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

The hall was completely silent; everyone had realized this.

Huang Chao's butcher's knife was used to kill the Li Tang imperial family and high-ranking officials.

Most of those people they killed were their descendants!

The ministers exchanged glances, and finally their eyes all fell on Wei Zheng.

Wei Zheng cursed his colleagues in his heart, but he forced himself to step forward and bow to Li Shimin.

"Your Majesty, I believe that implementing reforms to the imperial examination system is of utmost urgency!"

"There are so many talented people in the world. If they are all rejected because of their birth or social status, it would not be a blessing for the country."

"Your Majesty, I humbly request that the number of candidates selected through the imperial examinations be increased, and that talent be the sole criterion for choosing officials regardless of their social background, so as to reassure the scholars of the realm!"

The courtiers in the hall listened with varying expressions, but none of them refuted the argument.

The logic is right in front of us: among those Huang Chao killed, there might be one surnamed Changsun, one surnamed Fang, or one surnamed Du.

Who would dare bet that their family can escape unscathed?

"What Lord Wei says makes sense, but..."

Li Shimin stroked the back of the chair, his words hesitant.

The world had only been at peace for a few years, and the Turks were still eyeing the north with hostility, while undercurrents were surging everywhere.

If we rashly use force, what if we push the powerful families to the brink...?

Wei Zheng straightened his back and offered his advice frankly: "Your Majesty, why worry so much? The sky hangs high above the heavens, visible to all under heaven."

"No matter how powerful a powerful clan is, can it outweigh the opinions of the public, or withstand the hearts of millions?"

Wei Zheng pressed his advantage, lowering his voice: "Your Majesty, I dare to speak presumptuously."

"Those emperors throughout history whose posthumous titles included the character 'Wen' were all rulers who governed well."

"If Your Majesty can use the imperial examination system to benefit the poor and break the monopoly of powerful families, this achievement will be no less than that of Emperor Wen of Han."

If Li Shimin had some hesitation before, then this "literary" approach hit his weak spot.

He desperately wanted Emperor Wen's posthumous title.

As long as he could become Emperor Wen of Tang, then Li Shimin would be an emperor for all ages, and who would dare to bring up the matter of killing his brother and forcing his father?

"I will come up with a plan for this matter as soon as possible."

Li Shimin stood up and said decisively, "The Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Rites should take the lead in drafting detailed rules for the imperial examinations, including methods for anonymizing names and transcribing."

"in addition--"

Li Shimin glanced at everyone in the hall and said, "Let's also discuss the eligibility of artisans, farmers, and merchants' sons for the imperial examinations."

Upon hearing this, most of the officials from aristocratic families in the hall turned green with embarrassment.

But no one dared to say a word.

Huang Chao's ferocious face is still hanging in the sky. Anyone who jumps out to oppose him is considered to be cheering for Huang Chao.

Many readers probably think that Huang Chao rebelled in a fit of anger after failing the imperial examination, right?

Actually, that's not the case. He was wealthy and had no worries about food or drink. He was just bored and decided to rebel.

The Chinese people are the most honest and simple people. If they can have enough to eat, who would be willing to risk their lives to rebel?

Therefore, although Huang Chao resented the imperial court, he obediently returned home to inherit the family business and live a comfortable life as a wealthy man.

-

Huang Chao's early life passed by uneventfully, with constant ups and downs, but he was far from reaching a dead end.

The year came to 874 AD, a crucial turning point.

That year, Guanzhong suffered a severe drought, followed by a locust plague the following year, adding insult to injury for the late Tang Dynasty.

At this time, the Tang court's treasury was empty, and it was unable to provide relief measures in the face of natural disasters.

To fill the fiscal deficit, the Tang court turned its attention to wealthy merchants in the private sector.

Li Shimin had a splitting headache and raised his hand to rub his temples.

This cannot be blamed on Huang Chao in any way.

They were living peaceful and law-abiding lives, but the imperial court and those powerful officials drove them to their doom.

As the saying goes, when officials force the people to rebel, the people have no choice but to rebel.

Wang Xianzhi was the first to raise his flag, gathering thousands of people to attack the prefectures and counties.

Huang Chao, filled with resentment towards the imperial court and frustrated with his own ambitions, joined Wang Xianzhi's army with several thousand brothers.

However, Wang Xianzhi was short-sighted and, tempted by the high-ranking official positions and generous salaries offered by the imperial court, actually considered accepting amnesty.

Upon learning this, Huang Chao launched into a tirade against Wang Xianzhi, and the two parted ways.

As it turns out, gold shines wherever it is.

After accepting the imperial pardon, Wang Xianzhi was quickly divided and weakened by the Tang army, and ultimately his head was separated from his body.

Huang Chao, on the contrary, grew stronger with each battle, and his forces expanded rapidly like a snowball.

In 880 AD, Huang Chao's army broke through the strategic Tongguan Pass and marched straight towards Chang'an.

Faced with the rebel army besieging the city, Emperor Xizong of Tang fled Chang'an overnight and sought refuge in Sichuan.

"They escaped?!"

"What kind of person was Emperor Xizong of Tang? Hundreds of thousands of troops were guarding Chang'an, and he just ran away?!"

Li Shimin paced back and forth in anger, and kicked over the incense burner next to him.

Chang'an has high walls and deep moats, and ample supplies. So what if Tongguan has fallen?

As long as the emperor is in charge, the Imperial Guards will have a leader, and the civil and military officials will not disperse.

It's only a matter of time before troops from other regions are mobilized to annihilate Huang Chao.

As a result, the emperor fled, and the defending troops were rendered useless!

"Write it in!"

Li Shimin sternly said to Fang Xuanling, "Add a new rule to the ancestral precepts of the Li Tang Dynasty—no matter how critical the battle situation is, the emperor shall never abandon the city and flee."

"We'd rather die on the city walls!"

-

The scene shifts to the sky, the gates of Chang'an city are wide open, and Huang Chao's army marches into the city in a grand procession.

To everyone's surprise, the siege was completed with almost no effort.

The emperor fled, the imperial guards were leaderless, and the garrison commander opened the gates and surrendered. The vast city of Chang'an was handed over to others just like that.

After Huang Chao entered Chang'an, the rebel army initially maintained order for a short period of time.

According to historical records, Huang Chao once said to the people, "King Huang raised an army for the people."

After pacifying the people, Huang Chao began a major purge of powerful officials and clans.

He carried out a large-scale massacre based on the genealogies of prominent families, whether they were direct descendants or collateral branches.

Historical records state: "The magnificent carriages and embroidered wheels have all vanished; not even half of the grand mansions and vermilion gates remain." This is a true reflection of the situation.

A few comments floated by: Hey, who invented family trees? They're so useful.

"What the hell?! Is that even human language?!"

The powerful families of various dynasties were struck dumb upon seeing the barrage of comments.

What aristocratic families are most proud of is their family genealogy.

It was a symbol of status, proof of noble lineage, and a stepping stone to officialdom.

If a family doesn't have a family tree, they'd be too embarrassed to greet people when they go out.

But now, this thing has become a death warrant!

"That scoundrel Huang Chao is utterly depraved! Killing people according to the family genealogy is an attempt to wipe out the lineage of my clan!"

"Quick! Collect all the family genealogies from the ancestral hall!"

"From this day forward, the family genealogy must never be shown to anyone! It must all be distributed to each branch and house for safekeeping!"

"Yes! Use code words! Or just don't write down any side branches!"

The powerful families were in complete chaos.

After Huang Chao's actions, who would dare to openly revise their family genealogy?

Isn't this just providing assassination lists for rebels?