Great Ming: I Take Over a Prince's Body and Recruit the Rebel Army from the Start

In the third month of the seventeenth year of Chongzhen's reign, Li Zicheng was on the verge of breaching the capital, and the Ming dynasty's rule was entering its final countdown. Zhu Chengde transmigrated into the body of the least-favored son of the Chongzhen Emperor.

What? The Ming dynasty is about to fall? That won't do. Surely the Ming dynasty still has soldiers capable of defending against the Later Jin beyond Shanhai Pass?

Who says there are no soldiers to use? Aren't Li Zicheng's rebel forces already an army, ready to hand? Why not recruit them?

Where will the money to recruit them come from? Aren't the rich men and corrupt officials who stayed in the capital easy pickings? Zhu Chengde can see into their hearts, and he has no qualms about squeezing the corrupt officials dry:

"Lord Li, you embezzled 200,000 taels in military pay in the fifth year of Chongzhen's reign. Don't you think you should hand it over?"

"Lord Zhang, you accepted 100,000 taels from a wealthy family in the second year of Tianqi's reign. You shouldn't have taken that money either, should you?"

"Lord Hu, you really went all out. You still have plenty of that 500,000 taels, don't you? What? You don't want to go to the front? Then hand over all your silver. You refuse to serve and refuse to pay up. You're making things very difficult for me!"

This novel and its characters are entirely fictional. Any resemblance to actual people or events is purely coincidental. Do not imitate.