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

"...Is that so?"

Yang Jian blinked.

"That's right, that's correct."

"Yang Yong was also lustful and extravagant. Perhaps he was not as ambitious but incompetent as Yang Guang, but the outcome would probably not have been any different."

"After all, in the early Sui Dynasty, a mediocre emperor could not intimidate the heroes of the land."

Li Er nodded.

In his view, only a top-tier emperor could stabilize the Sui Dynasty after Emperor Wen of Sui.

Ultimately, the most important reason lies in the imperial examination system that Yang Jian planned to implement!

Even the most brilliant and ambitious emperors in the past could only weaken the power of the aristocratic families and slightly reduce their share of the spoils.

However, the imperial examination system was tantamount to directly undermining the foundation of aristocratic families!

Naturally, this will also provoke their full-scale counterattack!

The fault did not lie with Yang Guang.

Or rather, it wasn't just Yang Guang, nor was it the so-called meritocracy that favored the virtuous over the eldest son.

Neither Yang Yong nor Yang Guang had the ability to suppress the powerful clans of the land, so the fall of the Sui Dynasty was to be expected.

What matters is not whether one is tall or not, nor whether one is lustful or extravagant, but rather one's ability!

If Yang Guang possessed the abilities of Emperor Wen and Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, even if he were more lustful and tyrannical, as long as he could suppress the gentry and intimidate the heroes of the land, the Sui Dynasty would still be as stable as Mount Tai.

Without such ability, even if Yang Yong were appointed as emperor, and even if Yang Yong did nothing wrong, the Sui Dynasty would still perish.

"Indeed, Yang Jian, what matters most is ability."

“Look at this, if Emperor Gaozu had initially chosen Emperor Wen, Liu Heng, as his crown prince, then…”

Zhu Di wanted to agree with Li Er's point of view.

However, the next moment, Zhao Kuangyin splashed a bucket of cold water on him, waking him up.

"If Emperor Gaozu had not initially chosen Liu Ying as his crown prince, then, barring any unforeseen circumstances, Emperor Wen would not have lived to ascend the throne."

"Forgot? After Emperor Gaozu passed away, it wasn't the emperor who held power, but Empress Lü!"

Empress Lü, who invented the torture of turning people into pigs, could she tolerate Liu Bang making the offspring of other concubines the crown prince?

Don't forget that at that time, the nobles of Pei County were all part of Empress Lü's faction. Whether it was Xiao He or Fan Kuai, as soon as Liu Bang died, they stood behind Lü Zhi.

"In the end, choosing the eldest son might not bring any merit, but at least it will prevent any mistakes!"

"Besides, what do you mean by that, fourth son? Do you want any other options besides the eldest son?"

No one knows a son better than his father, and Old Zhu keenly perceived the hidden meaning in Zhu Di's words.

This kid seems to be thinking of deposing the eldest son and establishing a virtuous one!

"Do you want to get beaten up or not?"

"Deposing the eldest son and establishing a worthy successor may not seem like a problem to you, but it has a very significant impact on future generations."

"Once you set this precedent, the struggle for the crown prince position will be a bloodbath from now on!"

"Hasn't the old path of the Li Tang dynasty awakened you yet?"

"Li Er used the Xuanwu Gate ascension method, and his descendants all followed suit."

"Your Jingnan campaign can be explained somewhat, but your plan to depose the eldest son and install a worthy one means that the Ming Dynasty will perish in your hands."

"In short, we will write the principle of primogeniture, not meritocracy, into our ancestral precepts. Whether you listen to it or not is up to you."

Old Zhu's tone became more serious at this moment.

We must learn from history and draw lessons from it!

Throughout history, those who depose the eldest son and install a worthy successor have never had a good ending!

"Understood, Father, don't worry."

"If the eldest brother really can't do it, then I still have a good grandson. Since you all say so, then I won't hesitate!"

Zhu Di thought for a moment and nodded.

Zhu Gaoxu: "?"

what happened?

I just told him a while ago that the Crown Prince was in poor health and that he should encourage him more!

How come in just a few words, it's back to the idea that there's still a good grandson?

How old is that little brat Zhu Zhanji now?

"Second son, there's nothing your father can do. What can I do when I have an older father?"

Zhu Di wasn't stupid; he could certainly sense Zhu Gaoxu's emotions.

Fortunately, there's now a scapegoat.

He happened to be struggling with this issue himself, and his father happened to step forward and take the blame for it!

Even this reasoning left Zhu Gaoxu speechless.

Emperor Taizu, whose grandfather decreed that the eldest son should be chosen over the most virtuous, even wanted to include this in the ancestral precepts.

What other objections could he possibly have?

If one were to utter a single word of dissent, wouldn't that be going against ancestral teachings?

Zhu Zhanji, who was standing to the side, was overjoyed.

Who says you can't get something for nothing?

This huge windfall just fell into my mouth like that!

Seeing their lively discussion, Li Er only found them noisy.

Old Zhu's words just now revealed something.

His Xuanwu Gate succession method had a great influence on the later generations of the Li Tang dynasty!

This was his biggest worry, and unexpectedly, it actually came true!

"Have I really done something wrong?"

"No, if we can change this mindset starting with Chengqian's generation, perhaps everything can still be salvaged!"

Just as Li Er made up his mind, the challenge scene appeared on the sky.

The time had come for Liu Bang and others.

Just when the remaining aristocratic families in various prefectures and counties did not rush to raise troops, but instead began to subtly unite.

When Guanqiu Jian sensed something was wrong, he submitted a memorial hoping the emperor would take note of this threat.

While Jiang Wei led the Han army to continuously expand their victories near Tianshui.

A group of dozens of people secretly escorted several people to the capital.

"Ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous!"

"The Emperor of Eastern Wu would actually hand us over to that little emperor!"

"Could it be that the two had some prior connection? Surely the emperor of Eastern Wu couldn't be said to be working for that little emperor too!?"

"Isn't this world absurd?!"

Even with a rag stuffed in his mouth, Sima Zhao continued to growl incessantly, regardless of whether others could understand him.

Zhong Hui: "..."

My lord, save your spirit. You'll be meeting the emperor soon, so instead of cursing here, wait until then and show some backbone to curse him a few more times. That way, you'll die a glorious death!

Jia Chong: "..."

Sir, are you still struggling?

In retrospect, we've been in the palm of that little emperor's hand all along.

Even the path to Eastern Wu might have been deliberately lured by that young emperor.

We're all at different levels, so losing isn't a big loss!

Sima Zhao: "?"

"Why don't you say anything?"

"Or are you preparing to grovel before that little emperor?"

"Are you still retainers of the Sima family?"

"You wouldn't be planning to betray us, would you?"

The two remained silent, but their escorts were growing increasingly impatient with the noise.

Someone immediately came up and slapped him unconscious.

"He's rambling on and on with a lot of nonsense that I can't understand. He should just wait to die. All this noise every night is annoying!"

Zhong Hui and Jia Chong: "..."

It's quiet now!

When Sima Zhao regained his senses and opened his eyes, he saw the familiar face of the young emperor.

"Lord Sima, it's been a long time. Why have you been hiding in Eastern Wu? Am I really that scary?"