After broadcasting the ancient times live, I handed the system over to the state.

Ying Zheng thought that since he invented the word 'emperor,' future rulers, if not wise and mighty, would at least have some unique qualities. Now, he certainly had enough uniqueness.

An emperor who was a carpenter... Will the next emperor raise chickens and ducks?

For a moment, he didn't want to share the word 'emperor' with them.

Ying Zheng had no idea that there would be someone who would eventually end the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai. If he had known, Mount Tai's status in his mind would probably have dropped even further.

Liu Bang never expected that later emperors would be so good at creating humor. He was itching to see those thin pieces of paper, and then he saw how many funny things happened with the Kang family, although each of them had their own difficulties.

The thought of having to face Lü Zhi's long face when he got back gave Liu Bang a real headache.

Zhu Qinggu quickly finished explaining the origin of Zhu Youxiao's nickname "Carpenter Emperor," but there wasn't much to say about that, and she immediately moved on to the next point.

He quickly started writing on the blackboard.

"Many people have sent me private messages saying they want to hear about this controversial emperor, so I'll talk about him today. However, I may not be able to explain it as well or in as much detail, since our live stream is mainly for entertainment."

Zhu Qinggu put down the chalk in his hand, and everyone saw the newly written words on the blackboard: Immortal Cultivation Master, Longevity Daoist Lord.

"He was the longest-reigning emperor of the Ming Dynasty, and he was also jokingly called the Ming Dynasty's non-stick pan and master of political intrigue—the Jiajing Emperor!"

"He was Zhu Houcong, the cousin of Emperor Wuzong of Ming."

"When Emperor Wuzong died, he had no children, so the officials welcomed the princes to the capital to inherit the imperial line. Zhu Houcong, who never thought he would become emperor, became emperor in this way."

"I think he was a very intelligent emperor. At that time, the cabinet was full of geniuses, a group of elites with the highest IQs. Looking at thousands of years, they were still very powerful. You could say that they were all shrewd people. But Emperor Jiajing was able to manipulate them at will."

"But the Jiajing Emperor was also a great pity. He was extremely intelligent and mastered the art of imperial power, but he was also extremely selfish. He only cared about himself and not the people."

Zhu Qinggu did feel it was a pity. What couldn't someone like Zhu Houcong accomplish? But his becoming emperor was a disaster.

The emperors depicted on the heavens are either praised, criticized, or made to look ridiculous. Such contradictory evaluations inevitably piqued the curiosity of people from previous dynasties, who wondered what kind of emperor he really was.

Zhu Yuanzhang narrowed his eyes. "Another vassal king?"

Zhu Di quickly shrank back, but he was also mentally prepared to be beaten. However, this time Zhu Yuanzhang did not beat him, but instead focused on the Jiajing Emperor, who was extremely contradictory, on the sky.

"Jiajing was known as a Taoist master and a walking elixir master. Since ancient times, many emperors, after gaining power, wanted to pursue immortality, so they began to cultivate immortality and take elixirs. However, many emperors killed themselves by taking elixirs."

"According to unofficial history, Emperor Zhenzong of Song took elixirs and even made his son, Emperor Renzong of Song, take them with him. The mercury in the elixirs made Emperor Renzong infertile. This is just unofficial history!"

"However, none of these are as crazy as Jiajing. Jiajing took drugs for decades without any problems. On the contrary, he reigned for 45 years, and for more than 20 years he took drugs in the harem, did not attend court, and did not wear dragon robes, but wore Taoist robes, but was still able to control the entire court."

"Therefore, he was also the most controversial emperor of the Ming Dynasty."

"In the sixteenth year of the Zhengde reign, Zhu Houcong's cousin, Zhu Houzhao, drowned. After this incident, we jokingly said that the emperors of the Ming Dynasty were easily dissolved in water." Zhu Qinggu chuckled at this point.

"Not only did some Ming emperors fall into the water, but others were burned, or they were strangled by palace maids and then fell into the water. Looking at the whole picture, it is strange to find that these emperors who had accidents seem to be emperors that the cultural management group did not like."

The civil service infighting in the Ming Dynasty began as early as the time of Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang.

[It's because too many nobles died at Tumu Fortress, and later the military generals couldn't suppress the power of the civil officials.]

It's said that warriors are arrogant and fierce, but when scholars wield power, they're like silently planting a termite in their own home.

The factional strife during the Northern Song Dynasty was intense, and the factional strife in the mid-to-late Ming Dynasty should not be underestimated.

[I want to mention the one whose water was too cold and whose scalp was too itchy.]

……

Emperor Jiajing sat upright on the futon, his face expressionless, showing neither joy nor sorrow. Even as Tianmu spoke to him, his expression remained largely unchanged.

Zhang Juzheng looked at the sky and thought of Emperor Shizong. When Emperor Shizong looked at him, you could never know what he was thinking. He was a very difficult person to understand. Even now, two dynasties later, many old ministers still felt a little scared of Emperor Shizong.

"Soluble in water? I have so many attendants around me, how could they possibly fall into the water?" Zhu Houzhao smirked, then noticed the part of the emperor that the civil officials disliked, and chuckled strangely. "These people just have too many hands. Let me cut off their hands, or let me see how Houcong does it..."

Zhu Houzhao didn't care much about what would happen after his death, even though his cousin eventually ascended the throne.

Isn't he still here? And the sky has appeared too.

With such power in his hands, what is there to fear?

Cousin, you should just focus on cultivating immortality!

"Slander! This is slander! Tianmu has slandered emperors of other dynasties before, so this is naturally slander as well!" Some civil officials who were offended by Zhu Qinggu's words cursed.

Yan Shifan snorted coldly, but Yan Song waved his hand and said, "Donglou, you don't understand. The fact that the sky is exposed only highlights our loyalty as father and son. If the Emperor doesn't have us, who will help him? Xu Jie? Or who?"

"After all, we weren't the ones who did those things..." Yan Song added meaningfully.

Yan Shifan immediately understood and then looked at the sky with a smile.

“Civil officials… Hmph!” Old Zhu exuded a murderous aura. “These scholars all think we can rely on them to govern the country, but there are so many scholars in the world. At worst, we can just kill another group.”

“Father, there are also people who are loyal to the country. We must not kill them all at once, lest we discourage our ministers. We can just follow the rules.” Zhu Biao’s words seemed amicable.

But Zhu Yuanzhang was very satisfied, saying, "Our Biao is still the best."

Few officials in the world are without fault. Following the rules is enough to make those who are unruly shrink back and work obediently for the Zhu family!

The others nearby also felt a chill. Didn't they know their father's temper and personality? They said one thing, but wouldn't they just skin him alive and bleed him dry in the end?

Even their sons have to be on their guard, let alone those other people.