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

"Let's get back to the Hu Weiyong case."

Zhu Dijun's voice pulled everyone's thoughts from the long river of history spanning thousands of years back to that shocking case in the early Ming Dynasty.

"Historical records say that the Hu Weiyong case involved more than 30,000 people and was a political purge carried out by Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang in order to abolish the prime minister system and strengthen imperial power."

"This statement is only half true."

"Zhu Yuanzhang did want to abolish the power of the prime minister, but Hu Weiyong was far from worth him stirring up such a big storm, even to the point of almost slaughtering the entire court."

"Because he's not just dealing with Hu Weiyong!"

Above the sky, a complex web of relationships between characters is clearly presented.

The center is none other than Hu Weiyong.

But the lines extending from him pointed in all directions.

The thickest line pointed directly to the southeast coast, ending with the two characters: "Wokou" (Japanese pirates)!

"Hu Weiyong, as prime minister, was accused of abusing his power and forming cliques in the thirteenth year of the Hongwu reign: monopolizing power and engaging in factionalism."

To pervert the law and frame the virtuous: to break the law and discipline and falsely accuse loyal and good people.

Corrupting Politics: Harming the Government

plotting rebellion

Later, it was added that they were colluding with Japanese pirates and with the Mongol Yuan dynasty.

Zhu Dijun's words caused emperors and generals from all time and space to frown.

Colluding with foreign enemies is a capital offense that would result in the extermination of nine generations of one's family in any dynasty!

"But here's the problem."

Zhu Dijun raised a key question,

Why would Hu Weiyong collude with Japanese pirates? What was his motive? Could those pirates, who couldn't even get onto the coastline, help him plot a rebellion?

"Logically, this simply doesn't make sense!"

"unless……"

Zhu Dijun's tone suddenly rose.

"These Japanese pirates are no ordinary pirates!"

Above the sky, the line pointing to the Japanese pirates extends once more!

It crossed the sea, did not stop in Japan, but continued westward, traversing a long stretch of ocean, and finally pointed to the Persian Gulf!

At the end of that line, two large, blood-red characters reappeared!

【Khazar】!

"The truth is, the core leadership of the so-called Wokou (Japanese pirates) had long been infiltrated and controlled by the Khazars' forces since the end of the Yuan Dynasty!"

"They are no longer simple raiders, but a 'naval legion' used by the Khazars to harass and sabotage the southeastern coast of China!"

"They provided the Japanese pirates with funds, blueprints for more advanced firearms, and even sent military advisors to train them into a fearless naval force!"

"And Hu Weiyong was the highest-ranking agent planted by the Khazar forces in the Central Plains court!"

"His collusion with the Japanese pirates was essentially a joint land and sea operation launched by the Khazar forces to strangle the Ming Dynasty!"

"Their plan was for Hu Weiyong to create chaos within the court, paralyzing the central government. Simultaneously, Japanese pirates would launch a large-scale landing along the southeastern coast, creating unrest and shaking the very foundations of the Ming Dynasty!"

"Unfortunately, he was executed in the thirteenth year of the Hongwu reign, but his successors, or rather the overseas Khazars, did not stop their original plans."

"And the death of Zhu Xiong Ying, the eldest grandson of Emperor Taizu, was the...master switch of this conspiracy!"

"They used a rare poison from the Western Regions, through an inside agent planted in the palace by Hu Weiyong, to poison the eight-year-old imperial grandson!"

They believed that the grief of losing his grandson would throw Zhu Yuanzhang into disarray, thus creating the perfect opportunity for their plans!

"However, they miscalculated one thing."

Zhu Dijun's voice was filled with admiration.

"They miscalculated just how resilient and terrifying the will of a founding emperor who fought his way through mountains of corpses and seas of blood truly was!"

"And now, family members, we are seeing the subsequent conspiracy theories, such as Zhu Xiong Ying dying of smallpox, and some people believing that he was killed by the Crown Princess Lü."

"But I personally tend to believe that it was the Lü clan who assisted in opening the gates of the Eastern Palace, with the Khazars and civil officials outside involved in orchestrating Zhu Xiong Ying's death!"

In the eleventh year of the Hongwu reign, in Yingtian Prefecture.

Zhu Yuanzhang stared intently at the relationship diagram on the sky.

Hu Weiyong... Japanese pirates... Khazars!

Advancing by both land and sea, shaking the very foundations of the nation!

That's it!

That's it!

At this moment, all the clues came together!

He got it!

Why would Hu Weiyong, a civil official, get involved in matters of national importance?

Why have Japanese pirates along the coast become increasingly rampant in recent years, even being better equipped than some local garrisons?

It turns out they were colluding with outsiders, imitating the old ways of the Northern Song Dynasty.

A mouthful of blood, sweet and metallic, surged up his throat, but he swallowed it back down!

His face was devoid of its raging fury, replaced by a deathly stillness like that of an iceberg.

That was a murderous intent far more terrifying than any rage!

"Well... well, Khazars... well, Hu Weiyong..."

Zhu Yuanzhang slowly closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, his eyes were clear and cold.

He addressed Mao Xiang, emphasizing each word:

"Convey our decree."

"Order all coastal garrisons to enter maximum combat readiness!"

"Tell them, these aren't Japanese pirates, they're traitors coming to take the life of our Great Ming Dynasty!"

"Go all out and fight! After you're done, search eastward along the ships! We need to find out where their stronghold is! Who their backers are!"

"Also, let's get Mu Ying from Yunnan on our toes!"

"The celestial canopy says the Khazars' stronghold is in Persia, so they'll definitely pass through Yunnan! Keep a close watch on all the caravans coming from the Western Regions! Investigate them thoroughly, one by one!"

At this moment, a vast and inescapable net, spanning land and sea, was cast by the supreme ruler of the Ming Empire!

"And you, Hu Weiyong, throw me into the imperial prison and keep me under strict guard."

"Your Majesty, I am innocent! I am innocent!"

The early Ming Dynasty was not the late Ming Dynasty. These founding generals deeply resented the traitors to the country. They had all suffered the loss of their families and lives at the hands of the Mongols before they were able to successfully rebel.

……

Modern live streaming room.

"Holy crap! This game is way too big!"

"So, behind the Hu Weiyong case lies such a terrifying international conspiracy?"

"Zhu Yuan... Emperor Hongwu had it so tough. He had treacherous officials within his court and powerful enemies without. In the future, even his grandson and wife might be murdered..."

"Now I finally understand why he went on such a killing spree. I would have done the same! This isn't just a power struggle anymore; it's a life-or-death war!"

As Zhu Dijun looked at the sentiments on the screen, he was also deeply moved.

This is the real Ming Dynasty, the real Hongwu Emperor, that he wanted the world to see!

He was not just a tyrant, he was a lonely guardian!

"In the Hu Weiyong case, Zhu Yuanzhang killed a traitor, a spy, and one of the first representatives of the Khazar forces in the Ming Dynasty court!"

"He eradicated this cancer with swift and decisive action! But this also made the Khazars organization more covert and cunning!"

"They understood that they had no chance of winning if they confronted Zhu Yuanzhang head-on."

"So they resorted to an even more insidious tactic—using someone else to do their dirty work!"

Zhu Dijun's gaze became incredibly complex and regretful.

"And the second knife they chose was Zhu Yuanzhang himself."

"They want to use Zhu Yuanzhang to kill the sharpest sword of the Ming Dynasty!"

"General, Duke of Liang, Lan Yu!"

These words caused a huge uproar in the live broadcast room and across countless ancient times!

The Lan Yu case was about Zhu Yuanzhang killing meritorious officials, wasn't it?

Could there be more to the story?