After college student Zhu Youjian was hit by a car and killed, he transmigrated into the last emperor of the Ming dynasty: Chongzhen.
The good news: he was bound to a System.
The bad news: it was a [Tyrant System].
Ultimate mission: earn one million Tyrant Points to transmigrate back to modern times and inherit a fortune worth tens of billions.
Zhu Youjian looked at the mission, then at the historical timeline that gave him just three years before he was due to hang himself, and fell silent for three seconds.
Then he made a decision that went against his ancestors' teachings
He was going to slack off!
Diligent rule? Forget it. Court would meet once every three days, and he wouldn't even glance at the memorials piled up in three side halls.
Frugality? What a joke. Every meal would have 256 dishes, his imperial robes would be embroidered with 99 golden dragons, and he would build a white-jade Stargazing Terrace.
Listening to remonstrance? He'd demote every loyal minister and promote every corrupt one. Whoever buttered him up best would get a promotion.
Selecting consorts? Start with 3,000. Add more if that wasn't enough.
Tyrant Points poured in, and Zhu Youjian happily waited to earn a million and go home a billionaire.
But gradually, he realized something was off.
He squandered manpower and resources building the Stargazing Terrace, but somehow revitalized Beijing's construction-materials industry, prompting a group of merchants to form a guild on their own.
Zhang Pu, the “corrupt minister” he'd promoted, desperately tried to please him by making money hand over fist. Instead, he accidentally uncovered a string of corruption scandals, and the court grew cleaner than before.
Canceling morning court gave his ministers more time to handle actual affairs, and their efficiency went up instead of down.
His grand consort selection for 3,000 women caused a huge commotion, but among the beauties sent from across the realm were Qing spies, whom he conveniently rounded up in one fell swoop.
The assembled officials wept tears of gratitude. “His Majesty is wise! His Majesty is truly enlightened! He is playing an extraordinary game of strategy!”
Zhu Youjian: “...No, I really just want to be a tyrant!”
Super pretty, but too little