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

Beneath the celestial canopy, in a parallel universe during the Yongle reign.

Inside the Fengtian Hall, there was a deathly silence.

Zhu Di, the emperor who spent his life on campaigns and was known for his ruthless methods, was now gazing at the sky with an unprecedentedly complex expression.

The flames of Nangong shot into the sky.

When Chen Xun's desperate cry, "We are Sima Zhao," resounded through the sky.

A slow, gentle smile curved the corners of Zhu Di's lips.

In that arc, there was amazement, admiration, and even more... a trace of awe that he himself was unaware of.

"good……"

One word came out of his mouth.

The sound was not loud, but it was as heavy as Mount Tai.

"What a brilliant 'golden cicada shedding its shell' maneuver!"

"What a brilliant 'using death as a trap' strategy!"

The Crown Prince Zhu Gaochi, standing beside him, was already deathly pale, drenched in cold sweat. His obese body trembled uncontrollably as he muttered:

"Insane...insane...treating the fate of the nation like a game, throwing the country into flames...this...this is simply..."

"Shut up!"

Zhu Di suddenly turned around, his eyes like knives, and glared fiercely at Zhu Gaochi!

"Child's play?"

Zhu Di sneered, pointing to the sea of ​​fire in the sky and then to the silent officials before His Highness.

"Look carefully!"

"This is no child's play! This is the true art of rulership!"

"He's not putting the country in flames; he's using this fire to burn away all the maggots clinging to the nation!"

"He wasn't playing with the fate of the nation; he was using his own 'death' to ensure the nation's true 'life'!"

Zhu Di's voice echoed in the empty hall, each word piercing the heart!

He looked at his second son, Zhu Gaoxu, the Prince of Han, and then at his third son, Zhu Gaosui, the Prince of Zhao.

Zhu Gaoxu was filled with excitement and fervor, as if he wished he were the protagonist in the sky.

Zhu Gaosui, on the other hand, kept his head down, his eyes flickering, seemingly lost in thought.

Zhu Di's gaze finally fell on Zhu Gaosui.

This son, who usually appears the least shrewd, is actually the most quick-witted.

"Third brother."

Zhu Di suddenly spoke.

"Your subject is here."

Zhu Gaosui felt a chill and quickly stepped forward.

Zhu Di looked at him with a meaningful gaze.

"Your descendant, named Zhu Dijun, is truly capable."

He made no attempt to hide his admiration.

"Much smarter than your older brother."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Gaochi lowered his body and bowed his head even further.

"Zhanji...I'm afraid he's not as good as him either."

Zhu Di added another sentence.

The Crown Prince Zhu Zhanji stood behind Zhu Gaochi. Upon hearing this, his body trembled, and a hint of dissatisfaction flashed across his face, but more than anything, he was deep in thought.

Zhu Gaosui's heart began to pound wildly.

He understood the meaning behind his father's words!

"Third brother,"

Zhu Di's voice rang out again, carrying a strange, alluring quality.

"If you had even half the skill of your descendants..."

He paused, but didn't say the rest of his sentence.

But everyone understood.

If you had half his ability, the position of crown prince, the future throne, might very well be yours!

Zhu Gaosui's breathing instantly became extremely heavy!

An unprecedented surge of ecstasy rushed to his head!

Father... Father is hinting at something to me!

However, before he could be happy for long, Zhu Di's next words were like a bucket of cold water, chilling him to the bone.

"What a pity."

Zhu Di shook his head, his tone tinged with a hint of mockery.

"You don't."

The ecstasy on Zhu Gaosui's face instantly froze.

"but,"

Zhu Di changed the subject,

"I think we could find you a good job."

"Third brother, how about... you go into archaeology?"

"what?"

Zhu Gaosui looked up abruptly, thinking he had misheard, and pointed at himself in bewilderment.

Oh, you mean me?

I know nothing about archaeology. It's all about brushes, tweezers, and translating ancient texts. I'm fine with fighting, but archaeology is hopeless, Dad.

"Just like your fifth uncle went to study medicine."

Zhu Di's expression was unreadable, whether he was serious or joking. "I see in that sky that your descendant, Zhu Dijun, is an archaeologist."

"Go and learn how to compile a true history specifically for our Zhu family!"

"Write down all those shady dealings, all the truths that have been distorted by civil officials! Hide them! Pass them down!"

Zhu Di's eyes suddenly sharpened.

"This descendant of mine reminded me of this through his own death."

"The pen can kill without drawing blood! History books can be even more deadly! I don't want to become, a thousand years from now, a clown in history books, wantonly smeared by those pedantic scholars!"

"Go do archaeology, go write history!"

"This is the unparalleled achievement you, as my son and a prince of the Ming Dynasty, have made for the sake of the nation!"

Zhu Gaosui was completely dumbfounded.

archeology?

Compiling history?

Why should I, the King of Zhao, be doing those literary and artistic jobs?

What... what's the difference between this and being assigned a post?

But looking into his father's unquestionable gaze, he couldn't bring himself to say a single "no".

He could only kneel on the ground with a mournful face.

"Your subject... obeys the decree..."

In the main hall, Yao Guangxiao stood in a corner, watching this scene, a hint of a smile flashing in his usually calm eyes.

Your Majesty is still the same Your Majesty.

In short, he not only warned the Crown Prince and thwarted the King of Han's ambitions, but also found the King of Zhao a seemingly stifling job that would actually make him famous in history.

the most important is……

Using this as an excuse, he planted a seed for the Ming Dynasty and the Zhu family, a seed that would last for thousands of generations...

Yao Guangxiao looked up at the sky.

That junior named Zhu Dijun...

His fire burned down far more than just Nangong.

What he burned away was the shackles that bound countless future emperors to historians, Confucianism, and so-called "public opinion"...

A true era belonging to emperors may begin with this fire.