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

On the screen of the live broadcast room, the altered "Regulations on Criminal Interrogation" gradually disappeared.

Instead, a bustling scene of an ancient street market unfolds.

Zhu Dijun's voice had lost its previous manic intensity, instead revealing a cold sternness that seemed to see through the fog of history.

"Family members, let's continue talking about the tampered Ming Dynasty Code."

"The three beasts of the Hongzhi era—Li Dongyang, Liu Jian, and Xie Qian, plus Ma Wensheng, who destroyed his own Great Wall."

"In addition to creating clauses on buying one's life with money, they also amended the Great Ming Code to grant themselves immunity from death."

"They also committed a devastating act that completely severed the foundation of the Ming Dynasty!"

Zhu Dijun struck the street map heavily with his pointer.

Salt shops, blacksmith shops, tea houses, and mines.

"They revised the Ming Dynasty's strict restrictions on commerce."

Simply put, it means opening up the market.

"In the past, the laws of the Ming Dynasty stipulated that only the Ming government could operate in the highly profitable industries that were vital to the nation's survival, such as salt, iron, tea, and mining."

"This is the nation's purse; in modern terms, it's called a state-owned enterprise monopoly!"

"But now, these civil servants can do it for private individuals with a mere stroke of their pens!"

Across countless worlds and timelines, the expressions of many emperors instantly changed.

They knew all too well what this meant.

On the sky, Judy Jun's cold laughter pierced through time and space.

"Family members, please don't think that opening up the market is a good thing."

"In those days, ordinary people couldn't even get enough to eat. How could they afford to open mines? Or have the connections to smuggle salt?"

"Absolutely impossible!"

"The so-called 'private' individuals who can take over these highly profitable industries are all from civil official families! They are all from the Jiangnan gentry! They are all relatives of the emperor!"

"This is a blatant, rampant plundering of national assets!"

Zhu Dijun pulled up a complex web of vested interests.

"You should know that it was because of this law that the civil service of the Ming Dynasty fought to the death with the emperor for over a century!"

"From the Three Yangs during the reign of Emperor Chengzu of Ming to Shang Lu, Xiang Zhong, and others during the reign of Emperor Xianzong of Ming."

Why were they constantly vying with the emperor?

"Why do we keep shouting about 'giving the people a break'?"

"Even at crucial moments, they didn't hesitate to poison the crown prince or murder the emperor!"

"That's the reason!"

"As long as the state monopoly exists, the money their family makes will always be illicit and will always be considered smuggling."

"Now look what's happened. Zhu Youcheng has been completely sidelined by them and has become a fish on the chopping block."

"They took the opportunity to amend the law, turning smuggling into a legal business!"

"The Ming Dynasty's treasury is empty, but the silver vaults of the Jiangnan gentry are overflowing!"

The era of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Yuanzhang stared intently at the salt, iron, and tea mines visible in the sky.

He established these rules to keep the most profitable businesses in the country under the control of the imperial court.

With money, the imperial court could reduce or even eliminate agricultural taxes levied on the poor.

But now, all these hens that can lay golden eggs have been taken home by these pedantic literati!

"They stole our money..."

A beast-like growl escaped Zhu Yuanzhang's throat.

"They not only seize our military power and kill our descendants, but they also want to destroy the very foundation of our Ming Dynasty!"

"Those traitorous beasts!"

"They draw salaries from the Ming Dynasty, yet they drain the Ming Dynasty's coffers to enrich their own families!"

Yongle Time and Space.

Zhu Di kicked over the brazier in front of him, scattering embers all over the ground.

"What a fine pair of Yangs!"

"I employed them back then because I valued their talents and thought they could help me govern the country."

"So all they were thinking about was how to turn the country's money into their own!"

"I was truly blind!"

On the sky, Zhu Dijun mercilessly exposed the biggest lie in history books.

"After Emperor Xiaozong of Ming lost power, this law was amended, and the common people suffered terribly."

"What did the historians write in their books?"

"They said these four years were the 'Hongzhi Restoration,' and that the people were prosperous and no one picked up lost items on the road."

"Family members, when you read the history books of the Ming Dynasty, you have to read them backwards!"

"That's the bloody truth!"

On the screen, the bustling street scene instantly faded, turning into a desolate village littered with starving corpses.

"The government withdrew from the salt, iron, and tea mines, leaving private capital with a complete monopoly."

"What was the first thing they did after they gained a monopoly?"

"Price increase!"

"Salt prices skyrocketed, and so did ironware prices."

"Ordinary people can't even afford a bowl of pickled vegetables, let alone a hoe to farm!"

"What's even more frightening is that once these civil servant families had money, they began to frantically acquire land."

"Countless self-cultivating farmers went bankrupt, lost the land they depended on for survival, and had no choice but to sell their children, becoming slaves and tenants of powerful families."

Zhu Dijun stared directly at the camera with a cold gaze.

"Is this what you call a prosperous life for ordinary people?"

"This is clearly the wealth of the civil service and powerful clans!"

"They trampled on the corpses of millions of Ming Dynasty citizens, drank the blood of the Ming Dynasty, and then made the historians write down the phrase 'The world is at peace!'"

"This is the Hongzhi reign, which later generations have lauded to the skies!"

The Hongzhi Era of the Ming Dynasty.

Inside the Qianqing Palace.

Zhu Youcheng slumped onto the cold gold bricks, his eyes vacant.

He heard it.

He heard the faint sound of a watchman striking a bamboo clapper coming from outside the palace walls.

In the silent night, the sound was like a death knell.

"My empire..."

"My people..."

He always believed that if he backed down and compromised, the civil officials would govern the country well.

He always believed that the phrase "peace and prosperity throughout the world" written in the memorials sent to his desk was true.

It turns out that he was not only a puppet, but also an accomplice.

He used his weakness to facilitate a lavish feast for the civil service.

The chat room was completely buzzing with excitement.

"Incredible! This is exactly like the current capitalist monopolies!"

"They bankrupted state-owned enterprises, then acquired them at low prices, and finally monopolized the market by raising prices. These civil servants are too good at this!"

"Zhu Youcheng's reign as emperor was utterly shameful, a VIP-level disgrace!"

"History is truly like a little girl who can be dressed up however one pleases; civil officials, wielding the pen, can embellish it however they want!"

Zhu Dijun glanced at the comments and coldly dropped the bombshell for the next phase.

"Family members, the civil service not only controls the wealth, but they also control the interpretation of history."

"Next, let's delve into the extremely disgusting underlying logic of ancient Chinese historical records!"