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

Before being named Crown Prince, Zhao Shen was seen by others as a gentle, open-minded, and frugal person.

Moreover, he had almost no bad habits, and he was praised by everyone in the government and the public.

Even so, Zhao Gou did not make up his mind to make him a prince.

At this time, Zhao Gou still hoped that he could have a biological child.

Secondly, Qin Hui obstructed Zhao Shen in every way, and although he eventually died of illness, he still caused Zhao Shen considerable trouble.

Thirdly, Empress Wu raised another descendant of Emperor Taizu, so even if Zhao Gou were to establish a crown prince, he would face two completely different choices.

"Completely different choices? That's easy, just test them directly..."

Zhao Kuangyin originally wanted to say that they should directly test each other's abilities and character.

But when the words reached my lips, I suddenly found myself unable to say them.

For an ordinary emperor, this would naturally be the best course of action.

But in Zhao Gou's eyes, what kind of person would be a good emperor?

He himself was a pro-surrender faction. Given two candidates, would he really choose a pro-war faction to inherit the throne?

"To be honest, we all think that perhaps Heaven chose Emperor Xiaozong to add a final layer of embarrassment to the Southern Song Dynasty."

"At that time, Zhao Gou had two candidates in mind. Whether it was him, Empress Wu, or Empress Dowager Wei, they all preferred Xiaozong's rival, Zhao Qu."

"If nothing unexpected happens, Zhao Qu should be the one to inherit the throne. If that happens, the Song Dynasty will probably suffer a humiliating end."

Old Zhu was filled with emotion.

Based on his understanding of the Song Dynasty, or more specifically, the Southern Song Dynasty.

Apart from Emperor Xiaozong, there is no one else who can be considered a suitable candidate!

"Indeed, no matter how you look at it, you can only feel that it must be the will of Heaven."

Zhu Di also agreed with this view.

These words left Zhao Kuangyin with a somewhat unpleasant feeling.

How did it become fate?

Couldn't it be my own son who earned the throne through his own merit?

"Ahem, I have a different opinion..."

Just as Zhao Kuangyin was about to offer a few words of explanation, he saw the screen above displaying the names of Li Er and Liu Bang.

"That's right. If it weren't for fate, Zhao Gou would never have chosen the pro-war faction as his successor."

"If you use your brain, you'll know that he's been kneeling before the Jurchens his whole life, and he's been completely terrified of them. Would he dare to elect a pro-war faction leader and offend the Jurchens again?"

"This bastard's back is almost broken from kneeling. I dare say that if Zhao Shen shows even the slightest bit of a pro-war attitude at this moment, let alone being made crown prince, he'll probably die silently in less than two days."

"After all, he was Wanyan Gou. Let alone advocating for war, after Yue Fei's death, he probably wouldn't even dare to look at the Jurchens twice, right?"

The immortals have already compiled a list of incompetent rulers, and it's not hard to see from Zhao Gou's performance on it.

Let alone the pro-war faction, even ordinary pro-peace factions, if their ideas were not pleasing enough to the Jurchens, would not be given important positions by them.

They submitted to the emperor, paid tribute, knelt down, kowtowed, and acted like dogs, mobilizing the entire nation to welcome the Jin people.

This is how Zhao Gou and Qin Hui treated the Jurchens after they conspired to kill Yue Fei on trumped-up charges.

The sky began to change at this moment, and the picture gradually appeared.

It wasn't a tragic scene, and there was no Zhao Gou, Zhao Shen, or anyone else present.

This time, the scene in the sky only showed ordinary people around Lin'an, the capital of the Song Dynasty.

The phrase "bullying men and women" is far from adequate to describe the Jurchens!

From the time Qin Hui took charge of negotiating peace with the Jin dynasty until his death, the Song dynasty remained kneeling on the ground.

Just like the old man in the picture.

His daughter was abducted by the Jurchens, and when he saw her again, she was in a mass grave outside the city.

He brought his daughter's body to the yamen to file a complaint, but after learning that the murderer who forcibly abducted and tortured his daughter was a Jurchen, the dignified magistrate didn't even have the courage to see the murderer and directly gave the plaintiff twenty lashes and threw him out.

The old man stood outside the yamen, wailing and hoping that passersby would support him and help him seek justice.

Even when two kind-hearted people occasionally came along, they would run away as if their lives depended on it after learning that he was going to sue the Jin people.

The people outside the canopy watched him wail for almost half a day.

Finally, fearing that his wailing would displease the Jurchens, the local official sent men to abduct the old man along with his daughter's corpse.

From this day forward, there will be no more such two people in Lin'an.

There are many more examples like this.

Newlyweds were separated, family heirlooms were stolen, and even the seeds prepared for spring could not be saved...

Not only did the Jurchens plunder, but the Song people did the same.

Whenever it was time to pay annual tribute to the Jurchens, the imperial court could not raise enough silver, so it resorted to extorting and levying heavy taxes on the people below.

If the harvest is sufficient, then the harvest is collected normally; if the harvest is insufficient, then the troops are sent to plunder.

Whether the common people suffer or not is irrelevant to them. As long as they can collect enough money to satisfy the Jurchens and exchange their servility for not having to fight, that is enough.

Apart from the annual tribute, the people would be plundered on the emperor's birthday and during various sacrificial ceremonies to Heaven.

The characters "Fu Song" appear utterly comical against the backdrop of this scene displayed on the sky.

Where exactly does wealth come from?

The people had barely had time to recover when you turned around and robbed them of all their property.

It's like harvesting chives; you can't wait to harvest them as soon as they sprout.

Can a country's common people be considered rich while wealthy families, gentry, and the emperor are considered rich?

"The Jurchens, who were at the very bottom of the Jin dynasty, could still act arrogantly and domineeringly in the Song dynasty, hehe..."

Although the list of tyrannical rulers had already appeared once before, Liu Bang still couldn't help but feel angry when he saw it again.

"This suddenly reminded me of something."

Liu Che had a sudden realization.

“The envoys I send to other small countries also act arrogantly and domineeringly. Their biggest task is to offend other countries, and it would be best if they died or disappeared in other countries, so that I could have a reason to send troops.”

"If that's the case, then I don't quite understand."

"Was the unified dynasty at that time the Jin Dynasty or the Song Dynasty?"

Zhao Kuangyin: "..."

His old face was already as black as the bottom of a pot.

It wasn't because of others' ridicule, but rather because Liu Che's words reminded him of something.

Under these circumstances, can the Song Dynasty still be considered a unified dynasty?

At this point, who was the legitimate ruler: the Jin Dynasty or the Song Dynasty?

He devoted himself to building the empire and painstakingly amassed the imperial robe, only to have the Jurchens ride roughshod over the Central Plains in the end?

"But Emperor Wu of Han, under your rule, the Han Dynasty could destroy a country simply by sending troops. But what about the Jurchens?"

"Even if Yue Fei is dead, even if Zhao Gou, that coward, were to go to war, even if the Song Dynasty could not win, the Jurchens would have to pay a huge price if they wanted to invade the south."

"Considering the gains and losses, the Jin people are unlikely to launch a strong attack in the short term."

"He was simply cowardly, which made the Jurchens think that the Song Dynasty was weak and easy to bully."

"Once such a reputation spreads, the Jurchens, who are at the bottom of the Jurchen kingdom, will naturally be willing to come to the Song Dynasty to act arrogantly and domineeringly!"