Chongzhen: I Am the Ruler of a Golden Age

Who are the enemies? Who are the friends? Civil officials won't hang themselves with you, nor will they pay you any money. It's just a matter of changing emperors and getting a haircut. What difference does it make who you kneel to? In the end, if they don't surrender or serve, they're considered truly loyal. These people are unreliable.

With Beizhili (Hebei) as the base, the focus should shift to the broader north, implementing a grand northern strategy to revitalize several northern provinces. Only when the north is economically and food-sufficient and independent of the south will future struggles in the south be less difficult.

I don't understand why everyone is so hostile towards Yuan Chonghuan. In 1629, Yuan Chonghuan submitted a memorial to the throne, boasting that he would pacify Liaodong within five years and offering to lead an army under his command, promising to commit suicide if he failed. In May 1629, Yuan Chonghuan beheaded Mao Wenlong, which is the most controversial event.

Some people say that civil officials ruined the Ming Dynasty, but I think the biggest scourge of the Ming Dynasty was the four emperors: Jiajing, Wanli, Tianqi, and Chongzhen. Even during the Wanli Restoration, it was under Zhang Juzheng's rule, who used treacherous officials and eunuchs to harm the people.

I came here to read a serious account of the late Ming Dynasty, not to see an invincible hair-crushing gun (rifled gun effect). Normally, the Ming Dynasty, with its existing technology, could easily crush a few wild boar people.

By the late Ming Dynasty, especially during the Chongzhen era, the very foundations of the Ming Dynasty were rotten. To save the Han Chinese empire, the only solution was to tear down the house and rebuild; piecemeal reforms were impossible. You weren't dealing with the civil and military officials; you were dealing with the entire empire's vested interests. Even as emperor, you had to play by the rules; you couldn't just flip the table.

To be honest, I've basically ordered them all. Just one thing: dreaming of reform without bloodshed is a pipe dream! The intellectual mentality is very strong.

That's ridiculous. The Ming Dynasty couldn't have stopped the Manchus during their first invasion. If they were ineffective in open field battles, they would be ineffective everywhere. A three-stage volley—that's a three-stage volley where firing a gun would cause a suicide attack! Without sufficient weaponry, going out into the world is suicide. Cavalry can cut off your supply lines, slow you down, and harass you at night.

During the Ming Dynasty, officials and merchants were intertwined, and the imperial court had lost control over capital. In Ming Dynasty novels, the first thing that comes to mind when people think of unscrupulous merchants is the Eight Great Shanxi Merchants.

I just want to ask one thing: what makes you successful? What makes you so obedient to your subordinates? What use are a few absolutely obedient subordinates? Do you really think you can get things done just like that? Can you guarantee that your subordinates will do everything exactly as you intend, without any compromise or misinterpretation?