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

"Even so, Zhao Gou does have some courage."

"Even I thought Zhao Jiu was behind this!"

Ying Zheng spoke as if it were nothing out of the ordinary. Having been the King of Qin and then the Emperor, he naturally had a very clear understanding of human nature.

It's no wonder that later generations fabricated the story of Zhao Jiu transmigrating into Zhao Gou's body.

Once the secret of the sky was revealed, everything became clear.

Zhao Gou was the only prince of Emperor Huizong (Zhao Ji) who was not captured. He ascended the throne after the Jingkang Incident.

They held Jiangnan against the Jin people and even killed Yue Fei, who was resisting the Jin.

Ying Zheng couldn't understand what had caused Zhao Gou to become the way he was later.

To be called Wanyan Gou by later generations,

Could it be that they actually recognized the Jurchens as their adoptive fathers?

Three Kingdoms, Chengdu,

"The Prime Minister is Zhao Gou, whom we mentioned on the celestial screen before!"

Liu Shan tugged at Zhuge Liang's sleeve, pointing excitedly at the sky.

He knew Zhao Gou and had a very deep impression of that name.

This is something later generations have said; they said he could have done a better job than Zhao Gou.

Liu Shan genuinely wanted to know what Zhao Gou had done to earn such hatred from later generations.

Zhuge Liang patted Liu Shan's chubby little hand reassuringly, but his brows were furrowed.

Given the situation at the time, without Zhao Jiu, and without an emperor with a very firm will to resist the Jin,

This great cause of resisting the Jin and launching the Northern Expedition may very well end in failure.

Zhao Gou's courage, martial arts skills, and talent earned him the favor of many ministers.

[However, Zhao Gou was not the crown prince. If things had proceeded normally, for Zhao Gou to become emperor, either Zhao Huan would have died, or at least most of the princes preceding him would have died.]

Alternatively, he could only emulate Li Shimin and practice filial piety and brotherly love.

Neither Zhao Gou nor Zhao Ji anticipated that the Jurchens would march south, capture Emperors Huizong and Qinzong, and perish along with all the princes and members of the imperial clan in the capital.

[Only Zhao Gou, who was recruiting soldiers in Hebei at the time, became the only close relative of the imperial clan to be away from home, in addition to his previous achievements.]

Zhao Gou successfully ascended the throne, continuing the Song Dynasty's rule.

However, when the Jin army besieged the city, Zhao Gou was outside. He should have come to the rescue, but instead, he led the main force to Daming, Dongping, and other directions, avoiding Kaifeng.

[Until Kaifeng fell, Zhao Gou watched helplessly as Emperors Huizong and Qinzong were captured, and the people of Kaifeng, including his own brothers and sisters, perished.]

Zhao Gou has revealed his true nature!

Having witnessed Zhao Gou's actions, the ancients already understood.

Zhao Gou was waiting for the Jurchens to do him this favor so that he could rightfully ascend the throne.

How cruel!

Many people lamented Zhao Gou's ruthlessness; given his previous behavior as Prince Kang, he shouldn't have acted this way.

It seems that things only changed after Zhao Gou went to the Jin camp.

What exactly happened to cause such a drastic change in Zhao Gou?

From then on, they feared the Jurchens like wolves and tigers.

"What does this have to do with me?!"

Li Shimin questioned in disbelief, "Why did you suddenly bring up filial piety and brotherly love again?"

It was as if those two words had become his exclusive domain.

Even the meaning of these two words has become somewhat distorted.

In the Tang Dynasty today, whether in the imperial court or among the common people, fathers and elder brothers are extremely reluctant to use this word.

He feared that his son and brother would treat him with filial piety and brotherly love.

During the reign of Emperor Huizong,

Zhao Gou's straight spine instantly went limp, his legs involuntarily buckled, and he knelt down, head bowed, uttering not a word.

At this moment, Zhao Gou felt like an ostrich, wanting nothing more than to bury his head in the palace.

He was detached from worldly affairs, as if the person in the sky wasn't him at all.

He only thought about escaping all of this, about getting through it all.

Escaping is shameful, but it's useful.

Zhao Gou understood this principle well!

The eyes of Emperor Huizong, Emperor Huan, and ministers like Cai Jing already held considerable hatred.

They readily attributed their capture by the Jurchens to Zhao Gou.

If Zhao Gou hadn't refused to come to their aid, and if there had been an army loyal to the emperor, how could they have been captured by the Jurchens!

"King Kang was truly a good emperor!"

"Indeed, he truly possesses the bearing of an emperor!"

One after another, scathing remarks came from the ministers' mouths, with Cai Jing's voice particularly strong, his witty phrases flowing freely.

Cai Jing's greatest strengths lay in pressing his advantage and his flexible choice of allies.

No one understands switching sides better than him!

After Zhao Gou ascended the throne with the support of Zong Ze and others, he initially demonstrated a firm will to fight, appointing Li Gang as prime minister and showing that he wanted to revitalize the Song Dynasty.

However, it's unclear whether Zhao Gou stopped pretending or was simply terrified by the Jurchens.

[Seventy-five days later, Zhao Gou dismissed Li Gang, and the veteran general Zong Ze was put in charge of the defense line in Kaifeng, which made the Jin people very wary of him, and they called him "Grandpa Zong".]

Zong Ze repeatedly petitioned Zhao Gou to return to Kaifeng to oversee the northern expedition and welcome back the two emperors, but Zhao Gou refused each time.

In the end, Zong Ze died in grief and indignation, shouting three times before his death:

[Cross the river! Cross the river! Cross the river!!]

In the image displayed on the screen, an elderly general with white hair lay on a couch, his breathing barely perceptible.

A crowd gathered around the sickbed, some dressed in armor, sweat still dripping from their foreheads.

These people looked at Zong Ze's slightly heaving chest with worry, and sadness almost streamed down their faces.

Zong Ze's chest heaved a few times, then he slowly opened his cloudy eyes.

With each breath, as if drawing life from the air, Zong Ze's gaunt face regained some color, and he appeared more energetic.

Seeing this scene, the soldiers felt even more sorrowful, and their eyes glistened with tears.

Zong Ze coughed a few times, his lips moved, and he spoke:

"I have accumulated this resentment because of the two emperors' misdeeds. If you can annihilate the enemy, I will die without regret."

"Though I die, you must never forget the great cause of resisting the Jin."

"The humiliation of Jingkang must not be forgotten, and the blood feud of the people must be avenged!"

"Remember this!!!"

Many soldiers, fighting back tears, nodded in agreement.

In the center, a young general, his eyes filled with sorrow, had etched Zong Ze's words into his mind.

Furthermore, I made up my mind:

My life's mission is to accomplish the great cause of resisting the Jin dynasty; everything I do must prioritize resisting the Jin!

After saying all this, Zong Ze seemed to have used up all his strength, and his chest deflated.

He waved his hand weakly, signaling to the soldiers that they could leave.

The soldiers who came to visit Zong Ze dared not disobey his orders. Facing Zong Ze, they retreated step by step.

As they turned around, they repeatedly looked back, as if wanting to take another look at their general.

A moment later, only Zong Ze's son, Zong Ying, remained in the room. Zong Ze, panting heavily, recited a line of poetry with deep regret:

"He died before achieving his goal, leaving heroes to weep with sorrow!"

At this moment, Zong Ze seemed to see the figure of Zhuge Liang before his eyes. He finally understood what Zhuge Liang felt before his death.

On his deathbed, Zong Ze mustered his last bit of life force and, with all the heart and soul of his life, loudly proclaimed the wish that had always haunted his dreams.

"Cross the river! Cross the river! Cross the river!!!!"