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

When Zhu Dijun's voice rang out again, the shock and anger from the previous day still lingered in the live broadcast room.

On the live chat, countless discussions about the "Jingtai black hole" and the "hypocrite Yu Qian" were still scrolling wildly.

Judy Jun's voice spoke softly:

"After the coup d'état, the first thing he did upon regaining the throne was to abolish the Jingtai reign title and change it to 'Tianshun'."

As soon as the words were spoken, two large, golden characters, written in a flowing, elegant style, appeared in the sky.

【Tianshun】

An aura of a returning emperor, of restoring order and restoring order, swept over us.

"Tian Shun! What a great name! It means that Heaven is in harmony with you, and your destiny has been fulfilled! How powerful!"

"That's right! Zhu Qizhen was so badly harmed by those treacherous officials, and now that he's back, isn't it a matter of destiny?"

"Hahaha, I can just imagine how smug Zhu Qizhen must have been. This reign title was the biggest mockery of Zhu Qiyu!"

The viewers in the live stream naturally interpreted it that way.

Meanwhile, in the myriad realms of time and space, Zhu Qizhen, who had just experienced a restoration, sat on the throne he had been away from for seven years, wearing a dragon robe, looking at the reign title on the sky with a complex expression.

Are you proud of yourself?

Perhaps there is a slight chance.

But more than anything, there was a bone-chilling cold.

During the Hongwu reign of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Yuanzhang stroked his beard and nodded: "The Way of Heaven is in harmony, and the Mandate of Heaven has been restored. Our eldest grandson finally knows that he is acting on the mandate of Heaven. This reign title is not bad."

During the Yongle reign of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Di, however, had a completely different view. He frowned slightly, keenly sensing that something was amiss.

Based on his understanding of the first half of Zhu Qizhen's life, he shouldn't have had such awareness.

There must be a deeper meaning behind this.

In the live stream room, Zhu Dijun looked at the scrolling comments and suddenly smiled.

That smile was full of meaning.

"Family members, do you think that the reign title 'Tianshun' was Zhu Qizhen celebrating his victory?"

He shook his head, his voice suddenly becoming low and somber.

"No."

"On the contrary."

"This reign title is not for celebration."

"This is a warning."

"It was the heaviest shackle that Zhu Qizhen put on himself after experiencing countless near-death experiences and seeing through the wickedness of human nature!"

Upon hearing this, the entire live stream room fell silent.

caveat?

shackles?

What kind of understanding is this?

Without keeping everyone in suspense, the scene behind him shifted to reveal portraits of ancient emperors.

"Tianshun" literally means that Heaven's will is in accordance with it and the Mandate of Heaven is restored to its proper order.

"But Zhu Qizhen chose this reign title because he wanted to forever remember the final fates of those emperors in Chinese history who shared similar destinies with him!"

Let's see who's here.

"The first one is Emperor Zhongzong of Tang, Li Xian."

The scene depicts an emperor with a weak face and a fearful expression.

"His life can be described as the ultimate puppet in the imperial world. First, he was deposed by his own mother, Wu Zetian, and exiled for fourteen years. After finally being restored to the throne, he was then sidelined by his wife, Empress Wei, and his daughter, Princess Anle. Finally, he was poisoned to death by his wife and daughter."

"His life is a bloody and tearful history of 'I became emperor, but everyone can bully me.'"

Judy Jun's voice carried a hint of pity.

"How similar are the seven years Zhu Qizhen spent in the Southern Palace to these fourteen years of exile? In the first half of his life, he was controlled by Wang Zhen; in the second half, what he had to be wary of was whether those 'meritorious officials' who supported his restoration would become the next Empress Wei!"

boom!

These words were like a thunderbolt, shattering everyone's train of thought!

"Holy crap! There's even a connection like this? Emperor Zhongzong of Tang... the most tragic emperor who was poisoned to death by his wife and daughter!"

"I understand! What Brother Jun means is that Zhu Qizhen used 'Tian Shun' (天顺) to remind himself to be wary of those around him! To be wary of those so-called 'insiders' who helped him to the throne!"

"Shi Heng, Cao Jixiang, Xu Youzhen... the great heroes of the coup! Zhu Qizhen was wary of them from the very beginning!"

Then, the scene changes again.

"The second one is Emperor Zhezong of Song, Zhao Xu."

A young emperor, full of vigor but with a hint of melancholy in his eyes, appeared.

"He ascended the throne at a young age, but was suppressed by his grandmother, Empress Dowager Gao, for nine years, with the power of the court falling entirely into the hands of the old party. After he took power, he exerted all his efforts to barely implement the new laws and regain power. But his entire life was a struggle against a powerful and deeply entrenched group of civil officials."

"Zhu Qizhen faced the same problem!"

"The root cause of the Tumu Crisis was the erosion of imperial power by the civil service! After his return, this group will only become larger and more unshakeable! His use of 'Tian Shun' (Heavenly Shun) is a reminder to himself that the war against this group has only just begun!"

"Hiss—now that you put it that way, Zhu Qizhen's situation is practically a hellish start!"

"Wolves in front, tigers behind! Outside lies a powerful group of civil officials, and inside are newly powerful and meritorious officials who hold military power! This emperor's life is so frustrating!"

The scene continues to switch.

"And then there's Emperor Zhaolie of Han, Liu Bei."

"He led a life of constant wandering, hoping to restore the Han Dynasty, but ultimately failed at Yiling, entrusted his son to others at Baidi City, and died with resentment. His entire life was a battle for 'restoration,' but after restoration came even greater challenges and a crueler reality."

"The same applies to Zhu Qizhen."

"The restoration is not the end. The coup is not the end of victory."

"This is just the beginning of another, lonelier, and more dangerous war!"

Zhu Dijun's voice resonates in every time and space.

He looked at the camera and made his final summary, word by word.

"So, family members, do you understand now?"

"The two characters 'Tienshun' are not a triumphant song at all."

"It was the mournful cry of Emperor Zhongzong of Tang when he was poisoned!"

"It was Emperor Zhezong's forbearance before assuming personal rule!"

"It's the sorrow of Emperor Zhaolie of Han entrusting his son to Zhuge Liang at Baidi City!"

"Zhu Qizhen forged the reign title 'Tianshun' from the blood and tears of all these emperors, hanging it above his head as a constant reminder!"

"It is telling Zhu Qizhen:"

"You're back, but you still have nothing!"

"You've ascended the throne, but you're still a pawn that can be discarded at any time!"

"Destiny has brought you back in good fortune, not so you can enjoy it, but so you can repay the debts you owed, the blood you shed, and the humiliations you suffered, a hundredfold or a thousandfold!"

"The true meaning of this era name is—"

"To obey Heaven's will is to defy the people!"

The moment the words fell.

The myriad realms and timelines were utterly silent.

Inside the Hongwu Palace in the Ming Dynasty.

The ease on Zhu Yuanzhang's face had vanished, replaced by a complex expression that mixed shock, heartache, and a hint of relief.

He looked up at the sky and seemed to see his descendant licking his wounds alone in the ruins of the Southern Palace, tempering his mind in despair.

"Well... well, what a fine example of 'obeying the will of Heaven, defying the will of the people'..."

"Our eldest grandson has finally... finally come to his senses!"

The Yongle Hall of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Di slowly closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, the murderous aura of mountains of corpses and seas of blood had already subsided.

"From a useless person, he became a lonely bachelor."

"This road is difficult to travel."

"But this is the path that the Zhu family should take!"

In another timeline, Zhu Qizhen, who had just ascended the throne, trembled slightly.

The person from the future on the celestial screen thoroughly dissected his deepest, most secret, and most unspeakable fears and determinations.

Obey the will of Heaven, defy the will of the people!

That's right!

This is the real reason why he chose "Tian Shun"!

He wasn't celebrating.

He is using this name to hold a long and grand funeral for his past foolishness!

From this day forward, the naive, arrogant, and foolish Zhu Qizhen has died at Tumu Fortress, died at the hands of the Oirats, and died in the Southern Palace!

Only one king, driven by vengeance, survived!

In Tianmu's live stream room, the chat had completely gone crazy.

"My scalp is tingling... I'm completely tingling! So that's what 'Tianshun' means!"

"He's completely broken through! I always thought Zhu Qizhen was a complete idiot, but now I'm wrong, terribly wrong! He's a vengeful ghost crawled out of hell!"

"Following the will of Heaven, defying the will of the people! Wow, that's so inspiring! This is what an emperor should be! This is what a man should be like after defeat!"

"I'm incredibly excited to see what Zhu Qizhen, under this reign title, will do!"

The audience's expectations were instantly raised to the maximum.

As Zhu Dijun watched all this, the curve of his lips deepened.

"Family members, don't worry."

"Now that we have understood Zhu Qizhen's 'Dao'."

"Then next time, let's take a look at his 'technique'."

"Look at how this 'Tian Shun' Emperor wields his butcher's knife, hacking down those who once supported him as king, his 'close comrades-in-arms'!"