"Lord Qin knew that by killing his brother and seizing the throne, he would be stigmatized for eternity, so he gathered scholars to rewrite history. He also promoted and rewarded the ministers who had contributed to his seizure of power, attributing to them non-existent military achievements and called them the 'Twenty-Four Meritorious Officials of Lingyan Pavilion.'
"With the concerted efforts of the historians, the achievements of the 'Wude Governance' were all credited to Lord Qin and altered to 'Zhenguan Governance,' unknown to later generations."
Li Hongyun was astonished as he read this "historical record."
Can this be true?
It must be said that nearly every sentence of this lengthy content is full of points to be criticized. After reading it all, one doesn't even know where to begin.
A closer look would reveal that this is likely the epitome of historical conspiracy theories. Although filled with loopholes, it does score strongly in terms of sensationalism and subversion.
