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

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I thought Xiang Yu was invincible, but there was someone even more valiant than him.

When Xiang Yu conquered the world with his military might, he was already twenty-three years old, approaching the peak of his military career.

This Yue Yun of the Song Dynasty, at the age of sixteen, had already achieved four great feats: being the first to scale the enemy lines, breaking through enemy lines, beheading enemy generals, and capturing enemy flags. Such a fierce general had not even reached his peak yet.

Cao Cao looked at Yue Yun on the sky and his mouth was watering. In his life, besides beautiful women, he loved people who were skilled in martial arts and loyal.

Yue Yun is so brave and skilled in battle, and also a filial son, no less than my Ang'er.

Thinking of this, Cao Cao's expression darkened. He recalled the Battle of Wancheng and the cannon shot he had fired.

Alas, my Ang'er, my Dian Wei, my Shadowless Steed (not really), Cao Anmin

Ang'er possesses Yue Yun's filial piety, Dian Wei possesses Yue Yun's bravery, and Cao Anmin possesses...

Who would have thought that Yue Yun, such a valiant and skilled warrior, would pass away at the young age of 23?

[He lived even shorter than Huo Qubing]

[Mainly because his father is so dazzling, which makes him, how should I put it, not stand out.]

If Yue Yun had lived a few more years and reached the pinnacle of military generalship, he would have been comparable to Xiang Yu, the Hegemon-King.

[Yue Yun always led the charge in the toughest battles, never suffering a defeat in his life, earning him the nickname "Lord Ying".]

Follow-up comment: Yue Fei was truly ruthless, using his own son so cruelly.

Follow-up comment: There's no other way. His own son is in the military, so he needs to be respected by his subordinates. If he's protected, how will he lead troops in the future?

Follow-up comment: Yue Yun suffered too much. When he was young, his father was fighting and he had no fatherly love. He fought alongside his father at the age of twelve, charging into battle. He died unjustly at the hands of his own people at the age of twenty-three.

[A classic example of the cowardly tactic of fighting amongst themselves when in doubt]

[It wasn't just the Song Dynasty that was fighting amongst themselves; wasn't the Southern Ming Dynasty also embroiled in internal strife? They were fighting right on their doorstep, yet they were still fighting amongst themselves.]

This just goes to show how civil officials are; otherwise, why were there so few internal conflicts when previous dynasties fell?

The wrongful deaths of Yue Fei and Yue Yun were not solely due to infighting among civil officials; they were simply caused by Wanyan Gou.

Indeed, otherwise why would so many scholar-officials have committed suicide to serve their country when the Song Dynasty fell?

Follow-up comment: The scholar-officials of the Song Dynasty still possessed integrity. In contrast, Qian Qianyi's famous line from the Ming Dynasty, "The water is too cold," has been passed down to this day.

[No party outside the party, imperial mentality prevails; no factions within the party, a myriad of strange and eccentric individuals emerge]

Follow-up comment: The great man was absolutely right; he saw through everything.

This is filth, filth!!!

The civil officials of the Southern Song Dynasty were immediately thrown into disarray; what does it mean to be indecisive and fight amongst themselves?

Can political disagreements be called internal strife?

These people from later generations know nothing. We were just having a friendly conversation. Why do you accuse us of forming a faction?

A virtuous person associates with others but not with any faction; a petty person associates with others but not with anyone.

In my Great Song Dynasty, there are only gentlemen, not villains!

Although later generations said that the infighting among civil officials made them furious, they at least ultimately affirmed their integrity.

While it may affirm the contributions of a small minority, that's because others had already sacrificed their lives beforehand.

The scholar-officials of the Southern Song Dynasty thought this way.

Zhao Gou, sitting on the dragon throne, was in a rather complicated mood.

"Perfect Manifestation!!!"

He was furious, but helpless. He knew that later generations called him Wanyan Gou because he killed Yue Fei and groveled before the Jurchens.

Damn it, they haven't experienced the horrors of the Jurchens, so it's easy for them to talk when they're not the ones suffering.

Thinking of this, Zhao Gou seemed to recall the scene when the Jurchens marched south.

It should be noted that in his early years, Zhao Gou was the brave and decisive Prince Kang, who dared to go on a mission to the Jin camp.

As a result, the Jin army marched south and lost all courage.

In the third year of the Jianyan era, the Jin army marched south to attack Yangzhou. At that time, Zhao Gou was enjoying himself with his concubine. When the news spread, he fled in panic without even putting on his clothes. He was left with an illness from then on, and the young Zhao Gou could not recover.

He had no choice but to adopt Zhao Shen, and the lineage was thus restored to the line of Emperor Taizu.

That's why he was said to live a long life; generally speaking, eunuchs tend to live quite long lives.

Zhao Gou could only pretend not to see the words on the sky: killing Yue Fei was clearly Qin Hui's idea, what does it have to do with me?

"Ahem," Zhao Gou coughed twice, feigning annoyance, and said:

"My beloved ministers, I am tired today. Court is adjourned."

After saying this, she returned to the inner palace to continue experimenting on whether she could give birth to a child.

...

So this is how my ending is?

At Zhuxian Town, Yue Fei's Northern Expeditionary Army had just achieved a series of great victories and was approaching Kaifeng.

Yue Fei's eyes were filled with desolation. He never imagined that his northern expedition would end in his death.

I don't know if the court will eliminate the Jin dogs, recover the Central Plains, and welcome back the two emperors after my death.

If we can successfully resist the Jin and recover our Han homeland, I, Yue Fei, will die without regret!

At this moment, Yue Fei's mind was still on the great cause of resisting the Jin.

Suddenly the curtain was lifted, and Yue Yun rushed in, followed by a group of soldiers and generals.

"General Yue!!"

Even in the army, Yue Yun addressed Yue Fei as "Marshal Yue," not "Father."

After all, in the military, one must be addressed by their rank!

"The Song emperor treats us so harshly, why don't we rebel?"

A general with a fierce and menacing face said that he only admired Yue Fei and had long disliked the Song emperor, who was a coward.

"That's right, Commander Yue. You led us to conquer the world, and none of the brothers dared to disobey or refuse to follow your orders."

The generals in the tent echoed his sentiments, their emotions running high. They had fought valiantly to recover lost territories for the Song emperor, yet they had made a mistake.

I quit! If it weren't for the fight against the Jin, I would have led my troops back long ago.

Yue Yun remained silent, staring at his father with clenched fists. He was ready to lead his troops back at his father's command, confident that with his martial prowess, he could easily smash the gates of Lin'an!

"shut up!!!"

Yue Fei roared angrily,

"As a subject, one should serve the monarch wholeheartedly and be loyal to the country; how can one let personal matters interfere with public duty!"

Yue Fei gazed northwards, his eyes looking through the military tents as if he could see his northern homeland and the humiliated elders and fellow villagers there.

"Resisting the Jin is the greatest priority now. As long as we can fight the Jin invaders and recover our lost territories..."

Yue Fei paused, then said in a deep voice:

"I, Yue Fei, have no regrets even in death!"

During the Chongzhen era at the end of the Ming Dynasty,

Zhu Youjian nodded slightly with a bitter expression, agreeing with Tianmu's words.

"Sigh, partisan strife, partisan strife."

"Donglin Party, Qi Party, Zhejiang Party, Jin Party..."

"With so many factions vying for power, the rebel Li Zicheng has not been subdued domestically, the traitor Xian Feng has not been eliminated, and foreign threats have arisen. The Tartars are eyeing us covetously. The Ming Dynasty is in grave danger."

The more Chongzhen looked at the situation, the more he felt that it was very similar to the Southern Song Dynasty, with internal rebellions and factional strife, and external threats from the Jurchen invaders.

He knew that the Ming Dynasty was now beyond saving and beyond redemption, but he still wanted to save it, even if it meant saving it for as long as he could.

"My brother should be like Yao and Shun!"

The late emperor's last words still echo in my ears, trapping and oppressing Chongzhen.

But he doesn't seem to be a Yao or Shun; he's about to become a ruler who brings about the downfall of his kingdom.

"I wonder if, when the Ming Dynasty fell, it suffered the same fate as the Southern Song Dynasty."

"How many people actually died for the Ming Dynasty?"

"Qian Qianyi, is the water too cold?"

Zhu Youjian knew without a doubt that Qian Qianyi was a man of questionable character, seeking fame and fortune, and cowardly and afraid of death.

"The water is too cold"? It's nothing more than a pretense to commit suicide by drowning. "The water is too cold" is just an excuse.

They might do even more shameless things, so it's not surprising that they joined the rebels.