After broadcasting the ancient times live, I handed the system over to the state.

The ancient people under the sky could never get enough of looking at it, and each of them wanted Zhu Qinggu to go and see the sections that interested them.

They also saw a string of numbers pasted on the spine of the book.

(Huaxia Zhu Qinggu: This string of numbers is the book's serial number, used to identify the book. This allows the book's information to be recorded in the database for easy borrowing and management.)

Zhu Qinggu pointed to the people waiting in line at the book lending area.

They each held one to three books, placed them on a machine, and received a thin card that read 'library card'. The card beeped softly, and they could leave.

It's incredibly convenient!

Books were expensive at that time, and borrowing them was not an easy thing. If only they could have it as easy as they do in later times.

Zhu Qinggu passed by the history book, but instead of taking anything, he picked up a periodical to read.

This made many ancient people living under the sky regret their actions.

Sigh! Learning from history is so good! Why doesn't Miss Zhu ever look at history?

They couldn't understand these obscure things and the technical terms, and Zhu Qinggu had already started to quietly read the journal.

All they can offer now is companionship.

The number of comments on the screen also decreased. Some people were still doing their work, but they would occasionally glance at the screen while doing their work.

More than an hour passed in a flash.

After finishing reading the periodicals, Zhu Qinggu finally picked up a book called "Those Things About the Ming Dynasty," which gave everyone from the emperors to the common people of the Ming Dynasty a jolt.

Just seeing the table of contents was enough to make their hearts race.

The short videos about Chen Youliang and Poyang Lake that Zhu Qinggu had seen before were all shown, but the later ones about 'Hu Weiyong,' 'corruption,' 'empty seal case,' 'Guo Huan,' and 'Lan Yu'... were all shown.

Behind each and every one of these words lies bloodshed and power struggles.

However, the screen did not overlook it; the comments on the screen only mentioned it briefly, something Zhu Yuanzhang hadn't paid much attention to before.

However, given the sensitivity and suspicion of a ruler, Zhu Yuanzhang immediately sensed the impending storm.

If these things weren't important, why would there be several chapters in the table of contents of over three hundred chapters specifically about these few people?

Anything that threatened the rule of the Zhu family would make Zhu Yuanzhang ruthless, and he would harbor murderous intentions.

Empress Ma then extended her hand, "Chongba..."

This finally pulled Zhu Yuanzhang out of that pervasive murderous intent.

"It's alright, sister. Let's see what's going on." Although Zhu Yuanzhang had reduced his killing intent to some extent, it was not gone. He stared intently at the sky.

Zhu Qinggu started reading from the first page.

It is also the early history of Lao Zhu's rise to power, written in a tone that is not so heavy or serious, but rather humorous and lighthearted.

One of his mottoes, "What's yours is mine, and what's mine is still mine," immediately reveals Old Zhu's domineering nature.

Under the awning, Old Zhu's face darkened instantly. "Who is this 'Dang Nian Ming Yue'? If we find out who he is, we'll definitely arrest him and give him a good beating! Do you think Old Zhu is such an unreasonable person?"

Empress Ma and Zhu Biao, who were standing nearby, couldn't stop laughing. "You'll have to find him first."

The system captured Zhu Yuanzhang's reaction at that moment and informed Zhu Qinggu.

Zhu Qinggu almost couldn't suppress his smile, thinking to himself, "Isn't that just the kind of person you, Old Zhu, are?"

The other ancient people under the sky were also watching, just like her, and they saw that the Yuan Dynasty's rule was extremely corrupt and the people were suffering.

Zhu Qinggu read through the book bit by bit, and had already reached the parts about Chen Youliang and Poyang Lake. The book contained more details than the short video, allowing more people to better understand this beggar emperor who rose from poverty and was said to have rightfully gained power.

The book vividly and nakedly exposes the intertwined interests and clashes between interest groups to everyone under the sky.

And then there's Hu Weiyong, the important minister who initially assisted Zhu Yuanzhang in ascending to the throne. Why did he gradually change into a different person?

When Lao Zhu first saw it, it seemed somewhat expected, and he wasn't overly shocked.

The fact that Zhu Yuanzhang abolished the position of prime minister, which had existed for over a thousand years, surprised even emperors before the Ming Dynasty.

A dynasty has many affairs to attend to, and the prime minister, as a key figure in helping the emperor handle these affairs, is a necessary element that emerged during the development of the system.

The book also describes how the prime minister incurred the emperor's displeasure, not only by taking away some of the emperor's power, but also by interfering with the emperor's affairs.

This point resonated deeply with the emperor beneath the heavens.

But it really wouldn't work without a prime minister; it's exhausting, and they're not superhuman like Zhu Yuanzhang.

Seeing that Zhu Yuanzhang had to read an average of two hundred documents and handle four hundred matters every day, I felt a headache coming on.

Li Shimin felt he had been very diligent, but he was still no match for Zhu Yuanzhang. Zhu Yuanzhang was truly a ruthless man!

Zhao Zhen couldn't even imagine how he could possibly have the mind to visit the concubines in the harem when he was dealing with all these matters all day.

Zhao Kuangyin was terrified just looking at it; he preferred to go to war.

Ying Zheng also gasped, "This Hongwu Emperor... is a capable man!"

Li Longji pondered, "With such abundant energy... why don't I try begging for food myself?"

"Although it's a bit absurd, this book is quite well written." Zhu Yuanzhang found that it was quite in line with his own thoughts. He just felt that the prime minister was not a good person, because he wanted to control everything.

This "Dangnian Mingyue" is a talented person, so let's reduce the 100 strokes of the cane to 30.

However, later it says that the emperor and the prime minister are like two ends of a rope, a system of checks and balances that has been developed over thousands of years.

Zhu Yuanzhang felt that he should still be given a hundred strokes of the cane, no, a hundred and twenty strokes!

Later, I also saw the Lan Yu case. I've finished reading all four major cases of the early Ming Dynasty. The ancients felt that Zhu Yuanzhang was not only a beggar emperor, but also very bloodthirsty.

No wonder later generations said that traveling back to the Hongwu era to become an official was the most hellish and agonizing experience.

The emperor, on the other hand, thinks from the emperor's perspective. Zhu Yuanzhang's actions were somewhat excessive, but they were also for the purpose of maintaining his rule, so they were not too surprising.

If it were them, they would have killed quite a few people too.

Except for the emperor.

Qin Shi Huang and Cao Cao praised Zhu Yuanzhang's actions.

……

Zhu Qinggu found it more and more interesting as she read on. The system reminded her that it was already 12:30, and she was startled to realize that it was noon when she looked up from the book. She was very hungry.

She closed the book and put it back in its original place. Fewer people borrowed and read the book, but not by much.

Many people are also reading the book with great eagerness.

Only the ancients under the sky realized how quickly time had passed; it was already noon!

(Ming Dynasty, Zhu Biao: I wonder if Miss Zhu will be able to look at that book again later?)