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

Although he was insignificant to the dynasty at that time, he was still herding cattle.

But in the end, these officials were not much different from him when he was herding cattle for landlords.

They were all herding cattle for others, and they didn't get much benefit for themselves; they could barely make ends meet.

Since the cow isn't his, he'll naturally slack off.

This world doesn't belong to those officials, so naturally they will become lax, corrupt, and selfish.

That's how people are; even Old Zhu himself couldn't escape it, so naturally he couldn't expect others to do the same.

"The small things reveal the big picture; that's the way of the world."

"Although Lao Zhu's words are shocking, they may actually be one of the solutions."

"If it's not our own property, we won't feel the slightest bit of heartache when dividing it up, and we won't have any thought of fighting to the death against foreign enemies."

"If they could turn this land into their own, then at least the voices advocating peace or even surrender at the end of the dynasty would be much smaller."

After all, back then, surrendering meant sacrificing their own cattle.

Selling someone else's cow and selling your own cow have completely different meanings!

The courage required to make that decision is hundreds of times greater!

"Emperor Wen, even you say so?"

Zhao Kuangyin was at a loss for words.

It's one thing for Old Zhu to go crazy, but you, Liu Heng, also have to stand up and go crazy with him.

There's a difference of thousands of years between you, don't you have a generation gap?

"I only said that Lao Zhu's speculation makes sense, but I didn't say that we should do what he said."

"After all, that's tantamount to handing over the heavy responsibility of governing the country to the officials in the court. Whether the country is good or bad is up to them."

"What if they're purely evil? What if they don't care about their own things either? What if they're just utterly mediocre, wanting to do something but unable to?"

"It might be a solution, but there are still many variables."

"Old Zhu, I only have one question for you."

"Would you rather hand these variables over to your subordinates, or keep them in your own hands?"

It's in your own hands; whether the dynasty rises or falls, it's your own decision.

Although the responsibility is heavy, it is a matter of success or failure. All decisions are made by oneself, and even if one fails, it is still acceptable.

However, if it were handed over to lower-level officials, the dynasty would eventually come to an end due to the selfishness of a few or simply the incompetence of a few.

Liu Heng felt that, given Zhu Yuanzhang's temperament, the entire Ming Dynasty should be slaughtered from top to bottom!

"What Emperor Wen said is indeed correct. Your suggestion, Old Zhu, certainly has some merit, but that is tantamount to handing a knife to the ministers. How they do it, and whether they can do it well, will be beyond their control."

Is this really the situation you wanted to see?

This is the biggest contradiction.

If placed in the hands of those selfish civil officials and gentry, no one can guarantee what they will accomplish.

What if this world really does become theirs, and some of them become even more brazen?

After all, there are differences between the larger family and the individual family.

If there are no people to restrain them, should we really expect each of them to be a saint?

"I was just saying it casually. If these guys were really in charge, the world would really be in chaos."

Old Zhu scratched his head, looking a little embarrassed.

That was a really bad idea.

"After Emperor Gaozu finishes this challenge, perhaps we can ask for his opinion."

"With his insight, he should be able to discover something."

"Perhaps he will give us the answer."

Li Er's attention returned to the sky.

After Li Zicheng's defeat and death, and after the annihilation of the Qing army, this challenge no longer posed any difficulty for Liu Bang.

To put it bluntly, the Southern Ming Dynasty, plagued by internal strife, was nothing but a spineless coward.

Zhang Xianzhong, who was not even a backbone, took the initiative to accept Liu Bang's overtures and accepted the mission to pursue and annihilate Dorgon.

It can be said that the final surrender is only a little bit of time away from being confirmed.

As for the Southern Ming dynasty, Han Xin's saying that sharpening the axe doesn't delay the work of chopping wood is true.

Even though Xiang Yu was unstoppable in his advance, whenever he encountered a city, he would always be the first to charge and breach its walls.

However, his forces numbered only 20,000, and he didn't have a good way to deal with the cities he had already captured.

The situation of abandoning them and then having them surrender and rebel again has occurred repeatedly.

In addition, there were people along the way whom Han Xin deliberately sent to pretend to be commoners and cause trouble.

After a series of setbacks, Xiang Yu finally discovered that attacking the city actually took the least amount of time!

In contrast, Han Xin recruited his own troops without much training or demanding that his soldiers be too elite.

The only purpose of those hastily assembled men was to leave some behind after each victory to ensure there would be no problems behind them.

By not giving Southern Ming generals the opportunity to surrender and then rebel again, there was naturally no need to worry about the future.

"I don't even know how to express my feelings anymore."

"Was it Han Xin's skill that was superior, or was Xiang Yu's bravery that was excessive?"

"Why does it seem like these two sides are advancing at almost the same speed?"

Han Xin spent more time attacking cities, while Xiang Yu spent more time on marches.

However, their progress was not much different.

"Indeed, the one who understands you best is always your opponent."

"Han Xin knew from the beginning that if it was just a matter of speed in conquering cities and seizing territory, then probably no one could beat Xiang Ji, not even him."

"Xiang Ji, who encountered a lot of trouble among the people during this process, probably also realized that this was the work of Han Xin."

"However, Xiang Ji couldn't solve this problem. He couldn't distinguish between ordinary people and those sent by Han Xin, so he could only treat them all the same."

To be honest, given Xiang Yu's past temper, he probably would have charged straight ahead without a care in the world, regardless of whether it would scatter the civilians or cause casualties.

Unfortunately, Liu Bang had already set the tone for this fair competition, which should not harm the common people.

He knew that Han Xin's troops had infiltrated these people, and if he disregarded the fact that the people were harmed, it would be tantamount to handing over a handle to Han Xin.

Even if the Southern Ming is destroyed first, as long as this incriminating evidence is used against him, he will still lose.

"I reckon Xiang Ji is probably tingling with rage right now. He's incredibly agitated, but he can't vent it."

"These Southern Ming generals were really unlucky. They ran into the hot-tempered Xiang Ji, who also completely enraged Han Xin."

"Faced with such an opponent, the best option for the Southern Ming generals would be to obediently surrender the moment they met."

"Once war breaks out, there may not even be a chance to surrender."

The frustration felt by the common people who blocked their way would be fully unleashed by the Southern Ming generals.