A modern finance hotshot transmigrates into Emperor Guangxu, only to find the bankrupt Qing Empire waiting from the start. The imperial treasury holds just 300,000 taels. The Beiyang Fleet is waiting for its pay, the Empress Dowager is waiting for funds to renovate her palace, and the Japanese are waiting to beat him up.
Guangxu: So now I'm broke, powerless, and buried under a mountain of national debt?
Stay calm. First, let's do some due diligence.
Straightforward synopsis:
Xu Yuanzhou, a VP in the investment banking division of a top securities firm, dies suddenly after working all night.
He wakes up as Emperor Guangxu, one year before the First Sino-Japanese War.
The good news: He's the emperor.
The bad news: The imperial treasury holds just 300,000 taels.
Worse news: Li Hongzhang hands him a bill. The Beiyang Fleet is three months behind on payroll.
Worst of all: Empress Dowager Cixi sweeps aside the curtain, smiling sweetly. “Your Majesty, the Longevity Festival is coming up. It's time to approve the funds for the palace renovation, isn't it?”
Xu Yuanzhou looks at the ledger in his hands, then at the famous figures before him, and falls silent for three seconds.
Then he looks up and flashes a textbook investment-banker's smile.
“Gentlemen, let's call a board meeting.”
From-the-heart synopsis:
I'm Emperor Guangxu, nineteen years old, and the CEO of the Great Qing.
On my first day in office, Finance tells me there's only 300,000 taels left in the company account, we're three months behind on payroll, our biggest client, Japan, is gearing up for a price war, and our second-largest shareholder, the Empress Dowager, wants me to pay to redecorate her office.
I look at the board roster: Li Hongzhang, Weng Tonghe, Zhang Zhidong...
Every one of them knows how to spend money.
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