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

The live stream camera focused on Zhu Youcheng's gaunt face.

Judy Jun's voice rang out again, carrying a chilling calm.

"Family members, let's continue talking about Emperor Xiaozong, who is praised to the skies in history books."

"After experiencing that disgusting palace coup, Zhu Youcheng completely resigned himself to his fate."

"But his acceptance of his fate does not mean that the civil service will give up."

"To cut the weeds, you must pull them out by the roots."

The timeline on the screen jumped rapidly, arriving at the end of the eleventh year of the Hongzhi reign.

In the northwestern border region, the cold wind is biting.

A fast horse galloped into the capital, bringing news that shook the entire Ming military.

King Yue, the General Administrator of the Three Border Regions and Earl of Weining, passed away.

Zhu Dijun tapped his fingers heavily on the table twice.

"History records only contain two cold words: Died of illness."

"After Wang Yue died, the generals of the four northwestern garrisons were quickly replaced, and all of them were protégés and former subordinates of Ma Wensheng, the Minister of War."

"The military power that Zhu Youcheng had finally managed to regain had changed hands again."

"Family members, I absolutely do not believe that Wang Yue died of illness as claimed!"

Zhu Dijun's gaze was direct and penetrating as he looked directly into the camera.

"We have mentioned a golden rule of the Ming Dynasty officialdom many times before."

"All civil and military officials who are wholeheartedly devoted to serving the emperor will perish as soon as the emperor falls from power or loses in a political struggle."

"These capable men will immediately cause all sorts of bizarre accidents."

"The proportions of those who died from illness and those who went missing are alarmingly high!"

"Wang Yue was able to personally lead the charge during the great victory at Helan Mountain; he was so physically strong that he could tear apart tigers and leopards."

"So, Zhu Youcheng had just been forced to abdicate in the capital when he suddenly died in his camp in the northwest?"

"What a coincidence!"

"I'm more inclined to believe this was a premeditated assassination!"

"The civil service group forced the emperor to abdicate in the capital using fire and falsified account books, then turned around and sent someone to the northwest to poison the emperor's last remaining enemy!"

A certain parallel spacetime.

Zhu Jianshen stared intently at Wang Yue's coffin in the sky, his eyes cracked and blood seeped out.

His most trusted general did not die under the Mongol's scimitar, but was betrayed by his own men.

"Wang Yue..."

Zhu Jianshen's voice was terribly hoarse.

He didn't roar or throw anything.

He simply drew his sword from his waist and cleaved the dragon table in two.

"Send an imperial edict to the Western Depot."

"Arrest all of Ma Wensheng's protégés in the capital and imprison them in the imperial prison."

"No need for trial, just use torture."

"I want to know what poison they used to kill my Marquis of Weining!"

On the sky, Zhu Dijun's review continues.

With Wang Yue dead, Zhu Youcheng was completely toothless.

"By the fifteenth year of the Hongzhi reign, this purge had reached its climax."

"In the cabinet, the five ministers who had been promoted by Zhu Youcheng and who had tried to fight against the civil service group were all purged under various pretexts."

"Zhu Youcheng was forced to act as a filial son and virtuous grandson."

"His daily task is to sit on the dragon throne and listen to those old men in the cabinet recite scriptures."

"He's a spitting image of the Ming Dynasty's Guangxu Emperor!"

"And those who completely controlled the government were the 'Three Gentlemen of Hongzhi,' who were praised by countless literati and scholars in later generations."

On the screen, portraits of three people appeared.

Liu Jian, Li Dongyang, Xie Qian.

Standing beside him was Ma Wensheng, the powerful Minister of War.

"These beasts among beasts have once again firmly grasped the power of the Ming Dynasty in their own hands."

In the modern live stream room, the chat briefly paused.

Subsequently, an unprecedented explosion occurred.

Countless viewers watching the live stream felt their values ​​being brutally rubbed into the ground.

Many people quietly picked up books such as "Li Dongyang's Poetry Collection" and "Those Things of the Ming Dynasty" that were next to them.

Looking at the lavish praise for the "Three Gentlemen of the Hongzhi Era," his eyes were filled with disbelief.

Since the Qing Dynasty revised the History of Ming, these individuals have been highly regarded by the government, the public, and the internet for the past century.

They are considered pillars of the nation, renowned ministers who turned the tide and saved the day.

But now, Judy Jun pulled down their blood-soaked underwear.

"That damned civil service! Liars! They're all fucking liars!"

"I don't believe it! It's fake, all fake, Judy Jun is just trying to attract attention!"

[“Upstairs, didn’t you hear what Brother Jun said? Battle reports can be deceiving, but the front lines are definitely not! During the reign of Emperor Xiaozong of Ming, there was not a single word about the Tatar raids on the border, right? Emperor Xiaozong was forced to become Emperor Guangxu, and you’re still trying to whitewash this? If you don’t want your brain, you can donate it to a medical institution!”]

"Everyone should take a look at the original 'Veritable Records of Emperor Xiaozong of Ming' that has been unearthed. Don't rely on those secondhand historical materials that were censored by the Qing Dynasty, and don't listen to those so-called experts spouting nonsense!"

Judy Jun looked at the rapidly scrolling comments on the screen and sneered.

He turned around and pulled out a yellowed ancient book from the bookshelf behind him.

The cover prominently displays five large characters: "The Veritable Records of Emperor Xiaozong of Ming".

"Family members, I know some people are not satisfied."

"You think I'm smearing the saints in your hearts."

"Then let's use their own accounts to slap them in the face!"

Zhu Dijun turned the page and pointed the high-definition camera at a passage of text.

"Come on, let's read it together."

"According to the Veritable Records of Emperor Xiaozong of Ming, Ma Wensheng and Liu Daxia, these two beasts, were in charge of the Ministry of War..."

"Those who command the border defenses are mostly mediocre and incompetent, while those who claim credit and rewards are numerous!"

Zhu Dijun slammed the book heavily on the table, the sound like thunder.

"Did you understand?"

"This is the good deed done by the famous ministers you all praise!"

"They killed Wang Yue, who was capable of fighting, and sent a bunch of mediocre and incompetent generals to guard the frontier!"

"These useless soldiers are incapable of fighting, but they're all incredibly eager to claim military merits and cheat for rewards!"

"These two bastards not only caused the Ming Dynasty army's fighting capacity to decline precipitously."

"They've turned the once disciplined border troops into a chaotic mess, rife with corruption!"

The era of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Yuanzhang's breathing became extremely heavy.

As he looked at the recorded event on the screen, he felt a tightness in his chest.

That was the invincible iron army that he and the founding soldiers of the Ming Dynasty fought with swords, spears, halberds, mountains of corpses, and seas of blood!

Xu Da, Chang Yuchun, Lan Yu...

The glory these names represent has been ruined by a few pedantic literati!

"Incompetent and mediocre...claiming credit for others' work..."

Zhu Yuanzhang gritted his teeth, each word seeming to be squeezed out from between his teeth.

"Our soldiers are for killing the enemy, not for these civil officials to be cash cows!"

Yongle Time and Space.

Zhu Di's eyes flashed with a ferocious light, as if he were about to devour someone.

What he was most proud of was the martial virtue of the Ming Dynasty.

He led five expeditions to the northern deserts and sealed the wolf's lair.

He beat the Mongols so badly they were left crawling on the ground like dogs.

But now, those two scoundrels, Ma Wensheng and Liu Daxia, have actually broken the backbone of the Ming Dynasty!

"Liu Daxia..."

Zhu Di kept repeating this name.

"Isn't that the bastard who burned Zheng He's voyage charts?"

"Great! Excellent!"

"Destroy my navy, ruin my border troops."

"How dare history books call such a villain a loyal minister?"

Zhu Di turned to look at Zhu Gaochi beside him.

Write it down.

"From now on, anyone named Liu Daxia, anyone who is related to Ma Wensheng in any way..."

"Anyone who dares to take even half a step into officialdom will be executed immediately, without exception!"

On the heavens, Zhu Dijun gave the emperors of the Ming Dynasty no time to catch their breath.

His gaze became extremely sharp, as if trying to pierce through the fog of history spanning hundreds of years.

"Family members, ruining the army and seizing control of the court are just the first and second steps for the civil service to seize power."

"They knew very well that as long as the rules set by Zhu Yuanzhang remained in place, they would always risk losing their heads for embezzling and accepting bribes."

"So, these bastards did something else that all Ming Dynasty officials dreamed of."

Zhu Dijun said, enunciating each word clearly.

"They want—to amend the constitution!"

"They want to revise the Great Ming Code, which was personally drafted by Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang and regarded as the standard by successive emperors of the Ming Dynasty!"