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

Zhu Dijun's voice, seemingly still carrying the sound of metal and stone, echoed repeatedly among the beams and pillars of the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

Those bloody questions, those accusations about bones and the people's hard-earned money, were like invisible sharp knives, piercing the heart of every official from Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Fujian.

Chen Xun collapsed to the ground, his face ashen, his lips trembling, unable to utter a single word.

He's finished.

He knew that when the emperor compared their "loyalty" with "starving disaster victims" and "exhausted laborers," he had already lost.

They were utterly humiliated.

These words tore the entire civil service into two completely different worlds.

One was an official from Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Fujian, who looked as if he had lost his parents, with only fear and despair in his eyes.

The other group consisted of officials from the north, Hubei, Hunan, Sichuan, and other places, whose eyes burned with an almost explosive rage!

Yes!

Why should I?!

These are words they dare not say, dare not think, yet they have kept them bottled up in their hearts for so many years!

Today, the emperor has spoken for them!

In the midst of this deathly silence, a sharp voice, tinged with sobs, rang out at an inopportune moment.

"I didn't! I didn't! Your Majesty, you can't say that!"

The crowd looked in the direction of the sound and saw a young official, around thirty years old, wearing a blue official robe, kneeling there with tears streaming down his face and his head raised in emotional distress.

He was Zhang Mao, a censor in the Ministry of Revenue.

A native of Suzhou Prefecture, he was a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) in the second year of the Chenghua era. He was renowned for his outstanding literary talent and for considering himself a member of the "pure stream" (a term referring to a group of people who uphold integrity and integrity).

At this moment, his handsome face was flushed red with humiliation and resentment.

"Your Majesty is wise! Although we are southerners, our hearts are with the court and with Your Majesty!"

"Our Great Ming Dynasty's imperial examination system selects talent from all over the country, not just from people from Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Fujian!"

Zhang Mao's voice trembled with excitement. He seemed to have grasped at the last straw and loudly defended himself.

"Our Great Ming Dynasty also has scholars who passed the imperial examinations from outside Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Fujian! They...they also serve the country! You cannot...you cannot generalize and discourage the scholars of the world!"

These words rekindled a glimmer of hope in the eyes of some officials in Jiangnan who were on the verge of collapse.

Yup!

We are not just our own people!

This is the best rebuttal!

However, what they didn't see was that on the steps of the imperial palace, Zhu Dijun's lips curled into a chilling smirk.

That's exactly what he was waiting for.

Zhu Qizhen looked at his younger brother's expression and understood.

He knew that an even fiercer storm was coming.

Zhu Dijun did not speak immediately; he simply stared silently at the official named Zhang Mao with his cold eyes.

That gaze held no anger, only a knowing, mocking look.

Zhang Mao felt a chill run down his spine from his gaze, and the courage he had just mustered instantly vanished by half, his voice gradually fading away.

The air inside the hall became thick and oppressive once again.

a long time.

Zhu Dijun slowly opened his mouth, his voice not loud, but like a heavy hammer, striking everyone's heart.

"Well said."

He nodded, seemingly in approval.

"Then, let me ask you."

His gaze suddenly sharpened.

"What positions do those Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) from outside Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Fujian, whom you mentioned, hold now?"

"And what about you, these pillars of society from Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Fujian?"

Zhu Dijun looked around the room, his voice suddenly rising.

"Who! Is willing to step forward and speak to me?!"

boom!

Zhang Mao's mind went completely blank.

The color drained from his face at a visible speed, turning it deathly pale.

this problem……

He couldn't answer that question!

Because the answer is too cruel! Too realistic!

Everyone knows the answer!

But no one dared to say it!

Looking at the faces below, filled with either anger that dared not be expressed or shame that overwhelmed them, Zhu Dijun smiled.

"Nobody dares to speak up?"

"it is good."

"Then I will speak for you!"

His gaze, like that of a hawk, precisely locked onto an inconspicuous corner of the crowd.

"Li Xian, Supervising Secretary of the Ministry of Personnel!"

The official whose name was called trembled violently, instinctively raised his head, and looked on in astonishment.

He couldn't understand how the emperor knew his name!

Judy looked at him and said coldly.

"A native of Dengzhou, Henan, he was a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) in the first year of the Zhengtong era, and was in the same cohort as Wang Wen."

"I remember that during the palace examination, your essay was even better than Wang Wen's, and the late emperor praised you as 'a talent of the nation'."

"Now, more than twenty years have passed."

"Wang Wen is already the Left Censor-in-Chief of the current court, and his entry into the cabinet is just around the corner."

"And you, Li Xian, have been stuck in the position of Supervising Secretary of the Ministry of Personnel for a full ten years!"

"I ask you, why?!"

Li Xian's lips trembled, and his eyes were bloodshot. This northern man, whose edges had been worn down by officialdom, could no longer hold back. He suddenly kowtowed to the ground and wept uncontrollably!

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty is incompetent!"

The phrase "Your subject is incompetent" encapsulates so many years of bitterness and resentment!

Zhu Dijun ignored his crying and turned his gaze to another person.

"Peng Shi!"

A minister, aged and worn down by the years, shuddered.

"A native of Ji'an, Jiangxi, he was the top scholar in the imperial examination of the thirteenth year of the Zhengtong

Zhu Dijun's voice was full of sarcasm.

"To be the top scholar in the imperial examination, what glory! Now, I am but a mere lecturer in the Hanlin Academy."

"And this fellow townsman of yours, whose talent is far inferior, is indeed superior to yours!"

"I ask you again, why?!"

Peng Shi trembled violently, his old face turning a deep purplish-red, filled with shame and indignation, yet he couldn't utter a single word.

"And you, Shang Lu!"

"A native of Chun'an, Zhejiang, he achieved the highest honors in all three levels of the imperial examinations—a truly exceptional talent! And what was the result? He was ostracized from the capital by you factionalists and is still stuck as a minor official in a local area!"

"And you, Liu Dingzhi!"

"And you, Yu Zijun!"

"And you, Xu Youzhen!"

……

Every time Zhu Dijun called out a name, it was as if a fire was ignited deep within the hearts of the vast number of non-Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Fujian officials behind him, or rather, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Fujian officials who were not of one mind with him!

Those whose names were called were either filled with grief and indignation, shame and shame, or so excited that they trembled all over!

Those who weren't called out felt the same way, and the flames in their eyes burned even brighter!

So, even the emperor knew!

The emperor knows all the grievances and injustices we've suffered over the years!

In stark contrast, the officials from Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Fujian were all ashen-faced and drenched in sweat.

They felt as if they had been stripped naked and were standing in front of everyone, being publicly executed.

How could the Emperor know so much?!

They know perfectly well who is more or less talented and who is being ostracized by whom!

Is this... is this still the same Jingtai Emperor who was kept in the dark by them?!

This is simply a god from heaven!

Finally, Judy Jun's gaze fell back on Zhang Mao, who had completely lost his mind.

"Now, tell me."

"Am I generalizing from a single instance?"

"Have I chilled the hearts of scholars throughout the land?!"

"No! I am speaking out for them, to express my indignation!"

"Thump!"

Zhang Mao could no longer hold on and collapsed to the ground, muttering to himself.

"We were wrong...we were wrong...we were all wrong..."

Zhu Dijun looked at the group of "pillars" whose spirits had been completely shattered, and slowly walked down the steps of the imperial palace.

He walked up to the officials kneeling at the front, those from the north and Hubei.

His voice was no longer cold; instead, it carried an unprecedented expectation.

"I will ask you again."

Are you content with this?

Are you willing to let your talent go unnoticed?

"Are we willing to watch this beautiful land be hollowed out by a bunch of parasites who only know how to fight amongst themselves and make money?!"

"I'm not reconciled!"

Finally, a military commander, with red eyes, roared out with all his might!

"We, your subjects, are not reconciled!"

That sound was like igniting a powder keg.

"We are not reconciled!!"

"Your Majesty, please grant us justice!!"

"We are willing to die for Your Majesty!!"

A roar like a mountain collapsing and a tsunami erupted from half of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, carrying decades of suppressed resentment and longing, soaring straight into the sky!

The entire hall resonated with this powerful aura.

[Sky Screen Live Stream]

"It's blown up! It's blown up completely! Brother Jun's precise naming of names has torn the fig leaf of the civil service group to shreds!"

"Holy crap! I'm dumbfounded! Did Brother Jun memorize all the personnel files from the Ming Dynasty? Li Xian, Peng Shi, Shang Lu... these are all historical figures! And they're all in such a sorry state now! It's so true!"

"To kill someone is to destroy their spirit! To destroy their spirit! That Zhang Mao guy wanted to show off his eloquence, but Brother Jun pinned him to the ground and slapped him repeatedly with facts! His face is all swollen now! Hahahaha!"

[“‘I am speaking out for them!’ Holy crap! Hearing that gave me goosebumps! Brother Jun is going to become the ultimate backer for all the ostracized officials! This time, the hearts of the people are won over!”]

"Look at the expressions on those northern officials' faces! From frustration to shock, then to ecstasy and excitement! Brother Jun's move, without firing a single shot, directly annexed half the court! Imperial tactics! This is the damn art of imperial tactics!"

"The most infuriating thing is that everything Brother Jun said was true! It left those Jiangnan literati with no room for rebuttal! He even won over a faction within Jiangnan that had been heavily suppressed, leaving Yu Qian, Chen Xun, and Wang Wen's men to kneel and listen to their public execution! It was so satisfying! Even more satisfying than reading a wish-fulfillment novel!"

"What's next? I bet Brother Jun is going to promote someone on the spot! In front of everyone, he'll promote someone as talented as Li Xian, who's been overlooked, to a high position! That'll be the most ruthless slap in the face!"

[Announcement: The large-scale workplace reality show "The Voice of the Ming Dynasty" - "Mentors Turn Around for You" is coming soon! Jun Ge, my superman!]