Chen Mo, a young man from the modern era, wakes up as the newly enthroned Chongzhen Emperor.
This is the Ming dynasty as it stands: Wei Zhongxian holds sway over the court, the Donglin faction is locked in endless infighting, the Later Jin are threatening the northeastern frontier, and the northwest is parched for a thousand miles.
But Chen Mo is not the original Zhu Youjian.
On the first night after ascending the throne, he quietly keeps Wei Zhongxian in check. At the court session the next day, he publicly demands to know where the Liaodong army's pay has gone. Soon, the Jinyiwei's covert network begins to infiltrate the court. With one hand, he consolidates imperial power, surveys the land, and overhauls taxation. With the other, he promotes Sun Chuanting, Lu Xiangsheng, Cao Bianjiao, and Qin Liangyu despite their low rank. He stabilizes the Liaodong frontier, suppresses the rebel bands at home, and proceeds one careful step at a time.
Huang Taiji thinks he can still march around the defenses and enter the pass, as he did in history. What awaits him is the cavalry of Ningyuan and Jinzhou charging head-on. Li Zicheng thinks he can still sweep across the realm, as he did in history. What awaits him is the unbreakable wall of the Tianxiong Army. Those who think Chongzhen is still the same suspicious, irritable ruler have all miscalculated.
"I know how history ends," Zhu Youjian says, gazing at the morning sun beyond the Fengtian Hall. "But now that I'm here, that ending has to change."
Starting in 1627, he forcibly steers the Ming dynasty onto the road to revival.
