What Would History's Founding Emperors Say to the Emperors Who Lost Their Dynasties?
When they saw their wives and concubines staring intently at the men dancing on the sky screen, the Confucian scholars, officials, and landlord gentry grew angry. They began denouncing the men of later generations and lecturing their wives and concubines.
They had completely forgotten how they themselves had looked just moments ago.
Some empress dowagers, empresses, and princesses thought the dances and music of later generations were quite good and could be emulated.
[If history's founding emperors met the emperors who lost their dynasties, what would they say? #History]
At the sight of the title, some people had a bad feeling again.
Some founding emperors looked grim, while others appeared at ease.
They already knew why the dynasties they had founded had fallen.
If they were really made to speak with the emperors who had lost their dynasties, two emperors, one surnamed Ying and the other Yang, who declined to give their names, would have wanted nothing more than to beat their fine sons to death.
["If history's founding emperors met the emperors who lost their dynasties, what would they say?"]
["Next, let's imagine it together, based on the personalities of those founding emperors."]
["First is the First Emperor of Qin. He would be shocked, because he couldn't believe that the Great Qin Dynasty, which generations of his ancestors had fought so desperately to build, was destroyed by the very next generation."]
["Given the First Emperor of Qin's personality, he would surely be furious. With the Qin Dynasty as it was then, even if he were gone and the people harbored anti-Qin sentiments, as long as the old ministers who had helped conquer the realm were still there, the nobles of the Six States wouldn't have been able to stir up much trouble."]
["But who could have imagined that brat Hu Hai wouldn't spare a single one of them!"]
["Since you, unfilial son, showed no regard for your bonds with your brothers, don't blame your imperial father for showing you no mercy."]
["By the time he finished speaking, the great saber in his hand would already be thirsting for blood."]
The First Emperor of Qin's world.
"Showed no regard for his brothers and didn't spare a single one of them—what does that mean? Could it be..." The First Emperor of Qin narrowed his eyes as a possibility occurred to him.
The old ministers who had helped conquer the realm and his sons had all died while Hu Hai was emperor.
The one who had done it was none other than Hu Hai.
That brat Hu Hai couldn't be allowed to live!
The Second Emperor of Qin's world.
Hu Hai suddenly felt a chill on his neck and said resentfully, "Sky screen, all you do is cause me trouble. Wouldn't it be better to bring out those beauties and let me and everyone else under heaven watch some more?"
["Next is the conversation between Liu Bang and Emperor Xian of Han. Given Liu Bang's personality, he wouldn't criticize Emperor Xian of Han too harshly, since he understood the emperor's circumstances."]
["My child, the fall of the Han Dynasty cannot be blamed on you alone. After all, you had no choice but to take the throne. As a youth, you were held captive by Dong Zhuo. You finally escaped that den of evil, only to fall under the control of the two scoundrels Li and Guo. Though you were the Son of Heaven, you couldn't even be sure of having enough food and clothing. At last, someone came to rescue you, but who would have thought you'd enter a wolf's den instead? You were held captive all your life."]
["Even if you wanted to restore the glory of your ancestors, how could that have been easy? Abdicating the throne may have been the best outcome for the Great Han."]
Emperor Xian of Han's world.
"Gaozu!" Emperor Xian of Han, Liu Xie, burst into tears.
["Sima Yan of the Jin Dynasty might say: Are these really all my descendants? That makes no sense! What sin did my Sima Household Lineage commit to deserve this?"]
["Emperor Wen of Sui might say to Yang Guang: Well, you brat, you hid it well enough! You completely fooled your mother and me. You schemed so hard and put on quite a show before your mother and me. A muddleheaded ruler with wicked intentions like you dares call yourself an emperor for the ages? You became emperor, unfilial son, but you care only for yourself, not the realm."]
["You built detached palaces and the Grand Canal, caring only for your own pleasure and giving no thought to the people of the realm. You conscripted a million troops from across the realm and invaded Goguryeo three times, yet you couldn't take that tiny patch of land. Defeating many with few takes ability; defeating few with many depends on a nation's strength; but failing to defeat few with many is the mark of an incompetent."]
["After saying that, he slapped Yang Guang hard across the face."]
Emperor Wen of Sui's world.
"What? Emperor Yang of Sui wasn't Yong'er, but Guang'er!" Yang Jian was shocked.
He had always thought Emperor Yang of Sui was his eldest son, Yang Yong. He had never expected it to be his second son, Yang Guang.
From what he had said to Yang Guang on the sky screen, he could clearly tell what his second son had done after becoming emperor.
He had certainly earned the title of Emperor Yang of Sui.
["Li Yuan of the Tang Dynasty might say: My child, you cannot be blamed for the rise and fall of the Great Tang. You were pushed into becoming emperor against your will. Though you held the exalted title of Son of Heaven, you had no real power at all. You were a puppet all your life, living in fear every day, yet you still came to a tragic end. The fall of the Great Tang was not your fault."]
["Lately, I've often recalled how the myriad nations came to pay tribute during the Zhenguan era. No matter what, our Great Tang was glorious and powerful at least, and once stood at the summit of the world. As for its merits and faults, rights and wrongs, let later generations judge."]
Yang Jian: "Li Yuan, is that him? Or is it someone with the same name?"
Yang Guang: "It must be him, the traitor!"
Li Shimin: "It seems I must have done quite well as emperor! Why do I feel it would be more fitting for me to say those words to the emperor who lost the dynasty?"
["Zhao Kuangyin of the Song Dynasty might say: Disgraceful, an enormous disgrace! How could my Great Song have spineless cowards like you? Well done, Emperor Huizong of Song! When the Jin troops reached the city walls, not only did you refuse to fight, you threw down your responsibilities and quit, even putting on a show of abdicating. Does a pathetic pushover like you deserve to rule a nation? I must have been blind to let someone like you become emperor. Was dying really so hard for you? A ruler, treated as a plaything by foreign invaders—you've utterly disgraced the title of emperor! What an enormous disgrace!"]
["The longer Zhao Kuangyin held back, the more aggrieved he felt; the more he yielded, the angrier he became. 'Guards, beat this unfilial son to death!'"]
["After saying that, he left, still unwilling to let the matter rest."]
The emperors of the Song Dynasty all looked grim.
Especially the emperors of the Southern Song.
They didn't want to speak of that humiliating chapter of history again.
If Emperor Huizong was the emperor who had lost the dynasty, what did that make them, the Great Song emperors in the south?
The people of later generations were wrong.
The Great Song still existed; it had certainly not fallen under Emperor Huizong.
Besides, Emperor Huizong wasn't even descended from Taizu's line!
["Kublai of the Yuan Dynasty might say: When you live by the sword, sooner or later you have to pay. My child, the fall of the Yuan Dynasty was not your fault. At least you once made an effort, gave it thought, and tried to save it. That is enough. We came from the grasslands in the first place, so there's nothing wrong with going back now."]
["After saying that, he would take Emperor Shun of Yuan by the hand, and they would spur their horses toward the grasslands."]
Emperor Shun of Yuan: "Would going back to the grasslands be nice too?"
["On meeting the Chongzhen Emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang might say: My Great Ming fell in the end after all. When I think of the hardships of building it from nothing—with a bowl and a few grains of rice, enduring all manner of scorn for a bite to eat—even under those circumstances, didn't I still bring peace to the realm? Only then did the Great Ming become prosperous and flourishing."]
["Now look at you. As an emperor and the ruler of a nation, you couldn't even deal with a rabble. How do you have the face to call yourself my descendant?"]