Video spoilers history, starting with the blitzkrieg on Poland

A new curtain begins to play.

【In Chinese history, being the second generation of an emperor is often a high-risk occupation.】

[Many second-generations either live in mediocrity under the shadow of their founding fathers, or squander their wealth in extravagance and debauchery.]

【Overview. 】

[The images of the second generation of emperors vary greatly. ]

[Some, under the protection of their parents, indulged in extravagance and debauchery, becoming the laughing stock of history;]

[Some people have great ambitions, but they find it difficult to realize their ambitions due to various limitations. ]

[However, one of the second generation of the emperor stood out.]

[With his extraordinary wisdom, resolute decision-making and diligent governance, he left a strong mark in the history of the Eastern Han Dynasty. ]

【He is Emperor Ming of Han, Liu Zhuang. 】

【He not only perfectly inherited the political legacy of Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu. 】

[He also used drastic measures to rectify the administration of officials and expand the territory, creating the prosperous era of "Ming Zhang's rule".]

[This genius boy who was familiar with the Spring and Autumn Annals at the age of ten and solved the "Dutian Case" at the age of twelve. ]

[How to rule the country with an iron fist after ascending the throne? 】

[Why was he praised by later historians as "the true founder of the Eastern Han Dynasty"? 】

[Today, we will unveil the legendary life of this most powerful "second-generation emperor". ]

Outside the sky.

Tang Dynasty.

Li Shimin looked at the beginning of this section of the sky with great interest.

Li Shimin was naturally no stranger to Emperor Ming of Han, Liu Zhuang, and he admired and recognized him very much.

But when I saw the term "second generation emperor".

Li Shimin couldn't help but think of himself.

So Li Shimin said half-jokingly:
"The strongest second generation of the emperor?"

"But didn't you boast about me many times before Tianmu?"

"You say my achievements are great."

"Does Tianmu think that my achievements are still inferior to those of Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty?"

Li Shimin was just joking.

But next to Li Shimin, Wei Zheng actually analyzed it and said:

"Your Majesty, although you are called the second generation of the emperor."

"But his lifetime achievements are no different from those of the founding emperor."

“This section of the sky.”

"The second generation they are talking about may be specifically referring to the second generation who will inherit the country."

"And your majesty, you are most likely to be classified as the founding monarch."

The sky continues.

【Liu Zhuang, courtesy name Zili, originally named Liu Yang, was born in Yuanshi County, Changshan Prefecture in 28 AD.】

[He is the fourth son of Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu and Yin Lihua. ]

【Who is Yin Lihua? 】

[She was Liu Xiu's first love, and also a famous virtuous queen in history. The famous saying "If you want to be an official, you should marry the Prefect of the Guards, and if you want to marry a wife, you should marry Yin Lihua" refers to her. ]

【Liu Zhuang inherited the excellent genes of his parents since he was a child. 】

[History records that he had a "magnificent appearance and was quick to respond" and was able to master the "Spring and Autumn Annals" at the age of ten.]

[You should know that the Spring and Autumn Annals is obscure in its language and profound in its meaning, and even for adults, it is difficult to understand.]

【But Liu Zhuang, at such a young age, was able to grasp the essence of this. 】

[This greatly surprised Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu, and he began to look at his son in a different light.]

【At the age of twelve, he made a splash in the famous "Dutian Case". 】

【At that time, the government found that the number of acres of cultivated land did not correspond to the population. In order to ensure national tax revenue and stability, Emperor Guangwu ordered all states and counties to conduct inspections and verifications. 】

[Officials from various states and counties sent envoys to Beijing to report on their work.]

[When Liu Xiu was checking the bamboo slips of the officials of Chenliu County, he saw the words "You can ask about Yingchuan and Hongnong, but not about Henan and Nanyang."]

[This left Liu Xiu confused and he didn't understand why.]

[So Liu Xiu asked Chen Liuli, but Chen Liuli frankly said that he didn't know, and only said that he got it from Changshou Street.]

【Just when everyone was confused. 】

【Liu Zhuang, who was only twelve years old, stood up and revealed the secret. 】

[He said that this was the county officials teaching Chenliu Li how to check the land.]

[Liu Xiu curiously asked further, why can't Henan and Nanyang be asked? ]

[Liu Zhuang calmly explained that Henan was where the capital was and Nanyang was his father's hometown.]

[There are too many royal relatives and close bureaucrats here, their land and houses will definitely exceed the regulations, so it is impossible to conduct a thorough inspection.]

【After hearing this, Liu Xiu was half-believing and half-doubting, so he ordered the Huben generals to ask the Chenliu official again.】

[As a result, Chen Liuli's answer was exactly the same as Liu Zhuang's.]

[After this incident, Liu Xiu became more fond of Liu Zhuang and believed that this son had extraordinary knowledge and insight.]

[If being smart as a teenager was just Liu Zhuang's "basic configuration", then his political talent was fully demonstrated in suppressing the rebellion.]

[In the 17th year of Jianwu, Liu Zhuang was named King of Donghai.]

[Soon after, Shan Chen, Fu Zhen and others launched an uprising, occupied Yuanwu City, and kidnapped officials in the city.]

【Liu Xiu sent Zang Gong and other generals to lead troops to encircle and suppress the rebellion. However, Yuanwu City was easy to defend but difficult to attack. The officers and soldiers failed to capture it after a long siege, and suffered heavy casualties.】

【Liu Xiu summoned everyone to discuss countermeasures.】

[Most people advocated offering a reward for attacking the city, hoping to motivate the soldiers to move forward bravely with a large reward.]

【At this time, Liu Zhuang made a completely different suggestion. 】

[He thought that the city should not be surrounded too tightly, and the rebels should be given a chance to break out. Once they fled and scattered, only one guard would be enough to deal with them.]

【Liu Xiu adopted Liu Zhuang's suggestion, and the result was just as Liu Zhuang expected. The rebels were soon pacified after they broke out of the siege.】

【This victory made Liu Xiu completely sure that his son would be his successor.】

The comments on the barrage were also hilarious.

"A siege army must be short of troops, that's fine."

"Given Liu Xiu's military ability, is this something that needs to be discussed?"

"How could Liu Xiu not know what to do? He was testing his son!"

"This is to build up prestige for my son."

"So the meaning is that Liu Zhuang has basically been chosen to become the new crown prince, right?"...

[In the same year, Liu Zhuang was made crown prince and studied the Book of Shang under the tutelage of the great Confucian scholar Huan Rong.]

[Interestingly, this teacher-student relationship later became a model for the emperor to respect his teacher.]

[Even after ascending the throne, Liu Zhuang still insisted on attending classes in person at Huan Rong's mansion, letting the teacher sit in the main seat while he sat on the same level as the other students.]

[When Huan Rong was seriously ill, he drove to the street corner and walked to visit him, holding his teacher's hand and crying.]

[This respect for knowledge and teachers laid the foundation for his later promotion of civil governance.]

[During his time in the Eastern Palace, Liu Zhuang not only devoted himself to studying Confucian classics, but also paid close attention to national affairs and actively participated in discussions on court affairs.]

[He made friends with many talented people, listened to different opinions and suggestions, and gradually accumulated rich political experience.]

[Liu Zhuang also often traveled incognito, went deep into the people, talked with them, and learned about their living conditions and their expectations of the court.]

[This approach of going deep into the grassroots has given Liuzhuang a deeper understanding of social reality.]

[Let Liu Zhuang, like his father Liu Xiu, understand the sufferings of the people very well. ]

[It also laid a solid foundation for him to ascend the throne and govern the country in the future. ]

[In 57 AD, Liu Xiu passed away, and the -year-old Liu Zhuang officially ascended the throne and became the second emperor of the Eastern Han Dynasty, known in history as Emperor Ming of Han.]

[When a new emperor ascends the throne, he often faces many challenges and tests, and Liu Zhuang is no exception. ]

[What lies before this new monarch is an empire that appears stable but is in fact turbulent.]

[In his later years, Emperor Guangwu "governed the country with judo", which led to the annexation of land by powerful people and corruption among officials, and even the princes of the royal family were ready to make moves.]

[There are powerful families inside who are ready to make a move. 】

[Outside of that, the situation in the Xiongnu and the Western Regions is unstable. ]

How to break the impasse?

[This is a test of the new monarch's wisdom and courage. ]

[Liu Zhuang did not hesitate at all and quickly launched a series of measures to govern the country with thunderous means. ]

[The new emperor's response is a textbook example of "the first three things a new official should do upon taking office."]

【The first fire was directed at the in-laws. 】

[He strictly followed the iron rule that "the family of the harem cannot be granted a title of nobility or participate in politics". Although his father-in-law Ma Yuan had made great military achievements, he was kicked out of the list of "Twenty-Eight Generals of Yuntai". ]

[When his younger sister Princess Guantao asked for an official position for her son, he would rather reward her with millions of dollars than agree.]

[The second fire is aimed at the meritorious group. ]

[Dou Lin, the nephew of Grand Marshal Dou Rong, was corrupt. Liu Zhuang, regardless of his status as a founding father, executed him and dismissed Dou Rong.]

【The brothers Liu Ying, King of Chu, Liu Jing, King of Guangling, and others plotted rebellion and were all forced to commit suicide.】

[The third fire burned the bureaucracy.]

[The Shangshu Lang misremembered the amount of tribute from the Western Regions, and Liu Zhuang personally punished him with a stick.]

[Grand Minister of Agriculture Jiang Jing, relying on his status as an old minister of the previous emperor, embezzled the imperial court's money and grain.]

[After Liu Zhuang learned about this, he ignored everyone's advice and directly imprisoned and executed him, and confiscated all his property.]

[The Sili Xiaowei and the Provincial Governor must report the "best" and "worst" officials every year, forming a high-pressure assessment mechanism.]

[Once a strange phenomenon appeared in the sky, he summoned his ministers to hold them accountable overnight, and frightened them so much that they impeached themselves one after another.]

Outside the sky.

When Liu Bei saw this, he recalled the sweetness and bitterness of the past and said with longing:
"Emperor Ming, what a wonderful era that was."

"The entire Han Dynasty is thriving under the governance of Emperor Ming, the people live and work in peace and contentment, and the country is prosperous, stable and unified!"

"Look at the man now that the mountains and rivers are shattered."

“It really makes me cry.”

"I wonder if I can ever hope to restore the Han Dynasty to its heyday during the reigns of Emperors Ming and Zhang, despite my efforts throughout my life."

"Maybe, maybe not."

but no matter.

Liu Bei slowed down, stood up, and said with a firm look:
"No matter what, I will keep fighting for this goal."

The marquee continues to play.

[Liu Zhuang's series of measures were like a heavy hammer, awakening the court and letting officials understand the new emperor's determination to fight corruption.]

[After that, Liu Zhuang also established a strict system for selecting and supervising officials, and personally inquired about the appointment of important officials. ]

【Select people with both moral integrity and ability to fill government offices at all levels. 】

[He also encouraged the people to report the illegal behavior of officials, which boosted the morale of the officialdom and effectively curbed corruption.]

[This almost harsh style of governing the country made the ministers tremble with fear. ]

[In addition, Liu Zhuang, like Liu Xiu, is also a workaholic who enjoys doing this.]

[It is recorded in history that Liu Zhuang "slept at the end of the second watch and got up before the fifth watch", and he would even investigate punctuation errors when reviewing documents.]

While telling the story of Emperor Han Ming Liu Zhuang's enthusiasm for work, the sky screen also provides corresponding film and television and documentary images.

can be seen.

The emperor did work until very late.

I even got dark circles under my eyes.

tomorrow.

When Zhu Yuanzhang saw Emperor Ming of Han, Liu Zhuang, working hard, he couldn't help but nodded with an expression of appreciation.

Zhu Yuanzhang was also a workaholic.

In fact, I had been using Emperor Ming of Han's enthusiasm for work to demand of myself very early on.

After ascending the throne, Zhu Yuanzhang did indeed achieve this.

Zhu Yuanzhang pointed at the sky and said:
"See, Biao'er, you are a second-generation royal family, and Liu Zhuang is also a second-generation royal family, but he has done very well and is your role model."

Zhu Biao said with great approval: "Of course I know."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded with satisfaction and said:

"If you want to be a good emperor, you can't be lazy."

"Sitting on the position of emperor means suffering and hardship!"

"If you sit on it, you have to stay up all night for the people of the world!"

"You have to work until you die!"

"This is the weight of the Emperor's crown."

"When you take the throne of the emperor, you must remember this. Being an emperor doesn't allow you to be lazy!"

Zhu Biao listened to what Zhu Yuanzhang said.

He nodded very firmly. (End of this chapter)