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

The studio lights shone on Judy Jun's sharply defined profile, adding a touch of sternness to his face.

"Having clarified the drama of the change of power in the imperial court, let's move on to the second main storyline—the fatal transfer of military power."

Zhu Dijun tapped the holographic sand table, and the blue waters of the southeastern coast of the Ming Dynasty quickly dimmed, replaced by a glaring red warning line along the Great Wall in the north.

"The core military and political action of the second year of the Longqing reign can be summarized in one sentence: Qi Jiguang's army marched north in disguise."

An image of the national hero Qi Jiguang in his armor appeared on the screen.

"In the first month, Qi Jiguang submitted a memorial entitled 'Requesting Troops to Defeat the Enemy,' requesting the training of 100,000 border troops. Subsequently, the court ordered Tan Lun to be transferred to oversee military affairs in Ji, Liao and Baoding, and Qi Jiguang to serve as the commander-in-chief of Ji. This was not only about transferring two fierce generals to the north, but also about uprooting the entire system of recruitment, camp formations, and firearms tactics used in the south to resist the Japanese pirates, along with the core personnel, and transplanting them all to the foot of the Great Wall."

The chat section of the live stream was very harmonious, filled with tributes to Qi Shaobao.

["This shows the Ming Dynasty had foresight; they used their resources wisely. After suppressing the Japanese pirates, they went to fight the Mongol Tartars—a perfect decision!"]

"Qi Jiguang guarded Jizhou for sixteen years, and the Mongols dared not cross the line. He was an absolute Great Wall of the Ming Dynasty!"

Zhu Dijun looked at these comments and poured cold water on them without any mercy.

"Resisting the enemy outside the country's borders is certainly a huge military success. But from the perspective of cabinet power struggles, behind this troop deployment lies an extremely sordid division of military power between the Jiangnan gentry and the northern clique."

He retrieved the troop garrison data for the southeastern coast during the late Jiajing period.

"Everyone should think about this: what kind of army did Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou command? It was a private army! It was a hundred-times-battle-hardened soldiers who received high salaries, ate fine food, and were equipped with superior firearms! This army had long been rooted in the Zhejiang and Fujian area. Who supplied their military pay and provisions? They relied on the local government in Jiangnan and the secret sponsorship of those maritime merchants and tycoons."

"By the end of the Jiajing reign, Qi Jiguang's army had, to some extent, become deeply intertwined with the Jiangnan gentry group represented by Xu Jie. This became a private military deterrent exclusive to the Jiangnan faction!"

Zhu Dijun planted two small flags on the sand table and then crushed the flag representing the South.

"How could Gao Gong and the Northern Group, now in power, possibly allow such a well-armed, battle-hardened elite force to remain entrenched in the stronghold of their political enemies?"

"The transfer of Qi Jiguang and Tan Lun to the north was ostensibly to strengthen border defenses. The underlying logic was to physically dismantle the independent armed forces in the southeast! To forcibly remove this fierce and powerful army of the Jiangnan interest group and throw it into the unfamiliar north. Without the deterrent power of military authority, the Jiangnan maritime merchants would be nothing more than fat sheep to be manipulated by the court."

He pointed the laser pointer at Xuanfu, Datong, and Jiliao.

"What's even more remarkable is the personnel arrangement. When Qi Jiguang arrived in the north, he was just a general, a military commander who did the work. Who was above him? Tan Lun and Wang Chonggu! They were all civil officials serving as governors!"

"At this point, the Ming Dynasty had achieved a complete transfer of military power. The most capable army in the country was entirely controlled by the northern civil official system. Military officers were only responsible for training troops through bloodshed; as for troop deployment and financial allocation, they had to rely entirely on the whims of Gao Gong and the civil officials in the Ministry of War. This was not a strong army; it was like pulling the teeth out of a tiger and putting a leash on a civil official!"

Southern Song Dynasty, during the Jianyan era.

Yue Fei, who was preparing for the Northern Expedition, looked at the sky in his military tent, his hand holding a wine bowl frozen in mid-air.

The liquor spilled onto the coarse military uniform, chilling him to the bone.

He was transferred from his original post, his old subordinates were dismantled, and civil officials were placed under his control, severing his independent financial power. Wasn't this exactly what those Jiangnan literati in the court were doing to him? Qi Jiguang of the Ming Dynasty was only exiled to the north, but Yue Fei faced twelve imperial edicts and the noose at Fengbo Pavilion.

Emperor Zhao Jiu of the Song Dynasty sat behind his desk, staring coldly at the screen.

"Did you see that, Pengju?"

Zhao Jiu threw out a bronze token representing military power.

"If civil officials are not all dead, the backbone of military generals will never be straight. This empire cannot be defended by the pen alone. If I tolerate those gentry today, tomorrow we will all be wronged souls in the history books."

Yue Fei didn't speak, but silently tilted his head back and drank the remaining wine in the bowl in one gulp. The crisp sound of the broken earthenware bowl echoed like muffled thunder in the tent.

In the live broadcast, Zhu Dijun's analysis delves deeper into the geoeconomic dimension.

"The northern defense line is being rebuilt on a massive scale. Hollow watchtowers are being constructed, and the Great Wall is being thickened. This is no small project; it's a bottomless pit that will devour tens of millions of taels of silver."

An animated reconstruction of the Great Wall during the Ming Dynasty unfolds on a holographic screen, showing bricks and stones being piled up and beacon towers rising from the ground.

"Where did the money come from? Who won the contract for the project? There's a terrifying chain of vested interests hidden here."

Zhu Dijun tapped the edge of the screen.

"The power over engineering procurement, timber and stone allocation, and the distribution of military pay for hundreds of thousands of troops was all in the hands of the northern civil officials of Gao Gong's faction. The special funds of several million taels of silver were allocated, but after layers of embezzlement, most of them ended up in the pockets of northern gentry and Shanxi merchants."

"To ensure that this project funding is available every year, the northern border towns must maintain a high military budget year-round. How to maintain it? It's simple: nurture the enemy to maintain our own power. We can't really wipe out the Mongols; we have to maintain a low level of friction. As long as there's an alarm at the border, the Ministry of Revenue's silver must be continuously sent north."

"At the same time, a major reshuffle of personnel was carried out on the northwestern border defenses. Wang Chonggu was appointed governor-general of the three border regions of Shaanxi, Yansui, and Gansu. He purged all the veteran generals left behind by the Jiajing Emperor and Xu Jie, replacing them with his own confidants. Why deploy such a large force in the northwest? It was not only for fighting, but also to 'treat' the surrendered Mongols with 'preferential treatment'."

Zhu Dijun wrote four words on the whiteboard: Trade Pre-embedded.

"Gao Gong and Wang Chonggu had a very long-term vision. They were paving the way for the 'tribute ceremony' to Anda a few years later. By controlling the border fortresses in advance, once the trade markets opened, the silk and tea from the Central Plains, the horses and furs from the grasslands, and all the trade checkpoints and tax revenues would be controlled by northern civil officials. This was tantamount to opening up a completely new channel for huge profits in trade, specifically to counter the silver advantage that the Jiangnan maritime merchant group had gained in Yuegang."

He shifted his focus back to the southeast corner of the Ming Dynasty.

"Northerners eat meat, but what about the South?"

What became of the military capabilities along the southeastern coast after Qi Jiguang's death? Massive troop reductions!

"The historical record explains that after the Japanese pirates were completely quelled, the country disbanded a large number of naval garrisons in Zhejiang and Fujian, reducing unnecessary military expenditures. All military resources were shifted northward."

Zhu Dijun sneered repeatedly.

"What does it mean to 'cross the river and then destroy the bridge'? This is what it means! Without the large-scale military deterrence of the official forces at sea, the right to sail out of Yuegang has completely become a money-printing machine in the hands of local officials. In the past, maritime merchants had to guard against government troops to suppress them when they smuggled goods. Now, the government troops have been eliminated. As long as you give the prefectural and county officials enough money as usual and get the monopoly on shipping permits, this vast sea is just an ATM for a few big families."

The Ming Dynasty, in a parallel Zhengde era.

Inside the Leopard Chamber, Emperor Zhengde, Zhu Houzhao, kicked the roasted lamb leg in front of him, sending the lamb's blood splattering onto the expensive Persian carpet.

"You bastard!"

Zhu Houzhao's eyes were bloodshot, and he began to curse loudly.

"Disband the navy? The maritime strength the Ming Dynasty accumulated since Emperor Yongle's voyages to the West—are we just going to cripple ourselves like this, all for a few smuggling profits?! Our coastal defenses will be a mere formality. What will we use to stop those foreign devils in their tall ships? Their Four Books and Five Classics to block their cannons?!"

Zhu Houzhao drew his sword from his waist and slammed it hard against the wooden pillar.

"Summon the Minister of War! Summon the Director of the Shipyard! No matter how poor the national treasury is, not a single warship in Tianjinwei or the navy shall be halted! Anyone who dares to propose disbanding the navy, I will cut off their head first!"