Sky Curtain: A Review of Historical Foes and the Secrets of Ministers

The scene lacks the majestic grandeur of sweeping across the land, and the strategic brilliance of a man wielding a feather fan and silk turban.

There was only one middle-aged man, covered in dust and grime, wearing the armor of a Qin general but smeared with cement dust, pointing at the screen and cursing loudly with spittle flying.

"Later generations cursed me in history books every day, saying that I was the gravedigger of Qin, that I surrendered to Xiang Yu and was a spineless coward, and that I should die rather than submit and be loyal to the country."

"Pah! It's easy for you to talk when you're not the one experiencing it. If you were in that situation, could you even get an erection?"

"I, Zhang Han, hold the official position of Shaofu. What is Shaofu? It's basically a contractor who works on the construction of the imperial mausoleum."

"One second I was supervising the construction at Lishan, urging those convicts to move bricks and build the tomb. The next second, Chen Sheng and Wu Guang's hundreds of thousands of troops have reached Xishui, just a few steps away from Xianyang."

boom!

In the Qin Dynasty world, outside the Xianyang Palace, there was a deathly silence.

All eyes turned to a middle-aged official standing at the back of the civil service line, holding a measuring tape and bamboo slips, looking completely bewildered.

Zhang Han is currently the Grand Master of the Imperial Household of Qin, mainly responsible for the inner court's expenses and... the construction of the Lishan Mausoleum.

The bamboo slip in Zhang Han's hand fell to the ground with a thud, and he was completely dumbfounded.

He pointed at his reflection in the sky, his lips trembling violently, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, you're just a tomb repairman! When have you ever fought a war?"

Standing at the very front, Ying Zheng's brows were furrowed into a deep knot.

His focus was not on whether Zhang Han could fight a war.

Ying Zheng turned around abruptly, and the oppressive aura of his domineering presence made the assembled officials immediately lower their heads.

"Hundreds of thousands of troops have advanced to within steps of Xianyang?" Ying Zheng said in a low, cold voice. "My Great Qin has a million armored soldiers. We've defeated the Xiongnu in the north and pacified the Baiyue in the south! Any general you randomly pick from the court could crush the six kingdoms!"

"How could we have fallen so low as to send a mere junior official to war with convicts tasked with repairing tombs? Where are Wang Jian! Wang Ben! Meng Tian?! Are they all dead?!"

Wang Jian was so frightened that his old legs went weak and he knelt down on the spot.

"Your Majesty, is it possible that I... had already passed away back then...?"

At the same time, in the Tang Dynasty.

Li Er looked at the irritable Zhang Han in the sky, sighed first, and then couldn't help but laugh.

"Zhang Han wasn't lying. Back then, the Qin's veteran soldiers were either defending the Great Wall against the Xiongnu or eating dirt in the Baiyue region. That spendthrift Hu Hai managed to turn the First Emperor's empire into nothing more than a group of labor camp inmates building tombs."

Li Er shook his head, a hint of regret in his eyes, then suddenly changed the subject, "However, to lead hundreds of thousands of prisoners armed with hoes to victory, Zhang Han can indeed be considered a famous general."

"It's a pity he encountered a ruler and ministers like Hu Hai and Zhao Gao who brought disaster upon themselves. If I were in that mess, I would only need three thousand Xuanjia soldiers..."

Fengtian Temple.

Zhu Yuanzhang sneered. He was well-versed in history and naturally knew of Zhang Han.

But more than cursing Hu Hai, he was feeling smug at this moment.

He turned to look at the Crown Prince, "Biao'er, look at this, this is the successor Ying Zheng chose. That spendthrift Hu Hai has squandered the entire fortune of Qin."

Old Zhu became more and more pleased with himself as he spoke, his voice so loud that it could be heard throughout the entire Fengtian Hall.

"To be honest, Qin Shi Huang was indeed impressive in unifying the world, but his judgment in choosing a son was worlds apart from ours. If he had a son as good as our Biao'er, would the Qin Dynasty have perished after only two generations? It would have lasted for thousands of generations!"

"If it were us, and we had a fool like Hu Hai, we would have drowned him right after he was born to prevent him from ruining the country."

Just as the various dynasties were discussing the matter, Zhang Han, who was in the sky, suddenly had tears in his eyes, and his voice of grief and indignation came again.

"The entire court, who usually boast so loudly, were all terrified into silence. I led hundreds of thousands of convicts armed with hoes to the battlefield. We drove Zhou Wen away, killed Chen Sheng, and even beheaded that arrogant Chu general, Xiang Liang!"

"The Qin Dynasty was forcibly extended by me using a group of prisoners!"

"But while I'm risking my life on the front lines, what are those people doing behind the scenes? That damned eunuch Zhao Gao is pointing at a deer and calling it a horse in Xianyang!"

"I sent Sima Xin back to ask for grain and soldiers. He waited outside the city gate for three days, but he didn't even get to see the emperor. He was also chased by assassins sent by Zhao Gao."

"If we win, Zhao Gao fears my achievements will overshadow his master and will kill me. If we lose, according to Qin law, I'll still die. Bloodshed on the front lines, betrayal from behind—I'm doomed no matter what!"

Quiet.

In the Qin Dynasty world, no one spoke at this moment.

Everyone, including Li Si and Wang Jian, subconsciously took three steps back, leaving one person all alone in the center.

Zhao Gao, the Chief of the Imperial Carriage Office.

Zhao Gao was no longer just trembling; he was slumped on the ground like a lump of mud, his teeth chattering wildly, and a wet patch even seeped from his crotch.

Ying Zheng remained calm, slowly turning his head to quietly look at Zhao Gao on the ground.

"Zhao Gao."

"Your Majesty, I... Your Majesty..." Zhao Gao kowtowed frantically, blood streaming from his forehead. "Your Majesty, please understand! I'm innocent! I didn't know anything! I've always been loyal to the Qin Dynasty!"

Driven by a survival instinct, Zhao Gao abruptly raised his head and roared at the top of his lungs, "Your Majesty! This is slander! Zhang Han is slandering me. When have I ever refused to allow Zhang Han to leave the capital? I've rarely even seen his face. This celestial being is clearly trying to sow discord between the ruler and his ministers of Great Qin!"

thump!

Zhang Han, on the other side, also knelt down. He was completely dumbfounded, and the fear on his face was no less than that of Zhao Gao.

"Your Majesty, I am innocent!" Zhang Han cried out, on the verge of tears. "I am standing right here. How could I have ever fought a battle? Although the person in the sky looks exactly like me, that is definitely not me. I don't even know who Chen Sheng and Wu Guang are, how could I possibly have fought them?"

Ying Zheng narrowed his eyes slightly. He was now suspicious by nature, so how could he be easily swayed by Tian Mu's few words?

The Qin Dynasty is not yet over, and nothing has happened yet.

But this sudden appearance of the sky was so incredible that even he couldn't fathom its mysteries.

"That's enough," Ying Zheng coldly interrupted the farce.

He gave Zhao Gao, who was slumped on the ground, a deep look, and said, "Get down."

Zhao Gao felt as if he had been granted a pardon; his legs were so weak that he couldn't stand up at all, and he finally scrambled back.

The scene in the sky had reached its most tragic and climax.

Zhang Han even broke into a sob, each word dripping with grief.

"Fine, to save the lives of my 200,000 men from Guanzhong, I reluctantly surrendered to Xiang Yu. But what was the result? That damned Xiang Yu! He buried my 200,000 men from Guanzhong alive outside Xin'an City!"

"Two hundred thousand men! They were the very foundation of my Great Qin! I watched them being massacred with my own eyes. Do you know how much my heart bled at that moment?"