Chapter 27: Empress Wu Deposes the Emperor

"Li Hong? Li Hong died suddenly a few years ago, at the age of twenty-three," Li Qing said, shaking his head with a sigh. "As for Li Xian, he is currently in a very bad situation and is on the verge of death."

"What? My Hong'er! My Xian'er!" Li Zhi let out a wail. He had loved his precocious son Li Hong deeply, and upon hearing that he had died prematurely at twenty-three, he could not bear the shock and fainted on the spot.

"Brother Li, go, slap him twice!" Li Qing immediately shouted. Li Zhi had just provided him with several thousand emotional points from that outburst; such a fat—no, such a generous benefactor—could not be allowed to die.

Li Shimin immediately stepped forward and delivered two slaps, one to each side of Li Zhi’s face. Stung by the pain, Li Zhi slowly regained consciousness, weeping as he cried, "Hong'er... How could my Hong'er pass away in the prime of his youth at only twenty-three?"

While he wept, he continued to contribute emotional points to Li Qing.

"Hold it in!" Li Shimin scolded Li Zhi, then turned to ask, "Brother, why did Empress Wu depose Li Xian?"

"Li Xian was a bit too much like an ordinary man. It’s not that I’m being harsh, but no sooner had he ascended the throne than he thought of promoting his father-in-law, elevating him directly from an eighth-rank official in Puzhou to the Governor of Yuzhou, and then wanting to promote him to the position of Chancellor," Li Qing said, leafing through the records of Li Xian’s glorious deeds. "Moreover, after Pei Yan strongly opposed it, he recklessly blurted out, 'Even if I were to give the entire world to Wei Xuanzhen, it would not matter. Why should I begrudge him the position of Chancellor?' This outrageous remark reached the Empress, which led to the deposition today."

In truth, promoting one's in-laws was not entirely unreasonable, but Li Xian had acted far too hastily. After ascending the throne, he was officially in mourning for the late Emperor, meaning state affairs were temporarily handled by his mother, the Empress Dowager. However, when the mourning period ended, she showed no intention of returning power to him, so he sought to challenge her by bolstering his own family's influence.

The result was obvious: his act of nepotism and that outburst of near-impotent rage became the perfect excuse for Wu Zetian to depose him.

History, however, proved that the Wei clan was even worse than the Wu family. At least the Wu family had produced a Wu Zetian—regardless of her political ethics, she was a master of power. Wu Sansi was, at best, a minor nuisance. The Wei family was different; they were a collective gallery of mediocrity and incompetence.

Li Qing took a pill from his system and shoved it into Li Zhi’s mouth; it was better to treat his high blood pressure first, lest he die of anger and waste a Resurrection Pill later.

"So, in that case, Meiniang is truly the pillar of my Great Tang..." Li Zhi couldn't help but exclaim. Even now, he remained deeply trusting of Wu Meiniang.

"This Empress Wu is able to mobilize the Imperial Guards and has the support of the court officials. I fear this deposition is not as simple as it seems."

Having staged a coup himself, Li Shimin possessed a keen sense for such things. He fell silent for a moment before saying to Li Qing, "I fear this is a long-planned coup d'état!"

"Yes, in essence, it is a bloodless coup." Li Qing gave Li Shimin a thumbs-up. "Brother Li’s intuition is spot on. Through this coup, Wu Meiniang begins to rule from behind the curtain, installing her fourth son, Li Dan, as a puppet emperor while she seizes absolute power for herself."

"Just like Lü Zhi?" Li Shimin’s blood pressure began to rise again.

"It’s more than that, Brother Li. She even declared herself Emperor." Li Qing patted Li Shimin’s shoulder sympathetically. "She even changed the name of the dynasty to the Great Zhou..."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the notification sounds for emotional points began to chime incessantly, as if they were free.

"Look at the fine mess you've made!" Li Shimin, in a fit of rage, grabbed Li Zhi and delivered two more heavy slaps. "Look at the Empress you appointed! My Great Tang fell in the third generation! It is a disgrace! A disgrace!"

He felt utterly humiliated. He had always enjoyed mocking Yang Guang for the fall of the Sui Dynasty, but now, the Great Tang had ended just like the Sui—in the third generation! He had been busy laughing at others, only to find himself the butt of the joke. Li Shimin’s eyes grew wet.

"Don't worry, Brother Li. Among your great-grandsons, there is one named Li Longji who will restore the nation, recreate the glorious Tang, and push the empire to even greater heights," Li Qing comforted him.

To be fair, neither Wu Meiniang nor Li Zhi were particularly competent. They had inherited the legacy of the Zhenguan era—a position so favorable it was like a landslide victory—yet they managed to play it into a disastrous defeat. If not for the unique status of being the only female emperor, Wu Meiniang’s historical evaluation would have been even lower.

In the short span of seven or eight years, the Tang Dynasty suffered through four major coups: the Shenlong, Jinglong, Tanglong, and Xiantian coups. The nation had been torn to shreds. Had any of the four—Li Zhi, Wu Meiniang, Li Xian, or Li Dan—possessed even a modicum of true ability, the Kaiyuan Prosperity would have dawned under them.

They all owed Li Longji a debt of gratitude; if he hadn't stepped up to restore the country, the Tang Dynasty might have vanished entirely, leading to even lower historical assessments of Li Zhi and Wu Meiniang. Furthermore, the An Lushan Rebellion in the later years of Li Longji’s reign caused his own reputation to plummet, which, by comparison, actually made Li Zhi and Wu Meiniang look slightly better.

He really was a saint; it brought me to tears. Where else could you find such a filial grandson who sacrificed his own reputation to redeem the legacy of his grandfather and grandmother?

Thus, it could be said that it was all thanks to Li Longji, and yet it was all ruined by Li Longji. He had built the prosperous Tang with his own hands, and if he eventually squandered the family fortune, it was not entirely unacceptable—it was still better than those who sold off their ancestors' land for nothing.

One could only say that Li Longji was a good emperor; his only flaw was living too long. Had he died at the end of the Kaiyuan era, the temple name "Shizong" would have been rightfully his. And one should not underestimate that title; in an era before temple names were handed out carelessly, the only "Shizong" before the Tang was the Han Shizong, Emperor Wu, Liu Che.

Li Shimin had no intention of listening to any more of Li Qing’s rambling. With eyes brimming with fury, he watched as the soldiers below rushed forward to seize Li Xian.

He wanted to do something, but he was powerless. He was no fool; seeing the situation, he knew that Li Zhi must have been sidelined by Wu Meiniang long before his death. Even if Li Zhi were to appear in the hall now, he would be hacked to pieces by the guards.

Imperial power did not reside in the throne itself; he knew this better than anyone. It was best to wait and see what his brother would do next.

Li Zhi was in the same state. Watching the soldiers drag Li Xian from the dragon throne and seeing Wu Meiniang settle into it with effortless grace, he felt as if his soul had been drained, leaving him utterly listless.

In the end, his trust had been misplaced. He had trusted Meiniang so deeply, only for her to become a female emperor...

Hong'er was dead, Li Xian was a failure, Li Dan was a puppet... Wait, something was wrong. Someone was missing. What about Li Xian?

"What about Xian'er? Isn't Li Xian still alive?" he suddenly realized.

"Oh no! Li Xian is in danger! We must go, quickly!" Li Qing suddenly remembered that since the Empress intended to install a puppet, she would certainly eliminate Li Xian, who still held popular support.

A virtuous Li Xian was exactly what Li Qing needed; he could be sent to a "Dim-witted Ruler" dimension to serve as an emperor, and he would also provide a steady stream of emotional points.

It was clearly a win-win. What? Me winning twice doesn't count as win-win?

Thinking this, he didn't stop to explain, but instead grabbed the two men and instantly teleported to the villa in Bazhou where Li Xian was imprisoned.

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(End of chapter)