eyes could see that Princess Taiping had been winning all along.
From the Shenlong Coup to the Jinglong Coup to the Tanglong Coup, Princess Taiping either won small or won big. She never lost.
Li Longji became Crown Prince, but Princess Taiping was the true star of the moment.
Li Xian died suddenly. Empress Wei was executed. Princess Anle and Shangguan Wan'er were dead. The Wu clan was completely eradicated.
Li Dan, who ascended the throne in name, was her biological brother, elevated with her backing. Who could restrain her?
In fact, even the abdication ceremony where the young emperor yielded the throne to Li Dan was directly interfered with by Princess Taiping.
Once the ritual was complete, Princess Taiping strode straight toward the throne, grabbed the young emperor with one hand, and yanked him down, declaring that this was not a seat for children.
"Princess Taiping said, 'This is not a child's seat,' and pulled him down."
Very Napoleon style crowning himself.
After Li Dan ascended the throne, the court became a battlefield between him and Princess Taiping.
This emperor in name always asked two questions after the chancellors finished reporting.
"Have you discussed this with Taiping?"
"Have you discussed this with Third Son?"
Only after both Princess Taiping and Li Longji approved would the emperor officially agree.
But everyone knew that at this time, Li Longji was no match for Princess Taiping.
Li Longji's coup relied on mobilizing middle and lower-ranking officers, waving his father's banner and making promises to unite them.
Princess Taiping, after her success, could enter court without reporting, freely appoint or dismiss commanders of the Imperial Guards and co-chancellors. Her authority surpassed even that of Emperor Li Dan.
Yet Princess Taiping was not blind with arrogance like Empress Wei. During the Tanglong Coup, Li Longji had fully demonstrated his ability. A young man like that was worth suppressing with full force.
From 710 to 712, Princess Taiping stirred conflict between Li Dan and his son while hammering on the fact that Li Longji was not the eldest.
During this period, all the contributors who had supported Li Longji in the Tanglong Coup were gradually demoted and sent out of the capital. Princess Taiping's confidants were steadily installed as chancellors. Li Longji's days became unbearably difficult.
What made it worse was that her people were not useless. Most were genuinely capable. One example was Xiao Zhizhong, whom Li Longji later spoke of with deep regret, calling him "a pillar of the state" and "truly worthy."
After the Shenlong Coup, Princess Taiping had already been granted authority to establish her own office. While Li Xian indulged his wife and daughter in selling offices and chasing wealth, Princess Taiping quietly recruited talent and expanded her power. This was something Li Longji could not compete with.
But what no one expected was that the final twist came from the heavens.
In the eighth month of 712, a comet appeared.
Princess Taiping excitedly sent a diviner to tell Li Dan, "A comet means clearing the old and welcoming the new. The Crown Prince will become the Son of Heaven."
Of course, this was nonsense.
Leaving aside modern astronomy, even Tang records alone mention comets in 641, 663, 668, 675, 681, 683, and more. They were common enough that changing the era name was about the most respect Emperor Gaozong ever gave them.
Princess Taiping was trying to inflame tension between father and son. What she did not expect was Li Dan clapping his hands in delight.
"Passing on virtue to avoid disaster. My will is decided."
Third Son, your father has decided. You will be emperor.]
"Princess Taiping truly resembles her mother. Exceptionally skilled at power games," Li Shimin said.
Though the screen showed Li Longji being suppressed to the point of suffocation, Li Shimin actually felt relieved.
At least he did not have to watch Li Xian's eye-burning nonsense anymore.
Hearing future generations recount his descendants' messes in such detail made him deeply uncomfortable.
Still, while the struggle here was fierce, at least none of them were outright bungling the state. Being able to promote capable people into the center already counted as a win.
Li Shimin did not even notice that his standards for descendants had been quietly dropping again and again.
At this point, even Zhinu's performance seemed acceptable. After all, had he not continued his legacy, smashing Suiye in the west and pacifying Goguryeo in the east?
Li Shimin actually agreed with the later saying that most emperors spent their reigns setting new lows. Looking at Wei, Jin, and the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the difference between rulers could be like fireflies versus the moon.
But seeing his descendants' actions laid out so clearly now, genuine worry finally set in.
Xuanzong could still be excused, but Li Xian was not even three generations removed, yet already so muddled. Was raising an heir really this hard? How did later ages solve this problem?
Empress Zhangsun quietly sighed.
"This Princess Taiping is also a foolish child."
Li Shimin froze, then remembered that during the Tanglong Coup, the child she sent to assist bore the surname Xue, not Wu, unlike the later remarriage ordered by her mother.
The implications were many, but in the end, Li Shimin could only sigh.
"If she could have followed Li Chengqi's path, she might have lived freely her whole life. Born a woman, with the disaster of Wu Zhou before her, why seek strife?"
Princess Taiping seemed dominant, but recalling Wu Zetian's disadvantages made the outcome obvious. Princess Taiping was doomed to fail.
Even if she became another Wu Zetian, the Xue clan would simply repeat the Wu clan's path and face the same impossible question.
What would the emperor's surname be?
Fang Xuanling carefully wrote down the comet appearances listed by later generations, marked them according to the Zhenguan era, then sighed in disappointment.
"If only this comet had come seven or eight years earlier."
Du Ruhui thought for a moment and understood.
"The telescope has made progress?"
The Directorate of Works had been steadily producing glass, first ensuring clarity, then having artisans polish various shapes and test them one by one.
Fang Xuanling lowered his voice.
"Last month, the Directorate produced a thousand-step lens."
"The craftsmen say that this year, a mirror capable of peering at the sun, moon, and stars may be completed."