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

A golden light shone brightly in the sky, accompanied by the stirring sound of war drums. A young commander appeared on the screen, riding a fine horse and holding a lance.

In terms of military achievements, Li Shimin destroyed the Eastern Turks, Xueyantuo, and Tuyuhun, pacified the Western Regions, and reopened the Silk Road.

In terms of civil administration, the Three Departments and Six Ministries system was improved, resulting in a clean and efficient political system; the Zhenguan Code was compiled, establishing a complete legal system; and culture was valued, with efforts made to compile history and promote education.

What is most commendable is that he was able to listen to honest advice and correct his mistakes, which is almost a miracle among autocratic emperors.

However, he was very poor at educating his descendants. The deposition and installation of Crown Prince Li Chengqian and the chaos of the struggle for the throne among his sons laid the groundwork for the chaos in the succession to the throne in the mid-to-late Tang Dynasty.

Of course, this is a matter of personal character and does not affect the overall evaluation.

Fang Xuanling didn't need to look; at this moment, both Li Shimin and himself were probably frozen in shock.

Was the crown prince ultimately deposed...?

Fang Xuanling sat on a small stool and suddenly felt the temperature in the hall drop by more than ten degrees.

A chill rose from the soles of his feet, traveled up his spine and straight to the top of his head, making Fang Xuanling shiver.

Should I really know such a secret?

No one spoke inside the hall; only the tinkling of the wind chimes under the eaves outside remained.

Li Shimin had no time to pay attention to other people's reactions and remained silent for a long time.

Overwhelmed with emotion, he gripped Du Ruhui's wrist tightly.

Du Ruhui winced in pain and couldn't help but whisper, "Your Majesty, I brought some heat-clearing pills. Would you like to...?"

Li Shimin was taken aback and quickly released his grip.

He did not want to appear weak in front of his subjects, even though his heart was in turmoil.

Will my future ultimately lead me to that point?

The blood of Xuanwu Gate hasn't even dried yet, are we going to have to repeat it again?

After another long silence, Changsun Wuji carefully spoke: "Your Majesty, what Tianmu said concerns the future. Now that we know this, we can take precautions in advance..."

"I've already started."

Li Shimin let out a soft breath, his tone returning to normal.

"I will personally oversee Chengqian's situation, and it will certainly not happen again in the future."

-

Now, let's return to Zhu Yuanzhang. From a martial arts perspective, he, Liu Bang, Liu Xiu, and Li Shimin are on the same level.

In terms of military achievements, Zhu Yuanzhang overthrew the Yuan Dynasty, restored Han Chinese clothing and customs, and completed the first unification of China from south to north in history.

In terms of recognizing and employing talent, Zhu Yuanzhang was equally remarkable. He promoted a large number of civil and military officials, including Xu Da, Chang Yuchun, Li Shanchang, and Liu Bowen.

The sheer caliber of this founding team was in no way inferior to that of the Three Heroes of the early Han Dynasty and the Twenty-Eight Generals of Yuntai.

Unfortunately, he killed most of them later on, which affected Zhu Yuanzhang's overall reputation.

However, during his conquest of the empire, Zhu Yuanzhang's judgment in employing people and his impartiality in rewarding and punishing were impeccable.

The training ground of the Ming Dynasty's Divine Machine Battalion.

Lan Yu was in high spirits, directing his soldiers in drills, and felt honored as he watched the praise for his emperor on the sky.

But when he saw the last line, "killed most of them," he suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

Although the sky didn't name names, he had a feeling that it was hinting at something.

Lan Yu tucked the riding whip back into her waistband and carefully considered the matter in her mind.

He had made outstanding military achievements and remained loyal to the emperor. He neither overshadowed his lord with his merits nor formed any factions in private.

At most, he married his daughter to Zhu Biao.

But what's the problem with that?

As mentioned before, it's quite normal for the eldest son of a legitimate wife to marry into the family of a meritorious official through marriage.

Besides, it was Zhu Biao who took the initiative to propose marriage, not Lan Yu who was eager to climb the social ladder.

No matter how you look at it, Zhu Yuanzhang had no reason to kill him, right?

But what if...

"How about we let Fu Youde handle the matter of attacking the remnants of the Northern Yuan?"

Lan Yu became increasingly frightened, feeling that the Northern Expedition was like a hot potato.

Throwing it away is not an option, but holding it is even more dangerous as it might burn you to death.

-

Zhu Yuanzhang stroked the armrest, not to reflect, but to ponder why he had killed his meritorious officials.

If he hadn't become emperor, he and his brothers would still be the best of brothers.

Things change once you rule the world. What are brothers anyway? Can they guarantee the eternal stability of the Ming Dynasty?

Zhu Yuanzhang did not sigh or express any emotion; his eyes were as cold and hard as iron.

If Biao'er is gone, I'm afraid I really will kill all these old brothers.

After all, your achievements are too great. Sima Yi's example is still fresh in everyone's mind. I'm afraid my own children and grandchildren won't be able to control you arrogant and fierce generals!

Now that we've discussed martial arts, let's talk about civil administration.

Firstly, the Yongle reign was able to expand the territory to its limit, from Annam to Hami, and north to the Mongolian Plateau. The speed was very fast, taking only about fifty years.

Secondly, it is capable of maintaining its position. Even after the Tumu Crisis in the mid-term and the loss of Hami and the Hetao region, it was still able to maintain overall stability.

In any other dynasty, such a blow would have been enough to destroy the country.

But the Ming Dynasty held firm, Yu Qian defended Beijing, and the court stabilized the situation.

Then, border security was maintained through measures such as appanagement and trade.

Even in the late Ming Dynasty, the Holy Roman Empire still maintained firm control over Han Chinese territories.

The situation of regional warlordism and fragmentation that occurred at the end of the Tang Dynasty did not emerge.

Ultimately, the emperor held absolute power; the Ming emperors were always the supreme rulers, much to the envy of the Tang emperors next door.

Zhu Yuanzhang's side, the first half of the story was quite pleasant to listen to.

He was particularly proud of the statement that "the emperor always holds supreme power."

The system designed by Zhu Yuanzhang was intended to ensure that the emperor held absolute power and that no one could usurp his authority.

We designed the system, how could it not work?

But the next second, Zhu Yuanzhang's smugness vanished.

"Hamiwei lost? The Hetao region lost?"

"Who lost it! What bastard lost it!"

"With the loss of the Hetao region, the entire area from Ningxia to Datong has become the front line. Enemy cavalry could reach Guanzhong in just three days!"

"The Mongols wanted to plunder the Central Plains, and the fastest and most convenient route was through the Hetao region; that place was like a knife to their throats!"

"We spent so much effort to take over the Hetao region back then, and these unworthy descendants just lost it all?!"

Zhu Yuanzhang paced back and forth in the palace twice, growing angrier with each step.

The loss of Hamiwei was tolerable, since the place was far from the Central Plains and had limited strategic value.

But the Hetao region is different; it has abundant water and grass, making it suitable for grazing and grain cultivation.

Moreover, it is located on the inside of the Yellow River's "几" (ji) bend, making it a natural springboard for attacks.

The occupation of the Hetao region by nomadic peoples was tantamount to tearing a gap in the northern defense line, allowing them to come and go as they pleased.

Zhu Yuanzhang was so angry that he was panting heavily and kept sneering.

"Alright, let's see what other glorious deeds our descendants accomplish!"

Now that we've praised the strengths, it's time to talk about the weaknesses.

The abolition of the prime minister meant that a cabinet had to be established for consultation.

They tried to cultivate a large number of censors, but unexpectedly they ended up nurturing a bunch of trolls.

Zhu De governed the country by employing a strategy of internal conflict, constantly changing his policies without considering the actual situation.

Here's an example: Zhu Yuanzhang required officials not to go to the countryside, arguing that it would disturb the people.

Because when Zhu Yuanzhang was a commoner, he suffered severe oppression from low-level officials.

So when he became emperor, he issued this order, thinking that as long as they were not allowed to go to the countryside, the people would be safe.

So here's the problem: Zhu also demanded that officials collect taxes. How do we do that?

Do you really think ordinary people can pay taxes voluntarily?

Old Zhu came up with a solution: he created grain chiefs and village chiefs. What's the difference between them and the previous low-level officials?

Once these local tyrants donned a cloak of legitimacy, they became even more ruthless in collecting taxes than the imperial officials!

Later, even Zhu himself couldn't hold back and hurriedly issued the "Great Proclamation" to patch things up.

"this……"

Zhu Yuanzhang's face flushed red; he wanted to refute but was speechless.

Finally, stammering, "We just didn't expect that the emperor's mistake could even be called a mistake! We were just temporarily misled by a villain!"

"We were just doing it for the good of the people; we can always correct it!"