Sky Curtain: My Great Qin must have an aircraft carrier!

"Huh? Such a rare thing exists in this world?"

Liu Bang slapped his thigh and burst into laughter.

"Tell your grandfather, in which dynasty or era was there an unlucky fellow who managed to have his emperor's throne revoked?"

Liu Bang had thoroughly figured out this canopy.

What nonsense about gods descending to earth!

Liu Bang had seen plenty of tricks and supernatural charades, having fought his way from Sishui Pavilion Chief to Weiyang Palace.

It's obvious that these are just idle people from later generations, looking for fun because they're bored and have nothing better to do.

It's entirely possible that the canopy was created by later dynasties to fool the people.

Xiao He stroked his long beard, pondered for a moment, and then replied, "The host was weak and the guest was strong; a powerful minister forced the emperor to abdicate, which led to the disaster of usurpation."

"Usurpation?" Liu Bang curled his lip, unconvinced.

"Those who conquered the world were all formidable figures."

"Was Han Xin really that capable? Yet, he was still demoted from King of Qi to Marquis of Huaiyin by a single imperial edict from your father, and he didn't dare utter a single word."

As soon as he finished speaking, Xiao He's eyebrows twitched slightly, and his expression became somewhat strange.

That's not entirely true.

He glanced at the figure sitting upright behind the beaded curtain out of the corner of his eye, then quickly looked away, pretending to be very busy.

Behind the beaded curtain, Lü Zhi sat on the phoenix throne, her hands tightly gripping the silk handkerchief.

The host is weak and the guest is strong? Should they be disqualified?

These words were particularly grating to Lü Zhi's ears.

If she hadn't swallowed her pride and begged Zhang Liang to bring in the Four Sages of Mount Shang to bolster the situation, Liu Ying probably wouldn't have even become the crown prince.

Isn't this the same person who almost got disqualified by their own father?

Lu Hou picked up the teacup and took a sip, concealing the frost in his eyes.

Inside the Zhenguan Hall of the Tang Dynasty, the atmosphere was even more awkward.

Li Shimin sat on the dragon throne, feeling as if thorns had grown under his buttocks, and no matter how he moved, it was not right.

Why does this word sound so jarring?

"Ahem, I am the eldest son of the founding emperor, and inheriting the throne is the will of Heaven, it is only right and proper, isn't it?"

Even Li Shimin himself felt unsure of his words.

Fang Xuanling kept his head down, counting the patterns on the floor tiles, and didn't utter a sound.

Changsun Wuji immediately stepped forward and loudly echoed, "Most of the vast land of the Tang Dynasty was conquered by His Majesty's troops."

"The world has come to Your Majesty; it is in accordance with the will of Heaven. What is wrong with being emperor?"

After hearing this, Li Shimin's expression softened slightly. He picked up his teacup, took a sip, and concealed the panic in his eyes.

Meanwhile, Li Yuan, deep within the palace, coldly smiled and beckoned to the old eunuch.

"Go and fetch me a pot of wine; I'm in a good mood today."

"Erlang, Erlang, even if you rewrite history, the heavens will still nail you to the pillar of shame!"

……

In the hot pot restaurant, Lu Li was sweating profusely as he ate.

He chuckled and clicked on the title.

"Many people in history have had their imperial status revoked, such as Huo Guang and Dong Zhuo in the past, and Liu Yu in the future."

"But the most famous of them all has to be this one!"

How can we objectively evaluate Emperor Yongle (Zhu Di), the Ming Dynasty's Chengzu Emperor?

During the Yongle reign, Zhu Di was happily gazing at the sky.

Upon seeing the four characters "Emperor Yongle," he felt extremely pleased.

Qin Shi Huang, Emperor Wu of Han, Emperor Taizong of Tang, Emperor Taizu of Song... which one of them wasn't a famous emperor throughout history?

Now, Zhu Di is worthy of the title of "Great Emperor," a title personally endorsed by the immortals.

This gives him more satisfaction than any praise in history books!

But when he saw the last sentence, Zhu Di smashed the teacup on the ground.

"Who did this? Who did this! What bastard gave me this temple name?!"

Taizong is the title of the emperor who created a prosperous era and inherited the throne.

Chengzu, on the other hand, signifies starting anew and is a temple name that only the founding emperor is entitled to.

Isn't this blatantly telling the whole world that Zhu Di's ascension to the throne was illegitimate and that he wasn't his father Zhu Yuanzhang's successor?

"Boss." Zhu Di grabbed Zhu Gaochi by the collar, his face full of anger.

"Did you do this? Do you harbor resentment towards me and deliberately change my temple name to disgust me?!"

Zhu Gaochi trembled with fear, his fat body shaking uncontrollably. He cried out with a mournful face, "Father, please understand! I have always regarded you as Emperor Taizong. This was absolutely not something I did!"

Zhu Di released his grip, his chest heaving violently.

The eldest brother is the most obedient, so he shouldn't have done this. Who could it be?

Zhu Di's gaze, sharp as a knife, turned to Zhu Gaoxu, the Prince of Han, who was standing to the side.

Zhu Gaoxu was engrossed in watching the play when he was suddenly met with his father's murderous gaze. His scalp tingled, and cold sweat streamed down his spine.

This is a killer question!

"Father! Don't look at me!" Zhu Gaochi jumped up and down anxiously. "I'm not even the Crown Prince, how could I be qualified to give you a temple name? You should ask my elder brother about this!"

Zhu Gaochi was so angry that his face turned pale, but he dared not refute.

Zhu Di felt agitated looking at his two trembling sons.

If he's not the eldest, not the second eldest, could he be the third eldest?

Who exactly did this mess?

……

At this very moment, in Yingtian Prefecture during the Hongwu era, Zhu Di was completely dumbfounded.

What? I've become emperor?

He even became the Yongle Emperor?!

"It's all over, my life is over!" Zhu Di knelt directly on the ground, his face as pale as paper.

How did he, a mere vassal king, become an emperor?

If his own father heard this, let alone being a prince, he would be lucky to be left with a whole corpse!

"Big brother, big brother, save me!"

Zhu Di scrambled to Zhu Biao's feet, clung tightly to Zhu Biao's leg, and cried and wailed with snot and tears streaming down his face.

"Brother, believe me, I really didn't rebel! I swear to God, I have absolutely no intention of usurping the throne!"

"This canopy is definitely made up; someone's trying to frame me!"

Zhu Biao looked down at his fourth brother, who was crying his eyes out, and reached out to help him up.

"Fourth brother, don't panic, your eldest brother believes in you."

Zhu Biao truly had no doubts about Zhu Di.

He was a secure and upright crown prince, and no official in the court dared to disobey him.

Unless the fourth son is completely out of his mind, he would never do something as stupid as rebellion.

"Now is not the time to talk about these things."

Zhu Biao looked up in the direction of the imperial bedchamber. "Father has gone to rest and hasn't seen the sky yet. You should leave the palace quickly!"

"Go away and hide for a few days. Your elder brother will explain to Father."

Zhu Di was completely bewildered and could only nod, "I will follow your orders, elder brother!"

He staggered to his feet and, under the cover of the eunuchs, hurriedly left the Eastern Palace.

Zhu Biao watched Zhu Di's departing figure with a furrowed brow.

What exactly happened in the future?

……

During the Jianwen era of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yunwen's complexion was even more unpleasant than that of Zhu Di.

Did Zhu Di, the Prince of Yan, become emperor?

And what about me? Where did I go?

Was he killed? Or did he become the retired emperor like Emperor Gaozu of Tang, Li Yuan?

Zhu Yunwen grew angrier the more he thought about it, a feeling of unease suffocating him.

He reflected that since ascending the throne, he had governed the country with benevolence and filial piety, and had treated his uncles with great courtesy.

What did he do wrong? Why should Zhu Di seize his throne?!

Seeing Zhu Yunwen's grim expression, Fang Xiaoru, who was waiting nearby, bowed and stepped forward.

"Since Your Majesty ascended the throne, you have abolished many of the oppressive policies of the Hongwu reign and implemented the well-field system. The people of the world are all grateful and praise Your Majesty as a benevolent and sage ruler."

"The Prince of Yan, Zhu Di, is a powerful and ambitious man with a large army. This is his nature and has nothing to do with Your Majesty's benevolent rule."

"Your Majesty must not blame yourself for this and let it disturb your peace of mind."

Fang Xiaoru's words made Zhu Yunwen feel much better.

Yes, it's not my fault, it's just that Zhu Di was born rebellious!

But recalling the words on the celestial screen, he became worried again: "Mr. Fang, the mandate of heaven rests on Yan; what should I do?"

Fang Xiaoru raised his head and said, "Your Majesty, Prince Yan, Zhu Di, only has eight hundred soldiers under his command. What is there to fear?"

"If he succeeds, it will surely be with the secret assistance of other vassal kings."

"Your Majesty should act with thunderous force to swiftly subdue all the vassal kings, cut off their wings, and seize their military power."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yunwen suddenly understood.

It must be because I wasn't quick or ruthless enough in reducing the power of the princes that my fourth uncle was able to take advantage of the situation.

It's different now.

He already knew the future, knew that Zhu Di would rebel, so everything became much easier.

Zhu Yunwen sat up straight again, his eyes gleaming.

"By imperial decree, Duke of Cao, Li Jinglong, and Marquis of Deqing, Liao Yongzhong, are ordered to immediately reorganize their troops and prepare to reduce the power of the princes!"

Zhu Yunwen paused, then added, "Under no circumstances should my uncle's life be harmed, lest I bear the name of killing my uncle."

After saying that, Zhu Yunwen's lips curled into a cold, sharp smile.

Fourth Uncle, I already know your trump card.

How are you going to fight me in this round?