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

As soon as Zhu Dijun finished speaking in the live broadcast room, the image on the screen instantly switched.

The original erotic and bloody tales of palace intrigue have vanished, replaced by a huge, somber table.

In the center of the table, a skull and crossbones symbol is dripping black blood.

Next to it were four large characters: "Fiscal Collapse".

The era of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Yuanzhang was already furious because of the Zhang brothers' scandalous behavior in the palace, but when he saw these four words, his heart clenched.

A deeper fear than before welled up inside me.

He knew it all too well.

The chaos in the imperial harem affects one family and clan.

When the treasury collapses, it is the people of the world who perish!

"It's money again..."

Zhu Yuanzhang gritted his teeth, his hands gripping the armrests of the dragon throne tightly.

"Zhu Qiyu, the younger brother of Zhu Qizhen, was involved in the so-called 'Jingtai Restoration,' which resulted in emptying the national treasury and enriching the civil officials."

"Is this Zhu Youcheng, who is known as the 'Hongzhi Restoration,' also just an empty shell?"

Yongle Time and Space.

Zhu Di's eyelids twitched violently.

He's too sensitive about money.

Fighting wars costs money, writing books costs money, and sailing to the West costs money.

If his finances collapse, what will his million-strong army eat?

"Later generations, including Judy Jun, called it an 'economic nuclear bomb'..."

Zhu Di took a deep breath, his voice trembling slightly.

"Although I don't know what a nuclear bomb is, its destructive power is probably even more terrifying than the Tumu Crisis!"

On the sky.

Zhu Dijun pushed up his glasses, his eyes becoming unusually sharp.

"Family members, we just talked about politics and the harem."

"That's all about saving face."

"Now, let's talk about the substance."

"As we approach the end of the Ming Dynasty, how did the Ming Dynasty die?"

"He did not die at the hands of Li Zicheng, nor at the hands of Huang Taiji."

"It starved to death!"

"And one of the sources that caused the Ming Dynasty to suffer from this incurable disease was none other than Emperor Xiaozong of Ming, Zhu Youcheng, who led the Hongzhi Restoration!"

Zhu Dijun tapped his fingers on the keyboard, and a chart showing the personnel changes in the imperial court during the fifth year of the Hongzhi reign appeared on the screen.

"Before detonating this economic nuclear bomb, the civilian government did one thing first."

"Clear the area."

"They must get rid of the last person who is an eyesore in the court."

"This person was Liu Ji, the Grand Secretary at the time."

The image shows a portrait of an old man.

His face was resolute, but his eyes revealed helplessness.

Historical records criticize Liu Ji as a "paper-thin Grand Secretary," saying he held a position without doing any work.

"But let me tell you, Liu Ji is a veteran official left behind by Emperor Xianzong (Zhu Jianshen), and a staunch member of the imperial faction!"

"With him around, the civil service group doesn't dare to be too presumptuous."

"As long as he is alive, the ancestral system of the Ming Dynasty can still be barely maintained."

"However, in the fifth year of the Hongzhi reign, the cabinet used impeachment by censors to create public opinion and force Zhu Youcheng to send this veteran of four reigns back to his hometown!"

"With Liu Ji gone, the last line of defense for the Ming Dynasty has been breached."

Zhu Dijun gave a cold laugh.

"Liu Ji is gone, so who's coming up now?"

"Family members, here comes the important part."

"The one who succeeded the Grand Secretary was named Xu Pu."

"The one who succeeded the Minister of Revenue and took charge of the Ming Dynasty's treasury was named Ye Qi."

Two new portraits appeared on the screen.

One had a kind and benevolent face, while the other appeared dignified and righteous.

"These two people are not simple."

"Let's dig into their ancestors for eighteen generations."

Zhu Dijun pulled up a long family tree, with red lines like blood vessels connecting one illustrious name after another.

Xu Pu was from Yixing, Jiangsu.

"Everyone, take a good look, see who his ancestors were."

"The Prefect of Kaifeng during the late Northern Song Dynasty, a meritorious official who escorted Emperor Gaozong of Song south after the Jingkang Incident!"

"The Xu family has been a top-tier bureaucratic family since the Song Dynasty!"

"After Xu Pu became the Grand Secretary, his father was posthumously awarded the titles of Grand Tutor and Prime Minister."

"The Xu family's farmland in Jiangnan, if laid end to end, could circle the earth! Of course, this is an exaggeration."

Judy swiped the mouse and pointed at another person.

"Now let's look at this Minister of Revenue, Ye Qi."

"People from Jinhua, Zhejiang."

"His ancestor, Ye Heng, was the prime minister during the reign of Emperor Xiaozong of the Southern Song Dynasty!"

"His grandfather, Ye Tulian, was ordered to garrison Huai'an during the early Ming Dynasty, in the Hongwu era. He was a genuine powerful and influential gentry family in Jiangnan!"

boom!

The release of this family tree caused an uproar throughout the myriad worlds and timelines.

The Hongwu Era.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the long family genealogy, at those illustrious families that spanned the Song, Yuan, and Ming dynasties.

He suddenly felt a chill.

"Our Zhu family, going back three generations, were beggars and poor farmers."

"The Xu and Ye families, going back three generations, had prime ministers and prefects."

Zhu Yuanzhang's voice was somewhat hoarse.

"turn out to be……"

"In this world, dynasties come and go, but powerful families remain constant!"

"We kill corrupt officials, and heads roll like crazy."

"But these powerful families are like chives in a field; they're harvested again and again, yet their roots only grow deeper and deeper!"

On the sky.

Judy Jun's voice was full of sarcasm.

"Family members, do you understand now?"

"Zhu Youcheng was facing more than just a few ministers."

"He was facing a massive, suffocating bureaucratic interest group!"

"These families have survived for hundreds of years."

"They don't care who's emperor."

"When the Mongols came, they knelt to welcome them; when the Ming Dynasty came, they kowtowed; and when the Manchus came, they still shaved their heads and changed their clothes."

"They only care about one thing—the interests of the family!"

"As soon as Xu Pu and Ye Qi, the two representatives of the aristocratic families, took the stage, they immediately joined forces to do something big."

"They abolished the 'Grain Payment and Open Market System' established by Zhu Yuanzhang."

"They implemented the infamous 'color-based discounting method'!"

Zhu Dijun slammed his hand on the table.

"This is the economic nuclear bomb that buried the Ming Dynasty!"

"With its explosion, the Ming Dynasty's border defenses collapsed instantly, and the national treasury was emptied in a flash!"

"And countless amounts of silver, like flowing water, flowed into the pockets of the Xu and Ye families, and into the pockets of the Jiangnan gentry!"

Hongzhi Era.

Inside the Qianqing Palace.

Zhu Youcheng stared blankly at the sky.

He remembered this.

It was the fifth year of the Hongzhi reign when Ye Qi submitted a memorial, saying that the "open market" system had too many drawbacks and that it was too difficult for merchants to transport grain. It would be more convenient to pay in silver directly.

Ye Qi said that this would increase the national treasury's revenue and give the imperial court money in its hands.

He believed it.

He believed this was a benevolent policy that would benefit the country and its people.

"Could it be...?"

Zhu Youcheng looked out of the hall, trembling.

"Could this also be a scam?"

"Is it possible that my national treasury has been emptied by these so-called 'benevolent policies'?"

On the sky, Zhu Dijun opened a comparison document.

"Family members, don't worry."

"I know that many liberal arts students don't understand economics terminology."

"I specifically asked Doubao AI to create the most intuitive comparison chart."

"Let's take a look at the differences between the 'opening method' and the 'color folding method'."

"Why was one able to save the Ming Dynasty, while the other killed it?"