Chapter 17: The Tower Will Collapse, Alone Supporting It (4)

  Zhou Wenbo inadvertently opened the system interface and found that the task "Explore the Truth" had been completed.

  Zhou Wenbo chose to receive the reward, 200 experience points allowed him to level up to a 3rd-level writer.

  And this excellent grade, which is a green prop, turned out to be a jade hairpin.

  Jade Hairpin (Green Item): Headgear, flawless white jade of exceptional quality. Increases charm value by 1 point.

  Unfortunately, this jade hairpin was obviously a feminine style, and Zhou Wenbo didn't have the courage to wear it in his hair.

  This time, Zhou Wenbo temporarily left the attribute points for upgrading. He has considered developing in martial arts and will leave the points for now to see whether to add them to his commanding or martial skills later.

  Suddenly remembered there was another skill: Quick Wit. Zhou Wenbo activated Quick Wit and began to think carefully about a solution to the crisis.

  Obviously, the only person who can play a decisive role in the current situation is Li Cunxu, the founding emperor of the Later Tang Dynasty.

  Zhou Wenbo's understanding of this person almost all comes from historical books.

  Li Cunxu was a son of Li Ku, the King of Jin, and was quite extraordinary in his youth, excelling in both literature and martial arts.

  In 908 AD, Li Cunxu ascended to the throne of Jin after Li Kuang's death and then killed his uncle Li Kuangning who attempted to seize power. He led troops to lift the siege of Shangdang.

  At that time, the Later Liang Emperor Zhu Wen heard of this and sighed: "Having a son should be like having a Li Yazi; if he were to use him, he would not perish! As for my own sons, they are just pigs and dogs!"

  The Jin and Liang armies clashed in a decisive battle at Bai Prefecture, where Li Cunxu led the charge to victory, defeating 80,000 Liang soldiers. From then on, Zhu Quanzhong would get a headache whenever he heard of the Jin army.

  Li Keyong, on his deathbed, handed over three arrows to Li Cunxu and entrusted him with completing three major tasks: the first was to defeat Liu Ren'gong and capture Youzhou; the second was to conquer the Khitan and eliminate the threat to the northern border; the third major task was to destroy the archenemy Zhu Quanzhong.

  He would offer three arrows in the family temple, and whenever he was about to go on a campaign, he would send someone to fetch them, place them in an exquisite silk case, take them onto the battlefield, win the battle, and then return them to the family temple, indicating that his mission had been accomplished.

  In 911 AD, Li Cunxu defeated Zhu Wen's fifty-thousand-strong army led by himself in Gaoyi.

  Then, they broke through Yan territory and captured Liu Ren'gong alive back in Taiyuan.

  Nine years later, he defeated the Khitan army again and drove Abaoji back north.

  After more than a decade of war, Li Cunxu basically completed his father's will and conquered Later Liang in 923 AD, unifying the north.

  To sum up Li Cunxu's first half of his life, he was indeed a man of both literary and military talents, able to conquer and fight well, truly the Son of Heaven.

  Compared with its template Tang Taizong Li Shimin's achievements in the same period are not inferior.

  Unfortunately, his wise and powerful reign ended here.

  After becoming emperor, he thought his father's revenge had been avenged and the Central Plains were settled, so he didn't think about advancing further and started to indulge in pleasure.

  He had liked to watch and perform plays since he was a child, and after becoming emperor, he often put on makeup and costumes, went on stage to perform, and ignored state affairs; He also took the artistic name "Li Tianxia".

  The favored eunuchs could come and go freely in the palace, playing and joking with the emperor, insulting and teasing the court officials, who dared to be angry but not dare to speak.

  Some court officials and regional commanders, in order to get a few good words from the emperor, vied with each other to offer gifts and fawn. Li Cunxu even used jesters as his eyes and ears, going so far as to spy on the words and actions of his ministers, disregarding the veterans who had gone through a hundred battles, while appointing jesters without an inch of merit as governors.

  In addition, Li Cunxu also ordered the summoning of the original Tang palace eunuchs from all over the country, making them his confidants and appointing them as officials in charge of various affairs and as supervisors of the military in various towns.

  Not only were the generals under surveillance and insulted by eunuchs, but also the scholars of the world had their paths to advancement cut off. However, Zhou Dewei and Li Cunxu had a relationship as ruler and minister for twenty years, with superior strategies, bravery, and martial prowess; between them there must have been deep feelings, which is currently the only glimmer of hope that can be seen.

  However, after Zhou Dewei's defeat in Sichuan, his army dispersed, and the Zhao State Duke's mansion was empty. At this time, relying solely on Li Cunxu's old feelings to resist the attacks of political enemies and petty people would be a joke.

  Li Cunxu trusted only eunuchs and actors; among others, there were very few who had any influence on the emperor.

  Beijing's Meng Zhi-Xiang is one of them.

  Meng Zhi-Xiang and Zhou De-Yan had a mutual recommendation of kindness.

  Zhou Dewei was not an old subordinate of the emperor, when Li Cunxu ascended to the throne as King of Jin, it was Meng Zhixiang who recommended Zhou Dewei for the position of middle gate messenger, and Zhou Dewei thus gained power. Later, before entering Shu, Zhou Dewei had recommended that Meng Zhixiang be appointed as the governor of Shu after its pacification.

  Originally in history, Meng Zhixiang entered Shu and soon became independent, establishing himself as the ruler of a separate state when the Later Tang was about to perish, known as the Later Shu.

  However, Meng Zhi-Xiang was still far away in Beijing (now Taiyuan), and distant water cannot quench present thirst.

  Nowadays, the only confidential envoy Zhang Juhan, although he usually listens to Zhou Deyan in everything, however, when Li Cunxu settled accounts with Guo Chongtao in history, Zhang Juhan was safe and sound. Obviously, Zhang Juhan is not a confidant of the Zhao State Duke's mansion, and it is already a favor to be able to transmit some messages in time at this moment.

  Zhou Deyan usually had a bad relationship with eunuchs and entertainers, now all of a sudden who could he trust and rely on?

  For a moment, Zhou Wenbo was extremely anxious and uncomfortable.

  Is there really nothing that can be done?

  At this moment, the cool breath from the jade hairpin in his hand made Zhou Wenbo somewhat sober. Looking at the exquisite female jade hairpin in his hand, a flash of inspiration suddenly occurred to Zhou Wenbo, and he suddenly thought of someone he had originally forgotten!

  And it was at this time that he could influence Li Cunxu!

  Empress of Later Tang — Empress Liu!

  Liu Huanghou, also known as Yuniang, was originally a songstress in the Jin Wangfu. Because of her beauty and cleverness, she unexpectedly rose to the position of Jin Wangfei!

  She is no less than the female protagonists of palace struggles and imperial concubines after crossing over into a modern woman!

  Liu Yuanni was six years old when she was kidnapped by General Yuan Jianfeng and presented to Queen Cao of Jin as a maid. After Li Keyong's death, his son Li Cunxu succeeded him as the King of Jin.

  The next year, on a certain day, Cao's family went to Li Cunxu's residence and had a drink. During the banquet, he ordered his servant girl to play music and sing to help with the wine. At this time, Liu was already an adult, not only good at playing the sheng, but also good at singing, and she was quite beautiful. Cunxu liked her very much, so Cao gave Liu to him as a gift.

  Liu's good fortune was that she gave birth to a son, the current Prince of Wei Li Jicheng. Li Cunxu thought he looked very much like himself and loved him dearly. From then on, Liu was favored exclusively, and for over ten years of campaigns, among all the imperial consorts, only Liu followed him closely.

  Liu's father, Liu Su, was a rural doctor who called himself Liu Shanren. After being separated from his daughter, he had been searching for her by all means. By chance, he learned that his daughter had become rich and noble, so he went to Wei State's Ye City to recognize her.

  At this time, Li Cunxu had already proclaimed himself emperor in Wei State, still using "Tang" as the national title. He had three consorts, with Liu being the third one. She was eager to compete for favor and become empress, but she was afraid of her humble origin. Just then, her father came to recognize her, and she immediately became angry, saying: "When I left my hometown, my father had already died in the chaos. I mourned his death and cried before leaving. Who are you, a rustic old farmer? How dare you pretend to be an imperial relative?" Then she ordered the guards to beat Liu's father with sticks and drive him away.