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

Perfect balance!

On the sky, these are just five simple words.

But everyone knows how difficult it will be to achieve those five words!

"The ministers have just killed an emperor. They all know that if they are held accountable for what they have done, it will be a crime that leads to the confiscation of their property and the extermination of their entire family, or even the execution of nine generations of their relatives!"

"It's easy to imagine how tense they would be in this situation."

"If Emperor Wen shows even the slightest dissatisfaction at this time, he will soon suffer the same fate as the young Emperor Liu Hong!"

Cao Cao had a very thorough understanding of the history of the Han Dynasty.

Especially the process of Emperor Wen's ascension to the throne and his consolidation of power.

That was a textbook example of how to seize power!

He gradually yielded, relinquishing all power to Zhou Bo, Chen Ping, and others, willingly playing the role of a puppet emperor.

Then came the gradual probing, and finally, by using force, Zhou Bo was forced to back down.

It's no exaggeration to say that he was born specifically to become emperor!

"There are quite a few people who think that Emperor Wen was not a perfect emperor because he only had civil achievements but no military prowess. But they don't know that if it were an ordinary mediocre ruler, he probably wouldn't have been able to get through the first step."

Li Er couldn't help but sigh.

Emperor Wen had no martial skills?

Just kidding, most of those emperors who claimed to be both civil and military leaders, if you put them in the position of a civil emperor.

Can they really make good use of this throne that they practically picked up off the street?

It is likely that most emperors would be assassinated by their ministers shortly after ascending the throne, and then the ministers would find another emperor.

Either you can only be a puppet emperor for your entire life.

Those who were able to maintain this balance and successfully regain imperial power are probably fewer than two out of ten people who could be found throughout history!

Coupled with his achievements in civil administration, he almost reached the pinnacle.

Historical records have shown that Emperor Wen of Han was the foremost wise ruler after the Three Dynasties!

You still want to find fault with an emperor like that?

"Zhao Heizi, did you see that? When Emperor Wen first ascended the throne, his skills were better than yours. At least he knew how to balance the various parties, unlike you, who just cut a military general to death with one blow."

Zhu Yuanzhang also admired Emperor Wen of Han.

But while admiring him, he also habitually made a sarcastic remark.

Zhao Kuangyin: "..."

"Of course I know I am not as good as Emperor Wen of Han. How many people in this world dare to say they are better than him?"

"Even those ranked higher on the list of wise rulers among the immortals, can they really claim to be better than Emperor Wen?"

"But Lao Zhu, you don't think you're capable enough, do you?"

"You keep saying that you are good to the people and want to make them live a good life, but do you think you can compare to Emperor Wen?"

He readily admitted that he was inferior to Liu Heng in terms of civil administration.

It's not shameful that Wenzhi lost to Emperor Wen.

On the contrary, being compared to Emperor Wen is already a victory in itself.

And it was the First Emperor who touched the electric gate, winning so badly he was completely stunned!

On the contrary, his question silenced Old Zhu.

Zhao Kuangyin was far inferior to Liu Heng, but what about himself?

Indeed, just as Zhao Kuangyin said, he always talked about his humble origins and kept saying that he wanted to do good for the people.

However, in terms of governance and the quality of life of the people, the early Ming Dynasty seemed to be far inferior to the reign of Emperor Wen.

He could not refute this point, no matter what.

"There's no point in comparing them. After all, the situation is different in every era. Taxes can't be reduced or exempted all the time. Once the imperial treasury is depleted, that's a real disaster."

Although Li Er admired Emperor Wen Liu Heng, he also knew that Liu Heng's actions were largely unrepeatable.

And his abilities are far beyond what ordinary people can match.

As the argument continued, the writing on the canopy subtly changed.

After Liu Heng truly took power, every decision he made was benevolent.

Abolish collective punishment and abolish corporal punishment.

Even though the punishment for collective wrongdoing was reinstated after his death, it could not erase his benevolence.

He was the first and only emperor to abolish agricultural taxes.

Agricultural taxes were reduced twice.

First, the tax rate was changed from 1/15 to 1/30, and then the agricultural tax was abolished altogether.

Of course, the abolition of agricultural taxes was not able to be maintained in the long term.

But it was precisely because of his series of decisions that benefited the people that the entire Han Dynasty was revitalized from its initial poverty!

The change from one-fifteenth of the tax to one-thirtieth of the tax was a decision that has already earned the admiration of later generations.

It was precisely because of Emperor Wen's measure that the agricultural tax of one-thirtieth of the total tax rate continued throughout the entire Han Dynasty.

No matter how the emperor later tried to extract money from the people, at least no one dared to touch the agricultural tax, which was one-thirtieth of the total tax!

"Is this considered an achievement of his? It's just about reducing taxes and exempting him from corvée labor."

Some people expressed their confusion.

"Light taxes and exemption from corvée labor? That's all?"

“Look closely at each dynasty throughout history and see if any of them could achieve a tax rate of one-thirtieth of the agricultural tax.”

"Moreover, during Emperor Wen's reign, agricultural taxes were directly exempted for many years. He reigned for decades, and his food, clothing and daily necessities did not increase at all, setting an example for everyone."

"Just say one more word to us, and we promise that if we ever have the chance to participate in a challenge with you in it, we'll personally twist your head off!"

Old Zhu was furious.

"The abolition of agricultural taxes was one of Emperor Wen's achievements, but not the whole story."

"It can be said that if I were an ordinary citizen and had to choose a dynasty to live in, I would choose the reign of Emperor Wen without hesitation."

Li Er also chimed in.

It can be said that the previous two lists of wise rulers were somewhat controversial, but Emperor Wen of Han, Liu Heng, received almost universal praise!

During Liu Heng's tenure, he also abolished the crime of defamation and spreading rumors, which to some extent can be considered as realizing freedom of speech.

This is a unique case, spanning thousands of years of history.

During those decades, the cost of food, clothing, and daily necessities remained unchanged from the time of the reign of the Prince of Dai.

Even the most favored concubine could not wear dresses that were too long and dragged on the ground, and her curtains could not be embroidered.

Furthermore, Liu Heng would often personally go to the fields to cultivate the land, setting an example for the world.

The government streamlined its officials to reduce the burden on the people.

Because the official in charge of sacrifices only prayed for the emperor and not for the people, he was angered and abolished the position.

"...He has only advantages and no disadvantages. My son has such great talent?"

Liu Bang was beginning to question the meaning of life.

Among his sons, Liu Heng was clearly the least noticeable.

He was neither the eldest son nor the legitimate heir, unlike Liu Ying, who was the eldest legitimate son, and he was not as clever and lovable as Liu Ruyi.

But right now, in the immortals' assessment, he shines so brightly.

In the previous two lists of wise rulers, the immortals received mixed reviews, but both Yang Jian and Zhu Di had more merits than demerits.

However, when it comes to Liu Heng, at least so far, the immortal has not expressed any negative connotations!

Is it possible that my Liu family has such excellent genes?