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

"It can't be said that Zhao Heizi did anything wrong. It's just that in his time, from his perspective, the reason for the fall of dynasties was almost always due to internal strife caused by regional warlords."

"From the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty to the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, which dynasty didn't end up like this?"

"His choice is indeed understandable."

At this moment, Zhu Yuanzhang firmly stood on Zhao Kuangyin's side.

Even though he loathed the cowardly emperors of the Song Dynasty, loathed the two emperors Huizong and Qinzong who caused the Jingkang Incident, and loathed Zhao Gou, who was a coward from the very beginning of the dynasty.

But those were their own faults.

From beginning to end, all Zhao Kuangyin did was to transfer the power of military generals to the imperial court.

In essence, military power still exists, and due to the consolidation of centralized power, both treatment and training have gradually become unified, so the combat effectiveness of the lower-ranking soldiers will not be greatly affected!

The weakness of the Zhao Song dynasty in its later years was related to its policy of emphasizing civil affairs and suppressing military affairs, but the two were not an absolute cause-and-effect relationship.

Unfortunately, his views are destined to be unsupported by most people.

Especially Li Er.

"Just because of the failures of our predecessors, we chose the path of emphasizing literature and suppressing military affairs?"

"I know that the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty was indeed chaotic, and the end of my Tang Dynasty may have been similar. But do you know what I am most satisfied with about the Han Dynasty, Old Zhu?"

Even at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, people could still shout that one Han man was worth five barbarian tribes!

And they didn't just talk about it; they actually did it!

Regardless of which warlord it was, if they were short of money or manpower, they would simply send someone to take a trip outside the Great Wall.

A single trip back will solve the manpower problem for a long time to come.

If you can't solve it, then go around in circles a couple more times!

Even the slightly more powerful Wuhuan were nothing more than slightly larger dogs in their eyes!

In Li Er's heart, this was the true charm of the Han Dynasty!

"I've already told you, the fact that the Song Dynasty became a coward has little to do with its emphasis on civil affairs and suppression of military affairs."

Old Zhu was helpless, and Zhao Kuangyin was even more helpless.

Can you please just shut up?

The Song Dynasty has turned into a coward, and you're the real hater!

Seeing the two arguing incessantly, he had no choice but to step in.

"The emphasis on civil affairs and suppression of military affairs was a last resort. When I ascended the throne, the country was not yet unified, so I could only stabilize the country first."

"With rebellions still raging in various places, the best option is to hold military power in one's own hands and then use the scholar-officials to suppress the military elites."

In Zhao Kuangyin's eyes, the Chenqiao Mutiny was still fresh in his mind.

He knew that he had obtained this position far too easily.

Anyone with soldiers and power can be crowned emperor.

Even if the generals were unwilling, their deputy generals would do everything they could to find a way!

Taking back military power and suppressing military officers was practically the only solution for him in his situation!

Whether he was a unified emperor or not is beyond doubt.

Whether it's the Northern Han or the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun, as long as the successor follows the arrangements left by Zhao Kuangyin, they can be taken back legitimately.

He destroyed the Northern Han, but failed to recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun. The fault did not lie with him, but with Zhao Guangyi, the "God of Chariots" of Gaoliang River!

Who could have imagined that an army of over 100,000 would be no match for tens of thousands of Liao soldiers, and would even be routed in a single battle?

The Battle of Gaoliang River directly reversed the offensive and defensive relationship between the Song and Liao dynasties, turning the Liao dynasty from defense to offense and completely extinguishing the Song dynasty's ambition for unification!

However, the disastrous consequences caused by Zhao Guangyi, the calamities he created, should not be borne by Zhao Kuangyin!

Gaoliang River Car God?

Upon seeing this title, Lao Zhu couldn't help but laugh out loud.

That's so damn apt!

Historical records state that in the Battle of Gaoliang River, the Song army's morale plummeted after a prolonged siege of Youzhou, and they were ultimately routed by a surprise attack from Yelü Xiuge.

In the chaos of the retreating generals, Zhao Lao Er found a donkey cart and drove it through the enemy ranks, even managing to shake off the enemy cavalry.

To be honest, Zhao Lao Er drives his donkey cart really well!

If it were someone else with such superb driving skills, they would probably have been captured by the Liao Kingdom long ago.

"Zhao Lao Er is the first person in history to be able to drive a donkey cart out of the encirclement of thousands of troops."

Zhao Kuangyin: "..."

Old Zhu, you really are a hidden sly fox!

You don't hold back at all when it comes to exposing the dark side of my Great Song Dynasty!

How to break through the encirclement by driving a donkey cart?

You'd be better off dying in the chaos of battle!

Even if the emperor dies on the battlefield, no matter how he died, it can still inspire the soldiers in the rear to fight to the death!

As a result, the soldiers at the front line were routed, and you still managed to escape on a donkey cart.

Even without Zhu Yuanzhang's explanation, Zhao Kuangyin could guess how Zhao Er lost this battle!

After destroying the Northern Han, he wanted to take advantage of the morale of the great victory to reclaim the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun and achieve unification.

But he was in too much of a hurry.

It's like being too hasty in order to ascend the throne.

If the Liao Kingdom were so weak and easily bullied, why would he have decided on the strategy of weakening the Liao first and then strengthening it, and why would he have placed the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun last?

My silly little brother!

Civil administration may be your forte, but you are far from proficient in military campaigns and still have a long way to go!

Oh no, I almost forgot, you've already missed your chance to learn.

"Zhao Lao Er is good at domestic affairs, but it is still too difficult for him to recover lost territory and achieve unification."

Old Zhu didn't pay attention to what Zhao Kuangyin was thinking; he just said whatever came to mind—that's his personality.

"They were too hasty. If they had been willing to wait patiently until Zhao Da had recovered the lost territories before taking action, perhaps things would have been different."

Throughout history, there have been many emperors who were skilled in domestic affairs but not in military matters.

There are also quite a few that do a good job.

"In the end, he overestimated his own abilities. If he could have waited, he might have had a chance to be like my fourth son, bringing glory to his ancestors and making it onto the list of wise rulers."

Liu Bang said with a smile.

Anyone with eyes can see that he is in Versailles.

Zhao Kuangyin: "..."

Having a good son is a blessing.

Even the way they serve it is so elegant and refined!

Is he still like your fourth child?

Are you underestimating Emperor Wen or overestimating Zhao Lao Er?

Although Emperor Wen did not achieve much in military affairs, he truly embodied the principle of leading by example!

In terms of being kind, compassionate, and caring for the people, I doubt anyone can compare to him!

"Then you overestimate him, Emperor Gaozu. Zhao Lao Er's domestic affairs are barely passable; he is not worthy of being compared to Emperor Wen!"

"Furthermore, the Zhao Song dynasty's emphasis on civil administration and suppression of military affairs was amplified under his leadership, and it was directly established as the ancestral law of the Song dynasty."

"Although we don't like Zhao Heizi, we must acknowledge his merits and demerits. He should bear the blame, but we won't smear him for no reason."

Zhao Kuangyin: Thank you!

Stop talking, or I'm afraid you'll make my second son come back to life!