The Wise Monarch of Wanli
In the year 1572 AD, seventy-two years remained before the fall of the Ming dynasty and the loss of its realm. At this moment, wokou pirates ran rampant along the southeastern coast, Tatars hammered at the northwestern frontiers, local land annexation grew increasingly dire, the military and bureaucracy were exhausted, the common folk struggled in misery, and the Longqing Emperor had just passed away. It was precisely then that Shi Yue transmigrated into Zhu Yijun—the historical Wanli Emperor, notorious for neglecting imperial court sessions for thirty years. The good news: Zhu Yijun had not yet ascended the throne. He hadn't had time to ruin state affairs yet. The bad news: Zhu Yijun had not yet ascended the throne. Feng Bao, the Seal-holding Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, wanted to act as the proxy of imperial power. Senior Grand Secretary Gao Gong wanted to reduce the emperor to a figurehead and empower the Grand Secretariat. Second Grand Secretary Zhang Juzheng was single-mindedly determined to take the reins of government and push through new reforms. His only reliance, his birth mother Lady Li, still punished him with kneeling at every turn and forced him to write self-condemning edicts. ... A collapsing dynasty loomed right before his eyes, while daggers and shadows clashed in the central halls of power. To bear the realm's misfortunes is to be king of the world. Now that I have ascended the throne, if I do not save this world, who will?
42 chapters
