Ming Dynasty, 1644: Rebuilding China

The seventeenth year of Chongzhen, the Spring Festival of 1644. Deep within the palace, Chongzhen dreamed. Zhu Di, the Yongle Emperor of the Ming dynasty, appeared to him in a dream and ordered him to go in person to Mount Wudang, hold a grand Luotian sacrificial rite, and offer prayers to the Great Emperor Zhenwu, beseeching him to manifest and help the Ming pacify the wars and restore the realm of Huaxia. This dream was no divine miracle, but an expression of a desperate emperor’s innermost desire to survive and bring about change. Upon waking, Chongzhen broke free of history’s destined ending on Coal Hill and resolved to head south. There is no transmigration, no heaven-sent cheat. Amid the crisis of a collapsing dynasty, he agonizes over the failures of his past rule and makes painful sacrifices to survive. Establishing a foothold in Jingchu, securing the south of the Yangtze, reforming the court, and rebuilding a mighty army, he sets the nation’s fortunes in motion once more amid the ruins. This book is the first volume of the seven-part historical epic The Great Ming, 1644. It begins amid the crisis of 1644 and the restoration of the nation, then advances step by step toward land power, sea power, and global governance, ultimately setting course for a utopia among the stars.