In the Qing Dynasty, Kangxi realm, outside the Qianqing Gate.
The words of the officials made Xuan Ye feel quite pleased.
In terms of national strength, the Qing Dynasty was far superior to the Ming Dynasty. The people lived in peace and prosperity, and there were signs of a flourishing era!
In terms of territory, the Qing Dynasty also far surpassed the Ming Dynasty. It had recovered Taiwan, controlled the Northeast, and had many vassal states, presenting the image of a great nation!
How could such a great Qing Dynasty perish?
Even if it did perish, it wouldn't be easy!
It certainly wouldn't be like the previous Ming Dynasty, where the dynasty perished after a period of diligent rule!
“Zhang Ying is right. The strength of my Qing Dynasty now far surpasses the Ming Dynasty. It's absolutely impossible for it to perish!”
“My loyal ministers, stay here with me and watch how the heavens evaluate the monarchs of the previous dynasty who caused their nations to perish!”
“As you command, Your Majesty!”
…
As the various dynasties were in shock, the golden list in the sky changed again. A loud voice resounded:
【Throughout a thousand years of Chinese history, only twelve dynasties meet the criteria. Therefore, this ranking will only include twelve rankings.】
【The twelfth most difficult dynasty to overturn after its fall – The Northern Song!】
【The Song Dynasty, from its founding by Emperor Taizu Zhao Kuangyin to the death of Emperor Shao by jumping into the sea, spanned 320 years.】
【However, during the era of Emperor Huizong and Emperor Qinzong, a major event occurred, leading to the demise of the nation and its royal family. Therefore, later generations divided it into the Northern Song and the Southern Song. The dynasty being ranked here is the Northern Song!】
…
The monarchs and ministers of the various realms were stunned as they looked at the new content appearing in the sky.
In the Qin Dynasty, Qin Shi Huang realm, outside the Xianyang Palace.
Ying Zheng frowned, his face full of confusion.
“The Northern Song? According to the list, this is a later classification, so it should be called the Song State!”
“Do you know what this Song Dynasty is?”
The officials frowned slightly and shook their heads frantically.
“Your Majesty, this must be a state from later generations!”
Li Si stepped forward at the opportune moment, bowing and saying:
“Before my Qin Dynasty, there was only one Song State, the one granted by the Zhou King. The Zhou King granted the former Shang King’s brother’s son, Wei Ziqi, the former capital Shangqiu and established the Song State.”
“During the reign of King Kang of Song, the Song State experienced internal turmoil. The Qi State allied with the Wei State and Chu State to invade Song, captured the Song capital, and killed King Kang of Song, leading to the demise of the Song State.”
“Looking at the emperors of the Song State, there is no mention of Emperor Taizu Zhao Kuangyin or Emperor Shao Zhao Bing. Therefore, the Song Dynasty mentioned in the golden list must be a state from later generations!”
Upon hearing this, the officials all nodded in agreement!
Ying Zheng’s gaze lingered on Li Si, and his expression showed satisfaction.
Indeed, as the Left Chancellor of the Qin Dynasty, he was well-versed in the works of various schools of thought, had vast knowledge, and spoke eloquently about past and present events. He was truly knowledgeable!
However, since it was a state from later generations, what kind of chaos had occurred that caused the people of later generations to refer to it as the Northern Song and the Southern Song?
Ying Zheng couldn’t comprehend it. It was as if his own Qin Dynasty was called the Northern Qin and Southern Qin. Although it hadn’t perished, it always felt like a division, and as an emperor, it made him uncomfortable!
…
In the Han Dynasty, Gaozu realm, outside the Weiyang Palace.
“The Song Dynasty? And the Northern and Southern Song? Interesting!”
Liu Bang raised the corner of his mouth, swirling the wine cup in his hand.
“Tell me, what’s this Song Dynasty all about?”
“Your Majesty, if I’m not mistaken, this must be a state from later generations!”
Zhang Liang smiled and explained.
Liu Bang nodded slightly, but his mind was filled with more questions.
This Northern Song was ranked first, how weak was this Song Dynasty, that its difficulty to overturn its fall was ranked last…
…
In the Song Dynasty, Kaibao realm, outside the Chui Gong Dian.
“Damn it! My Song Dynasty is actually the first one to appear!”
Zhao Kuangyin was furious.
After listening to Zhao Guangyi’s words, Zhao Kuangyin’s heart had already calmed down a bit. He had even ordered for wine and food to be prepared outside the hall, ready to enjoy a drink with his ministers and watch the golden list!
However, unexpectedly, the first one to appear was his own Song Dynasty. How could he bear this?!
Zhao Kuangyin slammed the wine cup to the ground, startling many of his ministers!
“Tell me, why is my Song Dynasty the first to be ranked?”
The ministers looked at each other, remaining silent.
This was an event from the future, how could they possibly know?
“Third brother, tell me, what is going on?”
Unable to get answers from his ministers, Zhao Kuangyin turned his gaze to his third brother, Zhao Guangyi!
However, Zhao Guangyi was also clueless. He twitched his mouth and bowed, saying:
“Second brother, this golden list definitely has a problem. My Song Dynasty has a perfect set of rules and regulations. How could it possibly perish?”
“Even if it did perish, it wouldn’t be ranked so low!”
“Why don’t we first see what the golden list says and see if the evaluation is accurate!”
Zhao Kuangyin nodded slightly, his gaze sharpened as he stared at the screen intently.
“Alright! Then I’ll see what this golden list has to say!”
…
In the Ming Dynasty, Hongwu realm, outside the Fengtian Dian.
“The Northern Song? The era of Huizong and Qinzong? It must be Emperor Huizong and Emperor Qinzong of the Song Dynasty, right?”
Zhu Yuanzhang smiled playfully, raising the corner of his mouth.
Zhu Biao quickly chimed in, “Father, that’s probably it. But I didn’t expect the golden list to actually divide it into the Northern Song and the Southern Song…”
“Humph! They divided it well! Those Song Huizong and Song Qinzong were extremely cowardly. Even if Zhao Gou, that little brat, succeeded the throne, it wouldn’t be the original Song Dynasty anymore. They divided it well!”
“Father is right!”
Zhu Yuanzhang waved his arm, his expression eager and excited. He sneered:
“Biao, you must remember the lesson of the Northern Song’s downfall. Our Ming Dynasty can’t let future generations divide it into the Northern Ming and the Southern Ming!”
“Biao remembers!”
…
In the Qing Dynasty, Kangxi realm, outside the Qianqing Gate.
“The Northern Song and the Southern Song? They can actually be divided like this?”
Xuan Ye’s eyes flickered as he muttered to himself.
He had thought that as long as the dynasty’s monarch existed, even if the dynasty was left with only a sliver of territory, it shouldn’t be considered as perished!
But now it seemed like his idea was wrong!
After the Jingkang Incident, Zhao Gou succeeded the throne in Lin’an. The Song Dynasty hadn’t perished yet, but the golden list still separated it for ranking. This clearly shows that in the eyes of the golden list, even if the dynasty hadn’t perished, but had suffered a major event, and its territory and national strength had been greatly diminished, it was equivalent to perishing!
Seeing Xuan Ye’s gloomy face, Zhang Ying quickly said:
“Your Majesty, according to this minister, the division of the Northern Song and the Southern Song must be based on territory.”
“Oh? What do you mean by that?”
“The capital of the Northern Song was in Kaifeng, located north of the Yangtze River. The capital of the Southern Song was in Lin’an, located south of the Yangtze River. Also, the Southern Song, compared to the Northern Song, not only had a greatly reduced territory, but its land was also increasingly closer to the Jiangnan region. Therefore, compared to the Northern Song in Kaifeng, it’s called the Southern Song!”
Xuan Ye nodded slightly, quite satisfied.
“So according to this, can the Hongguang regime that occupied the Jiangnan region be called the Southern Ming?”
Zhang Ying was taken aback, “You could say that.”
The Northern Song and the Southern Song, the Ming Dynasty and the Southern Ming. Even though the dynasties hadn’t perished, the feeling of having their territories shrink was truly unpleasant!
Thinking about it, Xuan Ye let out a cold snort!
My Qing Dynasty will never be like the Song and the Ming, divided into two separate states!
…
At this time, in the sky, the golden characters faded away, and new words and a voice slowly appeared:
【Next, we will rank the fifteen causes of national downfall mentioned previously…】
…
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