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

"The Tumu Crisis, in essence, was no different from Wang Fen's plot and the Nanpo Incident."

Zhu Dijun's words were the final word, and they stirred up a huge wave in the myriad worlds and timelines!

"The only difference is that during the Han Dynasty's failed attempt, Emperor Yingzong of Yuan and Emperor Yingzong of Ming were exposed more thoroughly."

"The planners of Tumu Fortress were even more cunning and ruthless."

"They not only successfully purged the powerful military officers around the emperor, but also shifted all the blame onto a foolish emperor and a greedy eunuch, absolving themselves of all responsibility and even leaving behind a reputation for 'loyalty and righteousness' in the history books!"

"That's the most ingenious part of this scam!"

"hiss--"

Countless gasps of astonishment echoed across different times and spaces.

If that's the case, then the person who orchestrated all of this is incredibly cunning and ruthless!

The Ming Dynasty, Hongwu Hall.

Zhu Yuanzhang's face was no longer cold, but a ferocious expression burning with black flames!

He thought of Hu Weiyong and Lan Yu.

Compared to those scoundrels of later generations who manipulated emperors, slaughtered hundreds of thousands of loyal officials, and still managed to be remembered in history books, Hu Weiyong's thoughts were as pure as a child's!

"Good! Good! Good!"

Old Zhu was so angry that he laughed and said "good" three times in a row.

"Our descendants have raised such a pack of treacherous dogs that devour their master!"

His gaze slowly swept over his sons, Zhu Biao and Zhu Di, and the murderous intent in his eyes made these noblemen feel a chill run down their spines.

"Biao'er, Second Brother, Third Brother, Fourth Brother! You all better remember this!"

"Scholars cannot be trusted!"

"Especially those who constantly spout 'for the country and the people,' and who proclaim themselves 'disciples of saints'!"

"What they care about has never been the Zhu family's empire, much less the people of the world!"

"It's their own family! It's their nonsensical lineage!"

At this moment, Old Zhu had no more doubts about his past acts of mass killing, and even felt that... he hadn't killed enough! Far from enough!

Meanwhile, Zhu Dijun was preparing to drop an even bigger bombshell.

He wanted to pull the fuse of this conspiracy from the fourteenth year of the Zhengtong reign all the way back to an era that no one could have imagined!

"To explain Tumu Fortress clearly, we need to push the timeline back further."

"Where to push it?"

"Emperor Yongle (Zhu Di), before the capital was moved to Beijing!"

The scene on the sky changed instantly.

An old map emerges, and a place name is marked in bright red font—Shandong.

Inside Yongle Palace, Zhu Di, who had just been roaring, suddenly froze!

Shandong?

What does it have to do with him?

All that could be heard was Zhu Dijun's voice, like an echo of history, drifting back softly.

"In the eighteenth year of the Yongle reign, a famous uprising broke out in Shandong—the Tang Sai'er Uprising."

"In historical records, it was simply described as 'the White Lotus Sect witch's rebellion,' and it was quickly quelled."

"Family members, don't you find this strange?"

"During the Yongle reign, when our Ming Dynasty was at its most powerful, in the heart of Shandong, not far from the emperor's residence, why did a so-called 'peasant uprising' so quickly sweep across several prefectures, even causing the tens of thousands of troops dispatched by the imperial court to suffer losses?"

"Doesn't this sound like someone is deliberately condoning, or even...secretly supporting, this?"

Zhu Di's pupils suddenly contracted!

He remembered! Tang Sai'er back then was indeed strange! Her rise was swift, and her fall was sudden! Afterwards, the imperial court went to great lengths, but they couldn't even find her herself!

He himself wouldn't believe it if someone wasn't pulling the strings behind the scenes!

"This is just the beginning."

Zhu Dijun's voice, without a trace of emotion, continued to reveal the long-buried, bizarre events.

"In April of the nineteenth year of Yongle's reign, the three main halls of the Beiping Imperial Palace, which had been completed less than a hundred days earlier, namely the Fengtian Hall, the Huagai Hall, and the Jinshen Hall, were struck by lightning and burned to the ground."

"Then, in June, another fire broke out in the palace, destroying another batch of buildings."

Zhu Di's breathing began to become heavy.

Back then, everyone said it was divine retribution, that Zhu Di's ascension to the throne was illegitimate and had angered Heaven.

Numerous civil officials used this opportunity to petition for the capital to be returned to Nanjing!

That period was the most politically passive time for him since he ascended the throne!

"Family members, please savor it again, carefully."

"A perfectly timed 'uprising,' a perfectly timed 'heavenly fire,' both pointed to the same goal—to prevent the relocation of the capital and shake the foundation of Emperor Chengzu's rule."

"Then, something even more coincidental happened."

"Just when Zhu Di was overwhelmed with palace affairs, the Tatar leader Arughtai in the north suddenly launched a large-scale invasion of Hamiwei."

"Thus, in the twentieth year of the Yongle reign, Emperor Yongle (Zhu Di) of the Ming Dynasty began his third personal expedition to the Mongolian steppes."

"But what was the result?"

Zhu Dijun gave a cold laugh.

"When the army set out, Arughtai seemed to have received advance warning, disappearing without a trace, leaving hundreds of thousands of troops empty-handed and returning empty-handed!"

"Predicting the future?"

"No! It's tipping someone off!"

boom!!!!

Zhu Di felt a surge of heat rush to his head, and he could no longer hold back. With a "pfft," he spat out a mouthful of blood!

"Father!" Zhu Gaochi and Zhu Zhanji were shocked and rushed forward to help him up.

"Get out of here!"

Zhu Di shoved them aside, his eyes bloodshot, looking like a mad tiger!

He remembered!

I remember everything!

That Northern Expedition was shrouded in mystery! It was as if the enemy had anticipated all his military plans!

At the time, he only thought that Arughtai was cunning, but now it seems that there was clearly a traitor among them!

There's a traitor within Zhu Di's court! Within his hundreds of thousands of troops!

who is it? !

Who is it?!

Zhu Di's gaze, sharp as a knife, swept over all the civil officials in the hall!

Yang Shiqi! Yang Rong! Yang Pu!

His gaze finally fell on these three ministers whom he relied on most and whom his son Zhu Gaochi trusted most!

The three Yangs trembled all over, as if they had fallen into an ice cave, and instantly knelt down on the ground!

"Your Majesty! We are innocent!"

They wanted to say that later generations were talking nonsense, but the other party was a descendant of the King of Zhao, and they proved the other party's integrity with facts.

Zhu Di let out a cold laugh:

"Injustice! Your descendants have mentioned that from the Three Yangs to Hong Chengchou, you were all major traitors. I haven't imprisoned you, but only stripped you of your posts. I just want to see what surprises you will bring to me and the Ming Dynasty. It would be best if you were alright, otherwise I don't mind exterminating your entire clan."

However, above the sky, Judy Jun's heart-wrenching words continued!

One fruitless attempt is not enough.

"The following year, the twenty-first year of the Yongle reign, when Emperor Yongle (Zhu Di) planned to launch another northern expedition to avenge the previous humiliation."

"Fang Bin, the Minister of War at the time, Xia Yuanji, the Minister of Revenue, and Wu Zhong, the Minister of Justice—these three high-ranking officials from the Six Ministries—gave the same answer to the Emperor in the imperial court—"

"I have no money!"

Zhu Dijun's voice, each word deliberate and laced with mockery, was deliberate and sarcastic.

"Family members, can you taste the flavor now?"

"Internally, there is a 'warning fire from heaven,' and externally, there is a 'northern barbarian invading the border.' Meanwhile, ministers in the court are 'crying poverty.'"

"From Shandong, to Beijing, and then to the northern desert."

"What a vast and intricate web this is!"

"A net of heaven and earth, woven since the Yongle era, targeting the Ming emperors and military nobles!"

"And Tumu Fortress is merely the final trap in this vast net!"

silence.

A deathly silence.

Inside Yongle Palace, Zhu Di stood frozen in place, the blood he spat out staining his dragon robe red.

For the first time, a look of bewilderment and...fear appeared on his usually resolute face.

He spent his life on the battlefield and believed he had made no mistakes in his calculations.

Little did he know that he, and even his descendants, had been living in a giant web woven by his most trusted ministers!