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

That shovel strike seemed to be a signal.

This is a signal that the last vestige of hypocrisy from the old era has been utterly shattered.

Immediately afterwards, the engineering convoy, which had been waiting in advance, roared deafeningly, like steel behemoths, as it rolled over the grassland and headed toward the burial mound of the Mu Mausoleum.

The tracks left deep marks on the ground.

The marks were like epitaphs carved on the coffin lid of the old empire.

Above the sky, high-definition drones transmitted this spectacular scene in real time to all dimensions.

Excavators, heavy cranes, drilling platforms, mobile experimental cabins...

A demolition team representing the highest level of modern industrial civilization surrounded the mausoleum of Emperor Daoguang under the watchful eyes of the world.

The entire process was efficient, ruthless, and exuded an undeniable sense of power.

"Captain, the site has been cleared, and the outer defensive perimeter has been established."

Li Jiujiang's voice came through the walkie-talkie, as steady as ever.

Zhu Dijun nodded and handed the entrenching tool to the staff member next to him.

He picked up a tablet and walked to the burial mound.

"Ground-penetrating radar scan, commencing."

It was that familiar ground-penetrating radar again, like a small cart, being pushed by two technicians as it slowly moved across the burial mound.

On the screen, the underground structural diagram was analyzed layer by layer, as clear as architectural blueprints.

The Qing Dynasty era.

Inside the Forbidden City, Daoguang's ghostly figure trembled with rage, pointing at the image on the sky, his lips shaking.

"Deceiving the emperor! Disrespecting the emperor and blaming others!"

"My sacred mound, my underground palace...they...they just left like that..."

He wanted to say something, but found himself utterly speechless.

His once-proud imperial tomb, in the face of the "divine artifacts" of his descendants, is like a naked girl with no privacy whatsoever.

Beside him, Qian Xiaosi's face was also terribly gloomy.

"Hmph, back in the day, it took Sun Dianying seven days and seven nights to get into my Yuling Mausoleum using explosives."

"These young Han Chinese nowadays, they can understand everything simply by pushing an iron box around!"

"As one rises, the other falls; the fate of the nation... the fate of the nation!"

He let out a mournful cry.

Inside the Hongwu Hall, however, the scene was quite different.

Zhu Yuanzhang sat with his legs crossed, munching on fruit while watching with great interest.

"Hey, Biao'er, look at this! The tomb of the Tartar emperor is so stingy."

"That good-for-nothing second son of ours, even his princely tomb looks more impressive than his emperor's!"

Zhu Di nodded in agreement.

"Father is right. Look at the structure of that underground palace; it's pitifully simple, without even a decent anti-theft mechanism. The rammed earth layer is also very thin; isn't it because they cut corners?"

"That's it? You think you can compare to our Changling? You're not even worthy to carry our shoes!"

The father and son, one after the other, pressed Daoguang's face to the ground and rubbed it repeatedly.

Just then, a report from the technicians rang out from the sky.

"Captain, scan complete!"

"The underground palace of Muling is a standard nine-vault, four-door structure. The main burial chamber is 17 meters deep, 35 meters long, and 12 meters wide. No large-scale mechanical structures or signs of mercury or other toxic substances were found."

The technician paused, a hint of unease in his voice.

"Furthermore... according to radar signal feedback, there appear to be signs of water seepage and partial collapse in the southeast corner of the underground palace."

Water seepage?

Collapse?

The world fell silent for a moment after he said that.

Immediately, the live stream chat exploded with comments like a volcanic eruption!

"Pfft—! What did I just hear? The emperor's mausoleum is actually a leaky, shoddy construction project?!"

"Hahaha! I can't laugh anymore! The infrastructure of the Qing Dynasty was rotten to the core!"

["Emperor Daoguang: My coffin lid is moving, not because I want to, but because the rainwater is too buoyant!"]

["No wonder they were conducting a 'rescue excavation,' it turns out it really was going to collapse! The authorities are working on it in the atmosphere!"]

The Ming emperor and his ministers laughed so hard they almost fell over.

Xu Da slapped his thigh: "That Tartar emperor is too pitiful! Even in death he can't find peace, he has to soak in water every day!"

Lan Yu, even more outspoken, exclaimed, "In my opinion, this coffin is probably already a pot of bone broth!"

"quiet!"

Zhu Yuanzhang coughed, suppressing a laugh, and reprimanded him sternly, "Respect for the dead is paramount; how can you be so disrespectful?"

Then, he turned his head and whispered to Zhu Biao:

"Make a note of this later. From now on, our Xiaoling Mausoleum's drainage system must be the best in the world! We don't want to have to take a bath every day after we die."

Zhu Biao agreed with a wry smile.

Before the celestial canopy, Zhu Dijun listened to the report without any surprise on his face.

He looked calmly at the camera and spoke slowly.

"Ladies and gentlemen, there's no need to be surprised."

"According to historical records, Emperor Daoguang was known for his 'frugality,' and the scale and materials used in his mausoleum were reduced on several occasions. Now it seems that this 'frugality' has had its consequences."

His words, seemingly an explanation, were actually a veiled attack on his heart!

What kind of thrift?

It's nothing but a fig leaf to cover up the empty treasury and the decline of national power!

How can a dynasty that can't even repair its own final resting place claim the dignity of a "Celestial Empire"?

"Alright, enough chit-chat."

Zhu Dijun waved his hand and gave the order.

"Execute the second set of 'archaeological' procedures according to the original plan."

"Heavy drilling rig ready!"

Rumbling--

A giant drilling machine, even larger than the one previously placed in front of Zhu Shuang's tomb, was hoisted directly above the burial mound.

The alloy drill bit, gleaming with a chilling light, was aimed at the dome of the main burial chamber as indicated by the radar.

Seeing this, Daoguang's ghostly figure completely collapsed!

"No! Don't!"

"That's my bedchamber! You can't...you can't crawl through it! That's a grave disrespect!"

He roared hysterically, but his voice could not penetrate the barriers of time and space.

Zhu Dijun seemed to hear his wails, and a cold smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

He spoke into the microphone, his voice carrying clearly throughout the world.

"I know some people will say that our approach is too 'brutal'."

"But I want to say that different 'cultural relics' should be protected in different ways."

"We approach the mausoleums of our Chinese ancestors with reverence and utmost caution."

"But what about a sinner who brought a century of humiliation to our nation through opium and war..."

His voice suddenly rose to a high pitch, like a thunderclap!

"We choose to use the most efficient method to nail him to the pillar of historical shame!"

"Start drilling!"

At a command, the massive drill bit, with a deafening roar that seemed to tear everything apart, began to spin violently!

"Buzz—!"

Soil, stone slabs, glutinous rice paste layers...

Faced with absolute industrial power, the last fig leaf of a declining dynasty was ruthlessly torn away layer by layer!

The drill bit seemed not to be drilling through a tomb.

Instead, it is drilling into a nation's century-long nightmare!

Soon, the operator's voice came through.

"Report, Captain! We've penetrated the tomb's dome!"

"very good!"

Zhu Dijun put on a safety helmet and walked to the cave entrance himself.

A miniature endoscopic probe was slowly inserted into the bottomless hole.

The screen began to display images on the tablet.

Dark, damp, chaotic...

The camera pans and finally settles on the center of the tomb chamber.

A black coffin lay there quietly.

Unlike Zhu Shuang's magnificent coffin, which was decorated with dragons and phoenixes, this coffin was entirely black and had no ornamentation, making it appear exceptionally simple.

Even more shockingly, one corner of the coffin had visibly rotted and collapsed.

Several pale human bones spilled out from the hole, scattered haphazardly in the murky water.

The emperor's remains were left exposed to the world, lying in the wilderness!

At this moment, all was silent.

All the emperors of Mite Cleansing felt a chill and shame that came from their very souls!

Zhu Dijun simply watched the scene on the screen calmly and issued the next order.

"Get ready to go down the well."

"Send men down there and retrieve his bones, one by one."