Li Shimin's cool, almost indifferent appraisal of Emperor Xuanzong's actions immediately loosened the atmosphere in the Zhenguan court.
The ministers collectively let out a quiet sigh of relief.
As long as His Majesty wasn't angry, there was still room for discussion.
Anger meant closed ears.
And frankly speaking—Zhenguan was only in its fourth year. If the emperor were to fly into a rage and something… unfortunate happened—
No, no, no.
Bad thought. Bad thought. Absolutely not.
Wei Zheng was the first to speak, following up with a line that sounded like praise but carried weight:
"Yan, Zhao, Qi, and Lu have always been lands that breed men of chivalry and loyalty."
After saying it, though, he clearly couldn't hold back his disgust toward Xuanzong's conduct any longer.
"The state relies upon loyal men," Wei Zheng said, voice firm.
"Yet treacherous officials fabricate charges and destroy them."
"The ruler above does not examine clearly. The people below lose their hearts."
"And so the fate of the nation ends up resting on the chests of righteous men alone."
Hou Junji let out a long sigh, the kind that came from someone who had seen too many campaigns and too many corpses.
"Why was Emperor Xuanzong so impatient?"
"He could have imprisoned An Sishun."
"Or sent him to Tong Pass to publicly scold An Lushan in front of the army."
"But instead, on the eve of battle, he killed three commanders outright."
"Isn't that something loyal men grieve over, traitors secretly cheer for, and soldiers willing to fight grow cold at?"
Li Shimin chuckled softly.
He leaned back slightly on his couch, relaxed, almost lazy, as if this were idle court chatter rather than the collapse of an empire.
"Xuanzong once rejected the entire world's criticism just to personally vouch for An Lushan," he said calmly.
"Now, he's merely embarrassed."
"Embarrassed enough that shame turned into anger."
He reached for the tea on the table, took a slow sip, then exhaled gently.
"Geshu Han will be defeated."
"Chang'an will fall because of it."
"The righteous cannot overcome a muddle-headed ruler."
Zhangsun Wuji frowned.
He had always known how this story ended—Xuanzong fleeing to Chengdu—but hearing it spoken so bluntly still felt unreal.
"Geshu Han managed to hold Tong Pass for half a year…"
Li Jing cut him off, voice flat and precise.
"Only half a year."
The Tang emperor nodded in agreement.
"Hold Tong Pass, and victory is possible."
"But unfortunately, my excellent descendant chose to kill loyal men in pursuit of a quick win."
"He wasn't hoping Geshu Han would stand atop Tong Pass chatting peacefully with An Lushan."
[Lightscreen]
[Only in desperate times does integrity reveal itself,
and each name is written, one by one, into history's red ink.
When An Lushan's army stormed Luoyang, the first resistance they encountered was not a fortress—but three men with iron in their bones.
1. Li Cheng, Acting Regent of the Eastern Capital.
Facing a rebel army numbering over a hundred thousand, he showed no fear at all. He emptied his household fortune, recruiting local youths to defend the city.
The disparity was too great.
The hastily raised militia collapsed almost immediately.
Still, Li Cheng and a handful of righteous men fought until the final moment Luoyang fell.
He died for the state.
2. Lu Yi, Vice Censor-in-Chief, stationed in the Eastern Capital.
He sent his wife away first.
Then he put on his official robes, sat upright in the Censorate hall, and waited.
He died there.
3. Jiang Qing, Judicial Commissioner of the Eastern Capital.
He faced the rebels without fear and died alongside Lu Yi.
Three men. Three deaths.
An Lushan understood his own limitations very well. His foundation was unstable, his authority fragile.
To intimidate the people, he ordered his trusted subordinate Duan Ziguang to carry the severed heads of Li Cheng, Lu Yi, and Jiang Qing to Hebei for public display.
He wanted fear.
What he got was defiance.
When the three heads arrived in Pingyuan Commandery, Governor Yan Zhenqing acted without hesitation.
He executed Duan Ziguang on the spot.
Then—personally—he cleaned the blood from the loyal ministers' faces, straightened their features, and tidied their hair.
Since he could not retrieve their bodies from Luoyang, he fashioned straw torsos for them.
He buried them with full rites.
He erected spirit tablets and offered sacrifices.
Then Yan Zhenqing raised the banner of resistance.
Across Hebei, righteous men responded like echoes to a call.
They flocked to him.
Yan Zhenqing was acclaimed leader of the loyalist forces.]
The officials gathered in the Chengdu prefectural hall were visibly shaken.
Liu Bei spoke softly.
"So the Tang dynasty, too, was not without men who guarded integrity unto death."
The three martyrs reminded him of Shu Han's loyal dead.
Zhang Ni, who fought until death.
Zhuge Zhan and his son, who died on the battlefield.
Zhang Zun, loyal to the end.
And his own grandson—who would rather perish with the state than surrender the realm.
For Han to have such successors…
What fortune.
Zhang Fei curled his lip.
"Sure, they had loyal men."
"But none of them had a place to live."
"Xuanzong killed loyal officials. The rebels killed loyal officials."
"Across ten thousand li of the Great Tang, there was nowhere a loyal man could stand."
The room fell quiet.
Being loyal was hard.
Being loyal under Emperor Xuanzong was a special kind of hell.
Even Fa Zheng had no heart for joking now.
"Take Wang Zhongsi. Military merit, command authority, even an adoptive bond with Xuanzong."
"And still—dead over a single accusation."
Zhuge Liang silently wrote down the opening couplet.
The words were simple.
They rang clearly.
For a moment, he wondered if he might ever see the original inscription.
[Lightscreen]
[While the three loyal ministers were dying in Luoyang, Hebei had already begun to move.
Yan Zhenqing had an elder brother just as unyielding—Yan Gaoqing.
At the time, Yan Gaoqing served as Governor of Changshan.
Yan Zhenqing had originally served at court as a censor. After impeaching Yang Guozhong, Yang retaliated with a borrowed blade—assigning him to An Lushan's territory, fully expecting him to die there.
Once stationed in the region, Yan Zhenqing contacted his brother.
Together, they confirmed An Lushan's treasonous intent.
It changed nothing.
At that time, if you went to Xuanzong and said "An Lushan is going to rebel," Xuanzong would tie you up and personally deliver you to An Lushan—to prove imperial trust.
Yan Zhenqing did not give up.
After arriving in Pingyuan, he spent his days boating, drinking, gambling, and playing drinking games.
All of it was theater.
He wanted An Lushan relaxed.
Unalert.
Unconcerned.
Behind the scenes, Yan Zhenqing quietly stockpiled grain, repaired city walls, recruited righteous men, courted local strongmen, and prepared for rebellion.
When An Lushan finally rose, he left Li Qincou and Gao Miao behind in Changshan with five thousand troops.
Yan Gaoqing pretended submission.
He entertained Li Qincou lavishly, poured him drink after drink, and when Li Qincou was fully drunk—
Yan Gaoqing killed him.
Using Li Qincou's name, he summoned Gao Miao, captured him alive, and by sheer coincidence also seized He Qiannian, a close confidant of An Lushan returning from Luoyang.
Changshan was reclaimed.
Yan Gaoqing decided to report the victory to Chang'an.
He sent his son, Yan Quanming, to escort Gao Miao and He Qiannian, carrying Li Qincou's severed head as proof.
That was when things went wrong.
Yan Gaoqing's assistant, Zhang Tongyou, tearfully begged to accompany the mission.
His reason was simple.
His elder brother, Zhang Tongru, had joined An Lushan.
If the rebellion failed, their entire family would be exterminated.
Yan Gaoqing agreed.
The northern roads were already under rebel control, so the group detoured through Hedong.
At Taiyuan, Prefect Wang Chengye received them warmly—almost too warmly.
He questioned them in detail about the situation in Hexi, then smiled.
"The road to Chang'an is long. The fighting in Hexi is dire."
"Why not let me report the merits on your behalf?"
Yan Quanming worried about his father.
After brief consideration, he agreed.
He turned back.
Wang Chengye immediately executed Gao Miao and He Qiannian.
He then drafted a long memorial, detailing the chaos in Hebei, Yan Zhenqing's defense of Pingyuan, the recovery of Changshan—
And erased Yan Gaoqing's name.
Replacing it with his own.
He lavishly praised Zhang Tongyou.
The result?
Wang Chengye was promoted to General of the Imperial Guards.
Zhang Tongyou remained in Chang'an as an official.
An Lushan received two reports:
Yan Gaoqing had risen and reclaimed Changshan.
Yan Zhenqing had risen and killed Duan Ziguang.
Enraged, An Lushan sent Shi Siming back to Hebei to "suppress the rebellion."
He himself continued to loiter beneath Tong Pass.
Shi Siming chose Yan Gaoqing as his first target.
Yan Gaoqing immediately requested reinforcements—from Wang Chengye.
Wang Chengye, having swallowed Yan Gaoqing's merits whole, wished only for his death.
Yan Gaoqing held Changshan for eight days.
He fought until the last soldier fell.
No reinforcements came.
Changshan fell.
Yan Gaoqing and his entire family were sent to Luoyang to await An Lushan's judgment.]
Li Shimin no longer raged at Xuanzong.
But at the mention of a single Taiyuan prefect, his composure finally cracked.
"How did the Great Tang become this?"
"That Wang Chengye—he deserves to be flayed alive!"
The tone was calm.
The words were ice.
Wei Zheng could not bear it either.
"Short-sighted men chase private gain."
"Loyal ministers bleed for the state."
"Compared to them, men like Yang Guozhong are unbearable to behold."
Li Shimin silently approved.
When Wei Zheng wasn't scolding him, he actually looked quite agreeable.
Changsun Wuji tried to pull things back toward strategy, studying the map.
"Hebei is flat land—hard to defend."
"But Pingyuan borders lakes and the sea. Cavalry cannot operate freely there."
"And Yan Zhenqing prepared early. He should hold."
Hou Junji traced a line across the map with his finger.
"When the rebels tire, gather our forces…"
"…and strike Wei Prefecture."
Zhangsun Wuji nodded, though concern lingered.
"Will it truly go so smoothly?"
Li Shimin answered without hesitation.
"Hebei is ravaged. Hedong holds strong armies."
"Tong Pass is difficult to breach."
"There are no major military governors in the southeast."
"So the rebels will go south to loot."
He knew nomad armies too well.
Profits drew them like wolves.
Strong walls frightened them like tigers.
"If that happens…" Changsun Wuji hesitated.
"If Wei Prefecture falls, and Tong Pass is attacked from both sides…"
"Tong Pass will break," Li Shimin said firmly.
Changsun Wuji met his gaze.
No anger.
No mirth.
Only unwavering confidence—in Xuanzong.
He said nothing more.
Li Jing shook his head, regret written plainly on his face.
"Xuanzong should not have fled to Chengdu."
"He should have entered Longyou, gathered the Longyou and Anxi armies."
"Chang'an lacks natural defenses—but it could have been retaken."
"Chengdu is easy to hold, but hard to strike from."
He sighed.
Zhuge Liang once nearly lived in Hanzhong to reclaim Guanzhong.
Xuanzong, by contrast, fled with remarkable smoothness.
…
"Even now, they're scheming, hiding reports, stealing credit?"
Liu Bei couldn't understand it.
Zhuge Liang replied quietly.
"We know this chaos lasts eight years."
"Those living within it do not."
"To Wang Chengye, the rebels' retreat is cut."
"Hebei's loyalists can resist."
"Tong Pass is impregnable."
"Wouldn't the rebels seem trapped in a jar?"
Fa Zheng added coldly:
"And so men like Wang Chengye rush to carve up merit early."
"Seeking profit without merit—this is how states rot from within."
Liu Bei understood.
He remembered Chang'an after Dong Zhuo's death.
There had been a chance.
Zhang Fei spat.
"Bury the lot of them alive behind an earthen wall."