When the Yongle Emperor awakens in the body of the Jiajing Emperor, he discovers that his empire has fallen into ruin.
The Yan faction is corrupt, Japanese pirates run rampant, border defenses are crumbling, and the people are suffering. This is the darkest era of the Great Ming.
Reborn Zhu Di wields the authority of the Jiajing Emperor with the soul of Yongle.
He dismisses Yan Song, expels the alchemists, and restores order at court;
he appoints Zhang Juzheng and trains the Qi Family Army to sweep through the southeast;
then he leads his troops into battle himself, restoring the military prestige of the Great Ming at the Battle of Yehuling.
This is a bloody revival spanning a century.
Witness how the soul of Yongle sweeps away the decadence of Jiajing,
and builds a new age of prosperity at the end of the dynasty, a “New Yongle” era of his own.
