Da Tang Si Zi: My Six Super Rich Little Nuggets!

Chapter 150 Li Huaixian's Fatal Temptation: The Death of the Manifestation

It is said that in 763 AD, the first year of the Guangde reign of Emperor Daizong of the Tang Dynasty, it was the Year of the Rabbit.

—You know, the rabbit, which seems docile but can hop away in a flash, has really been quite "jumpy" this year!

It's been a year full of troubles and upheavals!

First, Lai Zhen was ordered to commit suicide by the emperor.

—Guess what he did?

Oh, it's nothing really.

However, the powerful minister at the time, amidst the internal and external turmoil, inadvertently stumbled upon a "political gift," which turned out to be a "farewell" gift.

Then, Shi Chaoyi hanged himself.

Alas, this death marked the "official end" of the An Lushan Rebellion.

However, the ending is truly hard to describe, much like an unfinished project.

Then, just when everyone thought the An Lushan Rebellion was over, the Year of the Rabbit delivered another major shock – the Tibetan Empire actually reached Chang'an!

Emperor Daizong almost lost his "dragon throne" and fled to Shanzhou for refuge.

People say, "A rabbit doesn't eat the grass near its burrow," but the emperor ended up being the rabbit that ran away.

Meanwhile, Yuan Zai's power soared, like an elevator climbing three hundred floors. In an instant, he became the most domineering man in the court, while Master Jianzhen, standing by, reached the end of his life in Japan.

One morning, sunlight streamed through the window into the breakfast stall.

“I know this Yuan Zai. He comes from a humble background, loves reading, is extremely intelligent and quick-witted, and is also well-versed in Taoist books.”

Xiao Si sat at a small table in the corner of the room, flipping through the "Notes on the An Lushan Rebellion" he had compiled, and muttered to himself:

He passed the imperial examination and held numerous positions. After Emperor Daizong of Tang ascended the throne, he befriended the powerful eunuch Li Fuguo and eventually became prime minister.

Later, he assisted in eliminating the two powerful eunuchs, Li Fuguo and Yu Chaoen, and gained their deep favor.

Since he became complacent and seized power, eliminating dissidents, the moon, once full, began to wane.

He began to monopolize private property and engage in large-scale construction projects, which made Emperor Daizong of Tang dislike this "tool person."

On the table inside the shop, there was a bowl of steaming hot porridge, several small dishes, and a pot of freshly brewed hot milk tea.

Xiao Si stirred the preserved egg crumbs in the porridge, her mind filled with thoughts of the historical events she had traveled through the night before—the An Lushan Rebellion was finally coming to an end.

Suddenly, she heard a commotion outside the window, like the sound of warhorses' hooves and bugles in the distance, as if something big was happening.

Xiao Sizi was somewhat exhausted from the journey and, without Qiu Rongmu's wild ginseng to nourish her, she propped herself up, walked to the window, and glimpsed the distant mountain peaks. Several birds flew across the sky, creating an eerie stillness.

At that moment, a deep male voice suddenly came from inside the room: "Little Si, do you know the outcome of the An Lushan Rebellion?"

Xiao Si turned her head and saw Zi An leaning against the door frame, her eyes filled with a hint of mockery.

Little Si opened her mouth wide in surprise, "Oh, Brother Zi'an, I've been looking for you everywhere!"

"Little Si, did you see the outcome of the An Lushan Rebellion?" Zi An asked again.

Xiao Si shrugged and casually replied, "I guess everything should be over now that Shi Chaoyi is dead? But it's really a bit... complicated."

Zi An chuckled lightly: "Hmm, his death was truly dramatic. Do you know how he died in the end?"

Xiao Si pulled Zi An to sit down, handed him a teacup, and took a small sip herself.

“I just happened to arrive. Did you think Shi Chaoyi hanged himself in the woods? Actually, I didn’t see the white silk. It’s just that when Li Huaixian’s army caught up with him, he had no way out.”

"Sigh, seeing him, who was once so successful, with such a great hand, end up like this, it's truly heartbreaking."

Zi'an brought Xiao Si another bowl of steaming millet porridge, but Xiao Si remained lazily sitting in the busiest breakfast stall in the east of the city.

The shop was still bustling with people and very lively.

The aroma of freshly baked buns filled the air, the fried dough sticks sizzled in the pan, and an elderly woman nearby skillfully made pancakes with a rolling pin.

While eating her porridge, Xiao Si flipped through the bamboo slips of notes she had made herself, muttering to herself:

"How could that unlucky kid Shi Chaoyi have ended up like this? History is indeed more absurd than novels!"

No sooner had she finished speaking than a commotion suddenly erupted at the shop entrance. Xiao Si looked up and her eyes widened in surprise. She then gave Zi An a meaningful look.

Zi'an didn't understand and stared blankly as the two panting men walked in one after the other.

"Who is it?"

The little ox didn't speak, but simply nudged him with its beak to look.

The person in front of me had disheveled hair, dark circles under his eyes, and looked quite disheveled.

The person behind him was dressed neatly, and although he looked impatient, his steps remained steady and powerful.

"Hey buddy, bring me two bowls of porridge, and two fried dough sticks to calm him down!" the man behind shouted as he entered, and then helped the swaying man in front of him.

Zi'an joked, "Looks like this guy is just like you, lacking wild ginseng!"

Xiao Si almost spat out the porridge in her mouth.

Who else could be so disheveled but Shi Chaoyi? And following behind him was none other than Li Baozhong.

"This... history can actually be so down-to-earth?!" Xiao Si put down her bowl and secretly widened her eyes.

Shi Chaoyi plopped down on the bench, glaring at Li Baozhong through gritted teeth:

"Baozhong, you invited me here to eat, not to wait here hungry! I haven't eaten anything this morning, and now my stomach is practically sticking to my back!"

Li Baozhong gave a faint hum:

"Shi Chaoyi, don't push your luck! I'm only treating you to breakfast because of our past relationship. Honestly, how many people do you think would dare to treat you to a meal these days? Haven't all your brothers run away?"

Shi Chaoyi was speechless, clutching his stomach with both hands and gritting his teeth: "Even if I'm finished, I can't just starve to death!"

At this moment, Xiao Si couldn't help but speak up: "Brother, judging from your appearance, you must be no ordinary person, right? This breakfast is on me, how about we sit down and chat about life?"

Hearing someone speak to him, Shi Chaoyi turned around and saw Xiao Si, and couldn't help but ask suspiciously, "Who are you? How do you know I'm not an ordinary person?"

Xiao Si smiled innocently: "Who would be starving like this and still have followers? Judging by your entourage, you're definitely a formidable character. Shi Chaoyi, right?"

Shi Chaoyi's face turned deathly pale: "You...how do you know who I am?!"

Xiao Si shrugged: "How else could I know? It's written in my bamboo notebook..."

Shi Chaoyi had no time to pay attention to this little girl.

Zi'an couldn't help but chuckle. He knew best that Xiao Si always wanted to make a name for himself in history, so he said:

"Brother, don't worry. She's just a show-off, and she knows a bit about you. She can read fortunes, and since you can't escape anyway, might as well let her watch to her heart's content..."

As soon as he finished speaking, the waiter brought over two bowls of tofu pudding and a plate of fried dough sticks.

Shi Chaoyi ignored Xiao Si and the others, still preoccupied with his own troubles. He grabbed a fried dough stick, munching on it while mumbling, "Baozhong, you're no human! If I'd known you'd surrendered to the Tang Dynasty, I wouldn't have come!"

Li Baozhong took a sip of porridge and said calmly, "Shi Chaoyi, this is called 'a wise man submits to circumstances.' You insist on going against the will of Heaven, so this meal today is already more than enough."

None of the diners in the shop were curious about the two's whispered conversation.

Xiao Si chuckled to himself, "I never expected the An Lushan Rebellion to have such a scene... Shi Chaoyi, is this some kind of 'mukbang in troubled times'?"

"Mukbang? Sigh, game over."

After finishing his meal, Shi Chaoyi seemed to have a bit more energy, but his eyes remained vacant as he muttered to himself, "Where else can I go?"

Li Baozhong sighed: "You can't go anywhere. The Tang army will arrive soon, Guangyang won't take you in, and the Xi and Khitan are unreliable. Shi Chaoyi, this is the end of your road."

Shi Chaoyi was stunned. He sat there blankly for a long time, then suddenly stood up and walked out the door without looking back.

Li Baozhong followed him out...

Their figures disappeared into the morning light, leaving behind a room full of silence.

Little Si watched the departing figure and sighed softly:

"Shi Chaoyi, you ate a really heavy meal..."

Zi'an asked, "What exactly did you see?"

While munching on her breakfast, Xiao Si remarked to Zi An:

"Shi Chaoyi's life is a combination of 'despicable and tragic', with everything from life and death to power, family ties, and betrayal. It was cut before it was even finished airing."

Shi Chaoyi, one of the major villains during the Tang Dynasty, was the biological son of Shi Siming.

To be honest, this kid seemed unreliable from the start, like a small fry who would make stupid mistakes from time to time.

What good could possibly come of him? "Why would a perfectly good citizen of the Tang Dynasty have to proclaim himself the 'Great Sage Emperor of Yan'?!"

Starting in the winter of the fourteenth year of the Tianbao era, Shi Chaoyi and his father An Lushan launched a rebellion together. It should have been a major event of "father and son working together". Unfortunately, although the father knew how to bribe the court, he did not understand the principle of "great virtue carries all things" and treated his son too much like a son.

As a result, Shi Chaoyi was "placed" by his father in places like Jizhou and Xiangzhou, much like parents leaving their child with relatives for temporary care: "You stay here for now, your father has important things to do!!"

In April of the second year of the Qianyuan era, An Lushan proclaimed himself emperor and gave Shi Chaoyi the title of "Prince Huai". Shi Chaoyi was overjoyed, feeling that he could finally be a little emperor.

Unfortunately, things weren't that simple. In the second year of the Shangyuan era, he led his army to attack Shancheng, only to be soundly defeated.

His father, An Lushan, was dissatisfied with him and there were even rumors that he would make his second younger brother, Shi Chaoqing, the crown prince.

Shi Chaoyi began to feel a little annoyed...

So he decided that "family ties are gone, brothers are gone, and father is gone too!"

—Just then, Shi Chaoyi completed a major turning point in his life: he instructed his subordinates to stage a "father-son break" for his father, and decisively killed An Lushan. He then changed his reign title to "Xiansheng," acting as if he were the true emperor.

However, crooked methods don't last long.

The Tang Dynasty's allied forces quickly recaptured Luoyang, and Shi Chaoyi hastily fled to Mozhou (now Renqiu City, Hebei Province), hoping to launch a counterattack.

But... well, his two key subordinates, Tian Chengsi and Li Huaixian, secretly voted for the Tang Dynasty, becoming typical examples of "villainous generals who abandoned their posts"!

Thus began Shi Chaoyi's "life in exile".

He led five thousand cavalrymen on a journey, but all the cities refused to accept him, and even a place like "Hot Spring Fortress" could not provide him with a chance to hide.

Historical records indicate that he had no choice but to end his own life.

“Clearly, he was lured to his death…” Xiao Si said, shaking his head as he ate his porridge.

"Oh?"

"The person who just invited him to dinner... that person... was Li Huaixian..."

Zi'an was stunned.

Then, Xiao Si picked up the bamboo slip and continued: "Shi Chaoyi, life is as short as an ant. Being blinded by greed leads to being lost. Killing one's father to seek a false imperial throne... It's not worth it!"

This is truly a cautionary tale... Historical records state that he was pursued by the Tang army, fled everywhere but had nowhere to settle down, and finally hanged himself at the Yiwulü Temple in Wenquanzha.

However, during my time travel, I witnessed him being lured to the east of Fanyang City by Li Huaixian and then murdered.

Zi'an sighed, "Shi Chaoyi, this is the end for this villain. His first half of life was incredibly glorious, but in the second half he had nowhere to escape, and in the end he died so tragically..."