Li Shimin faked his death? Then I will be powerful enough to conquer the world!

In the first year of Yonglong's reign, the morning light penetrated the mist in Chang'an City, like a golden shuttle, weaving the sky into a magnificent brocade.

The towering palace walls stretch out in the light and shadow, and the glazed tiles reflect the shimmering golden light, which contrasts beautifully with the hustle and bustle of Zhuque Street.

This apparent peace could not conceal the undercurrents - crows flew past between the eaves and brackets of the Taiji Hall, and their hoarse cries echoed deep in the palace, adding a solemn and murderous atmosphere to this ancient palace.

The Tang Dynasty at this moment was like the sea before a storm. It seemed calm, but in fact, there were undercurrents. Various forces were engaged in a silent game in the court.

Li Zhi sat upright on the dragon throne, looking at the ministers in court robes rising and falling one after another below the stairs, his eyes deep and complex.

Since the day he ascended the throne, he has been caught in the vortex of power and has been struggling to move forward in the intricate network of forces.

The Qingliu Group controlled the government, the military generals were watching covetously, and the Jiangnan clans were secretly fighting for supremacy. These behemoths were entrenched in the court, and every breath they took affected the foundation of imperial power.

In order to break the deadlock, Li Zhi had to take a series of measures that favored the aristocratic families.

He supported children from poor families to enter the central government and opened the door to imperial examinations for new aristocratic families.

He condoned the marriages between merchants and the gentry, using economic interests to divide the old groups.

He even went so far as to violate the ancestral system and delegate part of the military power to local tyrants.

Under his meticulous planning, the newly emerging aristocratic families emerged like bamboo shoots after a spring rain, becoming an important force to check and balance the upright. A delicate balance was finally achieved in the court, and peace gradually returned to the world.

This hard-earned peace did not make Li Zhi feel at ease at all.

In the bronze mirror, he looked at his increasingly haggard face. The white hair on his temples and the dark circles under his eyes were shocking.

For many years, the rheumatism was like a bone-chilling carbuncle, often flaring up late at night. The pain was so severe that his quilt was soaked with cold sweat, and he didn't even have the strength to review memorials.

He knew his life was like the setting sun, gradually losing its brilliance in the twilight. It was time to make long-term plans for the future of the Tang Dynasty.

At the morning court session in the first year of Yonglong's reign, when the imperial edict "Appointing Li Xian as Crown Prince" was read out, thunderous cheers of "Long Live the Emperor" rang out in the court. However, Li Zhi's heart was full of gloom - the crown prince was only a young man, and the situation in the court was turbulent. Could his young shoulders really carry the heavy burden of the country?

It was also in this year that Li Zhi made a decision that shocked the court and the public: to restore the prime minister system and appoint Zhang Jianzhi as prime minister.

When the news spread, the floor tiles of the Taiji Hall seemed to vibrate amid the discussions.

The old ministers whispered to each other, some shook their heads and sighed, "If the power of the prime minister is restored, the power of the emperor will be weakened", while others speculated on the emperor's intentions, believing that this was another clever move by the emperor to balance the forces of all parties.

Only Zhang Jianzhi, when he received the appointment, looked at the golden imperial edict in his hand, and the fighting spirit ignited in his turbid eyes - he firmly believed that he would become the backbone of protecting the Li Tang dynasty.

Inside the Liangyi Hall, the scent of sandalwood mixed with a strong medicinal smell filled the air.

Li Zhi leaned against the dragon couch, his pale face blending into the white brocade quilt, his breathing as weak as a gossamer.

The sunlight from outside the window filtered through the carved lattice, casting tiny shadows on him, making his figure look as thin as paper.

When Zhang Jianzhi stepped into the hall, the scene before him made his heart tremble: His Majesty, who was once full of vigor and vitality, is now so weak?

"Your Majesty." Zhang Jianzhi stepped forward quickly and kowtowed heavily.

Li Zhi slowly raised his hand, motioning him to stand up, and forced a smile: "Zhang Aiqing, you are here."

"I called you here to tell you..."

He paused, then pointed to the memorial on the table, which was heavily circled with cinnabar circles. "Don't mention the words in this memorial again."

Zhang Jianzhi's heart instantly turned cold.

He pondered day and night about how to govern the country, and made it a top priority to guard against Empress Wu's interference in government affairs.

At this moment, His Majesty's words were like a basin of cold water, extinguishing all his expectations.

He took a step forward, his aged voice trembling, "Your Majesty! Throughout the dynasties, no woman has ever held such great power!"

"The sun and the moon are in the same sky, and the two saints are in power. Your Majesty can still check and balance the situation while he is still alive, but the Crown Prince is young, and the Empress Dowager is too powerful..."

He suddenly fell to the ground, banging his forehead heavily on the blue bricks. "Forgive me for my disrespect! If Your Majesty...if anything were to happen, who in the world could suppress the Empress?"

"By then, the Li Tang dynasty might be in a state of flux!"

"I, your Majesty, implore you to order the Empress to be buried alive with you to prevent future troubles! This is for the Crown Prince and the people of the world!"

The hall fell into a dead silence. Li Zhi's fingers clenched the quilt tightly, his knuckles turning white.

His eyes were wide open with anger, and a raging fire was rising in his chest.

But when he looked at Zhang Jianzhi's white hair and his forehead that was red, swollen and bleeding from kneeling, his anger receded like a tide.

How could he not know the loyalty of his subjects? And how could he not be aware of the threat posed by Empress Wu? But...

"Prime Minister Zhang," Li Zhi's voice was hoarse.

"I promoted you to be the prime minister. You should understand my painstaking efforts."

Compared with power, I am more worried about the vast territory of the Tang Dynasty.

"Since the two saints came to power, has the Queen Mother ever made any mistakes in handling government affairs?"

"She revised the laws, implemented new policies, reduced taxes for the people, and provided food and fodder for the soldiers on the frontier..."

"Over the years, she has been with me day and night, working tirelessly."

At this point, he coughed violently, blood seeping from between his fingers. "Because she is a woman, you have turned a blind eye to her achievements. But I... I am her husband!"

"From the day I brought her back to the palace, we've walked hand in hand through countless storms. She stayed by my bedside all night when I was terminally ill..."

Tears streamed down his wrinkled cheeks. "I have a heart of my own. How could I bear to let her..."

Zhang Jianzhi looked at the emperor's grief-stricken expression and felt mixed emotions.

He knew that His Majesty's feelings for Empress Wu had long surpassed those of an ordinary couple. It was a bond of sharing hardships and life and death.

But as a subject, he could not watch the country fall into the hands of a woman.

Just as he was about to remonstrate again, he saw Li Zhi wave his hand and close his eyes tiredly: "Retreat... I am tired."

When Zhang Jianzhi's footsteps disappeared at the end of the corridor, Li Zhi struggled to sit up and looked at the exquisite caisson on the ceiling of the hall.

The intricate paintings gradually blurred in his eyes, transforming into pictures of the past.

When Wu Meiniang first entered the palace, she winked at him cunningly.

On the day they met again at Ganye Temple, she was dressed in plain clothes and had black hair, praying devoutly before the Buddha.

In the court, she was dressed in gorgeous clothes and sharply refuted the ministers...

Those images overlapped with reality and finally froze last night - she walked into the bedroom in the moonlight and personally made medicine for him, the white hair at her temples shining slightly in the candlelight.

"Mei Niang..."

He murmured, digging his nails into his palms.

He knew better than anyone that Zhang Jianzhi's concerns were not groundless.

The Queen Mother's swift and decisive actions were like a sword hanging over Li Tang's head.

But if he really eliminated her, who would assist the young Crown Prince? Who could quell the restless bureaucracy? More importantly... how could he be so cruel?

As dusk deepened, the palace lanterns outside the Liangyi Hall lit up one after another.

Li Zhi looked at his hunched shadow on the window frame, feeling powerless.

He had been walking on the tightrope of power all his life. He originally thought that by balancing the forces of all parties, selecting a successor, and restoring the prime minister system, he could pave the way for the Tang Dynasty.

But now I understand that the most difficult thing to balance is the balance between power and emotion.

Every decision may become a storm that changes history.

Every bit of attachment may turn into a storm that overturns the country.

At this moment, the crows outside the Taiji Hall were still circling, and their shrill cries pierced the night sky.