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

"In the third month of the fifth year of the Longqing reign, Emperor Muzong issued an edict conferring upon Anda Khan the title of Prince Shunyi."

Zhu Dijun displayed the original text of the imperial edict on the screen and read it aloud word by word.

"A gilded silver seal was bestowed. The sons and tribal leaders were respectively granted Ming Dynasty official titles such as governor, commander, and chiliarch. In May, the investiture ceremony was held at Desheng Fort in Datong. Anda summoned 30,000 households of the right wing of the Mongols to swear never to invade the border and plunder again. Zhao Quan and others, who were traitors, were handed over and executed on the spot. Eleven border trade horse markets were opened in Xuanfu, Datong, Yansui, and Ningxia."

He put down the tablet.

"History books have lauded this event to the skies. They say it ended nearly two centuries of Ming-Mongol warfare, achieving maximum peace at minimal cost. The people were spared the ravages of war, and the court saved enormous military expenditures. It also facilitated trade between the Mongols and the Han Chinese, and fostered ethnic integration."

Zhu Dijun wrote the word "positive" on the whiteboard, and listed three points below it.

"That's right. Judging from the results, these assessments are valid. During the Jiajing reign, the Mongols invaded every year, and the people of North China were plundered for decades. Military expenditures were a bottomless pit. After the tribute system was established, the northern frontier did indeed become quieter. Border expenses were reduced by 70%. These are all facts."

He took a step back, and his tone changed.

"But let's stick to our usual practice. Let's look at the ledgers."

The words "reverse side" appeared on the whiteboard.

"First question: Who has the authority to manage the border market?"

Zhu Dijun marked the locations of eleven horse markets on the map. Xuanfu, Datong, Yansui, and Ningxia were all located in the northern border towns.

"They were all under the jurisdiction of the Governor-General of Xuanfu and the Governor of Datong, a group of northern civil officials. They controlled everything from the opening of markets and tax collection to the approval of goods. The export of tea, silk, iron pots, and ironware, and the import of horse hides from the grasslands—the power to open and close all trade routes was in the hands of the northern military and political group."

He drew a thick line from Xuanda University to the grassland.

"This route has absolutely nothing to do with the Jiangnan maritime merchants. Yuegang earns silver by sea, while Xuanda earns horse and fur by land. Two sources of income, two groups, each making their own living. This is exactly what Gao Gong wants—an independent source of income in the north. No more having to rely on Jiangnan."

Someone asked a question in the comments section:

"Why would the Mongols honestly conduct business? Because they've stopped fighting?"

"Good question."

Zhu Dijun pointed to Zhao Quan's name on the screen.

"Zhao Quan is a traitor, he deserves to die. But do you know what else he has?"

He wrote four characters next to Zhao Quan: "Grassland Middleman".

"Zhao Quan not only taught the Mongols how to train soldiers and build cities on the grasslands, but he also did business. He secretly traded with smugglers from the southeast, bypassing the northern border towns and bringing goods from the Central Plains directly to the grasslands to sell. This was equivalent to opening a separate private route on the northern group's trade channels."

Zhu Dijun slammed his hand on the table.

"Gao Gong wanted Zhao Quan's head partly because he was a traitor, and partly because he was blocking his path to wealth. Executing Zhao Quan would not only eliminate a traitor, but also eliminate 'cross-regional trade routes not controlled by the Northern Group.' From then on, trade between the grasslands and the Central Plains could only go through the official Xuanda border market. The Northern civil official group became the only middleman, profiting immensely from the price difference."

The Ming Dynasty, in a parallel Hongwu era.

Zhu Yuanzhang stood on the steps of the Fengtian Hall, looking at the sky with his hands behind his back.

"Fourth brother."

Zhu Di stepped forward: "Your subject is here."

"Did you see the trick in Gao Gong's move?"

Zhu Di nodded:

"Once the trade market opened, the Mongols could obtain tea and iron pots without fighting, and naturally they calmed down. However, the market was controlled by civil officials, and the Mongols could decide what to buy and at what price. It was like replacing war with trade, and replacing the knife with a rope. A rope in hand is more useful than a knife."

Zhu Yuanzhang snorted.

"But there's a prerequisite. The rope must be held tightly. What if Gao Gong dies? What if Zhang Juzheng dies? If the subsequent civil officials become greedy and push the Mongols too far, the rope will break. At that point, there will be no sword, no rope, what will we use to defend ourselves?"

The father and son remained silent for a moment.

Zhu Dijun continued to push forward.

"The second question: Where did the money for building the Great Wall come from?"

A detailed breakdown of military expenditures for the nine border regions in the fifth year of the Longqing reign was displayed on the holographic screen.

"Qi Jiguang built more than a thousand hollow watchtowers in Jizhou. The border army's new-style recruitment and training became routine. The procurement of materials and the allocation of funds for these projects were all handled by northern civil officials. Several million taels of silver were allocated, passing through layers of intermediaries, with most of it flowing into the pockets of northern gentry and Shanxi merchants."

He pointed to the column for sources of funds.

"Where does the money come from? The salt tax from Lianghuai. The merchant tax from Yuegang. It's all money from Jiangnan. It's like the salt tax paid by the people of the southeast and the pilotage tax paid by the maritime merchants, which is used to build the Great Wall in the north, support the border troops in the north, and enrich the officials in the north."

Zhu Dijun drew an arrow on the whiteboard.

"The funds come from the southeast → transported to Taicang → the Nine Border Projects → handled by northern civil officials → embezzled through corruption. This pipeline was laid in the first year of the Longqing reign and was fully formed in the fifth year. It was a one-way flow of funds, irreversible."

He paused mid-sentence.

"Let's talk about the Southwest. In the fifth year of the Longqing reign, in Gutian, Guangxi."

A topographical map of Guangdong and Guangxi pops up on the screen, with Gutian highlighted in red.

"Wei Yinbao, a Zhuang chieftain, had been entrenched in Gutian for decades. In the fourth year of the Longqing reign, troops were mobilized, and the rebellion was quelled in the fifth year. Yu Dayou and Yin Zhengmao led 100,000 Han and local soldiers to besiege and suppress the rebellion, beheading 7,000. The rebellion in the heart of Guangdong and Guangxi was completely quelled."

Zhu Dijun drew a line under the number "seven thousand".

"The military achievements are real. But what happened after the rebellion was quelled? All the forests and fertile fields occupied by the Gutian rebels were confiscated by the government. A portion was distributed to the displaced people. The majority was transferred at low prices to the civil officials and clans of Guangdong and Guangxi. At the same time, the Guangdong salt law was implemented, monopolizing the markets in Hubei, Hunan, and Guangxi."

He tapped the whiteboard.

"Who paid for Yu Dayou's 100,000-strong army? The Southeast's finances and taxes. Who occupied the conquered territories? Officials and gentry from Guangdong and Guangxi. Again, it was using money from the South to support Southern soldiers, fight Southern battles, and enrich Southern officials. It's just that this 'South' refers to the local civil officials of Guangdong and Guangxi, who are not the same group as those from Jiangnan."

The chat area in the live stream no longer needs guidance.

"So, no matter where the war is fought in the world, the money always comes from the Southeast?"

[“Jiangnan gentry: I provide the money, you provide the labor, and he acquires the land. Am I a philanthropist?”]

[Gao Gong: Don't rush, you still have Moon Harbor. Keep earning your silver.]

Ignoring the teasing comments in the live chat, Zhu Dijun walked to the whiteboard and wrote the last line.

"Disarmament in the Southeast".

"In the fifth year of the Longqing reign, the naval forces along the southeastern coast continued to be reduced. The reason given was that the Japanese pirates had been completely eradicated, and there was no need to maintain a large navy."

He circled the words "disarmament".

"On the surface, it makes sense. The Japanese pirates have been wiped out, so why maintain such a large navy? It saves money. But the underlying logic is that there is no army in the southeast to check and balance the government. The private naval forces were wiped out during the campaign against Zeng Yiben. Now the official navy has also been disbanded. The right to go to sea from Yuegang is completely monopolized by the officials, gentry and powerful families in Jiangnan and the local government."

He put down his pen.

"The gentry of Jiangnan have lost their last trump card of force. From now on, the central government can do whatever it wants with them. You don't even have the means to resist."

Judy picked up the thermos and found that 50hi had already filled it to the brim. He nodded to her, and 50hi's mechanical pupils flickered slightly.

"Next section. Let's talk about the economy. The last piece of the puzzle in the fifth year of the Longqing reign—the salt tax system, the allocation of silver, and border market taxes. That's where the real bloodshed began."

He paused, then added a sentence.

"By the way, let me say this. To those friends who are criticizing me for objectifying women in the comments, I suggest you first look into how many of the salt-making workers during the Longqing era were women. They worked sixteen hours a day at the salt fields, and the government forcibly bought up their surplus salt at prices below cost. If you want to advocate for women's rights, advocate for them first. Don't keep targeting my mecha girls."

The comment section instantly switched sides.

"Jun-ge's counterattack was brilliant."

[“Feminism has been slapped in the face by historical facts, does it hurt?”]

["50-hime: I may be made of metal, but I know who's good to me."]

Zhu Dijun ignored the comments and flipped to the next page of information.