In the fourteenth year of Chongzhen, Li Zicheng captured Luoyang, the capital of Henan. Prince Fu, Zhu Changxun, fled with his family, only to meet an untimely end. His son, Zhu Yousong, went from a down-and-out prince to the legendary Toad Emperor. In just two or three short years, Zhu Yousong seemed to have lived through centuries of upheaval. A chaotic age brought despair to ordinary people, yet it was precisely that chaos that gave the hopeless a chance to kindle their longing for a brighter future.
Go go go!
The beginning is well written.