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

"Zhao Gou, you truly deserve to die!!!"

Li Zhi roared hysterically; he was on the verge of losing his mind.

Originally, Li Zhi was very satisfied with his temple name.

That's Emperor Gaozong of Tang!

Temple names originated in the Shang Dynasty. Apart from the founding emperor (太祖), among the temple names at the "Zong" (宗) level,

The four temple names "Taigao Sejong" are considered to be the four best temple names.

Emperor Gaozong, in essence, meant a monarch with great achievements.

Li Zhi was extremely proud after learning his temple name.

This is the best temple name besides that of Emperor Taizong.

Li Zhi even thought that it would be great if the Tang Dynasty had really been founded by his father, Li Shimin.

Then Emperor Taizong's temple name would be his!

but! !! !!

Emperor Gaozong, you, Zhao Gou, dare to challenge me?!

Li Zhi now felt utterly disgusted; the temple name he should have been very pleased with...

It's just because Zhao Gou was also Emperor Gaozong.

It's like you're enjoying a meal when a pile of white bird droppings falls from the sky.

He even ate it as a condiment.

"I don't care, the one thing is certain: after I die, I absolutely cannot use Emperor Gaozong's temple name!!"

Li Zhi spoke in despair to the ministers below.

This left the ministers scratching their heads, quite perplexed.

The problem is, there aren't many temple names that can compare to Emperor Gaozong's.

Sigh, I guess I'll just have to come up with a new one.

Besides, where is there any emperor who, while still alive, has already decided on his temple name?

During the Jiaqing period of the Qing Dynasty,

The 88-year-old Emperor Qianlong has recently felt increasingly weak and listless, and he is sleeping much less each day.

Even Emperor Qianlong feared that one day he might never wake up again.

"Zhao Gou truly tarnished Emperor Gaozong's temple name!"

The elderly Emperor Qianlong, panting, spoke very slowly.

Nowadays, it takes a lot of effort for him to utter a single sentence.

"Originally, Gaozong was a superior temple name, but because of you, Zhao Gou!!!"

Emperor Qianlong slammed his withered, claw-like hand heavily on the armrest, followed by a violent coughing fit.

Jiaqing hurriedly stepped forward, picked up the ginseng tea, and offered it to Qianlong's lips, while his right hand continuously patted Qianlong's back.

"Your Majesty, you are a filial son."

"After my death, you should carefully consider my temple name."

After drinking the ginseng tea, Emperor Qianlong uttered these words, pausing several times, particularly when he spoke of carefully considering the matter, as if he were hinting at something.

Emperor Jiaqing replied with a smile:

"Your Majesty, rest assured, your son will carefully consider this matter!"

Emperor Qianlong nodded in satisfaction, unaware of the glint of darkness in Emperor Jiaqing's lowered eyes.

Old man, I'm going to give you the temple name of Emperor Gaozong.

Zhao Gou was the retired emperor, and so are you.

You two retired emperors, you're both quite long-lived!

This is why we feel such regret: for Yue Fei's death, for the humiliating peace treaty of the Southern Song Dynasty, for the continuous suffering of the people, and for the generations of patriotic and compassionate individuals of the Song Dynasty.

[Zong Ze, Yue Fei, Han Shizhong, Yu Yunwen, Xin Qiji, Wen Tianxiang, etc.]

The fall of the Song Dynasty is not a pity; what is truly regrettable are those who, for the sake of the Chinese people, and to prevent this calamity, bravely and selflessly sacrificed themselves.

This is also why we feel so regretful about Shao Song's book.

Because history should be this way, and history should be this way.

The Northern Expedition should have succeeded, the Jin dynasty should have been destroyed, Yue Fei should have died a peaceful death, and the world should have been transformed.

It's just a pity, as someone wrote in the comments section:

At the very last moment of the Song Dynasty's founding, Emperor Zhao Jiu spontaneously composed a poem on a high platform and held a banquet to celebrate the victory. Yue Fei, overjoyed, drank himself into a stupor, made a ruckus, and then fell into a deep sleep.

Feeling grateful to have been able to follow such a wise ruler as Zhao Jiuguan, I felt that my life had not been in vain.

[Only when he turned over did he realize that the pillow was cold and the wind was howling.]

[After waking up suddenly, it felt like I had just had a very long dream.]

What truly awaited him at that moment was the Fengbo Pavilion amidst a heavy snowfall.

Images flashed across the sky one after another.

Yue Fei practiced martial arts and studied diligently from a young age, practicing tirelessly even in the dead of winter.

With the words "Serve the country with utmost loyalty" engraved on his back, he bid farewell to his parents, carrying a long spear, and joined the army.

When he crossed the river to the south, he turned to look north, his eyes filled with resentment.

Leading the Beiwei Army, they utterly crushed the elite Jin army.

"General Yue, when will the world truly be at peace?"

A voice filled with despair, numbness, yet still tinged with a glimmer of hope rang out.

"When civil officials do not love money and military officials do not fear death, the world will be at peace."

A biting wind howled past, carrying snow and ice, shattering the scene like broken ice.

What appeared before them was Yue Fei's body lying stiffly on the cold earth amidst the ice and snow.

There was no twisted hatred on his frozen face.

What caught everyone's eye was a pair of eyes full of regret.

The ancients looked into Yue Fei's eyes and understood the meaning behind his gaze.

Ugh.....

A long, drawn-out sigh escaped from all different timelines.

Yue Fei, Yue Fei, how come you never met your wise ruler?

People always hope that the story will have a happy ending.

But in the end, things never went as planned.

Throughout thousands of years of history, there have been countless examples for future generations to learn from and heed.

However, later generations never learn from history and repeat the same mistakes time and time again.

"Yue Fei, if I had a Yue Fei, how could I have stopped the Jurchens from running rampant?"

Zhu Youjian said with some resentment,

He didn't trust anyone else, but he had complete confidence in a minister like Yue Fei.

He could unconditionally trust Yue Fei, but he would not unconditionally trust the other ministers.

"Civil officials don't love money, and military officers don't fear death—well said, truly well said!"

Li Shimin sighed deeply.

If all officials in the land could truly act as Yue Fei described, then peace and prosperity would probably be just around the corner.

But in this world, few civil officials are not greedy for money, and even fewer military officials are willing to die for their cause.

Ultimately, it was just a beautiful fantasy of Yue Fei.

During the reign of Emperor Xiaozong of Song,

"Young Master Yue!!!"

Zhao Shen unconsciously gripped his palm tightly, his pupils dilated sharply, and he said with immense regret,

Zhao Shen was fifteen years old when Yue Fei died.

Although they were still children, the two of them had met before.

As early as the seventh year of the Shaoxing era, when Yue Fei entered the capital Lin'an, Zhao Gou had arranged for Yue Fei to meet Zhao Shen.

That was their first and only meeting.

After Yue Fei was killed, the two never saw each other again.

But this meeting left a deep impression on both of them.

Zhao Shen was well aware of Yue Fei's loyalty and bravery; otherwise, he would not have exonerated Yue Fei immediately upon ascending the throne.

"If Yue Fei were still alive, how could the Jurchens have dared to act so arrogantly!"

Zhao Shen vented his dissatisfaction in a low voice, so low that only he himself could hear it.

Although he is now the emperor, everyone knows that there is someone behind him.

Emperor Emeritus Zhao Gou!

Although Zhao Shen currently wields power, he ultimately still has to be mindful of others' opinions.

Even when he exonerated Yue Fei, he still had to consider Zhao Gou's feelings and had to claim that it was the Emperor Emeritus's will.

This is clearly my will!

In fact, Yue Fei could have waited for a wise ruler, and he did meet him.

He can truly be called the only enlightened ruler of the Southern Song Dynasty—Emperor Xiaozong of Song, Zhao Shen.