Chapter 327

The next day.

Li Shimin's morning court had just ended when the sky screen slowly condensed again and appeared high in the sky.

After a while.

A setting sun like blood appeared on the sky screen, hanging obliquely on the horizon, dyeing the whole sky dark red.

Under the setting sun was the outline of Chang'an City.

But this city, once the most prosperous in the world, looked a bit desolate at this moment.

The city walls were mottled, the palaces dim, like an old man in his twilight years, sitting alone in the setting sun.

The scene slowly pushed forward, and a young scholar appeared before everyone.

He was wearing a washed-out green robe, standing on the Leyou Plain outside Chang'an City, looking at the blood-red setting sun, silent for a long time.

His back was thin, carrying a bit of loneliness and a bit of melancholy.

In the Hanyuan Hall of the Taiji Palace, the five emperors were already in place.

Li Shimin looked at the scene on the sky screen and frowned: "The atmosphere of this opening seems a bit different."

Liu Che nodded: "The previous review of Meng Haoran was the leisure of landscapes and pastoral life; the review of Lu You was the tragedy of war."

"But this time... I feel an indescribable loneliness."

Liu Bang rarely didn't eat melon seeds and touched his chin,

"I feel like this scene is saying—this dynasty is about to fail."

Ying Zheng didn't speak, but his gaze had always been on that blood-red setting sun, his expression unfathomable.

Gu Shanhe spoke at the right time: "Your Majesties, the poet being reviewed today lived in an era that is indeed 'about to fail'."

"He is the late Tang poet—Li Shangyin."

"Late Tang?"

Li Shimin keenly captured this keyword.

"The late period of the Great Tang?"

Gu Shanhe nodded: "Yes."

"The era Li Shangyin lived in was more than a hundred years after your time, Your Majesty Taizong."

"The Great Tang experienced the An Lushan Rebellion, the separatism of the Fanzhen, the dictatorship of eunuchs, and the Niu-Li party strife; the national strength declined day by day, and the atmosphere of the prosperous age completely ended."

The atmosphere in the hall became heavy.

As one of the founders of the Great Tang, Li Shimin's mood can be imagined when hearing words like "late Great Tang" and "prosperous age ended."

But he didn't speak, just watched the sky screen silently.

On the sky screen, lines of text slowly emerged—

【Sky Screen Review · Li Shangyin, one of the ten great poets in history】

【Title: Late Tang Swan Song · Saint of Love of the Ages】

"Saint of Love of the Ages?"

Liu Bang became interested, "This title is interesting."

"Before it was a landscape recluse, a patriotic poet, this time it's a saint of love? A poet who writes love poems?"

Liu Che also showed a bit of curiosity: "Saint of love... I'm curious what kind of poem can be called 'Saint of Love'."

Wei Zheng pondered: "The word 'love' is the hardest to write."

"If written too shallowly, it stays on the surface; if written too deeply, it easily becomes pretentious."

"This person can be crowned with the name 'Saint of Love', so he must have a unique approach to writing about love."

【Li Shangyin lived in the late Tang period; the Great Tang Dynasty experienced the An Lushan Rebellion, the separatism of the Fanzhen, the dictatorship of eunuchs, and the Niu-Li party strife; the national strength declined day by day, the atmosphere of the prosperous age completely ended, the court fought fiercely, and the scholar's official career was difficult.】

Seeing the four words "An Lushan Rebellion," Li Shimin finally couldn't help it.

"An Lushan Rebellion?"

He turned to look at Gu Shanhe, "What is this?"

Gu Shanhe sighed: "Your Majesty, the An Lushan Rebellion was the turning point for the Great Tang from prosperity to decline."

"An Lushan and Shi Siming launched a rebellion; the Great Tang experienced eight years of civil war, many people died, and the national strength was greatly damaged."

"Although the rebellion was finally suppressed, the Great Tang never recovered its vitality from then on."

Li Shimin's face was livid.

Liu Che shook his head: "A dynasty fears internal strife the most."

"Foreign enemies can be kept outside the door, but internal strife can destroy a country from the roots."

Liu Xiu also sighed: "I experienced the Wang Mang Rebellion and know deeply the harm of internal strife."

"It's not easy for the Great Tang to have lasted until the late period."

Ying Zheng suddenly spoke: "Dictatorship of eunuchs... the end of this dynasty is quite similar to my Great Qin."

As soon as this was said, everyone in the hall was stunned.

Liu Bang scratched his head: "First Emperor, are you praising the Great Tang or insulting the Great Tang?"

Everyone in the hall was already used to the First Emperor's rhetoric and no longer dwelled on it.

On the sky screen, the scene switched to Li Shangyin's youth—

In a dilapidated small courtyard, a young man was studying hard under a dim oil lamp.

His mother was sewing clothes on the side, and his younger brothers and sisters were sitting around; although the family was poor, the sound of reading was loud.

【Basic Personal Information】

【Name: Li Shangyin, courtesy name Yishan, nickname Yuxisheng, Fannansheng】

【Birth and Death: approx. 813—approx. 858】

【Native Place: Huaizhou Henei (now Qinyang, Henan), later moved to Zhengzhou Xingyang】

【Background: Fallen small official family, father died in childhood, family was poor, took on the responsibility of supporting the family alone in his youth, relied on hard study to win fame.】

"Father died in childhood, family was poor."

Fang Xuanling sighed, "Another talented person from a humble background."

"Such people are often more resilient than children of aristocratic families and cherish opportunities more."

Du Ruhui nodded: "Taking on the responsibility of supporting the family alone in his youth shows that he is not only intelligent but also responsible."

"Such a person, if he entered the officialdom, should be a good official."

Zhangsun Wuji, however, frowned: "The problem is that he lived in the late Tang, and the party strife in the court was fierce."

"For a child from a humble background without a background to get ahead in that environment, it's too difficult."

Wei Zheng added: "I noticed a detail—approx. 813—approx. 858."

"He only lived to be forty-something?"

Gu Shanhe nodded: "Yes, Li Shangyin only lived to be forty-something, about forty-five or forty-six. He died young."

Liu Che sighed: "What a pity."

"Forty-something is the age when life experience is richest and creativity is most vigorous."

"If he had lived another twenty years, I don't know how many more good poems he could have written."

Liu Xiu, however, said: "Perhaps it is precisely because he died young that his poems carry that kind of tragic beauty."

"If he had lived longer, his mindset would have changed, and his poetic style might have changed too."

Ying Zheng didn't speak, but his gaze lingered on the sky screen for a long time.

【Li Shangyin's Ambitions】

【1. Longed to enter the officialdom through the imperial examination, realize the political ideal of governing the country and supporting the Great Tang, and revitalize the declining dynasty.】

【2. Harbored the ambition to save the world, hoping to assist a wise monarch, rectify the court, and end the party strife and chaos of the troubled times.】

【3. Possessed the backbone of a scholar, unwilling to curry favor with the powerful, upheld his own integrity all his life, but was therefore trapped in the cracks of party strife and hit walls everywhere.】

"Another person with ideals."

Li Shimin sighed, "I found that these poets on the list almost all have one thing in common—"

"They have ideals, have ambitions, but hit walls everywhere in reality, and in the end, can only entrust their emotions to poetry."

Wei Zheng said: "Your Majesty is right."

"Precisely because reality is not satisfactory, their poetry has the power to move people."

"If they were smooth in their official careers, perhaps they wouldn't have been able to write such poems."

Liu Bang suddenly interrupted: "I actually think this is not a bad thing."

"There are so many people who are officials, how many are remembered by later generations? On the contrary, these poets who hit walls are all famous for ages."

"What does this show? It shows that Heaven arranged a different script for everyone; the key is whether they can play their role well."

Liu Che rarely agreed with Liu Bang: "Your Majesty Gaozu's words make sense."

"Meng Haoran didn't become an official and became a landscape recluse; Lu You didn't recover the Central Plains and became a patriotic poet."

"If this Li Shangyin had become a high official, perhaps he wouldn't have had time to write the poems of the 'Saint of Love of the Ages'."

Liu Xiu nodded: "So, their frustration is instead the good fortune of later generations."