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

The lights and shadows in the live broadcast room trembled violently behind Zhu Dijun.

That was a wave called "power," roaring wildly in the early years of the Zhengde reign.

Zhu Dijun pushed up glasses that weren't actually there, his eyes revealing a chilling indifference under the light.

"Family members, after witnessing that farcical bureaucratic charade of passing the buck, do you think Emperor Wuzong will give up so easily?"

"If he really admits defeat, then he wouldn't be the Zhu Houzhao who stirred up the Ming Dynasty and dared to draw his sword to kill Mongol princes on the grasslands."

The timeline on the screen is frozen in April of the first year of the Zhengde reign.

It is spring.

However, it was a sudden cold snap that could freeze the entire Ming Dynasty officialdom.

"The cabinet has blocked the funding for the reconstruction of the stables."

"The old fox Zeng Jian shifted the blame to the Imperial Observatory."

"Zhu Houzhao sat on the dragon throne, looking at this group of shrewd and calculating ministers. He did not roar, but simply issued a second order."

In the scene, the eunuch Chen Gui once again entered the cabinet's duty room.

He was holding a new imperial edict in his hand.

The content is ridiculously simple.

"The emperor wants to allocate 1,000 acres of grassland for himself outside the capital."

"There's only one reason: the emperor wants to ride horses, and horses need fodder. Since a stable can't be built, can't I just find a piece of land to graze the horses myself?"

The sound of Zhu Dijun typing on the keyboard was particularly jarring in the quiet live broadcast room.

"Family members, have you seen through Zhu Houzhao's true intentions?"

"He intends to use this grassland as a foundation, bypassing the Ministry of Works, and establishing this land as his secret base for building an 'independent kingdom'!"

"This is already a request so humble it's practically groveling, even tinged with a sense of resignation and despair."

"But guess how the civil service receives their kickbacks?"

On the screen, a censor named Zhang Wen from the Ministry of Revenue is standing in the center of the court, quoting classical texts with great enthusiasm.

What he was holding in his hands was the "Collected Statutes of the Ming Dynasty".

Zhang Wen said, "Your Majesty, this pasture absolutely cannot be given to you!"

Why?

"Because this is an ironclad rule established by Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang: the pastures outside Beijing are under the management of the Ministry of Revenue, for the purpose of coordinating the national horse administration!"

He pointed to the thousand acres of wasteland and shouted: "To move a single piece of land is to violate the ancestral rules of the founding emperor, it is unfilial, and it is to bring chaos to the world!"

Zhu Dijun's voice revealed an barely suppressed, furious laugh.

"Hahaha! Listen to this, what touching and heartfelt advice!"

"But I'd like to ask this Lord Zhang a question."

"During the Hongzhi era, when the civil service, in order to make money, abolished the 'Consolidation Law' under the guise of constitutional amendment and used the 'Cash Conversion Law,' changing the horse tax from being confiscated in kind to being converted into cash, why didn't you mention Zhu Yuanzhang's rules then?"

"When these pastures were privately divided up by nobles and civil officials and turned into the back gardens of various families, why didn't you mention the ancestral rules?"

"Now that the emperor wants to build a racetrack on his own land, you suddenly remembered your ancestor Zhu Yuanzhang?"

"What's this called?"

"That's called shameless double standards!"

"This is like using Zhu Yuanzhang's sword to chop off Zhu Yuanzhang's great-grandson!"

The era of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Yuanzhang's face was as black as the bottom of a pot.

The pure gold paperweight in his hand had been so tightly squeezed that a fingerprint had been left on it.

"Our rules?"

"These bastards, how dare they use our rules to block our grandson's land?"

"We set these rules so that you could help the Zhu family maintain the empire, not so that you could act as shields and trap the emperor to death in the palace!"

Zhu Yuanzhang slammed his fist on the table and stood up abruptly.

He roared at the void, his voice almost lifting the roof of the Fengtian Hall.

"Make a note of this Zhang Wen!"

"Let the Embroidered Uniform Guard investigate—investigate his entire family lineage, including his relatives during the Hongwu reign!"

"If we catch even the slightest incriminating evidence, we'll stuff his entire family into that thousand-acre grassland and bury them as fertilizer!"

Yongle Time and Space.

Zhu Di's battle boots made a heavy thud on the floor tiles.

As he listened to the analysis of "Horse Administration" on the screen, a cold glint appeared in his eyes.

"Military equipment is in disrepair, and horse administration is in ruins."

"These civil servants really have the nerve to say that."

"While they devoured all the benefits of the horse administration, they turned around and pinned the blame on the emperor for the horse administration's failure."

"Excellent method, truly a method of killing without shedding blood!"

On the sky, Zhu Dijun's revelations reached their climax.

"Family members, the most infuriating thing is yet to come."

"In its official reply to Zhu Houzhao, the cabinet even used a tone that was almost threatening."

"They said: Back then, your father, Emperor Zhu Youcheng, also known as Emperor Xiaozong of Ming, wanted land from us, but we didn't give it to him!"

"Even a 'benevolent ruler' like your father couldn't break the rules, so what right do you, a fifteen-year-old, have to?"

"If you insist on setting this precedent, then the horse administration will be completely ruined in the future. If the Ming army has no warhorses to resist the Tatars, you, Zhu Houzhao, will bear the blame for this crime for all eternity!"

The live stream chat exploded instantly, with some comments even displaying garbled text due to the overwhelming emotions of the viewers.

"Is this something a subject should say to the emperor?"

"Kill! If we don't kill them, this situation will really get out of hand!"

"Zhu Houzhao, hurry and get the knife! I couldn't stand watching, and it's making my blood pressure skyrocket!"

"Isn't this the originator of moral blackmail? Not a word about their own embezzlement, they shift all the blame onto the emperor. Being an official like that must be so easy!"

Zhu Dijun took a deep breath, his eyes becoming profound.

"Faced with this all-encompassing mental suppression and moral intimidation, Zhu Houzhao remained silent for a long time."

He stood in front of the window of the Qianqing Palace, looking at the gray sky outside.

He knew that in this court, he could not beg for a single tael of silver, nor a single piece of land.

"The civil official gave him only two choices."

"Either he becomes like his father, a 'benevolent ruler' praised by everyone but who dies under mysterious circumstances."

"Either we completely break ties with these so-called disciples of saints!"

"But Zhu Houzhao chose the third path."

"A bloody path, extremely long and extremely painful, but one that truly gave us control!"

"Since you're not going to pay me, then I don't want it."

"Since you won't give me the land, then I'll just clear it myself!"

Zhu Dijun's voice echoed in the hall.

"For the next year and five months, Zhu Houzhao disappeared from the sight of the civil officials."

"He stopped arguing with them about horse policy and stopped attending those meaningless lectures."

"He is waiting, waiting for a dark flower to bloom in blood."

Inside the modern live-streaming studio, the stirring sound of war drums grew louder as it approached.

The background scene for Zhu Dijun shifts instantly from the gloomy Qianqing Palace to the solemn and imposing Royal Martial Arts Arena.

"Family members, pay attention to this!"

"In history textbooks, civil officials used four understated words to describe this period: debauchery and ruin of the country."

"It is said that Zhu Houzhao hid in the palace, neglecting state affairs and indulging in playing with eunuchs."

"They're lying! They're afraid!"

Zhu Dijun slammed his hand on the table, the sound echoing through the sky.

"August of the second year of Zhengde!"

"After seventeen months of secret planning, and countless compromises and forbearance."

"Zhu Houzhao used the little private money he had left in his own treasury, plus the loose silver coins that the eunuchs had 'begged' from outside."

"Through the 'self-financing and self-construction' approach, completely detached from the Ministry of Works and completely free from civil service supervision."

"They actually built the Leopard House on the ruins of the Northwest Horse Stable!"

On the screen, a realistic reconstruction of the Leopard House was clearly displayed.

That's not a brothel at all.

It was a special military fortress equipped with the most advanced firearms, with layers of defensive fortifications, and an independent command center!

"On the day this fortress was completed, Zhu Houzhao completed the most important cabinet formation of his life."

"These two teams have a name in history that could terrify any civil official—the 'Eight Tigers'!"

On the big screen, eight eunuch heads, each with a different expression but exuding a fierce aura, were lined up in a row.

Zhu Dijun pointed to the left.

"First group, the Ming Dynasty military team!"

"Led by Zhang Yong and Wei Bin, they directly controlled the most elite military force of the Beijing Garrison."

"Zhang Yong was not only the emperor's servant, but also a true military genius, a commander who dared to direct musket positions on the battlefield!"

Zhu Houzhao told Zhang Yong: "In this Ming Dynasty, only the gun in your hand is my pillar of support!"

Then, Zhu Dijun pointed to the right.

Standing there was an old man with a sinister expression and eyes like those of a venomous snake—Liu Jin.

"Second group, Political Special Operations Team!"

"Led by Liu Jin and Gu Dayong, their mission is singular: infiltration!"

"Infiltrating the Six Ministries, infiltrating the homes of every Grand Secretary, infiltrating every official document about to be sent nationwide!"

"Liu Jin was like a shadow claw of Zhu Houzhao, tightly gripping the throat of the Ming Dynasty's officialdom."

"The formation of the Eight Tigers signifies that Zhu Houzhao established a parallel administrative system outside the traditional bureaucratic system of the Ming Dynasty!"

The era of Emperor Chongzhen of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Youjian stared in stunned silence at the clear power structure diagram on the sky.

His mind went blank.

"Parallel system...self-funded internal treasury..."

"Why didn't I consider bypassing the Ministry of Revenue and building my own team back then?"

"I always try to reason with them, always thinking that as long as I'm sincere enough, they'll be moved..."

Zhu Youjian revealed a smile that looked more like a grimace.

"So, from the very beginning, I never considered them enemies, while they always saw me as a hostage!"

Above the sky, Zhu Dijun's commentary entered its most frenzied phase.

"The civil service is not stupid."

"They soon discovered that the people sent to oversee the stables could no longer get in, and the informants sent to monitor the emperor had been cut off."

"They panicked, they were scared!"

"Because they sensed in Liu Jin and Zhang Yong the same scent that of the man who caused rivers of blood to flow within the civil service—Wang Zhi, the eunuch of the Western Depot!"

"Thus, between the second and third years of the Zhengde reign, the most serious coup attempt in Ming Dynasty history—targeting the emperor's private offices—occurred!"

On the screen, a dense array of civil officials appeared, kneeling outside the Meridian Gate.

They threatened suicide, demanding that the emperor disband the Eight Tigers and demolish the Leopard House.

A cruel smile curled at the corner of Zhu Dijun's mouth.

However, this time Zhu Houzhao did not "keep the money in the purse strings and not issue it".

"He sat in the command chair in the Leopard Chamber, touching the cold armor, and issued the coldest order since his ascension to the throne."

"Since the Eastern Depot and the Western Depot have been infiltrated into sieves by you."

"Since you feel that two intelligence agencies are not enough."

"Then I'll add some more spice to your meal!"

In the very center of the screen, three large, blood-red characters descended from the sky, carrying an overwhelming murderous aura.

[Expert Factory]!

"At the very moment when the civil officials' coup attempt was at its most intense, Zhu Houzhao announced the establishment of the Inner Depot, directly commanded by Liu Jin!"

"Just how powerful is this organization?"

"It can not only supervise civil officials, but also the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and even the Eastern Depot and Western Depot!"

"It is a super guillotine that surpasses all oversight agencies!"

Zhu Houzhao wanted to tell the whole world: You want justice? I won't give it to you!

"You want ancestral rules? I myself am the ancestral rule!"

"From this moment on, the Ming Dynasty will no longer be your civil officials' forum for idle talk, but my personal killing field!"

"Zhu Houzhao, the Ming Dynasty's number one troublemaker, mischievous devil, and special forces emperor, has officially declared war on the entire civil service!"

The music in the live stream room instantly reached its climax, as if thousands of troops were roaring at the same time.

At this moment, the people of all realms were so overwhelmed by the aura of the young emperor projected onto the sky that they could hardly breathe.