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

Inside the live stream, Zhu Dijun picked up the water glass on the table, tilted his head back, and took a big gulp, forcibly suppressing the surging anger in his eyes.

"Family members, let's take a break from this blood pressure-raising rant."

Zhu Dijun put down his water glass, and as he typed on his keyboard, the scene on the big screen instantly switched from the chaotic Ningxia City back to the seemingly calm capital of the Ming Dynasty.

"We previously criticized Zhu Houzhao for his impatience and inconsistency. But in all fairness, this twenty-year-old emperor was actually extremely astute in many of his decisions before the fifth year of Zhengde's reign."

"Unfortunately, his temporary 'brilliant and mighty experience card' expired completely in August of the fifth year of the Zhengde reign!"

Three blood-red time points, like three sharp swords, were slammed into the center of the screen!

[August 11th, the 5th year of Zhengde!]

[August 15th, the 5th year of Zhengde!]

"According to the original plan of the imperial court, Governor-General Yang Yiqing and supervising eunuch Zhang Yong, escorting the remnants of the Ningxia rebellion, including Prince Anhua and He Jin, were supposed to officially arrive in the capital on the fifteenth day of the eighth month of the fifth year of Zhengde!"

Zhu Dijun picked up the red laser pointer and circled the date "August 11th" tightly.

"However! A simple glance at the 'Veritable Records of Emperor Wuzong of Ming' reveals that these two old men, Bi Deng, actually changed their itinerary on August 11th, a full four days earlier, and led their troops into the capital without authorization!"

The Yongle Era of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Di sat before his newly renovated imperial desk, his brows furrowed.

"The journey and dates for escorting a serious treason suspect were all set by the Ministry of War and the Imperial Family! What is the commander-in-chief doing, entering the capital ahead of schedule? Is he preparing for any unrest in the city?"

On the sky, Zhu Dijun directly threw out a photocopy of the "Veritable Records of Emperor Wuzong of Ming".

How does the official history explain this four-day advance?

Judy Jun’s voice was filled with extreme mockery.

"The historians wrote in black and white: Because Liu Jin was plotting a rebellion on August 15th to seize the throne! Therefore, Yang Yiqing and Zhang Yong discovered the conspiracy. In order to protect the emperor and the Ming Dynasty, they decisively returned to the capital ahead of schedule to carry out secret defenses!"

"Family members, doesn't this sound incredibly noble and righteous? Doesn't it have that epic feel of a lone hero saving the day?"

Judy Jun slammed the gavel down!

boom!

That's utter nonsense!

A deafening roar echoed throughout the hall and across time and space.

"What was Liu Jin's status at the time? He was the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial! He oversaw all government affairs internally and controlled both the capital garrison and the imperial guards externally! It could be said that he held all the power that civil officials could wield except for the emperor's title!"

"He's just a dead eunuch, what kind of rebellion could he possibly have! Would he rebel and become emperor himself? Who in the world would recognize a eunuch as emperor?!"

Zhu Dijun's eyes were cold and sharp as knives, ruthlessly tearing away the hypocritical mask of the civil service group.

"The truth of the matter is exactly the opposite of what is written in the 'Veritable Records of the Ming Dynasty'!"

"The one preparing to launch a rebellion on August 15th was not Liu Jin at all! It was that group of civil officials and military nobles who had secretly conspired beforehand!"

On the whiteboard, Zhang Yong and Yang Yiqing's names were connected by a red line, firmly linking them to the depths of the inner city of the capital.

"The reason why Yang Yiqing and Zhang Yong returned to Beijing four days early was not to guard against Liu Jin at all."

"It was to coordinate with the plan to arrest the civilian officials in the city during a mutiny!"

Zhu Dijun approached the camera, speaking slowly and deliberately, as if striking with a heavy hammer.

"They need Zhang Yong, this traitorous spy whom Zhu Houzhao considered a trusted confidant, to return to the emperor's side ahead of schedule!"

"They want Zhang Yong to sound out Zhu Houzhao and confirm whether he has any other trump cards up his sleeve!"

"More importantly, they needed Zhang Yong to use his position to keep a close watch on Liu Jin and Zhu Houzhao's every move during the last four days, to ensure that the coup would go smoothly on the day of the uprising!"

The fifteenth day of the eighth month of the fifth year of the Zhengde reign of the Ming Dynasty.

On the city wall ablaze with the flames of war, Zhu Houzhao heard this analysis and felt as if he had been stabbed in the chest, gasping for breath.

"Zhang Yong..." He looked at the fat eunuch who had been pinned to the ground and tightly bound by the Imperial Guards in the distance, tears of blood welling in his eyes. "You dog of a servant, is this how you repay my trust!"

"Now that we've figured out why it's four days early, let's look at the second extremely unusual suspicious point."

In the live stream, Zhu Dijun circled the date "August 15th" again.

"Why are the civil service and nobles so insistent on launching the coup on August 15th?"

"Is it because the moon is full during the Mid-Autumn Festival, making killing more ritualistic?"

The large screen instantly switched to a portrait of a Jinyiwei (Imperial Guard) with a cold expression and wearing a flying fish robe, which occupied half of the screen!

Beside the portrait was a line of extremely conspicuous official rank: [Commander of the Southern Garrison of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, First-Rank Deputy Commander-in-Chief!]

"Family members, remember this name."

"His name is Liu Jingxiang!"

"He was one of the most powerful and influential figures within the Embroidered Uniform Guard during the reign of Emperor Wuzong of the Ming Dynasty!"

Zhu Dijun pounded on the keyboard.

"He has an even more deadly identity—he is Liu Jin's older brother!"

Across countless worlds and timelines, gasps of astonishment filled the air.

"In June of the fifth year of the Zhengde reign, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, who was deeply trusted by Zhu Houzhao and kept a close eye on the movements of the officials, died of illness in the capital."

Zhu Dijun's eyes were cold and indifferent.

"With Liu Jingxiang's death, Zhu Houzhao has essentially lost an eye! He has lost his most capable and absolutely loyal intelligence chief within the Embroidered Uniform Guard!"

"And when is Liu Jingxiang's funeral scheduled?"

Zhu Dijun suddenly waved his hand.

"It's the fifteenth of August!"

The entire room fell silent.

A long-brewing, earth-shattering murder plot has finally revealed its most ferocious fangs.

"To appease Liu Jin and to commend Liu Jingxiang's contributions, Zhu Houzhao lavished an extremely high level of treatment on this funeral!"

"The emperor has spoken, so who among the court officials dared not to pay their respects? Who dared not to kowtow to the elder brother of this powerful 'established emperor'?"

Zhu Dijun's lips curled into an extremely cold, even somewhat chilling, smile.

"With such a high-profile funeral, Liu Jin, as the younger brother, would certainly have to personally attend and preside over the arrangements."

"Family members, when a person faces the death of a loved one and has to deal with the endless formalities of court officials, their energy will be stretched to the limit, and their mental defenses on that day will drop to an all-time low!"

On the screen, a blood-dripping butcher's knife slowly hovered over Liu Jin's neck.

"The civil service group has seized this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"

"They believed that on August 15th, Liu Jin's defenses would be at their weakest, and the Jinyiwei's command system would be at its most chaotic, making it the perfect moment for a decisive strike!"

"This is called—seizing power while the enemy is in distress!"

The era of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Yuanzhang stared intently at the sky, without uttering a word.

These civil officials are incredibly ruthless. They scheme against people's hearts and morals, manipulating everything in their own hands. How could that twenty-year-old Zhu Houzhao possibly win against them?!

"What was our young Emperor Wuzong doing while this suffocating net was already fully cast?"

On the sky, Zhu Dijun let out an extremely helpless sigh.

"On August 11, Yang Yiqing and Zhang Yong led the rebel leaders, including the Prince of Anhua, into the city."

"Logically speaking, this is a treasonous case that would lead to the execution of nine generations of one's family! The moment the criminal arrives in the capital, he should be immediately thrown into the imperial prison and interrogated overnight by the emperor's trusted confidants!"

"But Zhu Houzhao made a fatal mistake that could condemn him to eternal infamy!"

Four large characters were written on the whiteboard: "Peace Under Heaven".

"He was completely misled by the false intelligence brought back by Zhang Yong, and by the deliberate fabrication by the civil service that 'the rebellion has been quelled and the hearts of the people are at peace'!"

Zhu Dijun slammed his fist on the table, his voice filled with disappointment and frustration echoing throughout the live stream.

"He didn't immediately bring Prince Anhua into the palace!"

"He allowed the Ministry of War and Yang Yiqing to brazenly place these shocking witnesses, who could implicate the entire Northwest smuggling network and the civil official group in the capital, in the Prince's Mansion post station within the city!"

"Zhu Houzhao's mind was not on interrogation, but on the sense of ritual!"

"He was excitedly preparing for a grand 'presentation of prisoners' ceremony at Donghua Gate. He wanted to hold a military parade and a grand banquet to reward the three armies! He wanted to demonstrate his military prowess in quelling the rebellion to the whole world!"

The era of the Zhengde reign of the Ming Dynasty, August 15th, year 5.

Zhu Houzhao knelt on the blue bricks, clutching his head tightly with both hands, his fingernails digging deep into his scalp.

"I was wrong... I immediately interrogated Prince Anhua and got the truth about the Ningxia mutiny out of him."

"For the sake of that worthless pride, I willingly gave up my chance to live!"

Inside the live stream room.

The image on the big screen instantly froze on an extremely luxurious, lavish celebration banquet.

"The ceremony of presenting the prisoners is over, and the reward banquet is about to begin."

Zhu Dijun put away the laser pointer, crossed his arms in front of his chest, and his eyes were filled with utter absurdity and mockery.

"Family members, starting from this banquet, the records in the 'Veritable Records of Emperor Wuzong of Ming' began a shameless and utterly nonsensical mode!"

On the big screen, the record of the night of the 15th of August in the "Veritable Records of Emperor Wuzong of Ming" was enlarged word by word and displayed on the public screen!

"Let's see how these historians fabricated this history."

Zhu Dijun read the original text aloud with a cold smile.

"[At the banquet, Zhang Yong suddenly made a secret report to Emperor Wuzong, accusing Liu Jin of plotting a rebellion that day.]"

"[Emperor Wu was greatly alarmed and immediately took action.]"

Zhu Dijun paused, staring at the screen as if he were looking at an idiot.

"The next sentence is the most anti-intellectual, most idiotic, and insulting to the intelligence of everyone in the entire History of Ming!"

The official record states: "[Emperor Wuzong personally led Zhang Yong and three others in a night raid on Donghua Gate, capturing them at Caichang!"]

Throughout countless worlds and timelines, emperors and generals who had experienced battles and court intrigues were all stunned the moment they heard these words.

Immediately afterwards, an extremely unbelievable uproar erupted!

"What do you mean?"

Zhu Dijun grabbed the gavel from the table and slammed it down hard!

boom!

"It means that when Emperor Wuzong Zhu Houzhao heard that the most powerful eunuch, who held immense power in the court, controlled the capital garrison, and had eyes and ears all over the country, was going to rebel."

"He didn't mobilize the three major military camps! He didn't summon the Imperial Guards! He didn't use the Embroidered Uniform Guard!"

Judy Jun pointed at the camera, her face slightly distorted by the extreme absurdity.

"This Ming emperor was accompanied by only four eunuchs!"

"In the middle of the night, he wandered over to Donghua Gate and rushed into Liu Jin's office, the inner factory (vegetable factory)."

"And then, like an eagle catching a chick, they captured Liu Jin, the most powerful minister of the Ming Dynasty, alive and without a scratch?!"

The live stream chat exploded! Question marks flooded the screen!

The screen abruptly stopped at that moment.

Only Judy Jun's eerie, cold laugh echoed in the darkness.

"Family members, do you really think that a powerful official like the Ninth Prince, who could easily dominate the entire Ming Dynasty court, could be captured in a night raid by just four people?"

"What kind of brutal military coup occurred in the Forbidden City on that bloody night of August 15th?!"