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

[Modern Live Streaming Room]

Initially, when the scene jumped from the bloody night of the purge to the 24th year of the Jingtai reign, twelve years later, the entire live broadcast room was filled with jubilation.

Merchant ships crisscrossing the canal, the happy smiles of farmers tilling the fields, the sound of students reading aloud echoing from the university campus…

All of this is like a magnificent painting, showcasing to all viewers the fruits of Zhu Dijun's twelve years of hard work.

"Holy crap! This is the prototype of the Industrial Revolution! The speed of development is like a rocket launch!"

"I cried, I cried! Did you see the smiles on the farmers' faces? They have their own land, they have hope! This is a golden age! This is the real golden age!"

"Jun-ge is awesome (voice cracks)! He really did it! He single-handedly turned a dynasty that was rotten to the core back to life!"

"It's only been twelve years! Give Jun-ge another thirty years, no, twenty years! Wouldn't the Ming fleet be able to knock on the door of the British Empire then?"

However, when the camera returned to the Qianqing Palace, and the audience saw the white-haired, frail, and iron-willed emperor, and heard his cold and desperate prophecy, all the jubilation instantly froze.

The chat in the live stream was silent for more than ten seconds.

Then came a volcanic eruption of posts flooding the screen!

"No... I can't accept this! How could this happen? Everything was so good! Why is Jun-ge so pessimistic?"

"They will rewrite history, burn our books, and turn the people who have finally stood up back into kneeling tenants and slaves!"...Why did I feel a chill run down my spine when I heard these words?

"I...I remembered my dad. In the 1990s, he was also an advanced worker in a state-owned enterprise. The factory was doing very well, and everyone thought the good days would continue. Then, overnight, everything was gone. Some people made a fortune from it, while my dad and his colleagues only received a little money and became 'laid-off workers.'"

"Hey upstairs, stop talking... My grandpa was one of them. He said that back then, some people bought assets belonging to tens of thousands of people at rock-bottom prices and instantly became 'entrepreneurs,' while the original workers didn't even have a pension."

[“Qu Xiting, the electronic pet! Her mother embezzled so much of the resettlement funds for laid-off workers, allowing her to live a life of luxury abroad. She even posted on Weibo that her mother is a hero! What about those workers from the three northeastern provinces who froze and starved to death?!”]

"I understand... I completely understand! What Brother Jun meant by 'counterattack' wasn't an exaggeration! Capitalists and feudal landlords are essentially the same kind of people! Given the chance, they will not hesitate to swallow the people's blood and sweat back into their own bellies! They will even fabricate a set of 'history' to say how terrible the original era was and how 'justified' their plundering was!"

"As a backup for civilization... Brother Jun, he wasn't making arrangements for his own funeral; he was leaving a final insurance policy for the entire Chinese civilization! He foresaw that after his death, a monstrous flood would inevitably occur!"

At that moment, all the audience members felt the weight and sorrow that transcended time behind those words.

That was not the emperor's suspicion, but the profound insight and helplessness of a lonely pioneer into the cyclical nature of history.

……

【Qin Dynasty World】

Inside Xianyang Palace.

"Bang!"

Ying Zheng slammed his palm on the table, leaving a shallow handprint on the bronze surface.

"Outrageous! How dare he compare me to that deposed emperor Zhao Ji!"

"I unified the six kingdoms, standardized the width of carts, unified the written language, and standardized weights and measures. I defeated the Xiongnu in the north and conquered the Baiyue in the south. My achievements surpass those of the Three Sovereigns and my virtue is superior to that of the Five Emperors! The Qin Dynasty only lasted two generations, not because of me, but because of the crimes of Huhai and Zhao Gao!"

The First Emperor's rage caused the temperature in the entire palace to drop several degrees.

However, after the anger came a long silence.

The empire collapsed just fourteen years after his death...

These words, like a poisonous thorn, pierced deeply into his proud heart.

He burned books and buried scholars alive in order to unify thought and prevent the remnants of the six former states from restoring their rule.

But the result?

He thought he had eradicated all "heresy," but after his death, those ideas immediately resurfaced, burning even more fiercely than before.

However, Zhu Dijun's descendants made a completely opposite choice when faced with the same problem.

He wasn't going to "destroy" it, but to "back it up".

He didn't go to "ban" it, but to "hide" it.

He regarded knowledge and ideas as a spark.

Even if everything on the earth is submerged by floods, as long as the spark remains, there is still hope for civilization to reignite.

"The spark..."

Ying Zheng slowly sat down, a look of confusion appearing in his eyes for the first time, which then transformed into a complex emotion that was hard to describe.

Perhaps... this junior sees further than I do.

He wanted the Qin Dynasty to last forever, and he relied on "absolute" power.

This younger generation, wanting to keep the flame of civilization burning, relied on "preservation".

High judgment.

……

[Northern Song Dynasty, the era of Emperor Huizong]

Inside Longde Palace, Zhao Ji, who had long been captured by the Jurchens and imprisoned in Wuguo City, looked at the scene in the sky and wept bitterly.

He was not angry.

Only endless regret and sorrow remain.

"Destroyed by wealth...destroyed by that group of self-righteous civil officials..."

Every word Judy Jun said was like a knife, stabbing into his heart.

He thought of the civil service in his own dynasty, and those "pillars of the state" who, in ordinary times, spoke of "the writings of sages" but in private only knew how to exploit the people and form cliques for personal gain.

He recalled those civil officials before the "Jingkang Incident" who advocated for peace talks and even took the initiative to open the city gates, offering gold, silver, and beautiful women, all to protect the wealth and status of their own families.

Those three bastards, the "Three Yangs," are whitewashing the truth...

These words were, in effect, a reference to Emperor Huizong of Tang himself!

He was obsessed with calligraphy and painting, auspicious omens, and the "prosperous age" dream woven for him by his ministers, but he turned a blind eye to the corruption of the border defenses, the suffering of the military households, and the hardships of the common people.

He was not awakened from his dream until the Jurchens' iron hooves trampled through Bianliang.

But it was all too late.

"I...I'm a complete and utter idiot!"

Emperor Huizong banged his head against the cold wall in anguish, sobbing uncontrollably.

He finally understood where he had gone wrong.

He finally understood why this younger man named Zhu Dijun had used the bloodiest methods to uproot those gentry and civil officials.

Because without completely removing these malignant tumors attached to the body of the nation, any prosperous era is nothing but a mirage, easily shattered.

……

[AI-simulated live stream in progress]

Inside the Qianqing Palace.

Zhu Dijun's breathing became weaker and weaker.

He looked at Zhu Jianshen, who was kneeling on the ground with tears streaming down his face, and a final trace of relief and reluctance flashed in his eyes.

He slowly raised his withered hand.

Zhu Jianshen quickly stepped forward and grasped his hands.

That hand was cold and powerless.

"Go..."

Judy Jun's voice was as soft as a sigh.

"Go do...what you're supposed to do."

"Remember... our journey is to the stars... and the sea..."

The last syllable fell.

That hand hung limply at its sides.

Those eyes that had seen through five thousand years of history have closed forever.

Spring of the 24th year of the Jingtai reign of the Ming Dynasty.

Judith Jun, the great emperor who single-handedly ended the old era and ushered in the Industrial Revolution and the Enlightenment, has passed away.

He has no tomb and no posthumous title.

All he left to the world was the spark of civilization hidden among the mountains and rivers of China, and a brand-new, yet perilous, Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Jianshen knelt before the bed, holding the hand that was gradually losing its warmth, and remained motionless for a long time.

He didn't cry.

The sorrow in his heart had long since solidified into steel.

He slowly stood up, turned around, and faced the outside of the hall.

That was the empire his uncle had built for him.

There, my uncle's unfinished business continues.

"uncle."

He muttered to himself, his voice calm yet carrying the power to cause an earthquake.

"I have received your instructions."

"I'll pass the fire on."