In the third year of Chongzhen, modern engineer Zhu Youjian unexpectedly transmigrates into the Ming emperor, facing a dynasty beset by internal and external crises and riddled with problems. The treasury is empty, peasant uprisings flare up everywhere, the Later Jin watches like a tiger, and the Donglin and eunuch factions endlessly feud at court. Drawing on his modern knowledge, Zhu Youjian launches a sweeping series of reforms: he introduces a new tax system to replenish the treasury, trains a new army to strengthen imperial control, divides the peasant rebels, and cracks down on the Donglin faction's cliques and corruption. In foreign affairs, he brings the Mongols under his control, crushes the Jurchen, and drives out Western colonizers. Yet every reform faces obstruction and sabotage from conservative forces, and he must find a balance between modern ideals of equality and the ancient social hierarchy. On this difficult road to saving the empire, his political marriage to Empress Zhou gradually blossoms into sincere love, and together they confront the crises within and beyond the realm. In the end, Zhu Youjian leads the Ming back from the brink of collapse to prosperity and establishes an entirely new golden age.
