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

Within the sky.

Everything progressed so smoothly, as if it were a matter of course.

Li Er led his army to conquer Guanzhong and then Xianyang. After that, he moved the capital to Chang'an, proclaimed himself emperor in Chang'an, and established the Tang Dynasty.

He acted very generously.

The vassal states were divided up one by one, and the nobles of the six states handed over most of their military power with satisfaction and took away their own homeland.

Unfortunately, Li Er wasn't going to let them be happy for long.

After the laws of the Tang Dynasty were accepted in various regions and the people resumed normal farming, the Edict of Grace was promulgated.

In addition to the regular version of the Edict of Grace, Li Er deliberately added another clause.

Each vassal state shall not keep more than 10,000 private soldiers; those who violate this rule shall be punished for treason.

The major vassal states located on the borders were garrisoned by troops dispatched by the imperial court.

As a result, the ministers and kings of the various vassal states, including Zhang Liang and Xiang Yu, were instantly dumbfounded.

How to do?

Disobeying the imperial decree? Refusing to comply with the edict of bestowing favors?

Why don't you try to see if the imperial court's sword is sharp enough?

The story of Li Er's swift and decisive conquest of Guanzhong and the destruction of the Qin Dynasty is still fresh in our minds.

With the promulgation of the Edict of Grace, Han Xin was also sharpening his sword, eyeing the various vassal states. Anyone who dared to stand out would be immediately suppressed by troops and turned into merit for his enfeoffment as a duke.

Obey the Edict of Grace?

Anyone with eyes could see that after the third generation, there were no more feudal states.

When faced with a dilemma, it was Zhang Liang who was the first to see the situation clearly and set an example for the other states.

He came to Chang'an as the Chancellor of Han, and in front of the envoys of various vassal states, he handed over the military power of the entire country and opened the major cities to welcome the Tang army.

After that, there was no more Han Xiang in the world, only Liu Hou.

With the first example of yielding, the rest of the people became even more apprehensive.

Soon after, all the major vassal states sent envoys to express their willingness to obey the imperial court's decree, and once again, most of the military power they already had was handed over.

"This is not simply a matter of bestowing favors; more importantly, it reflects a weakness in military power!"

"Li Er integrated various rebel armies from the very beginning, making the process of destroying Qin too easy. Even after enfeoffing the vassal states, his forces were still strong and well-equipped."

"At this time, no one dares to be the first to speak out. If someone does, they will become the chicken used as a warning to others!"

"Once military power is handed over, it is equivalent to completely separating internal affairs from military power. No matter how well a vassal state is governed, without military power, it can only obediently follow the imperial court's orders."

"It can be said that as long as he successfully takes back the military power of the various states, Li Er can call the vassal states states if he wants them to be states, and provinces if he wants them to be provinces!"

"The feudal lords are kings in name only, but in reality they may not even have the power of a governor, since they cannot mobilize the imperial army!"

Zhao Kuangyin finally realized what was going on.

All of this comes down to speed!

The process from rebelling against the Qin Dynasty to unifying the country was so rapid that Li Er (Emperor Taizong of Tang) suffered almost no major losses before swiftly conquering Xianyang.

It was fast enough to terrify and frighten the nobles of the six kingdoms, to make them sincerely submit and dare not be their enemy!

"However, Xiang Ji, will you really obediently hand over your military power as depicted in the sky?"

Liu Bang was somewhat confused.

In his memory, Xiang Yu was clearly the most powerful person in the world, so why did he obediently hand over his military power in this challenge?

"...Do you think I'm stupid? If you were in my shoes, would you hand it over or not?"

Xiang Yu said irritably.

In this sky, King Chu is still Xiong Xin.

Xiong Xin was willing to relinquish military power, and his uncle Xiang Liang supported him. So what? Could he possibly object?

In this challenge, Li Er didn't give him a chance to go all out and defeat the enemy single-handedly.

His prestige was far from sufficient, and even if he wanted to rebel against Li Er, few people would be willing to follow him.

On the contrary, under Li Er's governance, the people gradually regained their vitality, and who would want to cause trouble again?

He can kill a hundred men in battle, but you can't expect him to fight against a dynasty that is rapidly getting back on track all by himself!

Moreover, given the situation in the sky, he probably doesn't even have eight thousand soldiers behind him.

Li Er emphasized agriculture and reduced taxes, and stipulated that corvée labor would be exempted for three years. If the court urgently needed able-bodied men, he would also provide them with a certain amount of compensation.

Under these circumstances, he didn't think any ambitious individuals would dare to contradict him.

The Qin Dynasty fell because of the oppressive policies imposed by the First Emperor and Hu Hai's inability to maintain those policies.

But now the Qin Dynasty has become the Tang Dynasty.

Li Er quickly allowed the people to recuperate and rebuild their lives, giving the feudal lords no reason to resist at all!

The Edict of Grace informs you that this is a blessing bestowed upon all your children except for your eldest son.

The revocation of military power was also euphemistically called encouraging agriculture and sericulture, and prohibiting the pursuit of militarism.

how?

You're going to object?

The heads of Hu Hai and Zhao Gao are still hanging on the gates of Xianyang, where they are spat upon by thousands.

Countless people spit every day as they pass through the city gate. With such a gem in front of you, before you raise an army again, you must first decide which city gate tower you want to hang your head on.

Xiang Yu was ambitious, but he wasn't stupid!

"You completed the challenge so easily?"

Although he knew the outcome, Liu Bang still felt somewhat uneasy.

This process was much easier than his experience.

Is he really that much worse than Li Er?

“Your Majesty, you don’t need to overthink it. After all, he knew that period of history and knew when to do what. If it were us, the approach might be slightly different, but in terms of ease, it should be about the same.”

Old Zhu noticed the change in Liu Bang's mindset and offered some words of comfort.

For Li Er, this challenge was equivalent to an open-book exam.

The only challenge is how to preserve as much of the available resources as possible while destroying the Qin dynasty.

However, this difficulty was rendered insignificant by his thorough prior preparations.

Xiao He, Zhang Liang, and Han Xin served under him from the very beginning, while Chen Ping and others also came to join him immediately upon hearing the news.

It can be said that most of the top talents at the end of the Qin Dynasty began to gather around him as soon as he started his uprising before Chen Sheng.

One step at a time, one step at a time.

Taking the lead in an uprising carries risks, but also offers immense benefits.

You will become a beacon for all ambitious people. They will come to you naturally when they see your repeated victories, without any need for deliberate recruitment!

Within the sky.

Standing in the newly built Chang'an Imperial Palace, Li Er silently gazed into the distance.

Behind him, Xiao He was reading aloud the current attitudes and troop deployments of the various vassal states.

The current situation proves that everything he did was right.

The internal affairs of the vassal states have gradually stabilized, and at most three generations later, they will be able to be reintegrated into the territory of the Tang Dynasty.

But he was still somewhat dissatisfied.

"What about the Xiongnu? The border is still unsettled. Han Xin, what have you been doing all this time? Don't think you can relax now that Qin has been destroyed, do you?"

"I will give you an army of 100,000 men, and you will be the commander-in-chief. I will appoint Xiang Yu of Chu as your chief general, so that you may seal the Wolf Mountain and drink from the vast sea on my behalf!"

"If you can't do it, don't come back to see me!"