The Great Tang Dynasty's Trans-Dimensional Conference: Little Rhinoceros Arrives

Upon hearing Chang Le's question, Lin Fan was momentarily at a loss for words.

For someone who personally experienced history, one wonders what Chang Le would have thought if he had known in advance the fate of his country and the fate of himself and his family.

"What's wrong? Is there something inconvenient about it?"

Chang Le couldn't understand. All he wanted to know was some historical records from later generations. Was there something wrong with that?

"Actually, there's nothing inconvenient about it, but you should be mentally prepared for what I'm about to say!"

Seeing Lin Fan's heavy expression, Chang Le's heart started racing. Without thinking, she took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down.

"Please, Brother Lin Fan, speak freely!" As soon as she said this, before Lin Fan could respond, Chang Le subconsciously gripped her sleeve tightly, her palms already sweating profusely.

Seeing this, Lin Fan nodded. Since things had come to this point, there was no need for him to hide anything anymore.

"First of all, the Tang Dynasty no longer exists in this world, nor does it have an emperor. What we ordinary people know about the Tang Dynasty is just written records in historical books!"

Although Chang Le had been mentally prepared, hearing Lin Fan's words felt like a thunderclap in her ears, and her body went limp as she sat down on the sofa.

"No Tang Dynasty? No emperor? Could it be that the Tang Dynasty, painstakingly built by Father and others, has ultimately perished?"

Chang Le was still somewhat unwilling to accept this news. In her view, the Tang Dynasty was clearly so powerful. Whether it was the current emperor Li Shimin or the capable ministers and generals of the court, they were all people with extraordinary talents. How could the Tang Dynasty just disappear like that?

"Brother Lin Fan, you're joking, right!"

Even now, Chang Le still held onto a sliver of hope, but the answer she longed for never came.

"No, I'm not joking. Strictly speaking, the Tang Dynasty actually perished over a thousand years ago!"

Since the matter had already been made clear, Lin Fan had no choice but to tell the truth, even though he didn't remember the exact time.

"More than a thousand years! Brother Lin Fan mentioned that the Tang Dynasty has only existed for a little over a thousand years. Could it be that our Tang Dynasty only existed for a few decades in history?"

Compared to the fact that the Tang Dynasty had already perished, Chang Le found it even more unacceptable that the Tang Dynasty's national fortune only lasted for a few decades.

My father worked hard for most of his life, launched the Xuanwu Gate Incident to save his life, and even bore the infamy of killing his brother and forcing his father. After taking the throne, he worked diligently every day to govern the country and the people. What is all this hard work?

"Well, of course it wasn't just a few decades. It's my fault for not explaining it clearly to you before. Actually, the Tang Dynasty lasted for nearly three hundred years from its founding to its fall! In terms of all dynasties, it was one of the longest-lasting!"

Both 1,100 and 1,500 are over 1,000; it's just that he didn't give an exact number. Lin Fan didn't expect Chang Le to react so strongly.

Hearing Lin Fan say this, Chang Le breathed a sigh of relief, but she still found it hard to accept the fact.

Seeing that Chang Le remained silent for a while, Lin Fan felt as if a stone was pressing on his heart. She was clearly so young, yet she took this issue so seriously!

"Changle, the change of dynasties is a normal part of history, as you surely know. Besides, it doesn't really matter to you if your descendants can't hold onto the throne!"

Lin Fan's original intention was to persuade Chang Le not to care so much, but once Pandora's box is opened, how easy is it to close it?

"Brother Lin Fan, you don't need to say more. Chang Le understands these principles. I wonder if you could tell me about my story as recorded in the history books, and how my Great Tang Dynasty perished?"

"Huh? This...this...!"

Lin Fan really wanted to suggest that they change the subject. He was genuinely afraid that Chang Le wouldn't be able to handle continuing to talk about these things.

Besides, I'm not an expert in everything, and I don't know when I'll be able to finish this lecture. If all else fails, maybe I should show her a few episodes of "Lecture Room".

"Now that things have come to this, does Brother Lin Fan still have any concerns?"

"I have no concerns, I'm just afraid you won't be able to accept it!" Lin Fan thought to himself.

"Since you want to know, I won't hide it from you. Just wait a moment!"

Lin Fan took out his phone from his pocket. He knew too little about history, so he could only search on his phone. He opened a webpage and entered the keywords "Princess Chang Le, Li Lizhi, reasons for the fall of the Tang Dynasty".

"This is too much?" Lin Fan was a little dumbfounded when he saw the search results. It would take forever to find out!

"What?" Chang Le looked at Lin Fan with a puzzled expression.

"It's alright! There's just a lot of information, so I can only highlight the key points for you!"

As he scrolled through more and more information on his phone, Lin Fan roughly understood it, then coughed to clear his throat.

"The main reasons for the fall of the Tang Dynasty are as follows: the collapse of the military system led to the separatist rule of regional military governors; eunuchs held power and factional strife caused internal strife; and increased exploitation exacerbated peasant uprisings. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Chang Le clearly had little knowledge of politics; he shook his head somewhat blankly, then nodded.

"Besides these, is there anything else?"

Um, did she understand or not? Lin Fan didn't know either, so he could only continue:

"According to historical records, the An Lushan Rebellion broke out in 755, which was a turning point in the Tang Dynasty's decline from prosperity. Although the rebellion was quelled, the situation of regional warlordism was formally established."

"During the mid-to-late Tang Dynasty, constant warfare, eunuch interference in politics, and the emperor becoming a puppet were the consequences. Then the Huang Chao Rebellion broke out, with the rebel army sweeping across the north and south, the fall of Chang'an, and the complete destruction of the Tang Dynasty's economy and order!"

At this point, Lin Fan stopped and looked up. Chang Le was just looking down with her brows furrowed, her eyes filled with confusion.

When Lin Fan didn't continue speaking, Chang Le finally looked up:

"Brother Lin Fan, please continue. I'm fine!"

"Okay! Good."

Seeing that Chang Le didn't seem too agitated, Lin Fan continued:

"Although the Huang Chao Rebellion was suppressed, the central authority of the Tang Dynasty was completely lost. In 901 AD, Zhu Wen led his army into Chang'an and completely controlled the imperial family. He waited until 907 AD to force the last puppet emperor of the Tang Dynasty, Emperor Aizong, to abdicate, and the Tang Dynasty officially came to an end!"

"So this is the history of my Great Tang Dynasty?" Even though it was just a simple narration by Lin Fan, Chang Le could still feel the turmoil and unease of the late Tang Dynasty!

"What did Brother Lin Fan mean by the years 901 and 907 AD?"

"This is our modern Gregorian calendar, which uses a dotted line to indicate the beginning and end of a year. Years before the first year have larger numbers, representing longer periods of time; years after the first year have larger numbers, representing more recent periods of time!"

Lin Fan could only give a general explanation, and Chang Le seemed to understand only vaguely.

"So, what year is the Tang Dynasty I'm living in now? Is it before or after?"

Upon hearing this question, Lin Fan thought for a moment and realized that the current Tang Dynasty was under the reign of Li Shimin, which was calculated from the first year of the Zhenguan era.

"What year of the Zhenguan era is it where you are now?"

"The seventh year of the Zhenguan era!"

"Wait a minute, let me check first, the seventh year of Zhenguan!" Lin Fan said as he typed on his phone.

"The seventh year of the Zhenguan era is 633 AD!"