Chapter 1
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Chapter 1: Tears of Joy
In the year 1839 AD, during the 14th year of the Datong era, Emperor Ming, Zhu Hongwen fell ill with a cold.
Normally when the emperor is unwell, the term "ill" should be used. If "sick" is used, it implies the approaching of death.
Zhu Hongwen lay on his bed, deeply asleep, his features contorted, drenched in sweat. His consciousness had become very heavy, he tried to wake up but couldn’t.
In his 14th year of reign, Zhu Hongwen was diligent in state affairs, lived frugally, eliminated corrupt officials, appointed wise ministers, restored order, and revitalized his administration. His era name Datong marked the third transformative epoch after the foundation of the Ming dynasty and the resurgence during the Chongzhen era.
As he prepared to suppress local powers, he was betrayed by traitors, and news of his plans to reduce the power of feudal lords leaked out, resulting in a fierce backlash.
Supposedly a mere cold, it was actually sabotage by villains. Zhu Hongwen’s Datong era was about to end abruptly, further destabilizing the court. His efforts over the 14 years would go in vain.
Emperor Datong had nine sons and three daughters. A few days ago, the heir to the throne unexpectedly passed away, sparking turmoil within the royal family. Court officials sought alliances amidst the storm.
Internal conflicts within the royal family, chaos in the court, natural disasters in the five northern provinces, southern princes asserting independence, powerful families wielding influence, and local gentry behaving unjustly…
The Emperor Zhu Hongwen did not want to die, he did not want to see the empire of his ancestors fall apart, but his body could not take it anymore.
In late September, Prince Huai Zhu Zhongzheng won the battle, became the new emperor, and named his reign Kangding.
Emperor Kangding used force to eliminate opposition, punished or imprisoned his defeated brothers, helped the people affected by disasters, and provided financial support from the royal treasury. The five northern provinces seemed to return to peace…right?
At the beginning of his reign, he had big plans to continue the reforms of the previous emperor, but Emperor Kangding Zhu Chongzhen was cautious and suspicious of reforms and innovations, often distrusting his officials.
He revived the long-abandoned secret agencies, created new ones, and expanded their powers.
The secret agencies grew to twenty-two departments, each with immense power, constantly fighting and undermining the country’s strength.
The agencies monitored everyone, from officials to scholars, maintaining a constant cycle of suspicion and surveillance.
There were many injustices and false convictions, causing officials to be afraid to act, and the Ming Empire fell into a state of paralysis.
From October to November, Emperor Kangding Zhu Chongzhen realized his mistakes and began dismantling many secret agencies, leading to further chaos.
To make sure the king’s power stayed strong, the Kangding Emperor added 11 new taxes to ensure that the army in the capital had enough to eat. When revolts broke out in the five provinces in the north, the capital’s army brutally suppressed them.
The Ming Empire continues until today, but the central king’s power is now weaker. It only has control over a few provinces like North Zhili, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Shandong, and Henan. Other provinces are controlled by local leaders, leading to armed rebellions. Regions like Liaodong, Northeast, Qinghai-Tibet, Northwest, and Mongolia are controlled by various lords. Tributary states like Korea, Southeast Asia, Japan, and Ryukyu do not always obey the emperor’s orders.
In theory, the Ming Empire’s territory and tributary system is vast, extending from Kyushu Island to the Pamir Plateau, from Siberia to Luzon in the south.
Despite all the tributary states and vassal kingdoms respecting the Ming Emperor as their supreme ruler, there is little unity among them.
Emperor Ming relied on the army to control the five northern provinces, hired warriors like the Guanning Iron Cavalry and Liaodong Iron Cavalry to suppress rebellions. The regular army he could deploy was less than 100,000, with only about two thousand Magic Energy Knights.
In theory, if all the Ming Empire’s forces could be mobilized, Emperor Ming could lead a million-strong army and over ten thousand Magic Energy Knights, or even two million soldiers and twenty thousand knights. But that’s just theory.
Kangding Emperor Zhu Chongzhen was an emperor with big dreams but faced challenges because he had too many dreamy ideas.
He tried to restore the central king’s power by increasing the army’s provisions, hiring more Guanning Iron Cavalry and Liaodong Iron Cavalry, and planning to reform the military system.
The military system he wanted to change was the hereditary garrison system. Families drafted as soldiers had to serve for generations, farming during peacetime, training when idle, and fighting during war.
This system was very useful in the early Ming Dynasty, but over time it became weak. The guards of the Wei system, who were supposed to be the regular army of the Great Ming, could not fight at all. The Emperor had to rely on the Forbidden Army and hired soldiers.
Zhu Zhongzheng decided to abolish the military system, train a new army, rebuild the regular army, and then regain control over the central regions by conquering the east and west.
Everyone knew that the military system was weak, but the Emperor suddenly announced the abolishment of this system that had been in place for hundreds of years. The ministers advised against changing the traditional ways too quickly.
Zhu Zhongzheng directly replaced those who disagreed with him, and enforced a new conscription system similar to modern-day drafts, requiring adult men from the northern provinces to serve in the military for five years.
This caused great chaos as the old military system was suddenly abolished, the new system was not well-established, and the military families who had been supported by the emperor suddenly became unemployed. The new conscription system could not be implemented due to lack of funds.
To raise funds, taxes were imposed frequently, pushing the northern provinces to extreme poverty. The people could barely survive.
Zhu Zhongzheng’s authoritarian actions angered the heavens and the people. The citizens and officials turned against him, leading to a massive uprising in the north.
However, the Imperial Guards, the Iron Cavalry of Guanning, and the Iron Cavalry of Liaodong joined forces to suppress the rebellion countless times. They mercilessly slaughtered the noble families, gentry, and landowners who had started the rebellion. The court was almost empty, with the officials almost completely wiped out.
Traitors, loyal officials, opponents, and supporters all perished. The government of the Great Ming suddenly changed to be a military government.
Besides, the military government is mainly made up of young people from humble backgrounds, lacking traditional military skills or modern military training. They also lack a proper understanding of governing a country and rely solely on their passion to make decisions.
The bloody massacre resolved the land consolidation issue, as the original landlords were all slaughtered. Zhu Zhongzheng redistributed the land to the common people to restore order.
While having absolute military power may seem like freedom, Zhu Zhongzheng’s reckless actions are actually causing a severe strain on the country’s resources.
He has ideals but lacks the ability to implement them. Even when advised by capable counselors, he refuses to listen, leading to confusion and frequent erratic behavior.
He distributed land in the north to the poor, but the agricultural techniques were previously controlled by the landlords. With those knowledgeable in farming killed off, the former serfs now have land but lack the knowledge to farm effectively.
Despite their lack of formal training, the serfs had some understanding of farming through generations of experience. They could still manage to farm to some extent.
However, Zhu Zhongzheng also gave land to beggars and refugees in the city, who were previously servants in wealthy households. With the landlords gone, these people have land but no knowledge of farming, not even knowing what seeds are.
Zhu Zhongzheng dreamt of taxing heavily during the next harvest season and expanding his military campaigns…
That would be impossible. At least for the next five years, agriculture would suffer greatly, with gradual improvement expected only after that.
His soldiers, the iron cavalry of Guanning and Liaodong, were fiercely loyal warriors, but not to the emperor, but to money and food.
If the army doesn’t get paid…
Zhu Zhongzheng made a huge fortune through epic looting for at least ten years, so there was no need to worry about military supplies. But what about after that? The Great Ming Dynasty was barely holding on because of him, his reign named Kangding (it means good health and peace) was extremely ironic.
Zhu Zhongzheng thought his power was secure, with all his opponents eliminated, but…
Righteous men from all over the Ming Empire couldn’t stand his tyranny. A group of people was getting ready to save this crumbling empire, a band of brave men wanting to rescue the Great Ming.
Regional lords were secretly preparing, waiting for the right moment to overthrow the tyrant in the capital. No one wanted to seize power or fight for control of the northern throne.
The regional lords’ plan was, "Let’s find a normal person to be our figurehead leader, then continue our own armed rule, each of us being a local emperor in our own territories."
Everything was ready, missing only a puppet with legitimate bloodline.
Zhu Zhongzheng rose to power through bloody struggle, with his brothers dead and male heirs of the legitimate imperial line wiped out. After searching far and wide… it seemed that only Zhu Zhongzheng’s newborn son could fit the bill.
The lords decided to crown the newborn baby Zhu Qimao as the emperor when he was only 4 months old. The six departments, along with the cabinet ministers, shared the responsibilities, and the prince regent took turns in ruling.
In February 1840, Emperor Kangding Zhu Chongzhen was left alone. The Guan Ning Cavalry and the Liaodong Cavalry joined the rebels, while the Imperial Guards were busy suppressing the rebellion and couldn’t protect the Forbidden City.
Young Emperor Zhu Qimao was crowned hastily, and his reign ceremony was rushed. The era name was "Shenlong."
The lords were busy dividing power and no one paid attention to the birth mother of the young emperor. They thought she was just an ordinary empress dowager in the long river of history.
A mysterious Eastern woman, who was said to be as powerful as Empress Catherine and Queen Victoria, was about to take the stage in history. Under her leadership, the Ming Dynasty would move towards modernization and industrialization at a magical speed, becoming one of the top powers rapidly.
The Empress Dowager, from the Li family in Liaodong, had been commanders of the Liaodong Cavalry for generations. She not only had personal skills but also had the support of her family. All she needed to seize power from the lords was the right opportunity.
For example, when the foreigners invaded.
Empress Li was confident that she could control the Ming Empire. Her main concern now was how to use the foreigners to reduce the power of the feudal lords, suppress local separatist forces, and how to declare herself as the empress. It wasn’t easy for a woman to become an empress.
"I don’t want to control the court as an empress dowager. You must help me ascend to the throne," Empress Li said to the female official beside her.
This lady official is named Li Hongzhuang Li from Hefei, not the Liaodong Li family. She came to the Forbidden City at the age of 16 as a talented girl, maybe she will make a mark in history too.
