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

"Family members, this knife belongs to Bian Jun."

Zhu Dijun stood in front of the big screen, and used a laser pointer to draw a heavy red circle around the two characters "京师" (Jingshi, meaning capital city).

"The incompetence of the capital's army, the laxity of the local armies, coupled with the humiliating mutiny on August 11th of the fifth year of Zhengde's reign—this series of bloody lessons made Zhu Houzhao realize one thing completely: in the Ming Dynasty, without military power, the emperor was less than a dog!"

He slammed his fist on the whiteboard, the sound echoing in the silent live-streaming room.

"He must regain control of his own army. Only by holding the reins of power can he ensure the continuation of his new policies, and only then can he chop to pieces all those corrupt officials who are sucking the lifeblood of the Ming Dynasty, thus prolonging its life!"

A cold, sharp smile curled at the corner of Zhu Dijun's lips.

"Thus, this young emperor, trapped in his cage, set his sights directly on this elite border army that had been stranded near the capital due to the suppression of the rebellion. He began to bypass the Ministry of War, secretly promoting, placing people in these lower-ranking officers, and frantically bribing them!"

In the seventh year of the Zhengde reign of the Ming Dynasty, at the Leopard Chamber.

Zhu Houzhao sat in the dimly lit hall, staring at his reflection in the sky. He clenched his fists, his nails digging into his flesh. It was the most reckless and dangerous gamble of his life. He was betting that these border men, who had fought their way through countless battles, would be more loyal to the emperor than Zhang Mao and his cronies in the capital.

On the sky, Zhu Dijun picked up his water glass, took a sip, and let out a cold laugh.

"Zhu Houzhao is maneuvering subtly, but are the civil service and the powerful nobles in the capital blind? They keenly sensed the terrifying threat posed by this border army's refusal to leave the capital. They realized that Zhu Houzhao hadn't compromised at all; this kid was brewing a major move!"

The screen background instantly transformed into a war-torn borderland scene.

"Since the emperor wants to use the border troops to seize power in the capital, how can we force these border troops to leave?"

Judy Jun spread his hands, his face full of mockery.

"And so, the familiar plot unfolds again!"

A shocking time point and a line of historical record crashed down on the center of the screen like a mountain falling on top of you!

In 1513, the eighth year of the Zhengde reign, the young Mongol prince entered Datong and Shuozhou, committing massacres and plunder!

The live stream went silent instantly.

"Just at the most critical moment when Zhu Houzhao was trying to control the border troops, the Mongol prince in the far north, as if he had opened his eyes, led his army to precisely bypass the layers of defenses of the nine important border towns and went straight to Datong and Shuozhou! Wherever he went, he burned, killed, and looted!"

Zhu Dijun's hands were firmly planted on the table, his eyes looking like those of a vengeful ghost who had seen through a thousand years.

"My lords, is there any coincidence in the world? The emperor had just decided to leave the border troops in the capital when the Mongols immediately invaded. Then the civil officials in the court jumped out with a legitimate excuse, crying and demanding that the emperor immediately transfer the border troops back to the north for defense!"

"Tsk tsk tsk, this similar scene didn't only happen during the Zhengde reign."

Zhu Dijun typed on the keyboard, and the large screen instantly split into three sections.

"Later, during the late Ming Dynasty, specifically the Tianqi and Chongzhen eras, the same script played out, only the protagonists and characters differed, leading to a different ending for the Ming Dynasty!"

A comparison table so detailed it was outrageous was suddenly presented to everyone.

On the left is written: [Zhengde Dynasty]: The emperor wanted to take back military power and investigate smuggling - the Mongols accurately raided the border of Datong - civil officials forced the transfer of border troops.

The middle section reads: "[Tianqi Dynasty]: Wei Zhongxian sent eunuchs to Jiangnan to investigate industrial and commercial taxes—Bryat wild boar skins suddenly launched a major attack in Liaodong—Donglin Party forced the court to stop investigating Jiangnan taxes, pouring the nation's wealth into the bottomless pit of Liaodong."

The right side reads: "[Chongzhen Dynasty]: The emperor wanted to negotiate peace with the Buryat wild boarskin to free up his resources to suppress the bandits—the civil officials deliberately leaked the secret, angering the entire court of upright officials, who instigated it behind the scenes—the peace talks broke down, and the Qing army directly entered the pass to plunder—the emperor could only hang himself on Coal Hill."

"Family members, have you looked at this form clearly?" Judy Jun's speech quickened, like a machine gun firing.

"History is a huge makeshift operation! Whenever the emperor of the Ming Dynasty wanted to touch the pie of the civil service, whenever the emperor wanted to consolidate power or collect taxes..."

"That seemingly endless enemy in the north will always find its way in at the most precise moment, slipping through the weakest point in our defenses to launch a frenzied invasion!"

In the modern live streaming room, after a brief pause, the barrage of comments exploded!

"Holy crap! This is collusion between insiders and outsiders!"

"Case solved! Those civil officials who spouted righteousness and morality were secretly tipping off foreign enemies and providing them with coordinates!"

"Whenever the emperor investigates my accounts, I'll lead the Mongols. These feudal scholar-officials are worse than animals!"

"I knew it! The border defenses in the late Ming Dynasty were as flimsy as paper. Turns out, the traitors were all standing in the court!"

Throughout countless worlds and dynasties, emperors who saw this table were all stunned by this heinous act of treason.

The era of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Yuanzhang stared intently at the sky, his tiger-like eyes streaming with terrifying tears of blood. He suddenly drew the Emperor's Sword from his waist and cleaved the imperial desk in two with a single stroke.

"Traitors...they're all traitors!"

Zhu Yuanzhang roared like a raging beast, "We painstakingly established the Nine Garrisons to defend against the northern barbarians! These Confucian scholars, to protect their power and wealth, actually led the barbarians on their own?! They are trading the lives of the Ming people for their own riches and glory! These beasts will be condemned to the deepest hell, never to rise again!"

Old Zhu turned his head and looked at the civil officials kneeling on the ground below, trembling with fear. The murderous intent in his eyes was almost tangible.

The Yongle Era of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Di felt a sharp pain in his chest as he looked at the words "Datong and Shuozhou were looted." He had led five northern expeditions against the Mongols, defeating them decisively. Yet, in later generations, these civil officials, in order to deal with their own emperor, actually played a tacit game with the Mongols.

"Damn it... these traitors all deserve to die!" Zhu Di gritted his teeth, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

On the sky, Zhu Dijun completely ignored the rage of the emperors from various dynasties, and the scalpel in his hand continued to cut mercilessly into the depths of history.

"The barbarian invasion even had an internal traitor leading the way. But how did our young Emperor Wuzong manage to break through this combined attack from the civil service?"

The timeline on the big screen suddenly rewound, freezing on a blood-red day.

[September of the seventh year of the Zhengde reign!]

Let's take a closer look!

Zhu Dijun opened a red-lettered photocopy of the "Veritable Records of Emperor Wuzong of Ming".

"Two months after the rebellion of Liu Liu and Liu Qi was quelled, Emperor Wuzong Zhu Houzhao, under the guise of rewarding meritorious officials, did something that infuriated the entire civil service of the Ming Dynasty!"

He picked up a red pen and wrote a number heavily on the whiteboard—[127].

"Zhu Houzhao carefully selected 127 outstanding young officers from among those who had performed best in the suppression of the rebellion! He not only richly rewarded these junior officers, but he also issued a shocking imperial edict!"

Four large characters were displayed in the center of the screen!

[Bestowed! Granted! A nation! A surname!]

"Zhu Houzhao directly bestowed the surname 'Zhu' upon all 127 officers! And on the spot, he adopted them as his sons! Subsequently, he transferred all these generals with rich combat experience to the Western Garden of the Imperial Palace!"

Zhu Dijun pointed to the densely packed list of military generals on the screen and burst into laughter.

"Look at the red text! This is the original text! What is Zhu Houzhao doing? He is directly bypassing the personnel appointment and dismissal powers of the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Personnel! Since you civil officials control the court's appointment procedures, then I won't follow the procedures! I'll establish a private staff and imperial guard for the emperor by adopting a godson!"

In the seventh year of the Zhengde reign of the Ming Dynasty, at the Leopard Chamber.

Zhu Houzhao stared at the number on the screen, a defiant laugh finally spreading across his lips. "That's right," he thought, "since the whole world is filled with the protégés and former subordinates of civil officials, then I'll take on over a hundred adopted sons armed with knives!"

"This is just the beginning!"

Judy Jun slammed the gavel down hard, bang!

"These young officers all came from border towns like Xuanda and Liaodong, places where death was a constant companion. Zhu Houzhao promoted six deputy commanders and twelve commanders directly from among them, breaking with precedent!"

"Not only that! He even dared to use surrendered Mongols! He recruited large numbers of brave and skilled Mongol soldiers into the Imperial Horse Stables as his closest personal guards!"

On the screen, squads of fully armed border guards and Mongol cavalry, with eyes like wolves, marched into the Western Garden of the Forbidden City.

"Family members, did you understand this move?"

Zhu Dijun zoomed in on the camera, his gaze extremely sharp.

"These military generals and Mongols have no foothold in the court; they are looked down upon by the civil officials of Jiangnan. Their only support in this world is Zhu Houzhao, who sits on the dragon throne!"

"The emperor gives them official positions, money to spend, and even the imperial surname. If one day Li Dongyang and his group of civil officials were to try to kill the emperor, these adopted sons and the Mongol soldiers from the Imperial Horse Administration would definitely draw their swords and cut off all the civil officials' heads without hesitation!"

In the Weiyang Palace of the Han Dynasty, Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che, listened with a light in his eyes and couldn't help but clap his hands in approval:

"Excellent tactic! Bypassing the imperial court to reorganize the Imperial Guards, and winning over the hearts of the warriors with kindness and loyalty. This lad truly bears some resemblance to the orphaned member of the Imperial Guards whom I heavily relied upon back then!"

Zhu Dijun crossed his arms over his chest, looking at the power structure diagram on the whiteboard, his tone becoming extremely profound.

"Does this tactic look familiar? It's all too familiar. It's exactly the same as during Emperor Yingzong's reign, after the humiliating Tumu Crisis, when the emperor, in order to regain military power which had been controlled by civil officials, massively mobilized eunuchs from the Imperial Horse Administration and foreign armed forces!"

The screen's light gradually dimmed, leaving only a complex map of the Ming Dynasty's nine border defense lines.

"History has once again completed a bloody cycle."

"When the civil service group controlled the government, the emperor led the border troops into the palace; when the civil service led foreign enemies to invade the border and exert pressure, the emperor simply turned the border generals into his private army."

Zhu Dijun's voice suddenly lowered, like the calm before a storm.

"But, my family. No matter how sharp Zhu Houzhao sharpens his knife, if he doesn't draw blood, those civil officials who control the empire's economic lifeline and the pen of public opinion will never admit defeat."

"The familiar power struggle between the emperor and the civil service is back."