Laying Low in the Shun Dynasty Until the Grand Finale

In the final years of the Ming Dynasty, flames of war spread across the land, plunging the realm into chaos. Li Zicheng, the Dashing King, led his troops in breaching the Forbidden City and bringing down the previous dynasty. But his hold on power was shaky and his foundations weak. Before long, his forces were defeated and his fortunes waned. He abandoned the capital in haste and fled west to Xi'an, where he retreated. He would never again be strong enough to dominate the land. Amid the upheaval, Li Zicheng's nephew, Li Yan, seized the opportunity to rally the remnants of the army and build up his strength. After repelling the Qing forces from beyond the passes several times and pacifying the land through years of warfare, he ultimately united the realm, ascended the throne, and founded a new dynasty. He kept the name Shun for his state, and later generations honored him as Emperor Gaozu of Shun. Time passed in a flash. In the blink of an eye, twenty years had gone by. The new dynasty was stable, and imperial authority grew ever firmer. The emperor's thoughts grew increasingly inscrutable. He began to reform the court, purge his opponents, and suppress officials from the old regime. By the Mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: “I rule over all beneath Heaven and uphold its laws and principles. My rewards and punishments are clear, and the law makes no exceptions. Jiang Yuan, a senior councillor in the Department of General Administration, has repaid the nation's favor with treachery, turned his back on loyalty and righteousness, and harbored sinister designs. His crimes are evident, and both gods and men condemn him. He is hereby stripped of office and taken into custody. His property shall be confiscated, and his clan held collectively responsible, as a warning to all. “All adult male members of his clan, young and old alike, shall be exiled three thousand li away to a pestilential land and forbidden ever to return home. No pardon shall absolve them. All the women of his household shall be seized and made palace slaves, assigned to the Embroidery Bureau, the Imperial Kitchen, and other departments. They shall serve from dawn to dusk, performing menial labor at the government's command, remain enslaved for life, and never leave the palace. “So decreed.” With that single edict, the Jiang family was utterly ruined. Jiang and the rest were stripped of their official posts and reduced to commoners. The men were sent into exile in the bitterly cold frontier, never to return home for the rest of their lives. All the women of the Jiang household were stripped of their status and taken into the imperial palace, where they were reduced to palace maids.