The moment the Light Screen flickered and went dark, Li Shimin did not merely move. He practically launched himself across the hall.
A blur of imperial silk and sudden energy, he lunged toward his desk, snatched up a brush, and sent it flying across the parchment with the speed of a man possessed.
Ink splattered in wild arcs. Every stroke clawed at the fading echoes of the future before they could slip away into silence.
After a feverish minute of calligraphy, he stopped. His chest rose and fell. He turned back toward his favorite grooming mirror.
Wei Zheng was already staring at him with that familiar look of stoic judgment.
The Emperor of the Great Tang forced a smile. His eyes still burned with the thrill of a man who had just watched the end of the world and survived it.
"Xuancheng, my friend, your words are pearls of wisdom." His voice carried a mix of genuine respect and a silent plea. Please do not lecture me right now.
He fixed Wei Zheng with an expression of pure and naked expectation, like a student waiting for a gold star from a particularly difficult teacher.
Wei Zheng, ever the killjoy, did not even blink. His posture remained so stiff it might have been carved from a block of granite.
"Does Your Majesty truly believe that a little assistance from a floating magical screen is enough to make the entire world bow to your will?" Wei Zheng's voice was dry, a sharp and deliberate contrast to the Emperor's crackling excitement.
"If Your Majesty allows a handful of glowing words from a thousand years in the future to plant the seeds of arrogance in your heart, then what good is this screen? It is nothing more than a shiny distraction."
He leaned in slightly. His gaze sharpened. "My only hope is that Your Majesty does not grow self-important over a reputation that has not yet been earned. Remember the disasters still to come. Search out better policies while there is still time. Only then will this auspicious omen be worth the light it sheds."
Li Shimin's mouth hung open for a beat. He had been expecting something closer to a "Good job, Sire," or perhaps a warm "You are doing well, Boss." Instead, a cold bucket of reality had been emptied over his head.
Before he could form a response, Zhangsun Wuji came charging forward like a guard dog springing to the defense.
"How can you accuse him of growing self-important?" Zhangsun Wuji snapped. His face flushed with indignation.
"Do you have any idea how much the Emperor has endured?
Did you see him weep over the fate of the Guiyi Army?
Did you watch his headaches flare over the sheer and staggering stupidity of Xuanzong and Xizong?
Even knowing he is hailed as a legend in the future, he spends every waking moment turning his own mistakes over in his mind. What more do you want from him?"
Wei Zheng turned his head, slow and deliberate, and fixed Zhangsun Wuji with a smile that was chillingly calm.
"May I ask, Duke of Qi, what exactly is your official position in this court at the present moment?"
The room dropped into silence. Zhangsun Wuji's face shifted from red to a deep and bruised purple. His mouth opened. No sound emerged. He let out a huff, whipped his sleeve around with enough force to stir a small breeze, and stepped back, seething.
Ever since his quiet resignation from the chancellorship, Zhangsun Wuji had been little more than an official of the first rank without a specific portfolio.
He still carried titles, certainly. But he no longer held the standing to meddle in matters of state policy the way a sitting chancellor could.
Wei Zheng had just struck him dead center with a verbal arrow. You do not even work here, Greg.
Li Shimin felt a massive headache brewing behind his eyes. He looked from his defensive brother-in-law to his aggressive moral compass and realized that his dream of a harmonious, future-focused strategy session was crumbling into a petty squabble. He decided to play the mediator, even as his fingers twitched with the urge to knock their heads together.
Du Ruhui, a man of a thousand plans, somehow kept his face perfectly straight despite the silent comedy unfolding before him. He stepped forward to steer the conversation back toward the actual intelligence.
"Your Majesty, if you examine the attitude of these future people, they hold nothing but contempt for the Song Dynasty. But when they speak of the Ming founder, Zhu Yuanzhang, their words carry deep respect."
Du Ruhui's eyes glinted with analytical precision. "And they called this Emperor Zhu the Yongle Great Emperor. It seems the Ming and the Song are entirely different beasts."
Li Shimin watched Zhangsun Wuji and Wei Zheng trade death glares across the room and decided to ignore them entirely. "Did they not say that Nurhaci emerged from the Northeast precisely because of how the Ming managed its borders? That means the Ming at least managed to retake the Yanyun territories. And there was that Yuan dynasty sandwiched in between. The whole chain seems tangled."
He paused. A smirk tugged at the corner of his lips. "But this Emperor Judy, or whatever his name was, his pronunciation came out strange, and he carried some foreign-sounding nickname. Still, the man clearly respects me. A ruler of taste and vision, obviously."
Had he seen this information only yesterday, Li Shimin would have been insufferably smug, already boasting about how the Tang would stand undefeated for a thousand years. But Zhu Yuanzhang's origins had humbled him.
"A beggar who conquered the realm?"
Li Shimin turned his own life over in his mind. If he had been born a beggar on the streets of Jinyang instead of a noble son of the Li clan, could he have done the same? He shook his head. Almost certainly not. Without his status, how would he have learned to read? How would he have gathered his first generals around him?
"This Zhu Baba... no wonder they say his claim to the realm is the most legitimate of any founding emperor."
He could not help himself. The name Li Erfeng had stuck, and so in his mind, Zhu Yuanzhang was now and forever Zhu Baba. It was the only way to keep the cosmic balance of egos in check.
Li Shimin felt a massive headache brewing behind his eyes.
He looked from his defensive brother-in-law to his aggressive moral compass and realized that his dream of a harmonious, future-focused strategy session was crumbling into a petty squabble.
He decided to play the mediator, even as his fingers twitched with the urge to knock their heads together.
Du Ruhui, a man of a thousand plans, somehow kept his face perfectly straight despite the silent comedy unfolding before him.
He stepped forward to steer the conversation back toward the actual intelligence.
"Your Majesty, if you examine the attitude of these future people, they hold nothing but contempt for the Song Dynasty. But when they speak of the Ming founder, Zhu Chongba, their words carry deep respect."
Du Ruhui's eyes glinted with analytical precision. "And they called this Emperor Zhu the Yongle Great Emperor. It seems the Ming and the Song are entirely different beasts."
Li Shimin watched Zhangsun Wuji and Wei Zheng trade death glares across the room and decided to ignore them entirely.
"Did they not say that Nurhaci emerged from the Northeast precisely because of how the Ming managed its borders? That means the Ming at least managed to retake the Yanyun territories. And there was that Yuan dynasty sandwiched in between. The whole chain seems tangled."
He paused. A smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.
"But this Emperor Judy, or whatever his name was, his pronunciation came out strange, and he carried some foreign-sounding nickname. Still, the man clearly respects me. A ruler of taste and vision, obviously."
Had he seen this information only yesterday, Li Shimin would have been insufferably smug, already boasting about how the Tang would stand undefeated for a thousand years.
But Zhu Chongba's origins had humbled him.
"A beggar who conquered the realm?"
Li Shimin turned his own life over in his mind. If he had been born a beggar on the streets of Jinyang instead of a noble son of the Li clan, could he have done the same? He shook his head.
Almost certainly not. Without his status, how would he have learned to read? How would he have gathered his first generals around him?
"This Zhu Chongba... no wonder they say his claim to the realm is the most legitimate of any founding emperor."
He couldn't help it. The "Li Erfeng" nickname had stuck, so in his mind, Zhu Yuanzhang was officially "Zhu Chongba." It was the only way to keep the cosmic ego balance in check.
In the Chengdu, Liu Bei had reached his absolute limit for existential dread.
He had always thought of himself as the poor emperor, the man who had to weave straw sandals just to scrape by.
Then he saw Liu Yu, also called Jinu.
Jinu, Jinu... the kid who didn't even have a home to call his own.
Liu Bei felt like a billionaire in comparison.
But then he saw Zhu Chongba's backstory. A beggar. A starved and broken beggar who had clawed his way up to rule everything under Heaven. Liu Bei bowed his head in genuine surrender to the sheer weight of the narrative.
"The realm truly holds no shortage of heroes," Liu Bei whispered. His voice came out thick with awe.
Kongming, however, was already two steps ahead. His mind was racing through the political layers at lightning speed.
"No wonder they say the Ming's legitimacy stands above all others. Is this not a perfect example of the People's Choice that the screen spoke of? And this Yongle Emperor... he sounds like a truly benevolent ruler."
He looked at the screen with a mixture of reverence and scholarly envy.
"And this Li Shimin. No wonder the future sings his name. He managed to fuse the traits of a civil and a military emperor into a single man. He treasured the people's strength while keeping his sword sharp enough to crush every enemy at the border."
Pang Tong nodded so hard his hat nearly slid off his head.
"If Li Shimin had chosen the path of a tyrant, who under Heaven could have stopped him? He held the army. He held the momentum. He held the fame. The fact that he let his own ministers talk him down from his vanity tells you everything about his character. He and Wei Zheng... that truly is a partnership for the ages."
Pang Tong caught a flicker of movement. Kongming was cutting a small slip of paper and writing something across it.
"Kongming? What are you doing?"
"Just a theory," Kongming replied. He did not look up.
He finished the last stroke with a flourish, rose to his feet, and walked to the base of the Light Screen. Then he tossed the paper upward.
[Server Chat Log]
[NoobCarry: Speaking of health issues, the first person that comes to mind is Chancellor Zhuge. The man lived a life of indifference and tranquility, which is great for the soul but clearly did not add much to his lifespan. Honestly, if Cao Pi had lived like that, he would not have been such a wreck.]
MistyPeakBlade: Oh, please. You expect Cao Pi, the Crown Prince of Wei, to adopt the life motto of the Shu Han Chancellor? That is not very loyal of you, bro.
Mid Afk: Let me drop some lore for the OP. According to the Waitai Miyao, by the time Cao Pi hit thirty, he had grease flowing like a spring from his scalp and could not stop losing hair. Diabetes drives up blood sugar, which weakens the scalp and makes it prone to infections. Result: massive hair loss.]
ThunderDragonFist: Great. Now I am picturing Cao Pi with about three hairs clinging to his head and a scalp so shiny and greasy you could use it as a mirror. Thanks for that image. I hate it. I am going to go throw up now.
LazyFoxBrew: Imagine a balding, greasy Cao Pi trying to act tough with Sun Quan. Disgusting. Hey, person above me, where are you planning to vomit? Save a spot for me.
IronKettle92: You cannot pin all the Cao family's problems on Lady Bian. Out of Cao Cao's twenty-five recorded sons, only four or five made it past fifty. Lady Bian only gave birth to a handful of them.
JadeRabbitZero: Modern forensic tests on Cao Cao's skull actually found multiple cavities. There is a solid theory that the Head Wind migraines he kept complaining about were actually complications from pulpitis and nerve pain triggered by his massive sweet tooth. Ancient people just did not have the vocabulary for it, so they called everything a Head Wind.
BubbleTeaWarlord: I am literally drinking a milk tea while watching this. I am the problem. I refuse to listen to medical advice.
SushiSage: Old Cao's headaches could also be from parasites. The Sishi Shizhi records that he did not just eat freshwater fish. He ate everything. Swordfish. Porpoises. Minke whales. Rays. Dugongs. Parasite larvae love sea fish. And since the Three Kingdoms era had a massive obsession with eating raw fish... well, do the math.
WhaleWhisperer: Wait, Cao Cao ate minke whales and dugongs? Holy crap. The foodie gene really is hereditary in that family.
IndustrialSlacker: Hold up. If Cao Cao was eating whales, why did the Three Kingdoms not develop a whaling industry? Boss Cao, you really dropped the ball. You missed a literal stepping stone for the Industrial Revolution.
MercuryMain: So Cao Pi's short life was just diabetes? Man, I thought it was from overindulgence in his private life. Imperial Physician, bring me two more mercury pills. I shall fight fire with fire.
FivePowderProphet: In all fairness, given the luxury and decadence of the Cao Wei court, they were going to end up on Five Minerals Powder eventually anyway. The Sima clan just had to be patient. It was only a matter of time.
TenThousandTeeth: In that light, it is a shame Sun Quan did not just march north and become the King of Wei or King of Jin. After all, Ten-Thousand-Man Sun is famous for having a great appetite but terrible teeth.
HefeiDentist: LMAO. Terrible teeth. You mean Hefei was too hard of a nut to crack and he broke his fangs on it? Go back to chewing on the Shanyue tribes, Sun Zhongmou.
BrokenArrow: Actually, looking back, Sun Quan had a lot of ambition. It is just a shame his ambition never hit the target.
SouthernRoach: Sun Quan was a freak of nature for the Three Kingdoms era. The South was a death trap of bugs and plagues. Everyone was dying young or dropping dead from sudden fever. And then you have Sun Quan, who just stays alive until he is seventy out of spite. His constitution was built different.
SwampSurvivor: The South was not developed back then, and the medical tech was trash. One sip of raw water or one mosquito bite and you are a goner. The fact that the first three Grand Commanders died young was normal. It is guys like Lu Xun, Zhang Zhao, and Sun Quan who were the outliers.
RetreatMaster: If I were Pei Songzhi, I would be salty too. Shu Han had to invent stuff just to survive the Northern Expeditions. Sun Quan had a whole navy to move grain, and he still failed. Zhuge Liang killed Zhang He while retreating. Sun Quan almost got killed by Zhang Liao while trying to look cool during a retreat.
XuBrokenSword: The problem was Lü Meng. His whole strategic analysis boiled down to: if we take Xuzhou, Wei will attack us, so let us not do it. Brother, how much have you had to drink? You surrendered before you even started because you were afraid the enemy might fight back. I cannot even follow that logic. Just ask Cao Pi for Luoyang at that point, why do you not?
EightHundredProof: Theory. The reason Sun Quan killed Guan Yu was because Guan Yu was the one who begged for mercy for Zhang Liao back in the day. If Zhang Liao had not been there, Sun Quan would not have been humiliated at Hefei. Could Yue Jin have pulled that off? No way.
LooseSandWu: Eastern Wu was just a coalition of elite families. The Sun family was just the Big Boss at the top. They could hold the line together, but when it came to attacking, they were a pile of loose sand.
ChampagnePanic: While there are many versions of what happened at Hefei, one thing is certain. Sun Quan's army suffered a total breakdown. They got separated from their allies, their retreat was cut off, the center was smashed, and they were popping champagne before the battle was even over. Losing at Hefei is not the embarrassing part. Getting chased into a chaotic frenzy by eight hundred guys... that is the embarrassing part.
DeathNoteReader: The Chu Shi Biao that Zhuge Liang gave to Liu Shan... some people call it a memorial, I call it a Death Note. Literally everyone mentioned in it died.
FengshenBangFan: It is basically the Investiture of the Gods, Three Kingdoms edition. No survivors.
WalkthroughGuide: To be fair, it is mostly because Jiang Wei arrived too late. The memorials were written before the Northern Expeditions really kicked off. Zhuge Liang probably did not expect Liu Shan to use the Chu Shi Biao as a literal walkthrough guide for the game.
RoundTableFan: I think Kongming should have just put a round table in the Chancellor's Office. Invite Jiang Wan, Fei Yi, and Dong Yun. Give them all a vote. Introduce new members by a show of hands. Boom. Constitutional monarchy in the Three Kingdoms.
HeavensInbox: If I were Heaven, the Fengshan reports would drive me crazy. The first few reports were legendary. The Tang reports showed a golden age. Then the Song Dynasty hands in its report: Hey, just so you know, we are starting our annual tribute payments to our brothers next year. Heaven: Wait, what? Did I miss a few chapters?
CheapskateZhu: Old Zhu really hated the flashy stuff. During the Ming, they just built a big altar in Nanjing and combined all the sacrifices into one. Very efficient. Very cheap.
ZhenguanStan: The Zhenguan style was all about cherishing the people's strength. That fits my image of Li Shimin perfectly.
SellingGrandpasFarm: Li Shimin cherished it, and then his descendants started selling the family farm like it did not cost a thing, right?
PrivateVaultFail: Emperor Zhenzong actually had one redeeming quality. He paid for the Fengshan ceremony out of his own private vault. But that money was supposed to be saved for fighting the Khitans... so yeah, he was definitely selling his grandpa's farm for a party.
Li Shimin: I shall help the Marquis Wu-Zhuge Liang pacify the Three Kingdoms. How about that?
Zhuge Liang: Your Majesty Erfeng, please do not forget the tragedy of the Crown Prince.]
The entire GANLU Hall went silent. Li Shimin felt his heart skip a beat.
In the Shu Han camp, the atmosphere turned ice-cold.