Chapter Summaries

Three months later, Zhu Ying faced the captured kings and nobles of France and England in Fengtian Hall after the Ming Dynasty conquered their nations. He spared them and let them keep their thrones, but forced them to take Heart-devouring Pills to ensure their loyalty before returning to rule as Ming puppets.

• Triceratops had become common across the Ming Dynasty, serving as livestock and hauling goods, while citizens celebrated the empire’s victories over Western nations.
• Charles VI and Richard II begged Zhu Yuanzhang for mercy, and Zhu Ying agreed to spare them and let them continue ruling France and England if they submitted to the Ming Dynasty.
• Zhu Ying ordered the French and English royals and nobles to swallow Heart-devouring Pills or be executed, and they all complied.
• The pills took effect, leaving the rulers and nobles under Zhu Ying’s control and pledging loyalty to him.
• Zhu Ying reassured Zhu Biao and Zhu Yuanzhang that the pills would make the rulers loyal and cause them unbearable pain if they acted against the Ming Dynasty.

At the Hongwu twenty-ninth-year court assembly, Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Biao, and Zhu Ying reviewed the Ming Dynasty’s rapid conquests and saw that it controlled seventy percent of the world. They ordered the empire to keep expanding while imposing military, cultural, and economic control over its new territories.

• Tang Duo reported that Ming armies had subdued countries across Asia, the Middle East, and the West, and Zhu Yuanzhang ordered them to continue advancing.
• Zhu Ying had a world map unfolded, revealing that Ming territory covered seventy percent of the world, and promised rewards for officials and generals after unification.
• Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Ying ordered colonial kings and powerful foreign officials to take the Heart-devouring Pill and demanded that colonial resources be sent to the Ming Dynasty.
• Zhu Biao proposed spreading Han culture and standardizing customs, while Zhu Ying assigned Liu Jing and Tang Duo to promote Sinicization and abandon local religions.
• Zhu Biao volunteered to appoint governors, and Zhu Ying ordered the Ministry of Revenue to expand trade and the Ministry of Works to extend railways into tributary states.
• Zhu Ying called for improving the lives of submissive subjects while threatening to conquer by force anyone who resisted Ming rule.

After Ming Dynasty’s conquests brought the current world and two portal worlds under its control, Zhu Ying opened a portal to the Late Ming World and saw the Qing Army’s invasion and massacres. He told Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao how the other Ming Dynasty fell, leaving them shaken by the fate of a world without his reforms.

• Zhu Ying opened nine Tier 3 and fifteen Tier 2 treasure chests, then decided to open another Spatial Portal.
• Zhu Ying opened a portal to the Late Ming World and witnessed the Qing Army invade the Central Plains and massacre civilians.
• Zhu Ying told Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao that Ming Dynasty had nearly conquered the current world and controlled the Prehistoric World and Late Jin and the Five Hu world.
• Zhu Ying revealed that the Late Ming World’s Ming Dynasty had fallen to the Jurchens after famine, rebellion, and the Qing Army’s invasion.
• Zhu Ying explained that Chongzhen Zhu Youjian had tried to govern but could not overcome the Ming Dynasty’s crises and factional strife.

Zhu Ying prepared to lead an elite army from the Grand Ming Empire into the [Late Ming World] to save the Ming Dynasty and defeat the northern barbarians. As his forces opened the Spatial Portal, Chongzhen faced the imminent fall of Beiping and was urged to flee.

• Zhu Yuanzhang asked to visit the [Late Ming World], and Zhu Ying promised to take him there.
• Zhu Ying ordered young commanders to prepare an expedition, deploying fifty thousand Imperial Guards, including Velociraptor and Pterosaur troops, and received Zhu Yuanzhang's support.
• Many days later, Zhu Ying addressed the assembled soldiers and opened the Spatial Portal to the [Late Ming World].
• In the [Late Ming World], Li Jiantai reported that Li Zicheng had surrounded Beiping and that northern barbarians might march south, leaving Chongzhen and his officials despairing.
• Li Guozhen reported that Li Zicheng's forces had reached the capital gates and urged Chongzhen to flee.

As Li Zicheng’s forces neared breaching Beiping, Chongzhen prepared to accept the Ming Dynasty’s fall. A golden Spatial Portal then appeared, and an unfamiliar Ming army with dinosaurs and advanced weapons emerged, leaving Chongzhen and his court stunned.

• Chongzhen refused to flee and ordered Li Guozhen to defend Beiping against Li Zicheng’s vastly larger army.
• Li Guozhen reported that the South Gate was about to fall, and Chongzhen told the defenders to surrender and the officials to flee.
• Thunder struck as the Spatial Portal appeared in Beiping, prompting a messenger to tell Chongzhen about the golden gate.
• Chongzhen and his officials witnessed the Ming Imperial Guards, dinosaur legions, cannons, and firearms emerge from the portal.
• Li Guozhen stood protectively before Chongzhen as the unfamiliar army advanced and the court panicked.

The Grand Ming Empire's forces routed Li Zicheng's rebels in Beiping, and Zhu Yuanzhang arrived with Zhu Biao and Zhu Ying to meet Chongzhen. Chongzhen recognized Zhu Yuanzhang as the Ming dynasty's founding emperor and welcomed him, while the court also learned that Zhu Biao and Zhu Xiongying had returned.

• Li Guozhen urged Chongzhen to shelter in the hall as Li Zicheng's rebels breached Beiping's walls and the Grand Ming Empire's army entered the city.
• The Imperial Guards, Velociraptor Imperial Guards, and Pterosaur Imperial Guards overwhelmed the rebels and drove them into retreat.
• Chongzhen and his ministers watched a Wind God Pterosaur approach the palace carrying Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Biao, and Zhu Ying.
• Chongzhen recognized Zhu Yuanzhang as Hongwu Taizu, and he and the officials knelt to pay their respects.
• Zhu Yuanzhang introduced Zhu Biao and Zhu Xiongying to Chongzhen, and the court saluted them.

Li Zicheng’s rebels stormed the imperial palace, where Zhu Yuanzhang’s Imperial Guards, Pterosaur Army, and Velociraptor Army routed them. Zhu Ying ordered Liu Lei to seal Beiping’s gates and prevent the surviving rebels from escaping, leaving Li Zicheng’s forces trapped in the city.

• Li Zicheng dismissed his deputy’s warning about monsters in the palace and led his army toward the palace gates.
• The rebels broke into Fengtian Square, where Zhu Yuanzhang ordered the Imperial Guards to kill them all.
• The Imperial Guards, Pterosaur Army, and Velociraptor Army overwhelmed the rebels with gunfire and a fierce charge.
• Zhu Ying ordered Liu Lei to lead Wang Wei’s Pterosaur Army to seal the city gates and hunt down fleeing rebels.
• The officials and Chongzhen watched in shock as the rebels were trapped in Beiping, while Zhu Yuanzhang urged Zhu Ying to ensure none escaped.

Zhu Yuanzhang’s army crushed Li Zicheng’s rebel forces with Pterosaurs, Velociraptors, and Imperial Guards, then captured and executed Li Zicheng and his generals. The chapter ended with an Imperial Guards commander reporting that the sentence had been carried out.

• Zhu Yuanzhang ordered his forces to slaughter the rebels as Pterosaurs and Velociraptors routed them throughout Beiping City.
• Li Zicheng saw the Pterosaurs and Velociraptors, tried to fight through the beasts, and was captured with more than a dozen generals.
• Chongzhen revealed that the emperor confronting Li Zicheng was Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty.
• Li Zicheng and his generals begged Zhu Yuanzhang for mercy, but Zhu Yuanzhang ordered them cut into a thousand pieces.
• An Imperial Guards commander reported to Zhu Yuanzhang that Li Zicheng and his subordinates had been executed.

After the rebels were defeated, Zhu Yuanzhang blamed the Donglin Party for the Ming Dynasty’s troubles and ordered their estates confiscated. When the guards uncovered eighty-five million taels of silver, he sentenced the officials and their households to brutal punishment.

• Chongzhen Zhu Youjian thanked Zhu Yuanzhang for saving the Ming Dynasty, but Zhu Yuanzhang blamed court infighting for the rebellion and targeted the Donglin Party.
• Zhu Yuanzhang praised Li Guozhen for defending the capital, then accused the Donglin officials of harming the court and the people.
• Fan Jingwen begged for mercy and argued that disasters and an empty treasury, not the officials, had brought the Ming Dynasty to ruin.
• Zhu Yuanzhang ordered the Imperial Guards to confiscate the Donglin officials’ estates, and they seized eighty-five million taels of silver.
• Zhu Yuanzhang ordered the Donglin officials executed, their male relatives killed, and their women exiled into slavery.

Zhu Yuanzhang crushed the Donglin Party rebellion, then made Zhu Youjian recount Ming history from the Jianwen Emperor through the Tumu Crisis. The chapter ended as Zhu Youjian began explaining the Oirat advance on Beiping after Emperor Yingzong of Ming Zhu Qizhen was captured.

• Zhu Yuanzhang seized fifteen chests worth five million taels of silver from Fan Jingwen, then ordered him and the other Donglin Party officials executed.
• Zhu Yuanzhang asked Zhu Youjian to recount Ming history, and Zhu Youjian explained that Zhu Yunwen inherited the throne after Zhu Biao and the Imperial Grandson died in that world.
• Zhu Youjian said Zhu Yunwen's harsh attempt to weaken the feudal princes provoked Zhu Di's rebellion, after which Zhu Di took the throne and Zhu Yunwen disappeared.
• Zhu Youjian described Zhu Di's military and civil achievements, including his northern campaigns, the Yongle Encyclopedia, and Zheng He's voyages.
• Zhu Youjian recounted the Rule of Ren and Xuan, then said Wang Zhen's influence led Emperor Yingzong of Ming Zhu Qizhen to lose the Tumu Crisis and be captured by the Oirats.
• Zhu Youjian began explaining that the Oirat army advanced on Beiping City after capturing Zhu Qizhen.

Zhu Youjian recounted the Ming Dynasty’s rulers after the Oirat invasion, while Zhu Yuanzhang condemned Zhu Qizhen’s execution of Yu Qian and questioned how later emperors weakened the dynasty. The account ended with Zhu Youjian describing Zhu Youxiao’s obsession with carpentry, favoritism toward Wei Zhongxian, and the unrest caused by disasters.

• Zhu Youjian explained that Yu Qian and other officials supported Zhu Qiyu as emperor, and that they defeated the Oirats after they entered Beiping City.
• Zhu Ying and Zhu Youjian described Zhu Qiyu’s confinement of Zhu Qizhen, Zhu Qizhen’s return to the throne, and his execution of Yu Qian; Zhu Yuanzhang angrily denounced Zhu Qizhen.
• Zhu Youjian recounted Zhu Jianshen’s reign and the Hongzhi Restoration under Zhu Youcheng, which pleased Zhu Yuanzhang.
• Zhu Youjian described Zhu Houzhao’s indulgent habits, and Zhu Ying defended him as capable in major crises despite his unsuitability for emperorship.
• Zhu Youjian and Zhu Ying traced the decline through Zhu Houcong, Longqing, Wanli, and Zhu Changluo, noting neglect of state affairs and growing corruption.
• Zhu Youjian reported that Zhu Youxiao neglected governance for carpentry, favored Wei Zhongxian, and ruled during natural disasters and widespread unrest.

Zhu Yuanzhang learned that the Ming Dynasty faced rebel armies and a future Tatar invasion, and he chose to deal with Wu Sangui first. At Shanhaiguan, Wu Sangui heard that Li Zicheng had entered the capital and decided to wait for the rebels to weaken one another.

• Zhu Yuanzhang spared Ni Yuanlu after Zhu Ying defended his loyalty, then promoted him to Grand Secretary of the Cabinet.
• Zhu Youjian reported the rebel forces across the realm, and Zhu Ying warned that the Tatars and several Ming commanders threatened the dynasty.
• Zhu Ying identified Wu Sangui and his Guan Ning Army as the first force to confront, and Zhu Yuanzhang agreed to attack him.
• A messenger told Wu Sangui that Li Zicheng had entered Beiping City, leaving Wu Sangui to fear that the Ming Dynasty was doomed.
• Wu Guigui urged Wu Sangui to fight Li Zicheng for the realm, but Wu Sangui chose to wait for Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong to fight first.

Wu Sangui plotted to ally with Dorgon and open Shanhaiguan Pass so they could enter the Central Plains, while Zhang Xianzhong prepared to seize Sichuan. Zhu Ying’s army arrived at the pass before Dorgon’s forces could cross, leaving Wu Sangui uncertain who was approaching.

• Wu Sangui dismissed Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong as unreliable and sent Wu Guigui to persuade Dorgon to invade through Shanhaiguan Pass.
• Zhang Xianzhong and Wang Zhaoling agreed to speed up the conquest of Sichuan while Li Zicheng became a target for rival forces.
• Wu Guigui told Dorgon that Li Zicheng had reached the capital and proposed an alliance with Wu Sangui; Dorgon agreed to enter through Shanhaiguan Pass.
• Zhu Ying led twenty thousand Imperial Guards, ten thousand Dinosaur Legion soldiers, and three thousand Wang Wei Pterosaur Army troops to Shanhaiguan Pass.
• Wu Guigui reported that Dorgon would assemble his army in ten days, but a soldier then warned Wu Sangui that a large force was approaching.
• Wu Sangui saw Zhu Ying’s approaching army and wondered whether it was the Court Army and whether Chongzhen had defeated Li Zicheng.

Zhu Ying's Ming Dynasty Imperial Guards, Pterosaur Army, and Velociraptor Army defeated Wu Sangui's Guan Ning Army and captured Shanhaiguan Pass. Wu Sangui was executed, while his nephew Wu Guigui reached the barbarian army's camp outside the Great Wall.

• Wu Sangui mistook Zhu Ying's approaching army for the Court Army and ordered his troops to fight when they attacked Shanhaiguan Pass.
• Zhu Ying refused to use the Red-Clad Cannon and sent the Pterosaur Army and Velociraptors into battle.
• The Guan Ning Army's defenses collapsed under the combined attacks, and Wu Sangui ordered his troops to retreat beyond the Great Wall.
• Zhu Ying's forces pursued the fleeing army, captured Wu Sangui, and reduced the Guan Ning Army to a few hundred men.
• Zhu Ying identified himself as the Ming Dynasty's Imperial Grandson, accused Wu Sangui of colluding with the barbarians, and ordered Liu Lei to execute him.
• Zhu Ying occupied Shanhaiguan Pass, while Wu Guigui arrived at the barbarian army's main camp outside the Great Wall.

Dorgon sent fifty thousand Tatar troops to retake Shanhaiguan Pass, but the Imperial Guards repelled them with cannons and muskets. Zhu Ying returned to Beiping, where he planned to pacify the Central Plains before turning against the Tatars.

• Wu Guigui asked Dorgon to send reinforcements to Shanhaiguan Pass, and Dorgon rushed there with fifty thousand troops.
• Zhu Ying confirmed that Wu Sangui and the Guan Ning Army had been defeated, then left twenty thousand Imperial Guards to defend Shanhaiguan Pass while leading his main force back toward the capital.
• Dorgon killed Wu Guigui and ordered an assault on Shanhaiguan Pass, but the Imperial Guards' artillery and muskets inflicted devastating losses and forced the Tatar army to retreat.
• Zhu Ying arrived at the imperial palace in Beiping and told Zhu Yuanzhang and Chongzhen that Wu Sangui was dead and Shanhaiguan Pass was secure.
• Zhu Ying and Zhu Biao agreed that the priority was to quell unrest in the Central Plains, defeat Zhang Xianzhong, and bring wavering Ming generals under control before confronting the Tatars.

Zhu Ying’s forces crushed Zhang Xianzhong’s army at Chengdu and defeated the Southern Ming regime in Nanjing. A month later, Zhu Yuanzhang judged the captured claimants and ordered Zhu Yousong imprisoned while sentencing the other prisoners to death.

• Zhang Xianzhong attacked Chengdu, but Governor Long Wenguang rallied the defenders and refused to surrender.
• The Pterosaur Army, Velociraptor Army, artillery, and Imperial Guards arrived and routed Zhang Xianzhong’s forces, saving Chengdu.
• Ma Shiying installed Zhu Yousong as emperor in Nanjing, but Zhu Ying’s forces attacked and defeated the Southern Ming regime.
• Zhu Ying returned to the capital a month later with Zhang Xianzhong, Ma Shiying, Zhu Yousong, and other prisoners.
• Zhu Youjian revealed that he was alive, and Zhu Yuanzhang ordered Zhu Yousong confined to the Imperial Clan Court and the other prisoners executed.

Zhu Yuanzhang forgave Chongzhen and turned his forces toward the Tartars. At Shanhaiguan Pass, the Ming army routed Dorgon's troops, leaving the battle as a one-sided slaughter.

• Zhu Yuanzhang ordered the execution of the rebels and forgave Chongzhen, promising to help rebuild the Ming Dynasty.
• Zhu Ying and Zhu Yuanzhang agreed to attack the Tartars after the Central Plains had been pacified.
• Dorgon gathered one hundred thousand troops and vowed to invade the Central Plains despite reports of the Ming army's victories.
• Guo Zhen led the Ming Imperial Guards and their special troops out of Shanhaiguan Pass to attack Dorgon's camp.
• The Ming forces used Pterosaurs, Velociraptors, cannons, and Flintlock Muskets to break the Tartar army, while Zhu Ying arrived to oversee the battle.

The Ming army annihilated the Tatar forces and captured Dorgon, who was executed with Fulin after Zhu Yuanzhang revealed his identity. Zhu Ying then began reshaping the late Ming, removing Zhu Youjian as emperor but allowing him to remain and help govern, leaving Zhu Yuanzhang to lead the restored dynasty.

• The Ming army routed and annihilated Dorgon's forces, capturing Dorgon and members of the Tatar imperial family.
• Zhu Yuanzhang ordered Dorgon and Fulin executed, and the Ming court rewarded Zhu Ying and other generals for their service.
• Zhu Ying proposed reforms for the late Ming, including transporting grain through the Spatial Portal, reducing imperial relatives’ fiefs, and abolishing miscellaneous taxes.
• Zhu Ying declared that Zhu Youjian was no longer fit to serve as emperor, and Zhu Youjian accepted the decision without objection.
• Zhu Youjian chose to remain in this world and assist Zhu Yuanzhang with state affairs.

Zhu Yuanzhang returned with Zhu Biao and Zhu Ying to the Great Ming Main World after leaving fifty thousand Imperial Guards in the Late Ming World. There, the court celebrated Ming’s conquest of the world, rewarded its officials, and turned toward governing its vast new territory.

• Zhu Yuanzhang ordered Zhu Youjian to rebuild the Late Ming Dynasty and warned that he would inspect its people’s welfare.
• Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Biao, Zhu Ying, and their generals returned to the Great Ming Main World through the Spatial Portal, leaving fifty thousand Imperial Guards behind.
• Tang Duo reported that Ming had defeated the nations across the continents and unified the world, prompting Zhu Yuanzhang and the court to celebrate Zhu Ying’s achievements.
• Zhu Ying rewarded military and civil officials with honors and fifty-year Lifespan Fruits for their contributions to unification.
• Zhu Ying ordered the Ministry of Revenue and Ministry of Personnel to propose governors-general and declared that Ming would stop expanding and focus on governing its territory and winning the people’s support.

After the Grand Ming Empire united the world, Zhu Ying promised Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao that he would revive Empress Ma when the time was right and advised them on governing their new territories. Zhu Ying prepared to enter seclusion, while Zhu Yuanzhang resolved to keep the imprisoned Fourth Prince under strict guard to prevent another rebellion.

• Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao thanked Zhu Ying for saving Ming Dynasty and their family, and Zhu Ying said he had also worked for the people and for Empress Ma's revival.
• Zhu Ying showed Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao lifespan treasures and promised that Empress Ma could be revived once the time was right.
• Zhu Ying proposed combining military governors with humane governance to stabilize Ming Dynasty's newly conquered territories, and Zhu Yuanzhang agreed.
• Zhu Ying announced that he would enter seclusion to cultivate, while Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao promised to handle state affairs and looked forward to advancing their realms afterward.
• After Zhu Ying left, Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao discussed Zhu Di's rebellion in the Late Ming World, and Zhu Yuanzhang ordered the Imperial Clan Court guarded so no one could approach the Fourth Prince.