We rose from the wilderness and grew strong in the northwest.
Our horses swept across the Tianshan Mountains; we conquered Tibet, reclaimed the Western Regions, and raised the Han banners once more.
We marched east to crush the bandits, defeat the Ming army, and fight the Eight Banners, forging the realm anew.
Confucian scholars denounced me for endless warfare, the bandits feared I would leave them no way out, and the Manchus saw me as their mortal enemy.
In the Forbidden City, Chongzhen demanded hoarsely, “Why do the hearts of all the people in the realm turn toward the northwest?”
I gazed east and laughed. “Your Majesty entrusted your realm and its people to the wrong hands. I, the Emperor, have claimed them.”
