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

The scene on the sky went completely black.

However, the tremors in the various parallel universes of the Ming Dynasty have not yet ceased.

The Hongwu Era.

The Fengtian Hall was deathly silent.

Zhu Yuanzhang sat upright on the dragon throne, the veins on the back of his hands bulging.

He had just recovered from the frustration of Chiang Kai-shek's escape.

As a result, the final line of the trailer reignited his anger.

Abolish the Western Depot! Re-employ civil officials! A restorer of the dynasty! Dig a huge pit!

To Zhu Yuanzhang, these words, when put together, sounded even more grating than the most vicious curse.

"The fourth son, Gao Chi, is digging a pit for his descendants."

"And now there's another one digging a hole for the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Xiaozong Zhu Youcheng?"

Zhu Yuanzhang slammed his hand on the dragon-shaped writing desk.

The hard, golden nanmu wood tabletop emitted a dull, loud thud.

"puppet!"

"Our Great Ming Dynasty has already produced a Zhu Qiyu who was completely controlled by civil officials!"

"Has Zhu Youcheng also completely disgraced the Zhu family's spirit?!"

Crown Prince Zhu Biao, standing at the bottom of the steps, kept his head down, not daring to even breathe loudly.

Yongle Time and Space.

Zhu Di suddenly drew the Emperor's Sword from his waist.

The sword's edge pointed straight at the sky outside the palace.

"What a splendid leader he was!"

"What a brilliant move to heavily rely on civil officials!"

"I established the Eastern Depot precisely to suppress these hypocrites who spout empty words of benevolence and morality!"

"This unworthy descendant dares to cripple his own martial arts!"

The Chenghua Era.

Zhu Jianshen, who had just ordered the siege of the civil officials' residences, stopped what he was doing.

He turned to look in the direction where the sky had disappeared, his eyes filled with sorrow and anger.

That was his third son.

That was his successor who would take over the Ming Dynasty after his death.

He devoted his entire life to using every means at his disposal, even bearing the infamy of history, in order to barely suppress that group of greedy civil officials.

Before his body was even cold, his son squandered the political legacy he left behind!

"My Western Depot..."

"My messenger..."

Zhu Jianshen gritted his teeth, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

"Zhu Youcheng, you unfilial son!"

Meanwhile, in the Hongzhi era.

Inside the Qianqing Palace.

Emperor Xiaozong of Ming, Zhu Youcheng, who was originally enjoying the reputation of being a "benevolent ruler for all ages," was now ashen-faced.

He slumped onto the dragon throne, his whole body trembling uncontrollably.

Standing inside the hall were Liu Jian, the Grand Secretary, Li Dongyang, the Second Grand Secretary, and Xie Qian, the leader of the assembled officials.

These three civil officials, who were praised in historical records as the "Three Gentlemen of the Hongzhi Era," were also sweating profusely at this moment.

Their proud "a court full of upright officials" and their carefully embellished "Hongzhi Restoration".

They're about to be stripped bare, down to their last pants, by that demon from the future, right in front of all the ancestors of the myriad worlds!

"Your Majesty... these celestial pronouncements are misleading and should not be believed!"

Liu Jian knelt down with a thud, his voice trembling with grief.

Zhu Youcheng remained silent.

He just stared intently at the light that reappeared in mid-air.

He knew better than anyone how he had truly become emperor.

The sky brightened.

Judy Jun's somewhat mocking face reappeared in the view of the audience of all realms.

He picked up the teacup beside him, took a sip, and then looked directly at the camera.

"Family members, I mentioned this a few days ago when I was explaining Emperor Xianzong Zhu Jianshen."

"Zhu Youcheng is his third son, and also a guy who was disliked from a young age."

"After Zhu Jianshen was poisoned to death by the imperial physician Liu Wentai with a bowl of poison by the collusion between the civil officials and the imperial harem."

"Zhu Youcheng has ascended the throne."

These words once again stirred up a storm in the vast Ming Dynasty world.

Kill the emperor!

It's another tyrant!

In their quest to seize power, the civil service actually dared to poison the reigning emperor!

On the sky, Zhu Dijun's tone turned extremely cold.

"Everyone must not believe the history books written and falsified by the civil service."

How do historical records praise Emperor Hongzhi?

"It is said that he ascended the throne at the age of 18 and began to rule personally from the first day of his reign."

"There was no empress dowager ruling from behind the curtain, no powerful ministers ruling as regents, and no eunuchs wielding power."

"He personally appointed and made decisions regarding the cabinet, the six ministries, and the Censorate."

Historical records describe him with four words: "Emperor Xiaozong's autocratic rule".

"It means that he made all the decisions on important national affairs himself."

Zhu Dijun sneered and pounded his fingers on the keyboard.

A screenshot of the "Annals of Emperor Xiaozong" from the History of Ming appeared on the screen, and then a huge red cross was added to it!

"In addition, historical records have created an extremely likable persona for him."

"The most affectionate emperor of the Ming Dynasty."

"The only emperor in Chinese history to practice monogamy."

He only married Empress Zhang in his lifetime, and there were no other concubines in the harem.

"Doesn't that sound touching? Isn't it perfect?"

In the modern live streaming room, the barrage of comments scrolled wildly.

"Yes, yes, yes! When I read history books, my favorite character was Emperor Xiaozong of Ming!"

"One life, one love, one partner—the absolute epitome of imperial love and a war god!"

"Is this also fake? Streamer, don't scare me! I just bought his biography!"

"Don't rush, everyone. Since Brother Jun said that, there must be some big news!"

As Zhu Dijun watched the comments, the sneer on his lips deepened.

"Family members, this is all fake!"

Don't be fooled by TV dramas and those censored history books!

"A prince who grew up in the cold palace, living in fear every day, and never even having enough to eat."

"An 18-year-old boy who ascended the throne with no foundation, whose father had just been poisoned, and whose entire court was full of enemies."

"Are you telling me he can act arbitrarily and arbitrarily?"

"You're telling me he can control the court?"

Zhu Dijun's voice suddenly rose, like a heavy hammer of judgment striking everyone's hearts.

"In the twenty-third year of the Chenghua reign, Zhu Jianshen was murdered."

"At that time, Zhu Youcheng, who was still the crown prince, was practically a commander without any real power in the court!"

"He had no personal team, no generals he could trust, and he didn't even dare to use the eunuchs around him!"

"Thus, during this period of transition in imperial power..."

"Those darlings of the civil service have launched a blatant power grab!"

The images flow.

The imperial court of the early Hongzhi era of the Ming Dynasty appears on the sky.

It was a massacre without gunfire.

"The first step is to purge the imperial faction!"

"Grand Secretary Wan An and Minister of War Yin Zhi are being relentlessly impeached by the civil service."

"The charges are flattering the late emperor and forming cliques for personal gain."

"Zhu Youcheng couldn't protect them at all, so he could only issue an edict to dismiss them from their posts and order them to go back to their hometowns."

Zhu Dijun pointed out the portraits of the two men and marked them with red.

"Family members, Wan An does have a bad reputation. He is known in history as one of the 'Three Paper-Made Grand Secretaries'."

"But no matter how bad he is, he was still someone Zhu Jianshen promoted!"

"He is an extension of royal power into the cabinet!"

"The civil service ousted him not to fight corruption, but to turn the cabinet into their own private domain!"

"Remove all the thorns left behind by the late emperor!"

Hongzhi Era.

Zhu Youcheng closed his eyes, and two lines of clear tears slid down his cheeks.

He recalled the fear he felt when he first ascended the throne.

The entire court was pressuring him.

The memorials came in like snowflakes, all demanding severe punishment for the former emperor's officials.

Would he dare to say no?

He dare not.

He feared that the bowl of medicine he drank might also contain poison from Liu Wentai.

On the sky, Zhu Dijun's analysis continued, each word piercing to the heart.

"The old team has been completely purged."

"Next, it's time to replace them with people from the civil service."

"Wang Shu, the former Minister of War in Nanjing who had been dismissed from his post, was swiftly recalled to the capital and reinstated as Minister of Personnel!"

"Ma Wensheng, the Minister of War who was also in Nanjing, was also transferred back to Beijing to serve as Minister of War!"

Two aged yet shrewd faces appeared in the center of the screen.

Zhu Dijun's eyes were terrifyingly cold.

"Family members, do you understand now?"

"The Minister of Personnel, who oversees the promotion and evaluation of officials throughout the land, is known as the Heavenly Official!"

"A Minister of War, in charge of twelve battalions and all the troops in the capital, wielding the sword hilt!"

"These two cunning old foxes, one skilled in literature and the other in military affairs, seized all power during the period from the Chenghua era to the early Hongzhi era without shedding a drop of blood!"

Zhu Dijun stared directly at the camera, a cruel smile curving his lips.

"This tactic, doesn't it sound familiar, everyone?"