- #1
There were two particularly important events that determined Ming dynasty's fate following its establishment: the death of Zhu Biao and the fall of Zhu Yunwen. They were the first legitimate son and legitimate grandson of the founding emperor of Ming, Zhu Yuanzhang.The loss of Zhu Biao and Zhu Yunwen reduced the legitimacy of the next Ming emperors, so they had less freedom in establishing new policies. As such, what will happen if someone from 600 years in the future took over Zhu Yunwen?As in any other novels of similar type, the newly transmigrated "Zhu Yunwen" promoted science and improved people's livelihood. However, reforms were not easy. He had to continuously fight rebel kings, corrupt officials, pedantic scholars, shortsighted merchants, skeptical citizens, and... leftover ghosts of the old era.The cruel leadership of his predecessor, Zhu Yuanzhang, left lots of life-and-death troubles for the dynasty. MC managed to outsmart them till recent chapters, but his enemies got smarter as well.I liked this. It was not perfect, but the author wrote it good enough. He knew regional history very well, and it can be seen clearly as he added all the notable historical figures with bits of spices and some acceptable modification.Of course, there were "Chinese nationalism" as well. But I think, apart from over-the-top hatred towards Japanese, everything else did not deviate too far from the history we knew.For example, the character of Zheng He was more pious than what we knew of him. As an Indonesian, I was even more shocked that the author knew Liang Daoming and Shi Jinqing who dominated Palembang for some time at that period (mind you, it is not common knowledge at all, not even a uni graduate with a bachelor in History here knew about them!).TL, DR; it is a very interesting reading material for fans of alternate history and kingdom building story. MC was a calm and smart emperor, always prepared to conquer all challenges that could be fatal for his reign. However, keep in mind that every Chinese kingdom building novel would of course promote Chinese superiority.And for those who are concerned about its harem content: No worries. Our MC was not a womanizer. He had to have multiple wives in his role as the emperor, but he did not actively add new concubines to his harem. Not all women who crossed his path fell for him. He did not even easily bed some princesses that were given to him!
