What If Liu Shan's Soul Entered Zhao Gou's Body? The Underestimated Emperor

[Li Shimin became Liu Shan, and Zhao Gou became Li Shimin. So who became Zhao Gou?]

[Adou became Zhao Gou.]

[There's a video!]

[What if Liu Shan's soul entered Zhao Gou's body? #LiuShan]

"The Later Han's last ruler's soul entered my body?"

Zhao Gou couldn't imagine it. Given Great Song's current situation, if Liu Adou became him, the country would soon fall!

["What if Liu Shan's soul entered Zhao Gou's body?"]

["My Later Han only had Sichuan and Shu, but this Zhao Gou fellow has half the realm! If only my father-chancellor were here."]

["With that, he asked Yang Yizhong at his side, 'Doesn't every age of chaos have someone like Marquis Wu Zhuge? Who in Great Song today is like Marquis Wu Zhuge?'"]

["Drenched in sweat, Yang Yizhong replied, 'His Memorial on Dispatching the Troops earned him true renown; through the ages, who could stand beside him as his equal? There has been only one Marquis Wu Zhuge in all the ages.'"]

["Only then did Liu Shan realize that someone like his father-chancellor didn't come as standard in every age of chaos!"]

People and warlords living in ages of chaos: We'd like to find a Zhuge Liang too. Where do we pick one up?

Zhuge Liang: In the eyes of later generations, I, Liang, am so important to His Majesty.

["At court, the pro-war and pro-peace factions were locked in a shouting match. For a moment, Liu Shan was at a loss too. If only Father-Chancellor were here, Liu Shan thought, rubbing his head."]

["Then, thinking of his father-chancellor, inspiration struck Liu Shan. He smiled. 'Every minister is to give an assessment of Chancellor Zhuge's northern expeditions.'"]

["As soon as the court had finished its discussion, Liu Shan slapped the table and stood up. 'The ministers who said he aimed too high, ignored reality, and squandered the nation's strength—drag them out. Send the one who called the chancellor a power-hungry minister straight to the Ministry of Justice. The one who said the chancellor was his idol, come here.'"]

["'What was your name again? Yue Fei, right? You want to launch a northern expedition? Tell me this: if we committed the strength of the entire nation, where should we send the troops from?'"]

["Yue Fei was taken aback. He hadn't expected the emperor to ask that question. He studied the map and pondered for a while. 'We should divide our troops into three forces. One should march from Xiangyang and take Luoyang. Another should march from Luzhou and press toward Su Province, Xu Province, and the surrounding areas, supporting the others from afar. The remaining force should march from Li Province and strike at Chang'an.'"]

["Yue Fei gestured over the map as though he had already returned to his army camp. 'The Jin State is nothing to fear. The people of the Central Plains have suffered and waited long for the imperial army. During previous northern expeditions, rebel forces rallied to our banner in great numbers, and the people lined the roads to welcome us. This shows that the Jin people's footing is not yet secure. With all three forces advancing together, we can shake the world. The day we retake the Central Plains will soon be upon us!'"]

["Liu Shan didn't understand military affairs, but when he saw the places Yue Fei pointed out, he suddenly remembered what his father-chancellor had once said: 'Send the army of Jing Province toward Wan and Luo, and lead the forces of Yi Province out into Qinchuan.'"]

["Liu Shan asked again, 'How did your previous northern expedition fare?'"]

["Yue Fei raised his head and answered, 'Last year, Great Song's forces reached Zhuxian Town.'"]

["Liu Shan stared in astonishment at the place on the map, deep in the Jin State's heartland. 'Yue Fei, hear my decree. As of this day, I appoint you military governor of Wusheng Dingguo, grand commandant, junior guardian, and holder of a personal office with honors equal to the three chief ministers. You shall command the troops of all circuits and oversee all military affairs for the northern expedition. A general in the field need not obey every order from his sovereign; General Yue, act as you see fit. If you find capable people, recommend them promptly. I shall await your triumphant return.'"]

["Adou was familiar with this arrangement."]

Hearing those words, Zhuge Liang in one plane twitched at the corner of his eye.

["Tears welled in Yue Fei's eyes. Choking with emotion, he said, 'I accept your decree. I wish to follow Marquis Wu's example, bending my back to the task and giving my all until my dying day.'"]

In Emperor Gaozong of Song's plane, Yue Fei watched the 2D animated characters in the sky screen, and a thought arose in his heart: If the last ruler of Shu Han became His Majesty, that would be wonderful!

Yue Fei wasn't the only one. Many common people in the Song Dynasty planes thought the same.

But many others remained skeptical. Was Liu Shan, the last ruler of Shu Han who had been too happy to miss Shu, really as the sky screen described him?

Some emperors even said, "Giving that man called Yue Fei so much power—wasn't he afraid Yue Fei would rebel?"

[Adou wasn't that capable, was he?]

[That depends on who you compare him with.]

[Picking a general from among the short men.]

[Compare people and one would die of shame; compare goods and one would have to be thrown away.]

[Adou's greatest virtue was that he listened!]

[Even a dog on a leash would be better than Zhao Gou!]

When Zhao Gou saw that comment, he spat out a mouthful of blood and fainted.

In their different planes, Liu Shan, Liu Bei, and Zhuge Liang each had different thoughts after watching the video and reading the comments.

Liu Shan: So I was that capable!

Liu Bei: Although Adou failed to revive the Han house in the end, compared with that Zhao emperor of later generations, my Adou was still quite good!

Zhuge Liang was already so moved that his eyes had grown moist.

[The underestimated emperor: Liu Shan, the last ruler of Shu Han #documentary]

"Why Liu Shan again?"

"I was just thinking I'd like to see how he was underestimated! How was he better than that Zhao Gou of later generations?"

["Few people know that, in the four or five hundred years after the Three Kingdoms, the longest-reigning emperor was Xiao Yan, and the second longest-reigning was the last ruler, Liu Shan."]

["If he had been an incompetent ruler, his ministers would have played him to death long ago, as they did in neighboring Eastern Wu and Cao Wei."]

Eastern Wu and Cao Wei: Isn't it rude to put it like that?

["When Liu Shan learned of Zhuge Liang's death, he immediately did several things. First, he forbade everyone from attending the funeral and had Zhuge Liang's remains buried where he had died. At the same time, he held no state funeral and granted him no posthumous title."]

["This looked ungrateful, but in reality he wanted to keep the negative impact to a minimum."]

["At the time, the State of Shu's great army was still away. If someone had seized the chance to rebel, Liu Shan would have been completely helpless."]

["So only after the Shu army returned to Chengdu did Liu Shan posthumously grant Zhuge Liang the title Marquis Zhongwu."]

["Immediately afterward, he abolished the office of chancellor and appointed Jiang Wan grand marshal and Fei Yi general-in-chief. This effectively split Zhuge Liang's power in two, allowing the civil and military officials to keep each other in check and ensuring the stability of his throne."]

["After all, not everyone was willing, as Zhuge Liang had been, to bend their back to the task and give their all until their dying day. He promoted Zhao Yun's son Zhao Tong to commander of the Tiger Guards, effectively making him the captain of the emperor's bodyguards and ensuring his personal safety."]

["Liu Shan was in no hurry to take personal control of the government either. Instead, he continued to leave power in the hands of Jiang Wan and Fei Yi, while he toured Dujiangyan, making his presence known to the common people and cultivating his own political power. Only then was he able to take power smoothly after Jiang Wan's death. Every decision was full of political wisdom that many emperors could never learn in their entire lives."]

["The historical records also recognized Liu Shan's abilities. The Book of Jin considered him slightly inferior to Duke Huan of Qi, while Chen Shou considered him an above-average ruler in the Records of the Three Kingdoms."]

["Liu Shan certainly couldn't be counted as an emperor without equal through the ages, but he was definitely the gatekeeper of enlightened rulers."]

["Imagine pulling more than five hundred of China's emperors in for an exam. You see that Adou scored only sixty, and you're just about to laugh at him when you discover the average is only forty. His deskmate Zhu Youxiao has a paper with a score in the twenties and is doing carpentry work. Not to mention the group of Yuan Dynasty emperors still standing outside the classroom: they can't read the words on their admission tickets, and to this day they still haven't found the exam room."]

Zhu Youxiao: I can't even compare to Liu Shan.

Zhu Yuanzhang: An emperor doing carpentry? A descendant of that rebellious son Zhu Di... good, good, good.

After being driven to anger who knew how many times in such a short span, Zhu Yuanzhang was beginning to grow immune to it.

Emperors throughout the ages: Which emperors were worse than Liu Shan?