Chương 418: Now standing before you are Li Shimin and Zhu Di.

I occasionally handle a few major tasks, and the rest of the time is entirely my own.

It's truly leisurely, and it's truly comfortable.

But when people have free time, their minds tend to wander.

Liu Ce closed his eyes, covered the book, and his mind was filled with a battle of ideas.

It's a little theater he plays with himself, with four little figures bouncing around in his mind: Little Li Shimin, Little Zhu Di, Little Xiang Yu, and Little Liu Ce himself.

"Ding~" A door opened, and four tiny figures jumped out, each the size of a palm, with clear features and vivid expressions, like a shadow puppet show.

Young Li Shimin was the first to jump out, wearing a bright yellow dragon robe, a winged crown, and a sword at his waist. His chin was slightly raised, and he had an arrogant look on his face that said "I am the best in the world".

He put his hands on his hips, looked around, cleared his throat, and said loudly:

"Make way, everyone! I'm about to show off!"

Young Liu Ce, young Xiang Yu, and young Zhu Di all turned to look at him.

With a wave of his hand, the large screen lit up with a "whoosh".

The video begins playing, accompanied by a passionate voice-over, much like the announcements given by a host during the Spring Festival Gala:

"Standing before you is...

the strongest carbon-based life form of the 7th century, the governor of Asia, the leader of the Eastern Hemisphere, the founder of the Xuanwu Gate succession system of the Tang Dynasty, who cultivated internal civil administration, expanded territory externally, ushered in the Zhenguan era of prosperity, possessed the bearing of a dragon and phoenix, and the countenance of the sun and moon, the Grand Commandant, Minister of Works, Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, Grand Chancellor of the Secretariat, Grand Minister of the Eastern Shaanxi Circuit, Grand Minister of the Yizhou Circuit, Governor of Yongzhou, Governor-General of Liangzhou, General of the Right Wing Guard, General of the Left and Right Martial Guards, General of the Twelve Guards, Pillar of State, Prince of Qin, General of the Heavenly Strategy, Heavenly Khan, the Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, Li Shimin, who commanded three thousand against one hundred thousand!"

In the scene, a valiant emperor rides a tall horse, with banners obscuring the sun behind him, and his army shouting in unison.

The sheer scale and presence were simply incredible.

After the video finished playing, young Li Shimin raised his chin even higher, pointed with his little hand, and said with a smug look on his face, "How about that? Aren't I amazing?"

Little Zhu Di rolled his eyes, too lazy to pay him any attention.

Little Xiang Yu crossed his arms, looking like he thought, "That's all."

Only Xiao Liu Ce was clapping wildly, shouting, "Awesome, Klass!"

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin smiled and stroked his beard, a look of satisfaction on his face.

Young Zhu Di squeezed through with a disgruntled look, shoving Young Li Shimin aside and saying:

"Move aside, you're blocking the big screen! I'm about to show off too!"

Li Shimin was pushed and stumbled. Just as he was about to get angry, Zhu Di had already taken the center position.

He wore a bright yellow dragon robe, which was different from Li Shimin's, more rugged and domineering, with a sword at his waist and combat boots on his feet.

The big screen lit up again, and the voice-over started again, this time with even higher pitches:

"Standing before you now is... the terminator of the great nephew traitor, the strictest father of the Mongols, the founder of the mad rebellion movement, the creator of the Yongle Prosperity, the dreamer of Emperor Taizong, the ancestor of the Ming Dynasty—Zhu Di, the fourth son of the Zhu family!"

After the video finished playing, the young Li Shimin and the young Xiang Yu were overjoyed.

"Hahahaha!"

The two laughed so hard they were doubled over, and tears were almost streaming down their faces.

"Hahaha! The founder of the crazy rebellion movement!"

Young Li Shimin laughed so hard he slapped his thigh, "Emperor Taizong, the dreamer! Hahaha! Who wrote this? So talented!"

Little Xiang Yu laughed so hard he couldn't stand up straight: "Emperor Taizong the Dreamer! That's great! That's great! You became emperor, but your temple name was Chengzu, not Taizong, so you're called Emperor Taizong the Dreamer! Hahahaha!"

Xiao Liu Ce was trying so hard to suppress his laughter; his face was flushed, and his shoulders were trembling.

Young Zhu Di, his face flushed with anger, jumped up and down, cursing, "Who the hell did this?! Damn it, this doesn't count! Do it again! Why is mine so ridiculous?!"

Upon hearing this, Little Li Shimin, Little Xiang Yu, and Little Liu Ce laughed even harder, the three little figures huddled together, rolling on the ground laughing.

Young Zhu Di slammed his fist on the big screen in a huff: "Change it! Change it now!"

The large screen flickered and then lit up again.

This time, the voice-over tone was much more serious, even somewhat solemn:

"Standing before you now is the wise and mighty Emperor Yongle, the fourth son of Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, one of the nine princes of the Ming Empire's border regions, the Prince of Yan, the commoner of Yan, the Grand Marshal of the Northern Expedition, known as the Sage Emperor, the conqueror of Vietnam, the father of the Korean suzerain, the compiler of the Yongle Encyclopedia, the explorer of the world's oceans, the creator of the Yongle Prosperity, the initiator of the Jingnan Campaign, the builder of the Forbidden City, the world's superpower at the time, and one of the most diligent and benevolent emperors in Chinese history."

"The only prince in history to successfully rebel, the only emperor to achieve the feat of sealing the wolf's lair, a representative of the emperor on horseback guarding the nation's gates, he led five expeditions to the northern deserts, deterring the various tribes of the grasslands from grazing their horses southwards, and six voyages to the Western Ocean, bringing tribute from all nations and subjugating the entire country.

He also compiled the Yongle Encyclopedia, ensuring the eternal preservation of this treasure of Chinese civilization."

"He was the most resolute emperor of the Ming Dynasty. After him, all the emperors of the Ming Dynasty were influenced by him. This made the Ming Dynasty free from the marriage alliances of the Han Dynasty, the alliances of the Tang Dynasty, the meager tributes of the Song Dynasty, and the etiquette of treating brothers as enemy states. The emperor guarded the country's gates, and the monarch died for the country. He was—Emperor Taizong Chunren Zhixiao Wen, Zhu Di of the Ming Dynasty!"

This time, the dialogue was long and loud, and the images on the big screen changed to magnificent scenes of Zhu Di's five expeditions to the northern deserts, Zheng He's voyages to the Western Ocean, the construction of the Forbidden City, and the compilation of the Yongle Encyclopedia, which dazzled the audience.

After the video finished playing, young Zhu Di raised his chin higher than Li Shimin, put his hands on his hips, and with an expression that said "Satisfied this time," he asked arrogantly, "How was it? How was it? I'm asking you all, how was it? Aren't you awesome?"

Little Xiang Yu ignored it completely, crossed his arms and turned away, muttering, "What's the use of a long poem? It's still just about rebelling and taking power."

Young Li Shimin was furiously complaining: "Damn it! Why is yours so long? I refuse to accept this! Who wrote the short one? Drag it out and chop it up!"

Only Xiao Liu Ce was clapping wildly, his hands turning red from clapping.

Xiang Yu finally couldn't hold back any longer and shoved Zhu Di aside: "Damn it, you're acting like nobody doesn't have one! Get out of here!"

Young Zhu Di was pushed and stumbled. Just as he was about to get angry, young Xiang Yu had already taken the center position.

He was dressed in black armor, wearing a golden crown, with a long sword at his waist and combat boots on his feet. His small face was filled with the words "I am the God of War".

The moment he stood there, a murderous aura swept over you, and even the air seemed to grow colder.

The large screen lit up, and a deep, resonant voice-over, with a metallic echo, filled the screen.

"Now standing before you is... the ceiling of human combat power, the pinnacle of war god in the era of cold weapons, and the only person who, despite not being an emperor, is recorded in the annals of emperors."