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

"In the third year of the Longqing reign, a major event in the economic field—Pang Shangpeng's salt law reform—was successfully implemented nationwide."

Zhu Dijun displayed an organizational chart of the Lianghuai Salt Transport Bureau on the screen and traced the chart from top to bottom with his finger.

"Let's first talk about the importance of salt in the Ming Dynasty. The salt transport offices of Lianghuai and Liangzhe were the biggest source of profit in the country. During the Jiajing reign, the Yan faction controlled the salt administration, and the salt permits confiscated from Yan Shifan's house could fill an entire room. After Xu Jie brought down Yan Song, the salt permits were transferred from the Yan faction to the gentry in Jiangnan. They changed their names, but the business continued as before."

"In the second year of the Longqing reign, Gao Gong dispatched Pang Shangpeng south to reorganize the salt administration. In the third year of the Longqing reign, the new regulations were officially implemented."

He listed three core changes on the whiteboard.

"First, all salt certificates will be converted into silver and sent directly to Taicang. In the past, salt merchants would use salt certificates to collect salt from the salt fields, and there were so many shady dealings in between: false reporting, reselling, and smuggling. A single salt certificate could change hands three or four times. Now, we don't use salt certificates anymore; we just pay silver to collect salt. The silver goes into Taicang, and the cabinet has the power to allocate it."

"Secondly, the government will buy up all the remaining salt. Previously, salt-making workers—the lowest-level workers in the salt-making industry—could keep some salt for themselves to sell in exchange for food. With the new regulations, all remaining salt will be purchased by the government, and salt-making workers will no longer be allowed to sell it privately. This is equivalent to cutting off the last bit of independent income for the lowest-level salt workers."

"Third, sales areas are demarcated, and sales outside these areas are strictly prohibited. Salt from Lianghuai can only be sold in designated areas, and salt from Liangzhe can only be sold in another area. Anyone who dares to sell salt outside their designated area will be treated as a smuggler."

Zhu Dijun put down his teaching position.

"These three measures had an immediate effect. Salt tax revenue soared, becoming the primary source of funding for the Nine Garrisons. Historical records praise Pang Shangpeng for his swift and decisive action in rectifying long-standing problems."

He paused for two seconds, then curled his lip.

"But have you all considered this: why should these salt merchants obey? When Yan Xishan's faction was in power, they gave him money. When Xu Jie was in power, they gave him money. Now that Gao Gong has arrived, they've suddenly become law-abiding citizens?"

One commenter chimed in: "They just changed who they're paying protection money to."

"That's right. In the third year of the Longqing reign, all the officials of the Lianghuai Salt Transport Office were replaced by Gao Gong's cronies. It doesn't matter who the salt merchants give money to, they give it to. Before, they gave it to the Xu family, now they give it to the Gao family. The salt tax has increased because the portion that used to be retained locally has now been taken by the central government. But the salt merchants' profits haven't decreased at all—who have the costs been passed on to? The salt producers and the ordinary people who buy salt."

Zhu Dijun drew an arrow chain on the whiteboard: Salt merchants lower the purchase price for salt producers → raise the terminal salt price → ordinary people spend more money to buy salt → salt tax enters Taicang → allocated to the nine border regions.

"Do you understand? The profits from salt production in Jiangnan flowed from the pockets of Jiangnan gentry, through Taicang, to the northern border defenses. What is this called? This is called targeted blood transfusion."

He walked to the screen and pulled up another set of data.

"Let's talk about the Yellow River. In the third year of the Longqing reign, Henan and Shandong suffered severe flooding. The dikes of the Yellow and Huai Rivers breached, inundating several prefectures. The imperial court dispatched Weng Dali to repair the river. The corvée labor for river works in Kaifeng, Guide, and other prefectures was reduced or exempted, and all overdue taxes were waived."

"Sounds like they care about the people's livelihood? Look at the details."

Zhu Dijun pointed to the list of exemptions.

"The tax arrears are being waived. Who owes the most taxes? The big landowners. Most of the big landowners in the North and Central Plains are clans of northern civil officials. They owe taxes year after year, and local officials turn a blind eye. Now, with an imperial decree, all debts are waived. It's like the northern landowning class has collectively taken a bath, becoming completely clean."

"What about the common people? They weren't exempted from corvée labor. They still had to do the river work and repair the dikes. They just didn't have to pay the taxes they owed that they weren't supposed to pay in the first place."

He wrote the words "river work expenses" on the whiteboard.

"Where did the money for repairing the river come from? The horse tax from the Imperial Stud and the salt tax from Lianghuai. It was money from Jiangnan to repair the river in the north."

Zhu Dijun took two steps back, looking at the whiteboard full of arrows and numbers.

"Yuegang wasn't idle either. In the third year of the Longqing reign, maritime controls were tightened again. Ship license taxes were increased, and restrictions were placed on the size and cargo capacity of merchant ships. Private voyages to Japan were strictly prohibited. The proportion of commercial taxes retained by local prefectures and counties was increased."

"With this combination of measures, small and medium-sized maritime merchants could no longer withstand it. Taxes increased, ship size was restricted, and inspections became stricter, doubling the cost of going to sea. Only large clans with close ties to local officials could obtain a monopoly on going to sea. Small and medium-sized maritime merchants gradually went bankrupt, and their market share was swallowed up by the large clans."

He turned to face the camera, his tone softening.

"With this, the economic picture of the third year of the Longqing reign is complete."

Zhu Dijun wiped the whiteboard clean and redrawn a large diagram. A three-year timeline stretched across the board.

"In the first year of the Longqing reign, the Xu Jie faction in Jiangnan seized power. They purged the Yan faction, opened the ports during the Longqing reign, monopolized maritime trade and the salt industry, and cut off the emperor's private treasury. The civil official group temporarily usurped imperial power. The gentry in Jiangnan feasted, while the court starved."

"In the second year of the Longqing reign, Emperor Muzong used this opportunity to counterbalance the situation and recalled Gao Gong. He divided the military power in Jiangnan, and Qi Jiguang was sent north. He initiated salt law reforms. The interests of the North and South were redistributed. Jiangnan relinquished a portion, while the North took a bite out."

"The third year of the Longqing reign. Final version."

He wrote four lines below the column for the third year of the Longqing reign.

"Politics: Cho Jung-gi left, Kao Kung became prime minister, and he took charge of censorship of science, politics and speech, and personnel and government affairs."

"Military: Grand parade to establish authority, trade markets to pave the way, pirates to be wiped out, and troops to divide and control the nine border regions."

"Economy: The salt law was implemented, and salt profits flowed north. Yuegang was tightened, and maritime trade was monopolized. The Yellow River dike was repaired, and the south paid the bill. A nationwide investigation of money and grain was conducted, and the Xu family's property was confiscated."

"The Imperial Family: Emperor Muzong received a share of the imperial treasury, and his spending on the harem was unrestricted. Gao Gong gained military and political power, and there were no dissenting voices in the court. The emperor and his ministers each got what they wanted."

Zhu Dijun put down his pen and put his hands in his pockets.

"Three years. From the first year of the Longqing reign to the third year of the Longqing reign. Not a single thing that happened in the Ming court was for the benefit of the people. It was all about the redistribution of resources among the upper power groups. The wealth structure that the gentry in the south had monopolized for twenty years was broken, and the military and political groups in the north seized the three gold mines of salt profits, border trade, and military expenses. The emperor took back his private stash of money."

"And what about the ordinary people?"

He pointed to the bottom of the whiteboard, where nothing was written.

"Salt prices rose, corvée labor wasn't waived, maritime merchants went bankrupt, and farmland was seized. They were the cost of this feast of spoils. From beginning to end, no one asked them if they were willing."

The live stream was silent for a few seconds.

Zhu Dijun picked up the tablet and switched to the next file.

"The Longqing reign lasted a full six years. Three years for reshuffling, and three years for concluding. Wait, let's take a ten-minute break. Those who want to take notes, please do so; those who need to use the restroom, please do so. In the next part, we will continue discussing what Gao Gong did after he gained absolute power in the fourth year of Longqing's reign, what big move Zhang Juzheng was secretly planning, and how Emperor Muzong drank himself to death."

He turned off the projector and stood up.

"Oh, and one more thing. In the third year of the Longqing reign, a nationwide audit of money and grain was conducted. The embezzled funds were divided into three parts: military expenses in the Taicang granary, the imperial treasury, and administrative expenses for river works in the north. The wealth plundered from the south was transported to the north through these three channels."

"This isn't reform. This is harvesting."

Zhu Dijun nodded at the camera.

See you in 10 minutes.

The live broadcast signal was cut off. The studio lights dimmed. 36-hime and 50-hime remained standing in the corner, their metal armor reflecting the faint glow of the remaining screen.

Zhu Dijun pulled up a chair and sat down, rubbing his sore eyes. A encrypted message popped up on the tablet, forwarded by Li Jiujiang from a national security liaison.

"Brother Jun, there's been progress in the interrogation of those academic cliques. Some people have started to confess about the upstream nodes of the overseas financial chain."

Zhu Dijun glanced at it and then placed the tablet face down on the table.

"No rush. Let them vent slowly. Let's finish discussing the Ming Dynasty's game first. Some accounts are clearer only when settled together, past and present."

The Ming Dynasty, in the final years of a parallel Chongzhen era.

Coal Hill. The rope hanging from the crooked tree swayed in the wind.

After listening to the entire analysis of the third year of the Longqing reign, Zhu Youjian knelt on the ground, clutching dry grass leaves in his hands.

"Three years. In just three years, they divided the world up."

He looked up at the sky, his eyes so dry that he couldn't squeeze out a single tear.

"Did my grandfather and great-grandfather know about this? Did they know that Gao Gong used salt taxes to feed the border troops, the border troops used the silver to buy grain from Shanxi merchants, and the Shanxi merchants used the grain to exchange for Buryat wild boar skins, sable fur, and ginseng? This chain started in the third year of the Longqing reign and remained unbroken until the day I hanged myself."

The wind whistled and howled as it swept across the bare branches of Coal Hill.

Zhu Youjian slowly stood up and patted the dirt off his knees.

"It's too late. It's all too late."

He turned and walked down the mountain. His figure grew smaller and smaller in the twilight, eventually disappearing among the many walls of the Forbidden City.