After transmigrating into Zhu Biao, Crown Prince of the Hongwu era, I had six years left before the early death recorded in the history books.
Zhu Yuanzhang trusted him without reservation, and for twenty-one years, everyone at court had praised the crown prince as "kind and benevolent."
But what he saw was this: paper money teetering on the brink of losing all value, actual land-tax revenue falling a full twenty percent short of the figures on the books, and an entire dynasty held together by the imposing authority of a fifty-nine-year-old man.
He would not seize power, engage in factional infighting, or stage a palace coup.
He would do just one thing: under Zhu Yuanzhang's blade, build the Ming a system that could "run on its own."
Starting with a three-month pilot program in Jiangpu County, he would bring the cycle of "when the man dies, the policies die with him" to an end.
"Imperial Father, your son dares to say this: a blade can conquer the realm, but only a framework can sustain it."
Urgent update Cui Geng...