Sky Curtain: A Review of Historical Foes and the Secrets of Ministers

"Bang!!!"

Since becoming emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang had never suffered such a great injustice in his life.

"Cold-hearted and ungrateful?! He actually called us cold-hearted and ungrateful? And accused us of being petty and narrow-minded?"

Zhu Yuanzhang was so angry that his hands trembled. He, Zhu Chongba, had gone from a starving cowherd to a beggar, fighting his way through mountains of corpses and seas of blood to drive the Mongol Yuan dynasty out of the Central Plains and rebuild China.

He believed in himself that he was no less capable than any emperor.

What broke his spirits the most was that it was Li Shimin, that guy who killed his brother and forced his father to abdicate, who stepped on him.

"Is that because I'm mean and ungrateful?" Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly stopped and glared fiercely at the minister.

"Tiande, hold your head high!"

Xu Da shuddered in fright, shakily raising his head with a bitter expression, "Get...get promoted..."

"Which of those noble families from Huaixi didn't seize land and bully men and women?"

Zhu Yuanzhang's gaze swept across the ranks of civil officials like a knife, and he swallowed the words that were about to come out.

"Father, please calm your anger."

Zhu Biao, who was standing nearby, quickly stepped forward to support his father, who was trembling with anger, and patted his back repeatedly.

"Father, Li Er is unaware of your good intentions for the sake of the people and the eternal foundation of the Ming Dynasty."

Zhu Biao gently comforted him, "Since the precious paper money won't work..."

At this point, Zhu Biao felt a little ashamed. "Then let's send some real gold and silver to properly praise Father Emperor's unparalleled martial arts."

Hearing his eldest son's heartfelt words of comfort, Zhu Yuanzhang felt a little calmer.

"Biao'er is right. This brat is ignorant; we shouldn't stoop to his level."

Zhu Yuanzhang snorted and prepared to issue an edict ordering the Ministry of Revenue to select a few treasures from the Imperial Treasury and send them over.

Just as he was about to speak, a sudden flash of inspiration struck him.

"etc……"

Zhu Yuanzhang squinted, recalling the scene that had just been played on the screen.

"When the Heavenly Canopy was reviewing Li Lao Er just now, it didn't mention much about his great achievements in fighting the Eastern Turks and destroying Gaochang. Instead, it revealed all his shameful deeds, such as almost being thrown to his death when he handed over military power in his early years, drinking poison and vomiting blood, and his resentment that made him want to rebel..."

Zhu Yuanzhang's brows furrowed more and more deeply.

"Damn it, this canopy is something else."

Old Zhu suddenly realized what was going on.

This is not some kind of praise-giving artifact at all; it's a damn tool for digging up people's ancestral graves and exposing their underwear.

If he invests heavily now, Tianmu will talk about him tomorrow.

What if instead of praising his heroic deeds in conquering the world, they release his dark history of begging for food as a monk and even secretly eating hairy pork?

What's even more terrifying is the possibility that this sky might broadcast his true innermost thoughts to the entire world...

How can he continue to be emperor then?

How will Biao'er face the descendants of these ministers in the future?

Thinking of this, Zhu Yuanzhang broke out in a cold sweat, and the thought of giving a reward that had just arisen vanished.

and……

Old Zhu's inherently stingy nature also came to the fore.

"How many bushels of grain would a priceless treasure be worth? Enough to feed countless soldiers of the Ming Dynasty's garrisons?"

The more Zhu Yuanzhang thought about it, the more painful it became.

Spending money to buy a screen that's highly likely to be exposed is a huge rip-off.

"Father, what's wrong? Your son will go and make arrangements for the Imperial Treasury..." Zhu Biao asked softly when he saw his father in a daze.

"Wait!"

Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly raised his hand, a cold smile playing on his lips.

He turned around and looked down at the group of trembling ministers below.

"I've suddenly figured it out." Zhu Yuanzhang put his hands behind his back. "I won't give this treasure away for now."

"I remember it started with the Qin Dynasty, and then it became the Tang Dynasty. So it was Li Er's treasures that surpassed those of the First Emperor. Let's let the two of them compete first."

Zhu Yuanzhang chuckled coldly twice, sending chills down the spines of his ministers.

"Let's just wait and see what happens."

At this point, Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the assembled officials below.

He no longer wants to reward himself; instead, he has an idea.

This sky can see right through people's hearts.

If one day in the future it can take stock of the officials of the Ming Dynasty...

"Let's just join in the fun, save the national treasury money, and enjoy a good show for free!"

Zhu Yuanzhang's gaze was icy. He thought to himself, "These loyal ministers and generals kneeling below, so obsequious before me every day—who knows what they're really thinking?"

......

"Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin..."

Ying Zheng silently pondered the name in his heart, a slight smile playing on his lips.

No matter how powerful this later emperor was, or what unprecedented and divine achievements he made,

But in the eyes of the First Emperor, who established a unified empire, he always felt like he was looking at a promising younger generation.

What truly surprised Ying Zheng, and even struck him as somewhat interesting, was Wang Jian.

Who is Wang Jian?

He was the undisputed number one war god of the Qin army, a top general who pacified the Chu state and swept away most of the six states' territories.

On the surface, the old man appeared respectful and cautious, constantly clamoring for fertile land and beautiful houses to protect himself, but Ying Zheng knew exactly what was going on.

That old fox is arrogant to the extreme.

Apart from the First Emperor, who did Wang Jian ever submit to in military matters throughout his life?

He didn't even respect Li Mu, considering him merely a troublesome figure who needed to be eliminated using a counter-espionage scheme.

Just now, this same narcissistic old general, after seeing Li Shimin's battle formation, actually admitted in front of everyone that he was inferior.

Could it make the Qin Dynasty's military genius admit defeat?

This sparked Ying Zheng's keen interest in his descendant, Li Shimin, and the military strength of the Tang Dynasty.

If the Qin cavalry were equipped with a device called a stirrup, could the Qin territory have reached the end of the world map shown on the sky?

However, although he had many questions in his mind, including curiosity about military formations in later generations and an exploration of the Tang Dynasty, Ying Zheng quickly calmed down.

Because deep down he only had one ultimate goal, which was immortality.

"Longevity and eternal life, a lineage that lasts for ten thousand generations. Everything else is but fleeting clouds," Ying Zheng coldly told himself.

This celestial canopy is so wondrous that it not only knows everything about events millions of years in the future, but even more terrifyingly, it can also dissect the heart of an emperor without restraint.

This is definitely not something that can be done by human power; it must be the work of celestial beings.

Since it was a divine means, Ying Zheng was no longer in a hurry.

He has now begun to believe in the matter of the Sky Curtain to a great extent, and in every word it reveals.

And it was precisely because of this belief that an extremely cruel conjecture was gradually taking shape in Ying Zheng's mind.

Ying Zheng glanced discreetly at Li Si below and Zhao Gao standing in the corner of the hall.

"Zhao Gao, Hu Hai ascended the throne, but the dynasty died after only two generations, and Fu Su..."

For an emperor with a high degree of political acumen, it was a crystal-clear puzzle of a rebellion.