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

The live stream transitioned from showing the Forbidden City shrouded in dark clouds to displaying a massive personnel appointment chart.

Zhu Dijun opened the PPT that had been prepared in advance.

This chart is filled with dozens of names highlighted in red.

Behind every name lies the most sensitive nerve of the Ming Dynasty's officialdom.

"Family members, let's continue reading."

"In the second year of Zhengde's reign, Emperor Wuzong withstood the first fierce attack from Xie Qian and Liu Jian, those old foxes among the civil officials."

"After successfully building the Leopard House and establishing the Insider Factory, he began to openly and aggressively expand the strength of his Eight Tigers."

Zhu Dijun's fingers tapped heavily on the screen.

"At that time, the civil officials in the Ming Dynasty court considered themselves to be of high moral character and controlled the selection process."

"At the age of fifteen, Zhu Houzhao had already formulated an extremely fierce and tyrannical principle for employing people."

"What you civil officials support, I will resolutely not use!"

"Those whom your civil service group hates most, whom you despise to the core, I will promote them, enrich them, and entrust them with important responsibilities!"

In the imperial court of the myriad worlds, all the officials were so shocked by these words that their eardrums rang.

This is not governing a country at all.

This is just a fight.

But in the Hongwu era of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang slapped his hand on the imperial desk and burst into laughter.

"good!"

"Well done!"

"Why bother with rules and regulations when those hypocrites are all talk and no action, pretending to be virtuous and moral but secretly engaging in immoral and immoral behavior?"

"The enemy of my enemy is the sharpest knife of the Zhu family!"

Zhu Di clenched his fists in the Yongle era, his eyes filled with fanaticism.

"Playing by unconventional methods is the key to breaking the deadlock."

"This lad has grasped the essence of my strategies during the Jingnan Campaign!"

On the sky, Zhu Dijun began to review the list of appointments that made the civil officials want to vomit blood.

"The second year of Zhengde."

"Zhu Houzhao issued an edict regarding Wei Bin's younger brother Wei Yingrong, Zhang Yong's younger brother Zhang Huan, Ma Yongcheng's younger brother Ma Shan, and Gu Dayong's younger brother Gu Dazhou."

"Overnight, all the relatives of these eunuchs were granted the hereditary title of centurion of the Embroidered Uniform Guard!"

"By the third year of Zhengde's reign, it had become even more severe."

"Gu Dayong's other three younger brothers, Gu Dakuan, Gu Dahong, and Gu Dayuan, have been promoted to commanders and centurions of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, respectively, skipping their usual ranks!"

"That's not all."

"Emperor Wuzong directly took money from the imperial treasury to increase the number of private guards for Wei Bin, Ma Yongcheng and other core members of the Eight Tigers."

On the screen appeared rows of heavily armored guards, fully armed and obeying only the orders of the inner court.

"According to the extremely angry accusations submitted by the cabinet at the time."

"From the time the Leopard House broke ground in the second year of the Zhengde reign, Emperor Wuzong recruited and appointed a private armed force known as the 'Official Banner Warriors' in the inner palace."

"The total number of people reached a terrifying six thousand six hundred!"

The moment this number was announced, the live stream chat exploded with comments.

"Holy crap! A special forces unit of over 6,600!"

"This is like keeping an entire division of troops in the palace!"

["Has Emperor Wuzong completely fallen into paranoia? Keeping so many people in the palace, the daily food bills must be astronomical!"]

Seeing the shock on the screen, Zhu Dijun gave a cold smile.

"Persecution paranoia?"

"Family members, go and look through the family genealogies of the Ming Dynasty!"

"Was the Ming Dynasty's imperial palace a safe place?"

Zhu Dijun stretched out his fingers and counted them one by one.

"Zhu Houzhao's great-grandfather, Emperor Yingzong of Ming, Zhu Qizhen, how did the Jingtai Emperor die in the Southern Palace Coup?"

"Zhu Houzhao's grandfather, Emperor Xianzong of Ming, Zhu Jianshen, was always on edge when he was young, fearing that he would be dethroned as crown prince."

"His father, Zhu Youcheng, was almost burned to ashes in the strange fire at Qianqing Palace in the eleventh year of the Hongzhi reign."

"Is this called paranoia?"

"This is a bloody lesson from history!"

Zhu Dijun suddenly waved his hand, and the 6,600 warriors on the screen simultaneously drew their embroidered spring knives from their waists, their blades gleaming coldly.

"With these 6,600 iron-blooded imperial guards protecting the inner court."

"Any force that wants to launch a palace coup, any civil official or relative of the empress who wants to storm the palace and force the emperor to abdicate."

"We'll have to ask the swords in these warriors if they agree first!"

"This force is not only capable of defense; it can also transform into a pack of bloodthirsty wolves at any time, launching a deadly charge against the outer court!"

The emperors of all dynasties, especially those monarchs who had once lived in fear during coups, were now all red-eyed with rage.

During the Zhenguan era of the Tang Dynasty, Li Chengqian was so excited that he trembled all over.

"Six thousand six hundred elite warriors... If my Eastern Palace had had six thousand six hundred men back then, would that old scoundrel Changsun Wuji have dared to force me?"

In the era of Emperor Chongzhen of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Youjian knelt on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly.

"If I had these 6,600 men under my command, why would I have to put up with the humiliation of the civil service!"

"How could I be so powerless as to not even command a mere commander-in-chief in Liaodong!"

Zhu Dijun picked up his water glass, took a sip to moisten his throat, and his eyes became even sharper.

"The security of the inner court has been established."

"Next, Emperor Wuzong turned his attention to the outer court!"

"In March of the second year of Zhengde's reign, a name that had long disappeared from the court's sight was forcibly brought back to light by Zhu Houzhao."

A portrait of a burly, weathered general appeared on the screen.

"Former Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Guangxi, Mao Lun."

"He is not only a seasoned veteran, but he also has two extremely fatal labels."

"First, he was a trusted lieutenant of Wang Zhi, the former head of the Western Depot!"

"Secondly, he was a Mongolian!"

Zhu Dijun drew two large red circles on the screen.

"Family members, in the eyes of the civil service group that considers itself the orthodox Han dynasty and the Cheng-Zhu school of Neo-Confucianism, these two labels are like rocks in a latrine, smelly and hard."

"The cabinet wished it could tear Mao Lun to pieces."

"When Emperor Xiaozong of Ming passed away, the cabinet joined forces to impeach him, dismiss him from office, and send him back to his hometown."

"But what about Zhu Houzhao?"

"He issued a direct decree to reinstate Mao Lun!"

"Moreover, he was promoted in one fell swoop, directly appointed as the Right Commander-in-Chief of the Rear Army Commandery, a first-rank official!"

"Fully responsible for the supreme military defense of the Northern Military Region of the Ming Dynasty!"

The viewers in the live stream were completely engrossed.

"Damn! The more you civil officials hate someone, the more I'll put that person in the highest position!"

["Mao Lun is probably still in a daze at home. How did such an overwhelming amount of wealth fall on my head?"]

"This tactic is brilliant! A foreign general like Mao Lun, who was trampled underfoot by civil officials, would become a rabid dog that bites the civil officials to death once the emperor lifts him up. He would be absolutely loyal to the emperor!"

"That's not even the worst part."

Zhu Dijun cut out another portrait of a civil official.

"By April."

"Emperor Wuzong once again recalled Tu Yong, the former Minister of Personnel and Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince, who had been ousted by Liu Jian and his group of senior cabinet officials!"

"He remains the Minister of Personnel, and not only that, he's also been given the additional title of Right Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate!"

"The personnel and impeachment departments were all handed over by Emperor Wuzong to an old minister who had a blood feud with the cabinet!"

All the civil officials in the myriad worlds and timelines felt a chill run from the soles of their feet straight to the top of their heads.

To kill someone is to destroy their spirit.

Emperor Wuzong of Ming was using the sword of civil officials to cut off the necks of other civil officials!

A new power monster is formed by a group of people who have been marginalized by the orthodox system and have nowhere else to turn.

To devour that vast and corrupt civil service empire.

The audacity of Zhu Houzhao's grand scheme far exceeded everyone's imagination.