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

Above the sky, Zhu Dijun's figure became clear again.

The scene behind him shifted from the desolate Tumu Fortress, littered with corpses, to the magnificent Forbidden City.

"Family members, before we witness that exhilarating revenge, we must first talk about another person."

Judy Jun's voice carried a hint of amusement and pity.

"Emperor Daizong of the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Jingtai, Zhu Qiyu."

"In traditional history books, especially in the history textbooks of many of us, he and the era he ruled are given a glorious name—the Jingtai Restoration."

"Yeah?"

A cold, mocking smile curled at the corners of Zhu Dijun's mouth.

"Is it really ZTE?"

"Or is this merely a facade, a way for the civil service to cover up their heinous crimes of regicide and treason?"

"Family members, don't be silly."

"That was never a revival of the Ming Dynasty, but a revival of the civil service! It was a power-hungry frenzy orchestrated by a group of usurpers who had rendered the emperor a mere figurehead!"

The scene shifts to the imperial court during the Jingtai reign.

Zhu Qiyu sat on the dragon throne, his face young, yet carrying a lingering gloom.

Your Highness, the civil officials, led by Chen Xun and Yu Qian, spoke eloquently with solemn expressions.

"Family members, please take a look. This is the power structure of the Jingtai reign."

Zhu Dijun pointed to the screen.

"The cabinet, headed by Grand Secretary Chen Xun, completely monopolized the country's administrative power. All decrees were drafted by the cabinet, and the emperor's approval became a mere formality, a routine procedure."

"Under Yu Qian's control, the Ministry of War completely undermined the Five Military Commands, which represented imperial power and nobility. He even reorganized and restructured the Twenty-Two Guards of the Capital Garrison, which should have only obeyed the emperor, turning them into 'regiments' under his command. The emperor couldn't even fully command the guards around him!"

"And the most crucial one!"

Zhu Dijun's tone became more forceful.

"The Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard, which should have been the emperor's eyes and ears, and the secret service agencies that struck fear into the hearts of all officials, were forcibly incorporated into the court's jurisdiction during the Jingtai reign!"

"What does this mean?"

"This means the emperor is blind and deaf! He can no longer monitor his officials, nor can he bypass the cabinet and the Ministry of War to carry out any of his own will!"

"He, Zhu Qiyu, is nothing more than a stamping machine sitting on the dragon throne!"

"Holy crap... Is it really that bad? Even the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot have been taken away?"

"No wonder! No wonder the later Ming emperors relied so heavily on eunuchs and the secret police; they were forced into it by the civil service! Without those two, the emperor would be completely blind!"

["Zhu Qiyu: I thought I came here to be emperor, but I ended up in prison?"]

"Isn't this just Emperor Xian of Han? Cao Cao has been replaced by a group of civil officials!"

[“Don’t insult Cao Cao, upstairs. Back then, Cao Cao faced internal threats from Sun Quan and Liu Bei, and external threats from the Xianbei, Wuhuan, and other foreign tribes. At least Cao Cao wouldn’t destroy his own country’s defenses for the sake of the nation. These scoundrels, on the other hand, are willing to dismantle their own forces for personal gain.”]

Before the celestial canopy, Zhu Qiyu, in the first year of the Jingtai reign of the Ming Dynasty, felt utterly cold.

He looked at the analysis on the screen, and every word felt like a knife stabbing into his heart.

He believed himself to be appointed in a time of crisis, a hero who would save the Ming Dynasty.

Only now did he realize that he was nothing more than a puppet that those people had put on the stage to block his brother's path back and to legitimize their power, making him easier to control!

"To prove how stifled he was as a puppet, I'll tell my family a story."

Judy Jun's voice was full of mockery.

"After Zhu Qiyu ascended the throne, he always wanted to depose his brother Zhu Qizhen's son, Zhu Jianshen, from the position of crown prince and replace him with his own son, Zhu Jianji."

"Logically speaking, this is the emperor's family matter, a core manifestation of imperial power, right?"

"And what happened? He didn't dare issue a direct decree! To accomplish this, he had to bribe ministers to gain their support!"

"He had his trusted eunuchs send chests and chests of silver to Grand Secretaries Wang Wen and Chen Xun, among others, in exchange for their support in court!"

"Family members, can you believe it? An emperor, wanting to change his crown prince, actually had to bribe his own ministers!"

"What a tragedy! What an irony!"

boom!

Throughout countless worlds and timelines, all emperors felt a burning pain on their faces!

The Zhenguan Hall of the Tang Dynasty.

Li Shimin's face was so gloomy it was almost as if water could be wrung out of it.

He couldn't imagine that one day, if he wanted to change the crown prince, he would need to bribe Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui!

If this gets out, what will become of the Li family's reputation?!

During the Hongwu reign of the Ming Dynasty.

Enraged, Zhu Yuanzhang kicked over the table in front of him, spilling scalding hot tea all over the floor.

"Useless! Utterly useless!"

"How could such a good-for-nothing be produced in our Zhu family! Even if we were to change the crown prince, we'd still have to be subservient to those scholars! Where's our sword?!"

He roared, the murderous intent in his eyes causing the temperature in the entire hall to drop several degrees.

Zhu Qiyu, during the Jingtai reign, completely collapsed.

He slumped on the dragon throne, feeling utterly overwhelmed by endless humiliation.

It turns out that his proud "deposing and installing of the crown prince" was, in the eyes of later generations, irrefutable evidence that he was a puppet!

However, what Judy Jun brought him was not the cruelest thing.

"Bribing ministers is only the beginning of humiliation."

"When Zhu Qiyu finally managed to put his son Zhu Jianji on the throne after much scheming, he thought he could finally get rid of his puppet status and start an era that truly belonged to him."

"But he forgot."

Zhu Dijun's voice became cold and cruel.

"A good puppet doesn't need a successor."

"Because once you have a stable heir, you'll become more calculating and less obedient."

On the screen, a magnificent palace appeared, along with a young child lying on a bed, his face pale and lifeless.

It was none other than the Crown Prince, Zhu Jianji!

"In the fourth year of the Jingtai reign, the five-year-old Crown Prince Zhu Jianji died suddenly!"

Historical records state that he died of illness.

Zhu Dijun gave a cold laugh.

"Family members, do you think it's possible for a five-year-old child, who was so lively and energetic before, to suddenly fall ill and die?"

"In that deep palace, on that power chessboard controlled by the Alliance of Monarchists, a piece that shouldn't exist has only one fate: to be erased!"

"Who did it?"

Zhu Dijun didn't say it explicitly, but his gaze seemed to drift towards that name—Sun Ruowei!

That woman who would even trade away her own son's throne!

The Empress Dowager, who absolutely could not allow a strong emperor to emerge in order to maintain her position of ruling from behind the curtain!

How could she possibly tolerate Zhu Qiyu having his own heir, thus securing his throne and threatening her position?!

"!!! I get it! Empress Dowager Sun! It must be her!"

"That vicious woman! She wouldn't even spare a five-year-old child for power!"

"Zhu Qiyu is so pitiful... The throne is fake, the power is fake, and now he's even lost his only son..."

"He's been driven to the brink! He's been cornered by the entire civil service, by that wicked empress, until he has no way out!"

Inside the Qianqing Palace, Zhu Qiyu looked at the "news of his son's death" on the sky screen and was struck dumb.

He thought of his lively and adorable son, and how he called him "Father" in a clear voice.

A piercing, excruciating pain and overwhelming hatred instantly engulfed him!

He raised his head, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Prince Chen Xun and Yu Qian, as if he wanted to devour them alive!

He got it!

I understand everything now!

These people never treated him like an emperor!

They killed his brother, and now they've killed his son!

All they want is a symbol with the surname Zhu! A puppet they can control forever!

In the endless darkness, Zhu Qiyu felt a sense of despair.

But in this abyss of despair, a thought he had never considered, like a will-o'-the-wisp, quietly rose.

In this cold, enemy-filled Forbidden City, who is his only, last, and reliable ally?

The answer is self-evident.

The one imprisoned in Nangong, the one whose everything was also taken away by this group of people—his own brother!

Zhu Qizhen!

Above the sky, Zhu Dijun seemed to know everyone's thoughts.

"When all hope is extinguished, when the only bloodline is strangled by the enemy."

"The desperate puppet turned its gaze to the deposed emperor, whom it had imprisoned."

"An unexpected and most sinister brotherly conspiracy from the highest levels of the empire is about to unfold!"

"They will take a huge gamble to challenge the now-unassailable alliance of usurpers!"