The Ming Dynasty's Destiny: Hongwu's Legacy

As a descendant of Zhu Sheng, I transmigrated into the first year of the Chongzhen era. Before me lay famine-stricken northern Shaanxi. Behind me stood an empire on the verge of collapse. Zhu Qiming had bound the Kindling System and gained access to a technological tree far ahead of its time. But the System gave a chilling warning: every exchange would bring a backlash. I rescued Lu Xiangsheng, and a plague of rats broke out in Xuanfu. I built a steam engine, and the craftsmen were blown to pieces. I crushed Gao Yingxiang, and northern Shaanxi suffered a three-year drought. I fed sweet potatoes to the starving, armed my new army with flintlocks, and took control of the seas with ironclad ships. The Donglin Party accused me of bringing disaster to the nation with sorcery. The Chongzhen Emperor suspected that my achievements threatened his throne. Huang Taiji regarded me as his greatest adversary. I rose from an adviser to a county magistrate, to chief minister of the Southern Ming, and finally to the new Ming's Imperial Preceptor. I championed constitutional monarchy, ignited the Industrial Revolution, and planted the dragon flag of my fleet across all three oceans. Yet the real challenge had only just begun. As I crossed the Pacific in airships, connected the world with telegraphs, and powered the empire with internal combustion engines... The System finally revealed the ultimate truth: this was all a test conducted by a higher civilization. And the price might be the survival of all Chinese civilization. From saving the Ming to leading humanity toward the stars, this is the epic of one man's struggle, and the legend of a civilization kindling a spark in the darkness. I, Zhu Qiming, have but one goal in this life: May all lands beneath the sun and moon forever be Chinese soil, and may the flame of civilization illuminate the universe.