Late Ming: From Jinzhou Garrison Commander to Lord of Liaodong

After transmigrating to the late Ming Dynasty, Zhang Qi became the son of a thousand-household commander stationed in Lüshun under the Jinzhou Guard. From the start, the Battle of Sarhu had just ended, marking the beginning of the Ming Dynasty’s collapse. His father, Zhang Zhenshan, and more than a thousand elite soldiers from their commandery had died on the battlefield at Sarhu, leaving Zhang Qi with a few hundred old and frail survivors and a hollow, weakened mess. The Jurchens pressed in relentlessly, while the Ming court was rotten to the core. Using Lüshun as his base, Zhang Qi reclaimed land, took in refugees, built high walls, and stockpiled grain, all while waiting to claim the throne. Years later, his subordinates draped him in imperial robes and placed him on the throne. He cried out, “You’ve really made life hard for me!” I was merely a hereditary commander in Liaodong. What did the world matter to me? I fought north and south only because I couldn’t bear to see the Central Plains fall and end up in someone else’s hands.