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

The Lantern Festival of the sixth year of Tianbao had just passed, and the snow in Chang'an City had not yet completely melted, but the atmosphere in the Purple Palace was as heavy as ice.

Li Longji sat on the dragon throne. Although his temples were gray, his eyes revealed an unquestionable majesty - this was the moment when he believed that the "Kaiyuan Prosperity" had reached its peak. The four barbarians came to pay tribute, the treasury was full, and even the Hu merchants said that the prosperity of Chang'an surpassed every city-state in Persia.

But only he himself knows that beneath the halo of this prosperous era, there is a shadow called "Qianwu".

As soon as the morning court bell rang three times, Li Longji dismissed the officials who came to report on matters, leaving only the core ministers of the three provinces and six ministries.

He stood up from the dragon throne and slowly walked down the steps. His gaze swept over the crowd, finally settling on the direction of the Imperial Ancestral Temple. His voice was low but carried a great deal of force: "Since I ascended the throne, I have carried on the legacy of Emperor Qianwu and worked diligently to govern the country, leading to its current prosperity."

"However, during the Qianwu reign, there were many unorthodox actions, which I am afraid are not the orthodox principles of our Tang Dynasty."

"Effective immediately, the Qianwu Emperor's deity will be removed from the Imperial Ancestral Temple, and his life and achievements will be deleted from the national history."

Before he finished speaking, the hall fell into a dead silence. Minister of Revenue Su Yan trembled violently, nearly dropping the ivory tablet in his hand.

He knew how that emperor, despite criticism from both the court and the public, built railways in Jiangnan and established academies in Guanzhong, and how he pointed to the four large characters "天下为公" on a stone tablet and said to all officials, "The people are like water, the king is like a boat. Water can carry the boat, but it can also capsize it. You should keep in mind the world that belongs to the people of the world."

"Your Majesty!" Su Ying stepped out tremblingly, tears streaming down his face. "During Emperor Wu's reign, he developed water conservancy projects and promoted new rice, which doubled the yield per mu in Guanzhong."

"Establishing colleges enabled the children of ordinary people to enter the government; building trains and railways enabled goods to be transported north and south every three months. These achievements benefited both the country and the people!"

"If we erase his achievements, how can we face the people of the world? How can we face future generations?"

Li Longji glanced at him coldly, his tone filled with unquestionable arrogance: "Su Qing is old. Qian Wu's actions are all strange tricks and deceitful tricks to deceive people."

"The roar of trains disturbs the dragon veins, the students gather in the academy and discuss state affairs; the phrase 'the world belongs to the public' further undermines the emperor's authority—our Tang Dynasty is the world of the Son of Heaven, so where does the concept of 'for the public' come from?"

He raised his hand and waved, and the imperial guards came forward and restrained Su Yan who was still trying to argue.

The old minister struggled and roared, "Your Majesty! Have you forgotten Wei Zheng's words during the Zhenguan period, 'Listen to both sides and you will be enlightened, listen to only one side and you will be blinded'? The people are applauding the Qianwu New Deal. How can you, for your own selfish reasons..."

"Drag him away!" Li Longji interrupted harshly, the gold thread on his dragon robe gleaming coldly in the morning light. "Su Yan has disrupted the government and is demoted to the position of Sima of Kuazhou. Leave the capital immediately!"

All the officials were so frightened that their faces turned pale and no one dared to speak.

They finally understood that this seemingly gentle emperor had long harbored resentment towards the "New Deal" of the Qianwu Dynasty.

In the early years of Kaiyuan, he needed the help of the family fortune left by Qianwu to consolidate his regime, but now that the world is at peace, those creations and concepts bearing the mark of "innovation" have become stumbling blocks for him to demonstrate his "orthodoxy".

Three days later, in the square outside the Taimiao, the imperial guards chiseled off the tablet of Emperor Qianwu.

The tablet, carved from a whole piece of Hetian jade, was wrapped in black cloth and thrown into a dry well on the outskirts of the city.

In the edict read by the ritual officials, the Qianwu Dynasty was lightly erased and all the new policies were denounced as "heresy."

The onlookers looked at the sealed dry well and secretly wiped away their tears - they still remembered that when the train was opened, it only took one day to travel from Luoyang to Chang'an, and the price of food was 30% cheaper.

Immediately afterwards, Li Longji's edicts were sent out to all provinces like snowflakes: "All the 'national academies' established by Emperor Qianwu shall be demolished and the books shall be burned."

"Train stations and railroad tracks in all regions must be razed to the ground within three months. All tablets and plaques inscribed with the words '天下为公' (The world belongs to all) must be destroyed. Violators will be charged with treason."

The National Academy in Xianyang was the first target.

This institution of learning, founded by Emperor Qianwu himself, once brought together the world's top craftsmen and scholars. The museum houses "Mechanical Examination" which contains blueprints of trains, "New Compilation of Agricultural Administration" which records the cultivation of new rice, and even astronomical instruments.

Today, the imperial guards hold torches and pile those yellowed books in the yard. The flames lick the pages, making crackling sounds, like countless intellectual souls crying.

The old doctors of the academy knelt on the ground, holding the precious blueprints tightly and refusing to let go: "Your Majesty! These books can teach people to weave faster and grow more crops. If we burn them, how much more suffering will the people suffer!"

But the imperial guards paid no attention and kicked the old man away, and the flames quickly engulfed the entire library.

Thick smoke billowed, covering half of Chang'an City, and even the willow trees by the Qujiang Lake were covered with a layer of ash.

A passing child pointed at the fire and asked, "Sir, what are they burning?"

The teacher hurriedly covered his mouth and whispered, "Don't ask, that's something you can't talk about."

The demolition of the railway station was even more tragic.

The rails outside Chang'an City were made of fine iron, and each one required dozens of craftsmen to hammer for months.

The imperial guards had no suitable tools, so they chopped it with axes, burned it with fire, and pried it out bit by bit with iron rods.

The red-hot rails burst when they were cooled, and the flying iron chips burned the soldiers so much that they screamed in pain. However, the eunuch supervising them held a whip and would beat anyone who stopped.

An old craftsman who had participated in the construction of the railway looked at the broken rails and stamped his feet in pain: "This track can be used for trains. It can transport food and troops at lightning speed!"

"Back then, countless men died of hunger and cold in order to build this ten-mile road. Now they want to tear it down at will. Where is justice?"

His words reached the ears of Yang Guozhong, who was in charge of supervision.

At that time, Yang Guozhong had not yet been appointed as prime minister, but he had already obtained the job of Censor-in-Chief thanks to his relationship with Yang Guifei, and was eager to show his ability.

He sneered and ordered the old craftsman to be dragged to the railroad tracks. In front of everyone, he gave him forty lashes of the cane: "Old wretch! How dare you discuss the holy government? His Majesty has said that these strange and frivolous tricks only make people lazy. Only men farming and women weaving is the right way!"

The old craftsman was beaten to a bloody pulp and passed out. The onlookers were angry but dared not speak out.

They heard from the old people that during the Qianwu period, once the train was opened, silk from the south and fur from the north became much cheaper, and even the Hu pancakes sold on the streets could be made with fresh flour.

But now, the rails have been turned into scrap iron, the horse-drawn carriages pulling goods have become slow again, and the price of grain has quietly risen, but no one dares to say anything.

What is most regrettable is the disappearance of the four words "天下为公".

Those four words were once engraved on a stone tablet on Zhuque Street in Chang'an. They were written by Emperor Qianwu himself. The brushstrokes were vigorous and revealed a spirit of benefiting all living beings.

Many poor students passing by this place would stop and gaze, thinking that "the world does not belong to one person, but to all people."

But now, the stonemasons took their chisels and chiseled on the stone tablet again and again, sparks flew everywhere, and every sound seemed to knock on the hearts of the people.

A young scholar couldn't help but rush forward, spreading his arms to protect the stone tablet: "These four words are advising the emperor to love his people, why destroy them?"

The stonemasons were stunned, but Yang Guozhong approached and said sinisterly, "The emperor owns the world's wealth, and the people belong to him. How can he be 'for the public'? You, a scholar, must have read some perverted books at the National Academy. Come, arrest him!"

As the scholar was dragged away, he was still screaming, "You will regret this! Everyone in the world will remember these four words!"

His voice was quickly drowned out by the noise of the crowd. On Suzaku Street, the bare stone tablet stood in the cold wind like an ugly scar.

Three months after the edict was implemented, all traces of the Qianwu Dynasty were almost wiped out.

The academy became a ruin, the railway tracks turned into scrap iron, "the world belongs to the public" became a taboo, and even the records about trains and new rice in history books were dug out and rewritten.

Li Longji stood on the city wall of the Daming Palace, looking at the "brand new" Chang'an City below him, and stroked his beard with satisfaction.

"Your Majesty, now everyone in the world praises your wisdom and wisdom, and no one dares to mention the past of Qianwu anymore."

Yang Guozhong smiled obsequiously on the side, holding in his hands the "auspicious signs" reported from various places - in fact, they were "the growth of auspicious crops and the falling of sweet dew" fabricated by officials to please the emperor.

Li Longji nodded and looked into the distance: "This is the kind of atmosphere I want."

"The Qianwu Dynasty was fond of using petty tricks, but they did not know that the foundation of a country lies in etiquette and morality, not in tricks."

"Look at today, the people are doing their jobs, and the officials are doing their jobs. This is a truly prosperous era."

But what he didn't see was that beneath the surface of prosperity, public resentment was quietly growing.

Without trains to transport grain, when Guanzhong suffered a spring drought, grain from the south was delayed in arriving, and the price of rice in Chang'an skyrocketed. The people could only fill their stomachs with bran.

Without the new rice varieties cultivated by the college, the per-acre yield of rice fields in Jiangnan dropped by 30%, and farmers had little left at home after paying taxes.

Most of the porters and vendors who once made a living by railway transportation lost their jobs and had to live on the streets and beg for a living.