My father, Li Shimin, requests Your Majesty to become the Retired Emperor.

At this moment, Xu Hui gently stroked her temples and parted her lips slightly: "Emperor Wu of Han's great achievements are certainly worthy of praise."

However, he also made many mistakes during his time in power.

Among them are:

Firstly, years of war have led to the devastation of the people's livelihood.

For decades, China has continuously waged large-scale military campaigns against the Xiongnu in order to launch wars against them.

He squandered almost all the wealth left to him by the reigns of Emperors Wen and Jing.

Taxes and corvée labor were suffocating the people.

The suffering and disasters that ordinary people have to endure are no less than those during the reign of Qin Shi Huang.

Large numbers of farmers went bankrupt and fled, the population of the country was halved, and famines frequently broke out.

Secondly, he heavily relied on cruel officials such as Zhang Tang, Du Zhou, and Yi Zong.

These people revered punishment and readily implicated others, causing ordinary people and low-ranking officials in the court to live in constant fear.

Thirdly, Emperor Wu of Han was extremely extravagant and indulged in building palaces on a grand scale;

such as,

He built the Shanglin Garden, toured the country many times, and selected numerous concubines, resulting in enormous expenses for the harem.

It is said that Empress Chen spent 9000 million coins to treat her infertility. Keep in mind that at the time, the Han Dynasty's annual tax revenue was only 51 billion coins.

Fourth, Emperor Wu of Han, like Qin Shi Huang, was superstitious about alchemists, pursued immortality, and heavily relied on charlatans like Luan Da, wasting a lot of money on making elixirs and building temples.

Fifth, the witchcraft scandal broke out; the villain Jiang Chong had a grudge against Crown Prince Liu Ju.

Jiang Chong worried that Liu Ju would hold him accountable after inheriting the throne, so he spoke ill of Liu Ju to Emperor Wu of Han.

Emperor Wu of Han was also senile, easily swayed by one-sided opinions, which led to a breakdown in communication between him and Liu Ju and his son.

Forced into a corner, Liu Ju raised an army and fought, but he was defeated and committed suicide.

Wei Zifu also committed suicide.

The Wei family was almost wiped out.

The ruling class of the Western Han Dynasty suffered a devastating blow, and the foundation of the state was shaken.

Sixth, the drawbacks of the economic policies are obvious.

The initial intention behind the state monopoly on salt and iron was good; it was to replenish the national treasury.

However, in practice, many problems existed, with a large amount of wealth being embezzled by officials.

Furthermore, Emperor Wu of Han's policy of suppressing other schools of thought and exclusively promoting Confucianism, in the short term, was beneficial to the unification of the country.

However, in the long run, this limits the development of diverse ideas.

Li Shimin sipped his tea and listened quietly.

He felt that Xu Hui's evaluation of Emperor Wu of Han was quite fair and comprehensive; no one is perfect.

This is one of the reasons why Li Shimin frequently visited Chongsheng Palace.

He could only have a meaningful conversation with Xu Hui when they were together.

Unlike the other concubines, who would demand farmland or gold and jewels upon seeing him, Xu Hui was different.

They either demanded that Li Shimin elevate their status, which was utterly vulgar.

Li Shimin crossed his arms and asked, "How do you think I compare to Qin Shi Huang and Emperor Wu of Han?"

Xu Hui looked at Li Shimin with her beautiful eyes filled with admiration: "Your Majesty, in my eyes, you are already another insurmountable monument among all emperors throughout history."

You can conquer the world on horseback, and govern it on foot; your civil and military achievements surpass those of Qin Shi Huang and Emperor Wu of Han.

Back then, when the world was in chaos, Xue Ju, Xue Rengao and his son, Wang Shichong, Dou Jiande, Liu Wuzhou, Song Jingang, and others carved out their own territories, all harboring restless ambitions.

Some of them had already declared themselves kings or emperors, but in the end they all fell to you. The speed at which you conquered the world was the fastest in history. Even Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang, took seven years, while you only took six years. This is something we can't even imagine.

There were also Xiao Xian from south of the Yangtze River, Du Fuwei from the Jianghuai region, and Fu Gongshi.

Li Zitong and Shen Faxing in Jiangnan, and Liang Shi in Shuofang were gradually eliminated by the Tang army.

At its peak, the Eastern Turkic Khaganate commanded a million archers and once planned to destroy the Sui Dynasty.

At that time, Emperor Yang of Sui was trapped at Yanmen Pass, and it was you and Yun Dingxing who led troops to rescue him.

I really can't believe that when you decided to launch a war against the East Turkestan, you said you would wipe them out, and that was it.

Under your leadership, the fighting power of our Tang army has reached an unprecedented level.

Li Shimin's expression relaxed: "I didn't expect you to be so eloquent. Am I really as good as you say?"

Isn't that a bit of an exaggeration?

"Your Majesty, you are even more powerful than I described."

Many people only know that you can conquer the world on horseback, but they don't know that you can also govern the world on foot, and your civil administration is even more remarkable.

No emperor throughout history could match him.

Emperor Yang of Sui left behind a mess, beset by internal and external troubles, with numerous conflicts arising between different social classes.

The population has plummeted, and people's livelihoods are in dire straits.

You initiated the Reign of Zhenguan under such circumstances.

It can be said that our reign of Zhenguan was no less prosperous than the reigns of Emperors Wen and Jing; this was no easy feat.

Xu Hui did not simply offer praise, but presented facts, which made her arguments more persuasive.