Chapter Summaries

A sky-screen video recounted Lü Zhi’s hardships under Liu Bang and how his treatment drove her toward political scheming, prompting people across the dynasties to reconsider her actions. The chapter left Lü Zhi and Liu Bang watching the account while viewers debated her cruelty toward Lady Qi.

• A sky-screen video criticized Zhu Di for usurping the throne, rewriting history, and damaging Zhu Biao’s legacy, leaving Zhu Di furious and Zhu Biao alarmed about his descendants.
• Viewers debated whether Zhu Di would have rebelled if Zhu Biao had lived and discussed how Zhu Di changed his birth record and Zhu Biao’s posthumous title.
• A new video asked what Lü Zhi had endured, and Lü Zhi and Liu Bang watched it together.
• The video described Lü Zhi’s imprisonment, years apart from Liu Bang, captivity as Xiang Yu’s hostage, and Liu Bang’s refusal to rescue her at the cost of a battle.
• The video recounted how Liu Bang made Lü Zhi pay respects to Lady Qi and had repeatedly pushed their children off his carriage, after which Lü Zhi turned toward political scheming.
• Viewers argued that Lü Zhi’s cruelty toward Lady Qi was understandable because Lady Qi had threatened Lü Zhi’s child and Lü Zhi had suffered greatly.

The heavenly screen compared Liu Bang and Zhu Yuanzhang’s treatment of the wives who supported them, then discussed the conflict between the Liu and Lü households and provoked shock with a ruthless hypothetical. It then asked who would belong among the Ten Philosophers of the Martial Temple of Emperors and began listing candidates, leaving Liu Che wondering whether he would qualify.

• The heavenly screen contrasted Liu Bang’s treatment of Lü Zhi with Zhu Yuanzhang’s loyalty to Empress Ma and Zhu Biao, while Liu Bang and Zhu Yuanzhang reacted to the comparisons.
• The screen explained that the Lü Household expected greater rewards for supporting Liu Bang, while Liu feared its influence over Liu Ying and the imperial realm.
• A commenter proposed killing the men of both households and having Liu Bang father children with Lü women; Liu Bang, Lü Zhi, their families, and Jia Xu were shocked by the suggestion.
• The screen asked who should make up the Ten Philosophers of the Martial Temple of Emperors, prompting debate over whether the First Emperor of Qin and Emperor Wu of Han belonged.
• The screen named Xiang Yu, Liu Xiu, Cao Cao, Sima Yi, and Tuoba Tao as candidates, while Liu Che insisted his campaigns against the Xiongnu merited a place.

Viewers debated which emperors deserved places in an Emperors’ Martial Temple and argued over the Song Dynasty’s claim to orthodox succession. The chapter ended with people from Li Shimin’s, Genghis Khan’s, and Zhu Yuanzhang’s eras each insisting their own ruler was the greatest military leader.

• Viewers debated the candidates for the Emperors’ Martial Temple, disputing claims about several rulers and proposing different lists of ten.
• Emperor Wu of Han felt disappointed at being excluded and considered personally leading an attack against the Xiongnu.
• A viewer ranked Li Shimin first, Zhu Yuanzhang second, and Genghis Khan third in military ability, prompting arguments over the ranking and which emperors had personally fought.
• Viewers debated whether the Song Dynasty deserved orthodox status, and a Northern Song official defended its achievements and legitimacy.
• People from the eras of Li Shimin, Genghis Khan, and Zhu Yuanzhang each argued that their own ruler should rank first in military ability.

A history video described the Chenqiao Mutiny as a carefully planned coup and suggested Zhao Kuangyin was probably killed by his brother Zhao Guangyi. Zhao Kuangyin was left furious and suspicious, while Zhao Guangyi faced accusations across the dynasties.

• The video explained that Zhao Kuangyin took control of Kaifeng and the realm through a preplanned mutiny, then forced the Later Zhou emperor to abdicate.
• The video said Zhao Kuangyin subdued rebellions, protected the Chai family, and chose to conquer the south before turning north.
• The video explained that Zhao Kuangyin relied on Zhao Guangyi because his sons were young, and that Zhao Guangyi's influence later eclipsed them.
• The video suggested Zhao Guangyi may have killed Zhao Kuangyin to seize the throne, implicating the eunuch Wang Jien, an imperial physician, and the empress in suspicious events.
• Zhao Kuangyin became enraged at the accusation, while Zhao Guangyi feared the realm would believe it; emperors and viewers then argued over Song's military policies and Chai Rong's legacy.

The heavenly screen exposed Zhao Kuangyin’s treatment of Chai Rong’s descendants and the Northern Song’s betrayal of Zhang Jue, prompting outrage across the dynasties. Zhao Kuangyin saw how later generations judged Great Song, while the chapter left him and other rulers furious and ready to kill.

• The heavenly screen said Chai Rong’s descendants died out within three generations after Zhao Kuangyin sent Chai Zongxun to Fangzhou and the other heirs disappeared or died young.
• The heavenly screen claimed Zhao Kuangyin restored Chai Rong’s surname to undermine his claim to the throne, and Zhao Kuangyin, Chai Rong, and Sima rulers reacted to the accusations.
• The heavenly screen described how Zhang Jue offered three prefectures and fifty thousand troops to the Northern Song, but Emperor Huizong of Song failed to protect him when the Jin army demanded his surrender.
• Wang Anzhong killed Zhang Jue and handed him over to the Jin army, causing people in You and Yun to lose faith in the Northern Song and defect to Jin.
• The heavenly screen linked Zhang Jue’s betrayal to the fall of the Northern Song, and historical emperors condemned Emperor Huizong’s decision.
• Zhao Kuangyin read the comments attacking Great Song’s reputation and recognized how badly later generations regarded it.

The heavenly screen recounted Zhang Bangchang’s brief reign as a Jin-backed ruler and his return of power to Zhao Gou, then described Tie Xuan’s execution and the destruction of his family after Zhu Di’s victory. Historical figures reacted to the accounts, while discussion of Zhu Di’s rebellion and its effects on the people of Shandong continued.

• The heavenly screen said Zhang Bangchang accepted the throne under Jin pressure, wept through his enthronement, and avoided acting like a true emperor.
• After the Jin army took Emperors Huizong and Qinzong north, Zhang Bangchang sent for Zhao Gou and returned power to the Zhao family, but Zhao Gou later ordered him to commit suicide.
• The heavenly screen described Zhu Di’s execution of Tie Xuan and the brutal punishments imposed on Tie Xuan’s family, prompting Zhu Yunwen, Qi Tai, and Huang Zicheng to condemn the Yan rebel.
• Commenters questioned accounts of Zhu Di’s rebellion and its consequences for Shandong, while Zhu Di objected that later histories blamed him for events whether or not they were true.
• A commenter contrasted Li Shimin’s rebellion with Zhu Di’s, saying Zhu Di’s actions harmed the people of the realm, and Tang officials mocked Zhu Di’s ambition to match Li Shimin.

A later-generation video criticized Zhu Di’s northern campaigns as costly expeditions with limited results, provoking disbelief and anger among the emperors watching. After recounting the first three campaigns, the video left the fourth and fifth unexplained.

• Later-generation commenters criticized Zhu Di’s treatment of Tie Xuan and questioned claims that his reign was prosperous.
• A short video began examining the results of Zhu Di’s five campaigns north of the Gobi, as Zhu Yuanzhang and earlier emperors watched.
• The video said Zhu Di’s first campaign killed few enemies before defeating Bunyashiri, then ended when supplies ran short.
• The video described the second campaign as a costly battle against Mahamu’s Oirat forces, with heavy losses on both sides and Ming firearms helping Zhu Di withdraw.
• The video said Zhu Di’s third campaign spent months searching for Arughtai, then attacked the Uriankhai Tribe on the return journey and killed several hundred people.
• The watching emperors mocked the campaigns’ expense and limited results, while Zhu Yuanzhang said he finally understood something.

Zhu Di accepted that his costly northern campaigns had achieved little after Zhu Gaochi urged him to stop. A new heavenly-screen video imagined emperors swapping dynasties, prompting reactions from rulers across the eras and debate over whether Ying Zheng could have reformed the late Qing.

• The heavenly screen recounted how Zhu Di’s final northern expeditions failed to find Arughtai and left the Ming weakened, before Zhu Di died on campaign.
• Zhu Gaochi warned Zhu Di that the campaigns cost too much and that the grassland tribes could exploit the Ming’s exhaustion; Zhu Di silently agreed.
• Viewers and rulers reacted to a video imagining emperors swapping dynasties, including Ying Zheng arriving in the Qing, Zhu Yuanzhang leading a campaign in Europe, and Zhao Gou seeking a guide to Xuanwu Gate.
• The video imagined Li Shimin taking Adou’s body and restoring the Han, while Zhuge Liang asked where his former emperor had gone.
• Viewers debated whether Ying Zheng could have modernized the late Qing, arguing that the Qing had resources but spent them poorly, before concluding that history had no 'ifs.'

A sky-screen video imagined Liu Shan ruling Great Song in Zhao Gou’s body, where he empowered Yue Fei to lead a northern expedition. A second documentary argued that Liu Shan had been a capable ruler whose political choices stabilized Shu Han, prompting emperors across different planes to reconsider his reputation.

• The sky screen showed Liu Shan asking Yang Yizhong for a Zhuge Liang-like minister and then questioning Yue Fei about how to conduct a northern expedition.
• Liu Shan appointed Yue Fei to command all circuits’ forces and gave him authority to act without waiting for every imperial order.
• Zhao Gou fainted after seeing a comment that even a leashed dog would be better than him, while Liu Shan, Liu Bei, and Zhuge Liang reacted to the video.
• A documentary explained that Liu Shan waited until Shu’s army returned before granting Zhuge Liang a posthumous title, then divided power between Jiang Wan and Fei Yi.
• The documentary described Liu Shan’s political restraint and gradual rise to personal rule, and emperors across the planes wondered which rulers had been worse than him.

The sky screen reassessed Liu Shan as a capable ruler who endured humiliation while Jiang Wei tried to restore Shu Han, then began explaining how Ming Dynasty policies favoring agriculture and suppressing commerce weakened state revenue. It left emperors and officials realizing that Zhu Yuanzhang’s system no longer suited later conditions and that reform was needed.

• The sky screen revealed Jiang Wei’s secret letter and described his failed plan to use Zhong Hui’s rebellion to restore Shu Han, reframing Liu Shan’s surrender and Jiang Wei’s actions as loyalty and endurance.
• People watching the sky screen reconsidered Liu Shan’s reign, and Liu Bei lamented that he had failed to give his son a united realm.
• The sky screen presented Ming financial figures showing that agricultural taxes supplied most state revenue while industrial and commercial taxes remained small.
• The sky screen explained Zhu Yuanzhang’s policies promoting agriculture and suppressing commerce, including low commercial tax rates and restrictions on merchants.
• Zhu Yuanzhang agreed that his policies reflected the conditions of his time, while the sky screen blamed later Ming subjects for preserving the ancestral system after circumstances changed.
• Emperors and officials recognized that the old system called for reform, and some reacted with dark expressions.

Zhu Yuanzhang and other emperors learned how later generations used ancestral institutions and debated the need for reform. A proclamation honoring Zhu Yuanzhang then introduced the republican system, leaving him wondering whether rule by the people could bring peace and prosperity.

• Zhu Yuanzhang learned that later officials had invoked his ancestral institutions to curb imperial power, and he angrily blamed the civil officials before him.
• Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di realized that the growing imperial clan and its allowances could become a serious burden on the Great Ming.
• Later commentators argued that institutions had to change with the times, prompting the emperors to recognize how difficult and dangerous reform could be.
• The emperors learned that Sun Yat-sen had led officials to pay respects at Zhu Yuanzhang's mausoleum in 1912 and read his proclamation praising the founding emperor and announcing the Republic.
• Zhu Yuanzhang wondered whether a republican system could let people live in peace, while recognizing that the emperors of their own dynasties would never surrender their family rule.

The heavenly screen explained the mournful song mocked as the Great Ming Ominous Song and showed videos and animations teasing Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di. It then recounted how Zhu Yunwen’s campaign to curb the princes alienated them and helped set the stage for Zhu Di’s rebellion.

• The heavenly screen explained that Half a Lifetime Away became associated with Ming tragedies and played its sorrowful lyrics, prompting jokes about Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di.
• A video showed sixty thousand people singing the song at the Bird's Nest, and viewers joked that the gathering was a rebellion and a new Ming case.
• An animation showed Zhu Yuanzhang ordering Zhu Di to protect Zhu Yunwen, while Zhu Di denied the invented commands and Zhu Yunwen accused him of seizing the throne.
• The heavenly screen described how Zhu Yunwen curbed the princes, stripping several of their ranks and driving Zhu Bai, Prince of Xiang, to burn himself to death.
• The explanation said Zhu Yunwen’s actions frightened the princes, cut him off from them, and left his rule vulnerable to Zhu Di’s rebellion.

A heavenly screen recounted Li Shimin’s rise, military achievements, and growing struggle with Li Jiancheng for the Tang throne as rulers and ministers across different planes watched. The chapter ended with Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji killed at Xuanwu Gate in 626 CE.

• The heavenly screen introduced Li Shimin with an imposing list of offices and titles, prompting praise from later viewers and congratulations from his ministers.
• The screen described how Li Shimin helped Li Yuan establish the Tang Dynasty and commanded campaigns that defeated Xue Rengao, Liu Wuzhou, Dou Jiande, and Wang Shichong.
• Li Shimin built up his power through the Tiance Office and his literary academy, where Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, and other capable followers gathered around him.
• The screen recounted the worsening succession struggle, including Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji’s failed plot involving Yang Wengan and Li Yuan’s repeated suspicions of Li Shimin.
• Li Shimin’s faction arranged an ambush at Xuanwu Gate, where Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji were shot dead and the Eastern Palace guards surrendered.

The heavenly screen recounted Li Shimin’s rise after the Xuanwu Gate Incident, then showed mocking videos that recast the deaths of Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji and claimed Zhu Yuanzhang had passed the throne to Zhu Di. The chapter ended with Zhu Di realizing that later generations were ridiculing him and his version of history.

• The screen described Li Shimin becoming crown prince and then emperor, prompting historical figures to praise his achievements and debate his reputation.
• A short video claimed Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji had accidentally fallen from their horses at Xuanwu Gate, while commenters offered increasingly absurd versions of the incident and angered Li Yuan and his sons.
• The screen showed another video claiming Zhu Yuanzhang had passed the throne to Zhu Di in the thirty-fifth year of Hongwu, and commenters mocked Zhu Di’s account in the Veritable Records of the Ming.
• Zhu Di, who had initially liked the video, felt targeted when he realized the later generations were making fun of him and his alteration of history.

The heavenly screen described how the Jin conquest of Northern Song subjected Emperor Huizong, Emperor Qinzong, and the imperial family to captivity, abuse, and public humiliation. It revealed that Huizong was kept under house arrest as a hostage after Zhao Gou established the Southern Song, leaving the question of how Huizong fathered twelve children unresolved.

• The heavenly screen introduced the Humiliation of Jingkang, and officials across the dynasties debated whether Huizong, Qinzong, or Zhu Qizhen had suffered the greatest humiliation.
• The screen recounted how Jin forces captured Huizong, Qinzong, and thousands of imperial relatives and officials in 1127, then drove them north under brutal conditions.
• The screen described Jin soldiers abusing and coercing the women, while Wang Wanrong chose suicide after Nianhan took an interest in her.
• The Jin subjected the captured imperial family to the Sheep-Leading Ceremony, then gave Huizong and Qinzong mocking titles and forced the women into the palace.
• The screen explained that Huizong was sent to Yilan County in Wuguo City and held under house arrest as a hostage after Zhao Gou established the Southern Song.

A record exposed Empress Dowager Wei’s captivity in the Jin State, her return to the Southern Song, and the lengths she went to conceal her past. It ended with the revelation that Zhao Gou executed Imperial Princess Roufu after Wei pressured him to silence her.

• People mocked Emperor Huizong of Song for living as a captive, fathering more children, and enduring the humiliation of his family’s treatment before he died.
• The record described Emperor Qinzong of Song’s death in a polo match and Zhao Gou’s failure to rescue his pregnant wife, Lady Xing, after she was captured.
• The record said Empress Dowager Wei and Lady Xing were held in the Laundry Bureau, where Wei became a highly sought-after courtesan before being assigned to Wanyan Zongxian.
• The record explained that Wei returned to the Southern Song after the Jin lost interest in her, and that the court falsified her age to make her seem chaste.
• The record said Wei had two sons in the Jin State and sent money to them after her return to the Southern Song.
• The record revealed that Wei pressured Zhao Gou to declare Imperial Princess Roufu an impostor and execute her because Roufu knew about Wei’s captivity; Zhao Gou carried out the execution.

People across different eras debated the Northern Song’s failures, the Jingkang Incident, and whether later generations could have prevented it by keeping Song, Liao, and Jin in balance. The chapter ended as a new video began to ask how the Southern Song took revenge on the Jin Dynasty, promising that Jin’s fall brought suffering worse than Jingkang.

• Later-generation commenters argued that Zhao Guangyi’s descendants suffered retribution when Zhao Gou, left without an heir, adopted a descendant of Zhao Kuangyin’s line.
• Commenters debated whether northern Han people identified with the Song, while commoners and emperors in other eras reacted to claims about Song oppression and scholar-official privilege.
• A commenter said Zhao Gou killed officials and scholars who urged him to resist the Jin State, extinguishing the hopes of people who still believed in the Song.
• Later generations argued that the Jingkang Incident could have been avoided if the Northern Song had supported Liao against Jin instead of helping Jin destroy Liao.
• The video began introducing the Southern Song’s revenge, claiming that the Jin Dynasty’s fall brought misery worse than the Humiliation of Jingkang.

Gao Shengyang’s video comments described the Jin State’s fall and the Southern Song-Mongol revenge against its people, prompting reactions across historical eras. His claim that his ancestors served first the Jin and then Mongolia led him to reveal they descended from Gao Huan and had won favor with Jin nobles and Northern Song imperial women.

• A Jin man and a nobleman from the Jin State’s height raged at the Song and Mongols after hearing how the Jin people were treated following their state’s collapse, while Song people celebrated the Jin’s defeat.
• Viewers debated the Song Dynasty’s alliances and the fate of the Jurchens, then wondered whether any family had lived through the successive conflicts among the northern states.
• In Bohai City, Gao Shengyang recognized the video on his television and found his own comment claiming his ancestors had served the Jin and Mongolia and consorted with imperial women.
• Historical viewers asked about Gao Shengyang’s ancestors, and he revealed they were descendants of Gao Huan from the Gao Clan of Bohai who had passed themselves off as Xianbei and served the Jin and Mongols.
• Gao Huan and his sons reacted to the revelation, and Gao Shengyang added that his ancestor’s appearance had attracted Jin noblewomen and women of the Northern Song imperial family.

The sky screen presented Huang Chao as a failed examinee whose rebellion devastated the aristocratic clans and weakened their hold over government, prompting reactions from emperors and nobles across different eras. It ended with later readers debating his atrocities and whether accounts of his cannibalism had been exaggerated.

• The sky screen introduced Huang Chao as the strongest failed examinee, a rebel leader who helped bring down the Tang and attacked the aristocratic clans.
• Li Yuan condemned Huang Chao, while Li Shimin acknowledged the clans’ dominance and said he would have led an army against him; Yang Guang cheered his revolt.
• The sky screen explained that powerful clans monopolized court offices and that Huang Chao’s repeated examination failures helped drive him to rebel.
• The sky screen recounted Huang Chao’s entry into Chang’an and his slaughter of aristocratic families, including members of the Cui clans.
• Later readers debated Huang Chao’s legacy, with some praising his attack on the clans and others condemning his army’s use of human flesh as rations.

Gao Shengyang discussed Huang Chao’s rebellion and the decline of the aristocratic clans, provoking strong reactions across the dynasties while deliberately drawing out Emotion Points. A new post then asked whether 100,000 cavalry could save the late Ming, and its author declared he would restore the House of Han instead.

• Li Shimin condemned the Tang soldiers who sold civilians to Huang Chao’s army and looted Chang’an.
• Gao Shengyang explained that the aristocratic clans had already weakened before Huang Chao slaughtered their leading families, and revealed that his ancestors had joined Huang Chao’s rebels while hiding their origins.
• People across the dynasties reacted to Gao Shengyang’s claims, while Gao Huan admired his descendants’ boldness.
• Zhu Yuanzhang welcomed the question of saving the Great Ming, and Chongzhen claimed 100,000 cavalry could defeat the rebels and Jurchens.
• The post’s author said he would use his 100,000 cavalry, including 20,000 heavy cavalry, to restore the House of Han rather than save the Great Ming.