The video takes us to ancient times; Li Er transforms into the Tongtian Emperor of Shu Han.

"After Emperor Gaozu of Han destroyed the Qin Dynasty, he fought the Chu-Han Contention. In addition, he dealt with the various lords enfeoffed by Xiang Yu. It only took seven years."

"Although I am not very talented and the enemies I faced were not that powerful, I still managed to unify the country in just seven years."

“But you, my great-uncle, it took you a full nine years.”

Li Er gloated.

It's just about hurting each other, everyone does it!

Since everyone has a dark past, then no one should expect to have an easy time!

Yang Jian: "..."

You bastard, have you fired enough?!

"Although it took me nine years, there was a reason for that!"

"If our only rivals are Western Liang and Southern Chen, I certainly won't need nine years!"

Yang Jian felt he needed to speak up for himself.

If these people continue to spread rumors like this, then his place on the list of wise rulers will truly become a joke!

At the same time, the writing on the sky also began to change.

For Yang Jian, destroying the Southern Chen dynasty was not a particularly difficult task.

The difficulty lay in the fact that at the beginning of the Sui Dynasty, the Turks were rampant and ravaged the borders.

While the Sui Dynasty was certainly not afraid, the Turks, knowing they were no match, would only harass them and not engage in direct combat.

With the Turkic rebellion raging, even if Yang Jian wanted to unify the country as soon as possible, he was powerless to do so.

A large number of border troops were tied up on the frontier. If the goal was to unify the country, the problem of the Turks had to be solved first.

Therefore, he adopted the strategy of separating the strong and uniting the weak, thus sowing discord among the various Turkic tribes.

With the pressure on the border reduced, Yang Jian immediately mobilized a large army and marched straight towards Southern Chen, almost crushing its capital!

The ultimate result of dividing the Turks was that the entire Turkic force submitted to the Sui Dynasty.

This move can be seen as the beginning of a new era in which all nations paid tribute to the Tang Dynasty.

"The Turks, well, I have to admit, Yang Jian made a good start."

Old Zhu, who was always so argumentative, suddenly agreed at this moment.

Although the Turks were not part of the Mongol Yuan dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang never had a good impression of those forces outside the Great Wall.

Judging from his ability to subdue the Turks, he acknowledged Yang Jian's capabilities.

However, at this point, a different voice emerged.

"What a bad start! If the Sui and Tang dynasties hadn't introduced a lot of technology to those tribes, how could my northern expedition against the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun have been so difficult!"

Zhao Kuangyin was full of complaints.

After the Sui and Tang dynasties, the northern tribes beyond the border were no longer as weak as before.

In the past, they could only hunt and were not able to gain much advantage on the front lines against the Central Plains soldiers who had superior weapons and armor.

However, after the Sui and Tang dynasties took them under their control and imparted a great deal of technology to them.

When the Song Dynasty arrived, the situation was completely reversed.

They were no match in horsemanship, and their cavalry numbers were overwhelming.

That pressure was so intense it was almost unbearable.

If the Liao people had the same equipment and armor as before the Sui and Tang dynasties, and their living conditions were also the same as before the Sui and Tang dynasties, the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun would have been easily recovered!

"That's true. We should also say a few words of justice for Zhao Heizi. There are indeed too many technologies that have been introduced from beyond the Great Wall."

"Whether it was the Liao Dynasty, the Jin Dynasty, or even the Mongol Yuan Dynasty, the technology of iron smelting and manufacturing weapons and armor became more and more advanced, and the pressure on the front lines was indeed great."

"Even after we drove out the Tartars, our several northern expeditions were not easy."

Old Zhu has once again stood up to speak the truth.

Or rather, he subtly pointed at Yang Jian and Li Er again.

But what he said was indeed the truth.

"Old Zhu, you're saying all that?"

Li Er was stunned.

If it were only Zhao Kuangyin himself who said it, he would only take it as the complaint of a weak person.

But if even Lao Zhu says something like that, it probably means that it really is true!

"What's wrong with saying that?"

“We’re telling the truth. If it weren’t for the explosive growth in technology and resources of various forces outside the Great Wall after the Sui and Tang dynasties, Zhao Heizi wouldn’t have had to work so hard in the future.”

"Of course, we're not saying this to whitewash him. In our eyes, he didn't take back the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun, so he can't be whitewashed."

Zhao Kuangyin: "..."

The question is, should I criticize you or not?

That's a mess! You can't just say nice things!

"I think I understand, but in the end, it's still a matter of lack of ability. Old Zhu, you still succeeded, didn't you?"

After thinking for a while, Li Er came to a simple and blunt conclusion.

Yes, it must be due to a lack of ability!

"Our success was partly due to luck. The Yuan court itself was in turmoil, and they were not good at internal affairs. Rebellions broke out everywhere, which gave us a chance. If we could just survive and have a steamed bun to eat every day, who would be willing to risk their life to rebel!"

I had no choice!

If even a celestial being were to recount his rags-to-riches story in detail, it would surely move anyone who read it to tears.

"Hey, hey, hey, aren't we getting off-topic? Shouldn't the main character be me right now? Why are you all chatting like this!"

Seeing that their conversation was getting more and more off-topic, and that Old Zhu was about to start playing the victim, Yang Jian quickly steered the conversation back on track.

If they keep saying that, then he, the protagonist, will become far too insignificant!

As if the sky could hear his thoughts, the handwriting changed again.

After unifying the country, Yang Jian officially began his brilliant and glorious reign of Kaihuang.

They changed Xianbei surnames to Han surnames and abolished the Nine-Rank System in favor of the Five Departments and Six Ministries System.

This system, which began in the Sui Dynasty and was perfected in the Tang Dynasty, has continued to be passed down in feudal dynasties.

After the establishment of the Sui Dynasty, due to the long period of war during the Northern and Southern Dynasties, which caused hardship for the people, Yang Jian reduced taxes many times and implemented the equal-field system.

Lighten taxes and levies to alleviate the people's suffering.

People's livelihood and the economy recovered rapidly in a very short period of time.

Later, the imperial examination system was implemented. Although the channels for participating in the examinations were still controlled by the aristocratic families, it could be considered the beginning of a new era for people from humble backgrounds to rise in society.

Upon seeing this, Yang Jian was already quite pleased with himself.

If it is still criticized that it took nine years to unify the world after inheriting the power of the Great Zhou Dynasty, then no one should have anything to say about this!

They reduced taxes and levies, and took advantage of the decline of the power of the aristocratic families during the Northern and Southern Dynasties to implement the equal-field system.

Even now, he thinks his move was a stroke of genius!

"No one can deny this achievement."

"In our eyes, a ruler who simply reduces taxes and levies to alleviate the people's suffering is a wise ruler for all time!"

Old Zhu is straightforward.

He would directly criticize anything that wasn't done well.

But if they do well, he will naturally not hesitate to praise them.

He liked emperors who allowed the people to rest and recuperate and who were good to the people!

Therefore, he disliked the First Emperor, but favored Emperor Wen of Han!

"I will not comment on his martial prowess, but Emperor Wen of Sui did a truly good job in terms of civil administration."

"In particular, the equal-field system was a stroke of genius, directly reducing the burden on the people to the greatest extent possible, while taxes were not reduced."

"I admire you!"

"However, could you elaborate on the imperial examination system? I am quite curious about it."