Chapter 7: I, Zhang Jiao, Invite the Great Han to Perish!

The era of Liu Bang, the Great Han!

Liu Bang, having just downed a cup of wine, felt a flush of warmth on his face. As he watched the words of his descendants appear on the celestial screen, he was overcome with emotion, gazing at the imposing imagery with great excitement and uttering the word "good" three times in succession.

"Good... good indeed! A fine descendant!"
"The roles of attacker and defender have shifted; if the raiders can come, so can we... marvelous!"
"Look, look! This is the descendant of your humble servant, haha..."

Xiao He, seeing how agitated Liu Bang was, stepped forward and bowed respectfully. "Congratulations, Your Majesty. With descendants capable of speaking such words, our Great Han will surely rise and endure for ten thousand generations!"

Liu Bang burst into hearty laughter, filled with pride. "Haha... I love to hear you say that!" He raised his wine vessel high. "Drink again!"

...

Suddenly, the image on the screen shifted.

In the first scene, there were pools of wine and forests of meat, golden houses of indulgence, and the aristocracy wallowing in song and dance—utterly extravagant.

In the second, there was cannibalism, the wailing of ghosts in the night, corpses littering the streets, and the common people suffering beyond words, their bleached bones gnawed by stray dogs.

On the screen, the cries of the people and the horrific scenes of cannibalism stood in stark contrast to the decadence of the former scene.

Then, the image changed again: a Taoist priest wearing a yellow turban, holding a staff of Taiping, roared at the heavens.

"The Azure Heaven is dead; the Yellow Heaven shall rise. The year is Jiazi; the world shall find peace!"
"Left zero, right fire; let the Thunder God assist me!"
"I, Zhang Jiao, invite the Great Han to its death..."
"Strike..."

With that roar, a million peasants wearing yellow turbans rose in rebellion!

...

Beneath the celestial screen, the royal descendants who had never witnessed such chaos turned pale, clearly shocked to their core.

Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods.

Confucius, wearing a "Virtue" vest, and Laozi, wearing a "Tao" vest, looked at the scene in silence. Both slowly set down their weapons—Confucius his "Virtue" axe, and Laozi his water ladle—and looked up at the sky with bitter smiles.

Confucius felt his conviction wavering. Did the Great Unity truly exist? One side lived in debauchery, while the other was forced to cannibalism just to survive. This...

"Heaven and Earth are heartless; they treat all things as straw dogs," Laozi sighed after a long silence. Even the ox beneath him let out a mournful, tragic groan.

Great Han.

"Invite the Great Han to its death?"

Liu Bang had just finished his wine and was boastfully bragging when he heard the roar from the screen. His eyes widened, and his flushed face turned full of astonishment. The wine vessel in his hand clattered to the floor with a crisp sound.

"Presumptuous! Well, never mind, children and grandchildren have their own destiny!" Liu Bang bent down to pick up his vessel and poured himself another drink.

Xiao He and the other ministers dared not breathe a word, surprised by Liu Bang's unexpected magnanimity.

The era of Emperor Wu of Han!

"What bold words! Invite the Great Han to its death?" Emperor Wu clenched his fists, his eyes filled with murderous intent. "I wish to see what kind of vermin could be so rampant!" He laughed in fury. "Wei Qing!"

Wei Qing stepped forward. "I am here, Your Majesty!"

"If such rebels truly exist, do you have a plan to defeat them?" Emperor Wu looked at Wei Qing with piercing intensity.

Wei Qing held his head high. "Your Majesty, I shall lead our Great Han cavalry to trample the lands of these rebels and show them that the majesty of the Great Han is not to be violated!"

Huo Qubing also stepped forward, his face full of indignation. "Your Majesty, I am willing to serve as vanguard. I shall sever the head of that madman and hang it upon the city gates to vent my hatred! Trampling them is nothing!"

Emperor Wu stood up, hands behind his back, his gaze firm. "Good! You are worthy of my trust!"

Yet, everyone knew this must be the future of the Great Han. From the previous footage, they could see that the people of the future were already living in misery.

However, in Liu Che's heart, regardless of what the future held, the glory of the Great Han could not be tarnished. If the end truly came, he hoped his descendants would stand tall to ensure the eternal stability of the Han empire!

Eastern Han, era of Emperor Guangwu.

Liu Xiu, holding his beloved Yin Lihua, looked up at the sky. He sneered in disdain.

"Rebellious subjects and treacherous sons, you have already courted your own destruction!"

If only Liu Xiu could cross over there now; he would make them feel the true power of the "Grand Magister"! Although he had once said there was no kingdom that would not fall, seeing rebels acting so brazenly before him made even his gentle temperament want to curse. Otherwise, it would make him seem out of place...

...

For a time, emperors across all Han planes were shaken by Zhang Jiao's words. Although they saw the suffering of the people and the corruption of officials, all they truly saw as rulers was the crumbling of the Great Han!

Great Tang.

Li Shimin sat in a pavilion in the Imperial Garden, his brow slightly furrowed as he stared at the scene of the Yellow Turban Rebellion.

Beside him, Fang Xuanling bowed. "Your Majesty, historical records state this chaos in the Han was caused by the unbearable suffering of the people and officials driving them to revolt."

Li Shimin nodded slowly, thoughtful. "Water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it. The corruption in the late Han led to such boiling resentment, resulting in this Yellow Turban Uprising."

"Even without that Zhang Jiao, there would have been a Liu Jiao or a Wang Jiao. The world is destined to divide and reunite."

Wei Zheng stepped forward, speaking passionately, "Your Majesty is correct! Our Great Tang should take history as a mirror, reorganize the administration, and lighten taxes to ensure long-term peace. I beg Your Majesty not to let trivial toys distract you from the state!"

As he spoke, he glanced at Li Er's sleeve.

Li Er's forehead was covered in black lines...

Thus, a small council session unfolded in the Imperial Garden, ending with Li Er angrily scolding Wei Zheng.

After a while, when the ministers had retreated, Li Er hurriedly pulled a canary (a hawk) from his sleeve. Taking a closer look, he realized the bird had long since been smothered to death.