Plotting for the End of the Ming, Rebuilding the Great Ming

The Chongzhen Emperor has just taken the throne, and the empire is teetering on the brink. The Later Jin are eyeing the frontier, bandit armies are gathering, factional strife at court rages on, and even the great families that have enjoyed a century of glory are doomed to face calamity. Zhang Shize, the legitimate son of the Duke of Ying's household, refuses to stand by as the land falls and his clan is destroyed. He asks his father for authority, wealth, and a band of deathsworn retainers. Exploiting the corruption of the Beijing army's phantom payrolls, he secretly builds an elite force. He recruits miners and takes in mountain bandits, then uses the deathsworn as its backbone to train a new army. With every step carefully planned, he conceals his edge and bides his time. Beyond the crumbling Ming court, he forges a powerful army ready and willing to fight. As he plots his course through a chaotic age and arms himself to defend the land, watch the new army turn the tide.