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

Zhu Di's words, "Demote him to a commoner and imprison him for life," were like a thunderbolt from the heavens, shattering the last bit of the halo that belonged to Zhu Gaochi as the crown prince.

There was absolutely no room for negotiation on this decree.

It represents the coldest and most decisive severance made by a father, an iron-fisted emperor, after experiencing extreme disappointment and heartache!

Inside the Fengtian Hall, there was a deathly silence.

The brothers Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Gaosui, supporting the swaying Zhu Di, momentarily forgot about fighting and gloating.

As they watched the fat man being dragged away, completely dazed and like a lump of mud, they felt not pleasure, but a chill that ran deep in their bones.

The sins displayed on the sky are too grave!

It's heavy enough to crush any descendant of the Zhu family!

Zhu Di's chest was still heaving violently. He pushed away his two sons, his trembling finger pointing outside the hall, his voice hoarse like a broken gong:

"Drag him away! Drag him away! We don't want to see this rebellious son again!"

"Father, please calm your anger!"

"Father, please take care of your health!"

Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Gaosui quickly offered words of comfort.

Zhu Zhanji, who had been standing silently to the side, looked more unpleasant than anyone else.

His father was deposed.

His status as the crown prince instantly became incredibly awkward.

According to the patriarchal clan system, he is still the first in line to inherit.

But his father committed a heinous crime that shook the very foundation of the nation! How could he, as the son, still gain the trust of his imperial grandfather?

Zhu Zhanji's heart sank to the bottom.

Just then, a voice rang out, which surprised everyone.

"Father."

It's Zhu Gaochi, the Prince of Han!

His usually arrogant and domineering face now carried an unprecedented solemnity.

"With the eldest brother deposed, the foundation of the nation is shaken. The most important thing right now is to establish a new crown prince as soon as possible to reassure the people."

Upon hearing this, Prince Zhao, Zhu Gaosui, had a bright idea in his eyes, thinking that his second brother was about to start vying for the throne.

Zhu Di also raised his bloodshot eyes and looked at him coldly, wanting to hear what kind of nonsense this equally troublesome son could come up with.

Zhu Gaoxu didn't look at anyone; his gaze fell on his eldest nephew, Zhu Zhanji.

"Father, I believe that we should not rush to decide on the position of Crown Prince."

"What?" Zhu Gaosui was stunned.

Zhu Di also frowned.

Zhu Gaoxu continued:

"Didn't the descendants on the sky say that the eldest brother betrayed his father, ruined national policies, and most importantly, ruined his own son, nephew Zhu Zhanji, grandson Zhu Qizhen, and a series of emperors after him?"

"In that case, why don't we wait and hear what future generations, like Zhu Dijun, have to say about Zhanji?"

"If Zhanji is a good man, capable of restoring order and inheriting your ambitions, then the position of Crown Prince and the throne of the Ming Dynasty should be given to him without hesitation!"

These words shocked the entire hall!

Zhu Zhanji looked at his second uncle with disbelief, as if he were looking at a monster.

Is this still the same Han King who constantly opposes his father, is ambitious, and longs to replace him?

For years, the uncle and nephew fought openly and secretly for the position of crown prince.

But now...

Zhu Gaoxu seemed to see through Zhu Zhanji's thoughts, and grinned. But the arrogance of the past was gone, replaced by a more open and honest demeanor.

"Nephew, don't look at me like that."

"How we, uncle and nephew, fight behind closed doors is our own business, the Zhu family's business. We'd fight tooth and nail for that position."

"But now, you see for yourself, those bookish pedants, those civil officials led by the Three Yangs, they are wolves! They are vicious wolves who want to sideline our Zhu family and turn the Ming Dynasty into their own possession!"

"My brother was completely fooled by these wolves, that's why he did so many outrageous things!"

Zhu Gaoxu's voice suddenly rose, carrying a soldier's menacing aura!

"At this point, if our Zhu family were to fight amongst ourselves, we'd be the biggest fools in the world!"

"We must unite against external threats!"

"Let's wipe out these traitors from within first, then we can talk about who should be emperor!"

"Well said!"

A loud shout came from Zhu Di, who was sitting on the throne!

He looked at Zhu Gaoxu, and for the first time, genuine approval appeared in his hawk-like eyes.

Although this son was reckless and ambitious, he was still the son of the Zhu family! He could tell who was family and who was an enemy!

In comparison, Zhu Gaochi, who was misled by the civil officials and became crippled... was worse than a pig or a dog!

Zhu Di took a deep breath, looked around, and finally his gaze landed on Zhu Zhanji.

"Zhanji".

"Sun Chen is here!"

Zhu Zhanji felt a chill and immediately knelt down.

"Did you hear what your second uncle said?"

"Sun Chen...he heard you."

"Then watch closely and listen carefully!" Zhu Di's voice regained its authoritative tone.

"Let's see how your descendants will judge you!"

"If you're like your good-for-nothing father, a spineless coward, then we'd rather give this Ming Dynasty to your second or third uncle than hand it over to you!"

"Your subject... obeys the decree!" Zhu Zhanjin's forehead was covered in a fine layer of cold sweat.

……

The Ming Dynasty, during the Hongwu era.

Through the celestial screen, we can see Zhu Di's decisions during the Yongle era.

"Good! Well said! This is the true blood of the Zhu family!"

Zhu Yuanzhang slapped the armrest of the dragon throne, praising Zhu Gaoxu's theory of "uniting against external enemies."

He turned his head and looked at Zhu Di, who also looked aggrieved and frustrated.

"Fourth son, look at your two sons! One's as stupid as a pig, and the other's got a bit of our old self!"

"You, as a father, have terrible judgment of character!"

Zhu Di's face was full of bitterness, like a child who had done something wrong.

"Father, your son... your son didn't expect this either..."

"How was I supposed to know that my eldest son, whom Miaoyun and I had together, who seemed so kind and filial on the surface, would actually be such a traitor to his father and such a disgrace to his descendants!"

Through the celestial screen, Zhu Di in the Hongwu era also learned that during the Jingnan Campaign, Zhu Gaochi defended Beiping with more than 10,000 troops, stabilizing his rear.

He recalled that while he was on the Northern Expedition, Zhu Gaochi oversaw the administration and managed the rear area in an orderly manner.

He always thought that although his son lacked the ability to expand territory, he possessed the virtue of maintaining what was already established.

Who would have thought that this so-called "virtue" was actually a deadly poison that "benevolence" devours people!

Zhu Yuanzhang sighed and patted his son on the shoulder.

"Well, it's not too late to know now. Thank goodness for this canopy, and thank goodness for our great-great-great-grandson, Judy Jun!"

"Otherwise, once you kick the bucket, this Ming Dynasty might be 'benevolently' destroyed by this 'Renzong'!"

……

Meanwhile, across countless worlds and timelines, every emperor whose posthumous title contained the character "仁" (ren, meaning benevolence) was restless.

The Great Song Dynasty.

Emperor Renzong of Song, Zhao Zhen, looked more like he was crying than anything else.

He always took pride in his "benevolence" and considered it an honor to govern the world together with the scholar-officials.

But the phrase on the screen, "What's the difference between him and Emperor Renzong of Song, Zhao Zhen...?" was like a poisonous thorn, deeply embedded in his heart.

Could it be... could it be that my "benevolence" is also sacrificing the future of the country?

He recalled his repeated defeats against the Western Xia, the enormous annual tribute he had to pay to the Liao Dynasty, and the increasingly uncontrollable group of civil officials in the court…

A terrible thought began to frantically grow in his mind.

Could it be that my title of "Renzong" is just a fig leaf, a cover-up created by civil officials, just like Zhu Gaochi's?

Zhao Zhen felt a sudden dizziness and his whole body turned ice cold.

The Forbidden City, the Qianqing Palace.

"Tungusta... wild boar hide..."

Kang Mazi Xuan Ye chewed on these words countless times between his teeth, and with each recitation, the killing intent in his eyes intensified.

His face, which was usually expressionless, was now contorted with bulging veins and twisted muscles, making him look like a demon from hell!

"Emperor Ren?"

"Is my 'benevolence' the greatest irony?"

He recalled the Yangzhou Massacre during the Qing Dynasty's southward advance, the Jiading Massacre, and the rivers of blood shed in the process of forcing the shaving of heads and changing of clothes.

He recalled how, in order to consolidate his rule, he had instigated numerous literary inquisitions, breaking the backbone of scholars across the land inch by inch.

In his view, all of these were necessary "great talents and strategies" for the sake of the Qing Dynasty's eternal rule.

But now, in the eyes of later generations, he is actually grouped with that weak Emperor Renzong of Song and that foolish Emperor Renzong of Ming!

This was a hundred times more humiliating to him than being directly called a tyrant!

"Guards!" Kangxi's voice was icy cold.

"Investigate for me! Find every single record of Emperor Renzong of Ming, Zhu Gaochi, in all historical texts!"

"I want to see if this fat pig is worthy of being compared to me!"

After him, Emperor Jiaqing of the Qing Dynasty, Yongyan, was so terrified that he almost lost his mind.

His temple name was also "Renzong"!

As he looked at the sky and listened to Zhu Dijun's analysis of the word "benevolence," he felt as if every sentence was talking about himself.

Powerless against external threats and lenient towards its own people, the bureaucracy was sidelined by the powerful minister Heshen for half its life. When it finally managed to bring down Heshen, it discovered that the entire bureaucratic system was rotten to the core.

Isn't his so-called "benevolence" just a whitewash of this powerlessness?

"My...my 'benevolence'...is it also a 'benevolence' that preys on people?"

Emperor Jiaqing slumped on his dragon throne, his robes soaked with cold sweat, his eyes filled with endless fear.

He was afraid.

He feared that he himself would be the next one to be dragged out and publicly executed by the heavens!