[Light Screen]
[Liu Rengui followed every single letter of the law and did his job with perfect care. But for all his hard work, he got banished to the empire's farthest frontier. A place so remote almost nobody had ever been there.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Li Yifu won over the beautiful woman he wanted. He held tight to his power and sat nice and comfy at the very top of the imperial food chain. He was untouchable. Nobody dared even think about messing with him.
Emperor Li Zhi's pick-and-choose approach to enforcing the law sent a clear message to everyone in court. It was like he was shouting for all to hear: "This guy's my attack dog and I've got his back. End of story!"
But human civilization only creeps forward because there are always a few stubborn folks who won't give up. People who really believe fair justice matters more than raw power, and they're willing to risk everything to prove it.
The guy who decided to give Emperor Li Zhi a metaphorical slap in the face this time was Wang Yifang. He was just a Rank Six Palace Censor. Nothing fancy, no big title or important position.
To understand Wang Yifang, you need to look at the official performance review written about him by the legendary Chancellor Wei Zheng.
Wei Zheng once wrote: "I really cherish his talent, but I often worry he's way too straightforward."
Now let's be clear about who Wei Zheng was in history. No question about it – he was the Zhenguan era's number one ultimate troll and professional critic.
According to the official Essentials of Governance of the Zhenguan Period, Wei Zheng gave fifty formal scoldings straight to Emperor Li Shimin's face. He sent in eleven essay-length reports slamming imperial policy. And those are only the ones that made it into the books!
The number of times he casually called out the Emperor in private meetings is impossible to count. Historical records say he hit Li Shimin with hundreds of thousands of words of criticism over his whole career.
It got so bad that Emperor Li Shimin once stormed back to his private rooms, absolutely furious. He was jumping up and down screaming: "One day I'm going to kill that arrogant country bumpkin!"
So when a guy who regularly made the most powerful Emperor in history throw a temper tantrum looks at someone else and says "Wow, you're a little too blunt," you can guess exactly what kind of personality Wang Yifang had.
Wang Yifang came from nothing. His family was dirt poor. His dad died when he was very young and his mom raised him all by herself with nothing but sheer willpower.
Thankfully, the kid was a genius.
During the Zhenguan era, he took the imperial civil service exams and absolutely aced them, getting first place. He caught the eye of the head examiner. Who just happened to be Wei Zheng.
Wei Zheng was thrilled to find such a brilliant young talent. He wanted to bring the kid into his inner circle. Coincidentally, Wei Zheng had a niece who was old enough to marry. She was known for being beautiful and having good character, so he casually offered to play matchmaker.
Wang Yifang was really touched by the offer. Then he looked Wei Zheng right in the eye and flat out said no.
Wei Zheng died not long after that awkward rejection.
And almost right away, a huge political scandal blew up. General Hou Junji launched a rebellion and failed spectacularly.
This was a disaster for Wei Zheng's legacy. While he was alive, he'd strongly recommended Hou Junji to the Emperor, saying the man had what it took to be Prime Minister. Oops. The guy turned out to be a traitor.
To make things worse, Wei Zheng had also recommended another official named Du Zhenglun. He called his brilliance "unmatched in ancient or modern history." Emperor Li Shimin gave Du Zhenglun a big promotion, only to find out he was completely useless. A total fraud.
Then a palace informant whispered to the Emperor that Wei Zheng had been making copies of his fiery lectures. He showed them to the imperial historian Chu Suiliang before submitting them.
Suddenly, Li Shimin saw red flags everywhere. The bad recommendations made it look like Wei Zheng was building a corrupt group. The leaked documents made it seem like he was using the Emperor to boost his own reputation as a fearless hero.
When all this came together, Li Shimin let his emotions take over. In a fit of petty rage, he canceled the royal marriage between his daughter, Princess Hengshan, and Wei Zheng's eldest son.
But he did not stop there. He ordered his guards to march to Wei Zheng's grave and smash his memorial tombstone to pieces.
It was the ultimate political cancellation. The Wei family was suddenly radioactive. Nobody in the capital would even look in their direction.
And it was at this exact, terrifying moment that Wang Yifang calmly walked up to the Wei family estate and formally proposed marriage to the niece.
When people asked him if he had lost his mind, Wang Yifang explained his logic perfectly.
He said he rejected the initial proposal back when Wei Zheng was the most powerful man in the empire because he refused to be seen as a kiss-up who just wanted to climb the social ladder. It would have damaged both of their reputations. But now, he was proposing simply to repay the kindness and appreciation Wei Zheng had shown him when he was a nobody.
The intellectuals of the capital were floored. They all praised Wang Yifang for having the true spirit of an ancient gentleman.
Just one year later, Emperor Li Shimin launched his invasion of Goguryeo. The campaign was a disaster. Costly, humiliating, and a complete mess. On the long march home, the Emperor finally had time to think and realized he had really, really messed up.
So he did what any reasonable Emperor would do. He publicly admitted he needed Wei Zheng's harsh advice. He ordered the tombstone rebuilt, held a state ceremony to honor Wei Zheng's spirit, and showered the ruined Wei family with so much gold and apologies they probably didn't know what to do with it all.
Because of his fearless loyalty during those dark times, Wang Yifang caught Li Shimin's eye. The Emperor loved the kid's backbone and immediately promoted him to the inner circle.
Unfortunately, Wang Yifang's luck was not much better than his mentor's.
The very next year after the tombstone was fixed, another scandal blew up. Someone accused Zhang Liang, one of the legendary Lingyan Pavilion founding generals, of plotting treason.
Emperor Li Shimin did not waste a second. He acted fast, and Zhang Liang's head rolled in record time.
Since Wang Yifang was known to be good friends with the general, he got caught in the crossfire. He was stripped of his high-ranking capital job and banished to Danzhou on Hainan Island to serve as a minor deputy.
They called it a demotion. But sending a scholar to the southernmost tropical edge of the empire was basically a death sentence wrapped in a polite official letter.
But Wang Yifang did not complain.
He packed his bags, headed to the island, and got to work. He founded Hainan's very first formal educational academy. He spent years teaching local tribes the foundations of Chinese culture and literature, and permanently cemented the island as part of Huaxia civilization.]
Inside the Ganlu Hall, Wei Zheng sat frozen in his chair. He was pinching his beard so hard he nearly tore out a chunk. His face was twisted in confusion.
"The number one… troll?" Wei Zheng muttered, rolling the strange foreign word around his tongue.
He looked around the room, conflicted. The uploader was clearly praising him, but the word felt disrespectful.
Sensing his colleague's struggle, Fang Xuanling leaned forward and stroked his beard thoughtfully.
"If we break down the meaning," he proposed, "to 'troll' or 'spray' means angrily telling someone off. It paints a vivid picture of a man snorting, blowing air, and going at his opponent with everything he has."
He nodded, satisfied with his deduction.
"I believe future generations use this term to praise the sheer force of your reports, Xuancheng. It highlights your righteous aura when defending justice. Adding 'great' or 'number one' is a sign of deep respect for an elder statesman with profound wisdom."
Wei Zheng closed his eyes and pictured it. A man fearlessly shouting righteous anger straight at absolute power. The more he thought about it, the more he liked it. The future slang was crude, but it captured his entire political philosophy perfectly.
He turned to face Emperor Li Shimin directly. His eyes burned with renewed purpose.
"Your Majesty!" Wei Zheng declared loudly. "I promise to stay alert and hold myself to the highest standards! I will strive to be the ultimate troll against Your Majesty's flaws, and just as fierce a troll against my own failings!"
He cupped his hands in a sharp salute.
"Only then can I truly live up to this glorious, wild title of 'The Great Troll' when I am gone!"
Emperor Li Shimin opened his mouth to reply. He desperately wanted to say, "Please, for heaven's sake, you do not need to try harder!"
But he swallowed his words. He was smart enough to know he was arrogant and flawed. He needed someone to keep him in check. He forced a strained smile and gave a stiff nod of approval.
Revitalized by his new historical title, Wei Zheng immediately turned to Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui. He grabbed them both by the sleeves and lectured them about stepping up their game to supervise the Emperor more strictly.
He was basically trying to recruit them into a professional trolling squad.
While the civil officials debated how to "properly" critique the throne, Li Shimin's face grew bitter. He had read the scrolling text on the screen.
Hundreds of thousands of words of criticism!
A headache built behind his eyes. Wei Zheng did not just argue. He loved it. A relentless machine of complaints. No wonder future generations called him a troll.
But as the annoyance faded, a wave of arrogant pride washed over him.
If I can sit on the throne and swallow hundreds of thousands of words of harsh criticism from this stubborn old goat without executing him, Li Shimin thought smugly. What else can I not handle?
He felt vindicated.
The future keeps calling me petty and narrow-minded on this light screen! How am I petty? I am the most tolerant Emperor in history!
But his self-congratulatory thoughts were shattered the moment the light screen mentioned "smashed his memorial tombstone to pieces."
An awkward silence fell over the room.
The one handling the tension best was General Hou Junji. He was practically vibrating with forced calm.
Ever since the secret meetings began and the screen revealed he would eventually join the Crown Prince's treasonous rebellion, Hou Junji had surrendered to his fate and adopted a policy of aggressive compliance.
The Crown Prince's rebellion drags me into trouble later. What can I do about it now? he reasoned.
His survival strategy was simple. Work himself to the bone for the Emperor now to prove his loyalty, and stay as far away from succession drama as possible. Whether Li Shimin chose Li Chengqian or Li Zhi as heir, he would keep his distance.
Actually, Hou Junji stole a quick, appreciative glance at Wei Zheng.
I never knew this stubborn old coot went out of his way to praise my talents to the Emperor! he thought happily. Calling me Prime Minister material. The man really knows talent when he sees it!
Wei Zheng, however, ignored the nervous general completely. He also ignored the horrifying news that the Emperor would one day desecrate his grave. He did not care about the tombstone.
His full attention was on the story of the young scholar.
"This Wang Yifang is a true gentleman of outstanding character," Wei Zheng praised, his voice thick with emotion. "The fact that Your Majesty created the imperial examinations to elevate brilliant, moral young men like him is the greatest blessing for the Tang Dynasty."
Li Shimin nodded slowly, thoughtfully.
Hearing Wang Yifang's story drove home exactly why the examination system mattered. Here was a kid from the very bottom, with no connections to powerful families. He refused to kiss up to the rich and stood up for justice even when it was dangerous.
That was exactly the kind of fearless, incorruptible official the empire needed.
After praising the young scholar, Wei Zheng's face flushed with rare embarrassment. He looked down at the table.
"The future generations are right about me, Your Majesty," he admitted quietly. "My actions with historian Chu Suiliang were driven partly by a selfish desire to build my own legacy."
As for his posthumous fate, he held no resentment.
He was a political realist. He knew surviving a career spent aggressively criticizing a military dictator was a miracle. The only reason he was alive was because Li Shimin was a tolerant and forgiving ruler.
But Wei Zheng also knew the golden rule of being a moral censor. A man whose job is pointing out others' flaws cannot afford flaws of his own. The moment he showed selfish motives, he had compromised everything.
Seeing the legendary, unbreakable Wei Zheng look genuinely embarrassed was a once-in-a-lifetime sight. Li Shimin took a moment to savor it before offering a warm smile.
"You are not at fault, Xuancheng," he said softly, leaning forward. "If anyone is to blame, it is me. I failed you in that future."
His voice grew emotional.
"You are not some flawless deity from cheap novels. You are human. Wanting a good place in history is the most normal thing in the world."
Li Shimin looked around the room, making eye contact with everyone present.
"We conquered a chaotic, broken world together. Yes, I led the way. But we would not be here without Shubao and Jingde's suicidal bravery on the front lines. We would not have survived without Keming and Xuanling's brilliant logistics. We would not have secured the borders without General Li Jing crushing southern rebels single-handedly."
He slammed his hand on the table. His eyes burned with conviction.
"This is not just my Zhenguan era! This golden age belongs to all of us, ruler and ministers alike! So what if you wanted your contributions recorded? Why is that a crime? Every brilliant argument and strategy you have all given deserves to be written down in the imperial records forever!"
Wei Zheng always loved quoting the ancient proverb: "The people are water; the ruler is a boat. Water can carry the boat, or capsize it."
But Li Shimin realized the same logic applied to his relationship with his ministers. Looking back at history, ministers who criticized their Emperor as fiercely as Wei Zheng, or generals with as much power as Li Jing, usually ended up executed for treason out of paranoia.
The fact these men were thriving and would die in their beds was proof of the Zhenguan era's greatness.
As for smashing the tombstone? Li Shimin saw it as a harsh warning from the future. He would never let his temper get the better of him like that.
To make up for it, he decided to force Wei Zheng to stay for a lavish private banquet that very evening. The old man deserved it.
He stood up, walked around the table, and clapped Wei Zheng heavily on the shoulder. He was smiling freely, no longer burdened by worry.
Sitting nervously at the edge of the hall, the newly arrived Liu Rengui stared at the Emperor. He was dazzled by his overwhelming charisma. It was intoxicating.
But after mending his bond with Wei Zheng, Li Shimin looked back at the light screen. The mention of General Zhang Liang's upcoming treason gave him another massive headache.
Zhang Liang again, he thought. This is going to be a long night.
[Light Screen]
[Thanks to his solid work in Hainan, Wang Yifang finally caught a break. In 656, Emperor Li Zhi officially pardoned him, recalled him to the capital, and promoted him back to Palace Censor.
But shortly after returning, Wang Yifang watched Li Zhi rig the legal system to protect the corrupt Li Yifu in a murder case. He could not just sit back and let it slide.
He drafted a brutal impeachment report, but he hesitated before submitting it.
He had spent ten long years rotting in a tropical jungle. Exile had not broken his spirit or changed his morals. But he was terrified of dragging his elderly mother into another political disaster. What if Li Zhi banished his whole family this time?
Thankfully, his mother was a legend. A powerhouse matriarch of the Tang Dynasty.
When Wang Yifang confessed his fears, she looked at him and quoted ancient history. She reminded him of the Chu-Han Contention, when General Wang Ling's mother chose to die rather than let her son be blackmailed into surrendering to the tyrant Xiang Yu.
"If you have the courage to stand up for true justice today," she told him firmly. "Then as your mother, I will die with no regrets."
Empowered by his mother's unwavering support, Wang Yifang marched into morning court.
Standing proudly before the entire assembly, he delivered a blistering speech. Since Emperor Li Zhi was the supreme ruler of all nations, he had a moral duty to set an example for the world.
Therefore, Wang Yifang demanded the Emperor follow Tang law to the letter and execute Prime Minister Li Yifu for corruption and murder.
Emperor Li Zhi's response was predictable. He flipped through the legal code, found an obscure rule on "insubordination to superiors," and used it to convict Wang Yifang. He demoted him on the spot, banished him to Laizhou to serve as a lowly military clerk, and once again protected Li Yifu.
When Wang Yifang arrived in Laizhou, he had had enough. He resigned from government entirely, opened a private academy, spent his days teaching students, and cared for his elderly mother in peace.
Shortly after his mother passed away of old age, Wang Yifang fell ill and died at fifty-five.
Wang Yifang's life was a brutal rollercoaster of promotions and exiles. He never climbed higher than Rank Six.
But despite his low rank, the compilers of the Old Book of Tang considered his moral character so important they gave him his own standalone biography. He is universally recognized as the ultimate symbol of the unyielding spirit of early Tang scholars.
Now let's take a quick look at the man who caused Wang Yifang's first exile. General Zhang Liang.
Zhang Liang's execution for treason is widely considered the most ridiculous legal case of the entire Zhenguan era.
Why?
Because shortly after chopping off his head, Emperor Li Shimin basically admitted there was zero concrete evidence of rebellion. He famously said he "deeply regretted" the execution.
Though his regret came with a catch.
"Look, he might not have been plotting today, but the guy was acting seriously shady."
And Li Shimin was not wrong.
Zhang Liang was doing some truly bizarre stuff. He had legally adopted over five hundred grown men as "godsons." He hoarded massive piles of military-grade weapons in his basement, and constantly invited sketchy sorcerers to decode apocalyptic prophecies. No way to spin that as normal behavior for a loyal citizen.
But dig into the records, and the truth behind his downfall is hilariously pathetic.
First off, Zhang Liang was not exactly a saint. Born a dirt-poor cabbage farmer, the first thing he did after striking it rich in the military was brutally divorce his peasant wife. He wanted to marry a younger, wealthier beauty from the Li family.
The Old Book of Tang uses two specific words to describe this new Lady Li. Promiscuous and Arrogant.
Promiscuous because she ran a massive, open-secret harem right in the general's mansion. Dozens of Zhang Liang's adopted "godsons" called her "Mother" by day, and something very different in her bedroom by night. She was playing with fire.
Among her lovers, one stood out. His name was Zhang Shenji. He was originally a street vendor who sold cheap writing brushes. He was handsome, smooth-talking, and a fantastic dancer. Lady Li fell head over heels.
She manipulated Zhang Liang into formally adopting the brush-seller as a godson. She moved him into the mansion so they could be together every single night.
As her feelings grew, Lady Li started plotting ways to secure power and wealth for her favorite toy boy. She settled on using dark magic and political prophecies.
Working with her adopted lover, she "deciphered" two conveniently ancient prophecies.
Prophecy One: Lady Li is destined to become a royal queen.
Prophecy Two: Zhang Shenji is destined for unimaginable nobility.
The subtext was obvious. Overthrow the Emperor.
But Zhang Liang was blind to his wife's cheating and bought the prophecies hook, line, and sinker.
He became obsessed with the occult. His mansion soon swarmed with con artists and fake warlocks draining his bank account with flattery.
After weeks locked in a room with these frauds, Zhang Liang genuinely convinced himself.
"Holy crap, I actually have the Mandate of Heaven!"
As the circus in his mansion grew, someone was bound to snitch.
Word reached the palace, and Li Shimin sent an elite inspector. When the doors were kicked in, the fake sorcerers immediately turned on Zhang Liang to save their own skins.
In a feudal society, talking about "equality before the law" or "innocent until proven guilty" is a waste of breath. Zhang Liang was acting suspicious, involved in witchcraft, so his head rolled. Case closed.
But from a historical perspective, it is a pathetic tragedy.
Zhang Liang was a hardened survivor. He lived through the collapse of the Sui Dynasty and the bloody chaos of the Xuanwu Gate Incident. During the Zhenguan era, he was a fantastic regional governor. He crushed corrupt aristocrats and gave tax relief to the poor. That is exactly why a moral crusader like Wang Yifang respected him enough to be his friend.
And yet, this capable, battle-tested hero from the streets destroyed himself because he could not handle the trashy reality TV drama playing out in his own home.
It makes you sigh and realize that history is just a series of ironic, repetitive cycles.
Isn't that right, Li Shimin? ]