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

In the live stream, faced with Zhu Dijun's questioning, the chat was instantly engulfed by boundless anger without even a second's hesitation.

"What a load of rubbish! Haven't these morally bankrupt bastards done enough shameless things?"

"Wash their necks and wait to die? They'll only contact the Mongols for another precise border raid!"

"Don't even mention Zhu Houzhao, even if I were in that position, facing this group of corrupt officials who bring disaster to the country, there would be only one word—kill!"

"Yes! Kill them all!"

Zhu Dijun watched the word "kill" flash across the screen, a satisfied smile playing on his lips. He casually set his water glass aside and picked up a laser pointer to dot the whiteboard.

"The family is right, they certainly won't surrender easily. But before we talk about this major crackdown, let's take a short, interesting anecdote about the early days of the Xiguanting government."

"Do you all remember what we talked about earlier? Zhu Houzhao forcibly established a supreme military command organization completely independent of the Ministry of War in the Western Garden of the Imperial Palace—the East and West Offices, right? Once this organization was established, there had to be a military commander to lead the troops in training."

Judy Jun burst out laughing.

"Logically speaking, this was the emperor's private army, and Zhu Houzhao could put whomever he wanted into it. But he didn't. This young emperor, who was forced into becoming a political master by civil officials, suddenly played a game of 'the ruler currying favor' that was ahead of its time."

He issued an imperial edict to the Ministry of War: "Since this is a selection of generals, let's be fair and impartial. Let the Ministry of War and the Five Military Commissions jointly recommend the candidate for commander-in-chief!"

Four names instantly appeared on the whiteboard: [Marquis of Huaining, Sun Yingjue], [Marquis of Xianning, Qiu Yue], [Earl of Fengshun, Cao Kai], and [Earl of Nanhe, Fang Shouxiang].

"Upon seeing the emperor relinquish power, the civil officials in the Ministry of War were like sharks smelling blood. They conducted three rounds of selection and solemnly reported the names of these four top nobles to Zhu Houzhao."

"And the result?"

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

"Zhu Houzhao threw down the memorials and rejected them all! Then he turned around and placed his two trusted adopted sons—Jiang Bin and Xu Tai—into the positions of Commander of the Western Office!"

The live stream chat was filled with question marks.

"The civil service was disgusted. They felt the emperor was making a fool of them, which was worse than swallowing ten thousand flies. But my friends, the people in the Ministry of War didn't even use their brains."

Zhu Dijun grabbed a red pen and heavily crossed out the names of Qiu Yue, Sun Yingjue, and others.

"Look at the kind of people they've nominated! That Marquis of Xianning, Qiu Yue, did indeed have merit in suppressing the rebellion of the Prince of Anhua in Ningxia, but then he turned around and sided with the civil officials in the mutiny on August 11th of the fifth year of Zhengde, forcing the emperor to abdicate! As for the other nobles, they're all old foxes who are in cahoots with the civil officials in the Five Military Commissions!"

"If Zhu Houzhao were to actually use these few people to manage his trump card, the Xiguanting, he'd be out of his mind and courting death! What's this called? This is like walking a dog while it's being played with—killing someone by undermining their spirit!"

The entire online audience burst into laughter, exclaiming how satisfying it was.

After the laughter subsided, Zhu Dijun suddenly stopped smiling, and the timeline on the big screen instantly jumped and froze at a brand new year—[June of the tenth year of Zhengde]!

"While launching a frenzied political counterattack, Zhu Houzhao's private life also finally experienced an earthquake of what can be described as a nuclear explosion in the history of the Ming Dynasty."

Zhu Dijun pushed over a portable drawing board and quickly wrote three words on it: [Zhu Houzhao], [Civil Official Group], [Officials]

"In other dynasties, even during the Tang and Song periods, it wasn't a big deal for an emperor to have a mistress outside the palace and go on incognito visits to enjoy the company of prostitutes. But in the Ming Dynasty, for the civil service group that controlled the court, this was the sky falling!"

A photocopy of a memorial to the emperor, filled with traditional Chinese characters, appeared prominently in the center of the screen.

"In June of the tenth year of Zhengde's reign, a group of high-ranking officials, led by Grand Secretary Liang Chu, were as anxious as ants on a hot pan, and hastily submitted a memorial to Zhu Houzhao. The original text reads as follows:"

"Your Majesty, we have recently learned that Your Majesty left the city through the Xi'an Gate and has not returned overnight. We do not know where Your Majesty went, and thus we have been tossing and turning in bed, filled with worry. We urge Your Majesty to take care of your health and return to the palace as soon as possible..."

After Zhu Dijun finished reading the memorial, he pointed at it and sneered repeatedly.

"Listen to this, my family! How touching and grand it is! These ministers are like worried fathers, fearing that the Emperor might be in danger if he doesn't come home at night."

"But in reality? When have these bastards ever cared whether Zhu Houzhao lived or died? They'd love for Zhu Houzhao to be trampled to death by horses outside so they could quickly replace him with a puppet member of the imperial clan!"

Zhu Dijun slammed his finger heavily on the two characters "offspring" on the canvas, so hard that the canvas shook.

"What they truly fear is that Zhu Houzhao has escaped their sight! That he has bypassed the spies and concubines they planted in the harem and fathered an heir outside, one beyond their control!"

"Deeply etched in the minds of these Jiangnan literati is an inescapable, ultimate nightmare. That fear originates from the Chenghua reign of the Ming Dynasty twenty-eight years ago—it's called the 'Wan Guifei Phobia'!"

The wheels of history seem to turn backward on the screen.

"Back then, Emperor Chenghua doted on Consort Wan, who turned the harem into an impenetrable fortress. The civil officials couldn't get involved, couldn't send any women into the palace, and completely lost control of the imperial harem and its network of insiders. That feeling of utter helplessness left the entire Ming Dynasty's civil official class feeling stifled for decades!"

"Now, twenty-eight years have passed. Zhu Houzhao has taken a woman outside the palace. If we don't intervene quickly, and if that woman becomes pregnant and gives birth to the eldest prince, it will mean that the civil official group's conspiracy to force the emperor to adopt a puppet ruler by using the extinction of the imperial line will be completely foiled!"

The Hongzhi Era of the Ming Dynasty.

Emperor Hongzhi, Zhu Youcheng, looked at the sky, shook his head with a wry smile. He had only ever had one Empress Zhang in his life, partly as a compromise, to prevent civil officials from using her as an excuse to place concubines in the harem. He never expected that his son would be so wild, completely ignoring the civil officials and running off to have children outside the palace.

In the tenth year of the Zhengde reign of the Ming Dynasty, I was on duty in the Grand Secretariat.

Liang Chu, Yang Tinghe, and the others stared at the sky with grim faces. The sordid thoughts they hid beneath the guise of "caring for the emperor and father" were completely exposed by the later-era anchor, like peeling an onion, in front of the entire world.

"What you fear most is what will happen."

As Zhu Dijun typed on the keyboard, a silhouette of a valiant woman holding a bow and arrow appeared in the center of the screen.

"Zhu Houzhao did indeed have someone outside the palace. But this person was not Liu Liangnu, whom we will discuss later. It was Ma Ang, the border general of Datong and the military commander of Xuanfu, and his younger sister—Ma Shi!"

Zhu Dijun raised an eyebrow and threw out a very familiar joke at the camera.

"Those who have read the modern online novel and watched the animated series 'Hui Ming' will definitely be familiar with this name. That's right, the historical figure based on Ma Lian'er, the bold and passionate heroine in red in that work, is this very Ma!"

The live stream chat instantly erupted into a frenzy among anime and web novel fans.

"But real history is far more fascinating than fiction. According to the Records of Emperor Wuzong of Ming, this Lady Ma was not some delicate young lady kept hidden away in her boudoir."

Judy Jun listed three huge labels next to Ma's silhouette.

Proficient in horsemanship and archery! Proficient in music! Proficient in foreign languages!

"Where is Datong? It's the front line of the Ming Dynasty's fight against the Mongols! Lady Ma grew up in a border military camp, and not only is she incredibly beautiful, but she also has a bold and fierce personality. She can ride a spirited horse and draw a powerful bow!"

"What's even more impressive is that, because of her long-term interaction with ethnic minorities in border towns, Ms. Ma is fluent in multiple languages, including Mongolian and Hui, which she can switch between seamlessly!"

Zhu Dijun placed his hands on the table, his eyes revealing a sharp insight that seemed to see through everything.

"Family members, think about it. What kind of person was Zhu Houzhao? He was a ruthless emperor who, from a young age, yearned for the thrill of battle, fought wild beasts in the Leopard Chamber every day, and longed to achieve great deeds! He found the daughters of civil officials in the harem, who read 'Admonitions for Women' every day and were always obsequious, utterly boring!"

"But Ma's situation is different. The moment the two meet, it's like dry wood meeting a raging fire, soulmates! They can ride horses and shoot arrows together in the Western Garden, discuss northern battle formations in Mongolian, and drink spirits while listening to the music from beyond the Great Wall!"

"This fiery young woman from the border region, fluent in foreign languages ​​and skilled in archery and horsemanship, completely captivated the young Emperor Wuzong, who immediately decided to bring her into the Leopard Chamber of the Western Palace!"

Inside a modern live streaming studio.

After hearing Ma's resume, the barrage of comments exploded, with thousands of similar comments sweeping across the screen like a wall of bullet comments.

"Holy crap!! They can ride horses, shoot arrows, and speak Mongolian. This isn't a concubine selection, it's a chief of staff selection!"

"Case solved! Foreign languages ​​are great! We really need to learn them!"

"A hot babe from the frontier pursuing a rebellious emperor—this character is so compelling, it leaves those civil officials who only know how to give gifts completely speechless."

"Learn a foreign language! Learn a foreign language! Learn a foreign language!"

The era of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Yuanzhang sat on the Fengtian Hall, looking at the four large characters "Master of Horsemanship and Archery" on the sky. His originally gloomy face finally revealed a cheerful smile.

He slapped his thigh suddenly:

"Excellent! This is the kind of wife a man of the Zhu family in our Great Ming should find! What use are those canaries kept in the harem! To conquer the world on horseback, we need women who can draw a bow and shoot arrows to produce offspring!"

Old Zhu turned his head and glanced at Empress Ma beside him, his expression softening considerably:

"Sister, don't you think so? We can't let those civil officials with pens lead our Zhu family astray."

Empress Ma nodded with a smile.

The Yongle Era of the Ming Dynasty.

Emperor Yongle (Zhu Di) was also very satisfied, and he picked up his teacup and drank it all in one gulp.

"That Zhu Houzhao has the same flair I had back in the day. When choosing a woman, you have to find one who understands military strategy and foreign languages. Having her by your side is like having a living guide and translator; it makes fighting much easier!"

Zhu Di stroked his beard, his gaze suddenly becoming somewhat strange as he looked up at Zhu Dijun on the sky.

"Zhu Dijun, the descendant of the third son, is so knowledgeable about history and so eloquent. He can expose the true nature of civil officials more ruthlessly than scraping bone with a knife. I wonder if he married and had children in his later years? Could he have been like Houzhao, bound by some rules and regulations, and left without any descendants?"

Just as emperors throughout history became gossipy and curious about the private lives of livestreamers.

Above the sky, the images on the large screen completely shattered the joyful atmosphere.

Ma's dashing silhouette was instantly covered in blood red. A deafening sound of war drums, like rolling thunder, rolled down from the depths of darkness.

Judy Jun's voice suddenly turned extremely cold, devoid of any emotion.

"I've learned a foreign language, and I've also brought a beautiful woman into the palace."

"But my family, will the civil service just stand by and watch this border bomb, which has completely destroyed their harem's defenses, take root and flourish peacefully in the Leopard Chamber?"