The opening inventory of the top ten young emperors

【The reason why Song Renzong changed the reign title was that before him, no emperor of the Song Dynasty had used a reign title for more than nine years. So he felt that he could not go beyond his ancestors, so he decided to change it.】

[Yes, you read that right. Song Renzong was not the only emperor who liked to change the reign title. Almost all emperors liked to change it. Therefore, changing the reign title is also a common practice. ]

Emperors before the Song Dynasty:?
Emperors of the Song Dynasty: ...

Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties: Tsk!
[It’s just that other emperors didn’t reign as long as Song Renzong, or didn’t live as long as he did, which is why they had fewer reign titles.]

Emperors after Song Renzong: You know too much about Tianjuan.

[Ahem, let's get back to the topic. The reign title "Mingdao" is the same as "Tiansheng", and you can see it. "Ming" is the word for the sun and the moon, and the sun and the moon represent yin and yang. As for who is "yin" and who is "yang", there is no need for the upmaster to explain. 】

【In ancient times, women were "yin" and men were "yang", which means "yin and yang co-governance". Yes, nine years after Song Renzong ascended the throne, Empress Dowager Liu E had not died yet and was still in control of the government. This was the time of "yin and yang co-governance". 】

Wu Zetian: Yin and Yang rule together? This Empress Dowager Liu E is still too conservative. How can it be as domineering as my character "曌". I alone can be the sun and the moon, shining on the sky, why do I need to rule together with others?

Lü Zhi: This woman is very much like my wife. The emperor is also a good and obedient emperor, and the ministers are also good and obedient ministers.

Qin Shi Huang: The Queen Mother in power? Yin and Yang rule together? It is indeed the legacy of my great-grandmother.

Emperors of the Han Dynasty: The Empress Dowager is in power? Wouldn't the relatives of the emperor be rampant? It is indeed not easy for the emperor to implement new policies. It's just that the reign title is too straightforward.

Emperor Taizong of Tang: There were many cases where a young emperor ascended the throne and the empress dowager was in power. However, even the reign title was so explicit, which shows that the empress dowager was very powerful at the time and needed to be dealt with slowly.

Emperor Gaozong of Tang: Tiansheng? Mingdao? Two people? Yin and Yang? Why do I feel like I have seen them before? And this Wu Zetian, is she my queen?

Zhu Houzhao: When has my mother ever attended court? It turns out that my mother is the most gentle and virtuous woman. No wonder my father has only her in his harem.

Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang: Empress Dowager Liu is a role model for us.

[Speaking of Liu E, she is indeed a woman in Chinese history whose experience and ability are comparable to that of Empress Wu Zetian. It's just that she did not become an emperor. ]

[When she entered the Prince's Mansion as a second bride, who could have imagined that she would become the most favored empress in the harem and have great power over the government. ]

[Unlike Empress Lü and Emperor Wu, she was highly praised after her death, saying that she had "the talents of Empress Lü and Empress Wu, but not their evils." She was able to hold power during a time when male power was dominant, and even received such high praise. She was truly a remarkable woman in Chinese history.]

Wu Zetian: Evil? What's wrong with me? Lai Junchen, go check if anyone is saying bad things about me behind my back?

Lü Zhi: Evil? You say I am evil? Haha, I am evil, if I am not evil, then my mother and I will be eaten alive by you Liu clansmen!

[Of course, in a male-dominated society, it is common for the two extraordinary women, Empress Lü and Empress Wu, to be looked down upon and given a bad name by the literati.]

[However, Liu E lived in an era when there were many literati. Even so, she was still so highly respected. Of course, there was something different about her from the other two women.]

The video just played to this point, when a barrage of comments appeared above the video.

【V@鞠躬尽瘁李二郎: I know, Lü Zhi, who is this Wu Zetian, and when did she become the empress? 】

You can't blame Li Shimin for being sensitive. After listening to the Heavenly Scroll for so long, he probably had a preliminary understanding of the direction of Chinese history. He knew that after the Tang Dynasty, there was a chaotic era, a period known as the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms.

After that came the Song Dynasty, which was also the one that ended the Jiedushi system.
In other words, the Song Dynasty was only separated from the Tang Dynasty by a turbulent period.

Liu E was the empress dowager in the early period of the Song Dynasty. Before her, there was no mention of any female emperor in the Song Dynasty in Tianjuan.
And if it was the chaotic times of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, even if there was a woman in power, how could she be called "Empress Wu" by later generations?
So, no matter how you look at it, this Emperor Wu should have appeared during the Tang Dynasty.
Therefore, once he figured this out, he could no longer sit still and immediately sent a barrage of comments to inquire about Tianjuan.

Not only this one, but another barrage appeared after it.
【@扮猪吃虎黑马王: Is this Wu Zetian my queen? 】

These two comments were like two depth charges, instantly causing the comments above the video to explode.
Lei Xiaomeng didn't even have to reply herself, many fans had already started responding to these two comments.

[@子控凶残老父: That Li Erlang, Wu Zetian is the empress of your Tang Dynasty. She was originally your concubine, but ended up becoming your son's queen. One woman serving two husbands...tsk tsk tsk! ]

[V@逍遥散人玉真仙子: Li Erlang is His Majesty Taizong, and the Black Horse King is my grandfather. Identification completed.]

【V@虎头蛇尾李四郎: The women of the Wu family should not be underestimated. My aunt almost became the crown princess. 】

[V@Super IQ, serious chuunibyou patient: My mother is the most gentle and virtuous woman. ]

[@历史第一王子的大王子大大: Yes, this Empress Wu was the empress of Emperor Gaozong of Tang. She later inherited the throne and changed the country's name to Zhou. ]

[@群臣错我一棵松: My Great Ming Dynasty cannot have such a woman with ulterior motives. ]

@装猪吃虎黑马王 appeared in the live broadcast room for the first time. If Lei Xiaomeng guessed correctly, he should be playing the role of Emperor Gaozong of Tang, Li Zhi. When this emperor was in power, he pacified the Goguryeo Dynasty, which led to the fall of the Sui Dynasty and even Emperor Taizong of Tang could not pacify.
It is indeed worthy of the name to use this ID.

When Li Chengqian and Li Tai competed for the position of crown prince, both of them were defeated. But this low-key Li Zhi was made the crown prince, and coupled with his later achievements, it can't be said that it was just luck.
Later, Li Zhi raided the home of his own uncle, Changsun Wuji, promoted poor candidates who had passed the imperial examinations, suppressed the aristocratic group in Longxi, and it was under his rule that the "Yonghui Reign" in history appeared. Those who said he was indecisive were slapped in the face again.

Thinking of this, Lei Xiaomeng also replied:
【Wu Zetian was the empress of Emperor Gaozong of Tang. She was also a concubine of Emperor Taizong of Tang. After Emperor Taizong of Tang died, she was sent to a temple to become a nun. Soon after, she was taken back by Emperor Gaozong of Tang. Later, she became the empress of Emperor Gaozong and often helped Emperor Gaozong handle political affairs.】

[Wu Zetian once went to Mount Tai with Emperor Gaozong to offer sacrifices to the gods, and was dubbed "the Second Saint" at the appropriate time. Soon after Emperor Gaozong's death, she proclaimed herself emperor and established the Wu Zhou Dynasty, becoming the only female emperor in Chinese history.]

【Wu Zetian was a famous female politician in history. Under her rule, scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans were still thriving and she was well-received by the people. She was once called the "legacy of Zhenguan".】

Li Shimin: What? This woman is actually my concubine? And after I died, she became my son's queen. Someone, go and call the prince. How could I not know that my son has such a strong taste!
Li Zhi: What? My queen became the emperor after my death? Someone, ask the queen to come over... Forget it, I'll go find the queen and ask her for the truth!

Li Longji: My royal grandmother is indeed quite capable. My ancestors either ruled during the Zhenguan era or during the Yonghui era. Even my royal grandmother's reign had the legacy of the Zhenguan era. I cannot lose to them!

Lei Xiaomeng's comments gave the final answer to these two questions. At this time, the video has already counted the reign titles after Song Renzong.

【Now let's talk about Song Renzong's third reign title. Two years after the reign title Mingdao was adopted, Empress Dowager Liu E passed away. Renzong finally took power. The next year, he changed the reign title to Jingyou. 】

[As the name suggests, this reign title is of course an expression of the hope that after he takes power, he will be blessed and the Song Dynasty will flourish under his rule, with a bright future.]

Emperors of the Song Dynasty: A new emperor appoints new ministers! It is time to change the reign title.

Wu Zetian: Humph, they are all fence-sitters.

Lü Zhi: Is it enough to govern a country just by reign titles? You need to have some means! It seems that I have to teach Ying Er a lesson!

After listening for a long time, Qin Shi Huang understood a little: "Reign? What is a reign? I remember that it seemed to have existed during the Zhou Dynasty. Why bother with it so much? I don't want to hear this kind of nonsense.

Emperor Wu of Han (self-satisfied): This is the Zhou ritual that I restored.

Emperors of the Ming and Qing Dynasties: Changing the reign title is useful, so why do we need military ministers? They are really asking for trouble!

[However, unfortunately, the Song Dynasty suffered from drought for many years. Although Song Renzong had good expectations and hoped that his first reign title in the true sense could bless the Song Dynasty, it was not as expected.]

[So after using this reign title for five years, Song Renzong changed it again. He changed it to Baoyuan, hoping that this reign title would bring him good luck again.]

【However, this reign title was even worse. In the first year of Baoyuan, Li Yuanhao, a member of the Tangut clan, proclaimed himself emperor in Western Xia and stopped paying tribute to the Song Dynasty. This made Song Renzong furious, and he immediately sent troops to Western Xia. The war between the two countries immediately broke out.】

Emperor Wu of Han curled his lips and said: What's wrong with the reign title? You can change it if you want. I have changed the reign titles eleven times. But my favorite is the fourth year of Yuanshou.

Song Huizong: I changed it too, even the emperor, but it proved useless. Qin Shihuang: I don't rely on anyone, I only rely on myself! Not to mention a mere reign title!
Emperors of Ming and Qing Dynasties: Changing the reign title is related to the destiny of the country, and maybe it would be fine if we don’t change it!

[We need to emphasize here that Song Renzong had always had a good temper, and there are few records of him getting angry in history books. How could there be a description of him getting angry here? ]

Emperors before Song Dynasty: There is gossip!
Emperors of Ming and Qing Dynasties: Is there any gossip that I don’t know?
Qin Shi Huang: Is it a big deal if the emperor gets angry? Is it worth speculating on?

[In fact, Li Yuanhao was originally just a vassal state between the Song Dynasty and the Liao Dynasty, and he would often side with whichever was stronger. However, during the reign of Emperor Renzong of Song, a ruthless man emerged in Western Xia. He was Li Yuanhao, the founding emperor of Western Xia.]

[Li Yuanhao originally inherited his father's position and was a vassal of the Song Dynasty. However, he was very ambitious and wanted to be the emperor, so he did a lot of tricks to achieve this.]

[But he was just playing tricks, and he didn't hide it from others. As a result, his uncle found out about it. It's OK to let his uncle know about it. There's nothing wrong with discussing it among family members. They can just sit down and have a drink, chat, and discuss the benefits. ]

[But unfortunately, the reason why Li Yuanhao is called a ruthless person is that he doesn't take anyone seriously. He even thinks that his maternal uncle's family is too powerful, so he took this opportunity to get rid of his uncle's family who threatened his rule. ]

The former emperors of the Song Dynasty: He is indeed a ruthless man who does not even spare his own family members.

Emperors of Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties: What a ruthless person! If he were in our dynasty, we would destroy him in minutes!

[However, somehow, the plan was leaked. His uncle took his family and fled to the Song Dynasty overnight to seek protection, and reported the matter to the Song Dynasty, hoping that the Song Dynasty could stop Li Yuanhao.]

Emperors before the Song Dynasty: It seems that ruthless people are all of the same bloodline! This uncle is really good at killing his relatives for the sake of justice!
Emperors of the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties: How could I forget that Li Yuanhao didn't even need my help, because his family destroyed themselves! Another cursed country!

But what was the result?

[Ahem… This time the up master has to complain about the emperor and his ministers of the Song Dynasty. In order to appease Li Yuanhao, they actually said that they did not believe his uncle's words. Then, they sent his uncle's family back to Xixia! ]

[Yes, that's right. The Song Dynasty sent the informer back. So after Li Yuanhao received the sincerity of the Song Dynasty, he smiled and killed his uncle's family. Then he immediately raised an army to rebel! ]

Qin Shi Huang: Are the rulers and ministers of the Song Dynasty all pigs?
Emperor Wu of Han: This is what we call not being afraid of opponents who are like pigs, but being afraid of teammates who are like pigs...

Emperor Gaozu of Han: The rulers and ministers of the Song Dynasty are really good people. They remind me of the Overlord of Chu.

King of Chu: What a bunch of fools!
Emperor Taizong of Tang: Xixia? Dangxiang? They actually formed their own country? The territory of the Song Dynasty is not even one-third of that of the Tang Dynasty!

Emperor Gaozong of Tang: The Song Dynasty was so weak? This gave Li Yuanhao a reason to kill his uncle.

Emperors of the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties: Take this as a lesson! The emperor was deceived by this. No wonder there were so many treacherous officials in the Song Dynasty!

Tianjuan's words made Song Renzong's face turn blue and red, and Prime Minister Zhang beside him was speechless.

Although he was not yet the prime minister at the time, he was still very clear about this matter. However, no one in the Song Dynasty believed that Xixia, a small border country that relied on rewards and trade from the Song Dynasty to feed its tribal people, would dare to claim the throne.
Anyone who heard this would think it was impossible.

So after discussing with the emperor and his ministers, they decided to adopt a conciliatory approach to buy favors. At the right time, not only did they send his uncle's family back to show their sincerity, but they also gave Li Yuanhao a large amount of rewards. This was considered "spiritual compensation" from the court.

Who could have thought that with the imperial reward and sincerity, Li Yuanhao would rebel the next day. This was tantamount to a great loss of face for the Song Dynasty, a blow to the prestige of the Song Dynasty, and a slap in the face to the emperor.

This made the good-tempered Emperor Song Renzong deeply angry. He vowed to wipe out the Western Xia, so he sent a large army to quell the rebellion.
But the result is predictable: the Song Dynasty was defeated in three battles.

At this moment, Song Renzong adjusted his mood and whispered, "Prime Minister, do you have a solution to the problem raised in the last court?"

Renzong summoned him for this matter, and he had already made preparations. However, he did not expect that the heavenly scroll would begin as soon as he arrived in front of the emperor. That was why the emperor and his minister did not discuss it immediately.
Seeing the emperor asking this question, Zhang Dexiang immediately said, "Your Majesty, are you talking about the factional disputes I mentioned at the court meeting a few days ago?"

Now Renzong has set the national policy and vowed to carry out the reform to the end. During this period, he frequently summoned Han Qi, Fan Zhongyan and others to the palace to discuss matters related to the new policy.
They even pointed out many shortcomings in the old policies and prepared to carry out thorough reforms.

Long before the new policy was implemented, ministers who supported the old policy had approached him and wanted him to stand on their side, but he politely declined.
At present, the government has been summoning him frequently for matters concerning the new policy, and he is afraid that he will be classified as a member of the new party by the old party. Even though Xia Song has been detained, and he has discovered a lot of his illegal activities recently, there are still many ministers who plead for him.

He was really worried that if the government did not intervene, the factions in the court would target him more in the future, which would not only be detrimental to the implementation of the new policy, but would also be detrimental to the implementation of the new policy downwards.

"Your Majesty, I have something to report to you this time."

"But it doesn't matter!"

"Your Majesty, although I feel it is inappropriate, I still ask Your Majesty to allow me to describe the situation in the court using the two terms New Party and Old Party."
Song Renzong nodded, which was considered as tacit approval.

"Your Majesty, after Xia Song was captured, the New Party was jubilant. Although the Old Party has temporarily stopped its activities, ministers often go to the Lu Mansion to visit the old Prime Minister."
"Oh?" Song Renzong raised his eyebrows and waited for Zhang Dexiang to continue.

"And just a few days ago, Lord Shi was drinking in Zuihonglou. When he was drunk, he wrote another poem, satirizing the old party's failure and congratulating the new policy on its success. He also praised Your Majesty!"

Song Renzong frowned after hearing this: "This Shi Jie, doesn't he know why I promoted so many officials but ignored him?"
"Sir, Lord Shi has exactly this kind of temper. He shows his joy on his face, behaves wildly, and doesn't know what restraint is. So..."

"So what?"
"So now Lord Han, Lord Fan, and Lord Fu don't interact with him much anymore. They didn't even go to Lord Shi's banquet. This made Lord Shi lose face."

"Where is Mr. Sima?"
"Mr. Sima did go, but he left after a short while to discuss the implementation of the new policy with Mr. Fan."

Song Renzong nodded slightly: These gentlemen have indeed proposed many good ideas for implementing the new policies in the past few days.

Seeing the indifference on Song Renzong's face, Zhang Dexiang said, "Your Majesty, when the new policy was just announced, Lord Shi wrote a poem that made the old party furious. No wonder Xia Song framed Lord Fan this time and wanted to use his calligraphy."

Song Renzong certainly knew this poem, which was the "Ode to the Holy Virtue of the Qingli Emperor". Although it was brilliant, such a blatant attack on the old party forced many ministers in the court who were wavering between the left and the right to come out and take sides, which in turn made the barriers between the new party and the old party clear.
To be precise, the new policies had not yet produced any results, but they had already attracted enough hatred and the old party's strong suppression. Some ministers who had already been wavering in their attitudes did not dare to join the new party camp for fear of being hated by the old party.

Later, the New Party was criticized by the Old Party for forming cliques and pursuing personal interests, and no one dared to speak for them. As a last resort, Mr. Ouyang simply wrote an article "On Factions" to put the dispute between the New and Old Parties on the table, which made the Old Party even more angry!
From then on, the new and old parties were at loggerheads, and the fight was on the line.

However, for the king, the two factions were fighting each other, just like the dispute between the eunuchs and the cabinet during the Zhengde reign mentioned in the previous Tianjuan. Instead, those old ministers who originally looked down on him tried hard to win his support, making the court a three-way confrontation.

This was something he was happy to see. At least during this period, the old officials were much more respectful to him than when the Queen Mother was still alive, or even before the new policy was implemented.

However, now that he has implemented reforms, the technique of building a balance between the new and old parties is no longer applicable, and he has to find other support points.
This is also the real reason why he came to find Zhang Dexiang today.

Xia Song has already been convicted and cannot escape blame. It was just a cover to get the prime minister here. The key point to be discussed today is how to balance the situation in the court.
He has come up with some ideas on this in the past few days.

"I understand what the Prime Minister means." Song Renzong nodded slightly, "I will issue an edict tomorrow to let Shi Jie serve as the academician and go to various prefectures to inspect the imperial examinations."
That is to move this troublemaker who easily attracts hatred away from the core area for the implementation of the new policy.

"As for Mr. Sima!" Song Renzong pondered for a moment, "I want to edit books and open a science and engineering school, so let him be in charge of this matter."
It's a good thing for this person to be busy. Being busy means there will be less things to do. Moreover, according to the Heavenly Scroll, Sima Xianggong is definitely a good talent scout in selecting talents. Since he is a talent scout, he should be allowed to go to the place where he can best display his abilities.

"Yes, Your Majesty is wise!" Prime Minister Zhang breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this. He was really afraid that His Majesty would be reluctant to let these two people leave his side because he favored the New Party.

"In addition, I also plan to conduct an assessment of all registered officials."
"Assessment?" Zhang Dexiang was stunned.
The new policy includes the assessment of officials. Your Majesty is going to implement the new policy among officials right now? Is it too hasty?

Seeing Zhang Dexiang's puzzled expression, Song Renzong smiled and said, "I plan to let Prime Minister Ouyang give some questions to the officials before the imperial examination begins. Our Song Dynasty is full of talented people. If you want to be an official, you can't be too mediocre."
The question Sima Xianggong asked at this moment must be about the new policy. The measures he mentioned in the court before were not just casual remarks. This was his first assessment.

Aren't you both the New Party and the Old Party still fighting for your position? I will make you fight for this position.
If you cannot win the argument, you can come and cry to me. The thing I am least afraid of is mediating conflicts among ministers!
Song Renzong was busy calculating in his mind, as the Heavenly Scroll had already begun counting his fifth reign title.

[So, this time Li Yuanhao greatly hurt Renzong's reputation, which made Renzong furious and ordered the army to attack him.]
[However, unfortunately, the Song army, which was said to have more than one million soldiers, was defeated repeatedly by the small country of Xixia. In the end, it became the founding battle of Xixia! ]

[Furious and humiliated, our Emperor Renzong began to look for the reason. He wanted to know why the great Song Dynasty couldn't even defeat the small country of Xixia.]
【So after some searching, he finally found the key! 】

(End of this chapter)