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

The sky darkened.

The cold white text that read, "Due to the involvement of core national secrets, this archaeological live broadcast has come to an end," resembled a tombstone, announcing the sudden death of a global celebration.

In the modern world, the online world is caught in a state of paralysis and frenzy. Countless people are frantically refreshing the page, shouting, guessing, and trying to pry out even the slightest bit of the truth from that endless darkness.

However, for the ancient times and spaces beneath the sky...

When the image disappeared, when Judy Jun's voice fell silent.

The world has not returned to peace.

On the contrary, something even more terrifying than sound was frantically breeding and spreading in the dead silence.

That is thought.

It was the "shadow emperor" hypothesis that ignited a storm of thought from countless eras and countless emperors and generals!

……

The Qin Dynasty, Xianyang Palace.

Inside the Zhangtai Palace, the lights were so bright that you could hear a pin drop.

All the eunuchs and palace maids buried their heads deep in their hands, wishing they could disappear into the ground; even breathing became the most luxurious sin.

Because the person on the throne had been sitting there quietly for the duration of an incense stick burning.

He didn't speak, didn't move, and his eyes didn't even change.

But the invisible, overwhelming pressure that permeated the palace was like mercury spilling onto the ground, seeping into every corner of the palace, making everyone feel as if their bones were groaning under the unbearable weight.

Below, Prime Minister Li Si and Senior Minister Feng Quji stood bowing, their foreheads covered in cold sweat.

The disappearance of the canopy did not bring them any relief.

They knew that the real storm was only just beginning to brew in His Majesty's heart.

at last.

"Click."

A soft sound.

It was the First Emperor's knuckles that gently tapped the dragon-shaped table carved from a single piece of black stone.

The sound wasn't loud, but it made Li Si's heart skip a beat.

"interesting."

Ying Zheng spoke, his voice flat, revealing neither joy nor anger.

He raised his eyes, his deep, star-like eyes looking down at the two trembling ministers below.

"The Shadow Emperor, a Dual Rule..."

He repeated those two words, and a slightly amused smile appeared on his lips.

"Li Si, what do you think?"

Upon hearing this, Li Si trembled and immediately bowed, saying, "Your Majesty! This is an unheard-of and absurd matter! A barbarian nation dares to seize the imperial artifacts and commit such a deceitful act against Heaven! It is a disgrace! Their crime deserves death! Their country deserves destruction!"

His words were passionate and righteous.

However, Ying Zheng simply looked at him indifferently, offering no comment.

"I am not asking you whether it is right or wrong."

The First Emperor's voice turned colder.

"I am asking you, what is the 'reason' behind this matter?"

reason?

Li Si was stunned, and cold sweat instantly soaked through his vest.

He knew he had answered incorrectly.

What His Majesty cares about has never been any "great humiliation". What does the humiliation of future dynasties have to do with him?

What His Majesty cares about is power! It's about rule! It's about the "techniques" exposed here that are enough to overthrow an empire!

Li Si's mind raced, cold sweat pouring down his back. He finally understood the First Emperor's meaning and said in a trembling voice, "Your Majesty... Your Majesty is foolish! I believe the 'principle' of this matter lies in 'infiltration' and 'parasitism'!"

"This method is neither about besieging cities nor conquering countries, but rather like mercury seeping into the ground, penetrating everywhere. First, it uses ingenious and cunning tricks to bewitch the king's mind; then, it uses profit and beauty to corrupt the will of his ministers. When everyone in his court is at my beck and call, the country will no longer be a country, and the king will be a puppet!"

"Its brilliance lies in its 'concealment'! The people of the world, even the emperor himself on the platform, may not know that he is already a caged bird, a puppet on strings!"

"What a wonderful example of 'parasitism'!"

A terrifying glint finally flashed in Ying Zheng's eyes!

He suddenly stood up and paced back and forth in the hall with his hands behind his back.

"Ordinary enemies, on the frontier, on the battlefield, can be crushed by my iron cavalry!"

"Ordinary rebellions, whether in the court or in the countryside, can be eradicated by my laws!"

"But what about this kind of enemy?"

His voice, like cold iron chains, echoed in the hall.

"It is invisible and intangible; it parasitizes the imperial court; it can even don the emperor's dragon robe! It corrodes the foundation of the empire and gnaws away at the monarch's power!"

"This is no longer an enemy; this is a deeply ingrained disease! It's a national plague!"

At this moment, this emperor, who was a figure of unparalleled power throughout history, did not feel anger towards his "unworthy descendants" in later generations.

He felt an unprecedented sense of vigilance!

A chilling killing intent born from the discovery of a new, more insidious, and more deadly threat!

He saw how a dynasty was completely disintegrated on an "invisible" level.

……

Meanwhile, in another great spacetime.

The Great Han Dynasty, Weiyang Palace.

The emperors of the Han dynasty had a completely different, yet more profound, understanding of the term "dual government."

Emperor Wen of Han, Liu Heng; Emperor Jing of Han, Liu Qi; and even the ambitious and talented Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che.

They looked at the pitch-black sky, their expressions incredibly complex.

"Dual government..."

In the timeline of Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che's lips curled into a self-deprecating sneer.

He understands it all too well.

His entire life, especially the first half, was spent fighting against a "shadow government"!

The head of that government was not the Western white man that the young man was talking about.

It was his grandmother, Empress Dowager Dou!

He was the "Retired Emperor" who revered the teachings of Huang-Lao and controlled the government, forcing even the emperor to be tolerant and yielding at every turn!

From personnel appointments and removals in the imperial court to the country's governance policies.

Countless times, he tried to promote Confucianism and make his mark, only to be utterly refuted by Empress Dowager Dou and the entire Huang-Lao interest group behind her.

Isn't that a form of "dual rule"?

The emperor's decrees could not leave Weiyang Palace.

The Empress Dowager's decree could determine the course of a country.

He looked up at the sky and said in a deep voice to Wei Qing and Huo Qubing beside him:

"You see, this is the game of power. The only difference is that my opponents are my family, the internal struggles of the court, and the contest between the Liu and Dou families."

"And that so-called 'Great Qing Dynasty'..."

A chilling contempt flashed in Liu Che's eyes.

"Their enemy is an outsider! A different race!"

"What they're playing isn't internal strife, it's treason!"

"To hand over the reins of power to barbarians beyond our borders in exchange for personal wealth and comfort—this is not dual government, this is inviting wolves into the house and willingly becoming their slaves!"

"shame!"

This iron-blooded emperor, who spent his entire life "honoring the king and repelling the barbarians" and planting the banner of the Han Dynasty on the snowy plains of the northern desert, felt a physiological aversion to a dynasty that came after him for the first time!

He could understand the struggle and compromise of power, but he could not understand this kind of complete betrayal of the nation and the country!

The Three Kingdoms, the Jin Dynasty, the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the Song Dynasty...

Every era and space uses its own history to interpret this terrifying term.

The emperors of the Tang Dynasty thought of the five surnames and seven clans that were deeply rooted and could even rival the imperial power. Weren't those powerful families another kind of "shadow government"?

The emperors and ministers of the Song Dynasty thought of the common practice of empress dowagers ruling from behind a screen and emperors sharing power with scholar-officials.

During the Han Dynasty, the emperor and empress dowager ruled the country together in two separate palaces.

They had all witnessed, or even experienced, similar forms of power division.

But, just as Emperor Wu of Han had thought.

All of this is a power shift within China.

It is a power struggle between father and son, husband and wife, monarch and noble family.

The meat rotted in the pot.

But that "Great Qing Dynasty," that so-called "shadow emperor," handed the blame to outsiders.

This is no longer about power politics, nor is it politics.

This is betrayal!

This is an unprecedented, complete betrayal of the entire civilization in China's thousands of years of history!

The Qin Dynasty, Xianyang Palace.

The First Emperor stopped in his tracks.

He sat back on the cold, black throne, his gaze sweeping over Li Si, over Feng Quji, and over every trembling minister in the hall.

Finally, his gaze seemed to pierce through time and space, and he saw the underground chamber belonging to the "Shadow Emperor," completely sealed off by cement and steel bars.

A cold, emotionless command slowly escaped his lips.

"Issue my decree."

"From this day forward, thoroughly investigate all counties and prefectures under heaven. Anyone found to be a foreign sorcerer, merchant, of unknown origin, or acting strangely..."

"Kill them all in one go."

"My empire."

"No shadows allowed."