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

Inside the live stream room, the brief darkness was cleaved by a blinding beam of incandescent light.

Zhu Dijun stood in front of the screen, his hands pressed against the table, his eyes like a poisoned boning knife.

"Family members, in any era, traitors who betray their own people and turn their backs on them are the most hated!"

"Why was Emperor Wuzong driven to a dead end in the fifth year of the Zhengde reign? It was because his investigations in the early stages were too ruthless, pushing these traitors to the brink of desperation!"

Zhu Dijun grabbed a stack of photocopied documents and slammed them heavily in front of the camera.

"Many authors who want to write historical novels about the Ming Dynasty are brainwashed every day by that 'History of Ming' compiled by the Manchus."

"Today, we won't look at the whitewashed lies in the History of Ming. We'll look at the real archives left by the Ming Dynasty's cabinet!"

On the large screen, several yellowed files zoomed in and filled the entire screen as he swiped his finger.

"After Emperor Wuzong issued the iron-fisted edict to recover the embezzled funds, Liu Jin, the executor, did something that made all the civil officials in the country wish they were dead."

"Any official involved in the embezzlement case must, within the stipulated time limit, transport every single pound of grain to Datong, Xuanfu, and other important border towns to offset the fine in kind!"

Zhu Dijun casually opened the first document.

"Look carefully! This is a closing statement of fines levied by high-ranking officials of the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue in September of the third year of the Zhengde reign!"

Lines of scarlet characters exploded across the sky.

[Former Minister of Revenue Han Wen is fined 1500 shi of grain to be paid to Datong!]

Nine high-ranking officials, including Zhang Jin, the Vice Minister of Revenue, were each fined 500 shi of grain!

[In November of the third year of the Zhengde reign, six officials, including the Governor-General and Censor-in-Chief Wang Zongyi, were each fined 1000 shi of grain!]

[Former Minister of War Ma Wensheng, former Minister of Revenue Lü Zhong, and thirteen others are each fined 500 shi of grain!]

"As for the lower and middle-ranking officials who were fined less than 500 shi (a unit of dry measure), they were countless!"

In the modern live streaming room, the chat paused for a moment.

Immediately afterwards, a series of questions flooded the chat.

"Brother Jun, 1500 shi doesn't sound like much, does it? One shi is only a little over 100 jin, so at most it's over 100,000 jin of grain. With the wealth of a minister, buying this amount of grain would be a piece of cake, wouldn't it?"

"Yes, Han Wen served as Minister of Revenue for so many years, isn't this fine too lenient?"

As Zhu Dijun looked at the comments, he suddenly let out an extremely grating cold laugh.

"light?"

"You've seriously underestimated the abilities of sixteen-year-old Zhu Houzhao and the cunning Liu Jin!"

On the large screen, a topographical map of the entire Ming Dynasty was displayed.

"Family members, do you really think this is as simple as just spending money to buy food?"

"The corruption of this group mainly occurred during the Hongzhi reign. Liu Jin's investigation went back twenty years!"

Zhu Dijun pointed to the long route from Jiangnan to Datong on the topographic map.

"The logistics of the Ming Dynasty were called canal transport and land transport. A shi (a unit of dry measure) of grain, purchased in Jiangnan and transported to Datong and Xuanfu in the north, incurred costs for carriages and horses, provisions for laborers, and losses along the way, which was called 'drifting away'!"

"In order to deliver these 1500 shi of grain intact to the front-line military granary, the Han Wen family had to purchase at least 15,000 shi, or even more, of grain in their hometown, hire hundreds or even thousands of carts and horses, and travel for several months!"

"This isn't just a fine; it's draining their family's cash flow of decades, forcing them to use their entire fortune as a logistics transport unit for the Ming army!"

boom!

Once this calculation was made clear, all the civil officials in the entire universe felt their scalps tingle.

The era of the Zhengde reign of the Ming Dynasty.

Han Wen, the former Minister of Revenue who had been dismissed and was now at home, looked at the route map on the sky and spat a mouthful of blood onto his armchair.

"Tyrant... Eunuch faction..."

His hand trembled as he pointed towards the capital. To raise the 1500 shi of grain to be transported to Datong, he sold half of the fertile land in his hometown, severely damaging his entire family's fortunes.

This is a hundred times more painful for him than killing him outright!

On the sky, Judy Jun's execution continued.

"Some family members might ask, if we investigate back twenty years, many corrupt officials would have already retired and were enjoying their old age at home, and some might even have died in bed from illness. Could they still be punished?"

Zhu Dijun's lips curled into a sinister smile that would make even capitalists weep.

"This is the most brilliant open scheme of Liu Jin, the top HR manager of the Ming Dynasty!"

"Liu Jin issued a seemingly extremely 'humane' concession policy to the world."

Two lines of large text appeared on the screen.

"For officials below the fifth rank who have retired or died of illness, the imperial court, out of consideration for the hardships faced by their families, will not be required to personally escort grain to Datong and Xuanfu."

"[His family was granted special permission to have their grain value converted into cash based on the local grain prices in Datong and Xuanfu, and to be directly deposited into the capital's imperial granary.]"

Upon hearing this, many officials from the early Ming Dynasty in the myriad worlds breathed a sigh of relief.

If it can be converted into silver and handed over, at least the terrifying doubling of losses from land transportation can be avoided.

however.

Inside the Fengtian Hall during the Hongwu reign, Zhu Yuanzhang, who had once begged for food and been a monk, suddenly slapped his thigh and burst into an extremely unrestrained laugh.

"Hahaha! Excellent! This deadly move is exactly what I wanted!"

Crown Prince Zhu Biao listened from the side, completely bewildered.

"Father, isn't allowing them to convert the currency to cash an act of leniency by the Emperor and Liu Jin?"

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the screen with a cold smile, his eyes revealing a shrewd and cunning edge.

"Shi En? Biao'er, remember this. The Northwest is a barren land, plagued by war year after year, while the Jiangnan region is a land of plenty."

"Let the fourth brother tell you, can the grain prices around Beiping be the same as those in Jiangnan?"

On the sky, Zhu Dijun's prediction was confirmed with remarkable accuracy.

"Families, those corrupt officials who think they've escaped unscathed are celebrating far too soon!"

"Directly affected by geographical environment, years of war, and transportation restrictions, the price of grain in Datong and Xuanfu at that time was three times that of grain in the rice-producing areas of the south!"

"Three times!"

Zhu Dijun's voice boomed throughout the hall.

"You embezzled five hundred shi (a unit of dry measure), which in the south might only cost a few hundred taels of silver. But according to the grain prices in the northwest, your family will have to pay three times that amount in real gold and silver!"

"This is blatant robbery of your money, you corrupt official! Even if you die and are buried in your coffin, the secret police of the Imperial Guard will pry open the coffin lid and empty the pockets of your descendants!"

"As for those who didn't die and whose official rank is still above the fifth grade?"

Zhu Dijun's eyes were cold.

"Then you shall dutifully hire carts and horses, brave the wind and snow, and haul the grain step by step to the front lines! A day late will be punished more severely!"

The live stream chat exploded with comments.

"Holy crap!!! Liu Jin's calculations are so shrewd, even someone from Wall Street would get slapped twice before coming out!"

"That's amazing! The living just obediently do their work of grinding and transporting goods, while the dead get triple the gold coins!"

[Emperor Wuzong: What you've swallowed, you must return to me with interest! Liu Jin: Those who are dead are considered to have left their wills, keep spitting it out!]

"It's extremely satisfying to watch! This is the kind of method you have to use to deal with these parasites who leech off the country!"

Inside the Leopard Chamber in the Zhengde era.

Zhu Houzhao looked up at the sky and laughed so hard he almost fell over.

He grabbed the wine jug on the table and took a big gulp. The strong liquor went down his throat and ignited an extremely exhilarating flame.

"Obama!"

Zhu Houzhao drew his imperial sword and pointed it at the list on the sky.

"Future generations will understand: the truth of this world lies entirely in my sword, and entirely in the grain you brought back!"

Liu Jin knelt on the ground, gold bricks stuck to his forehead, tears streaming down his face.

He not only cleared his name of being a powerful eunuch, but at that moment, he also felt the affirmation of hundreds of millions of people five hundred years later.

The images on the sky suddenly peeled away like shards of broken glass.

The golden autumn fades away, replaced by an extremely desolate early spring.

Zhu Dijun's smile vanished, and his eyes became serious and sharp.

"Family members, the grain requisition in the third year of Zhengde's reign caused chaos throughout the Ming Dynasty court, and countless officials lost their fortunes."

"But do you think that's the end of it?"

"No, this is merely the Martial Sect testing the bottom line of the civil official group."

On the large screen, four extremely imposing blood-red characters crashed down, causing all of space and time to tremble.

[The Zhengde Imperial Inspection]!

"The time came to the third month of the fourth year of Zhengde."

"The Ming Dynasty has been hit by an unprecedented, magnitude 10 earthquake in its officialdom!"

Zhu Dijun's fingers flew across the keyboard.

"According to the ancestral system of the Ming Dynasty, all officials in the country must undergo a comprehensive assessment every four years, which is called the Capital Inspection."

"But in that Hongzhi reign, which you all praise to the skies, the so-called capital inspection was nothing more than a formality among civil officials, a face-saving project of mutual flattery. Everyone was corrupt, everyone was complacent, everyone was just trying to please each other."

"But this time, Emperor Wuzong flipped the table!"

An imperial edict appeared in the center of the screen.

Zhu Houzhao announced: "High-ranking officials of the fourth rank and above shall not be under the jurisdiction of the Cabinet or the Ministry of Personnel."

"All of you, get out of here to the Leopard Chamber! Give your reports to me one by one, right before my eyes!"

"I will personally decide your fate!"

Officials throughout the Ming Dynasty broke out in a cold sweat upon hearing this.

To have an emperor who is extremely hostile to civil officials and has just completed military consolidation conduct interviews personally? What's the difference between that and going to report to the King of Hell?!

"As for officials of the fifth rank and below in each department..."

Zhu Dijun's eyes were cold and brooding.

"The most rigorous and thorough evaluation will be conducted by the Ministry of Personnel of both the northern and southern capitals, in conjunction with the Censorate and other high-ranking officials!"

"Those with mediocre abilities shall be dismissed from their posts on the spot!"

"Anyone found guilty of embezzling public funds, engaging in favoritism, or abusing their power for personal gain will not only be dismissed from office, but will also be handed over to the Imperial Workshop and the Embroidered Uniform Guard for swift and severe punishment!"

On the screen, countless middle and lower-ranking officials dressed in green and blue robes were dragged out of the yamen by the imperial guards like dead dogs, and displayed in cangues.

"Apart from Liu Jin in the inner court, the person who orchestrated this epic purge was none other than Liu Jin."

Zhu Dijun pointed out a portrait of a civil official wearing a scarlet official robe, with an extremely cold and thin face.

"Emperor Wuzong personally selected the sharpest and most ruthless sword in the entire outer court."

"He was Zhang Cai, the then Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and later the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel!"

"He was the most crucial and ruthless executor of the reforms during the Zhengde reign of the Ming Dynasty. He almost single-handedly alienated the entire civil service of the Ming court to the core!"

Zhu Dijun's voice came to an abrupt end here.

He picked up the teacup, but instead of drinking the water, he let the steam from the tea rise in front of his eyes.

His eyes revealed an uncontrollable grief and desolation.

"Family members."

"In this position, Zhang Cai did countless dirty and tiring jobs for the Ming Dynasty. He punctured and squeezed out all the festering sores left over from the Hongzhi era."

"But he was too sharp, so sharp that the entire Jiangnan gentry felt a sense of impending doom."

The edge of the large screen was once again swallowed by that extremely oppressive black blood.

"Therefore, in that bloody mutiny in the fifth year of Zhengde's reign."

"Zhang Cai met the cruelest end of his life."

Zhu Dijun stared directly into the camera and threw out a suspenseful question that sent chills down everyone's spine.

"Do you know what inhumane tortures the civil service, in their rage, inflicted on this Minister of Personnel who was attempting to revitalize the Ming Dynasty, in the imperial prison?"