Chapter 40: The Li Family’s Loving Father and Dutiful Son—A Contagious Bond!

Great Song.

Zhao Kuangyin looked at the comments appearing on the celestial screen, momentarily bewildered. "Cowardly"? Are they talking about his Great Song? I am fierce as a tiger, damn it! You say I'm a coward—are you being polite? I ask you, are you being polite? Could it be that future generations... also have trash like Li Longji?

"As the fleeing Li Longji reached Mawei Slope (west of modern-day Xingping, Shaanxi), the accompanying imperial guards, remembering their families left behind in the city, suffering from hunger and physical exhaustion, and harboring resentment toward corrupt officials like Yang Guozhong, were on the verge of mutiny."

Li Zhi: "Mutiny! Mutiny is great! Someone just stab this bastard to death for me!"

...

"At that time, over twenty Tibetan envoys blocked Yang Guozhong's horse, complaining of hunger and lack of food. Before Yang Guozhong could answer, someone in the army shouted, 'Yang Guozhong is conspiring with the barbarians to rebel!'"

"The imperial guards, filled with righteous indignation, surrounded Yang Guozhong. He tried to flee but was caught and killed. His body was dismembered, and his head was hung outside the post station gate for all to see."

"After Yang Guozhong was killed, the guards still refused to disperse. Fearing that Consort Yang might seek revenge, they demanded that Emperor Xuanzong of Tang execute her."

"Emperor Xuanzong initially could not bear it and wanted to protect her, but under the persuasion of Gao Lishi and others, in order to stabilize the army's morale, he finally ordered Consort Yang to hang herself."

"Consort Yang was strangled in front of a Buddhist hall at Mawei Slope. The mutiny was thus quelled, and Emperor Xuanzong continued his journey to Shu."

Seeing this, Lü Zhi could not help but recall the scene when she was abandoned by Liu Bang. "As expected, men are all trash. They can't even protect their own women, yet they have the nerve to be emperors?"

Ming Dynasty, Yongle era.

Zhu Di truly could not comprehend it. Since things had reached this point between the old man and Yang Yuhuan, why do later generations still call it an eternal romance? Isn't it just a story about a domineering father-in-law falling for his daughter-in-law? What is there to talk about?

...

Tang Dynasty, Kaiyuan era.

Yang Yuhuan saw her final fate on the celestial screen. A wave of sorrow surged within her. She could have lived her life with Li Mao, but was forcibly taken by the man before her. And now... he had her executed? She was merely a pawn to him...

Li Longji had no reaction. After all, no matter how much he loved her, the Li Tang empire came first. A woman's death was just a death. Besides, given what was said earlier about her and An Lushan, he hated this pair of "dogs" with a passion.

...

"Do you think it's over? No, no, this is just the beginning. Li Longji wanted to take refuge in Shu, but Crown Prince Li Heng believed this was not the best choice. He argued they should organize forces to continue fighting the rebels and recover lost territory!"

Ying Zheng, hearing this, stroked his beard and nodded: "This Crown Prince Li Heng has some backbone." In times of crisis, choosing to fight rather than flee shows more responsibility than Li Longji.

Li Si echoed: "Indeed, this is what a crown prince of a nation should be like. If he succeeds in recovering the territory, he will be a virtuous monarch of his generation."

Cao Cao looked at Li Heng on the screen with admiration: "This crown prince is both brave and resourceful, knowing how to assess the situation. If Li Longji had died during the peak of the empire, things would never have come to this."

...

"And so, the father and son went their separate ways. Li Longji continued toward Shu, while Li Heng chose to head north to Lingwu. Li Longji, deeply dissatisfied with the Crown Prince's disobedience, might even have sent men to assassinate his own son on the road."

"After reaching Lingwu with his loyalists, Li Heng, urged by officials like Pei Mian and Du Hongjian, ascended the throne with the era name Zhide. Li Longji was stunned, but with no army in his hands, he could only be honored as the Retired Emperor!"

Below the celestial screen, everyone seeing this "filial" scene was left speechless!

"I'm dying of laughter! This is hilarious! The father kills the son, and the son runs away to ascend the throne on the spot!"

"How 'filial'... truly filial!"

"Oh! My stomach hurts from laughing!" Emperor Wu of Han was laughing until tears streamed down his face. Wei Qing and Huo Qubing were also doubled over. The eunuchs and palace maids were turning red, holding back their laughter; they were professionally trained, but this was simply too much.

Great Tang.

Li Er saw Li Heng's maneuver and found it familiar. How similar it was to his own! "This... could it be that my Xuanwu Gate incident has been inherited by my descendants?" He felt numb at the thought... But... Li Heng suited his tastes. When the time came, he would just let the boy take the throne immediately.

Tang Dynasty, Kaiyuan era.

Li Longji was dumbfounded. His own Crown Prince is this capable? Heng'er has the nerve to do this? He went his own way and ascended the throne? You are way too bold!

In the grand hall, Li Heng had only one thought: "My position as Crown Prince is in danger!" It's over... He hadn't even realized he was so brave as to ascend the throne on the spot!

Li Longji looked at the sweating Li Heng with a livid face and snorted coldly: "For now... I don't need you to ascend the throne. From now on, you go nowhere. Just wait there until I finish watching the celestial screen!"

Meanwhile, the rebel An Lushan, leading a large army toward Luoyang, also burst into laughter at the "filial" scene on the screen!

"Haha... hilarious. My good father, you must be very confused right now, aren't you?"

Shi Siming laughed along: "As expected, the Tang is still the same familiar Tang—fatherly, filial, and truly carrying on the tradition of the Taizong!"

"After Li Heng took power, he immediately rallied the regional commanders, appointed Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi as commanders, and quickly organized a counterattack."

"Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi achieved a series of victories in Hebei, forcing the rebels to be unable to care for both ends, effectively checking the rebel forces and preventing Shi Siming from supporting An Lushan!"

"On An Lushan's side, a series of changes occurred. Because he favored Lady Duan, he intended to make her son, An Qing'en, his heir. An Qingxu, the second son born to An Lushan's original wife, thought he had the best chance at succession after his older brother, An Qingzong, was killed."

"The appearance of An Qing'en threatened his status. To protect his position and gain supreme power, An Qingxu developed the motive to kill his father. Furthermore, there was Yan Zhuang, the chief strategist of the An Lushan group. As An Lushan's health declined and his eyesight failed, Yan Zhuang handled all major and minor affairs."

"But An Lushan was short-tempered and often abused Yan Zhuang. Fearing for his life and fearing that he would lose his power if An Qing'en ascended, Yan Zhuang persuaded An Qingxu to kill his father. Under Yan Zhuang's instigation, An Qingxu finally made up his mind to kill An Lushan and proclaim himself emperor!"

Great Qin's Ancestral Dragon: "Good, good, another example of 'filial' father and son!"

Great Han's Boar: "This is unbelievable... Haha! Is this contagious?"

Lover of Guan Yu and Other Men's Wives: "This is something else; much fiercer than the Li family!"

Great Tang's Li Er: "They deserve it! An Lushan died as he should. And don't talk nonsense; my Li family has no history of patricide!"

...

An Lushan, who had been laughing, saw this and his pig-like face looked worse than if he had eaten excrement. He never expected... his own son to backstab him?

An Qingxu's legs were shaking. He was truly terrified... According to the screen, he was much fiercer than the Li family.

"How filial you are? You're going to 'filially' kill your father?" An Lushan's expression was incredibly gloomy, his eyes bloodshot. This son is bold—even bolder than Li Heng! Kill him and declare himself emperor? That is truly 'impressive'.

"Father, this... this is fake! I am loyal to you!" An Qingxu knelt on the spot, tears and snot flowing.

An Lushan sneered without a word. Does he believe his son's lies? That was exactly what he told Li Longji. And yet, he still rebelled!

Taking advantage of the moment An Lushan turned away, a ruthless glint flashed in An Qingxu's eyes. He drew his sword and slashed at An Lushan. If that had landed, An Lushan would have been at least severely wounded!

But An Lushan's blade was faster. With a spin, he decapitated An Qingxu. An Qingxu watched his head part from his body, his eyes filled with disbelief! It seems his father's Hu Xuan dance was truly masterful; such a turn could not be achieved without decades of practice.

An Lushan was furious. He had just been laughing at Li Longji's "filial" son, and then he was met with the same thing. And it was even more ruthless! How could he not be angry?

Shi Siming sighed, feeling that the "filial" tradition of the Li family was indeed contagious. An Qingxu had truly inherited their fine traditions! One is more "filial" than the next! Filial to the point of power...