In the twenty-fifth year of Hongwu, Crown Prince Yiwen Zhu Biao died, and Zhu Xiongying, the eldest grandson of the emperor, had died young. The Ming throne stood vacant, and undercurrents swirled through Jinling.
Zhu Heng, a modern graduate student in history, transmigrates into the body of Zhu Yunton, Zhu Biao's second legitimate son and the Prince of Wu, whom Zhu Yuanzhang deliberately ignored. He is the tragic scion who was destined to be stripped of his title after the Jingnan Campaign, confined in Fengyang, and ultimately die a sudden death.
At this time, the fallout from the Lan Yu case has yet to settle, and the Huai-Xi nobility are all on edge. The gentle and benevolent Jianwen has already been named Crown Prince, while Qi Tai and Huang Zicheng are plotting in secret. Prince of Yan Zhu Di sits in Beiping, watching like a tiger poised to pounce, while his palace secretly builds up its private army. The vassal princes hold sway across the land, each commanding their own forces, and have become a grave threat to the Ming.
As for Zhu Yuntong, he has a legitimate claim to the throne but no troops or power. All he has are a handful of elderly and frail guards, with no support at court or in the imperial harem. It seems a hopeless situation.
Fortunately, he carries the historical knowledge of his past life, and knows the calamities that will befall the Ming over the next century: the royal family's fratricidal strife in the Jingnan Campaign, the strain on grain transport after the capital moves to Beijing, the national humiliation at Tumu Fortress, the corruption of the court amid the Donglin factional struggle, and the devastation of the land when the Qing enter the passes...
He will save the dynasty from collapse, protect the legitimate line, and restore the Ming!
He wins the nobility's loyalty by rallying Lan Yu's former followers, fills the treasury with profits from salt and iron, and reforms the capital's army with new weapons. Rejecting the foolish policy of abolishing the vassal states, he instead uses the clever strategy of extending imperial favor to weaken their military power, while taking on the Prince of Yan's domain in Beiping head-on. He personally travels to the frontier, wins over Mu Ying's former followers, strikes hard at the Northern Yuan, and expands the borders. He purges corrupt officials and lightens taxes and labor duties, allowing Hongwu's good governance to continue and securing the Ming realm.
Facing Zhu Yuanzhang's suspicion and tests, he proves his loyalty through sincerity and filial devotion, and earns the respect of others with his talent and strategy. At last, the Taizu entrusts him with the future, names him Crown Prince, and ensures the legitimate Ming line continues.
AI text, Queen Ma and Zhu Xiongying died in the same year, Queen Ma appears in Chapter 25
Zhu Yuanzhang was called Taizu before he died. How could he be called like that? He was called by his posthumous title while he was still alive?