A live-streamed Chinese language lesson under the sky—the ancients were taken aback.

Under the vast sky, Zhao Kuangyin showed no anger; his tone was even strangely calm. He turned to Zhao Pu and asked, "Which possibility do you think it is?"

Zhao Pu knelt on the ground, sweat beading on his forehead, and said in a very low voice, "Your subject... Your subject dares not speak presumptuously."

Shi Shouxin's eyes reddened, and he knelt down as well: "Your Majesty, what hasn't happened can still be changed!"

"It can still be changed." Zhao Kuangyin repeated, "Good, if it can be changed, then change it for me."

He raised his head, his gaze chillingly cold: "From this day forward, Zhao Guangyi is confined to his residence and is not to leave without an imperial edict. All the guards in his residence will be replaced."

"I will not kill him; after all, he is my brother."

But I want him to see clearly who should truly wield the sword of the Great Song Dynasty.

The unspoken words on the sky seemed to have gotten quite animated on this topic.

"Zhao Guangyi, there's another particularly interesting phenomenon."

"In the writings of Song Dynasty literati, Zhao Guangyi's image was even better than that of his brother Zhao Kuangyin."

The scene cuts to scrolls of yellowed Song Dynasty notes, the densely packed characters seemingly vying to tell a story.

"If you turn to the notes, memorials, and inscriptions left by the Song people, you will find a strange phenomenon: when civil officials mention Emperor Taizong, they are always full of gratitude."

Some compare him to the legendary emperors Yao and Shun, some say he "diligently pursued civil administration, achieving remarkable success," and some even say that the true civil administration of the Song Dynasty only began during the reign of Emperor Taizong.

"But what about Zhao Kuangyin? Aside from his achievements in founding the dynasty, scholars tend to be somewhat reserved in their attitude. Why is that?"

"Because in the memories of the civil officials, although Zhao Kuangyin valued literature, he was ultimately a military man."

There were too many things about him that made them uncomfortable, such as his decisiveness in killing, his closeness to military generals, and his domineering, uncompromising nature.

"Zhao Guangyi was the one who truly cherished scholars."

Zhao Guangyi's kindness towards intellectuals was comprehensive.

"He expanded the imperial examination system, admitting more than 500 people at once, which was more than the average number admitted every ten years in the entire Tang Dynasty."

He established the Chongwen Academy, expanded it into three halls, and collected 800,000 volumes of books.

He organized the compilation of "Taiping Yulan", "Taiping Guangji" and "Wenyuan Yinghua", providing a ladder for scholars to advance their careers.

He even stipulated that newly appointed scholars should be personally granted a banquet, a poem, and a robe by the emperor.

These honors were previously reserved for military generals with distinguished military achievements.

Scholars have gone to great lengths to embellish his image in historical records.

Once this list was released, half of the imperial court was reshuffled.

Therefore, how could Song Dynasty literati not remember his good deeds?

……

He continued, seemingly wanting to say more: "This isn't over yet."

These newly appointed scholars entered officialdom with a high starting point.

He served as a prefect, a vice-prefect, entered the Hanlin Academy, and became an attendant official.

Zhao Guangyi directly placed civil officials who had passed the imperial examinations into key positions throughout the empire.

He also frequently promoted people beyond their normal capacity.

A young man who has just passed the imperial examination can become a drafter of imperial edicts, a Hanlin scholar, or even a high-ranking official within a few years, as long as his writing is to his liking.

This would have been unimaginable during Zhao Kuangyin's era.

"So scholars at the time said privately that as long as you passed the imperial examination, it was like getting a ticket to lifelong wealth and honor."

In the scene, a group of newly appointed scholars, adorned with red ribbons and colorful decorations, parade through the streets on tall horses.

The people on the roadside cast envious glances, and some wealthy businessmen even wanted to stop him on the spot to arrange a marriage for their daughters.

Under the sky, several scholars stood in the crowd, their breathing becoming heavy as they watched.

"Is this true? More than 500 people will be admitted at once?" A young scholar's voice trembled. "Doesn't that mean...doesn't that mean everyone can take the exam?"

An old scholar standing nearby smiled wryly: "If it were really that simple, I wouldn't be teaching in the countryside with my hair all turned white."

On the sky, someone paused, then continued, "Why was Zhao Guangyi so good to scholars?"

"There are two reasons, one is obvious, and the other is covert."

On the surface, Zhao Guangyi loved reading from a young age. He received a good education, enjoyed associating with scholars, and genuinely believed that governing the country depended on scholars.

This point cannot be entirely denied; he did indeed possess a strong awareness and competence in civil administration.

"But what's the underlying reason?"

The voice, which had been holding back, lowered: "He needs a bureaucratic team that is completely loyal to him to replace the old team left by his brother."

"So he wanted to change the bloodline, using the largest and fastest imperial examination to create a group of 'disciples of the emperor' who belonged only to him, Zhao Guangyi."

"From the very first day they entered officialdom, these newly appointed officials were loyal to Zhao Guangyi himself."

They had no past ties with Zhao Kuangyin, no connections with the military generals, and were completely dependent on the new emperor.

"The larger the civil service group, the more stable Zhao Guangyi's power became."

"But," he hesitated, then his tone suddenly changed, "Zhao Guangyi showed absolutely no mercy to military generals."

"Zhao Guangyi was indeed a superior civil official, but the national policy of 'emphasizing civil affairs and suppressing military affairs' was precisely established under his leadership."

"And it was decided completely and without any concealment."

The scene shifts to squads of imperial guards being transferred away from the capital.

The generals had nothing in their hands except for their seals of office.

The supervising civil official sat in the central command tent, flipping through military books and pointing at the map.

The veterans stood outside the tent with their heads bowed, the bronze plates on their armor clanging in the wind.

"Zhao Guangyi was the first emperor in history to transform 'using civil administration to control the military' from a political tactic into a system."

"The rules he set were very clear: the Privy Council was in charge of military registers and tiger tallies, and the chief and deputy privy councilors were mostly civil officials."

The Three Offices were in charge of military training, and the generals were merely tools.

When sending troops to conquer, generals are temporarily appointed, and the soldiers and generals are not under each other's command.

A military supervisor was then appointed by the emperor himself and was not subject to the command of the general.

"The military supervisor could also write secret reports directly to the emperor."

If the commander-in-chief dares to disobey the supervising officer, it is considered treason.

If the military supervisor is ignorant of military affairs and the battle is lost, the responsibility lies with the commander-in-chief.

If we win, the credit goes to the supervising officer.

"With an army like that, who would be willing to fight to the death?"

"Under such a system, military generals are like tigers whose mouths are tied and whose claws are bound."

In peacetime, they have no status; in wartime, they have no power. Victory is attributed to the strategist's wisdom; defeat is attributed to the warrior's fear of the enemy.

Despite his formidable fighting skills, Di Qing was ultimately forced to his death by civil officials.

The fighting capacity of the Song Dynasty army collapsed starting with Zhao Guangyi.

Being a soldier is looked down upon.

……

"Zhao Guangyi distrusted his brother's former officials and anyone who might threaten his throne, including his brother Zhao Tingmei, his two nephews, and many of his former associates."

Military personnel were among the most thoroughly suppressed and affected.

"From then on, four words were etched into the political DNA of the Song Dynasty."

On the sky, four large black characters slowly descended: Emphasize literature and suppress military affairs.

"These four words, starting with Zhao Guangyi, became the fundamental national policy of the Song Dynasty for three hundred years."

Civil officials govern the country, while military generals guard the borders.

With a single command from the scholar, the path is paved with the bones of countless warriors.

Zhao Kuangyin's core strategy was to "centralize military power and strengthen the central government," with the aim of resolving the problem of military coups by regional military governors.

The comprehensive implementation of "using civil administration to control military affairs" marked a shift during Zhao Guangyi's reign.

Simply put, Zhao Kuangyin took back the power of military generals, while Zhao Guangyi took away their dignity and status as well.

This relegated military officers to a second-class status, establishing a systemic advantage for the civil service over them, which solidified into a strong form of class discrimination after Emperor Renzong of Song.

"From this moment on, the civilization of the Song Dynasty became increasingly brilliant."

"From this moment on, the backbone of the Song Dynasty began to bend more and more."