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

In ancient China, countless sages proposed numerous hypotheses about the nature of the earth beneath our feet.

Before the Han Dynasty, the most mainstream theory was still the theory of a covered sky.

The concept is that the sky is round and the earth is square; the sky is like a canopy and the earth is like a chessboard, and we live on this chessboard of the earth.

After the Han Dynasty, Zhang Heng's theory of the celestial sphere became the mainstream theory in later generations.

"The heavens are like a chicken egg, the celestial bodies are round like bullets, the earth is like the yolk in the egg, and it dwells alone in the heavens. The heavens are vast and the earth is small."

Zhang Heng had bright eyes, and the spherical shape described by later generations is similar to his theory of the celestial sphere.

However, there was one thing he didn't understand: if it really was a sphere, and he lived on it, why didn't he fall off?

Even so, some stubborn people still insist that the sky is round and the earth is square, and that the ground beneath their feet is flat.

"The descendants must have a problem with their accent!! Actually, it's not the Eastern Hemisphere, it's the Eastern Hemisphere Hill!!"

Some people confidently assert that they have traveled far and wide and heard different accents, so they naturally know that the differences between accents from different places are significant.

For scholars and officials who had read extensively in ancient books, this was far less surprising than for ordinary people in the countryside.

Ancient texts and many insightful individuals have suggested that the earth beneath our feet may not be flat, but perfect evidence has yet to prove it.

After all, it's all just the conjecture of the ancients. Could someone possibly fly up to the sky and see what the earth we live on looks like?

Wouldn't that make you an immortal?

A mournful horn call echoed across the sky, its majestic sound sending shivers down the spine.

Squads of armored soldiers, accompanied by the mournful sound of horns, marched forward, spears in hand, powerful bows on their backs, and precious swords at their waists.

A loud phoenix cry resounded through the sky, and the camera zoomed out to above the black-armored soldiers.

A noble-looking young man, holding a longbow, stands atop a crimson-gold phoenix as it flies into the scene.

The phoenix flapped its wings, and golden feathers fell to the ground, transforming into generals clad in armor, their faces filled with murderous intent as they stared ahead.

As the phoenix spread its wings and moved forward, a vast map slowly unfolded beneath it.

The phoenix's cry echoed once more across the sky, its fiery red beneath it, symbolizing the Tang Dynasty, spreading aggressively like wildfire across the grasslands.

The camera zoomed out again, revealing the entire map of the Tang Dynasty to the audience beneath the sky.

"Was the Tang Dynasty's territory really that vast?!"

Ying Zheng's pupils contracted. He saw the western side of the Tang Dynasty's territory, stretching across deserts and Gobi, bringing even that barren land under its rule.

During the Qin Dynasty, that barren land was called "Xi Rong," and now it is called "Xinjiang."

"The Western Rong were so far from the capital Chang'an, yet the Tang Dynasty was able to cross the deserts and Gobi and firmly grasp them in its hands."

"And there are even the bitterly cold Northeast and the wild and untamed South."

Ying Zheng was speechless for a moment; those areas were not yet under the rule of the Qin Dynasty.

The land was covered in ice and snow, with yellow sand everywhere and poisonous insects and miasma.

There's simply no way to live there, let alone send people to develop and manage it.

He once sent Tu Sui and Zhao Tuo with an army of 500,000 to conquer the Baiyue in the south, suffering countless losses, with many dying from miasma and poisonous insects.

Ying Zheng shook his head helplessly, feeling utterly powerless for the first time.

This is something he couldn't have done while he was alive.

A few years, even decades, seem incredibly insignificant in the face of such harsh conditions.

Just as their Qin state had just been enfeoffed as a vassal state by the Zhou king, Guanzhong was also a place overgrown with weeds at that time.

It was the successive rulers of the Qin state and generations of Qin people who poured their blood and sweat into this land, creating the fertile Guanzhong Plain.

Southern Song Dynasty

The ministers, whose hearts still held passion and integrity, stared intently at the map of the Tang Dynasty.

Anger and resentment surged in his eyes, but even more so, a deep sense of helplessness.

They also wanted to restore the former Han dynasty's empire and recreate the glorious territory of the Tang dynasty.

However, he was hampered by officials above and plagued by treacherous ministers below.

My heart is filled with patriotic aspirations, yet I cannot fulfill them; I possess brilliant strategies and plans, yet they go unheard by the emperor!

In the Shangxin Pavilion, Xin Qiji pounded on the railing, venting his dissatisfaction and resentment. He was constantly thinking about launching a northern expedition to conquer the Central Plains.

However, his painstakingly written "Ten Essays on the Beauty of Celery," which analyzed the situation in the Jin Kingdom, disappeared without a trace after being submitted to the emperor, as if a stone had sunk into the sea.

He gazed at the map on the sky, where the Southern Song Dynasty's territory now occupied only a small half.

Suddenly, a gust of wind howled past, ruffling his temples and causing his hair to dance wildly before Xin Qiji's eyes, interspersed with streaks of silver.

That year, Xin Qiji was thirty years old.

The crowd standing before the celestial canopy was deeply moved, filled with awe at the grandeur of the Tang Dynasty's vast territory.

But some dissenting voices emerged like thorns.

"I wonder how much manpower and resources it must have taken to conquer such a vast territory!"

"Li Shimin was no different from Emperor Wu of Han; they were both tyrannical rulers who indulged in endless wars."

"Ha, if we only look at the territory, what right does Li Shimin have to be called Emperor Wen, just like Emperor Wen of Han!"

Although these sounds were rare in some dynasties, they were particularly jarring among the crowd.

As if hearing these doubts, the scene on the sky shifted, the original map of the Tang Dynasty disappeared, and a magnificent city slowly appeared in the center of the sky.

Two large characters slowly emerged.

Chang'an

Another clear phoenix cry rang out, and the fire phoenix flew into Chang'an City, soaring straight along Zhuque Avenue.

The two wings divide the city into east and west halves, with densely packed houses arranged in a grid-like pattern on both sides.

Markets and towns are scattered like stars in the sky, and palaces and tall buildings stand tall.

The streets were bustling with people and vehicles, but the noise and hawking did not disturb the business in the East and West markets at all.

Colorful flags fluttered in the wind, and Persian carpets and agates, as well as Roman rhinoceros horn and flaming pearls, shimmered with unique brilliance in the sunlight.

The blonde, blue-eyed orchid danced in a flowing veil, her wheat-colored skin reflecting an alluring glow.

A bearded, pot-bellied merchant from the Central Asian region led a camel laden with spice packets, its copper bells jingling. The common people nearby took this for granted.

In the restaurant, the poet wielded his brush and splashed ink, instantly creating several ink-stained halos on the wall.

The people on the road were all smiles, and their clothes had few patches. A vibrant scene of life and everything thriving was before my eyes.

Emperor Taizong's foreign expansion did not deplete the country's strength; on the contrary, the treasury's wealth increased and the number of households continued to grow.

Historical records show that grain and cloth were piled up in official granaries and treasuries, and official granaries in various places, including the imperial granary, were full.

The population grew from 290 million households at the beginning of the Zhenguan era to 380 million households at the end of the Zhenguan era. Grain prices were extremely low, with rice costing no more than three or four coins per dou (a unit of dry measure).

With social stability, low prices, and people living in peace and contentment, the oppressive policies and turmoil of the late Sui Dynasty have been swept away.

The surrounding ethnic minorities submitted to the might of the Tang Dynasty. Officials from ethnic minorities such as Ashina She'er who submitted to the Tang Dynasty were loyal, achieved great military exploits, and remained devoted to the Tang Dynasty for life.

It was a time when all nations came to pay tribute and all countries came to offer their congratulations.

This is the Tang Dynasty under Emperor Taizong's rule, historically known as a time when "no one picked up lost items on the road, and doors were left unlocked at night." The Old Book of Tang and the New Book of Tang both praised Emperor Taizong as "a figure worthy of praise for a thousand years, and only one like him."

The reign of Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin, from the first year of the Zhenguan era to the twenty-third year of the Zhenguan era, is historically known as...

"The Reign of Zhenguan!!"