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

Inside the Hall of Supreme Harmony, it was so silent you could hear the sound of blood dripping.

Everyone was kneeling, or rather, lying down.

Fear, humiliation, and bewilderment, like an invisible net, firmly shrouded these once high and mighty Ming Dynasty elites.

Zhu Dijun's order weighed heavily on the hearts of each of them, like a mountain.

Take off your official robes and hat, and kneel here to think.

This is more than just punishment.

This is deprivation, this is trampling, this is tearing apart everything they were proud of and throwing it on the ground.

Several young officials were trembling uncontrollably, tears and snot mingling together, looking utterly pathetic.

They couldn't understand why things had turned out this way.

In the midst of this extreme oppression, an old and hoarse voice, filled with reckless madness, suddenly exploded out.

"A tyrannical ruler! A foolish emperor!"

It's the Grand Secretary, Chen Xun!

He was being helped along, blood still seeping from the wound on his forehead. His old face was contorted with extreme anger, making him look somewhat ferocious.

He broke free from those supporting him and, with all his might, pointed at the two brothers on the steps of the palace.

"You...you dare to mock us like this! You mock an entire court of loyal officials!"

Chen Xun's voice echoed in the empty hall, filled with a grief and indignation akin to weeping blood.

"Nangong faked his death to escape, then instigated us to fight amongst ourselves, so he can reap the benefits!"

"Excellent tactic! Brilliant strategy!"

"Only today have I, Chen Xun, realized that the imperial brothers are so cold-hearted and ruthless, treating us, their trusted ministers, like pigs and dogs!"

He looked around at his colleagues kneeling on the ground, tears streaming down his face.

"What have we done to wrong the Ming Dynasty? What have we done to wrong your Zhu family imperial family?!"

"Lord Yu fought to the death for his country, saving it from imminent collapse! We, the officials, have devoted ourselves to maintaining the nation's fate! Is this the humiliation we receive in return?!"

"You tyrant! You incompetent ruler!"

These words struck like a thunderbolt, waking up many officials who were still in a daze.

They instantly understood all the key points!

Yes! It's all a setup! A massive setup!

Ever since that bizarre fire in Nangong last night, they've been manipulated by these two brothers!

They're like a bunch of fools, fighting tooth and nail here for some nonexistent "merit" of being established!

The real mastermind is on those high steps, coldly watching their performance!

A tremendous anger of being deceived and fooled welled up from the bottom of my heart.

Many officials looked up at Zhu Dijun, their gazes shifting from fear to resentment.

Zhu Qizhen's brows furrowed unconsciously, and a hint of murderous intent rose in his heart.

That old scoundrel, how dare he...

However, Judy Jun, standing beside him, maintained his calm and composed expression.

He even had a barely perceptible, cold smile playing on his lips.

Did you manage to jump out?

well.

I'm afraid you'll all become cowards.

Zhu Dijun's gaze swept over everyone else and landed precisely on Chen Xun's flushed old face.

"Chief Minister Chen."

His voice was eerily calm.

"That is incorrect."

He gently shook his head, his posture not like that of a subject questioning him, but more like that of a teacher correcting the mistake of an ignorant student.

"Tell me, where have you and your ilk wronged the Ming Dynasty, where have you wronged the Zhu imperial family?"

"That's a good question."

Zhu Dijun's gaze slowly swept across the entire room, especially those officials whose ancestral homes were in the Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Fujian areas.

"Since you can't figure it out, then I'll explain it to you properly today."

"We're not exactly close; let's start counting from Emperor Taizong."

boom!

This statement stunned everyone.

Starting from the time of Zhu Di?

What does it count for?

Chen Xun was also taken aback and subconsciously asked:

"What's so special about it?"

Zhu Dijun smiled.

That smile sent a chill down the spines of everyone who saw it.

"Just think about it, how you so-called 'pillars of the court,' especially the interest groups mainly from Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Fujian, have been sucking the blood out of the Ming Dynasty for nearly 50 years!"

"Just think about how you've been shouting 'For the country and the people' while simultaneously eroding the very foundations of the Ming Dynasty, leaving them riddled with holes!"

"Just think about it, how did you manage to want it all, and want it all again!"

Zhu Dijun's voice suddenly became sharp and piercing, like a scalpel, precisely dissecting the glamorous exterior of the Ming Dynasty to reveal the festering, rotten flesh inside!

"Emperor Taizong moved the capital to Beijing, the Son of Heaven guarding the nation's gate! For whom? For the stability of the entire northern border of the Ming Dynasty!"

"But what was the result?"

"The soldiers in the north fight bloody battles on the border, and their pay comes from the imperial court's ever-depreciating banknotes!"

"Meanwhile, the gentry and landlords of the South are rampant in acquiring land, amassing vast fortunes, yet they pay taxes calculated in silver, at one-thirtieth, or even one-hundredth! They also use various means to conceal their land holdings and evade taxes!"

"I ask you, is this fair?!"

"The Grand Canal, every year consuming countless resources, transports grain from the south to the north to feed the capital and the border troops! And what do you do? While enjoying the commercial convenience brought by the Grand Canal, you try every means to collude with officials in charge of the canal, smuggling goods for personal gain, turning the nation's artery into your private moneybags!"

"I ask you again, is this fair?!"

"In the imperial court, you form cliques and engage in corrupt practices, praising each other. Officials who are not from Jiangsu, Zhejiang, or Fujian are denounced as 'turbid waters' and find it difficult to get promoted! You monopolize the imperial examinations, monopolize the officialdom, and control the cabinet, turning the public instruments of the state into your family businesses!"

"From the Three Yangs to you, Chen Xun, you have controlled the government for decades! Yet why is the Ming Dynasty's finances becoming increasingly strained? Why are the people's lives becoming increasingly difficult? Where is the money?"

"The money all went into your pockets!"

"Your families own vast tracts of fertile land and countless gardens in Jiangnan, with hundreds and thousands of servants! Your sons and daughters live in luxury, indulging in cockfighting and dog racing! Meanwhile, those soldiers who defend the country's borders, whose families are in Henan, Shandong, or Shanxi, may have to sell their children or even resort to cannibalism because of a natural disaster!"

Zhu Dijun walked down step by step.

His voice echoed in everyone's ears.

"The ones you have wronged are not me, nor the Zhu family imperial family!"

"What you have wronged are the innocent souls who died in battle outside Beiping!"

"What you've wronged are the boatmen who died from exhaustion on the canal!"

"What you have failed is the starving victims who died on both sides of the Yellow River!"

"The people you have wronged are the Ming Dynasty, and the hundreds of millions of ordinary people who have been exploited and are struggling to breathe!"

"Chen Xun!"

Judy walked up to him and looked down at him.

"Now, tell me."

"Your so-called loyalty, your so-called face, are nothing compared to these piles of white bones."

"Is it still worth anything?!"

Dead silence.

The entire Hall of Supreme Harmony fell into an unprecedented deathly silence.

Chen Xun was stunned. He opened his mouth but couldn't utter a single word. His face, which had been filled with anger, was now ashen and pale.

All the officials from Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Fujian were struck dumb, their faces turning ashen.

But after the initial shock, officials from the north, Hubei, Hunan, Sichuan and other places suddenly had a terrifying glint in their eyes!

Yup!

Yes!

The emperor is absolutely right!

How many years have these officials from other places, those who are not from Jiangsu, Zhejiang, or Fujian, suffered in the capital? How many years have they been ostracized?

How much heavy taxation and corvée labor did the elders of their hometown bear?

Why should I?!

Why are people from Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Fujian allowed to be so rich while we have to be so poor?!

Why should we be fleeced when they pay so little tax?!

At this moment, all notions of camaraderie and civil service unity were cast to the winds!

A regional conflict and class hatred that had been suppressed for decades or even centuries was completely ignited by Zhu Dijun in the most brutal and direct way!

The officials kneeling on the ground had unknowingly split into two factions.

One group, their faces ashen.

The other faction was seething with anger.

[Sky Screen Live Stream]

[“Holy crap!!! Holy crap!!! My scalp is tingling!!! Brother Jun isn’t playing games anymore, he’s just flipping the table!!!”]

"Starting with Zhu Di to settle the score! Wow, what a vision! What a bold move! They've dug right to the root of the problem!"

"This is a map-wide attack! This is the ultimate map-wide attack! But, I fucking enjoyed listening to it! Brother Jun directly dragged out the biggest cancer in the mid-to-late Ming Dynasty—the Southeast gentry group—and put it on the table for public execution!"

["Upstairs, this isn't generalization, it's precision strike! Every word Brother Jun says is a stark truth! The Ming Dynasty's finances were ruined by these Jiangnan landlords!"]

"This is truly destroying their spirit! Chen Xun was still shouting 'We are utterly loyal to the court,' and Jun Ge directly told him: 'Your loyalty is nothing but sucking the blood of the country?' Hahahaha, he's completely slapped in the face!"

["Look at the eyes of those officials who aren't from Jiangsu or Zhejiang! They've lit up! Completely lit up! They've found their leader! Brother Jun's move has directly torn the entire civil service group apart! Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!"]

"It's over, it's completely over! Chen Xun and the others originally wanted to band together to resist by 'the humiliation of loyal subjects,' but Brother Jun's combination of 'class contradictions + regional contradictions' directly turned them into public enemies! Who would dare to stand with them now?"

["An epic scene is in the works! 'The Emperor Teaches You How to Instigate Internal Strife'! Jun-ge, you're awesome!"]