The Longest Day in Chang'an Episode 44 Recap
> The Longest Day in Chang'an Recap
The Crown Prince, distraught by his father's disappearance and fearing he would fall ill in the freezing weather, urgently sought Li Bi's help. Li Bi examined a map, concluding that the Emperor couldn't have traveled far due to the cold waterways. He advised the Crown Prince to concentrate the Dragon's Army's search efforts on Xingqing Palace, the Eastern District, and Pingkang Street.
To maintain secrecy, he instructed the soldiers to wear civilian clothes and begin their investigation in the drains of the Eastern District and areas connected to the lantern tower's waterway. Lin Jiulang soon learned that the Crown Prince had dispatched the Dragon's Army to Pingkang Street.
Wang Hao, Lin Jiulang's subordinate, expressed concern that if the Crown Prince found the Emperor first, their carefully constructed accusations of treason against the Crown Prince would be invalidated, shifting political favor against Lin Jiulang. Upon discovering that Assistant Commander Guo Shouyi was leading the Dragon's Army, Lin Jiulang immediately sent Li Sifang to deliver a belated Lantern Festival gift to Guo Shouyi, intending for him to delay the search.
Meanwhile, Guo Shouyi's soldiers, having removed their armor for civilian clothes, voiced their worries. They feared that following the Crown Prince's orders might lead to the Emperor's distrust, potentially causing the disbandment of the Dragon's Army and even endangering their lives due to their knowledge of palace defenses. Guo Shouyi, after assuring them their primary duty was to save the Emperor, was approached by Lin Jiulang's messenger.
The messenger informed Guo Shouyi that a gift from the Right Counselor was at his home and that Lin Jiulang wanted him to "do nothing." Despite Guo Shouyi's initial protest about the Emperor's life being at stake, the messenger warned him that others would claim credit, leaving him to face the consequences, a threat Guo Shouyi reluctantly accepted. Elsewhere, Yuan Zai grew anxious as Wang Yunxiu, sent to the Peacekeeper Corps for reinforcements, had not returned.
Fearing a change in circumstances, he sought out Feng Dalun, proposing that they use the Blaze Gang to rescue the Emperor. Yuan Zai argued it was a unique opportunity for them to earn great merit, as the Emperor was likely still within the city, and other officials were too preoccupied with their own gains to conduct a proper search.
Feng Dalun was hesitant, concerned about undermining Prince Yong, but Yuan Zai's persistent persuasion, appealing to Feng Dalun's ambition, eventually won him over. In Pingkang Street's impoverished area, Zhu Ci, a record officer from the National Treasury, along with his wife Madam Wang and son Zhu Xuan, were distributing relief supplies. Zhu Xuan noticed an old man, battered and lying on the roadside, who had been beaten by a Six-Rank official.
The kindhearted Zhu family helped the old man into their carriage. The Emperor, disheveled and suspicious, repeatedly demanded to know their true intentions. Zhu Ci, not recognizing the Emperor and assuming he had been abandoned by his family, offered to take him home and find a healer. The Emperor's persistent questioning about their motives amused the family, eventually causing him to lower his guard.
Zhu Ci, a low-ranking official, had never met the Emperor and had no idea of his true identity. Zhang Xiaojing and Tan Qi were also searching Pingkang Street for the Emperor. Tan Qi suggested they return the Emperor to the palace, but Zhang Xiaojing believed that anyone who had seen the Emperor in his current state would be eliminated.
His primary objective was to uncover the mastermind behind Long Bo's actions, suspecting there was more to the plot than met the eye. Guo Shouyi led his Dragon's Army troops, now in civilian attire, in their search. They encountered another group of officers also in civilian clothes, who falsely claimed to be the Crown Prince's personal guard and to be operating under the Crown Prince's orders, implying they were aware of Guo Shouyi's mission.
Emphasizing the urgency, Guo Shouyi commanded them to follow his lead. He instructed community officers to guide constables in a house-to-house search for an old man in white robes, stressing the importance of simply noting locations and verifying the Emperor's identity before any reckless action. Unseen by them, Long Bo observed their exchange from a hidden vantage point.
Back at Zhu Ci's humble home, the villagers, grateful for Zhu Ci's and his colleagues' charitable donations, prepared a simple meal for his family and the Emperor. A village woman immediately recognized the Emperor as the "pig thief" from before, vehemently insisting that the pig was vital. The Emperor tried to defend himself, but Old Xia, the community officer, intervened and gently led the woman away.
From Old Xia, the Emperor learned of the dire circumstances of the street's orphans—children whose parents had died in battle, committed suicide due to insurmountable debt, or lost their land to corrupt officials. He was told that Zhu Ci regularly brought aid and had even helped secure a teacher for the children, for whom the villagers had pooled their meager resources to purchase a pig as a teaching gift, explaining its importance.
The Emperor was aghast, finding it impossible to believe such misery existed in the "golden age of Great Tang," but Old Xia simply stated it was their harsh reality. The Emperor then inquired about the Grand Auditorium (Huan-E Xianghui Building). Old Xia downplayed the damage, describing it as a minor fire in the lantern tower that merely scorched the roof, attributing this assessment to the Emperor himself, which greatly angered the Emperor.
At that moment, Zhu Ci introduced Uncle An, a Sogdian man, who presented Zhu Xuan with a Celestial Globe he had meticulously crafted. The Emperor, revealing his true identity and knowledge through his impassioned discourse, recounted how he had funded Liang Lingzan to create such an instrument, leading to Master Yixing's development of the Great Tang's current calendar. Zhu Xuan, captivated, expressed his ambition to emulate these great men and create lasting inventions for the benefit of the people.
Impressed, the Emperor praised his aspirations and promised to secure the finest teacher in Great Tang for him. Zhu Ci, sensing the old man's extraordinary demeanor, quietly questioned his identity, but Old Xia brushed it off. The Emperor's deepest concern, however, was whether the common people blamed him for their suffering. Old Xia, unknowingly speaking of the real Emperor, charitably remarked that it was normal for an old man past sixty to become muddled and make mistakes.
Deeply moved by Old Xia's simple wisdom, the Emperor asked Zhu Ci for the number of households on the street, promising to support them all. He then declared that, starting the next day, Zhu Ci would be promoted to Vice-Minister of the National Treasury, and Zhu Xuan would attend the Official's Academy alongside the children of meritorious officials and royal relatives. Zhu Ci was overwhelmed with gratitude.
The village woman, setting aside her earlier accusations, brought the Emperor some dried meat, playfully reminding him not to steal their pig again. The Emperor accepted the gift and instructed Zhu Ci to take him back to the palace immediately. The Six-Rank official, who had earlier beaten the Emperor, grew increasingly uneasy.
A subordinate mentioned a strange chill when he punched the old man, and the official recalled the old man's delicate skin, which was unlike that of a common servant. His growing suspicion was solidified when the village woman, passing by on her way to get pig feed, was heard mimicking the Emperor's phrase, "Send me back to the palace!" Enraged and terrified by the realization, the official ordered her severely beaten.
He then sent his subordinate, Big Eye, to gather intelligence, who soon confirmed that the Emperor was indeed missing. Stunned at first, the official quickly regained his composure and ordered his men to intercept and kill the Emperor and everyone accompanying him to eliminate all witnesses, instructing them to claim ignorance of the old man's true identity. As Zhu Ci drove the carriage, he was initially too nervous to speak, even after the Emperor promised to secure his family's future.
Gathering his courage, Zhu Ci bravely advised the Emperor not to return to the palace, but to instead venture outside Chang'an to genuinely hear the voices of the people. He revealed that half of the city's numerous officials had bought their positions, leading to an overblown bureaucracy, overlapping duties, and widespread negligence.
He explained that reports submitted to the Emperor were mostly superficial, lacking truth, and that while the Emperor's policies seemed fair, local officials twisted them for personal gain and promotions. Zhu Ci concluded that Chang'an's apparent prosperity was built on the suffering of its people and questioned its longevity. This revelation deeply shocked the Emperor, who felt immense self-reproach and questioned if his reign had been merely for show.
Just then, assassins sent by the Six-Rank official intercepted the carriage, demanding the old man be handed over. The Emperor, asserting his role as protector of his people, stepped out. He declared himself the Emperor, and with a powerful command of "Kneel!" , the terrified assassins immediately dropped to their knees, recognizing his undeniable authority. Zhang Xiaojing and Tan Qi found the badly beaten village woman. After learning the Emperor's general direction, Zhang Xiaojing immediately pursued him.
Tan Qi, however, stayed behind to confront the Six-Rank official responsible for the beating, getting into his carriage despite the village woman's warning. Meanwhile, Guo Shouyi's Dragon's Army troops arrived at the scene where the Emperor faced the kneeling assassins. The leader of the fake "Crown Prince's personal troops," ignoring Guo Shouyi's command to verify identity and ensure the Emperor's safety, ordered a volley of arrows, claiming it was a direct order from the Crown Prince.
The Emperor desperately tried to dodge, but Zhu Ci and his entire family were tragically killed by the arrows. Enraged by the death of his newfound "people," the Emperor ignited explosives he carried, causing the fake troops to scatter in disarray. Guo Shouyi then immediately ordered his men to save the Emperor. Zhang Xiaojing arrived just in time to rescue the Emperor, while Long Bo, also arriving, used explosives to further rout the attacking soldiers.
Tan Qi, having appropriated the Six-Rank official's carriage, then drove up and picked up the Emperor, Long Bo, and Zhang Xiaojing, heading towards Daji Tavern. It was revealed that the soldiers masquerading as the Crown Prince's personal troops were actually sent by Lin Jiulang to frame the Crown Prince for attempting to assassinate the Emperor.
Lin Jiulang's co-conspirator, Gan Shouchang, informed him that Guo Shouyi had become a willing witness against the Crown Prince, claiming he had seen the Crown Prince's men attack the Emperor. Lin Jiulang, pleased his plot succeeded, immediately ordered Gan Shouchang to execute the Crown Prince for treason. Meanwhile, Guo Lishi rushed to inform the Crown Prince about Guo Shouyi's false testimony and the imminent danger, urging him to flee.
Li Bi reiterated that the Crown Prince must survive to prove his innocence and promised to find him a safe hiding place, instructing him to wait for an hour and then meet him at the Peacekeeper Corps, despite Lin Jiulang's current control over it.
