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

"That's how it should be!!"

Landlords and gentry from all times and spaces expressed their heartfelt sentiments.

Whether in terms of land, law, or the treatment of scholar-officials,

The Song Dynasty's actions truly reflected their dream dynasty; as for the common people...

Even if examples such as Zhang Jiao and Huang Chao were displayed on the sky,

Those powerful landlords only restrained themselves slightly at first, but quickly reverted to their original ways.

The gentry and landlords were calculating in their minds: how could people like Zhang Jiao and Huang Chao possibly appear in such a small place?

People always have a sense of wishful thinking, feeling that such a thing could never happen to them.

But when good things happen, you start to think, "What if it's me?"

The same applies to landlords and powerful families.

Even if someone rebelled, they were just a bunch of peasants, without any weapons, and so thin they were practically skin and bones. How could they possibly pose a threat to their lives?

"Alas, there is nothing new under the sun."

"This was true of the Song Dynasty, and it was also true of my Great Tang Dynasty, and even the Ming Dynasty that followed."

Li Shimin spoke with a heavy heart, the atmosphere around him extremely somber.

He now felt that no matter what he did, the lives of people in future generations would not change.

Just like how every generation of people has its own endless suffering,

"His Majesty!!!"

Wei Zheng, unable to tolerate Li Shimin's attitude, roared in anger!

Changsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, and the others, like Li Shimin, were already radiating a low-pressure atmosphere and were quite dejected.

Wei Zheng's sudden shout startled everyone.

"Wei Zheng, why are you yelling so loudly?!"

"Yeah, that scared the hell out of me!!"

Wei Zheng ignored their complaints and spoke with utmost seriousness and earnestness.

"Does Your Majesty intend to abandon this cause, disregarding the dire suffering of the people of the Tang Dynasty?"

"Does Your Majesty lack ambition, believing yourself to be the great emperor of all time, as future generations will say, and thus indulge in pleasure, no longer striving to govern diligently?"

"If His Majesty hesitates over such a trivial matter, then what's the point of us following him to govern the country and achieve any great deeds?"

A barrage of questions rained down on Li Shimin, leaving him dazed and confused, as if he had truly committed a heinous crime.

Li Shimin's lips moved, as if he wanted to correct Wei Zheng's words, but Wei Zheng's continuous questioning silenced him.

Are we really that bad friends?

He was just feeling down for a while; everyone goes through that phase. He didn't say he was giving up on governing the country.

Li Shimin now felt as if hats were being thrown at his head.

According to Wei Zheng's words, he was about to slowly transform from a wise ruler into a mediocre one; if he continued, he might soon become a monarch like Emperor Yang of Sui.

"Stop! Stop!!"

"I said stop!!"

Li Shimin was somewhat overwhelmed. After roaring, he rubbed his temples.

Wei Zheng smacked his lips, seemingly still savoring the experience, and swallowed hard.

He didn't know how Li Shimin felt, but he certainly felt good about cursing him now.

Seriously, it's been a long time since I've vented so freely.

"What Minister Wei said was truly enlightening; it awakened me completely!"

"I will certainly be diligent in governing and love the people from now on, curb land annexation, and let the people live a more prosperous life than in the Song Dynasty."

Li Shimin had no choice but to express his ambitions to Wei Zheng.

Although he was very unhappy with Wei Zheng's words, he couldn't seem to find a reason to refute them.

He has indeed become somewhat lax during this period, and is not as diligent as before.

Wei Zheng was right to criticize; he deserves to be criticized now!

Li Shimin rallied his forces, took a deep breath, and gazed resolutely at the sky.

He's back! His Majesty has finally returned!

Wei Zheng was very pleased, as long as His Majesty could regain his former energy and ambition,

It's nothing for Wei Zheng to be a little tired and waste some breath!

During the Tianbao period

"I knew it! How could Kaifeng in the Song Dynasty be more prosperous than my Chang'an?"

"So it turns out that one country supports one city."

"Then that doesn't count at all!"

Li Longji leaned back on the dragon throne with a relaxed posture, and casually put his right hand around Yang Yuhuan, which made Yang Yuhuan giggle and playfully punch Li Longji's chest with her soft hands.

Regardless, the lives of ordinary people during the Song Dynasty were not as prosperous as those during his reign.

Li Longji himself was fully aware of the Kaiyuan era of prosperity that he had created.

Now that the world is at peace, it's time for me to start enjoying myself.

Otherwise, wouldn't this emperor have been in vain?

"Don't stop! I didn't tell you to stop!"

"Keep the music playing, keep dancing!!"

Li Longji said with dissatisfaction, "How can I enjoy myself with my beloved concubine without music and dance?"

The musicians and dancers inside the hall snapped out of their daze and hurriedly began playing the zither and sheng, their lotus-like steps and sleeves fluttering in the breeze.

Inside the imperial palace, a scene of singing and dancing filled the air, reflecting the sweet and extravagant atmosphere of the Tang Dynasty during the Kaiyuan era.

It was truly a scene of dazzling beauty and extravagant extravagance.

So how did the Song Dynasty, which is so fondly remembered by scholars, officials, and Han Chinese during the Yuan Dynasty, come to an end?

After the Song and Mongol alliance destroyed the Jin dynasty in 1234, the Song army intended to take advantage of the Mongol army's northward retreat to recapture Luoyang and Kaifeng, specifically after the Duanping campaign.

The alliance between the Southern Song Dynasty and the Mongols completely broke down, and the following year the Mongols launched a massive attack on the Song Dynasty in three routes.

For the next few decades, the two sides remained deadlocked, with the Song and Mongol forces maintaining a war. In the Battle of Diaoyu Fortress, the Mongol Khan Möngke was killed, and the Southern Song Dynasty gradually weakened in the standoff.

In 1271, Kublai Khan established the Yuan Dynasty, named after the phrase "Great is the Qian Yuan" from the Book of Changes.

"Kublai Khan was not content with being a steppe khanate; he had the ambition to unify the four seas and replace the Song Dynasty."

Liu Bang was not surprised when he saw Kublai Khan change the name of the Mongol Empire.

This was merely a means for Kublai Khan to seize legitimacy; his true intention was still to replace the Song Dynasty.

Moreover, when Kublai Khan changed the name of the country, wasn't he still thinking about conforming to the culture of the Central Plains and carrying out Sinicization?

Moreover, Liu Bang still remembered Kublai Khan's other nickname.

It's not surprising at all that Liu Bilie did such a thing.

"This country's name is quite good!"

The ancients perceived it as extremely large and spacious.

Just by listening to him, you can tell he has the ambition to unify the world.

Yuan Dynasty, your name was excellent, but now it belongs to me!

Some local governments, who were originally struggling with choosing their national name and were considering whether to stick with their previous names,

Now we've discovered that we can actually choose the name of our country ourselves.

Even if someone else uses the yuan, there are still other options.

The I Ching contains more than just the character "元" (yuan).

During the Northern and Southern Dynasties period, Liu Yu was having a great deal of trouble over the name of his dynasty.

He originally intended to use the name Song for his state, because Liu Yu's ancestral home was Pengcheng, which was the former territory of the State of Song during the Spring and Autumn Period.

But now the name of the Song dynasty seems somewhat inauspicious.

The name Yuan was auspicious, but the Yuan Dynasty was a dynasty ruled by a foreign ethnic group.

Ah, I've got it!

Since the character "元" cannot be used, I can use "干" instead.

Great indeed is the Qian Yuan, for Qian existed before Yuan.

Or perhaps we could name the country "Da Gan" (Great Struggle)?