The Great Ming Under the Chongzhen Emperor: Starting at Coal Hill

To be honest, the final line, "ten thousand scholars, ten thousand soldiers," is giving too much credit to the scholars of the late Ming Dynasty. They were truly ten thousand scholars, ten thousand parasites. They were all seeds of corrupt officials. If all the scholars had disappeared by the end of the Ming Dynasty, the dynasty could have lasted at least another 100 years.

It feels like that familiar swordsman is back. The opening is similar to the PUBG-style battle royale of *Mixed Three Kingdoms* and *Chu Han*. Looking forward to the sequel. Also, one more thing, you should have come back to writing historical fiction a long time ago. You always complain that war novels are like dancing in shackles; why don't you just move on?

I found some pictures of armored weapons. The first one is from the early Ming Dynasty. The second one is from the mid-Ming Dynasty. The third picture is from the late Ming Dynasty. The fourth painting is a restored and redrawn version of the Emperor's inspection tour. The 5th and 6th were the elite troops of the Nine Garrisons during the late Ming Dynasty.

Why did the Ming Dynasty collapse at the end of its reign? Because no one was paying taxes, and the empire had been annexed by the gentry. Even if you overthrow the dynasty and make them pay taxes, it will still perish.

The author applies modern ideas to the story of the late Ming Dynasty, completely lacking the gravitas of historical writing. The author completely ignores the differences in status among rulers, ministers, commoners, slaves, military generals, princes, and other roles.

When Emperor Chongzhen was still alive, he sent five people to the capital to defend the emperor: Wu Sangui, Gao Di, Liu Zeqing, Gao Jie, and Tang Tong. Wu Sangui and Gao Di obediently accepted the imperial decree and entered the pass. However, after entering the pass, they crawled slower than tortoises.

Before Chongzhen went to Coal Hill, his wife and daughters were all dead. If he had escaped from Coal Hill, what would his two sons have thought (would they have to guard against patricide?), And what would the gentry have thought? This gives an idea of ​​his character and ability to attract people even after arriving in Nanjing. He's basically sentenced to death in the very first chapter.

I feel this book is generally good, but it doesn't consider one issue: After Emperor Chongzhen's 17 years of hard work, which resulted in the deaths of countless loyal officials, who would still dare to believe his promises?

The beginning was quite good, but after the victory in Xuzhou, when dealing with issues in Yangzhou, the government focused solely on belittling eunuchs and elevating merchants and civil officials. This was bad enough, but what they failed to clearly state was their true stance towards the merchant and civil official system.

This is the Ming Dynasty novel that suits my taste the best. It doesn't falter in either military or domestic affairs, and it doesn't detract from the novel's entertainment value. It couldn't be better.