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

"To say that it has no flaws at all would be an exaggeration."

"Although most of Emperor Wen's actions in his life were highly praised by later generations, there was only one thing that many people could not understand."

Li Er thought for a moment and said.

Perhaps it's because much of the Records of the Grand Historian has been lost; in any case, if there's no other reason, he wouldn't understand this matter either.

"Are you referring to the matter of spoiling Deng Tong?"

"He himself couldn't even bear to eat a bowl of braised pork, yet he was willing to bestow an entire copper mountain upon Deng Tong, and even gave him the right to mint coins."

"To be honest, of all the things Emperor Wen did, this is the only one we don't understand."

Old Zhu nodded helplessly.

He greatly admired Emperor Wen of Han, Liu Heng, but he truly had no way to defend him in this matter.

His own clothes were patched, and his concubines' clothes were also extremely plain.

In the palace, one might not even see a few pieces of meat in a day's meals.

Emperor Wen truly took frugality to the extreme.

Few people throughout history have been able to do what he did.

What is puzzling is that this exemplary wise ruler treated Deng Tong differently.

He lived a frugal life, yet he helped Deng Tong become the richest man in the Han Dynasty!

No matter how you look at it, this matter is so bizarre that it's unbelievable!

"To be honest, given Emperor Wen's skill and ability, I really don't believe he would do such an absurd thing."

"Unless something happened between him and Deng Tong that outsiders don't know about, such as Deng Tong saving his life?"

Even Zhao Kuangyin couldn't understand this issue.

In his view, even if Deng Tong had really saved Liu Heng's life, given Liu Heng's personality, at most he would only be able to guarantee him a lifetime of wealth and status.

They directly rewarded their subjects with copper mines and the right to mint coins.

This is an absurd thing that only a tyrannical ruler would do!

But was Liu Heng a tyrannical ruler?

"That's normal. Nobody's perfect."

"Emperor Wen of Han was, in the end, just a human being, and humans are prone to making mistakes."

"It's only because people like you have mythologized him. Isn't it normal for him to make mistakes?"

Some mediocre monarchs, however, did not take it seriously.

The Shu Kingdom.

Liu Shan also looked at Zhuge Liang with a puzzled expression.

“Father, I think there’s some truth to what he said.”

Anyway, given his intelligence, he's more inclined to agree with the latter.

Seeing this, Zhuge Liang could only sigh helplessly.

Expecting A Dou to understand these things is really asking too much of him.

"Your Majesty still needs to study more, especially the things recorded in history books. By taking history as a mirror, one can understand the rise and fall of dynasties."

"There was a reason why His Majesty the Emperor bestowed such a reward upon Deng Tong, and his move was truly a stroke of genius!"

Just as Zhuge Liang was about to explain, the two words "Liu Heng" flashed across the sky.

"hehe!"

Immediately afterwards, the text on the sky was updated rapidly.

In the eyes of later generations, among the few remaining flaws of Liu Heng, his favoritism towards Deng Tong is undoubtedly the most puzzling and absurd.

However, most people did not consider the premise under which Liu Heng rewarded Deng Tong.

This is not just favoritism, it's a case of using one tiger to devour another!

During the suppression of the Lü clan, all the Liu clan princes contributed significantly, while Liu Heng, who ascended the throne, reaped the benefits without lifting a finger.

Therefore, to prevent the vassal kings from harboring resentment and rebelling again, Liu Heng's only course of action was to delegate power and cede benefits to them.

Among the feudal lords, the most arrogant and domineering was Liu Bi, the King of Wu!

Within his fiefdom, he recruited many outlaws, mined large quantities of copper to mint coins, and ensured that the people of the entire Wu Kingdom refused to pay taxes to the imperial court.

They don't recognize the imperial court, they only recognize the King of Wu!

This is the situation regarding Liu Bi's fiefdom.

Furthermore, in order to mint a large quantity of coins, Liu Bi mixed in very little copper, resulting in mostly inferior coins.

Because he minted a large number of inferior coins, they often circulated among the people and soon became unrecognizable.

Finally, Emperor Wen was forced to issue an edict stating that as long as the coins were not broken, they could be used normally.

But this is only a temporary solution. If Liu Bi is allowed to continue his misdeeds, it won't be long before the Wu Kingdom will be able to overpower the Han Dynasty!

Left with no other choice, Liu Heng selected Deng Tong.

The bestowal of copper mountains and the right to mint coins were both intended to nurture Deng Tong, this tiger, and then use him to devour the wolf!

Until Deng Tongqian was successfully minted and entered the market, it was quickly accepted by the people because of its high quality.

They had no choice before, but now, Deng Tongqian is also recognized by the imperial court.

Anyone with a sound mind knows how to make the right choice.

It was the circulation of Deng Tong coins that made Liu Bi's behavior much more restrained.

Later generations only thought that Liu Heng had lost his mind to reward Deng Tong, but little did they know that this was exactly what he wanted to show.

This led Liu Bi to believe that Liu Heng was incompetent, rather than targeting the state of Wu.

To minimize the threat from Wu and avoid arousing Liu Bi's suspicion.

In Liu Heng's reign as Emperor Wen, this move was by no means foolish; rather, it was more like the finishing touch that brought the masterpiece to life!

The finishing touch!

Li Er was incredibly excited.

If this is true, then Emperor Wen of Han was truly unfathomable!

From a single dominant player to a player using one to devour another.

Moreover, besides weakening Liu Bi, Deng Tong's role was also to leave a legacy of wealth for future generations.

Deng Tong's money all came from the copper mines and minting rights bestowed upon him by the imperial court. Whenever his descendants needed money, they could simply take it back and reclaim the endless wealth that had been given to him!

"That's how it is. Emperor Taizong may have made a foolish move, but it was precisely because of this foolish move that the development of the Wu Kingdom was curbed, so that the Rebellion of the Seven States could be easily suppressed under Emperor Jing."

If King Liu Bi of Wu is allowed to continue developing unchecked, by the time Emperor Jing ascends the throne, the vassal states will truly be unable to rival him.

Cao Cao's tone was full of respect.

Emperor Gaozu, Emperor Taizong, Emperor Jing, Emperor Wu, Emperors Zhao and Xuan...

After Emperor Gaozu founded the Han Dynasty, several emperors, who can be called wise rulers throughout the ages, worked hard to elevate the Han Dynasty to an unparalleled height.

Even now, at the end of the dynasty, although they all have different thoughts in their hearts, they still have to call themselves Han officials on the surface!

The Han dynasty perished because of its strength!

The strength of the Han Dynasty lay in the accumulation of wisdom by generations of wise rulers!

"Well, if this is the reason behind the matter, then our evaluation of Emperor Wen is probably too low."

If we had to ask Zhu Yuanzhang for his opinion, Emperor Wen of Han (Liu Heng) would definitely be a contender for the title of "Emperor of the Ages"!

"I knew it. Emperor Wen's skill was such that he could not have been incompetent for no reason. Everything he did must have his reasons."

Zhao Kuangyin let out a deep breath.

If only the emperors of the Song Dynasty in later generations had such skill.

No, if we had even half of Emperor Wen's abilities, the recapture of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun would be just around the corner!

"I am not at all surprised that he is on the list of wise rulers. In fact, I have a feeling that he is only ranked eighth, which is too low!"