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

Above the sky, Zhu Dijun's figure stood still.

He didn't say anything more.

He simply allowed time for this profound conclusion to slowly ferment in every time and space, and in the heart of every individual.

The Fengtian Hall in the eleventh year of the Hongwu reign was deathly silent.

The Forbidden City in the fifteenth year of the Yongle reign can only inspire awe.

The bullet comments in modern live streaming rooms have transformed into a chorus of worship for the "Emperor of All Time".

However, at this moment, it was not only the Ming Dynasty that was awestruck by this sky.

……

The Qin Dynasty, Xianyang Palace.

"Hmph, a tyrant?"

The First Emperor, Ying Zheng, looked at the lonely and resolute figure against the sky, a cold smile curving his lips.

His gaze seemed to pierce through time, seeing himself, who, too, had laid the foundation for China amidst blood and fire.

"Womanly compassion!"

Ying Zheng waved his sleeve, his voice like the clash of metal, carrying an undeniable majesty.

"What is an emperor? An emperor is the cornerstone of a nation, the guardian of its people!"

"The blank seal case may seem like a trivial matter, but it actually shakes the very foundation of the nation! With officials colluding, where is the law? If the law becomes a mere scrap of paper, what is the point of my policies of standardizing cart axles, writing, and weights and measures!"

"As for the case of Guo Huan, he deserves to die! Slaughtering his entire clan wouldn't be too much!"

"These parasites of the nation, devouring half the annual revenue—if this is not treason, then what is?!"

Li Si stood to one side, his forehead dripping with cold sweat.

He understood His Majesty's meaning.

His Majesty not only showed no sympathy for the officials who were killed, but also felt that Zhu Yuanzhang had not killed them severely enough!

"Those born from this generation will possess my spirit."

Ying Zheng slowly sat down, his eyes filled with undisguised admiration.

"He is not a tyrant."

"He's just doing what every emperor who wants his empire to last forever must do!"

"Those who criticize him are nothing but pedantic scholars sitting in their high positions, ignorant of the hardships of farming and oblivious to the suffering on the frontier!"

"A bunch of useless trash!"

……

Weiyang Palace, Western Han Dynasty.

Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang, was sitting opposite Xiao He and Chen Ping.

He looked at the sky and couldn't help but slap his thigh.

"Damn it! You're right!"

This emperor, who rose from humble origins, still spoke with the boldness of a commoner.

"Back then, we trusted these scholars, and what happened? They talked about morality and righteousness on the surface, but behind our backs, they were all scoundrels and prostitutes!"

"Zhu Yuanzhang, like us, crawled out of piles of corpses, and he couldn't stand these kinds of despicable and vile things!"

Liu Bang pointed to the sky, his eyes sharpening.

"The blank seal is a loophole they've left, allowing them to team up and deceive us!"

"The Guo Huan case is like them directly reaching into our pockets and taking money!"

"How can we tolerate this?!"

"If it were me, I'd kill too! I'd kill even more than him!"

"If we don't terrify these people and crush their courage, this world won't belong to the Liu family, but to those powerful clans!"

Xiao He nodded silently to the side.

He knew better than anyone how much effort and how many knives the Emperor Gaozu had expended to suppress those meritorious officials and local tyrants.

The actions of Zhu Yuanzhang on this sky are so similar to those of Emperor Gaozu!

This is the destiny of the founding emperor.

……

The Great Han Dynasty, Jianzhang Palace.

Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che, stands with his hands behind his back.

Before him was the staggering "24 million shi" on the sky!

His breathing was slightly rapid.

In order to launch a northern campaign against the Xiongnu, he exhausted the accumulated wealth of the Wen and Jing reigns.

In order to promote the salt and iron monopoly, he spent half his life fighting against wealthy merchants and powerful figures across the country.

He understood better than anyone what money and provisions meant for a great and ambitious empire!

"Twenty-four million shi..."

Liu Che's voice was icy and chilling.

"This is enough for me to launch three major battles against the Xiongnu!"

"Enough for my General of the Cavalry to drink from the vast sea and seal the Wolf-Dwelling Mountain!"

"And all of this was turned into gold and silver for the personal gain by a group of corrupt officials!"

He turned around abruptly and looked at Sang Hongyang beside him.

"If this case were in our dynasty, how would it be handled?"

Sang Hongyang bowed without hesitation and said, "Your Majesty, he should be punished for treason, and his entire family should be exterminated as a warning to others!"

"good!"

A terrifying glint flashed in Liu Che's eyes.

"Zhu Yuanzhang did the right thing!"

"To show any mercy to these traitors who are hollowing out the country is the greatest cruelty to the nation and its people!"

"If I had such a subject, I would ensure that his bones were never found!"

……

The Palace of the King of Wei during the Three Kingdoms period.

Cao Cao looked at the sky, clapped his hands, and laughed.

"Hahaha! Interesting! Interesting!"

His laughter was full of joy.

"This Zhu Yuanzhang is truly my man!"

"A capable minister in times of peace, a cunning hero in times of chaos! What is a cunning hero? It is one who uses ruthless methods but possesses a compassionate heart!"

"We must show no mercy to the enemy, to those parasites who attempt to subvert the country!"

"What defines a tyrant? A wise ruler is one who can feed the people and prevent the country from collapsing!"

"As for how many officials were killed, that's nobody's business!"

"If you lose an official position, you can always choose another!"

"The greatest tragedy in the world would be if the country were to fall and its people were reduced to mere prey!"

In the eyes of this warlord in troubled times, there was only the purest pragmatism.

If it works, then it's right.

Effective means good.

In his view, Zhu Yuanzhang's bloody purges were the most efficient and correct choice.

……

The Great Tang Dynasty, Taiji Palace.

During the Zhenguan era, the emperor and his ministers were filled with solemnity.

Li Shimin remained silent for a long time.

Looking at Zhu Yuanzhang's lonely figure on the sky, he seemed to see another version of himself.

During the Xuanwu Gate Incident, he killed his brothers and forced his father to commit suicide.

Who in the world doesn't say he's cruel?

But without the Xuanwu Gate Incident, how could there have been the Reign of Zhenguan?

"Auxiliary machine, what do you think?" Li Shimin's voice was somewhat low.

Changsun Wuji stepped forward and said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, although this man is ruthless, his heart is with the country and the people."

"yes……"

Li Shimin sighed deeply.

"If he hadn't thoroughly offended the bureaucratic system, how could he have earned such eternal infamy?"

"The Blank Seal Case, seemingly a procedural issue, was in fact the beginning of the bureaucratic group challenging imperial power. If this trend continues, government orders will not leave Chang'an, making us no different from the warlords at the end of the Sui Dynasty."

"The Guo Huan case has emptied the national treasury and shaken the morale of the army. If he is not severely punished, what will the soldiers on the border eat? How will they defend against the Turks?"

This emperor, hailed as a wise ruler throughout the ages, showed no disdain in his eyes, only deep understanding and a touch of sympathy.

"He simply made the most difficult, yet most correct, choice for an emperor."

"Zhu Yuanzhang..."

Li Shimin slowly uttered the name.

"I understand you."

This moment transcends hundreds of years of time and space.

The First Emperor of Qin, the founding emperor of the Western Han Dynasty, the brilliant and ambitious Emperor Wu of Han, the cunning and ruthless Cao Cao, and Emperor Taizong of Tang, who ushered in a golden age...

These emperors who stood at the pinnacle of Chinese civilization reached a surprising consensus when faced with the "Kong-Yin Case" and the "Guo Huan Case"!

They all acknowledged Zhu Yuanzhang's ruthless methods.

They all saw through the bloodshed and understood the emperor's determination to maintain the unity and survival of the empire!

Above the sky, Zhu Dijun's voice rang out again at just the right moment, as if summarizing this resonance across time and space.

"Family members, did you see that?"

"This is what vision is all about!"

"A true emperor's thoughts and ideas are always about the foundation of the nation and the survival of the state!"

"In the writings of later pedantic scholars, Zhu Yuanzhang's 'tyranny' was described as the indiscriminate killing of innocent people."

"But in the eyes of true pioneers, it was like scraping the bone to remove poison! It was about extending the life of the nation!"

"He sacrificed his own infamy for the stability of the Ming Dynasty for a century!"

"Such an emperor should not be called a tyrant!"

"He truly deserves it..."

Zhu Dijun's voice, each word distinct and deliberate, resonated throughout the world.

"The Dragon Protector of the Nation!"