"A mirror that can glimpse Heaven's might…"
Du Ruhui murmured to himself, eyes filled with unconcealed longing.
Who would not envy the later generations, soaring into the heavens and plunging into the seas?
But meals still had to be eaten one bite at a time. This was something all of them understood, including His Majesty.
If one wished to probe the mysteries of the cosmos and the stars, the first requirement was simple.
You had to be able to see them.
Before, they had lacked the method. Now, relying on schematics from later ages, they could finally glimpse the possibility.
After hearing Fang Xuanling's words, Du Ruhui suddenly remembered something.
"Then this thousand-step lens…"
The name alone made it clear. This telescope could only see a thousand paces for now, nowhere near observing the sun and moon. But Du Ruhui understood its battlefield value immediately.
Fang Xuanling smiled faintly and lowered his voice.
"By His Majesty's command, the Hundred Cavalry Bureau has sent all completed thousand-step lenses to Liangzhou, to deal with Tuyuhun."
[Lightscreen]
[Li Dan's sudden abdication caught everyone off guard.
Even Princess Taiping and Li Longji together could not stop his stubborn resolve.
Before the comet had even fully faded, Li Dan had already elevated himself to Taishang Huang.
That said, Li Dan left himself a safety lock. Citing that "military and state affairs must be jointly reviewed," he only delegated part of his authority to the newly enthroned Li Longji. Appointments and removals of officials above the third rank still required Li Dan's personal approval.
For most people, the first impression of Li Dan was his infamous nickname, mr. Six-Dihuang Pill, followed by envy at his sheer luck.
But think about it carefully.
If Princess Taiping laughed to the end through extraordinary scheming, then this comrade mr. Six-Dihuang Pill, surviving in an even harsher political environment, clearly relied on more than luck.
In fact, during the few times Li Dan intervened after ascending the throne, he always positioned himself as an arbitrator. He restrained his sister on one hand, and clipped his son's wings on the other.
Stepping down to become Taishang Huang felt more like patching up his son's weak foundation at court, trying desperately to maintain a balance between the two factions.
But Li Longji's power was still too weak.
This was evident from the advice given by his confidants during the later Xiantian Coup.
"Secure the Northern Army first, then deal with the rebels."
The Northern Army referred to the Xuanwu Gate Imperial Guards. Multiple Tang coups had proven one thing beyond doubt. Whoever controlled Xuanwu Gate controlled the realm.
Yet Li Longji, the sitting emperor, could not even command the Northern Gate guards. His father's restraint was obvious.
As the saying went, when in doubt, Xuanwu Gate.
After enduring a year of suffocation on the throne, Li Longji regrouped his people and prepared to gamble everything again.
Compared to last time, however, both manpower and external support were painfully modest. One look at the roster made it obvious.
Prince Qi Li Fan and Prince Xue Li Ye, his younger brothers, fourth and fifth sons respectively.
Wang Maozhong, Li Shoude, and Gao Lishi, all former household slaves from before Li Longji became Crown Prince.
Li Lingwen and Wang Shouyi, old friends from when he was still Prince of Linzi.
Including Li Longji himself, that made eight people in total.
With "over three hundred household members" and "borrowed stable horses," this was the entire force for the coup.
Just like the Tanglong Coup, they struck straight for the Northern Gate. They immediately killed Chang Yuan'kai and Li Ci, Princess Taiping's trusted Imperial Guard commanders.
Xuanwu Gate was secured.
Only then did they gather troops and methodically purge the Three Departments and Six Ministries. Chancellors promoted by Princess Taiping, such as Xiao Zhizhong and Cen Xi, were either captured or executed.
Once military power was seized and her confidants killed, Princess Taiping's fate was sealed.
Li Longji issued an edict granting her death at home.
From one angle, Li Longji's decapitation campaign was frighteningly efficient.
From another, the fact that the Son of Heaven had been forced to risk everything with household troops showed just how desperate his situation had been.
And the most amusing part was this.
An emperor personally leading the purge of traitors, yet later generations still called it a coup.
Very interesting.
Even more intriguing was Li Dan's attitude during the coup.
Li Longji's ability to act swiftly and decisively relied most on securing the support of Guo Yuanzhen, the Minister of War who had originally been loyal to Li Dan.
When Li Dan heard that blades had been drawn in the palace, his first reaction was not to support his son.
He climbed the Chengtian Gate and ordered the Southern Palace guards to obey the Taishang Huang's command.
Only after Guo Yuanzhen arrived with troops and explained that the emperor was acting under the Taishang Huang's orders to eliminate traitors did Li Dan finally calm down.
At that moment, Li Dan probably saw a shadow of Yuchi Gong in Guo Yuanzhen.
Fortunately, this time Li Longji neither needed nor wanted to save face.
He did not pull a Li Erfeng classic like "Shimin knelt and suckled at his father's breast."]
Yuchi Jingde's eyes went wide as he jumped to his feet, then immediately froze, scratching his head, unsure what to say.
Li Shimin slapped the table in irritation.
"Why are you standing up, Jingde? You are blocking my view."
Yuchi Jingde obediently sat back down, his face a mix of three parts defiance and seven parts smug satisfaction.
Qin Qiong understood immediately.
Later generations might criticize Yuchi Jingde's actions at Xuanwu Gate, but to Yuchi Jingde himself, it was proof of absolute loyalty to His Majesty.
After scolding Yuchi Jingde, Li Shimin pondered for a moment.
The phrase about suckling was confusing at first, but comparing Li Longji and Li Dan, then mapping it onto himself, it was clearly a record involving the Taishang Huang.
Li Shimin waved it off calmly.
"For me and the Taishang Huang to weep while nursing only shows fatherly affection. If it is passed down to later ages, it is still a fine story."
He looked relaxed and unbothered, though the twitching at his cheeks made that composure slightly unconvincing.
Fang Xuanling was equally composed.
Everyone in the Ganlu Hall could hear the suppressed laughter in the later generation's tone, but since His Majesty had already declared the verdict, reality naturally had to match it.
In truth, the shock only lasted a moment. After thinking it through, it was clear that this phrasing had circulated since the Northern and Southern Dynasties. Somehow, later histories had simply twisted it into this form.
As a firsthand witness to the Xuanwu Gate Incident, Fang Xuanling could not imagine any other reaction.
When the Crown Prince and Prince of Hailing were already dead, what was there to say upon seeing the Taishang Huang?
Embracing and weeping was the only option.
Even with Fang Xuanling's intellect, he could not think of a single word that would have worked better. Crying was the most reasonable response.
Thus, scattered voices of agreement rose within the Ganlu Hall.
Li Shimin clearly did not want to dwell on it. Almost as if fleeing, he changed the topic.
"This Xiantian Coup of Li Longji's. It was named as punishing Princess Taiping, but in truth, it was also an uprising against the Taishang Huang."
"Only by killing the rebels and reclaiming sovereign authority can orders come from a single source."
When commands and appointments come from multiple mouths, chaos is inevitable. This was a lesson written into the bones of history.
After savoring it further, Li Shimin found the incident increasingly amusing.
"The Son of Heaven rises to punish traitors, yet later generations still call it a coup. Do they see it as the emperor rebelling against himself?"
…
Lu Su leaned toward Pang Tong and chuckled softly.
"I understand now. This must be what later generations joke about as a most filial father and son."