In the realm of Qin Shi Huang, outside the Xianyang Palace.
“Oh? Really? It's not refined yet?”
Ying Zheng raised an eyebrow, his gaze fixed on Lu Sheng.
“Lu Sheng, tell me, is there truly an elixir of immortality in this world?”
Hearing this, Lu Sheng immediately understood everything. The Emperor, seeing Guo Jing on the Golden List, had become shaken in his heart!
“Your Majesty, there certainly is. To speak of the distant past, just like the current Golden List, who else could it be but immortals?”
“Since immortals exist, there must be an elixir of immortality!”
“As for that scoundrel Guo Jing from the Song Dynasty, it was Emperor Qinzong of Song who chose the wrong person. This man deceived the emperor, and that too during the siege. He was hastily found, how could he be genuine?”
Lu Sheng was neither arrogant nor subservient, making the onlookers slightly surprised.
But upon reflection, what Lu Sheng said wasn’t unreasonable.
If there were no immortals, then where did the Golden List floating in the sky come from? It couldn't have been made by some random person, could it?
As expected, hearing Lu Sheng's words, Ying Zheng's expression softened a bit. He waved his hand and slowly said:
“Since that’s the case, then I’ll wait for a while. The elixir of immortality is difficult to refine, you must not ruin the quality of the elixir due to my urging!”
“Rest assured, Your Majesty, we will be extremely cautious!”
Lu Sheng smiled and nodded, because at this point, he knew that the Emperor's doubts and anger had dissipated…
…
In the realm of Han Gaozu, outside the Weiyang Palace.
“Tsk tsk tsk, this Zhao Gou is truly a legendary figure!”
“First, he was sent as a hostage to the Jin army, then he was sent as an envoy to the Jin country. After finally gathering an army, he ascended the throne as emperor, only to be deceived by treacherous officials, leading to a surprise attack by the Jin army!”
“Now it’s even better, even his own generals are disobeying him!”
Liu Bang drank his wine and shook his head.
A mighty emperor, yet so incompetent, truly unique in the history of China!
He thought that Zhao Gou would be able to revive the Song dynasty, but it seems everything was just a fantasy!
The three emperors of the Song dynasty were all so pathetic, one wonders if it’s destiny for the Song dynasty to perish…
“Hmph! This old fart Zhao Gou deserves it! Who told him not to listen to Zong Ze? Now he’s been captured, serves him right!”
Fan Kuai didn’t bother thinking much, he gnawed on his mutton leg and mercilessly cursed.
Everyone present nodded in agreement. The Song emperor and his officials were truly peculiar, all three of them were so timid and fearful, truly ridiculous!
But thinking of the Song dynasty’s remaining century of national fortune, everyone immediately became uneasy.
With Zhao Gou like this, could he truly revive the Song dynasty and continue its national fortune for another century?
Doubt, there was much doubt!
…
In the realm of Tang Dynasty’s Zhenguan era, outside the Daming Palace.
“Du Chong, that little wretch, deserves to die! He destroyed the dike and harmed the people, that alone is enough for me to execute him!”
Li Shimin was furious.
He had breached the Yellow River dike, turning the land of Hebei into a sea of water, drowning millions of people. This Du Chong truly deserved to die!
“If I were this Zhao Gou, after such a disaster, I would surely learn my lesson, kill the traitorous officials, and launch a northern expedition to defeat the Jin army!”
“Your Majesty, I fear that may be difficult.”
Wei Zheng smiled wryly.
“Oh? Why do you say so, my esteemed minister?”
“Wang Boyan and Huang Qian-shan are blocking news and military intelligence, what’s the difference between them and Yu Shiji and his ilk who deceived Emperor Yang Guang back then?”
“Moreover, Zhao Gou didn’t deal with those two traitorous officials. Even if he regains his throne, it’s likely to be a case of nothing happening.”
Hearing this, Li Shimin furrowed his brows slightly, and his entire face turned sour.
Back then, when Emperor Yang Guang fled to Jiangdu, he was just like Zhao Gou, lost in the decadent luxury and prosperity of the south, ignoring the surrounding cries of the collapsing Sui Dynasty!
Yu Shiji and his ilk were just like Huang Qian-shan, blocking military intelligence and keeping Yang Guang in his comfort zone, until the Jiangdu rebellion broke out!
From this perspective, Zhao Gou and Yang Guang were no different. Both had traitorous officials blocking news, and both suffered rebellions.
Only Yang Guang lost his life, while Zhao Gou lost his power.
“Xuan Cheng, after all, this Zhao Gou is still alive. If he comes back, wouldn’t he reflect on himself and learn from his mistakes?”
“As a monarch, even if he doesn’t care about the people of the world, for his own sake, he would surely wake up to himself.”
“As for whether this Zhao Gou truly changes or not, you all should watch with me and see.”
Wei Zheng’s face was solemn as he bowed, saying, “This minister obeys your orders.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the emperor and his ministers saw the Golden List’s evaluation:
【Although Miao and Liu’s rebellion succeeded, they couldn’t control the entire Southern Song. Even the army, they couldn’t fully control. At the time, the Southern Song military was primarily composed of five parts: the Imperial Guard, the Western Army, the Kaifeng Army, the Rebel Army, and the Bandits. 】
【At the time, the Rebel Army and Bandits were ostracized by Zhao Gou, the Kaifeng Army was stationed in Kaifeng with Du Chong, and the Western Army was far away in the northwest. Therefore, the only threat was the Imperial Guard that protected Zhao Gou!】
【Miao and Liu first attempted to instigate and divide Zhang Jun’s troops, but Zhang Jun refused and led his troops to Pingjiang Prefecture, joining forces with Zhang Jun to launch a rescue mission. Soon, the rescue forces gathered under the leadership of Lu Yi-hao, Han Shizhong, and Liu Guangshi, and marched towards Hangzhou to lay siege to the city.】
【At this time, the four famous generals of the Southern Song Restoration, Zhang Jun, Han Shizhong, Liu Guangshi, and Yue Fei, were all present except for Yue Fei. The remaining three generals were all under Zhang Jun's command.】
【The rescue forces laid siege to Hangzhou, Miao and Liu were greatly alarmed, and their vanguard force was defeated by the rescue forces. In their panic, Miao and Liu first obtained a pardon from Zhao Gou, then led their men to escape. 】
【Not long after, Hangzhou was recaptured, Miao and Liu were arrested and executed shortly after. Zhao Gou returned to the throne, and the Ming-Shou Incident was quelled.】
“Your Majesty is wise, Zhao Gou truly regained his throne!”
Seeing this, Changsun Wuji immediately said in a loud voice.
Li Shimin smiled and nodded repeatedly.
Zhao Teng was only three years old, how could he possibly revive the Song dynasty? The rest of the Song princes were all captured by the Jin army. Looking at the entire Song Dynasty, only Zhao Gou was capable of doing so.
However, he regained his throne, but the Golden List didn’t mention whether Zhao Gou learned his lesson and worked hard to govern the country. Thus, Li Shimin didn’t say anything, looking up to continue reading.
【Although the rebellion was quelled, three months later, Zhao Gou’s only son, the three-year-old Emperor Ming-Shou, Zhao Teng, died of illness due to fright. From then on, Zhao Gou had no heir and remained childless for the rest of his life. 】
【After this incident, Zhao Gou became even more fearful of the Jin army. Not only did he fawn over the Jin army, begging for peace, he also changed Hangzhou Prefecture to Linan Prefecture, intending to live in peace in a corner and forget about the land north of the Huai River.】
【Soon after, the Jin army attacked again. Du Chong abandoned the city and fled, oiling his feet and returning to Linan. Zhao Gou was overjoyed and appointed Du Chong as Vice Prime Minister, placing him in charge of the defense of the north. However, Du Chong was defeated in the first battle and surrendered to the Jin army, causing the collapse of the northern defenses. 】
【Zhao Gou fled to Mingzhou. Not long after, Linan fell, and Zhao Gou fled to Dinghai. Finally, he boarded a ship and escaped to the sea.】
…
Please collect, give flowers, rate, and donate!
Thank you very much!