Half a Game of Reform, Half a Lifetime of Sorrow

After Zhang Zhe becomes Zhang Juzheng, the worst pain is not the shadow guards hunting him or the reforms being obstructed. It is his son, Zhang Jingshu, protecting him by clutching a fake status panel and taking his own life in prison; his wife never forgiving him for the “mourning leave” controversy, not even on her deathbed; and even Wanli, whom he raised and protected, hiding an imperial decree ordering his execution.

He vows to “preserve the new policies for ten years,” hoping to put food on the people's tables, yet forgets to spend more time with his son. He fights with everything he has to prolong the Ming Dynasty's life, only to realize at his sickbed that those dearest to him have long since drifted away.

When the aging Wanli finds A Sequel to the Reforms and weeps, and the Qi family army repels the enemy with cannons Zhang Zhe built, what Zhang Zhe leaves behind in history is not merely the achievements of a chief minister, but also the regret of a man who “took the world as his responsibility.”