Who killed the Ming Dynasty?

Amidst Zhu Yuanzhang's angry shouts, Zhu Cilang subconsciously glanced at Emperor Wanli, Zhu Yijun, who was known for his "neglect of governance."

The other person kept their head down, deliberately avoiding everything around them, as if doing so would allow them to extricate themselves from the storm.

"And you, Zhu Yijun!"

Zhu Yuanzhang's angry rebuke suddenly rang out.

"As the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, you have long neglected court affairs, ignoring matters of state and allowing the court to become lax and treacherous officials to hold power!"

"Your Majesty, I have not neglected my duties!"

Emperor Wanli, Zhu Yijun, stiffened and retorted:

"At that time, the factional struggles in the court were like oil being poured on a raging fire. If the grandson were to do everything himself, it would only make the conflicts worse."

"The grandson controls the overall situation behind the scenes, ensuring that various forces check and balance each other to maintain stability in the court."

"My grandson led three great campaigns: pacifying Bo Bai in Ningxia, Yang Yinglong in Bozhou, and the Japanese pirates invading Korea, all of which protected the prestige of our Great Ming Dynasty."

"Checks and balances my ass!"

Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly grabbed a teacup from the table and slammed it down with a loud "bang," the lid rattling loudly under his hand.

"The Donglin Party members are full of benevolence and righteousness, while the Zhejiang and Qi Party members have abacuses hidden in their crotches."

"The civil officials treat the imperial court like a marketplace, while you, the emperor, have become an abacus bead."

"The three major campaigns are over—"

"The Northwest is suffering from a severe drought, leading to cannibalism; textile workers in the South are hanging themselves. Can you, blind emperor, smell the blood?"

Emperor Wanli, Zhu Yijun, lowered his head even further, his voice carrying a hint of resigned weariness:

"The Emperor Taizu was right... Your grandson initially wanted to pull himself together,"

"But after Zhang Jiangling (Juzheng) died, he realized that he was just a 'sage ruler' in the writings of civil officials, and he had no say in the matter of choosing an heir."

"Let's just close our eyes and let them make a scene!"

As he said this, he tilted his head slightly, revealing an attitude of complete surrender.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked directly at Zhu Yijun:

"The civil officials treat you like a clay idol, but you actually think of yourself as a clay figure?"

He slammed his hand on the table, causing teacups to shatter, and shouted angrily.

"Can closing your eyes really create a peaceful and prosperous world?"

On the right side of the procession of meritorious officials, Zhang Juzheng, holding a jade tablet, seemed to stiffen slightly.

A trace of pain and helplessness flashed across his face, which had once turned the tide, and his hand holding the jade tablet trembled slightly.

In the end, he simply lowered his head even further, as if to express the unfulfilled ambitions of his life and the desolation of being purged after his death.

Zhu Cilang looked at Zhang Juzheng, a complex feeling welling up in his heart.

The achievements and fate of this chief minister who turned the tide perfectly reflect the age-old problem of the relationship between the emperor and his ministers.

In the oppressive silence, a sudden "click" of a mortise and tenon joint turning rang out.

Zhu Cilang looked in the direction of the sound and saw the Tianqi Emperor, Zhu Youxiao.

He quietly took out an exquisite wooden kite from his sleeve and casually placed it in his palm, fiddling with it as if no one else was around.

His focused gaze was completely absorbed in his own world, oblivious to the raging fury of the founding emperor.

"Zhu Youxiao!"

The thunderous roar startled Zhu Cilang.

Zhu Yuanzhang instantly unleashed his fury on the Tianqi Emperor, Zhu Youxiao.

"What a magnificent carpenter emperor!"

"Is the dragon throne too hot to sit on? Has the Imperial Palace been turned into your Lu Ban workshop?"

The dragon case cracked when Zhu Yuanzhang slammed it down, but the wooden kite between Zhu Youxiao's fingers spun perfectly in the process.

"Did wood shavings get into your eyes, or did elm wood get stuck in your brain?"

"Nurhaci is sharpening his sword in Liaodong, while you are hiding in the deep palace with its carved beams and painted rafters."

"When Wei the eunuch seized power, shrines were erected everywhere, and the incense offerings to the eunuch Wei were even more abundant than those to the ancestors in the Imperial Ancestral Temple."

Zhu Youxiao's gaze remained fixed on the sundial on the wooden kite in his hand, the smile on his lips strange and empty:

"Emperor Taizu, you don't understand me!"

Zhu Yuanzhang was furious and let out a laugh that sounded utterly absurd:

"I don't understand you, how can I possibly understand you!"

"Do I need to understand the rivers and mountains you depict with your plane, or the universe you trace with your ink line?"

He was immediately met with another scathing rebuke.

The Tianqi Emperor listened quietly, his expression serene, as if he hadn't heard a thing.

He lightly tapped the tenon and mortise joints on the head of the wooden kite with his fingertips, and the five hidden fasteners popped open, revealing a miniature sundial inside.

When Zhu Yuanzhang roared, "Do you still want me to understand the universe in your ink line?" he was smiling at the shadow cast by the gnomon.

After Zhu Yuanzhang finished his tirade, seeing Zhu Youxiao's unyielding attitude, a deep sense of powerlessness welled up inside him, and he was momentarily speechless.

He simply snorted heavily and looked away in disgust.

Only the faint crackling of incense ash as it burned out and the barely audible scraping of the wooden kite in Zhu Youxiao's hand remained in the hall.

Suddenly, the sound of the wooden kite rubbing together stopped.

Zhu Youxiao slowly raised his eyes and looked at his younger brother, Zhu Youjian.

"Emperor Taizu Gao,"

Apocalypse's voice rang out abruptly, carrying an air of detached indifference.

"Your criticisms are all correct... but when my grandson passed the throne to his brother, he believed my brother should be like Yao and Shun."

As he spoke, he pointed to the bowed Chongzhen Emperor.

"It was him...he's the one who lost the country! What does it have to do with me?"

It was as if they wanted to shirk all responsibility.

Zhu Cilang felt a surge of blood rush to the top of his head!

He almost blurted out a question to his uncle, who was obsessed with woodworking:

If you hadn't indulged Wei Zhongxian and neglected state affairs, how could you have left Father Emperor with such a mess?

But he gritted his teeth and swallowed back the question that was about to burst out.

Zhu Yuanzhang's gaze instantly and precisely landed on Zhu Youjian's face.

"Zhu Youjian! You unworthy descendant, do you even deserve to be emperor?"

Zhu Youjian raised his head tremblingly, his voice weak:

"Emperor Taizu Gao, your grandson... your grandson did his best. When the rebel Li Zicheng broke into the city, your grandson rang the bell to summon all the officials, but not a single civil or military official came to our aid..."

"Shut up!"

Zhu Yuanzhang's voice was like thunder; every word was like a whip lashing at Chongzhen.

"You sliced ​​Yuan Chonghuan into 3,600 pieces! The Northwest has suffered from severe drought for years, leaving the land barren and scorched, with starving people resorting to cannibalism."

"Plague demons roam the nine borders, nine out of ten houses are empty, and the roads are blocked with starving corpses."

As he delivered his accusations, each word sharp as a knife, a sudden clap of thunder boomed outside the hall, and a flash of lightning instantly turned everyone's faces deathly pale.

"On the one hand, you issued an edict of self-reproach, putting on a show; on the other hand, you forcibly levied the 'three taxes,' squeezing the marrow from the bones, forcing the people to have no way out, and causing their families to be destroyed and their lives to be lost."

"Is this all you've done? Is this your way of governing?"

Zhu Youjian's lips trembled violently, and he was about to speak in his defense.

Zhu Yuanzhang's roar had already crashed down like a storm:

"You killed Yuan Chonghuan swiftly! But when you killed him, did you ever consider how heavy the swords and spears of the soldiers on the nine borders were?"

"Are the pens of the Donglin Party members more valuable than the lives of soldiers on the frontier?"

His face was contorted with rage, his beard and hair bristling, and he roared:

"You've been in power for seventeen years, executing seven governors-general and eleven provincial governors. You certainly have some skill."

"But why isn't this skill being used for governing the country and ensuring its stability?"

"You! You are the most incompetent and foolish ruler in history who brought about the downfall of your kingdom!"

When Zhu Yuanzhang's words, "the most incompetent and foolish ruler in history who brought about the downfall of his country," pierced his ears, Zhu Cilang's body trembled violently uncontrollably.

He abruptly closed his eyes, as if trying to shut out these hurtful words.

But what appeared before my eyes was my father's cold body under that crooked tree on Coal Hill.

He could feel the scalding liquid burning in his eyes, but he bit his lower lip hard to stop it from falling.

The emperor was so terrified by the scolding that his lips trembled. He was about to say, "My ministers have misled me," but the emperor's gaze fixed him on the spot.

His knees buckled, and he collapsed to the ground, weeping bitterly.

"Emperor Taizu Gao, your grandson knows his mistake... your grandson deserves to die..."

Zhu Yuanzhang sighed deeply, his voice low and somber:

"Admit your mistake? Too late! What good is it for that blockhead to finally see the light now?"

"The vast land of the Ming Dynasty has been destroyed by you, you fool!"

Zhu Cilang stood to the side, feeling a chill run through his body, as if he were in an invisible forest of knives and swords.

Inside the Lingxu Hall, the Emperor Taizu's furious rebukes still reverberated. After finishing his tirade, he slowly sat back down on his dragon throne.

At this moment, Liu Ji (Liu Bowen) stepped forward, bowed, and pleaded on behalf of Emperor Chongzhen:

"Your Majesty, please allow me to speak frankly. Although Emperor Chongzhen made mistakes, he was not entirely a muddle-headed ruler."

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned and turned to look at him:

"Lord Chengyi? What do you have to say?"