The revitalization of the Tang Dynasty began with the Ganlu Incident.

Chapter 1: Eunuchs

In November, the wind was biting cold and the sky was overcast.

The vermilion-painted beams and pillars support the magnificent palace, which is three zhang high. The floor is paved with white marble bricks and stones, and the light blue curtains hang high. Inside the palace, there are carved beams and brackets, and pearl and jade curtains, creating a magnificent atmosphere.

At this moment, in the center of this palace named Zichen, hundreds of civil and military officials dressed in court robes, wearing fish-shaped pouches and holding tablets were solemnly bowing and shouting "Long live the Emperor!"

Wisps of smoke rose from the incense burner.

Before the two intricately patterned peacock fans facing the assembled officials, Li Ang, dressed in a crimson-yellow robe, sat on the grand imperial throne. His pupils constricted unexpectedly, and his face appeared as if he were in a state of panic or disbelief, frozen in place, motionless.

"rise!"

With a loud shout from the master of ceremonies, the group of people who looked like ministers below finally finished performing the three-bow ceremony.

Then, a young general in military uniform stepped forward, knelt on one knee, and said...

"Your Majesty, I, Han Yue, the Grand General of the Left Jinwu Guard, report that last night, sweet dew fell from the pomegranate tree in the inner hall of the Left Jinwu Guard. Its taste was sweet and its aroma was fragrant. This is truly a sign of Your Majesty's widespread virtue and a blessing from Heaven. I am writing this report to congratulate Your Majesty."

As he spoke, he took out a document and held it high above his head.

As soon as he finished speaking, a murmur of discussion arose in the hall.

A servant-like figure descended the steps, took the document, and quickly presented it to Li Ang.

"honeydew?"

At this moment, Li Ang, who had been somewhat dazed, finally came to his senses.

He repeated it subconsciously, but before he could continue speaking, he felt a wave of dizziness.

A flood of memories rushed into his mind, causing him to instinctively reach up and touch his forehead, a look of pain on his face.

"Is everyone suffering from vertigo again? Should I summon the imperial physician immediately?"

Beside the throne, an elderly eunuch in his fifties bowed slightly.

"No, it's nothing..."

Sensing the other person's "concerned" gaze, Li Ang quickly lowered his head, but his tone seemed somewhat different from usual.

"The morning court session is more important."

Seemingly to cover up his unease, he quickly picked up the document and pretended to read it.

The old eunuch standing nearby sensed something was amiss but didn't pay it any mind.

After all, although his master was young, he was always diligent in his duties and often took Emperor Taizong as his role model, so he would not neglect the morning court sessions.

But what the old eunuch could never have imagined was that a completely different soul now occupied the throne.

Despite appearing calm as the memories surged through his mind, Li Ang was inwardly seething with turmoil.

As a college student in the 21st century, his favorite pastime is reading various online novels.

But who would have thought that one day, time travel would actually happen to me?

He glanced at the two old eunuchs beside him, and the memories in his mind slowly overlapped with those of the people in front of him. A chill ran down his spine, and Li Ang couldn't help but twitch his eyelids.

Based on these memories, it is now the eleventh month of the ninth year of the Dahe era of Emperor Wenzong of Tang.

Thanks to various novels, Li Ang had some understanding of the history of the mid-to-late Tang Dynasty.

After the An Lushan Rebellion, the power of eunuchs rose rapidly in the Tang Dynasty.

Especially after Emperor Dezong of Tang, the outbreak of the Jingyuan Mutiny led the emperor to no longer trust the prime minister and completely handed over the command of the Shence Army, the imperial guard, to the eunuchs.

As a result, the power of eunuchs grew, enabling them not only to participate in military and political affairs but also to influence the succession to the throne.

The original emperor, also known as Emperor Wenzong of Tang in historical records, was the eighth emperor after Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, and the first emperor to be enthroned by a forged eunuch.

This is why the original owner was extremely wary of the eunuchs' power.

In addition, he was originally ambitious and wanted to restore the glory of the Tang Dynasty, where all nations paid tribute to him, so he naturally tried his best to get rid of the control of the eunuchs.

Prior to this, the original owner had used various means to kill Wang Shoucheng, Wei Yuansu and other powerful eunuchs, leaving only Qiu Shiliang and Yu Hongzhi, who had just become lieutenants of the Shence Army and whose positions were still unstable.

Today, the original owner of this body is planning to do something big.

He instructed his trusted prime minister, Li Xun, to devise a plan to lure Qiu Shiliang and his companion to the Jinwu Guard compound under the pretext of observing the sweet dew during the morning court session. The plan was to then lock them up and beat them to death, thus eliminating any future trouble.

Unfortunately, it backfired.

In history, Qiu Shiliang not only did not die, but even escaped back to the palace and mobilized the Shence Army to massacre the entire palace.

After this incident, the original owner of this body was also placed under house arrest in the palace by Qiu Shiliang, becoming a complete puppet of the eunuchs...

"The heavens have bestowed sweet dew upon the palace, a divine blessing to demonstrate Your Majesty's virtuous rule. Your Majesty should personally witness this to receive this divine blessing."

The sounds of congratulations from below brought Li Ang back to his senses.

At this moment, not far in front of him, several old men dressed in purple robes and wearing Liang crowns were bowing slightly.

Based on his memory, Li Ang quickly recognized them as the current prime ministers of the Tang Dynasty.

The two men in front, with gray hair and clearly of advanced age, were Wang Ya, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel and Minister of Works, and Jia Su, the Vice Minister of the Secretariat.

The other two were only in their forties, in the prime of their lives, namely Li Xun and Shu Yuanyu, who entered the prime ministership as vice ministers of the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Justice, respectively.

At this moment, the one who was bowing and speaking was Shu Yuanyu.

The falling of sweet dew is an auspicious sign.

In the event of such a situation, the general principle should be to grant a general amnesty, while the specific principle should be to reward the officials.

Therefore, the atmosphere in the hall was very festive, and everyone agreed to Shu Yuanyu's suggestion to personally witness the sweet dew.

Li Ang, however, seemed hesitant at this moment. He even subconsciously glanced at the eunuchs, including Qiu Shiliang, standing to the side.

This was because, among so many people present, apart from Li Xun and others who were involved in planning this matter, only he knew that this auspicious event called "observing the sweet dew" was actually a meticulously planned murder trap.

The Zichen Palace is an inner palace, located less than one kilometer away as the crow flies from the northwest of the imperial city where the Left Shence Army is stationed.

If anything goes wrong, Qiu Shiliang can mobilize troops to suppress it within the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

Therefore, the first step in killing Qiu Shiliang was to lure him out of the inner palace.

The Jinwu Guard's garrison was located on the outermost edge of the imperial city, separated from the Zichen Palace by two palace gates, making it the most convenient place to take action.

At this moment, Qiu Shiliang did not notice anything unusual.

Such auspicious omens might have been rare in other dynasties, but they were commonplace in the Tang Dynasty.

To give a recent example, last August, a sweet dew fell from the sky in front of the Zichen Palace.

The emperor not only went to see it, but also happily tasted the dew and held a grand banquet for his officials.

Moreover, just two months ago, Qiu Shiliang had helped the original owner eliminate Wang Shoucheng, the former lieutenant of the Shence Army and a powerful eunuch who had participated in the murder of Emperor Xianzong.

Therefore, at least in his view at this time, he was a meritorious official to the emperor, and naturally he would never have imagined that the original owner of this body would be so shameless as to kick him while he was down, and even want to get rid of him as well.

When Li Ang glanced at him unconsciously, Qiu Shiliang assumed it was just the emperor routinely asking for his opinion.

He was even a little smug, thinking that the fact that the emperor had to consult him on such a trivial matter before making a decision showed that he valued him highly.

A smile appeared on his face, and Qiu Shiliang cupped his hands in greeting.

"Everyone, this auspicious event should be celebrated by all the ministers. I think what Prime Minister Shu said makes sense. Everyone is welcome to go and see it for themselves to receive the blessings of Heaven."

At this moment, Li Ang also realized what was happening, quickly withdrew his gaze, nodded slightly, and said.

"Can!"