I Am Taichang: Suppressing the Donglin Party from the Start

He transmigrated as Zhu Changluo, the short-lived emperor of the Ming Dynasty. The moment he opened his eyes, he faced the crisis of Wanli's death and a turbulent court.

Consort Zheng wanted to use the edict of succession to rule from behind the curtain. The Donglin faction sought to seize power by controlling the new emperor. The eunuchs of the Directorate of Ceremonial secretly colluded, while the Manchu forces in Liaodong watched like tigers ready to pounce. Every move in this game was deadly.

Zhu Changluo sneered. In this life, he would take no red pills, indulge in no sensual pleasures, and become nobody's puppet.

On his first day on the throne, he slapped the Directorate of Ceremonial and threw the overbearing Donglin leader Yang Lian into the imperial prison. Memorials begging for mercy piled up on his desk like snowflakes. He asked only one question: “When did this Ming Dynasty become a realm where civil officials call the shots?”

He purged the inner court, took control of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and kept the political factions in check. Liaodong had to be stabilized, factional strife suppressed. He would personally steer this mighty empire back from the brink of collapse.

In the first year of Taichang, the new emperor took the throne. The officials throughout the court finally realized that when this crown prince, who had endured in silence for twenty years, bared his fangs, he was truly ruthless.

“I am Taichang. I decide what happens to this realm.”