vrcanaries Chapter 1 The First Appearance of the Light Curtain
Chapter 1 The First Appearance of the Light Curtain
Sima Qian wrote in the "Treatise on the Feng and Shan Sacrifices" in the Records of the Grand Historian: "On Mount Tai, an earthen altar was built to worship Heaven and report the merits of Heaven, hence the name 'Feng' (封). On a small hill at the foot of Mount Tai, the land was cleared to report the merits of Earth, hence the name 'Shan' (禅)."
In the 28th year of Qin Shi Huang's reign, he made an eastern tour of the prefectures and counties. To repay Heaven for the Qin dynasty's achievements, the First Emperor led his civil and military officials, as well as Confucian scholars and doctors from Qi and Lu, to the foot of Mount Tai.
The Confucian scholars and doctors had many opinions about the Fengshan ceremony. After listening to them, the First Emperor felt that it was not very reliable, so he left them and went up Mount Tai with his ministers.
Unexpectedly, just as they reached the halfway point of the mountain, lightning flashed and thunder roared, and a torrential rain was imminent. To avoid the wind and rain, the First Emperor and his entourage took shelter under a large tree.
Upon hearing of the First Emperor's humiliation, the Qilu scholars burst into laughter, mocking him: "The First Emperor seized the world by force and even dared to report to Heaven. However, the celestial phenomena have changed today, and the Fengshan ceremony is impossible. In my opinion, it would be better to change course and go back, and reflect on his actions as soon as possible!" This remark was met with much agreement.
Meng Tian, who was left behind, could no longer contain himself and punched the man. His Majesty was sacred and inviolable, and they dared not slander him!
The First Emperor was not unaware of the Confucian scholars' ridicule, but he was determined to climb Mount Tai. He wanted the world to know that he was the one destined by Heaven!
At this moment, on the top of Mount Tai, the First Emperor stood with a group of ministers. Suddenly, a thunderclap rang in their ears, startling everyone and causing a great deal of discussion.
"Why is such a large area of the sky darkened?! Is this divine punishment?!"
A voice filled with fear and unease arose from the crowd, and everyone looked up at the sky. The First Emperor narrowed his eyes and saw a blinding light appear in the darkness, which vanished in a few breaths.
In an instant, the common people at the foot of the mountain fled in all directions, while the Confucian scholars and doctors launched a barrage of accusations, but only the First Emperor remained steadfast.
The wind and rain suddenly stopped, and when everyone looked up at the dark sky on the horizon, they heard a child's voice.
"Ding, your live stream has started. Please get ready."
As soon as he finished speaking, Li Si, Zhao Gao, Meng Yi and other ministers beside the First Emperor could no longer hold back and stepped forward. However, Zhao Gao beat him to it: "Your Majesty will live a thousand years, how could this be divine punishment? I believe it is a divine manifestation, that the immortals know of Your Majesty's achievements and have come to congratulate you!"
The First Emperor's eyes lit up with delight as he stared intently at the black curtain.
At the same time, scenes from different eras, such as the Tang Dynasty, Han Dynasty, Song Dynasty, and Ming Dynasty, all begin to unfold.
A series of horn calls sounded from afar, and then a person dressed in animal clothing appeared, praying to heaven.
[The Battle of Zhuolu, a legendary battle between the Yellow Emperor and Chiyou...]
[After Tai Kang lost his kingdom, Hou Yi replaced the Xia dynasty. Legend has it that the five brothers stopped in Luoyang and composed the Song of the Five Sons...]
[The Battle of Muye: King Wu defeated the Shang Dynasty, leading to its downfall...]
[During the War of Wu and Yue, King Goujian of Yue was trapped on Mount Kuaiji and sued for peace with Wu...]
The First Emperor looked up without speaking, but his heart was stirred. Some of the words on the black screen were clear, while others were blurry. Then, a thought flashed through his mind.
Seeing this, Li Si stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, these are all histories of the past dynasties, yet they are fleeting. I believe that no matter what the immortals think, this is definitely an opportunity for our Great Qin!"
Yes, I wonder how my Great Qin is doing?
At this moment, the First Emperor felt both excitement and a vague unease.
My Great Qin Dynasty may not last ten thousand generations, but a hundred generations will do! Just please, don't let it be destroyed!
In 359 BC, Duke Xiao of Qin appointed Shang Yang to implement reforms.
In 350 BC, the Qin Dynasty moved its capital to Xianyang...
……
In 221 BC, Qin conquered the six other states, unified the Central Plains, and Ying Zheng adopted the title "Emperor," becoming the First Emperor. He standardized weights and measures, the width of cart axles, and the written language.
……
In 210 BC, Qin Shi Huang died during his eastern tour, and the Qin dynasty ended with the reign of Qin Er Shi.
The First Emperor was deeply troubled. The good news was that he knew his contributions were significant! The bad news was that the dynasty would end after only two generations!
The ministers around him trembled with fear. Good heavens! The Qin Dynasty had ended with the Second Emperor! My life was over!
My Great Qin Dynasty is gone!? Gone before it even lasted a hundred generations!?
The First Emperor felt a sudden darkness before his eyes and an unbearable tightness in his chest.
He suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood, and the officials around him, disregarding the proper etiquette between ruler and subject, rushed over to him.
"Your Majesty, please calm down! Quickly summon the imperial physician!"
Ignoring his own frustration, the First Emperor hastily ordered, "Never mind me, the matter of the immortals is important!" Zhao Gao quickly helped the First Emperor up and pointed to the sky, saying, "Your Majesty, you see, the immortals seem to like you, so they stopped when they saw that Your Majesty was not feeling well."
Lin Ke was heartbroken to see Zheng Ge vomiting blood, so she quickly paused the video and asked the 999 system, "Can we pause here for a while? Do you have any newbie benefits or anything? Isn't there a reward for becoming the first emperor of all time?"
The 999 system was speechless and had to reiterate once again: "Host, all benefits are off before the broadcast. At most, we'll give you some modern gadgets. Each time, we'll select two people, and the host will pose a question. Viewers can use a portion of their points as bets on which side. The side that answers correctly will have their points doubled, and the participants will receive a reward."
"At that time, people from any time and space will be able to use points to purchase goods in the system's store."
That's right. Lin Ke was just a college graduate who had been hitting walls everywhere and hadn't found a job yet. He was lying alone in his rented room when System 999 came knocking on his door, saying that it could change the history of various dynasties.
This was practically a temptation for a history enthusiast, and Lin Ke agreed without the slightest hesitation. After all, hobby was secondary; the main thing was that it offered so much!
A monthly salary of 5,000 yuan, a 50/50 split of gifts, and the ability to rest whenever needed—it's practically a dream job!
During the reign of Emperor Wu of Han
"Why isn't the sky screen up anymore? It's stuck in the Qin Dynasty," Huo Qubing asked, his face full of curiosity.
"Something must have gone wrong in the Qin Dynasty, tsk tsk, what a spendthrift! I bet the First Emperor would be furious enough to vomit blood," Liu Che casually remarked.
There's not much money for the war right now, I'm so worried I've got blisters on my lips, why should I care about the Qin Dynasty?
The heavens are truly biased; I also want to know if the Han Dynasty has truly routed the Xiongnu.
In 202 BC, Liu Bang became emperor, known as Emperor Gaozu of Han.
In 140 BC, Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che, adopted Dong Zhongshu's suggestion to suppress all other schools of thought and exclusively honor Confucianism...
……
[In 200 AD, Cao Cao defeated Yuan Shao, and the Battle of Guandu laid the foundation for the unification of northern China... In 207 BC, Cao Cao unified northern China.]
In 208 AD, the allied forces of Sun Quan and Liu Bei decisively defeated Cao Cao at the Battle of Red Cliffs...thus establishing the basic tripartite balance of power in the Three Kingdoms period.
In 219 AD, Sun Quan attacked and killed Guan Yu, seizing all of Jingzhou. The following year, Cao Cao died, and Cao Pi established his regime, which became known as the Great Wei... Sima Yi usurped power, executed Cao Shuang, a member of the imperial clan, conquered Shu and Wu, and unified the country, establishing the Jin Dynasty.
Cao Cao: ...
Sun Quan: ...
Liu Bei: ...
So all our fighting was just a waste of time and effort, benefiting that cunning old fox Sima Yi?!