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

The capital city, the western market.

The once bustling trading place is now shrouded in a chilling atmosphere and bloodshed.

The sky was overcast, with leaden clouds hanging low, as if they might fall at any moment and crush all the sins and judgments of this world into dust.

Tens of thousands of soldiers from the Beijing Garrison, clad in iron armor and wielding long spears, surrounded the vast execution ground, forming a dense, black mass of armor that resembled a steel-cast city wall, isolating the inside from the outside.

Inside the walls were hundreds of high-ranking officials, once shackled and chained, along with all the male members of their households who were taller than a cartwheel.

Leading the group were former Grand Secretary Chen Xun, former Minister of War Yu Qian, and former Minister of Personnel Wang Wen.

These powerful figures, who in the past could shake the entire Ming Dynasty officialdom with a single stomp of their feet, were now emaciated, dressed in prison garb, and forced to sit on the cold stone slabs like livestock awaiting slaughter.

Outside the execution ground, the people of the capital who had rushed to the scene after hearing the news were kept at a distance, craning their necks and watching the bloody scene with complicated expressions.

There was fear, numbness, and in some eyes, a flicker of uncontrollable pleasure.

On a makeshift platform, Zhu Qizhen, dressed in a dragon robe, sat with a complex expression.

Beside him stood Zhu Dijun, dressed in a black, close-fitting outfit, bearing no imperial insignia, yet resembling the ruler of this place more than he did.

The abdication ceremony was secretly held yesterday in the Fengtian Hall.

There were no officials paying homage, and no proclamation to the world.

Only in the ancestral temple, facing the ancestral tablets of the Zhu family, did the two brothers complete this absurd yet perfectly logical transfer of power.

Zhu Qizhen was restored to the throne.

Zhu Qiyu abdicated and became the Retired Emperor.

At that moment, Judy Jun's gaze passed over the trembling heads below and looked into the distance.

Jiangnan was his true battlefield.

"The time has come!"

The executioner, Shi Heng, stood on his horse below the platform, his voice booming like a bell, tinged with a bloodthirsty excitement.

His gaze swept over Chen Xun, who was kneeling at the front, his face full of pleasure.

Chen Xun suddenly raised his head, his eyes bloodshot beneath his disheveled hair. He stared intently at his former "northern colleagues," those hungry wolves who were now pointing fingers at them and dividing up their assets.

A surge of blood rushed to his head, and with his last breath, he screamed a curse:

"Shi Heng! Peng Shi! You treacherous lackeys! Traitors and scoundrels!"

"You will all die a horrible death! Even as a vengeful ghost, I will wait for you bastards in the afterlife! You thugs!"

Upon hearing this, Shi Heng not only did not get angry, but instead let out a cold laugh.

He bent down and gently patted Chen Xun's face with his riding crop. The sound was soft, but it clearly carried throughout the deathly silent execution ground.

"Lord Chen, you are mistaken."

"It's not us waiting for you."

"But there are far too many people waiting for you on this road to the underworld."

"During the Zhengtong era, the loyal officials you framed, and the countless ordinary people you treated like pigs and dogs, exploited and killed at will..."

They're all waiting to say hello to you.

Shi Heng's words struck Chen Xun's heart like a series of heavy hammer blows.

Chen Xun's cursing stopped abruptly. He opened his mouth, but could no longer utter a single syllable, leaving only a desperate hoarse sound.

Judy Jun stood on the high platform, watching this scene quietly, his eyes showing no emotion.

He slowly got up.

All eyes in the entire execution ground instantly focused on him alone.

He didn't look at the prisoners about to die, but turned to Zhu Qizhen beside him and calmly said:

"Your Majesty, it's time to give the order."

Zhu Qizhen gripped the armrests of the dragon throne, his knuckles turning white from the force. He took a deep breath, as if he wanted to say something.

But in the end, he simply closed his eyes, then suddenly opened them again, his eyes filled with only resolute determination.

He looked at the executioner and, with all his might, uttered a single word.

"cut!"

At the same time, Judy Jun issued the same command in a clearer and colder voice.

He declared his will to the entire execution ground, to the army about to march south, and to all those in the world who harbored ulterior motives.

"cut!"

At a command, hundreds of executioners who had been waiting for a long time simultaneously raised their executioner's blades.

The gleaming blades, against the gloomy sky, formed a blinding, cold light.

"Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!"

The blade flashed, and blood shot into the sky.

Chen Xun, Yu Qian, Wang Wen... one by one, the heads of those who once dominated the court flew into the air and rolled to the ground, their faces still frozen with the fear, resentment and despair of their dying moments.

Next came their nephews and nieces, the male members of the family.

Cries, pleas for mercy, and curses rose up instantly, only to be cut off by the sharp blade in an instant.

Blood, like a torrent bursting its banks, quickly stained every inch of the West Market red, converging into glaring streams, the stench of blood rising to the sky, making one want to vomit.

On the high platform, Zhu Qizhen's face was deathly pale, and his stomach churned so badly that he almost vomited on the spot.

Zhu Dijun, however, remained expressionless.

He didn't even glance at that hell on earth.

To cut the weeds, you must remove them at the root.

He will not forget the lessons of history where "if you don't cut the weeds at the root, they will grow back in the spring breeze."

The women of these men were originally intended to be sent to serve in the military, but Judy Jun, being kind-hearted, also sent them to their deaths at the same time in the mansion where they were imprisoned, one bowl of poison after another, thus preserving their chastity.

This isn't cruelty, it's cleaning.

All the seeds that could breed hatred and revenge will be crushed at once.

When the last prisoner was beheaded, only deathly silence remained on the execution ground.

Zhu Dijun then slowly turned around and looked at Zhu Qizhen, whose face was deathly pale.

"Your Majesty, I beg you, I entrust the capital to you."

His voice was soft, yet as heavy as Mount Tai.

"Please, Jian Shen, as well."

Zhu Qizhen raised his head and looked at his younger brother, who was both familiar and unfamiliar to him, the devil who had personally returned the throne to him and then pushed him onto the throne of supervisor.

He opened his mouth, a thousand words unspoken, but in the end, they all turned into a heavy sigh and a firm promise.

"Hmm, leave it to me."

He stood up and looked directly into Judy Jun's eyes.

"Your Majesty, you must also be careful. Jiangnan is a den of dragons and tigers."

He paused for a moment and said something that surprised even Judy Jun.

"I will continue to use the reign title 'Jingtai'."

"Until...the day you return in triumph."

Not changing the era name meant that he acknowledged the legitimacy of the "Jingtai" dynasty and the legality of all of Zhu Dijun's ruthless methods.

This is a gesture, a declaration.

He declared to the world that he, Zhu Qizhen, and his younger brother, the retired emperor, were one.

Zhu Dijun gave him a deep look, and finally, a very faint, almost imperceptible smile appeared on his face.

He nodded and said no more.

He turned around and walked down from the platform.

Below the stage, tens of thousands of troops, fully equipped and ready to go, had already formed a black iron torrent.

Zhu Dijun mounted his horse without looking back.

He drew his sword from his waist, pointed it forward, and aimed it at the distant southeast.

"Set off!"

The iron torrent began to surge slowly, carrying endless killing intent and greed, and crushed towards the prosperous Jiangnan region that had been rich for thousands of years.

A new Jingnan campaign has begun.