Sky Curtain: The Overlord Charges into Battle, Shocking Emperors of All Dynasties

During the Warring States period,

Mencius was overjoyed and danced with delight.

"I am not alone on my path, I am not alone on my path!!"

Ever since he put forward the idea that "the people are more important than the ruler," although these rulers did not show it on their faces, they still treated him as an honored guest.

However, none of his proposals or suggestions were adopted.

Mencius knew that these rulers had never listened to him and would never adopt his advice.

If he doesn't speak up for these ordinary people, who will see them?

Like Mencius, Mozi was also overjoyed and excited about the future.

Compared to Mencius, Mozi paid more attention to artisans, merchants, and other small-scale craftsmen.

"Universal love and mutual benefit lead to a peaceful and prosperous life."

Mozi murmured, his expression of satisfaction evident.

His lifelong pursuit of honoring the virtuous and loving all people was finally realized in later generations.

A majestic voice resounded from the sky.

"The wheat has ripened thousands of times, but this is the first time it has ripened—Long live the people!"

"The Zhongshan Mountains are shrouded in mist and rain, a million-strong army crosses the great river!"

"With the long spear in hand today, when will we bind the azure dragon!"

"All that is past; to find truly remarkable figures, look to the present!"

The wheat has ripened thousands of times?

Yes, China's history spans thousands of years, which is just like wheat ripening thousands of times.

Could these words really have come from the same person?

Everyone experienced the grandeur and vision contained in the poems.

They didn't understand how someone could express such boldness and grand vision in their words.

Why did he say that?

They had already reached a high place and escaped the quagmire.

Why do it this way?

When the smoke of war from Western powers blew open China's doors at the end of the Qing Dynasty, blond-haired, blue-eyed foreigners bullied the Chinese people.

When the Manchu rulers colluded with the enemy and betrayed the country, they uttered the famous phrase, "Using the resources of China to please foreign powers."

A young man from Hunan, filled with worry, witnessed the suffering of the people. He braved the mud, left his hometown, bid farewell to his parents, and resolved to save his country.

"I vow to leave my hometown and not return until I have achieved fame and success."

"Why must one's bones be buried in one's hometown? Green hills are everywhere in life."

! !

Those Westerners? A bunch of barbarians! How dare they?

And the Manchu Qing dynasty—could such words be uttered by the rulers of a country?!

At this moment, the emperor under the celestial canopy was so enraged by the phrase "to exhaust the resources of China to win the favor of foreign powers" that he trembled with rage.

In China's thousands of years of history, there has never been such humiliating rhetoric.

The Manchus? Were they slaves of the Western countries?!

The Han and Tang dynasties, among other powerful dynasties, reacted particularly strongly. During their periods of strength, which of these dynasties didn't have all nations paying tribute, and which didn't possess formidable military power?

But this statement instantly shattered the backbone of China's millennia-old tradition.

During the Song Dynasty, especially the Southern Song Dynasty,

Upon reading these words, the Song dynasty man felt a deep sense of sorrow.

They thought of the numerous peace treaties signed between the imperial court and the Jin and Mongol dynasties.

Silk and silver were being sent out by the cartload.

The difference between the Qing and Manchu dynasties might be that the Qing officials were not so shameless as to say such things.

After decades of trials and tribulations, he finally stood at the top, but he did not turn a blind eye.

The people shouted "Long live the people!" He gently shook his head and shouted "Long live the people!"

He stood at the highest point, glanced down at the lowest point, and saw that the person who had given the most in the world was suffering the deepest and heaviest pain.

So he stepped down again and stood with the people.

Is there really anyone who can resist this temptation?

Zhao Kuangyin was extremely puzzled at this moment.

He had personally experienced this once.

When the yellow robe was draped over his body, his soldiers knelt on the ground shouting "Long live the Emperor!" and the whole world was in one man's hands.

The feeling of having power in one's hands is truly intoxicating.

It seeps into your bones like poison, making you unable to stop.

How could anyone delegate this power, especially...?

However, Zhao Kuangyin understood something at this moment.

Previously, the words of later generations on the celestial screen highly praised the martial prowess of emperors, especially in foreign wars, such as the Han and Tang dynasties, which were elevated to the highest levels.

Now Zhao Kuangyin understood.

Later generations experienced those times, enduring decades or even centuries of humiliation at the hands of foreign tribes.

How can we not advocate for force?

It was as if he had witnessed the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, a time of rampant military tyranny, constant warfare, and frequent acts of killing and cannibalism.

Therefore, he had to suppress military generals, or rather, he had to achieve a balance between civil and military affairs.

We must never again have a chaotic era like the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period.

During the Zhenguan era of the Tang Dynasty

"I truly admire you!"

Li Shimin clapped his hands and cheered for the words displayed on the sky, expressing his sincere admiration.

He admired that there were actually people who thought this way, and who actually did it.

Thinking of this, Li Shimin sighed. He knew he could never achieve what Tianmu had done in his lifetime.

If he really did that, he would probably die a violent death the next day.

Those aristocratic families, nobles, and civil officials will unite like never before.

Li Shimin understood.

Each generation has its own mission.

What he can do now is to make life better for the people, to ensure they have enough to eat, and to prevent them from being bullied by foreigners as described on the screen.

It's no wonder that later generations held the Qing Dynasty in contempt and even looked down upon it.

In any other dynasty in history,

Even in their later years, they wouldn't be so spineless.

Li Shimin was very curious about one thing.

Did the Qing Dynasty emperor who said these words truly consider himself the emperor of China?

Hongwu,

Zhu Yuanzhang's expression was very complex. He thought of himself, and of the peasant uprisings that broke out every year.

The early Ming Dynasty was arguably the period with the most peasant uprisings in the early years of a dynasty.

During the thirty-one years of the Hongwu reign, there were approximately 190 peasant uprisings involving more than a thousand people, making it the most frequent of any founding emperor in Chinese history.

Of all the founding dynasties, none have seen as many and as widespread peasant uprisings as the Hongwu Emperor's, which continued unabated and spread across more than ten provinces.

Logically speaking, Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, came from a humble background and was even a beggar. He should have been the one who understood the hardships of ordinary people the most.

But it just so happened to be the answer to that statement.

The dragon slayer becomes the dragon himself.

Zhu Yuanzhang became the greatest evil dragon.

Heavy taxes, strict laws, forced migration, and the system of collective punishment among local officials led to local warlords committing all sorts of crimes, placing an extremely heavy burden on the grassroots.

Especially in the Jiangnan region, particularly the Suzhou-Songjiang area, Zhu Yuanzhang imposed heavy taxes in retaliation for local support of Zhang Shicheng, which can be described as officials forcing the people to rebel.

Long live the people!

"You stood at the highest point, then came down again?"

"We've reached the highest point now, but we..."

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at his hands with trembling hands. He felt billowing black smoke rising from them—the souls of the wronged people.

He used to never care about these things, and would even curse these troublemakers for not reporting to the authorities!

Although he verbally recounted the hardships he faced in building his fortune to his sons, it seemed he only used these stories as bragging rights.

After saying it was over, I forgot about it all.

In his eyes, the people seemed to have become just a number, a tool.

"Father, it's not too late."

Zhu Biao walked up to Zhu Yuanzhang, grabbed his hand, and spoke earnestly.

On the other side, Empress Ma also stepped forward slowly, tightly grasped Zhu Yuanzhang's other hand, and said softly:

"Zhongba, don't forget that our family used to be commoners too!"

Zhu Yuanzhang held Empress Ma and Zhu Biao's hands tightly, and made up his mind.

Biao'er's previous statement made sense; the common people should be treated leniently, with tax reductions and time for rest.

However, when dealing with corrupt officials, a murderous glint flashed in Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes.

Even if our hands are stained with blood, we won't let them off easily.