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

murderous look!

A palpable killing intent erupted from Zhu Yuanzhang!

The temperature in the entire Fengtian Hall seemed to have dropped to freezing point.

The civil officials were all ashen-faced and trembling like leaves.

They saw mountains of corpses and seas of blood in the emperor's eyes!

They knew how deeply the emperor was wounded, and how ruthless the ensuing retaliation would be!

This is no longer a cleansing targeting a specific individual.

This will be a thorough, complete purge targeting an entire social class!

The Song Dynasty.

"Your Majesty, this...this..."

As Chancellor Zhao Pu looked at the scene on the sky, cold sweat soaked through his court robes.

Zhao Kuangyin's expression was extremely grim.

To govern the country together with the scholar-officials.

This is a national policy he is very proud of.

He relieved military power with a cup of wine and treated civil officials well in order to prevent military figures from interfering in politics at the end of the Tang Dynasty.

But what did he see?

He saw the Ming Dynasty, the dynasty that "carried forward" its national policies, and what kind of monsters it ultimately nurtured!

A group of vampires who claim to "serve the people" but frantically suck the lifeblood of the nation and its people!

Although the Song Dynasty also had redundant officials and excessive expenses, it was far from the point where the national treasury was directly bankrupted like the Ming Dynasty!

"This...is not my intention..."

Zhao Kuangyin muttered to himself.

He suddenly felt a wave of fear.

Did Zhao Kuangyin grant fewer privileges to scholars than Zhu Yuanzhang did?

Were the scholar-officials of the Song Dynasty more noble than the gentry of the Ming Dynasty?

He dared not think any further.

Because the answer could shake the very foundations of his state!

……

Above the sky, Zhu Dijun's voice did not stop because of Zhu Yuanzhang's rage; instead, it became even colder.

"Fiscal collapse is only the first negative consequence."

"This second disastrous consequence is even more shocking!"

"That is, the complete degeneration of the gentry class has transformed them from the cornerstone of the nation into a... cancerous growth on society!"

"Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang used the eight-legged essay to select officials, intending to confine the thoughts of all scholars in the country within the framework of loyalty to the emperor and patriotism."

"But he forgot that a trapped beast loses its ferocity."

"Pigs raised in captivity only think about how to eat more!"

The scene shifts to a town in the Jiangnan region during the mid-to-late Ming Dynasty.

A group of scholars dressed in traditional Chinese robes and square scarves were gathered at the entrance of the county government office, shouting loudly and spitting as they spoke.

This was simply because the county magistrate did not adopt their "opinions" when handling a case.

The magistrate stood in the main hall, at a loss, sweating profusely.

He dared not arrest him, much less hit him.

Because he knew that behind these scholars were even more successful candidates in the imperial examinations, and behind those successful candidates were powerful figures in the imperial court!

He's just a lowly seventh-rank official; we can't afford to offend him!

"Do you see that? These are the intellectuals who have been satiated by privilege!"

Zhu Dijun's voice was full of disdain.

"They don't work, they don't pay taxes, they idle all day long, their only livelihood is to meddle in lawsuits, protect the powerful, and oppress the villagers!"

"They read the classics and spout righteousness and morality, but behind the scenes they engage in thieving and promiscuous acts!"

"Gu Yanwu, a great thinker of the late Ming Dynasty, once issued a heart-wrenching accusation:"

A line of blood-stained characters appeared in the center of the sky.

The world is often divided into three groups: those who labor hard, and seven who sit and wait to be fed and clothed.

"Out of ten people, only three are actually working, yet they have to support seven parasites who do absolutely nothing!"

"And of these seven parasites, the biggest and fattest are them—the scholars of the Ming Dynasty!"

The scene changes again.

A tenant farmer had his leg broken by the landlord because he couldn't pay his rent.

He went to file a complaint with the authorities.

As a result, the landlord invited the local scholar, who, in court, quoted classical texts and distorted the truth.

Ultimately, the tenant was convicted of "false accusation," received twenty strokes of the cane, and was dragged back.

A small businessman, having made some money, wanted to build bridges and roads.

As a result, local gentry (successful candidates in the imperial examinations) came to his door, saying that he was "competing with the people for profit" and "ruining the feng shui".

They forced him to donate most of his assets before they would settle the matter.

"They are called local gentry, but in reality, they are corrupt officials and parasites!"

"They call themselves scholars, but in reality they are wolves in sheep's clothing!"

"The court's benevolent policies fail to reach the people because they are intercepted along the way!"

"The suffering of the people cannot reach the ears of Heaven, because they are deceived by their collusion!"

"They have formed an impenetrable interest group! From the Prime Minister to the village scholar, they are deeply entrenched and mutually supportive!"

"They were the true rulers of the Ming Dynasty!"

……

"They've rebelled! They've all rebelled!"

In the Hongwu Hall, Zhu Yuanzhang slammed his fist on the imperial desk, and the hard pear wood desk was cracked by his punch!

He recalled the Great Proclamation he had promulgated.

He allowed the people to directly kidnap and send corrupt officials to the capital!

He gave ordinary people their last weapon against power!

But he never expected that the gentry class he had helped to build up would become another mountain weighing down on the people, in addition to the officials!

Moreover, this mountain is more hidden, larger, and more difficult to move!

"Zhu Di!"

Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly turned around and stared intently at the Yongle Era.

"Did you see that?! This is the mess your father made!"

"We've raised a bunch of ungrateful wretches! A bunch of traitors who are devouring our Ming Dynasty!"

Inside the Yongle Palace, Zhu Di was startled.

He looked at the faces of those gentry in the sky, then at his own prince, those "gentle and refined" Grand Secretaries.

He suddenly realized that their faces were so similar!

He finally understood.

Why is it that when he wants to do something, he always encounters numerous obstacles?

Why are there so many clichés in the imperial court about "the laws of our ancestors cannot be changed"?

Because what he wants to do is to make the country strong.

What they want to protect is their own...interests!

"Family members, if financial collapse and social degeneration are merely making the Ming Dynasty teeter on the brink of collapse..."

"So, this third consequence is the last straw that breaks the camel's back."

"It directly declares that the great idea of ​​the founding emperor, 'using privilege to exchange for loyalty,'...completely failed!"

Zhu Dijun's voice carries a sense of ultimate historical judgment.

"The most ironic consequence of this is—betrayal!"

The scene on the screen was frozen in time, in the seventeenth year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign, beneath the walls of Beijing.

Li Zicheng's army was a vast, dark mass.

On the city wall, Emperor Chongzhen was pleading with his ministers to donate money.

The results of it?

Grand Secretary Wei Zaode cried and said that his family was poor and he could only donate five hundred taels.

Afterwards, Li Zicheng confiscated 37 million taels of silver from his home!

Those civil servants who usually enjoy the best treatment in the country have all become misers, not giving a penny!

Ultimately, the city fell.

Emperor Chongzhen hanged himself on Coal Hill, sacrificing his life for his country.

His last words were: "Let the rebels tear my body apart, but do not harm a single commoner."

This deposed monarch, even on his deathbed, still thought of his people.

but!

The scene changes!

What were those scholar-officials who were just "loyal" to Emperor Chongzhen doing?

They shaved their heads and grew raven tails.

They knelt before Dorgon and shouted "Long live the Emperor!"

They presented their accumulated experience in governing the country over the past two hundred years, including the Yellow Registers, Fish Scale Atlases, and administrative divisions, to their new masters—the Manchu Qing Dynasty!

"Did you see that?"

"These are the scholars whom the Ming Dynasty treated with favor for 276 years!"

"When the nation is in peril, they do not think of serving their country, but only of preserving their own wealth and status!"

"The emperor is dead, it doesn't matter. We'll just get a new master, and we'll still be officials, still be landlords, and still enjoy our privileges!"

"They have no loyalty! Never!"

"Their loyalty is solely for their own benefit!"

"They'll risk their lives for whoever can guarantee their interests!"

"If the Zhu family can't provide it, then let's go with the Aisin Gioro family!"

"This is the ultimate fate of 'trading privilege for loyalty'!"

"You think you're raising loyal dogs, but actually, you're raising a pack of wolves that will bite you at any moment!"

At this moment, all of time and space fell into absolute silence.

Qin Shi Huang, Ying Zheng, had eyes full of disdain and contempt.

"A bunch of cowardly rats! I use harsh laws and cruel punishments, yet the world dares not rebel! How laughable it is to try to buy them off with mere favors!"

Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che, remained silent.

He suppressed all other schools of thought and exclusively promoted Confucianism, hoping to unify the empire through ideology. But seeing the fate of the Ming Dynasty, he couldn't help but wonder if these Confucian scholars could truly be trusted.

Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin, felt a chill run down his spine.

He promoted the imperial examination system to break the monopoly of powerful clans. But will these newly rich who rise through the ranks become monsters like the Ming Dynasty gentry, only concerned with personal gain and unaware of the nation's favor, after a few generations?

In modern times, those who are fighting a hard war are filled with righteous indignation when they see this scene.

"Traitors! These people are the same traitors from ancient times!"

"No wonder people like Wang Jingwei were also intellectuals!"

"When a nation is on the verge of collapse, those who are first to surrender are often the elites who have enjoyed the most benefits from the country! Utterly shameless!"

History, in different times and spaces, unfolds in strikingly similar ways.

Inside the Hongwu Hall.

Zhu Yuanzhang stared blankly at the sky above, at the groveling officials and descendants of the Manchus.

He smiled.

His smile looked worse than his tears.

Throughout his life, what he hated most was betrayal.

He gave these scholars everything he could.

Status, wealth, dignity.

What he gained in return was a magnificent, collective betrayal after his descendants died for their country!

"Excellent... excellent... excellent... governing the world together with the scholar-officials!"

Zhu Yuanzhang slowly stood up, his gaze sweeping over the civil officials trembling like leaves in the hall.

His voice was eerily calm.

"Reveal our decree."

"All retired officials who return to their hometowns shall pay grain taxes on their land!"

"All successful candidates in the imperial examinations (举人 and 秀才) will have their land tax exemptions halved!"

"Anyone who monopolizes litigation or offers up land will be punished upon verification..."

Zhu Yuanzhang paused, then squeezed out the last few words, one by one, through gritted teeth.

"Skin them, pack them up, and show them to the world!"