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

In the late spring of the first year of Baoying, willow catkins were still flying in the sky in Chang'an City, but the air deep in the imperial city was as stagnant as a cold pond.

On the morning of the fifth day of April, before daybreak, the palace lanterns outside the Shenlong Temple were still dim, but an inextricable sadness had already filled the air inside the temple.

The young eunuch of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, with trembling hands, gently placed a brocade handkerchief soaked in warm water on Li Longji's withered cheek. This emperor, who had created the Kaiyuan Prosperity and also witnessed the Anshi Rebellion and fled to the west in a hurry, ultimately could not survive this spring.

When the news that "the late emperor has passed away" came from the Dragon Palace, the entire Chang'an City seemed to be paused.

The originally noisy vendors on Zhuque Street suddenly fell silent, the porters carrying their loads stopped and lowered their heads, and even the usually arrogant Jinwu Guards put away the swords at their waists and stood guard at the main streets with solemn expressions.

Everyone remembers how high-spirited this old emperor was when he was young. He once played the drum himself in the Pear Garden, letting the "Rainbow Skirt and Feathered Coat" resound throughout Chang'an. After the fall of Tongguan, he fled west with Yang Guifei. The sigh he uttered at Mawei Slope still lingers in people's ears.

But now, the emperor who witnessed the decline of the Tang Dynasty has finally become a symbol in history books.

The mourning clothes in the palace had not yet been completely spread out, and the bedside of the new emperor Li Heng was crowded with imperial doctors.

Since the recovery of Chang'an and the return of the emperor from Lingwu, Li Heng's health has been deteriorating day by day.

The flames of the Anshi Rebellion drained his energy, the undercurrents in the court exhausted his spirit, and now the news of his father's sudden death became the last straw that broke the camel's back.

On April 18, just thirteen days after Li Longji's death, bad news came again from the Purple Palace in Daming Palace - Emperor Suzong Li Heng died on his sickbed.

Within just half a month, the two emperors passed away one after another, and the sky over Chang'an City seemed to be shrouded in an lingering haze.

The people spontaneously gathered outside the imperial city. Some covered their faces and cried, some groaned in low voices, and more looked around in confusion.

They remember the prosperity during the Kaiyuan period: a dou of rice cost only three or five coins, people did not pick up things on the streets and did not lock their doors at night, merchants from the Western Regions rode camels through the West Market, and grain ships from the south of the Yangtze River sailed into Guangyun Gate carrying silk and satin.

But what about now? Remnants of the rebels still wreak havoc in Hebei, Tibetan cavalry occasionally harasses Hexi, and even the price of grain in Chang'an has increased more than tenfold compared to the Kaiyuan period.

This imperial capital, which once symbolized prosperity and splendor, is now like an old man on his deathbed, crumbling in the wind and rain.

"No one really wants to see the fall of the Tang Dynasty." A white-haired old craftsman squatted in the corner, holding a Chang'an city brick whose edges had long been smoothed out.

When he was young, he worked in the Imperial Household Department and participated in the renovation of Xingqing Palace. He witnessed with his own eyes the magnificent scene of Li Longji and Yang Guifei admiring the peonies in the Chenxiang Pavilion.

But now, the carved beams and painted buildings of Chenxiang Pavilion have long been covered with dust, Yang Guifei's tomb is deserted at the foot of Mawei Slope, and even the palace walls that he built with his own hands have been scarred by countless cracks in the war.

The people around nodded one after another. Yes, even though the Tang Dynasty was now riddled with holes, it still supported the desire to live of tens of millions of people - it was the "people from all over the world dressed in formal attire and bowed to the emperor" described by the scholars in the imperial examinations, it was the "I will not return until I have conquered Loulan" in the hearts of the soldiers guarding the borders, and it was the "rice is fat and corn is white" in the memories of ordinary people.

Just as the government and the people were immersed in the grief of the double national mourning, a figure quietly walked to the front - Mr. Qi.

No one knew who he was. He was wearing plain court robes and standing under the steps of the Taiji Hall, his eyes calmly sweeping over the civil and military officials below the steps.

"A country cannot be without a ruler for a single day." Mr. Qi's voice was low, but it carried an undeniable authority. "Emperor Suzong's will has passed the throne to Prince Guangping Li Yu, who will ascend the throne today."

As soon as he finished speaking, the eunuch helped Li Yu, who was dressed in mourning clothes, to walk up to the steps.

The new emperor was nearly forty years old, and his brows showed some of the gentleness of Emperor Suzong, but he also hid a trace of cowardice that was difficult to conceal.

He looked at the densely packed officials below the stairs, then looked at Mr. Qi who stood beside him with an indifferent expression. Finally, he lowered his eyelids and let the eunuch put the crown on his head.

No one noticed that when the pearl curtain of the crown fell in front of Li Yu's eyes, his fingers trembled slightly - that was a symbol of power, but he knew clearly that the real power had long been in the hands of Mr. Qi.

The coronation ceremony ended hastily. Li Yu returned to the harem and looked at the empty bedroom. He felt powerless.

He recalled that when he was young, he followed his father to Lingwu and had the ambition to "clear up the world", but now, he was like a puppet controlled by strings, and his every move had to obey Mr. Qi's arrangements.

In the court, the prime minister was Mr. Qi's confidant, the commander of the imperial guards was Mr. Qi's old subordinate, and even the reports from the local vassal states had to pass through Mr. Qi's mansion before they could be delivered to his desk.

He wanted to promote a general who had helped him quell the rebellion, but within half a day after the memorial was submitted, it was rejected by Mr. Qi on the grounds of "lack of experience". The general was also transferred from Chang'an to the remote Qianzhong.

From then on, Li Yu never took the initiative to put forward any proposals for state affairs - he knew that he, the emperor, was just a cover put on by Mr. Qi.

Mr. Qi obviously didn't care about Li Yu's feelings. He was standing in front of the map in the government hall, his eyes fixed on the vassal states in Hebei and Hedong.

After the Anshi Rebellion broke out, in order to quell the rebellion, the imperial court had to grant greater power to the Jiedushi in various places. Although the rebels are now weak, those Jiedushi who hold heavy troops have become a hidden danger that is difficult to get rid of.

They controlled the military, civil, and financial affairs of their jurisdictions, even appointing and dismissing officials and collecting taxes. In name, they were vassal states of the Tang Dynasty, but in reality, they were like independent princes. Emperor Suzong had previously attempted to weaken the power of these vassal states, but this initial move sparked dissatisfaction among military governors like Li Huaixian and Tian Chengsi. Unrest in Hebei reignited, forcing the imperial court to dispatch troops to suppress the situation, which in turn drained even more national strength.

"Since we can't control them, we might as well just go with the flow." Mr. Qi tapped his finger on the map and said to the prime minister beside him, "If they want power, the court will give them power; if they want land, the court will give them land - but the prerequisite is that they work for the Tang Dynasty."

A few days later, an imperial edict was issued from Chang'an, shocking the whole country - the court officially recognized the control of the military, civil affairs and finances of each town's Jiedushi in their jurisdiction. Not only that, some prefectures and counties originally under the direct jurisdiction of the central government were assigned to the Jiedushi with stronger power.

Even more shocking was the clear stipulation in the imperial edict: "If any military governor of any garrison can defeat the barbarians and expand the territory during his foreign campaigns, he will be granted a share of the land and be crowned king, regardless of his origin."