Zhu Zexiong, associate professor of the Department of Modern History, accidentally traveled to the 29th year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty during a seminar on cultural relics in the East Palace of the Ming Dynasty, and became the newly enthroned prince Zhu Changluo (later, due to his change of mood and strategic considerations, he asked Emperor Wanli to change his name to Zhu Zexiong). At that time, the Ming Dynasty still maintained the afterglow of the "Wanli Zhongxing" on the surface, but in fact it was already full of crises: in the court, the chief minister of the cabinet Shen always formed a party for personal gain, and the party dispute between the "Donglin Party" and the "Qi Chu Zhe Party" intensified; in the harem, Concubine Zheng relied on the favor of Emperor Wanli to constantly plan "easy storage" and secretly suppressed the prince's followers; locally, the "one whip method" left over from Zhang Juzheng's reforms Disadvantages gradually became apparent, land annexation was serious, refugees surged, the Jurchen tribe in Liaodong rose, and border troubles began to emerge.
Zhu Zexiong, who had no court background and was known as the "Cowardly Prince", relied on modern historical knowledge and management thinking to avoid the open and secret attacks of Concubine Zheng and the party forces, while quietly innovating without violating the logic of the times: He reorganized the Eastern Palace staff with modern educational concepts, alleviated people's livelihood difficulties with improved agricultural tools and water transportation plans, optimized the tax system with economic thinking, and strengthened the combat effectiveness of the frontier troops with military knowledge. From the initial struggle to survive, step by step, to gradually gaining the trust of Emperor Wanli and winning the support of courtiers, Zhu Zexiong not only reversed the fate of the "short-lived prince", but also stabilized the court in the chaos of the late Wanli period, prolonging the life of the Ming Dynasty for decades, and finally created the "Zexiong Zhongxing" rule, becoming a legendary and wise monarch in the history of the Ming Dynasty.
