Tang Dynasty: A Guide to Avoiding Pitfalls for Li Er at the Start

Chapter 2 Five and a Half Wise Rulers of the Tang Dynasty

"What's so surprising about the fall of the Tang Dynasty? In the end, even the emperor was gone."

Seeing the stunned expressions on Changsun Wuji and Li Shimin's faces, Wen He scoffed dismissively.

After struggling a few times, he broke free from Changsun Wuji's grip on his collar, and breathed a long sigh of relief after his feet touched the ground. He then straightened his clothes.

He glanced at Changsun Wuji with resentment. If he weren't only ten years old, with his physical abilities from his previous life, this guy... would never have been able to catch him so easily.

"Absurd!" Changsun Wuji glared at her, looking exactly like an angry Vajra in a temple. He reached out to grab her again, but Wen He dodged him.

"You dare to dodge!" the former roared, rolling up his sleeves and striking.

Wen He quickly shrank his neck to avoid him, raised his hand and grabbed his arm, twisting it forcefully, trying to use a grappling technique, but found that his strength was like an ant facing an elephant in front of Changsun Wuji.

He was captured easily.

"Your Highness, I will bury this scoundrel who spreads heresy right now."

"Holy crap, no! Murder is illegal!" Wen He shouted urgently.

Changsun Wuji watched him struggle with a cold smile, and said disdainfully, "Law? This is the Prince of Qin's residence!"

His implication was that, here, the King of Qin and he were the law.

"Damn it, you're not even a regent or prime minister yet. The King of Qin hasn't even spoken, and you're already acting as his advisor. No wonder you're such a rascal..."

"What did you say?" Changsun Wuji suddenly stopped. He took a deep breath and stared intently at Wen He, interrupting her before she could finish her sentence, "No wonder you were forced to commit suicide and your whole family was exiled."

"He said you became the regent and then rose to the position of prime minister." Li Shimin, who hadn't spoken until now, suddenly stood up and waved for Changsun Wuji to put Wen He down.

“But our Great Tang does not have an actual position of prime minister.” Li Shimin squinted at Wen He. He did not ask about the matter of entrusting the young emperor to him, but instead brought up the prime minister.

He was still testing Wen He.

"It seems to be the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, no, no." Wen He shook his head. After transmigrating, his memories of his previous life became somewhat blurry, and there were many things he hadn't had time to sort out.

When Changsun Wuji heard that he had been appointed as the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, he was overjoyed.

The Tang Dynasty had a system of multiple ministers, with the highest position being the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, which is now held concurrently by the Prince of Qin.

If he were to become emperor, in order to avoid the taboo, no one would dare to hold this position again, and the Left and Right Vice Ministers of the Ministry of Personnel would be the de facto prime minister and vice prime minister.

With Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui around, he knew he wouldn't get the chance to be prime minister, but he would be satisfied if he could become vice prime minister.

Thinking of this, he almost couldn't help but thank Li Shimin, but just then he heard Wen He say something was wrong. He was stunned and his mouth twitched a few times in anger.

“Your words are incoherent, I think you…” He was about to get angry when Wen He spoke up: “The title of Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel was bestowed when the King of Qin ascended the throne. However, Empress Zhangsun advised the King of Qin that since you are both a relative of the emperor and a meritorious official, in order to avoid future suspicion between the emperor and his ministers, you were instead appointed as the Grand Master of Ceremonies and granted the title of Duke of Qi.”

"In the seventh year of the Zhenguan era, you were appointed Minister of Works; in the eleventh year, you were granted the hereditary title of Prefect of Zhao Prefecture, and later enfeoffed as Duke of Zhao; in the sixteenth year, you were appointed Minister of Education; in the twenty-second year, you were appointed Acting Grand Secretary, in charge of the affairs of the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Rites, and so on..."

"Wait a minute!"

Changsun Wuji was trembling. His eyes were red. He took a few steps back and solemnly bowed to Li Shimin.

"Your Highness's great kindness is beyond my ability to repay. I can only dedicate myself to Your Highness until my dying breath!"

This guy actually compared himself to Zhuge Liang.

So shameless.

Li Shimin was also stunned. He hadn't fully believed Wen He's words yet, but Fu Ji had already.

But he quickly realized what was happening, stepped forward to help Changsun Wuji up, and solemnly said, "You and I, ruler and subject, complement each other perfectly, and we will surely be remembered in history."

"That's true, you've indeed made your mark on history." Wen He nodded with a smile. If he had a phone right now, he would definitely have taken a picture of this scene.

As soon as he finished speaking, the two, still moved, turned around in unison.

"Don't think that just because of this, His Highness and I will believe you. Just now you were spouting nonsense, saying that even if our Great Tang Dynasty were to perish, with us, the emperor and his ministers, the Great Tang Dynasty would surely prosper forever!"

That old bastard Changsun Wuji actually betrayed us after we'd served our purpose!
Wen He was furious: "You believe good things but not bad things. Throughout history, which dynasty has ever had a lasting foundation? Qin Shi Huang wanted to, but it only lasted two generations."

"Then let me ask you, how long did the Tang Dynasty last?" "Two hundred and eighty-nine years, with twenty-one emperors in total." Wen He finished speaking and looked at Li Shimin.

I thought he would show disbelief or become emotional.

He remained calm, seemingly unaffected.

Changsun Wuji, however, retorted furiously, "Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

His voice was so loud it nearly shattered Wen He's eardrums.

"You're not Cao Cao, why are you shouting 'impossible'?"

"What?" Changsun Wuji's anger froze on his face, and he looked at him in confusion.

Li Shimin also looked at him with a puzzled expression.

"Uh, cough cough, you can just ignore this. The Tang Dynasty wasn't short-lived. Think about it, the Sui Dynasty only lasted a few decades. Moreover, in the long river of history, apart from the Han Dynasty, only the Tang Dynasty perished because of its strength, which is already quite remarkable."

Wen He tried to comfort the emperor and his minister, but he felt he might have said too much.

What if it affects Li Shimin's confidence?
"Two hundred and eighty-nine years, huh?" Li Shimin turned around and sat down, his expression somewhat somber.

Changsun Wuji frowned and said, "Your Highness, don't believe this kid's nonsense. How could the Tang Dynasty, with its everlasting foundation, have only lasted for a little over two hundred years? Does that mean our Tang Dynasty is inferior to the Former Han Dynasty?"

"That's not right. The Han Dynasty also ended in the middle. In terms of time, the Tang Dynasty did exist for quite a long time, and there was also the Later Tang and the Southern Tang after it, which added up to three hundred years."

Although the lineage of Li Bian of the Southern Tang Dynasty is questionable, his words should offer some comfort to Li Shimin... right?

Li Shimin remained silent.

Wen He regretted it.

I've revealed the time of the Tang Dynasty's demise ahead of time. Hopefully, that won't damage his confidence.
That won't do. I still need him to rise to prominence and crush Li Yuanji.

Otherwise, who will save my lovely little sister?

"And besides the Han Dynasty, only your Tang Dynasty produced so many wise rulers, a total of six, five and a half," Wen He tried to comfort him.

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Shimin's silent expression flickered a few times, and he looked up at Wen He.

"Five and a half, what does that mean?"

"You brat, it should be either six or five, how come there's half? Did they die young?" Changsun Wuji glared at Wen He, blaming him in his heart, and spoke very strangely.

Can't you just talk nicely?
We have to make them guess.

Wen He shook her head: "No, no, no. If he had died young, he would definitely have been one of the top three emperors of the Tang Dynasty. There is a saying that has been passed down through the ages: What a great emperor he was, it's a pity he died too late."

He was referring to none other than the famous Li Longji.

Changsun Wuji's lips twitched.

He was now somewhat convinced of what Wen He had said: that there might not be an emperor in later generations.

This kid has absolutely no respect for the emperor.

"Why are you glaring at me like that?" Wen He snorted, indignantly saying, "I didn't say anything wrong. Li Longji was hailed as a model of a wise ruler in the first half of his life, but he was extremely muddleheaded in the second half. He was the peak of the Tang Dynasty, but it was also from him that the Tang Dynasty began to decline. Even if there were so-called golden ages afterward, they were nothing more than a last gasp before the sun shone brightly."

Such a contradictory emperor is truly rare in history.

"Enough!" Li Shimin suddenly shouted.

Wen He used to disdain the so-called domineering aura, thinking it was just self-indulgence by writers.

But at this moment, he truly understood what it meant to command respect without anger.

Staring at him like that, Wen He felt as if she were facing a fierce tiger, and a chill spread from head to toe throughout her body.

(End of this chapter)