Chapter 2: The Brilliant Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, Five and a Half Years Old

“Is it surprising that the Tang Dynasty has fallen? In the end, even the emperor is gone.”
Watching Changsun Wuji and Li Shimin’s stunned expressions, Wen He scoffed dismissively.

After struggling fiercely a few times, he broke free from Changsun Wuji’s grip on his collar. Once his feet touched the ground, he let out a long breath and straightened his clothes.

He glanced resentfully at Changsun Wuji. If he weren’t just ten years old now, with the physical strength from his previous life, even ten of this guy wouldn’t be his match.

“Absurd!” Changsun Wuji glared fiercely, like an angry guardian deity in a temple. He reached out to grab him again, but Wen He dodged swiftly.

“How dare you evade me!” The older man was furious, rolling up his sleeves to make a move.

Wen He quickly shrank his neck to avoid the strike, then grabbed Changsun Wuji’s arm, twisting it hard as if to use a joint lock—but he realized that compared to Changsun Wuji, his strength was like an ant facing an elephant.

He was easily subdued.

“Your Highness, I will bury this seditious troublemaker right away.”

“Wait, no! Killing is against the law!” Wen He shouted in alarm.

Changsun Wuji sneered at his struggles, utterly disdainful. “Law? This is the Prince of Qin's residence!”

In other words, here, the Prince of Qin and he himself are the law.

“Damn you! You’re neither the guardian minister nor the chancellor yet, and the Prince of Qin hasn’t spoken. How dare you act as if you’re the prince himself? No wonder you old fool…”

“What did you say?” Changsun Wuji’s movements suddenly froze. He took a deep breath and stared at Wen He with burning eyes, cutting off the unfinished sentence: “No wonder you old fool was forced to commit suicide, and your whole family was exiled.”

“He said you became the guardian minister and were appointed chancellor.” Li Shimin, who had remained silent until now, suddenly stood up and waved for Changsun Wuji to release Wen He.

“But our Tang Dynasty never had an actual chancellor post.” Li Shimin squinted, scrutinizing Wen He. He did not question the guardianship but brought up the chancellorship instead.

He was still testing Wen He.

“Seems it was the Right Deputy Secretary of the Department of State Affairs... No, that’s not right.” Wen He shook his head. After his time travel, his memories of his past life had grown hazy, and many things he hadn’t sorted out yet.

Upon hearing that he was the Right Deputy Secretary, Changsun Wuji’s heart leapt with joy.

The Tang government was a collective minister system, with the highest post being the Secretary of the Department of State Affairs, currently also held by the Prince of Qin.

If he became emperor, to avoid taboo, no one would dare hold that position again. Thus, the left and right deputy secretaries would be the de facto prime minister and deputy prime minister.

With Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui present, he knew the prime minister position wouldn’t be his, but being deputy prime minister would satisfy him.

He was about to thank Li Shimin fervently when Wen He interrupted, “No, that’s not right.” He was stunned and annoyed, twitching uncontrollably at the corner of his mouth.

“Your words don’t connect. I think you…” He was about to get angry when Wen He cut in, “The Right Deputy Secretary was appointed when the Prince of Qin ascended the throne, but Empress Changsun advised the prince that since you are both royal kin and meritorious minister, to avoid future suspicion between sovereign and subject, you were reassigned as Director of the Three Departments and titled 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 governorship of Zhaozhou and titled Duke of Zhao; in the sixteenth year, appointed Minister of Personnel; in the twenty-second year, acting Secretary of the Department of State Affairs, overseeing the Departments of State Affairs and the Chancellery; in the Zhenguan…”

“Wait!”

Changsun Wuji trembled, his eyes red-rimmed. He stepped back a few paces and solemnly bowed deeply to Li Shimin.

“Your Highness’s grace overwhelms me; I have no way to repay it other than to serve you loyally until death!”

This guy was comparing himself to Zhuge Liang.

How shameless.

Li Shimin was stunned as well. He hadn’t fully believed Wen He’s words yet; he hadn’t expected his chief minister to believe them outright.

But he quickly recovered and stepped forward to help Changsun Wuji up, solemnly saying, “You and I, sovereign and minister, complement each other. Surely we will leave a name in history.”

“That’s true; you have indeed made your mark in history,” Wen He smiled and nodded. If he had a phone now, he would capture this moment.

As his words fell, the two, still moved, turned to look back in unison.

“Don’t think that just because of this, Your Highness and I trust you. Earlier you spoke arrogantly and paradoxically, claiming that the Tang Dynasty has fallen, but with us as sovereign and minister, the Tang will surely flourish forever!”

Changsun Wuji was treacherously turning on him!

Wen He was furious. “You believe the good things but disbelieve the bad. In all of history, which dynasty ever had an eternal legacy? Even Qin Shi Huang tried, and his dynasty fell by the second generation.”

“Well then, tell me, how long did the Tang Dynasty last?”

“Two hundred eighty-nine years, spanning twenty-one emperors,” Wen He replied, looking at Li Shimin.

He expected disbelief or an emotional reaction.

But Li Shimin remained calm, as if unaffected.

Changsun Wuji, however, exploded with rage. “Impossible! Absolutely impossible!”

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

“You’re not Cao Cao, why shout ‘impossible’?”

“What?” Changsun Wuji’s anger froze on his face, confused.

Li Shimin also cast him a puzzled glance.

“Uh, cough, just ignore that. The Tang wasn’t short-lived. Remember, the Sui only lasted a few decades. In the grand river of history, aside from the Han, only the Tang fell due to internal strife, which is impressive.”

Wen He tried to console the pair, feeling he might have said too much.

What if it undermined Li Shimin’s confidence?

“Two hundred eighty-nine years, huh.” Li Shimin turned and sat down, his expression darkening.

Changsun Wuji frowned. “Your Highness, don’t believe this nonsense. The Tang is an eternal dynasty. How could it last only a little over two centuries? Are you saying the Tang isn’t even as great as the Former Han?”

“That’s not true. The Han was interrupted too. Counting the Later Tang and Southern Tang, the Tang legacy actually lasted over three hundred years.”

Although Li Bin of Southern Tang’s bloodline was questionable, this should console Li Shimin somewhat… right?

Li Shimin remained silent.

Wen He regretted it.

Had revealing the fall of the Tang already damaged his confidence?

That would be bad; he needed Li Shimin to rise and help him defeat Li Yuanji.

Who else would save his beloved sister?

“Besides the Han, your Tang produced more enlightened rulers—six, or five and a half.” Wen He offered, trying to soothe them.

Li Shimin’s stoic expression flickered; he looked up at Wen He.

“Five and a half? What does that mean?”

“You insolent brat! Either six or five, what’s with the half? Did one die young?” Changsun Wuji glared, puzzled by Wen He’s odd phrasing.

Couldn’t he just speak plainly?

Wen He shook his head. “No, no, no. If one died young, he would certainly rank among the top three Tang emperors. There’s a saying about him: such a fine emperor, it’s a pity he died too late.”

He was speaking of none other than the famed Li Longji.

Changsun Wuji’s mouth twitched.

He was starting to believe Wen He might be telling the truth—that future history might lack emperors altogether.

This boy showed no respect for emperors at all.

“Why are you staring at me like that?” Wen He snorted indignantly. “I’m not wrong. Li Longji was a paragon of enlightened rulership in his youth, but became utterly dim-witted in later years. He was both the zenith and the beginning of Tang decline. Even the so-called later golden ages were just a dying glow.”

Such a contradictory emperor was rare in history.

“Enough!” Li Shimin suddenly thundered.

Wen He had once dismissed the so-called royal majesty as mere self-indulgence by historians.

But now he truly understood what it meant to command respect without raising one’s voice.

Under Li Shimin’s piercing gaze, Wen He felt like a tiger was eyeing him; a chill ran from head to toe.