Sky Curtain: The opening scene explains the four major cases of the Ming Dynasty plus the early Ming

"In June, the new emperor ascended the throne. Ten-year-old Zhu Yijun sat on the dragon throne. The reign title was Wanli."

After writing the two characters "万曆" on the whiteboard, Zhu Dijun turned to face the camera.

"The young emperor has taken his seat, but the swords in the court have already been drawn."

He retrieved a memorial from June of the sixth year of the Longqing reign.

"Gao Gong submitted a memorial requesting the abolition of the Directorate of Ceremonial and the return of its power to approve imperial edicts."

On the whiteboard, Zhu Dijun drew the logical chain of Gao Gong's move.

"What is the power of writing in red ink? It is the power of the emperor to write comments on memorials in red ink. In reality, this task has always been handled by the Directorate of Ceremonial. Gao Gong's logic is very simple—when the late emperor entrusted his son to the care of the emperor, he said that the Grand Secretariat would assist in governing, not that eunuchs would be involved. Therefore, the power of writing in red ink should belong to the Grand Secretariat."

He drew a circle around this logical chain.

"Sounds reasonable, right? It's only natural for civil officials to review memorials on behalf of the emperor. But Gao Gong forgot one thing."

Zhu Dijun tapped the whiteboard.

"He forgot that Feng Bao had the imperial edict. Even if it was a forgery, it was 'real' until it was exposed, and the forged edict clearly stated 'Assistant Director of the Imperial Household Department' in black and white. Gao Gong's attempt to reclaim the power of approval was tantamount to overturning the late emperor's will. What is this called in politics? It's called filial impiety."

Someone started cursing in the comments section.

"Gao Gong has been tricked!"

[“Feng Bao altered the will first, and Gao Gong opposed it later. This is tantamount to Gao Gong deliberately jumping into a pit.”]

"Yes. Gao Gong was capable, but he had a short temper. He joined forces with censors and officials to impeach Feng Bao, creating quite a stir. But he didn't know that Zhang Juzheng had secretly reported every step of his plan to Feng Bao."

Zhu Dijun drew an information flow diagram on the whiteboard.

"Gao Gong discussed with the censors how to impeach Feng Bao—Zhang Juzheng was present—Zhang Juzheng turned to Feng Bao and told him—Feng Bao prepared a counterattack in advance. The information was one-way and transparent. Gao Gong was in the open, while Feng Bao and Zhang Juzheng were in the shadows. How could this battle be fought?"

He put down his pen.

"And then there's that sentence."

On the whiteboard, Zhu Dijun wrote a line of words—

"How can a ten-year-old child govern the world?"

"Gao Gong said this during a cabinet meeting. The exact words may differ, but the gist is this: How can a ten-year-old child govern a country? What does it mean to say this in a cabinet meeting room? It's just complaining. But when Feng Bao heard this, it took on a different meaning."

He wrote three words on the whiteboard: "Disrespect for the young emperor", "Intent to usurp imperial power", and "Disloyal intentions".

"Feng Bao took this statement to Empress Dowager Li. He said that Gao Gong looked down on the young emperor and wanted to seize power for himself. Empress Dowager Li was overjoyed to hear this. She had originally wanted to find an excuse to get rid of Gao Gong, but now he had delivered his own weakness to her door."

Zhu Dijun spread his hands.

"The Empress Dowager issued an edict, which Feng Bao carried out, with Zhang Juzheng assisting. Three edicts were issued—Gao Gong has seized power and abused his authority, and is ordered to return to his hometown immediately and leave the capital today. He is not allowed to stay. He is not allowed to make any excuses. He is not allowed to take any property with him."

He slowly erased Gao Gong's name from the whiteboard.

"He returned to court in the third year of the Longqing reign, and was dismissed in the sixth year. Gao Gong served in the Grand Secretariat for more than three years, wielding immense power. In the end, a single imperial edict sent him away that very day. He wasn't even given a chance to go home and pack his bags."

Zhu Dijun turned around.

"The third regent was Gao Yi. This old gentleman was neutral and did not take sides. On the day Gao Gong was dismissed, Gao Yi watched with his own eyes as the Embroidered Uniform Guard escorted Gao Gong out of the capital. That night, he vomited blood. A few days later, he died of illness."

He wrote four words next to Gao Yi's name: "died of shock and terror".

"Historical records say that Gao Yi was frail and sickly, and died of natural causes. I believe half of that. What is the other half? It's Zhang Juzheng's deliberate pressure. Gao Yi knew too many inside stories: how the will was altered, how Gao Gong was framed, and what the relationship was between Zhang Juzheng and Feng Bao. How much of a check and balance would a knowledgeable, neutral regent have placed on Zhang Juzheng if he remained in the cabinet?"

Zhu Dijun held up one finger.

"Gao Yi had to die. It wasn't necessarily Zhang Juzheng who directly took action. But in that environment, the overwhelming public criticism in the court, the surveillance by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and the isolation from his colleagues were enough to scare a timid old scholar to death, or to frighten him to death."

He walked in front of the camera.

"At this point, only two people remain in the cabinet. Zhang Juzheng, the Grand Secretary. Lü Tiaoyang, a newly promoted figurehead. Feng Bao, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial. The Empress Dowager, Lady Li. The ten-year-old Emperor, Zhu Yijun."

Zhu Dijun drew a power structure diagram on the whiteboard.

"The outer court—Zhang Juzheng called the shots. The inner court—Feng Bao called the shots. The harem—Empress Dowager Li called the shots. The emperor—had no say."

The comment section was filled with wails of despair.

"What can a ten-year-old child say? Even their homework was assigned by Zhang Juzheng."

"Isn't this just a puppet?"

"The reason why Wanli later neglected his duties and didn't attend court for thirty years lies here. He was terrified of being controlled when he was young."

Instead of responding to the comments, Zhu Dijun displayed a picture.

"At the end of the year, Zhang Juzheng did something else—he arrested Mu Chaobi, the Duke of Qian."

A portrait of Mu Chaobi appeared on the screen.

"The Mu family has guarded Yunnan for generations, starting with Mu Ying during the Hongwu reign, a position they held for over two hundred years. Are the accusations against Mu Chaobi of corruption, indiscriminate killing, and regional separatism in Yunnan true? Yes. But why did he choose this particular time to act?"

Zhu Dijun wrote four characters on the whiteboard: "Kill the chicken to scare the monkey".

"The Mu family held independent military power and did not rely on the cabinet. Zhang Juzheng's targeting of Mu Chaobi was tantamount to telling all the nobles and governors of the border regions across the country—no matter how illustrious your family background is, if you do not rely on the Grand Secretary, I will still deal with you."

He put down his pen and made a summarizing gesture.

"In terms of politics in the sixth year of the Longqing reign, it can be summarized in one sentence: the iron triangle usurped power. The Empress Dowager, Feng Bao, and Zhang Juzheng joined forces to forge imperial edicts, frame and expel the regent Grand Secretary, purge neutral cabinet ministers, and intimidate the nobles on the frontier. The entire system of checks and balances in the court collapsed overnight. The power of the cabinet expanded infinitely, and there was no force that could restrain the Grand Secretary."

The Ming Dynasty, in a parallel Zhengde era.

The Leopard Chamber. Zhu Houzhao had one foot on a chair, his grip on the wine cup so tight it was deformed.

"What a Zhang Juzheng! What a Feng Bao!"

Zhu Houzhao's voice was so loud that the roof beams trembled.

"If I were to encounter these two scoundrels, I'd drag them to the Meridian Gate and give them three hundred strokes of the cane! Altering the imperial edict? I'd alter the edicts of your ancestors for eighteen generations!"

The eunuch next to him shrank back and dared not utter a sound.

Zhu Houzhao smashed the wine cup on the ground, shattering it into pieces.

"Ten years old! That kid is only ten years old! And these people have put him on the dragon throne like a decoration. I was only fifteen when I ascended the throne, and the reality of my ascension was the same as Wanli's. If that kid Wanli had any of my spirit, he wouldn't have been ridden around by Zhang Juzheng for ten years!"

After he finished scolding, Zhu Houzhao was stunned for a moment.

He suddenly fell silent, staring at the shattered wine glass on the ground.

"That's not right. I was a puppet back then too. In the words of my descendants, I spent several years developing my power in a cowardly manner. What does that kid Wanli have? Nothing."

He crouched down, picked up a shard, and twirled it between his fingers.

"A ten-year-old child, with no soldiers under his command, no trusted confidants by his side, and even his own mother conspiring with outsiders to plot against him. What can he do?"

Zhu Houzhao threw away the fragments.

"If it were me, I would also give up."