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

Dead silence.

All of time and space in the Ming Dynasty was shrouded in a suffocating silence.

Inside the Hongwu Hall, Zhu Yuanzhang leaned against Zhu Biao's chest, panting heavily, his eyes staring blankly at the sky, as if his soul had been drained away.

He saw it.

He watched as his proudest son, Zhu Di, used the most ruthless methods to drive his other sons to their doom.

He saw his most valiant grandson roasted alive by another grandson.

The "home" he built with his own hands, a place of brotherly love, filial piety, and parental love, turned into a bloody arena.

And the root of all this was himself.

It was his profound paternal love and his self-righteous son who orchestrated all of this.

"Our home... is gone..."

Zhu Yuanzhang muttered to himself, this ruthless emperor who killed without hesitation was now as vulnerable as a helpless old man.

Inside the Yongle Palace, Zhu Di stood ramrod straight, but his slightly trembling hands betrayed the turmoil in his heart.

sinner.

The descendants of Tianmu convicted him of two major crimes.

Raising vassal kings like pigs is tantamount to severing the limbs of a nation.

Abolish the Grand Hall and destroy the core of the monarch and his ministers.

He always believed that he was making up for the loopholes in his father's system and bringing lasting peace to the Ming Dynasty.

In the end, he was just a gravedigger.

A filial son who shoveled several shovelfuls of soil onto the grave his father had dug!

"His Majesty……"

Yang Shiqi and the others knelt on the ground, trembling, not daring to lift their heads.

They could sense that the gaze from the dragon throne was no longer one of suspicion, but rather a chilling, piercing...killing intent.

Zhu Di did not look at them.

He just stared intently at the sky.

He wanted to know what else this descendant could say.

He wanted to see just how far he and his father could go wrong!

Above the sky, Judy Jun's voice rang out again, this time with a hint of pity in his tone.

"Family members, I know that the series of blows are hard for many people to accept."

"But the cruelty of history lies in the fact that it never gives people a chance to breathe."

"The two time bombs planted by the Taizu and Chengzu emperors were enough to ensure that the Chongzhen Emperor of later generations would die without a burial place."

"But they still think it's not enough."

"Or rather, our founding emperor, Gaozu, personally buried a third one at the beginning of his reign—the most hidden, the most resonant, and ultimately the one that backfired most thoroughly… a sinkhole!"

besides?!

Emperors from all time and space felt a chill run down their spines.

A vassal king and a powerful minister have already turned the Ming Dynasty into a dead end.

There's a third error of the same level?

Was Zhu Yuanzhang a great ruler who founded a dynasty, or a genius who brought about its downfall?

Zhu Yuanzhang, who had just caught his breath, suddenly focused his unfocused gaze upon hearing these words.

What else did we do?

Before we talk about the third sinkhole, let's first look at the painstaking efforts of Emperor Taizu Gao.

Zhu Dijun's tone was full of understanding.

"Emperor Taizu rose from humble beginnings and deeply understood the importance of scholars."

"At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the world was in chaos, and scholars were fickle and disloyal. Yet, the country could not be governed without them."

"What should we do?"

"The founding emperor came up with a brilliant idea—bribery!"

"Using unprecedented preferential treatment and privileges to secure the political loyalty of the entire gentry class to the newly established Ming Dynasty!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang's face finally regained some color.

That's right!

That's exactly what we think!

Those scholars are all arrogant and conceited. If we don't give them some benefits, how can we expect them to be truly loyal to the Zhu family?

Emperor Zhao Kuangyin of the Song Dynasty also showed an approving expression.

To govern the country together with the scholar-officials!

This was the very foundation of his Great Song Dynasty! It seems that this Hongwu Emperor truly grasped its essence.

The image on the sky changed, revealing a clear stepped diagram.

A List of Privileges for Scholars in the Ming Dynasty

[First Rank - Junior Scholar: Social status higher than commoners, but without substantial privileges.]

[Second Tier - Xiucai (Student): Eligible to kneel before officials, exempt from corvée labor, and possesses certain legal immunity.]

[Third Rank - Juren: Most of their own land and property are exempt from taxes! They become local "gentry," wielding immense power; even if they incite disturbances, the government dares not easily take action!]

[Fourth Tier - Jinshi: Directly appointed to official positions! Those who are not Jinshi are not allowed to enter the Hanlin Academy or serve as principal officials in the Six Ministries!]

"Did you see that, family?"

"This is a path to heaven!"

"Once you become a Xiucai (a successful candidate in the county-level imperial examinations), you transcend the ranks of ordinary people. Once you become a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial-level imperial examinations), you become a superior person! Neither the national laws nor the local government can do anything to you!"

"The founding emperor's meaning was very clear: as long as you study hard, pass the imperial examinations, and remain loyal to my Great Ming Dynasty, I will grant you wealth, honor, and a superior status!"

Zhu Yuanzhang proudly puffed out his chest.

Our method is excellent!

We gave scholars all over the world something to look forward to, so why aren't they wholeheartedly serving us?

However, what Judy Jun said next was like a bucket of ice water, poured over him from head to toe.

"The initial intention was good."

"But Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang once again overestimated the limits of human nature and underestimated the shamelessness of greed!"

"This national policy, originally intended to 'buy loyalty,' ultimately brought the Ming Dynasty three disastrous consequences that were enough to destroy the country!"

"The first major consequence: the complete collapse of the national fiscal system!"

Judy Jun's voice suddenly turned stern!

"Those who have passed the imperial examinations are exempt from taxes!"

"These four words are the key to the downfall of the Ming Dynasty!"

"Family members, think about this: if you were a landlord with thousands of acres of fertile land, and had to pay heavy taxes to the state every year, what would you do?"

"And next door to you lives a penniless scholar who has just passed the imperial examination."

"What would you do?"

On the sky, a vivid AI animation began.

A fat, big-eared landlord, carrying a box of gold ingots, walked into the house of the poor scholar next door.

A few days later, the landlord's tens of thousands of acres of fertile land were all "donated" to this scholar.

The land was still being cultivated by landlords who were collecting rent.

However, in the official register, these lands were all listed as "school lands" under the names of the successful candidates in the imperial examinations, and were naturally... exempt from taxes!

The landlord saved a large sum of money in taxes.

The successful candidate in the imperial examinations received a large sum of "donations".

They both won!

"So who lost?"

Zhu Dijun's voice, like a heavy hammer, struck the heart of every emperor.

"The country lost!"

"It was the ordinary people who had no land, or only a few acres of meager farmland, who lost!"

"Because the taxes that landlords and gentry exempted will ultimately be levied on them in an even more lucrative manner!"

On the screen, the golden pillar representing national fiscal revenue began to shrink at a visible rate!

Meanwhile, the "black properties" that represent the hidden gentry class are expanding wildly like cancer cells!

"In the mid-Ming Dynasty, a population of 60 million had to support over 100,000 civil and military officials, as well as countless scholars and those who passed the imperial examinations!"

"By the end of the Ming Dynasty, seven or eight out of ten fields in the country were registered under the names of these scholars through 'donations,' and they didn't pay a single penny of tax!"

"The Wanli Emperor wanted to levy some commercial taxes, but was denounced for being a 'greedy emperor' who will be infamous for all time by the civil service group, mainly composed of the Donglin Party!"

"Emperor Chongzhen wanted to levy a tea tax of 200,000 taels in Zhejiang to fund the army. What happened? The civil officials rose up against it, and the matter was dropped!"

Why?

"Because these taxes are taking away from the wealth of the gentry!"

"They would rather watch the national treasury be empty and the border troops starve to death than take a single penny from their own pockets!"

boom!

Inside the Hongwu Hall, Zhu Yuanzhang felt dizzy and disoriented.

He recalled how painstakingly he had worked to restore production by measuring all the fields in the country and compiling the "Fish Scale Atlas"!

He thought he had designed the fairest tax law.

In the end, the "preferential" policies he personally formulated became a legal shield for landlords and powerful figures across the country to evade taxes!

The tax system he built was destroyed by himself from the very beginning!

"We...we want them to serve the country..."

"We're not letting them undermine the country's foundation!"

Zhu Yuanzhang pointed to the bloated gentry on the sky, their ugly faces so similar to those of the barbarians and tyrants who preyed on the people at the end of the Yuan Dynasty!

"puff--"

A mouthful of blood surged up into his throat once more.

But this time, Zhu Yuanzhang did not fall.

He forced the mouthful of blood back down; the metallic, sweet taste filled his entire mouth.

His eyes no longer held sadness and despair.

It's the kind of overwhelming rage that comes from being stabbed in the back by the person you trust most!

He clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug deep into his palms, drawing blood.

"Okay...okay..."

"We've given you face, but you're shameless!"

"We treated you like human beings, but you've turned yourselves into...parasites!"

At this moment, everyone felt that familiar, terrifying killing intent that made the entire Hongwu Dynasty tremble!

The Hongwu Emperor has returned!