"Great Tang—Ju Tang."
Li Shimin took a liking to the name the instant he saw it.
As for the slogans shouted by the Vietnamese, he dismissed them with a cold snort.
He did not need to dwell on the light screen's use of the word "plotting." Nor did he need to think too deeply about the future maps showing Vietnam and Burma resisting the British and emerging as independent nations. If this future Vietnam truly launched a so-called Northern Expedition, would they honestly bother to hunt down one of his descendants and prop him up as a puppet emperor?
Ridiculous.
And yet—
Those slogans alone were proof of something undeniable: even centuries after its fall, the Tang Empire still inspired awe… and fear.
The ministers felt it too.
There had been the Mighty Han.
Now there was the Prosperous Great Tang.
By comparison, the Tang's power clearly surpassed even the Han.
"If we are to build a navy," Wei Zheng said thoughtfully, "then we must look to Lingnan. Lingnan has excellent timber—ideal for seagoing ships. If we wish to govern it properly, it must be absorbed into the heartland."
If Lingnan became the heartland, then where would the border be?
Almost unconsciously, the ministers' gazes slid southward along the map. The Strait of Malacca looked… appropriate.
Then they noticed something strange.
A line had been drawn straight through the strait's name.
Before anyone could speak—
[Lightscreen]
[ It is also worth talking about posthumous titles.
When Liu Shan—A'Dou—was still alive, he witnessed the fall of his state and was demoted from emperor to Duke of Anle. After his death, the Jin court gave him the posthumous title "Si" (悼, The Pensive). Later, Shu Han honored him as Emperor Xiaohuai.
The posthumous titles of Cao Pi and Cao Rui are fairly standard. But Eastern Wu is where things become… interesting.
Sun Quan—often mocked as "the man of a hundred thousand"—officially bears the posthumous title: The Great Emperor (大皇帝).
Just as Cao Pi is Emperor Wen (Civil), Sun Quan is simply "Great."
What does "Great" mean? "To follow Heaven's laws and emulate Sage-King Yao is called Great."
This title is extremely rare. In all of history, only two sovereigns were called "The Great Emperor." One was Sun Quan. The other…
…was the successor of the "Li Erfeng" .
Emperor Gaozong of Tang—Li Zhi.
Li Zhi's original posthumous title was The Great Heavenly Emperor.
In multi-character titles, one word serves as the core descriptor. For example, Li Yuan's title was Emperor Taiwu—"Wu" (Martial) being the key word.
For Li Zhi, like Sun Quan, the key word was "Great."
The Old Book of Tang refers to him as "Gaozong the Great Emperor," or simply "The Great Emperor."
Sun Quan might have been pleased to see his title inherited… but Li Zhi went on to completely destroy the system.
For example: Li Shimin's original posthumous title was "Wen" (Civil). Li Zhi added "Civil, Martial, and Holy." Later, Emperor Xuanzong added "Great." Then he added "Broad and Filial."
Thus, a century after his death, Li Shimin's full title became:
The Civil, Martial, Great, Holy, Broadly Filial Emperor.
Most emperors followed this trend.
Li Zhi became the Great, Heavenly, Holy, Greatly Pious Emperor.
Xuanzong became the Supreme Way, Greatly Holy, Greatly Bright, Filial Emperor.
Eventually, posthumous titles became so long that people stopped using them altogether and switched to temple names—Taizong, Xuanzong—simply because no one could remember the full titles.
Later, during the Qing dynasty, to avoid the naming taboo of Emperor Kangxi (Aisin Gioro Xuanye), Tang Xuanzong was officially renamed Yuanzong.
The people refused to accept this.
Instead, they pulled a word from his absurdly long posthumous title and called him:
Tang Ming Huang—the Bright Emperor of Tang.]
"Li Zhi?!"
The ministers' eyes widened in unison.
Then—
Clatter!
The sound echoed sharply through the hall.
Li Shimin had leapt up so violently that he kicked his own chair over.
Fortunately, he was still young and strong. He was not injured. But the scene was chaotic—servants rushing, ministers half-standing, robes being straightened, furniture hurriedly righted.
When order was restored and everyone sat again, Li Shimin's face was pale.
It felt as though an invisible hand had seized his heart.
His vision dimmed.
In that instant, countless images surged through his mind:
The Sima clan usurping the throne.
Liu Yu—the so-called God of War—killing six emperors.
And finally…
Xuanwu Gate.
"Prince… Zhi…" Li Shimin asked hoarsely, each word forced out with effort.
"How could he…?"
No one answered.
The ministers lowered their heads. No one even dared exchange glances.
The silence pressed down like a weight.
At last, unable to bear it, Du Ruhui spoke gently:
"Your Majesty… Prince Zhi is only one year old. And your Zhenguan era of great governance has only just begun."
Zhangsun Wuji immediately followed, quick as ever to ride a favorable current.
"Your Majesty's golden age will last at least twenty more years. Why trouble yourself with such distant matters?"
Twenty years.
That thought steadied Li Shimin's breathing.
There was time.
Still, the doubt in his heart refused to fade.
"Is this…" he asked quietly, "a disaster caused by me?"
No one answered.
Only the faint scratching of Yan Liben's brush could be heard.
He was frantically sketching Sun Quan's image from the light screen. The rectangular frame puzzled him—especially the strange word "God" in the corner, and labels like "Imperial Might" and "Balance."
Du Ruhui sighed inwardly.
This family would collapse without me.
He rose and said firmly, "Your Majesty, why burden yourself so? Twenty years is a lifetime. Anything can change. Why take all blame upon yourself?"
He paused, then added, "Besides, the light screen will surely reveal the details. Knowing the future allows us to avoid it."
Li Shimin nodded slowly.
Before today, he had feared nothing. His conscience regarding the throne was clear.
But now he realized something terrifying:
I may have a clear conscience… but what of my children, who saw what I had to do?
"And Prince Zhi adding all those titles…" Li Shimin murmured.
He didn't know how to judge it.
Filial devotion, yes.
But also—
A joke for future generations.
"Prince Zhi acted out of reverence and longing for Your Majesty," Zhangsun Wuji said smoothly. Then he added casually, "That aside… these Qing emperors don't seem to have Han surnames?"
The room stiffened.
Zhao (Song).
Zhu (Ming).
And now…
Aisin Gioro.
Just looking at the names, the problem was obvious.
Still, the ministers merely observed. After all, the Song, Yuan, and Ming lay nearly a thousand years away. It didn't feel real—just like how they weren't worried about Hexi becoming desert when, at present, it was still lush with grass and water.
In the Three Kingdoms era—
Liu Bei, Zhuge Liang, and the others stared at the screen, dumbfounded.
"You can… play with titles like that?" Zhang Fei muttered.
He shook his head in amazement. "Military Counselor, you always say the future has more people and more land. Now I see they also have more posthumous titles! Just two or three emperors have more words than all of our Han emperors combined!"
Zhuge Liang shook his head—but his attention was elsewhere.
"The Qing has barely been mentioned before," he said slowly. "And their emperors have foreign surnames. That Yuan dynasty… could it be the same?"
Pang Tong nodded bluntly. "The Song fell. It's likely those 'Mongols' unified the realm."
Zhuge Liang sighed. "At least the Han lineage was not permanently severed."
Then, softly: "I wonder how other civilizations—Great Qin, Parthia—preserved their cultural lineages."
[Lightscreen]
[ Because Liu Yu of Song was so overwhelmingly martial, later generations joked that all of Song's "martial virtue" was used up by its first emperor.
In truth, the Zhao Song had thirteen emperors with "Martial" in their titles.
Take Zhao Gou: his temple name was Gaozong, but his posthumous title was—
The Emperor Who Received the Mandate, Restored the Mid-Dynasty, Achieved Total Merit and Ultimate Virtue, Holy, Divine, Martial, Civil, Bright, Benevolent, Gracious, and Filial.
After the Tang, posthumous titles completely lost meaning.
Zhu Qizhen—captured by the Mongols—was titled:
The Emperor Who Followed Heaven, Established the Way, Benevolent, Bright, Sincere, Respectful, Illustrious, Civil, Exemplary, Martial, of Ultimate Virtue, Broadly Filial.
If even one word were true, neither would be such a disgrace.
Why did titles grow longer?
In Zhou times, posthumous titles were honest judgments. In the Spring and Autumn era, they evaluated a ruler's life. In the Han, "Wen," "Wu," and "Ling" acted like spoilers.
Those titles were granted by ministers.
Later additions were granted by descendants.
In a feudal society, fighting over a dead man's reputation was a proxy for living power struggles.
Longer titles reflect stronger imperial authority—and fewer restraints.
This peaked in the Qing, with titles exceeding twenty-one characters.
Temple names suffered similarly. Wang Mang cheapened "Zong." The Cao family cheapened "Ancestor." The Qing followed suit.]
Zhang Fei laughed. "Good heavens! One Qing emperor has a title longer than our entire dynasty! No wonder my Second Brother's titles keep growing—everything in the future is just… excessive."
But Liu Bei, Zhuge Liang, and Pang Tong were grim.
Pang Tong summarized, "In our time, only Great Qin was a peer. Tang was a peak. Song fell to Mongols. Ming fell to Nurhaci."
Zhuge Liang added, "The Qing faced humiliation abroad and decay within. The world grew stronger—but Qing alone grew weaker."
Liu Bei frowned. "If imperial power strengthened, shouldn't the great clans have been crushed? And with examinations selecting talent—why weaken?"
Pang Tong guessed, "Climate, perhaps?"
Zhuge Liang stared at the screen and whispered, "Or perhaps… when the Emperor destroyed the clans that enslaved the people… the Emperor himself became the greatest clan."
Silence.
Then Zhuge Liang laughed lightly. "Just a guess."
Liu Bei looked at him deeply.
Suppressing clans, he realized, would be a struggle lasting centuries.
"What do you think, Wuji?" Li Shimin asked.
Zhangsun Wuji replied smoothly, "The insight on titles is profound, but Tang differs from Han. Song and Ming differ from Tang. Comparisons are imperfect."
Slippery, Li Shimin thought—and turned to Du Ruhui.
Du Ruhui lowered his eyes. "Balance is the foundation of the realm. Ministers unchecked deceive their lord; a narrow-minded lord darkens the state. Excess in either direction is ruin."
Li Shimin nodded, satisfied.
Before he could speak again, Wei Zheng interjected:
"Does Your Majesty view your ministers as rebels and thieves?"
Li Shimin burst into laughter.
"Xuancheng—why would you say such a thing?"