Chapter 60: Epilogue I (Serious Version)

At dusk in “Peaceful Chang’an,” a gentle breeze blew. Various clouds drifted across the sky, following the wind and resting with it. As the sun set, colorful hues mixed with dazzling red light illuminated the line where water met the sky, resembling a miracle from the heavens. Li Hen, dressed in casual clothes with his hands behind his back, stood on the island in the northern garden of the Daming Palace, gazing at the rippling waters of the Taiye Pond. (Note 1) “It’s about to wind up. Your Majesty, put on another layer of clothing.”

Wei Jiansu, the Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince and Right Minister, had somehow arrived behind Li Hen and draped a light robe over the Tang emperor’s shoulders.

Li Hen let out a deep sigh and, with Wei Jiansu’s support, staggered toward the shore of the Taiye Pond.

“Have there been any important political matters in the court recently? Has the Crown Prince handled them properly?”

Li Hen reached a corridor built along the water’s edge, found a spot to sit down, and took deep breaths. Though he was just over fifty, his health was far from what it used to be; even a few steps would make him sweat profusely. Following the advice of the imperial physicians, he decided to rest and recover, moving to the Hanliang Hall in this northern garden since last year.

Although Li Hen had entrusted all state affairs to the Crown Prince, he would occasionally summon important officials like Wei Jiansu to the northern garden to report extremely critical matters to him. For the most part, Li Hen was satisfied with how the Crown Prince, Li Yu, handled things. However, on a few issues, they disagreed—Li Hen felt the Crown Prince was still too inexperienced in handling certain matters.

Wei Jiansu was now in his seventies, with gray hair. Seeing the emperor ask a question, he quickly bowed and replied respectfully, “Your Majesty, there haven’t been any major matters in the court recently. It’s mainly about the military suppressing rebellions. Thanks to Your Majesty, all reports have been good news.”

Li Hen waved his hand. “Go on, tell me more.”

Wei Jiansu nodded and replied slowly, “In March, the rebels fought among themselves, and Shi Siming was killed by his son, Shi Chaoyi. Guo Ziyi, the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the army, took advantage of the situation to pursue them, defeating the rebels. Shi Chaoyi fled north in disarray. Puguhuai En, acting on imperial orders, led the troops from Shuofang to pursue them and surrounded them in Weizhou.”

Li Hen sighed lightly. “Rebel forces are unjust armies—frequently committing acts of fathers killing their sons and subjects killing their rulers. How can such forces win the hearts of the people? What does the Crown Prince say about this?”

Wei Jiansu said, “After learning of this, His Highness ordered rewards for the troops and instructed Guo Ziyi and Pugu Huaien to assign official positions below the fifth rank on their own. As for the meritorious soldiers who deserved positions above the fifth rank, His Highness ordered them to prepare a list to be submitted to the court for approval by the end of the year. As for money, grain, and cloth, they were temporarily recorded to be distributed after the grain and silk from Jianghuai arrived in the capital the following year.”
Li Heng nodded slightly and said, “He handled this matter quite well. Go on.”
“In April, the rebel Tian Chengsi advanced from Suiyang and engaged in fierce battles with Pugu Huaien, eventually retreating to the Zhang River after defeat. Seeing that the rebel forces were losing ground, Tian Chengsi submitted a petition to the court asking to surrender. After assessing the situation, His Highness accepted his request and appointed Tian Chengsi as the military governor of Weibo.”
Wei Jiansu swallowed hard and spoke carefully. Appointing a rebel general was no small matter; this action by the crown prince could be seen as overstepping his authority. Given Li Heng’s temperament, it might not end well.
To his surprise, Li Heng nodded in approval and said, “Well done! Very well done! Tian Chengsi has always been a major threat to our Tang Dynasty. I’ve been thinking of ways to get rid of him, and yet the crown prince managed to persuade him to surrender.”
After a brief pause, Li Heng said, “Hmm, let’s handle this matter for now. By the way, how are things in Hexi and Anxi? Are the Tibetans still so arrogant?”
Wei Jiansu bowed and replied, “While our troops in Anxi were sent to suppress rebellions elsewhere, the Tibetans took the opportunity to invade the former territory of Anxi. But our soldiers fought bravely, forcing the invaders to retreat slightly. Currently, the communication between Longyou, Hexi provinces, the four garrisons in Anxi, and Chang’an has been cut off. Fortunately, the troops stationed in those garrisons are still holding their positions.”
After hearing this, Li Heng felt somewhat disheartened and waved his hand, asking, “What about the Uyghurs? I gave them so much silver and silk—won’t they send troops to help the four garrisons fight against the Tibetans?”
Wei Jiansu found this amusing. The Uyghurs were a branch of the Tielue people, who worshipped wolves and had a deep-seated pride in strength. With the Tang Dynasty weakened, it was already remarkable that they didn’t take advantage of the situation to strike down their enemies—how could one expect them to send troops in aid?
“Your Majesty, the Uyghurs have not sent any troops to help,” Wei Jiansu reported truthfully, inwardly sighing.
“These ungrateful wretches!”
Furious, Li Heng waved his arm angrily. “I treated them like family, yet they abandoned me like old clothes. I must avenge this! Cough, cough…”
“Your Majesty, take care of yourself!”

Wei Jiansu hurriedly bent forward and patted Li Heng’s back, saying with a sigh, “Our Tang Dynasty isn’t short of soldiers ready to fight—what we truly lack are capable generals. Generals like Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi are extraordinary talents who are focused on suppressing rebellions; how could they have the time to manage the troops in Anxi?”
Li Heng let out a deep sigh. Wei Jiansu was right—what Tang needed most now were outstanding generals. As the old saying goes, it’s easy to find thousands of soldiers but hard to find a good general, and now he understood its meaning.
“If that person were still here, perhaps things wouldn’t be like this.”
Li Heng wiped the sweat from his forehead, smiling bitterly at himself.
“Your Majesty…”
Hearing Li Heng suddenly mention that person, Wei Jiansu felt a sharp pain in his heart. That person’s name had always been taboo in the palace, with no one daring to mention it outright. Yet today, the emperor himself brought it up…
Indeed, that person had once been a genius who burned Fusi City and flooded Jiuqu Prefecture. If he could have stayed and served the court, perhaps he could have changed the situation in Anxi. It was truly a pity.
“Was I too harsh on him back then? If I hadn’t pressured him, would he have rebelled?”
Frowning, Li Heng sought an answer from Wei Jiansu. This matter had weighed on his heart for too long, tormenting him constantly. He was eager to hear Wei Jiansu’s opinion.
As people grow older, they tend to talk more—this was true even for the emperor of Tang, dressed in imperial robes, just as much as for those in tattered clothes struggling to survive.
Back then, Li Heng had believed the slanderous words of the treacherous official Pei Mian and executed that person’s brothers, forcing him to lead nearly ten thousand soldiers from Jianghuai westward through Yangguan Pass. That decision led to consequences that could no longer be undone.
“Your Majesty, how can you say such things?”
Pei Mian felt pain in his heart as he said sternly, “As the saying goes, if the ruler orders death, the subject must die. Even if Your Majesty placed a sword at that person’s throat, he shouldn’t have dared to refuse. Besides, Your Majesty only executed one of his subordinates—everything… everything is his own fault!”
“You always know how to flatter me!”
Li Heng shook his head helplessly, exposing Wei Jiansu’s true intentions. After years of being ruler and subject, how could they not understand each other’s hearts? Over the years, he had also reflected on that incident. If it were him, he might have rebelled too.
“If I hadn’t pressured him so much back then, perhaps this man would have become another Guo Linggong by now.”
There was a hint of melancholy in Li Heng’s voice. Life is full of regrets, even for emperors.

He had suffered too many schemes in his life—first from Li Linfu, then from Yang Guozhong. Thus, he remained cautious toward everyone around him, adhering to the principle of “I would rather betray the world than let the world betray me.” It was only in the end that he realized not everyone was interested in the dragon throne in the Daming Palace, nor did everyone place such great importance on profit. Yet, he learned all this too late.

Wei Jiansu didn’t want to say much more and simply said, “But Your Majesty needn’t worry too much. I heard that after crossing the Yangguan Pass to the west, he led his troops along with the Tubo and Uyghur raiders who had plundered villages to fight fiercely, driving those tyrannical invaders back to their lairs. In secret, he also helped a great deal to the four garrisons.”

“Oh? Is that so?”

A glimmer of light rekindled in Li Heng’s dim and murky eyes as he asked, “Is the Jianghuai Army still as combat-effective now?”

It wasn’t surprising that Li Heng asked this. After all, when that man was ordered by the court to head north from Yangzhou to resist the enemy, most of his soldiers were in their thirties. By now, they should be nearly forty, right?

Wei Jiansu nodded and said, “I find it strange too. Under that man’s leadership, the Jianghuai Army has become increasingly brave. Along the way, ordinary civilians kept joining the army, and now its size has reached fifty to sixty thousand.”

Li Heng frowned and asked, “Minister Wei, do you think if I conferred upon him the title of Grand Protector of Anxi now, he would accept it?”

“Your Majesty, this…”

Wei Jiansu didn’t know how to respond at first hearing this. It was you who labeled that man a rebel back then. Now you want to summon him to court—it probably won’t be easy.

“Never mind, never mind. I feel guilty toward him, so guilty…”

Li Heng also realized his idea was unrealistic. He sighed deeply and waved his hand.

“Your Majesty, in fact, I believe that no matter where he is, whether he comes to court or not, he is still defending the realm for you.”

Unable to bear to see Li Heng sad, Wei Jiansu seized the opportunity to add a remark.

“Oh? What do you mean by that, Minister?”

“Do you know that he has now retreated to the regions of Guazhou and Liangzhou? The eleven provinces of Hexi in our Tang Dynasty were originally divided among the Tubo and Uyghurs, but since that man entered Hexi, he has successively taken back Guazhou and Liangzhou, gradually forming a counterforce against the Tubo and Uyghurs.”

After a brief pause, Wei Jiansu calmly said, “If I remember correctly, that man once said, ‘Where the sun rises, there lies the Tang Dynasty.’ If that’s the case, whether he comes to court or not, he is still fighting for the Tang Dynasty!”

Where the sun rises, there lies the Tang Dynasty…

Where the sun rises is the Great Tang!
Li Heng clenched his fists tightly; his already hunched back straightened again, and an almost imperceptible glint appeared in his eyes.
Note 1: Taiye Pond, located in the northern garden of Daming Palace, is an artificial lake.