I started on a deserted island and encountered Ying Zheng, who insisted I was an immortal.

Ying Zheng coughed lightly to conceal his emotional turmoil.

He tentatively asked, "Then, did the Han Dynasty last for ten thousand generations?"

Zhang Ying looked at him as if he were an idiot.

"Hey Lao Ying, isn't your acting skills lacking? Your historical knowledge is only at the elementary school level."

"In this world, there is no such thing as an eternal dynasty."

Although Ying Zheng didn't fully understand, he knew it wasn't anything good.

But he couldn't refute it; after all, the other party knew the future.

Zhang Ying continued, "The Han Dynasty is divided into the Western Han and the Eastern Han, which together lasted only about four hundred years. After that, things became even more chaotic, and we entered the era of the Three Kingdoms."

"That was another era that produced many heroes, much like the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods before you."

Zhang Ying was speaking with great enthusiasm, spitting as she spoke.

As a result, the three of them kept interrupting and asking questions, one after another.

"Sir, were there any fierce generals in the Three Kingdoms period?"

"Sir, why did the Han Dynasty fall?"

"gentlemen……"

Zhang Ying's patience finally ran out.

He slammed the fishing rod to the ground with a "thud".

"I'm not talking anymore! I'm not talking anymore!"

Why is it so difficult to communicate with you?

He muttered to himself, his mind full of complaints; these people had way too many problems.

Upon seeing this, Ying Zheng and Wang Ben quickly stepped forward.

"Please calm down, sir. Please calm down."

Wang Ben pressed on impatiently, "Sir, you still haven't told me, during the Three Kingdoms period, were there any fierce generals more powerful than Huo Qubing?"

Zhang Ying was secretly amused by his impatient look.

He picked up the fishing rod again and began to speak slowly.

"A fierce general from the Three Kingdoms period?"

"That's truly a place teeming with fierce generals."

Suddenly, Zhang Ying's expression faded. He sighed, picked up his wine glass, and took a sip.

"It's a pity that in the end, all three kingdoms fell to Sima Yi."

There was a hint of regret in his voice.

"After decades of fighting to the death, heroes and warriors shed their blood, only to have a man surnamed Sima seize the opportunity and establish the Jin Dynasty."

Ying Zheng stopped moving.

This ending left him feeling inexplicably restless and empty.

"After the Jin Dynasty, was there a golden age?" he asked, clinging to his last glimmer of hope.

Zhang Ying's expression turned strange. He remained silent for a long time, seemingly hesitant to speak.

"Don't even mention it."

He waved his hand.

"I don't really want to talk about that period of history, it's fucking awful."

The more he acted this way, the more curious Ying Zheng and the other two became.

"Please speak freely, sir."

Zhang Ying took another big gulp of wine, as if she needed the alcohol to bolster her courage.

"The Western Jin Dynasty had fifteen emperors and lasted for over a hundred years, and then... the Central Plains fell into chaos."

"The Xiongnu, Xianbei, Jie, Qiang, and Di, five major non-Han tribes, took turns ruling the Central Plains."

"They call our people 'two-legged sheep'."

Wang Ben and Meng Yi were both stunned.

"Two-legged sheep?" Wang Ben asked疑惑地, "What does that mean?"

Zhang Ying slammed her wine glass heavily on the rock, making a dull thud.

He turned his head and said, word by word.

"It means... treating them like livestock, cooking and eating them."

"Old or young, male or female, none of them are spared."

The air in front of the cave seemed to freeze instantly.

Wang Ben's large, copper-bell-sized eyes were wide open and bloodshot.

He seemed not to have heard clearly, or perhaps he couldn't believe it.

"Eat...eat people?"

"Yes." Zhang Ying's voice was as cold as ice. "They burned, killed, looted, and committed all sorts of atrocities. It was a time when... people were treated worse than dogs."

"brute!"

Wang Ben suddenly stood up and let out a deafening roar.

With a "crack," he snapped the bamboo fishing rod in his hand.

"I will tear these beasts to pieces!"

He exuded a terrifying killing intent, an aura that could only be honed amidst mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

He knew the Xiongnu were brutal and the Qiang were unruly, but he never imagined that these foreign tribes could be so cruel.

Ying Zheng's face was expressionless, but his unfathomable eyes were churning with overwhelming killing intent.

"If the Xiongnu dare to invade my Great Qin, I will surely exterminate their entire race and leave not a single blade of grass alive."

His voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable resolve.

Zhang Ying raised her hand and wiped the corner of her eye, where a little moisture had appeared without her noticing.

He said coldly, "There's only one way to deal with these things."

"beat!"

"Use the strongest force to completely subdue them, terrify them, and etch fear into their very bones."

"Those who are not of our kind will surely have different hearts. To talk to them about benevolence and morality is to be irresponsible to one's own people."

These words resonated deeply with Ying Zheng and Wang Ben.

The atmosphere in front of the cave was so oppressive that it was hard to breathe.

After a long silence, Meng Yi finally spoke in a hoarse voice, "Sir, what... happened next?"

Zhang Ying calmed down a bit, picked up another potato chip, and started crunching on it.

"Later, after hundreds of years of chaos, the country was finally unified again and the Sui Dynasty was established."

"However, the Sui Dynasty was also short-lived, only slightly better than your Qin Dynasty, lasting only two generations."

"And then, the world belonged to the Li Tang dynasty."

"I have a question for you," Zhang Ying suddenly said, her interest piqued.

Emperor Gaozu of Tang, Li Yuan, had four sons. Can you guess who ultimately inherited the throne?

Without hesitation, Meng Yi replied, "He is naturally the eldest son of the legitimate wife. He is the foundation of the nation and the embodiment of propriety and law."

Zhang Ying shook her head.

"Wrong."

"It was his second son, Li Shimin."

Ying Zheng frowned.

"The second son succeeding to the throne? It's illegitimate and lacks legitimacy; it's unlikely to win over the people."

Wang Ben echoed, "That's right, wouldn't such actions disrupt the established order?"

Zhang Ying scoffed.

"Is it not proper to have a legitimate name or authority?"

"Half of the Tang dynasty's empire was won by this second son. He was enfeoffed as the Prince of Qin, and his subordinates were as numerous as clouds of civil officials and as many as rain of military generals. Qin Qiong, Cheng Yaojin, Yuchi Gong... each of them was a first-rate expert."

"His elder brother, that crown prince, is nothing but a lucky reincarnation."

"One had the ambition to be an emperor, while the other was unworthy of the position. So, Li Shimin launched the Xuanwu Gate Incident, ambushed the palace gates, killed his elder brother and his fourth brother, forced his father to abdicate, and became emperor himself."

Upon hearing this, Meng Yi trembled with anger. He stood up and angrily rebuked the air.

"Slaying his brothers and forcing his father to abdicate! Such disloyal, unfilial, inhumane, and unjust villains will surely bring disaster to the country and its people!"

Wang Ben nodded emphatically: "What you say, Minister Meng, is absolutely right! These treacherous officials and villains deserve to be killed by everyone!"

Zhang Ying looked at them as if they were two idiots.

"Who told you he brought disaster to the country and its people?"

He asked slowly in return.

Zhang Ying continued, "After he ascended the throne, he changed the era name to Zhenguan and created the 'Reign of Zhenguan.' His power extended throughout the land, and all nations came to pay tribute. Countless leaders of barbarian tribes all respectfully called him 'Heavenly Khan.'"