The Sky Screen Illuminates the Ages: The First Emperor Reaches the Summit

On this day, a sky screen stretched across all of history, visible to the rulers and ministers of every dynasty whenever they looked up.

The first scene showed the Qin dynasty falling just two generations after its founding.

Ying Zheng fell silent. Fusu tightened his grip on his sword, while Zhao Gao knelt outside the palace hall, already too afraid to look up.

Then came the rankings of the Ten Greatest Emperors, Ten Greatest Empresses, and Ten Greatest Generals.

Some saw themselves remembered in history. Others discovered that the seeds of their dynasty’s collapse had been planted beneath its golden age. Some slammed their hands on the table at how later generations judged them, while others waited until the sky screen vanished without ever seeing their own names.

Zhu Yuanzhang had been delighted to see an emperor of the Ming make the list, but in the next moment he spotted Zhu Di in the scene, dressed in imperial robes.

Liu Bang saw Han Xin in Weiyang Palace. Li Shimin saw the blood outside the Xuanwu Gate. Zhao Gou was forced to watch Yue Fei’s northern campaign alongside his assembled ministers.

How should merit and blame be judged? Who gets to define a hero?

When the sky screen granted rewards, giving historical figures the chance to make different choices and undo their regrets, everyone realized one thing:

Knowing the future did not mean they could change it.

As for Qianlong, who had prepared his words of praise to the emperor long in advance, all he could do was keep looking up at the sky screen and asking:

“Surely I’m next, right?”