After his soul enters the body of Zhu Cilang, the richest heir in the late Ming dynasty, he finds the empire on the brink of collapse. Natural disasters and human calamities compound one another, with powerful enemies beyond the borders and rebellion within. The Ming army suffers defeat after defeat, the capital is nearly a frontier outpost, and all of China seems doomed to fall. Will the horrors of the Ten Days of Yangzhou, the Jiading Massacres, and the Eighty-One Days of Jiangyin happen again? The thought is terrifying.
But now that he is here, he must fight back. He leads troops at Juyong Pass to block Li Zicheng’s army. After the court moves south, he appoints worthy ministers, gathers talented men, quells internal rebellion, and resists the Manchu invasion. He will govern the realm with learning and secure it with force, turning back the tide before it overwhelms them and shoring up the empire as it teeters on the brink.
Going against the will of heaven and changing one's fate to one's own death?