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

The Hongwu reign in a parallel universe.

The atmosphere was so oppressive that it was hard to breathe.

Zhu Yuanzhang sat on the dragon throne, his weathered face revealing neither joy nor anger.

But everyone knew that a raging storm was brewing in the heart of this founding emperor.

He looked at the towering flames in the sky and at the grief-stricken expressions on the faces of Chen Xun and the others.

After a long while, he slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.

"Good tactic."

He was speaking to the Crown Prince Zhu Biao beside him, yet it also seemed as if he was talking to himself.

"Biao'er, did you see that?"

"This is the true meaning of subduing the enemy without fighting."

"The descendants of Zhu Dijun did not even need to mobilize a single soldier. With just a great fire and the illusion of 'mutual destruction,' he caused the entire court to fall into disarray, become suspicious of each other, and even bear a black pot that they could not wash away no matter how hard they jumped into the Yellow River."

Zhu Biao nodded solemnly; his back was already soaked with cold sweat.

"Father, your descendant Zhu Dijun is so cunning and ruthless that I am ashamed to admit my inferiority."

"It's not that you're inferior."

Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

"You're too 'upright'."

"You've read far too many classic texts. You still harbor feelings of kindness and illusions about those scholars."

"And him..."

Zhu Yuanzhang pointed to the figure in the sky that had disappeared into the firelight and darkness.

"In his heart, there was no concept of ruler and subject, no concept of etiquette, and even no concept of life and death."

"Only the purpose."

"To achieve his goal, he could overturn the table, burn down the house, and even... kill 'himself'."

Zhu Yuanzhang's gaze slowly swept over his sons who were standing in the hall.

Prince Qin (Zhu Shuang), Prince Jin (Zhu Gang), Prince Yan (Zhu Di)...

His sons were all brave and skilled in battle.

But when it comes to this kind of insidious mental manipulation—causing a thunderclap in silence, finding a way out of a deadly predicament…

It seems that neither of them is quite right.

"If we had his mindset back then, how could Hu Weiyong and Li Shanchang have implicated so many people?"

A flicker of reminiscence and regret flashed in Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes.

"A fire, an 'accident,' and we became the 'victims' who were deceived by treacherous officials and lost our right-hand men. Who would dare to say that we indiscriminately killed meritorious officials?"

"In history books, we are still the kind and benevolent founding emperor."

"And they are traitors and villains who will be infamous for eternity."

The more he spoke, the brighter his eyes became.

He looked up at the sky and seemed to see a completely new way of solving the problem.

"Our descendant is not crazy."

Zhu Yuanzhang slapped the armrest of the dragon throne and made his decision.

"He's a... born ruthless leader!"

His gaze finally settled on his fourth son, Zhu Di, the Prince of Yan.

Of all his sons, the fourth one resembled him the most.

They were equally decisive and ruthless, and equally ambitious.

"Zhu Di," Zhu Yuanzhang said in a deep voice.

"Your subject is here!"

Upon hearing the sound, Zhu Di stepped forward, his posture upright like a pine tree.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked him up and down as if he were examining a rough, uncarved piece of jade.

"Your future third son, Zhu Gaosui, has produced such a remarkable figure among his descendants."

"We're wondering if your lineage is born with this talent."

Zhu Di's heart skipped a beat, and he vaguely guessed what his father wanted to say.

"Father..."

"Zhu Di,"

Zhu Yuanzhang interrupted him.

"Why don't you also help our Zhu family find someone talented to study archaeology and revise history books?"

"what?"

Zhu Di's expression was exactly the same as that of Zhu Gaosui during the Yongle reign.

Huh? You mean me?

He pointed to his nose, his face full of disbelief.

"Father...you mean me?"

I, Zhu Di, the dignified Prince of Yan, am stationed in Beiping, and in the future... I will become the Emperor Chengzu of Ming, oh no, the Emperor Taizong of Ming.

You want me to do archaeology and write history? Are you kidding me?

Empress Ma, who was standing to the side, couldn't help but laugh when she saw this.

She walked to Zhu Yuanzhang's side and said softly:

"Zhongba, you're scaring the child again."

Then, she turned to Zhu Di and said gently:

"Your father's intention is not for you to go. Rather, he wants you to choose a wise person from among your descendants to walk this path."

A glint of wisdom shone in Empress Ma's eyes.

"Zhongba is right."

"We saw it all on the sky. Later historical records were all messed up, and even a monarch like Zhu Qizhen was smeared as a tyrant. In later generations, they even went so far as to dig up the second prince's grave in order to find some truth."

Upon hearing the words "digging up graves," Prince Zhu Shuang of Qin, who was not far away, twitched his face violently and glared at Zhu Di.

Zhu Di awkwardly touched his nose.

Empress Ma continued:

"We ourselves must leave behind a true record of history. The historians will record one copy, and we ourselves must also keep a copy."

"In this way, even if the country truly collapses and dynasties change in the future, our descendants of the Zhu family can, like our ancestors in the Southern Song Dynasty, sow the seeds of revival for future generations and leave behind the truth of history!"

Her words caused all the princes present to fall into deep thought.

"Fifth brother,"

Empress Ma then looked at Prince Zhu Su of Zhou.

"Once your medical book is finished, make several copies. One should be circulated outside, one buried deep underground, and another should be hidden in a secret vault where no one can find it. These are treasures that my Zhu family will pass down for generations!"

"Yes, Your Majesty, I have remembered," Zhu Su replied respectfully.

Zhu Yuanzhang listened to Empress Ma's words and nodded in satisfaction.

"What the girl said is exactly what we mean!"

He looked at Zhu Di again, his tone leaving no room for argument.

"Zhu Di, this matter is entrusted to you!"

"Starting with your son's generation, every generation must have one person dedicated to being the historian and archaeologist for the Zhu family!"

"We must ensure that future generations know how our Great Ming Dynasty came to be! And what our Ming emperors did!"

"Who is loyal, who is treacherous, who is a hero, and who is a coward—we ourselves must decide! We can't let those pedantic scholars with their pens spout nonsense!"

Zhu Di looked into his father's resolute eyes and sensed the profound meaning in his mother's words.

He got it.

This is not meant to be derogatory.

This is an unprecedented and weighty responsibility.

It is a sacred mission to protect the bloodline and glory of the Zhu family!

He knelt on one knee, his voice strong and clear.

"Your subject Zhu Di obeys the imperial decree!"

"I will certainly live up to Father's expectations!"

This moment is not just for Hongwu and Yongle.

Xuande, Chenghua, Hongzhi... and even Tang, Song, Han, Qin...

Every emperor who witnessed this scene planted a seed in his heart.

A seed named "Revising and Protecting History".

They may not be able to break the deadlock with such crazy methods as Zhu Dijun.

But they can learn and change in their own way.

Go and leave the most authentic mark on your era and your bloodline.

Even Zhu Dijun himself hadn't expected it.

The fire he lit to protect himself inadvertently ignited countless lamps that have protected the truth throughout China's thousands of years of history.